In the late morning, at 22 Western Elmwood Street in the lower city of Igwynt, gunfire suddenly erupted. The recently returned members of the Crimson Eucharist, Thomas and Oliver, seized the opportunity when their unsuspecting companions were off guard and launched a sudden ambush against their former comrades and superior.
Inside the modest study, bullets flew in a chaotic barrage. Four Eucharist henchmen, caught off guard by the sudden betrayal, were quickly shot down. Burton, who had been walking toward the altar, was struck by three bullets in the back, causing him to stagger and almost collapse. He spun around abruptly, his face contorted with rage, and his bloodshot eyes glared in fury.
"Traitors... How dare you...!"
Gritting his teeth, Burton stared at the subordinates who had suddenly turned against him. Although puzzled by their betrayal, his burning anger soon overpowered his confusion.
After neutralizing the other people in the room, Oliver coldly aimed his gun at Burton. Together with Thomas, they mercilessly emptied their bullets at their former superior. Burton, however, reacted quickly, dodging most of the shots. Of the four bullets fired, only one hit his abdomen.
As a Beyonder of the "Chalice" pathway, Burton was not only still alive despite having been shot multiple times, but he also retained his strength and mobility. Dodging the remaining bullets, he turned his fury toward the traitors and launched a counterattack.
With a powerful leap, Burton closed the distance between himself and Thomas in an instant. By the time he reached them, Thomas and Oliver’s guns were empty, forcing them to engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Burton’s punches, however, were faster and far more devastating.
With a resounding impact, Burton’s fist smashed into Oliver’s head, deforming it and shattering his skull. The force of the blow sent Oliver’s body flying out of the room and into the hallway, his body broken and mangled.
Turning to Thomas, Burton grabbed the arm wielding a knife and wrenched it aside. He forcibly took the blade and severed Thomas’s wrist with a single slash. With two more swift strikes, he decapitated Thomas, kicking his lifeless body away as blood sprayed across the room.
At that moment, from within the open coffin, a white-haired girl suddenly opened her eyes. Dorothy sat up, pulling something out from her clothes. It was a small piece of parchment the size of a palm, bearing an abstract symbol resembling a chalice—a "Devouring Sigil" from the "Chalice" path that she had previously taken from an Eucharist member.Without hesitation, Dorothy pressed the sigil against her forehead and began chanting softly.
"With my spirituality as offerings... I beseech the Blood Chalice..."
As the sigil burned into ash, a crimson chalice-shaped mark shimmered on Dorothy’s forehead.
The Devouring Sigil enhanced the user’s physical abilities by consuming their "Chalice" spirituality. For ordinary people, this would drain all their spirituality and leave them lifeless, but Dorothy was different. She had previously acquired an extra "Chalice" through her study of mystical knowledges, allowing her to use the sigil without the usual fatal consequences.
With the sigil’s power coursing through her body, Dorothy felt a surge of strength. She pulled out two revolvers from the coffin, each in one hand, and aimed at Burton, who had just finished dealing with Oliver. She opened fire without hesitation.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The revolvers roared as bullets flew toward Burton. Though their recoil was considerable, Dorothy, bolstered by the sigil’s enhancements, managed to steady her aim and fire continuously. Four bullets struck Burton—one shattering his left arm, another ripping through the muscle of his right thigh, leaving him temporarily immobilized.
Dorothy had aimed for Burton’s head and heart, but her lack of formal shooting training caused the bullets to miss their mark. One grazed the top of his skull instead.
Taken by surprise, Burton collapsed to the ground, glaring at Dorothy with hatred as he struggled to rise.
"You...! Ahhh!"
Bleeding profusely, Burton stood with great difficulty, his body covered in gory wounds. Despite this, as a Craver, he refused to die, his will and power driving him forward.
Roaring, Burton charged at Dorothy. Calmly assessing the situation, Dorothy activated her corpse-control ring, channeling two points of "Revelation" spirituality into it, which expanded its limit to control four corpses simultaneously.
The dead Eucharist members in the study—those Oliver had shot earlier—rose to their feet and lunged at Burton, holding him back. Meanwhile, the ring’s stored "Chalice" spirituality rapidly depleted due to the intense demand.
"Get off me!"
Burton roared as he smashed the reanimated corpses with his inhuman strength, shattering their bodies with each punch. But as he struggled, Dorothy dropped her revolvers, reached into the coffin, and pulled out a steel crowbar.
Gripping the crowbar with both hands, Dorothy’s gaze turned cold. Enhanced by the sigil’s power, she charged forward and swung the crowbar with all her might at Burton’s head. The first strike cracked his skull.
Since the bullets weren’t accurate, she decided to engage in close combat instead.
Dazed by the impact, Burton’s bloodshot eyes widened in confusion. Dorothy followed up with a second blow to the same spot, splitting his head open and spilling blood. Burton collapsed, and Dorothy delivered a third and fourth strike to ensure he wouldn’t rise again.
Finally, Burton lay motionless on the ground, lifeless from Dorothy’s relentless strikes.