Lucas showed no mercy.
Another shadow screamed faintly as it dissolved under the flash of his kitchen knife. The moment it faded, the barrage of live chat comments in the stream exploded.
> : Lucas, I advise you—try kindness for once!
: I just joined… uh, does Lucas not like women or something?
: LOL you must be new. He once earned the nickname "Chop Knife Hunter of Women."
: HA! Bro above's right. If I hadn't been watching Lucas live for months, I might've believed it.
Lucas wiped the blade slowly, his face calm.
Suddenly, a shadow slowly rose up from the ground on its own. It didn't wait to be dragged.
It shook its head frantically at Lucas as if pleading.
> [The Butcher's Shadow (Part 2): Advanced Danger]
Lucas paused, not moving further. He stood straight.
The shadow seemed relieved.
Then it raised a trembling hand and pointed behind him, slowly walking toward a darker corner of the room.
The viewers tensed.
This was different. It wasn't attacking.
And far behind, the last remaining shadow—possibly sensing what was coming—stayed glued to the ground, pretending to be dead like a seasoned survivor.
Lucas followed the walking shadow, his fingers tight around the handle of the kitchen knife.
But before he moved too far, he took a careful look at the butcher lying nearby.
And that's when he noticed it.
> [Analyzing current environment...]
[The Butcher of Angel Orphanage: Extraordinary Threat Level]
[Threat Level… recalibrating…]
Lucas narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Oh?"
He stroked his chin, then followed the ponytailed shadow into the dimmer corner. His footsteps were slow but steady. His blade, however, remained tight in hand.
The shadow turned to face him.
She looked younger than the previous ones, maybe in her early teens. She fidgeted with her fingers, glancing nervously at the blood-stained blade in Lucas' hand.
"W-what do you want to do?" she asked timidly, her translucent voice barely audible.
Lucas didn't blink. "I want to ask about your grievance."
Her eyes widened.
It seemed… sincere. But the confusion on her face was evident.
If you want to help us, why kill the others?
That's what she wanted to ask—but didn't dare to.
Instead, her expression melted into joy.
"Great! Finally, someone's willing to help!"
---
The chat softened.
> "Aw man… she's so relieved. That's kinda sad."
"She's probably been waiting for decades."
"This place is way darker than it first looked."
---
"I've never met anyone good in this orphanage," the shadow said, her voice trembling. "We were all children… victims. But this place—it's always been cursed. The Angel Orphanage was nothing but a cover… for monsters."
Lucas listened half-heartedly, watching the butcher's shadow flicker under the lantern light.
"The Fang sisters… and the Rainy Night Butcher… they were—"
Lucas raised his hand, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"I don't need the backstory. Just the point."
The girl froze. Her prepared lines were swallowed back. She gave another nervous glance at the blade.
"I-I understand," she stuttered. "We can't get close to the butcher… his aura is too strong. It's like poison to us."
She clenched her fists, voice trembling with both anger and sadness.
"But if the butcher dies… our resentment will fade. Please—help us."
Her emotions poured out. She shed transparent tears, recalling a life cut short.
---
The viewers were moved.
> "That poor kid... she just wants justice."
"Even if it's just a game, this is brutal."
:Marco (in bold gold text): This is it! Lucas might have a chance! If he teams up with the ghosts, they can strike down the butcher together. Side mission complete, vengeance delivered, perfect score!
"Marco's right. This could work…"
"As if the system would let it be that easy. Slight chance at best."
---
Lucas stared at the shadow for a long time.
Then, at last, he smiled gently.
"So… help me with something first."
The girl nodded rapidly. "Anything! Just name it."
He stepped a little closer. "Come here."
She tilted her head curiously and moved closer, her expression full of hope. A tiny smile even spread across her translucent face.
Then Lucas whispered something softly:
"What you have to do for me… is very simple."
She leaned in closer.
She didn't hear the end of the sentence.
A flash of cold light swept past her.
The kitchen knife arced through the air.
Her neck went cold.
As her body faded, her final memory was hearing Lucas whisper the final words—
"You sacrifice yourself first."
---
The viewers were stunned into silence.
> "BROOOOOOOOOO…"
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED."
"This man is an unfeeling blade machine."
"She trusted you!!"
"I should hate this… but why is it so badass?"
---
Lucas calmly turned his attention back to the butcher. He looked down at the last remaining shadow.
It was trembling violently.
> [The Butcher's Shadow (Right): Nearing Danger Rating Beyond Advanced Level]
[Threat Level Reassessing...]
[The Butcher of Angel Orphanage: Threat Reduced to Primary Extraordinary]
Lucas didn't waste a second.
He lunged at the shadow.
Grabbed it by the back of the neck, yanked it off the floor.
"No more hiding," he said coldly.
"You're the most dangerous… because you swallowed the butcher's original shadow."
---
The moment his knife came down, the shadow dodged.
Lucas missed—only slightly. He managed to slice off an arm. The black mist bled away quickly.
The ghost retaliated.
It spun around, mouth wide open, and bit down hard on Lucas' knife arm.
Pain seared through his body.
> [Player Lucas has been attacked: SAN -2, SAN -3, SAN -4…]
[HP -10, HP -10, HP -10… HP +53, HP +103, HP +264...]
Lucas grimaced, blood trailing from his lips. He could feel the venomous curse working through his system.
"Clever little—"
Then his free hand closed around the ghost's throat.
He squeezed.
Hard.
Like crushing smoke and shadow into a physical form.
The ghost struggled, eyes wide in fear.
Lucas' face twisted with pain—but he didn't let go.
And then, with a sharp jerk, he crushed the spirit's neck.
The shadow burst into black-gray mist, scattering into the air like dust in a hurricane.
Lucas dropped to one knee, panting. His arm was still blackened, the venom still active.
"That one was actually poisonous… I was careless," he muttered, shaking off the pain.
---
The stream exploded with praise and disbelief.
> "He soloed four advanced shadow ghosts… under the butcher's nose."
"That was straight-up anime protagonist behavior."
"Lucas, the Chopper Ghost Hunter, strikes again!"
"This man is the reason ghosts tell ghost stories."
---
As Lucas stood again, wiping off the last trace of shadow dust from his blade, there was no more movement beneath the butcher's feet.
The room was still.
No shadows. No whispers. No more victims.
And then—
> [Side Mission Complete: Shadow Vengeance]
[Reward Unlocked: "Cursed Resistance (Tier I)" – Reduces damage from all ghost-based curses by 25%]
[Special Perk Gained: "Trust Breaker" – Ghosts will hesitate to trust you again, but gain +10% critical damage against spectral enemies.]
Lucas chuckled dryly.
"Worth it."
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