The Eldritch Files

The moment the Fishing Song rang out, the Ghost Truck was already revving up with all its might.

It was clearly a grotesque being from outside reality, yet it seared two distinct tire marks onto the highway. A stench of an overheating engine mixed with the reek of blood filled the air as it barreled forward.

Savage and domineering, it came to crush all in its path.

But the sound of the approaching Fishing Song instantly filled the grotesque being with a profound sense of fear.

It saw Han Su standing in the middle of the road, and it saw the terrifying glint in his right eye, a light that shone out amidst a trickle of blood.

In that instant, it was as if its subconscious recalled some prior experience of terror and agony.

The fear was so intense that it abruptly swerved, missing its target and veering off at an angle.

As it brushed past Han Su, it tried to plunge headlong into the fog ahead and vanish.

’So the monster is actually trying to run?’

Han Su had chanted the Spell and could feel the Spiritual Power seeping madly from his right eye. Accompanied by the shadow of a Giant and a frantic drumbeat, it coalesced into a formidable force.

He gripped the Anchor of the Dead Sea in his left hand, ready to strike at the right moment. He never expected the Ghost Truck would lack the courage to even charge him head-on and would try to flee instead.

’I have people stationed at every position outside. Theoretically, this grotesque truck can’t escape. But after all the trouble to lure you here, how can I take that risk?’

Gritting his teeth, he lunged forward.

He focused his Spiritual Power into his left hand and viciously grabbed out.

His reflexes were lightning-fast; in the instant the Ghost Truck brushed past him, he latched onto its body.

Given the Ghost Truck’s immense size and indescribable speed, it was extremely dangerous. Forget a head-on collision; even reaching out to grab it, as Han Su was doing now, was perilous.

A person’s body would be instantly yanked to the ground, dragged along, and then crushed by the rear wheels.

A mere mortal could never fight a machine bare-handed.

Fortunately, Han Su was still under the effects of the Fishing Song. His roiling Sea of Spiritual had just awakened. While he hadn’t been able to achieve the desired effect with his right eye, it was now his left hand’s turn. The frenzied Sea of Spiritual made his left hand as hard as copper and iron, allowing it to pierce straight through the Ghost Truck’s metal body.

Even so, Han Su’s left hand—or rather, his entire arm—was nearly torn off by the Ghost Truck. The immense kinetic energy was far more than the flesh and blood of his arm could withstand, and intense pain shot through his left hand.

His skin felt like it was being branded with a hot iron. Faintly, he could see a cross-shaped scar materializing on the back of his hand.

This was the Cross Copper Scar from his previous lifeline, which had also been recorded by the Fishing Song and now appeared as a matter of course.

As the Ghost Truck was about to plunge into the fog, its own shadow began to fade, as if it were transforming from a real truck into a projection, and then from a projection into nothingness.

It was driving out of the real world.

But Han Su’s grip held it fast, causing its shadow to solidify once more as it was dragged back into reality.

In the next moment, Han Su flicked his right wrist. The Nail of the Dead Sea activated, instantly transforming from a short metal object into a long, intricate spear.

Blue arcs of electricity crackled around the spearhead. Han Su focused the strength of his right arm, sensed the location of the engine within the crazed mechanical beast, and thrust forward with all his might.

With his right hand, he drove the Nail of the Dead Sea downward, aiming for that sliver of an opportunity.

If the Ghost Truck was a machine, this spear would pierce its engine.

If this thing was a living creature, this spear would pierce its heart.

The purpose of the Nail of the Dead Sea was to directly destroy a grotesque’s core and its anchoring effect. Striking anywhere else would be useless and could even destroy the weapon itself.

And for this grotesque machine, there were only a few specific spots on its front that would allow a direct strike through its bizarre shell to its core.

Han Su’s original plan had been to melt its shell with his right eye and then attack it head-on.

But now, to prevent the Ghost Truck from escaping, he chose to thrust into a spot on the left side of its front, just above the tire.

From his previous impressions and recent observations of the Ghost Truck, he had already identified this as the area with the most flesh and tissue. Several thick blood vessels ran from the chassis inward, and a place with more organic tissue was bound to be weaker.

WHIRRR...

But just as Han Su raised the Nail of the Dead Sea, preparing to strike, the Ghost Truck seemed to instinctively feel the terror.

Being forcibly dragged back to reality when it was trying to escape was already an unimaginable event. Now, sensing its life was in imminent danger, it began to spin wildly.

Its wheels ground a deep, circular scorch mark into the ground, and the acrid smell of burnt rubber filled the air.

The sudden spin sent Han Su flying.

The Spear of the Dead Sea in his hand was already incredibly heavy, and the sudden motion almost ripped it from his grasp.

Fortunately, his left hand, empowered by the Fishing Song, had reached the pinnacle of its strength. He held on tightly to the truck, managing to avoid being thrown off completely.

But in this situation, he had lost control of his body. He could only hear the Ghost Truck’s engine roaring, accompanied by a series of rapid heartbeats, as its kinetic energy built to a frenzy.

The force generated by the spinning made his body and the Spear of the Dead Sea in his hand feel increasingly heavy. At the end of the day, this was still a crazed truck.

No matter how strong his left hand was, his body was about to give out.

This was the characteristic of grotesques like the Ghost Truck: half-real, half-illusion. He could suppress the illusory aspect with his left hand.

But its real aspect was something no human body could possibly fight against.

At the same time, Han Su felt his Spiritual Power draining away at a frightening rate, endlessly funneling into the Cross Copper Scar on the back of his left hand. It was this consumption of Spiritual Power that had bought him the ability to hold onto the Ghost Truck for this long.

But this was immediately followed by the rapid depletion of his Spiritual Power.

Han Su’s mind already felt empty, like a sponge squeezed dry. His left hand could no longer hold on and slipped free.

But thanks to his excellent spatial awareness and body control, he managed to stagger backward without falling.

His face was ashen, a clear picture of utter exhaustion, like an arrow at the end of its flight.

RUMBLE!

At that moment, the Ghost Truck grew enraged.

It had been planning to escape, but being unexpectedly caught had filled it with terror, which now gave way to the resolve to fight to the death.

The truck had indeed been severely polluted by humanity; Han Su’s current exhaustion awakened its greed.

A desire for revenge!

Seeing that Han Su was unsteady on his feet, it charged straight at him.

Of course, it had lost its chance to build up momentum, but its initial acceleration was still enough to crush Han Su into a broken sack of flesh.

But as Han Su staggered to regain his footing, he had already lowered his head and was murmuring under his breath:

”—I shall enter the Abyssal!”

”...”

He used his last shred of Spiritual Power to recite the Zero Sequence Number 01 Spell.

His previous Mysterious Power training at the Disaster Management Bureau had paid off; at the very least, he had learned to always save a sliver of strength.

To an ordinary person, this Spell might have been meaningless, lasting only the blink of an eye.

But for Han Su, who needed a moment to ”recharge his batteries,” even a gap of a few seconds was a blessing.

VROOOM—

The Ghost Truck had already started moving, charging straight for Han Su, but under its headlights, his figure suddenly became extremely faint, as if he no longer existed.

This bizarre scene caused the Ghost Truck’s two large headlights to shine with a bewildered light:

’Where did he go?’

’Am I seeing things?’

But just as it was trying to figure things out, its two headlights glowing ever brighter, it suddenly heard a weak voice from the side: ”I command thee to appear in the Light?”

The Ghost Truck rumbled as it turned, its headlights swinging over to reveal Xu Ji.

The guy had seen Han Su’s predicament and, hiding behind the railing off the highway, had immediately recited a Spell.

But the moment the Ghost Truck’s headlights shone directly on him, he shivered violently and yelled, ”Never mind, never mind! You’re better off hiding in the dark...”

The Ghost Truck was furious. Han Su’s ”presence” had vanished, while Xu Ji’s had dramatically increased, causing it to switch targets. Rumbling, it prepared to smash Xu Ji, along with the railing, into smithereens.

But at that very moment, the Ghost Truck, which had just lost sight of Han Su, suddenly heard a sound from above its cab.

It jerked backward, but a figure still leaped out from the side in the darkness. He jumped high into the air and landed directly on its roof—it was Han Su, who had used that brief moment to ”recharge his batteries” and was now back in the fight.

This time, he landed right on top of the cab.

The Ghost Truck shuddered in fright, its beeping horn sounding as if it were screaming, ”You scared me to death!”

Han Su showed no mercy. His left hand viciously gripped the roof, tearing open a gash, as a vast expanse of white light spilled from his right eye.

Now that he was on the roof, he no longer had a direct shot at the Ghost Truck’s core. But from this position, he could use his right eye to melt the Ghost Truck’s shell directly, and then use the Nail of the Dead Sea in his hand to pierce the steel monster’s engine of flesh and blood!

From the very beginning of his plan to deal with the Ghost Truck, he had never intended to hold back.

He had borrowed the Xu Family’s power to deploy so many people merely to prevent that other monster from prying.

And because he wanted to go all out and avoid any further complications, he was giving it his all from the start, fighting for that Investigator License.

A voice in his heart roared as if through gritted teeth. The Spiritual Power in his mind was being consumed at a frantic pace, as if it were free. In exchange, he got the Ghost Truck’s terrified trembling and its wild, dog-like attempts to flee.

But this time, Han Su was crouched directly on the front of the truck, and not a single bit of the Spiritual Power he released was wasted.

As he watched the Ghost Truck’s shell begin to melt, its frantically beating core about to be exposed, Han Su raised the Spear of the Dead Sea high.

’Let’s see you escape now!’