329-331

Chapter 329: Only Effort and Sweat 

"Madison, Maria, Zoe, and Carrie, I know what you’re thinking. After this little outing, you’re headed back to that boring witch school, so you want to stretch the fun out a bit longer. But Jennifer and I have serious business to handle, and we can’t keep messing around with you guys." 

Hearing this, the four young witches of the Apocalypse Coven looked a bit down. Roy had hit the nail on the head—they were indeed dreading the return to their routine. 

After all, at their age, the Apocalypse Coven witches weren’t exactly deep thinkers. Most of their thoughts revolved around Roy anyway. 

It had been months since the Silent Hill incident, and not seeing Roy in all that time had nearly driven the four of them up the wall. 

Seeing their teary-eyed expressions, Roy let out a sigh. 

"Alright, here’s the deal. Once this mission’s over, I’ll hang out with you all for a few days. And from now on, I’ll try to visit you in Boston a few days every month." 

The moment he made those promises, Madison and Maria’s faces lit up. They high-fived each other, looking like they’d just pulled off some grand scheme. 

"Awesome!" they cheered in unison. 

Zoe and Carrie, on the other hand, were stunned. The two more innocent girls had genuinely been upset, tears still clinging to their cheeks. 

Now, seeing Madison and Maria’s antics, they didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. 

Roy gave a helpless smile. He’d already clocked that Madison and Maria were putting on a bit of a show. Madison, a former child star, wasn’t exactly an Oscar-worthy actress—her skills were decent, with flashes of brilliance in certain moments. 

Maria, though? She was just dragging the performance down, her acting way too obvious. 

Still, Roy did feel like he owed the Apocalypse Coven girls. After Silent Hill, it had been nearly three months—until late August—without seeing them.  

That was kind of a jerk move on his part. 

(Just kind of?) 

"Alright, enough messing around. Get some rest. We’ve got an early start tomorrow for Ravensfall!" 

At that, Madison rushed over and threw her arms around Roy. 

"Then gimme a goodnight kiss first! Mwah!" 

"Me too! Me too!" 

Maria was right behind her, planting a kiss on Roy’s lips, even slipping in a little tongue. 

Zoe didn’t say anything, but she blushed and stepped forward to give Roy a quick peck. 

Carrie, though, hesitated, looking like she wanted a goodnight kiss too but was too shy to make a move. 

No choice then—Roy took the initiative, stepping forward to give Carrie a sweet kiss that left her breathless. 

"Alright, off to bed, you guys!" 

"Mm!" 

Carrie stumbled toward the bedroom, dazed, like she’d downed a shot of bad liquor. 

Now, the living room was left with just Roy and Jennifer. 

Jennifer was still smiling, completely unbothered by Roy’s interactions with the Apocalypse Coven girls. 

Roy stepped closer, gently touching her face. 

"Jennifer, you’re not mad?" 

She shook her head with a smile. 

"I get how they feel. Back in March, I was in the same boat." 

In March, Roy had gone to Los Angeles for over a month, leaving Jennifer behind. She’d spent every day missing him, so she could relate to the Apocalypse Coven girls’ mindset. 

"Got it. Let’s get some rest too, then." 

Roy led Jennifer to the bedroom. Madison had booked a massive bed—big enough for six people without feeling cramped. 

But the moment Roy stepped inside, Madison started stirring up trouble again. It wasn’t until Carrie put her foot down that the bedroom finally settled into quiet. 

As the suite fell silent, with only soft snores coming from the bedroom, a wooden puppet—Billy—left casually in the living room twitched. 

Billy’s eyes glowed faintly as it stiffly climbed off the sofa, stepping onto the plush carpet. 

Like something possessed, the puppet moved toward the bedroom, the soft carpet muffling its steps completely. 

Silently pushing open the bedroom door, Billy gazed at the six figures lying side by side on the bed. The decadent scene made the puppet’s mouth open and close soundlessly, as if it wanted to say something. 

But Billy stayed quiet. Instead, an old woman with white hair emerged from its mouth. 

The old woman approached the bed, looming over the sleeping group, and reached her wicked hand toward Carrie, who was closest to the edge. 

But just as her hand neared Carrie’s face, another hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. 

The old woman looked up—and met a pair of golden eyes. 

"Well, isn’t this interesting? I was planning to come find you, but you just waltzed right in!" 

No mistake—the only one who could possess Billy was its creator, Mary Shaw. 

Roy hadn’t expected her to show up and hand herself over like this. 

Mary Shaw tried to wrench her arm free, but an old woman’s strength was no match for Roy’s. 

Desperate to escape, Mary Shaw’s jaw dropped unnaturally wide, letting out a deafening scream. 

"Aaah—" 

The scream was so loud it echoed beyond the bedroom, likely waking the entire hotel. 

It wasn’t just any scream—it was a powerful spell. 

Roy, taking the brunt of it, felt like his soul was being ripped from his body. It did shift slightly, but with his willpower stat at 80, his soul snapped back into place in an instant. 

Carrie wasn’t so lucky. Her willpower was lower, and being so close to Mary Shaw, her soul was torn out immediately. 

Then, Carrie’s eyes snapped open, glowing a menacing red. But Roy, focused on Mary Shaw, didn’t notice. 

"How?! My banshee wail didn’t work on you?!" 

Mary Shaw was horrified. If she’d known Roy was this strong, she never would’ve come looking for trouble. But it was too late. 

"Mary Shaw, I don’t mean you any harm!" 

Roy needed her to craft a puppet body for Lilith, so he didn’t go for the kill. He even let go of her wrist to show his sincerity. 

"Who are you? Why do you want me?" 

His gesture softened Mary Shaw’s stance. She stepped back, picking up her beloved Billy, eyeing Roy warily. 

"I heard you’re the best puppeteer out there. I want you to make the most perfect—" 

Before he could finish, a girl beside him—Carrie—suddenly lunged, biting down hard on his chest. 

Her teeth couldn’t pierce Roy’s skin, but they clamped onto a sensitive spot, causing a sharp pain. 

Pushing her back, Roy glared at her. 

"Carrie, what the hell?!" 

But Carrie’s eyes were blood-red, her body twisting unnaturally. Bone spikes and wings sprouted—she was turning into a demon. 

Why was Carrie losing control? 

Didn’t Iris give her an amulet to prevent demonic possession? 

Scanning the room, Roy spotted a translucent, confused Carrie in the corner. It clicked. 

Carrie’s unique constitution made her a magnet for evil spirits or demons. After Silent Hill, Iris had seen potential in her and given her a protective amulet. 

It worked against possession but couldn’t stop her soul from being forced out. 

Mary Shaw’s banshee wail had done just that, causing Carrie’s Sammael bloodline to go haywire without her soul to suppress it. 

Worse, the amulet was keeping her soul from returning, leading to this mess. 

The other girls on the bed stirred, groggy from the banshee wail, their souls unstable. 

Jennifer, having undergone a bloodline fusion ritual, was in the best shape and could still speak. 

"Roy, what’s happening?" 

"Carrie’s in trouble!" 

Before he could say more, the berserk Carrie bolted for the balcony window, trying to escape. 

Roy shifted into his ghost wolf form, using its explosive speed to intercept her. He slammed her into the floor with a heavy strike. 

It was a hard hit, but he had no choice. 

Carrie, influenced by Sammael, had a terrifyingly strong body—stronger than Jennifer’s in her normal state, and even more so now. 

Luckily, Roy’s stats still outclassed her, letting him handle her in this state. 

No numbers here—just effort and sweat. 

But then, Mary Shaw, at the other end of the room, bolted for the door, trying to slip away in the chaos. 

"Don’t go!" 

Roy wanted to stop her, but Carrie scrambled up, ducked under him, and crashed through the balcony window, flying off. 

Now Roy was stuck—chase Mary Shaw or go after Carrie? 

Jennifer made the call. 

"Roy, I’ll handle Mary Shaw. You deal with Carrie!" 

Carrie, with her demon king blood, was the bigger threat, so Roy was the best one to handle her. 

Mary Shaw, per the Witch Council’s records, wasn’t an especially powerful witch in life. Even as a vengeful spirit, she couldn’t be harder to deal with than a berserk Carrie. 

Jennifer, a witch herself with Lilith’s essence inside her, could manage as long as she played it smart. 

"Be careful!" 

"You too!" 

Roy leaped out the balcony window, while Jennifer raced toward the suite’s open door. The bedroom was left with the three Apocalypse Coven girls, just coming to their senses. 

"What the heck just happened?" 

Zoe looked at Madison and Maria, totally lost. 

Everything had happened so fast that the three young witches were still piecing it together as Roy, Jennifer, and Carrie vanished. 

"I saw Carrie’s soul—she must’ve been forced out of her body by that scream! We need to get her soul out of the hotel. I hear footsteps!" 

Maria was the calmest, her quick thinking kicking in as she assessed the situation. 

The footsteps were real. Hotel security wasn’t deaf—after that commotion, they were definitely coming, and the police might already be on their way. 

Madison nodded. 

"Let’s jump out the window!" 

Going through the suite’s door risked running into security. The window was the safer bet. 

With Madison’s growing mastery of telekinesis, she could easily lower all three of them to the ground. 

But when they landed, they were greeted by a fleet of armored vehicles outside the hotel. 

What the hell? Where’d all these come from? 

The three were stunned. 

Then Madison spotted the logo on the vehicles—FEAR. 

Witches often crossed paths with FEAR, and with Roy being a FEAR agent, they knew the organization well. 

The FEAR team seemed ready for them, opening fire the moment the three witches hit the ground. 

Madison reacted fast, using her telekinesis to shield them from the hail of bullets. 

"Stop! We’re with the Witch Council!" 

After everything she’d been through, Madison had matured. Otherwise, she’d have already flipped those vehicles and crushed the FEAR agents, like she’d done to gang members in Boston. 

"Cease fire! Cease fire now!" 

The field commander heard Madison’s shout and ordered a halt. 

Killing Witch Council members was a liability he couldn’t afford. The Council might be weakened, but it still outranked him. 

But then, a hand gripped the commander’s shoulder from behind. His mind went foggy, and he barked a contradictory order. 

"Keep firing! Take them out!" 

The FEAR agents, confused by the sudden reversal, followed orders and resumed shooting. 

Madison, who’d let her guard down at the ceasefire, wasn’t ready when the gunfire started again. She struggled to raise her telekinetic shield in time. 

"Watch out!" 

Maria shoved Zoe aside but took several bullets herself. 

"Maria!" 

Furious at her friend’s injury, Madison telekinetically hurled a nearby armored vehicle, crushing a dozen FEAR agents in an instant. 

No orders needed—other FEAR agents retaliated with a barrage of gunfire. 

"Zoe, get Maria inside and heal her!" 

Zoe knew some healing magic and could stabilize Maria. Madison kept up her telekinetic field to cover them. 

But FEAR was escalating, bringing out heavy weapons. 

Maria… 

Chapter 330: The Embodiment of Fear 

A FEAR agent in the corner hoisted a shoulder-fired rocket launcher, aiming at Madison—the biggest threat to the team. Madison, unaware, was still focused on shielding Zoe and Maria. 

The next second, the rocket screamed through the air, trailing a long plume of smoke toward her. 

Madison’s eyes widened in horror. The destructive force of an explosive like this was too much for even her telekinesis to fully block. 

But Zoe was dragging the injured Maria back into the hotel, and Madison was their only barrier. 

So, she closed her eyes, unleashing her telekinetic field at full strength, ready to sacrifice herself to buy Zoe and Maria time. 

“Zoe, get down!” 

But the expected explosion never came. When Madison opened her eyes, she saw a six-winged angel standing in front of her, holding the rocket in one hand. 

“Roy!” 

Madison’s face lit up with relief. As long as Roy was there, she felt safe. 

“You guys okay?” 

“Zoe and I are fine, but Maria got shot!” 

Hearing that Maria was hit, Roy’s expression darkened. He tossed the unconscious, battered Carrie to Madison. 

“Take the amulet off Carrie and get her soul back in her body.” 

“Got it!” 

With his hands free, Roy crushed the rocket in his grip. 

Boom! 

The explosion didn’t faze him at all. Thanks to his protective aura, not even dust settled on him. 

The FEAR agents were terrified. That rocket was their most powerful weapon. 

If it couldn’t touch Roy, their only option was a missile strike—but FEAR’s armored vehicles didn’t have that kind of firepower. 

Then, to their horror, the commander barked another order. 

“Keep firing!” 

Now, not just Roy and Madison, but even the other FEAR agents started wondering if their commander had lost it. 

Shooting at a guy like this was suicide, right? 

FEAR agents had stronger wills than regular soldiers and had dealt with supernatural events, but that didn’t mean they were eager to throw their lives away. 

“Who’s your commander?”  

Roy’s icy gaze swept over the FEAR agents, sending a chill down their spines. One look felt like plunging into freezing water. 

For a moment, whether from fear or something else, not a single agent answered. 

“No one’s talking? Fine.” 

Roy took a step forward, and a wave of darkness flooded the battlefield. 

A primal, ancient fear plunged every FEAR agent into blindness. Those with weaker wills went mad, attacking anyone nearby indiscriminately. 

In seconds, the FEAR team suffered heavy losses. 

This was Roy’s first time using his Fear Embodiment ability, and he hadn’t expected it to be this effective—wiping out an entire FEAR unit in one go. 

The upgraded Fear Embodiment had a terrifying range. With Roy’s current power, he could blanket a major city in its effects. 

Based on its display, it could easily kill millions. 

That kind of power was honestly a little scary. 

Roy deactivated the ability and quickly found the commander lying in a pool of blood near an armored vehicle. 

His uniform stood out—definitely the commander. 

But luck wasn’t on his side. It looked like a missile had hit his spine, leaving him sprawled on the ground, barely alive. 

FEAR field commanders were usually senior FEA agents. One ending up like this was a big deal. 

To keep things from spiraling further, Roy activated his Courage and Vitality Auras. 

He couldn’t let these FEAR agents die en masse—otherwise, he’d lose the moral high ground. 

The Courage Aura dispelled the Fear Embodiment’s effects, while the Vitality Aura kept the agents alive. 

Then, Roy pulled out his phone to call Gerald. 

“Mr. Olin, we’ve got a situation!” 

After a quick rundown, Gerald said he’d report it to FEA headquarters and told Roy to keep a consistent story and avoid acting rashly. 

“I hear you, Mr. Olin. But let me be clear—my friend got hurt, and I’m pissed.” 

He hung up, cutting Gerald off. 

Roy needed to make his stance clear, or FEA might think he was a pushover. 

But after showing a fraction of his strength today, FEA headquarters probably wouldn’t be that dumb. 

Plus, Iris was still at FEA’s New York headquarters. 

“Roy, come quick! Maria’s getting weaker!” 

“I’m there!” 

Roy rushed back into the hotel. 

Maria was lying on a couch, with Madison and Zoe hovering over her. Zoe was casting some kind of healing spell. 

With Roy’s Vitality Aura still active, Maria should have been stable. 

“What’s wrong with her?” 

“A bullet hit her heart. My healing magic’s keeping her alive, but as long as that bullet’s in there, she’s only getting weaker.” 

Zoe was in tears—Maria had taken those bullets to save her. 

Roy’s brow furrowed deeply. 

A bullet in the heart couldn’t be healed naturally. Surgery was the only option, and it had to be fast. 

If the bullet kept pressing on her heart, it could stop beating. 

But it was the middle of the night—where could they find a surgeon skilled enough to remove a bullet from a heart? 

Doctors like that were rare, even in big cities, let alone a small one like this. 

Then, Madison spoke up. 

“Roy, let me try!” 

Roy looked at her, surprised she’d volunteer. 

“Madison, are you sure?” 

In theory, Madison’s telekinesis could remove the bullet, but it was delicate work. 

Her telekinesis had always been about brute force, not precision. Roy wasn’t sure she could pull it off. 

“I will do it! I have to!” 

“Alright. Madison, you handle the surgery. Zoe, keep Maria’s vitals stable. I’ll make sure you’ve got a quiet space to work.” 

As for Carrie, Madison had already returned her soul to her body, but she was still unconscious from her earlier rampage. 

Madison took a deep breath, psyching herself up. 

“I can do this. I will do this!” 

Roy quietly amplified his Courage, Guardian, and Vitality Auras to boost Madison’s confidence and stabilize Maria’s condition. 

After mentally preparing, Madison placed her hand on Maria’s chest to better sense the bullet in her heart. 

Closing her eyes, she entered a state of unprecedented focus. 

“I can feel the bullet in her heart!” 

“Then pull it out!” 

A moment later, Madison frowned. 

“But her heart’s already healed—I can’t find the bullet hole!” 

The Vitality Aura, combined with Zoe’s healing magic, had closed Maria’s wound, which now made the surgery trickier. 

Madison would have to force the bullet through her heart again and out of her body. 

She hadn’t studied medicine and didn’t know the safest way to extract it. 

“Madison, be decisive! You can’t delay!” 

Leaving the bullet in could cause a severe rejection response, which could be deadlier. 

“I got it!” 

Madison gritted her teeth and focused hard. 

Thud! The bullet shot out of Maria’s chest, hitting the ceiling and falling to the floor. 

The exit wound caused heavy bleeding. Zoe scrambled to stop it, but witchcraft wasn’t great for hemostasis. 

Luckily, Roy placed his hand on Maria’s chest. His angel form’s healing kicked in, and the wound began to close at a visible rate. 

With that, Maria’s breathing steadied. She seemed out of danger. 

But Roy wasn’t a doctor and couldn’t be sure of her condition. 

“Madison, call an ambulance. Get Maria and Carrie to a hospital for observation!” 

“On it!” 

While Madison and Zoe tended to Maria and Carrie, Roy stepped outside toward the FEAR team’s position. 

Seeing Roy approach—angelic in form but terrifying like a demon—some of the recovering FEAR agents fell back into panic. 

Even without using Fear Embodiment, his presence alone was enough to terrify the already rattled agents. 

“You don’t need to be scared. I just want to know why you were here tonight and why you attacked my friends.” 

The commander, with a spinal injury, wasn’t waking up, even with the Vitality Aura. Nerve damage was far more complex than a heart wound, and Roy wasn’t sure if the guy would ever walk or talk again. 

Fortunately, FEAR units like this always had a backup commander to avoid a total collapse if the primary went down. 

“I’m the deputy. You really won’t hurt us?” 

A FEAR agent stepped forward. His uniform was slightly distinct, marking him as higher-ranking but not by much. 

“If I wanted you dead, I’d have done it already.” 

The deputy fell silent. 

He was right—Roy’s Fear Embodiment could’ve wiped them out. Even now, the team’s morale was shattered. 

Even if their physical injuries healed, the mental scars Roy left would linger. Most would likely fail psych evals and get relegated to desk jobs. 

“You’re right.” 

The deputy chose to trust Roy. Honestly, he didn’t have much choice. 

“Tell me, why was your unit set up here?” 

The armored vehicles formed a makeshift perimeter—clearly, FEAR had been lying in wait. 

When Roy had flown off after Carrie in angel form, he’d been too focused to notice the ground. 

Otherwise, he’d have dealt with FEAR first. 

“We got a report from an agent that a dangerous supernatural entity killed mid-level agent Sasha Anderson. HQ sent us to apprehend it.” 

Roy: ??? 

That “dangerous supernatural entity” couldn’t be him, could it? 

Okay, he was pretty dangerous. 

Wait a second! 

“You said Sasha Anderson’s dead? That’s impossible! I did clash with her, but I’m certain she was alive! Was the report to the Seattle branch from Jack Schmidt? What did he tell your bureau?” 

The deputy blinked at Roy’s rapid-fire questions, taking a moment to process before answering. 

“We don’t get details on reports—that’s above our paygrade. But Jack Schmidt, the guy who filed it, was just with the commander. You could ask him yourself.” 

“Where is he?” 

Yeah, where was he? 

The deputy searched around the commander but found no sign of Jack Schmidt—not even a body. 

Frantic, he rallied the surviving agents to check every injured or dead teammate for Schmidt. 

But it was like the guy had vanished into thin air. 

Given the commander’s sudden contradictory orders earlier, even the deputy—slow as he might be—realized something was off. 

“Sir, we can’t find Jack Schmidt. Can we treat our wounded?” 

Ambulances were piling up near the hotel, but without Roy’s okay, the deputy didn’t dare move. 

Roy had just tried tracking Schmidt with his Hound Ring, but it failed. 

Per the deputy, Schmidt couldn’t have been gone long enough to escape the Hellhound’s tracking range. 

Unless his stats rivaled Roy’s—or he could fly. 

But if Schmidt was that strong, he wouldn’t have needed to flee. 

The only explanation? The guy wasn’t Jack Schmidt at all—someone was impersonating him. 

“I’m not stopping you! Look, I’m an FEA agent too, out of the Los Angeles branch.” 

The deputy looked like he’d been struck by lightning. Roy, one of their own? 

“How’s that possible?” 

Roy shook his head, ignoring the deputy, and returned to the hotel to help get Maria and Carrie onto ambulances. 

Then it hit him—where was Jennifer? 

Madison 

Chapter 331: The Music Box 

Jennifer was, of course, still hot on Mary Shaw’s trail. 

“Stop running! We just want you to make a doll!” 

Mary Shaw was a vengeful spirit, and even lugging around a doll the size of a kid, she moved wickedly fast. 

But Jennifer’s physical stats were off the charts these days, so she stuck to Mary Shaw like glue, not giving her a chance to shake her off. 

Good thing it was three or four in the morning, and the small-town streets were dead empty. If anyone saw a floating doll with a woman sprinting after it, they’d probably have a heart attack. 

After what felt like forever, Jennifer realized she’d chased Mary Shaw out of the city and into the suburbs. That put her on high alert. 

Right then, Mary Shaw finally stopped and turned to face her. 

“About time you stopped! Why are you running? I told you, we mean no harm!” 

Mary Shaw gave Jennifer a cold stare. This dead witch clearly wasn’t the type to trust anyone easily. 

“Whether you mean harm or not isn’t up to you. I’ll decide that for myself.” 

Seeing a chance to negotiate, Jennifer jumped in to persuade her. 

“Ms. Mary Shaw, we really don’t mean any harm! I’m actually part of the Witches’ Coven, just like you. We found you through the Coven’s records and just need your help with something!” 

Jennifer was stretching the truth a bit. The four Apocalypse girls were Coven members, and she was kind of an outer-circle member, so it wasn’t a total lie. 

“The Witches’ Coven?” 

The name of an organization she hadn’t heard in ages made Mary Shaw pause. 

But then her face twisted with rage. 

“That damn Witches’ Coven!” 

Jennifer froze. She hadn’t expected flashing the Coven card to backfire like that. 

According to the Coven’s records, Mary Shaw had cut ties with them after graduating from witch school. 

Something must’ve happened during her time there to make her hate the Coven so much. 

The Ouija board said Mary Shaw made it in 1885, so this old lady had been out of witch school for over a century. 

Back in those days, witch schools were pretty brutal. Things like corporal punishment or bullying probably weren’t uncommon. 

In fact, the Coven and its school only started cleaning up their act after Ophelina possessed Fiona. In that sense, Lilith’s daughter did the Coven a solid. 

This put Jennifer in a tough spot. 

She’d hoped to use the Coven connection to build some trust, but instead, she’d pissed Mary Shaw off even more. 

Before Jennifer could say anything else, Mary Shaw made her move. 

The doll, Billy, floated up from her hands and shot toward Jennifer like a missile. 

Still trying to talk her down, Jennifer dodged instead of fighting back. 

If Roy were here, he’d probably tell her to knock Mary Shaw out first and then try negotiating—way more effective. 

But as Jennifer sidestepped Billy’s charge, something sliced her face. 

She looked and saw long, thin claws sprouting from Billy’s arms. Those claws were what cut her. 

Jennifer was livid. 

As a woman, she was super protective of her face—most women are. 

Even if her witch powers could heal the scratch without a trace, it didn’t cool her anger. 

“You’re asking for it!” 

A surge of raw power exploded from Jennifer, sending the airborne Billy flying back several yards. 

Fueled by rage, Jennifer transformed into her demon form for the first time. 

Her height shot up to nearly six and a half feet, her skin turned purple, curved ram-like horns sprouted from her head, a heart-tipped tail extended from her lower back, and classic bat wings unfurled behind her. 

It was clearly her first time shifting—her clothes tore apart from the sudden growth, leaving her stark naked. 

Instinctively, Jennifer covered herself to keep from flashing the world. 

Luckily, Mary Shaw was too stunned to attack, or Jennifer would’ve been a sitting duck. 

After facing Roy, a guy with monster-level stats who shrugged off her banshee wail, and now this half-demon girl, Mary Shaw was starting to think she should’ve checked her horoscope before leaving the house. Why was she running into such terrifying freaks today? 

As Mary Shaw snapped out of it and summoned Billy back to make another run for it, Jennifer, prompted by Lilith, remembered she was a witch. She conjured a long dress with magic to cover herself up. 

“Still trying to run? You’re done!” 

It was Jennifer’s first time in demon form, and she couldn’t rein in her darker emotions. Her fury needed an outlet. 

Flapping her bat wings, Jennifer’s speed spiked, and she dove straight for Mary Shaw. 

Mary Shaw’s heart sank. She turned and unleashed a second banshee wail. 

“Ahh—!” 

The banshee wail was advanced witchcraft, rooted in Celtic myths about a banshee whose scream foretold death. 

Legend said anyone who heard a banshee’s cry in the wild would die within days, no exceptions. 

A Celtic witch studied the banshee’s scream and developed the banshee wail spell. 

Its core effect was mimicking the banshee’s cry to force a person’s soul out of their body—since, for most people, a soul leaving the body meant death. 

Like when Carrie’s soul left her body, she was lost in a haze. If not for her witch friends, she might’ve missed her chance to return. 

The reason the banshee wail was rarely used, despite its power, was that mimicking the banshee’s cry was insanely hard on the vocal cords. 

Luckily, Mary Shaw was a master ventriloquist, able to mimic all kinds of sounds. 

Hit point-blank by the banshee wail, Jennifer slammed into an invisible wall, frozen mid-air, her soul starting to detach. 

Fortunately, she had another soul inside her. 

Mary Shaw saw Jennifer’s eyes roll back and knew she’d landed the hit. 

But before she could catch her breath, Jennifer’s eyes cleared, and her vibe shifted completely. 

In the next instant, Mary Shaw felt Jennifer’s hand, charged with psychic energy, clamp around her throat. 

“Got you at last!” 

“You’re a dual-soul?! Damn you, let me go!” 

Mary Shaw felt like she’d seen more bizarre crap today than in her entire afterlife. 

First, a guy with monster stats. Then a girl with strong demon blood. Now a dual-soul half-demon. 

At this point, if someone told her angels were about to show up, she’d believe it. 

Being a spirit, the chokehold didn’t stop her from cursing. 

“Shut it, you old hag! Keep talking, and I’ll eat your soul!” 

Lilith wasn’t exactly known for her patience—she only played nice around Roy. 

And demons could devour human souls. It was a hell-exclusive leveling trick, though not very efficient. 

Most human souls weren’t high-quality enough. 

That’s why demons loved tempting pure souls—those were top-tier. Fallen souls were meh, unless they were so depraved they had Satan’s face tattooed on their back. 

Mary Shaw clammed up. She still had her revenge to finish and wasn’t ready to vanish for good. 

This Lilith version of Jennifer was a whole different beast. Pissing her off now might actually be the end. 

“Jennifer, get back here!” 

Lilith called out to Jennifer’s drifting soul but got no response. 

She turned and saw a young man standing nearby, holding Jennifer’s soul in his hand. 

“You!” 

Lilith narrowed her eyes. The guy was Jack Schneider. 

Mary Shaw spotted him and immediately shouted. 

“Save me! I’ll do whatever you want!” 

Lilith’s gaze flicked between Mary Shaw and Jack’s soul, and it clicked. 

“So that’s how it is. You’re the one pulling the strings!” 

Based on Lilith’s read of Roy’s strength, even a rampaging Carrie wouldn’t take him long to handle. 

But it had been half an hour, and Roy still hadn’t shown up. Something was clearly holding him up. 

Lilith hadn’t seen the FEAR ambush, but she could guess it was some serious trouble. 

Jack Schneider’s face still had that sunny, handsome, boy-next-door charm, but Lilith had already pegged him as a scheming snake. 

“Lovely lady, how about a deal? I give you this girl’s soul, and you hand over Ms. Mary Shaw’s soul. Win-win, right?” 

Lilith’s eyes narrowed. She had to get Jennifer’s soul back. 

Roy never said it outright, but Jennifer and Nidi held a special place in his heart, followed by Heather and Penny. 

That’s why those four had gone through the bloodline fusion ritual first, while the others were still waiting. 

If Jennifer got hurt on Lilith’s watch, Roy might literally tear her apart. 

But she couldn’t let Jack know she cared too much, or he’d have her cornered. 

So Lilith played it cool, acting like she didn’t give a damn. 

“You want that soul? Take it. Saves me the trouble—I’ll have this body all to myself.” 

Jack’s smile froze, but he quickly caught on. Lilith was bluffing. 

And that’s when she struck. 

Lilith blew a soft breath toward Jack, and his spot was instantly enveloped in a cloud of pink mist. 

It was the same desire magic Jennifer had used before, taught by Lilith herself—and Lilith’s version was way stronger. 

“Should be handled, right?” 

Lilith smirked, confident. Her desire mist wasn’t something you just shook off. Only a handful of people in the world could resist it. 

As she stepped toward the pink mist, she suddenly heard music—a music box, bright and cheerful. 

But in the dead of night, out in the creepy suburbs, it was straight-up eerie. 

Lots of music’s like that. Nursery rhymes and light tunes turn sinister when the setting’s wrong. 

And this music box’s sound was coming from inside the pink mist. 

Lilith’s guard went up, and she stopped in her tracks. 

The mist cleared, and Jack and Jennifer’s soul were gone. All that was left was a music box on the ground, its crank still turning. 

Where’d they go? 

Lilith extended her senses, trying to track Jack. 

Then the music box finished playing, and the crank stopped. 

But a second later, the crank started reversing, and the music began playing backward. 

The tune was already creepy, but reversed, it was nightmare fuel—perfect for a hellish soundtrack. 

The grating sound tortured Lilith’s ears. She was about to crush the box with her mind. 

Then, at the music box’s spot, a little girl in a ballerina outfit appeared. 

And her face was so terrifying, even Lilith, who’d seen it all, felt a chill. 

(Straight out of The Cabin in the Woods.) 

Even ancient monsters with abstract looks couldn’t compare to this face. 

Monsters are monsters—you don’t expect much, so their weirdness doesn’t faze you. 

But a ballerina girl is supposed to be cute. A face full of jagged, circular teeth? That contrast was pure terror. 

There’s a theory called the uncanny valley. 

Humans tend to like robots or creatures that vaguely resemble them, like round robots or pets with human-like expressions. 

But when something looks too human, just shy of perfect, it triggers disgust and unease. 

That’s exactly what Lilith was feeling right now. 

(End of Chapter)