At that moment, an overwhelming wave of terror surged through her entire body.
It's over… it's all over!
Crack, crack!
Outside, the monster was frantically dismantling the wooden boards, as if it couldn't wait to come down and devour its feast.
The little girl was paralyzed with fear, allowing her mother to clutch her tightly in her arms, completely motionless.
It was clear she had realized by now that the voice above hadn't been her father at all—it was the monster pretending to be him.
Boom!
With almost no effort, the boards covering the cellar entrance were violently torn apart, and the wooden props inside collapsed helplessly.
A green monster with a grotesque, toad-like face jumped down, its greedy eyes openly scanning the mother and daughter before it.
"I'm Junichi! Woe is me! It's all your fault that I was killed by a monster!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out again.
Looking closer, the woman realized it was the severed head in the toad monster's hand, moving its mouth as if speaking.
The woman, already on the edge of despair, completely broke down at the sight of her husband's mutilated head. She pressed a hand tightly over her mouth, tears streaming uncontrollably.
"It's all your fault for not letting me in! You got me killed!"
"That's enough! You disgusting monster!"
After collapsing into despair, the woman instead seemed to let go of all fear. There was nothing left to lose, so she no longer cared about provoking it.
The toad monster, rather than getting angry, seemed even more delighted.
As a newly advanced Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, its abilities weren't combat-focused but were uniquely sinister.
It could reactivate certain functions in the heads of deceased humans, allowing them, for example, to speak as if still alive.
This ability made hunting humans effortless, luring countless victims to their deaths.
Now, it had two more exquisite "trophies" in its hands.
Before devouring them, however, it needed to savor the intense negative emotions radiating from the woman.
Fear, hatred, and other strong emotions were the most delicious to Cursed Spirits—they were nourishment that made them stronger.
So, it preferred to torment its prey first, then slowly consume them from the feet upward.
The despair of watching oneself being eaten piece by piece triggered the maximum emotional response.
Delicious…
"Come on, let's be a family forever!"
The toad monster continued to torment them with the voice of the woman's husband.
"Then… let's start with this little one." The monster grinned and lunged for the girl.
The little girl stood frozen, as if stunned.
The woman crouched down, hugging her daughter to her chest, turning her back to the monster and tightly closing her eyes.
But what was expected did not happen. Instead, strange tearing and thudding sounds came from behind.
"Mom, the hero has come to save us."
Because her back was to the monster, the woman didn't see it, but her daughter did.
A man with short brown hair, unnaturally pale skin, and wearing a black robe appeared from above, wielding an oversized, exaggerated greatsword, suddenly descending from the sky.
In a flash of silver light, the disgusting toad monster was split in half from head to toe!
Hearing her daughter's words, the woman instinctively turned around—but all she saw was the corpse of the slain monster. The hero was nowhere in sight.
"Where's the hero?" she asked anxiously.
She didn't doubt her daughter—the monster was dead before her eyes. That much was undeniable.
Someone had clearly intervened and killed it, saving them.
With her husband already dead, finding such a powerful ally was the only way they could survive.
It might be shameful to think this way, but as a mother, it was all she could do.
However, her daughter's next words brought disappointment.
"The hero just… disappeared in a flash."
The hero had saved them and then vanished without a word, clearly wanting no further entanglement.
The woman let out a bitter smile, saying nothing more, though her gaze grew even more resolute.
"Let's go. This place is no longer safe."
"Are we going to find the hero?" the daughter asked, eyes filled with hope as she looked up at her mother.
The woman smiled bitterly, running a hand through her daughter's hair. "The hero still has monsters to defeat, so we shouldn't get in the way, right?"
Her daughter nodded firmly. "Yes! So the hero will definitely win, right?"
"Yes. The hero will definitely win! Absolutely… win."
…
[Exorcised Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, gained 300 Cursed Soul Points]
Having slain the toad monster, Shinji wasted no time heading toward another location where screams could be heard.
Exorcising a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit granted 200 points.
Exorcising a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit granted 300 points.
Such a small reward!
But considering the minimal strength these Grade 2 and 3 Cursed Spirits had displayed, he felt relieved.
They were all wiped out with a single stroke. Two hundred or three hundred points didn't matter much.
Moreover, these low-level Cursed Spirits were numerous and spawned quickly.
So as long as he stayed diligent and efficient, he could earn plenty!
Shinji had no time to chat with the survivors; he would rather kill a few more monsters.
It was worth noting that because his bond with Hidan had surpassed 500 points and reached the second stage, he could claim half the Cursed Soul Points from any Cursed Spirit Hidan killed alone while in default team mode.
And if they killed together, he could earn the full amount.
Upon realizing this, Shinji decisively chose to split up with Hidan.
All sorts of monsters were now emerging to hunt. If they continued together, efficiency would be too low.
Hidan had no objections; he was eager for a killing spree anyway.
Thus, the two rarely disagreed, and each began slaying monsters on their own.
Crossing a street, Shinji suddenly found a foul-smelling slime raining down on him.
Not far away, two Cursed Spirits with massive heads and tiny bodies opened their mouths wide.
The slime attack had come from them.
"Disgusting!"
The slimy, phlegm-like attack truly disgusted Shinji.
He activated his Executioner sword's Piercing Shadow Strike instantly, disappearing from sight.
Slice!
The head of one giant-headed monster rolled to the ground.
Ignoring the system prompt, Shinji immediately raised his sword again, aiming at the second giant-headed monster.
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20 Power Stones= 1 additional chapters.