My AI Girlfriend Thinks She Is Real!-Chapter 50 - : : Beneath the Cottage!

Marcous lay crumpled in the dirt, barely recognizable. His once-perfect face was a ruin—swollen purple eyes, broken nose bent sideways, split lips leaking blood, teeth missing or shattered. One cheekbone looked caved in, the other puffed grotesquely. He wheezed wetly, chest rising in shallow, panicked bursts.

Seraphina stepped forward, sword drawn, tip hovering near Marcous’s throat.

Marcous’s good eye widened in terror. He scrambled backward on his elbows, then grabbed Seraphina’s armored leg with trembling, blood-slick hands.

"P-please..." he rasped, voice broken and slurred. "P-please... keep him away from me... I’ll do anything... mercy... mercy..."

Seraphina’s lip curled in disgust. She kicked his hand away hard enough to make him yelp.

"You don’t get to beg," she snapped, voice like steel. "Not after what you’ve done. Where are the girls?"

Marcous whimpered, curling into himself. "W-what girls...?"

Seraphina’s teeth clenched so hard her jaw muscle twitched. "The ones you kidnapped. The children. The young women. Don’t play stupid with me."

Marcous shook his head frantically, blood dripping from his ruined face. "I-I don’t know what you’re—"

Shiki took one step forward.

Marcous screamed—a high, broken sound—and scrambled back, hands raised. "I-I’m telling! I’m telling!"

Shiki stopped. His voice was ice. "Speak. Now."

Marcous coughed blood, eyes darting between them. "U-underground... there’s... a passage... inside the cottage... under the floorboards... please... don’t let him near me..."

Seraphina grabbed him by the collar with one hand, hauling him up like he weighed nothing. "Show us. Move."

Marcous nodded frantically, legs shaking as she half-dragged him toward the ruined cottage.

Inside, the air was thick with dust and the copper smell of blood.

Shiki hadn’t put her down. He carried her bridal-style, arms steady. Ai’s head rested against his chest, fingers curled weakly in his torn shirt.

"Sh-Shiki..." she whispered.

"Always," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "Never leaving you again."

Seraphina shoved Marcous forward. "The passage. Now."

Marcous stumbled toward the center of the room, fell to his knees, and clawed at the floorboards with broken fingers. One section lifted—a hidden trapdoor.

Seraphina yanked it open.

A narrow stone staircase descended into darkness.

Lyra’s staff flared brighter, illuminating the way.

Seraphina looked at Marcous. "You first."

He whimpered but obeyed, crawling down the steps on hands and knees.

Shiki followed, still carrying Ai. Seraphina and Lyra came after.

The stairs ended in a short corridor. At the end stood a heavy iron door, sealed with a glowing sigil.

Seraphina grabbed Marcous by the hair. "Open it."

Marcous fumbled in his torn coat pocket with shaking hands and pulled out a small black seal—etched with a spiral of thorns and a single eye at the center.

Seraphina’s eyes narrowed the moment she saw it.

"That symbol..." she breathed.

Lyra leaned closer.

Seraphina’s voice was low, dangerous. "The Order of the Eternal Veil. I thought they were disbanded decades ago. Fanatics who worshipped ’preserved perfection’—living statues, frozen beauty, souls trapped in perfect bodies." She looked at Marcous with new disgust.

Marcous whimpered. "I-I had no choice... they promised me eternal life... beauty... power..."

Seraphina’s grip tightened. "And the girls?"

"They... they were offerings. The Order needed vitality... pure life force... to fuel the ritual."

Shiki’s arms tightened around Ai. "Open the door."

Marcous pressed the seal to the sigil. It flared white, then died.

The iron door groaned open.

Inside...

A vast underground chamber lit by sickly green torches.

Cages lined the walls—dozens of them.

Girls—some as young as seven, some in their late teens—lay slumped inside. Some were clothed in torn dresses, others stripped naked, skin pale and waxy. A few looked like empty shells—wrinkled, gray-haired, eyes sunken and lifeless, as if decades had been stolen from them in moments.

Ai pressed her face into Shiki’s chest, unable to look.

"I can’t..." she whispered, voice breaking. "I can’t look..."

Shiki held her tighter, one hand cradling the back of her head. "You don’t have to, kitten. I’ve got you."

Lyra gasped, hand over her mouth. "There are so many..."

Seraphina’s sword scraped free of its sheath. "Lyra—start healing those girls. Shiki—get Ai out of here."

Shiki nodded once.

A sharp crack echoed.

Every cage vanished in a shimmer of light.

At the same instant, soft white blankets appeared, draping over every naked girl, covering them gently.

Ai peeked out just enough to see. "Lyra...?"

Lyra shook her head, tears in her eyes. "N-not me..."

Shiki’s voice was low. "Me."

He hadn’t even moved his hands—only a tiny flick of his finger.

Marcous stared, horrified. "Y-you... how...?"

Shiki ignored him.

Lyra moved first, hurrying toward the girls who looked like withered shells—gray skin, sunken cheeks, hair brittle and white. She knelt beside the nearest one, hands glowing blue as healing magic flowed.

Seraphina stepped toward Marcous, sword tip hovering under his chin. "What. Did. You. Do. To. Them."

Marcous’s voice trembled, barely audible. "I... I didn’t mean—"

Seraphina stepped closer, blade hovering near his throat. "Tell me. Now."

He flinched. "I... took their life force. For myself. The Order... they taught me how. Pure vitality... it keeps me young. Beautiful. Alive."

Seraphina’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "You drained them. Children. Girls. For your vanity."

Lyra’s voice broke through, trembling and small.

"They’re... dead."

Everyone froze.

Lyra knelt beside one of the withered girls, fingers pressed to her neck. Tears streamed down her face.

"No pulse... no breath... nothing. They’re... gone."

Seraphina’s rage boiled over.

Seraphina’s grip on her sword whitened. Rage boiled in her eyes—pure, cold hate. She raised the blade high.

Marcous screamed. "No—wait—!"

A deafening roar cut through the chamber.

From the far end, a massive creature charged—six glowing red eyes, drooling maw, huge tusks and jagged teeth protruding from a mutilated, stitched-together body. It looked like something sewn from corpses and nightmares.

It barreled straight toward Marcous.

Seraphina, Shiki, and Lyra leaped back.

The creature snatched Marcous and one unconscious girl in its massive claws, tossing them onto its back like ragdolls.

Marcous scrambled upright, grinning through blood and swelling. He grabbed the girl, yanked her close, and pressed his lips to hers in a violent kiss.

Light flared—sickly green energy pouring from the girl into him. His broken face knit together—nose straightening, swelling vanishing, teeth regrowing. In seconds he looked perfect again.

He shoved the girl off the creature’s back.

Lyra reacted instantly—her staff flared, catching the falling girl in a gentle net of blue magic and lowering her safely.

Marcous stood tall on the beast’s back, laughing wildly. "You think you’ve won? The Order will hunt you! Every last one of you!"

Seraphina roared. "Chase them!"

Shiki set Ai down gently beside Lyra. "Stay with them."

Ai grabbed his sleeve. "Shiki—be careful..."

He kissed her forehead—quick, fierce. "Always."

The creature turned and charged toward the same passage they came from.

Seraphina sprinted after it. Shiki leaped—god-class speed blurring his form.

They burst up the stairs, through the ruined cottage, and into the night.

But the creature and Marcous were already gone—vanished into the dark forest like smoke.

Seraphina skidded to a stop, sword still raised. "Damn it!"

Shiki stood motionless, fists clenched, staring into the trees.

*The fuck is happening here?*

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END OF Chapter : 50 : BENEATH THE COTTAGE!

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