Fallen Moon Forest

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

Duanmu Huai gripped his Warhammer and strode through the dark forest. The lamp on his helmet illuminated the shadowy path, clearly revealing the ruined stone pillars tangled in vines ahead.

This was the place.

Duanmu Huai stared at the stone pillars, his expression growing grave.

The elf scout specialized in gathering intelligence, so she was far more knowledgeable than Elisa in this regard. Though she did not understand what Duanmu Huai intended to do, she still provided him with information on several haunted locations near Silver City.

Fallen Moon Forest was among them.

According to the elf scout, this forest had once been home to an evil Necromancer long ago. The Necromancer was later eliminated by soldiers. After that, rumors of hauntings began to spread here—not merely rumors, either. Mercenaries, traveling merchants, and even Patrol Teams had reported hearing terrifying wails and screams here. Some had even witnessed lights and music coming from deep within the forest.

The lord had once dispatched people to investigate, but they never returned. After that, the place was abandoned.

Duanmu Huai had not come here out of curiosity or merely to complete a side quest. Rather, he had come to seek the power needed to defeat the God of Filth.

Among the Chaos Gods, the God of Filth was actually one of the most difficult gods to deal with. Of course, none of the Chaos Gods were easy opponents, but if Duanmu Huai had to rank them, the God of Filth would at least take second place in terms of trouble.

The reason lay in its nature.

Generally speaking, when people saw viruses and plagues being spread, they would assume the God of Filth represented death and Destruction. In truth, that was completely wrong. Though the God of Filth lacked the God of Tyranny's overwhelming strength and the God of Deceit's bizarre magic, it stood alone when it came to manipulating and concocting invisible viruses. There were even rumors that every virus in the world, from the common cold to devastating plagues, was the God of Filth's handiwork.

What was more, the God of Filth was remarkably "loving." Unlike the followers of other evil gods, who needed to undergo countless trials and even be baptized in blood and fire before earning recognition, the God of Filth welcomed all believers without exception. Beggar or emperor, noble or warrior, the God of Filth would spread its rotten, stinking arms and draw these pitiful little lives into its embrace, bestowing equal love upon them all.

To them, spreading viruses was not evil at all. On the contrary, they believed infecting others with illness and plague was a means of bringing them into their warm, friendly family, where all were treated equally regardless of class or race. Even those who died as a result would not be abandoned. Their corpses would decay, then nourish new life and contribute to the cycle of life in this world.

Life, endlessly renewed.

Thus, among players, the God of Filth was mockingly called the "Benevolent Father" and the "God of Life and Hope" (doge).

And that was indeed true. Strictly speaking, from the perspective of viruses, the God of Filth was truly a kind father. It was simply that its values were utterly incompatible with those of ordinary people.

It was like keeping pets. Most people liked cats and dogs, but some liked raising maggots. Raising maggots would be one thing, but they also believed raising maggots was the right thing to do and demanded that everyone else raise maggots with them... that was the problem.

Therefore, the God of Filth, as a "God of Life," was difficult to repel through ordinary means. Even divine arts and Holy Light were not particularly effective against its followers. Though those believers stank of rot, were covered in pus-filled sores, and looked utterly revolting, they were still endlessly thriving lifeforms, like maggots, flies, and mosquitoes—Holy Light could not possibly work on such things.

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

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

After eliminating the Apostle of Plague, Duanmu Huai had specifically asked the elf scout to build a fire so he could disinfect his Power Armor. He had stood in the roaring flames for quite some time before coming out, only after confirming the disinfection was complete...

The other method was to use the power of death possessed by the Undead.

The deathly power of the Undead acted upon the soul. It could completely extinguish the flame of life and turn all living things into silent dead earth. Even viruses and 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 remained living beings—and the flames of life could not escape the touch of death's wind.

Of course, dealing with the Undead was not easy. Subduing the Undead was just as dangerous as subduing a Vampire Card Deck, 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 that place would simply be suicide.

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 abilities. Using Puppets to fight the Undead should not be much of a problem.

He just did not know whether this place was occupied by Undead or Vampires.

From a certain perspective, Vampires were even harder to deal with than the Undead, but there was one advantage—if players were turned into Vampires, they would basically become immune to the God of Filth's viruses. In fact, before attacking the God of Filth's world in the game, many players would deliberately let a Vampire bite them and turn them into Undead to gain immunity to the God of Filth's viral attacks.

At worst, they could just change back after the battle.

There was no such convenience in reality.

Duanmu Huai did not believe the elf scout's intelligence was wrong. The reason was simple: the moment she told him about this place, he had triggered the quest to investigate Fallen Moon Forest.

If there was a quest, then something was definitely here.

With that in mind, Duanmu Huai continued forward. As always, Okegis silently followed behind him like a shadow. Since being summoned, the Puppet girl had not spoken a single word, making Duanmu Huai feel as though she were a robot.

Well, from a certain perspective, she really was one.

Passing the collapsed stone pillars, Duanmu Huai soon spotted a dilapidated manor. It was a four-story stone building that appeared to have suffered a fire. The entire manor had been blackened, with collapsed rubble scattered everywhere. The surroundings were unnaturally quiet. Though they were in a forest, there was no birdsong, no insect chirping, not even the sound of wind. It was as though every sound in the world had been completely cut off.

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

Duanmu Huai walked to the entrance and peered inside. The entire manor had long since been emptied, and even half its walls had collapsed. It looked like a rotting corpse with little more than its skeleton left. Even standing outside, he could easily see the ruined rooms within, overgrown with vines and weeds.

"..."

Yet at that moment, Duanmu Huai suddenly caught a faint sobbing sound. He frowned and looked around before turning to Okegis.

"Okegis, did you hear anything?"

"..."

Faced with Duanmu Huai's question, Okegis shook her head. Duanmu Huai raised his head again. The crying was faint and intermittent, so much so that one might wonder whether it was merely an illusion—but Duanmu Huai knew very well that it was not.

Looks like we found the right place.

The corner of Duanmu Huai's mouth lifted slightly as he raised his right hand.

Activate—Soul Resonance!!

The scene before Duanmu Huai abruptly changed.

The dark, decaying manor instantly became a brightly lit building. Brilliant light shone from its windows, illuminating the entire estate. The courtyard, once overgrown with weeds, also looked completely different. Not far away, a haggard man stood beside a tombstone, staring silently at the grave before him.

Even when Duanmu Huai and Okegis approached him, the man remained unaware of their presence. That was only natural. He was merely an afterimage within this space, like the Puppet Master in the Doll House before. Duanmu Huai could see him, but could not interfere with him.

What the man did next, however, startled Duanmu Huai. The man suddenly grabbed an iron pickaxe from beside him and smashed it down hard upon the tombstone!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

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

"My daughter, you will not die! I won't let you die like this!"

After saying that, the man turned, carried the girl's corpse in his arms, and entered the manor.

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai curiously followed the man into the manor. Yet the moment he pushed open the door and stepped inside, the scene before him changed once more.

In the living room before Duanmu Huai, a beautiful girl with long purple hair curled up in the man's embrace, looking through a picture book beside a burning fireplace. She looked almost identical to the corpse the man had dug out of the grave earlier. The only difference was that she now had a huge bolt-like object embedded in her head. The man gently told his daughter the story from the picture book.

"...In the end, that monster was No Fixed Abode because it sought others like itself..."

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

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

"Yes, but it is already remarkable that you can understand that. I won't let you be sad. I will make you a perfect being..."

"Mm!"

Hearing the man, the girl nodded happily.

"Father, can you read me another story?"

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

"Okay, Father. Good night."

The girl stood up and turned to leave. The man watched her retreating figure with a smile. Only after she disappeared from sight did he sigh, then toss away the picture book and clutch his head tightly.

"That isn't it. It shouldn't be like this!!"

The man had completely lost his previous gentleness and composure. Instead, like a trapped beast, he clutched his head and growled in a low voice.

"She isn't my daughter! She isn't...!! She's just a completely new soul...!! I know, I know that clearly...!! Damn it...!! Damn it...!!!"

The man curled into a ball and wailed softly. Gradually, his figure vanished once again.

"Hmm..."

Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes as he thought over what he had seen. At that moment, a voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Master, I don't understand."

"What is it, Okegis?"

Hearing Okegis's question, Duanmu Huai turned toward her. This was the first time the Puppet girl had ever asked him anything.

"Why did that gentleman say she was not his daughter? Based on my observations, there is no difference between them in appearance, body type, and other aspects. Aside from decorative differences, I believe they are the same person."

Okegis calmly stated her view. Clearly, she genuinely had doubts about this.

"Indeed, there is no difference if you only look at appearances. But... what humans see is not the exterior. It is the soul."

"The soul?"

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

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

"I don't understand..."

"You'll understand if you keep watching."

Duanmu Huai did not explain further in response to Okegis's confusion. He merely patted her head gently and walked out of the living room.

"Bang bang bang!!!"

At that moment, the tightly shut front door was suddenly pounded on violently. At the same time, the purple-haired maiden in her nightgown came downstairs, looking anxiously toward the door.

"Father, what happened?"

"Good girl, hide quickly!"

The man had also lost his earlier calm. Pale-faced, he told the girl to hide in the underground secret room. Only then did he turn and walk to the door, opening it.

"Crash!"

The next moment, the door was shoved open roughly, and dozens of heavily armed soldiers stormed inside.

"We've finally found you, evil Necromancer!!"

"What are you talking about? I am not—"

"Enough nonsense!!"

The man tried to defend himself, but the leading soldier interrupted him.

"We received a report that someone saw you with your daughter, who should have been dead! You evil Wizard!"

Hearing this, the man's face changed drastically. The leading soldier forcefully waved his hand.

"On my command, search the entire house immediately and find that Living Dead!"

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

Seeing this, the man hurried forward to stop them. But the next moment, the leading soldier drew his longsword and thrust it straight through the man's body.

"..."

The next moment, the man fell heavily to the floor with a bang, and the entire manor began to tremble!