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墨書 Inktalez
Before I could react, a cold and powerful hand tightened around my throat. Instinctively, I turned to the source of the voice and saw a face, grotesquely burned by fire, staring back at me. I thought to myself, "Could this be the master of this place? The infamous Bloody Count?"
It tilted its head, its crimson eyes glaring at me intensely while it extended another hand, dragging its sharp nails across my forehead. In a panic, I swung my sword and struck its slender arm with all my might.
But no matter how hard I struggled, the grip around my neck did not loosen even slightly; instead, it tightened further, the sharp nails digging into my skin. I could feel warm blood flowing from my neck.
My breathing grew increasingly rapid as a look of delight spread across its face, as if it were savoring my desperate struggle for life.
Soon enough, my attempts to strike its hand slowed down, my brain becoming foggy from lack of oxygen, and my vision began to blur.
At that moment, the voice of the Void Spirit echoed in my mind. With a tone of disdain, it said, "If you die like this, it would be quite troublesome for me." As soon as the words left its mouth, the hand gripping me stopped tightening.
The suffocating sensation vanished instantly. I thought to myself, "If it weren't for this damned mark and you, would I be suffering like this? And you still have the nerve to make sarcastic comments." The Void Spirit replied coldly with a smirk, "Now is not the time for banter. Listen carefully: last time I overexerted my power and haven't recovered much since. Moreover, the environment you're in is not suitable for me to manifest directly; you'll have to rely on yourself."
I wondered aloud, "Why can't you come out? I was just trying to summon you! Now you want me to handle this on my own? What am I supposed to do? Holding this sword is useless; I can't win in close combat. Are you sending me to my death?!"
"This is the Cursed Realm," it explained. "It is a place formed by powerful resentments manifested from souls before their deaths. This realm is unlike any other space; thus, its creator has absolute control over it. Any soul that enters will be subject to its control—I'm afraid even I cannot escape that."
"And you are here because of that Nine Star Diagram on you, which allows your physical body to enter this place—just like when you entered the Underworld..." I interrupted him anxiously. "So how do I deal with the ruler of this realm?"
"That depends on you. Now I'll lend you what power I have left; what you do with it is up to you." As soon as he finished speaking, I felt a surge of energy flowing within me. The space seemed to stabilize again, but pain shot through my neck once more.
I quickly grabbed the Countess's hand and twisted it with all my strength until her wrist snapped. She let out a series of shrieks as she looked at her severed hand.
But I had no intention of giving her any chance. Gripping Jiang Ling with both hands, I took two quick steps forward and then reversed the blade's direction with sudden force. The sword sliced through her waist with a rush of dark energy, instantly cleaving her in two.
The Countess fell to the ground in a pool of putrid blood. Doubts crept into my mind: "Since this place was created by her, shouldn't her death send me back to where I came from? But… that seems too easy…"
Just as I pondered this, I suddenly felt a wave of rancid air behind me. Whipping around, I saw that the Countess was not dead; she stood behind me unharmed. Raising her hand, she summoned surrounding flesh and blood into a crimson wave that crashed toward me.
Seeing this, I quickly raised my sword above my head and struck down at the blood wave. As the tip of my sword descended, disgusting chunks of flesh brushed past me on either side and slammed heavily against the wall behind me, splattering blood everywhere.
The Countess charged straight at me after failing her ambush. Without hesitation, I met her head-on. Just as we were about to collide, I held my sword with one hand at my waist and suddenly swept it outwards.
But to my surprise, I found nothing and nearly lost my balance, almost falling to the ground. I hurriedly propped myself up with the tip of my sword to maintain my stability. Just as I steadied myself, a sinister laugh echoed behind me. I attempted to turn and confront the enemy, but immediately felt a sharp pain as something struck my back, tearing through my skin.
I staggered forward a few steps, swinging my sword wildly behind me. I thought to myself, "It seems brute force won't work here. If I can't find a way to eliminate the source of this threat, I'll be drained of strength and trapped inside."
With that in mind, I gritted my teeth against the pain and stood firm, then feigned an attack and lunged forward. The Countess indeed tried the same trick again, attempting to blend into the room and circle around for a sneak attack.
Taking advantage of her momentary disappearance, I changed direction and ran toward the stairs. As I dashed forward, my mind raced with thoughts: "When the third bell tolls, she must find herself on the way back. What does the third bell mean? What lies hidden on the way back? How can she find herself..."
I had just reached the first floor when I heard the Countess roaring in frustration at not being able to find me. Without a second thought, I rushed to the front door, grabbed Jiang Ling, and cleaved the door open with a single stroke.
I hacked through the thorny rose vines as I ran toward where I came from, but it seemed the Countess had sensed something. Suddenly, I felt the ground tremble beneath me. I quickly turned around to see that the castle had transformed into a giant made of flesh and blood, chasing after me.
With each step it took, it was as if I had to run ten steps just to keep ahead. Just when it seemed about to catch me, I noticed something glimmering on the ground ahead. The massive creature seemed to spot this flash too; it bypassed me and charged toward it.
At that moment, a loud "thud" echoed from the Clock Tower. The sound was deafening; upon hearing it, the enormous monster twisted and struggled before collapsing little by little.
Seeing this, I hurriedly raised Jiang Ling and began slicing through the chunks of flesh that fell from above. In an instant, blood and gore covered the ground while dust swirled around us. Fortunately, that glimmering object remained uncovered. I rushed forward to pick it up, expecting it to be some treasure capable of countering the Countess.
As I focused on it closely, I realized it was a shard of glass from the cup I had shattered upon arriving. Initially disappointed by this discovery, a sudden memory from earlier in the castle struck me—everything made sense now.
What had felt so strange was that there were no mirrors or reflective surfaces in that castle. "For a woman not to have mirrors is utterly unreasonable. She must fear seeing her own burned visage; thus in this world she created for herself, there are no mirrors!"
With this realization, I quickly turned around and saw a figure standing rigidly amidst the dust, surrounded by numerous Vengeful Spirits rushing toward her. A chill ran down my spine as I thought, "Could it be that the third bell toll signifies when the Countess reveals her true form to consume these Vengeful Spirits?! If she absorbs more souls to enhance her power again, I'm truly done for!"
I tightened my grip on the glass shard and dashed forward in three quick strides, raising it before her. The Countess froze for a moment upon seeing her reflection in the glass shard before lunging at me with claws bared.
Just as her sharp nails were about to pierce my eyes, she halted. Cracks began appearing in this world like a shattered mirror. Darkness enveloped us next as sounds of falling glass echoed around.
"Shen Xu! Are you alright?" came Hu Fang's voice from outside. At that moment, I knew I had returned; smiling, I called out to them outside: "I'm back!" As I opened the door, bright light flooded in so intensely that I squinted and raised my hand to shield my eyes.
Li Zhisheng looked at me in astonishment: "You were only gone for a short while; how did you come back looking like this?!" Glancing at my bloodied clothes, I replied: "A short while? I've been in there forever!"
Hu Fang pointed at the wall clock with confusion: "Look! It’s only been five minutes." Holding my heavy head with one hand, I glanced at the clock: "I can't make heads or tails of what you're saying right now; let me sort myself out first. I'll explain everything soon."
I turned around and tidied up the bathroom, took a shower, and treated my wounds. Fortunately, they were just superficial injuries and didn't affect any muscles or bones.
Since I had once again used the power of the Void Spirit in the Cursed Realm, the mark had almost spread to my shoulder. After I finished treating my wounds, I hurriedly recorded this incident in the Sheepskin Book. To my surprise, the mark retreated to my elbow, almost disappearing by half.
"It seems that with the collapse of the Cursed Realm, the spirits inside have been released..." I thought as I got dressed and walked out of the room. Hu Fang was sitting anxiously in the living room. As soon as she saw me come out, she rushed over and asked, "How is it? Is it serious?! Do you need to go to the hospital?"
I patted her shoulder. "It's fine, it's not that serious. I've taken care of it." Li Zhisheng seemed more curious about what had happened in the bathroom since I appeared to be okay.
I sat on the sofa and recounted everything that had happened after I entered the bathroom. After listening, Li Zhisheng pondered for a moment and said, "So from the moment you entered that so-called Cursed Realm, there was a kind spirit helping you all along?"
I nodded. "That’s possible. Otherwise, how would she know that I accidentally brought a piece of glass with me when I came out? Plus, she gave me so many clues and hints to defeat that damned Count."
Li Zhisheng's expression gradually darkened. "Are you thinking too simply?! Even your Void Spirit didn't dare to come out; why could that spirit helping you move freely in the Cursed Realm?"
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