"What? Wasn’t this guy dead just a moment ago?!" Gregor thought in astonishment as he looked at Buck, now standing before him.
When Gregor first reached the top of the clock tower, he had seen the corpse lying on the ground, which he assumed was the leader of the Crimson Eucharist who had been shot in the head by Elena earlier. That man was supposed to be dead—how could he suddenly rise again?
"Is it the mystical item from the Chalice? It can even heal fatal wounds? That’s absurd!"
While pondering, Gregor’s eyes fell on the ruby embedded in the top of Buck’s cane. He had rushed here to clean up the battlefield after hearing from Elena that the leader had been dealt with, but the sudden revival of his opponent had placed him in a disadvantageous position.
In a one-on-one scenario, Gregor was confident he could take down a single Craver. But two against one? That was a different story...
"Ha! Finally awake, are we?" chuckled Clifford, who was wearing a masked helmet. He then forcefully yanked his double-bladed axe from where it had been lodged in the wall.
"Our intel’s been compromised—there’s likely a mole. Deal with this captain, and retreat immediately!" Buck declared sternly. As he spoke, he gripped the ruby cane and gave it a hard pull. The cane’s outer shell slid off, revealing a slender blade hidden within—it was, in fact, a sword-cane.
"Of course! Now die!"
With a cold snort, Clifford swung his double-bladed axe at Gregor. Gregor dodged sideways, only to see Buck thrusting his sword-cane from another angle. He hurriedly avoided it again, the edge of the blade slicing through the hem of his coat.
Thus began Gregor’s frantic dodging under the coordinated assault of Buck and Clifford. Although his Beyonder abilities as a Shader granted him agility and evasion, the relentless attacks of two Cravers posed considerable pressure. With their enhanced physical capabilities, Cravers struck faster and harder than ordinary humans, forcing Gregor into a defensive position.The clock tower’s rooftop was not spacious, leaving Gregor with limited room to maneuver. Buck and Clifford exploited this, gradually cornering Gregor against the wall.
From several hundred meters away, Elena watched the battle on the clock tower rooftop through her Beyonder vision, hoping to provide fire support. However, the rapid movements of the combatants and their frequent use of cover made it extremely difficult to aim. Reluctant to risk friendly fire, she refrained from pulling the trigger.
"Damn it... Wasn’t that guy’s head blown apart? Even a Craver shouldn’t survive that!" Elena muttered in frustration. Meanwhile, Gregor was gradually forced into a corner, his movements increasingly restricted. In open terrain, he could have held his ground against these two Cravers for ten minutes, even unarmed. But in the confined space of the clock tower rooftop, he had little room to maneuver.
Finally, after narrowly dodging a thrust from Clifford, Gregor lost his balance due to the lack of space and fell. Seeing this, Clifford immediately seized the opportunity and swung his axe down at Gregor.
Bang!
At that moment, a thunderous gunshot rang out like an explosion. A storm of metallic shards sprayed from the wide barrel of a firearm, scattering like a burst of fireworks toward Clifford. The shards struck his iron armor, piercing the unprotected areas of his body. Clifford fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
Standing at the staircase entrance of the clock tower was a tall figure clad in a hunter’s uniform and wearing a mask. He held a large single-shot pistol, its barrel still smoking. This was Turner, another captain of the hunter squad.
Seeing this, Buck immediately shifted his stance and lunged at Turner with his sword-cane. Turner did not dodge but instead reached out and caught the blade with his hand. Wearing chainmail gloves, he gripped the sword tightly, immobilizing it despite Buck’s extraordinary strength.
Realizing that his opponent was also exceptionally strong, Buck’s expression turned serious.
"You’re a... follower of Chalice too?" he asked.
Turner said nothing, tossing his pistol aside and clenching his massive fist. He swung it at Buck, who barely managed to pull his sword free and dodge the blow. Turner’s punch smashed into the ground, cracking the bricks.
"Retreat!" Buck shouted. Realizing the situation had turned against them, he decided to cut his losses. Slashing open a sack of lime powder stored on the rooftop, he unleashed a cloud of dust, obscuring visibility. Grabbing the injured Clifford, Buck leaped out of a window, escaping the scene.
“ Cough, cough... What the hell is this stuff...?" Turner muttered, waving away the dust. Once the lime powder settled, he found that Buck and Clifford were already gone.
"Damn it! Where did they go?" Turner growled.
"They jumped out over there," Gregor said, pointing to a window as he leaned against the wall, struggling to his feet. Turner shot him a displeased look.
"You saw them? Why didn’t you jump after them? You’re pretty fast, aren’t you?"
"Give me a break. I’m not like you Craver who can shrug off falls. Jumping from that height would leave me half-dead—if I didn’t die outright. My speed comes from being a Shader, which makes me lighter, but not light enough to fly," Gregor replied, shrugging.
Turner shook his head in disappointment. "Tch... What a waste. I thought we had them. I was looking forward to smashing their skulls."
"No worries. I’ve got a backup plan," Gregor said with a smirk. "While fighting them, I managed to tag one of them with a marker sigil. If we can get to a Lighter, we can track them right away."
Turner’s expression brightened. "A marker sigil? Not bad! You managed to do that while being attacked by two of them? Alright, let’s go find that nun. We’re not letting those Crimson Eucharist scum get away today!"
With that, Turner and Gregor quickly descended the clock tower stairs.
…
Meanwhile, a little while before the clash at Flooded Dockyard.
In the city of Igwynt, atop a tall building opposite the Cypress Fir Tower, a white-haired girl kept a close watch on the secret entrances of the Serenity Bureau using multiple visions simultaneously. She waited patiently for her prey to emerge.
"Hurry up. I’m getting a little impatient..." Dorothy murmured, her gaze fixed on the bustling crowd below.