Perched on his shoulder was a black and white clown, only as big as two palms, tinkering with a music box.

Ding ding dong—ding ding dong—

The music box emitted a pleasant melody.

"Heeheeheehee—" The black and white clown, with a frozen smile on its face, creaked eerily like a decaying puppet.

"Pigfolk freak—you wicked fellow—is this what you wanted my curse for—heeheeheehee—you're probably going to break that lad—heeheehee—"

The pigfolk butcher replied indifferently: "He's too restrained. I thought throwing the boy from Blue Star in front of Him would accelerate His revival, but it seems the effect is minimal."

The black and white clown smiled slyly: "So—you used my curse? Heeheehee!"

The butcher stated flatly: "That's the only reason I released you."

The clown, shaking the music box, said: "But aren't you afraid my curse will completely destroy him—heeheeheehee—you should know—once the curse activates—chaos unfolds—once he becomes mad and paranoid—it will be uncontrollable—"

The butcher responded calmly: "Do you really think He hasn't taken precautions against that?"

The clown's head tilted, revealing the spring in its neck.

The butcher explained: "This place, known as the Cursed Domain, naturally amplifies your curse. I've specifically strengthened its influence here. Had He confirmed the effects of your curse while afflicting those werewolves, He would've immediately suppressed it, preventing it from ever erupting."

The clown laughed eerily, quickening the pace of turning the music box.

"Heeheeheehee—so what now? The curse has gone out of control—how will He counteract it? You know well—divine power can suppress my curse—but at the same time—it can make it even more uncontrollable—you're not relying on those Night Doctors, are you? Heeheehee!"

The butcher looked up, saying: "It depends on whether He can accept the distortion of self."

Up to this point, the curse had only amplified certain aspects of his character. Making him more extreme, more self-righteous, more paranoid, more destructive. But none of these had truly touched his bottom line.

The clown asked with a smile: "What's his bottom line?"

The butcher closed his eyes: "Being frugal."

The clown's smile froze its hand on the music box suddenly stopping.

The butcher, holding his cleaver, looked up: "And life."

...

Silent Town. The square.

The outbreak of the Flesh Regeneration Potion caused Lynne's body to swell and twist chaotically, as numerous flesh lumps and shrieking limbs grew incessantly within the spreading flesh.

The piercing screams made every creature in the town cover their ears in agony. The holy chains binding him strained and creaked. The magical circle emanating from the twelve-winged angel pendant also began to tremble, showing numerous cracks.

Raven retreated with a pale face. The chaotic Flesh Catastrophe filled him with an overwhelming sense of fear.

Was this the reason for his unease?

He had never imagined that the young man harbored such a terrifying trump card.

"Quick!"

He turned and yelled towards the church. Finally, the doors of the church opened thunderously. Amid the crowd, the broken yet brightly shining Holy Grail was fully awakened. The mayor was also shocked by the sight of the flesh that had swelled almost into a small hill.

"What is this..."

Raven couldn't explain much, he rushed forward, grabbing the Holy Relic and rapidly casting magical runes with both hands. Golden light burst forth from his bird beak mask.

Amidst the swirling winds, he gritted his teeth, manipulating the Holy Relic to float in front of him, his gaze fixed on the swelling flesh, chanting exorcism holy words.

"regna terrae, cantate deo! (Incantation)"

"psallite domino qui fertis super caelum caeli ad orientem ecce dabit voci suae vocem virtutis! (Incantation)"

Behind him, the mayor and the priests closed their eyes, pale-faced, and joined Raven in chanting.

For a moment, the Holy Grail emitted boundless light. The black mist enveloping the town was instantly dispelled. And the massive flesh monster that Lynne had become wailed chaotically under the purifying divine power.

In its flickering and shifting form, one could see a humanoid silhouette inside the Flesh Catastrophe, struggling while clutching its head.

"tribuite virtutem deo! (Incantation)"

Raven bit down hard, controlling the Holy Grail. Thousands of sacred prayers converged upon the Grail, inching him closer to the twisted mass of flesh.

Billows of black mist continuously spread from the flesh.

"You!! Silence!!"

A furious and crazed voice erupted from the mass of flesh. The enormous flesh exploded with countless tentacles, chaotically shooting towards them.

But it was futile. The immense holy light bore down, instantly purifying the approaching tentacles into countless points of light with its terrifying effect.

"Holy Son, Holy Father, Holy Spirit!"

"Holy Son, Holy Father, Holy Spirit!"

Everyone closed their eyes, continuously chanting the sacred words. Step by step, they moved closer. The halo of the Holy Relic grew more intense. The chaotic mass of flesh began to be purified by the divine light screen, shrinking and evaporating bit by bit.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes of continuous prayer, The massive flesh had shrunk enough to reveal the struggling human form inside.

At the center of the formation, Lynne's head suddenly emerged from the flesh, sharply clutching his head, his face twisted with ferocity and madness.

"You're driving me insane! You all must die!!"

With each word he spoke, the humanoid silhouette within him flickered. It wasn't Lynne speaking! It was the curse within him!

"No, this is wrong!"

Raven tightly controlled the Holy Grail, looking at the young man screaming uncontrollably under the holy light, realizing that the curse within him was indeed being purified and suppressed.

But for some reason, it showed no signs of being completely eradicated! Instead, it was like boiling water. The more it was purified, the more violently the curse inside him raged!

Something was definitely wrong! Something was definitely wrong!!

In the next moment, Lynne within the flesh suddenly turned his head, his gaze suddenly fixating on Raven, his eyes filled with madness and chaos.

With a whoosh, a furious clown's face suddenly appeared on his cheek.

"Do you really think you can dispel me?! You're only causing me pain! You're only making me lose control! You insufferable clown!!"

He let out a piercing scream.

In an instant, accompanied by crackling electricity, he raised a hand from the decaying flesh. A silver revolver was suddenly aimed in his direction.

Bang—

A gunshot.

The demon-hunting bullet instantly burst from the gun's barrel.

At that moment, everyone present showed expressions of horror, trembling as they watched the bullet burst from the gun's barrel. It defied the binding of the magical circle. It disregarded the suppression of the Holy Grail, skirting the light of the Holy Grail.

The bullet struck Raven's chest hard. His pupils dilated suddenly, a spray of crimson blood splattering from his chest, staining the floating Holy Grail red. Amidst everyone's screams, Raven's body flew backwards heavily, as if surrounded by countless chaotic winds.

"Mr. Raven!!"

The Holy Grail crashed to the ground. The surging holy light extinguished in that instant. And with the loss of the holy light's support, the pendant of the twelve-winged angel finally exploded with a loud bang.

Bang—

Bang—

Gunshot after gunshot.

Lynne, in a frenzy, stepped forward, roaring as he repeatedly pulled the trigger at Raven.

"Silence! Silence!!"

He kept firing, bullets exploding into blooms of blood on his chest. Everything seemed silent at that moment. But nothing seemed able to restrain his mad fury.

Crimson tentacles shot out abruptly. Raven's body was violently pulled towards him, Lynne twisted the gun towards Raven's head, snarling: "I want you dead!!"

"Head!!" Hidari screamed, almost breaking her voice.

Click—

But at that moment, Lynne still pulled the trigger.

Bang—

A gunshot.

The dense smoke from the bullet exploding out of the barrel was visible, the demon-hunting bullet flying out.

Everything seemed so vivid. Even in Raven's pupils, the approaching bullet was reflected.

The bullet meant to take his life.

In the distance, Executor and Black Skull were screaming and charging over, the townspeople's faces pale. But he had no strength left. The Holy Grail had drained all his power.

He... Was powerless...

Bang—

The gunshot sounded.

…

Far away, atop the mountain.

The black and white clown perched on the pigfolk butcher's shoulder revealed a cruel smile, saying: "Ah—Pigfolk—you've failed—this shot—not only took the life of that Night Doctor—but also broke his bottom line— He finally succumbed—hehehehe—to my curse—"

Saying this, the clown hopped off the butcher's shoulder, poked its red nose, and cackled as it walked down the mountain. But before he took two steps, the butcher's indifferent voice called from behind.

"Aren't you going to watch the rest?" The clown chuckled and turned around, "Witnessing the birth of a new clown?"

The butcher replied calmly, "Perhaps, it hasn't turned out as you expected."

The clown's gaze suddenly sharpened.

The next moment, he spun around, peering in that direction.

…

Silent Town. The square was eerily silent.

On the ground, Raven's eyes reflected the face of the young man before him. Beside his ear, on the ground, a bullet was embedded. He could smell the smoke from the gun, even prepared for death. But it didn't happen…

The bullet didn't hit him between the eyes but landed beside his ear. Hidari trembled at the sight. Finally, she raised her hand, looking at Lynne's face. She saw an unusually calm expression. She saw familiar eyes. As if…

"No! No! This isn't right!"

A furious clown's face suddenly emerged on his cheek, Lynne violently controlling the hand holding the gun, tremblingly aiming it again at Raven's forehead.

But this time, no matter how hard he tried, The finger on the trigger couldn't pull it.

"How can you... How can you!!"

The clown's face trembled wildly, a wave of immense unease sweeping through him. And the next moment, he trembled to see the hand holding the revolver, slowly rising, then under his trembling gaze, pressed against his own chest. In an instant, the entire sky seemed so serene.

"Are you done playing?"

A voice sounded. And in that instant, the finger pulled the trigger.

Bang—

A gunshot.

The bullet pierced through his back, and a black silhouette emerged, breaking like a snapped thread with that shot.

Bang—

The second shot!

Bang—

The third shot!

With each pull of the trigger, a black, shrieking clown's shadow could be seen being swept outward and stripped away.

At the moment of the fourth shot, the screaming black shadow, after flickering continuously, was almost entirely peeled away, leaving only the black veins that still clung to his body.

At that moment, Lynne calmly extended his hand, and a broken spear materialized in his grasp.

He spun around. Just as the shadow was about to rejoin his body, he impaled it with the spear, pinning it to the ground.

Crackle—

Rolling currents of electricity, along with divine power, climbed over the shadow, causing it to emit piercing, wretched screams.

"Impossible! Impossible! I almost replaced you!"

The clown's black shadow looked at Lynne in horror, never expecting that he could... could...

Under the shadow on his forehead, Lynne's low voice came through.

"I'm a doctor..."

The clown's shadow trembled as it looked at him.

"You are a mirror image amplified from my heart; you should understand..."

Lynne slowly opened his calm eyes. His revolver slowly aimed at the clown's forehead, a bullet forming within it, charged with his mental power. The aura of curse removal radiated from the gun, gathering around it.

"I may be cruel... but I will never indiscriminately kill the innocent... I won't spare anyone I deem bad, but I won't kill those who mean me well. From this point alone... You can't replace me."

The clown's black shadow trembled as it looked at Lynne's calm figure, his eyes gradually filling with white light. It suddenly screamed frantically, rushing towards Lynne's body.

"No!"

Bang—

Lynne calmly pulled the trigger, rolling black smoke billowing from the gun's barrel. The bullet struck the clown's forehead squarely.

The wind swept through. The entire square was serene.

The clown's black shadow, with an empty gaze, watched Lynne as its black silhouette was gradually cleared by the blinding white light, dissipating bit by bit.

[Ding! You have recorded the curse: Weeping Clown (Delirium)]

[Ding! You have completed the special hidden mission: Self. You have received mission rewards: Permanent increase of 10 to mental strength, permanent increase of 10 to soul strength, special legendary reward: Clown's Mask]

[Clown's Mask]

[Type: Cursed Object]

[Ability: Significantly enhances agility and dexterity]

[Description: You can never see whether the face behind the clown's mask is smiling or crying, nor can you see whether the heart beneath the mask is kind or evil. But the moment you put on the mask, you become the grinning clown on the stage.]

[Special: Upgradable]

Lynne calmly holstered his gun. Turning, he looked at Raven, who lay on the ground, extending a hand towards him, calmly saying: "Thank you. You are truly worthy of the title of Night Doctor."

Raven, clutching the gruesome wound on his chest, coughed forcefully, gasping: "You actually broke free from... that curse by yourself?"

Lynne stood calmly amidst the howling wind, which stirred the debris scattered around.

The curse had come so unexpectedly. By the time he fully realized the influence of the Weeping Clown, the curse had rapidly affected his cognition. And this impact came faster and more fiercely than he had anticipated. Even during that time, he had once believed it was truly himself, just as a deranged person never realizes their own insanity. He really went mad.

"If it hadn't betrayed my bottom line, I might have had a hard time realizing something was wrong."

Lynne took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and spoke as if relieved: "Because I am a doctor, not a murderer."

Those around him stared at the young man as if everything was like a surreal dream. A gentle breeze swept through. The crowd looked at the sprawling, shriveled mass of flesh that covered the square, and at the Holy Grail on the ground, lost in thought. Faintly, as if hearing a distant voice, yet elusive as if unnoticed.

[Ding! Your recovery level: 3%]