Music is composed of various elements such as melody, rhythm, and beat.
Although his recitation lacked many elements, it didn't stop him from considering it a song—a song where you cry while he laughs.
Under Janet's bewildered gaze, York took out his phone and clicked the long-awaited play icon in an app already linked to multiple Bluetooth speakers.
With a click and the transmission of data, the Bluetooth speakers placed everywhere immediately emitted sound.
In an instant, a unified recitation echoed throughout the house.
[Our Father in heaven]
[hallowed be your name,]
[your kingdom come]
[your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven]
[Give us today our daily bread]
[And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors]
[...]
Main room.
Ed found the source of the sound, a Bluetooth speaker, and said to everyone.
"This is The Lord's Prayer; this might be the Father's arrangement."
Hearing this explanation, the already nervous Peggy Family relaxed slightly.
"It's just a pity all the equipment is with the Father; we don't know what's happening outside."
Ed shook his head, listening to the unceasing recitation with some regret.
"Ed, the Father must have his reasons." Lorraine instinctively approached and grasped Ed's hand to comfort him.
Ed squeezed back firmly, "Yeah, I understand."
Lorraine returned a gentle smile, her gaze lingering on the Bluetooth speaker that kept emitting sound.
For some reason, she felt this speaker possessed a calming power.
"An illusion?"
Lorraine pondered in her heart, curiosity showing in her eyes, but she ultimately followed the Father's instructions and continued to block her spiritual sense and perception.
At the same time.
York casually tossed his phone aside and picked up the SHAK-12. Hearing the faint screams in his ears, a smile appeared on his face.
Holy energy truly produced the desired effect no matter what monster it faced.
Because it represented purity and light, it was poison to monsters full of dark energy or dark-attribute creatures like evil spirits.
As the recitation reached its climax, the screams outside grew more intense.
The monster's roar was exactly where he predicted, at the corner tent.
The screams rose and fell until finally, a cracking and crunching sound echoed outside. York' expression remained unchanged as he looked at the bed and smiled gently.
"Do you hear that?"
Janet blinked, listening to the nursery rhyme faintly mixed into the recitation, and nodded obediently. This was a nursery rhyme she and her brother Billy often sang; to help her brother Billy's stuttering, she had memorized this foreign nursery rhyme backwards and forwards.
[There was a crooked man]
[and he walked a crooked mile]
[He found a crooked sixpence]
[upon a crooked stile]
[He bought a crooked cat]
Seeing this, York, who also heard the nursery rhyme, gave a thumbs up. This was a promising talent worth cultivating.
Just then, the nursery rhyme suddenly stopped and was replaced by a howl, followed by the sound of something piercing through the hallway. Thud!
"It's out..."
York looked at the nearby laptop screen, watching the monster in the surveillance footage piercing the floor with an umbrella. He silently checked the SHAK-12 in his hand once more, confirmed everything was fine, and smiled gently at Janet, who was sitting obediently on the bed.
"Child, I'll be back in a moment."
Hearing this, Janet's expression showed hesitation, and she whispered while wavering.
"Father, can I go with you?"
York raised an eyebrow slightly. He originally wanted to refuse, but thinking of the entity still shrouded in the mist, he then smiled.
"Come then, stay behind me."
Perhaps having Janet, the source, by his side would allow him to handle any emergencies promptly.
"Mm-hmm!" Janet nodded vigorously, immediately got up, and stood obediently by the Father's side.
York' expression remained unchanged. Carrying the SHAK-12, he turned and led his little shadow, Janet, walking slowly toward the door.
By now, the commotion outside was growing louder, with the sound of something piercing the hallway echoing continuously.
"Roar!!!"
An angry roar sounded, accompanied by a sudden gust of wind and a crack. Something was destroyed, and a corner of the unified recitation was lost, making it slightly quieter.
"Did it destroy a Bluetooth speaker?"
Expressionless, York turned the doorknob and opened the door.
As the door swung open quickly, everything came into view.
In the dim hallway, a monster over two meters tall, nearly touching the ceiling, appeared by the tent in the corner.
It was thin, hunched, and moved with a tottering gait, resembling a skeletal frame.
Its clothes were tattered, wearing a tight-fitting red uniform wrapped tightly around it like a shadow of death. It held a long, thin umbrella in its hand; its fingers were withered and pale, and its nails had become long and sharp, looking as keen as blades.
On its head was a worn black top hat, its brim low, almost completely covering its face. Only its terrifying eyes could be seen peering through the gap beneath the brim.
Despite this, York could see the monster's face was covered in deep wrinkles and sagging flesh, giving it a withered appearance.
Combined, it was a monster that naturally exuded dread and eerie horror.
Seeing the once-familiar Hunchback suddenly appear before her, Janet, hiding behind York, froze.
The Hunchback seemed to sense someone behind it. It turned its crooked body with a series of cracks; it looked slow, but was actually very fast.
Clutching the umbrella it had just used to destroy the Bluetooth speaker that caused it pain and irritation, it took advantage of its long arms and the umbrella's length to thrust toward York.
Thud! A sharp wind suddenly arose. From the force of this wind alone, the umbrella breaking the air could likely pierce steel.
"You certainly are decisive."
York remarked inwardly, pulling the trigger of the SHAK-12 with a blank expression.
Boom!!!
A gunshot that startled everyone in the main room exploded. A burst of fire spat from the muzzle of the SHAK-12, and a 12.7mm holy bullet instantly met the tip of the incoming umbrella.
An ordinary bullet naturally couldn't withstand the dark current attached to the umbrella tip, but the 12.7mm holy bullet, already boosted by double buffs, was different.
It directly blasted through the Hunchback's umbrella from tip to handle and headed for its hand. However, the bullet's kinetic energy and power were eventually depleted, stopping exactly at the umbrella's handle before falling to the floor.
Already driven frantic by the recitation, the Hunchback opened its mouth full of sharp fangs and roared again.
Its innate dark current suddenly erupted, causing the handrails along the hallway to crack with seam after seam, and even the tent behind it was blown away, crashing into the wall...