"So Old Neil, let us in. Perhaps we can help you."
"... Dunn, are you still not willing to let me off the hook?" Old Neil pleaded, "Go back, just go back. I'll return to normal tomorrow, really. Dunn, I swear I'll never steal your coffee beans again. Klein, Royale, I swear I won't make you help me with my undeserved claims! Selina! I won't disobey you or even press you on drinking coffee again! Really!"
I already saw it... This crimson aura has been hinting at this for so long yet why was it only now did I figure this out? Old Neil...
I was too flustered, too indecisive, too secure of myself... Unable to stay firm, Selina turned away from the door.
Meanwhile in blurry eyes, Klein glued his gaze onto the ground, gritting in guilt from doubting Selina's Spirit Vision.
But this also means that the beggar wasn't random at during that test. He was a beyonder. One who is losing control.
Dunn lowered his head before lifting it up again. "Old Neil, you're misunderstanding. We're here to visit you. You are our teammate. You're sick, and you aren't well. We definitely needed to visit you. Open the door. Let us see you, so that we can be certain. If you're really okay, we'll return immediately. As you know, there are especially many missions recently. We have to monitor the asylum, keep Selina away from the other organizations while we take care of various other sudden incidents."
Old Neil hesitated for a moment before saying, "There's really nothing serious about my condition, really. I'm not lying! I'll recover by tomorrow..."
The bloody water that flowed out through the gap under the door went down the stairs, towards the stone path, and onto the garden's soil.
"Old Neil, we've known each other for about fifteen years now, right? We've worked on countless missions together. I'm really concerned and worried for you. I have to see you with my own eyes before I'll be at ease," Dunn said gently.
"... Alright," Old Neil pouted. "There's really nothing wrong with me."
With a creak, the door opened slowly. Selina heard it and quickly wiped the tears away from her delicate face.
Then, she turned around and saw that the carpet in the lobby was red and sticky, covered in blood and hair.
She looked forward and up, only to realize that the living room's floor, ceiling, round table, piano, and chairs were all covered in the same disgusting, sticky and hairy liquid.
Old Neil's head hung in the air, connected to the ceiling by a thick liquid. His forehead and cheeks each had a pair of eyes. They were cold and ruthless eyes with no eyelashes.
The piano's keys were dancing on their own, playing a melodious tune.
"Dunn, look. I'm really okay," Old Neil said with a radiant smile. "Isn't it Ms. Roy? Royale, Klein, both of you think so too, right?"
The moment he opened his mouth, Klein saw the same thick, hairy, and bloody liquid flowing inside it.
Dunn's gray eyes shimmered as he chatted like everything was normal.
"Old Neil, where did you learn the Alchemical Life and resurrection ritual from?"
Old Neil replied excitedly, "I heard it. I tried the first part, and confirmed its authenticity! It's a gift from God! He kept describing it in my ears. He kept describing, He is—He is..."
Old Neil's voice came to a halt. More than ten seconds later, he continued in fear and in apparent loss, "He is the Hidden Sage..."
The Hidden Sage? Isn't that the non-anthropomorphic god that the Moses Ascetic Order believes in? The god that was resurrected, bringing about evil and corruption... The Moses Ascetic Order has the complete Mystery Pryer Sequence... Selina repeatedly caressed her hands as she thought of many things that stirred her heart.
Upon mentioning the Hidden Sage, Old Neil seemed to finally awaken. He looked around vacantly and observed everything.
In the indescribable silence, his six eyes looked towards Dunn, and he said with a bitter smile, "So it turns out—it turns out that I've already become a monster..."
Without waiting for Dunn and the others to reply, Old Neil suddenly revealed a smile, one of groveling, fear, and cowardice.
"Let me go. I'll go deep into the mountains and won't appear again. I'll never harm anyone. I'll only attempt my ritual quietly, really. Let me go, please. I beg of you."
Just then, Selina felt something illusory shatter before her eyes.
Then, Old Neil's four cold-looking lash-less eyes flashed with a dark glow and locked onto Dunn. His expression suddenly turned cold.
"You're pulling me into a dream!
"No, it's useless! My eyes can see through all of that!"
The sticky blood that covered the ceiling, floor, and walls started squirming, like a giant opening its mouth to swallow Klein and company. Old Neil's head grew blurry like overlapping afterimages.
Klein didn't fumble for his revolver; instead, he extended his hand into his pocket. He gulped the Night's Bathe and planned to use Slumber Charm.
Suddenly, everything calmed down before him. The sticky, bloody liquid suddenly turned placid like a still lake.
Old Neil lost his coldness, hatred, desire, and all other expressions. He became quiet and peaceful.
It was unknown when Dunn had thrown Sealed Artifact 3-0611 into the blood.
The four lashless eyes on Old Neil's forehead and cheeks slowly closed, seemingly having lost the desire to keep them open.
Any living creature that came into contact with the Peaceful Hair Strands would turn peaceful and lose all motivation until the end of their life.
Dunn, Klein, and Royale drew their guns at the same time and aimed at Old Neil's head.
Even with a breaking heart, Selina finally took her own revolver and aimed as well.
Then, Old Neil revealed a look of extreme fear. He was struggling, his strong desire to live fought against the effects of Sealed Artifact 3-0611.
The four extra eyes disappeared. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth were still deep, his hair was still white, his crimson eyes were still turbid, just like when Selina had first met him.
"Dunn, do you remember the time I saved you...
"Royale, do you remember when I helped you redeem your family's lives...
"Klein, do you remember how I taught you mysticism every day? Remember when we fought against a Mandated Punisher Rampager...
"Selina, do you remember when you were alone and needed guidance at the underground market? When you probed me to teach you mysticism, when you want to learn how to brew tea instead of coffee? Do you remember my advices?"
...
The illusory pleading echoed in Selina's ears, and suddenly, the trigger felt locked. Her trembling hands made it difficult to focus and pull.
Bang! Bang!
The two silver demon hunting bullets flew out and penetrated Old Neil's head one after another.
Selina watched as the familiar, abnormal face revealed a hopeless expression. She saw the man's skull tear open, the red and white within spurting in all directions.
The sticky blood that coated their surroundings started shrinking as it flowed back into Old Neil's broken head that had fallen to the ground. Dunn and Royale lowered their guns simultaneously, and all was silent.
Selina stared in vacant breath—Old Neil's "corpse" was becoming a ball of rotten flesh. She saw that there was a pair of eyes, crimson and crystal clear, yet incredibly pained amidst the blood and flesh.
She wrestled within that it was just a dream, it was impossible to ever bring herself to confront the sequence of events and how it ended.
If she had known about the crimson vision. If she had understood what they meant. If she had made the decision to report this or make effort preemptively...
Could this have been prevented?
Same as her, Klein stood dumbfounded, anguish, and contrite as he saw Dunn take two steps forward, his figure stooped.
Dunn looked at Old Neil's "corpse".
Then he paused, the room was filled with wrenching silence as his lips parted. Echoing a slow, pained and heavy voice.
"We are guardians, but also a bunch of miserable wretches that are constantly fighting against threats and madness."