For some reason, the closer she got to the mansion's front hall, the more uneasy Haida felt.
Her psychic sense was clearly still in its recovery period after depletion, unable to provide any effective information. Yet a sense of agitation, as if born from her heart, silently warned her.
Finally, Haida and Flamel passed through the last corridor and arrived at the mansion's main hall.
Just a short distance more, and they could leave this eerie, abandoned mansion. But at this very moment, methodical footsteps sounded from the spiral staircase on one side of the hall...
Was it a monster from here? No, that's not right...
This wasn't the dull thud of a creature's flesh pressing against the floor, but the crisp sound of leather boots. Listening to it, it bore some resemblance to the standard footwear of Secrets-Hunters...
Who the newcomer was seemed self-evident.
"Flamel, hold on tight."
Haida left a light, short whisper by the girl's ear, then wrapped her arms around her and began swiftly crossing the main hall.
"Mmph!"
Before Flamel could even express any displeasure, she felt the scenery around her begin to change as if flying by.
In the blink of an eye, the two were at the center of the hall; the sister's movements were so fast they seemed like a slowed-down, frame-dropped shot.
However, the girl wasn't angry this time, mainly because Haida had quite strictly adhered to her previous request of "next time tell me beforehand"... although it really was just one word, she did indeed give a heads-up.
"Trying to run..."
A cold male voice sounded behind Haida, seeming only a step away, within close reach.
Somehow, Ahern had already positioned the Decapitation Throne's shadowy blade right before the sister's neck. It looked like he was about to use her forward momentum to wrench her head off.
Haida let out a light tsk, planting one foot heavily on the floor to forcibly halt her forward motion. Instead, she pivoted into a backward roll, narrowly avoiding that giant shadow-forged scythe blade.
"Why aren't you running anymore? Filthy creatures spreading plague. I will slaughter your apostles, topple your towers, crush your crowns... use your deaths to cleanse all this rot..."
This "Chief Hunter's" state was very strange.
His limbs were stiff and uncoordinated, like a puppet on strings. His speech also showed no trace of reason, seemingly having completely descended into madness.
Flamel now buried her head deeply in the crook of Haida's neck, timidly, her body trembling slightly.
It was only now that Haida realized this clever, somewhat whimsical girl... could also feel fear.
Ahern narrowed those pitch-black eyes already overflowing with filthy blood, still noticing Flamel.
"It's you!?"
His madness seemed ignited, completely burning away what little reason remained.
"Witch of the Divine Pestilence... originator who summoned the crown... you killed her... No!... It was you!"
The utterly discomposed Chief Hunter muttered intermittently, the deep shadows of the Decapitation Throne continuously merging into his body. Twelve pitch-black bone spurs pierced from his back, spreading like crow's wings.
Haida had seen this state before.
In future Norlington, that "self" nearly corrupted by the deity "Six-Eyed Crow" was almost identical to Ahern at this moment.
With the situation still unclear, engaging in this hopelessly slim-chance duel was clearly irrational.
She clenched her silver teeth slightly, having already made a decision in that instant.
Disengage!
Taking advantage of this "Chief Hunter" being dazed during his mutation and corruption, Haida, holding Flamel, dashed once more towards the main hall's front door.
Close! The mansion's door was right before them, just three steps away...
But, leaving one's back exposed to that notoriously fearsome Chief Hunter, was that perhaps a bit too arrogant?
A black bone spur abruptly pierced through Haida's shoulder blade, pinning her heavily to the ground. Yet she seemed to have already prepared to pay the price, slicing through the black bone spur along with the skin and flesh of her shoulder blade with her sword.
Two steps.
Ahern spun the huge, nearly bloated shadow scythe in his hand.
One step.
The scythe was thrown.
Almost simultaneously with the Decapitation Throne striking her back, Haida, clutching Flamel, flung herself through the glass main hall door. Crystalline fragments flew everywhere for a moment, scattering across the floor.
"Cough, cough..."
Haida landed in the alley outside the door, crashing heavily onto the ground made of iron mesh.
The scythe blade vanished into nothingness the moment it left the mansion, and the figure of the now-insane Chief Hunter also disappeared as if never having existed.
Only the vicious wounds on the sister's shoulder blade and back, still oozing blood, silently testified... that everything before was no illusion.
"Cough, did it damage the lungs?"
Haida lightly touched the wound on her back; the Decapitation Throne had indeed sliced through skin and flesh as well as part of her rib plate. Just a bit deeper and it would have shredded her soft internal organs.
The moment she left the mansion's vicinity, the scythe blade vanished... otherwise, she would likely have been pierced through the chest by it.
Haida felt her consciousness beginning to blur from excessive blood loss.
The original psychic sense overload was merely mental trauma; she still had her resilient physique to barely support her. But now, her body was also nearing its limit.
Leaning against the wall, she surveyed her surroundings. Fortunately, there seemed to be no wandering evil creatures nearby.
"Flamel, do you know how to use a gun?"
"No..."
The girl huddled anxiously beside Haida.
"Flip the safety off, hold it with both hands. Keep your eye, the sight, and the target aligned. Wait until the target is close enough before pulling the trigger... doesn't need to be too accurate, just a hit will do."
Haida took her hand, giving her her own customary sidearm, then instructed her on its use.
After completing all this, she slowly and wearily closed her eyes, losing consciousness.
—
Drowsiness and daze grew deeper and thicker. Under the dual weakening of body and psychic sense, Haida's vision sank into a lightless darkness.
Was it wise to give the weapon to Flamel? Would she wake after falling asleep? What exactly was Dr. Fran's current state?
All questions fell silent along with the sinking of consciousness.
...
An unknown amount of time later, accompanied by several coughs carrying turbid blood, Haida slowly awoke from her dormant state.
She raised a hand to lightly touch her forehead, dispelling the muddled heaviness in her head.
Both her stamina and psychic sense had partially recovered, and the bleeding had stopped. It seemed her luck was good...
To know that losing consciousness in such a dangerous environment likely meant being dismembered and devoured by evil creatures in one's sleep. That she was still alive now was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.
Haida turned to look at her shoulder, the spot pierced by "Ahern's" bone spur.
The vicious penetrating wound on the shoulder blade was now bandaged with white cotton strips, and the gash left by the Decapitation Throne on her back was similarly wrapped with a layer of cloth.
Although she possessed strong self-healing abilities, it was also dependent on receiving first aid for the wounds to recover this quickly.
Haida habitually glanced at her surroundings.
As expected, her location hadn't moved; she was right in the alley outside the mansion.
Clearly, Flamel couldn't possibly carry her. Even ignoring all the heavy equipment armed to the teeth and the nearly person-tall power sword... just her body weight alone was more than a small girl could bear.
Seeing Haida open her eyes, Flamel, leaning against her, asked with some concern.
"Sister Haida, you're awake? Is there anywhere else that hurts?"
"I'm much better now, thank you for the bandaging."
Haida tentatively moved her injured shoulder blade; besides a stabbing pain, it also felt somewhat weak. But the wound had begun to scab, clearly having healed to a certain degree.
But... where did the fabric for the bandages come from?
The sister looked at Flamel and noticed the hem of her white straitjacket was now much shorter, revealing her somewhat slender legs bearing faint scars.
Her switchblade also showed signs of having been taken out, probably used to cut the fabric... the answer was self-evident.
The reason she had been leaning against her was to seek warmth after her clothes became shorter.
"Let's go, Flamel, we're heading to the second building now."
Once she regained mobility, Haida was to set off immediately. The supplies she carried were limited; dragging her feet would only make her situation more dangerous. Speed is crucial in war; delays breed complications.
"Okay." Flamel seemed somewhat surprised by the sister's recovery speed but complied obediently.
The two proceeded along the alley for a moment when suddenly, Haida caught a whiff of a blood scent, close at hand.
This place was full of corpses and rotten blood; having the scent of blood wasn't strange in principle. But that scent carried a different kind of freshness and was right beside her, lingering at the tip of her nose.
"Flamel, are you hurt?"
Haida stopped walking, looking at the girl beside her.
"...Mhm, a little bit." With a hint of bashfulness, Flamel admitted it.
Haida checked her body but found no obvious external wounds. But soon she followed the scent of blood to the source of the injury... the soles of the girl's feet.
Flamel had been barefoot since she appeared, wearing only thin straitjacket clothing.
The shards left behind when Haida crashed through the mansion's glass front door had, during the girl's walking, embedded themselves into the still-tender skin of her feet. Looking back, one could even see the shallow footprints marked by blood.
Haida bent down, lifting Flamel's leg to examine the wounds on her feet. Most were cuts from embedded glass fragments, covered with a mixture of gray dust and congealed blood.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Sister Haida seemed very worried about your friend... I didn't want to delay your business."
Flamel sat by the wall with downcast eyes, undergoing the sister's examination. Her insensitivity to pain also seemed identical to Dr. Fran's.
Haida pressed her lips together, somewhat unsure how to respond.
Although I am indeed somewhat concerned about Dr. Fran's current situation... based on the known clues so far, you seem to be her. Just in a somewhat different "state."
"Let's clean the wounds first. I'll carry you for the rest of the journey."
As she spoke, Haida took out a tube of clean drinking water and an alcohol solution from her pouch. She began cleaning the wounds on her feet and extracting the embedded glass fragments.
Although her movements weren't as fluid and precise as Dr. Fran's, they were at least methodical and quite experienced.
Every time Haida used the tip of her switchblade to pick out shards and glass slivers from the wounds, she could clearly feel Flamel's body trembling slightly. This puzzled her... Could the girl actually feel pain normally?
Soon, the wound cleaning was done. Flamel's feet were no longer stained with bloodied dust and were wrapped with a thin layer of gauze.
Haida picked her up and walked along the dark alley towards the second building.
...
The girl nestled in the sister's arms seemed listless, with a soft, weary drowsiness. Aside from necessary directions, she kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep.
This also fit the characteristic of children needing more sleep and easily getting tired.
Along the way, only scattered evil creatures wandered aimlessly; Haida carefully avoided them, and no further encounters occurred.
Undoubtedly, these few monsters were lucky.
If not for carrying the drowsy Flamel making it inconvenient to act, Haida wouldn't have minded dealing with all the dirty evil creatures in sight.
Maintaining the hunter's concealment and stealth, Haida traversed the complex maze of alleys and arrived before the second building.
Compared to the first ornately decorated mansion, the second building more resembled a simple dwelling. The roof tiles were uneven, the walls slightly yellow, and the front door wasn't even as wide as the mansion's back door.
But for some reason... this place gave an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
It was like the tiled cottage with cooking smoke rising from a countryside home, as if a warm-hearted woman might step out at any moment, greeting you with a smile.
But Haida dared not let her guard down.
In the theory of Secrets-Hunters, all emotions without cause are dangerous. Fear may indeed induce trembling, but a sense of familiarity... can also be a bait leading one into intoxicated oblivion.
Creeeak…
The dwelling's door wasn't locked; with a light push, she opened it.
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL