The color of the blood reddened Klein's eyes, and his nearly frozen gaze was also dyed red.
Just then, a light coughing sound came from inside the room. Old Neil, with a hoarse voice, said:
"Dunn, what are you doing here?"
Dunn's gray eyes were extremely deep. He replied in a calm and rich voice:
"We heard you were ill, so we came to visit you."
The room fell silent. After a few seconds, Old Neil shouted angrily and fearfully:
"No! You're lying!"
Before Klein and the others could speak, his tone suddenly became weak:
"Yes, I know my condition is a bit off."
Old Neil... Klein suddenly closed his eyes tightly, but the blood seeping from the crack of the door did not stop.
Immediately after, Old Neil raised his voice:
"But all along, I haven't hurt anyone, nor have I ever wanted to hurt anyone! I haven't, I haven't betrayed any important secrets of the Night Watchers. At most, I've just claimed a bit of expenses that shouldn't have been claimed. I really haven't done anything bad!"
"Klein," he suddenly called out as usual, "I told you that the motto of the Seers is 'Do as you please, but don't hurt', and I've always adhered to this. I'd rather endure, I'd rather wait, than do anything that would hurt others..."
At this point, he pleaded fearfully:
"Dunn, Lo Yau, Klein, go back, go back. Wait until tomorrow, wait until tomorrow, and I'll be back to normal. I swear, I swear to the Goddess, I won't hurt anyone, really!"
Dunn closed his eyes and asked in a very gentle tone: "What exactly do you want to do? What have you been trying to do?"
"Me?" Old Neil was first confused, then spoke with longing, "I'm trying to resurrect Salist. Dunn, I've found a way. I'm on the right path!"
"You should have heard that I made a mistake during the ritual magic, and couldn't cure her illness, couldn't save her. I know it's because my grasp of the Occult wasn't good enough. But now, I have enough knowledge and experience to complete everything! It's such a pity that I didn't get inspiration from the Seers' motto and the example of Daley, and missed the best opportunity. If, if I were a high-sequence power, it would be very easy." As he spoke, Old Neil's voice became a bit choked, "No, I can't give up anymore... Dunn, you guys go back, go back. I beg you."
Klein gritted his teeth and heard the captain's voice slightly fluctuate as he asked:
"How do you plan to resurrect Salist?"
Old Neil became excited all of a sudden:
"I'll use the method of 'Life Alchemy' to prepare a body for her that won't age. Dunn, perhaps you don't know that the Sequence 4 of the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess is good at 'Life Alchemy', and the corresponding sequence of the 'Generalist' path can also manage it. Yes, I'll rely on the blessings of the gods to complete it."
"Then, I'll summon her soul from the Spirit World and pray to the gods for help to reunite the spirit and the body."
"Isn't it a great idea?"
Dunn forced a smile and said:
"Yes, it's a very great idea. Old Neil, let's go in. Maybe we can help you." "... "Still not willing to let me go, Dunn?" Old Neil pleaded. "Go back, all of you. Go back. I'll be fine by tomorrow, really. Dunn, I swear, I won't steal your coffee beans again. Klein, Loey, I swear, I won't ask you to help me claim any inappropriate expenses again. Really!"
In the slightly blurry vision of Klein and Loey, Dunn lowered his head and then raised it again. "Old Neil, you've misunderstood. We came to visit you. You're our comrade. You're sick and not yourself. We definitely would come to visit you. Open the door. Let us take a look. Let us be at ease. As long as you're really fine, we'll leave immediately. You know, there are so many tasks recently. We have to keep an eye on the asylum and deal with all kinds of emergencies at the same time."
Old Neil hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm really fine. Really. I'll be back to normal by tomorrow."
The blood-red liquid seeping from the crack of the main door flowed down the steps, onto the stone path, and into the garden soil.
"Dunn, we've known each other for 15 years, right? We've been partners in countless missions. I'm very concerned about you and very worried. I have to see you with my own eyes to be at ease," Dunn said in a gentle voice. "... "Well, all right," Old Neil muttered. "I really don't have any problems."
With a creak, the front door slowly opened. Klein quickly raised his hand to wipe his eyes, restoring his vision to normal.
Then, he saw that the carpet in the foyer was covered with blood-red, sticky, and hairy liquid.
Looking forward and gradually upward, he found that the floor, ceiling, round table, piano, and chairs in the living room were all covered with disgusting, sticky, blood-red, and densely black short-haired liquid.
Old Neil's grizzled head was hanging in mid-air, connected to the ceiling by thick mucus. His forehead and cheeks each had a pair of eyes, cold and without eyelashes.
The piano keys were jumping by themselves, playing a beautiful and melodious tune.
"Dunn, look, I really don't have any major problems," Old Neil said with a bright smile. "Luo Yao, Klein, you also think so, right?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, Klein saw that the inside was flowing with sticky, blood-red, and black short-haired liquid.
Dunn's gray eyes flickered, and he casually chatted as if nothing had happened:
"Old Neil, where did you learn 'Life Alchemy' and the 'Resurrection Ritual'?"
Old Neil excitedly replied:
"I heard it. I tried the first part, and it's true! It's a gift from the gods. He keeps telling me, describing it. He is, He is..."
Old Neil's voice suddenly stopped. After a few seconds, he said in a dazed and frightened tone:
"He is the Hidden Sage..."
The Hidden Sage? Isn't that the impersonal god that the Mosse Monks believe in? And this god later came to life, bringing evil and corruption... The Mosse Monks possess the complete "Seer" sequence... Klein's heart stirred, and many thoughts came to him.
When Old Neil mentioned the "Hidden Sage," he seemed to finally come to his senses, looking around in confusion and examining everything.
In the indescribable silence, his six eyes simultaneously looked at Dunn, and he said with a bitter smile:
"So, so I've already become a monster..."
Before Dunn could answer, Old Neil suddenly showed a panicked, flattering, fearful, and timid smile:
"Let me go. I'll go into the mountains and never show up again. I won't hurt anyone. I'll just quietly try my ritual. Really, let me go. Please, please."
Just then, Klein felt as if something illusory had shattered before his eyes.
Immediately, the four cold, eyelashless eyes of Old Neil flashed with a dark light, firmly locking onto Dunn. His expression became indifferent:
"You're pulling me into a dream!"
"No, it's no use! My eyes can see through everything!"
The blood-red, sticky liquid covering the ceiling, floor, and walls began to wriggle, as if a giant had opened its mouth, trying to swallow Klein and the others. Old Neil's head became blurry, like a superimposition of multiple illusions.
Klein didn't panic and draw his revolver. Instead, he reached into his pocket, intending to use the "Sleeping Spell."
Suddenly, he saw everything calm down again. The blood-red, sticky, and densely black short-haired liquid was as still as a lake without a breeze.
Old Neil lost his expressions of coldness, indifference, hatred, and desire, becoming peaceful and serene.
At some point, Dunn had thrown the Sealed Object "3-0611" out, into the pile of blood-red, sticky liquid.
The four eyelashless eyes on Old Neil's forehead and cheeks slowly closed, seemingly lacking the desire to open.
Any creature unprotected and in contact with "Silent Hair" will become quiet, losing all motivation until the end of their life!
Dunn, Klein, and Luo Yao simultaneously drew their guns, aiming at the other's head. At this moment, an extremely frightened and struggling expression appeared on Old Neil's face. His intense desire to survive had slightly overcome the influence of the Sealed Artifact "3-0611".
The four extra eyes vanished, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth were so deep. His hair was so white, and his dark red eyes were slightly cloudy, just like when Klein first saw him.
"Dunn, do you still remember that I once saved you...?"
"Lo Yau, do you still remember that I helped you save your family's lives...?"
"Klein, do you still remember that I taught you mysticism every day? Do you still remember when we discussed how to claim reimbursement? Do you still remember when I made you hand-ground coffee? Do you still remember when we dealt with the out-of-control substitute punisher together?" ...
One after another, illusory-like pleadings pierced into Klein's ears, causing his right hand holding the revolver to tremble noticeably and making him feel that the trigger was so hard to pull.
Bang! Bang!
Two silver bullets for hunting demons flew out, one after the other, piercing into Old Neil's head.
Klein saw the face he knew so well show a look of despair, saw his skull being blown apart, and saw blood red and milky white splatter in all directions.
The thick, blood-colored liquid around began to contract and quietly flow back to the area near Old Neil's head that had fallen to the ground. Dunn and Luo Yao simultaneously lowered their gun barrels and fell silent.
Klein watched all this in silence, watching Old Neil's "corpse" eventually turn into a mass of rotten flesh and blood, and saw a pair of painful, dark red, and glistening eyes within the flesh.
He felt as if all this were a dream, unable to believe that it had happened and ended like this.
He stared blankly and speechlessly as Dunn took two steps forward, seeing the captain's slightly hunched back.
Dunn, dressed in a black windbreaker, looked at Old Neil's "corpse" in front of him and muttered to himself in a deep voice:
"We are guardians, but also a group of pitiful creatures constantly fighting against danger and madness."