[Chapter 285: Pennywise's "Granary"]
The doll's eyes spun wildly, and sharp, wooden grinding noises echoed from its mouth. From the shadows, a faceless figure in a black cloak slowly emerged. It dragged a massive, rusted pair of scissors behind it, the metal screeching painfully against the stone floor.
Monica watched the newly appeared monsters, her body trembling with fear.
But unlike before, the monster did not charge straight at her.
"This... isn't my fear?" Monica asked, her voice shaking.
"Not yours?" Daniel suddenly realized. "These are the fears of those children."
He snorted coldly. "You really know how to make use of resources. Since the adults aren't afraid anymore, you're burning the nightmares of children as fuel."
Kssssst--!
The giant spider, as large as a sedan, hissed fiercely. A thick web shot from its mouth, aimed straight at Daniel's face.
Daniel didn't flinch. Instantly, a thick veil of orange-red light enveloped them both. When the spider silk struck the shield, it melted like snow in a roaring fire, instantly turning to blackened ash.
With a wave of his hand, Daniel shouted, "Split, and go!"
The copper coin sword exploded into countless tiny blades, darting through the air, slashing and cutting through everything.
Puff, puff, puff... In moments, the newly manifested monsters were ground to dust.
"Hehehe... Can you kill them all?"
A sharp, mocking voice echoed all around.
More shadowy figures emerged from the pipes.
Daniel's expression darkened. As long as these children's fears remained, it would be impossible to eliminate all the monsters.
"Pennywise," he said coldly. "Did you really think I was wandering around earlier without any preparation?"
Stepping forward, Daniel commanded, "Thirty-Six Pillars of Divine Annihilation! Rise!"
Golden streaks of light lit up the underground chamber. A terrifying aura sprung from the shadows beneath the floor.
Boom!
Thirty-six golden pillars shot upward, piercing through the dark river and stone floor. The underground space brightened to daylight.
The grotesque figures crawling out of the pipes vanished the moment they touched the golden light -- without any scream, or resistance -- just like snow evaporating in intense heat.
Then, the golden lights exploded outward, releasing an indescribable, horrifying force that swept the entire chamber.
Crack... rumble...
The rusted iron pipes burst apart like paper under the impact.
Sewage gushed out, only to be instantly vaporized by the heat radiating from the ward, filling the space with thick mist.
The ground shook violently; gravel and dirt rained down from above.
Monica hid behind Daniel. Even with his protection, her eardrums throbbed painfully, and her mind blanked for a moment.
When the chaos subsided, the pipes and the dark river were gone. In their place was a vast crater blasted open by the ward's power.
Daniel withdrew his hands and said coolly, "This level of hide-and-seek ends here. Let's go."
Leading the dazed Monica, Daniel stepped forward through the blasted crack.
...
Ahead of them stretched a cavern so vast it was startling. It was no longer a narrow pipe but a natural Karst Cave, at least a hundreds feet high.
As Monica stepped inside, she stifled a cry of alarm.
By the fading glow of the ward, she glimpsed a terrifying scene she would never forget.
At the center of the cavern lay a mountain of piled junk -- countless dolls, worn clothes, tricycles, and scraps heaped dozens of meters high.
Layered on this "trash mountain" were stacks of children with their eyes tightly shut. Most had pale bluish-violet complexions, as if trapped deep inside a nightmare. A gray mist of fear energy constantly emanated from them.
Above this grim heap, an even more chilling sight took shape. Hundreds of children floated weightlessly, suspended in midair like wind chimes on invisible strings. Some curled themselves tightly; others stretched their arms wide, slowly rotating along the cavern ceiling.
This was Pennywise's "granary."
In the story of It, the kidnapped children did not die instantly. Instead, they were trapped in an illusory domain called the "deadlights."
In this realm, time stood still.
Pennywise continually projected horrific illusions into the domain, harvesting the pure fear the children generated.
Only when their life force was completely drained did they turn to ash.
The famous phrase, "You'll float too...," referred to these victims, endlessly drifting and trapped mid-air.
"Deva... Deva!"
Ignoring her fear, Monica frantically searched the pile of children.
Suddenly, she pointed to a girl floating about thirty five feet above the ground, clinging to a teddy bear and wearing a pink nightgown.
There was a sharp tremor in her voice as she cried out, "There! Mr. Cross, Deva is right there!"
The girl's eyes were shut tight, her face twisted in agonizing spasms.
"Don't go over there."
Daniel pulled Monica back from rushing forward, locking his gaze on dark shadows beneath the "trash mountain."
There, a clown dressed in white lace and smeared with face paint sat atop a rickety old rocking horse, swaying slowly.
It held a half-eaten severed finger in one hand, yellow eyes fixed on Daniel with unnatural intensity.
"You destroyed my house."
Pennywise's voice dropped to a sinister growl.
With a beast-like rasp, it sneered, "I'm angry... But I've decided not to eat you. I'm going to rip you to pieces and stuff you into the foulest sewer pipes."
"With just you?" Daniel sneered.
An afterimage flickered as he moved.
His thunder-struck ashwood Sanctum Blade thrummed with dull thunder as it slashed toward the clown on the rocking horse.
Before the blade could touch the filthy lace collar, countless pale hands shot out from the shadows, tightly grasping Daniel's ankles.
Then a giant pustule-covered hound leapt from the "trash mountain," a dried corpse dragging a shroud fell from the ceiling, and a rotting head with enormous, jagged jaws crawled out from a gutter.
The monsters swarmed densely, surrounding Daniel so tightly that not even a breath of air could get through.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha!"
Pennywise stretched its mouth wide, revealing a bottomless dark throat lined with razor-sharp teeth.
Its wild laughter shook the entire cavern.
"Here, I am the Creator! My fear is infinite and unending. As long as these children exist, these babies will spawn endlessly."
Tilting its head, the clown's yellow eyes brimmed with mockery.
"You can't kill them all. Even if you are powerful, once your strength drains... you'll float here too, becoming my most precious collection."
Monica screamed in terror as the tide of monsters surged toward Daniel.
But he didn't even blink.
His body jolted as he forcefully broke free, shattering the countless pale hands into dust with his Dharmic power.
"You know nothing about power." Daniel held his sword horizontally against his chest. "Do you know the power of an Ascendant?"
*****
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