Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 17 The Solo Dance of the Miserable Couple
That was not simply "gazing".

The moment the most inconspicuous pair of eyes among the billions of eyes above that blood-soaked city cast its blood-red, moon-like gaze down, time, space, and even cause and effect—the fundamental laws that constitute the mortal world—were instantly crushed into dust.

An Mu's steely will was as fragile as glass crushed by a giant wheel at this moment. He felt no longer like a battle-hardened investigation team leader, but a paramecium pinned to a microscope slide. Everything about him, from his first tear as a child to every tactical thought that flashed through his mind at this moment, was pierced, analyzed, and then judged as "meaningless" with an emotionless indifference. His sense of existence was being rapidly stripped away, and a fear from the depths of his soul, like a black tide, was about to completely engulf him.

Mo Fei's feelings were even more direct. His physical strength, capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, and his burning fighting spirit ignited by anger and courage, seemed to melt and evaporate rapidly under that gaze, like a handful of snow in the sunlight. He felt his massive body becoming transparent, as if it would completely disintegrate in the next second, turning into the most insignificant dust in the universe. He wanted to roar, but no sound came out; he wanted to swing his battle axe, but his limbs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. It was a power suppression that transcended all dimensions; in his world, courage and anger became so pale and powerless for the first time.

“Error…error…logic…unable to model…data overflow…” Lan Ce’s brain, his most trusted mental palace, like a supercomputer, completely crashed at this moment. The world he saw was no longer analyzable objects and energy, but had transformed into a chaotic vortex of mad colors and irrational geometry. He saw straight lines crying, circles screaming, and time, like a severed snake, devouring him head and tail upside down. His proud wisdom and logic became the first line of defense to be destroyed in the face of this incomprehensible “reality.” He clutched his head, silently kneeling on the ground, fine blood seeping from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Only Bai Yu had a completely different experience.

The moment that gaze fell upon him, the Black Word within him, that always elegant and composed nightmare, let out a shriek for the first time that was almost terrified, mixed with greed and excitement.

"A higher 'concept'! A mature 'harvester' that feeds on 'existence' itself! No... no... this is not the true form... this is just... just an insignificant shadow it casts! The shadow of a 'gardener'!"

The chaotic and mad primal power of Hei Yan contracted frantically deep within Bai Yu's soul, like a venomous snake encountering its natural enemy, instinctively coiling itself into the tightest defensive posture. It was precisely because of this defense that the direct mental impact of that gaze on Bai Yu was weakened by 99%.

But that doesn’t mean he was unharmed.

He "heard" it. He heard the stars wailing, the light decaying, and the silence itself roaring deafeningly. He "smelled" it—the "wind" mixed with ozone and interstellar dust, the scent of the dying universe. He was forcibly bombarded with countless stories of birth and destruction, the meaningless stream of information churning wildly in his mind like a red-hot iron rod.

"puff--"

Bai Yu spat out another mouthful of black blood, his body swayed, and he almost collapsed to the ground. The soul porcelain that he had barely managed to hold together with Hei Yan's power now had countless fine cracks added to it.

However, it was precisely because of Hei Yan's existence that he became the only one among the four who could still maintain his thinking.

Just a second before the four were about to be completely crushed by that gaze, the owner of that gaze seemed to... lose interest.

Deep inside the cave entrance, the pair of blood-red, crescent-shaped giant eyes blinked slowly.

Just this once.

It was as if the creator god had yawned, or as if a giant whale had cast a bored glance at the plankton. The terrifying gaze, enough to overturn reality, was simply moved away casually.

As the gaze shifted away, the writhing wound on the ancestral hall wall leading to the flesh-and-blood city began to heal at a visible speed. The all-consuming darkness rapidly contracted inward, and the maddening spectacle of billions of eyes and flesh-and-blood architecture vanished behind the healing wall, like a stage curtain being drawn back.

"boom!"

After a final, soft, muffled thud as the space closed, the wall returned to its original state—a plain, weathered mud wall covered in a century's worth of dust. It was as if the hellish scene they had just witnessed was merely a collective hallucination caused by their mental breakdown.

The threat from higher dimensions has receded.

But the fear it left behind was like a vicious curse, forever imprinted on the depths of their souls.

"Roar--!!!!"

Before they could recover from the extreme fear, a roar filled with endless resentment and pain, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, instantly pulled them back to the hell that was within their reach!
It's that out-of-control "bride"!
Freed from the constraints of the "Substitute Curse" and the suppression of rules from a higher level, her resentment, accumulated over countless years as a "sacrifice," broke free of its shackles at this moment, transforming into a monster solely dedicated to spreading pain and destruction.

The mass of flesh and blood that had been writhing before the host's table had now swelled to a horrifying extent. It stood three meters tall, like a mountain of flesh forcibly stitched together and compressed from countless corpses. On this mountain of flesh, there was no fixed shape, only countless human faces contorted in agony, screaming silently, like reliefs in a nightmare, constantly rising and sinking from the flesh. Hundreds of pale, swollen arms of varying lengths, like wildly growing poisonous vines, stretched out from every corner of the mountain of flesh, wildly waving and scratching in the air, their fingernails filled with black filth and blood clots.

In the very center of the mountain of flesh, a disproportionately large face, consisting only of a mouth, suddenly opened wide. Inside the mouth were no teeth or tongue, only a vortex of blood and flesh exuding a foul stench. The roar that had just torn through the air had originated from this very spot.

"Everyone! Shrink your defenses around me!"

An Mu's voice was the first to break the silence. He forcibly suppressed the tremor rising from the depths of his soul, and his instincts as a commander made the most correct judgment in an instant. He pulled the still dazed Lan Ce behind him and roared at Mo Fei at the same time.

"Mo Fei! Wake up! Your enemy is here!"

This roar struck Mo Fei's soul like a heavy hammer. His eyes, which had become unfocused due to fear, refocused, and when he saw the mountain of flesh made of pain before him, the anger and grief that had been suppressed before erupted once again like magma that had found an outlet.

“Ahhhhhh——!!!”

He let out a beastly roar, a roar that contained lingering fear of the higher-dimensional being, but even more so, an undisguised killing intent towards the hideous monster before him! He gripped his battle axe tightly with both hands, and a scorching battle intent rose from his body once more, forming a visible white wave of energy.

"I'm going to... chop this pile of rotten flesh into pieces!!"

The vengeful spirit seemed enraged by his roar, and its gigantic maw opened again. But this time, instead of sound waves, it violently spewed out dozens of flailing, black, slimy arms from the vortex of flesh! These arms shot out like arrows from a bow, whistling through the air, towards the four from all directions!
"Lan Ce! Sound Barrier!" An Mu calmly gave the order.

Lanze had returned to normal by now. He quickly took out a disc-shaped device from his backpack and slammed it hard on the ground.

"Barrier deployed!"

"Om-"

A semi-transparent energy shield with pale blue ripples instantly unfolded, firmly protecting the four people within it. The flying severed arms slammed heavily against the barrier, producing a series of muffled thuds. Black, corrosive viscous liquid sizzled on the barrier, emitting puffs of white smoke, but it couldn't penetrate it even slightly.

"The barrier won't last long! Its resentment energy is too strong, and it's rapidly neutralizing my sound wave frequency!" Fine beads of sweat appeared on Lan Ce's forehead.

"That's enough!" An Mu's gaze locked onto the monster, and he quickly gave the orders, "Mo Fei, launch a frontal assault and draw its attention! Lan Ce, find its energy core! Bai Yu, how are you?"

"It's not dead yet." Bai Yu leaned against a pillar and slowly stood up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were unusually bright. "Its core... is gone."

"What do you mean?" "Its 'core' is the curse of the 'bride substitute.' Now that the curse has been transferred, it's like a puppet without strings, a vessel without a soul." Bai Yu's voice rang out clearly in the link, "Now all its actions are just the resentful instincts of those sacrifices it devoured. It's powerful, but also 'empty.' It has no intelligence, only anger."

"So, as long as we can withstand its rage, we can win?" Mo Fei asked in the link.

“No, quite the opposite.” Bai Yu shook his head. “Pure aggregates of resentment are the hardest to kill. If you destroy a part of it, it can quickly replenish itself from the surrounding resentment and recombine. Unless… we can find a new ‘core’ that it can’t ‘reject’, and then, together with that core, completely purify it.”

In the instant they exchanged words, the aggregate of resentment, seeing that its ranged attacks were ineffective, let out an even more furious roar. Its massive, fleshy body began to writhe violently, crushing towards the barrier they stood on like a slime. The blood-red carpet on the ground seemed to be summoned by it, also beginning to churn and boil, transforming into blood-red tentacles that frantically lashed at the collapsing sonic barrier.

"The barrier is about to shatter!" Lan Ce roared.

"Mo Fei!" An Mu's voice rang out.

"coming!"

Mo Fei roared and charged towards the mountain of flesh just before the barrier shattered! His figure appeared incredibly small compared to the monster, yet he resembled a mad bull, carrying an indomitable and fierce momentum.

"Get the hell out of my way!!"

He poured all his strength into his twin axes, and two silver axe lights crossed in mid-air, forming a huge "X"-shaped slash that slammed into the mountain of flesh!
"Tsk-!"

A sound like a hot knife through butter rang out. Mo Fei cleaved a deep, bone-revealing wound in the front of the aggregate of resentment. Countless agonizing faces were torn apart by the slash, emitting silent screams. Black, foul-smelling blood gushed out like a waterfall.

However, Mo Fei's face showed no joy. He saw the massive wound visibly writhing and healing. The scattered flesh and blood around it seemed to be drawn by a magnet, frantically converging towards the wound. In just two or three breaths, the potentially fatal wound was completely healed.

"Damn it! It's not even effective at all?!" Mo Fei missed his attack and immediately retreated, avoiding dozens of arms that were being pulled out of his wound.

“Physical attacks are ineffective! Its essence is an energy body!” Lance immediately concluded.

“Then let’s use energy attacks!” An Mu said, drawing a uniquely shaped pistol from his waist. The gun was not made of metal, but of some kind of pure white bone, with a crystal that emitted a soft white light embedded in the muzzle.

"The 'Purifier' No. 3 bullet is incredibly effective against vengeful nightmares!" An Mu aimed at the monster and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

A pure white beam of light, composed of highly concentrated purifying energy, precisely pierced the monster's body.

“Ouch——!!!”

For the first time, the aggregate of resentment let out a truly agonizing scream. Large plumes of white smoke rose from the spot struck by the beam, and flesh and tissue rapidly dissolved, leaving a gaping hole.

However, before An Mu and the others could rejoice, an even stranger scene unfolded. The head of the groom, Lin Sheng, who had been sitting upright at the head table, suddenly twitched slightly.

A resentment, purer, older, and colder than the aggregate of resentment, emanated from him, like invisible threads, quietly connecting to the monster being purified.

Within the void created by the purification of the monster, wisps of the groom's black resentment spread rapidly, like ink dripping into clear water. Far from clashing with the monster's resentment, this black energy acted as a catalyst, accelerating its regeneration at an even more terrifying pace! In a mere second, the purified void was completely filled with newly formed, pitch-black, malevolent flesh and blood!

"What's going on?" Anmu exclaimed in shock. "Is the groom's resentment 'helping' it?"

“No, it’s not about helping.” Bai Yu’s pupils contracted sharply as he finally understood the last step. “It’s about assimilation and fusion! The groom’s curse needs a ‘bride’ as a vessel and anchor. We destroyed the previous ‘bride substitute,’ and now, this more powerful monster, made of pure resentment, has appeared. For the groom’s curse, this is… a more perfect ‘container’!”

"He wants to turn this monster into his true, inseparable... mortal couple!"

This terrifying conclusion sent chills down everyone's spines. If the groom's curse were to completely merge with this aggregate of resentment, what would be born would be an invincible, perfectly controlled nightmare with a "core" and "intelligence"!

At that time, they will all become incorruptible sacrifices in this eternal wedding.

"We can't let them merge!" An Mu made a decisive decision. "Mo Fei, Lan Ce, stop the groom's resentment from being transferred at all costs! Bai Yu, what is this 'new core' you mentioned? Tell me quickly!"

“It’s ‘obsession’!” Bai Yu’s gaze pierced through the chaotic battlefield, locking onto the groom’s corpse that was channeling resentment into the monster. “This monster is hollow, so it instinctively accepts the groom’s resentment. But it is also composed of the resentment of countless sacrificed, unjustly killed girls! What is their deepest obsession? It’s not revenge, but liberation! It’s being saved!”

"What we need to do is not kill it, but 'awaken' it! Replace the groom's resentment with an 'obsession' that it can resonate with, and let it collapse from within!"

"What obsession could be stronger than the groom's century-old grudge?" Mo Fei roared as he frantically hacked at the fleshy tentacles that tried to get closer to the groom with his battle axe.

“Yes.” Bai Yu’s gaze became unusually complicated. He looked towards the main hall of the ancestral hall, towards the wall that had been restored to its original state after the burned portrait.

"It's Awan's obsession."

He said slowly, “The real Awan, the girl who was sacrificed to the mountain god. Her soul may have long since dissipated, but her love for her groom Linsheng, her attachment to this village, her resentment and sorrow... must still remain in some corner of this space! It is the starting point of this story, and only it can end this story!”

"Where should we find it?"

"The back mountain! That sacrificial cave!" Bai Yu's tone left no room for doubt. "There must be something belonging to Awan there! That's the real 'core'!"

However, at that moment, the corpse groom, who had already established a preliminary connection with the monster, seemed to sense their intentions. His tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open!
What kind of eyes were those! There were no pupils, no whites, only an impenetrable blackness, as if formed from the deepest resentment!
He stood up stiffly. A resentful aura, far more terrifying than ever before, suddenly descended! This time, the target of the aura was no longer the monster, but Bai Yu and the other two uninvited guests who had attempted to disrupt his "wedding"!
“It’s over…” Lan Ce’s face turned deathly pale instantly. “The groom… has woken up.”

Now, they are facing an awakening source of curses that is merging with a collective of resentment.

Ahead lies a terrifying, vengeful couple in the making, and behind lies a century-old zombie king awakening.

The four of them seemed to be completely trapped in a desperate situation.

　Ugh, edg ()
　　
　
(End of this chapter)