Nightmare Paradise : Starting as a Doctor

Chapter 68: Monster Inside The Bell

"Sir Lynn," the young officer called out, breaking Lynn from his deep thoughts. He turned his attention towards the officer, his eyebrows furrowing slightly with curiosity.

The patrolman, his face flushed with a mix of nervousness and hesitation, took a deep breath before continuing. "I overheard you asking the sheriff about who knew of your arrival."

"We were all informed about the news. The prevailing state of panic caused by the presence of those monsters led the sheriff to share the information with us as a means of reassurance," the young officer emphasized.

Lynn nodded to demonstrate his understanding. However, he remained vigilant. His gaze fixed upon the young man, observing him for a few seconds. When he noticed a sense of discomfort from the other person, he decided to break the silence and speak.

"What do you know about these monsters?" Lynn inquired calmly.

The young man paused momentarily, his voice tinged with skepticism as he replied, "I'm afraid I know very little. As far as I'm concerned, monsters are nothing more than creatures of myth and folklore, I found it hard to believe that they actually exist."

"But after the recent events and witnessing that monster last night, my disbelief was completely shattered... If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I could never have fathomed such a thing could occur." A bitter smile tugged at the young man's lips.

Indeed, it appeared that the existence of these beings had remained concealed from ordinary people, but there were certainly individuals who were aware of their existence.

Lynn was convinced of this fact. The sheriff's decision to seek the help of a special detective indicated that he, too, was aware of the existence of these creatures and that there was an organization to deal with this kind of situation.

Just as Lynn was about to inquire further, his attention was diverted by a sudden commotion outside.

Bang!

As the thunderous gunshot reverberated from below the bell tower, Lynn's instincts kicked in, propelling him toward the edge of the cloak opening. Peering down, his heart sank at the sight meeting his eyes. Sheriff Cooper was sprawled on the ground, lying in a growing pool of blood.

Chaos and panic erupted in the surroundings as bystanders scattered in a desperate attempt to escape the danger and get away from the attacker, a lone figure wielding a firearm. With everyone else fleeing the area, the shooter was left clearly visible to Lynn's sharp gaze.

Without hesitation, Lynn reached into the depths of his mind, and swiftly manifested the Bloody Reaper pistol directly into his hand, ready to aim and fire at the assailant below.

In the split second before he could pull the trigger, an overwhelming sense of mortal danger jolted through his being. It was as if he had suddenly been plunged into the depths of an icy cave. Every fiber of his body screamed a warning, urging him to react.

"Activate [Gemini Soul]!" Lynn exclaimed in his mind. Immediately, he felt the now-familiar shift in perception as [Gemini Soul] enhanced his consciousness. The world seemed to slow around him, and his reflexes and senses were pushed to extraordinary limits.

In this accelerated state of awareness, Lynn detected a nearly imperceptible distortion in the air as something closed in on him with blinding speed. His acute hearing picked up the faint whine of an object slicing through the wind.

With only a split second to react, Lynn twisted his body sharply with all his might, narrowly evading the attack that had been aimed at piercing his heart from behind.

His agile maneuver saved him from a fatal blow, but he was not without injury. The assailant swiftly adjusted its trajectory in response to his movement, ruthlessly slicing through his left waist, ripping apart flesh and muscle in its path before quickly retreating.

Fortunately, Lynn's prompt activation of his talent spared him from the excruciating agony that could have rendered him physically and mentally paralyzed. Despite his severe injuries, his mind remained sharp and focused, calculating and deducing the best course of action.

Determined not to waste a moment, Lynn acted with precision and swiftness. With a controlled movement, he deliberately dislocated his shoulder, allowing his arm holding the Bloody Reaper pistol to twist at an unnatural angle, aligning it with the direction of the sneak attack.

Ignoring the pain, he unleashed a flurry of shots in that direction, each round fired with blinding speed. The deafening gunshots echoed through the top of the bell tower.

Lynn's sharp hearing caught the high-pitched scream echoing, originating from above rather than behind him, he didn't look up. Recognizing the precious seconds of opportunity, he seized the moment to focus on healing himself.

Utilizing his skill, [String Threading], several thin white threads erupted from his wide-open waist cut. Guided by his precise control, the threads moved with astonishing speed, enveloping the torn flesh and damaged muscle around his injury.

Lynn was intimately familiar with the intricate workings of the human body, and under the enhanced perception granted by his talent, nothing about his own anatomy could be hidden from his eyes. Every blood vessel, nerve, and minuscule tissue fiber came into vivid microscopic detail.

With extreme accuracy, the nimble threads began skillfully stitching together the damaged tissues, preventing them from being further severed. Lynn directed them to seamlessly reconnect blood vessels and damaged organs, ensuring the vital functions remained intact.

Simultaneously, he consciously channeled his skill [Cell Proliferation] into the affected area. This specialized ability accelerated the process of cell regeneration, infusing the wounded area with vitality. The mangled flesh began to knit back together, and the once freely flowing blood was staunched.

Under the combined effects of the meticulous thread stitching and the rapid cell regeneration, the gushing wound rapidly diminished, transforming into a shallow gash.

All these actions took only a few seconds to do. And Lynn who was like an emotionless precision machine finally turned to face the enemy and looked up.

Suspended high above, the imposing bell cast a shadow over the scene, its metallic mouth harboring a multitude of silver tentacles, each with its own distinct characteristics.

One of these tentacles, ending in a menacingly sharp point, was the one that attacked Lynn but was successfully shot down, writhing on the ground.

However, another tentacle, of an entirely different nature, had coiled itself tightly around the young officer's vulnerable neck, tightening its grip with each passing moment.

Thicker and more muscular, it constricted around the officer's throat, exerting a suffocating pressure that threatened to extinguish his life.

Compared to Lynn, the young officer was in an extremely dire situation. He was struggling against the constricting grip of the tentacle around his neck as his face became gradually red.

Without hesitation, Lynn aimed at the bell and pulled the trigger again. The Bloody Reaper unleashed another deafening blast, the heavy round rocketing forth and punching a hole clean through the bell's surface.

A horrible, banshee-like wail emanated from the damaged bell, the sound reverberating painfully in Lynn's ears. But he wasn't affected, his free hand reached to draw the sword Flame Edge while charging to cut the tentacle wrapped around the officer's neck.

Lynn closed the distance in an instant, a trail of sparks swirling in the sword's wake. With flawless precision, he severed the tentacle wrapped around the throat. The razor-sharp blade sliced cleanly through the creature's limb in one swift motion.