Chapter 164: Midnight Screams

The air in the laboratory was quiet, with only the occasional soft clinking of glass from the test tube rack.

Adèle stared at the bubbling flask before her and sighed for the seventeenth time.

She picked up a glass rod, intending to stir the solution, but her hand trembled, nearly knocking over the entire rack.

“This is so annoying.”

She threw the glass rod down and ran her hands through her hair in frustration.

These past few days—oh, dammit, not just these past few days.

The atmosphere in the mage tower was simply suffocating.

Not the oppressive kind of suffocation, but the kind… filled with pink bubbles, making it impossible to breathe.

Everywhere she went, she saw those two.

In the morning in the kitchen, she saw Lia cutting fruit for Klein.

At noon on the terrace, she saw Lia reading some damned particle theory to Klein.

The way Klein looked at her could practically spin silk.

It was even worse at night. Sometimes she could even hear some strange noises coming from the fourth floor. Although they quickly disappeared, it was enough to let one’s imagination run wild.

Adèle felt like a giant, glowing crystal ball, its wattage frighteningly high, and she couldn’t wait to hang it over their heads every day.

“No.”

Adèle slammed her hand on the table, sending the bottles and jars on it flying.

“I have to save myself. If this continues, I’ll be assimilated into a love-struck fool just like them.”

She remembered a poster she had seen on the street a few days ago.

“Midnight Screams: A Night of Terror at the Old Castle.”

It was a new immersive play, said to use the latest necromantic illusion magic. Its horror rating was five stars, and it had already made three strong men faint.

Originally, she had wanted to buy two tickets and ask a handsome male mage to go with her.

For example, that new assistant professor in the potions department was quite easy on the eyes.

But now, she ruthlessly snuffed out that idea.

“This kind of good stuff, of course, should be saved for those who need it more.”

Adèle took out an envelope from her drawer, a “I’m being bad but I’m happy about it” smile on her face.

***

Lia was in the second-floor study, organizing the experimental plan for Compton scattering.

The door was knocked three times, then pushed open directly.

“Here.”

Adèle slapped two black and red tickets on the table, the force of it making the ink bottle jump.

Lia looked up, bewildered. “What’s this?”

“A divine artifact for saving single dogs.”

Adèle pulled out a chair, sat down, and poured herself a glass of water. “‘A Night of Terror at the Old Castle,’ eight o’clock tonight, excellent seats.”

Lia picked up a ticket and looked at it. The design on it was a bleeding eye against the backdrop of a gloomy old castle. It even came with a faint illusion of the smell of blood.

“A horror play?”

Lia raised an eyebrow. “Are you inviting me to the theater?”

“Not you.” Adèle pointed to the other seat on the ticket.

“You and him.”

Lia understood instantly.

“I’m not going.”

She pushed the tickets back, her ears a little hot. “It’s chaotic outside these days, and I still have to write the follow-up to that experimental report…”

“Cut it out.”

Adèle rolled her eyes. “You finished that experimental plan yesterday, don’t think I don’t know. And Klein said that as long as it’s your shopping list, even the people at Heli will study it like the holy scripture.”

“I’m still not going,” Lia said stubbornly. “I’m very busy.”

“Oh, are you?” Adèle leaned closer, a teasing look on her face. “Then who was it in the kitchen yesterday complaining to Klein that it was too ‘exciting’?”

“I was talking about academic excitement! Like discovering a new particle or something!”

“Oh, please. How can academic excitement be as direct as sensory excitement?”

Adèle stuffed the tickets back into Lia’s hand and even pressed a thick magic book on top of them. “Take them. This is for the peace of the mage tower, and for my mental health.

You two, go out on a date, even for just two hours, and give me some peace and quiet.”

Lia looked at the tickets in her hand, then at Adèle’s face, which was written all over with ‘please let me off’.

Actually… it wasn’t that she didn’t want to go.

Staying in the tower all day was indeed a bit boring.

Although it was nice to be with Klein, a change of scenery once in a while wouldn’t be bad.

And horror plays, she had quite liked them in her past life. Although she was scared to death every time, she just couldn’t resist watching them.

“Fine.”

Lia reluctantly put the tickets into her spatial ring. “Seeing as you’re so sincere.”

Adèle let out a sigh of relief and turned to leave, afraid she would change her mind.

At the door, she stopped and added, “By the way, I heard this play is really scary. If you get scared, remember to burrow into a certain someone’s arms.”

“No need to thank me.”

“Who would be scared?!”

Lia retorted loudly. “I’ve even experienced a Ninth Circle spell. Am I supposed to be afraid of a few necromantic illusions?”

Adèle didn’t say anything, just waved her hand, her retreating figure looking suspiciously like she was holding back laughter.

***

Seven-thirty in the evening.

Klein looked at the tickets in his hand, his expression a little strange.

“A horror play?”

“What, you don’t dare to go?”

Lia smoothed her skirt and glanced at him sideways. “If you’re scared, just stay home. I’ll go by myself.”

She had specially changed into casual clothes today: a long, dark purple dress with a short black cloak over it, looking both low-key and mysterious.

Klein put the tickets away and slowly put on his gloves.

“In this world, apart from your jumping thoughts, there is nothing that can make me feel afraid.”

Lia pouted.

This man, he was getting smoother and smoother with his words.

The two walked out of the mage tower. The moonlight was a bit dim tonight, the clouds thick, indeed a good weather for watching a horror movie.

The theater was not far from the mage tower, a small theater specializing in avant-garde plays.

There was already a line of people at the entrance, most of them young couples.

Lia noticed that many of the girls were already clinging tightly to their partners’ arms before they even went in, their faces filled with a mixture of fear and anticipation.

“It’s all a gimmick,” Lia commented.

Klein glanced at her. “Then why are you holding onto my sleeve?”

Lia looked down and found that her hand had, at some point, clenched his cuff.

“Th-that’s because I’m afraid of getting lost!”

Lia immediately let go and straightened her back. “There are so many people, it would be troublesome if we got separated.”

Klein didn’t expose her lie, but instead took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

“This way, we won’t get separated.”

His palm was large and dry, with a reassuring warmth.

Lia didn’t struggle, letting him lead her into the theater.

It was an immersive experience.

There was no fixed stage; the audience had to follow the actors through a large hall that had been converted into an old castle.

The lighting was dim, portraits with dripping water hung on the walls, and the air was filled with a musty smell.

Before it even started, a few timid girls had already let out small screams.

“Not bad,” Lia commented on the painting on the wall. “The color of the bloodstain oxidation is wrong. It’s too bright. Real dried blood should be dark red, almost black.”

Klein nodded. “Indeed. And that necromantic aura is also fake, just a simple mental suggestion.”

The two high-circle mages were picking faults without a care in the world, until a vampire butler in a tattered tuxedo suddenly dropped from the ceiling, his face stopping just inches from Lia’s nose.

“Ah!”

Lia let out a short scream and instinctively shrank back, crashing directly into Klein’s hard embrace.

The butler, who was about to deliver his opening line, was startled by her scream, and his fake fangs almost fell out.

“Sorry,” Lia said awkwardly, straightening up from Klein’s arms. “A reflex, purely a reflex.”

Klein’s hand was on her waist and didn’t let go.

“Mmm, a reflex,” he whispered in her ear. “It seems your reflex arc is very fond of my embrace.”

Lia stomped on his foot hard.

The story began to unfold.

It was a story about curses and revenge.

It had to be said, this theater troupe really had something.

They used sound, light, electricity, and illusions to create an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

The hands that suddenly reached out from the walls, the voices whispering in their ears, and the shadows that, although they knew were created by magic and were fake, were still terrifying.

Lia was able to maintain her composure at first, even mentally analyzing whether the ghost-passing-through-wall spell had other uses.

But as the story deepened, the jump scares became more and more frequent and unreasonable.

When the headless horseman on a flaming skeleton horse charged at them, Lia finally broke.

She spun around, hugged Klein’s waist tightly, and buried her face in his windbreaker, her whole body trembling.

“It’s fake.”

Klein’s voice came from above her head, with a hint of a smile. “That’s a magical projection. It doesn’t even have a physical form.”

“I know it’s fake!”

Lia’s voice was muffled. “But I just can’t control my adrenaline!”

Klein didn’t say anything, just wrapped his arms around her and patted her back gently.

He actually hadn’t been paying much attention to the plot.

This level of illusion was like child’s play to him.

What he cared about was the state of the girl in his arms, who was usually so feisty and full of theories, when she lost control of her emotions.

The girl, who was usually so full of theories, was now snuggled against him like a frightened rabbit.

This feeling… was very novel.

In the past, he was always the one to approach her, to hug her, to seek her response.

And she was always half-pushing, half-yielding, or finding all sorts of excuses to change the subject.

But now, she was the one taking the initiative.

She was truly scared, and she was truly snuggling against him.

Klein looked down at the golden mass in his arms, and a certain place in his heart suddenly softened completely.

“Lia.”

“What!”

“You can hold on tighter.”

Lia stiffened in his arms for a moment, then really did hug him tighter.

For the next period of time, Klein practically opened the door to a new world.

Every time a scary scene appeared, Lia would shrink into his arms a little more.

Every time a scream rang out, her hands would grip his clothes tighter.

In the end, when the main villain—a giant bone dragon—roared and charged out, Lia was completely hanging on him, her legs a little weak.

Klein could support her weight with one hand.

He looked at the bone dragon in the darkness and actually felt a trace of gratitude towards this theater troupe.

Perhaps he could bring her to see this kind of thing more often in the future.

Or… he could set up a similar room in the tower himself?

No, that would be too deliberate.

But if he were to create a small “accidental” explosion or scare during a major experimental failure, that seemed like a good idea.

The always rigorous and stern Archmage was now frantically scheming in his mind how to use “fear” to increase the frequency of his girlfriend throwing herself into his arms.

Finally, the lights came on, and the show was over.

Lia, as if waking from a dream, let go and jumped off Klein.

Her face was as red as a ripe apple, and her hair was a bit messy from the earlier rubbing.

“Ahem.”

She straightened her clothes, trying to retrieve the dignity that had been thrown to the nine heavens.

“Actually… the logic of the plot in the second half was a bit problematic. Why did the female protagonist run to the basement? Any normal person would know to run outside, right?”

Klein tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Mmm, it was indeed unreasonable.”

He went along with her, but his eyes were full of teasing.

The two walked out of the theater.

The cold wind outside finally cooled the heat on Lia’s face a little.

“I’m hungry.”

Lia rubbed her stomach.

“What do you want to eat?”

“I want to eat the grilled skewers at the intersection, the ridiculously spicy kind.”

“That’s not hygienic.”

“But it’s delicious!”

Lia tugged on his sleeve and shook it. “I even came out with you to watch this boring play. Can’t you just eat some grilled skewers with me?”

She was clearly the one who had been scared and screaming, but now it had become “accompanying you to watch this boring play.”

Klein didn’t expose her attempt to turn the tables.

“Let’s go.”

He took her hand in his and walked towards the smoky little stall.

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