Hainas Vincent

"It's coming!"

Luther shouted, waking up with a start from the sofa bed. His tone was filled with panic and unease, his loud voice echoing through the quiet lounge, waking the few people who had been sleeping.

Luo Yao, sitting opposite him, put down her newspaper and looked at him calmly.

"Had a nightmare?"

She asked indifferently.

On the other beds, Klein woke up, and Cecilia also sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes.

Luther's heart hammered against his ribs, his breathing rapid. He looked around blankly; the few people who had gone missing seemed to be in the lounge the whole time, and there were no strange sounds in the corridor.

Was it a dream?

It seemed like a dream.

Luther instinctively wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but a sense of anxiety surged into his heart once more.

No!

Something was wrong!

A premonition of danger kept stimulating his nerves, like seeing a steel needle suspended before his eyes, slowly inching closer, about to pierce into his brain. Although he hadn't been pricked yet, an extremely uncomfortable, illusory pain had already formed between his brows.

"It's not a nightmare! There is real danger!"

Luther shouted at Luo Yao, "I don't know how to describe it... but, but, something is coming!"

He explained in a pale and gaunt manner, waving his arms in vain, looking completely unconvincing. At first, Luther thought Luo Yao would think he was losing his mind. But to his surprise, she only frowned, stood up swiftly, and with a swish, drew her revolver from the holster at her waist.

"Which direction?"

She asked, "Which direction feels wrong to you?"

Which direction?

Luther was stunned for a moment, unable to answer. He only instinctively sensed danger, but he couldn't answer what exactly it was or where it was coming from.

"Did you see any images? Tell me, I can try to perform divination." Klein also stood up and said seriously.

"Who are you! Don't come over! Ah--"

Just then, a girl's scream came from outside the lounge.

"Roshan!"

Luo Yao's expression shifted slightly, and she quickly ran toward the lounge door, not forgetting to instruct Luther, "Protect your sister and stay hidden here! Klein, follow me!" Before Luther could respond, she rushed out with her gun drawn.

Luther gave a violent start and hurriedly grabbed Cecilia to find a place to crouch down.

Klein gripped his revolver tightly and followed Luo Yao out of the lounge.

Outside, Roshan was still screaming, which made him feel somewhat anxious. After all, there were only two Night Watchers present, including himself, a newcomer. If the enemy was too strong, he worried the situation might turn dire.

Luo Yao, who was rushing in front, had already crossed the partition, holding her gun with both hands and aiming in a certain direction.

"Stop, don't move!"

This elegant and cold lady let out a loud, unrefined roar.

Klein ran past the partition, holding his revolver and aiming in the same direction as Luo Yao, and the state of the hall came into view. He saw Roshan sitting on the ground; she wasn't injured, but she looked terrified, her legs scraping against the floor as she desperately tried to scoot backward.

Standing in front of her was the intruder.

When he saw who it was, Klein couldn't help but be shocked.

"Hainas!"

He exclaimed.

"He is Hainas? Didn't the captain and the others catch him--I said don't move! Move again and I'll shoot!"

Luo Yao said, the first half of her sentence directed at Klein, and the second half warning the uninvited guest.

"I don't know..."

Klein was extremely surprised, not just because he saw Hainas, but because of the man's current state.

Dark circles under his eyes, thick and stiff brown hair, a serious and anxious middle-aged man—that was Klein's original impression of Hainas. But the Hainas before him, while his appearance hadn't changed, had undergone a complete transformation in his overall aura. His face was filled with an unprecedented, intoxicated smile, as if he were immersed in immense happiness. His eyes were unfocused, and despite being pointed at by a gun, he didn't even look at it, instead staring at a direction where there was nothing, muttering to himself with a face full of smiles.

What was even more terrifying was that his entire body was covered in blood, as if he had just been caught in a rain of blood before entering. Fresh red blood was constantly dripping from his face, his hands, and the black classical robe he wore.

Looking at this alien version of Hainas, Klein felt a chill run through his heart.

Just then, he heard Hainas speak.

"The Lord guided me here."

His tone was hazy, and something was bulging and wriggling under his robe, as if he were hiding some living creature, "He is right, the aura of the Lord is here... my salvation is here... praise the Lord, praise the Lord!"

Hainas's expression grew increasingly fanatical. He ignored Luo Yao's repeated warnings and stepped toward the partition, the corridor behind which was where Luther and the others were hiding.

Luo Yao gritted her teeth.

"Roshan, stand up and run inside! Klein, follow my lead and fire, do you understand?!"

She shouted.

Klein responded immediately, and Roshan, recovering from her shock, stood up and ran past the partition. Seeing Hainas closing in step by step, Luo Yao pulled the trigger without hesitation, and Klein fired along with her.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Gunshots and gunpowder smoke instantly filled the hall of the Blackthorn Security Company. Hainas stopped in his tracks, his body swaying back and forth as if struck by a hammer. A bullet even hit him squarely in the face, drilling viciously into his eye socket, causing red and white matter to spray out.

Seeing the face of an acquaintance reduced to this state, Klein couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea, and he instinctively stopped firing.

"Don't stop!"

Luo Yao shouted instead.

But his head was shot... Klein thought to himself, and then he saw that Hainas, despite his gunshot wounds, did not fall! Amidst a sticky, dense, and sickening sound, bright red tumors writhed and grew from Hainas's wounds, even pushing out the bullet embedded in his eye socket. The still-hot metal projectile hissed as it scorched Hainas's flesh before clattering onto the floor.

Under their astonished gazes, Hainas grinned at them, revealing a hideous smile.

"Are you trying to stop me?"

With a tearing sound, he reached into his overgrown eye socket, ripped the tumor out, crushed it, and then raised his arm...

"Look out!"

Klein suddenly felt his body lighten, and then he was involuntarily pulled to the right; it was Luo Yao dragging him away from his original spot. He looked closely and saw that the place where he had just been standing was now covered in splattered flesh. Those disgusting things were corroding the floor and the partition, rising in smoke and hissing!

Damn it...

Klein felt his scalp tingle. This guy Hainas had mutated; he wasn't afraid of pistols, and his flesh could even corrode things. How were they supposed to deal with this?

Besides his revolver, he still had one Sleep Charm in his pocket. There were two sealed artifacts stored in the captain's office behind them, but if he managed to get away to retrieve them—no, those two sealed artifacts had no offensive capabilities and could only be used to detect if a target was harmful. Was there any other way...

Klein's brain raced, all while he had to constantly dodge the flesh thrown by Hainas and occasionally fire back with his pistol. The hall quickly descended into chaos, becoming a complete wreck.

Maybe I should use the power above the Gray Fog...

The situation was becoming slightly desperate, and for a split second, the thought even crossed Klein's mind.

Fortunately, Luo Yao took the initiative to call out to him, "Klein! I need to switch to Demon Hunting Bullets. Can you help me stall for a few seconds?"

"Okay!"

Klein's eyes lit up at her words. That's right, their revolvers were currently loaded with ordinary bullets. If they switched to Demon Hunting Bullets designed for evil, it might just have an effect!

He quickly pulled the Sleep Charm from his pocket. It was a silver piece the size of an infant's palm, engraved with Ancient Hermes incantations, various symbols, and numerology. Just by holding it in his hand, he could feel the calm and peaceful power radiating from it.

"Crimson!"

Klein shouted in Ancient Hermes, channeling his spirituality into the charm, then swung his arm to throw it at Hainas.

"Bang!"

The silver piece exploded into a cluster of dark red flames, enveloping Hainas's head. His body swayed, the twisted smile that seemed fixed on his face rapidly faded, and his eyelids couldn't help but droop.

It worked!

Luo Yao took the opportunity to empty her cylinder and load silver bullets engraved with exorcism patterns and the holy emblem of the Goddess of the Night into her revolver. She whispered a prayer to the Goddess, and the silent, hidden power of the night manifested, resonating between her and the revolver.

Finishing the prayer, Luo Yao's eyes were calm as she aimed the muzzle of her revolver at the still-slumbering Hainas.