146. The Real Culprit

Tick-tock! Tick-tock!

After killing a living being, the crimson in the Evil Spirit's eyes faded, and a glimmer of life suddenly appeared on its blank face.

He stared at the bloodstains on the ground and the cat's corpse, then suddenly seemed to collapse, kneeling on one knee, his shoulders shaking, whimpering, "Waaah! I'm sorry... I didn't mean to."

Sulu, who was eavesdropping nearby, was almost stunned. "No way... You're Evil Spirit spirit, how can you cry? No... wait... He doesn't seem to be Evil Spirit! Evil Spirit don't have so many expressions! And they don't feel regret or pain! He's... a spirit professional?!"

Spiritual professional!

This is an even more unique and rarer profession than that of Medium.

To begin their service, one must relinquish their human body and undergo a suicide ritual to become a [Necro-Spirit]!

Ordinary [Necro-Spirit] possess human Wisdom, yet are still spirits themselves, making them natural beings of the Spirit World. They are more suited to exploring the Spirit World than [Medium], whose spirit bodies are more compatible with them.

Once the [Necro-Spirit] have matured, they will transform into second-tier [Evil Spirit]!

That's right!

The path of a spiritual practitioner is one of learning from spiritual beings in the Spirit World, hence the shared name.

[Evil Spirit] are filled with evil thoughts and a desire for destruction, and will destroy all life that enters their range.

If you kill enough Wisdom beings and absorb enough 'energy', you will advance again and become a third-tier [Fierce Spirit]!

This is from the Encyclopedia of Professions in the White Tower.

"A spiritual professional transformed from a human?"

Upon witnessing this scene, Sulu immediately understood many things.

These professionals retain most of their memories and Wisdom from their previous life, making them more difficult to deal with than ordinary Evil Spirit.

This can be seen from the fact that the other party actually played hide-and-seek with the bishop who came to exorcise the demon, forcibly dragged him away, and even restrained his bloodlust.

At the same time, Sulu understood why the intelligence in the Black Market said this guy was a suspected Face-Snatcher.

Because the Face-Snatcher is extremely evil, after it seizes a human's identity, it gains all of that person's experience and memories, making it faster and more cunning than Evil Spirit that takes over a human body and actively learns!

The Evil Spirit in the dream within the Colington Manor perfectly embodies the characteristics of cunning.

"But in reality... it is certainly cunning enough, because it was never a muddled, Spirit Mediumship; it possesses human Wisdom!"

Sulu sighed.

At that moment, in the garden of the Colington Manor, a house cat lay dead on the ground, its body covered in horrific claw marks.

The surroundings Silence and empty, with only faint sobbing sounds.

Given that ordinary people cannot see spirits, this was truly a terrifying sight, no wonder the entire Colington Manor was terrified.

Sulu sighed and suddenly revealed himself.

"Who are you?"

The young Evil Spirit immediately looked up, its eyes filled with vigilance.

"Mr. Collington's bodyguard, you must be Lanny? Miss Sonia's lover?"

Sulu had confirmed the young man's identity. "What have you been doing, constantly loitering around the Colington Manor for the past six months?"

The name Lanny seemed to strike a chord deep within the spirit's heart, bringing a touch of life to his previously expressionless face. "Lanny... Sonia... my love..."

"What brings you to the manor? To kill Mr. Lux?"

Sulu continued to press for answers.

In fact, he knew that wasn't the answer.

After all, if it really came down to killing someone, Lux wouldn't have been able to escape when Lanny was at Tier 1.

Now, the opponent has become a second-tier [Evil Spirit], which is quite astonishing.

"No, no!"

Lanny instinctively retorted, "I just wanted to... scare him! And... I don't want to leave here."

Spirits, and even those who work as spirits, are not living people; they have very strong attachments.

It now appears that Colington Manor, where Sonia lives, is Lanny's obsession.

Sulu said calmly, "But... you're gradually losing control of yourself, aren't you?"

Evil Spirit spirits are inherently averse to life; this is the fundamental conflict between death and life, and even professionals find it difficult to resist.

In addition, Lanny's promotion was too fast, making him more susceptible to influence.

The previous deaths of livestock on the estate, and today's attack, both prove this point.

He was gradually losing control of his bloodlust, and sometimes he would subconsciously attack people to quell his turmoil with blood.

But this unrest is impossible to quell; it will only intensify.

Once he attacks humanity, he will open a valve, and from then on, there will be no stopping him.

They might even lose their original mental memories in the process of killing, turning into true Evil Spirit!

In that case, he would be no different from the Evil Spirit of nature that Sulu had encountered before. This is the loss of professional control for a spirit professional!

Any extraordinary power carries danger; the only difference is the degree of danger!

"No... I can control it! Yes... all I need is animal blood!"

Lanny muttered to himself, his expression gradually changing. "I won't kill anyone, I won't... as long as... as long as..."

His voice gradually lowered, and a fierce glint appeared in his eyes.

Has ferocity gradually overtaken reason?

Sulu sighed. It's normal for spirit practitioners to go crazy; otherwise, they wouldn't have fallen to the point of being treated like rats in the street.

There's only one thing he doesn't understand right now.

That's the source of Lanny's extraordinary career!

The other party was just an ordinary poor person, without any background or connections; otherwise, Lux wouldn't have looked down on him.

Where did the information about the [Necro-Spirit] class come from?

"And... it's too fast. He advanced from Tier 1 to Tier 2 in less than half a year. He's not like me, using some kind of cheat code!"

Sulu had no time to think further.

Before him, Lanny had completed his transformation, letting out a beast-like roar as he pounced.

"Roll!"

Sulu clenched his right fist and threw a punch.

At the same time, Spirit Pressure spread and adhered to his fist.

This is a combat tactic he recently devised for spirits.

Spirits are immune to most physical damage. To harm a spirit, you must attack its Inspiration, for example... by wrapping your fist with Spirit Pressure!

Bang!

The semi-illusory Lanny was struck head-on in the left cheek, and without any chance of escape, he was sent flying backward and crashed into the wall.

"Quick!"

"Evil Spirit has appeared!"

"Enter the Spirit World!"

At this point, the commotion finally alerted them.

The younger of the Gray brothers and another professional rushed over. Upon seeing the cat's corpse on the ground, without saying a word, they used a certain spell to Soul Projection and enter the Spirit World.

But a few minutes later, they stood up again with gloomy faces, clearly having gained nothing.

The second layer of the Spirit World.

"As expected... it's too difficult to access the second layer of the Spirit World. Brother Gray only has talismans that can access the first layer of the Spirit World, so they're not much different from blind and deaf people."

Sulu followed Lanny, who was fleeing, with a slight smile playing on his lips.