Deep in the woods of the New Continent.
In the mist-shrouded forest, the once sacred Black Hoof’s ritual ground now lay in complete disarray. Broken trees and scattered stones littered the area, and the tranquil atmosphere of the past was nowhere to be found. The aftermath of the battle had left the place in chaos.
Amidst the wreckage, several figures stood, dressed in the traditional attire of the New Continent’s natives. At the center were two individuals: a young man and an elderly man.
The young man wore a thick hunting outfit made of linen and animal hides, his face adorned with two streaks of paint and his head decorated with eagle feathers. This was Kapak. Beside him stood an elderly man dressed in a long robe, leaning on a cane, with countless animal teeth and bones hanging from his body. His hair and beard were white, and he was none other than Kapak’s mentor, Uta, the elder shaman of the Tupa Tribe. Surrounding them were other members of the Tupa Tribe, dressed as warriors.
In the midst of the chaos, a cleared area had been prepared. In this space, the stone table once used to honor Black Hoof had been re-erected, adorned with various offerings. In front of the table, a large pattern had been drawn on the ground, depicting an abstract and bizarre image of a giant bull. Surrounding the pattern were small totem poles, forming a ritual site.
The Tupa warriors stood guard around the ritual ground, holding firearms seized from the white invaders, their expressions focused as they kept watch. Uta sat cross-legged in front of the ritual site, calmly smoking a pipe and exhaling clouds of smoke as he observed the scene. Kapak stood beside him, holding a pocket watch, his eyes fixed on the moving hands.
"Kapak... is it not time yet?"
Uta exhaled another puff of smoke and asked, his gaze shifting to Kapak. Kapak, still focused on the watch, replied immediately.
"It’s almost time, Elder Uta. In a few minutes, you can begin the spirit-summoning ritual."
Kapak spoke as he checked the time on his pocket watch.Uta gave him a scrutinizing look before asking, "Does the timing of the ritual need to be this precise? Are you sure your friends from the other continent can truly free Black Hoof?"
"Don’t worry, Elder Uta. I was saved by them. If it weren’t for them, I would have been captured by those white-skinned Beyonders and taken back to their lair, where who knows what would have happened to me. Those friends from across the ocean are also followers of Aka. They promised to free Black Hoof. All you need to do is perform the spirit-summoning ritual to bring Black Hoof back."
Kapak explained to Uta. Hearing his words, Uta took a few deep puffs from his pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke before murmuring, "Aka..."
As he smoked, Uta pondered the name. To explain why the ritual needed to be performed at a specific time, Kapak had revealed some information about Akasha’s existence to Uta.
Uta now understood that the spirit he had suspected was residing within Kapak was far from any spirit he had ever known. In fact, it might not even be residing within Kapak at all, as none of his usual methods for exorcising spirits had any effect. Moreover, ordinary spirits couldn’t reside within multiple people at once.
In Uta’s current understanding, this entity known as Akasha didn’t seem to be attached to Kapak but had established a connection with him in some mystical manner. And Kapak wasn’t the only one connected to Akasha; there were many others across the ocean, on the white invaders’ continent, who were also linked to Akasha. Kapak’s newfound knowledge likely came from Akasha or these other followers.
“Aka... What kind of existence is this, capable of connecting people across the ocean? It seems far from being a mere spirit... No, it’s something far more complex…”
Holding his pipe, Uta thought deeply. Initially, he had believed that Kapak was possessed by some spirit, which explained his sudden knowledge of medicine. But now, it seemed that the entity connected to Kapak was far more mysterious than he had imagined.
“Getting involved with such an enigmatic existence... I wonder if it’s a blessing or a curse for our tribe... But at least for now, Kapak, influenced by Aka, hasn’t shown any harm to the tribe... Still, it’s hard to say what might happen in the future.”
“If we can successfully bring Black Hoof back this time, perhaps it will shed some light on Aka’s stance toward us... At the very least, it doesn’t seem to harbor any ill will…”
As Uta smoked and pondered, Kapak, who had been watching his pocket watch, suddenly exclaimed, "Elder Uta! It’s time! You can begin now!"
Hearing Kapak’s words, Uta took a deep puff from his pipe, exhaling a long cloud of smoke before setting the pipe aside. He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and extended his hands toward the ritual site.
…
Outskirts of Tivian, northwest of the city.
In the woods near Gale Fortress, on a small hill, the members of the Nether Coffin Order were caught off guard while loading their cargo.
Without warning, a violent explosion erupted from the pile of cargo crates. The deafening blast and flames engulfed the entire pile, along with the people and skeletons nearby. The shockwave radiated outward, scattering debris in all directions.
At the moment of the explosion, those closest to the crates were instantly obliterated. Skeletons were shattered, and human bodies were torn apart. The shockwave flung those a few meters away into the air, continuing to spread further.
When the explosion occurred, Larena, who had been resting on a rock some distance away, was startled into action. The spirits around her immediately possessed Calais, using his body as a shield to block the incoming shockwave and debris. Calais, now a human shield, let out a pained cry as the force struck his back, and both he and Larena were thrown to the ground.
After the explosion, the small hill was shrouded in dust. No one remained standing; those who hadn’t been killed outright were either unconscious or writhing in pain from their injuries. The skeletons had all been shattered, their bones scattered across the ground.
"Ahh... it hurts..."
Calais, his back riddled with shrapnel, writhed in pain on the ground. As a Bonesmith, his naturally tough skin, a trait of Stone-path Beyonders, had prevented the shards from penetrating deeply, but his skin was still torn and bleeding profusely.
" Cough... cough... "
Using Calais as a shield, Larena had avoided being injured by the debris. She coughed as she slowly got up, clutching her dizzy head. She scanned the chaotic surroundings, her gaze finally settling on the source of the explosion, which was still shrouded in dust.
" Cough ... explosives... Damn... that thief... dared to... double-cross me..."
Seeing the scene before her, Larena knew immediately that this was the work of the thief who had left earlier. Her face twisted in anger as she gritted her teeth. Their transaction had never been bound by any real agreement, and each side had been plotting to outmaneuver the other. Clearly, the thief had come out on top.
"Get up! All of you! This isn’t the time to lie around! Those spirits are about to escape! Get up!"
Larena shouted at her injured subordinates. At that moment, her spiritual senses picked up something, and she turned sharply toward the dust cloud at the explosion’s epicenter. There, a massive spectral figure began to emerge.
After the explosion destroyed the Soul Confinement Coffin, the large spectral form of Black Hoof, the bull spirit, slowly materialized within the dust. Around it, countless other spirits floated freely, having been released from their confinement.
Black Hoof’s eyes burned with hatred as it glared at Larena. Despite its rage, the spirit did not immediately attack. Its form appeared more transparent and dim than it had been in its ritual ground.
Wild Spirits are land spirits chosen by their environment. When removed from their native territory, they grow significantly weaker. Though Black Hoof was filled with anger, its weakened state prevented it from launching an immediate attack. Seeing this, Larena pulled out a straw doll shaped like a bull from her clothing.
"Don’t think you can escape, beast! With this, you won’t get far!"
Holding the cursed doll, Larena threatened Black Hoof’s spirit. She had prepared for the possibility of the wild spirits and other spirits escaping.
Wild spirits grow weak when removed from their environment, and the cursed doll she had prepared would make it easy to suppress Black Hoof. They had brought a spare Soul Confinement Coffin in case the original was damaged during the transaction. All she needed to do was suppress Black Hoof and seal it back into the coffin.
Larena stared intently at Black Hoof within the dust cloud, ready to cast the curse and suppress it once more. But just as she was about to act, a faint glow emanated from Black Hoof’s body, and its spectral form began to flicker.
"What...?"
Seeing this change, Larena’s eyes widened in shock. She felt Black Hoof’s spiritual presence rapidly fading, its form growing fainter within the glow. In just two or three seconds, the massive bull spirit vanished entirely, and Larena’s curse missed its target.
"This is... a spirit-summoning!"
Larena stared at the scene, momentarily stunned before gritting her teeth in frustration. She crumpled the straw doll in her hand and threw it to the ground in anger.
"Damn it! Did that thief collude with the natives too?!"
Larena roared, her anger boiling over. Ever since the cargo was stolen at the port, she had suffered one setback after another at the hands of that thief. Her curses had backfired, the remaining cargo had been blown up, and now, just as she was about to recapture Black Hoof, it had been summoned away!
Amidst her rage, a sliver of fear crept into Larena’s heart. She realized that almost every move she had made had been anticipated by the thief. She, a White Ash-rank Beyonder and mid-level officer of the Nether Coffin Order, had been completely outmaneuvered.
Facing such an opponent, even the usually confident Larena couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.
“Huff... huff... What a terrifying opponent... But don’t get too cocky. I’ll make you pay for this sooner or later... Those who oppose the Nether Coffin Order will meet a grim fate!”
As Larena thought this, realizing that recapturing Black Hoof was now impossible, she decided to abandon her injured companions on the hill and make her escape. But just as she took her first step, a sudden gust of wind swept across the hill, forcing her to shield her eyes.
"Ugh..."
When the wind subsided, Larena lowered her arm and looked around. What she saw left her frozen in place, her emotions turning to sheer despair.
Above the hill, numerous figures clad in black uniforms floated in the air. They formed a circle around Larena, their cold, masked gazes fixed on the stunned woman below.
Among the floating Hunters, Edmond held a lens to his eye, observing the countless wandering spirits below. He murmured softly.
"So it’s... the Nether Coffin Order?"
Then, he turned to his colleagues and spoke.
"Capture her alive."
With that, the Hunters descended upon Larena, and the howling winds once again swept across the devastated hill.
…
Several kilometers away, deep in the woods.
On a forest road, Dorothy’s carriage slowly made its way back toward the city.
Inside the carriage, Dorothy held a pocket watch. She had been counting down the seconds, and when she finally heard the distant explosion, she stopped the timer and smiled faintly.
"12:53:04... Subtracting the time it took for the sound to travel, the detonation was right on schedule. It seems I have a knack for mechanics~"
Listening to the distant explosion, Dorothy murmured with a smile. Indeed, the timed explosive hidden within the cargo crates had been her own handiwork. Using the mechanical engineering knowledge she had acquired at the Royal Crown University Library and with some guidance from Beverly, Dorothy had crafted the timed explosive device with ease. With access to top-notch educational resources, creating a timed bomb was no challenge for her.
For this transaction, since Larena had planned to double-cross her, Dorothy had no intention of handing over Black Hoof either. She had tampered with the cargo long before the exchange.
To facilitate transport and avoid drawing attention, the Soul Confinement Coffins containing Black Hoof and the other spirits had been packed into wooden crates. Since the coffins couldn’t be opened, Dorothy had focused her efforts on modifying the crates themselves.
First, Dorothy had acquired explosives from Tivian’s black market. Then, using parts purchased from Beverly, she had assembled a mechanical timed detonator. After that, she paid Beverly to help modify the crates, adding hidden compartments with exquisite craftsmanship.
Beverly’s skills were unparalleled, and under her guidance, many of the crates were fitted with nearly undetectable hidden compartments. For Beverly, this was just another carpentry job. What Dorothy did with the compartments afterward—such as filling them with explosives—was her own business. As far as Beverly was concerned, she hadn’t crafted weapons for anyone to attack other factions.
Dorothy’s timed explosive devices were primarily hidden in the compartments of the crate containing Black Hoof’s iron coffin, while the other crates also contained smaller amounts of explosives. Beverly’s craftsmanship was so refined that only a highly trained expert could detect the hidden compartments. Since the explosives and detonators weren’t mystical items, they wouldn’t trigger any detection from Illuminating Beacons. As a result, the Nether Coffin Order’s lackeys had completely missed the modifications, as their focus had been on searching for mystical traces.
The explosives were set to detonate at the predetermined time, easily destroying all the Soul Confinement Coffins. Since Black Hoof and the other spirits were pure spectral entities, they wouldn’t be harmed by the explosion and would be released.
Meanwhile, back on the New Continent, Dorothy had arranged for Kapak to have his mentor perform a spirit-summoning ritual immediately after the explosion, bringing Black Hoof back and preventing Larena from recapturing it. At the same time, the explosion would alert the Serenity Bureau, who would undoubtedly send agents to investigate.
From the looks of it, the plan had gone smoothly. Dorothy had secured her payment, Black Hoof had returned safely, and all her objectives had been achieved.
"So, double-crossing is an art in itself..."
Dorothy murmured as she examined the King of the Underworld’s holy symbol she had obtained from the transaction. Then, she glanced out the carriage window toward the direction of the explosion.
"May you enjoy your stay in prison, members of the Nether Coffin Order."