Chapter 43: Encounter in the Woods
William conveyed the information in his mind.
"It can reduce the malice of the dead towards you, and when worn, you will possess the ability to communicate with the dead."
William raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
Good stuff!
He only intended to give it a try, not expecting the other party to actually give something.
"Thank you. One more thing," William said after taking the amulet.
As soon as these words came out, the black substance instantly boiled.
"Uh... you should keep your word," Bludworth said cautiously, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Relax, just cross the survivors of Flight AF180 off the list."
William took a few steps back, holding the crucifix in front of his chest.
Originally, this was the "benefit" he planned to ask for.
But since the other party gave more, he had to "intensify his efforts."
After all, the other party had already paid a lot and incurred sunk costs; if he didn't extort him now, when would he?
"Chosen to die in a 'designed future,' this is their destiny," Bludworth shook his head solemnly.
"Then there's nothing to talk about."
William turned and walked upstairs immediately, showing no intention of returning the amulet.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
William counted silently in his heart.
"Wait."
At this time, Bludworth spoke again.
William stopped but didn't turn around.
On the other side, Bludworth made a listening gesture, seemingly communicating with someone.
A moment later.
"Fine. The subsequent 'accidents' will no longer visit them." Bludworth pointed upstairs.
Then, worried that William would raise other conditions, he hurriedly continued: "This is the final condition."
"Deal."
William finished speaking and walked upstairs.
"May I know your name?" Bludworth shouted again.
"Planning revenge on me?" William thought to himself.
But he said:
"I am who I am; my name is Luen Claus, a priest at Miso Cathedral."
Bludworth was stunned for a moment, not expecting the other party to be so specific.
But both he and a certain existence firmly remembered this name.
...
Back inside.
William didn't inform the survivors immediately that they were safe.
Instead, he arranged the room again, specifically making many "deceptive" traps during the process.
For example, deliberately placing a bottle of water above the power cord.
The purpose of doing this was, of course, to prevent Bludworth from lying.
However, until sunrise the next day, no "accidents" occurred around them.
Only then did William confirm that Bludworth hadn't lied and packed up the arranged items.
After announcing the news, Alex and the others felt the relief of escaping death.
They expressed their gratitude to William again.
And when leaving, they fought to pay for William and Emma's plane tickets, which the latter naturally wouldn't refuse.
...
A few hours later.
The two finally arrived in Indiana.
Leaving the airport, William rented a car and bought a map to Hawkins.
Emma looked exhausted; she never thought she would suffer so much following William.
Comfortable big beds, fresh milk, beautiful clothes.
All gone.
Replaced by sweat, greasy hair, and hard labor.
William naturally didn't know what Emma was thinking.
After urging her to use the restroom, he started the car.
When they arrived in the town, it was already evening.
Because of some incidents on the way (Final Destination shenanigans), their journey was delayed a lot.
But it wasn't without gain; William's progress in various events had increased a bit.
...
Hawkins, the woods next to the school.
Three teenagers gathered here.
"Dustin, you said there's a demon here?" Lucas looked around skeptically.
"Of course! I saw it with my own eyes!" Dustin said firmly.
At this moment, he was squatting under a tree, digging at the bark with a shovel.
"Strange, I clearly saw a hole here; why is it gone?"
Mike and Lucas looked at each other and shrugged helplessly.
It had been several days since Will disappeared.
The priest mentioned earlier promised to come but was nowhere to be seen.
Therefore, the two suspected that Dustin's story about "exorcism" was exaggerated, and maybe that priest was a liar.
This made Dustin feel a bit embarrassed.
So he had been looking for traces of evil spirits and demons recently.
Coincidentally, one day after school, he accidentally discovered a monster.
This monster had wings and mouthparts, looking completely unlike a creature of this world.
Dustin was excited.
As long as he let his friends see it, they would believe he wasn't lying.
So Dustin followed the monster all the way to the woods.
But the latter disappeared into a tree hole, which faintly flashed with red light inside.
Since it was dark at the time, Dustin didn't stay long but left after noting the exact location.
Today, he finally called his two partners.
But the tree hole from that evening had disappeared, which made Dustin anxious for a moment.
"Hey, what are you three weirdos doing here?"
At this time, a voice sounded.
The three turned around nervously and saw two teenagers walking toward them.
Seeing their faces, the hearts of the three sank to the bottom.
They knew the newcomers; they were the recognized bullies of Hawkins Middle School—Troy and his follower James.
Because of his wealthy family, Troy was lawless in school, often insulting other students verbally.
And the three friends were frequent targets of Troy.
The latter walked to where Dustin was squatting just now.
"You wouldn't be... looking for demons here, would you?"
Troy made an exaggerated expression, acting "completely surprised."
"Hahaha..."
James beside him laughed along at the right time.
"Toothless actually believes in this stuff; he's stupid enough!"
Because of developmental issues (cleidocranial dysplasia), Dustin had a few upper teeth missing temporarily, which also became the object of ridicule for the bullies.
"It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!" Dustin retorted.
Seeing this, Troy rushed over and pushed him to the ground.
"Did I let you speak?"
Seeing this, Mike hurried to help Dustin up, but this action seemed to anger Troy too.
The latter raised his foot and kicked Mike to the ground.
"Frog Face, you like to move?"
Troy spat.
"I wonder if your slutty sister likes to move like this under other men's bodies too."
After speaking, he gave James a "you know what I mean" look, and the two laughed wantonly on the spot.
Hearing this, Mike clenched his fists, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Because of his face shape, he was nicknamed "Frog Face."
And his sister Nancy often hung out with the "popular boy" Steve.
The latter was recognized as a bad boy in school, smoking, drinking, and fighting, so Nancy's reputation was also damaged.
Seeing this, Lucas was furious and immediately rushed up to wrestle with Troy.
But James soon came to help.
Outnumbered two to one, Lucas was subdued on the ground.
Slap.
Troy slapped Lucas hard, causing the latter's nose to bleed.
"Midnight, trying to be a hero?"
Troy grabbed Lucas's ear and yelled.
"A guy like you should obediently stay in the plantation!"
Facing the mockery, the three friends fell silent gradually.
They had never dared to resist and could only let Troy insult them.
"Three freaks! You still need to look for demons? Why don't you go home and look in the mirror directly?"
Troy was still cursing.
But what he didn't know was that Lucas's blood attracted something.
At this time, under the tree Dustin dug earlier.
A crack suddenly appeared, then split into a hole.
Red light flashed inside the hole, and the entrance surface was covered with a layer of sticky and moist membrane.
A creature crawled out from inside.
It looked a bit like a bat (a Demo-bat), with a long, thin, bright red tongue spitting out, sharp teeth at the end.
Sniffing the scent of blood in the air, the monster quickly found its target.
On the other side, Troy was getting more and more excited.
Seeing the remote location nearby, a dangerous idea suddenly surged in his heart.
Troy picked up a rock from the ground.
In the next moment, he raised it high with one hand and smashed it hard at Lucas's head.
Lucas looked incredulous, seemingly never expecting the other party to be so rampant.
Just a second before the rock hit Lucas.
A hand grabbed Troy's arm tightly.
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