Chapter 48: A Temporary Conclusion

For that puppet whose head was larger than a house, Levi’s few shots were nothing more than raindrops, seemingly insignificant.

Yet such insignificant attacks, when landing on the puppet, produced an effect akin to sulfuric acid.

Levi saw the bullets explode on the puppet’s face, sparks clinging to its surface.

Soon, the parts touched by flame began to collapse and shatter.

The puppet raised its hand to clutch its cheek and let out a shriek, similar to the wailing of an infant.

Useful!

Seeing this, Levi felt a surge of joy.

At the same time, he clenched his teeth once more—time around him slowed again!

Eye of the Reaper!

Levi once more drew out a magazine and swiftly reloaded.

Then he raised the gun and pulled the trigger again———this time, he did not even need to aim, unloading all of his bullets in one breath!

The bullets all struck that enormous puppet’s face again.

This time, the puppet could no longer withstand it.

Its head began to collapse and shatter everywhere, while it screamed piercingly, desperately clawing at its face.

Its thick fingers touched its face and tore it apart into fragments.

In the blink of an eye, a large part of the puppet’s head was destroyed, and from within the broken gap, Levi keenly caught sight of a scarlet, crystal-like object shining brilliantly.

From Levi’s experience playing games and watching movies and animations, that thing was most likely the core!

Then, one more time!

Levi activated the Eye of the Reaper again.

At this moment, he already felt a faint pain in his brain.

The blood in his veins seemed to flow like molten lava.

His entire being was falling downward.

If not for having already slowed time twice before with the Eye of the Reaper, Levi would have already fallen to the ground by now.

Although he could still launch another attack afterward, Levi felt uneasy.

After all, this was the best chance right now.

If the puppet regained itself, he might never get such an opportunity again!

Levi reached into his pocket again, pulling out his second simple reloader.

Enduring the headache, he stuffed bullets inside, closed the magazine, and raised his weapon once more.

This time, he narrowed his eyes, staring at that distant scarlet glow, a light about the size of a star.

Then, Levi pulled the trigger.

One bullet after another shot forth.

They followed the same trajectory, flying forward—piercing through scattered fragments, through the gaps between the puppet’s flailing fingers———and then penetrated that scarlet light.

“———————!”

The scarlet light suddenly erupted with dazzling brilliance.

The next moment, Levi fell heavily to the ground.

“Ah———!”

Levi clutched his head and screamed in pain.

Falling from above did not injure him much, but his brain, after three consecutive uses of the 【Eye of the Reaper】, now felt as fragile as a water balloon.

The impact of hitting the floor almost made him feel like his brain was about to burst out…

Fortunately, Levi’s decision had been correct.

“Detective, are you all right?!”

Curling up on the ground, clutching his head, Levi heard Katie’s cry beside him.

He waved a hand weakly, gesturing for her not to speak.

After a moment, he slowly sat up.

“Ugh……… it hurts so bad…”

Levi took in a sharp breath.

His head felt as if stabbed by countless needles.

It seemed that consecutive uses of the 【Eye of the Reaper】 really did put too much burden on his body.

But Levi did not regret it.

After all, that move was truly powerful! Just now, under its effect, he had unleashed three consecutive attacks on the puppet, a super burst of damage!

Dealing three turns of damage in one turn—what more could he ask for?!

“Hah……………”

Levi shook his head, then grasped Katie’s hand.

At once, he felt his body lighten, as Katie directly hauled him up from the ground———by sheer strength?

“…………Thank you…”

Levi looked at Katie’s soft, delicate hand and quietly expressed gratitude.

She grinned, withdrawing her hand, as if it had cost her no effort at all………

“What did you do just now, Detective? Is the threat here eliminated?”

“What did you see?”

“Me?”

Katie blinked at Levi’s question, recalling carefully.

“I only remember you leaping up to the ceiling, then you seemed to vanish, and then you fell down again……… that’s about it.”

“You two didn’t see anything else?”

“……………”

Katie and Henry exchanged glances, then shook their heads.

So it was indeed something only visible within 【Soul Sight】, invisible to ordinary people?

“I think the threat is eliminated.”

Levi glanced at the task notification before him.

After destroying that scarlet light, the task completion message had appeared, which reassured him.

Moreover, upon standing again, he realized that the once-sealed room had completely changed.

Previously, the room was eerie and bizarre.

But now, only a decayed air remained.

The puppets around them were all covered in dust.

As for that boy who had been sitting in the chair………

“Eek———!”

With the help of firelight, Katie got a clear look at the figure and let out a small scream.

The boy now slumped lifelessly on the chair, his corpse half-rotted.

From the decaying wounds, one could glimpse a strange shadow…

Silently, Levi walked forward to the boy’s corpse, reached out, and tore open his abdomen.

Katie and Henry watched in horror as inside the boy’s body, a puppet was embedded within flesh and bone.

Its head was completely shattered, its hands raised, as if struggling to break free.

“Th-this… could it be………?”

Looking at the puppet hidden inside the boy, Katie felt her skin crawl, while Henry’s expression turned grim.

“All right, problem solved.”

Levi stared at the puppet for a moment before speaking at last.

“Our work is done. Let others handle the aftermath.”

And so, the haunted house investigation came to an end.

Yet, to everyone’s surprise, when they dragged their exhausted bodies out of the house, the soldiers guarding outside told them they had been inside for less than two hours.

But for them, it felt like half a day had passed!

As for what followed, everything had to be explained clearly.

Although Levi and the others had survived, those unlucky soldiers were not so fortunate.

Furthermore, Henry had his men locate the missing people from before—he had already known, when possessed by that evil spirit, that the man had secretly killed his own family and servants one by one, fearing betrayal.

He then hid the corpses in the cellar’s storage room.

This explained why Levi’s group had encountered Henry in the cellar earlier.

As a side note, afterward, MI7 burned down the house.

Of course, they did not do so secretly, but rather approached the current owner.

Upon learning that more than a dozen corpses were buried in his cellar, the man nearly fainted in terror, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

Thus, MI7 found an excuse, demolished the house, and burned it to ash.

All in all, this joint operation among departments was a success.

After reporting back to MI7, everyone returned to their own duties.

But for Levi, though he longed to rest at home, he still dragged his tired body to the jewelry shop from before.

Levi knew well that many frustrating story clichés involved the protagonist finding something important but not retrieving it immediately.

Instead, they delayed, only to discover later that it was gone……… Such tropes were common in games, and Levi hated them.

So, even in his current poor state, Levi decided to secure the ring first.

Only then could everything else be settled.

Fortunately, when Levi once more arrived at the “Moonlight Jewelry” store, it was still there—neither closed nor vanished.

This allowed him to breathe easier.

He stepped down from the carriage, straightened his clothes, pushed open the door, and entered.

“Ding-a-ling.”

“Welcome.”

The same clerk greeted him, eyes lighting up upon seeing Levi.

“Ah, Mr. Levi! Good day! May I ask, are you here today for………?”

“I want to buy the Crimson Temptation.”

Standing at the counter, Levi fixed his gaze on the clerk and spoke, a bit nervous inside—worried that she might say, “The ring has already been sold,” or “What ring?”

Fortunately, none of those troublesome things happened.

“Please wait a moment.”

The clerk nodded, turned, and went to the back of the counter.

After a while, she returned, carrying a jewelry box in her hands.

When Levi reached out and opened the box, the blood-like ring lay quietly inside, showing no sign of anomaly.

Levi picked it up and———slid it onto his index finger.

No problem.

For now, the ring seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary piece of jewelry.

Levi felt no strange power.

Only a system prompt appeared briefly before fading away.

【Extra condition detected as fulfilled】

At last, Levi exhaled in relief.

He then pulled out a punched card.

“I’ll take it.”

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