[Chapter 225: Alessa Initiated a Recall]
"Get ready." Daniel stopped in his tracks. "The big guy is here."
Cybil nervously chambered a round. "What big guy?"
Out of the mist, a massive triangular metal helmet slowly emerged. It was the Executioner dragging a seven-feet giant blade -- Pyramid Head.
The corner of Daniel's mouth curled into a faint smile. "Looks like Alessa has a bit of a misunderstanding about me."
Screeeech--
The massive Executioner's blade scraped against the rusted road, sending sparks flying as the ear-piercing sound echoed through the thick fog.
Pyramid Head's heavy metal helmet tilted slightly, as if scrutinizing Daniel.
Then, suddenly, it took a step forward, the seven-feet-long blade sweeping through the air with a gust of foul-smelling wind.
"No time for hand-to-hand with you." Daniel's hands quickly formed a seal, "Five Thunder Doctrine, descend!"
The gray sky began to roil with pitch-black clouds. Amid ash-like "snowflakes," bolts of lightning flashed wildly.
Rumble-- Boom!
Several terrifying bolts tore through the thick fog and struck Pyramid Head just as it swung its blade.
"Roar--!"
A sharp, agonizing sound of grinding metal echoed from inside the helmet.
One wave.
Two waves.
Three waves.
The lightning and thunder crashed continuously.
This majestic heavenly power was meant to suppress all evil in the world.
When the lightning dissipated, Pyramid Head was down on one knee. Its iconic triangular helmet was charred black and misshapen, cracked in several places. Black smoke billowed from its exposed torso; its life force flickered like a candle in the wind.
"Be gone."
Daniel raised his hand, ready to summon the final bolt of thunder.
But suddenly, the ground beneath Pyramid Head turned soggy, like a quagmire. Its body sank rapidly; even the seven-feet-long blade began to shimmer and turn ethereal.
Whoosh--
A gust of black wind blew past, and right under Daniel's nose, Pyramid Head dissolved completely into a puddle of black ash, which the wind swiftly scattered.
Daniel stood frozen, his hand still held in the seal position.
'Holy crap, what just happened?' He was dazed. 'Was this Alessa initiating a recall on me?'
Speechless, Daniel stared into the thick mist.
The black ash beneath their feet had been scattered in a circle by the thunder just moments ago.
Rose stood frozen, eyes locked on Daniel as if she'd turned to stone.
Cybil's pupils constricted.
She looked down at the pistol in her hand, then back at Daniel. Her throat moved, but no sound came out.
Only Megan clung tightly to Daniel. Though pale, her eyes shone with blind devotion. In her eyes, it was completely natural for Daniel to be this powerful.
"Stop spacing out." Daniel turned and glanced at the looming clock tower in the distance. "Let's go. The church is just ahead."
"Oh."
Rose and Cybil finally snapped out of it, though they still seemed stunned.
...
The four of them moved forward.
The buildings lining the street grew more dilapidated.
Walls that once looked fire-scorched now oozed a dark red liquid, dripping viscously from doors and windows.
The choking smell of burning hung heavy in the air.
When they reached the church's edge, a gaunt figure blocked the only path forward.
An old woman with wild, tangled hair, dressed in a tattered gray dress.
She carried a basket full of stones, her hollow, crazed eyes staring mechanically at the spired building ahead.
Dahlia.
The root of all tragedy in the Silent Hill story; Alessa's biological mother.
Thirty years ago, weak and blindly obedient to dogma, she had handed her daughter over to the cult priestess Christabella.
By the time Alessa was chained to the stake, Dahlia's regret came too late -- helpless as her daughter became an evil spirit.
Now, she was the town's only "Wandering Soul." Neither consumed by darkness nor accepted by the church, she drifted all day in remorse.
"Don't go in there." Dahlia's voice was raspy, like sandpaper scraping wood. "Tainted people live there. They will sacrifice you to a false god."
Rose ran forward, desperate. "Have you seen a child named Sharon? She got separated from me!"
Dahlia turned, staring fixedly at Rose with a strange smile twisting her lips. "She's inside. Those who call themselves holy are preparing to light the pyre. To enter is to enter the abyss."
Daniel stepped forward, eyes cold as he faced this pitiful yet hateful woman.
"Now you warn others?" His tone was sharp, laced with disdain. "Thirty years ago, if you'd had the awareness you pretend to have now, Alessa wouldn't have turned this place into Hell."
Dahlia's body trembled violently; terror flickered in her eyes. "You... what do you know?"
Daniel ignored her and looked to Cybil and Rose. "Remember, the people inside are far worse than the monsters outside."
Wail-- Wail--
The ear-piercing air-raid siren blasted again, sharper and more prolonged than before.
At the far end of the square, frantic footsteps sounded in the mist.
One after another, townspeople appeared in coarse work clothes or faded suits, faces filled with panic.
Heads bowed low, they rushed desperately toward the church doors, expressions twisted with morbid piety and deep fear.
"The Inner World is about to descend." Daniel looked up at the church. "Let's go-- get inside."
"No! You can't go in!" Dahlia screamed, frantic. "The darkness can't enter there, but that place itself is darkness!"
Daniel ignored her, pushing Dahlia aside and leading the three women up the church's heavy stone steps.
...
The massive doors were pulled open a crack by guards.
The townspeople squeezed inside like sardines desperate for refuge.
In the crowd, Daniel stood out.
The raw masculine energy radiating from him made the surrounding townspeople, pale and tense, instinctively recoil.
They parted as he passed.
Inside, a strong, decayed smell hit them immediately.
The church's interior was vast; hundreds of pews were packed with people.
On the high platform, a massive bonfire blazed.
Beside the fire stood a stern-looking middle-aged Caucasian woman in a gray dress, holding up a cross.
Christabella.
The true devil of this land.
She preyed on people's fear of death to trap them in narrow dogma.
Thirty years ago she burned Alessa.
Thirty years later, she aimed to burn Sharon.
In this Inner World shaped by Alessa, Christabella's will still managed to carve out a twisted "Pure Land" within the church -- keeping monsters from crossing inside.
"Sharon!"
Rose screamed, staring up at the platform.
Tied to an iron Elixirar on one side of the raised stage, the little girl Sharon was chained, dry kindling piled beneath her feet.
"Seize them!"
Christabella pointed at the newcomers, her voice shrill and harsh.
*****
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