Capítulo 53: Chapter 53
The path was rugged and narrow, forcing Randy to slow down.
Fortunately, he soon discovered a new clue.
A patch of emerald-green liquid blocked his way.
Randy casually rubbed his hand to condense a piece of wood, which he then threw onto the liquid.
"Sizzle."
A hissing sound emerged as the wood immediately curled, withering, and turning black.
It seemed not only corrosive but also toxic.
"This is quite dangerous."
Randy spread his hands, causing the corrosive liquid to part automatically, clearing a path for him to pass safely.
Since a trap was set, it meant that the end of this path would definitely hold some reward.
However, it was unlikely to be the clown himself; it was probably one of its minions.
Finding a minion would be useful, as it could lead him directly to the clown.
After crossing the corrosive area, Randy seemed to have entered the sewer system of the town. The air was filled with the stench of decay and rot, and countless rats scurried around searching for food or entangled with each other.
These rats were not afraid of humans at all. They showed no alertness to the sounds, even attempting to approach Randy.
Randy made sure not to let these filthy creatures get close. An electric net formed around him, electrocuting anything that came near, turning them crisp on the outside and tender inside, only to be immediately devoured by their peers.
The further he went, the more numerous and larger the rats became.
As the number of dead rats increased, the remaining ones seemed to sense something, beginning to flee ahead, probably to report back.
Randy didn't allow them to escape. He increased the electric supply, with lightning-like electric currents bouncing in the narrow space, crackling and killing a large number of rats in an instant.
No rat survived where he went.
Randy continued forward, extending his perception outward, and soon detected a unique life form huddled in a corner surrounded by a mountain of rats.
To Randy's surprise, as he sensed it, the creature seemed to notice the danger and immediately shook off the surrounding rats, starting to flee.
"What sharp senses; did it predict the danger?"
Randy transformed half of his body into lightning elements, significantly enhancing his speed. He swiftly closed the distance between himself and the creature.
Finally, around a corner, he saw the creature's true form.
It was a creature resembling a human but with its limbs on the ground and a very thick rat tail behind its tailbone, looking quite unsettling.
When the creature turned its head, the appearance was even more bizarre.
It had a hairless rat's head.
Sewer rat-man?
This was a common urban legend in the U.S., alongside stories of crocodile men and lizard men.
However, the term sewer rat-man originally referred to vagrants who, after becoming homeless, settled in the sewers.
But in a world of horror films, it needed to have some suspense.
Besides, Randy was quite familiar with that tail; the creature that crawled on the ground last night was a rat-man.
"Wasn't it easy to block my attack last night?"
Randy sneered, raising his index finger to aim at the rat-man, and the thunder power began to accumulate.
Sensing the danger, the rat-man ran faster, feeling wronged. It thought it was merely watching a show last night and that the real shield was someone else. Meanwhile, the rat-man emitted a whining sound, continuously summoning rats to try to delay time.
But it was too late now.
"Whoosh!"
The dark sewer suddenly brightened with a flash.
The electric arc from Randy's fingertip easily pierced the rat-man's hind leg, accompanied by the paralysis effect of the lightning. The rat-man stiffened and fell to the ground.
All the rats on this path were basically roasted.
Randy did not kill it. He still needed this creature to guide him, so he preferred to control it.
He walked over to the rat-man, and up close, the revulsion only increased.
This creature's skin was nothing like human skin; it was all wrinkled and layered, covered with various tumors.
"Can you understand human speech?"
Randy asked.
"Eek-eek."
The rat-man looked terrified and made unpleasant sounds.
It seemed to understand but couldn't speak.
"I'm here to find your master, the one called Pennywise. I need you to lead the way."
Randy continued to politely express his needs.
The rat-man, halfway through hearing Randy, began to nod vigorously in fear.
It was probably because Pennywise had only recently awakened, likely agreeing to give it some flesh to eat. Since they were both sewer monsters, this "friendship" was established, and the rat-man didn't think it was worth serving Pennywise anymore.
"That's good, saves me from having to teach you a lesson."
Randy withdrew the electromagnetic field around him, and the rat-man slowly regained control of its body.
It looked fearfully at Randy but then slowly crawled forward, turning its head and wagging it to signal Randy to follow.
Randy was not suspicious. After all, ant-made traps were only effective against insects, not people.
But for safety's sake, he extended his perception to the maximum, ensuring that no movement or sound escaped his notice.
After many twists and turns, Randy followed the rat-man through several openings.
As an underground world in a heavily populated town, the space was quite large.
Finally, at another fork in the road, a familiar and eerie aura appeared in Randy's perception.
It was Pennywise's presence, though not very strong.
It seemed the rat-man had been honest and hadn't led him astray.
After walking further, through his perception, Randy saw the clown's lair.
It was still the place filled with various trash, floating bodies of children that had been devoured by Pennywise.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of Pennywise himself.
Was Pennywise so diligent, hunting early in the morning?
Randy checked his phone and saw that it was just past eight.
"Did you and Pennywise come back to the sewer last night?"
The rat-man jumped in shock at the sudden sound, then quickly nodded.
Randy asked again, "Do you know where Pennywise might go besides here?"
This time, the rat-man shook its head.
It was just a filler character, with even less power than Randy himself. Pennywise wouldn't take it seriously.
Now that he had found the lair, keeping this monster around was unnecessary.
As soon as Randy thought this, the rat-man seemed to sense it, desperately leaping forward despite its injured leg, creating a gap instantly. But as it prepared to escape further, another electric arc shot in front of it.
"Don't run. Keep leading the way, or die here now."
Randy's cold voice reached the rat-man's ears, causing it to shiver and quickly continue crawling forward.
Soon, man and beast arrived at Pennywise's lair.
The evil aura filled the entire space.
Various types of trash formed a cylindrical heap, stacked up to several tens of meters high. Around the trash columns were floating bodies of children, already having their souls devoured by Pennywise.
Unfortunately, Pennywise was not here.
Randy approached the trash column, which contained toys, bicycles, and other items. These were Pennywise's possessions and tools for luring children. There were also many red balloons. Randy took a few, which could be used to frame someone if the clown wasn't dealt with yet.
He circled the trash column, and besides the floating corpses above, there were many skeletons on the ground covered in bite marks, similar to the remains of Mohr from the sewer entrance.
Randy looked at the rat-man, which immediately cowered in fear.
So it had been here before, and because it had been eating so many corpses, it had gradually become the ghastly creature it was now.
No wonder it had become so submissive to Pennywise.
"Is it tasty?"
Randy pointed at the skeleton and looked up at the rat-man.
The rat-man, terrified, backed away and then nodded.
Status de energia semanal
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Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder