Late at night on Knights Street, in front of House No. 26, a series of gunshots rang out. Under the manipulation of certain individuals, a conflict that should have been resolved suddenly erupted into full-blown violence—an intense battle was now inevitable.
Provoked and believing that the Hunters were out to annihilate them, the gangsters grabbed their weapons and, howling, charged at the Hunters surrounding them.
Knights Street was already narrow, and the distance between the gangsters and the Hunters was short. The Hunters had just fired a round of bullets and hadn’t even had time to reload before the gangsters, screaming, rushed in. Left with no choice, the Hunters drew their swords, preparing for close combat.
Even in close quarters, the Hunters were not afraid. Typically selected from elite police officers, Hunters underwent rigorous training and possessed superior combat skills, far exceeding those of the gangsters. Despite being outnumbered, they were confident they could cut down every last one of their opponents.
Under normal circumstances, the gangsters would be ruthlessly slaughtered by the Hunters. However, this situation was anything but normal...
The eerie, invisible spirits within the Hunters’ bodies stirred once again. The Hunters were shocked to find their movements slowing, making it impossible to launch sharp counterattacks against the oncoming gangsters. They could only defend passively, forced into retreat. Soon, they were driven back-to-back, forming a tight defensive formation to avoid being surrounded on all sides.
"Haha! These guys are all show and no substance! Brothers, kill them all!"
Seeing their supposedly formidable enemies retreating in panic, the gangsters grew even more aggressive. Wielding their crude weapons without any real technique, they hacked wildly at the Hunters. Struggling under the effects of the spirits, the Hunters found themselves unable to keep up. Several had already been wounded by the gangsters’ inferior weapons. Fortunately, their uniforms were specially designed, providing some degree of protection while remaining lightweight.
From a fourth-floor window of a nearby building, Goffrey manipulated his spirits, further disrupting the battle below. His goal was to help the gangsters defeat the Hunters, putting Anna in danger and forcing the Beyonder backing her to intervene. That individual might be exactly who he was searching for.
"Die already, Black Dogs... Unless that brat is truly threatened, the one behind the scenes won’t show up..."Muttering to himself, Goffrey watched the battlefield below, waiting—hoping for the spirituality of Stone to manifest.
The chaotic battle raged on, and the Hunters were in a dire situation. But just then, a shadow streaked into the battlefield. Wearing an iron mask, Gregor swung his blade, felling three gangsters in mere moments. His blade, infused with Shadow, sliced through their bodies with ease. Blood sprayed through the air, shocking the gangsters who had, just moments ago, been full of confidence.
At first, Gregor had dismissed the gangsters as mere small-time thugs and left them to his subordinates. But seeing how poorly his men were faring, he had no choice but to step in personally.
“Something’s wrong... This fight is all wrong… There must be something going on here. But whatever—I’ll just cut them all down first.”
With this thought, Gregor raised his blade and continued his assault. Meanwhile, hidden in the building above, Goffrey observed him closely.
"A Shader? Hah, it’s normal for an apprentice to lead a squad… but an apprentice is still just an apprentice."
Murmuring, Goffrey waved the bone artifact in his hand. Immediately, three spirits emerged from the wounded, fallen Hunters and plunged into Gregor’s body.
Just as Gregor was about to cleave a gangster’s head in two, his body suddenly froze—completely beyond his control. His movements stopped abruptly, as if someone had pressed pause. He wanted to move, but a sharp pain shot through his muscles.
“What… is this…?”
Gregor’s eyes widened in shock. The gangster he had nearly killed hesitated for a moment before his expression twisted with malice. Clutching a small knife, he lunged at Gregor. The paralyzed Hunter could do nothing but watch as the blade, which he would normally have dodged with ease, stabbed toward him.
THUD!!
At that moment, a massive iron hammer slammed into the gangster’s face from the side, shattering his skull and sending his teeth flying. Blood sprayed as the man collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Gregor, momentarily stunned, turned to see his savior—a blood-soaked, burly gangster holding the bloodied hammer. The man’s eyes were vacant. After a brief glance at Gregor, he wordlessly lifted the hammer and smashed it into another gangster’s skull, splitting it open.
“What the hell…? They’re attacking each other now?”
Gregor was baffled. He glanced around the chaotic battlefield and saw several other gangsters suddenly turning on their own allies, launching brutal attacks.
"You bastard, Barry! What the hell are you doing?!"
With some gangsters now attacking their own, the others shouted in fury and retaliated. In an instant, gangsters were fighting each other, and the battlefield became even more chaotic.
…
“What just happened? Why are they suddenly turning on each other? Did someone else interfere? No… This doesn’t look like the mystical power of Stone.”
Watching the unexpected development, Goffrey frowned. Then, drawing two more spirits from the Hunters, he directed them into one of the rampaging gangsters, attempting to slow him down. But the moment the spirit entered, Goffrey noticed something was off.
"This is... a flesh marionette? The interference isn’t from Stone—it’s from Chalice..."
He murmured, realizing that another hidden Beyonder force was manipulating the battlefield, moving pieces against him.
…
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of another building on Knights Street, Dorothy stood, watching the chaotic battle below.
Using her Corpse Marionette Ring, she secretly reanimated dead gangsters from the skirmish, sending them to strike at their own allies while also managing to save Gregor. With this tool, she too had quietly inserted herself into the battle.
"A Beyonder who manipulates spirits, huh? Guess working overtime was worth it after all…"
…
Back on the battlefield, the tide had begun to turn. The gangsters, previously riding high on momentum, were thrown into disarray as their own allies inexplicably attacked them.
At the same time, to keep Gregor immobilized, Goffrey had already used three of his five spirits. Then, to counteract the corpse marionettes, he deployed two more. With all five spirits occupied, he could no longer interfere with the remaining Hunters.
Freed from the spirits’ influence, the wounded Hunters gritted their teeth and counterattacked. In an instant, several gangsters were cut down. Seeing their comrades fall one after another, the gangsters’ bravado vanished. In a panic, they screamed and scattered, desperate to escape.
"Hmph. Useless trash…"
Watching the retreat, Goffrey scoffed coldly. With a wave of his bone artifact, he withdrew all the spirits from their hosts, allowing Gregor to regain control of his body.
“Don’t think this is over… My goal hasn’t been achieved yet…”
With that thought, Goffrey moved his bone artifact again, commanding his five spirits to rush toward a specific location.
The spirits flew toward a flowerbed. Hidden within the bushes was a suitcase—something Goffrey had stashed there in advance.
Under his control, the five spirits plunged into the suitcase. It snapped open, revealing its contents under the glow of the streetlamp.
Inside were five half-meter-long, serrated bone blades, each without a hilt, crafted entirely from white bone.
Now, the five spirits each merged with a blade. As they did, the bone weapons began floating in midair, pointing toward the battlefield.
"Now witness… the power of a Bonesmith."
Murmuring to himself, Goffrey directed the five hovering bone blades toward Gregor and the Hunters.