[Current Viewers: 203 -> 510]
[Fear Points: 310]
The second-floor hallway fell into a suffocating silence. The only sound was the heavy, wet breathing coming from the chest of the towering monster.
Hhhhuuuu... Hhhhuuuu...
Ryan stood just five meters away from the Level 5 Evil Spirit, clutching his rusty crowbar. To the viewers watching on 'SpookTube', Ryan looked like a fearless hero standing his ground against a nightmare.
But inside, Ryan was sweating buckets. His palms were slick against the cold metal of the crowbar.
A transparent blue warning screen flashed frantically in his vision, blinking red.
[WARNING! WARNING!]
[Enemy: The Headless Butcher (Elite Spirit)]
[Strength Comparison: Host is significantly weaker.]
[Win Probability: 12.5%]
[System Advice: ESCAPE IMMEDIATELY. Do not engage.]
Ryan read the numbers and let out a nervous laugh.
"Twelve percent?" he muttered, his smile twitching slightly. "That's still higher than my chances of paying Sarah's medical bills without this money. I'll take those odds."
The Headless Butcher didn't wait for introductions. It sensed the presence of the living. It raised its massive, blood-rusted fire axe high into the air. The muscles on its rotting arms bulged with supernatural strength.
"ROAAAR!"
A roar erupted from its stomach, vibrating through the floorboards and shaking dust from the ceiling. The monster charged.
It was terrifyingly fast for something that big.
SWISH!
The heavy axe cleaved through the air with a whistling sound, aiming to split Ryan's head in two like a watermelon.
"Shit!"
Ryan didn't try to block it. Blocking meant death. He activated his stats instantly.
[Agility: 8 (Activated)]
He threw himself to the right, rolling awkwardly on the dusty floor.
CRASH!
The axe smashed into the floorboards exactly where Ryan had been standing a split second ago. Wood splintered and exploded outward. The impact shook the entire house, causing the chandelier downstairs to rattle.
If Ryan had been a second slower, he would have been two Ryans.
[Livestream Chat]
User_Slayer69: "HOLY S***! Did you see the floor? That wood just exploded!"
User_CatLover: "Ryan! Stop playing hero! RUN!"
User_RichKid: "This is insane. The graphics... the sound... is this really a livestream? If you survive this, I'll drop a 'Castle' ($500) right now!"
User_Troll123: "He's dead. GG."
Ryan scrambled to his feet, coughing as dust filled his mouth. He backed away rapidly, putting distance between him and the monster.
"Okay, no talking. This guy means business," Ryan muttered, wiping blood from a scratch on his cheek caused by a flying wood splinter.
The Butcher pulled the axe out of the floor with ease, as if it weighed nothing. He turned his torso towards Ryan. Even without a head, the monster seemed to be staring right at him.
He swung again. A horizontal slash this time.
Ryan ducked. The blade sliced through the air inches above his hair, cutting a few loose strands.
He's blind, Ryan realized as he pressed his back against the wall. He has no eyes. He's tracking me by sound and the smell of my fear... wait, the system suppressed my fear. So, just sound and breath.
Ryan quickly opened his inventory interface. He had the 'Rusty Crowbar' and the 'Shard of Truth'.
"System! Scan him! Does he have a weakness? Or do I just have to hit him until he dies?"
[System Analysis: Physical attacks on limbs are ineffective. Use 'Ghost Eye' to locate the Spirit Core. Destroy the Core to neutralize the target.]
"Ghost Eye, on!"
Ryan's eyes suddenly glowed with a faint, eerie blue light. The world around him turned into shades of grey and black. He looked at the rushing monster.
His chest? No, just rotting muscle.
His legs? No.
There!
Inside the Butcher's bloated, massive stomach, there was a glowing red ball of energy pulsing like a heart. But there was something else... floating inside the stomach acid, next to the core, was a human head.
The Butcher had swallowed his own head to protect it!
"Gross," Ryan gagged, fighting the urge to vomit. "Smart, but absolutely disgusting."
The Butcher charged again, swinging the axe wildly. This time, Ryan didn't run down the hallway. He ran towards the bathroom.
User_LonelyDriver: "Wrong way! You idiot, you trapped yourself!"
User_StrategyGod: "He's cornered! It's over!"
Ryan slid into the bathroom on his knees. He grabbed a plastic bottle of Shampoo from the sink shelf.
"Hey, Ugly!" Ryan shouted at the top of his lungs. "Over here!"
The Butcher stomped towards the bathroom door, raising the axe to smash the doorframe.
Ryan threw the shampoo bottle with all his strength—not at the monster, but at the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, behind the monster.
SMASH!
The bottle broke loudly against the wall.
The Butcher, relying entirely on sound, instantly spun around. His instincts told him the enemy moved behind him. He swung his axe with full force at the noise.
CRUNCH!
The axe buried itself deep into the plaster and wood of the hallway wall. It was stuck.
"NOW!"
Ryan didn't waste a millisecond. Adrenaline flooded his veins. He gripped his Rusty Crowbar with both hands like a knight holding a sword.
His Strength (8) muscles bulged under his hoodie.
He sprinted forward, diving out of the bathroom. He didn't aim for the monster's back. He aimed directly for the exposed stomach.
"OPEN WIDE!" Ryan screamed.
THWACK!
The cursed Rusty Crowbar slammed into the Butcher's gut with a sickening thud.
It wasn't just a physical hit. The crowbar's 'Bonus Damage to Spirits' effect activated. Black smoke sizzled where the metal hit the spectral flesh.
"GRAAAAH!"
The Butcher screamed in agony. The sound was deafening. He tried to pull his axe out of the wall to defend himself, but it was wedged too tight.
Ryan pulled the crowbar back and stabbed again. And again. Like a madman possessed.
Stab! Squelch! Stab!
"Give! Me! The! Head!"
[Critical Hit!]
[Critical Hit!]
Finally, with a wet, tearing sound, the crowbar tore through the spectral stomach.
The Butcher fell to his knees, black blood (ectoplasm) pouring out like a fountain. A rotting, severed human head rolled out of the open wound onto the floor.
As soon as the head was separated from the body, the massive figure of the Butcher froze.
It turned grey, then crumbled into ash, dissolving into the air.
Ryan stood there, panting heavily, his chest heaving. He was covered in black ghost blood.
[System Notification: Enemy Defeated.]
[Level 5 Headless Butcher -> Purified.]
[Ding! Calculations complete.]
[Rewards:]
Fear Points: +1000 (Boss Kill Bonus!)Experience: +50Drop Item: 'Butcher's Bloody Apron' (Rare Defense Gear).
[Ding! Congratulations! Host has reached Level 2.]
[All Stats +1]
Ryan wiped the sweat and grime from his forehead. He leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath.
He looked at the camera. He was trembling. Not from fear—the System blocked that—but from the sheer exertion.
He walked over to the severed head on the floor. The head opened its eyes. It wasn't angry anymore. The red glow was gone. It looked... peaceful. Sad.
"Thank... you..." the head whispered, a tear of blood rolling down its cheek. "I... am free..."
The head faded away into light particles.
Ryan looked at the chat on his phone screen. It was scrolling so fast it was a blur of text.
User_RichKid: "UNBELIEVABLE! A CASTLE FOR YOU! NO, TWO CASTLES! [Gift Sent]"
User_Slayer69: "I take it back. I apologize. You are a god. How did you know the head was in the stomach? That was genius!"
User_ScaredyCat: "I peed a little. Just a little. Okay, a lot."
User_ProGamer: "That shampoo trick was 200 IQ play. Subscribed!"
[Gift Notification: User 'RichKid' has sent 'Castle' x2 (Value: $1,000).]
[Gift Notification: User 'MysteryMan' has sent 'Super Rocket' x5.]
Ryan checked his System Balance.
Fear Points: 1310.
He checked his Bank Balance.
Donations: $1,450.
He grinned, though his face was smeared with black slime. "Sarah... we're going to get you the VIP room. And maybe a pony."
He picked up the item that dropped on the floor.
[Item: Butcher's Bloody Apron]
Grade: Rare (Blue)
Effect: Reduces damage from spiritual attacks by 20%. Smells terrible, but keeps you alive.
"Better than nothing," Ryan muttered, tying the filthy, bloodstained apron around his waist. He looked ridiculous—a hoodie, jeans, and a butcher's apron—but in the apocalypse, stats mattered more than fashion.
But the night wasn't over.
As the Butcher's body vanished, it revealed something hidden behind where he was standing guard.
The door to the Master Bedroom.
The door was slightly ajar. Pitch black darkness swirled inside.
And from inside that room, a soft sound drifted out.
Hummm... hummm... sleep little baby...
It was a lullaby. A woman humming a soft, twisted tune for a baby that had died years ago.
Ryan's smile faded. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up again.
[System Warning: The Butcher was just the Guardian.]
[The real source of the curse is inside the Master Bedroom.]
[Mission Update: Survive the 'Mother's Love'.]
Ryan gripped his crowbar tighter. The black blood dripped from it onto the floor. Drip. Drip.
"Well," Ryan whispered to the camera, his voice grim. "I guess we're meeting the final boss. If she tries to sing to me, I'm charging extra."