[Chapter 176: Terrifier]
"Run! Hurry, run!"
Scarlett's face drained of color as terror overtook her, and she let out a scream.
"Don't worry. With me here, it won't be able to hurt you," Daniel said calmly, his voice steady and reassuring.
He placed a hand on Scarlett's shoulder and channeled a pulse of mana into her. A comforting warmth spread through her body, soothing her frantic emotions.
The Clown was terrifyingly fast. It dashed across the street and slammed violently against the car door on Daniel's side.
Bang!
The impact jolted the car upward briefly before it settled back down.
Inside, Daniel and Scarlett were shaken violently.
Scarlett couldn't hold back another scream as her recently eased fear surged once more.
Seeing the car hadn't flipped, the Clown pulled back a dozen steps and charged again.
Without hesitation, Daniel pushed open the door and stepped out onto the pavement.
Bang!
The Clown lunged at him, but Daniel pressed a single palm against its head.
After a dull thud, Daniel stood perfectly still.
The Clown didn't hesitate -- it lunged at Daniel with the bloodstained dagger gripped in its hand.
Daniel grabbed its wrist, summoning a surge of mana, then hoisted the Clown into the air and slammed it hard onto the ground.
Bang!
The Clown's body hit the pavement with a muffled thud.
If it had been an ordinary person, they'd have shattered bones from the fall.
But the Clown only twitched in pain -- and then, bizarrely, a twisted smile crept across its face.
Moments later, it sprang to its feet as if unscathed, showing no sign of harm.
It glanced left, then right, before running toward a car parked by the curb.
Bang!
It shattered the car window and pulled out a claw hammer.
With dagger in one hand and hammer in the other, the Clown charged at Daniel again.
Whoosh!
The hammer whistled through the air toward Daniel's head.
Daniel caught the Clown's wrist, but the dagger lunged forward again.
He caught that wrist too.
The Clown grinned, baring a mouth stained with blood, and lunged to bite Daniel.
Bang!
Daniel kicked hard, but because he still held both wrists, the Clown didn't fly back.
Using all his strength, Daniel wrenched the hammer and dagger free from the Clown's grasp.
Bang!
Without a second thought, Daniel slammed the clawed side of the hammer into the Clown's head.
It pierced instantly, blood spraying wildly.
Daniel didn't stop. With a quick thrust, he drove the dagger into the Clown's neck.
Just like the Clown himself had done moments ago, Daniel withdrew the blade and plunged it in again.
Blood gushed like a faucet left wide open.
Daniel's movements turned mechanical -- stab, withdraw, stab, withdraw.
Soon, the Clown collapsed to the ground, drenched in blood and motionless, appearing utterly lifeless.
Scarlett rolled down the window just a bit, her voice trembling. "Daniel, what do we do? Should we call the police? I'd testify for you -- it was self-defense."
Daniel smiled. "No need. The police won't solve this if they come. Besides... he's not dead."
"Ah?"
Scarlett's shock was evident. "He's still not dead?"
Daniel's expression remained calm. "Of course not. This thing won't die that easily."
Sure enough, moments later, the Clown twitched ever so slightly.
Then the movements grew stronger and more obvious.
Scarlett's face fell. "He really isn't dead."
Daniel showed no surprise. From the instant he saw it -- and from the fact that it was killing people on the roadside -- he knew exactly what it was.
Or rather, what it wasn't.
Art the Clown.
This was the infamous horror character from the movie Terrifier.
It wasn't human.
Every Halloween, it came out to kill at random.
Its usual victims were young girls, but it didn't hesitate to target men too.
It didn't just kill -- it tortured its victims until they died in unbearable agony.
The movie gave no backstory or origin for it. It simply appeared and started killing.
It wasn't especially powerful or magical -- just cruel, wielding ordinary objects as deadly weapons.
But, like Jason, it was Undead.
No matter what wounds it took -- even if it seemed dead -- it would come back to life.
A grotesque existence.
"What do we do if he's not dead?" Scarlett asked from inside the car, unwilling to step out.
The Clown's movements grew bigger. The wound on its neck had already stopped bleeding.
The hole in its skull, made by the claw, no longer spurted blood.
Suddenly, the Clown's eyes snapped open, and a twisted smile played again at the corners of its bloodied mouth.
As it scrambled up, Daniel stepped forward and stomped down on its head.
His stomp released powerful mana.
Bang!
The Clown's head exploded like a melon, red and white matter splattering everywhere.
Fortunately, an orange-red glow flashed around Daniel, shielding him from the mess.
"Let's see how you come back from this."
Staring at the headless, twitching corpse, Daniel felt a flicker of interest.
Most couldn't kill an Undead, but for him, it was a puzzle to solve.
Jason's body from before still rested in his System space.
The secret to killing Undead was that they carried immense spiritual energy.
Destroy that energy, and they could die for good.
Even without its head, the Clown twitched.
Its shattered skull began pulling itself together, faintly reconstructing.
"True to being Undead."
Daniel glanced on with slight envy.
He hadn't developed that ability yet.
He shook his head, reminding himself not to get ahead of things.
With a flick of his hand, he summoned a special Seal.
This was a Rank 5 Seal, crafted from the skin of a Slender Man.
It felt a bit like overkill for the Clown, but Daniel needed to test if he could finish the Undead without tapping into System space.
By sealed authority, your corruption is condemned.
Your form is broken, your essence dispersed, your claim erased.
Let nothing remain. Judgment sealed.
He threw the Spirit Destruction Seal onto the Clown's headless torso.
Boom!
The Seal burst into flames and burned out instantly.
An oppressive force surged out, pressing down like a crushing weight.
As it swept over the twitching corpse, the Clown went completely still.
The reassembling head stopped its movements and slumped lifelessly to the ground.
[Ding! Killed the Undead Art, gained 50,000 Merit points.]
The System notification chimed, confirming Art the Clown was truly dead.
It was an Undead like Jason.
Its Rank was the same -- an E-Rank ghost.
For ordinary people, it was a catastrophic threat. But to Daniel, it was pitifully weak. He hadn't even broken a sweat finishing it off.
*****
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