That was the name of the gallery.
After that horrible incident, the entire gallery had been cordoned off by the police.
Thulhu and Roald got off the coach. Standing in front of the black building, they both had a deep feeling of unease.
âRemember, do not look at that cursed painting. Once you remember the portrait, the cursed spirit will find you!â Roald warned Thulhu.
He then took out two strips of black cloth and handed Thulhu one. They had to cover their eyes.
Roald really looked like a demon hunter now to Thulhu.
He also covered his eyes. As an extraordinary, he no longer had to rely on his eyes to see: his spiritual perception outlined every object within a range of ten meters.
âThe cursed spirit wasnât created by the real demon from the abyss, but by a very powerful specialist!â
Roald sniffed the air and continued, âThe specialist isnât here, but I can still sense traces of the demonâs aura in the air!â
âWhat makes you think that the specialist left?â asked Thulhu.
âIf the specialist were still here, the demon power inside me would have responded. In fact, I can still feel a slight connection,â answered Roald honestly. âAny other questions?â
The butler had also arrived. After his quick explanation, Roald and Thulhu stormed the gallery.
The heavy door was pushed open. Thulhu immediately sensed the evil power inside.
âGood. The space hasnât been completely changed yet.â Roald took a deep breath. âLetâs go.â
Once a cursed spiritâs pattern of behaviour became clear, even ordinary people had a chance at survival, as a cursed spirit was more like a rigid written program.
Unless the âprogrammer,â the demon specialist, decided to change the code, or the program suddenly went haywire.
Therefore, Thulhu and Roald still hadnât lost hope.
As soon as they entered the gallery, the place suddenly quieted down, as if they had entered another world.
Spiritual power could affect the environment.
According to the notes, the most dangerous spirit could drain the souls of ordinary people in the spirit world.
In the misty darkness, the corridor seemed endless.
They didnât know which painting had been cursed. Their eyes were covered, but this didnât affect them at all.
Thulhuâs spiritual perception acted as his eyes, while Roald had been trained for this, and could feel out his surroundings with the walking stick in his hand.
Thulhu did a quick check.
Although Thulhu couldnât see every detail in this place with his spiritual perception, it was enough for him to see the layout and all the obstacles in this place.
If he focused, he could even see the outlines of the paintings on the wall, but that was the last thing Thulhu wanted to do.
Fighting a spirit wasnât an interesting thing to do.
Thulhu turned a corner in front of Roald. He paused for a few seconds, and then sighed heavily.
His spiritual perception told him that there was a body on the floor in front of him a few meters away.
âI smell blood.â Roald sniffed. âMrs. Schilling?â
They knew that this would happen, as a coach could never catch up to a spirit, but they just hadnât wanted to lose hope.
On the floor, Mrs. Schillingâs eyes had lost all their shine.
Lying in a large pool of blood, her head had been severed from her body.
âWhatâs the painting on the wall? Donât look at the painting itself. Read the caption!â said Roald in a deep voice.
Thulhu focused his spiritual perception on the plate. ââThe Men at Twilight,â by Robert!â
âI think this is the cursed picture. We should go now.â
Roald turned around and continued to explain to Thulhu, âWeâve found the origin of the curse. The church will take over from here.â
Thulhu hurriedly stopped Roald. âThereâs one more!â
He quickly ran to another exhibition room.
Thulhu recognized the girl who was in the middle of the room â it was Molly.
Her eyes had been gouged out. There was dry, black blood in her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Her hands were clenched around her own throat, and her tongue stuck out of her mouth.
âItâs MollyâŠâ Thulhu said to Roald, feeling utterly shocked. âThereâs blood under her fingers. She gouged out her own eyes and pierced her own ears. She killed herselfâŠâ
Thulhu was gripped with fear.
He couldnât understand how Molly could kill herself in such a cruel way.
âHm⊠I can smell sulphur, candles, and a fragrance here. She was holding a ritual?â
Roald had a cold smile on his face.
Thulhu nodded. âWhat happened?â
âObviously, the cursed spirit isnât the only evil power in this gallery.â
Roald inferred, âShe came here to unseal the cursed spirit in the painting, âThe Men at Twilight,â to curse somebody; I think it was most likely you. But a cursed spirit canât be controlled at all. When the cursed spirit started its slaughter, she tried to save herself by holding another ritual and praying to the demon. ThenâŠ
âThen, perhaps, she saw the real demon!â
No one could look straight at the demon. Even the demonâs whispers in the abyss were extremely dangerous and terrifying to low rank extraordinaries.
âA lucky girl indeedâŠâ Roald sighed.
Then he added, âYouâve been looking for her to answer your questions. But now sheâs dead, too.â
Although a spirit medium could talk to spirits, Thulhu had no intention of talking to Mollyâs soul at all.
Her spirit must have been contaminated by the power of the demon.
Thulhu could totally imagine what happened here: Molly had been trapped in the gallery. She hid herself from the bloodthirsty cursed spirit in this room, and had no choice but to beg the demon for help. She was just seeking its protection, but somehow, the incredible power from the abyss decided to show its generosity. The power let her see it and hear the dreadful whispers.
The horror and fear destroyed Mollyâs mind. She went crazy. She tried to shut down her five senses to save herself!
Finally, she strangled herself to death!
Even an extraordinary could do nothing else in the same situation!
âSo it wasnât the secret ritual at allâŠâ
Thulhu couldnât believe it.
âWho knows. Do you expect the demon to be reasonable?â
Roald shrugged. âWe should leave this place right now. Itâs too dangerous here.â