84-85

Chapter 84: The Shape of Fear 

Once again, Jennifer found herself in that pitch-black world. This time, though, she wasn't feeling that same fear and confusion. She walked forward with a determined stride, waiting for the voice to appear. 

"Lilith... Lilith... Lilith..." 

This time, Jennifer heard it crystal clear. The name the voice had been calling all along was Lilith. 

The sound came from all around her, echoing and distant, like some kind of 4D surround sound. 

"My name isn't Lilith, it's Jennifer, and I'm right here!" 

Jennifer took a deep breath and shouted into the darkness. The voice vanished instantly. 

Just as Jennifer was starting to feel a little lost, the voice suddenly whispered in her ear, "Are you ready?" 

Jennifer looked deep within herself and answered firmly, "I'm ready!" 

"Welcome back, Lilith." 

Roy, who had been observing Jennifer closely, suddenly noticed a dramatic shift in her demeanor. Then, Jennifer's eyes snapped open. 

"Roy, I've found Needy's location." 

A mysterious smile played on Jennifer's lips, and her eyes took on an unusually alluring quality. It was like she had become a completely different person. 

But right now, the most important thing was rescuing Needy, so Roy had to push Jennifer's transformation to the back of his mind for the time being. 

"Lead the way!" 

Ten minutes later, Roy pulled the car over to the side of the road. Jennifer pointed to a manhole cover a short distance away. 

"It's not far down, beneath that manhole cover." 

By now, the rain was coming down hard. Texas doesn't usually get this much rain, especially with winter barely over. 

Roy suspected that Pennywise was behind this downpour. 

He pried open the manhole cover and peered into the dark, gaping sewer. 

"Jennifer, I'm going down now. You head back to the car and wait for me. If I'm not back in half an hour, call the police!" 

"No, I'm going with you!" 

Hearing this, Roy frowned slightly. He noticed that Jennifer's personality seemed to have changed along with her demeanor. 

"Jennifer, it could be really dangerous down there. You'd be better off..." 

Roy didn't even get to finish his sentence before Jennifer cut him off. 

"Roy, if both you and Needy are gone, what's the point of me staying here? Besides, how are you going to find Needy quickly without me to guide you?" 

Looking at Jennifer, who was shivering slightly from the rain but stood with an unusual firmness, Roy fell silent for a moment. 

"Alright," he conceded, "if you insist, let's go down together." 

Roy jumped down into the sewer first, then reached up to help Jennifer as she followed. 

Sewers in Western countries are usually built quite wide. The sewers in New York City can even fit four turtles and a rat running side by side. 

Waterfall Town's sewers weren't quite that extravagant, but considering the need for floodwater drainage during the rainy season, there was definitely enough room for Roy and Jennifer to walk side by side. 

Because of the heavy rain, the water level in the usually somewhat dry sewer had risen. 

"Jennifer, lead the way!" 

Jennifer nodded and started walking along the flow of the water. 

Roy noticed that all the water in the sewer was converging in one direction, and Jennifer was heading straight towards the center where it all came together. 

Five minutes later, the passage suddenly opened up, and Roy and Jennifer found themselves in a huge circular chamber. 

"That's strange, why would Waterfall Town's sewer have such a massive space?" 

Water from all directions poured into the center of the circular chamber, forming a pitch-black pool. 

Needy was floating motionless on the surface of the pool, her eyes closed. 

"Needy!" they both exclaimed at the same time. 

Just as Roy and Jennifer were about to approach Needy, a huge mouth full of sharp teeth suddenly erupted from the black pool and swallowed her whole. 

The massive mouth crawled out of the water and quickly morphed into a pale clown with bright red hair, its eyes fixed on Roy and Jennifer with pure malice. 

"You bastard!" 

Roy's eyes narrowed with fury. He instantly drew his chainsaw sword and charged forward, slicing the clown in half with a single swing. 

The clown split apart, its grin widening grotesquely, but Needy wasn't inside its body. 

The bisected clown quickly dissolved back into the pool, and then a burly man wearing a white rubber mask emerged from the water. 

"Michael Myers!" 

Roy stared coldly at his unwelcome brother-in-law. Jennifer behind him started to tremble, clearly haunted by some terrible memories. 

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"Jennifer, get a grip on your fear! This thing feeds on people's terror. The more scared you are, the stronger it gets!" 

Even as he said the words, Roy knew that fear wasn't something you could just switch off. 

"I... I'm trying!" 

Jennifer bit her lip, desperately trying to suppress her fear of Michael Myers, but just seeing that iconic mask brought a flood of childhood memories crashing back. 

A fruit knife, blood, screams – it was like a recurring nightmare, wrapping around Jennifer and making her feel the strength draining from her body. 

With no other choice, Roy stepped in front of Jennifer, facing Michael Myers head-on. 

"Big brother-in-law," Roy sneered, "I've killed you once, and I can do it again!" 

Michael tilted his head slightly, as if trying to understand Roy's words. 

Pressing the accelerator button on his chainsaw sword, Roy charged towards Michael. His physical abilities were far beyond Michael's now, and his weapon was much more advanced. There was no need to be passive. 

Michael raised his fruit knife, trying to block Roy's chainsaw sword, but the blade sliced through it effortlessly. 

The chainsaw sword continued its downward arc, cutting diagonally through Michael's shoulder with almost no resistance, like slicing through butter. 

The Michael Myers who had been cut in half also melted back into the pool. Roy began to suspect that Pennywise might be some kind of liquid entity, allowing it to shapeshift so easily. 

What would this thing turn into next? Would it become something he was afraid of? 

Speaking of which, what was he even afraid of? He couldn't think of anything in particular. 

Then, a tall woman in a red dress slowly rose from the pool. 

"Teacher Elizabeth?" 

As soon as Michael Myers disappeared, Jennifer seemed to snap back to her normal self. She looked at the tall woman in the red dress with some confusion, then back at Roy. 

That's right, this woman in the red dress was Elizabeth, the same Elizabeth who had given Roy that private physiology lesson just last night. Seeing her in this kind of situation made Roy chuckle. 

Roy pointed his chainsaw sword at the fake Elizabeth, a mocking smile spreading across his face. 

"You didn't really think I'd be scared of this woman, did you, Pennywise!" 

To be honest, Roy did have a lingering sense of unease about the King of Sloth because his power was immense, and Roy knew he was no match for Elizabeth in her true form. 

But Roy could tell the difference between the real and the fake. He wasn't about to fall for this illusion. 

"Alright then, let's just call this a little preview!" 

With that, Roy quickly charged towards the fake Elizabeth, ready to deal with her just like he had with Michael Myers. 

But at that moment, the fake Elizabeth suddenly began to transform, radiating a terrifyingly evil aura. 

Amanda Seyfried - Little Red Riding Hood Form 

Chapter 85: Reversal  

Roy stopped in his tracks. He hadn't expected that the things Pennywise conjured could actually simulate some of the original's power. 

Take now, for example. The fake Elizabeth had actually transformed into a demonic form, radiating the aura of a demon king. 

This aura was almost tangible, possessing an extremely strong sense of oppression that made Roy feel utterly incapable of resisting, even though he knew the Elizabeth in front of him was a fake. 

With Roy blocking the way, Jennifer's situation was slightly better, but she was equally shocked. 

"How could Teacher Elizabeth turn into something like that?" 

"Jennifer, it's a fake!" 

Roy gritted his teeth, struggling against the oppressive force of the fake Elizabeth. With a trembling hand, he pulled out his Remington M870. 

This pump-action shotgun was something Roy had seized during the Southern Demon incident. Afterwards, he saw that the gun was well-maintained, so he kept it as a trophy. 

Now that Roy couldn't get close to Elizabeth, he could only use a ranged weapon. 

Facing Roy, who single-handedly chambered a round, the fake Elizabeth's mouth split open, revealing the characteristic sharp, yellow, interlocking canine teeth. 

At least Pennywise's teeth never changed, making one wonder if its teeth were its true form. 

"Taste the bullets!" 

Pulling the trigger, a flash of fire erupted from the muzzle. 

Roy was no more than five or six meters away from the fake Elizabeth at this moment. At this distance, it was impossible for a shotgun to miss. 

The scattered buckshot was all caught by the fake Elizabeth, instantly turning half of her body into a bloody mess. 

Sure enough, no matter how Pennywise imitated, it couldn't replicate the true King of Sloth. If the real Belial were here, Roy's shotgun wouldn't be able to break through its defenses at all. 

However, Roy noticed that the bullet wounds on the fake Elizabeth were healing rapidly, the recovery speed even faster than those horror movie killers he had seen before. 

Remembering what Elizabeth had once said, that Pennywise was immortal as long as fear wasn't completely consumed, Roy had to find a way to deplete its fear. 

Before that, it would be best to keep this thing away from that black pool of water. It used that pool every time it shapeshifted and revived. 

So, how should he do that? 

Looking at the dark, deep pool of water, Roy suddenly had an idea. 

He took out the Cursed Twin Daggers from his inventory, then grabbed the Cursed Hair. He used the Cursed Hair as a rope, wrapping it around the Cursed Daggers and throwing them. 

Pennywise barely moved, so the Cursed Twin Daggers accurately struck its body. 

It's just that the location of the hit was a bit awkward, landing squarely on the fake Elizabeth's prominent breasts. 

This scene made Jennifer feel a sympathetic pain, even a phantom sensation. 

Elizabeth: Was that on purpose, or an accident? 

But the daggers had already been thrown, so Roy had no choice but to grit his teeth and start pulling with the Cursed Hair. 

Pennywise probably hadn't expected Roy to use this method to pull it, but this thing was indeed heavier than Roy had imagined. 

Thankfully, the Cursed Hair was tough enough, and after the Cursed Twin Daggers pierced Pennywise, they began to take effect. The power of the curse was preventing Pennywise's body from self-healing, while also binding it. 

"Come here!" 

At this moment, Roy's 24 points of Strength came into play. Pennywise finally couldn't laugh anymore. Its body was being pulled out of the water bit by bit. 

It was then that Roy understood why Pennywise had been standing on the water all along. It turned out that part of its body was still in the pool, or rather, that part was its true form. 

It was like a deep-sea anglerfish. You think you're seeing its main body, but it's just a lure to attract prey closer, then swallow it whole. 

Finally, Roy dragged the entire Pennywise out of the pool. This thing's body almost filled the entire circular room, shaped like a giant worm. 

When Jennifer saw Pennywise's true form, the fear in her heart instantly dissipated. 

People often feel fear towards the unknown. When you can understand the existence of something, the fear naturally disappears. 

Having been pulled out of the black pool, Pennywise's size began to shrink rapidly, like a marine creature losing water. It eventually turned back into the red-haired clown image it had started with. 

It seemed this image was Pennywise's base form. 

Roy slowly walked towards the red-haired clown Pennywise. At this moment, he seemed to see a trace of fear in the clown's eyes. 

This thing can also be afraid? 

That's perfect then. He'd use its own methods against it! 

Facing Roy, who was getting closer and closer, Pennywise's choice was to quickly rush towards the black pool. But it forgot that the cursed daggers were still stuck in its body. 

Roy could control the length of the Cursed Hair, so the high-speed sprinting Pennywise was pulled back by the shortening hair and fell flat on its back. 

Hmm, action direction here: Tom and Jerry. 

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Roy grabbed Pennywise and pulled it in front of him, then entered his Son of the Devil state, looking at the red-haired clown with golden pupils. 

"Scumbag, face true fear!" 

Roy could clearly feel himself harvesting fear from Pennywise. Sure enough, this thing could also feel fear. 

However, Pennywise didn't want to surrender. It chose to make a final desperate move. 

The clown's pale, wide forehead opened up like a flower bud, revealing black, grotesque matter and countless serrated teeth inside. 

This indescribable scene would be extremely terrifying to ordinary people, but Roy's 26 points of Willpower came into play at this moment. He ignored the horrifying sight in front of him and punched the clown in the face. 

"Disgusting, huh?! You damn well return Niddy to me!" 

Punch after punch, each one with enough force to kill an adult. Even Pennywise, this monster, couldn't withstand this kind of power. 

As a result, Roy harvested even more fear, so much so that the fear he absorbed even exceeded the fear he had consumed. 

This made Roy even more enthusiastic about beating it up. 

Hmm, if Pennywise could speak, it would probably be begging Roy to stop now, because the scene was even making Jennifer on the side feel a bit sympathetic. 

The beating was too brutal. To put it in a common saying, it was getting beaten like a grandson. 

After a violent beating, Pennywise finally fell to the ground and stopped moving. Roy stepped on its body and pointed the Remington M870 at it. 

"Bastard, give me back Niddy right now!" 

Pennywise looked at Roy, its face showing no emotion, only a faint fear in its eyes. 

Jennifer walked over. 

"Roy, do you think Niddy might not be able to come back?" 

"No! No matter where Niddy has gone, I will bring her back! Bastard, this is your last chance, give me back Niddy!" 

Saying that, Roy racked the shotgun, chambering a round. He was just about to blow Pennywise's head off when he saw its forehead open up again. 

This time, Roy saw Niddy's face. 

(End of this chapter)