After hearing the reminder, Apolo and Hermes got nervous and hugged the books they were carrying tightly, as if they were plush toys. However, they walked two aisles, and Adam didn't hear anything.
Nevertheless, the number of footprints on the floor of the next aisle was so vast that the floor was stained green. So, the young hero preferred to wait a few more minutes, listening, before proceeding.
Seeing that nothing strange could be heard, Adam gave the order, and the group walked carefully down the aisle. But when they were halfway through, bubbling sounds could be heard from the next aisle, and they were getting closer, albeit very, very slowly.
Upon hearing the sounds of bubbles popping, Adam stopped the group and shouted loudly so the old man could hear:
—Let go of the books and grab a bookshelf: don't let go for anything, and wait for me to tell you when to release it! If you see the inkwell, hold the bookshelf even tighter.
Adam put the old man on the ground near the same bookshelf he was holding. He then signaled the two boys to grab the bookshelf and covered them with part of his robe, trying to prevent them from seeing the creature and letting go of the bookshelf out of fear.
Despite Adam's shouts, the old man couldn't hear him, so he saw the strange scene in astonishment. However, the old man observed the scared looks of the children and understood that this was the way to survive, so he held onto one of the planks of the bookshelf with all his might.
Time passed, and the bubbling sounds grew louder. When the children began to notice the noise, the slow creature had not yet crossed. But Adam cautiously watched the corner as the minutes passed.
When the frightened old man could finally hear the bubbling, which were like fireworks to Adam by now, it was when a leg approached from the corner of the aisle.
The inkwell's leg was black and oozed something akin to ink; it was very long: just half of the leg equaled Adam's entire body. However, the leg was very thin, and at the tip of the leg were the tiny claws that the redhead noticed all over the floor.
The rest of the inkwell creature began to appear from the corner. It wasn't very tall, much to Adam's surprise, and it was slightly taller than him. The inkwell's eight long legs bent at numerous angles to support it, making it very strange to look at.
The creature's body was a mass of flesh that dripped black ink to the floor, and its head seemed to be several human faces without skin stuck together side by side. All the faces lacked jaws and had very long black tongues moving all around.
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Adam was quite scared when the creature noticed him. However, its slowness made it less terrifying, but he still remembered that the old man was missing his legs, and not long ago, a group of librarians died because of this creature.
The creature looked at the group clinging to the bookshelves and continued moving slowly toward them. Every step the inkwell took required a good amount of time, which was torturous for Adam.
Finally, the inkwell arrived where they were holding on, and as if it was curious, several tongues from the skinless human faces extended and licked Adam, staining his body with ink. The inkwell licked all four for a while, until it lost interest and continued its slow march forward.
To Adam's surprise, black bubbles began to emerge from the ink on the floor and his clothes, exploding violently in the air as they evaporated, removing all traces of ink. This filled the aisle with black bubbles exploding all around, obstructing the young man's view of the creature. The explosions were quite loud and very bothersome to Adam.
Without bothering the four librarians, the inkwell slowly walked down the aisle until it turned the corner. However, the group couldn't see the scene since the aisle was filled with black bubbles.
When the bubbles stopped appearing, and Adam heard the bubbling sound far enough away, he let go of the bookshelf and muttered:
—Take the books, and let's continue.
The children took the books while the legless old man watched with a bitter smile at the corner where the inkwell had gone, unable to understand how something as simple as holding onto a shelf could save his life from such a creature. The old man wanted to say something, but he was already weak, and he preferred to conserve his strength, so he just smiled at the misfortune of the other librarians he had encountered.
—Are you ready?— Adam asked, focused on listening to the bubbling moving away.
—Yes— Hermes replied bravely, his hands full of books.
Then, Adam approached the old man and carried him on his back again. The group continued walking through the aisles. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be another inkwell in these aisles, so they managed to reach the mirror safely.
The mirror had a golden frame and was the size of double doors. The entire frame of the mirror was beautifully decorated with cherubs blowing trumpets and an inscription in the language of the middle floor that said:
> "Happy is the one who manages to escape from their unjust condemnation."
Adam looked at the children and said with a smile:
—We all take the same step together. It's safer when we step outside. This was the challenging part of the journey to the candy store.
The two children eagerly prepared to take the step, and when Adam saw they were ready, he shouted with a childish smile on his face:
—It's been a great day of adventures, but the hero has to go back home!
Then, the three young ones took the first step to cross the mirror simultaneously. As they touched the mirror, Adam felt as if something was sucking him in, and his body disappeared into thin air, along with the old man on his shoulders.