Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Answer My Question

"Drop your weapon... hands on your head, and turn around slowly..."

The voice behind him continued to command.

But the tone sounded weak, even fearful. It lacked confidence, like a raw recruit pointing a gun at a reincarnated War God.

Lloyd released the hilt of the sword at his waist, while his other hand tightly gripped the matchstick. He then quietly extended his Inspiration and Spiritual Power, causing the range of the [Twisted Realm] to silently expand.

Although his heart was beating faster of its own accord, his mind remained clear and calm. He still remembered the advice the butler had imparted in his notes:

"Don’t be afraid of bullets. They can’t kill people."

"Don’t be stingy with your Inspiration. Release it with all your might. It’s more useful than your eyes and ears, and it can save your life in a critical moment."

But as soon as Lloyd’s Inspiration spread out, it immediately came into contact with something familiar in the air.

[Ding~ Madness Value +1]

Huh?

’This thing can talk, and it can release Spiritual Contamination?’

Although it was very weak and its frequency was low, not possessing much destructive power, it was genuine Spiritual Contamination nonetheless.

Lloyd was a little puzzled. He turned around slowly, but he didn’t put his hands on his head. Instead, he placed the hand gripping the matchstick behind his back and raised his other hand in a wave, as a sort of greeting. At the same time, he prepared an [Aggressive Speech] in his mouth.

The silently spreading [Twisted Realm] had already reached his opponent’s feet.

"What are you doing? No funny business!"

But the man opposite him didn’t seem to be affected by the [Twisted Realm]. He just spoke nervously, raising the new model bolt-action rifle in his hands again.

He looked like a truck driver, wearing overalls stained with grease and blood. His face... maybe he was in his fifties?

But his facial features were completely displaced. His eyes had moved to the sides of his cheeks, his mouth was twisted behind his ear, and his nose was completely gone, replaced by a disgusting fleshy tumor. A few tentacles could be seen writhing from his chin.

The hand holding the gun was now in the shape of a starfish, forced to use a sucker to pull the trigger.

With an appearance like this, he could basically be called a Demon...

Yet when Lloyd used [Probe] on him, it actually worked?

That skill was only supposed to work on humans...

[Target: ??]

[Status: Severe Madness]

[Rationality: 0]

[Spiritual Power: 33]

[Inspiration: 38]

[Cognition: 32]

’Leaving aside his [Rationality], his other three stats are pretty high. Almost half as strong as mine...’

Lloyd made his assessment, then temporarily deactivated [Aggressive Speech] and spoke normally:

"Tell me how to get this book out, and I will grant you a comfortable death."

As he spoke, his Inspiration had already silently seeped into the other’s body and locked onto his heart.

’Well now, he actually has two hearts? And they’re conjoined?’

’But it doesn’t matter. It hasn’t mutated to be as tough as a Demon’s yet. Using the physical twisting effect of the [Twisted Realm] will be enough to make it stop beating.’

So Lloyd wasn’t making an empty threat.

But the other man wasn’t frightened. He said:

"You... tell me... why... are you looking for this book? And... how did you find it? Why... are you still... human?"

"I can... share everything with you... my wealth... power, women, children... Tell me... I’m begging you... tell me..."

"What... exactly are you..."

"Do you... even exist... Are you there?"

He rambled on and on, his voice no longer holding its earlier tension. Instead, he had become incoherent and illogical.

This was possibly because the [Twisted Realm] was taking effect, or perhaps because he was trying to ponder certain questions and had scrambled what little Rationality he had left.

Yet his condition didn’t worsen because of it. He didn’t lose any more control, still holding the gun steadily, his eyes still fixed on Lloyd.

Of course, Lloyd wasn’t going to answer those meaningless questions. He simply commanded in a low voice:

"Answer my question!"

The man seemed startled and suddenly pulled the trigger.

BANG~

The gunshot echoed as the bullet struck the wall beside them, leaving a spiral-shaped hole the size of a fist, as if it had been bored out by an oversized drill bit.

Lloyd had seen such a bullet mark before; he had made one himself.

’Applying the effect of [Veto Declaration (Twist)] to a bullet creates a spiral mark just like that.’

’Thankfully, that shot missed...’

To be precise, though, the man had never aimed the gun at Lloyd. He had been pointing it at the air to Lloyd’s right, probably thinking Lloyd was in that direction.

After his shot missed, he dropped the rifle, letting it fall into the water purification pool on the side. Then he fell to his knees, a bizarre, savage laugh escaping his lips:

"Hahaha! I succeeded! I’ve achieved the impossible [Transcendence]! With you as my witness..."

"What incredible power... Real... This is real power... Hahahahaha!"

"Praise be to you! Mysterious and great existence! Please allow me... to offer you everything!"

As he spoke, he plunged his starfish-like hand into his own chest and violently ripped out the two conjoined hearts.

Not a single drop of blood splashed out. The conjoined hearts were deathly pale, still contracting and expanding in a series of violent beats.

But he didn’t die immediately. Instead, facing Lloyd’s true location, he held up the hearts and continued to whisper in a low voice:

"Fall into... the Abyss..."

"Touch... reality..."

His voice grew quieter and quieter until it vanished completely, leaving only silence.

Then, his body began to break down and disintegrate on its own, shattering into mosaic-sized fragments that fell through the cracks of the metal grid walkway into the purification pool below.

Only the two hearts remained, but they had already stopped beating. In the blink of an eye, they became withered and shriveled, like a pair of apples left out for several years.

Lloyd stared at the withered hearts for a few moments, put his white gloves back on, and picked them up. He then walked back to the display of white bones and tossed the hearts into the pool of green acid.

SZZZZZZZZ

The acid immediately gave off a plume of foul-smelling white smoke, rapidly dissolving the two hearts.

But the acid itself was also rapidly evaporating into the air. After a few seconds, not a single drop was left.

Only then did Lloyd hear the system prompts in his ear:

[Ding~ Madness Value +500]

[Several Memory Fragments have been acquired. Assessing Cognition level...]

[Ding~ Assessment successful. Memory Fragments can now be interpreted.]

[Memory Fragments acquired. Available for viewing.]

[Sufficient related knowledge has been acquired through the Memory Fragments.]

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!