Even after several upgrades, Roy's demonic form was only so large, but the aura radiating from this Wendigo was extraordinary, capable of altering the weather itself. This was no ordinary Wendigo.
The massive creature was leading a pack of smaller Wendigos, each about half its size, as they tore through the Cabin's mercenaries on the scene. After killing their prey, the monsters devoured them, despite their emaciated frames and exposed, frozen organs visible through their ribs. Their gaunt bodies never seemed to gain weight, as if the flesh they consumed vanished into another dimension.
"Mr. Black, what are these things?" Bumblebee asked, awestruck. In his long life as a machine, he'd never encountered such creatures.
"They're called Wendigos—dark beings cursed by death and hunger," Roy explained before stepping out of the vehicle.
The smaller Wendigos, busy feasting on the hundreds of corpses littering the area, didn't notice Roy. But the giant Wendigo spotted him, executioner's blade slung over his shoulder, and let out a strange roar. Instantly, the smaller Wendigos snapped their heads toward Roy.
This thing actually had some intelligence?
"Come on, let's see if your appetite's as big as they say!" Roy taunted.
The giant Wendigo roared again, and the smaller ones dropped their meals, charging at Roy. Their long, slender limbs and emaciated bodies moved with terrifying speed, covering over a hundred meters in seconds.
Roy narrowed his eyes and swung his executioner's blade, cleaving the head of the fastest Wendigo in two. But when the blade reached its heart, he hit a snag. The Wendigo's frozen heart was far tougher than expected, the blade only leaving a deep gash that leaked black mist instead of killing it outright.
Even with its head split, the Wendigo kept coming, its limbs lunging at Roy. It seemed their physical bodies were mere shells—the real core was the frozen heart.
Roy hadn't anticipated this. He'd assumed his strength, paired with the blade's sharpness, would easily dispatch a Wendigo. This miscalculation left him surrounded.
No big deal—just a small mistake.
Dark Touch, activate!
Eight black tendrils sprouted from Roy's back, swiftly piercing the surrounding Wendigos. No matter how tough their frozen hearts were on the outside, once the tendrils broke through the icy shell and consumed the core within, the creatures were helpless.
At the same time, Roy's blade didn't idle. He dodged their attacks while slicing off their limbs, leaving the Wendigos writhing on the ground as fodder for his Dark Touch.
In just a minute, the frozen hearts of the dozen smaller Wendigos were devoured, and without their cores, they crumbled into piles of bones.
Roy pointed his blade at the giant Wendigo.
"Your turn!"
The creature's red eyes locked onto Roy before it let out a massive roar skyward. Suddenly, the light snowfall turned into a full-blown blizzard. In seconds, the world became a white void, and the giant Wendigo vanished into the storm.
Gone?
No, definitely not.
Roy could feel a malicious gaze locked onto him. The giant Wendigo was hiding in the blizzard, waiting for a chance to strike.
Who would've thought such a massive creature would play assassin? Roy had been hoping for a straight-up brawl.
Suddenly, a strange gust of air hit from behind, blending seamlessly with the blizzard. If not for his Assassin's Heart sensing danger, Roy wouldn't have noticed it.
Activating bullet time, combined with his Ghost Wolf form "'s explosive speed and his agility attribute now at 75, Roy barely dodged the giant Wendigo's sneak attack.
However, part of his executioner's blade caught the gust, and frost coated the metal, as if it had been frozen solid.
What terrifying cold!
Roy frowned, realizing he couldn't let the giant Wendigo keep ambushing him. He activated his Hound Ring to take the offensive.
The Hellhound's phantom was unaffected by the blizzard and quickly pinpointed the giant Wendigo's location. Its body had turned semi-transparent in the storm, making it nearly impossible to spot, but the Hellhound's highlight rendered its camouflage useless.
Seeing Roy charge toward it, the giant Wendigo unleashed another blast of that chilling gust. But Roy, using his psychic teleportation, appeared behind it, nimbly leaping onto its back. His executioner's blade, now in execution mode, gleamed with lethal intent.
Sensing death's approach, the giant Wendigo thrashed violently, but Roy's Dark Touch tendrils pinned its torso and limbs in place.
With unstoppable force, the executioner's blade pierced the giant Wendigo's heart.
[Ding! Obtained the Wendigo King's Fate Chest! Open it now?]
A chest? Roy hadn't expected that!
Moreover, the executioner's blade seemed to have absorbed a unique power from the Wendigo King. The blade now radiated a chilling aura, and faint snowflakes danced around it when swung.
Did it gain a frost enchantment?
Roy hadn't anticipated this perk from executions. Looked like he'd need to execute more enemies.
With the Wendigo King's death, the blizzard around the villa began to dissipate.
"Ella, Francesca, you both okay?" Roy called out.
"We're fine! What was that thing? It was terrifying!" Ella said, still shaken. She'd witnessed the Wendigos devouring the Cabin's mercenaries—a horrifying sight for a puppet like her.
Francesca, being a ghost, was unfazed. The Wendigos only ate flesh, ignoring even Bumblebee, let alone her.
"Roy, what was with that blizzard? Did those monsters cause it?" Francesca asked.
Roy nodded. "Yeah, but the leader that changed the weather's been dealt with. We'll talk more later—let's get out of here."
Bumblebee was already parked at the villa's entrance. Roy headed to the living room to grab Jamie and the unconscious blonde women.
That's when he noticed Sally's belly, swollen like a water tank.
"What the hell is this?" Roy asked, turning to Ella and Francesca.
Both looked clueless, clearly unaware of why Sally's stomach had ballooned.
"No idea! We were by the window watching outside—we didn't notice the living room!" Ella said.
Fair enough. Sally's bloating hadn't made a sound, so it was no surprise they'd missed it.
Roy quickly moved to evacuate the living people from the living room to avoid any surprises.
But surprises, by their nature, don't follow plans.
As Roy moved Jamie, the man woke up and saw Sally's massive belly.
"Sally! What's happening? Mr. Black, what did you do to her?!" Jamie cried, as if Roy had done something unsavory while he was out.
Roy was speechless. Sure, he'd hooked up with Jamie's stepmother, technically making him a stepfather of sorts, but he hadn't touched Sally! Honestly, the actress playing Sally wasn't even that attractive, and with her tongue ripped out, she was even less appealing.
Who'd be that desperate?
"Cut the crap! Something's wrong with your wife—I'll check it out in a bit!" Roy snapped.
"No, I'm staying with Sally! I won't leave her!" Jamie, driven mad by relentless trauma, refused to budge.
With no other choice, Roy left Jamie and moved the six blonde women—Leonard Wolf's intended sacrifices—into Bumblebee. As a muscle car, Bumblebee's interior was cramped, and fitting six women left no room for more.
Roy returned to the living room and was met with a horrifying scene.
Driven to madness, Jamie had torn open Sally's massive belly, pulling out an unformed fetus.
The fetus barely resembled a human, with a short tail, no eyes, and translucent skin revealing malformed organs. Despite being "premature," it was nearly adult-sized.
"Sally, our baby… now we can finally be together! Forever!" Jamie sobbed.
But the giant fetus didn't appreciate its father's efforts. It lunged, biting off Jamie's head.
And it didn't stop there—it let out a low, eerie laugh. Truly a scene of "father dies, son laughs."
"What… what is that thing?" Ella gasped. She'd once desperately wanted to be a mother, even going so far as to unleash Mary Shaw after a miscarriage. But after seeing this monstrous fetus, she'd probably swear off kids for good, even if she regained her fertility.
Francesca's expression shifted. "Wait! I know that laugh—it's Jack!"
Jack, the Hookman. Before Francesca killed him, his soul had escaped his body, slipping into the only vessel he could control: the fetus in Sally's womb.
The Hookman had managed this thanks to Belial's power, which let him deceive Roy and Francesca's senses. He'd been quietly absorbing the surrounding deathly aura, gestating a new body. If Jamie hadn't ripped open Sally's belly, the Hookman could've grown even larger.
"That's right, it's me! Francesca, you wretched woman, I'm going to eat you!" the Hookman snarled, his hatred for his killer palpable. The umbilical cord shot out, trying to seize Francesca.
Roy's eyes narrowed as he grabbed the cord. "If you'd just escaped as a soul, I might not have noticed. But you had to come back to die."
"Haha, you fell for it! Touching the ghost fetus means you'll be cursed by Baron Samedi!" the Hookman gloated.
Baron Samedi, the Voodoo death god. Apparently, the Hookman wasn't just versed in the Sloth King's powers but was also a Voodoo sorcerer. The cursed doll and this bizarre ghost fetus creation likely stemmed from Voodoo practices.
As for Baron Samedi's curse?
Did he even ask the real Death God?
The Eye of Death around Roy's neck glowed faintly, absorbing the so-called curse from the umbilical cord.
"No, that's impossible!" the Hookman cried, sensing his failure despite lacking eyes.
Desperate to flee again, he was tethered by the umbilical cord Roy held, like a dog on a chain, unable to break free.
"Francesca, your call," Roy said.
"I want him truly dead—body and soul," she replied.
"Easy. Burn him with hellfire this time. I'm sick of his disgusting voice," Roy said.
"As you wish, my master!" Francesca bowed, then raised her Smith & Wesson M629.
Infused with Roy's hellfire, the revolver became a hellish weapon. Blazing bullets shot from the barrel.
"No!" the Hookman screamed.
Francesca fired multiple shots, and the hellfire ignited where they hit, spreading across the fetus's body.
Hellfire, capable of burning anything—including souls—consumed the Hookman's vessel in a blaze of agony, reducing it to ashes.
"He's really dead this time, right?" Ella asked, hesitant. The Hookman was too cunning for comfort.
Roy placed a hand on the brand on his chest, sensing for any of Belial's followers. He'd missed this step before, letting the Hookman slip through.
"He's gone. His soul's ash now," Roy confirmed.
Ella sighed in relief. "Let's get out of here. This place is disgusting."
Roy nodded, and the trio—two humans and a ghost—headed for the villa's exit.
Just then, three assault vehicles roared in from the distance.
Carrie.