The second after the gunshot rang out, a shrill, agonizing wail erupted from the depths of the thick mist. At the sound of that shriek, Undine instantly dropped into a combat stance, her beautiful eyes scanning the direction of the cry with sharp vigilance.
Eros narrowed his eyes, mentally amplifying the power of the bullets in Dead by Daylight to twice their original strength, and pulled the trigger once more. In the next instant, the wailing stopped abruptly.
Eros glanced back at the girls beside him and nodded. "Let's leave this spot first. Staying in the mist for too long will only lead to us being contaminated again."
"Do you know which way leads out of this fog?" Undine asked curiously.
"I don't," Eros replied bluntly, spreading his hands.
"Then what was the point of saying that?" Undine tilted her head and gave Eros’s chest a light bonk with her forehead, speaking huffily.
Despite the peril they were in, Undine wasn't truly afraid—after all, Eros was right here. Eros didn't mind her playfulness and let out a light chuckle. "It's fine. If we pick a direction and walk straight, we’re bound to walk out of this mist eventually—unless the entire Sin Realm has been swallowed by it."
With that, Eros began walking toward the spot where the wailing had originated. Seeing that Eros hadn't taken her hand to walk together, Undine pouted, clearly displeased, but she still followed him obediently.
"You dog-thing! Wait for me!"
Joanie took one last look at the vine hut behind her—a place that held a very special meaning for her—bit her lip, and followed Eros without further lingering. As for Syphreya and Ayesha, the hut held no sentimental value, so they followed naturally.
Undine caught up to Eros and proactively reached out, sliding her slender hand into his. Eros responded by closing his palm around her small hand. Undine gave a soft hmph, but the upward curve of her lips betrayed her joy.
After walking for a while, Eros arrived beside the spirit he had slain. He retrieved the condensed Spiritual Marrow and some transcendent materials from the purified remains. Judging by the quantity and strength of the materials, the creature was undoubtedly a Sequence 8 spirit.
This meant he had dispatched a Sequence 8 entity in just two shots—without even using specialized purification or exorcism rounds. He had simply used his own Spirit as ammunition. The power of Dead by Daylight was truly impressive; it lived up to its status as a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact.
As for the gun's side effects, Eros honestly felt nothing. Theoretically, failing to kill the target with the first shot should have triggered a negative feedback, but a significant amount of time had passed and he felt perfectly fine. Barbara hadn't said anything, which meant she hadn't intervened.
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There was only one possibility: his unique constitution directly granted him immunity to the side effects. The terrifying drawbacks that others feared had zero impact on him. Essentially, he could now use Dead by Daylight without restriction.
After walking a bit further and testing the gun’s power a few more times, Undine suddenly wrapped her arms around Eros’s arm, hanging her entire weight on him.
"I'm so tired~ I don't want to walk anymore~" Undine shook his arm, her eyes looking at him with a pitiful, puppy-dog expression.
Eros tilted his head, his tone laced with indulgence. "Then I'll carry you."
He leaned down, and Undine skillfully hopped onto his back. Eros adjusted his grip on her soft thighs, hoisting her up comfortably. Joanie watched this, a hint of worry surfacing in her eyes. "If we run into more spirits, won't it be inconvenient for you to fight like that?"
Eros smiled, his tone relaxed. "Don't worry. My spiritual perception range is quite vast."
Hearing this, Joanie’s concern eased slightly. If Eros said it was fine, it probably was. However, after another few hundred meters, Joanie also leaned her body against Eros, speaking with a heavy laziness: "So tired... I don't want to walk anymore either!"
Eros thought for a moment and gave the drowsy Undine on his back a little shake. "Get the Sealed Artifact out of my pocket," he said succinctly.
Undine grumbled but eventually reached into his pocket and pulled out the small, pitch-black sphere. Once she had it, Eros said without turning his head, "Light it up."
Following his words, an orange glow suddenly flared from the surface of the black sphere. Where the light touched, the mist evaporated instantly, like water hitting a red-hot iron. In the blink of an eye, a fog-free zone with a five-meter radius was created around Eros.
As the pale gray gas was purged from her body, Undine’s energy returned completely. However, realizing Eros was still carrying her, she gave a few soft humphs and remained stubbornly on his back. Joanie, though she wanted to continue leaning on him, felt embarrassed under Undine's gaze and let go.
Thus, Undine successfully monopolized her brother. She rested her chin on his shoulder, her long, slender legs swinging back and forth, humming a light, cheerful melody through slightly parted lips. She didn't look like she was undergoing a dangerous assessment in the Sin Realm; she looked like she was on vacation.
Joanie and Ayesha were baffled by Undine’s optimism. Though Eros was strong, this was still the Sin Realm. Joanie couldn't help but marvel at the sheer level of trust Undine placed in her brother.
Time slipped away as they traveled. It wasn't until the red moon hung high and the mist turned a bloody scarlet that Eros finally halted. Along the way, he periodically used The Brilliant Sun to cleanse the contamination from the girls. It wasn't that he couldn't keep it on constantly, but the power required to purge the mist contamination was significant; if they were exposed to that light for too long, even their own Spirit would be "purified" out of them.
Consequently, Eros had to wait for the contamination to build up before using the artifact. Furthermore, because he was carrying Undine, fighting was inconvenient. He chose to take wide detours whenever he sensed a spirit, which was why they hadn't seen combat for the latter half of the journey.
Stopping for the night, Eros used another seed to create a vine hut just as he had done the day before. Looking at the girls inside, he cleared his throat.
"Syphreya, you're staying on watch with me tonight."
Syphreya’s eyes curved beautifully as she smiled. "Alright."
She stood up and followed Eros out of the hut.