North Tivian, Cathedral District.
Beneath the overcast sky, outside the archival building in the cathedral district of the Hymn Cathedral, an unequal battle was underway. The three White Ash-rank Chalice Beyonders from the Afterbirth Cult were being thoroughly suppressed by the overwhelming firepower of the Radiance Church. After sustaining numerous wounds, the werewolf Blond finally found an opportunity—he slammed the ground with such force that the flying debris severely injured several mortal soldiers, drastically reducing the suppressive fire.
Seeing this, Blond and Warren roared and charged toward the Radiance defenses. The two Flame Acolytes on the Radiance defense line immediately ignited their longswords with searing flame, stepping out with the power blessings from a Grace Presbyter to intercept the onrushing werewolves.
The reduced gunfire gave Sander, who had been nearly immobilized, a moment to breathe. Covered in blood, Sander’s expression sharpened as he stared toward the Radiance defense line. Suddenly, from a nearby storm drain, a flood of red-eyed rats came pouring out—squeaking and surging forth!
These were spies Sander had stationed in the cathedral district’s sewers long ago. Now, he commanded them to strike the Radiance flank in a surprise attack from the rear.
However, the Radiance Church’s White Ash-rank Beyonders, as Lantern Beyonders, had acute sensory abilities. The moment the rat swarm neared, they sensed the anomaly and warned the surrounding personnel.
Still, with both Flame Acolytes already engaged with the Werewolves, the Radiance soldiers temporarily lacked effective countermeasures against such a horde. Fortunately, the Church was well-funded and always well-equipped. When mystical ability fell short, they had the mystical items to compensate.
Facing the rat swarm, many soldiers retrieved iron throwing devices—imbued with sigils and integrated spiritual storage items—and hurled them at the oncoming rodents. Upon impact, these projectiles burst into violent flames, sweeping through the area and consuming the plague-bearing rats in one go. The rats shrieked and thrashed within the fire before falling charred and lifeless.
Sander’s ambush collapsed. Meanwhile, the wounded Radiance soldiers had already recovered thanks to mystical healing and returned to manning their weapons, once again aiming their heavy machine guns forward.
Receiving the signal, the two Flame Acolytes currently battling the werewolves cast a wall of fire and quickly retreated. Though they’d gained the upper hand in close combat, their armor had been nearly shredded by the werewolves’ claws. The werewolves gave chase, only to find countless gun barrels waiting on the other side of the flame wall.
Suddenly, gunfire roared once more from in front of the restricted vault. The machine guns, now operated by recovered soldiers, resumed their thunderous barrage. Dense streams of metal bullets rained forward, erupting fresh blood blooms across the two werewolves’ bodies and completely halting their charge. Caught between the gunfire and the Flame Acolytes’ attacks, they were forced into chaotic retreat, seeking cover.
Unlike the many mystic societies that rely heavily on Beyonders, powerful institutions like the Church and nation-states see mortal forces as a vital part of their military might—especially at the foundational level. These armies often deploy mixed units of Beyonders and mortal soldiers. The Beyonders are tasked with protecting the mortals, who wield heavy firepower to suppress threats, ensuring combat effectiveness even under intense mystical disruption.
When coordinated well, these mixed units are devastating on the battlefield. Even if outnumbered or out-ranked in mystical terms, they can still gain an overall advantage. Most critically, with the mortals carrying out the bulk of attacks, the spiritual drain on Beyonders is minimized, giving them a massive edge in prolonged engagements. This is one of the key reasons mystic societies rarely dare face official mystical institutions head-on.
Now, for instance, the three White Ash-rank members of Afterbirth Cult were being utterly suppressed by Radiance’s forces. They’d suffered heavy injuries while barely inflicting any damage on the Radiance defense line. Though the number of White Ash-rank Beyonders on both sides was comparable, if this had been a pure Beyonder brawl, it wouldn’t be so one-sided. Werewolves, known for their raw offensive power among all White Ashes, should’ve dealt tremendous damage in close combat.
Yet here they were, wasting their precious spirituality just healing bullet wounds—unable even to match the Radiance Beyonders blow-for-blow, much less go injury-for-injury or life-for-life. They were being crushed, forced to burn through their spiritual reserves just to survive. From Radiance’s perspective, trading bullets for spirituality was a bargain.
“Damn it… there’s no other way…”
Under the relentless storm of gunfire, Blond—dodging desperately—realized they were nearing a dead end. He could no longer afford to hold back. It was time for his final move.
In a sudden retch, he spat something from his wide mouth into his claw—a test tube filled with dark red liquid.
Without hesitation, Blond hurled it toward the Radiance defense line. A Lantern sharpshooter spotted the anomaly and instantly raised their gun, firing a precise shot that shattered the test tube mid-air. The contents splashed onto the ground, releasing a pungent, eye-stinging odor into the air.
Seeing this, Blond exhaled in grim relief. There was nothing more he could do now—only wait.
…
Far Northern Outskirts of Tivian. In a vast, continuous forest.
Duval, clad in a black rain cloak, stood alone. His gaze was fixed on the distant sky. The moment his extraordinary olfactory sense—so sharp it defied logic—detected the shift in scent, he knew.
The mark had been placed. The situation was dire. He had to act.
After interpreting the signal, Duval finally moved. As spirituality surged through his body, it began to change violently.
Crack, crack, crack…
With a grotesque squirming of muscles, Duval's frame began to expand dramatically. The cloak tore apart under the pressure of swelling muscles, revealing deep black fur. His teeth lengthened into fangs, nails into claws, and his face jutted forward grotesquely—he was transforming.
Bigger… and bigger… and bigger still.
Duval’s size surged uncontrollably after beginning his werewolf transformation—two meters, three, four… eight, nine, ten… until he finally stopped growing at around twelve or thirteen meters.
Now, what stood among the trees was a towering beast, taller than most of the forest. Razor claws and fangs, muscles taut with power, his body covered in black fur, and a strong wolf tail behind him—every feature radiated raw strength and savagery.
And atop his monstrous shoulders—two huge, grotesque wolf heads, both gaping wide, their jaws dripping with thick, viscous saliva.
The two-headed direwolf—this was the terrifying form Duval took after his werewolf transformation. Once the transformation was complete, Duval began moving his massive body. First, he lowered himself, dropping to all fours like a true beast, his savage gaze fixed on the distant horizon.
Then, with a sudden surge of force, Duval launched himself forward. In the blink of an eye, the enormous creature turned into a blur, sprinting southward toward Tivian at breakneck speed.
Accelerating—charging—Duval drove all four limbs with full strength, tearing up the ground with each thunderous stride, leaving behind craters with every footfall. Any trees in his path were shattered in an instant as he bulldozed straight through them.
His speed only grew with each bound. A violent airflow howled in his wake, scattering a swath of leaves behind him. In mere moments, Duval had crossed several kilometers, bursting out of the forest into a vast clearing, where the dense silhouettes of southern urban buildings became visible on the distant horizon.
Finally, Duval scaled a hilltop. At the summit, he simultaneously pushed off with all four limbs, propelling his massive body into a towering leap skyward.
BOOM!!
With a thunderous blast, the hill was blasted into a deep crater from the force of his takeoff. Duval’s body shot upward like a black rocket, soaring high toward Tivian with a sharp, rising arc.
Driven by immense power, Duval ascended several kilometers into the sky. As he glanced down, the densely packed city buildings below looked like mere specks. Now airborne, this mighty hunter soared across the heavens, drawn unerringly toward the target by his predatory instinct and the scent of blood. Before long, he spotted the towering structure of the cathedral far below.
When his leap finally reached its apex, Duval began to plummet downward at high speed. As he descended, Vania—seated in the Archbishop's office—suddenly stiffened in alarm and turned her stunned gaze toward the sky outside the window.
“That is…”
Jumping—this was the method Duval had chosen for his entry. It was the only way he could avoid the Layered Vision and reach Tivian’s city center in such a short time.
The Layered Vision was powered by the regular Radiance believers living in Tivian. Within a fixed radius centered around the Hymn Cathedral, every believer could provide a wide-area detection radius of about 1 to 1.5 kilometers. All believers were essentially the Church’s eyes. No matter which direction a Crimson-rank entity approached from—north, south, east, or west—they would be detected near the city outskirts.
However, this system had a flaw. Because its foundation was ordinary believers, who lived on the surface and were spread across the city, the detection field of the Layered Vision was inherently flat and two-dimensional—forming a flattened, elliptical scan zone. It was excellent for monitoring ground and low-altitude movement but struggled to track high-altitude targets.
Thus, if Duval had run into the city on foot, he would have been immediately spotted by Vania’s Layered Vision as soon as he entered the cathedral district. This would’ve triggered a response from the Serenity Bureau and summoned Crimson-rank reinforcements. Before he even reached his target, he would have been intercepted by a Crimson-rank Wind Elementalist.
But entering by leap was different.
Since the vertical detection range of the Layered Vision only extended about 1.5 kilometers upward, Duval just needed to jump high and far enough to stay outside its detection field for most of his entry. Only upon nearing the target would he fall within the system’s range—but by then, it would be too late. Normally, Lantern Beyonders in the Church could easily spot and respond to airborne threats. But with the cathedral district currently in chaos, no one was paying attention to what was flying overhead.
And so, Duval became a black blur plummeting from the Tivian sky, homing in on the scent of blood and slamming down into the open square before the archival building.
BOOM!!!
A deafening blast shook the ground. A massive shockwave kicked up clouds of dust, blanketing the entire plaza. The Radiance defense line suddenly couldn’t even see their firing targets. All present stared in stunned disbelief at the unfolding scene.
“What… is that?”
Staring at the swirling dust, Gaspard couldn’t help but mutter in confusion. But in the very next second—a soul-piercing howl swept all uncertainty away.
“AWOOOOOOOO!!!!”
The deafening wolf’s howl erupted from the center of the dust cloud, blasting it apart. A towering monster, over ten meters tall, now loomed before the Radiance forces. It stood within a massive crater formed by its impact. Both of its wolf heads howled in unison.
After a multi-kilometer charge and a near 20-kilometer leap, the Dread Devourer Direwolf had arrived at its hunting grounds with overwhelming power.
Right from the start, Duval unleashed a Crimson-rank fear howl. The overwhelming mental shockwave spread through the entire cathedral district and surrounding streets. Worshippers and civilians alike were seized by a sudden, inexplicable terror. Screams filled the air as people fled in a blind panic. The entire area fell into chaos.
Before the archival building, the Radiance front took a direct hit from the epicenter of the fear howl. Even the Commandment Adepts struggled to shield everyone from such a powerful psychic assault. Their minds reeled, and they staggered under the pressure. In desperation, they shrank their blessing range, retracting the commandments from most of the mortal soldiers and lower-rank Beyonders. They focused their spirituality and stamina on shielding themselves and a few White Ash-rank comrades—only then could they barely withstand the shock.
But this sacrifice came at a steep cost. The entire surrounding area’s forces—made up of lower-rank Beyonders and mortals from the Church Guard and Crusaders—collapsed mentally. Screaming in terror, they dropped their weapons and fled. Those too close to Duval suffered such intense psychological trauma that their bodies gave out—foaming at the mouth and convulsing before collapsing.
In mere moments, Duval had obliterated the Radiance front’s low-rank and auxiliary combat strength. Only a handful of White Ash-rank individuals remained standing.
“Well… that was certainly a dramatic entrance…”
From her carriage outside the cathedral district, Dorothy gazed at the chaos unfolding beyond the window and couldn’t help but comment.