"Crash!"
Accompanied by the sound of shattering window glass, a dagger gleaming with cold light spun through the air, hurled into House No. 23. It flew straight toward Nephthys, who had just spoken that name. The dagger was about to pierce her body, yet she remained in shock from the broken window, completely unresponsive.
"Watch out!"
At that critical moment, Brandon shouted and lunged at Nephthys, tackling her aside just as the dagger embedded itself in his chest.
"Ah!"
Brandon let out a pained scream. Blood instantly soaked his shirt. His eyes widened as he clutched his wound and collapsed to the floor. After a few labored breaths, he stopped moving altogether. The sight of him lying motionless startled Nephthys once again.
"Mr. Brandon! Mr. Brandon, what’s wrong? Stay with me, Mr. Brandon!"
Nephthys quickly knelt on the floor to check his condition. She placed a hand under his nose, but there was no breath. Her face turned pale.
"Dead... He’s dead..." A wave of panic and guilt surged through her.
“Mr. Brandon is dead… because I said that name… I caused his death. I shouldn’t have told him anything about the secrets…” “And those people… They’re close. They’re watching us from outside…”
Realizing the danger she was in, Nephthys immediately stood up, clutching her book tightly, and bolted for the door, desperate to escape this perilous place.
Just as she reached the door, it suddenly swung open. A middle-aged man with a stern expression stepped inside. Without a word, he struck Nephthys, knocking her to the ground. The book she was holding scattered across the floor.
"Ugh!"
Before she could react, the man shut the door behind him and strode toward her, grabbing her by the throat with one hand. She struggled in vain, her face turning red from suffocation. The man seemed intent on strangling her to death.
"Don’t kill her yet. Ask her where she learned the name."
A younger man climbed in through the shattered window, brushing aside the remaining shards of glass. He spoke to the middle-aged man who was choking Nephthys.
Their original mission had been to gather intelligence on the occupant of House No. 23 and determine his background. However, the unexpected situation had forced them to abandon reconnaissance in favor of a direct attack.
The middle-aged man loosened his grip slightly, allowing Nephthys to gasp for air, then growled menacingly.
"Don’t scream. Tell me—how do you know that name? Speak, and you might live."
Still gasping for breath, Nephthys tried to respond, but before she could say anything, the situation changed once more.
From behind the curtains, beneath the sofa, and inside a cabinet—three figures suddenly emerged. Each one was dressed differently, yet they all carried firearms aimed at the intruders. The one who had been hiding in the cabinet was right beside Nephthys’s captor. These were the corpse marionettes Dorothy had hidden inside the house as a precaution.
Seeing the intruders abandon reconnaissance and resort to violence, Dorothy had no choice but to act. Based on Nephthys’s earlier behavior, Dorothy had noticed that she worried for Brandon’s safety. She believed that exposing ordinary people to mystical artifacts would bring them harm. She had even advised Brandon to discard the item when she failed to retrieve it herself. This cautious attitude left a favorable impression on Dorothy. Moreover, Nephthys was already aware of certain school secrets. Thus, Dorothy decided to help her.
The moment the three corpse marionettes appeared, they all fired simultaneously. The gunfire echoed through the street. The man holding Nephthys was caught off guard and shot in the head, collapsing instantly.
The younger intruder, however, reacted with unnatural speed. The instant the corpse marionettes emerged, he identified their positions, calculated their line of fire, and preemptively dodged. He moved so swiftly that he evaded both bullets that were meant for him.
“A Beyonder? And that speed and reflexes—he’s a Shadow, isn’t he?”
Dorothy observed from a distance, thinking to herself.
Inside the room, after dodging the bullets, the young man rolled toward one of the corpse marionettes. While in motion, he drew a dagger from his waist, and an eerie glow flickered along its blade.
“An ambush… Hmph, I knew it—this so-called lost-and-found claim was a trap!”
The young man let out a cold snort. As he finished his roll, he lunged at the nearest corpse marionette. With a swift slash, he easily beheaded it—the dagger, imbued with Shadow, enhanced its sharpness. This was a unique ability of the Shadow pathway, and even an Apprentice-rank Shadow like him could wield it.
Bang!
The remaining two corpse marionettes immediately opened fire again. Unfortunately, the young man had already memorized their positions and anticipated their attack. He dodged in advance, making their shots miss once more.
Against bullets, Chalice Beyonders could endure them with sheer resilience, Stone Beyonders could block them with armor-like defenses, while Shadow Beyonders relied on extreme agility to avoid them entirely. In close-quarters combat, these three spiritualities held the advantage. In contrast, Lantern, Silence, and Revelation were more suited for ranged or strategic battles.
Having dodged another round of bullets, the young man’s predatory gaze locked onto the two remaining corpse marionettes. With an explosive burst of speed, he dashed toward his next target.
Even in a confined space, faced with three gun-wielding opponents, he was confident he could eliminate them all.
But just as he charged forward, his foot suddenly sank, as if something had grabbed him. His momentum was abruptly disrupted, causing him to stumble and fall to the floor.
"What!?"
Shock filled the young man’s mind. He had already assessed the terrain—there was no reason for him to make such a mistake. He quickly turned his head to look behind him.
What he saw froze him in disbelief.
The corpse lying in the center of the room—the one he had supposedly killed with his throwing knife—was now gripping his ankle tightly. Brandon, who should have been dead, had suddenly come back to life and tripped him at the critical moment.
“What the hell? Wasn’t he already dead?!”
The young man was stunned, but the two standing corpse marionettes didn’t give him a chance to process his shock. They immediately fired two more shots, killing him on the spot.
With all the intruders dead, the room fell silent once more.
Nephthys, who had witnessed everything from the ground, sat there in shock, her eyes wide and mouth agape. She only snapped out of it when the people who had saved her holstered their weapons.
Brandon, the man she had confirmed to be dead, walked up to her and spoke.
"Miss Boyle, we shouldn’t stay here. The police will arrive soon. Before we get caught up in more trouble, I suggest we leave through the back door and find a safer place to talk."
He extended his bloodstained hand toward the still-dazed Nephthys.
Facing Brandon, Nephthys swallowed hard and stammered, "You… weren’t you dead?"
Brandon chuckled slightly and replied, "Ah… death. Yes, I died. But in this hidden world, death is often not the end."
"You don’t know enough about the hidden side of this world, Miss Boyle.”
"Perhaps… we can help you understand it better."