As soon as the Domain of Desire unfolded, Roy felt like the air around him turned pink.
He wasn't sure if the Slender Man, this strange creature, even had the concept of desire. In any case, just as the guy was about to teleport, he suddenly froze, looking completely out of it.
It was like his brain just crashed for a split second.
Maybe the Slender Man really didn't have any concept of normal human desires, so being affected by the Domain of Desire just confused him, and he didn't know what to do.
Roy wasn't about to let this chance slip away. He unfurled his light wings and raised his chainsaw sword high.
"Die!"
Brilliant holy light shone on the Slender Man's featureless face. The chainsaw sword extended into a huge and magnificent lightsaber dozens of feet long, and then, with a simple and unadorned 'New Year's greeting' sword technique, Roy gently swung it down.
In an instant, a deep chasm appeared in the ground, several dozen feet long, with the Slender Man at its center.
Without any suspense, the Slender Man was cleaved in half by the light blade formed from the holy light.
\[Ding! Obtained the Slender Man's Fate Treasure Chest! Open it now?]
Whew! Finally got that done!
Hearing the system notification, Roy finally let out a sigh of relief.
Honestly, that burst of power just now was incredibly cool, but it also drained a terrifying amount of Justice Points.
Roy's Angelic Blood state was originally supposed to last about half an hour, but it was completely depleted by that ultimate move after only five minutes of fighting.
If the Slender Man hadn't died, Roy wouldn't have been able to maintain the Angelic Blood state any longer.
Just as he'd let out that sigh of relief, the Slender Man's body, which had been split in two, suddenly started to crystallize rapidly, turning into two tall, irregular black crystals.
What the heck is going on? This doesn't look like any Earth creature I've ever seen.
Roy possessed the Key of Solomon, so he was very familiar with the biological forms of Hell's demons.
Even demons, despite their appearances and abilities being vastly different from human forms, are still carbon-based lifeforms.
But the Slender Man's current state didn't seem like that of a carbon-based lifeform at all. Could this guy be from outer space, like Pennywise?
Curious, Roy walked over and touched the black crystal formed by the Slender Man with his chainsaw sword.
With a 'snap,' the entire black crystal shattered, startling Roy.
For heaven's sake, Roy had already turned off the chainsaw sword and had only touched it lightly. It really wasn't his fault that the black crystal broke.
If he told Gerald that this pile of stuff that looked like broken glass was the black crystal, would that guy still pay him?
Just as he was thinking this, a large amount of black energy suddenly and without warning appeared from within the shattered black crystal, rushing directly towards Roy.
Roy didn't even have time to react before the black energy entered his body.
Fortunately, after sensing this energy, Roy realized that it was actually the emotion of fear.
So the Slender Man also gained power by harvesting fear. This made Roy suspect that this guy, like Pennywise, was an alien lifeform from the universe.
The massive amount of fear pouring in made Roy feel like he was stuffed. He had to enter his Son of the Devil form to burn off some of the fear, but it was like trying to empty a lake with a teacup.
The Slender Man's abilities were much stronger than Pennywise's, so the amount of fear he collected was naturally much greater.
For the first time, Roy felt that his two fear energy bars actually had a limit. To prevent himself from being overwhelmed by the fear, he had to start compressing the fear energy within his body.
\[Special Ability Fear Shadow upgraded to Fear Domain!]
He didn't know how long had passed, but Roy was awakened by the system's voice. He opened his eyes and found that the surroundings had somehow caught fire and were now ablaze.
Where did this fire come from?
Roy suddenly remembered that he had used his Hell Shotgun earlier and seemed to have hit a tree. At the time, he hadn't paid much attention because he was in a fight.
And it looked like that little spark was about to turn into a wildfire.
Crap! Looks like Los Angeles won't even make it to that fire in twenty-five years!
He didn't have time to check out his newly upgraded special ability. Roy quickly pulled out his phone to make a call.
At first, he thought about calling the fire department, but then he realized that if he called them directly, Roy would definitely be the one to take the blame.
That kind of blame should really fall on Gerald, the guy with the dark complexion.
Gerald: Oh, I thank you so much!
Fortunately, because it was close to the wealthy area of the Hollywood Hills, there was still cell service in the woods.
"Hey, Mr. Ollin, I've successfully dealt with the Slender Man. But things are on fire over here, and if you don't hurry, the Slender Man's body might get burned up!"
Gerald didn't suspect anything and replied to Roy.
"Tell me your location, and I'll send people over immediately!"
After reporting his location, Roy hung up. He still had a mission to complete.
"Ceci, Ceci, where are you?"
While the fire wasn't completely out of control yet, Roy searched for Dalia's daughter in the woods, but because his internal organs were severely damaged, he wasn't moving very fast.
Because of the wildfire, smoke filled the air, severely impacting visibility. Roy could only shout Ceci's name loudly.
Before long, Roy faintly heard a little girl crying.
"Waaah... Mommy... Mommy... Waaah... Where are you...?"
It was Ceci's voice!
Roy immediately followed the sound and saw a small clearing in the woods, surrounded by fire. Ceci was crouching in the clearing, crying.
"Ceci, don't be scared, Uncle's here!"
"Uncle Roy!"
Roy went straight through the fire, then picked up Ceci and rushed out of the flames.
Normally, Roy could do these things with ease, but now that he had lost at least a third of his internal organs, even simple movements made him gasp for air.
To avoid the tragedy of the mighty Son of the Devil being burned to death by fire, Roy decided to transform directly.
"Ceci, close your eyes, and wait until I tell you to open them!"
Ceci obediently closed her eyes, and then Roy entered his Son of the Devil form.
After his constitution temporarily increased by 10 points, Roy felt much better. Plus, demons had a strong resistance to ordinary flames, allowing him to successfully cross the fiery sea and reach the clearing where the Slender Man's body had been.
This clearing was quite large and should be able to hold out until Gerald arrived. Roy exited his Son of the Devil form.
"Alright Ceci, you can open your eyes now."
Ceci opened her eyes and saw Roy, whose face was pale and who was frowning every now and then.
"Uncle Roy, are you sick?"
"Uncle is feeling a little under the weather, but it's nothing serious."
"Mommy says if you're sick, you shouldn't try to be brave, you have to take your medicine and rest."
Kids say the darndest things, and Roy didn't take it to heart.
"It's okay, Uncle's really not sick."
While the two of them, one big and one small, were chatting, the sound of helicopter propellers came from the sky. They saw over a dozen helicopters flying in from the distance.
There were fire department helicopters and also armed FEAR helicopters.
Gerald was efficient. His turnaround time was impressive. If Roy had called the fire department directly, he'd be lucky to see a fire truck by sunrise.
The fire department helicopters started spraying fire retardant foam, and the fire began to shrink.
The current wildfire wasn't too severe yet. The fire department helicopters arrived just in time, and the fire was quickly brought under control, preventing the tragedy that would happen in 25 years.
Gerald rappelled down from a FEAR helicopter and, after seeing Roy and Ceci, began to survey the surroundings.
"Mr. Black, where's the Slender Man's body?"
"Right at your feet."
Roy pointed to a pile of shattered black crystal fragments at Gerald's feet. As the fear energy contained within was absorbed by Roy, the black crystals had lost their luster.
Gerald gave him a look of utter disbelief, like he was saying, "Are you kidding me?"
"Are you joking with me, Mr. Black?"
"No, I'm not. That's definitely the Slender Man's body. I suspect this thing isn't from Earth; it came from outer space."
This made Gerald look thoughtful. He waved over an agent to examine the pile of black crystals.
"Director, we did detect abnormal energy radiation on these black crystals!"
Gerald nodded.
"Nice work, Mr. Black! Need a ride back to the hotel?"
Roy looked at the helicopters hovering overhead and quickly shook his head.
That's way too unlucky!
Taking a helicopter, and with a little girl? Isn't that just asking to end up in prison?
The sped-up version of the "See You Again" background music seemed to be playing in his ears.
"No thanks, I drove here. I'll drive myself back after the fire's out!"
Gerald didn't try to persuade Roy any further. After all, he had his own things to do, directing his agents to collect the black crystals on the ground, piece by piece.
"Mr. Black, the ten million will be wired to your studio once it's all processed."
Roy nodded.
"Mr. Ollin, pleasure doing business with you!"
"Pleasure doing business with you!"
Thanks to the efforts of the fire department helicopters, the wildfire was completely extinguished half an hour later. Roy, carrying the now-sleeping Ceci, got into his Chevrolet Camaro.
After all, she was just a kid, and she'd had such a crazy night. She was sound asleep in Roy's arms.
By the time they got back to the Dolphin Hotel, it was already dawn. Another night had passed without them even realizing it.
Heather, Penny, Mary, and Dalia were all wide awake, waiting for Roy to return in the hotel lobby.
When they saw Roy carrying Ceci back, Dalia burst into tears of joy, and Mary also felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.
"Ceci!"
Dalia quickly rushed towards Roy.
"Shhh! Dalia, Ceci's asleep. Why don't you take her back to your room to sleep?"
Dalia nodded eagerly, and then she noticed that Roy's face was unusually pale, and his lips had no color at all.
"Roy, are you hurt?"
"Huh?"
Heather and Penny immediately rushed over too, and Mary, after hesitating for a moment, also walked over guiltily.
"Roy, where are you hurt? Let me see!"
The two girls checked Roy's body, practically about to strip him down, but they didn't see a single wound.
"I just have some internal injuries. I'll be fine after a few days of rest."
Hearing this, Dalia looked worried.
"Roy, will this affect your playoff game this weekend?"
"Those bottom-feeders? I could take them down with one hand tied behind my back!"
Hearing this made Mary feel even more guilty. If Roy couldn't get into UCLA because of her, she really wouldn't know how to face him.
"Roy, I'm sorry, because of me..."
"Mary, I'm really fine. I could even take on all of you right now!"
As soon as he said that, all four girls immediately blushed.
Heather couldn't help but gently pat Roy's chest.
"Roy, what are you saying!"
This pat landed right over Roy's heart, making him feel like his heart had stopped momentarily. A large amount of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.
"Hisss!"
Heather was about to burst into tears right then and there!
"Roy, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay, Heather, but I think I need to get some rest."
Roy also realized that his body couldn't keep going, otherwise he risked dying young.
He still had so many beautiful women to take care of. He couldn't bear to die just like that.
Afterward, Dalia took Ceci back to her room, while Heather, Penny, and Mary carefully helped Roy back to room 1208.
It was just like taking care of a seriously ill elderly person. If there had been a wheelchair there, the three girls would have definitely made Roy sit in it.
"Mary, don't you have classes today? Why don't you just crash on the couch in the living room for a bit to catch some sleep, otherwise you won't have any energy for class."
Mary was a good student and wasn't just trying to coast through college, so she naturally didn't want to sleep through class.
"Okay! Roy, I'll come back to check on you right after school!"
Roy smiled. He could feel that Mary's feelings towards him had softened a bit, even though it was out of guilt. But as long as there was a shift, he was sure he could work with it later.
Heather and Penny served Roy like two maids, helping him take off his clothes, and even wanted to use their chests as pillows for him again, just like last time.
Who could refuse a beautiful woman offering their chest as a pillow and then lulling you to sleep?
Roy lay comfortably in Heather's arms, ready to fall asleep, but before drifting off, he wanted to take a look at his newly upgraded Fear Domain.
\[Fear Domain: You are now the primordial fear of all living beings. You can easily plunge your enemies into endless nightmares.]
\[Passive ability: Massively increases intimidation, massively expands the collection range and effectiveness of fear emotions.]
\[Active ability: You can now unleash the Fear Domain, affecting all living beings within a certain range.]
Hmm, this upgraded Fear Domain is roughly similar to the Domain of Desire. It also affects the emotions of living beings within a large area.
However, the fear effect is more practical in combat and not as visually jarring as the Domain of Desire. The intimidation ability will be very useful when interrogating for information.
Overall, this new ability is quite practical and has boosted Roy's combat power to another level.
After checking out his new ability, Roy officially prepared to fall asleep.
Accompanied by Heather's sweet singing, Roy gradually drifted off to sleep.
Perhaps because of his severe injuries, Roy didn't sleep very soundly, and all sorts of bizarre dreams flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
Suddenly, that familiar feeling of falling returned!