Inside the church,
Christabella was leading the believers in prayer to their so-called God.
Their god took the form of a mysterious winged humanoid statue, crouched in a half-squatting posture.
The crowd chanted incantations, their faces filled with fanatic devotion.
After years of being imprisoned and terrorized by Alessa, this group of already unhinged zealots had become even more devout, because they had no other choice.
They either died at Alessa's hands or clung to faith in a vague, intangible god.
At least inside the church, they were safe. The demon's power could not reach them.
God would protect them forever.
At least, that was what they believed.
Until today.
Until the thunderous crash that seemed to shatter not just the doors, but their very sense of security.
Everyone was jolted out of prayer and turned around in panic, only to feel as if the sky had collapsed.
The door that had protected them for countless years had been blasted open.
Standing in the doorway was a tall man.
He was not the terrifying Pyramid Head who could tear people apart, yet in the eyes of the crowd, this human-looking figure was just another demon.
"A demon! The demon has come!"
"Oh God, what have you done? Our door… you've let the darkness in!"
"Kill him! Kill this damned demon and block the entrance!"
"Great Lord, have you abandoned us? Is it because our faith wasn't strong enough? Why would the church be breached by a demon?!"
The crowd descended into chaos. Some panicked, some trembled in fear, and others collapsed to the ground in despair.
A portion of them, however, gathered their courage and charged toward the entrance, intending to kill Luke and seal the door again.
Luke looked down at this group of monsters wearing human faces, his eyes completely devoid of pity.
"Trash. It's time for you to disappear."
Behind him, Alessa stepped forward, dressed in her princess gown.
At that moment, the already chaotic crowd exploded into frenzy.
They pointed at Alessa in horror, their mouths trembling as if they had just seen the God of Death.
In a sense, that wasn't far from the truth.
Alessa glanced down at her clean dress, then slowly raised her dark eyes, streaked with blood and tears.
"Judgment… descend."
She spoke softly.
A massive Pyramid Head emerged from the darkness, dragging its enormous great knife as it stepped forward with heavy strides, bending slightly as it entered through the doorway.
At the same time, the circular altar at the center of the crowd, carved with strange runes, seemed to age a hundred years in an instant. It rapidly decayed and corroded until the steel framework within was exposed.
Beneath the altar, it was as if a passage to boundless Hell had opened, and something seemed to be crawling within.
Originally, the fire-scarred Alessa would have been bound to a steel frame, rising amid countless steel wires to deliver brutal punishment to every cultist present.
But Alessa seemed to recall something, and her expression suddenly faltered.
The scraping sounds from within the hellish passage abruptly stopped.
She nervously glanced at Luke, Rose, Veronica, and the others.
"Are you afraid of us seeing your true appearance?"
Luke immediately understood her concern.
Alessa lowered her head in silence.
The little girl's pride made her unwilling to reveal her most hideous side to the people she cared about.
Even though she desperately wanted to take revenge with the cruelest methods.
She still had to consider her new family and friends.
After all, she was now a well-behaved little girl in a princess dress.
How could someone like that carry out such cruel acts?
At the very least… she wanted Luke and the others to see her at her best.
Because the time they could spend together might only be this brief moment.
She could not leave Silent Hill.
"Don't worry about us. I might have a way to completely heal your pain."
Luke took out a horse talisman.
Although Alessa was no longer truly human—ever since the great fire, she had already transformed into a malevolent spirit, a spectral existence—the horse talisman was still a form of magic.
If it could work on the Eight Great Demons, there was no reason it couldn't heal Alessa.
Her level of power did not exceed Luke's current limits, so the 5.2 version of the horse talisman should be able to resolve all of her suffering.
"Take this. It will let you be reborn."
Luke held the horse talisman, waved it lightly in front of Alessa, then flicked his finger and sent it into the Hell Passage.
A rustling sound came from deep within.
And then...
Dark Alessa revealed a bright, astonished smile.
Such an expression should never have appeared on her pale, paper-white face.
Yet she was smiling.
A joy born from the depths of darkness.
Luke patted Alessa's head and turned his gaze toward the passage.
The crawling sounds returned. Soon, countless steel wires dragged a decaying iron bed into the church.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, the bed did not carry a horribly burned, grotesque girl.
Instead, it bore a young woman of around twenty, with delicate features and a lively, youthful presence.
With the support of the wires, she broke free from her restraints, lightly leapt onto the church floor, and looked down at her intact body in disbelief.
Just as Luke had said, she had been reborn.
All her wounds and pain vanished the moment the horse talisman merged into her body.
She had never felt so free and at ease.
The grown Alessa walked up to Luke, blinking. Having gone decades without speaking, she struggled to form the words, her voice awkward and unfamiliar. "Father?"
It was a word she had never spoken since her earliest memories.
She had even forgotten how to say it.
And yet now, it came out so naturally.
Dark Alessa showed a relieved smile.
Carrie was also genuinely happy for her.
For a girl who had endured something similar—perhaps even worse—than herself, Carrie felt sincere joy that Alessa had regained her health and could finally step into the light.
Luke glanced at the cultists, who stood there completely stunned, and his smile faded slightly. "Alessa, go do what you need to do."
He gestured for Rose to take Sharon outside, while Veronica, Madison, and Carrie remained.
Luke suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, right. Don't get little Alessa's new dress dirty."
Dark Alessa smiled as she held Luke's hand.
The adult Alessa lowered her head, meeting Dark Alessa's gaze, then nodded. "Of course, my dear Father."
She glanced at Carrie and the others.
"You don't need to worry about them. As a pioneer, you should set an example for Carrie," Luke said meaningfully.
Understanding his intent, adult Alessa gave Carrie a bright smile.
In the next instant, countless steel wires shot out from behind her, wrapping around one person after another, tightening mercilessly as desperate pleas for mercy filled the air.
Dahlia, in particular, was singled out.
Amid her cry of "Lord, please help me remain pure!" her so-called purity was stripped away, and her life extinguished at the same time.
The bloody scene was enough to make an ordinary person recoil in terror.
Veronica turned her head away, unable to watch.
Madison only frowned slightly, showing no fear at all, and even commented calmly, "Somewhat interesting."
In front of outsiders, Madison always maintained the composure of an older sister. Even if she was uneasy inside, she would never allow herself to lose face in front of the others.
Carrie, on the other hand, went from initial discomfort to being able to look directly at everything.
She even felt a faint sense of satisfaction.
It was as if the cultists before her had become the people who once bullied her.
Just thinking about it felt… good.
"Father, we should leave now."
After receiving a signal from Dark Alessa, the adult Alessa took Luke's hand, preparing to leave even though the "feast" wasn't quite over.
Luke held Dark Alessa's hand as well, ready to leave together.
But in the next moment, Dark Alessa suddenly vanished.
"Hm?"
The adult Alessa spoke softly, "She was born from darkness. She is destined not to embrace the light, nor to adapt to the world outside."
"So she chose to stay."
Luke frowned slightly. "Stay to continue suppressing Loki?"
The adult Alessa opened her mouth, then lowered her head in dejection.
"Someone has to suppress Loki. It can only be me… or her."
"She has no physical body. Even if she left, she couldn't live like a normal person."
"Besides, her power is stronger than mine. Unless Sharon and I merge into one, only she can continue suppressing Loki…"
Seeing Luke's expression darken, the adult Alessa didn't dare continue.
If possible, she also wanted Dark Alessa to step into the light.
But how could a being born of malice live under the sun?
If they all left, what would happen to Loki?
Could they really just abandon everything?
Luke shook his head. With a casual wave of his hand, Dark Alessa—who had hidden herself deep within the hospital, crying alone in a dark corner—was instantly brought back into the church.
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