66: Rules Monster

"Master, please follow me."

When Butler heard Li Ke's words, there wasn't much expression on his aged face; he merely bowed slightly.

He turned around and led the way, his steps neither fast nor slow, yet carrying an inexplicable sense of heaviness, as if dragging an invisible weight.

Li Ke followed behind Butler, passing through several dimly lit corridors.

Finally, they stopped in front of a wooden door.

This was the servants' living quarters in the castle, and the butler's room was on the outermost side, decorated much better than those of ordinary servants.

"Creak..."

Butler extended his withered hand and gently pushed open the door.

Inside the door was not the expected scene, but a pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see their own hand.

This darkness was so dense it felt substantial, devouring all light that entered.

Li Ke could feel that this wasn't merely a problem of light, but a deeper, spatial anomaly.

Butler remained unfazed, maintaining his respectful posture.

He took an old oil lamp from the wall beside the door and skillfully lit it.

The dim yellow light flickered, dispelling a small patch of darkness near the doorway and extending deeper into the room.

The scene within the room gradually revealed itself with the swaying of the lamp.

If one ignored the bizarre elements, it was actually a rather simple room.

The room's furnishings were extremely basic: only a set of black wooden table and chairs that looked quite old, and an oak bed placed against the wall.

The bedding on the bed was neatly folded, with sharp creases, indicating the owner's meticulous nature.

The entire room gave off a feeling of being exceptionally tidy, almost empty.

However, the wall directly opposite the door formed a stark contrast to the room's style.

That wall was densely covered with oil paintings of various sizes and styles.

Each oil painting's style appeared distorted and grotesque.

The content of the paintings mostly depicted ordinary corners of the castle: a section of stairs, a vase, a window...

Yet, in these oil paintings, all mundane objects were imbued with an indescribably eerie quality.

Li Ke's gaze swept across the wall and stopped on one oil painting.

This oil painting was not large, and its frame was made of old, dark wood.

The painting depicted a person whose face was obscured.

That person was clutching his face in agony with both hands, fingers digging deeply into the skin, knuckles pale from the force.

His mouth was wide open, as if letting out a silent scream that pierced the Soul.

The entire painting was filled with twisted, chaotic lines and intense colors, exuding a suffocating sense of madness.

Just looking at it sent shivers down one's spine.

"Master."

Butler had, at some point, come to Li Ke's side.

"This oil painting is called [The Out of Control]."

His cloudy gaze fell upon the painting, his tone calm and unruffled.

He paused, his withered fingers trembling slightly as his fingertips gently touched the edge of the frame.

"After seeing it, for a period of time, the viewer's negative emotions such as fear, pain, and madness will be disproportionately amplified."

Butler had established a unique symbiotic relationship with the countless bizarre demon creatures in this castle.

He was intimately familiar with the abilities of all these demon creatures.

He began to introduce each of the strange paintings on the wall to Li Ke, along with the eerie powers they contained.

"This painting is called [Woman in the Bottle]."

Butler pointed to another painting.

The painting depicted an antique vase, its body distorted, with a human figure vaguely visible curled up inside.

"After seeing this vase, once you avert your gaze, the vase will move closer."

"When the vase gets within ten meters, the woman inside will crawl out and drag people into the vase."

"This is [The Back-Sticker]."

This painting depicted a corridor in the castle, with a blurry black shadow pressed tightly against the back of another blurry human figure.

"It will appear behind a person, back-to-back with them; any direct attack cannot reach it."

"As time passes, it will gradually merge into the target's body, eventually completely replacing their existence."

"This is [The Gap Man]."

This was a painting depicting a door crack; within the crack, a malevolent eye could vaguely be seen gleaming.

"Once gazed upon by this eye for a period of time, the space one is in, along with their body and Soul, will be dragged into the gap."

...

Li Ke listened quietly.

He finally understood now how the Clairvoyance who had previously trespassed into the castle had met his demise so silently.

The Clairvoyance first saw the oil painting named [The Out of Control] and was afflicted with a negative status.

Subsequently, he encountered bizarre frights Li Ke [Woman in the Bottle] and [The Back-Sticker] within the castle.

The fear and despair thus generated were infinitely amplified under the effect of [The Out of Control].

This ultimately led to his complete mental collapse.

He couldn't even effectively utilize the Clairvoyance abilities he possessed and died inexplicably within the manor.

"Why do these demon creatures feel Li Ke distorted concretizations of certain rules...?"

Li Ke fell into deep thought as he listened to Butler's introduction.

It was true that the Myriad Things Demon Contamination of the Summoning Demon Scripture could give rise to demon creatures.

But from his insights gained from the "demon-referencing tablet", they should have been more normal demon creatures.

How could such a group of abstract rule-entities be born?

Li Ke vaguely felt that this was probably not just the effect of Myriad Things Demon Contamination.

It was more Li Ke this world itself had problems.

The rules and rules were difficult to reconcile, producing many worn and distorted rule fragments.

And Myriad Things Demon Contamination, to a certain extent, vitalized these distorted rule fragments, which then gave birth to these bizarre demon creatures...

"Nightmare..."

A name suddenly surfaced in Li Ke's mind.

These bizarre rule-based demon creatures were very similar to a special existence described in a book of strange tales he had read in his previous life.

They often appeared in ancient grotto-heavens, existing between presence and nothingness, and acted according to certain specific rules.

Li Ke retracted his thoughts, his gaze falling back on Butler.

Butler was still looking at these bizarre oil paintings, his expression focused and devout.

The aura around him subtly resonated with these strange oil paintings in the room.

Li Ke's eyes flickered, and he sighed softly.

As a Mortal, Butler was corrupted by the power of the Summoning Demon Scripture and connected with the many demon creatures in the castle.

This was both a great Opportunity and a fatal crisis.

With his Mortal mind, he simply couldn't bear the power of those bizarre demon creatures.

Over time, Butler's Divine Soul would inevitably fall, completely turning him into an unconscious, chaotic demon creature.

In fact, Butler's behavior in recent days had already begun to show such signs.

He was always obsessed with these bizarre oil paintings, clearly indicating that his consciousness was gradually eroding.

If Butler still wanted to live, and even truly transform this crisis into an Opportunity, he would have to take a risk...

After a moment of contemplation, Li Ke looked at Butler and asked calmly.

"Butler, are you afraid of death?"