Brawling

Taking a quick glance at the system notifications to gauge the enemy's strength, Pro then returned his attention to the invading spirits.

According to his estimates, the chainsaw spirit was only a low-level baleful spirit. On the other hand, the vacuum spirit is a mid-level baleful spirit. The humpbacked spirit hasn't stepped into his domain yet, but based on the density of yin qi that Pro sensed from it, he can conclude that it is also a mid-level baleful spirit. Pro could also sense another mid-level baleful spirit bolting down the hallway on the other side of the wall.

Although the humpbacked spirit's illusion ability was the most troublesome, the strongest in this batch seemed to be the vacuum spirit. Not only that, it also seems to be the only baleful spirit left that could phase through walls.

It may seem that Pro had analyzed a lot, but it only happened in moments. After a bit of thought, Pro glanced down at the chainsaw hand that he cut off earlier. He decided to conveniently take out the easiest target first.

Shing! Pro decisively activated his claws and smash them down onto the chainsaw. Although the chainsaw spirit's face was hidden behind a mask, Pro could still see its horrified, blood-shot eyes screaming for mercy.

Of course, there was no mercy. With a loud metallic clang, the chainsaw was cleanly bisected in two, causing multiple electrical sparks to spew out of it. It was unknown where the electricity came from and how the chainsaw still worked before, but Pro was sure it won't work any longer.

Ahhhhh! The chainsaw spirit howled in agony as it furiously dashed towards Pro, intending to retrieve its chainsaw, but it suddenly lost its balance due to stepping into something slippery. It was unknown when a pile of cow dung had appeared in its path!

The muscular man's body fell in the face of unknown power. Thud! The body slipped backwards and slammed into the humpbacked spirit that was intending to come in, hindering the poor man even further and causing it to growl angrily.

On the other hand, Pro would not delay himself from achieving his goal. He continued to turn the chainsaw hand into scrap metal while switching his attention over to the vacuum spirit who had begun to suck the air once more.

Seeing this, Alice had already held onto the cute Ali to prevent her from being sucked away. The uniform spirits and the two dolls also used Alice as an anchor. Unfortunately, Toi Toi didn't have this fortune and was helplessly sucked towards the vacuum spirit. Although it could technically use its toilet paper strips to anchor itself to someone, it was commanded not to by its master.

Watching Toi Toi get devoured by the vacuum spirit, Pro didn't have any regrets. Instead, he only smirked, "Heh, I hope you will like the gift I stored inside Toi Toi."

The vacuum spirit that was happily sucking away just moments ago suddenly choked and gagged as it gripped its own throat. Fumes of dust came out of the vacuum tube as if it was trying to spit something out, but this time, it didn't have as much luck as before.

While coming here, Pro spent some time to condense a butt load of yin needles. He then bundled it up and stashed it inside Toi Toi, turning the poor spirit into the ultimate poison. Although Toi Toi had to suffer from the corrosion of the needles, he fortunately could isolate it somewhat with layers of toilet paper. He was commanded to release it once he was swallowed.

Pro already knew the vacuum spirit could spit out needles and would be a troublesome spirit, so he had prepared this trap just for it. Although it was a bit of a loss in points, the end result will still be a gain.

Pop! Toi Toi popped into existence besides Pro as he spent 25 points to bring him back. Toi Toi then plopped to the ground and silently sobbed. Why is it always the bait?!

Noticing the blackening skin of the vacuum spirit that was now rolling on the ground in pain, Pro returned his attention to the comical duo at the doorway while finishing off his job of turning the chainsaw into scrap metal.

With a despairing howl, the hockey-masked man that finally managed to get up could only reach its hand out in reluctance before it dissipated into black mist. The roar of the chainsaw suddenly echoed in the hallway as Pro saw his view seemingly get sliced in half.

The scene tore apart from the center and transitioned to a grayscale scene of a brawny man cutting trees with a chainsaw. The man was currently alone in a forest, and there were already a couple piles of wood that he had already cut.

As the man silently continued to cut the tree with his chainsaw, the scene flickered a couple of times before it suddenly turned into a bloody scene where the man was sawing humans with a chainsaw!

It didn't take long before the scene flickered back to the man silently sawing the tree. The scene continued to quickly flicker back and forth between different bloody scenes and the silent forest.

Suddenly, the roar of a chainsaw broke the silence of the scene, and the flickering stopped as the man stopped sawing the tree. It was unknown when a black misty silhouette appeared behind the man, and the figure was also holding a roaring chainsaw. The man tilted his head for a bit before slowly turning around.

Rrrrrrr! With the roar of a chainsaw, the scene shattered as Pro returned to the stairway.

[Host has eliminated an intruder in your domain. Domain is now absorbing the remains of the intruder ...]

[Absorption completed. Intruder was determined to be a Lower-Level Baleful Spirit. System Library updated with new info.]

[After absorbing a powerful spirit, host gains 570 life points.]

Ignoring the system notification, Pro saw the humpbacked spirit charging headfirst at him while Alice barely pulled him out of the way in time.

Bam! Missing its target, the humpbacked spirit headbutted into the nearby concrete wall, causing cracks to appear on it. Although Pro wouldn't be injured too heavily due to the attack, it was still better to not be hit.

Screeee! Hearing the scream, Pro glanced over at the previous location of the vacuum spirit who was now missing and only left a gooey, black puddle mixed with yin needles. He knew that the scream did not come from it. Suddenly, Pro sensed an attack coming from above!

Hugging Alice who was besides him, Pro dodged out of the way as he watched a bunch of small silver forks and knives embed themselves into the ground of his previous location.

Missing their targets, the silverware utensils pulled themselves out of the ground and floated back upwards. Tracking the utensils with his eyes, Pro was able to see them return to their main body, a giant, metallic cockroach-like beast formed from a silverware mix of forks, knives, and spoons.

The monster was now attached to the wall above them as its two metallic antennas were shifting back and forth while aiming at Pro's direction. It was unknown how it was able to scream, but it ghastly howl came from the monster as it sensed Pro's location.

"Oh my ... even a cockroach can become an evil spirit?!" Pro couldn't help but exclaim in disgust, but he had no time to consider further as the follow-up attack came.

Knives and forks fired at Pro once again as he easily dodged out of the way as he fired a couple of yin needles at the cockroach spirit.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The needles that could easily penetrate most other spirits bounced off as if they clashed with tough metal. Pro frowned as he disliked the tanky spirits the most.

Screeee! A muffled scream echoed in the stairway as Pro felt his surroundings half-distort once more. The illusory forest mixed in with the scene of the stairway, causing Pro to almost trip and fall as he couldn't clearly see where he was going.

"Ugh, that annoying humpbacked spirit with its illusion. Alice! Do it!" Pro commanded as he saw flashing silverware being fired at him.

"Ai! Ai! Master!"

Hearing Alice's reply, Pro let go of the soft sensation in his arms and backed off a bit. Puff! Puff! Puff! With the sound of metal penetrating flesh, the sounds of the screams suddenly paused before it turned in a couple of angry growls of pain.

The distorted scene returned to normal as Pro observed the scene in front of him. Right now, the humpbacked spirit was standing in front of Pro and served as his meat shield. A barrage of silverware had penetrated his body, causing black mist to defuse out from it. A couple of silverware even penetrated its screaming mouth.

Pro grinned evilly as he stared at the humpbacked spirit that was roaring at the cockroach spirit in anger, probably complaining about the friendly fire.

As for why it would appear in front of Pro as a meat shield, it is due to Alice's ability, Save Me Instead. Alice could easily switch place with a target as long as the target is inside his domain, and is near another target. With the confined space of the stairway, the conditions were easily met.

Even if Alice is affected by the illusion, she could still activate her ability! So, the humpbacked spirit could only helplessly appear in front of Pro.

Of course, this chance that was presented to Pro would not go to waste. Shing! Pro's claws happily gave the humpbacked spirit another backstab!

Screeeee! The humpbacked spirit screeched in pain as it dived forward and tumbled down the stairs. After screeching a couple more times in pain, the humpbacked spirit struggled up and prepared to scream again.

Of course, Pro didn't want it to disturb him with an illusion anymore. It was time for his employees to work!

The two idle security uniform spirits finally had to do their job. They glided up to the humpbacked spirit's head and wrapped around it, completely covering its mouth. The scream eventually still came through, but it was completely muffled under two layers of clothes plus the earplugs!

Pro only felt his surroundings distort a bit and saw a faded, transparent forest that didn't affect his vision that much. He smirked as he dodged the incoming silverware. Dashing down the steps, Pro intended to finish off the handicapped spirit first.

With a cruel strike, Pro dug his claws into the humpbacked spirit's body, gouging out a bunch of black mist. The barrage of silverware pierced Pro from behind, causing multiple scratches on his back, but Pro ignored it and continued to destroy the humpbacked spirit with his claws.

The muffled screams of pain came from the humpbacked spirit as it tried to smash away its enemy with its wrapped up head, but Alice appeared nearby and held it in place with Pro's help. The troublesome humpbacked spirit's body was then dissected by Pro's claws, leaving only its iron head that was still struggling in vain.

With the uniform spirits muffling the front of the head, Pro then cracked open the skull from the back and wrecked havoc in the poor spirit's brain. It didn't take long for Pro to confirm its death.

With the barrage of silverware that was slowly turning his back into a bloody mess, Pro watched his surroundings distort, bringing him back to the silent, gray forest.

A humpbacked old man was slowly digging the ground in the forest with a shovel. A black bag laid besides him, and a noticeable hand that slipped out of it told the audience what was in it. A gruff voice then echoed in the scene.

"It's all their fault! It's not my fault! Hahaha! They thought they could live, but it's only an illusion!"

"I wasn't the one that did it. It wasn't me. She killed herself ... just like last time."

"I just need to bury her like the others, no one will notice. That's right!"

The digging actions suddenly stopped as the humpbacked man turned around before exclaiming in shock.

"Huh? Who are you? Wait ... how are you still alive?! Impossible! This is just an illusion! No! Don't come over!"

With that, the voice faded away along with the scene, returning Pro to the hallway where he felt the massage on his back.

[Host has eliminated an intruder in your domain. Domain is now absorbing the remains of the intruder ...]

[Absorption completed. Intruder was determined to be a Mid-Level Baleful Spirit. System Library updated with new info.]

[After absorbing a powerful spirit, host gains 980 life points.]

Cracking his neck, Pro grinned as he turned around to face the remaining baleful spirit in the stairway.

"Heh, seems you are the only one left. Why haven't you escaped yet?"

The cockroach spirit roared back in intimidation as it futilely left bloody scratches on Pro's body, but that was the extent of its damage.

"Since you are alone, then let us send you on your way!" Pro grinned as he sharpened his claws, ready for battle.

Suddenly, the vacuum spirit, that disappeared, phased through the nearby wall. A large part of its body was corroded, but its fighting spirit was still fierce as it raised its vacuum tube like an elephant's trunk and roared.

Pro then sensed a dense bunch of weak spirits gathering at the doorway. Glancing over, he then noticed a variety of lingering spirits sweeping into the stairway like a tide!

"It seems that you went and called for help ey?" Pro smirked as he saw this, but he didn't feel any danger.

Instead, he felt thankful that all the spirits are gathered in his domain!

Pro's small group of spirits gathered around him as they stared back at the small army invading the domain while its two commanders roared in intimidation. Although they were outnumbered, fighting spirit brewed inside of Pro and the others.

"The fight has lasted long enough. It's time to finish the harvest and reap my rewards."

With that, the two sides clashed.