I have a Tantric panel

Chapter 76 Mothman (3000)

That monster had the outline of human limbs.

However, the arms and chest are covered with gray-brown scales and downy hair.

The legs are bent in the arc of an insect's hind legs.

His facial features vaguely resembled those of a man.

He had extremely high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and red compound eyes like a moth.

Looking at this monster, Shane remembered the "Mothman" he had heard about in his previous life.

The Demon Hunter's Notebook also contains records of similar evil creatures.

Mothman

Also known as the Burning-Winged One, or the Moth Metamorphosis.

The Mothmen are not inherently evil; the vast majority of them are transformed from extraordinary individuals who have become obsessed with the path of cultivation.

Some of them failed on the path to transformation.

Some, however, voluntarily relinquished their human form.

Unable to transform into a more perfect life form, and unable to return to being human, it can only walk in the world as a half-human, half-moth.

The notes also say...

The Mothman's weakness is its aversion to light.

But it wasn't ordinary sunlight or candlelight.

The brilliance of the path to truth is the natural enemy of the mothman.

However, the Mothman will also be obsessed with the light of the "lamp," until it is burned to ashes.

In addition, the silver markings on its wings are its sensory organs; damage to them can cause deafness and blindness.

Piercing the wing root can incapacitate it.

Xia En quickly reviewed the information in his mind.

at the same time.

The scarlet from the mural fell drop by drop onto the floor, transforming into eerie and terrifying moth-men.

He glanced at Clara.

I thought the girl would show signs of panic and unease.

but.

Clara gripped the longsword tightly in her hand, her jewel-like red eyes revealing a hint of excitement.

She craved power.

At the same time, they yearn to break free from the shackles of reality and gain freedom of body and mind.

Dreams are a girl's brief chance to forget reality.

"The base of their wings is a vital point."

Xia En offered a reminder.

He then raised the [Silent Grip] and aimed at the mothman that had pounced on him the closest.

clatter-

A strange gunshot rang out, and a silvery-gray glint flashed from the muzzle. The moth-man's body froze in place, like a puppet deprived of its voice.

next moment.

Its body began to disintegrate from the spot where it had been shot in the chest, scattering into a cloud of silver powder.

Xia En raised an eyebrow.

Even though it was in a dream, the combined effects of [Silent Grip] and Demon-Slaying Bullet still brought him quite a pleasant surprise.

Moreover, it was also because I was in a dream.

Shaun is no longer limited to firing only one shot with [Silent Grip].

His gun barrel moved rapidly.

Tap! Tap! Tap—

Every bullet could take the life of a Mothman.

The reason why Shane doesn't use the "Candle of Truth" is because the road ahead is still very long.

Using the [Candle of Truth] will consume his mental energy.

Furthermore, Shane had a feeling.

The candlelight might alert the most dangerous being in this ancient castle.

Clara was also facing off against a mothman.

The sword traced an extremely short and sharp arc in her hand, the movement swift, powerful, precise, and elegant.

She deflected the Mothman's attacking claws, then thrust her sword tip upwards into the base of its wing with all her might.

The Mothman opened its mouth and struggled twice.

It quickly stopped moving.

Clara pulled the sword from the base of its wing and then faced another mothman.

Xia En glanced at it twice and came to a conclusion.

In terms of swordsmanship, the girl is probably better than him.

There were only seven or eight Mothmen that crawled out of the floor.

The two of them spent a little time cleaning them up.

Xia En asked, "Are you alright?"

"I am fine."

Clara sheathed her sword and calmed her breathing.

Her face was slightly flushed, and there was still a hint of excitement in her eyes.

"This kid might have the potential to become a [Blade]?"

Xia En muttered to himself.

He looked at the mural on the wall.

The crimson stain from before has returned to its original state, and the thorns that had grown out have disappeared without a trace.

But whether it was it or those red-eyed mothmen, they all gave Shane a subtle sense of familiarity.

This ether seems familiar?

Suddenly, a dark, cold wind blew by, bringing a chill to the air.

Candles in the castle corridor suddenly lit up, illuminating a passageway in the darkness.

It seemed to be an invitation extended to the two of them.

Clara and Shane exchanged a glance and voiced their guesses.

"My lord, do you think this might be my mother guiding me?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Xia En nodded.

"Let's go. There may be other dangers waiting for us inside this castle."

The two followed the candlelight forward.

This castle is already magnificent from the outside, but the interior space is even larger.

The dome was so high that its top could not be seen; there was only a deep darkness.

It seemed as if there were invisible eyes watching the visitors below from that high place.

After turning a corner.

Suddenly, Xia En smelled a strong, rusty, bloody odor.

He paused, blocking Clara's path from behind.

"Watch out, there's a smell of blood."

Clara's expression turned serious as she carefully followed behind Shane.

With the help of his enhanced sense of smell from [Perception (1)], Shane quickly found the source of the bloody smell.

At the end of the corridor, behind a tightly closed oak door.

The patterns on the door resemble eyes or moths.

A pool of scarlet blood seeped from the crack in the door at their feet, staining a large area of ​​the floor red.

Clara bit her lower lip, her face tense: "My mother—could she be in here?"

"It shouldn't be."

Xia En shook his head.

"But there is something interesting hidden within this."

He stepped forward and pushed open the heavy oak door.

Squeak—

After the tooth-grinding sound of the door being pushed open.

The sight before them made them pause slightly.

The floor of the room was covered with radial bloodstains, the congealed blood appearing dark red or even deep black.

The pungent, unpleasant smell of blood comes from this.

Something resembling shackles or chains was scattered among the mottled bloodstains.

The walls were covered with numerous bloody handprints.

It spreads from the edge of the door frame into the depths of the room.

It was clear that each of those handprints was made with extreme force, the finger marks deeply etched into the wall.

It was as if a desperate person was grasping at the last chance for survival.

Several portraits also hang on the wall.

The women in the painting, from left to right, change their expressions from serene to frenzied.

The degree continues to deepen.

Until the very last painting.

Her expression became incredibly calm, but that was a harbinger of destruction.

The woman in the painting wraps a piece of cloth into a loop and strangles herself, ultimately leading to her death.

I stood in front of the painting for a while.

Clara recognized the woman in the portrait and uttered a name in a trembling voice.

"Mrs. Rosa".

Xia En's heart skipped a beat: "Who is that?"

"My father's first wife."

He quickly sorted out the relationship.

Mrs. Rosa was the mother of Clara's two older brothers, and she had passed away long before Clara's mother, Luna, married into the Harrison family.

The problem is...

Why does Madame Rosa, who has long since died, appear in this dream?

"----painting!"

Clara caught a glimmer of inspiration and murmured to herself, "That's it, a painting!"

"My mother developed that mental illness after seeing a painting."

"If—if Madame Rosa was driven mad by that painting and ultimately committed suicide—"

Xia En understood immediately.

From a timeline perspective, Luna and Mrs. Rosa should not have had any connection.

But now, some of the scenes and memories of Lady Rosa's death have entered her dreams.

It is highly likely that Luna came into contact with the remaining part of her spirit at the time of her death.

And then they entered a dream together with Luna.

The medium involved is obvious.

It was the painting they had both seen that led them to madness.

Essentially.

This is the same principle as Shane using paintings to pull Clara and Luna into a dream.

If this assumption holds true, it proves that:

The fact that two successive wives of the Harrison family fell ill was not a coincidence, but a premeditated conspiracy.

But new problems have emerged.

Why would the other party do this?

Shane didn't think anyone would go to such lengths to do something that was completely pointless.

Could it be that killing Mrs. Harrison in such a secretive way is also a kind of "ritual"?

He always felt that the clues were missing a crucial link, a piece of information that could connect the dots.

"I knew it—"

Clara practically forced the words out through clenched teeth.

The girl was angry and frustrated.

It was for my own slowness, and also for that hateful mastermind behind the scenes.

After Xia En calmed her down a bit, he asked.

"Iris, do you remember how that painting was delivered to your mother?"

Clara pondered for a moment: "It happened one day, and it suddenly appeared in my mother's bedroom. Then my mother picked it up and looked at it—"

The girl suddenly stopped speaking.

She suddenly realized that she had experienced similar situations before, where things defied common sense and appeared unexpectedly.

Just like.

A letter from the Crimson Servant!

"The Crimson Servant!"

Clara muttered to herself, her tone growing increasingly certain: "Yes, it must be them."

【Crimson Servant】————

Xia En frowned.

Thinking back carefully, those scarlet marks from earlier, and the Mothman's eerie crimson eyes—

This conspiracy does indeed seem to have a significant connection to them.

But this doesn't seem to explain why they targeted the two wives of the Harrison family.

the other side.

Clara has made up her mind.

She prepared to tell her older brother Julian her speculation.

The eldest brother remained deeply troubled by Lady Rosa's death.

If he knew these things—he would probably feel better, right?

The two searched the room for a while longer, and after confirming that there were no other clues, they decided to turn around and leave.

However, at this time...

However, Shane's ears picked up some subtle sounds.

His expression turned serious as he gripped the handle of the Silenced Grip gun.

next moment.

The closed door was pushed open from the outside.

With a muffled clang, a gust of evil wind swept in.

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