Chapter 77

“Isn’t this supposed to be an ordinary manor? Who changed it to an epic one?”

Drip… Drip…

Borough City, which was constantly drenched in rain, once again found itself enveloped by a curtain of rain as dawn approached.

Grayish-white mist obscured the sunlight, casting a shadow of gloom over the city’s roads.

A well-equipped group of riders was making its way through the rain, heading towards Creek Mountain outside Borough City before disappearing into the woods.

“Whoa—”

The lead rider abruptly pulled on the reins, bringing the strong brown steed to a halt. He swiftly dismounted and hurried to the carriage at the center of the convoy.

“Great Priestess, we’ve arrived.”

The neighing of horses echoed around them. Some horses, despite being restrained by their riders, kept lifting their front hooves, resisting control with pitiful cries. Soon, several powerful horses threw off their riders and bolted down the mountain, as if fleeing something instinctively terrifying hidden within the rain-shrouded manor ahead.

Creak—

The door of the carriage opened, but the first figure to step out wasn’t the Great Priestess the rider had addressed, but rather a silhouette with black long hair.

“Is this the place?”

Aivana stepped down from the carriage, paying no heed to the mud splashing onto her expensive boots. She took a few steps forward, taking in everything within sight. Many scattered footprints pointed outward from the manor, suggesting that many people had recently fled from inside.

Two corpses caught Aivana’s attention. She walked between them, knelt down, and turned over the body lying face down.

Nia, clad in silver armor, followed closely behind Aivana, her right hand already resting on the sword-and-shield strapped to her back, ready to draw at any moment.

“Did you… find anything, Miss Aivana?”

A somewhat breathless voice came from behind Aivana. Turning around, she saw Great Priestess Yulis standing close behind her, accompanied by the glimpse of a silver-haired head peeking out from behind Yulis’ shoulder.

“All killed instantly by short knives or daggers, without any signs of resistance,” Aivana said, glancing briefly at Adelle cowering behind Yulis, then asked helplessly, “Couldn’t you have just stayed back and prepared some potions? Why did you come along?”

Adelle and Xia’er weren’t particularly close; they had only met once, when Adelle vouched for Xia’er. There was no reason for Adelle to participate in this mission, yet here she was, clearly terrified.

Aivana spoke expressionlessly, perhaps striking a nerve, causing Adelle to glare at her cautiously.

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

Hiding behind Yulis seemed to give Adelle some courage. Her tone was no longer short and breathy but instead firm as she retorted, “There are hardly any Extraordinary Persons left in the city. Isn’t it safer for me to come along?”

Aivana was momentarily speechless, drawing in a quick breath, unable to find a counterargument.

Adelle was right: there were three-tier Crown Guards like Nia, two-tier Missionaries like Yulis, and seven or eight one-tier Extraordinary Persons present. If they couldn’t handle Xia’er, allowing her to wander unchecked into Borough City would only make matters worse.

“We only have one day.”

Yulis interjected, breaking the tension between the two women. “I’ve already performed a Ritual to send an urgent plea for assistance to the Church. I informed them about Xia’er and the Arrival Sect.”

“If we can’t control Xia’er today, by the time the Church’s reinforcements arrive, I can’t guarantee whether the Bishop or Archbishop will show mercy.”

Hearing this, Aivana felt a pang of unease. Only one day…

It had been over two hours since Xia’er consumed the Potion. Xia’er might already be gone from the manor. With no trace of her in the city and possibly heading elsewhere, finding her would be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. If they failed to locate her, they might only learn of her fate after she lost control completely, causing a major incident resolved by another Church or organization.

“I’ll split up with you all and quickly search Derton Manor.”

Aivana suggested to Yulis.

With Nia’s protection, even splitting up wouldn’t pose much risk to her.

“No!”

Adelle immediately protested, stopping Aivana’s impulsive plan. “Don’t split up! In knight novels, those who split up usually end up dead!”

“Adelle has a valid point,” Yulis agreed, nodding toward Aivana. “You… didn’t see how she looked earlier. For your safety and everyone else’s, let’s not split up.”

“…Understood,” Aivana sighed deeply, calming herself slightly. She wasn’t sure why she was so anxious, but she hoped to find Xia’er as soon as possible.

Now, Aivana could only pray that Xia’er hadn’t been entirely assimilated by the Potion.

Tap… Tap…

A frantic set of footsteps emanated from the direction of the manor, capturing everyone’s attention.

Nia quickly drew her sword and shield, holding the sword in her left hand and the shield in her right, stepping forward to protect Aivana.

It was a woman wearing a red-chip mask, clad only in an ill-fitting shirt, bare-legged.

Upon seeing Nia dressed as a knight, the woman seemed to view her as a savior, hastening her pace despite tripping over a rock and tumbling twice, covering herself in mud.

“Help! Help!!!”

The woman crawled toward Nia while shouting.

“She’s an ordinary person,” Yulis announced after careful observation. “Not from the Arrival Sect.”

Four white shadows emerged from Yulis’ own shadow, encircling her from all sides. Kneeling before the sobbing woman, Yulis gently inquired, “It’s alright now… Could you tell us what happened inside?”

Wearing a white Mask, Yulis’ ethereal voice carried a mysterious force, gradually calming the panicked woman.

“Dead… So many people are dead inside…”

The woman looked up at Yulis, her voice choked with sobs. “I was getting ready for my night shift. When I went into the changing room, I realized my new uniform was gone.”

“At first, I thought someone was playing a prank, so I waited for others to come in and get me another set… But no one came.”

“Later, I heard faint screams from outside, so I hid in the changing room until it was quiet. Then I went out… and saw so many dead bodies!”

“And… And I felt something chasing me from behind, but when I looked back, there was nothing… Until I saw you all…”

Sensing something unseen chasing her…

Aivana and Adelle exchanged glances, understanding each other’s thoughts. It was likely the shadow of a “Judge.” People with higher inspiration levels, under extreme fear, could sometimes vaguely sense such things or catch a glimpse of a fleeting shadow.

However, most ordinary people seeing such a thing would probably go insane. Perhaps the woman was too panicked to truly perceive the shadow, which ironically saved her life.

After comforting the woman and having a Reformed Monk hand her a cloak, Yulis led the way into the manor. Aivana and Nia followed closely behind, while Adelle, wanting to stay behind Yulis but finding her too far ahead, maintained a cautious distance from Aivana.

It was normal for a “Physician” to stay at the back… No, a “Physician” should stay…

Behind! Adelle thought, overcoming her inner fear and openly cowered behind Aivana.

“This way. We went up here before.”

Yulis recalled the route she had taken earlier with Xia’er, silently counting her steps as she headed directly toward the Drawing Room on the right side of Derton Manor.

Another corpse… The same method, a single fatal strike, no dragging it out.

Could this really be something Xia’er would do?

Aivana struggled to associate the lifeless body before her with the calm, intelligent girl who cooked meals and cared about her older sister.

This wasn’t just a contrast; it was like someone else entirely.

Following the unsealed secret passage downward, the scent of blood grew stronger.

In the chapel below, they found several differently mutilated corpses—each having been crushed in the head or chest by some blunt object, dying quickly without much suffering.

“These were the heretics I dealt with.”

After a moment of silence, Yulis pointed towards another hidden passage. “That leads up to where Xia’er was staying before.”

“Ugh—”

Behind them, an Extraordinary Person of the first rank, likely inexperienced with death, vomited at the sight of so many bodies.

The constant trail of blood and corpses cast a shadow over everyone’s hearts, spreading tension through the group.

Many Reformed Monks, from their initiation rites onward, might never have fought a commoner, let alone face such a terrifying second-rank opponent.

Following the path Yulis described, the group cautiously ascended. Soon, they came upon a row of broken bookshelves.

Through the cracks in the shelves, they could see ahead—a luxurious office. Now, a vivid red stain stood out starkly against the office’s crimson carpet, with bits of brain matter scattered nearby.

“What is this?”

Aivana frowned slightly as she examined the dragged blood trail leading to the door.

“It’s the corpse of that cult ‘Missionary,'”

Yulis said, “I haven’t sensed Xia’er’s presence.”

“Sis… The body has been dragged away.”

Adelle peeked out timidly, reminding them quietly.

“Dragged away?”

Yulis felt a chill inside. Extraordinary Persons assimilated by Potions had an abnormal obsession with spiritual materials and other Extraordinary corpses. They would consume these materials or remains, especially those from similar paths, to accelerate their Potion assimilation until their sanity was completely lost.

“Nia.”

“Yes, Miss.”

At this point, there was no longer any need for Yulis to guide them. Nia followed the blood trail outside, with Aivana and Yulis closely following.

And Adelle, after hesitating for a second, closed her eyes tightly and ran after them.

“Mustn’t separate… Mustn’t separate…”

Adelle reminded herself repeatedly. In situations like this, splitting off was always disastrous—knight novels often dedicated pages to describing how foolish lone escapees met their tragic ends.

As they exited the small study-turned-office, they noticed the blood trail had multiplied.

Two trails, four trails… Blood stains merged into a bloody carpet, impossible to distinguish anymore.

“All Extraordinary Persons’ blood…”

Adelle spoke. She, accustomed to dealing with blood daily, wasn’t surprised by this material.

How many people must have been killed?

Following the blood trail down the stairs, the group stopped at the steel gate of the underground exchange area. The originally open gate was now tightly shut, with bodies piled up like cargo outside it. The stench of blood assaulted their nostrils. After a while, Aivana spoke: “Nia, open the gate.”

No matter if Xia’er had been assimilated or not, someone who had killed so many would surely be investigated by the Salvation Goddess Religion…

“Xia’er… She’s inside…”

Yulis seemed to sense something, her voice trembling slightly.

Nia stepped forward, raising her silver shield high before slamming it into the steel gate.

Bang!

The sturdy gate buckled under the force, its mechanism embedded in the wall deforming drastically, causing large cracks in the surrounding concrete and bricks. The hanging chandeliers swayed, dropping fragments of stone as if during an earthquake.

Nia retracted her shield, gathered her strength, and swung it forward with her silver shield.

Bang!

The gate shattered instantly, sending up clouds of dust.

When the dust settled, the scene inside left everyone momentarily frozen.

The once spacious and luxurious exchange area had been cleared into circular zones, each containing shriveled, horrifying corpses or charred materials, marked with blood-etched sacrificial ritual arrays.

At the farthest end of the exchange area, a petite red-haired figure dressed in a tattered black maid dress, barefoot, stood with her back to them, hands stretched toward a massive array on the wall.

Her body was almost devoid of color, countless threads of blood emerging from her and converging onto the sacrificial array on the wall.

Puff—

The headless corpse suspended before the array ignited, causing the entire blood array to emit an eerie glow. A vortex composed of blood mist formed before the array.

One, two… enormous tentacles with hooks, each a meter wide, emerged from the vortex, writhing and tearing at the blood mist vortex, as if something even more terrifying sought to break through.

Hummm—!

A terrible buzzing resonated in everyone’s minds, Spiritual Alerts ringing wildly in their heads.

With the tentacles’ struggle, a monstrous, tooth-filled maw emerged but became stuck in the blood mist vortex, unable to emerge further.

“Gurrr… Gurrr…”

The sound of boiling blood plasma and flesh bubbling erupted from the massive mouth, seemingly communicating with the girl facing away from them.

The circle of purple eyeballs around the lipless mouth turned, each one staring at the individuals standing at the entrance, radiating unrestrained madness and killing intent.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

At that moment, whether “Missionaries,” “Physicians,” or “Detectives” of the first rank, their minds were overwhelmed by extreme fear. They collapsed into hysterical cries, turning to flee.

This was the trembling awe inspired by the ancient unknown, and the terror capable of shattering faith.

The Substitute Sacred Relic on Aivana’s chest flared with bright flames, Adelle gulped down three bottles of potion in one go, Yulis’s white silhouette instantly guarding the four of them, and even third-rank Crown Guard Nia slightly lowered her stance, ready for the highest level of combat.

And the girl facing away from them, seemingly disturbed by something, painfully raised her left hand to clutch her hair, slowly turning her head.

Her blood-streaked, pale face bore traces of pain and displeasure. Her crimson pupils casually swept over the four still standing in place.

“Shut up…”

The hoarse, sickly voice emanating from the girl struck everyone like a heavy hammer, halting their hearts and breaths momentarily.

Nia’s gaze remained fixed on the monstrous maw behind the girl. The murmurs in her mind deepened with every eye contact from the eyes beside the maw.

It was like countless souls screaming in agony in her ears.

Wasn’t this supposed to be an out-of-control second-rank Extraordinary Person?

What are these Sacrifice Rituals? And what is that thing behind her?!

“Miss, the situation is wrong! We may have to leave!!!”

Nia almost immediately realized she couldn’t protect Miss Aivana in a fight against the opponent ahead.

The situation was wrong—they had to retreat!