141 “Hostage”
In the dimly lit corridor, bathed in the eerie glow of the crimson moon, Charlie’s voice echoed, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Dreaming of Susanna Mattise again? Lumian’s alarm gave way to surging anger.
Are you out of your damn mind? If you had that dream again, go to the nearest Eternal Blazing Sun cathedral and find a clergyman! I’m not your father to have you report your wet dreams to me!
Casting a glance at Charlie, whose face was a mask of terror, Lumian reined in his emotions and spoke in a low voice, “Relax. This was bound to happen. For now, get some sleep and seek help from the nearest cathedral at dawn.”
Charlie appeared on the verge of tears.
“B-but, in my dream, she said if I dared to seek help from the Church, she’d kill me on my way to the cathedral!”
“You communicated in the dream?” Lumian was taken aback.
Charlie nodded frantically.
“Yes. Before, she never spoke in my dreams. She only satisfied me, warm and gentle. This time, she warned me. She warned me!”
Could it be that Susanna Mattise hasn’t fully transformed into a monstrous creature and still possesses some level of intelligence? Lumian’s thoughts raced, and he felt a pang of sympathy for Charlie.
If Charlie couldn’t get help from official Beyonders, he’d likely end up like the three female victims in Aunett Town, lost in dreams until drained of life.
Hold on, are the official Beyonders handling Charlie’s situation so carelessly? Didn’t they consider the possibility of Charlie being killed by Susanna Mattise? Lumian instantly thought of Ryan, Leah, and Valentine.
None of them would dismiss the case so casually, merely instructing the victim to rush to a cathedral if he faced any issues.
Remembering how the clergyman from the Church stayed with the lunatic upstairs and protected him after encountering the Montsouris ghost, Lumian grew suspicious.
The official Beyonders overseeing Charlie’s case intentionally downplayed the threat posed by Susanna Mattise, allowing him to return to the motel. They claimed the situation was mostly resolved and instructed him to seek help from the cathedral if any issues arose—all to lure Susanna Mattise into revealing herself again!
Realizing this, Lumian looked at Charlie and said coolly, “If you trust me, return to your room, lie down, close your eyes, and sleep until dawn. Don’t worry, it’ll all be sorted out.”
Lumian appeared unruffled, but inwardly, he was cursing.
Get your ass back to the fifth floor! By now, the official Beyonders monitoring the area should’ve detected the anomaly and be preparing to act. Why are you standing in front of my door? Are you trying to get me caught?
“I, I…” Charlie hesitated, his eyes filled with terror.
Will everything truly be resolved if I do nothing?
Lumian exhaled and forced a smile.
Lumian resorted to coaxing and deception, desperate for Charlie to leave the second floor.
Charlie’s face brightened, and he exclaimed excitedly, “Thank you, thank you!”
The moment he spoke, Lumian caught the scent of vegetation, tainted with an unsettling aroma.
In an instant, greenish-brown vines and branches unfurled from the walls, ceiling, and floor. They sealed the windows and doors of the other rooms.
At the staircase, a woman’s voice, both beguiling and unnerving, rang out.
“Charlie, are you really going to betray me?”
Charlie’s eyes widened in shock as he turned toward the sound.
He saw the woman from his dreams, her turquoise hair cascading from her head to the floor, reaching out to the surrounding walls and ceiling above, melding with vines and branches.
Without her turquoise hair shrouding her body, Susanna Mattise stood entirely exposed, her beautiful curves on display. Scattered among her flesh were flower buds and tree warts—some red, some white, some green, and some brown.
As she spoke, the vivid flower buds and bluish tree warts opened and closed, oozing a foul-smelling, viscous liquid.
The repulsive scene left Charlie feeling as if he’d plunged into a nightmare. He stood there, trembling, his mind a haze.
Susanna Mattise looked at Charlie, her eyes brimming with affection.
“Have you forgotten our blissful moments in the dream? Charlie, I’m your wife.”
Snapping out of his stupor, Charlie nearly crumbled.
“No! No!”
You idiot! Just say something to placate Susanna! Lumian cursed himself for not reacting quickly enough to silence Charlie.
Susanna’s expression frosted over.
“Then stay with me forever.”
At her words, the terror in Charlie’s eyes vanished, replaced by infatuation as he eagerly moved toward the monstrous being.
A moist flower bud on Susanna’s lower abdomen opened unnaturally wide, unlike the other flower buds and tree warts that closed slowly.
It seemed to await Charlie.
Simultaneously, Susanna glared at Lumian, her voice seething with hatred, “It’s all your fault. You incited Charlie to betray me!”
“Why don’t you take a look in the mirror and see how horrifying and repulsive you’ve become? If I were Charlie, I would’ve kicked you out of my dream from the start!” Lumian’s instincts told him pleading for mercy was futile. Instead, he chose to retaliate and provoke Susanna, hoping to uncover her weakness.
Merely standing near the bizarre creature, Lumian felt a mix of exhilaration and dread. He longed for her, yet resisted, as if caught in a whirlpool of desire, consumed by an overpowering sense of helplessness.
This proved she was far stronger than him!
Lumian cursed inwardly as his thoughts raced, searching for a way to buy time.
He was sure the official Beyonders would arrive soon!
What in the world is this monster?
Why does she believe she’s Charlie’s wife?
Wife…
In that instant, as Susanna Mattise screeched, incensed by his words, an idea struck Lumian.
As her scream filled the air, vines and branches surged toward Lumian, amplifying the fear lurking in his heart to the point of near-collapse.
His legs weakened, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Summoning his ruthlessness, Lumian managed to extend his right hand, grabbing Charlie, who was about to rush toward the creature.
With Fallen Mercury in his left hand, he pressed the sinister dirk to Charlie’s throat.
Susanna Mattise looked bewildered, her anger palpable.
“What are you doing?”
Lumian smirked menacingly.
“I forgot to mention, my Beyonder weapon is called Cursed Blade.
“A single cut drawing blood will curse his entire family to death, including his wife.
“And you’re Charlie’s wife!”
Recalling the lunatic upstairs, Lumian suspected that the Montsouris ghost would target not only one’s immediate family but also their spouse.
Although he didn’t understand how a spouse was determined in mysticism, since Susanna Mattise claimed to be Charlie’s wife, he treated her as such!
Of course, Lumian knew allowing Fallen Mercury to curse Charlie with the fate of the Montsouris ghost wouldn’t immediately impact Susanna Mattise. It wouldn’t affect the present situation at all.
He gambled that Susanna Mattise didn’t know this, and that she could sense the danger in Fallen Mercury.
It was a bluff!
Susanna Mattise’s expression froze, and the attacking vines and branches halted midair.
Her jade-green eyes radiated menace.
Lumian’s vision shifted. He saw Guillaume Bénet, the hawk-nosed padre clad in a white robe adorned with golden threads.
Suppressed hatred erupted like a volcano.
Lumian released Charlie and advanced toward the “Guillaume Bénet” he had locked onto.
But before him stood only Susanna Mattise.
In that instant, Charlie, his face awash with infatuation, saw Lumian approaching his “wife” with a dirk. He lunged at the assailant, shouting, “Don’t hurt her!”
Lumian snapped to his senses, realizing Guillaume Bénet had morphed into Susanna Mattise, her flower buds and tree warts blossoming one by one!
She controlled my emotions? In his shock, Lumian twisted violently, seizing Charlie again and pressing Fallen Mercury to his throat.
Susanna Mattise didn’t conceal her disappointment. After a moment’s silence, she parted her red lips.
Suddenly, the creature halted, staring solemnly at the wall near Rue Anarchie in Auberge du Coq Doré.
In the next second, her turquoise hair retracted, and the vines and branches disintegrated, vanishing.
Wh— The official Beyonders are here? Lumian watched Susanna Mattise’s figure burrow through the wall and disappear from the corridor.
He released Charlie and shook him, urging him to wake up. He quickly instructed,
“Lie down on the second-floor stairs and keep your eyes closed until someone wakes you!”
With that, Lumian pushed Charlie and retreated to his room, closing the wooden door and feigning sleep, like the other tenants.
As Susanna departed, the obsession faded from Charlie’s eyes. When Lumian jolted him back to reality, he had no choice but to follow Lumian’s directions. He jogged to the staircase leading to the ground floor, lay down, and closed his eyes, feigning unconsciousness.
Almost simultaneously, a red hue filled Charlie and Lumian’s vision, as though the sun had risen prematurely, heralding the day.
…
Minutes later, a golden sword formed from light stabbed into the ground of Rue Anarchie, skewering a writhing turquoise vine.
“Is it resolved?” A young man with the Sun Sacred Emblem pinned to his chest asked the one brandishing the sword.
He was a rugged man with blond hair, golden eyebrows, and a golden beard, wearing a brown coat adorned with two rows of golden buttons.
He exhaled and declared, “We’ve resolved it for now, but unless we find the origin of this evil spirit, it’s only a matter of time before she regenerates there.”
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