Cassie dared not to look behind her but instinct and human curiosity naturally made her look over her shoulder at the creature. Her head was turned at ninety degrees before she spotted a mercenary in front of her suddenly turned to pure gold from his gun to his assault rifle up to his head.
"Don't look!" Marcel shouted as he averted his eyes. "It's the Basilisk, don't look at it, no matter what!"
The mercenaries shielded their eyes with their forearms. Cassie covered both eyes with her hands.
It was total silence as they felt the snake guardian slither towards them, hissing its forked tongue at its prey. Cassie breathes heavily but controls it to calm her heart rate. It was so tempting to look at the monster because curiosity was getting the better of her but Marcel shouted not to look at the monster.
Of course, Marcel would know something like this, she thought, He is a genuine member of Vita Longa and he paid attention to the stories he listened to growing up. Marcel kicked me the gun and now he saved me from looking at this snake guardian, which can apparently turn a man into pure gold at the sneer of a glance.
There was hissing in Cassie's ear. Her heart dropped to her stomach and her breathing was hard to control this time. She could only imagine what the creature looked like but from what she recalled from the manuscript, it was made of gold and from what she saw, it could turn a human being into gold if you look into its eyes. "I don't want to become a golden child," she said, "My hair is the right color as it is."
"Marcel, Pavel," Heisenberg shouted, "How do we take this snake down?!"
"You don't get to shoot one of our own and get away with it," Pavel exclaimed, "If you think we're going to help you after that, you are as insane as Walter White."
While these guys are arguing, Cassie said to herself, I think I'll just slip away while I have the chance.
Cassie steps back and she listens to the sounds of the mercenaries arguing with each other. As long as they were arguing, their eyes were covered and they didn't hear her footsteps. Until Cassie stepped on a fallen chalice. She thought it was over but the mercenaries stopped talking and listened for the sounds of the snakes circling around them.
I should step away as soon as possible.
The snake came back and started circling her once again. Cassie was so tempted to keep her eyes covered but her first thought was if she opened her eyes and gazed at the unseen snake, she would turn into gold and she'll be nothing more than a trophy for Heisnerberg and she'll never see Derek. She was now glad that Derek wasn't here because his observant nature would've gotten him killed.
She felt something metallic press against her skin and wind blow against her hair. No doubt the snake was studying her and sniffing her out.
I really want to see what the snake looks like but I will not be a trophy wife.
Luck appeared to be on her side and the snake backed off. She used her heightened senses to determine that it headed back to the group of mercenaries to study them and most likely mark them as prey. She turns around and risks opening her eyes to see the same main hall as earlier. The temptation was growing stronger as she wanted to look at the snake from behind her but her high survival instinct saved her life. Knowing she possessed a large advantage over the villains, she sprinted for the end of the main hall. She heard the snake hissing at her but she knew from what Marcel said that all she had to do was not look at the snake. She runs down the main hall and cuts through a door on the right. She pushes the door open and runs up a large set of stairs, her stamina allowing her to sprint up the stairs without tiring.
She gets to the top of the floor and reaches another hallway. She rushes down it but stops when she comes to a junction. Left or right, she had no idea which way to go. She was going to turn around but she heard the familiar hiss from behind. She covered her eyes with her forearm and stood still.
How did the snake catch up to me? What did I do to attract it to me?
She listened carefully to the sound of hiss coming from below near her feet...and then she heard a second set of hisses.
Her eyes almost opened in horror upon realizing that there were several sets of hisses coming from behind.
There are more snakes? Except, these hisses sound softer like they're coming from a smaller snake but I can hear multiple hisses. This means the mother guards the front entrance while the infants guard for intruders who get past the mother.
She listened to a concentrated sound of hissing coming from her side, the left path of junction which gives her an idea.
I'm hearing snakes more so to my left then I am to my right. If I was an alchemist with half a brain, I would leave the Philosopher's Stone in a room full of those golden snakes. And from experience, the lost object is also hidden in the room with most difficulty.
The snakes started slithering away and she could hear it with her keen ears.
If I follow the snakes, then I might find the room with the Philosopher's Stone but no matter what, I can't look at any of the snakes. This is going to be vastly different then from what I've experienced before.
Cassie followed the sound of the snakes carefully, putting one hand out to make sure she didn't bump into a wall or table. She reached into her pocket and took out a headband. She tied it around her eyes to make things easier.
She spent about ten minutes following the sounds of the snake throughout the castle. She nearly tripped over a bump in the ground once or twice and she had to take very careful steps as she ascended up a set of stairs. The higher she got up the stairs, the more hisses she heard and when she entered through another door. By her calculations, she was on the fifth floor of the tall castle and she could tell that there were a lot more snakes than usual because she heard snakes both left and right in all directions.
Damn it, how can the snakes guide me now? If I take off my headband and open my eyes, I'm dead. Then again, I can't see which means that I could step on a snake but where am I supposed to go now?
She decided to chance it and took a very slow step forward, feeling for a snake in her path before she stepped down on the ground. She lifts her other foot and does the same thing. She felt herself touch a snake this time and she almost lost her balance. She carefully planted her foot down on what she assumed was beside the snake and held her stance to keep from losing her balance. Once she knew she was safe, she did the same thing to her previous foot and it was a process for the next five minutes to follow.
When she stepped over another snake, her hearing changed. She suddenly realized that the sound was getting softer behind her. She didn't open her eyes but she dialed her hearing sense up to eleven to confirm her suspension.
I am moving away from the snakes which means that the path I am taking has no snakes, which means that I am moving away from my destination.
She reaches for the wall with her right hand and touches it. She uses it as a tool to make sure she did a complete one-eighty and started moving back. She listened carefully to the sounds of the snake and she paused when she felt like she was in the middle. She heightened her hearing once more and listened for which path has the most concentration sounds of hissing.
The hissing on my right seems greater than the hissing on my left. Therefore, I will move to my right.
She turns and carefully steps over the snakes that she couldn't see.
When her senses told her, she raised her right hand up and leaned to her right to touch the wall. A smile cracks upon her face and she moves along the wall to guide her.
As long as I have the wall and the sounds of hissing to guide me, I should be able to solve this labyrinth with ease and thanks to being blindfolded, keeping my eyes closed will not be a challenge. And if my suspicions are correct, then the room will also be full of snakes, which means I won't be able to see what the Philosopher's Stone looks like. It'll be difficult to destroy something I can't see, especially if it can grant someone immortality at the mere touch of it.
She followed the sound of the hisses and kept her right hand on the wall. Had she known what was in front of her and she didn't have to close her eyes to avoid stepping on snakes, she would've already been at the top of the castle already. She reminded herself that if this is what she had to go through, then the mercenaries she slipped away from had to go through it as well.
If my calculations are correct, there were nineteen villains in total. The Three Mercs stayed behind with Derek, Joshua, and Erkin, leaving only sixteen villains. Afterward, two mercenaries stayed to guard the front entrance outside the castle. After that, Harris was shot and killed and at least one mercenary turned to gold. In total, I have twelve opponents up against me.
She bumps headfirst into a door.
Ow.
She opens it up and climbs another set of stairs. She tripped on the first step and landed on her stomach. She couldn't catch herself even if she wanted to because she was forced to be blindfolded.
Her keen sense of hearing did warn her that there was a snake positioned directly in front of her and it hissed at her presence.
Cassie froze as if Madeuca from Greek mythology froze her. Her fingers subconsciously twitched and she licked her lips in nervousness.
Whatever you do, Cassie, do not open your eyes nor do anything to draw unnecessary attention. Just move calmly and slowly as possible.
Cassie moves slowly and carefully to sit up on her knees and she pushes herself up to her feet. She remembers where the snake is and she puts her left hand to the wall beside her and uses it to guide her upstairs. She moves around the snakes and makes it to the top of the stairs. She was expecting to find another door but she almost lost her balance falling forward. She caught herself by planting her foot in front of her and freezing in place.
She put her free hand down on the ground and felt for another set of stairs. She did the same thing by using the wall.
Almost there, she told herself, mentally counting how many steps she went up, Just a few more steps, just follow the sounds of snakes.
She steps through the door for reals this time and this time, the hissing was louder than ever. From what she could hear, this hallway was approximately on the seventh floor and it was filled with the most snakes up to date. She put her foot in front of her and felt a snake. She retracted her boot before moving it aside. She nearly lost her balance again when she felt herself about to step on another step. She tried with her left foot but the result was the same.
You have to be kidding me, there's a snake on every step of the hallway.