The cramped, dimly lit carriage swayed gently as it moved. Inside, Davic, dressed in a hospital gown, sat with his eyes closed, seemingly resting. Beside him sat Vania, the nun, her expression tense. Across from them sat Edmond and a group of Hunters, their stern gazes fixed on the two.
“The atmosphere is so tense and stiff… It feels really uncomfortable…”
Sitting in her seat, Vania nervously glanced around the rigid scene inside the carriage. She hadn’t expected to be suddenly dragged into this situation. Facing the serious Squad Captain Edmond, she felt uneasy.
As she looked around, Vania’s eyes eventually settled on Davic, who was sitting beside her with his eyes closed. Being closest to him, she knew he wasn’t just “resting his eyes”—he was genuinely unconscious.
“Miss Dorothy has temporarily released her control. It seems her ability to manipulate humans consumes spirituality over time… She’s conserving her energy…”
Observing the patient beside her, Vania thought to herself. She continued to sit in the carriage with a sense of unease, unsure how much time had passed or how far they had traveled. Finally, the carriage came to a stop.
After a long, sloping descent, the carriage halted. Edmond immediately stood up, opened the door, and stepped out, shouting to those inside.
“We’ve arrived. Everyone, get out.”
“Huh… We’re here already?”
Hearing Edmond’s words, Davic opened his eyes, looking dazed. Two Hunters then grabbed him by the arms and helped him out of the carriage, with Vania following closely behind. When she stepped outside, she found herself in a vast underground carriage parking lot. Rows of horseless carriages lined the area, and numerous upward-sloping passages led to unknown destinations.“The Evidence Department is ready. Let’s hurry.”
After a brief statement, Edmond led the way forward, his Hunters dragging Davic and Vania along. Soon, they entered a corridor illuminated by Illuminating Beacons.
From her distant carriage, Dorothy used her spiritual threads to transfer the effect of her Concealment Ring to Davic, temporarily shielding him from the detection of the Illuminating Beacons by consuming Shadow spirituality. Although there was only one beacon, passing through its coverage area still cost Dorothy 1 point of Shadow.
“We’ll have to pass through here again on the way back, which will cost another point of Shadow… That’s at least 2 points of Shadow… Ugh… I hope there aren’t any more Illuminating Beacons ahead.”
“This prolonged manipulation of a living marionette has consumed more and more Chalice… Although I saved some spirituality by pretending to sleep on the way, I’ve already spent 3 points of Chalice on Davic. This mission is consuming so much spirituality… I hope it’s worth it…”
In her rapidly moving carriage, Dorothy thought to herself. Activating her Living Marionette Manipulation alone cost 1 point of Chalice and Revelation, and maintaining it consumed another point of Chalice and Revelation every twenty minutes or so. Unlike ordinary corpse marionettes, living marionettes couldn’t be maintained for long periods.
Under Edmond’s lead, the group ventured deep into the Serenity Bureau Headquarters. Before long, they arrived at the underground hall of the headquarters. Through Davic’s eyes, Dorothy saw something that surprised her—a statue of the Mirror Moon Goddess standing in the center of the hall.
“Is that… a Mirror Moon Statue? And it’s intact, not replaced by the Eight-Spired Nest. I didn’t expect the headquarters to have one too, and it looks even larger than the ones elsewhere. Was the Mirror Moon Goddess’s faith so influential in Pritt’s history?”
Looking at the Mirror Moon Statue in the Serenity Bureau Headquarters, Dorothy felt a sense of wonder, but also a hint of doubt.
“The Eight-Spired Nest is a Shadow-aligned organization that worships the Spider Queen, and the Serenity Bureau is also primarily a Shadow organization. The Eight-Spired Nest targets Mirror Moon Statues, and the headquarters has a massive one… The Eight-Spired Nest has deeply infiltrated the Serenity Bureau… Is there a connection behind all these phenomena?”
Dorothy pondered this, but the situation didn’t allow her to dwell on it for long. Edmond had already led Davic and the others out of the hall, and Dorothy’s thoughts quickly followed.
After leaving the hall, Edmond brought Davic to a heavily secured room. Inside, several clerical staff were waiting. On the floor of the room were various items neatly arranged.
Through Davic’s eyes, Dorothy saw books, human bones, a carpet with a magic circle drawn on it, a strangely carved stone, a wolf-shaped badge, and various other mystical items.
“These are all your former belongings. Take a close look and see if they trigger any memories.”
Edmond said to Davic. Hearing this, Davic, with unsteady steps, walked forward and began examining the items.
Controlling Davic, Dorothy inspected the items. Many were obscure research materials and mystical artifacts. Among them, Dorothy found a scroll made of parchment that carried cognitive poison, as well as a blurry, poisonous painting. She picked them up, examined them briefly, and used her Scholar ability to memorize their contents, planning to extract their spirituality later.
Dorothy continued to guide Davic through the room, searching for her target. Finally, in a corner of the room, she saw a stele—a gray-black, rectangular slab. The tablet was smooth and intact, but its surface was covered in chaotic scratches, as if someone had haphazardly carved into it with a knife.
When the image of the tablet reached Dorothy’s eyes, she froze. She immediately focused Davic’s gaze on the stele.
Through Davic’s vision, the chaotic scratches on the tablet began to twist and writhe like snakes, rearranging themselves into familiar Pritt letters and forming sentences Dorothy could understand.
Just like the Star Numerology Scriptorium’s promotion stele she had seen in the ruins beneath King’s Campus, the stele before her now displayed its hidden message. Dorothy read its contents in full.
“What… Have you remembered something?”
At that moment, Edmond, standing nearby with his hands behind his back, spoke to Davic, who was staring blankly at the stele. Hearing Edmond’s words, Davic seemed to snap out of his daze. He clutched his head with trembling hands.
“It’s so familiar… These things are familiar… Ah… What is this? I… I think I hear a woman’s painful scream… It hurts… My head hurts!”
Bending over, Davic clutched his head and cried out in pain, his entire body trembling.
“It hurts… My head hurts… Blood… The voices… It’s so piercing… It hurts…”
Shaking, Davic continued to cry out in agony. His body seemed on the verge of collapsing, and the Hunters nearby quickly rushed to support him. After being held up by the Hunters, Davic struggled for a moment before finally passing out, his body going limp. The Hunters caught him before he could fall.
“Captain, it seems he’s fainted.”
One of the Hunters reported to Edmond. Hearing this, Edmond frowned and turned to Vania, the only medical personnel present.
“Sister Vania, what’s wrong with him?”
“Uh… I’m not entirely sure. Maybe these items triggered some intense memories, causing him to faint again…”
Vania replied uncertainly. Edmond pressed further.
“What should we do now? How do we wake him up?”
“Well… Captain, I’m only here to prevent his condition from worsening. I’m not sure about this. But since he’s fainted, the best course of action is to take him back to the hospital for treatment. He might regain his memories when he wakes up. From the way he was acting, it seemed like he was remembering something…”
Vania suggested. After a moment of consideration, Edmond nodded.
“Alright, take him back to the hospital. Bring Sister Vania along as well. We’ll see how he is when he wakes up. I need to report some things.”
“Understood.”
After a brief acknowledgment, the Hunters carried the unconscious Davic out of the Evidence Department’s room, with Vania following closely behind. Edmond watched them leave before heading off in another direction.
…
Following the Hunters carrying Davic, Vania soon returned to the transport carriage. She and Davic were seated inside, and the carriage was sealed shut once more before beginning to move.
Inside the carriage, Vania sat beside Davic, the slight swaying of the vehicle making her breathe a quiet sigh of relief. She glanced sideways at the unconscious Davic.
“Miss Dorothy went through so much trouble to manipulate Davic and bring him to the Evidence Department. His sudden fainting must mean Miss Dorothy has achieved her goal.”
“Sigh… Every time I assist Miss Dorothy, it’s so nerve-wracking… The things she does are always so dangerous…”
Vania thought to herself. Reflecting on the past, every time Dorothy sought her out, it was for some high-risk mission—whether it was facing a White Ash-rank opponent head-on or exposing her own superior. Although everything always turned out well in the end, and she gained significant benefits, the process always left her on edge.
Still, it seemed this mission had also been successfully completed, and she hadn’t been discovered. Now, all that was left was to return safely to the hospital.
“I wonder… What was the purpose of Miss Dorothy’s mission this time? Was it also part of Aka’s will?”
As she pondered this, Vania followed the carriage out of the Serenity Bureau Headquarters and onto the road back to the hospital. The journey would take about two to three hours, so the bored Vania began to pray silently, wishing for a future free from danger and filled with peace.
The Serenity Bureau’s transport carriage traveled steadily along an unknown road. Inside, it was quiet. Davic remained unconscious, Vania prayed, and the two Hunters idly flipped through magazines.
This peaceful scene lasted for about an hour until a loud crash shattered the silence.
Boom!
The sound of something hitting the carriage caused the entire vehicle to jolt violently. Everyone inside was startled by the noise and the sudden movement.
“Hey! What’s going on?!”
One of the Hunters shouted. From outside came an urgent reply.
“Beastkin! It’s Beastkin! We’re under attack by Beastkin!”
Hearing this, everyone inside the carriage was shocked. The Hunters knew exactly what Beastkin were—monsters created by White Ash-rank Werewolf, loyal slaves to the werewolves!
An attack by Beastkin meant they were being targeted by werewolves!
Someone was trying to break the prisoner free!
Suddenly, everyone in the carriage understood the situation. The two Hunters inside immediately tensed up. One of them opened the front door of the carriage, preparing to climb up to the driver’s seat to assess the situation.
“We’ll handle them. Sister, protect the prisoner!”
After saying this, the two Hunters stepped out of the moving carriage. Hearing their words, Vania was momentarily stunned but quickly prepared to follow and help.
“Lord… What’s happening now? Wait, I can help too… Huh?”
At that moment, a hand grabbed her wrist. Vania looked over in shock to see that it was Davic, who should have been unconscious!
“Don’t go out. There are too many Beastkin outside. A White Ash-rank Werewolf must be leading them to break the prisoner free. With this many Beastkin, plus the Werewolf and other Beastmen, your side doesn’t stand a chance!”
Through Davic, Dorothy spoke to Vania with a serious expression. After Vania left the hospital, Dorothy had sent her corpse marionette coachman to follow the transport carriage. By now, the carriage was within Dorothy’s ten-kilometer range, and she was using a raven marionette to monitor the situation from above. She had seen the forces attacking the carriage.
The few Hunters on the transport carriage, along with Vania, were no match for the attackers. If Vania went out now, she would only be walking to her death.
Inside the carriage, Vania stared at Davic in shock and asked.
“Is that… Miss Dorothy? You said there’s a werewolf outside? A White Ash-rank Werewolf? That means we’re in serious danger… No… In that case, I should go out and help. We can’t just sit here and wait for death.”
Vania said urgently, but Dorothy, speaking through Davic, replied.
“You can’t win! The people outside are about to…”
Before Davic could finish speaking, a loud crash erupted from outside the carriage, followed by a cacophony of sounds.
Curses, the howling of wind, the crack of gunfire, the roars of beasts… All sorts of chaotic noises mingled together outside. But these sounds quickly gave way to human screams and the whinnying of horses. The front door of the carriage, which had been left open, was suddenly splattered with blood as a half-mangled human head flew in and landed at Vania’s feet. Her face turned pale—it was one of the Hunters who had just stepped out less than half a minute ago.
Before Vania could say anything, the carriage was struck again with a loud “Boom!” The impact caused the vehicle to tilt, and Vania lost her balance, falling to the floor.