9: Chapter 9 Death Struggle and Redemption

Mia suppressed the urge to retreat, pretending to tidy her hair as she lightly stroked her temple, [Activate Gaze of the Dead]

In an instant, the entire hall transformed into a rotting feast in her eyes—the walls were covered in vein-like vines, the carpet was soaked in dried blood, and inside the chest of the "Li Qianzhou" that Tuaner was snuggling against, a tangled, snake-like shadow lay coiled.

Mia's right hand unconsciously reached toward her lower back—this was a combat habit Luo Yu had when he was male, but she only touched the soft fabric of her nun's habit.

"The guest room is ready." The shadow made a gentlemanly "please" gesture, the red mark on Tuaner's neck glowing slightly with his movement, "I hope you... have a pleasant stay."

Mia made an excuse to check the room and went upstairs first, quickly pulling open her collar at the corner—the deaths white moonlight pendant was burning hot, with tiny beads of blood seeping from the bottom of the cross.

[Warning: High-level cursed creature detected]

[Suggestion: Escape immediately or activate deaths white moonlight]

She reached for the Swiss Army knife hidden in her garter, its metal surface covered in rusted Blood Rose patterns, though she didn't know when they had appeared.

Worse still, the energy fluctuations of the Life Support System suddenly became chaotic, as if interfered with by some force.

Several portraits in the second-floor corridor rolled their eyes in unison as she walked by, the small nameplates beneath the frames flickering in the lightning.

In the nearest frame, the face of the young girl wearing a modern dress was twisting from Tuaner's face into Mia's appearance.

"It seems I've been treated as a collectible." Mia gritted her teeth and tore off a piece of her skirt to wrap around the burning pendant; the moment her fingertips touched it, a strange memory suddenly appeared...

It was less of a memory and more like a prophetic dream.

A dark dungeon, young girls locked in iron chains, and standing in the center of the blood magic circle was... Tuaner?

Looking down from above, it resembled a giant clock, with the numbers pointing to ten and twelve soaked in fresh blood.

The Tuaner in Mia's memory raised a dripping silver knife and said with a smile: "The three hundred and seventh sacrifice, and it seems to be a demon? It should be enough to wake the Master up."

(Contamination level increased to 40%. Withdrawing part of the mission reward in advance. Mental consciousness is temporarily unaffected by the contamination level.)

Torrential rain hammered against the stained glass, casting shadows like blood rain. Mia had no time to complain about the strange situation where she always had bad luck whenever she saw stained glass. After locking the door, she immediately checked her backpack—the stun gun on her anti-wolf flashlight had failed, but the magnesium flare used for live streaming and her makeup mirror were still there.

When the clock struck ten at midnight, the wooden floor suddenly softened, and dozens of pale arms reached out. Mia's [Dancer] talent triggered, and she performed a side roll to avoid the grasp while pulling the magnesium flare from her makeup bag.

[Fusion activated: Magnesium flare + Radiance of Holy Light] "Not enough Holy Light? Let a lightbulb make up for it!"

The moment the blinding white light refracted off the mirror surface, a stream of data exploded:

Dealt 12 Light attribute damage to the cursed creature (Base 5 + Piety Lv15 bonus 7)

Added 3 seconds of stiffness (Basic Waist Strength Lv6 boost)

Mia's right eye suddenly felt intense pain, and the skill mutated into [Profane Holy Light].

A crimson beam shot from her right eye; the pale arms hit by it instantly rotted, yet they grew eyeballs and teeth and continued to lunge at her.

"Damn it!" Mia cursed using Luo Yu's catchphrase, used the Swiss Army knife to cut her palm, and smeared the blood onto [deaths white moonlight].

The cross immediately revealed dark gold inscriptions—this was the resonance between the Crimson Queen's blood and the holy relic.

The moment the faint white light refracted off the mirror, a sharp screech echoed from within the walls, and several strands of black hair rapidly retracted from the seams of the wallpaper.

"Physical holy light is still holy light..." Mia quickly used lipstick to draw a simple holy rune on the mirror surface; this was a simplified version of the church exorcism ritual from her memory.

When she inadvertently caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, the blood-red pupil in her right eye was dilating, almost swallowing the entire eye socket.

A knock on the door suddenly sounded.

"Mia?" Tuaner's voice came through the door, but it carried an eerie dual-tone effect, "I've come to bring you a change of clothes... Your socks and skirt were wet when you arrived earlier."

Outside the peephole, Tuaner held lace pajamas and smiled sweetly. But her shadow on the wall split into a hideous form, and the "hickey" on her neck had spread into a vine-like network of blood vessels.

Mia's right hand automatically formed a prayer gesture—this was muscle memory developed by the Original Owner during his stay at the church for over half a month.

The [Healing Spell], which had never saved anyone after he learned it, was ready to be cast, but her reason told her that this would likely trigger hostility.

"Thank you, but I'm feeling a bit dizzy..." She coughed twice on purpose, "Could I try them on tomorrow?"

"Sure~" Tuaner hummed a tune and left, but Mia clearly heard several different sets of footsteps gradually fading away.

When the clock struck twelve at midnight, the entire building began to squirm.

Viscous black sludge seeped from under the bed, condensing into dozens of bloodshot eyes; the flames in the fireplace turned into tangled hair; and the Blood Rose vines outside the window were weaving into a cage.

The worst part was that, just as expected, all the equipment in her storage space displayed [Paradise Lost items cannot be used in the real world].

(The Life Support System provides optional strategies for the host: 1. Force a breakout. Success rate? What success rate? 2. Feign submission to buy time. Contamination level +15%. 3. Forcefully activate the "Infusion" skill to counter-erode the source of the curse. Requires consuming the Crimson Queen's blood inside the body.)

Mia reached for the eyebrow razor in her makeup bag. (The survival maintenance system teased, "You're getting more and more handy with a young girl's things, aren't you~ tsk tsk tsk.")

"I choose four." She pressed the blade against her wrist, "If possible, I'm prepared to take him down with me!"

(...Theoretically, as long as the soul hasn't dissipated... the host hasn't completely lost self-awareness... Besides, there's still deaths white moonlight, isn't there?)

"That's enough then. A body gotten for free, it's not like I'm only dying once."

The moment the blade cut through her skin, Mia used her blood-stained fingers to draw a sacrificial rune array on the full-length mirror—using the succubus's blood as a guide, and the Crimson Queen's relic as the offering.

(Oh my, oh my~ Using filthy pigment to outline incantations from the Holy Scripture, the vibe changes instantly! The survival maintenance system seems keen on roasting.)

The entire room suddenly felt like a hurricane had blown through, and a blood-colored vortex appeared on the mirror surface. When Li Qianzhou's inhuman roar came from downstairs, Mia had already leaped into the mirror.

After a brief sensation of falling, she landed in the center of a circular altar.

This was the manor's cellar, where hundreds of mummified corpses dressed in clothing from different eras were piled into a small mountain beside the altar, and floating directly above the altar was a beating heart wrapped in Blood Rose vines.

The floating Blood Rose heart displayed data: Curse Core · Blood Rose (Projection) LV8

Skills: Blood Sucking (Drains 5 HP per second from organisms within a 10m radius) Pain Manifestation (Converts the sufferer's memories into physical entities)

An unexpectedly visiting priest, a bizarre mountain manor, companions trapped deep in a curse. A great battle is on the verge of breaking out!