"Luke… does a Lord really exist in this world?"
Carrie turned to look at him, her eyes filled with confusion.
Luke had originally intended to say yes, of course there was. But then he thought about this world, filled with ghosts and demons, along with the endless waves of alien invasions. Did God truly exist?
The Marvel Universe existed, sure, but this world…
After a moment of thought, Luke simply said, "Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."
Although he didn't answer Carrie directly, his words already contained the answer she sought.
No.
That's right. If a Lord truly existed, why would such things be allowed to happen?
And even if such a being did exist, he was certainly not as kind and benevolent as people claimed.
Something in Carrie's heart began to change.
The timid girl who had once been afraid to resist, who feared being pointed at and mocked, was gradually fading away.
If she didn't want to become the next Alessa, then she had to speak up for herself and fight for herself.
Even if that person was her own mother… could someone like that even be called a mother?
"All done!"
Before long, Rose and Veronica walked over, leading what looked like a little princess dressed in a white gown.
Alessa had been carefully dressed by the two of them, like a doll, into a version of herself she had never dared to imagine.
She had never worn such a beautiful dress, nor had she ever looked so adorable.
Alessa looked down at the puddle on the ground, seeing her unfamiliar reflection, and a surge of indescribable emotions rose within her.
[Gained the sincere recognition of Anomaly Targets: Dark Alessa, Alessa, and Good Alessa (Sharon). Registration successful. Gained 4000 Anomaly Points. Current Anomaly Points: 4000/4300]
Luke also noticed that the yellow marker representing Alessa on the 3D stereoscopic map had turned green, indicating that she had become a teammate he could trust with his back.
Sure enough, for a boss starved of love like this, the best solution wasn't physical destruction, but emotional persuasion—winning her over with care.
With Carrie, who shared similar experiences, the perfect mother figure Rose, and the gentle Veronica, even Dark Alessa fell to this overwhelming combination.
If it really came down to a fight, destroying Alessa's domain wouldn't be difficult for Luke.
The problem was that she couldn't be completely eliminated.
At any moment, Alessa could retreat into Hell through a passage, wait for the right opportunity, reclaim Sharon's power, and merge back into a single entity.
By then, unless Hell itself was destroyed, she would truly become a Demon King—far more terrifying than the fully restored Alessa after the events of Silent Hill 1.
Defeating a boss was certainly satisfying, but subduing and reforming one was even more so.
One less evil, one more force of justice. Wasn't that a wonderful outcome?
Luke happily took Alessa's hand and walked toward the church. "Let's go. Once we deal with that group of demons, we'll head home."
Alessa nodded, letting him lead her forward.
A soft, sweet smile bloomed on her lips.
As the group entered the mist, they brushed past Alessa's mother.
Dahlia instinctively turned to look at her. Her cloudy eyes filled with confusion, shock, and disbelief.
She couldn't be mistaken. That was her daughter, Alessa.
But the Alessa in her memories had always been unhappy, withdrawn, and depressed. After the great fire, she had become something evil and terrifying.
But now… she wasn't mistaken, right?
Alessa had become a beautiful little princess, and she was even letting a stranger hold her hand and lead her away.
She was smiling—so happy, so sweet…
And yet Dahlia was supposed to be her mother.
Stumbling forward, Dahlia chased after them, letting out a hoarse, desperate cry, "My daughter, Alessa!"
Alessa didn't look back, and neither did anyone else.
Behind them, the mist thickened rapidly, swallowing everything until nothing could be seen beyond arm's reach.
Dahlia was soon lost within the mist. No matter how loudly she shouted, she could no longer call Alessa back.
At that moment, a harsh air raid siren pierced through the entire town.
The sky rapidly darkened until it was completely pitch black.
In the blink of an eye, the once gray streets transformed into a reddish-brown, decaying, and mottled landscape.
It resembled a filthy hell, covered in rust and smeared with blood.
This was the Otherworld, a place filled everywhere with the terrifying monsters created by Alessa.
There were the Grey Children, manifestations of the classmates who had bullied her. They stood about a meter tall, with dark gray skin, their facial features twisted to the sides of their heads, and their bodies appearing to burn from within.
There were also the bugs, embodiments of the constant pain she endured after being burned. They swarmed endlessly like a tide, actively chasing and gnawing at the living.
And of course, there were the Nurses—sometimes letting out soft gasps, sometimes twitching at the waist—known as the most alluring form of rotting flesh.
Beneath their ultra-short nurse skirts were exaggerated, voluptuous figures, yet their faces were nothing but twisted decay, eyeless and highly sensitive to light.
If one ignored their faces, few could resist them.
Seeing them, Luke was reminded of the guy in Scary Movie 2 who put a bag over a female ghost's head.
If it were him, he could probably turn this abandoned hospital into a maternity and child health center.
The church stood in the central area of the town.
Strange gravestones were scattered around it.
Atop the church stood an extremely bizarre cross.
"They used their blind faith to keep me out of the church. As long as they don't abandon that faith, my power cannot enter."
Now dressed like a little princess, Alessa glared fiercely at the church.
If it weren't for this church, filled with a strange dark power, she wouldn't have let those bastards live this long.
Luke had originally been curious about why Alessa was being blocked by the church.
After all, in this world, the so-called God had likely fled, died, or perhaps even been corrupted.
But after arriving here, he sensed a different kind of evil aura emanating from the church.
It was a dark power unlike Alessa's, carrying a peculiar sense of divinity, yet deeply unsettling.
This was the feedback given to him by the Orochi template.
It was definitely not a power native to Earth.
It felt more like… something from Hell.
"Alessa, have you ever made a pact with a demon?"
Luke asked first, but Alessa shook her head and answered firmly, "No."
"However…"
She hesitated before continuing, "Those cultists originally planned to sacrifice me to summon someone called Loki."
"The reason I created this place, aside from seeking revenge, was also to seal the source of that evil power."
What a good child.
Even after being subjected to all the malice of the world, she was still trying to suppress that darkness.
Luke gently stroked Alessa's head, and she leaned into it like a kitten, enjoying the gesture.
As if recalling something, the light in her bright eyes suddenly dimmed.
But when she looked at Luke and Rose, it seemed she had already made a decision in her heart.
Luke gave a slight nod, understanding.
"The entity behind this is using the faith of the ignorant to connect with Loki's power. I think it's preparing to descend into the mortal world to destroy it… or perhaps use that ignorant faith to ascend to godhood."
"But starting today, everything ends."
The church's power itself wasn't stronger than Alessa's. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to suppress that connection to Loki.
It was clear that Loki himself wasn't here. At best, he was barely maintaining a link through the cultists' faith, using it to isolate Alessa's power while waiting for the right moment.
Unfortunately for him, the moment he had been waiting for never came.
Instead, Luke arrived.
Under Alessa's expectant gaze, Luke stepped up to the church door and threw a punch.
Boom!
The door, which had been blocking Alessa's power, was blown apart with ease.
Loki's influence targeted Alessa's magic.
But what did that have to do with Luke?
You rely on magic. I rely on brute force.
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