The long spiral staircase seemed to have no end.

Perhaps it was the nerves stretched to their absolute limit, perhaps the body ground down to its last reserves of strength, perhaps the staircase’s constant turning made the head reel and swim… however they went, it never seemed to end.

Hu Ya tried to push past them, but the staircase wasn’t wide enough for three people side by side. In the shoving, all five of them went tumbling together.

Zhu Shu hit the floor, slammed into the metal banister, and let out a muffled, bitten-back moan, her whole body breaking into a cold sweat.

When the Duke had dragged her along the ground by the hair, the bones in her hand had been crushed, and her knees had been scraped raw.

Su Man and Yu Yaqing were both carrying injuries of various degrees as well.

They struggled to their feet, leaning on each other as they descended, while Hu Ya, heedless of anyone else, shoved her way to the very front—terrified of being left last.

The snowman was melting faster than expected.

A furious roar carried down from the third floor, spiraling over each of their heads like the shadow of death looming.

Hu Ya’s panic spiked, and she ran faster.

The roar was closing in. The stair railing was trembling!

The Duke had fought his way free and was charging to the top of the staircase!

One arm of the snowman was still clamped on to his head, its needle-sharp, elongated teeth driven deep into the Duke’s skull—those were the hardest ice crystals, capable of piercing bone and freezing blood and flesh alike.

Half of the Duke’s face was encrusted with frost.

But with each moment of struggle, with every passing second, the frost on his face receded. The snowman clinging relentlessly to his head grew smaller and smaller—

Until at last it dissolved into a puddle of slush.

The Duke gave his head a single sharp shake. The remaining snow scattered into tiny crystals and droplets of water, and vanished utterly into the air.

Everyone felt the despair of death pressing in—

The Duke’s bloodshot eyes fixed on them, seething with murderous hatred! His chest heaved violently—after the brutal battle with the snowman he was riddled with wounds, drenched in blood. If not for his immense regenerative power, he would never have held on until now!

He threw his head back and let out a howl, wild and wolf-like. Then he vaulted over the railing and leapt directly down from the third floor!

*BOOM!!!*

A deafening crash as he landed! The floorboards beneath his feet shattered and splintered!

He landed exactly at the foot of the staircase, blocking their path.

Unable to descend, they could only reverse course and flee upward.

Hu Ya, who had been charging at the very front a moment ago, was now suddenly at the back—and the Duke seized her by the ankle, hoisting her upside-down into the air!

“AHHHHHH!!!” she shrieked in a raw, piercing cry.

The Duke dangled the struggling woman by one hand and turned his gaze to the other four on the stairs. A low, rasping wheeze growled in his throat. He tightened his grip. Hu Ya’s screams grew increasingly horrific, nearly breaking into a shrill crack.

Bai Youwei, Zhu Shu, Su Man, and Yu Yaqing had nearly made it to the third floor.

The Duke ground his teeth together with a grating sound.

His rules only permitted him to kill one bride per night—but the ones he wanted to kill right now far more were those women up there… those women who had dared to defy him!

He let out a roar, and in a sudden burst of motion, hurled Hu Ya away—then charged up the stairs at blinding speed!

Hu Ya’s body slammed with a crash into the great crystal chandelier!

The suspended crystal hexagonal prism decorations instantly became a dense array of gleaming blades, slicing her hands and feet, puncturing her skin!

She desperately tried to grab hold of something—anything—but couldn’t. With a cascading jingle and clatter, she slid off and finally crashed heavily onto the floor below. She was covered in blood!

Even in such a wretched state, she forced her upper body up, laughing with unhinged, frantic glee:

“He didn’t kill me! He didn’t kill me! Hahahaha!!! I am the last bride—I found the true key, so he won’t kill me! I am the last bride! THE LAST BRIDE!!!”

*Ding. Clunk, clunk—*

Two crystal hexagonal prisms fell to the floor.

Hu Ya startled and looked up.

The massive, layered crystal chandelier at the top of the hall was teetering on the verge of collapse. Her pupils contracted as she saw the entire chandelier plummet down toward her.

“AHHHH—!!…”

—