Chapter 119: The Demon at the Source of Fear

The dark night spread like spilled ink, and a crimson blood moon hung upside down in the sky, casting a sanguine glow over the terrifying ancient castle. Ghostly apparitions, vivid as if carved from reality, drifted through the castle, and piercing shrieks echoed periodically through the silent night.

Deep within the cellar of the terror-filled castle, a frigid, black current surged from the coffin holding the corpse, instantly filling the dim chamber. To Su Cheng, the black coffin resembled an octopus from the deepest ocean trench, continuously spewing jets of dark ink.

The moment he touched this black, freezing current, Su Cheng’s heart trembled, and an endless sense of dread welled up within him. It felt as if a ferocious, giant beast had appeared before him, baring its claws and fangs, ready to tear his flesh and spirit into fragments before dragging them into an bottomless hell.

"Danger! Extreme danger!"

The Screaming Death Bell rang out frantically. If it hadn’t been soul-bound to Su Cheng, it would have fled on its own long ago.

"What's going on? This boss is a bit off—isn't he way too strong?"

Despite his words, Su Cheng whipped out his *Gale Shadow* blade and held it horizontally in front of him. The owner of this terror-filled castle had revealed only a sliver of his aura, yet it brought forth this level of dread; he was certainly no simple foe.

*Bang!*

The lid of the black coffin was blown off by an invisible force. Su Cheng saw an emaciated old man lying inside, dressed in a black burial shroud, his face deathly pale, devoid of any trace of life.

The old man in the coffin was Yasuo Shirakawa, the master of this castle, who, according to the butler, had passed away three days ago.

However, in the next instant, the corpse in the coffin opened its eyes.

His pupils were like the pitch-black night sky, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Reanimated corpse?"

Seeing the dead body suddenly wake up, even with Su Cheng’s high threshold for stress, he couldn't help but feel a jolt of horror, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Then, ignoring gravity, Yasuo Shirakawa floated out of the coffin, adjusted his posture, and looked down, peering at Su Cheng with hollow eyes.

"A zombie? A monster?"

The bizarre scene made Su Cheng’s scalp tingle. Subconsciously, he gripped his Demon-Breaking Bow, ready for battle. Against ghosts and evil spirits, the Demon-Breaking Bow was far more effective than firearms. Just like the Mirror Demon earlier, once struck by a Demon-Breaking Arrow and sealed of its demonic power, it had no choice but to wait for death.

At that moment, the floating Yasuo Shirakawa flicked his finger. A sharpened knight’s longsword hanging on the wall flew toward him at lightning speed.

To Su Cheng, it looked as if an invisible giant hand were wielding the sword, slashing down violently.

*Clang!*

The sound of clashing blades rang out. Su Cheng parried the knight’s sword with his own, immediately activating the "Spirit Power Burst" equipment effect. He kicked off the ground and, like a bullet leaving a chamber, charged toward the hovering Yasuo Shirakawa at an incredible speed.

Killing intent surged, and blade lights crossed.

A razor-sharp, high-speed slash was reflected in Yasuo Shirakawa’s eyes.

Just as the cold blade pierced through Yasuo Shirakawa’s body, a rusted metal shield flew through the air and blocked his path.

*Crack.*

The force of the swift strike landed on the shield, instantly cleaving it in two.

However, thanks to the shield's obstruction, most of Su Cheng's momentum was dissipated, allowing Yasuo Shirakawa to avoid the lethal blow.

Immediately afterward, the weapons hanging on the surrounding walls, seemingly controlled by an invisible force, came crashing down toward him.

Damn, Newton’s coffin lid is about to fly off!

This cellar was clearly the castle master’s collection room for antique weapons, housing armaments from throughout history. Under Yasuo Shirakawa’s control, these weapons defied gravity.

In the blink of an eye, Su Cheng gripped his sword hilt with both hands and unleashed a Blade Storm.

A powerful gale erupted from Su Cheng, sweeping in all directions, as endless blades slashed out, reducing the weapons to a pile of scrap metal.

"It is useless, mortal. You cannot defeat fear!"

Yasuo Shirakawa’s hollow eyes stared fixedly at Su Cheng. He extended a palm like withered tree bark, and a thick, ink-like black energy shot out, striking Su Cheng instantly.

Terrifying negative energy exploded in an instant. The fear in Su Cheng’s eyes intensified, as if he had been swallowed by an abyssal beast and plunged into a bottomless hell. His entire body trembled like a sieve for ten seconds.

A wave of exhaustion washed over him; Su Cheng felt as if his body had been hollowed out, and his longsword fell to the ground with a *clang*.

At that moment, the bone-deep terror was etched into his very soul.

While he was experiencing the fear, Yasuo Shirakawa’s shadow flickered, and he appeared behind him.

"Mortal, I shall claim your powerful physical form."

Yasuo Shirakawa’s expression grew increasingly hideous, four sharp zombie fangs protruding from his mouth, a flicker of greed in his eyes. He lunged to bite Su Cheng’s neck.

The monster’s target, it turned out, was his body.

With the crisis of death looming, Su Cheng bit his tongue hard, the taste of blood filling his mouth.

The moment he broke free from the shadow of fear, he didn't have time to retrieve his dropped sword. He clenched his fist and slammed it into the face of the old pervert, Yasuo Shirakawa.

The simple, brutal punch struck like a meteor.

His facial features crumpled like a withered chrysanthemum, black-red blood splattered across his face, and his expression became even more distorted and terrifying.

"Damnable mortal!"

Stunned by the heavy blow, Yasuo Shirakawa let out a beast-like roar, controlling the scattered weapon fragments on the floor to shoot toward Su Cheng like hidden projectiles.

Su Cheng’s eyes changed abruptly. Like the classic bullet-dodging scene in *The Matrix*, he arched his back into an impossible curve, narrowly avoiding the flying debris.

He then reached down, snatched up *Gale Shadow*, and slashed lightning-fast toward Yasuo Shirakawa’s neck.

The sharp blade cut through the neck, tearing open the wrinkled skin. A fountain of deep red blood sprayed from the wound, staining his burial shroud crimson.

If an ordinary person were to have their throat slit and suffer such massive blood loss, they would immediately go into shock. But strangely, Yasuo Shirakawa seemed not to feel the pain, a sinister smile lingering on his lips that sent shivers down one's spine.

Having landed the hit, Su Cheng didn't get greedy. He flashed away, putting distance between himself and the bizarre old man.

"I told you, you cannot kill me, you lowly mortal!"

Yasuo Shirakawa looked as if he had Su Cheng cornered. He stared at him with a dark expression, his eyes shimmering with greed, seemingly salivating over his body.

Noticing the monster’s perverted gaze, Su Cheng felt his skin crawl, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

After a moment, Su Cheng’s tense nerves suddenly relaxed. He pulled an energy drink from his dimensional backpack and gulped it down.

"I’m actually quite curious: what kind of expression will you have when you are killed by this so-called 'lowly mortal'?" Su Cheng seemed to have found the key to victory, a dangerous curve appearing on his lips.

"Heh, you think you can kill me?"

A sharp, raspy, and insane voice sounded. Yasuo Shirakawa, as if hearing a joke, flashed a look of contempt.

"Mortal, let me tell you a regrettable truth. Here, I am an immortal god! You can never kill me! Despair, feel fear, you lowly ant!"

Yasuo Shirakawa shouted his classic villainous lines and, with a sinister grin, fired a ball of black energy.

Su Cheng slashed the energy ball to pieces in mid-air; the same trick would not work on him twice.

"A god? You overrate yourself too much. You are nothing but a banished demon, yet you dare call yourself a god?" Su Cheng sneered, unceremoniously piercing through the truth of the evil spirit inhabiting Yasuo Shirakawa’s body.

Hearing this, Yasuo Shirakawa’s expression changed drastically. His face darkened immediately, and terrifying killing intent erupted from him.

"What exactly do you know?"

Seeing Yasuo Shirakawa’s reaction, Su Cheng felt certain; he had already guessed the true identity of the evil spirit.

"I know more than you imagine." He paused, taking the opportunity to recover his spirit power while speaking smoothly. "This used to be just an ordinary castle, and Yasuo Shirakawa was just an ordinary old man with a hobby of collecting antiques."

"However, many years ago, you were banished to this castle and possessed Yasuo Shirakawa. You transformed this place into this terror-filled castle. Anyone who steps into this place has their life harvested by you, their soul trapped here forever, becoming an evil spirit that kills others."

Su Cheng had wondered why there were so many evil spirits in this castle. It wasn't until he met this boss that he understood: the castle was shrouded in the power of this horrific demon. Humans who died here could not move on; their souls were trapped, soaked in evil karma, and over time, they became part of the castle itself.

"But your true goal isn't harvesting lives, but souls. What you want is... fear."

Upon hearing this, Yasuo Shirakawa’s withered, bark-like skin cracked inch by inch, revealing a face as hideous as an abyssal demon.

This was his true face.

"Fear is your source of power. Knowing this, your identity is clear."

Su Cheng’s expression shifted, and his black blade pointed at Yasuo Shirakawa’s hideous demonic face.

"Under the command of the Chaos Legion, the banished Knight of Fear—Laukeviss!"