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"So fierce? New York truly is a place of outstanding people!"
Lionel raised an eyebrow, carefully looking at the house behind them. In the perspective of his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, there were some strange things, but because he had never seen that type of thing before, he couldn't discern what those things meant, or what effect severing their lines of death would have.
The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception only allowed Lionel to see the lines of death of objects and things invisible to the naked eye; it wasn't an automatic analyzer that could automatically label things with names and descriptions. Sometimes, simply severing all lines of death indiscriminately wouldn't solve the problem.
For example, Lionel was able to sever the lines of death named "action" of the Gang, turning them into "vegetables" unable to act. This wasn't achieved by just thinking, "I want to sever their ability to act." Instead, Lionel experimented little by little with "volunteers" enthusiastically provided by Gang members, combined with bold deductions, to finally understand which line of death determined a creature's actions.
Lionel had very little experience dealing with ghosts. Even counting Annabelle, who he wasn't sure was a ghost, he had only dealt with them twice. Without enough test subjects, his current method of dealing with them was to completely kill them from the source.
"Very fierce!" The ghost, Jonah, said solemnly, "I dealt with many haunting cases when I was alive, and I've never seen such a terrifying haunted house. Our team couldn't even get anyone out alive to relay information about this place."
Lionel pondered, then asked, "How did the evil spirits here form? I heard you say they were trapped in this house. Who did it? And how did they do it?"
The ghost, Jonah, spoke with clear anger:
"Black magic. An evil Doctor used black magic. This used to be a hospital morgue, with bodies entering every day. That Doctor acquired black magic from who knows where, cut off the eyelids of the corpses, and carved spells written in black magic all over their skin, causing those bodies to die with their eyes open, their souls unable to leave their bodies, suffering torment for eternity. I don't know his reason for doing this, perhaps it was just to satisfy his inner perversion."
The ghost, Jonah's, tone was calm, but Lionel could still hear his anger towards the Doctor's actions.
"Then why not move those modified corpses out of the house? Since they're trapped in their bodies, wouldn't getting them out solve the problem?" Lionel found the flaw.
The ghost, Jonah, said helplessly, "It can't be done. We simply can't find the bodies in the house. That Doctor cut off the eyelids of the corpses not only to make the souls within die with their eyes open, but also to make their bodies invisible and undetectable, preventing the living from burying them and denying them eternal salvation."
Lionel said, distressed, "That Doctor is truly inhumane. Do you have any solutions? If not, I can only destroy the house along with the bodies, but that might be an unbearable burden for the Master of this house."
The mother beside them heard Lionel's words and her heart tightened. This house was all they had left; everything else had been sacrificed to treat her son's cancer. If they lost this house too, there would truly be no turning back.
The ghost, Jonah, quickly pleaded, "No, please don't do that. Those souls are innocent. They've been trapped here for countless years, suffering torment. Please let their souls find release. I have a way, but I lack the ability. I believe with your help, it can succeed. I will assist you."
Lionel nodded. He also didn't want to demolish someone's house just to exorcise it, and from the looks of it, this family's situation wasn't optimistic.
"How do you plan to do it?" Lionel asked.
The ghost, Jonah, said, "I've been in this house for thirty years, and I vaguely know the locations where those bodies are sealed. I will point out the locations to you, and I hope you can grant them release."
Lionel thought for a moment and said, "Alright, that should be fine."
"And one more thing." The ghost, Jonah, came before the weakened Matt Campbell, looking intently into Matt Campbell's eyes and saying:
"Matt, you are a strong-willed and kind person. We have a good affinity. Could you temporarily lend me your body to help me free the trapped souls in the house?"
"I..." Matt Campbell hesitated, recalling the images of the modified and tormented bodies he had seen inside the house. He steadied himself and nodded, "Okay, I'll lend you my body."
In the weeks after moving into the "new house," Matt Campbell often saw strange visions. Sometimes it was a terrifying monster using a scalpel to cut off the eyelids of a corpse on an operating table, sometimes it was a terrifying monster carving strange symbols on a corpse's skin, and even scenes of corpses being made into terrifying "mummies." The most terrifying part was that all those corpses had their eyes open, staring straight at him.
The terrifying and unsettling images sometimes made Matt Campbell wonder if he had gone insane after getting cancer. Now he understood: it was the trapped souls reaching out to him for help.
"You truly are a kind person." The ghost, Jonah, chuckled, then his soul body moved forward and merged into Matt Campbell's body.
"Matt, what are you saying? What's wrong with you?" Matt Campbell's mother, who had been supporting him, quickly noticed something was off with her son.
"It's nothing, Mom. I'll work with the Exorcist Mister to fix our house."
The mother grew even more worried; her son looked as if he was experiencing a final burst of energy before death.
The Old Priest saw this and came to Matt's mother's side, comforting her.
Seeing that his mother was alright, Matt—or more accurately, Matt Jona—turned and nodded to Lionel, "Let's begin."
"Okay."
"Hey~! What are you doing with that axe?"
Lionel suddenly called out to Matt Jona. The other party had suddenly taken out the fire axe from outside the house, and it looked like he was about to demolish the place.
Matt Jona was puzzled: "To take out the sealed bodies, of course. Only in this state can I retrieve them."
Lionel shook his head and said, "No need, I have this."
Lionel casually took out his short knife.
"So small, will it work?" Matt Jona felt Lionel's knife was too small.
"Of course, it's much more useful than that axe."
"I trust you." Matt Jona put the axe back.
Taking a deep breath, Matt Jona opened the door to the house.
Whoosh! Hiss!
The moment the door opened, a bone-chilling cold wind blew out.
"This oppressive feeling is almost catching up to Annabelle."
Lionel secretly compared them. Although the scene here was more exaggerated than when he dealt with Annabelle, in terms of sheer oppressive feeling, Annabelle was still stronger.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lionel noticed Matt Jona beside him was unsteady and about to be knocked over by the cold wind.
He reached out and steadied the swaying Matt Jona, then asked, "Hey, are you alright?"
Matt Jona said, distressed, "A bit bad. It seems my current ability can't get in."
"Then, this is it. It's your turn, Annabelle!"
Lionel pulled out Annabelle, whom he had specifically brought with him.
Placing Annabelle on the floor, her eerie eyes gazed towards the living room.
Instantly, the cold wind in the house vanished, replaced by an unsettling silence.