256 Being the Spotlight

 

“My heart!” The 8 spider legs stomped frantically inside the surgical room. The Doctor’s chest and stomach were sliced open and no matter how many black threads that collected towards them, the wound refused to heal. Clutching his empty chest, his face distorted with anger. The things in the room tipped over as the Doctor climbed up from bed and moved towards the heart. Now, he was the closest to the heart.

‘I have to stop him.’ Han Fei saw the heart rolling on the ground as well. However, he was too weak to stand up to a Lingering Spirit. If the Doctor even touched him, he would be in mortal danger. The only thing Han Fei could do in this situation was to try to harass and stop the Doctor, to weaken him. With the Cattle Mask, Han Fei followed behind the Doctor like a silent ghost. Han Fei would help the pig-faced monsters which were knocked apart by the Doctor by giving them a final release with Rest in Peace.

The heart had attracted the attention of not only the Doctor and Han Fei but also the many outsiders. They noticed that as long as they were close to the heart, the curse of the Cattle Alley would weaken. Furthermore, since the Doctor valued it so much, it had to be very important. The Doctor killed anyone who dared to steal from him but even so he couldn’t stop everyone. Every monster at the House of the Butcher had lost its mind. There was Spider’s real self outside the building, and Xu Qin inside the building, previously, their best option was try to escape Cattle Alley and suffer with its curse but now a better option had presented itself.

The human heart was easily swayed. The moment the cure for the curse appeared, the Doctor’s fragile alliance collapsed immediately. Without the outsiders stopping him, Spider’s fleshy body finally entered the building. The bloody writer stared at the heart that fell from the Doctor’s chest and his body mobilized again. Blood and flesh flowed like a river heading towards the centre.

“You’re so persistent! Why can’t you just stay dead?!” The Doctor was incensed. While he was distracted by the Spider, Han Fei took this opportunity to cut off one of the Doctor’s legs. Blood spurted. When the leg dropped to the ground, the lingering spirits on the unravelling flesh laughed happily, they finally found release. He was only distracted for a second and one of his legs was chopped off. The Doctor raged, he had never encountered such a cunning enemy before. He had half a mind to tear Han Fei apart but he didn’t have the time. If he hesitated, the Spider would grab his heart back.

Resisting the pain, the Doctor charged towards the heart wrapped in flesh. Seeing the Doctor ignore him, Han Fei became more brazen. But just as he chased after the Doctor and planned to go for the second leg, the landlord’s ring chilled. Han Fei stopped and his body shivered. Han Fei looked towards a direction and his pupils narrowed. At a corner of the ruin stood a pale-faced woman. She reminded Han Fei of the ever approaching ghost in real life!

‘Butterfly?’ Even though this was just a guess, Han Fei already had a hard time calming down. He held the hilt and stared down at the woman. Despite the chaos at the House of the Butcher, the woman kept her eyes on Han Fei. She had no expression and held a book whose cover had been torn away. Two figures collapsed behind her. One of them was extremely muscular. His mask was shattered and his face crushed like he was bulldozed. The other should be a student. He wore a pair of headphones. There was a strangulation mark around his neck. His eyes were popping out and his chest sunk. ‘That’s the Spider’s 2nd persona, the ruffian and the Student which represented the Spider’s yearning for the future and outer world!’

With Han Fei watching her, the expressionless woman took out a mask and placed it on her face. She did not even attempt to hide the number behind the mask. When the mask joined with her face, Han Fei could see the pattern of the other half of the butterfly wing.

‘Number 9? The Reader?’ Among all the subpersonas, the Reader was the most unique. Even Spider’s psychologist couldn’t tell whether she was the first or last to appear. She had always been by Spider’s side, from his birth to his death but her presence was very weak. She was like an outsider and was forgotten by everyone. In the movie, there were little scenes involving the Reader and most of them were correspondence with the writer. ‘Spider is a writer and used his life to complete 2 books; the Butterfly is the Reader, they are the only people who have read those books.’ Spider and Butterfly were mortal enemies but the writer and the reader were soul partners. Because they understood each other so well, they knew they had to kill the other.

When the 9th persona appeared, it felt like Han Fei had returned to real life. The approaching ghost brought with it inexplicable pressure and horror. The Spider’s 9th persona should be the closest to the Butterfly. While the Doctor did everything on the surface, the Reader was watching from the dark. Perhaps the Doctor didn’t even know the other half of the Butterfly was the Reader. When the accidents kept happening, the 9th persona finally decided to show herself.

Guarding himself with Rest in Peace, Han Fei had never been so focused. He still couldn’t quit the game, if he fell into the Reader’s hands, he might be trapped forever. The Reader’s gaze wandered between Han Fei and the heart. Finally she made a decision. She tore out a paper from the coverless book. With bloodied fingers, she sketched out Han Fei’s face on the strange book. When the painting was done, small wounds appeared on Han Fei’s body. They continued to widen like they were tearing Han Fei apart from inside.

‘A curse?’ Before Han Fei could react to the curse, the landlord’s ring chilled further. He lifted his head and saw that the Reader had abandoned the Spider’s heart and was coming after him!

‘The Butterfly has chosen me between me and the Spider?!’ He couldn’t understand why the Reader would abandon Spider’s heart and choose to kill him instead. ‘For the Butterfly, I pose a bigger threat than the Spider?!’

Han Fei was already feeling unwell when he was placed under the curse. His speed and strength couldn’t rival the Reader, it would be easy for her to kill him.

“Drake!” Han Fei retreated. He knew Drake wouldn’t hold her off for long so he made preparation for the worst. While the curse had not taken its full shape, he ran towards Xu Qin. If he had to die, Han Fei would rather die in Xu Qin’s arms. At least he would be absorbed into her curse and wouldn’t be a wandering soul. He ran at his highest speed but even so, he didn’t forget to take account of the situation inside the House of the Butcher. The Doctor and the outsiders fought for the heart but the heart appeared to have eyes of its own. It was surprisingly agile for just a heart. It weaved through the attacks and made its way to the Spider. At that moment, Xu Qin who had butchered all the pig-faced monsters appeared to block the heart’s way. Curse and blood crested a wave. The heart immediately changed its direction.

However, as it turned around, it careened right into Han Fei who was running this way and they bumped into each other!

Feeling a weight on his chest, Han Fei didn’t expect the heart would run right into him. After the quick shock, Han Fei was covered in cold sweat. The landlord’s ring emitted such chill that the ring almost shattered. Hugging the heart, he looked around. Every monster inside the House of Butcher was staring at him.