"Boom—!"
Suddenly, the mine burst forth with a blinding purple light, illuminating the entire cave as if it were daytime.
A bolt of purple lightning—like divine punishment—pierced through the mine and struck the three-meter-tall deformed man.
The deformed man didn't even have time to scream before he was blasted away like a rag doll.
"Thump…"
The burly body was thrown outside the mine, crashing into the rock wall and scattering in pieces.
Fischl walked gracefully out of the abandoned mine.
She stood in the sunlight with one hand on her hip, her single eye gleaming dangerously beneath a white eye mask. Her ornate white-and-purple gothic dress looked out of place in the desert.
Fischl stretched out her right hand, purple lightning crackling at her fingertips, and covered her left eye with her left hand, shouting:
"Come forth, Oz! With your true eye, see the laws governing all things in this world!"
"Unleash my 'Omnidirectional Perception Barrier'! Let all hidden causes and effects be revealed under my will!"
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a night raven—its body entirely purplish-black and crackling with dangerous arcs of electricity—suddenly appeared from the void.
Oz gracefully flapped his wings and hovered in front of Fischl, speaking in a gentlemanly manner:
"Your orders are my direction, Miss."
......
Meanwhile, the area around the Carter family's RV on the side of the road was a mess.
Lynn Carter's body lay in a pool of blood, half her head missing, one eye still frozen in terror.
Inside the RV, two deformed individuals wreaked havoc.
A deformed man wearing a tattered red vest swept the tableware out of the cupboard with arms covered in tumors.
The sound of porcelain plates shattering made him chuckle excitedly.
The deformed man in black pounced on Brenda, who was hiding in the corner of the bed, her face filled with terror.
By this time, Brenda's jeans were already torn, and she desperately tried to shrink back until her back pressed against the wall of the RV.
But the deformed man's calloused hands easily grabbed her ankles and dragged her to the center of the carriage.
"Get out! Get out! Get out—!"
Brenda cried out, kicking her legs wildly.
The deformed man in black pressed her leg down with his knee, his calloused hands gripping her shirt—
Brenda's cries made the deformed man in red turn his head.
Upon seeing his companion's "spoils," he let out a jealous roar and lunged forward to shove the deformed man in black away.
"Bang—!"
The deformed man in red punched his companion, knocking him to the ground. The two monsters immediately began to wrestle, overturning the dining table and cabinets in the process.
"Clang—!"
The deformed man in red snatched a frying pan from the floor and smashed it hard onto the other's head. With a muffled thud, the deformed man in black staggered backward, shattering the glass door of the restroom.
"Roar—!"
The deformed man in red roared triumphantly and turned to pounce on Brenda, who was curled into a ball.
But just as his filthy hands were about to touch Brenda's shirt—
"Boom—!"
A bolt of purple lightning pierced through the RV window and struck the back of the deformed man in red's head with pinpoint accuracy.
"Bang!"
His head exploded like a watermelon, and the headless corpse swayed before crashing heavily into the pile of broken tableware.
Hearing the unusual noise behind him, the deformed man in red froze and slowly turned around.
Instinct screamed danger, and his hand reached for the old-fashioned revolver tucked into his waistband—
"Boom!"
The second bolt of lightning pierced his chest, leaving a charred, bowl-sized hole.
"Thump…"
The man in red looked down at the gaping wound, touched its edge in disbelief, then collapsed forward like a felled tree—landing right on Brenda.
"No, no—!!"
Trapped beneath the still-warm corpse, Brenda screamed hysterically, shoving desperately against the heavy body with both hands.
"Help! Is anyone there? Please!"
Her cries dissolved into ragged sobs.
Just as she was on the verge of breaking down completely, she heard the RV door creak open.
The weight lifted as the deformed man's body was pulled away—and Damian's face appeared in Brenda's blurry, tear-filled vision.
"Don't be afraid, Brenda. It's me."
At the sound of that familiar voice, Brenda threw herself into Damian's arms, clutching his waist with both hands. Her scalding tears soaked through his shirt in seconds.
Damian grabbed the bedsheet beside him and gently wrapped it around Brenda's exposed body. He stroked her hair and whispered softly:
"It's okay. We're safe now. There's no danger anymore. Go ahead and cry—you don't need to talk yet."
At that, Brenda's sobs intensified, her tears drenching the front of his clothes.
About fifteen minutes later, her crying gradually subsided into quiet hiccups.
After a few more moments, she stopped altogether, loosened her grip—though her fingers still clung tightly to the hem of Damian's shirt—and lifted her head.
Damian adjusted his position slightly, shielding her view of the scene behind him so she wouldn't be frightened again.
"You've been crying for so long," he said gently. "You must be thirsty."
As he spoke, he raised his hand—and, as if by magic, a cool bottle of Fontaine, beaded with condensation, appeared in his palm.
He twisted off the cap and handed it to her, his voice calm, as if discussing the weather:
"Would you like me to take a sip first?"
Brenda froze, a blush rising on her tear-streaked cheeks. She accepted the soda and took a small sip; the cool sweetness eased her tension, just a little.
Seeing her emotions finally stabilize, Damian asked carefully:
"Are you feeling better now? Do you think you can tell me what happened? It's all right if you'd rather not."
At that, Brenda trembled violently. After a long pause, she spoke in a shaky voice:
"Not long after you left, Dad still felt uneasy… so he took a gun and went to scout the area. Then we heard a scream…"
She hesitated, her fingers absently tracing the condensation on the bottle before continuing:
"Brother-in-law, Sister, and Mom went out to check… and then we heard fighting… and then—"
Her breath hitched.
"Those monsters stormed the
RV… They smashed everything… They even took Bobby and Catherine…"
Damian gently stroked her head, signaling she didn't need to say more.
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