"Eliminate it..."
The girl repeated the words displayed by the system and cast her gaze toward the meat cocoon in the middle of the empty room.
That large cocoon made of flesh and blood was situated right in the center of a pre-existing, bizarre array within the room, seemingly drawing power from it.
"What should I do about this..." The girl raised her small hand to rub her cheek, frowning as if troubled by the problem.
"This small amount of Cultist flesh is completely insufficient to summon that Great One... It's even difficult to summon His Offspring."
The point of the girl's distress was surprisingly not how to destroy the meat cocoon, but rather how to replenish the nutrients it required.
The girl's milky voice became increasingly fanatical as she spoke:
"Then I'll use my own flesh..."
"Ugh..."
Just as the girl was about to continue, her joyful expression suddenly froze, and her movements seemed to have been hit by a pause button.
After a long while, the girl let out a long breath, her tone sounding like a completely different person:
"Phew... What kind of monster is this..."
Syl finally regained control of this body.
It seemed that whenever Missionary-related matters or a certain Great Being were mentioned, the Missionary would become quite excited and difficult to control.
Just like how the Physician feels when seeing someone in need of help, or the Joker when sensing someone's Fear.
"And what is this 'Great Being' the Missionary spoke of? Aren't there only the Seven Righteous Gods?"
"Now I have to deal with this thing... According to the Missionary, if left alone, it will only consume more flesh and blood."
While thinking, Syl stepped toward the meat cocoon, though she wasn't quite used to her current perspective yet.
After only two steps, Syl's left foot tripped over her right foot, causing her to stumble and hop forward twice on one leg, nearly falling flat on her face.
"These legs are too short... This body is too young." Although for an eleven or twelve-year-old, the Missionary's slender legs certainly weren't short, Syl, who was used to the Joker's long legs, felt a strong sense of maladjustment.
She felt like she could have cleared the step, but she only moved a tiny bit, causing her next step to land in the wrong place and creating a sensation of stepping into thin air.
It felt just like when you're sleeping soundly and suddenly dream of stepping off a staircase into empty space.
*Thud—* Syl stomped her slender leg a bit angrily, making a soft sound on the wooden floor.
Unlike the usually mature and reliable Physician or the elegant and steady Joker when not insane, the Missionary card's direct influence on Syl made her behavior more like that of a child.
Syl puffed out her cheeks and thought crossly, "System, why can't I pull some beautiful big sister cards? You're not going to give me an even younger one later, are you?"
"Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo~ ♩♪♫"
The system began playing some nonsensical music again to avoid answering the question.
Based on Syl's understanding of the system, there probably were even younger ones.
Syl composed herself and slowly walked to a spot about two meters away from the meat cocoon, observing it closely.
The giant meat cocoon pulsed up and down as if something was gestating inside. The dense, greenish-black blood vessels on it seemed to be transporting blood normally, forming a strange internal Cycle system.
Looking at it for too long also caused a sense of mental daze, an uncontrollable urge to walk toward the meat cocoon.
An ordinary person would probably collapse immediately upon seeing the meat cocoon.
"How should I destroy it?" Syl pinched her smooth chin, thinking hard.
"[Whispers of the Ancient God]... That must be the ability from earlier. Reciting the name of a Great Being won't affect me or something... [High-Speed Incantation] doesn't look like a physical attack skill either; it's more like a mental or support type."
After analyzing the Missionary's card and abilities, Syl gave up on the idea of using the Missionary to destroy the meat cocoon. If she wasn't careful, the Missionary might turn around and sacrifice her instead.
Glancing at the closed door and curtains, Syl whispered:
"Joker."
Syl summoned the Joker, who currently had the highest strength, walked to a nearby long table, and picked up a chair.
From a distance, Syl wound up and threw the wooden chair with a whistling sound, hitting the meat cocoon. However, the meat cocoon only dented inward slightly before immediately returning to its original shape, seemingly suffering no substantial damage.
"Do I have to try using a blade?" Syl looked around the room and quickly found a sharp dining knife.
"What an ugly creation, completely devoid of any aesthetic sense." After transforming into the Joker, the dizzying sensation from looking at the meat cocoon intensified, making Syl feel very uncomfortable.
Keeping her distance and out of some concern, Syl didn't look directly at the meat cocoon. Instead, she turned sideways and threw the dining knife toward it.
*Squelch—*
The sound of the blade slicing through flesh made the Joker's spirit feel slightly better.
Just as Syl was about to turn her head to see the result, a box suddenly popped up from the system.
"This system does not recommend you look over there as the Joker."
Syl stopped her head mid-turn, chose to trust the system, and chose to transform.
"Missionary."
A flash of black light flickered, and the Missionary's figure appeared in place.
Immediately after transforming into the Missionary, Syl felt a strong sense of crisis. Warning bells rang frantically in her heart, and her mind buzzed incessantly.
Every cell in her body was telling her that if she turned her head now, she would die instantly.
"Tsk... It's not that Great One... Then there's no need to offer my life." Syl's childish voice sounded slightly disdainful, her tone shifting to one of disgust.
It had to be said that no matter how disgusted her tone was, many people would likely enjoy hearing this cute voice. Some might even be desperate for her to scold them in such a tone, as if they were trash.
Syl closed her eyes, covered her ears, and let her mind wander, completely ignoring whatever eerie transformation was happening to the meat cocoon.
*Sizzle—*
*Gurgle—*
The sounds of flesh squeezing and something evaporating continued to drift over. It was about ten minutes before the sounds completely vanished.
The intense sense of crisis also disappeared along with the sounds.
"Phew—"
Syl let out a small breath. When she turned her head again, she saw the fleshy tumor had turned completely gray, with a large, bloody gash split open in the middle.
In the middle of the gash was a mangled, bizarre lifeform that seemed to be in the embryonic stage. It had now lost its vitality and, like ash, turned into residue blown by the breeze from the door crack, merging into the flesh within the meat cocoon.
The dim room, over a dozen empty human skin husks facing the now-ashed lifeform in painful and twisted poses, and the distorted faces slowly emerging on the meat cocoon, all facing Syl's direction... everything exuded an eerie atmosphere.
Syl looked at the system's notification somewhat indifferently.
"Fear: 19/100"
Only when she was the Joker did the Fear collected by the Joker's actions count toward the promotion progress.
In other words, when Syl was throwing the flying knife as the Joker, there were fifteen twisted souls within that distorted meat cocoon staring at Syl with Fear and despair, begging her not to kill them. They had witnessed everything while alive.
Even though their own flesh was already distorted and bore no trace of human appearance, they still instinctively wanted to survive.