Late at night, within the confines of the Field Manor, the battle commenced.
On one side of the third-floor corridor of the chapel, Dorothy remained hidden in the shadows. The moment she confirmed that Luer had been shot in the head and collapsed, she commanded five pre-prepared corpse marionettes to charge into the chapel simultaneously. Armed with firearms, they unleashed a barrage of bullets upon the remaining Bill and Fetch, forcing them behind cover.
Dorothy’s corpse marionettes had breached the chapel from the front, which meant that Bill and Fetch, under heavy fire, had taken cover near the ritual circle at the far end of the chapel. In order to return fire, they had positioned themselves with their backs completely turned to the ritual array—an arrangement that was no coincidence but was deliberately orchestrated by Dorothy.
Now, all Dorothy needed to do was relinquish control of one of her corpse marionettes and reanimate the deceased mentor lying within the ritual circle. With Bill and Fetch’s backs fully exposed, it would be an effortless assassination—two quick kills to conclude this ambush, wrap things up, and call it a night.
However, just as Dorothy attempted to reanimate the mentor’s corpse, she froze.
Her spiritual link failed to connect. The mentor’s body was unfit for transformation into a corpse marionette. This could only mean one thing—something truly unfortunate…
He might not be dead.
As if to confirm her worst fears, Dorothy watched through the eyes of her corpse marionettes as the supposedly lifeless mentor began to rise. His body was undergoing a grotesque transformation—black fur sprouted all over him, his physique swelled, his face turned ashen, his mouth elongated into a fanged maw, and his hands morphed into razor-sharp claws. He had become a towering, two-meter-tall hybrid of man and beast.
Dorothy recognized this immediately—a Beastman. A Chalice Beyonder, who had advanced through the Shadow as an auxiliary spiritual attribute, reaching the Black Earth Rank. This particular Beyonder path was one of hunting and devouring, turning oneself into a beast to reign supreme as a predator.
"What the hell?! How is that guy still standing after getting shot in the head? Aldrich never mentioned that Beastman had such an ability! Could it be some kind of mystical artifact?" Hidden in the shadows, Dorothy felt a growing sense of unease.At that moment, the newly resurrected, beast-like Luer roared and lunged toward the corpse marionettes’ firing positions. A black blur shot through the hail of bullets, and in an instant, the beastly Luer had closed the distance. With a single sweep of his razor-sharp claws, he slashed through three corpse marionettes.
The wounds were massive, nearly severing their torsos entirely. Bones, muscles, and spines shattered—the damage was so severe that the marionettes were rendered completely inoperable.
Spirituality aligned with Shadow was easily imbued into weapons, making them sharper. Luer’s claws, infused with Shadow, were as lethal as blades. Combined with the superhuman physical strength provided by the Chalice, his attacks could effortlessly tear apart his foes.
"Mentor! You’ve recovered!"
Upon witnessing this, Bill and Fetch shouted in delight.
But before Luer could respond—
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out.
From the upper floor, Vania pulled the trigger once more, targeting the beastified Luer. Although his mind was still fogged by mental fatigue, he was no longer an easy target.
At the crucial moment, Luer twisted his body, taking a bullet to the shoulder instead of the head. He then turned his gaze upwards—his beastly, merciless eyes locking onto Vania, who was gripping her rifle.
The sight made Vania’s heart leap in fear.
"What the hell?! He’s standing again?! Didn’t I just shoot him in the head?!"
"There’s a sniper above! A dog of the church! Get up there and kill her!"
"Understood!"
Following Luer’s command, Bill and Fetch abandoned their firearms and swiftly climbed over the railings, leaping onto the upper floor. Luer himself prepared to jump up as well, but just then, something unexpected happened.
Three new guards rushed in from outside the chapel, joining the two remaining ones to form a five-man squad. Brandishing blades, they charged at Luer with inhuman speed. Faint Chalice insignias glowed on their foreheads.
The moment Dorothy saw Luer moving toward Vania, she immediately activated three more corpse marionettes from her reserves outside. Along with the remaining two, they all had Devouring Sigils imprinted on them. Burning up the last vestiges of their spirituality, they surged toward Luer to obstruct him.
Outside the chapel, the entire manor had already been cleared by Dorothy in secret. The bodies of all the low-ranking guards had been stacked near the entrance—a total of more than ten corpses. These were Dorothy’s reinforcements. Whenever a gap in her marionette army arose, she would simply animate more from the stockpile.
Now bearing Devouring Sigils, the corpse marionettes gained an enormous boost in physical capabilities. They swarmed forward, blades in hand, harassing Luer from all directions. Surrounded and restrained, Luer bared his fangs and let out a piercing howl.
This was no ordinary roar.
It was a Terror Howl—a Beastman ability that induced overwhelming fear in the minds of nearby enemies, breaking their will to fight and causing them to flee in panic. Fear, after all, was a mental manifestation of Shadow.
Luer sought to disrupt and scatter his enemies through sheer terror.
However, the ability had absolutely no effect.
The marionette guards still pressed forward relentlessly.
They were already spiritually dead—incapable of experiencing fear.
"These… are marionettes? Damn it… I should have realized sooner. What else could they be?!"
"Shit… my head still hurts… I need to end this quickly."
Luer gritted his teeth. The lingering effects of his mental fatigue were still hampering his judgment.
With a snarl, he swung his razor-sharp claws, engaging the corpse marionettes in battle.
Boosted by Devouring Sigils, outnumbering him five-to-one, exploiting his weakened mental state, and with an endless wave of reinforcements at her disposal, Dorothy was barely managing to keep Luer restrained.
However, Luer was not the only threat.
At that moment, Bill and Fetch had already ascended to the third floor, tracking the source of the gunfire.
The only one left to stop them was Vania.
"T-They’re already up here?! I-I’m not ready for this!"
Seeing the two Chalice Beyonders rapidly approaching, Vania clutched her gun tightly, panic surging through her veins.