(What kind of place is this? A basement, or.. Little Anubis.. where is Little Anubis?)
(Will Peterson and the others.. will they come to save me after they find out I'm missing?)
(Boss.. Boss.. He.. He..)
Thinking of the Boss, Wood's eyes grew slightly moist.
(If I die here, will Boss be sad? He will probably be sad for a long time, after all.. but he won't be sad for me forever.. With his excellence, he will soon find a new lover who is more beautiful, more obedient, more suitable for him than I am, I, I am merely a passerby in his life, I..)
Clang!
The sound of a metal door being pushed open.
Wood quickly pushed aside his sentimentality, his eyes widening as he stared at the three dark figures approaching with candles in hand.
Are you.. are you Nancy and Nancy's Parents? What are you going to do to me! I.. I am a Special Consultant for the Special Events Investigation Department New York Branch, I.. I have a tracker on me, you—
A tracker? This thing?
Nancy, the leader, tossed out a metal sliver.
That's right! But I don't just have one Tracker on me! I have a Tracking Chip inside me too!
Wood was bluffing.
Once you become fodder, the Tracker inside your body will naturally lose its effect as well.
Food? You.. aren't you devout Catholics? How could you..
Wood was shocked: "And—what about Little Anubis! Where is my Little Anubis?"
Your puppy is in the next room. Once you have been eaten, it will be its turn.
As he spoke, the stone on the left slowly sank, revealing a monster whose entire body was charred black and faintly smoldering with flames, wearing an Ancient Egypt style golden ring on its right middle finger.
Author's Note:
----------------------
Note: Hollywood movies often depict serial killers as having a preference for drinking milk. Although the protagonist's request for milk from Nancy was actually due to a fear of the milk being poisoned—intending to feed the milk to Little Anubis later (since this fellow isn't afraid of being poisoned).
Thanks to readers "a", "Tears of Makeup.", "Work in a factory if you don't study hard", "Raise a Fei ing." for providing nutrient solution.
In the next chapter, Little Anubis bravely rescues "Dad" ().
Chapter 9: Seal of Osiris (9)
You.. you! You are actually cultists!
Wood was shocked, struggling as he cursed loudly, "We were deceived! We naively thought you were devout Catholics, wanting to investigate the truth behind Mike's death and help Mike return to heaven after he chose suicide to resist the demons! To think that you, that you have long since sided with the demons! Even, even prepared to—"
My love for Mike is as devout as my faith.
Nancy emphasized angrily, "Everything we are doing now is to save Mike!"
Is sacrificing innocent people to the devil what you call salvation?
Wood let out a roar, "I, I.. If I had the power, I would definitely—ah!"
Unknowingly, the monster had already walked up to Wood. The incomplete, desiccated corpse opened its cracked mouth and spat out a tough, fleshy tongue, causing Wood to let out a startled scream.
Feeding is about to begin.
Nancy murmured, along with his Parents, he placed the candles in specific positions within the Great Magic Circle drawn around the stone platform, then—
I am sorry, but we must do this, so that Mike's Soul may return to heaven—Mister Wood, if you hold a grudge against us because of this and become an evil spirit to haunt and kill us after death, we will have no complaints.
After speaking, Nancy turned to his parents and said, "Dad, Mom, let's go out. In half an hour—"
Wait a minute!
Having struggled to barely escape the monster's outstretched tongue, Wood shouted, "Since I'm about to die, can you—can you let me die with some clarity! At least, at least you should let me know what exactly happened to Mike! Why, why—ah!"
After twisting his body once more to narrowly avoid the monster's tongue, Wood discovered that the monster's left foot was actually bound by a thin chain shimmering with golden light, which severely restricted its range of movement.
(So that's it. The person who trapped the monster here.. the one who provided the chains is the key to this whole matter..)
—Why did you.. Aaaah! Who, who trapped the monster here! And who ordered you to raise monsters! To kidnap living people to feed them to the monster! And said that doing so could save Mike's Soul!
It is the Lord.. the Almighty Lord.. The Lord sent Angels to capture the monsters, the Lord told us that doing this could save Mike's Soul..
Nancy and the other two repeated it as if it were a matter of course, then walked out of the room side by side.
Clang—
The iron gate slammed shut, making the already dim space even darker and more oppressive. The firelight faintly emanating from within the monster's charred and broken body, along with the eerie and mysterious golden chains beneath its feet, grew even brighter and more dazzling as a result.
—No! No! Don't come over here!
Wood, whose limbs including his neck were fixed to the stone platform, let out a futile cry.
Help! Help! Someone! Someone, please save me! Help—
..
..
Don't move! Hands up! Against the wall! Stand against the wall!
Armed Military Police stormed into the room, quickly subduing the family of three inside.
Peterson stepped forward with an arrest warrant in hand and grabbed Nancy: "Where is Wood! Tell me right now!"
I don't know anything.
Nancy said calmly.
Hearing this, Peterson waved his fist threateningly at Nancy: "Don't think I won't hit a woman!"
The Law Recording Device will record—
Sorry, it seems the Law Recording Device is low on battery.
The colleague responsible for recording the law enforcement process suddenly turned off the Law Recording Device.
Peterson sneered, "And now? Still refusing to confess?"
“..”
The woman lifted his head stubbornly: "I won't say anything until Mike's Soul is saved!"
Salvation? Do you have any idea what kind of nonsense you're talking about!
Peterson said exasperatedly, "Take these people back for interrogation, the rest of you search the rooms with me! Remember, do not miss a single corner, especially the areas with data fluctuations! These people have long since become servants of the demons; their souls will never be saved!"
—No!
Nancy's Mother screamed, "It's all my fault! It has nothing to do with them! I'm the one who ruined Mike! And I've ruined my daughter! My husband! I am willing to fall into hell, but they—"
They, too, can no longer be saved.
Peterson interrupted the old woman bluntly: "You have not only violated the laws of this world, but you have also defied the will of God. You are beyond redemption. As for Mike's Soul, whom you are trying to save—because of your stupidity and your surrender to the demon, he can never be saved again!"
Impossible! He said as long as we.. Mike's Soul would be saved! He could not have lied to us!
Nancy's Father blurted out.
Peterson followed up by asking, "Who is it? And where is it?"
He..
Daddy!
Nancy screamed, interrupting his father.
Peterson raised the butt of his gun, intending to knock Nancy unconscious.
Just then—
Rumble!
A rumbling and shaking, similar to an earthquake, erupted from beneath the house.
This..
The people in the room looked at each other in confusion.
Peterson was the first to snap out of it. "Quick! Quickly find the entrance to the basement! Wood is in the basement!"
..
..
Huff.. huff, huff..
Perhaps it was because the power left behind by Wood within his body was taking effect; although the monster, restricted in its movements by the fine chains, managed to lick Wood's body as it desired, its tongue emitted a "sizzling" sound like it had touched highly corrosive strong acid the moment it touched Wood's cheek!
Awoooo—
The monster was startled and recoiled instinctively, as a large amount of sparks flew from within its charred and tattered body. Some of the sparks landed on Wood, burning various sized holes in his clothes, yet the skin beneath the clothing remained unexpectedly undamaged.
Wood was overjoyed.
Immediately after, he discovered that the thick rope securing his left hand to the stone platform was also covered in sparks!
The sparks spread rapidly along the fibers of the rope, soon the rope was burned into soft black ash, yet Wood only felt a slight redness and heat on the surface of his wrist skin.
Phew, that was great!
Having regained freedom in his left hand, Wood quickly grabbed the scorching black ashes still glowing with sparks and placed them on the ropes binding his right hand.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
His right hand also quickly regained its freedom.
Then the neck, the legs..
Awesome! The feeling of freedom is incredible!
Wood sat up on the stone platform, stretching his body with excitement.
As for the abnormality displayed when his body was subjected to high-temperature scorching—
(Thank you, Boss! It is the mysterious power the Boss left within my body that is protecting me!)