The rat swarm, like a tidal wave, completely surrounded Toronto and Ed, blocking every possible escape route. The blood-red eyes of the rats were filled with a frenzied thirst for blood, fixated on the flesh and blood of Ed and Toronto.

The eerie sound of the flute continued to drift through the underground space, accompanied by the scattered bones, the bright red flesh, and the crazed, obsessive smile on the face of the monster Vil. The scene felt surreal, like a stage play, building to its highest point, on the verge of a climax!

At that moment, Vil swayed uncontrollably, as if he were performing some kind of dance. The human skin under his feet served as the perfect red carpet, and the platform made from the villagers' flesh was the ideal stage for his performance.

Vil slowly approached Alice's mother, all the while admiring the vacant, despairing expression on Alice's face. He gently extended his hand and gripped Alice's mother's neck, lifting her slowly into the air.

His mocking voice rang out, "Dear, sweet daughter, I'm sorry to disappoint you. The promises I made to you earlier? Those were just a joke. No matter what you do, I'm still going to kill your mother."

"And those villagers? They died because of you. If you had told the truth earlier, they wouldn't have had to die."

"It's your fault they're all dead. Look around you—these are all people you killed. Soon, you'll watch your mother die slowly. All of this, it's because of you."

Vil laughed manically, watching as Alice moved, crawling frantically to his feet. She opened her mouth and began gnawing at his calf.

The pain only heightened Vil's pleasure. It was as if he were savoring the most exquisite food, and he gradually increased the pressure on Alice's mother's neck. Her breathing became labored, her face turning crimson.

Even as death loomed closer, Alice's mother struggled to turn her head, gazing weakly in Ed's direction. With all her remaining strength, she gasped out, "Hunter... please, save Alice... save..."

Her faint voice reached Ed's ears. He looked at the countless giant rats around him, the mysterious figure blowing the flute not far away, and Vil standing on the flesh platform.

Ed made a decision. He would risk everything. The most important thing right now was to make the Piper stop playing the flute. If he could do that, perhaps the rats would lose control, giving Ed a chance to get to Vil and stop all of this from happening!

Ed's mind raced as he calculated every possible outcome. Soon, he noticed the large rock hovering above the mysterious figure, Piper.

Without a moment's hesitation, five Moonstone Marks disappeared from Ed's body. A beam of light shot out and struck the rock above Piper's head, followed by a violent explosion.

Piper immediately stopped playing the flute. He instinctively looked up, just in time to see huge rocks falling from above, crashing down rapidly toward him.

"Boom! Boom!" The falling stones buried Piper beneath them.

With Piper's control broken, the giant rats lost their target and froze in place, standing still, motionless.

Ed took a deep breath, gripping his steel sword tightly. Without hesitation, he dashed toward the creature Vil on the flesh platform.

He wasn't sure about the full strength of this final monster, so he couldn't afford to use too many of the Moonstone Marks, especially the most powerful one. If he did, there would be no room for error.

Luckily, the rocks above had helped him.

Now, he had to face the final monster head-on—the crazed Vil.

At this moment, Vil noticed Ed's movement. Without hesitation, he attempted to grab Alice and perform the final part of the ritual.

Alice's mother, seeing her daughter about to fall into danger again, was almost on the verge of losing consciousness from lack of oxygen. Yet, somehow, she found the strength for one final burst of energy. She briefly regained awareness and extended her arm, gripping Vil's arm tightly.

Vil furrowed his brow and opened his mouth wide. A white, serpent-like creature rapidly shot out from his throat, like an arrow fired at lightning speed. In an instant, it pierced Alice's mother's head.

Blood mixed with brain matter sprayed out. As expected, Alice's mother, being an ordinary human, lost her breath completely.

But even in death, her arm remained clenched around Vil's with a strength like iron.

Though the moment was brief, it was enough for Ed to reach Vil. His steel sword cut through the air with a sharp whistle, aiming for the serpent-like creature that had emerged from Vil's throat.

"Clink!" The sound of metal against metal rang out. The razor-sharp steel sword could only leave a shallow scratch on the white serpent-like monster.

Clearly, this white serpent was much stronger in defense compared to his black monsters!

Seeing that his steel sword couldn't inflict any real damage on the white serpent, Ed didn't hesitate. He raised his sword and aimed directly at the white serpent.

The next moment, the Moonstone Seal exploded!

Brilliant light burst from Ed's palm as he unleashed all of his remaining Moonstone Marks. The immense energy instantly struck the white serpent-like creature that was right in front of him.

A deafening explosion echoed through the air, and the entire flesh platform began to shake violently.

Ed was knocked back by the shockwave of the explosion, his body constantly retreating. Fortunately, his movements were quick. He grabbed Alice, who was nearby, and rolled backward, creating some distance between them.

When the smoke from the explosion cleared, the unstable flesh platform still held the body of the monster Vil, standing in place. However, the white serpent-like creature was almost torn in half, with only a thin strip of skin still connecting the two severed halves.

Seeing Vil's current condition, Ed relaxed slightly. With such severe injuries, it was unlikely that Vil would be able to continue fighting.

Ed had just used up all his Moonstone Marks in one go, and at such close range, the opponent had no way to avoid the blast.

Ed lowered his gaze and looked at Alice beside him. He was about to reach out and pat her head to comfort her, but his hand froze in mid-air.

Alice's body was trembling uncontrollably, her vacant stare like a puppet. A faint, ethereal thread appeared at the center of Alice's chest.

The other end of the thread was connected to the human-shaped meat chunk that Vil had so carefully placed on the ground earlier.

Surprisingly, the explosion Ed triggered had not affected the human-shaped meat chunk at all!

"Hahahaha, Hunter, I must say, your power truly exceeds my expectations!" Vil's voice rang out again.

Ed immediately became more alert, turning his attention to the figure on the flesh platform. The white serpent-like creature had snapped in half, one part still lodged inside Vil's body, while the other fused with the human-shaped meat chunk.

The red human-shaped meat chunk quickly began to change, its color shifting to white, and its form began to resemble Alice's exactly!

The ethereal thread connecting Alice to the human-shaped meat chunk, which had been as thin as a hair before, started to grow thicker. At the same time, Alice's trembling intensified.

Ed didn't have time to think further. He raised his steel sword, intending to sever the ethereal thread.

But the moment his steel sword fell, it seemed as though the ethereal thread didn't even exist. The sword passed straight through the thread as if it were nothing.

Ed instantly realized that the ethereal thread could not be damaged by physical attacks.

The next moment, Ed drew the silver longsword that had been strapped to his back, repeating the same motion as before. But still, there was no effect!

Neither the steel sword nor the mithril sword could inflict any meaningful damage on the ethereal thread.

The voice of the monster Vil, connected to the white, Alice-shaped flesh, sounded again: "Heh, stop trying, it's no use. This is the Soul Extraction Thread from the ritual. Unless you're a sorcerer specializing in souls, there's no way to stop it."

"The soul of a pure and kind child, gradually fermenting through torture and pain, that is what I need. It is the key that will allow me to truly enter the ruins!"

Ed seemed to ignore the voice. He hadn't given up and continued to try again and again.

But as the ethereal white thread gradually thickened, a grayish-white light began to emanate around Alice. A similarly ethereal, identical soul to Alice's seemed to faintly separate from her body.

At the same time, Alice, whose body had been trembling continuously, became still. She slowly lifted her head, her once-pained, lifeless eyes locking onto Ed.

Alice's lips parted slightly, and she asked, "Big brother, why? Why?"

"Mom said only children who do bad things are punished, but Alice never did anything wrong."

"If I had told someone about turning Dad into a monster, Mom would have been killed. Alice didn't say anything, but one by one, the others in the village died."

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault. Not only did I kill Mom, but I also killed the people in the village."

"But why? I didn't do anything bad. I didn't, I didn't."

Her innocent voice was filled with the despair of confusion, stabbing into Ed's heart like a sharp knife.

In his world before, children like Alice were the precious treasures of their parents, meant to live carefree, happy lives.

But here? What had happened to her?

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