NOVPUBTivian West Suburbs, by the Moonflow River.
Under the cover of night, a raging fire burns fiercely. The villa standing by the riverside is now engulfed in thick, billowing smoke. Flames occasionally burst from the windows, and the entire two-story villa is ablaze, with the fire spreading rapidly.
From within the burning building, the sounds of tremors and roars echo continuously. Walls shatter, and charred bodies are thrown out from the inferno. The howls of beasts reverberate through the flames.
"Tsk... Damn it, are the Church’s Holy Knights all madmen? If this keeps up, all the clues and evidence will be burned to ashes!"
Edmond, hovering in the sky with the power of wind, looks down at the blazing villa and rubs his forehead in frustration. Anrecius’s reckless actions are clearly destroying any valuable leads.
The reason they were able to locate Davic’s hideout was because they found clues about him in Alex’s base, which allowed them to trace their way here. Originally, they had hoped to find more leads about the Wolf Blood Society in this hideout. However, the reinforcements that arrived charged in and started setting everything on fire.
"Although this is about dealing with heretics, for a covert operation like this, shouldn’t the Church have sent an Inquisitor? Why did they suddenly send a Holy Knight? I really don’t get it!"
Edmond mutters in confusion. In the Church’s system, the Holy Knights and the Inquisition are two crucial enforcement bodies. The Holy Knights are military in nature, while the Inquisition is more like a police force. One focuses on direct purification and destruction, while the other emphasizes investigation and interrogation.
Generally, when dealing with internal Church matters and heresy, the Inquisition is deployed. When confronting heretical cults and evil gods, the Holy Knights are sent. In complex situations, both may cooperate or work with local Serenity Bureau agents. However, this time, the coordination clearly didn’t go well.
Regardless, the battle inside has already begun. Although Edmond is deeply dissatisfied with Anrecius’s reckless actions, he can’t just stand by and watch the Holy Knight fight alone. Both are White-rank Beyonders, and in a one-on-one fight, there are too many variables. He must provide support immediately.
With that, Edmond summons the air currents around him and dives down, crashing through an open window into the burning villa, joining the fray.
…
Inside Smith’s Villa, in an area not yet engulfed by the raging flames, another intense battle is underway.
In a spacious room, a nun in white wielding a rapier faces off against two beast-like Beastkin. Against these powerful, ape-like creatures with enhanced physical abilities, Vania initially struggles. However, the tide begins to turn once she starts using her Healing Prayer ability in combat.
Vania’s blade cuts through black fur and flesh, leaving deep gashes. Soon after, a soft orange glow touches the wounds, and they begin to heal. However, this healing is only superficial. Beneath the seemingly normal skin, the internal structure is completely disrupted.
Nerves, blood vessels, and muscles are tangled into a chaotic mess. Blood vessels that should flow in the same direction are connected in reverse, causing blood to clash within. Muscles are twisted into knots, and pain receptors are concentrated and subjected to constant stimulation.
Abnormal blood flow, nerve damage, and muscle distortion... The wounds, after being "healed" incorrectly, cause even greater damage to the body. Under Vania’s deliberate manipulation, these Beastkin’s internal injuries, transformed from external wounds, continue to worsen. Their movements slow down as they howl in agony.
“This is the effect of the revelation Aka granted me, combined with the Healing Prayer ability. Incorrect healing is more harmful than direct damage... How terrifying... If the Holy Mother had guided my abilities, it wouldn’t have produced such an effect…”
As she swings her rapier, Vania reflects on this. The Healing Prayer ability allows the user to guide the healing of wounds with their own will. However, most Church nuns and monks, who spend their lives in quiet contemplation, lack detailed knowledge of human anatomy. Thus, ordinary Healing Prayer users rely on praying to the Holy Mother for guidance.
Vania, however, is different. Through Aka’s revelation, she has gained the anatomical knowledge of a seasoned surgeon. With this knowledge, she can guide her abilities herself. For her, a wound can be healed, worsened, or turned into a far more serious condition than the original injury.
While ordinary Healing Prayer users can also cause harm by healing wounds incorrectly without praying to the Holy Mother, their effects are not as potent as Vania’s. Even when healing in reverse, having precise knowledge allows for more efficient and targeted harm.
This unconventional use of the Healing Prayer ability was never mentioned to Vania by the Church. It was Dorothy who suggested it during one of their conversations about Vania’s new abilities. At first, Vania felt that using the Holy Mother’s power in such a way might be sacrilegious. But now, faced with this situation, she has no choice.
“Holy Mother, please forgive my sins for using Your healing power to cause harm and pain... This is to deal with the crisis... And... using healing power against enemies is just too effective!”
Vania thinks to herself. Meanwhile, the two Beastkin in front of her, after being repeatedly "healed," are now suffering from severe internal injuries. Their muscles are twisted, blood flow is blocked, and their nerves are in constant pain... Under the torment of these injuries, they begin to whimper, and their movements slow significantly.
Seizing an opportunity, Vania thrusts her rapier, piercing one Beastkin’s right eye. The creature howls in agony, clutching its bleeding eye socket as it stumbles around before crashing through a window and falling to the ground below. Vania then swings her blade, stabbing the last Beastkin through the chest and pinning it to the wall.
"Success..."
Seeing that she has dealt with the last Beastkin, Vania breathes a sigh of relief. However, what happens next makes her tense up again.
The Beastkin pinned to the wall by her rapier grows weaker and weaker as it struggles. When it reaches a certain level of weakness, the red gem on the rapier’s hilt begins to glow. The Beastkin’s body starts to wither and dry up before Vania’s eyes. She steps back, releasing the hilt, as the Beastkin rapidly turns into a mummified corpse. Once the transformation is complete, the light in the gem fades. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
"This sword Miss Dorothy gave me... is it a mystical item? One that can absorb blood?"
Vania murmurs as she looks at the mummified Beastkin pinned to the wall. At that moment, a voice speaks behind her.
"To be precise, it’s a mystical item that absorbs Chalice spirituality."
Hearing this, Vania turns around and sees the sickly Davic approaching. After the villa descended into chaos, Dorothy took the opportunity to free Davic from surveillance. Now, he has finally found a chance to reunite with Vania.
"Ah... It’s Miss Dorothy. What should we do now?"
Seeing the marionette, Vania relaxes slightly. Dorothy, controlling Davic, steps forward and pulls the Heart-Devouring Cane Sword from the mummified Beastman’s chest before responding.
"Now we need to leave immediately. On the upper floors, the Serenity Bureau and the Church’s White-rank Beyonders are besieging the Werewolf Smith. That werewolf and this villa probably won’t last much longer. You need to get out now, through that window..."
Feeling the constant tremors and loud noises from above, Davic points to a nearby window that was shattered earlier by a Beastkin, indicating that Vania should escape through it.
"Alright, let’s talk outside..."
"Only you need to go. Outside is filled with Serenity Bureau and Church agents. If they see us talking, it could be bad for you. So just go by yourself. Oh, and take this with you."
With that, Davic tosses something to Vania. She catches it and examines it closely, realizing it’s a twisted pair of handcuffs. Vania recognizes them—they’re the handcuffs the Serenity Bureau had placed on Davic earlier, which were later removed and discarded by Smith. These handcuffs... have the Serenity Bureau’s tracking sigil on them.
"These handcuffs... Could it be that the reason the Hunters were able to find this place is..."
Looking at the deformed handcuffs, Vania speaks in surprise. Davic calmly explains.
"When you encounter Serenity Bureau or Church agents later, show them these handcuffs. Tell them that after the werewolf discarded them, you secretly picked them up and hid them on your person, believing that someone would come to rescue you. Understand?"
Through Davic, Dorothy instructs Vania. After hearing this, Vania pauses for a moment, then nods in understanding.
"I understand. Thank you, Miss Dorothy!"
With that, Vania turns and leaps out of the window, escaping the villa. Seeing that Vania has successfully escaped, Dorothy breathes a sigh of relief.
"I wonder... how much merit will Vania gain from this?"
After murmuring this in the carriage, Dorothy begins to control Davic, who is still inside the villa, to move around with the Heart-Devouring Cane Sword. His goal is not to leave the villa.
"This fire is so intense. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it."
As she controls Davic through the smoke-filled villa, Dorothy mutters to herself. With Smith currently locked in a life-and-death struggle with the Serenity Bureau and Church’s White-rank Beyonders, now is the perfect time to strike.
With the intention of looting, Dorothy guides Davic through the burning villa. Soon, he arrives at his destination—Smith’s secret chamber.
The secret chamber is now empty, with no sign of Smith. The floor is littered with charred and dismembered Beastkin corpses, and the walls are shattered. The fire is growing fiercer, indicating that a fierce battle took place here. However, the combatants have now moved elsewhere, as the constant tremors throughout the villa suggest the fight is far from over.
"This place is so badly damaged, with so much on fire... I wonder if there’s anything valuable left..."
Dorothy, sitting in the carriage, murmurs to herself. Nevertheless, she controls Davic to search the ruined secret chamber, hoping to find something of value.
At that moment, a strange phenomenon occurs around the villa.
On one side of the villa, the wide Moonflow River suddenly churns with turbulent waves. The Hunters surrounding the villa are drawn to the commotion on the river and turn to look. They see a massive water column shooting into the sky, several meters thick. The water column transforms into a giant water serpent in the air, rushing toward the villa. Under the astonished gazes of the onlookers, the water serpent crashes through a large hole in the villa’s wall and floods the upper floors, which are engulfed in flames. The thick smoke billowing from the villa immediately diminishes.
Shortly after, another loud explosion echoes from the villa. A section of the wall bursts open, and a torrent of water gushes out, carrying with it a knight in armor.
Anrecius is thrown out by the water column and crashes heavily to the ground. His armor is covered in claw-like gashes and bloodstains. The flames on his sword have been extinguished, and parts of his armor are completely shattered. The blade of his sword is pitted and scarred, and his white robe is soaked in blood.
"Are you alright, Anrecius?"
Edmond flies out of the villa through a window and hovers beside Anrecius, asking with concern. Anrecius struggles to his feet, leaning on his sword, and replies.
"Huff... Huff... That damned wolf is quite capable. But he’s reached the end of his rope. This must be his last resort."
Standing upright, Anrecius looks up. Following his gaze, Edmond sees the massive water serpent, formed from the river’s water, slithering out of the hole in the villa and glaring down at them.
"That thing looks like it was created using a Deep Abyss Church mystical item. The three branches of the Afterbirth Cult often switch between cooperation and conflict, and their mystical items and sigils are primarily Chalice-based. Hmph... No wonder this guy set up his hideout by the water. He had this as his trump card."
Edmond analyzes as he looks at the water serpent. Meanwhile, Anrecius, despite his injuries, reignites the flames on his sword.
"No matter what that thing is, it won’t stop holy purification! Come on! Let’s evaporate it!"
With that, Anrecius charges forward with his flaming sword, and Edmond quickly follows.
"That werewolf is almost done for. Let’s try to capture him alive!"
…
Inside the villa, in a ruined corridor, Smith lies on the ground, covered in cuts and burns. His fur is charred, and large patches of his skin are scarred. His face has two deep gashes, and he gasps in pain.
Under the combined assault of two White-rank Beyonders, the severely injured Smith is on the brink of death. After being burned and slashed countless times, he can no longer maintain his werewolf form and reverts to his human appearance.
Trembling, Smith pulls out two fingers from the tattered remains of his burnt clothes and swallows his last spiritual storage Item. After regaining a sliver of strength, he struggles to his feet and staggers forward.
“The water serpent summoned by the Drowned Serpent Skin won’t last long... I must report this situation to Elder Duval immediately…”
Thinking this, Smith stumbles forward. He has just used his trump card—a Beyonder item obtained from the Deep Abyss Church, a sister organization of the Wolf Blood Society—to temporarily hold off Anrecius and Edmond. Now, he must hurry to the altar to inform the upper echelons of the Wolf Blood Society about what has happened at this hideout.
Staggering, his body charred and cracked, with barely any clothes left, Smith arrives at his ruined secret chamber. There, he sees an unexpected figure—a familiar person rummaging through his bookshelves.
"Davic..."
Hearing the noise, Davic stands up from the pile of charred debris and looks over, spotting the battered Smith, his "savior" and "superior."
"Ah... Mr. Smith..."
"What are you doing, Davic?"
"Well... As you can see, I noticed the fire and was trying to save some books for you, Mr. Smith..."
Davic replies nonchalantly, but Smith responds with a furious roar.
"Stop playing games with me, Davic! Tell me the truth! Were you turned by the black dogs? Are you a spy?!"
Filled with rage, Smith bellows at Davic. In Smith’s eyes, if the nun was suspicious, then Davic, who had vehemently defended her, must also be involved!
"W-Wait, Mr. Smith! Don’t be angry. I’m still a bit confused about what’s going on. There must be some misunderstanding. How could I be a spy? By the Gluttonous Wolf, I, Davic Jones, have always been loyal to the organization!"
Davic pleads innocently, his expression full of feigned sincerity. At the same time, his hand reaches into his clothes.
Suddenly, Davic’s expression hardens, and he pulls out a revolver, aiming it at the severely weakened Smith, ready to pull the trigger.
However, even in his weakened state and unable to transform into a werewolf, Smith is still a White-rank Beyonder. The moment he sees Davic draw the gun, he reacts instantly, channeling the last remnants of his Chalice spirituality and lunging at Davic despite his injuries.
In the end, Smith reaches Davic before he can fire, biting through his throat. But as Davic falls, a smile appears on his lips.
At this moment, the living marionette Davic Jones begins to die, and the corpse marionette Davic Jones officially takes the stage. He stands up, pulls out a rapier from behind, and thrusts it into Smith’s chest at close range.
