How To Survive A Calamity-Chapter 253: The Girl Who’s Been Watching [1]
A few days ago, I received a mysterious and suspicious letter, and ever since, I've been twice as cautious of those around me.
With everything happening all at once, it was far too easy to get overwhelmed—caught in a spiral of uncertainty. Easy to be frozen in place without a clear plan or sense of direction, crushed under the weight of it all.
I knew that feeling well. That was why I made sure to keep moving forward, even without a proper plan—just small, deliberate actions to stay grounded.
Like, say... leaving Hamlet behind in my room whenever I was away.
A mysterious figure was sitting at the center of my room as if they owned the place, cloaked in a dim, airless silence that cracked open at the sound of my voice.
"Don't you think it's a bit too late for visiting?" My tone was smooth, yet terrifying. Despite my apparent calm, the bloodlust radiating from me was enough to drop the room's temperature from every corner.
With the door closed behind me, I swept a cautious glance across the room before fixing my gaze on the silhouette seated quietly in the darkness.
I could sense Hamlet's presence hidden within the shadows in one corner, quietly awaiting my next command as we shared our senses through [Link]. That was how I knew there was only one intruder—despite the question gnawing at the back of my mind.
How did they get in?
"Hey, I'm talking to you. It's already bad enough you're breaking into someone else's apartment at this hour—and now you're not even going to say anything?"
My thoughts were in absolute chaos, but I couldn't afford to show it. So I kept my voice steady—casual, almost bored—while still letting a current of hostility slip through.
With that, I flipped on the light switch to finally get a clear look at my uninvited guest and—
"Huh? You're..."
I froze mid-sentence.
Then a voice that wasn't mine floated through the room, smooth and teasing.
"Hehe. I apologize. I thought I'd make our first meeting a little dramatic—something to remember. No need to be so cold and murdery, Vic."
A silky female voice.
Yes—female. And one I didn't recognized immediately.
The intruder sitting comfortably in my room was a girl with long, bright purple hair cascading down in soft waves, her skin pale and flawless under the light. As expected of a cadet from Aegis, she wore the first-year uniform that hugged her slender, curvy frame with sharp precision.
She possessed an almost sacred, unearthly beauty—difficult to define, impossible to ignore.
But what truly unsettled me... were her eyes when she turned.
"You... who the hell are you?" My voice dropped a tone—low, edged with a growl.
I could feel Hamlet tense in the shadows, coiled tight like a spring ready to strike.
Her eyes—violet, deep, and strange—were not like any I'd seen before. Instead of normal pupils, they shimmered with tiny, swirling stars, like entire galaxies spinning behind them. The moment her gaze swept over me, I felt stripped bare—violated in a way words couldn't describe, like every secret I'd ever kept had just been dragged into the open.
It was an unpleasant, crawling feeling that made me want to end this encounter quickly.
Sensing the shift in my mood, the mysterious purple-haired girl smiled faintly—an expression that was both knowing and oddly tense.
"That's insane. You don't know me? I find that almost hard to believe," she said with a light laugh, crossing her slender legs while still sitting there like she owned the place.
"You don't know me, Vic, but I know you. Why don't you come take a seat?"
I paused, exhaled slowly, and let my shoulders ease before scoffing.
"A seat? Sure, I will. It's my room, after all."
Hands shoved into my pockets, I strode past her and sat on the edge of my bed, eyes never leaving hers.
The mysterious girl had broken into my room and even taken the liberty of dragging the chair from my desk to the center, facing my bed. Now, we sat directly opposite each other—eyes locked, tension simmering between us.
She gave another amused laugh, as if my composure entertained her.
"Well, aren't you being a little too accommodating about this whole situation?"
I met her gaze with a blank, unflinching stare and clasped my fingers over my knees.
"I could say the same thing about you," I replied coolly. "You're the one who snuck into a guy's room at this time of night…" My tone hardened. "You shouldn't let your guard down so easily."
Suddenly, the lights flickered and dimmed. A suffocating darkness crept into every corner of the room like an encroaching plague.
"Wha—?!"
Her calm, confident mask shattered instantly. I watched, indifferent, as panic widened her eyes and her composure fractured. She jerked upright, but before she could move another inch, something seized her shoulder from behind and forced her back down.
A dark, malevolent figure emerged from the gloom—wearing a demonic black mask, shadows leaking from its seams like living smoke. In its grip gleamed a dagger forged from pure shadow, its cold edge pressed against her throat. The creature stood motionless, silent.
"I wouldn't move if I were you," I said evenly, my voice slicing through the dark.
The girl stared at me, eyes wide with horror and panic. Every trace of arrogance and control she'd worn before was gone.
…At least, that's what I thought—until she forced a strained, trembling smile.
"Damn. I forgot about the Slime." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
Immediately, Hamlet yanked her hair from behind. Her head snapped back violently as the blade pressed tighter against the pale skin of her neck. She let out a stifled groan, her voice strained with pain, but I couldn't care less at this point.
"I'll ask you again."
I felt the cold touch of the bronze Ring of Solomon against my finger and let my Ether surge into the [Ruler's Authority] enchantment. A crushing, domineering pressure exploded from within me like a geyser, flooding the room in invisible weight.
"Who the fuck are you?"
