[Chapter 68: Cabin]
Daniel quickly asked, "What about farther out north?"
The waiter remained silent.
With no other choice, Daniel pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and handed it to him.
After taking the money, the waiter finally spoke. "I recommend you stop asking and don't go over there."
Daniel pressed, "What exactly is over there?"
"Death. No one who ventures there comes back alive. That's all I know. If you go, don't stop halfway -- unless you reach another town."
Having said that, the waiter quickly walked away to attend other customers.
Daniel sought out others in town, offering cash for information. Though they shared what they'd heard, it sounded more like rumors passed around.
All of it pointed to the same conclusion: just north of town was an extremely dangerous area, and everyone who entered perished. No one knew precisely where it was or what kind of peril awaited there.
Daniel wondered if the Los Angeles police had ever gotten this information. Hadn't they investigated? Or maybe police officers went and found nothing. Or perhaps the danger held back when faced with law enforcement.
He had no way of knowing.
Only by going there himself could he uncover the truth.
...
Daniel drove his Cadillac through the quiet town heading north. He guessed Bella and the others must have overheard that the northern zone was dangerous while resting here -- and had deliberately gone to explore it. Young thrill-seekers were fearless, always chasing the next rush of danger. If they didn't know it was deadly, that'd be one thing. But once they knew -- and still went -- the cost was fatal.
The road north became increasingly desolate, just as the townsfolk said. After more than two hours and over 60 miles, Daniel suddenly slammed on the brakes.
Ahead was a fork in the road, beside it stood a nearly rotted sign. A name was barely legible on its worn surface.
Daniel stared at it for a long moment.
"So it's you," he murmured.
He turned the Cadillac onto the narrow side road. It was barely wide enough for a single vehicle, and the pavement was rough. Fortunately, the Cadillac's off-road capability was solid, and the powerful engine handled it easily.
...
Soon, Daniel heard the distant sound of waves. He knew he was close.
Stopping the car, he shifted into park and stepped out. Summoning a Ritual Table with a wave of his hand, he lit incense and candles and began ringing the bell while chanting an incantation.
I humbly petition the keepers of divine judgment.
Let their appointed guardians descend, clothed in holy light.
Below, corruption stirs -- imbalance spreads, and malevolent forces roam unchecked.
I request divine empowerment to enforce judgment and end this disorder.
Let consecrated steel be raised against the fierce and defiant, suppressing ill omens.
With the seal in hand, I receive the granted mandate.
Manifest divine authority now and resolve this calamity.
By law and command, without delay.
When the incantation finished, there was no response. The Rite of Divine Empowerment had failed.
Daniel was not surprised -- Divine Empowerment rarely succeed every time. The two previous successes he had were largely luck.
Swinging his sword, and ringing the bell, he repeated the chant.
Boom!
This time, the Rite of Divine Empowerment flared to life, surging power into Daniel's body.
The familiar painful swelling sensation returned with a force unlike before.
...
Stowing the Ritual Table, Daniel got back in the car and pressed onward.
Before long, a large lake stretched out before him. Its surface was calm as glass, shimmering deep blue like a massive sapphire.
A gentle breeze ruffled the water, filling Daniel's body and mind with a rare sense of spaciousness and ease.
The shoreline was flat, but beyond it lay a vast, unending forest.
Daniel pulled the car onto the flat ground and stepped out to survey the area.
Besides his Cadillac, no other vehicles were present. However, tire tracks and deep footprints crisscrossed the terrain.
One set of footprints was enormous -- larger than any normal shoe size. Daniel himself wore size 12, already considered large, but these prints dwarfed his by a full size.
This meant whoever made them either had huge feet or a massive frame.
Some prints crisscrossed the open ground, while another set disappeared into the forest's edge.
Daniel glanced at his watch; it was after 6 PM. The sun was dipping low, scattering clouds with colors of dusk -- it would be dark soon.
The power from the Divine Empowerment wouldn't last much longer. After a brief hesitation, Daniel stepped toward the forest.
Before entering, he pulled a chainsaw from the trunk -- a grim tool inspired by Jigsaw's brutal legacy. It had been stored there, unused, until now.
As he plunged into the dense woods, light quickly dimmed to twilight.
Daniel battled the swelling pain coursing through his body and a slowly rising irritability, but he remained in control.
He hurried, snapping small trees aside as he went.
Through his Spiritual Perception Technique, the forest was thick with pervasive malicious energy and a heavy presence of evil lurking deep within.
Any normal person lingering here too long would fall gravely ill, even just from exposure.
Following the trail of Evil energy, Daniel pressed forward.
Darkness deepened around him -- without his enhanced vision, he'd be blind in moments.
Then suddenly, his eyes brightened. Ahead lay a treeless clearing.
In its center stood a small wooden cabin.
Through the Spiritual Perception Technique, this cabin radiated a powerful source of evil, making it seem utterly malevolent.
...
Daniel strode to the cabin. The dense evil energy surged in response, triggering a sudden bolt of lightning bursting from his body.
Boom!
The cabin door exploded outward, releasing an overwhelmingly foul stench that nearly knocked Daniel off his feet.
The worst smell Daniel had encountered until now was that morgue room in the apartment where the Stone Box was kept.
Yet this was far worse -- decay and death beyond imagining.
Shaking his head to clear the nausea, Daniel toggled on the chainsaw with a loud buzz and stepped inside.
Despite the open door, the cabin reeked unbearably. Decay patches and bloodstains marred every surface. Flies swarmed, thick and buzzing, adding to the oppressive rot.
Beyond the evil energy, Daniel sensed corpse miasma saturating the air. Following a stronger trail of corpse miasma, he arrived at another door.
Bang!
Daniel kicked it open, and an even worse stench blasted out.
A massive, black swarm of startled flies exploded into the room, forcing Daniel to step back.
When the flies cleared, Daniel scanned the interior -- and immediately saw countless corpses.
They lay in varying stages of decomposition: some were just bones, others partly rotted, and a few shockingly fresh, smeared with dark blood.
His eyes locked onto his target -- Bella.
Her chest bore a massive wound, blood staining half her body.
Just as Daniel had feared, she was truly dead.
He moved to retrieve her body when suddenly a fierce gust of wind slammed into him from behind.
*****
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