Bai Yi stared wide-eyed as he walked over to the knight who had already collapsed and was convulsing (꒪Д꒪) on the ground. He swallowed hard, pressed his palms together while murmuring a Buddhist chant, then quickly stepped over the body and hurried to catch up with Big Brother.

BOOM—

At the end of the corridor, high up on the ancient castle's outer wall, Lynn kicked open the massive, decaying door.

A violent gust of wind howled in from outside.

This was an open-air platform atop the castle's high walls, with the tall tower standing on the opposite side of the platform.

Thick, rolling black mist swirled everywhere. Jumping from here would allow one to ride the wind currents and directly reach Soul-Severance Street—though likely ending up half-paralyzed in the process!

"Doctor, you're really making me, the master of this house, quite angry."

From within the black mist came a deep, resonant laugh that carried natural authority even without visible anger.

Tap—

Under Bai Yi's pale-faced gaze, the male host emerged from the black mist on the platform. Dressed in a tailcoat, leaning on a scepter, and wearing a top hat, he moved with the noble grace of medieval aristocracy.

This was precisely the master of the ancient castle, Count Camell.

"You broke my eldest son, killed my wife, and now you want to lay hands on my daughter as well?"

Camell smiled with a surface politeness that didn't reach his eyes, creating an intensely eerie sensation.

Lynn calmly adjusted his monocle, responding with an enigmatic smile:

"Ah! You might be misunderstanding the situation. I'm the doctor your daughter hired at great expense through Sight. Until the appointment is canceled, my mission here is to provide your daughter with the highest quality treatment and service."

Camell chuckled with a creaking sound, his entire skeleton emitting abnormal cracking noises throughout his body.

"Yes... yes... she does need treatment..."

He extended a withered hand, pressing against his hat as a series of strange, hoarse sounds emerged from beneath the brim.

"Since childhood... she's brought misfortune..."

"So she must be kept in a cage... must be cured... must be cured..."

"If she can't be cured... we must prevent her from bringing... calamity upon everyone!"

Riiip—

Under their watchful eyes, his tailcoat tore open with multiple fissures. His muscles began creaking and swelling, while sharp bone spurs slowly grew from his shoulders and back.

In almost an instant, he had swollen and twisted into a colossal monster several meters tall.

The enormous shadow he cast made Bai Yi pale and retreat, stumbling to sit on the ground.

Whoosh—

Camell suddenly lifted his head, his entire face instantly splitting down the middle. One half maintained an elegantly charming smile, while the other displayed cruel, ferocious brutality.

"Hmph, you people." The left face smiled gracefully.

"Will all be chopped to pieces!" The right face snarled viciously.

[Ding! You have triggered a special quest: Camell of the Mask!]

[Quest Introduction]: The target possesses extremely strong recovery ability and defensive power. You need to defeat him before he chops you into pieces.

[Quest Reward]: Base EXP 1000, Skeleton Coins: 500, Special Item: Witch's Veil x1

[Quest Failure]: You will become one of the wandering spirits of this ancient castle.

And almost the instant the quest triggered,

The giant monster that Camell had transformed into roared, brandishing a butcher's knife as it charged toward them like a heavy tank.

Lynn smiled slightly, adjusted his glasses, and suddenly pulled out his revolver from his coat, clicking off the safety.

"Ah! Truly worthy of being such a gentle and kind father!"

"And since there's a quest now, you'll just have to die."

BANG BANG BANG—

Lynn fired several shots while maintaining his smile.

The demon-hunting bullets instantly and accurately struck the monster's eyeballs. With splattering fluids, both eyes exploded simultaneously.

Crackling electric currents spread throughout its entire body.

"DIE!"

The monster snarled viciously, its speed only partially reduced. These few shots couldn't inflict fatal damage on it.

ROAR—

It let out a thunderous roar.

Its massive body leaped into the air, the crimson great blade suddenly slashing down toward Lynn.

Lynn adjusted his glasses, smiling as he said:

"Let's take our time playing."

His feet pushed backward as he grabbed Bai Yi by the nape. Amid the swirling black mist, he swiftly dodged the descending cleaver.

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion sounded.

The stone bricks on the ground shattered violently under the blade's impact.

Lynn leaped lightly onto the castle's battlement, looking up with a faint smile:

"Bai Yi, go find a safe place to hide. After Big Brother subdues this family member, I'll come get you."

Before Bai Yi could even process what constituted a "safe place,"

He suddenly felt his body become weightless.

Then he saw Lynn, still holding his neck, lean backward into the black mist beyond the castle walls. Both of them instantly began falling into the churning darkness below.

Whoosh whoosh—

Wind roared past their ears.

Bai Yi (ΩДΩ) cried out: "Big Brother!! You didn't mean jumping off a building, did you?! It's dozens of meters high!!"

But just as they were about to plunge into the black mist,

A whooshing sound cut through the air.

A long tentacle suddenly pierced through the night, instantly wrapping around a tall flagpole on the opposite side of the castle.

With a sharp pull—

"WAAAAAAAH!"

Accompanied by Bai Yi's shocked and terrified screams,

Their bodies shot through the air like from a slingshot, soaring like birds as they were catapulted straight toward the opposite side.

Landing with one foot on the flagpole,

Bai Yi was hung like a little chick on the very tip of the pole by Lynn.

"Stay put obediently. I'm heading out first."

Lynn gave him a raised eyebrow gesture before his body suddenly dropped back into the rolling black mist.

Bai Yi clung to the flagpole in terror, shouting:

"Big Brother!! This isn't a safe place! It's not!! I have acrophobia!!"

But it was completely useless.

The long tentacles rustled as they adhered to the castle walls. Lynn leaped through the black mist, landing lightly back on the platform. He looked up with a slight smile as his tentacles spread out around him.

"Waste... finished handling things?"

Camell turned with creaking menace, his burst eyeballs already completely healed thanks to his terrifying regenerative ability.

Lynn adjusted his glasses, smiling: "Ah! Yes! Now it's your turn, family member."

"Such arrogance!"

The enormous monster snarled viciously, roaring as it charged forward, its massive butcher knife suddenly slashing toward Lynn.

Lynn didn't retreat. Instead, he drew the chainsaw from his back, clashing heavily with the descending cleaver.

BOOM—

A tremendous impact.

The stone bricks beneath Lynn's feet instantly shattered, sinking down more than ten centimeters.

The whirring chainsaw and the sharp cleaver ground against each other, producing ear-piercing noise and dense sparks.

This single strike made flashes of surprise appear in Camell's eyes.

Because he discovered,

This seemingly frail youth's physical constitution was unexpectedly strong.

Despite their massive size difference, his full-power strike hadn't managed to crush this guy outright.