“It’s like this...”
In mid-air, John opened his mouth, seemingly prepared to reveal the method to remove the dream demon curse.
But.
Before he could finish, Elias’s peripheral vision suddenly caught movement in the dilapidated coffin.
That zombie with Eastern features, which had been on the verge of weathering away, moved without any warning.
Two shriveled arms, in a posture Elias was all too familiar with, stretched straight upward.
“Holy shit!”
Elias blurted out.
His physical reaction was much faster than his brain's thought process.
He didn't need to distinguish whether this was a corpse-revival or some bizarre ritual.
His right hand holding the revolver didn't hesitate for a second.
His index finger decisively pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The muffled gunshot tore through the deathly silence of the grave pit.
“You mother—”
John’s exasperated curse was stuck in his throat, unable to fully escape his mouth.
A bullet wrapped in brilliant silver moonlight penetrated between his eyebrows without resistance.
The holy radiance energy exploded the moment it touched the spiritual body.
It was like pouring a bucket of gasoline onto a burning match.
John’s spiritual body was instantly ignited.
Silver flames swallowed the green light completely.
Without even having time to leave a scream, that ghostly figure completely vanished into thin air under the burning radiance.
At the same time.
The corpse in the coffin, which had just straightened its arms, seemed to lose some invisible traction.
Its arms slammed back onto the coffin boards.
The corpse fell back into a deathly silence.
Elias maintained his shooting posture.
Looking at the empty air, the expression on his face darkened visibly.
He was annoyed!
“He was likely trying to distract you to escape in the chaos.”
Old Ed analyzed the sudden situation.
The old man saw through it clearly.
“I know,” Elias responded coldly.
He lowered the muzzle, his fingers irritably rubbing the gun's body twice.
“It’s just that this damn guy didn't actually produce any method to remove the curse.”
That was the real reason for his irritation.
He had originally held a sliver of unrealistic hope for that claim.
Cursing under his breath, he leaned over and picked up the Roaring Cane from the ground.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Just now, he had been too busy playing mind games and facing off with John in the pit that he almost forgot an important matter.
Just a few minutes ago, the voices of John’s helpers calling out had clearly come from outside.
But.
As the seconds ticked by...
Why hadn't anyone come in to save the day? He hadn't seen a single soul.
And from the sound of it, why did it seem like they were fighting each other?
Infighting?
What exactly was happening outside?
...
At that very moment.
Outside the pit.
Finn exerted the last ounce of strength in his body, reaching out desperately behind him.
He wanted to grab the guy standing behind him.
The rookie investigator named Luke.
But.
Life force was frantically draining away through the massive bloody hole in his chest.
He could even hear the sound of his heart stopping.
His vision was rapidly swallowed by darkness.
That hand ultimately failed to touch the corner of the traitor’s clothes.
It fell powerlessly.
Luke stood where he was, the expression on his face as calm as a stagnant pool.
He gripped the hilt of the knife and pulled it back calmly.
The blade scraped against bone and organs, bringing out a long trail of warm blood.
The body, losing its support, collapsed with a thud.
He allowed Finn’s corpse to slam heavily onto the cold ground.
Until this moment.
The other three investigators finally reacted to this terrifying turn of events.
Adrenaline surged.
Their pupils constricted.
Without hesitation, they chambered rounds into their firearms.
The spell energy accumulated in their bodies poured out.
Bullets whistled through the air, and brilliant spell lights pierced the night.
All attacks were frantically hurled toward Luke, who stood in place.
Faced with this overwhelming onslaught, Luke didn't even blink.
At some point.
He had already taken the silver sword from Finn’s back into his own hands.
Spirituality was injected into the hilt.
The silver blade flashed with light.
A surge of holy energy instantly surrounded him.
Three brilliant golden shields were rapidly constructed.
Rotating slowly, they protected him in the center.
The incoming bullets struck the golden shields and immediately bounced to the ground.
The brilliant spell attacks hit this holy barrier like a clay ox entering the sea, instantly dissolving into nothingness.
Not even a single crack was left behind.
“It’s Captain Finn’s ‘White Night’!”
One investigator stared fixedly at the glowing silver sword, speaking through gritted teeth.
His voice was full of rage.
That was their captain’s exclusive sword, and now it was being used by the killer as a defensive weapon!
“Shield of Faith!”
Another investigator also recognized the origin of the spell and shouted a warning to his companions.
The defensive power of this shield was difficult to break by conventional means.
Just as everyone’s attacks were declared ineffective.
Luke wasn't idle.
A dark green light suddenly flashed from his other hand, which hung by his side.
The light was cold and eerie, completely out of place with the holy aura of the shield.
With a flick of his wrist, he pointed the still-dripping dagger straight at Finn’s corpse on the ground.
In the next second.
The dead Finn on the ground immediately opened his eyes.
With his hands propped against the muddy ground, he stiffly climbed up.
Unlike when he was alive.
At this moment, Finn’s eyes held only two clusters of piercing green ghostly fire.
Burning silently.
Luke casually handed the blood-stained dagger to this newly awakened living corpse.
He looked at the corpse under his control and curled his lip in slight distaste.
“This Finn was too much of a nuisance.”
Facing the group of “colleagues” before him, who were treating him like a formidable enemy.
Luke spread his hands helplessly.
As if he were the forced victim.
“I had no choice but to kill him while he wasn't looking,” he explained slowly.
“If he had activated ‘Battle Rage,’ I probably wouldn't have been able to kill him.”
He clearly had a sober understanding of Finn’s frontal combat strength.
Against that kind of close-combat machine in a berserk state, even a sneak attack might not have resulted in a one-hit kill.
“Fortunately.”
When he said this, his tone even carried an undisguised sense of relief.
It was the feeling of ease after removing a major obstacle.
The three investigators standing opposite him were shaking so hard they could barely hold their guns.
At this time, a sudden gunshot came from the grave pit behind everyone. But at this moment, they could at most spare a glance back; they had no energy to pay much attention to the grave robber's issues.
As long as that guy wasn't shooting at them, everyone’s goal was to first kill the traitor who had murdered their captain.
“Luke! Why are you doing this?!”
Luke’s former stakeout partner, the rookie who had spent the night with him outside the Golden Rose Hotel.
His eyes were red now, and he shouted hoarsely through gritted teeth.
He didn't understand.
“Didn't we agree to become investigators like Branch Manager Guardian together?!”
The former oaths seemed so ridiculous at this moment.
“What are you doing?!”
“Are you being controlled?!”
He took a half-step forward, his voice still carrying a final sliver of hope.
He was trying to find a reason for his partner’s betrayal that he could accept.
Hearing this.
Luke’s shoulders trembled slightly.
He let out a scoff.
“Hahahaha!”
The laughter echoed in the cemetery, sounding particularly piercing.
He acted as if he had heard the most hilarious joke in the world.
“How can you be so naive?”
He stopped laughing, his gaze toward his partner filled with pity and mockery.
“We were never on the same side.”
He declared this cruel fact word by word.
“Never!”
The disguise was completely torn away.
“Can't you see the situation even now?” Luke asked back.
As he spoke, his gaze crossed the shoulders of several investigators.
It landed accurately on the edge of the excavated grave pit a few meters away.
“I’m afraid even this gentleman who just climbed out of the grave pit has understood the situation.”
The moment he finished speaking.
At the edge of the grave pit, Elias had just stuffed his tactical backpack into his Gluttonous Stomach.
Stepping on the coffin boards, he laboriously pulled half his body out of John’s grave.
Then he heard Luke call him out by name.
He had originally intended to take advantage of the chaos while these people were fighting to slip away quietly under the cover of night and terrain.
Who knew.
Why did these people stop fighting?
He had only just poked half his head out when he was caught red-handed.
Why do they look like they’re from the Seventh Agency?
Elias propped his hands on the dirt, freezing for a second.
Then.
He decisively put on the face of a random passerby, his eyes as clear as a newborn baby’s.
“What situation?”
He looked at Luke with an innocent face.
“I just woke up. I’ll be going now!”
He pointed to the coffin in the pit.
“Don't mess up my bed.”
As he spoke, he quickly pulled his remaining leg out of the grave pit.
“I won't disturb you. You guys continue!”
Leaving those words behind.
Elias turned to leave.
He greased his heels, ready to bolt.
“Hold it!”
Luke shouted sharply from behind.
However, his shout didn't stop Elias’s pace at all.
Instead, it made Elias walk even faster.
Seeing the target about to run.
Luke immediately cast a cold glance in Elias’s direction.
The “Finn” who had been standing stiffly to the side immediately locked onto the target with those green-glowing eyes.
He instantly accelerated, charging straight at Elias like a maddened beast.
Hearing the violent wind behind him.
Elias immediately turned his head.
His right hand quickly reached for a pocket at his waist.
A charm inscribed with complex patterns was pinched between his fingertips.
The repulsion charm was activated immediately.
Violent spiritual repulsion exploded between the two of them.
Finn’s body was instantly blown backward by this powerful repulsion.
It wasn't until he saw the contours of this corpse’s face that Elias froze for a moment.
“Finn?”
Only then did he recognize that the monster charging at him was actually his “good brother” from the Seventh Agency!
The guy who had been alive and kicking not long ago.
“Careful, he’s just a controlled living corpse now.”
Old Ed’s grave voice warned in his mind.
Looking at the corpse that was climbing up again.
The old man quickly made a judgment.
“That guy in the distance might be related to the necromancy in the gravedigger's hut.”
All the clues seemed to be linking together.
In the gap of their communication.
Elias heard the guy in the distance call out calmly once more:
“Don't go, friend!”
The voice echoed in the open cemetery.
“Hand over the ‘One Piece’ in your hand.”
Rate on N.U.
