[Chapter 302: The Second Monster]
"A demon..."
Tears welled up in Peggy's eyes instantly. She rushed forward, wanting to take Daniel's hand but hesitated, not daring to be too forward. Instead, she could only wring her hands anxiously in front of her.
"Sir... Master... I beg you. I have four children. Janet is only eleven... We have nowhere else to go. This is our only home. Please save us. Drive that demon away!"
She turned to the Warrens. "Mr. Warren, you were sent by the church. Please help me."
Ed's expression grew solemn as he gripped the crucifix tightly in his hand. Lorraine closed her eyes, as if sensing something. But then she clutched her forehead, a look of pain crossing her face.
"I can't see it." When she opened her eyes again, her voice was weak. "It's hidden... like a thick mist."
"Hidden?" Daniel gave a cold laugh and strode toward the door. "Since it won't come out, we'll force it out. Look carefully."
"Let's search separately," Ed suggested, gripping the crucifix tight. "I'll check the kitchen and the backyard."
Lorraine leaned against the wall. "I'll go to the attic."
"Wait," Daniel stopped them both. "Don't split up."
Splitting up in a horror movie was a major taboo. Many characters died the moment they separated. Minor characters might not matter much, but this was Valak.
The three began searching the house.
Peggy and her children huddled in the master bedroom on the second floor, not daring even to close the door, their eyes fixed on every movement in the hallway.
...
Daniel walked to the end of the hallway on the second floor. A red, cylindrical toy lay on the floor: an old-fashioned zoetrope.
He remembered that in the movie, Bill wasn't the only threat -- something else was hidden in this house.
He bent down, picked up the zoetrope, and gave it a gentle spin with his finger.
Creak... creak...
As the cylinder turned, a creepy, out-of-tune nursery rhyme echoed quietly through the silent hallway.
"There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile..."
A shadow danced on the wall, flickering with the rotation of the zoetrope.
The shadow stretched and then separated from the wall, taking shape as a three-dimensional dark figure.
"Crack, crack, crack."
A series of sharp, bone-like sounds rang out.
The dark figure rapidly inflated and stretched into a tall, thin monster wearing a dark red suit and a top hat. Its limbs were disproportionately long and thin, like a clay figure pulled out of shape.
In its hand, it held a tattered black umbrella.
The Crooked Man.
"Ah--!"
Peggy, staring down the hallway, let out a piercing scream. Her four children, terrified, scrambled under the bed.
"Another... another one!"
Peggy trembled, teeth chattering.
They'd just sent away one old spirit, and now an even more terrifying monster appeared. Just how many foul things were in this house?
Ed and Lorraine were stunned as well.
They watched the tall, thin Crooked Man wave its long arms and lunge at Daniel.
"Watch out!" Ed shouted.
The Crooked Man moved incredibly fast, but its motions were jerky and uncoordinated, like a stop-motion animation. Its slender claws whooshed through the air, aimed straight at Daniel's throat.
Daniel stood firm, not moving an inch.
Just as the claws were about to strike, his right hand shot out, swift and precise -- striking second but arriving first.
He grabbed the Crooked Man's neck, thin as a withered branch.
Bang!
Daniel slammed it down violently.
The towering monster's more-than-seven-feet-tall body crashed onto the wooden floorboards.
The floor splintered instantly, wood chips flying.
"Aow--!"
The Crooked Man let out a nonhuman shriek, its body twisting snake-like as it struggled to break free.
Its strength was great and its texture solid, but in Daniel's hands -- honed to the Fourth Tier of Body Enhancement -- it was like a toy pinned down.
"Behave yourself."
Daniel raised his foot and stepped heavily on the creature's chest.
Thunderlight flickered briefly beneath his sole.
The Crooked Man's body convulsed violently, black smoke rising from its dark red suit.
It opened its mouth wide, revealing jagged, sharp teeth. For the first time, fear surfaced in its eyes.
"Speak. Where is The Nun?"
Daniel applied pressure, looking down coldly.
The Crooked Man's eyes darted wildly, body trembling under the crackling thunderlight.
It opened its mouth, about to speak, but suddenly--
Its body arched backward like a taut bowstring.
Creeeeak! Creeeeak!
Its limb bones began snapping on their own, and its neck twisted frantically, as if stretched and kneaded by an invisible force.
Agony contorted its face, eyeballs nearly popping from their sockets.
"You are going to Silence it?"
Daniel's gaze turned colder.
His left hand quickly formed a seal, and a speck of golden light appeared at his fingertip. He thrust it into the Crooked Man's forehead.
"Sever!"
The golden light, like a blade, sliced into the depths of the monster's spiritual form.
Snap!
An invisible thread seemed to cut through the air.
The Crooked Man stopped writhing and slumped onto the floor like a puddle of mud.
Its life remained, but its form shrank by half, semi-transparent and barely holding shape.
"If you don't want your soul scattered, speak quickly."
Daniel lifted his foot and looked at it coldly.
The Crooked Man trembled, casting fearful glances at the shadows around it, its voice barely a whisper.
"Here...she's...she's right here..."
"Specific location?"
"I don't know... I really don't know..."
It clutched its head and curled into a ball.
"She's too strong... I'm just a gatekeeper. She forced me to stay here, to scare this family insane... and you too. She said she wants to keep you here... keep you here forever..."
The Warrens exchanged deeply furrowed looks.
Even this might be bait.
Where exactly was Valak hiding?
"Mr. Cross..." Lorraine approached, her face pale as she looked at the monster on the floor. "It's not lying. I can feel its fear."
Daniel nodded.
Since it couldn't provide more information, there was no reason to keep it.
"You can go now."
Daniel flicked the Five Thunder Doctrine Seal in his hand.
"Five Thunder Doctrine, Funeral."
Boom!
A small bolt of thunder crashed down.
The Crooked Man didn't even scream before it dissipated into a wisp of blue smoke, vanishing completely in the hallway.
[Ding! Killed an E-rank ghost, gained 10,000 merit points.]
Daniel turned toward Peggy's family.
Peggy slumped by the door, clutching her four children, eyes vacant. In just half an hour, she had seen one dead old man and then a second monster. Her worldview had shattered completely.
"Mr. Warren..." Peggy looked at Ed, voice trembling. "This house... can we still live here?"
Ed opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. He looked at Daniel.
Daniel ignored them and walked to the window in the hallway.
Outside, rain still poured, the sky black as ink.
"Hiding pretty deep, aren't you?"
Daniel glanced at the blurry reflection in the window glass and suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"Lorraine." Daniel didn't turn around but suddenly spoke. "You said just now that you saw a prophecy about that nun at home?"
"Yes... yes." Lorraine struggled to keep up with Daniel's thought process.
Daniel asked, "In that prophecy, besides death, what else was there?"
*****
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