Chapter 47: Three vs. One, the Advantage is Mine
Night slowly descended.
The mother and daughter's argument had long since ceased.
During a simple dinner in the living room, Sophie was composed, her younger son Martin clung tightly to Danny, and Rebecca called her boyfriend.
One could discern the closeness or distance between family members just by their seating arrangement at dinner.
If Danny hadn't come, Rebecca, after learning the truth, would have taken her brother to live at her place today.
The old woman was in low spirits.
Danny could tell this wasn't the mother's true intention, but in her current mental state, she would eventually be manipulated by Diana.
Not long after dinner.
Rebecca's boyfriend, Bret, arrived.
Dressed in a flannel shirt with a scruffy beard, he looked like he worked construction; Rebecca introduced him as a very rough-looking boyfriend who was actually gentle and caring.
After some casual chat.
It was already night, and everyone seemed to have forgotten the presence of Diana, each discussing topics of interest.
But what was meant to come, would come.
Normally, Diana might pick on someone who was alone, but today Danny's insistence on entering this house had already provoked her.
Rebecca's boyfriend, Bret, suddenly screamed while in the bathroom and ran out, saying he saw a dark figure lunge at him inside, only for it to vanish when the lights came on.
Rebecca quickly looked at Danny, and Danny, living up to expectations with his confidence, walked directly towards the bathroom.
It seemed like the confidence of someone experienced, and in reality, he had already merged with the Wendigo.
Seeing this, Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief and quickly explained the whole story to her boyfriend.
A typical boyfriend might have already run away.
However, Bret chose to stay and face it with Rebecca; he was quiet but not lacking in courage.
In the bathroom.
A faint shimmer appeared, and Art the Clown made his entrance.
Art still carried his signature black garbage bag, but this time his weapon had been updated; he actually pulled out a chainsaw from inside.
The sound was too loud, Danny asked him to change it, perhaps to something quieter?
"Forget it, I'll look for myself."
Danny directly reached his hand into the black bag and rummaged around, taking out whatever he grabbed to examine it.
What is this?
Danny pinched something hard and pulled it out; it turned out to be half a hacksaw stained with dried blood.
Danny was instantly disgusted and returned the item to Art, saying flatly,
"You're really something else."
After Danny spoke, he felt it was pointless, as the last time at that diner, Art the Clown could smear filth everywhere, making him a bizarre anomaly in the horror world.
Art revealed a silent smile and pulled a hat from his pocket, seemingly wanting to perform a magic trick to please him.
Danny stopped him in time and told him to observe if there were any other presences in the room.
Art nodded, then shook his head.
Danny, however, understood his meaning: he could sense it but not its precise location.
It seems most of these entities can sense each other.
Does evil sense evil?
"Then you keep paying attention, and when I give the command, if you see or sense anything, charge straight in."
"Don't be afraid, I'll cover you from behind."
Art the Clown: "…"
Danny: "I'm going to turn off the lights."
Art nodded, took out his signature ball-peen hammer from his bag, and got ready to charge at any moment.
Danny lit a candle, then turned off the bathroom lights, plunging the entire space into darkness.
Only that flicker of candlelight drifted in the dark, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.
Not long after.
A dark figure squatted at the doorway, its features unclear, skeletal and wrong, as if it had suddenly materialized.
Danny turned on the light and the figure disappeared; he turned off the light and it reappeared.
Only, the distance seemed closer.
Danny turned on the light again and focused his supernatural senses. Still, he could only detect her presence, not contain her.
It seems she can really only manifest in darkness?
Danny turned on the light again, trying to communicate.
"Hey, Diana, I know you can understand me."
This seemed to anger the shadow; she slowly stood up, her limbs elongated and wrong, growled, and lunged at Danny.
At this moment, Danny flipped the switch on again, and the shadow disappeared.
"Click."
Turning it off, the shadow reappeared; turning it on, it disappeared again.
Disappearing, appearing, disappearing, appearing…
Although the shadow was getting closer and closer to him, Danny actually found it somewhat fascinating.
"Art, it's your turn, go!"
It was another lights-out.
Art the Clown charged forward with his hammer, looking very aggressive, but in an instant, Art was tackled to the ground by the shadow, and his hammer was directly knocked aside.
"Click."
Danny turned on the light; a flustered Art seemed somewhat confused.
"Click."
The shadow suddenly reappeared, and Art was caught off guard, his neck directly clawed open, and blood sprayed out uncontrollably.
Cough cough, operational error. To compensate Art, Danny released the Wendigo for assistance.
As the Wendigo charged over, the shadow suddenly vanished.
The next second, she appeared on the ceiling and directly attacked the Wendigo from above.
The Wendigo's sharp claws slashed out, and the shadow disappeared again, with attacks suddenly appearing from all directions.
Even the Wendigo was grabbed by the throat and slammed against the wall.
Fortunately, the Wendigo wasn't human, so even choking wouldn't kill it.
In the confined space, the Wendigo was being toyed with.
Art clutched his neck and scrambled back to Danny's side. His neck had stopped gushing blood but was still bleeding.
His expression was resentful, but Danny pretended not to notice.
The immortal entities are still quite difficult to kill.
Although the Wendigo was always on the receiving end of the attacks, Danny never left the candlelight by a single step.
Perhaps Diana also realized that he was the one in charge.
If Danny dared to step out of the light, he was sure Diana would abandon the Wendigo and directly attack him.
Even with mental preparation, he didn't want to be face-rushed by an entity like Diana.
After all, it was quite terrifying.
But how could Diana be restricted?
This entity is different from other spirits; she seems to have a semi-physical form, unlike the entities in 'Paranormal Activity' that are completely invisible to the naked eye.
When the lights are off, she has almost instantaneous speed and can manifest.
When the lights are on, she's forced back into darkness, unable to appear. This really poses a challenge for Danny.
Could it be that he really needs to call the Warrens?
From the moment Danny entered the bathroom to the Wendigo's appearance, the entire process actually took only five minutes.
Perhaps sensing Danny's caution, Diana vanished directly.
Instead, screams came from the living room.
Danny took only a few steps out of the bathroom before stopping; the next second, his neck tightened, and Danny was lifted into mid-air by skeletal fingers emerging from the shadows.
He guessed it, but unfortunately, he was a few steps too late.
"Merge"
Looking down at the dark figure barely visible in the dim light, Danny used all his enhanced strength to break free from the grip on his neck, and the Wendigo and Art the Clown instantly converged beside Danny.
The shadow disappeared again into the darkness.
A cunning entity, but her strength doesn't seem to be particularly overwhelming.
Of course, it could also be three against one, giving me the advantage.
All three entities are difficult to kill permanently, and Danny has also merged with the Wendigo, making him quite resilient.
This is also why Danny dared to be so aggressive.
If this were in 'Paranormal Activity', 'The Conjuring' demon case, or dealing with something like the Lipstick-Face Demon from 'Insidious', he would be far more cautious.
...
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