If there was a way to make Alice realize everything, then perhaps the vengeful ghost merged with her could be separated!
In an instant, he activated Flesh Catastrophe, and a malevolent third eye emerged on his forehead.
As soon as he opened the third specter eye, he noticed the dense curse marks on the second-floor corridor. He hadn't paid attention to them before, but now he could distinctly feel that the traces of the curse here were significantly more intense than elsewhere. And there were similar places throughout the entire castle!
This meant that in these areas, events of immense resentment must have occurred.
"Perhaps..."
In an instant, Lynne bit down on his teeth and abruptly stopped.
Remnants of the Past!
When used on a living being, it could recreate their state at a certain point in their past!
But what if it was used on an entire area?! Could it also recreate the scene from that time?!
[Ding! You are initiating Remnants of the Past on the target area. Do you wish to proceed immediately?]
"Yes!"
[Please specify the time point for recreation.]
"Before the castle fell into the Dark World, the day Alice was killed!"
Lynne gritted his teeth. He didn't know the exact time and could only approximate it, but this was the only method he had to seek information.
"Remnants of the Past! Activate!"
Lynne bit down on his teeth, his fingers pressing firmly onto the ground.
A blinding light enveloped the burning corridor, and in that brilliant light, the roaring flames vanished, replaced by a dark hallway.
Lynne knew the recreation was successful!
In the pitch-black corridor, the scene appeared from the night Alice was killed, a night intermixed with heavy rain.
"You must show Alice your vile faces because her heart still holds hope for you!"
"No, this is wrong. You must make Alice understand that you are all but demons in human skin. Go, tell Alice... that you are all butchers."
The hoarse voice of the curse echoed through the entire corridor.
In the vision, Carmel, the lady of the house, and the boy all wore expressions of madness and brutality.
Carrying boning knives, they moved excitedly and savagely through the corridor under the influence of the bewitching, low whispers of the curse, heading towards the tower.
Lynne rapidly rewound the time.
Wails and agonized screams that pierced the night sky emanated from the tower. When the three reappeared in the corridor, they still exhibited a sick, brutal daze, their bodies covered in blood, their blades stained red.
Drip, drip, the fresh blood.
Dropped from the baskets in their hands, each drop staining the entire corridor red.
"Hide her... hide my wailing daughter... in the walls... in the hall... in the fireplace... Do you hear... my daughter finally saw your true faces... she hates you... she hates you..."
The voice of the curse permeated the entire corridor. Then came the sound of bodies being buried. And in that moment, Lynne finally saw clearly what was in those three baskets...
Rustle—
The Remnants of the Past faded, and the scene returned to the current burning corridor.
Even Lynne felt a surge of indignant rage burning within him upon witnessing that scene. He quickly rushed to the corner where they had buried the bodies.
With one punch, he broke open the decaying floor. Underneath the floor, he saw a small hand still dripping with blood.
Hatred. So intense that even the corpse couldn't decay. And in this entire castle, fragments of such bodies were scattered everywhere!
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Corpse Fragment x1]
Was this the reason for the spread of the curse? Merely because of jealousy?! Merely because of malice?! To cruelly use one's own daughter as a tool for revenge?!
Lynne, gritting his teeth, dashed towards the staircase leading to the lower levels as the roaring flames spread.
She wanted her daughter to become a vengeful ghost like herself! She wanted her daughter to destroy this Home of Happiness personally!
Lynne rushed from one heavily cursed spot to another, continuously using Remnants of the Past, piecing together the myriad truths.
"Darling, I feel something is off. Alice seems to have not eaten for days, yet I remember having lunch with her today. And that child... she seems to be afraid of me..."
"I swear, I have not mistreated Alice! I know you feel guilty about her mother's death, I... I've been trying to accept her, but I never thought she would be a witch... However, the merciful Holy Mother... would not let me vent my displeasure on a child..."
"No, something's wrong... I can't seem to remember many things... why is there blood on my hands... hair... this is Alice's... how can it be... I... I don't seem to remember anything..."
"Darn it! I hit her, I... I cut her hair, oh merciful Holy Spirit, please... forgive me, I don't know how I could... I... I seem to hate her, yes! So much hate! She is the child of that witch, the witch who seduced my husband, her child should... should also die!"
In each reenacted scene, Lynne saw the lady of the house gradually change under the curse of the vengeful ghost.
From a compassionate mother to a vicious, hateful woman. During that time, Count Carmel and their eldest son also changed.
"How could I issue such an order... she is my daughter, how could I allow her to be caged... I... damn it, damn it, damn it! Have I gone mad... it seems like... ahhhh!"
"My son has changed too, he was always a righteous child! But now he's tormenting... tormenting small animals... he seems to be visiting the freezer and tower more often... he brought gifts for Alice? I hope... it's not what I think..."
"I've gone mad! I've lost my mind, I feel cursed! Ahhh! Come at me! Anything but let me harm my daughter!!"
The reenacted scene in the room froze with Count Carmel's hysterical screaming. And that was the last time they showed any sign of clear, conscious thought.
After that, they never woke up again. Their wills completely twisted and diseased under the curse of the vengeful ghost.
One could only imagine what terrifying torment and horror Alice must have suffered during that time when all three of them were fully under the curse's influence.
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Corpse Fragment x1]
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Corpse Fragment x2]
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Corpse Fragment x5]
Lynne, gritting his teeth, rapidly moved through the crumbling castle, ceaselessly collecting fragments of Alice's dismembered body.
That's why there's so much resentment! That's why there's such a longing for family companionship! Even after becoming a vengeful ghost, she still sought happiness.
Is this the Home of Happiness? Is this all you ever wished for in your heart?!
Boom—
Lynne smashed a piece of the floor in the corner of the hall with a punch, revealing beneath the floor the half face of the girl, still bleeding and crying.
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Fragment x1]
But at that moment, a ferocious voice suddenly came from behind him.
"What are you looking for?"
Lynne swiftly turned around. He found the little girl already standing behind him, her body now engulfed in raging flames, her expression no longer vacant but fiercely distorted.
Lynne knew that this malevolent spirit was the vengeful ghost who had orchestrated all these events, the witch who was burned to death, Alice's birth mother.
Rustle—
In an instant, the girl raised her hand menacingly, and Lynne was immediately seized by an invisible force around his throat, lifted into the air.
Lynne, gritting his teeth, managed to twist his face into a smile.
"Alice! I am... looking for your body!"
The girl's ferocious face momentarily faltered, her shattered eyes swirling.
"I am your doctor... and of course... if you truly wish... we can also become... Family!"
Before his eyes, he immediately saw the panels of Alice and Lady Mary starting to switch rapidly. This was Lynne's only way to discern whom he was actually facing.
Seizing the moment, Lynne shouted, "Hidari!"
Almost as if in perfect understanding, his left hand suddenly melted into numerous black tendrils, cascading onto the ground. One after another, infantile wails emerged from the tendrils, filling the entire hall with their mentally corrupting screeches.
"Ah————"
With a piercing scream, the girl released the force restraining Lynne and covered her ears, collapsing under the massive psychic contamination.
Lynne did not hesitate. He quickly regathered Hidari, gritted his teeth, and burst forth all his tentacles, frantically heading towards the kitchen. Because there, lay the last fragment of Alice!
Realizing that he was facing a dual-natured vengeful ghost and that the entire castle was constructed of curses, Lynne knew that this ghost was not something he could handle with his current powers!
Because it was built on hatred! On venomous grudges! Such entities cannot be eradicated by mere physical means!
Apart from Hidari's mental corruption, he had limited means to combat spirits and curses. Even though his time-limited curse abilities could be activated, Lynne understood that unless the hatred and resentment were diminished, they would have no substantial effect on them.
For hatred and malice were the core!
"I want you dead!"
Rushing into the corridor, Lynne immediately heard the ferocious screech from behind.
The corridor before him burst into flames, with blood-red fire rolling towards him.
The girl, having shaken off the contamination, was now menacingly close behind him.
At this moment, Lynne, without further words, stretched out his hand and pulled out the reward he had just received.
[The Witch's Handkerchief!]
Lynne boldly charged into the blazing inferno when he donned the kerchief. With each step, he was engulfed in flames. With each step, illusions vanished! His tentacles firmly clung to the surrounding walls, propelling him forcefully forward.
But just as he was about to reach the kitchen, Lynne's pupils suddenly constricted. He felt a burning yet icy touch on his back. A bloody hand effortlessly pierced through his back, grasping his beating heart.
The intense burning sensation emanated from his heart as if to incinerate his entire being.
In that moment, without any hesitation, Lynne swiftly drew out the Nightfiend Blade, gritting his teeth, he pierced it through his own chest. The blade, coated with spirit-revealing solution, struck the hand just as it was about to crush his heart.
A sharp wail of the spirit echoed from behind.
Lynne rolled on the ground, and the howling girl with the severed bloody hand instantly regenerated. His strike had done no substantial damage to her.
"Focus!"
At the very moment, the vengeful ghost was about to pounce and shred him, Lynne plunged the Cursed Pupil into his socket, ferociously activating its skill.
Buzz—
Instantly, the curse from the black eye caused the ghost to start melting away, her screams echoing through the corridor.
But Lynne knew even the Crused Pupil could only hold her off for a moment!
The entire castle was manifested from Alice's hatred and resentment. She was the bound spirit of this place; as long as the castle existed, she couldn't be destroyed! Now, the vengeful ghost and Alice shared the curse and hatred of this place!
Lynne, gritting his teeth, suddenly shot out a tentacle, pulling himself forward at breakneck speed, and crashing into the kitchen.
Upon entering, Lynne found the entire kitchen already ablaze, the chopping knives and spoons all screaming eerily in the flames. But at the far end of the kitchen, the pigfolk butcher seemed utterly oblivious to the surrounding chaos, still stirring his pot of thick soup.
He and the surrounding scene were so incongruously juxtaposed.
Lynne, biting his teeth, dashed towards him.
"You're here?" The pigfolk butcher glanced at him, saying blandly: "The soup is ready. I promised you a taste. Are you prepared?"
He turned around, holding a bowl of rich soup, emitting waves of strong fragrance. And before Lynne's eyes, the description of the soup appeared.
[Unfinished Heart and Brain Soup: A rich soup made with a kind heart and an evil brain. Drinking it randomly grants a piece of knowledge or a curse.]
Lynne paused. His gaze focused on the bowl. And in that moment, he saw in the bubbling soup a brain and a heart.
Alice's heart! The final missing piece of the puzzle! But why was it in...
Seeing Lynne's confusion, the pigfolk butcher said lightly, "It's a rare ingredient, a rare kind heart in this Dark World. But it's tainted with too much malice, failing to meet my standards. This soup is a failure."
Lynne stood up, earnestly saying: "Can I have that heart? I can trade with you!"
The pigfolk butcher responded indifferently: "You want to use that heart to dissolve the little girl's hatred?"
Lynne adjusted his monocle, calmly stating: "I am a doctor. I have accepted a patient's request."
If there was a way to make Alice realize everything, then perhaps the vengeful ghost merged with her could be separated!
In an instant, he activated Flesh Catastrophe, and a malevolent third eye emerged on his forehead.
As soon as he opened the third specter eye, he noticed the dense curse marks on the second-floor corridor. He hadn't paid attention to them before, but now he could distinctly feel that the traces of the curse here were significantly more intense than elsewhere. And there were similar places throughout the entire castle!
This meant that in these areas, events of immense resentment must have occurred.
"Perhaps..."
In an instant, Lynne bit down on his teeth and abruptly stopped.
Remnants of the Past!
When used on a living being, it could recreate their state at a certain point in their past!
But what if it was used on an entire area?! Could it also recreate the scene from that time?!
[Ding! You are initiating Remnants of the Past on the target area. Do you wish to proceed immediately?]
"Yes!"
[Please specify the time point for recreation.]
"Before the castle fell into the Dark World, the day Alice was killed!"
Lynne gritted his teeth. He didn't know the exact time and could only approximate it, but this was the only method he had to seek information.
"Remnants of the Past! Activate!"
Lynne bit down on his teeth, his fingers pressing firmly onto the ground.
A blinding light enveloped the burning corridor, and in that brilliant light, the roaring flames vanished, replaced by a dark hallway.
Lynne knew the recreation was successful!
In the pitch-black corridor, the scene appeared from the night Alice was killed, a night intermixed with heavy rain.
"You must show Alice your vile faces because her heart still holds hope for you!"
"No, this is wrong. You must make Alice understand that you are all but demons in human skin. Go, tell Alice... that you are all butchers."
The hoarse voice of the curse echoed through the entire corridor.
In the vision, Carmel, the lady of the house, and the boy all wore expressions of madness and brutality.
Carrying boning knives, they moved excitedly and savagely through the corridor under the influence of the bewitching, low whispers of the curse, heading towards the tower.
Lynne rapidly rewound the time.
Wails and agonized screams that pierced the night sky emanated from the tower. When the three reappeared in the corridor, they still exhibited a sick, brutal daze, their bodies covered in blood, their blades stained red.
Drip, drip, the fresh blood.
Dropped from the baskets in their hands, each drop staining the entire corridor red.
"Hide her... hide my wailing daughter... in the walls... in the hall... in the fireplace... Do you hear... my daughter finally saw your true faces... she hates you... she hates you..."
The voice of the curse permeated the entire corridor. Then came the sound of bodies being buried. And in that moment, Lynne finally saw clearly what was in those three baskets...
Rustle—
The Remnants of the Past faded, and the scene returned to the current burning corridor.
Even Lynne felt a surge of indignant rage burning within him upon witnessing that scene. He quickly rushed to the corner where they had buried the bodies.
With one punch, he broke open the decaying floor. Underneath the floor, he saw a small hand still dripping with blood.
Hatred. So intense that even the corpse couldn't decay. And in this entire castle, fragments of such bodies were scattered everywhere!
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Corpse Fragment x1]
Was this the reason for the spread of the curse? Merely because of jealousy?! Merely because of malice?! To cruelly use one's own daughter as a tool for revenge?!
Lynne, gritting his teeth, dashed towards the staircase leading to the lower levels as the roaring flames spread.
She wanted her daughter to become a vengeful ghost like herself! She wanted her daughter to destroy this Home of Happiness personally!
Lynne rushed from one heavily cursed spot to another, continuously using Remnants of the Past, piecing together the myriad truths.
"Darling, I feel something is off. Alice seems to have not eaten for days, yet I remember having lunch with her today. And that child... she seems to be afraid of me..."
"I swear, I have not mistreated Alice! I know you feel guilty about her mother's death, I... I've been trying to accept her, but I never thought she would be a witch... However, the merciful Holy Mother... would not let me vent my displeasure on a child..."
"No, something's wrong... I can't seem to remember many things... why is there blood on my hands... hair... this is Alice's... how can it be... I... I don't seem to remember anything..."
"Darn it! I hit her, I... I cut her hair, oh merciful Holy Spirit, please... forgive me, I don't know how I could... I... I seem to hate her, yes! So much hate! She is the child of that witch, the witch who seduced my husband, her child should... should also die!"
In each reenacted scene, Lynne saw the lady of the house gradually change under the curse of the vengeful ghost.
From a compassionate mother to a vicious, hateful woman. During that time, Count Carmel and their eldest son also changed.
"How could I issue such an order... she is my daughter, how could I allow her to be caged... I... damn it, damn it, damn it! Have I gone mad... it seems like... ahhhh!"
"My son has changed too, he was always a righteous child! But now he's tormenting... tormenting small animals... he seems to be visiting the freezer and tower more often... he brought gifts for Alice? I hope... it's not what I think..."
"I've gone mad! I've lost my mind, I feel cursed! Ahhh! Come at me! Anything but let me harm my daughter!!"
The reenacted scene in the room froze with Count Carmel's hysterical screaming. And that was the last time they showed any sign of clear, conscious thought.
After that, they never woke up again. Their wills completely twisted and diseased under the curse of the vengeful ghost.
One could only imagine what terrifying torment and horror Alice must have suffered during that time when all three of them were fully under the curse's influence.
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Corpse Fragment x1]
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Corpse Fragment x2]
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Corpse Fragment x5]
Lynne, gritting his teeth, rapidly moved through the crumbling castle, ceaselessly collecting fragments of Alice's dismembered body.
That's why there's so much resentment! That's why there's such a longing for family companionship! Even after becoming a vengeful ghost, she still sought happiness.
Is this the Home of Happiness? Is this all you ever wished for in your heart?!
Boom—
Lynne smashed a piece of the floor in the corner of the hall with a punch, revealing beneath the floor the half face of the girl, still bleeding and crying.
[Ding! You have obtained Alice's Fragment x1]
But at that moment, a ferocious voice suddenly came from behind him.
"What are you looking for?"
Lynne swiftly turned around. He found the little girl already standing behind him, her body now engulfed in raging flames, her expression no longer vacant but fiercely distorted.
Lynne knew that this malevolent spirit was the vengeful ghost who had orchestrated all these events, the witch who was burned to death, Alice's birth mother.
Rustle—
In an instant, the girl raised her hand menacingly, and Lynne was immediately seized by an invisible force around his throat, lifted into the air.
Lynne, gritting his teeth, managed to twist his face into a smile.
"Alice! I am... looking for your body!"
The girl's ferocious face momentarily faltered, her shattered eyes swirling.
"I am your doctor... and of course... if you truly wish... we can also become... Family!"
Before his eyes, he immediately saw the panels of Alice and Lady Mary starting to switch rapidly. This was Lynne's only way to discern whom he was actually facing.
Seizing the moment, Lynne shouted, "Hidari!"
Almost as if in perfect understanding, his left hand suddenly melted into numerous black tendrils, cascading onto the ground. One after another, infantile wails emerged from the tendrils, filling the entire hall with their mentally corrupting screeches.
"Ah————"
With a piercing scream, the girl released the force restraining Lynne and covered her ears, collapsing under the massive psychic contamination.
Lynne did not hesitate. He quickly regathered Hidari, gritted his teeth, and burst forth all his tentacles, frantically heading towards the kitchen. Because there, lay the last fragment of Alice!
Realizing that he was facing a dual-natured vengeful ghost and that the entire castle was constructed of curses, Lynne knew that this ghost was not something he could handle with his current powers!
Because it was built on hatred! On venomous grudges! Such entities cannot be eradicated by mere physical means!
Apart from Hidari's mental corruption, he had limited means to combat spirits and curses. Even though his time-limited curse abilities could be activated, Lynne understood that unless the hatred and resentment were diminished, they would have no substantial effect on them.
For hatred and malice were the core!
"I want you dead!"
Rushing into the corridor, Lynne immediately heard the ferocious screech from behind.
The corridor before him burst into flames, with blood-red fire rolling towards him.
The girl, having shaken off the contamination, was now menacingly close behind him.
At this moment, Lynne, without further words, stretched out his hand and pulled out the reward he had just received.
[The Witch's Handkerchief!]
Lynne boldly charged into the blazing inferno when he donned the kerchief. With each step, he was engulfed in flames. With each step, illusions vanished! His tentacles firmly clung to the surrounding walls, propelling him forcefully forward.
But just as he was about to reach the kitchen, Lynne's pupils suddenly constricted. He felt a burning yet icy touch on his back. A bloody hand effortlessly pierced through his back, grasping his beating heart.
The intense burning sensation emanated from his heart as if to incinerate his entire being.
In that moment, without any hesitation, Lynne swiftly drew out the Nightfiend Blade, gritting his teeth, he pierced it through his own chest. The blade, coated with spirit-revealing solution, struck the hand just as it was about to crush his heart.
A sharp wail of the spirit echoed from behind.
Lynne rolled on the ground, and the howling girl with the severed bloody hand instantly regenerated. His strike had done no substantial damage to her.
"Focus!"
At the very moment, the vengeful ghost was about to pounce and shred him, Lynne plunged the Cursed Pupil into his socket, ferociously activating its skill.
Buzz—
Instantly, the curse from the black eye caused the ghost to start melting away, her screams echoing through the corridor.
But Lynne knew even the Crused Pupil could only hold her off for a moment!
The entire castle was manifested from Alice's hatred and resentment. She was the bound spirit of this place; as long as the castle existed, she couldn't be destroyed! Now, the vengeful ghost and Alice shared the curse and hatred of this place!
Lynne, gritting his teeth, suddenly shot out a tentacle, pulling himself forward at breakneck speed, and crashing into the kitchen.
Upon entering, Lynne found the entire kitchen already ablaze, the chopping knives and spoons all screaming eerily in the flames. But at the far end of the kitchen, the pigfolk butcher seemed utterly oblivious to the surrounding chaos, still stirring his pot of thick soup.
He and the surrounding scene were so incongruously juxtaposed.
Lynne, biting his teeth, dashed towards him.
"You're here?" The pigfolk butcher glanced at him, saying blandly: "The soup is ready. I promised you a taste. Are you prepared?"
He turned around, holding a bowl of rich soup, emitting waves of strong fragrance. And before Lynne's eyes, the description of the soup appeared.
[Unfinished Heart and Brain Soup: A rich soup made with a kind heart and an evil brain. Drinking it randomly grants a piece of knowledge or a curse.]
Lynne paused. His gaze focused on the bowl. And in that moment, he saw in the bubbling soup a brain and a heart.
Alice's heart! The final missing piece of the puzzle! But why was it in...
Seeing Lynne's confusion, the pigfolk butcher said lightly, "It's a rare ingredient, a rare kind heart in this Dark World. But it's tainted with too much malice, failing to meet my standards. This soup is a failure."
Lynne stood up, earnestly saying: "Can I have that heart? I can trade with you!"
The pigfolk butcher responded indifferently: "You want to use that heart to dissolve the little girl's hatred?"
Lynne adjusted his monocle, calmly stating: "I am a doctor. I have accepted a patient's request."
