Fran gently caressed the brass pocket watch in her hand. Though her expression remained as composed as ever, Haida could somehow sense a heightened air of enthusiasm about her.
Even her pale complexion seemed to regain a touch of vitality, tinged with a faint flush of color.
Fran seemed... pleased.
Was it the alcohol, or something else entirely? Haida couldn't help but feel a flicker of curiosity.
Haida's gaze lingered on the deep crimson liquid resting on the small table, as red as blood. Yet, she made no move to take a sip. Even if the slender goblet contained pure wine, untainted by human blood, drinking during a mission went against her principles.
A Seeker on the hunt must maintain absolute focus at all times, except when necessary for disguise.
The corner of Fran's lips curled ever so slightly, her amber eyes glimmering with a hint of satisfaction.
She had wanted to play the "Swinging Heart Clock" trick in Conan's style for a long time! And now, she had finally gotten her chance with Professor Terence... It felt exhilarating.
Come on, using a hypnotic needle to knock someone out and then solving a case in their identity? That's just insanely cool, isn't it?
Vivian was doing her best to control her body, preventing her muscles from trembling.
The agents of the Secret Court possessed exceptional observational skills... and she could feel countless eyes fixed upon her at this very moment.
Those gazes were bold and unrestrained, their curiosity utterly unguarded. It felt as though they had pierced through her robes, stripped away her flesh, and were now peering directly at the deeper essence concealed within her form...
The playful dancers swayed their hips with abandon, moving closer to the crowd in time with the chaotic, flickering lights of the club.
They sang, their voices blending into the surrounding clamor. If one listened closely, their thoughts would inadvertently become ensnared, and they would find themselves sinking into the same grand intoxication shared by all the guests of the Gluttony Club.
A stunningly beautiful black-haired lead dancer, flawless in appearance, stepped forward with rhythmic grace, stopping right in front of Professor Terence.
She didn't talk to him but began to take off her clothes one by one. The soft garments were neatly folded and placed aside in order. Drifting silk, thin gauze, close-fitting undergarments, and smooth skin... The lead dancer stood naked before Professor Terrence, proudly and confidently showing off the slender muscles beneath her skin.
In the center of her chest, there was a charred mark left by a branding iron, the inverted triangle symbol of the Red Cup.
"Are you the 'Mr. Sains' that the receptionist mentioned?"
Terrence spoke in a deep voice, looking at the lead dancer who had already sat down on the sofa on the stage.
Sains nodded tacitly but didn't speak.
She glanced at the other dancer beside her. The other girl understood and reached out to stab her own throat, pulling out a bloody and still quivering vocal cord.
She took the organ and placed it back on her neck.
"Mr. Sains, the visiting deacon, it's a pleasure to have you at my club. Please don't be formal. Relax your mind and let the bloodline brothers and sisters serve you..."
The other dancers slowly emerged from around the platform. One of them sipped a deep red wine, then approached Terence, winding around him like a water serpent, attempting to meet his lips.
The surrounding guests could even be heard cheering and whistling.
"I do not indulge in excess and am unworthy of your enthusiastic hospitality. I hope you will forgive me."
Professor Terence coldly pushed away the soft body of the dancer before him. He then scanned the room, locking eyes with every guest who dared to glance in his direction.
Under his imposing presence, the noisy commotion gradually subsided. Only the rejected dancer, her eyes welling with tears, seemed somewhat aggrieved.
"Oh, I see... You are an ascetic. No wonder, as a fellow blood descendant, you are so out of place among the members of this club."
Somewhat surprised by Terence's stern attitude, Sains frowned but quickly deduced his identity based on his demeanor and actions.
"Though we may follow different principles, as fellow blood descendants, we are still kin. Since you, too, have been called here by the Lord, you must know of the recent preparations for the ritual. If you have nothing else to attend to... go and prepare the offerings."
"Of course, if you want to join this revelry, everyone will get along better... Endless asceticism only brings emptiness. To truly transcend, we should experience the extremes of the senses."
Sains looked at Terrence and let out a sigh, seemingly regretting that a blood descendant had strayed from the path.
"I stand by my judgment."
Terrence rejected once again. As the Excoriator of the White Chalice and a professor at Norrington Central Academy, he could never truly join such a depraved party.
"Then I can only respect your choice, my fellow blood descendant who chose asceticism..."
Sains flicked his fingers, putting the skin and dress back on.
"Lord Sains, please take me back to the Great Lord now! I can't bear this weak body any longer. Please, let me behold the Lord's glory and dissolve into it..."
Haida, who had remained silent until now, suddenly knelt before Sains, begging to be used as a sacrifice for the ritual.
Her attitude was extremely earnest, almost in tears, like the purest of fanatics. Even Vivian beside her was taken aback.
So, Sister Haida's acting skills are this good? It's almost as if it's real... no, even more real than reality! Isn't she supposed to be the type who's not good with words? How is she such an ultimate actress...
Frank also seemed somewhat surprised, his eyebrows slightly raised beneath the shadow of his hood. But he quickly returned to his usual expression.
A sense of familiarity—Haida's displayed emotions were quite similar to someone else's.
Hmm... It's Madam Solani, no wonder.
Haida must have undergone some psychological training like profiling. Despite only having one encounter, she was able to quite accurately mimic another person's behavior pattern.
Sains glanced Haida up and down, a hint of satisfaction and admiration in his eyes. He then turned to Professor Terrence with a puzzled look.
"Deacon... you even brought a gift? That's too extravagant."
At this point, Terrence had no choice but to continue with Haida's performance.
"Since we were coming, it was only right to bring something. It's proper etiquette."
Sains looked at Haida with a touch of indulgence.
"Alright, let's go to the ritual site and get ready. Child, how I envy you... to become the bone and blood in the cup before us. You are truly blessed by our Lord."
Under the shadow of her hood, Vivian bit her lip in helplessness.
Wasn't this supposed to be a simple contact mission? Sains even let us leave earlier. Couldn't we have just left and then coordinated with the purge team to swarm in and eliminate all these heretics? Why did we suddenly end up going deep into enemy territory alone?
What on earth is Sister Haida thinking?
But suddenly, Vivian recalled the mission report from the night Sister Haida was injured and went missing.
She had apparently single-handedly wiped out an entire nest of heretics, even pulling out a deacon's head along with his spine with her bare hands.
…For some reason, she suddenly didn't feel as scared anymore.
——
Passing through the noisy main hall of the club, the group followed Sains into a dim, empty room. The air was thick with the foul stench of decaying flesh, and the floor was littered with dried, dark bloodstains.
On the ceramic floor of the room was a massive ritual array, drawn entirely in blood.
The blood remained unnaturally fresh, almost translucent, its vibrant hue brimming with an eerie vitality. It flowed like a sweet spring through the grooves of the array.Vivian bit her lip helplessly beneath the shadow of her hood.
Wasn't this supposed to be a simple contact mission? Sains even let us leave earlier. Couldn't we have just left and then advanced with the purge troops to wipe out these heretics? Why are we suddenly going in alone again...
What on earth is Sister Haida thinking?
But suddenly, Vivian recalled the mission report from the night Sister Haida was injured and went missing.
It seemed she had single-handedly wiped out an entire nest of heretics, even tearing out a deacon's head along with his spine barehanded.
...For some reason, she suddenly felt less afraid.
——
Passing through the noisy main hall of the club, the group followed Sains into a dim, empty room. The air was thick with the foul stench of decaying flesh, and the floor was littered with dried, dark bloodstains.
On the ceramic floor of the room was a massive ritual array, drawn with pure blood.
The blood remained almost transparently fresh, its vivid color exuding an eerie vitality, flowing like a sweet spring through the grooves of the array.
The wild confusion in Hayda's grey-chestnut eyes subsided in an instant, and she regained her sanity and concentration. Even breathing and heart rate are back to normal.
She deactivated the profile simulation and identified the array of rituals in front of her.
Second class ceremony, "summon blood heirs".
Using living humanoid beings as sacrifices, the life force of the dissolved offerings is stored in the ritual array for summoning the unknown Red Cup clan. Maybe it's an ordinary ghoul, maybe it's a red cup holy heir.
"Throw yourself into His arms, child, and feel his love and warmth."
Saines reached out and stroked Hayda's waist, leaning close to her and encouraging her to step into the bloody, filthy array of rituals.
The next moment, a jackknife with a classical wooden handle had slit her throat. Blood spilled like a burst.
'Do it!
Hyda's two jackknives one into Saines' throat, the other into his chest.
She finished the blow and quickly withdrew the jackknife to complete the bleeding process, then took out two black guns, and in a moment
The outside priest pours two magazines of steel-core bullets.
The roar of the gunshots was like the rhythmic tremolo of a piano, continuously resounding.
"Is this the combat capability of a Funeral Maiden... It's always astonishing to witness, no matter when."
Professor Terrence squinted his eyes, feeling slightly relieved that Sister Haida was on his side.
This was an assassination at a distance that almost surpassed the limits of human reaction speed. If the target had been him... he didn't think for a moment that he would have survived.
"Child, take another shot," he raised his hand slightly, issuing an order to his assistant behind him.
"Understood, Professor. Watch this!"
Child took down the unusually large sniper rifle from his back, aimed precisely at the center of Sains' torso, and pulled the trigger.
The moment the bullet left the barrel, the surrounding air twisted into invisible waves.
This sniper rifle was a prototype from the White Chalice Sect, imbued with their unique second-tier lower secret art, [Redundant Knowledge Intrusion]. It could forcibly inject an overwhelming amount of disordered information into the mind of the target, causing a mental breakdown.
At such a close range, the massive sniper rifle in his hand was like a heavy cannon. Sains' slender body was directly blasted into two pieces.
The moment they launched an all-out assault with no holds barred, it was truly a sight to behold... Perhaps I won't have any part in this?
Fran looked at the mangled remains on the floor, regretting that he hadn't swiped a bucket of popcorn from the guests at the Hunger Club.
After confirming that Sains was completely dead, Haida approached the bloody ritual array. She softly recited the Hunter's secret prayer, then plunged one of her folding knives into the pattern on the ground, leaving a deep scratch.
The blood in the ritual basin began to boil violently, even emitting pale smoke. But soon it solidified into a deep black sludge, losing all its vitality.
Though it seemed like she had merely made a simple cut, this was actually the second-tier lower secret art of the Hunter Sect, [Rending Rite].
This secret art could destroy the vast majority of second and third-tier rituals without causing backlash. In the earlier scenario, if the ritual array were to be destroyed by purely physical means, it could be done, but the entire ritual would forcibly activate before being destroyed. That would be somewhat troublesome...
If nothing else, this should be the end of the Hunger Club saga.
But the world is full of surprises, isn't it?
'Watch Sarnes. She's not dead yet.'
Fran's languid voice came suddenly.
Hayda looked at the body of Saines with a little doubt, the knife and bullet engraved with the prayer can destroy the spirit and the flesh at the same time, she is only an auxiliary priest can not survive just right?
Saines's slender, disfigured body rose to its feet, but only the upper part.
She was able to stand up again, relying on massive growth of blood vessels and intestines as her new lower body.
Her broken skull was constantly spewing out red and white pulp, a brain that had grown.
"This is... How is that possible?"
Professor Terrence was incredulous. A priest could never have done this. It was a special treat for him to let Child take a second shot, a few shots from a normal Hayda would have ensured her total demise.
"Yes, it is impossible for an altar. So... Saines is a 'chief priest.'"
Fran glided past the crowd to reach Saines. She unbuckled her travel robe, removed a row of lancets from the medicine cabinet she carried with her, and expertly fitted them with blades.
"Are you traitors of my Lord? Nooooo. You are infiltrated, servants of the false gods... Aah..."
Saines groaned hysterically as flesh sprouted. She was so angry that she wanted to tear everyone in the darkroom apart the next second.
But Fran stared at her partner with an expression of ease and enjoyment, even a slight flush, and an almost irrepressible smile between the rosy corners of her lips.
It was pure joy... It's like getting your favorite toy.
She's going under the knife.
Cut the muscles along the lines, peel the veins along the bones, open the lumen and pluck the organs, and the lancet is as clean as a mirror
From time to time, the front has been completely stained with plasma. Surrounded by the flesh and blood Fran dumped.
"Do you know why you can't act, matron? Because your brain is constantly proliferating as a defense against redundancy
The effect of intrusion. There's no more computing power for controlling the body."
"We can always be so close until the effects of this white cup second class secret wear off... Keep looking forward to it?"
Saines tried to yell, but she couldn't. Because her vocal cords have been removed...
This layman is proliferating nowhere near as fast as Fran is picking. Her anatomical resolution is a full 79%, one of the best in all techniques!
Soon Saines was nothing more than a skeletal corpse. And her many organs are neatly laid aside, like some kind of evil exhibit.
Fran's white coat was soaked in blood, but she didn't care. Because she has found the source of the proliferation of flesh and blood - half a beating miniature heart.
The Lancet plunges neatly into this half of the heart, peeling it off.
"Oh, excuse my slip of the tongue. Just now I said that you are an outside priest, obviously I was wrong... You're just half a bit.
That's all."
Fran sighed with pity and indifference, as if he had lost all interest in Saines.
She threw the heart on the floor like garbage, and when her little, thick-soled shoe ran over it, it turned into a puddle of dissolved scum.
Then, Fran, nearly covered in blood, let out a deep, contented breath, feeling refreshed and radiant, her smile blossoming like a flower. She then turned her gaze toward Haida.
"Sorani is still alive; it's not yet time for a victory feast. Would you accompany me to find her, Sister Haida?"
Even with Haida's strong mental fortitude, the scene of the live dissection of the heretical priest had left her profoundly shaken.
"...Yes, let's go." After a moment, Haida regained her composure.
She sighed softly, approached Fran, and rolled up her traveling robe to wipe the bloodstains from Fran's face.
Fran remained in her original posture, her amber-like, deep golden eyes slightly narrowed, resembling a feline basking in the pleasure of a gentle stroke.
——