CHAPTER 1666: AN INVINCIBLE BOSS?

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"Perhaps... murder?" Emeraldine murmured, glancing at the dried bloodstains across the large room where they had arrived. "There are stains here and there, but none are fresh. They’re very old... something terrible happened here."

"Yeah. I keep asking the ghosts, but they only say the one behind this manor is someone who’s been... erased from everyone’s memory," Maria said, scanning the room. "I assume Carnivalis was the same. This world and Carnivalis—they’re not like Planets or even the Realms we’ve visited. These are... Memories of a World, distorted and warped between dimensions. That’s why they feel so strange. They’re like..."

"Like dreams? Nightmare realms?" Alma suggested.

"Exactly," Maria nodded. "That might explain why this place is filled with Nightmare Essence. Carnivalis didn’t have that... Maybe because it was more distorted, while this place is imbued with Mana—or something else."

"I wonder if we’ll meet the ruler," Alma said. "Are they here? Can you sense them? Who are they?"

"Is it the blurred figure?" Emeraldine asked.

"I can feel their presence, more or less," Maria replied, glancing around. "They’ve been hostile for a while. They really don’t want us to leave..."

"Maybe they’re lonely?" Nyx asked softly.

"I can’t say for sure. But we should keep moving," Maria said. "Let’s go."

As they stepped into the final room, they found a vast space filled with furniture and broken dolls, all piled into a towering mountain.

"What’s this now?" Partner muttered. "Is this—Ah!"

Her eyes widened as her vampiric senses helped her dodge a flying bed that crashed where she had just stood, splintering into pieces.

Suddenly, the scattered furniture began to float, possessed by ghostly presences. They assembled into a massive creature made of hundreds of spirits, broken furniture, and dolls. Two enormous hands hovered in the air.

[The Haunted Manor’s Boss: Legion of a Hundred Ghostly Memories (SSS+ Rank) has emerged, aiming to stop you!]

A pair of glowing red flames ignited within its body, and Maria felt a powerful presence emanating from the attic above.

From within the creature, a voice echoed—a distorted, childlike tone, eerie and broken.

"WhY...? jUsT wHy...? DoN’t TaKe... FrIeNdS... wHy?! DoN’t... LeAvE... wItH fRiEnDs...! AlOnE... fOrGoTtEn... ALONE... FORGOTTEN..."

Though warped and unsettling, Maria—deeply attuned to emotion—recognized it instantly.

It was the cry of a lonely child.

The ghosts that had tried to stop them were this child’s friends.

And the child was grieving; afraid Maria was taking them away.

RUMBLE!

The ghostly giant roared, swinging its massive palms down in an attempt to crush the group. They scattered, dodging the attack and retaliating from a distance.

Emeraldine fired arrows of explosive spiritual energy. Partner struck repeatedly with her twin spears. Lucifer launched punches and kicks, driving the creature back.

Their teamwork nearly shattered the monster, reducing it to fragments—

But Maria knew it wasn’t enough.

"That won’t be enough..." she whispered.

The entity began to reassemble rapidly. New souls emerged and fused with it, restoring its form. It lashed out again, slapping Emeraldine and Partner away with its massive hands.

"Ouch!"

"Ahh!"

Their barriers barely held, then shattered, revealing how much stronger the creature had suddenly become.

[The Haunted Manor’s Boss: Legion of a Hundred Ghostly Memories (SSS+ Rank) has revived through the powers of the Haunted Manor. Its Rank has increased to SSS+++!]

"Are you kidding me?! It just got stronger for no reason!" Partner shouted.

"It looks like the manor itself is keeping it alive!" Arthur said, parrying ghostly projectiles with his spear. The blasts erupted into phantasmal flames, scorching his clothes and skin. "If it keeps recovering like this, won’t it become invincible?"

"There’s no way this stupid manor can contain us!" Partner growled, kicking one of the creature’s wooden palms aside before driving her spears into its core. "Take this!"

A surge of red and black energy exploded from within the monster. Dozens of souls screamed.

BOOOM!

Silence followed.

"See? We’re done here," Partner said proudly, turning to walk away.

And yet—

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

More furniture dropped from the ceiling. Hundreds of souls gathered again, forming an even larger mass of possessed objects.

[The Haunted Manor’s Boss: Legion of a Hundred Ghostly Memories (SSS+++ Rank) has revived through the powers of the Haunted Manor. Its Rank has increased to L- Rank!]

"You’ve got to be kidding me!" Partner gasped.

"Uh-oh... this won’t be easy," Celes muttered.

"If it gets stronger every time we kill it, how do we stop it?" Arachne asked. "Maybe we should destroy the whole manor."

"No! Don’t do that!" Maria said quickly. "Can you hold it back for now? Don’t kill it—it’ll only get worse. Nyx, come with me."

"Eh? Where to?" Nyx asked.

"To the place where the voice came from," Maria said. "Don’t you want to meet them?"

"...I do," Nyx nodded. "I want to be their friend."

"Good girl," Maria said, patting her head. "Let’s go."

"Wait! Maria, where are you going?!" Lucifer groaned.

"I’m going to meet the ruler of this manor," Maria replied. "Now that they’ve spoken, I know where they are. Nyx will help."

"Why Nyx though?!" Lucifer protested.

"I wanna help!" Nyx said firmly.

"O-Okay..." Lucifer sighed, just as a giant furniture palm knocked him aside. "Ouch! You damn thing, stop hitting me!"

"Good luck, Maria! We’ll hold it back!" Alma called out.

"Yeah, leave it to us," Arthur added. "We’ll use Lucifer as the punching bag—he’s the biggest target."

"What?!" Lucifer shouted.

"Just don’t take too long!" Jonathan urged.

"You’ve got this, Nyx!" Celes cheered.

"Thanks! We’ll be quick!" Maria said, flying upward with Nyx.

Just as the new furniture began to fall, Maria pierced a small distortion in space, entering a dimensional "pipe" that led to the creator of the haunted items.

"Wooaaaahh!"

Nyx screamed as colors flashed around her and her mother. Memories and images of the mysterious ruler appeared—someone they couldn’t quite identify, living with two parents.

"This manor... I knew it felt familiar..."

Maria’s eyes widened as she and Nyx were pulled into a new space: a dark, moldy attic covered in cobwebs.

Toys lay scattered across the floor, colorful chairs surrounding a large bed covered in building blocks.

And beneath the sheets, a small doll lay sleeping.

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