Chapter 60: Chainsaw Enchantment

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Chainsaw Enchantment

Chapter 60: Chainsaw Enchantment

After Axel briefly explained what had happened back in Miami, both Lionel Cosgrove and Seth Brundle fell silent for a moment. Lionel was the first to speak, staring at the black blood slowly spreading around Leatherface. "So you already fought one of these cult-modified freaks before, and now we’ve somehow found another one halfway across the country?"

"That’s about right," Axel Vance replied with a nod. Lionel suddenly understood why Leatherface could take horrific injuries and continue moving as though nothing had happened. "No wonder this guy kept getting back up. In a messed-up way, he’s almost built around the same idea as me."

Lionel glanced toward Seth, who had gone unusually quiet and was standing with one hand against his chin. "You’re normally the guy who never stops talking. Why are you suddenly speechless?" Seth slowly raised his head and answered, "Because I’m trying to figure out what kind of organization could produce something like this and whether getting their attention is a terrible idea."

Lionel blinked. "There are really enough groups doing this kind of thing that you have to narrow it down?" Seth nodded and explained that fringe organizations had experimented with coercion, ideological conditioning, voluntary body modification, and plenty of other questionable practices for years. "Add money, lawyers, secrecy, and frightened followers, and even proving exactly what happened can become a nightmare."

He started pacing through the room as his thoughts picked up speed. "Honestly, this explains why there were so many strange rumors surrounding this region. A hidden group operating around isolated communities could get away with things that would attract immediate attention in Miami, Dallas, or Houston."

Axel’s eyes narrowed. "You think the cult might have a base around here?" Seth looked toward him and nodded. "Maybe not here specifically, but this town would make a useful satellite location."

Seth gestured toward the mansion around them. "Newt has been economically dying for years, outsiders are distrusted, and the town already has a history of solving problems without waiting for authorities. That gas-station owner practically bragged about joining an armed mob against the Sawyer family, so keeping secrets here clearly isn’t impossible."

Lionel scratched near the gaping wound in his chest and muttered, "When you put it that way, they really know how to choose neighborhoods." Seth continued, saying an external organization would only need a few local connections and enough patience to blend into the community. After that, strange injuries, missing outsiders, or unusual activity could easily be dismissed as someone else’s problem.

Then Seth’s expression became even more serious. "And the abandoned federal testing site we’re heading toward in New Mexico would be even better." He pointed out that the place already had buildings, restricted records, few nearby residents, and decades of rumors keeping normal people away. "If I wanted somewhere to hide a large project, that’s exactly the kind of place I’d choose."

Axel nodded slowly because the theory fit too well to dismiss. "If you’re right, there might still be something in this house connecting Leatherface to them." His gaze shifted toward the hallway and added, "Heather might know something without realizing what it means."

The three reached an unspoken agreement before Axel looked down at the wounded Leatherface. "First things first. We deal with this guy, and I get to test something I learned from Paquita’s grandmother."

Seth’s serious expression vanished instantly. He pulled out his notebook and pen with almost embarrassing speed. "You’re doing an actual supernatural purification? Perfect. I’ve never seen one from beginning to end."

Axel ignored his excitement and walked toward Leatherface with the Blessed Bible in hand. He opened to a familiar passage and began using Holy Reading, directing his Psionic Power toward the corruption clinging to the huge killer. Black smoke immediately began rising from Leatherface’s wounded body as a harsh burning sound filled the room.

The reaction was noticeably faster than it had been during Axel’s earlier purifications. His Psionic Power had reached 2.0, and the accumulated resentment surrounding Leatherface peeled away layer by layer while his dark blood dried, cracked, and turned into ash. Flesh altered by the cult’s ritual began collapsing with it.

Seth stared without blinking.

Lionel looked considerably less impressed because he had already seen stranger things in the past week.

Within a few dozen minutes, very little of Leatherface’s body remained. Normally Axel would have continued until everything supernatural dispersed completely, but this time he altered his approach and focused on separating the corruption from whatever clean spiritual force remained underneath.

That was something he could not have done before learning Spirit Binding. Instead of allowing the purified residue to disappear, Axel carefully guided it toward the one object that had remained most strongly connected to Leatherface throughout his life. The spiritual force gradually condensed into the human-skin mask lying among the remains.

The mask gave off a faint shimmer.

[Holy Reading Lv.2 — 800/1000]

Seth finally lowered his notebook. "That’s unbelievable. A whole person was just reduced to nothing, but the mask stayed behind." He immediately stepped closer and asked, "Can you explain what process just occurred?"

Axel closed the Bible and shrugged. "If I understood the scientific principles behind ghosts, cursed souls, and purification, they probably wouldn’t be considered supernatural anymore." Seth frowned thoughtfully, then actually nodded as though the explanation made perfect sense.

Axel picked up the mask and examined it. The surface still felt disturbingly similar to skin, but it had become far tougher than ordinary leather and contained a concentrated spiritual presence. Whatever had been corrupt inside Leatherface was gone, leaving the mask behind as usable supernatural material.

"Lionel, get over here," Axel called. "We’re trying the next part." Lionel’s face immediately brightened as he hurried closer. "We’re making an artifact?"

"That’s the plan."

They retrieved the symbolic supplies Paquita’s grandmother had packed with them and cleared enough floor space to work. Axel placed Leatherface’s captured chainsaw in the center and positioned the purified mask near the handle while Lionel helped arrange the remaining Spirit Binding materials around it. Seth hovered nearby, furiously taking notes while being repeatedly warned not to touch anything.

The ritual looked far less impressive than Axel had imagined occult craftsmanship would. There were no lightning bolts, portals, or dramatic voices from the walls, only two men focusing their spiritual energy through a collection of strange objects while quietly following the grandmother’s handwritten instructions. Somehow, that made the whole process feel even stranger.

Axel directed Psionic Power into the chainsaw while Lionel added his own bound spiritual energy. The mask slowly lost its clear physical outline and began merging into the chainsaw’s metal housing as if being absorbed by it. A faint current traveled through the weapon and made the engine tremble despite nobody touching the starter.

Lionel then contributed a small amount of his own spiritually reactive material as a catalyst. The reaction intensified immediately, and the remaining symbolic materials surrounding the chainsaw broke apart into faint points of light. A few seconds later, the mask had completely disappeared into the weapon.

The ritual ended.

Axel reached down and lifted the chainsaw.

The difference was immediate.

The weapon felt strangely natural in his hands, almost as though its balance adjusted itself to whatever position he wanted. Axel fed a tiny amount of Psionic Power into it, and the engine started instantly without the normal pull cord while the chain accelerated into a smooth, aggressive blur.

He tested the response several times and quickly noticed that the chain moved more cleanly than before. The cutting assembly felt sharper, harder, and far less likely to bind or jam under resistance. Leatherface’s ordinary killing tool had become a genuine supernatural melee artifact.

Axel looked at it with clear satisfaction.

Firearms handled distance.

Holy Water handled purification.

Now he finally had something made specifically for close combat.

Once the room had been cleaned as much as possible, Axel turned toward Seth and Lionel. "Next we find Heather and ask what she knows about this estate, the Sawyers, and anything strange connected to the property. After that, we search every room for anything linking Leatherface to the cult."

Both men nodded.

They returned toward the main living area, where Heather, Ryan, and Nikki had gathered. Nikki had somehow awakened for the third time and was huddled beside Heather, while Ryan stood protectively in front of them gripping a broken piece of wooden furniture like a club.

The moment Ryan saw Axel approaching with Leatherface’s chainsaw, his grip tightened. His eyes then moved toward the huge hole still visible through Lionel’s torso, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Nothing about the three men returning from the hallway made him feel safer.

Heather looked past them with growing panic. "Kenny..." Her voice trembled as she asked, "Where’s Kenny?"

Axel stopped.

Then his expression changed.

He raised one hand and slapped his forehead.

"Oh."

Everyone stared at him.

Axel looked toward the basement.

"I forgot about him."

A few minutes later, everyone headed back downstairs to search for Kenny.

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