Chapter 16: Mission Accomplished
The scene suddenly fell silent.
The ghostly little girl looked down at the piece of flesh, speechless, as if she had entered some kind of shutdown state.
Seizing the moment, Colin tore off the mostly severed sleeve of his left arm and had Servant One help him cover the wound, tying a tight knot. The process was not easy, and Colin’s forehead once again was covered in cold sweat from the pain, his face pale, and his teeth chattering.
Beyond the pain, the sensation of strength leaving his body as the blood flowed out and the creeping cold made Colin especially anxious and uneasy, as if he could die at any moment.
Fortunately, despite the pain, the heavy bleeding was temporarily stopped.
As for the ghostly little girl in her shutdown state, Colin didn’t intend to disturb the current peace. More fundamentally, they had no effective means to harm her.
The hint suggested that some special materials could be synthesized into new weapons capable of harming the ghost. However, it only mentioned causing harm without indicating how much.
To avoid provoking the ghostly little girl, Colin refrained from any rash actions.
With the hint providing some understanding of the current situation, Colin hoped they could sit down and talk peacefully. Fighting wasn’t the solution.
According to the hint, some things or objects that could evoke emotional responses might directly cause the ghost’s collapse and elimination. However, the description of the girl in the hint was filled with uncertainty.“You see a non-human entity that looks like a ghost, exists like a ghost, and was born like a ghost. Even methods against ghosts work on her. So, is she a ghost?”
“You are confused. All you see is chaos. You cannot effectively observe or determine her specific characteristics. You can only make limited guesses based on your knowledge.”
“A mass of chaos… Is this what the golden finger ‘sees’?”
Colin had an epiphany. Since the hint said so, he might as well treat her as a ghost. After all, methods effective against ghosts worked on her, and Father Kaidish’s flesh had undoubtedly caused her some mental shock.
However, it was unclear why there were so many children in this church stronghold. Or perhaps it was an evacuation point?
Colin remembered that in the description of Father Kaidish on the wheel weapon, it was mentioned that he had defeated many mutated creatures with the wheel while waiting in vain for reinforcements.
So, who were they waiting for?
“It seems something happened to the reinforcements, and eventually everyone died in despair while waiting.”
Colin felt he was beginning to understand what had transpired here.
At that moment, Colin noticed the slightly reddish world in his vision began to fade, restoring its original colors. Some violent emotions within him also quickly dissipated.
Clatter, clatter, clatter…
The gathered bones suddenly fell to the ground, and the recently revived “howlers” died again, turning into a pile of bones.
“Good thing I didn’t cook the priest’s flesh in the soup, or we’d be done for…”
Colin felt a wave of relief.
At this moment, Colin noticed the eerie, ominous blood seeping into the ground cracks, seemingly returning underground.
“There really is something beneath the church…”
For no particular reason, Colin recalled the survivor who died near this forest. He hadn’t thought much of it then, but now he wondered what she had discovered to provoke such a terrifying enemy to hunt her down?
There was no time to ponder further. After a few minutes of silence, Colin saw that the ghostly little girl finally moved. He quickly gathered his thoughts.
The ghostly little girl’s eyes turned black again. She slowly squatted down, and picked up the slightly rotting piece of flesh. Being a ghost sensitive to flesh, she recognized it the moment Colin threw it.
She held the flesh in her hands for a while, then suddenly put it in her mouth and ate it. Her eyes filled with sorrow, she murmured, “It’s… Grandpa Priest’s taste…”
Colin’s eyelids twitched at this surprising yet unsurprising action.
The ghost then stood up again, looking around, her gaze passing over the broken bones.
“…I remember… Grandpa Priest said he would bring back reinforcements to take us away… but we never saw him again… But everyone kept holding on in the church. As we waited, the children died one by one…”
“In the end, we encountered pollution. Both the dead and the living turned into monsters, crying out in pain… I, the last survivor, prayed to the Mother Goddess for a miracle, for the children to suffer less, but I forgot what happened next. There are many things I can’t remember…”
“I don’t remember how I became like this, or what I did. I just remember being in great pain, and I was hungry for a long time. I think I starved to death…”
The little girl spoke incoherently, her voice filled with pain and despair, as she slowly turned around.
When she turned to face Colin again, he felt his heart skip a beat upon seeing her eyes turning red again.
This meant her madness would soon return!
“So, it’s only a temporary suppression…”
Feeling increasingly heavy-hearted, Colin prepared to take out the synthesis table to create weapons to fight the ghost in a last-ditch effort.
However, at that moment, he heard the girl say, “Big brother, can I borrow that weapon? I feel like I’m about to lose control…”
She pointed at the wooden wheel, the special weapon modified by Father Kaidish.
Without much hesitation, Colin agreed to her request and had Servant One throw the weapon over.
The little girl caught the wooden wheel, almost as big as her, and looked at the wooden spikes. She smiled innocently at Colin, saying, “Thank you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a white light appeared on the wheel. The next moment, she pressed the spiked side against herself.
Crack…
The wooden spikes pierced her chest, and her body cracked like a shattered mirror, with bright red blood flowing from the cracks.
Through the gaps, Colin vaguely saw a skeletal corpse within her.
In the next second, she disintegrated like ash.
“Big brother, leave quickly. I can feel it coming.” Her voice, faint and distorted, echoed.
Colin didn’t have time to listen carefully. Suddenly, he felt compelled to take out the parchment.
The mission was complete!
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