[Chapter 97: Sacred Alchemical Transmutation]
Daniel's vision was shrouded in thick fog. Still, he could sense the two sisters nearby, which offered a small comfort amid the haze. Suddenly, he felt something strange behind him. He spun around just in time to see several tentacles reaching through the dense mist, lashing toward him.
"Whoosh!" With a single, precise slash of his Ashwood blade, Daniel severed the tendrils effortlessly. Prepared as he was, these attacks posed no real threat.
Then, a sudden tickle teased his throat, sparking the urge to cough. Daniel's heart tightened -- this wasn't normal, especially not in battle. Moments later, a fierce heat surged through his body, and his limbs grew weak and aching.
"Slender Sickness," he realized grimly.
In the movies, the Slender Man hadn't exhibited this trait, but urban legends spoke of it -- a disease-like condition transmitted by the creature. Its symptoms mirrored a common cold and seemed mild, but in the middle of combat, it was deadly.
Daniel had already used the Clarity of Mind Seal earlier, granting him immunity to the Slender Man's mental control. But this sickness was a different story; his seal offered little defense. 'Why isn't my Thunder Body activating?' he thought frantically.
The Thunder Body was a formidable shield against evil forces, but it proved ineffective against this plague-like affliction.
His body blazed hotter as his strength waned rapidly. If he kept weakening like this, killing the Slender Man would be impossible -- and he might not make it out alive.
His legs gave out; he had to brace himself against his sword to stay upright.
The fog swirled, revealing a vague shape before him -- though still cloaked in mist. Then the haze cleared, unveiling the Slender Man, leaning weakly against its remaining tentacles. It clearly realized Daniel was genuinely sick, emboldening it to reveal itself.
A shiver ran through the creature's body, and then it laughed -- a chilling, cruel amusement that Daniel had fallen for its trick and was now helpless prey.
Daniel straightened, steadying himself on his sword, eyes locked on the creature without a word.
Sensing his composure, the Slender Man grew bolder. More tentacles crawled out, reaching for Daniel as if to seize him.
Before this, Daniel would have destroyed them with a single stroke -- but now, powerless, he could only watch.
The tentacles grazed his skin.
Then, lightning flared suddenly from Daniel's body, scorching the appendages. They hissed and crumbled to ash, startling the Slender Man.
At that moment, Daniel chanted firmly, Golden Aegis, rise without delay -- defend under sovereign mandate.
A radiant golden glow exploded outward from Daniel, piercing the fog. Standing tall and strong, his sickly pallor gone, he shone like an angel.
The Slender Man trembled, flickering as it tried to vanish.
"It's too late to run now," Daniel declared.
In his hand -- without his conscious command -- a glowing Dominion Rod had appeared. Holding it aloft, he waved it toward the fleeing shadow.
"Die!"
A massive bolt of lightning shot forth from the rod, crashing violently into the Slender Man.
Compared to the passive lightning from Daniel's Thunder Body, the Dominion Rod's attack was exponentially more powerful.
The creature crumpled instantly, its tentacles severed and smoldering on the ground. Wherever the lightning struck, the fog dissolved.
One strike wasn't enough to show the rod's full might.
"Boom!"
A second jagged bolt struck, blackening the Slender Man's flesh charred and burned. It lay still, appearing lifeless.
"Boom!"
A third lightning strike hammered it, shredding the remaining tentacles and leaving terrible wounds across its frame. The towering entity, once over thirteen feet tall, shrank rapidly, finally resting at about six feet before stilling completely.
...
[Ding! Slender Man killed, 300,000 Merit Points awarded!]
[Ding! Slender Man defeated. Sacred Alchemical Transmutation obtained.]
The system's confirmation echoed in Daniel's mind. The Slender Man was truly dead.
He dispelled the golden light and stepped forward to examine the corpse. The creature's faceless head was charred and torn, a grim testament to the battle.
"It's really worth 300,000 Merit Points. No wonder it was this strong," Daniel murmured, impressed despite the ordeal.
He had clearly fallen victim to the Slender Sickness, but he had silently recited the Golden Aegis Rite throughout the fight. Only at the end did he chant its final line aloud.
Though it was imperfect, the rite had sufficed to purge the sickness from his body.
Reflecting on the battle, Daniel acknowledged the Slender Man's formidable powers: mental attacks, mind control, sowing doubt; overwhelming tentacles; fog to blind; ghostly abilities like invisibility and passing through walls; and that insidious sickness.
It was a versatile foe, adept in mind, body, soul, and disease -- truly the strongest ghost Daniel had encountered.
Its high Merit Point value was proof enough.
But fate had brought it against Daniel, newly armed with several potent Magical Artifacts. No matter how wicked, the creature was no match for powerful lightning.
"Return."
Daniel summoned the Evil Suppression Plaque, which flitted swiftly back into his hand under his magic's pull.
He stored the ashwood sword and examined the Dominion Rod. Powerful as it was, the rod's lightning output was limited -- just three devastating strikes -- after which its energy was fully spent.
"Strong, but single-use," Daniel noted. "Luckily, I have more."
He flipped his hand, and several identical Dominion Rods materialized in his grasp.
...
As the Slender Man's death caused the fog to dissipate rapidly, Daniel gathered his gear and approached its corpse for further study.
Unlike ghosts that dispersed as ethereal souls, the Slender Man existed in a liminal state -- part spirit, part physical. A tangible corpse remained.
Reaching out, Daniel touched it. The creature still had a body -- over six feet tall -- solid and tangible.
Intrigued, Daniel produced a small knife and began to cut into the skin.
Before long, he peeled off a piece.
A wide grin spread across Daniel's face, it worked.
"Now I can craft higher-grade prayer seals," he mused.
With a wave of his hand, he stored the Slender Man's body in the system space, then headed toward the unconscious sisters, Amy and Erin.
*****
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