Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 265: The Entity That Should Not Be

Yu Sheng lifted his gaze upward. Within the swirling mist, he saw the monstrous form creeping down the glass facade of the shopping mall—or rather, flowing downward.

It appeared as an enormous mass of living ink, spreading across the building. Its surface rippled constantly, unstable and fluid. At its edges, countless limbs extended and contracted without purpose, flailing briefly in the air before melting back into the main body. Occasionally, the ink opened gaping mouths filled with jagged teeth and writhing tongues. Sometimes these mouths murmured in low, unintelligible whispers; mostly, however, they simply devoured the surrounding fog in great gulps.

This liquid-like entity slithered down the mall’s exterior wall, a sight terrifying to behold.

Little Red Riding Hood let out a shocked gasp once she clearly saw what it was. “Inkblot?!”

Yu Sheng snapped his head around immediately. “What is that? You recognize this monster?”

“A Dangerous Entity, Inkblot—hostile to all life forms. It attacks by spawning splits from its main body,” Little Red Riding Hood quickly explained, but the confusion on her face deepened. “But… this doesn’t make sense! Inkblot only spawns in the Otherworld known as ‘Lakeside Town.’ There’s no way this place could be Lakeside Town!”

Yu Sheng stared in confusion, but now was clearly not the time for more questions. That massive “ink” creature descending the mall had noticed the intruders in the plaza. In an instant, its form began to tremble and expand, countless thin tendrils bursting from its shifting edges.

The scene resembled invisible brushes dipped in heavy ink, suddenly painting wild lines upon an unseen canvas. Those black streaks, once imprinted on the glass wall, detached from their surface and dropped into the fog, surging toward Yu Sheng and his companions.

Now, Yu Sheng clearly understood why the entity was called “Inkblot.”

He was facing an assault from these “ink marks” brought to life—numerous grotesque shapes with razor-sharp edges, charging unpredictably like a crazed horde of beasts.

Shadow Wolves swiftly emerged beside Little Red Riding Hood. Ever since the Fairytale Curse had been broken, the girl was free to wield her powers at will, calling forth far more wolves than she had before. A vast pack filled the mist, howling, running, fearlessly colliding with the incoming swarm.

At almost the same moment, thick black threads filled the air as Irene raised her hands, weaving a massive spiderweb. The threads reached out, catching the densest cluster of ink creatures. Although they looked like mere marks with no real substance, each creature froze the instant it touched the silk, trembling before being torn apart by the wolves, dissolving into droplets of dark fluid.

Foxy, meanwhile, wasted no time, launching a barrage of Fox Carrot Missiles directly at the main mass clinging to the shopping mall’s wall.

Freshly energized after her feast at the Special Affairs Bureau, the Nine-Tailed Fox’s arsenal was at peak capacity. Without even waiting for the smoke to clear, she unleashed a second barrage.

The explosive roar from the Fox Carrot Missiles was deafening. Their force momentarily dispersed the surrounding mist, allowing Yu Sheng to see the enormous ink creature engulfed by scorching Fox Fire. The entity seemed to let out a brief, chaotic scream—and immediately afterward, the mall itself began to groan with the sound of breaking and collapsing structures.

Amid unbearable noise, the entire building began to topple. Brilliant blue Fox Fire leaped wildly across the structure, burning through everything in its path.

Irene was busy weaving her web when she heard the noise. Glancing back, she shrieked, “Oh crap! Stupid fox, you brought down the building—and it’s falling toward us!”

Yu Sheng reacted faster: “Run first!”

As the words left his mouth, a flash of silver appeared beside him—Foxy transformed into a huge Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Sweeping Yu Sheng and Irene onto her back with one tail, she immediately bolted out of the collapsing building’s shadow.

Even as she ran, the giant fox shouted apologetically, “Sorry, Benefactor! Back then, I failed Firepower Control and Precision Demolition classes!”

Yu Sheng and Irene held tightly to the silver fur to keep from falling, anxiously watching the building collapse behind them. Hearing Foxy’s explanation, Yu Sheng’s eyes almost popped out. “Why were you even studying that stuff in elementary school?!”

“Father signed me up!” the Demon Fox Maiden yelled back earnestly. “He said girls must learn to control their firepower to become elegant ladies!”

Yu Sheng felt his jaw drop, instantly overwhelmed with admiration for Foxy—[What kind of absurd logic was this? Controlling missile firepower is ladylike? Wait, why does she even have missiles in the first place?!]

Just as he was processing this, a dark blur flashed in his peripheral vision. Little Red Riding Hood came charging out of the thick fog, riding a Shadow Wolf. She strained her voice to shout while desperately trying to catch up to the speeding nine-tailed Demon Fox: “Don’t go so big! What if ‘Big Nephew’ was hiding nearby—he’d be done for!”

Foxy turned her head calmly toward Little Red Riding Hood, eyes sparkling confidently: “I scanned the whole area with my Divine Sense. No other living humans around. Teacher taught us clearly: A lady never bombs her allies.”

Little Red Riding Hood stared, dumbfounded, but didn’t forget to urge her Shadow Wolf faster, barely managing to keep pace. Still shouting, she complained loudly, “Slow down! I can’t keep up!”

“She’s already going slow,” Yu Sheng laughed at the sight. “She hasn’t even fired a booster yet. You really want to see what a supersonic Fox looks like?”

Though joking, Foxy did gradually ease her pace. Once safely clear of the collapsing area, she ran a few dozen more meters, then stopped completely and turned to stare toward the ruined Shopping Mall.

The thick fog rolled everywhere, visibility extremely poor. Only faint embers of Fox Fire could be seen flickering within clouds of rising dust and shattered debris. Yu Sheng guessed the entire building had collapsed completely, burying the attacking Ink Splashes beneath its rubble, or incinerating them in the scattered flames.

As for the main body of the Ink Splash, it probably couldn’t have survived such an abrupt and overwhelming attack. After all, it didn’t seem like one of those stubbornly resilient creatures such as the enhanced “Hunger,” which boasted both exceptional stats and annoying battle mechanics.

Maybe it was finally safe to take a breath.

Yet that relieved sigh lasted less than two seconds.

From the depths of the fog came a strange, murmuring hum. Yu Sheng lifted his head, and a chill ran down his spine as countless shadows emerged slowly from the mist.

These weren’t Ink Splashes, but something new—human-like beings made of jittering, twisted lines of bright colors, lacking proper faces or proportionate limbs. They shuffled forth as an eerie crowd, large and small, thin and thick, approaching slowly from the far side of the street like wandering corpses.

“…Are all ‘Entities’ this abstract? Can’t we get one or two with a decent appearance?!” Yu Sheng felt goosebumps rising across his skin, turning anxiously toward Little Red Riding Hood. “What are these things? Do you know them? Can we just attack?”

Little Red Riding Hood fixed her gaze intensely on the colorful figures emerging from the fog, her expression tense and complicated. Clearly, she recognized them.

“A swarm-type Entity called ‘Carnival Revelers.’ Each manifestation numbers between one thousand and ten thousand. Normally they appear at carnival sites, following a fixed path. Sometimes they approach and even attack the living, other times they pass harmlessly. Danger level fluctuates between two and three,” she explained swiftly in a hushed voice. “Be very careful. Never let them directly touch your skin. Each contact stains your body with their ‘lines.’ After three touches, you become one of them… Don’t do anything rash. They seem calm, for now.”

Irene and Foxy instantly suppressed their urge to attack, cautiously moving aside with Little Red Riding Hood. They warily observed the jittering figures made of colorful lines. Yu Sheng, however, seized upon a key detail: “Did you say ‘Carnival’?”

“Yes…Carnival,” Little Red Riding Hood whispered gravely. “These things shouldn’t appear here at all. They’re supposed to only emerge within the Otherworld known as ‘Nameless Carnival.’ And that Ink Splash earlier too—this place is seriously messed up—”

Her words abruptly cut off.

Because the colorful figures crossing the street suddenly halted in unison.

For a chilling few seconds, silence enveloped them, thick enough to suffocate. Then one short figure, like a curious child among adults, slowly turned its head toward their group, drawn by something intriguing at the roadside.

With that figure’s movement, several crisp popping sounds rang clearly in the thick fog—party poppers, going off one after another.

Confetti bloomed in midair, fluttering colorfully through the mist. And as the confetti danced downward, all the jittering Carnival Revelers slowly turned their faceless heads toward Yu Sheng’s group.

Then, step by deliberate step, they began moving closer. It was as though they intended to invite the intruders into a grotesque dance at their nightmarish festival. The distorted, colorful lines composing their heads twisted disturbingly, somehow forming horrifying, crooked smiles despite their lack of features.

Irene’s reaction was immediate, loud, and clear—

“What the hell!!”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation