"Uncle Markel, how much longer will the renovation take? How's the collection going?"
After obtaining the crystal ball, Benjamin returned to the manor overnight, finally feeling at ease.
For the past week, while constantly monitoring Kirsty and the others' movements, he had also been overseeing the renovation of the wooden house in the backyard.
This wooden house was a matter of life and death for him; he could only feel at ease if he personally supervised it.
Benjamin was currently inquiring about the matters he had previously arranged with the butler.
"The main structure is complete; only the interior decoration remains."
"Also, we've collected a ton of blood through various channels, and we're continuing to collect it."
Butler Markel looked at his young master with some worry. What was he planning? Was he going to sacrifice himself to the devil?
He had tried to dissuade him, but Young Master Dean's attitude was adamant. As a butler who had been loyal his entire life, all he could do was fully cooperate.
"The main structure is done; no decoration is needed. We have enough blood. Inform everyone that today is a day off; have them leave the manor."
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
The most important crystal ball was now in their hands; the moment of destiny was about to arrive.
In the comics, this ice crystal ball was given to Father Marcus at the church by a homeless man who acted as a middleman in Hell.
In this world, Hell's lackeys and cenobites practically treat churches like their own backyard.
They frequently smash statues of Jesus and kill people in churches, and God seems oblivious.
The "Hellraiser Box" puzzle requires someone with extremely deep desires, chosen by the middleman, to open it.
Even if Benjamin obtained an ordinary box, he might not be able to open it.
Only this ice crystal ball can be opened simply by reciting a phrase, without any desires or gestures.
This crystal ball is Benjamin's primary target.
After confirming the existence of Father Marcus in this world, Benjamin narrowed down the scope of the ice crystal ball and then heavily promoted the meaning of his "Flame Crystal Ball."
It is precisely to use a meaning completely opposite to that of the ice and snow crystal ball to attract the hell intermediary who might be near the Glass Church.
He believes that as long as the intermediary of the Ice Hell cenobites hears this kind of crystal ball that loudly advocates the Fire Hell, which is completely opposite to ice.
They would definitely be furious and come knocking, letting the other party experience firsthand what the Ice Hell truly meant.
It would be like someone suddenly announcing through various news media that savory tofu pudding looked unappetizing and declaring a nationwide ban on it, allowing only sweet tofu pudding to be sold from now on.
Everyone would have to force a bowl of savory tofu pudding into his mouth, making him taste it properly before speaking.
After confirming that everything was in place, the butler, Markel, dismissed all the servants from the manor and then followed them out.
Benjamin, carrying the wooden box containing the crystal ball, walked through a shady path, to the backyard of the manor, and entered an unassuming wooden house.
He opened a partition in the floorboards and descended a dark staircase to a depth of 20 meters.
This was a post-apocalyptic safe house, a favorite among the wealthy of the Eagle Nation, built to escape nuclear bombs.
A pipe, as thick as a bowl, ran through the center of the safe house's roof, penetrating to the ground and extending from inside the wooden house to the outside of the window.
Benjamin sat on a carpet in the center of the house.
Candles surrounded him, forming a square.
He sat cross-legged, shirtless, quietly waiting for the appointed time of 12:20.
Benjamin's first goal was to use the ice crystal ball to open the gates of hell and summon the cenobites.
Then, after dying and entering hell, as a cursed disciple of the dead, he would use his blood to quickly escape back to the human world in a very short time.
Benjamin never imagined becoming a cenobite in one step.
Because any cenobite who undergoes transformation has their soul firmly controlled by Leviathan, the Lord of Hell, and their memories are rewritten by Leviathan.
Ordinary cursed disciples are simply beneath Leviathan's notice; he's too lazy to control them.
Theoretically, as long as one escapes quickly enough, one can avoid being driven mad by the Hellish environment.
This world is insane; only ruthlessness can lead to success.
Without seizing the opportunity to fight, there is only death; to survive, one must be mad.
He checked his watch: 12:19.
High noon!
Benjamin gave a self-deprecating laugh and took a deep breath.
He took out a dagger from a nearby box and placed it in front of him, then picked up the crystal ball and held it in his hands.
The drifting snowflakes swirled and howled more actively inside the crystal ball, seemingly urging Benjamin on, or perhaps celebrating.
"Hell has no sulfurous fire."
"Only the bitter winter."
Benjamin murmured these words.
The moment the words left his lips, the crystal ball in his hand changed.
A biting wind poured down from the ceiling, and a flurry of snowflakes fell into the room.
A shard of ice, like a sharp blade, tore apart the "Crucifixion" painting hanging on the wall, as if even God himself was grieving.
Heavy footsteps echoed on the stairs. Benjamin swiftly drew a dagger and plunged it into his chest, then turned to look.
What a face it was! It was like a skeleton frozen in the earth, its chest gaping open with dried wounds, from which the wails of countless souls reverberated.
A mouth full of fangs opened with difficulty, uttering a hoarse roar, each word distinct:
"I heard your prayer; I have come to correct your dream."
"Hell is the remnant of Heaven left behind after God's departure."
"There is no God here, no demons, only endless cold, emptiness, loneliness, and silence."
The icy hellish cenobites roared as he slowly approached Benjamin.
A notification echoed deep within Benjamin's mind:
[Story Mission 1: Activate the Lemarchand's Box (Mission Completed, 5000 Survival Points, 10% Exploration Progress, Story Score Improved)]
Benjamin had no time to pay attention.
He only felt an endless chill; his body shattered like a cracked block of ice, falling piece by piece to the ground.
Before his body completely disintegrated, Benjamin was utterly dead. Everything returned to silence, leaving only the icy crystal ball on the ground.
Benjamin felt himself falling into endless darkness.
All his memories drifted around him, the most painful recollections of his past life vividly resurfacing, trying to torment Benjamin's soul.
A notification echoed deep within Benjamin's mind again:
[Story Mission 2: Enter Hell (Mission Completed, 5000 Survival Points, 35% Exploration Progress, Story Score Improved)]
[Exploration Progress Reached 30%, Obtained One Entry Ticket to This World's Story]
Benjamin had no energy left to deal with these things. He guessed he had entered a mental prison within hell. He had initially thought that an unqualified soul like his, lacking extreme dark desires, would only end up in the deepest, most remote pit of hell.
Unexpectedly, he had reached a higher level.
Fortunately, all these painful memories belong to the original body, not my previous life. The short-term pain is still within the range I can bear.
This, in turn, made his hazy memories of his past life clearer, bringing back various forgotten story points.
The butler, waiting outside the manor, glanced at his watch: 12:30 PM. It was time.
He beckoned to the bewildered man driving the small waterwheel beside him and led him to the wooden hut at the back.
"Connect the water pipe to this inlet. Yes, like that, open the valve."
As the butler finished speaking, blood gushed out, flowing through the pipe all the way to the safe house 20 meters below.
The blood fell straight onto the carpet in the middle of the room.
The carpet, upon contact with the blood, reacted as if scalded by boiling water, oozing out a puddle of something similar to amniotic fluid.
The blood congealed into a mass of flesh, which began to grow, instantly forming a beating heart.
Two bones gradually grew from either side of the heart, lifting it off the ground and supporting the heart, making it stand upright on the carpet.
A skull then sprouted from the ground, and a cervical vertebra emerged above the heart, connecting with the skull to form the upper body of a skeleton.
As the blood was absorbed, the skeleton rapidly regenerated, growing muscles and skin.
Benjamin looked down at his newly formed body. The pain from exposed muscles had vanished with the formation of his skin.
'Haha...haha...'
Benjamin laughed loudly; he had won this gamble.
He had become a cursed disciple who had escaped from hell back to the human world.
His swift and effective escape, his brief journey through hell, had not changed or distorted his soul.
Feeling the power beyond human limits, this ease and comfort brought him extreme pleasure.
Like the pleasant pain after swatting a mosquito bite, or the relief of a suddenly cleared nose from a cold.
Amplified a thousandfold by these sensations, that was Benjamin's current feeling. This feeling of becoming stronger fascinated him.
Moreover, he could feel that he possessed two essential skills of a hellish cursed disciple: Absorption and Skin Transfer.
[Absorption]: Unless the core of the heart is completely destroyed, no matter the severity of the injury, the body can be rapidly restored by absorbing blood.
It resembled a vampire, but couldn't fly. However, it also lacked the vampire's aversion to sunlight, much like Frank, who became a cursed disciple in the movies, able to eat, drink, and enjoy pleasure normally.
Another skill:
[Skin Transfer]: It could create wearable suits from the skin of the dead, allowing disciples to mimic the appearance and voice of the deceased.
After checking his acquired abilities, Benjamin immediately sent out five messages.
He notified the five teams that were lying in wait that the plan was canceled and they no longer needed to sneak into the manor at their respective times.
Since it concerned his resurrection plan, Benjamin naturally wouldn't put all his eggs in one basket, relying solely on the butler's cooperation.
He secretly arranged for five teams, unaware of each other's identities, to infiltrate the manor at their respective times and release blood.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened; Uncle Markle was trustworthy.
Benjamin picked up the crystal ball, rolled up the carpet, and walked towards the wooden house.