Dean looked at her, opened her mouth, and finally said only one sentence, "You are right."
Meg's movements paused momentarily. She looked at the guilt and self-denial in Dean's eyes. She was stunned for a moment, then raised her foot again to kick him down hard. At this moment, Dean suddenly raised his hand, raised his gun and fired a shot at the ceiling.
The salt bomb hit the chandelier hook on the ceiling with a bang, and the iron chandelier crashed down, hitting Meg. Her ghost let out a shrill scream, and the Yin Qi all over her body was dispersed by the iron chandelier, and she disappeared in an instant.
Dean leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and the gun in his hand clattered to the ground.
"Made of iron." He murmured to himself, slid down the wall, and sat on the ground.
She was right, it was all my fault. Meg, her sister, Henriksen, Nancy... all of them died because of my recklessness, my selfishness, and only Sam and revenge in my eyes. I am not a hero at all, I am just a bastard with hands stained with the blood of innocent people. I can't save anyone, I will only drag everyone around me into Hell. Why should I be rescued from Hell by an angel? I don't deserve it at all. What does God see in me? Does it see enough blood in my hands?
Dean, Sam, Bobby and Bai Haorui met in the study room. The atmosphere in the room was so depressing that it made people breathless. Sam's forehead was wrapped with gauze and there were scratches on his face; Dean's mouth was broken, there were clear slap marks on his face, and he was still holding his stomach when walking; Bobby had purple fingerprints on his neck, and his voice was still hoarse; only Bai Haorui was not injured, but his brows were still furrowed, and he was surrounded by a faint True Fire.
"So, these are all people we know?" Sam was the first to break the silence, sitting at the desk, his voice hoarse, "They are all people we... failed to save."
Dean nodded, leaned against the bookshelf, folded his arms, and said with empty eyes, "It's not just an acquaintance, it's someone we personally owe a debt to. By the way, I saw something on Meg. Did she have a tattoo on her hand when she was alive?"
Sam shook his head. "Probably not. I remember it very clearly. Her hands were clean and there was nothing."
"There is a mark on her hand, like a brand, burnt, like an eye, and like a twisted charm." Dean looked at Sam, "Have you seen it?"
"I saw it too." Sam nodded immediately, "Henriksen also has the exact same mark on his hand."
Bobby immediately raised his head and looked at them. "What does it look like? Draw it and show it to me."
Sam took the paper and pen handed over by Bobby, lowered his head and started drawing quickly. After a while, he drew the twisted mark and raised it for everyone to see. Dean nodded immediately. "That's it, exactly the same."
Bobby took the piece of paper and stared at the mark on it for a long time. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter. He suddenly stood up, turned around and rushed to the bookshelf behind him, rummaging through a pile of ancient books.
"I think I've seen this before." Bobby said while flipping through the book, "We have to go, get out of here quickly."
"Where to go?" Sam looked at him doubtfully.
"Go to a safe place, you fool." Bobby picked up a few thick ancient books and raised his chin towards them, "Follow me."
The four of them followed Bobby out of the study and walked towards the basement. Bobby opened a heavy iron door at the end of the basement. The moment the iron door opened, the lights inside automatically turned on.
This is a cylindrical room. The walls are all made of pure iron, with five-pointed stars and Devil's Trap painted on them. The inner walls are also coated with a thick layer of salt, and even the floor is painted with protective charms, making it airtight. There is a table, several chairs, and a bed in the room. There is even a poster of a swimsuit model on the wall.
"Bobby, this is..." Sam looked at the room with shock on his face.
"Made of pure iron, the entire inner wall is coated with salt, and the ceiling and floor are painted with the highest-level protective charms. It is 100% anti-ghost, anti-spiritual, and can even block the attacks of demons." Bobby put the book in his arms on the table, "I had nothing to do on the weekend, so I built it, just because I was afraid of such a day."
"You actually built a safe house to prevent ghosts?" Dean raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of admiration, "Bobby, you are so awesome." He said, his eyes glanced at the swimsuit poster on the wall, raised his eyebrows, and showed a long-lost, a bit naughty smile.
The four of them walked into the room, and Bobby closed the heavy iron door with his backhand and locked it with a click. The room instantly became quiet, and the sound of wind and gloomy air outside were completely blocked out.
Dean and Sam were sitting at the table, lowering their heads to load salt bombs, filling the magazines one by one, and placing them on the table. Bai Haorui leaned against the iron door, with his fingertips True Fire beat slowly, Spiritual Sense passed through the iron door, alert to the movement outside, and the Pure Yang True Fire around him enveloped the entire room, leaving no blind spots.
"Look, this is why I can't believe God." Dean spoke suddenly while loading salt bombs, breaking the silence.
Sam raised his head and looked at him. "What's wrong?"
"If he really exists and is so omnipotent, then how could these bad things happen?" Dean's tone was full of ridicule, but he could not hide his confusion, "How could those innocent people die? Those little girls, Meg, Henriksen, why do they have to suffer this kind of crime? If God is really omniscient and omnipotent, why doesn't he take action? Why is he hiding in the sky while watching demons killing people everywhere and watching innocent people die miserably?"
"Dean, free will--"
"No, no, no, don't talk to me about free will." Dean interrupted him abruptly, his voice rising higher, "If he was really that awesome, he should have intervened. He should have intervened when the devil possessed Meg, When Lilith massacred the police station, when I was torn to pieces by Hellhound, did something. But he didn't. Where is he? Now he suddenly appears, fishes me out of Hell, and tells me that he is a good person? I don't believe it."
At this moment, Bobby suddenly raised his head, patted the book in his hand, pointed to the pattern on the page, and shouted to them, "Found it!"
The four people immediately came to Bobby, and Bai Haorui also walked over, stood beside Dean, and looked at the content on the page. It was an ancient black magic book, and the pages were yellowed. The marks drawn on it were exactly the same as those drawn by Sam, and there were dense Latin annotations next to them.
"This mark is called 'Mark of the Witness'." Bobby pointed to the text on the page and said word by word, "These ghosts are called 'Cursed Witnesses'."
"What do you mean?" Dean asked immediately.
"It means that they are not ordinary ghosts." Bobby said in a solemn tone, "Someone cast a spell to pull these souls back from their resting place, or even Hell, and locked them with black magic, forcibly amplifying their resentment, so that they could only see their own death and think about revenge, specifically looking for revenge on the hunters who failed to save them. This spell is called 'Rise of the Witnesses'."
"Who can cast such a spell?" Sam's Adam's apple moved.
"The only ones who can do this are top-notch black magic, Hell level." Bobby looked at him, "Except Lilith, no one else has this ability, and no one else has this motive."
"Lilith." Dean gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with anger.
"And this is not just a revenge spell." Bobby turned a page and pointed at the text below, his face became darker. "According to records, Rise of the Witnesses is the omen of Apocalypse. And this is not just a omen - it is one of the 66 seals."
The room fell into dead silence for an instant, and everyone's movements stopped.
"Apocalypse?" Dean's voice changed, "You mean, the Apocalypse in the Bible? The end of the world?"
Bobby nodded, his tone calm but undeniably heavy. "Yes."
"... You mean, Lilith is breaking the seal and wants to release Lucifer?" Dean looked at him with disbelief in his eyes. He always thought that Lucifer was just a story made up in the Bible, a legend used by demons to scare people. He never thought that this was actually true.
"Yes." Bobby nodded, "And she has successfully broken the first one. As long as this spell takes effect and as long as one hunter is killed by a witness, the seal will be completely broken. Now, five hunters have died."
"Then what can we do?" Sam asked immediately, with urgency in his tone, "How to send these ghosts back? How to break this spell? Can the seal be restored?"
"There is a counter-spell in the book that can cut off the control of black magic on these souls, return them to their resting place, and break the spell." Bobby looked at him, "But we need an open flame to cast the spell. It must be in an open place and let the flames of the spell spread to the entire house before it can be fully effective."
Dean's face instantly darkened. "Open fire? In other words, we have to leave this safe house."
"Yes." Bobby nodded, "And we have to hurry up. Once this spell takes effect, these ghosts will become stronger and stronger, and their grievances will become heavier and heavier until we are torn apart by them. There is not much time left for us, there are still a few hours at most."
Bai Haorui stood aside, looking at the records on the page, his fingertips Five Emperor Coins slowly turned, and a trace of heaviness flashed in his eyes.
It's still too late... Just like in the slice, the first seal has been broken. Once broken, it can never be restored. Apocalypse's gears have begun to turn, and no one can stop. Lilith's hand not only broke the seal, but also wanted to destroy the entire hunter group and cut off the most solid backing of mankind. Next, it will only get worse, and the seals will be broken one after another, angel The war with the devil will become more and more intense, and Sam and Dean will be pushed step by step to the center of the script. Dean has been targeted by Heaven, and the dark side of Sam is slowly getting out of control. Let's try, this time, with my current power, see if I can change some established facts and protect them.
Dean leaned on the table, folded his arms, looked at the ground blankly, his mind was in a mess.
Apocalypse? Lucifer? The end of the world? I always thought these were ghost stories made up in the Bible, used by priests to trick believers into donating money, but now... we have been hunting small monsters and demons, and now we are actually facing the end of the world?
The heavy iron door opened with a click, and the four people carefully walked back to the first floor along the corridor. Everyone raised their weapons and scanned the surroundings vigilantly. Their steps were very light, and even their breathing slowed down.
As soon as they reached the stairs, they saw the ghost of a young man with curly hair sitting on the stairs, looking at them with a smile, his eyes full of resentment. It was Ronald·Resnick, the security guard who believed in aliens that the three brothers failed to save during the bank robbery.
"Hi, how are you three?" Ronald smiled, stood up, and his body became solid little by little.
Dean immediately raised his gun and pointed it at him, with a hint of helplessness in his tone. "Ronald. Hey, don't be like this, buddy, weren't we friends before? We wanted to save you at that time."
"That was when I was alive." Ronald's smile disappeared instantly, and only resentment remained in his eyes, "Now, I want to eat you alive. It was you who got me involved, and you were the one who caused me to die."
"Okay... come on, I'm not a cheeseburger." Dean twitched his lips, winked at Bobby next to him, lowered his voice, "Cover Bobby!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ronald rushed over. Dean and Sam fired at the same time. The salt bomb hit Ronald's body with a bang. He let out a scream and disappeared instantly. Bobby took the opportunity to hold the book and immediately rushed to the study. Bai Haorui followed Bobby. True Fire on his fingertips was ready to go, protecting his back. Spiritual Sense spread out, alert to the evil spirits that might appear around him at any time.
Dean and Sam immediately followed, rushed into the study, and closed the door with their backhands. Bai Haorui popped out a red-gold True Fire from his fingertips, and quickly drew a Daoist talisman on the door. True Fire penetrated into the wooden door, leaving a golden rune mark, which instantly blocked the Yin Qi coming from outside the door.
Bobby immediately rushed to the desk, opened the book and put it on the table, took out the chalk, and quickly drew a spell on the table. His fingers were so fast that afterimages almost appeared. Dean and Sam held up their guns, guarding the door one on the left and the other on the right. Back to back, alert to the door and window, ready to shoot at any time. Bai Haorui stood by the window, True Fire on his fingertips beat slowly, Spiritual Sense covered the entire house, and any fluctuation of Yin Qi could not escape his perception.
"Okay, listen." Bobby said without raising his head while drawing the spell, "I need two things. Sam, you go to the closet upstairs and get my spell box, the black one, in the top compartment. Dean, go to the kitchen. The cutlery drawer has a false bottom. There are hemlock, opium, and wormwood in it. Take them all, and you can't miss any of them."
Dean looked at him, frowning. "Then you and Haorui should be careful here."
"I've survived until now, so hurry up." Bobby raised his eyes and waved his hand at him, "Hurry up, these things are getting stronger and stronger."
"I will protect Bobby." Bai Haorui looked at Dean and Sam. The mahogany sword was lying in front of him, and the red gold True Fire was flowing along the sword. "You go back quickly and pay attention to safety. These resentful spirits can ignore salt and iron now. Don't resist, just hold them back."
Dean and Sam immediately nodded, looked at each other, opened the door at the same time, and acted separately. Dean rushed to the kitchen downstairs, and Sam ran up the stairs to the second floor.
Bai Haorui turned around and looked at Bobby. True Fire's fingertips gently brushed the table, helping him stabilize the power of the spell and making the drawn spell more stable.
"You knew this would happen, right?" Bobby said suddenly while drawing the spell, and looked up at him, "From the moment the angel appeared, you knew that Apocalypse was coming."
Bai Haorui paused, nodded, and did not deny. "Yes. The arrival of the angel means that the balance between Heaven and Hell has been broken, and the prelude to Apocalypse has begun. Lilith wants to release Lucifer, and Heaven wants to use Apocalypse to clean up Hell and rebuild the order they want. We hunters are the first batch of obstacles to be cleared."
"Then can we win?" Bobby paused his hand and looked up at him, his eyes full of exhaustion, "One of the 66 seals has been broken, can we stop them?"
Bai Haorui looked at him with firm eyes and a calm tone but with unquestionable power. "I don't know if we can win, but I know that we can't just watch them destroy the world, let alone let Sam and Dean become victims of this war."
Bobby looked at him, stunned, then smiled, patted his shoulder, said nothing, lowered his head, and continued to draw spells quickly.
Sam quickly ran to the closet on the second floor, opened the door, groped in the top compartment, and quickly got the black spell box.
As soon as he turned around, the ghost of Meg was standing behind him, less than one step away from him, with cold eyes, staring at him like a monster.
"Hi, Sam." Meg's voice was very soft, but with a biting chill.
Sam's body froze instantly, and he subconsciously raised the rifle in his hand and pointed it at her. "Meg."
"You know, I'm in Hell, and I've been watching you." Meg took a step forward, with a sarcastic smile on his lips, "Watching you cooperate with Ruby. Watching you drink the devil's blood and gain strength."
Sam's face instantly turned pale, and the hand holding the gun trembled slightly. "I cooperated with Ruby to stop Lilith, to kill her and avenge Dean."
"Really?" Meg sneered, his eyes full of contempt, "Then you know that she is possessed by an innocent girl now, right? Just like me back then. A living girl, trapped in my own body, watching the things she did, watching her use her body to sleep with you, watching you drink the blood of the devil, but can't do anything."
Sam opened his mouth, but could not utter a word. The gun in his hand dropped. His self-rationalization and self-deception were completely shattered at this moment by Meg's words.
"You watched me suffer for several months. I thought you could always learn something." Meg's voice was full of disappointment and resentment. "I thought my death would at least have some meaning. But what about you? You are still cooperating with her? You clearly know that she is possessing an innocent girl, you clearly know that the demon blood will destroy you, but you still do it? You are a monster! There is no difference from the demon that possessed me back then!"
Sam suddenly raised his head, raised his rifle, and pulled the trigger on Meg. The salt bullet hit her with a bang, and she let out a shrill scream and disappeared instantly.
Sam leaned against the wall, his hands kept shaking, and the spell box in his hand almost fell to the ground. His face was as pale as paper, and he was shaking even when he breathed.
I have been lying to myself. I cooperated with Ruby to save Dean, to stop Lilith, and to save people. But what is the difference between me and those demons back then? I am watching another innocent girl make the same mistake as Meg, I am letting her be trapped in my body, just like Meg back then. I am not drinking the devil's blood to save Dean, I am just addicted to that power, I just want to prove myself, I just want to become stronger. What on earth am I doing? I am becoming the kind of monster I hate the most.
Dean rushed into the kitchen, opened the cutlery drawer, groped at the bottom of the drawer, and soon found the false bottom. As soon as he opened the false bottom and took out the hemlock, opium and absinthe inside, the kitchen door suddenly slammed shut, and the lock bolt clicked shut.
The lights above the head flashed wildly, and the sizzling sound of electricity made people's eardrums hurt. The temperature in the kitchen dropped suddenly, as cold as an ice cellar, and Dean's breath instantly condensed into white mist.
He turned around suddenly, stuffed the things in his hand into his pocket, immediately raised the shotgun, and pointed it at the source of the sound. The ghost of Henriksen stood in front of him, his body was charred, the flesh on his face was turning, and he was terrifyingly ferocious. He was staring at him, his eyes full of resentment and unwillingness.
"Victor." Dean's voice paused, and the hand holding the gun relaxed slightly.
"I know you are sorry." Henriksen smiled and took a step forward, "You always say that, Dean. You always say you are sorry, but those people are still dead."
"No. You don't understand." Dean shook his head, his voice hoarse, "Your death is my fault. I left you behind. As soon as I heard about the explosion, I thought, 'I should have thought of it earlier'. I should have protected you, I should have taken you all away, but I was negligent."
"No, no, no, don't want to change the story so quickly." Henriksen interrupted him abruptly, his voice full of ridicule, "Do you think we died happily? Killed with one shot?"
Dean looked at him, his Adam's apple moved, but he said nothing.
"Exactly 45 minutes." Henriksen's voice rose, with overwhelming anger and despair, "More than 45 minutes. Lilith said she wanted to have some fun. The secretary was the first, remember her? Nancy, that virgin, that one just wanted to be safe and sound. The little girl living her life. Lilith peeled off Nancy's skin piece by piece, right in front of us, forcing us to watch. Nancy screamed until she died. She called our names and begged us to save her, but we couldn't do anything."