Lynne looked on with a cruel, sickly gaze, his saw tearing savagely through flesh and bone.
"In this hellish place, if you don't become a monster, you can't move an inch!"
"Ah!!!"
With a piercing scream, the behemoth's massive body was gradually hoisted off the ground, ensnared by the frenzied dance of the tendrils, emitting eerie screeches.
Far away, Bayi, hanging from the flagpole, watched in shock and pallor. He saw the creature that had just overpowered him now reduced to a piece of meat at Lynne's mercy, dangling mid-air. He finally understood the terrifying nature of Lynne.
Indeed! To survive in this world, one must adapt, become a calamity, arm oneself with all sorts of powers. Even if that transforms you into a demon in human skin, survival... That alone is a blessing.
Pthwack!
With a sound of flesh rending, the creature was bisected by Lynne's saw, its blood splattering across Lynne's eyes.
Amidst the creature's hysterical wails, Lynne grabbed its neck. "A harsh, indifferent father; an executioner with a cleaver; a devil behind a mask—is this how your daughter sees you? How intriguing!"
Hum—
In an instant, Lynne's abyssal left eye focused sharply.
Carmel immediately felt an ice-cold curse seeping from that eye, invading his entire being. His head began to melt under Lynne's gaze, the excruciating pain and chilling dissolution eliciting from him a final, desperate howl.
Splat—
His flesh turned to viscous liquid, hitting the ground and bubbling into smoke.
System notifications chimed in Lynne's ear.
[Ding! You have completed the task: The Masked Carmel! You have earned 1000 base experience points, 500 skeleton coins, and a special reward: The Witch's Handkerchief!]
[The Witch's Handkerchief]
[Quality: Cursed Item]
[Ability: Resistance to burning.]
[Description: Belonging to a witch sentenced to burn at the stake, this handkerchief became a symbol of her tragic end. Removed by her beloved before her execution, it also became the very noose that led her to ashes.]
The mutilated half of Carmel's body splattered onto the floor. Lynne retracted all his tentacles and implants, landing softly on the ground.
Carmel's disfigured head, barely holding it together, muttered like a tormented spirit, "Why... don't you... kill me..."
Grasping the grotesque head, Lynne adjusted his monocle and replied with a light smile, "Ah, because you are my second catalyst. If I killed you, how would I treat your daughter's illness?"
He casually handed the head to Hidari for safekeeping, then gazed towards the looming spire.
Turning to Bayi, who was virtually petrified on the flagpole, Lynne beckoned and reassuringly said, "My fellow villager, the danger hasn't passed yet. Hang in there a bit longer. Once I've treated my client, I'll bring you down."
Bayi, stunned, shouted with all his might, "Be careful, big brother! Make sure you come back alive!"
He knew he couldn't assist Lynne and might even distract him. Yet, he believed in Lynne's strength – a senior who had survived in this alternate world for so long.
...
Outside the castle, Puppet Mistress adjusted her sun hat, peering at the tower. "Seems like your apprentice has won. That energy surge just now... if I'm not mistaken, it felt like one of those advanced creations from the Demonfolk Association."
Bloodsaw, deep in thought and holding his chainsaw, remarked, "It might be his spoils from destroying the association. But I'm puzzled about how he's using those creations. Typically, those biological weapons require precise and strict synchronization..."
Puppet Mistress glanced at him, probing, "Come on, tell me the truth. In your hands, he must've long since ceased to be the human he was two years ago, right?"
Bloodsaw stroked his chin, pondering, "Well, there was this one time a client ripped out his heart, so I grudgingly performed a little surgery on him... He seemed quite pleased with it..."
"..."
The tower loomed before Lynne as he ascended the spiraling staircase, his chainsaw slung across his back. With each step, the pervasive chill and the stench of blood grew more intense, as if the air itself bore witness to a meticulously orchestrated slaughter that had once taken place here.
Finally, he stood before a decayed wooden door, its rusted chains and faint, bloodied handprints narrating a tale of horror.
"Alice," Lynne murmured with a smile. "The grand drama has unfolded. Your absence in stopping me suggests a desire for someone to enact these deeds on your behalf."
A father, both cruel and brutal. A mother, malevolent and neglectful. A brother who tortured and maimed. Alice had endured a life of confinement, abuse, and agony within this tower. Was this the life she had known before?
Subjected to cold stares, merciless torment, and dismemberment – her unexpressed hatred, even as a ghost in this Dark World, yearned for a semblance of familial bliss.
With a creak, the door slowly swung open, releasing a foul stench of decay and blood. Lynne gazed upon the scene inside: Huge hooks descended from above, and in their midst hung a small, rusted cage, barely a meter in size – a stark contrast to the opulence elsewhere in the castle. The walls were splattered with blood, and the floor was a mix of excrement and blood, painting a vivid picture of hell.
In front of the cage stood a little girl in a white dress, her pale skin marked with cracks, standing in stark contrast to the dark, foul surroundings. She faced away from Lynne, her figure small and fragile amidst the gloom.
Maintaining his calm smile, Lynne adjusted his monocle and spoke: "Miss Alice, let me introduce myself again. I am Lynne, the doctor you've hired. I am at your service."
[Ding! You have triggered the special mission: Healing and Annihilation!]
[Quest Branch One: Spare no effort to alleviate the target's animosity and curse, understand her history, and mend her scars. Additional reward: Unique Remuneration x1]
[Quest Branch Two: Spare no effort to exterminate or restrain the target. Additional reward: Exceptional Artifact x1]
[Quest Branch Three: Should the first two tasks be unattainable, flee the Home of Happiness. Additional reward: Skull Coins x1000]
[Complete any one of the branches to earn the quest reward: Skull Coins: 3000, Experience: 3000]
As the quest was triggered,
The pallid little girl slowly turned her head, revealing her ghostly pale cheeks and eyes, crisscrossed with fissures.
"Brother... be my... family... The parents... have been already... abandoned..."
She slowly turned, extending her small hand vacantly towards Lynne.
"Like you did with your old brother... protect Alice... be Alice's new brother... Doctor... Shouldn't you... prevent your patients... from dying..."
A vast, chilling coldness surged, engulfing the entire tower. Even Lynne felt this bone-chilling coldness rising from the depths of his heart.
Lynne kept her face calm and asked: "Can you tell me why? Your parents and brother have been abusing you during your lifetime, so you turned into a ghost after your death?"
Alice said hollowly: "No, it was me who was abusing them."
Buzz——
For a moment, the expression on Lynne's face stiffened.
Alice said hollowly: "They... are really damn guys... dare to let my little Alice... forget her biological mother.. Little Alice... is really happy... but the happier she is... the more I hate her... Because these... I should have given them to Alice..."
No, that's not right!
Lynne's pupils abruptly constricted.
He instantly reopened the target's system panel.
[Lady Mary]
[Race: Vengeful Ghost]
[Alignment: Chaotic Evil]
[Combat Ability: Immense curses born from profound hatred!]
[Description: A witch burned during the witch hunts, formerly the mistress of Count Carmel, adept in dark magic and curses. Mother to a daughter with Count Carmel, her jealousy led her to plot against the Countess and, upon discovery, she was executed by the church. Posthumously, she became a vengeful ghost, possessing her own daughter, her jealousy and rage inciting her to inflict malevolent vengeance upon all living in the castle...]
Indeed!
Indeed!
His panel and Alice's were constantly and rapidly switching. This meant that the girl before him actually harbored two spirits! One was the real Alice, and the other, this vengeful ghost!
Rustle—
Suddenly, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Lynne looked up sharply. The vacant face of the little girl slowly manifested extensive burns, the foul stench of charred flesh pervading the air.
"Alice was so adorable... always a well-behaved daughter... But that witch hunt... I couldn't destroy that woman... and that hypocritical Carmel... How dare he betray me... Ah... and that boy... utterly repulsive... So hypocritical... I wanted Alice to see their true faces... to turn them wicked... They too deserved to be unhappy..."
Lynne's eyes were fixed intently on the girl before him, a deep chill rolling over him.
"So, you're saying their change in temperament was you doing?!"
The little girl responded emptily, "Ah... Alice mustn't be deceived..."
And at that very moment, Lynne's panel once again switched unexpectedly to Alice's.
Her voice also changed again.
"Big brother..." the girl reached out to him, saying emptily: "Be Alice's brother... They all dislike me... If brother is nice to me... Alice will be nice to... brother too..."
This meant that the vengeful ghost had already merged with Alice. This meant that all the misfortunes of the little girl stemmed from...
In a flash, his mind conjured images of the castle's past - a gentle father by day, a virtuous mother, a brother who took care of her, but at night, their faces changed.
They became cruel and enraged, mad and sick, sadistic and cold. As if wearing a mask. A curse of misfortune shrouded the entire castle, every person bearing two faces.
Constant fear, day and night. And all of this originated from the misfortune inflicted by the vengeful ghost residing within her.
"Won't you agree... won't you agree to me..."
Alice stepped towards Lynne, her gaze hollow. With each step she took, her flesh crumbled away, as if being dismembered, falling to the ground with a rustling sound.
[Ding! Warning! Warning! Curse intensity soaring! Curse intensity soaring!]
[Host, flee immediately! Flee immediately!]
With the system's sharp warning ringing in his ears, Lynne, without a moment's hesitation, gritted his teeth. Numerous tentacles burst forth from his shoulders, propelling him swiftly outwards.
He didn't need the system's alert to feel it. The intensity of the curse had reached an unbearable level!
Behind him, the hollow voice of the little girl continued to echo.
"Won't you agree to me... Won't you be my brother... Will you abandon Alice too..."
Boom—
The entire tower trembled, and in the spiraling staircase, Lynne dashed down at breakneck speed. On both sides of the walls, blood-red handprints appeared one after another.
A thick scent of blood surged from behind, the ground ignited, and a torrent of crimson blood, like a river, flowed down the stairs.
The next moment, Lynne burst out of the tower. And immediately, he saw atop the high platform leading to the outside world, walls engulfed in blazing crimson flames.
Atop the tall flagpole, Bayi, shocked by the castle's transformation, saw Lynne emerging from the tower and yelled in horror: "Big brother! What on earth is happening?!"
But Lynne had no time to respond.
Almost simultaneously, the blood-red flames on the platform transformed into waves, engulfing him.
Without any hesitation, Lynne bit down on his teeth, swiftly diving into the corridor he came from. And he finally understood why such immense resentment existed, strong enough to envelop the entire castle, dragging it into this Dark World. Because the malice stemmed not only from the vengeful ghost but also from the dismembered Alice!
The fusion of the two ghosts. Their combined grudge and hatred were almost boundless! But there must be a way to heal them, for if there weren't, the system wouldn't have issued the branch tasks!
Rustle—
In the narrow corridor, countless hands swallowed by the castle surged forth, howling to obstruct Lynne's path.
Lynne gritted his teeth, paying no heed to them. He wielded his chainsaw, tearing those arms into shreds.
There had to be a way. From the information he had, Alice was completely unaware, likely never knowing that all of this was orchestrated by her birth mother!
She was filled with hatred, yet also sought happiness. It was her birth mother who had destroyed her entire childhood!
Lynne looked on with a cruel, sickly gaze, his saw tearing savagely through flesh and bone.
"In this hellish place, if you don't become a monster, you can't move an inch!"
"Ah!!!"
With a piercing scream, the behemoth's massive body was gradually hoisted off the ground, ensnared by the frenzied dance of the tendrils, emitting eerie screeches.
Far away, Bayi, hanging from the flagpole, watched in shock and pallor. He saw the creature that had just overpowered him now reduced to a piece of meat at Lynne's mercy, dangling mid-air. He finally understood the terrifying nature of Lynne.
Indeed! To survive in this world, one must adapt, become a calamity, arm oneself with all sorts of powers. Even if that transforms you into a demon in human skin, survival... That alone is a blessing.
Pthwack!
With a sound of flesh rending, the creature was bisected by Lynne's saw, its blood splattering across Lynne's eyes.
Amidst the creature's hysterical wails, Lynne grabbed its neck. "A harsh, indifferent father; an executioner with a cleaver; a devil behind a mask—is this how your daughter sees you? How intriguing!"
Hum—
In an instant, Lynne's abyssal left eye focused sharply.
Carmel immediately felt an ice-cold curse seeping from that eye, invading his entire being. His head began to melt under Lynne's gaze, the excruciating pain and chilling dissolution eliciting from him a final, desperate howl.
Splat—
His flesh turned to viscous liquid, hitting the ground and bubbling into smoke.
System notifications chimed in Lynne's ear.
[Ding! You have completed the task: The Masked Carmel! You have earned 1000 base experience points, 500 skeleton coins, and a special reward: The Witch's Handkerchief!]
[The Witch's Handkerchief]
[Quality: Cursed Item]
[Ability: Resistance to burning.]
[Description: Belonging to a witch sentenced to burn at the stake, this handkerchief became a symbol of her tragic end. Removed by her beloved before her execution, it also became the very noose that led her to ashes.]
The mutilated half of Carmel's body splattered onto the floor. Lynne retracted all his tentacles and implants, landing softly on the ground.
Carmel's disfigured head, barely holding it together, muttered like a tormented spirit, "Why... don't you... kill me..."
Grasping the grotesque head, Lynne adjusted his monocle and replied with a light smile, "Ah, because you are my second catalyst. If I killed you, how would I treat your daughter's illness?"
He casually handed the head to Hidari for safekeeping, then gazed towards the looming spire.
Turning to Bayi, who was virtually petrified on the flagpole, Lynne beckoned and reassuringly said, "My fellow villager, the danger hasn't passed yet. Hang in there a bit longer. Once I've treated my client, I'll bring you down."
Bayi, stunned, shouted with all his might, "Be careful, big brother! Make sure you come back alive!"
He knew he couldn't assist Lynne and might even distract him. Yet, he believed in Lynne's strength – a senior who had survived in this alternate world for so long.
...
Outside the castle, Puppet Mistress adjusted her sun hat, peering at the tower. "Seems like your apprentice has won. That energy surge just now... if I'm not mistaken, it felt like one of those advanced creations from the Demonfolk Association."
Bloodsaw, deep in thought and holding his chainsaw, remarked, "It might be his spoils from destroying the association. But I'm puzzled about how he's using those creations. Typically, those biological weapons require precise and strict synchronization..."
Puppet Mistress glanced at him, probing, "Come on, tell me the truth. In your hands, he must've long since ceased to be the human he was two years ago, right?"
Bloodsaw stroked his chin, pondering, "Well, there was this one time a client ripped out his heart, so I grudgingly performed a little surgery on him... He seemed quite pleased with it..."
"..."
The tower loomed before Lynne as he ascended the spiraling staircase, his chainsaw slung across his back. With each step, the pervasive chill and the stench of blood grew more intense, as if the air itself bore witness to a meticulously orchestrated slaughter that had once taken place here.
Finally, he stood before a decayed wooden door, its rusted chains and faint, bloodied handprints narrating a tale of horror.
"Alice," Lynne murmured with a smile. "The grand drama has unfolded. Your absence in stopping me suggests a desire for someone to enact these deeds on your behalf."
A father, both cruel and brutal. A mother, malevolent and neglectful. A brother who tortured and maimed. Alice had endured a life of confinement, abuse, and agony within this tower. Was this the life she had known before?
Subjected to cold stares, merciless torment, and dismemberment – her unexpressed hatred, even as a ghost in this Dark World, yearned for a semblance of familial bliss.
With a creak, the door slowly swung open, releasing a foul stench of decay and blood. Lynne gazed upon the scene inside: Huge hooks descended from above, and in their midst hung a small, rusted cage, barely a meter in size – a stark contrast to the opulence elsewhere in the castle. The walls were splattered with blood, and the floor was a mix of excrement and blood, painting a vivid picture of hell.
In front of the cage stood a little girl in a white dress, her pale skin marked with cracks, standing in stark contrast to the dark, foul surroundings. She faced away from Lynne, her figure small and fragile amidst the gloom.
Maintaining his calm smile, Lynne adjusted his monocle and spoke: "Miss Alice, let me introduce myself again. I am Lynne, the doctor you've hired. I am at your service."
[Ding! You have triggered the special mission: Healing and Annihilation!]
[Quest Branch One: Spare no effort to alleviate the target's animosity and curse, understand her history, and mend her scars. Additional reward: Unique Remuneration x1]
[Quest Branch Two: Spare no effort to exterminate or restrain the target. Additional reward: Exceptional Artifact x1]
[Quest Branch Three: Should the first two tasks be unattainable, flee the Home of Happiness. Additional reward: Skull Coins x1000]
[Complete any one of the branches to earn the quest reward: Skull Coins: 3000, Experience: 3000]
As the quest was triggered,
The pallid little girl slowly turned her head, revealing her ghostly pale cheeks and eyes, crisscrossed with fissures.
"Brother... be my... family... The parents... have been already... abandoned..."
She slowly turned, extending her small hand vacantly towards Lynne.
"Like you did with your old brother... protect Alice... be Alice's new brother... Doctor... Shouldn't you... prevent your patients... from dying..."
A vast, chilling coldness surged, engulfing the entire tower. Even Lynne felt this bone-chilling coldness rising from the depths of his heart.
Lynne kept her face calm and asked: "Can you tell me why? Your parents and brother have been abusing you during your lifetime, so you turned into a ghost after your death?"
Alice said hollowly: "No, it was me who was abusing them."
Buzz——
For a moment, the expression on Lynne's face stiffened.
Alice said hollowly: "They... are really damn guys... dare to let my little Alice... forget her biological mother.. Little Alice... is really happy... but the happier she is... the more I hate her... Because these... I should have given them to Alice..."
No, that's not right!
Lynne's pupils abruptly constricted.
He instantly reopened the target's system panel.
[Lady Mary]
[Race: Vengeful Ghost]
[Alignment: Chaotic Evil]
[Combat Ability: Immense curses born from profound hatred!]
[Description: A witch burned during the witch hunts, formerly the mistress of Count Carmel, adept in dark magic and curses. Mother to a daughter with Count Carmel, her jealousy led her to plot against the Countess and, upon discovery, she was executed by the church. Posthumously, she became a vengeful ghost, possessing her own daughter, her jealousy and rage inciting her to inflict malevolent vengeance upon all living in the castle...]
Indeed!
Indeed!
His panel and Alice's were constantly and rapidly switching. This meant that the girl before him actually harbored two spirits! One was the real Alice, and the other, this vengeful ghost!
Rustle—
Suddenly, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Lynne looked up sharply. The vacant face of the little girl slowly manifested extensive burns, the foul stench of charred flesh pervading the air.
"Alice was so adorable... always a well-behaved daughter... But that witch hunt... I couldn't destroy that woman... and that hypocritical Carmel... How dare he betray me... Ah... and that boy... utterly repulsive... So hypocritical... I wanted Alice to see their true faces... to turn them wicked... They too deserved to be unhappy..."
Lynne's eyes were fixed intently on the girl before him, a deep chill rolling over him.
"So, you're saying their change in temperament was you doing?!"
The little girl responded emptily, "Ah... Alice mustn't be deceived..."
And at that very moment, Lynne's panel once again switched unexpectedly to Alice's.
Her voice also changed again.
"Big brother..." the girl reached out to him, saying emptily: "Be Alice's brother... They all dislike me... If brother is nice to me... Alice will be nice to... brother too..."
This meant that the vengeful ghost had already merged with Alice. This meant that all the misfortunes of the little girl stemmed from...
In a flash, his mind conjured images of the castle's past - a gentle father by day, a virtuous mother, a brother who took care of her, but at night, their faces changed.
They became cruel and enraged, mad and sick, sadistic and cold. As if wearing a mask. A curse of misfortune shrouded the entire castle, every person bearing two faces.
Constant fear, day and night. And all of this originated from the misfortune inflicted by the vengeful ghost residing within her.
"Won't you agree... won't you agree to me..."
Alice stepped towards Lynne, her gaze hollow. With each step she took, her flesh crumbled away, as if being dismembered, falling to the ground with a rustling sound.
[Ding! Warning! Warning! Curse intensity soaring! Curse intensity soaring!]
[Host, flee immediately! Flee immediately!]
With the system's sharp warning ringing in his ears, Lynne, without a moment's hesitation, gritted his teeth. Numerous tentacles burst forth from his shoulders, propelling him swiftly outwards.
He didn't need the system's alert to feel it. The intensity of the curse had reached an unbearable level!
Behind him, the hollow voice of the little girl continued to echo.
"Won't you agree to me... Won't you be my brother... Will you abandon Alice too..."
Boom—
The entire tower trembled, and in the spiraling staircase, Lynne dashed down at breakneck speed. On both sides of the walls, blood-red handprints appeared one after another.
A thick scent of blood surged from behind, the ground ignited, and a torrent of crimson blood, like a river, flowed down the stairs.
The next moment, Lynne burst out of the tower. And immediately, he saw atop the high platform leading to the outside world, walls engulfed in blazing crimson flames.
Atop the tall flagpole, Bayi, shocked by the castle's transformation, saw Lynne emerging from the tower and yelled in horror: "Big brother! What on earth is happening?!"
But Lynne had no time to respond.
Almost simultaneously, the blood-red flames on the platform transformed into waves, engulfing him.
Without any hesitation, Lynne bit down on his teeth, swiftly diving into the corridor he came from. And he finally understood why such immense resentment existed, strong enough to envelop the entire castle, dragging it into this Dark World. Because the malice stemmed not only from the vengeful ghost but also from the dismembered Alice!
The fusion of the two ghosts. Their combined grudge and hatred were almost boundless! But there must be a way to heal them, for if there weren't, the system wouldn't have issued the branch tasks!
Rustle—
In the narrow corridor, countless hands swallowed by the castle surged forth, howling to obstruct Lynne's path.
Lynne gritted his teeth, paying no heed to them. He wielded his chainsaw, tearing those arms into shreds.
There had to be a way. From the information he had, Alice was completely unaware, likely never knowing that all of this was orchestrated by her birth mother!
She was filled with hatred, yet also sought happiness. It was her birth mother who had destroyed her entire childhood!
