NOVPUBOn the third floor hallway of Lichtenstein Castle.
Lanci and Hyperion stood in front of what used to be the main bedroom of the castle owner and knocked on the door lightly twice.
"Lanci?"
"It’s me."
Lanci then turned the door handle and opened the master’s bedroom door.
Between the crack of the door, a slightly dazzling, flickering light instantly pierced the dim environment of the corridor.
Lanci with Hyperion entered the room.
This spacious room, as massive as the heart of an ancient castle, had countless carvings and decoration details hung on its walls - it was like an opened history book. The rich colors and delicate lines naturally incited one’s curiosity about the stories behind them.
The marble fireplace burned with robust and passionate flames. The deep brown curtains draped over the window at a distance, obscuring the night outside. The room had an inexplicable secretive feel to it, as though an unspeakable ceremony was taking place.
By the four-pillar bed in the room’s center, there were still those three familiar figures.
The three, now versatile, clergy members were wearing masks and were intently modifying a mummified body.
"If all the soft tissues of the prey have been dehydrated and dried out, including the organs, we have to use a little more force to dissect them. Yes, just use force, don’t worry about damaging the prey."
And by their side, Frey was still guiding the three clergy members.
"Stop... please, stop...!" 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
The mummified body in the center was lean, its skin pale, and the texture was clearly visible, like an ancient piece of parchment.
Contrary to reason, the mummy was still struggling painfully - horrifying!
The implements in the hands of the clergy members moved around on the dried body repeatedly.
Whether gentle or severe, they all elicited weak but sharp sounds from Count Paluocas.
A high-pitched noise, mingling with the sound of a scalpel cutting through dry skin.
"Hmm, there’s no bloody smell at all."
Lanci remarked in surprise.
"...Have you ever wondered why?"
Hyperion, finally unable to maintain her silence anymore, lifted her head to look at Lanci standing beside her.
The two of them first found Frey, who was still using his hunter professional skills to instruct the clergy members.
According to Lanci’s training plan, after this patient session, these three clergy members would return to the outside world. Being able to dissect humans and animals meant they have fully mastered the techniques.
After briefly observing for a while and waiting for the busy people to temporarily pause their work and turn their attention towards themselves, Lanci posed a question:
"Everyone, is the werewolf among you?"
If the werewolf wasn’t here, he could then proceed to the fourth-floor iron chamber and ask the young master of the business association and the guard siblings.
"It’s me."
Frey quickly responded and looked at Lanci, knowing that Lanci was here for him.
"Frey, don’t you really have werewolf abilities?"
Lanci scrutinized Frey with some curiosity, then continued to ask.
Hyperion had informed him previously on their journey that even in the perspective of the Shadow World’s information panel, there was no separate prompt indicating that she was a [Witch].
Based on the information from the sealed magic book they had found in the castle, as a half-demon, she was indeed the witch in this Shadow World.
The demon race characteristics were fully covered by the previously obtained [Transformation Technique: Human]. Only those who had teamed up with her to enter and the two treacherous reborn believers who had already known about her situation were aware that she was a half-demon.
Since the [Witch] status wasn’t an additional gift from the Shadow World, but inherent, the [Werewolf] was likely the same.
"Yes, I went to the library and looked up some ancient records. I found some records about the werewolf race and finally understood why I receive some slight enhancements at night."
Frey had also finally cleared up something that had been bugging him for quite some time in the present world.
Although he wasn’t of the wolf clan, it seemed that there was a slight recurrence in his bloodline. Even in the present world, he would become stronger in the moonlight, receiving full attribute enhancement and higher regenerative abilities.
"I had black hair when I was a child, and after my rank increased, it turned grey. That was also when I awakened several traits similar to the so-called wolf clan."
Frey explained to Lanci and Hyperion.
In a way, he was now half-wolf clan.
However, even before he awakened the wolf clan traits, he already had strong regenerative abilities.
If it was at night, he was confident that he wouldn’t lose to any same-level blood clan in a single combat.
After briefly chatting, Lanci asked Frey:
"Frey, sorry to bother you, but can I ask you to come with me?"
"No problem."
...
Frey briefly explained the subsequent dissection steps to the three clergy members, then left the bedroom with Lanci and Hyperion.
The three of them walked out of the room together. The sound of their footsteps once again broke the silence in the third-floor hallway, echoing within the cold stone walls and corridor.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"I received the latest information; underneath the castle’s underground wine cellar, a bloodline Viscount is sealed. The seal can be unlocked using the blood of a witch and a werewolf as materials. We have to go and rescue him."
Lanci announced this with the look of someone ready to save lives.
Frey nodded.
Upon hearing Lanci’s words, he understood. No more questions were needed, for Lanci had a pair of eyes that could express words, which Frey could interpret.
"Frey, before entering the Shadow World, we were discussing that the academic delegation from the Arolan Kingdom would cause quite a bit of hassle for the president. According to estimates, they should be arriving at Ichrite Academy in the next couple of days to begin their two-week academic visit. The Shadow World will end in four days, and then we can go out and give the president a hand."
The three of them strolled down the stairs, casually chatting. Each step they took seemed heavy and rhythmic.
The pitch-dark stairs resembled a gateway leading to the unknown, and each candlelight seemed like a warm hand, extending assistance to the three of them, expelling darkness.
It was just as leisurely as when they were issuing student council tasks in the old literature building of Ichrite Academy.
"Of course."
"And this time, there’s a hidden elite reborn believer among the Arolan Kingdom’s team. Their goal is to assassinate Hyperion and destroy the trust between the two countries. This is a severe malignant event that no one else has realised yet. Also, to ensure the safety of our informants, we can’t alert the kingdom side for now. We have to manufacture an accident and apprehend the culprit."
Lanci continued to say in righteous indignation, displaying a sense of responsibility befitting a principal.
Upon hearing Lanci’s words, Hyperion faltered slightly.
She had a strange sense of déjà vu upon hearing Lanci’s phrase...
Hyperion remembered the information relayed by Goddess Officer Stisera — an extremely dangerous person wanted to stage an accident on campus to kill her.
Now it seemed like the other party was hastening headlong on a crash course with Lanci.
Lanci thought the same.
So is it about whose accident is more ’accidental’ now?!
