American Horror Story, Starting from Falls Town

Chapter 332 Numbers and Mechanisms
"What disgusting stuff!"

Unable to contain her disgust, Lilith unleashed a fireball, intending to burn the ballerina to death.

However, after the ballet girl, holding the music box that was still playing gloomy music, struck a ballet pose, she vanished instantly, and Lilith's fireball missed its target.

Then, the ballet girl appeared about two or three meters away from her original position, closing the distance between herself and Lilith considerably, and the yin music temporarily stopped.

Lilith frowned. This strangely-looking ballerina girl in front of her actually had the ability to teleport, which should be the most annoying ability for wizards.

If it's a melee expert who can teleport, then it'll be troublesome for the wizard.

Fortunately, Lilith was very experienced in combat. After her first attack failed, she did not continue to attack, but instead chose to observe the ballerina's fighting style.

As soon as Lilith stopped attacking, the ballet girl also stopped moving, holding the music box in both hands and standing on tiptoe, motionless.

If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move; if I don't move, the enemy won't move either.

The two stared at each other for a while—wait, the ballet girl doesn't seem to have eyes.

Lilith frowned. She began to suspect that the strange ballerina was a smokescreen put out by Jack Schneider to buy time, and that the kid might have already run away.

Thinking of this, Lilith became a little anxious. If Jack Schneider really disappeared with Jennifer's soul, she would be in great responsibility.

So Lilith stopped observing and went straight for the miracle, attacking the ballerina not far away with an overwhelming force of will.

Because mental attacks are unpredictable and difficult to dodge, they are very popular among modern witches.

Not only is Madison, whose talent is telekinesis, skilled in this technique, but even Ophelia (Fiona), whose talent is not this, and some other witches are also adept at it.

Lilith didn't know this trick originally, but after Jennifer learned some from the four little ones of the Apocalypse Society, she also mastered this kind of witchcraft.

As the original witch, Jennifer couldn't compare to Lilith in terms of magical talent.

Unfortunately, this sudden and unexpected mental attack missed its mark once again.

As the music box began to play, the ballet girl disappeared once more, reappearing in another location with a completely new ballet pose.

Lilith refused to believe it and continued to attack in other ways.

Fireballs and mental attacks had no effect, so they tried illusion attacks, gravity magic, and polymorph, but none of the spells could hit the ballerina.

The ballerina dodged Lilith's attacks with various ballet poses, elegant yet eerie.

After Lilith's last transformation failed, the ballerina stood before her in a classic pose from the ballet Swan Lake.

(This is the pose)
Lilith was horrified. At this moment, she had a rough idea of ​​what kind of monster this ballet girl was—the kind of monster with a strange set of rules.

According to this logic, all monsters in horror games can actually be divided into numerical monsters and mechanical monsters.

Numerical monsters are the traditional type of monsters, such as werewolves, vampires, serial killers, and deformed cannibals. They are essentially all of this type. The reason they can kill humans is because their physical abilities are stronger than humans.

This is the simplest example of the law of the jungle: the stronger the monster, the more it can crush humans.

However, mechanical monsters are different. Mechanical monsters are not necessarily stronger than humans in terms of physical strength. They often kill humans by using some special rules.

Freddy Krueger could be considered a kind of mechanic monster, killing through nightmares and fear. If he were brought into the real world, he might not even be able to defeat a young girl.

In the early works, there were very few monsters with mechanical mechanics; most of them were numerical monsters.

However, in recent years, there have been more and more monsters with mechanics, especially with the rise of online ghost stories and Cthulhu culture, and some horror elements have been born explosively with the participation of a large number of netizens.

The Yellow Clown and Slender Man that Roy encountered before were essentially monsters with this kind of mechanism, except that their own stats were also quite high.

The biggest difference between mechanic-based monsters and numerical monsters is that you can easily defeat a mechanic-based monster as long as you find its behavior rules.

But numerical monsters are different; if you can't beat them, you just can't beat them.

As the original witch who has lived from ancient times to the present, Lilith has certainly seen monsters with mechanical abilities. These monsters all have a very common characteristic: most of them come from the universe.

Pennywise, the Yellow Clown, Slender Man, and the Star of Colors all come from the universe, so this ballerina girl who looks like a lamprey is most likely also from the universe.

(Lampraya eel)

Lilith dared not move an inch to avoid further triggering the ballerina's mechanism, her mind racing as she frantically searched for a way to deal with it.

However, at that moment, an iron hook suddenly flew over from afar and snatched Mary Shaw's soul from Lilith's hands.

"asshole!"

Lilith made a move to retrieve Mary Shaw's soul, but she was a step too slow and only managed to retrieve the doll Billy.

Then, the ballet girl in front of me moved.

The music box started playing again, and to the beautiful music, the ballerina's neck suddenly stretched out, and her mouth became enormous, swallowing Lilith's entire upper body like she was eating a spicy snack.

With a crisp snap, the sound of wood and grass being chewed up could be heard.

At the critical moment, Lilith used a rather ancient substitution magic to teleport to another place, and what was bitten in her place was a scarecrow made of wood and straw.

Well, while Jennifer's body can heal itself from most injuries, it doesn't mean that her upper body could recover from being bitten to pieces.

Such a restoration is estimated to be possible only with divine intervention from God, as Adrian could accomplish.

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing?"

Lilith was both surprised and angry. She had never seen a lamprey before, so it was normal that she didn't know what it was.

However, Lilith's main fear was that Mary Shaw's soul, which she had been able to use to threaten Jack Schneider, was gone.

Not only has Jennifer's soul been lost, but Mary Shaw's soul has also been lost. All that's left in her hands is an ugly puppet. Lilith doesn't know how to explain this to Roy later.

The thought of facing Roy's wrath filled Lilith with shock and anger, causing her to lose control of her reason. She charged directly at the ballet girl, wanting to engage in close combat.

Unexpectedly, this ballet girl turned out to be someone who wasn't good at close combat but was adept at dodging magical attacks, though she was rather clumsy when facing melee attacks.

Her long neck and enormous head significantly hinder her melee performance, as her head is completely disproportionate to her body, severely impacting her balance.
Lilith was initially intimidated by the ballerina's terrifying appearance, otherwise she wouldn't have made the mistake.

Jennifer in her demon form possesses astonishing physical strength. Although she lacks melee skills, she can easily defeat most monsters simply by overwhelming their numerical advantages.

"Go to hell!"

Lilith went behind the ballerina and kicked her.

The ballet girl was kicked more than ten meters away, which surprised Lilith.

Although the little creature's head had become very large, its weight remained so light that Lilith couldn't even support it with a single kick.

Seemingly realizing that Lilith was very strong in close combat, the ballet girl who had been kicked away immediately burrowed underground.

In this way, Lilith was once again in a passive position. Lilith amplified her senses to search for the ballerina's location, but the girl seemed to be invisible and could not be sensed by her at all.

Indeed, some monsters possess the ability to block perception, and these monsters are usually the bane of wizards. Lilith never expected to encounter one herself today.

In this situation, Lilith could only move on tiptoe, afraid that the ballerina would sense her location and launch a surprise attack.

The next second, a gaping maw appeared where Lilith had been standing, swallowing up a large section of the ground.

Lilith immediately used telekinesis on the ballerina, attempting to pull her out of the ground.

However, the ballerina's magical resistance allowed her to break free of Lilith's will in the blink of an eye, and then she turned around and tried to burrow back into the ground.

Just then, an angel descended from the sky, crashing down with unparalleled power into the cave where the ballet girl was.

Boom!

The ground within a ten-meter radius collapsed, and Lilith, being within this area, was also thrown into the air by the force.

This shows just how domineering this force is!

As for the ballet girl underground, there's no need to say more. When she's digging and an earthquake hits, she takes double the damage and dies instantly.

[Ding! You have obtained the Ballet Girl's Fate Chest! Open it?]

"Lilith?"

That's right, it was Roy who launched the airstrike.

Upon seeing Lilith's expression, Roy immediately recognized that she was not Jennifer; the two had quite a difference in demeanor.

Jennifer is aloof and has a high-and-mighty vibe, while Lilith is alluring and seductive, giving off the feeling of a top nightclub hostess.

Once you've known someone for a while, you'll be able to tell the difference.

Lilith collapsed to the ground, looking utterly embarrassed. In the end, it was Roy who resolved the ballet girl's situation.

“Little master, something has happened! Jennifer’s soul was ripped from her body by the banshee’s scream, and then Jack Schnett suddenly appeared and took her soul away. While I was fighting that monster, Mary Shaw, whom I had captured, was also pulled away by that guy with his iron hook! I only have this doll left.”

Lilith ultimately chose to be honest and didn't dare to hide anything.

Otherwise, if Roy finds out the problem later, Lilith's fate will be absolutely tragic.

Well, without realizing it, Lilith had already started to regard Roy as the future Demon King, treating him entirely according to the standards for a Demon King.

Upon hearing this, Roy frowned, not expecting things to develop this way. Fortunately, the doll Billy was still in Lilith's hands, so Roy still had room to maneuver.

Give me the puppet.

Roy took the puppet and was about to activate the Hound Ring when the Smith & Wesson M629 revolver at his waist began to vibrate again.

Francesca seemed to have something to say, and Roy quickly released her.

"Roy, that Jack Schnetter must be the Hook Man!"

Upon hearing this, Roy was very surprised.

"Are you sure?"

"There's no mistake! The Hook Man loves manipulating his hooks, and he has a face-changing magic ability, allowing him to impersonate anyone!"

Roy finally understood why Jack Schneider had been pulling so many stunts; he figured this guy wasn't Jack Schneider at all.

Then, Roy recalled what Saga Anderson said when she first appeared. At that time, the middle-aged black woman said she had been in a car accident, and it was very likely that at that moment, the real Jack Schneider was replaced.

"I understand. I won't let him get away with this! Lilith, go to XXX Hospital immediately. The little witches are all there. Look after them for me and deal with FEA while you're at it. I need to track down that hook man!"

Lilith looked at Roy in surprise.

"Little master, aren't you angry with me?"

Roy gave Lilith a surprised look.

"Why should I blame you? You didn't do it on purpose. You can only blame that hook-wielding man for being too cunning. Enough talk, I'm leaving!"

The phantoms of the hellhounds had appeared; after sniffing Billy the puppet, they began to run away into the distance.

If a hellhound has an item that allows it to track its target, its tracking range will increase significantly, and its speed will also increase considerably.

Without hesitation, Roy immediately transformed into his ghost wolf form and began running after the hellhound.

Lilith watched Roy's departing figure with deep emotion, almost wanting to kneel down and offer him a blessing, but unfortunately Roy was too busy.

In fact, Roy has never been the type to put pressure on those around him; he only takes responsibility upon himself. It is because Lilith always interprets Roy's personality in her own way that she arrives at completely different conclusions.

On the other side, Jack Schneider, also known as Hook Man, had already run to the car.

Using a sealing spell, Jennifer's soul was imprisoned inside an iron hook, and the Hook Man then released Mary Shaw.

Mary Shaw was muttering and cursing to herself.

"Why are you so late? I almost got caught by that woman!"

"Shut up, you idiot! I told you long ago these guys were troublesome, why did you still come here to die?"

"They took my beloved baby Billy away! I have to get him back!"

Each doll could be considered Mary Shaw's child, and Belgium was her favorite doll, Billy, whom she couldn't accept being taken away.

"Then just possess Billy's body and walk away! Don't do anything unnecessary, okay?"

Mary Shaw fell silent. If she hadn't gone into the bedroom to kill him, she might have been able to escape.

Of course, both Mary Shaw and Hook only recounted the events afterward, and neither of them knew that Roy knew the plot and had been preparing for Mary Shaw's appearance all along.

Even if Mary Shaw had run away at that moment, she wouldn't have been able to escape.

"That guy will definitely not let us go!"

As the man with the hook started the car, he answered Mary Shaw.

"I know! Let's go back to Ravensfield first, and I'll think about whether we can call in some reinforcements!"

As he spoke, the man with the iron hook took out a uniquely designed cell phone and began making a call.

(End of this chapter)