Fallen Moon Forest

Under the pale moonlight, not a sound could be heard in the forest.

Duanmu Huai held his Thunder Warhammer and strode through the dark forest. The light mounted on his head illuminated the gloomy path between the trees, clearly revealing the ruined stone pillars entangled in vines ahead.

This is the place.

Duanmu Huai stared at the stone pillar, his expression turning solemn.

The Elf Scout was, after all, an intelligence specialist, and she was more skilled in this field than Elisa. Although she did not understand what Duanmu Huai wanted to do, she still provided him with information about several haunted locations near Silver City.

This Fallen Moon Forest was one of them.

According to the Elf Scout, this forest had once been the home of an evil Necromancer long ago. Later, that Necromancer was eliminated by soldiers. Afterward, rumors of hauntings began to spread here---and they were not merely rumors. Mercenaries, traveling merchants, and even the Patrol Team had all reported hearing terrifying wails and screams here. Some had even witnessed lights and music coming from deep within the forest.

The lord had also sent people to investigate, but they never returned with any word. After that, this place was abandoned.

Duanmu Huai had come here, of course, not simply because his curiosity had gotten the better of him or to complete a side quest. On the contrary, he had come to seek the power capable of defeating the God of Filth.

Among the Chaos Gods, the God of Filth was actually one of the most difficult deities to deal with---although all Chaos Gods were troublesome, if Duanmu Huai had to rank them, the God of Filth would at least come in second.

The reason lay in its nature.

Generally speaking, when most people saw viruses and plagues being spread, they would assume that the God of Filth symbolized death and destruction. In reality, however, that was completely wrong. Although the God of Filth did not possess the overwhelming power of the God of Tyranny or the bizarre magic of the God of Deceit, it was unparalleled when it came to manipulating and cultivating viruses invisible to the naked eye. There were even rumors that every virus in this world, from something as minor as a cold to something as severe as a plague, was the work of the God of Filth.

Not only that, the God of Filth was also quite "loving." Unlike the followers of other evil gods, who had to endure trial after trial and even undergo baptism by blood and fire before earning recognition, the God of Filth accepted all comers among its followers. Whether beggar or emperor, noble or warrior, the God of Filth would open its rotten, stinking arms and embrace these pitiful little life-forms, granting them equal love.

To them, spreading viruses was not an evil act at all. On the contrary, they believed that spreading viruses and infecting others with diseases and plagues was a way to join their warm, classless, race-blind, and egalitarian family of friendship. Even those who died as a result would not be abandoned. Their corpses would decay and nourish new life, contributing to the cycle of life in this world.

Life went on endlessly.

Therefore, among players, the God of Filth was also mockingly called the "Benevolent Father" and the "God of Life and Hope" (dogeza).

That was indeed the case. Strictly speaking, from the perspective of viruses, the God of Filth could indeed be considered a kind father. It was just that---its values were completely incompatible with those of ordinary people.

It was like keeping pets. Most people liked raising cats and dogs, but some people preferred raising maggots. Raising maggots was one thing, but they even believed that raising maggots was the correct choice and demanded that everyone raise maggots together with them... That was where the problem lay.

Therefore, the "God of Filth," as the "God of Life," was very difficult to drive back by ordinary means. Even divine arts and holy light were not particularly effective against its followers. Although these followers reeked of decay, were covered in pus-filled boils, and looked revolting, they were still teeming life-forms, just like maggots, flies, and mosquitoes---holy light could not possibly work on such things.

Thus, there were only two best ways to completely destroy the followers and armies of the God of Filth.

One was to burn them. As long as they were all burned to ashes, there would be no problem.

In fact, after eliminating the Apostle of Plague earlier, Duanmu Huai had specifically asked the Elf Scout to build a fire so he could disinfect his Power Armor. He had then roasted himself in the raging flames for quite some time, only emerging after confirming that the armor had been fully sterilized...

The other was to make use of the power of death possessed by the undead.

The deathly power of the undead acted on the level of the soul. It could completely extinguish the flame of life, turning all living things into silent dead earth. Viruses and even bacteria were no exception. Before absolute deathly power, no life could survive.

It could be said that death was the best weapon against the God of Filth and its followers. No matter how ugly or filthy they were, they were ultimately living creatures---and the flame of life could never escape the breath of the wind of death.

Of course, dealing with the undead was not easy. Subduing the undead or collecting the Vampire Card Deck was dangerous, because the undead were dead things, and ordinary physical attacks were useless against them. At the very least, one needed weapons or magic with elemental attacks to fight them. Otherwise, entering their territory would be nothing more than feeding oneself to them.

Duanmu Huai only knew one psychic skill, Psychic Shock. Fortunately, his Thunder Warhammer came with lightning elemental damage, and the Puppet Card Deck was also considered part of his magical skills. Using puppets to deal with the undead should not be a problem.

The only question was whether what was here were undead or vampires.

From a certain perspective, vampires were even harder to deal with than the undead, but there was a silver lining---if a player was transformed into a vampire, they were essentially immune to the viruses of the God of Filth. In fact, in the game, many players would deliberately let a vampire bite them before attacking the world of the God of Filth, transforming themselves into undead creatures to become immune to its viral attacks.

They could always cure themselves after the battle.

There was no such convenience in reality.

Duanmu Huai did not think the Elf Scout's information was wrong. The reason was simple: when the Elf Scout told him about this place, Duanmu Huai had triggered the quest to investigate Fallen Moon Forest.

If there was a quest, it meant that something was indeed here.

With that thought, Duanmu Huai walked onward once more. Okegis followed silently behind him as usual, like a shadow. From the moment this doll girl had been summoned until now, she had not spoken a single word, giving Duanmu Huai the impression that she was a robot.

Well, from a certain perspective, she did indeed count as a robot.

After passing the collapsed stone pillar, Duanmu Huai soon saw a dilapidated mansion. It was a four-story stone building, and apparently because it had suffered a great fire, the entire mansion was charred black, with collapsed rubble scattered everywhere. The surroundings were unnaturally quiet. Although they were in a forest, there was no sound of birds or insects, not even the rustling of wind, as if the sounds of this world had been completely cut off.

"There doesn't seem to be anything here..."

Duanmu Huai walked to the entrance and peered inside. The mansion had long since been completely emptied, and even most of the walls had collapsed. It looked like a rotting corpse reduced almost entirely to a skeleton. Even from outside, he could easily see the ruined rooms inside, already covered in vines and weeds.

"..."

However, at that moment, Duanmu Huai suddenly caught a faint sobbing sound by his ear. He frowned and looked around before turning toward Okegis.

"Okegis, did you hear something?"

"..."

In response to Duanmu Huai's question, Okegis shook her head. Duanmu Huai raised his head again. The sobbing seemed to come and go, so faint that one might even wonder if it was a hallucination---but Duanmu Huai knew clearly that it was no hallucination.

Looks like we found the right place.

The corners of Duanmu Huai's mouth curled up slightly. Then he raised his right hand.

Activate---Soul Resonance!!

The scene before Duanmu Huai's eyes suddenly changed.

The gloomy, dilapidated mansion instantly became a brightly lit building. Brilliant lights shone from the windows, illuminating the entire mansion. The courtyard, previously covered in weeds, had also become completely different. Not far away, a haggard-looking man stood beside a gravestone, staring at it without saying a word.

Even when Duanmu Huai and Okegis came to stand beside him, the man remained completely unaware of them---which was only natural. He was merely an afterimage in this space, just like the Puppet Master in the Doll House before. Duanmu Huai could see him, but he could not interfere with him.

What the man did next, however, shocked Duanmu Huai. The man suddenly picked up the iron pickaxe beside him and brought it crashing down on the gravestone!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The man swung his arms like a madman, smashing the grave before him to pieces. Then he opened the coffin inside and tightly embraced the girl lying within.

"My daughter, you won't die. I won't let you die just like this!"

After saying that, the man turned around with the girl's corpse in his arms and walked into the mansion.

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai followed the man inside out of curiosity. However, the instant he pushed open the door and entered the mansion, the scene before him changed again.

In the parlor before Duanmu Huai, a beautiful purple-haired girl was curled up in the man's arms. Beside the burning fireplace, she was looking at a picture book. She looked almost exactly like the corpse the man had dug out of the grave earlier, except that there was now a huge object resembling a bolt on her head. The man was gently telling his daughter the story in the picture book.

"...In the end, because it sought beings like itself, this monster had No Fixed Abode..."

"It feels... like a very sad story..."

After listening to the man's tale, the girl wore a sorrowful expression. The man smiled and reached out to stroke her head.

"Yes, but the fact that you can understand that already makes you remarkable. I won't let you be sad. I'll make you into a perfect existence..."

"Mm!"

Hearing the man's words, the girl happily nodded.

"Father, can you read me another story?"

"Of course, but it's already late today. Good children should go to bed obediently."

"All right, Father. Good night."

The girl stood up and turned to leave. The man smiled as he watched her back recede, and only after she disappeared did he sigh. Then he flung the picture book from his hand and clutched his head tightly.

"That's not how it is. It shouldn't be like this!!"

The man had completely lost his earlier gentleness and calm. Instead, he clutched his head and growled under his breath like a trapped beast.

"She's not my daughter! She isn't...!! She's just an entirely new soul...!! I know it. I know that very clearly...!! Damn it...!! Damn it...!!!"

The man curled into a ball and wailed softly. Gradually, his figure disappeared once more.

"Hmm..."

Watching this scene, Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes and began to think. Just then, a voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Master, I don't understand."

"What is it, Okegis?"

Hearing Okegis's question, Duanmu Huai turned to look at her. This was the first time the doll girl had ever asked him a question.

"Why did that gentleman say she wasn't his daughter? Based on my observations, there is no difference between them in appearance, build, or other aspects. Aside from differences in decoration, I believe they are the same person."

Okegis calmly stated her opinion. Clearly, she was genuinely confused.

"Indeed, if we're only talking about appearances, there's no difference. But... humans don't look at the outside. They look at the soul."

"The soul?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, Okegis tilted her head in confusion.

"That's right. The soul, personality, and those emotional, intangible things are what form the foundation of a bond between two people."

"I don't understand..."

"Keep watching and you'll understand."

Duanmu Huai did not explain further. He merely patted her head lightly before walking out of the parlor.

"Knock, knock, knock!!!"

Just then, someone suddenly began pounding on the tightly closed door. At the same time, the purple-haired girl in her pajamas came down the stairs and stared uneasily at the entrance.

"Father, what happened?"

"Good girl, hide quickly!"

The man had also lost his earlier calm. His face was deathly pale as he told the girl to hide in the underground chamber. Only then did he turn around, walk to the door, and open it.

"Crash!"

The next moment, the door was violently shoved open, and dozens of fully armed soldiers rushed inside.

"We finally found you, evil Necromancer!!"

"What are you talking about? I'm not..."

"Enough nonsense!!"

The man tried to defend himself, but the soldier leading the group cut him off.

"We received an anonymous report that someone saw you together with your daughter, who should have been dead! You evil wizard!"

At this, the man's expression changed dramatically, while the leading soldier waved his hand forcefully.

"On my orders, search the entire house immediately. Find that Living Dead!"

"You can't do this! Stop!!"

Seeing this, the man hurriedly stepped forward to stop them. However, the leading soldier immediately drew his longsword and ran it straight through the man's body.

"..."

The next moment, the man fell heavily to the ground with a "thud," and the entire mansion began to tremble!