OJTTEG-Chapter 28: Such a Wide Range of Interests

The raspy, chaotic voice is utterly nauseating.

Feeling slightly recovered, An cools down her heart. Every time she uses its power, she feels a wave of exhaustion, especially after a fierce battle.

She takes a minute to rest.

"This voice... is it lowering my sanity? Does it have a hypnotic effect?"

Her hand moves unconsciously, fingers weak and unresponsive, accidentally opening the image-sharing interface of the app, flooding her screen with pictures.

Interesting. His photo album is password-protected, but through the app, she bypasses this and accesses the album directly.

"What is this stuff?"

It seems to be a collection of various rumors, including some recently frequent terms.

"Serial Killer Suspected to Have Arrived in Doraine City"

An's heart races as she clicks on it, revealing Haunter's detailed analysis of the situation.

"Feature One: No one has seen him, or he strikes during deep night when no one is around."

"Feature Two: He likes to collect beautiful creatures. Both men and women who encounter him disappear, certainly dead..."

"Feature Three: The killer seemingly has a special ability. News of incidents only emerges by the second or third day, suggesting hypnosis or a one-hit kill ability. Given the lack of struggle at the scenes, the victims are likely taken away in one piece."

"Hypnosis..."

That earlier incident seemed like hypnosis.

"Feature Four: The killer's combat prowess might be extremely high. Current order maintainers, like Miskatonic University, might have sent investigators, but there's been no news for three years. Either they haven't caught him, or his combat skills are too formidable to capture."

This is absolutely possible. Investigators have been active, and Dad, Ormond, has been keeping an eye on this matter.

The lack of capture can only be attributed to these reasons.

"Does this guy have any solutions written down?"

An's gaze drifts downward.

He actually does.

"I've thought of a few methods, but not sure if they're feasible... Anyway, as long as I don't go out at night, it's fine. Why should I worry? I'm just an ordinary person; I'm not going to wander the streets at night, am I?"

"I'm not like An, that night owl. Vampires always prefer going out at night."

"In summary, threat level almost zero."

Crack.

Haunter's phone screen suddenly develops a fracture. Just like the veins throbbing on An's forehead.

His approach is truly suffocating.

"Does he have any other solutions?"

With this thought, An scrolls down with her finger.

Instead, she is met with a flood of images featuring stunning women.

Women, more women, in diverse skin tones and with excellent figures, dominate the screen.

There are even hybrids with mystical creature bloodlines, like snake women with beautiful scales on their faces or girls with cat ears.

These images pierce into An's mind like sharp spikes.

Fond of curves?

Didn't he just mention something about flat figures too?

Hmph.

"Quite the player, aren't you? Such a wide range of interests."

Deep breath. This is understandable.

Oh right, what about the chat logs from when he messaged his computer? The ones that sync between phone and computer.

An opens them with a sliver of hope.

Whoosh—an array of explicit images.

Ha.

A vein pops on An's forehead once more.

Go to hell with understanding! At his age, still looking at this stuff!

"Hmph, for the Reed family."

She extends her nails, slashing her wrist, biting her lower lip hard.

"This is not for personal gain."

……

"Heh heh."

Haunter sits at the table, tapping it lightly with his fingers, feeling quite pleased.

"That one is about to leave soon."

A normal human brain typically dies within 24 hours after the body does, meaning I just need to wait a few more hours for An to depart.

She might use some special means to bury herself, like setting a fire or disposing of her body somewhere, as long as anyone don't find it.

"Next comes the long wait..."

Looking at An resting in front of him, Haunter feels a wave of relief. He leans on the table, closing his eyes.

Finally, a life without the constant mental strain is about to begin.

Woohoo!

Haunter holds the mask in his hand.

It's a golden mask, though calling it a mask isn't quite right since it has no eye holes; wearing it makes one blind.

There's always this feeling that once it's on, it can't be taken off. Is it just an illusion?

Oh well, who cares?

As long as I put on the mask before completely dying...

I can use the power of the gods!

How exciting! What kind of power will it be? I can't wait!

……

The young man suddenly hears something, and the sensation of having a body slowly returns.

Is this rebirth? No, it feels more like coming back to life.

Did I put on the mask?

I don't seem to remember wearing it.

So, did I actually put it on or not?

"..."

Anyway, it seems like I'm alive again.

Why does my whole body still feel sore? Did that deceitful deity trick me again? What happened to the promised recovery? Where did it go?

And what's this cool sensation in my mouth? Could it be gasoline? It feels a bit sticky.

Could it be that An was trying to burn me just as I revived?

Hey, hey, hey, she wouldn't be trying to watch me burn, would she?

If that's the case, there wouldn't be time to save Ormond! Where did she find the time for this?

Why does my body feel tingly, and my ears seem to be picking up sounds now?

Suddenly, someone pries open his eyes, and a bright light shines in.

"What the fuck!"

Startled by the light, Haunter jerks his head to the side, only to find himself landing in a somewhat soft embrace.

Though calling it soft isn't quite right; it's more like he bumped into a slightly firm pillow.

"What the heck is so..."

Haunter is about to say " flat," but then he sees a familiar face.

Gulp.

He swallows the word like swallowing a mouthful of rust; the taste is odd.

"Uh-huh?"

Haunter awkwardly raises his hands.