Chapter 117: Retaliating Against Redes

It is unclear how much time had passed when Redes reappeared in the hospital corridor, his expression unusually calm. It seemed as though much had happened to him, yet it also appeared as if nothing had changed at all.

Gradually, Prima was discharged, accompanied by her family, and Redes followed them home. In his eyes, each of his family members had transformed into mere dolls, yet he could still recognize them, and his heart had become inexplicably tranquil. His family did not react to his strange behavior, assuming he was simply consumed by guilt for his past actions, and thus they left him to his own devices.

They returned to the estate without incident, though Redes’s expression remained unsettlingly blank. That night, after everyone had fallen asleep, Vic stood in the grand hall, sensing the house with his spiritual aura. This was his duty: to stand guard after his masters retired, ensuring no supernatural entities breached the home. Under normal circumstances, such creatures rarely appeared; they were cunning and preferred the slums, and the officials of the Sunset Kingdom, like the Spirit Controllers themselves, generally could not be bothered with the poor.

As usual, he reclined on the sofa, fiddling with his phone while the umbrella-like spirit he controlled floated in the air above him. Should any spectral aura appear, his spirit would react instantly. Suddenly, he sensed something wrong with the aura in Redes’s room. How had the two signatures that should have been there abruptly become one? Just as he frowned and turned his gaze toward the room, the sound of a door opening echoed through the hall.

Instinctively, he sat bolt upright, pretending to be diligently on guard. Redes emerged from his room, clutching a paring knife, blood dripping steadily from the blade.

"Mr. Harmon?" Vic called out to his employer, sensing that something was terribly wrong. Redes merely glanced at him before heading in a different direction with the knife.

A wave of iron-scented blood wafted from Redes’s room. Driven by overwhelming curiosity, Vic approached the door, and the moment he saw the interior, he froze. The bed was a river of blood, the quilts soaked red; the source of the life force was none other than Redes’s wife.

"Damn it!" Vic slapped his thigh in panic and looked toward the direction Redes had gone. It was too late; two more human auras had vanished from the room belonging to Redes’s father. It seemed the Harmon family’s grandparents had also met a tragic end.

"What on earth is happening?" Without time to think, he rushed in the direction Redes had taken.

But he was too late. Redes was already standing at his son’s door, about to push it open. "Mr. Harmon!" he shouted. But Redes seemed not to hear him; without hesitation, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Vic sprinted with all his might, finally reaching the doorway. He saw Redes raising the paring knife high. Beneath him, the young boy had awakened, looking at his father with a mix of confusion and terror. Vic lunged, using his umbrella spirit to strike Redes and send him flying.

The knocked-back Redes showed no change in expression; instead, he scrambled frantically toward his son. Vic used his umbrella to hold Redes back and grabbed the boy. "Mr. Harmon has lost his mind! Run!"

The boy’s legs had turned to jelly from fear. With Vic’s help, he managed to scramble off the bed, but just then, Vic cried out in horror. A blade plunged into the boy’s back. Vic looked back to find his umbrella spirit had lost its connection, falling to the floor like an ordinary object, while Redes had already lunged forward.

"Mr. Harmon! Please, calm down!" Vic shouted, struggling to restrain Redes as he prepared to stab his son again. For some reason, an invisible force pulled him away, and he could only watch as Redes plunged the knife into his son’s body again and again, until the boy’s life force vanished entirely.

"Damn it! What is going on?" Vic fought against the invisible force with all his strength, but it was futile. A chilling, eerie voice whispered in his ear: "Kid, you still have some use, or you would be dead already. Keep still!"

As the voice spoke, a terrifying, immense aura engulfed him—the master of this aura was at least an A-rank spirit. Such a creature was far beyond what a lowly E-rank Spirit Controller could combat. He made the only sensible decision: he stopped moving.

The commotion drew Prima to the doorway. Her small frame trembled, her eyes wide with fear. To her, the father she trusted most had become a monster, and she was paralyzed with indecision. Seeing her, Vic felt a surge of conflict. As a Spirit Controller, he had never enjoyed the prestige he deserved in the Sunset Kingdom; instead, he was looked down upon everywhere. In this house, everyone treated him with disdain, except for Redes’s two children, who, in their innocence, were always polite to him and the servants.

Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Prima! Run!"

Prima, who had been staring blankly at her approaching father, finally reacted to Vic’s cry and bolted. But how could a small girl outrun an adult? Within a few steps, she was caught. Looking at his daughter, Redes did not hesitate, raising the blade high to strike.

"Redes! You lunatic, what are you doing?"

A younger man appeared, stepping in front of Prima and roaring at Redes. It was Redes’s younger brother, who had been awakened by the noise and rushed over, only to find his brother threatening his niece. He had assumed Prima was in trouble and Redes was merely disciplining her, but upon getting closer, he saw his brother covered in blood, clutching a dripping knife. He realized then that Redes had truly suffered a psychotic break.

But as soon as he stood in front of Prima, he felt a cold sensation in his chest. Redes had plunged the knife into him without a moment’s hesitation.

Redes had secured his fifth kill. Prima was frozen in terror, but she did not remain so for long before being struck down by her father’s hand.

Having slaughtered his entire family, Redes finally regained his senses, his eyes clearing. At first, his expression was dazed; he blinked, and then his face contorted in shock. He retched, falling to his knees and clawing at his face, smearing it with blood.

Just then, a small figure appeared before him. He looked up to see the very doll he had thrown from the car earlier. The doll smiled at him once before vanishing instantly, taking the Spirit Controller, Vic, along with it.