As An Antique Shop Owner, It's Only Reasonable That I Know A Bit Of Magic - Chapter 43

The reality was laid bare before their eyes, leaving no room for further doubt.

The terrified crowd huddled together, even those who usually didn’t get along were forced to stick together.

Su Fan listened to the constant cries of shock around him and found it irritating.

How did these people transition from a state of unconsciousness into light sleep so quickly?

Or was it that time passed differently within the dream compared to the outside world?

Before he could ponder further, a sudden scream erupted from the crowd!

The one attacked was a young actress who had been on set earlier.

A terrifying image of Freddy’s face suddenly appeared on her skirt, and his upper body emerged from it, raising the scissors in his hand.

The sharp blades made a continuous snip-snip sound, causing her to collapse to the ground!

He lunged for the actress’s neck but was blocked by a faint golden light, unable to advance even an inch.

Seeing this, Su Fan summoned a sharp blade in his hand and hurled it at the upper-half of Freddy!

The blade pierced through the chest of the murderous demon, pinning him firmly to the ground!

But Freddy wasn’t panicked. Instead, he grinned at the actress.

“You’re scared of this, right? Snot-nosed girl~~”

With these words, Freddy vanished with a sinister laugh, leaving behind the pale-faced actress.

Only after seeing the demon temporarily retreat did the crowd dare to approach, offering their scattered words of comfort.

“Are you okay, Megan?”

“What was that golden light? It actually blocked the demon’s attack?”

“Don’t you remember? Those yellow talismans Annie tried to give us earlier.”

“I think I recall, after he knocked those other people out, he pasted the talismans on their foreheads, just like he did with Annie during the day.”

“So, he already realized the demon would attack then?”

As they discussed, their glances towards Su Fan were mixed with surprise and excitement.

Trapped in a dangerous place with a demon lurking, having such an “expert” among them was a shot in the arm.

Annie didn’t join the others in their discussion. Instead, she walked over to Megan.

After speaking softly with her for a moment, she approached Su Fan, her face full of worry.

“I told her that you gave them protective talismans, that the demon can’t harm her for now, but she’s still terrified.”

“She told me she was bullied in school for being ugly when she was little. They used scissors to cut off her favorite long hair and almost slashed her face…”

“Ever since then, she’s been especially terrified of sharp scissors.”

At this, Annie couldn’t help but sigh.

“Right now, everyone knows they’re temporarily safe from harm, but the fear inside people’s hearts is uncontrollable…”

“If this continues, I’m afraid…”

While Annie was speaking, Su Fan scanned the expressions of the people around them.

Some were anxious and uneasy about the situation, some maintained basic composure because of Su Fan’s presence.

Some had turned pale, as if recalling some unbearable memory, while others kept sneaking glances around, subtly increasing the distance between themselves and others.

With just these few glances, Su Fan concluded that expecting this group to overcome their inner fears was pure nonsense.

[However, it seems Freddy isn’t very strong yet.]

[If we seize the opportunity, maybe the next time he appears to terrorize someone, we can kill him…]

Su Fan’s mind replayed his recent encounters with the entity.

The ambush in the ancient house, the powerful disorienting white light from behind the wall…

Aside from being unexpected and mentally confusing, the opponent didn’t seem to show particularly strong combat abilities.

Just now, a simple blade through the chest was enough to force a retreat.

“It seems a bit too smooth…” Su Fan murmured under his breath.

“Su, what should we do next?” Annie stepped closer to ask.

She didn’t realize it herself, but she had already developed an immense trust in Su Fan, someone she’d known for less than a day.

She had even reached the point of looking to him for guidance.

“What else can we do…”

Their conversation was cut short because the next instant, a massive black hole opened up beneath everyone’s feet!

The entire crew screamed as they plummeted into the pitch-black abyss.

Including Annie!

The sudden attack caught even Su Fan off guard.

Seeing the weightless Annie about to fall, Su Fan reacted quickly, grabbing her arm.

With his other hand, he materialized a grappling gun and fired it upwards, hooking it firmly onto the edge of the ground!

“Hold on!” Su Fan growled!

The entire weight of her body was supported by one arm; the pain in her joint forced a muffled groan from Annie.

Even so, she held firmly onto Su Fan’s forearm!

But the next second, Freddy, transformed into a giant serpent at the bottom of the black hole, surged upwards, bit onto Annie’s calf, and yanked her down!

Her terrified scream, mingled with Freddy’s maniacal laughter, echoed through the cavernous space above the black hole, lingering for a long time.

“There once was a knight who traveled far, and the knight’s name was Su Fan~”

“Winds howled and demons roared~ blow and laugh, my brave knight~~”

“Oh~ brave knight, over mountains and hills you go~”

“To save the damsel in distress, through thorns you strive~”

The oddly pitched song appeared in Su Fan’s ears.

In the blink of an eye, Su Fan was transported from the fiery inferno to a door.

In front of the door was a sign.

— Brave knight, noble as you are, surely you won’t abandon the lives of others~
— Let the princess witness your valor and succumb to love~~
— Your fan: Freddy Krueger~~
Su Fan didn’t even glance at it. He kicked away the sign, full of mockery and teasing, and then kicked the door open.

The interior looked like a high school girls’ restroom.

Several figures inside stopped what they were doing and looked at Su Fan.

Their clothes were garishly modified, pushing the limits of the school uniform until it was almost unrecognizable.

These delinquent girls had clear roles: one held scissors, another a mop, one carried an empty bucket, and another held a camera.

Kneeling in the middle of them was Megan, the young actress Freddy had attacked earlier.

She looked nothing like the mature, heavily made-up woman from before; now she was completely the image of a naive high school girl.

But at this moment, she was drenched, her hair and clothes soaked in filthy water, trash hanging from her strands, tears and mucus streaming down her face.

“What are you looking at? I’ll gouge your eyes out!”

“Get out!”

“You son of a bitch!”

Seeing a strange man suddenly barge in, the delinquent girls were stunned but showed not a hint of fear. Instead, they started hurling vicious insults!

The faint glimmer of hope for rescue in Megan’s eyes was instantly extinguished.

These girls bullying her were all children of school board members, with financial and social backgrounds so powerful even teachers had to obediently take their slaps.

Judging by his clothes, this man was just an ordinary outsider, and an Asian one at that.

There was no way he could stand up to them.

Su Fan frowned, saying nothing.

He strode forward, grabbed the nearest girl with big wavy hair—the one holding the bucket—and slapped her!

The slap was so powerful it sent the wavy-haired girl’s bloodied teeth flying!

She stumbled and fell to her knees. As her dizzy head cleared slightly, pain overwhelmed her, and she began to wail loudly!

“You freak!!”

Seeing their friend get dealt with, the remaining girls weren’t scared at all. Instead, they charged at him screaming, brandishing their weapons.

Su Fan delivered a front kick, hitting the bobbed-hair girl holding the mop, then backhanded the short-haired girl trying to sneak attack from the side, making her see stars.

The final girl, with princess-style blonde hair holding the scissors, finally got scared upon seeing this. Tears welled in her eyes, her legs trembled, and she collapsed to the ground sitting.

But even then, she still didn’t beg for mercy.