For her, it was far too easy to slay three arrogant, excited, and dull-witted fanatics under the cover of vegetation. These fellows placed too much faith in their own tough scales, so much so that when their heads hit the ground, their eyes were filled with disbelief and panic.
"Vivian, are there any more pursuers from the Ant-Scale Door around the woods?"
"No, they only sent out three to investigate. But this location is already exposed; others should be here soon. Munin heard sporadic barking at the Sands of Slumber Bell Tower earlier; the follow-up personnel might be accompanied by hounds."
Using the crow Munin's bird's-eye view to observe the surroundings, Vivian confirmed no immediate new threats before recalling it back to her side.
"Hounds, huh..."
Haida narrowed her eyes slightly, and after brief contemplation, she had already made a decision.
She brandished the power sword "Nirvana" in her hand and neatly sliced apart the bodies of the three Ant-Scale Door disciples on the ground. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she lightly shook the blade, evenly splattering the adhering blood and minced flesh around.
Fabricate and destroy the scene. That was the first step.
If the Stellar Abyss Society's Star-Tellers discovered these three Ant-Scale Door disciples had all been decapitated with a single sword stroke, even if they didn't suspect the Secrets-Hunter Cult immediately, it would inevitably raise strong vigilance.
The second step was to set up disinformation... to cover the scent characteristics hounds might pick up.
Methodically, Haida took dozens of rounds from the ammunition pouch on her form-fitting nun's habit, extracted the gunpowder, and sprinkled the black powder over the minced flesh and nearby bushes. Finally, standing at a distance, she struck a spark and ignited it.
The pungent smell of sulfur and saltpeter was enough to cause physiological discomfort for those sensitive little creatures.
Lastly, eliminate any residual spirituality to avoid contamination. However, the spirituality dissipating from the three Ant-Scale Door disciples' bodies had already been devoured clean by the power sword "Nirvana," so this step could be omitted.
"Alright, let's go."
The process of handling the scene was quick and silent, taking only a few dozen seconds from start to finish.
After completing this, Haida began the withdrawal with Vivian.
Watching the nun skillfully and professionally erase all traces here, Vivian couldn't help but purse her lips, feeling an unwarranted sense of relief.
Fortunately, Sister Haida was her colleague, and not a fugitive needing to be pursued...
Just then, Vivian noticed the storage pouch on one side beneath Haida's robe was inexplicably bulging, as if containing something round. She had been vigilant about the surroundings earlier, so she hadn't paid close attention to what else the nun had done.
Looking at that shape, she narrowed her eyes slightly, having some unpleasant associations.
"Sister Haida, what's in your storage pouch... it wouldn't be..."
"Just as you imagine, it's the 'trophy' from this engagement."
Haida nodded, then showed Vivian the storage case located at the side of her robe's hem.
Peering inside the opened lid, one could vaguely see a grotesque, bloody head.
"Don't worry, Vivian. The Burial Court's storage case has three layers of sealed bags; there won't be any blood smell or spiritual leakage."
"Oh, that's great..."
Looking at that ferocious head embedded with scales, the corner of Vivian's eye twitched slightly.
Compared to Dr. Fran, Sister Haida was indeed very normal.
But this "normalcy" was relative; after all, she came from a place like the Burial Court, which specialized in producing eccentrics... so she inevitably also possessed the senior hunters' little quirk of collecting heads.
The deep forest at night was dark and oppressive, but not silent.
The calls of birds and the buzz of flies and insects lingered in the ears. The two moved through it while erasing traces.
A moment later, Vivian noticed that on the way back, Haida didn't choose the original route to the city outskirts, but took another path.
But that road... didn't seem to lead to Foy.
This discovery inexplicably sent a chill down her spine. She remembered there seemed to be only an abandoned fishing village site ahead in this direction, one Munin had found earlier.
Had Sister Haida noticed some previously overlooked special circumstance, or... was she affected by the so-called "Abyssal curse"? But if the curse could affect her without her realizing it, how could she herself be fine?
Because of that Ant-Scale Door fanatic's head? But an ordinary Evil Spawn head shouldn't be able to affect her mind...
Concealing a trace of unease in her heart, Vivian voiced her confusion.
"Sister Haida, is there anything special about that fishing village we saw on the way here?"
Her inquiry was direct, without hesitation or waiting. In mystical common knowledge, most erosions deepen gradually and silently; discovering them early allows for early purification.
Hearing this, Haida turned her head. Her grey-hazel eyes were as clear and calm as usual, with no sense of spiritual or emotional disturbance.
"Apologies, Vivian. I should have explained this earlier."
"That fishing village's location is already within what Foy would classify as 'within the city,' and there are still some undemolished buildings there. We can use it to quickly leave this area."
Hearing this, Vivian felt slightly relieved. Good, the bizarre situation she had imagined hadn't occurred.
If Sister Haida had truly lost control and gone mad due to some ritual influence, then given her combat proficiency and mobility... she could just offer her neck and wait.
That way, the death wouldn't be too ugly, and the process wouldn't be too painful.
"But... how do we use that fishing village to quickly leave from here?"
Regarding this point Haida mentioned, Vivian still didn't quite understand.
"Like Dr. Fran does." Haida replied succinctly.
A moment later, the two passed through the dense forest and approached the long-abandoned, dilapidated village.
The nun took the Fog Street Clinic membership card Fran had issued between her fingers, then walked towards a long-dead door. The moment her fingers touched the door panel, ethereal, hazy grey mist surged from it, solidifying into an intangible curtain.
"Let's go."
Vivian looked at this scene somewhat shocked, her mouth slightly agape. Only after Munin pecked her twice did she gradually close it.
Sister Haida could also do this trick? When did she learn it? How did she not know? What else didn't she know?
Though somewhat surprised, she didn't voice her questions. She simply stabilized her emotions and followed Haida.
Subsequently, their figures vanished into the illusory grey mist within the door.
...
Sands of Slumber Bell Tower.
After the Stellar Abyss Society's Star-Tellers completed tidying up the area around the bell tower, they dispatched two squads to investigate the earlier anomaly in the woods. Those Ant-Scale Door monsters must have discovered something...
Otherwise, they would never have easily abandoned the blood and flesh almost within their grasp and suddenly left the coast.
The leader of the reconnaissance squad was a "Tide-Listener." He led two black-furred hounds, cautiously advancing through the forest illuminated only by moonlight.
Unlike those nearly insane Ant-Scale Door disciples, he clearly understood how dangerous the shadows of night could be.
Ambushes, traps, tripwires, or silent mystical assaults. Any one of these could help a hidden, weaker party completely reverse the situation.
"Mr. Wolfturn, we've found the Ant-Scale Door disciples that pursued earlier."
A Star-Teller who had reached the front reported.
"Found them? What condition are those fellows in..."
Before Wolfturn could finish his question, he had already smelled the extremely strong scent of blood in the air.
Although those Ant-Scale monsters were already Evil Spawn-ized and enjoyed leaving wounds on themselves, thus always exuding a smell of rotten flesh around them... it was never this intense.
He frowned gravely and stepped forward to observe the specific situation at the scene.
There was nothing left that could be called corpses, only an unidentifiable pile of minced meat. It was coated in sticky black-red blood plasma, evenly hanging on the surrounding bushes and vegetation.
"What the hell did this..."
Wolfturn's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling unsettled.
It wasn't that his language was crude; mainly, the death state of those three Ant-Scale Door disciples was too gruesome. Several of the less experienced Star-Tellers nearby were already showing signs of retching. Even though they had just completed the interception mission against the Abyssal Sea devils.
Seeing the remains of Evil Spawn and human corpses provided completely different sensory experiences.
Even if these highly eroded Ant-Scale Door disciples were only "former humans."
"Mr. Wolfturn, should we continue tracking?" a Star-Teller asked him with a tone of uncertainty.
"...Let me look further."
Wolfturn found it momentarily difficult to decide.
Those three Ant-Scale monsters' bodies were highly Evil Spawn-ized, fierce and ferocious, and fearless. Given their physical strength, even encountering an adult brown bear, they could tear it apart alive and eat it.
And now, these fellows had been turned into mincemeat within ten minutes. If the person who attacked them was hiding in the shadows to attack us, what would the outcome be?
"The surrounding vegetation isn't disturbed, and the trees show little sign of damage. That means they didn't even have a chance to struggle... before being killed by some terrifying force."
He muttered to himself, his brows furrowing tighter.
"Damn it, the soil in the woods has too many gravel and fine sand, can't preserve footprints... otherwise, we could at least determine whether that guy was human or not. Always encountering such weird incidents, this is why I hate full moons."
"Especially the Plum Moon's full moon."
Wolfturn patted the sand off his hands, then looked up to ask his squad's second-in-command.
"Mitchell, how are the hounds reacting?"
Mitchell calmed the restless hounds that occasionally sneezed, and after a moment provided a response.
"Hmm... they're somewhat uneasy. But they don't show intense fear, nor many fearful reactions. The spirituality in the flesh and blood of those 'Ant-Scale Prisoners' has somehow become very thin."
"And the scents around here are too strong and mixed; they also find it hard to determine an accurate tracking route."
Listening to his report, Wolfturn's expression grew increasingly puzzled.
"The spirituality of those monsters has thinned?"
These half-mad Ant-Scale Prisoners did indeed gain spirituality beyond ordinary people through Evil Spawn-ization, at the cost of this contamination and erosion. In this state, even a mythical creature biting them would get poisoned; who would covet the spirituality on them?
"Tsk."
Wolfturn had no clue about the current situation. After thinking it over repeatedly, he finally gave the order.
"Everyone maintain firing readiness, form a defensive perimeter. Collect samples of the prisoners' remaining blood and flesh. After that, we retreat to the bell tower."
"In-depth investigation will wait until dawn tomorrow."
Hearing his superior say this, Mitchell beside him couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The death state of those three Ant-Scale Prisoners was too horrifying; even a glance made one worry about nightmares at night. And the existence capable of reducing them to this state... the risks of tracking it were unpredictable.
He didn't want to die young because of such inexplicable matters.
Hearing they didn't have to pursue deeply, the surrounding Star-Tellers gradually calmed down. But they all remained mentally tense, maintaining vigilance to prevent anything from emerging from the darkness of the dense forest.
Wolfturn rubbed his temples, his worried expression evident.
Damaging the corpses to this state seemed like the work of a monster. But leaving no effective traces seemed like the work of a human.
So, was the cause of all this a monster with human intelligence, or... a person as ferocious as a monster?
—
Fog Street.
Haida walked along this street filled with pale grey cold mist, occasionally looking up to observe her surroundings.
The scene of this street was no longer the standard form of Norlington North District No. 13, but carried the distinct coastal style of Gormouth. She could even see a large building resembling the Dreamslumber Flowers Hotel beside the road.
"Sister Haida, this place is exactly the same as Sulan Bay Street where the Dreamslumber Flowers Hotel is located."
Vivian carefully observed the surroundings, trying hard to match them with the images in her mind.
"But the orientation of the buildings and roads seems reversed."
Everything before her eyes was shaking her mystical common knowledge. Not because secret realms were rare, but because of the time it took Fran to establish it... It seemed that doctor constructed this secret realm in less than a night.
For the same work, even if given to an experienced large cult to complete, it would take at least several years and consume vast amounts of expensive soul-nurturing materials.
Soon, the two saw a slender figure clad in a white doctor's coat standing quietly at the street's end, seemingly having waited for some time.
Undoubtedly, it was Fran.
"Welcome, Sister Haida, and Miss Vivian. The clinic has only added some basic furniture so far, the facilities are rather simple... I hope you'll bear with it."
Seeing the two, she faintly curved her moist lips, revealing a smile.
As she spoke, Fran walked towards Haida and very naturally took the storage case containing the head from beneath the nun's robe.
She opened the case, looked at the ferocious head sealed with transparent tape, and a gleam of excitement flashed through her amber eyes.
"Oh, Sister Haida even brought a small Plum Moon New Year's gift, that's really too polite of you... How can I accept this?"
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