One of the younger deputies released a cautious breath when Leatherface stopped moving. He lowered his pistol slightly and saw Ash approaching the mutilated body with the greatsword raised.
"Hey, it's over. That thing is already—"
The deputy's voice died in his throat.
Leatherface moved.
The barrage had shattered bones throughout his arms and legs, leaving his enormous body unable to stand properly. Even so, he continued twisting across the blood-soaked ground. The remains of his head slowly turned toward the officers while the surviving muscles around his mouth pulled into a horrifying smile.
"Oh God," one of the deputies whispered. "He's still alive."
The officers hurried to reload. Several raised fresh magazines while others began feeding shells into their shotguns, but Ash had already crossed the remaining distance.
He gripped the silver greatsword with both hands and swung upward at an angle. The blade struck the point where the chainsaw bar connected to the engine.
Sparks exploded through the darkness.
Leatherface lost his grip on the weapon, and the chainsaw spun across the lawn before striking the ground several yards away. Its engine continued screaming while the teeth tore through grass and dirt.
Ash stepped between Leatherface and the police line. It appeared that he was shielding the officers, but his true concern was Gwen and Heather standing among them.
The bullets had reduced Leatherface's body to a broken ruin. He could no longer rise, yet his limbs still dragged him forward with stubborn strength.
Ash raised the greatsword.
Heavy Weapon Mastery guided every movement. The enormous blade moved through his hands as though it were part of his body, leaving silver arcs beneath the moonlight.
The deputies assumed the glow came from the moon reflecting off polished metal. Ash knew the light came from the weapon itself.
He brought the sword down against Leatherface's shoulder.
The silver edge cut through the creature's hardened flesh and struck bone with a heavy crack. Green smoke hissed from the wound while the engraved prayers along the blade shone brighter.
Leatherface released a distorted roar.
Ash struck again.
Each blow separated another part of the monster's body. His arms, legs, and damaged torso were cut apart until Leatherface could no longer crawl toward anyone.
The blade produced either a dull impact or a sharp crack depending on where it landed. Every wound released foul green smoke and filled the air with the stench of burning flesh.
Leatherface's scattered remains continued twitching.
Ash stepped toward the largest section of the torso and turned the greatsword downward. He tightened both hands around the handle before driving the point through Leatherface's heart and deep into the earth beneath him.
A shriek erupted across the estate.
The sound did not come from Leatherface's ruined throat. It echoed directly through everyone's mind with enough force to make several officers stumble and cover their ears.
The scream ended as suddenly as it began.
The oppressive cold Ash had sensed when he first entered the mansion receded like a tide. The distant cries and imagined smell of blood vanished with it.
Every piece of Leatherface's body became still.
The severed flesh no longer twitched or attempted to move. Without the entity that had sustained it, Jed Sawyer's remains became nothing more than ordinary dead tissue.
Ash pulled the greatsword from the ground. The holy glow along the blade slowly faded while blood and dark residue slid from its surface.
He leaned against the weapon and drew several deep breaths.
The sword had accomplished what hundreds of bullets could not.
It had killed the demon.
Sheriff Hooper stared at the dismembered remains with an expression that shifted between disbelief and grim acceptance. After several silent seconds, he ordered a team of officers to approach and confirm that nothing was moving.
No one volunteered immediately.
Hooper gave them a hard look, and four deputies finally stepped forward with loaded shotguns. They inspected the separated pieces from a safe distance before confirming that Leatherface was no longer showing any sign of life.
Gwen lowered the handgun Hooper had given her and rushed across the lawn. Relief filled her eyes as she reached Ash and examined him for injuries.
"Are you hurt?"
"Nothing serious."
Ash straightened and looked her over as well. Once he confirmed that Gwen remained unharmed, the tension in his shoulders eased.
Heather followed several steps behind her. She stared at the remains scattered around the lawn, then at the enormous sword in Ash's hands.
Her mouth had remained slightly open since witnessing the battle.
She had seen Ash fight cannibals, but Leatherface was something entirely different. No human being should have survived even a fraction of the damage that monster endured.
Hooper approached after giving his officers instructions.
"What exactly was that thing?"
Ash gave him an irritated look.
"How would I know? You understand the Sawyer family's history better than I do."
He pointed toward the mansion with the greatsword.
"Mayor Hartman and Deputy Carl are inside. Prepare yourselves before going in. Their bodies aren't in good condition."
Hooper showed little grief after hearing that Burt was dead. The mayor had hidden his corruption from most of Newt, but the sheriff had known the truth for years.
Burt used his position to enrich himself and control the town. His death would create political chaos, yet Hooper could not pretend to mourn him.
The sheriff's resentment went deeper than corruption.
Decades earlier, Burt had gathered an armed mob and marched on the Sawyer property. Hooper tried to stop him, but the townspeople ignored every warning.
The Sawyer family had already agreed to surrender Jed for the crimes committed at the farmhouse. The situation could have ended with an arrest and trial.
Burt wanted revenge instead.
He and the mob killed every Sawyer they could find before burning the house to the ground. Loretta Sawyer was still alive when Gavin and Arlene Miller discovered her infant daughter.
Gavin kicked Loretta to death and took the child.
That baby became Heather Miller.
Verna Carson survived because she had been away from the property. Heather survived because the Millers secretly carried her from the massacre and raised her as their own daughter.
The Millers gave Heather a stable home and treated her as family for years. They had also participated in the murder of her biological relatives and hidden the truth from her.
People were rarely simple enough to be called entirely good or evil.
The massacre remained one of Hooper's greatest regrets. If Burt had listened, the town might have avoided decades of hatred and the monster that returned that night.
Hooper pushed those memories aside and remembered why he had originally come to the estate.
"Have any of you seen a man named Darryl?"
Ash frowned.
"He hitchhiked with us from Arkansas. We dropped him off in Newt this morning."
"He rented a car afterward and drove back this way. His interrupted 911 call is what brought us here."
Ash looked toward the woods.
"Would that be his car?"
He pointed toward the sedan hidden among the oak trees.
Several deputies followed his gesture and moved to investigate. The rental company's paperwork inside the glove compartment confirmed that Darryl had rented the vehicle.
Ash rolled his eyes.
Darryl had returned to rob the mansion and released Leatherface in the process. The thief had created his own disaster without anyone's help.
The only remaining question was where Leatherface had left his body.
Hooper organized a search of the mansion. Ash accompanied him while Gwen and Heather remained outside with several deputies.
The bathroom revealed Carl Hartman's divided corpse and Burt's body in the hallway. Officers secured the area before continuing through the lower floor.
Near the kitchen, Ash noticed that part of the wall stood open. The hidden entrance revealed a staircase descending into darkness.
Latin prayers covered the walls and every wooden step.
Ash stopped and compared the markings with the inscriptions on his greatsword. The languages and symbols appeared nearly identical.
The hidden stairway had been designed to suppress the creature below. Someone had known that ordinary locks would not be enough to contain whatever possessed Jed Sawyer.
A rusted iron door waited at the bottom. Its lock had been picked, and a discarded food tray lay on the floor nearby.
Darryl must have opened it while searching for valuables.
Hooper led several officers into the basement. Ash remained near the doorway for a moment and studied the prayers carved into the walls.
They likely carried the same holy power as his father's sword. The inscriptions could weaken, restrain, or possibly destroy demonic beings.
Someone had imprisoned Leatherface beneath the mansion and continued feeding him. Darryl's arrival gave the possessed killer the chance to escape.
Ash planned to question Barry Farnsworth and anyone else who understood Verna Carson's secrets.
He descended into the basement.
Several officers stood frozen in the room below. Those with weaker stomachs had already turned away and begun retching.
The walls held knives, butcher tools, and restraints. Blood covered the tables and floor, while pieces of human flesh remained inside an old freezer.
Darryl's dismembered limbs hung from iron hooks near the rear of the room.
Large sections had been bitten away. The ragged wounds suggested that Leatherface had eaten part of him raw before the disturbance upstairs attracted his attention.
Officers photographed every room before collecting weapons, blood samples, and other evidence. The entire estate was declared a crime scene and sealed until investigators could complete their work.
Ash, Gwen, and Heather were taken back to the Newt sheriff's station.
By now, Ash understood the routine almost too well. He had visited police stations after the Jigsaw game, the Ghostface murders, and the West Virginia cannibal case.
He gave his statement and explained the battle as carefully as possible without mentioning the abilities he gained from killing monsters. Gwen and Heather provided their own accounts in separate rooms.
Once his interview ended, an officer led Ash toward the staff lounge.
Hooper emerged from the room before he entered. The sheriff did not appear surprised to see him.
"Take a look at the box on the table," Hooper said quietly.
He patted Ash's shoulder before walking away to deal with the growing investigation.
Ash entered the lounge and closed the door behind him. A sealed cardboard box rested in the middle of the table, but he did not approach it immediately.
He sat down and opened one hand.
Thin strands of black energy emerged from his palm.
The darkness moved like smoke while remaining far heavier than ordinary vapor. When it touched the edge of the wooden table, the surface hissed and began dissolving.
A small hollow appeared within seconds.
Ash immediately withdrew the energy before anyone entered and noticed the damage. He leaned back in the chair and examined his hand.
This was the ability he had extracted from the creature possessing Leatherface.
Demonic Power.
Killing the demon confirmed something Ash had already begun to suspect. The power he absorbed did not strengthen only his body.
It also reinforced his mind, spirit, and soul.
Demonic Power allowed Ash to transform his spiritual energy into a destructive black force. The amount he could create depended on the strength of his spirit and the depth of his internal reserves.
The energy remained basic and unrefined. Ash had no spells or complex techniques for controlling it yet, but he had already discovered two uses.
The first was a direct attack.
He could release Demonic Power toward a target and allow its intense corrosive properties to destroy flesh, metal, wood, or anything else it touched.
The second method involved wrapping the energy around his body.
Doing so temporarily increased his strength, speed, and durability. Every punch or kick would also carry the same corrosive effect.
The enhancement was only temporary in the technical sense. As long as Ash possessed enough spiritual energy, he could continue maintaining it.
In other words, the strengthened state would last until his internal reserves were exhausted.
Ash closed his hand and allowed the final strands of darkness to disappear.
Only then did he turn his attention toward the box Hooper had left on the table.