The Nightmare Game Chapter 6

As the night deepened, the temperature plummeted.

I built a fire. Grace huddled near it, arms wrapped around her knees.

"Do you want to go home?" I asked.

Grace shook her head, eyes red. "My father took eighty dollars from Mr. Harrington. He won't take me back."

I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. Stick with me. I'll take care of you."

Grace choked back a sob. "Thank you... I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"Don't feel guilty. I chose to help you."

I noticed dark bruises on her pale neck—fingerprints and ligature marks.

"Grace, tomorrow I'll get you some medicine for those bruises."

She didn't understand at first. I pointed to her neck. Her eyes filled with tears.

"You're the first person who's ever been kind to me..."

"There are good people in this world, Grace. Don't lose hope."

Grace's cheeks flushed. "Ethan, you can... just call me Grace..."

I nodded. "Alright, Grace. Call me Ethan."

At dawn, I went into town.

I needed to buy Grace new clothes—her red wedding dress was too conspicuous and impractical.

I found a general store. Items could be purchased with Dread Points.

A simple outfit cost 50 points. I gritted my teeth and bought it.

I also bought meat buns and medicinal wine—another 30 points.

Down to 120 points. I'd need to be careful now.

As I left the shop, an elderly Taoist priest stopped me.

"Young man, your aura is dark. I sense supernatural energy around you. Have you encountered something... unclean?"

I took a bite of my bun, wondering what kind of quest trigger this was.

This game was full of supernatural threats. I played dumb: "Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine."

I turned to leave.

The priest called after me: "Young man, be careful! The entity attached to you is extremely powerful!"

His young apprentice scoffed: "Master, you can't help those who won't help themselves. Leave him be!"

I hurried back toward the church when I heard people running in one direction.

"Mr. Harrington's entire household was slaughtered?"

"Not a single survivor?"

My ears perked up.

"Usually it's just the new bride who dies. What happened this year?"

"I heard the bride ran away with someone. People nearby heard screaming all night. This morning the grocer went to deliver vegetables and found everyone dead!"

"Must be the ghosts of all those murdered brides coming back for revenge!"

"Heaven have mercy!"

Curious, I made my way to Mr. Harrington's mansion. Several police officers with rifles guarded the entrance.

Crowds gathered outside, gossiping.

The entire Harrington family dead... Did this have something to do with Grace's escape?

When I returned to the church, Grace ran to me, almost in tears.

"You're back! I thought... I thought Mr. Harrington had caught you..."

I felt a pang of guilt for worrying her. "Sorry I took so long."

She looked at me with concern. "I was afraid you'd been captured..."

I handed her the clothes and buns, then told her about the massacre.

Grace was shocked. "Who could have done such a thing?"

I considered carefully. "Maybe... not 'who.' What."

This was a horror game. Unnatural deaths always involved monsters.

If the deaths were caused by a supernatural entity, as a player, I needed to investigate.

My 120 points would barely get me through three days, but wouldn't earn any decent rewards.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I decided to take the initiative.

That night, I left Grace at the church and went alone to investigate the Harrington estate.

I used a compass-like detector to scan the grounds.

With so many deaths, the morgue couldn't hold them all—the bodies were still inside.

I'd barely taken a few steps when the compass needle began spinning wildly, pointing toward a specific location.

The family shrine.

I crept toward it. Suddenly, movement inside.

An elderly servant, teeth bared, lunged at me.

I dodged agilely. From his appearance—definitely a jiangshi, a Chinese hopping vampire.

I drew my wooden sword and counterattacked. The vampire was impaled and collapsed.

The AI: "C-rank entity defeated. Earned 20 Dread Points. Current total: 140."

More vampires emerged from inside—shambling corpses hopping on stiff legs, surrounding me with their clawed hands outstretched.

Too many of them. I couldn't handle this alone.

I remembered old Hong Kong vampire movies I'd watched as a kid. And my items.

Got it!

I pulled out Sophia's Breath Pearl.

I popped it into my mouth and held my breath.

Vampires locate prey by detecting breathing. If I didn't breathe, they couldn't find me.

All the vampires froze, looking around in confusion.

Using my wooden sword, I methodically destroyed them one by one, bringing my total to 320 points.

The Breath Pearl's duration expired and returned to my inventory.

I looked at the scattered vampire corpses. Where was Mr. Harrington?

As soon as I thought this, an icy wind howled through the courtyard.

Mr. Harrington appeared, fangs bared, his fingernails black and impossibly long.

He was far stronger than the servants—at least B-rank.

I raised my wooden sword. He caught it with his bare hand and snapped it like a twig.

I'd underestimated him. A-rank minimum.

I tried blessed coins and talismans. Neither worked.

This called for my trump card.

I activated the Absolute Obedience bell. Four cards appeared: zombies, the bloody chef, the Chainsaw Maniac, and Sophia.

I could summon Sophia!

But my excitement was short-lived. Summoning her would cost 500 Dread Points—more than I had.

The chef cost 50. The Maniac cost 100.

"You two will have to do!"

I rang the bell.

Two beams of white light materialized. The chef appeared with his cleaver, the Maniac with his chainsaw.

They charged at Mr. Harrington.

He didn't stand a chance. They hacked him to pieces—head and limbs severed, writhing on the ground.

To permanently destroy a vampire, you needed fire. I threw an ignition talisman. It burst into flames on its own.

Mr. Harrington's remains burned, gradually ceasing movement.

The AI: "A-rank entity defeated. Earned 100 Dread Points. Current total: 270."

After he was destroyed, the chef and Maniac vanished.

I'd just relaxed when every hair on my neck stood on end.

I spun around. Several black "blades" shot toward me.

I dove flat.

A guttural, bestial growl echoed through the courtyard.

A vampire in elaborate robes and an official's hat hopped out of the shrine.

His face was gaunt, eyes terrifying—like a starving predator.

I recognized him from a portrait I'd seen in the main hall.

This was Mr. Harrington's father—once a government official.

The murdered brides, the vampirized household... Had this creature been behind everything?

Because Grace escaped, the vampire couldn't feed on her, so he killed the entire family?

Before I could work it out, the old vampire attacked.

His claws could extend and retract at will. I rolled desperately across the ground while he tore up the earth, leaving deep gouges.

I'd used all my weapons. The chef and Maniac cards were on cooldown.

I was out of resources!

I tried to stand when Old Mr. Harrington leaped high into the air and landed directly in front of me.

Ten razor-sharp claws thrust toward my face.

In that split second, black threads shot through the air like serpents.

The old vampire was wrapped in layer upon layer of hair, temporarily immobilized.

I stared in shock at the source—Grace's hair!

Grace stood there in her red dress, hair loose and wild. Her lips were blood-red, her eyes completely black—even the whites had vanished. Her skin was deathly pale.

Old Mr. Harrington broke free. The two beings immediately engaged in vicious combat.

Grace's fingernails had grown long and sharp—crimson talons.

They were evenly matched, trading devastating blows.

The courtyard was destroyed in their battle.

I wanted to help Grace but couldn't find an opening.

I paced anxiously like an ant on a hot skillet when a brilliant light flashed.

The light struck both the vampire and Grace, freezing them in place like a magical paralysis.

I looked up. A young Taoist apprentice stood on the compound wall, holding an eight-trigram mirror. The light emanated from it.

Beside him stood the elderly priest I'd met earlier.

The old priest leaped down gracefully.

He held two long iron spikes, about a foot each. He handed one to me: "Young man! Together we can defeat them! Drive these spikes into the top of their skulls—the baihui acupoint—and both the vampire and the ghost will be destroyed!"

I hesitated, my mind racing.

Before he could react, I snatched both spikes from his hands.

The priest shouted: "What are you doing!"

I ran toward the vampire, leaped up, and drove the spike into the crown of his head.

Old Mr. Harrington shrieked. Black smoke poured from his body.

He collapsed to his knees. His flesh withered and vaporized, leaving only a charred skeleton.

The AI: "S-rank entity defeated. Earned 500 Dread Points. Current total: 770."

I grabbed Grace and pulled her out of the mirror's light. She could move again.

Grace returned to her normal appearance.

I took her hand to flee when the priest and apprentice blocked our path.

[PAYMENT GATE #3 - Moral dilemma and escape sequence]