Chapter 19: The Photograph (Edited)

With a roar, the headless body of the murderer holding the axe finally collapsed onto the ground, bouncing a few times before coming to a rest. It was only then that the axe-wielding murderer reacted, turning towards the direction of the gunshot with a furious roar.

However, what it saw was a priest in clerical clothing, whose sturdy physique seemed no less formidable than its own, calm and powerful.

It also saw the shotgun in the priest's hands, already primed.

Before it could tear this detestable human to pieces and devour him, the next moment, with a loud bang, it lost all consciousness.

Like the first murderer, its headless body fell to the ground, the axe dropping from its hand with a clang.

Click! With two murderers down, York, with a nonchalant expression, pumped his shotgun again. To be honest, he felt a bit like he was bullying them, but it was exhilarating nonetheless. After all, as a priest, he had never had such an opportunity to blast carbon-based life forms into oblivion, each shot bursting heads like watermelons...

In a word, this shotgun was incredibly effective, far more so than any useless crucifix...

Just as he thought this, York quickly reined in his increasingly wild thoughts and looked towards the entrance of the small house.

According to Jesse, she had seen a total of four murderers. With two at the entrance and two by the car, that made four in total. However, he couldn't let down his guard just yet.

But after the two murderers rushed out of the house, there was no further movement.

"Is that all?"

York, somewhat unsatisfied, licked his lips and signaled to Jesse, who was hiding behind, to stay put while he approached the house step by step.

As he got closer, York's eyes narrowed slightly when he heard intense chewing sounds, imagining a scene where a murderer was feasting greedily...

"What's this? Rushing to have dinner?"

York hurried a few steps, disregarding the filth on the ground and leaned against the door of the small house. As his view expanded, the scene inside made him frown.

At the center was a large dining table, covered with nauseating food, like arms and legs, with a similarly grotesque, featureless murderer seated at the table's center.

It was a female...

The female murderer, oblivious to the earlier commotion, was busy gnawing at a bloody thigh on the table, its owner unknown to York, but the sight made him feel nauseous.

"Congratulations, you've reminded me of something disgusting."

York stepped into the doorway, aiming his shotgun directly at the still-indifferent, eating female murderer, and fired.

Bang! The shotgun pellet hit the female murderer's chest, blasting a large hole and scattering flesh and blood.

Yet, it continued to eat...

Click! York, expressionless, cocked the shotgun again and fired.

Bang!

This time the female murderer's upper body, along with her neck, burst open, finally halting her meal.

Click! After firing two shots, York stepped back, taking a deep breath, only to inhale the stench of blood, which made him spit repeatedly until the mist of blood inside the house cleared. He then called out to Jesse.

"Come out, it's over."

Yes, it was over. After the death of the female murderer, York had already heard the success notification of the mission in his ear, indicating that he had cleared all the murderers. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stepped back to wait for the mist of blood to clear.

[Random Task: Clear the Murderers (Completed)] [Task Reward: +3 Points (Issued)] If it were any other time, gaining three points would have satisfied York. Now, after deducting the two points of magic used, gaining only one point made him feel a significant loss, as if his investment had gone to waste.

So, when Jesse cautiously came out, York's eyes were ablaze with determination to recoup his investment.

"Father... you solved it all by yourself?" Jesse, looking at the two headless corpses on the ground, felt a sense of vengeance fulfilled, recognizing the attire of the demons who had killed her friends.

"Mhm."

York nodded, entering the murderers' den in the woods.

Bang bang bang!

Just then, gunfire erupted behind him. Turning, York saw Jesse firing several shots at the still bodies, tears streaming down her face as she fired...

Shaking his head, York turned his attention back to the interior of the small house, summing it up in two words: "Disgusting."

The dining table, long unwashed and covered in grime and gore, and the limbs upon it, needed no further mention.

Aside from that, the kitchen was equally stained with blood, a large barrel floating with suspicious meat next to bone saws, drills, sharp hooks, and a dirty sink filled with disgusting intestines and visible eyeballs...

York pursed his lips and walked towards another room, his purpose not to dwell on these repulsive sights but to investigate the origin of these aberrations.

The system was whimsical, with tasks and rewards often being bizarre. Regardless, sometimes investigating the source of an issue could yield rewards, as with the previous blessing from the undead.

In the adjacent small room, which was slightly cleaner than the living area and lacked scattered limbs, York's attention was drawn to a large bag in a small corner, shining with gold. It seemed to contain the victims' jewelry and watches, collected by the murderers.

"These murderers knew what was valuable?" York glanced over but didn't rush to pick it up. Instead, he noticed some photographs on a dresser.

Walking over, the photographs indeed featured the murderers, smiling grotesquely. York's gaze settled on a family portrait.

If not for the preceding events, York might have found the atmosphere conveyed by the photo warm.

Sitting in the middle were a smiling elderly couple, with the murderers standing behind them, smiling at the camera.

From this, York deduced that the relationship between the elderly couple and the murderers was not ordinary.

Importantly, the elderly couple appeared normal, their eyes reflecting intelligence...