I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 79: The Dover Demon (Patreon)

What was that thing?

Liam immediately ran through every mysterious creature he knew.

Glowing red eyes, thin limbs, an oversized head.

Right. He remembered now.

The Dover Demon!

He recognized the name, but aside from its appearance, almost everything about the creature was unknown.

Even among mysterious creatures, the Dover Demon ranked among the most enigmatic.

But now that one was right in front of him, he could capture it and study it properly.

While the Dover Demon had its face pressed against the back of the man’s head, Liam pulled out the pistol tucked against his chest. After a brief transformation, it turned into a foam dart gun.

The weapon retained the same impact force, but because its projectiles were made of foam, its main purpose was to impair a target’s mobility.

“POP!”

With a faint springing sound, a foam dart shot toward the Dover Demon.

To Liam’s surprise, the creature was sent flying by the impact and slammed straight into the wall.

Liam had assumed that something this bizarre would possess equally strange abilities. Maybe it had already noticed him and was simply pretending not to, waiting for him to make the first move.

Instead, it had just been knocked across the room.

Something felt wrong.

Liam decided to wait before approaching.

Several minutes passed.

Just as he was about to climb down, something unexpected happened.

The man sitting on the stool suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the doorway. His lips parted slightly, as though he were about to speak.

At that exact moment, an invisible wave erupted from where the Dover Demon had fallen.

Liam had no time to dodge and took the full force of it.

A wave of dizziness immediately struck his mind, and his hand nearly slipped from the doorframe.

He quickly shook his head and recovered almost at once.

When he looked back, blood was already trickling from the man’s nose and mouth.

His mind had clearly suffered severe damage.

Liam waited a little longer.

Nothing else happened.

He dropped down from the doorframe and cautiously entered the room.

Walking over to the man, he checked his breathing and pulse.

He was still alive.

After confirming that the man was in no immediate danger, Liam approached the spot where the Dover Demon had fallen.

To his surprise, all that remained was a grayish-brown skin.

He reached down and touched it.

The surface felt rough against his fingertips.

When Liam picked up the entire skin and pulled on it, he discovered that it was remarkably elastic, stretching several times its original size.

The Events Logbook immediately updated.

[Dover Demon]

[Event Level: C]

[Exploration Progress: 30%]

It seemed possible that the Dover Demon’s true body was actually this skin.

Combined with its behavior of draining spiritual energy, Liam finally understood what Brooks was doing.

He had probably founded the America Breathing and Nutrition Association specifically to harvest pure spiritual energy from his followers.

As for where Brooks had learned this method and who he was working for, that would require a proper interrogation.

Liam put the skin away, intending to study it carefully later.

The discovery had only increased the event progress by a small amount, unlike most ordinary mysterious creatures.

That suggested there was probably something much larger behind it.

Once he had finished and confirmed there were no other clues nearby, Liam picked up the unconscious man.

He carried him back through the cramped passageway and returned to the surface.

Liam took a deep breath of fresh air.

The underground passage had terrible ventilation and a strange smell lingering throughout it.

He had no intention of exposing Brooks immediately.

Doing that might force Brooks into a desperate confrontation.

Instead, Liam wanted to wear down his resolve first.

He carried the man out of the building and quietly slipped him into the car.

After driving away from the estate, Liam secretly left him outside the entrance to a hospital.

On the way back, he bought a large amount of food to serve as cover.

When Liam returned to the estate, Jacob was looking around as though searching for something.

Only when he saw Liam did he finally relax.

“Liam, you were gone for quite a while after saying you were going out to eat. I thought something had happened to you.”

Jacob explained himself.

I haven’t even been gone half an hour, and you’re already this worried?

Liam complained inwardly, though his smile never changed.

“This shoot is going to take a while, so I brought plenty of supplies in case anything unexpected happens.”

When Jacob saw all the food in the vehicle, he actually felt relieved.

Good. Looks like he plans to stay here and film for quite some time. As long as he remains here, I’ll eventually get a chance to control him.

Jacob had no idea that Liam had already dealt with the Dover Demon on the estate and was still secretly making plans.

“All right. I imagine quite a few people are hungry by now. Let’s head back.”

The two returned to the filming area.

Brooks was still sitting cross-legged without moving.

Liam began handing food out to everyone.

The smell alone was enough to make Brooks instantly open his eyes.

“Actually, at my current level, eating a little wouldn’t affect my ability to absorb energy from the air.”

“No.”

Liam rejected the suggestion with righteous conviction.

“My productions are built on authenticity. Ask anyone. Exploring the Truth has never faked anything.”

Brooks secretly glanced toward Jacob.

Jacob glared back at him.

How could someone this weak ever contribute to our great cause?

Brooks immediately fell silent.

Liam glanced up at the sky.

“It’s getting late, and the lighting is getting bad. Let’s move the filming inside.”

Everyone began packing up the equipment and heading back toward the house.

Brooks alone remained sitting where he was.

“Mr. Brooks, why aren’t you moving? You’re the star of the shoot.”

“I can’t. My legs are numb.”

Liam reached down and simply lifted him off the ground.

Even while suspended in the air, Brooks remained stuck in his cross-legged position.

His face turned bright red as he struggled to straighten his legs.

The moment his feet touched the ground, they gave out again.

Liam had no choice but to call over two college students to help support Brooks as they brought him back to the main house.

Along the way, Brooks kept muttering excuses.

“Ah, I guess I was a little nervous today. Normally, things like this are nothing to me.”

By now, the other students had figured out exactly what was happening.

Still, they all silently agreed not to expose him.

They were having enough trouble just keeping themselves from laughing.

Back inside, Brooks watched as Liam began installing cameras in his room.

He finally couldn’t help asking, “Liam, do we really need to go this far?”

“Of course. Better to prepare in advance. You wouldn’t want people publicly questioning you once you become famous, would you?”

I’m starting to think I don’t want to be famous anymore.

Brooks had suffered enough for one day that he was seriously considering giving up.

Then he remembered what was hidden inside his house and relaxed again.

He only needed to last until tomorrow.

Once that happened, everything would be solved.

He would control Liam and have the program broadcast nationwide.

Comforted by the thought, Brooks forced himself to ignore his hunger and eventually fell asleep.

Jacob was waiting as well.

As long as he could use the Dover Demon to control someone as troublesome as Liam, his standing within the organization would undoubtedly rise.

Meanwhile, Liam was wondering how much longer Brooks could endure.

If the man somehow lasted through tomorrow, Liam would have to bring out something harsher.

He didn’t have enough time to keep playing this game indefinitely.

Now all that remained was to see what lead he could pry out of Brooks.

And so everyone drifted into sleep, each of them holding on to their own expectations.