Hanass Vincent

"It's coming!"

Luther shouted, jolting awake from the sofa bed. His voice was full of panic, ringing through the quiet lounge and waking everyone who had been asleep.

Royale set down her newspaper and looked at him calmly.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

she asked blandly.

On the other beds, Klein woke up, while Cecilia sat up groggily and rubbed her eyes.

Luther's heart pounded violently against his ribs, his breathing rapid. He looked around in confusion. The people who had supposedly vanished were all still in the lounge, and there were no strange sounds coming from the hallway.

Was it a dream?

It seemed like a dream.

Luther instinctively wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but a wave of anxiety suddenly surged through him.

No!

Something was wrong!

A sense of impending danger relentlessly needled his nerves, like a steel needle hanging before his eyes and slowly drawing closer, about to pierce his skull. Though it had not stabbed him yet, an intensely unpleasant phantom pain was already forming between his brows.

"It wasn't a nightmare! There really is danger!"

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

He explained in a pale, feeble voice, waving his arms uselessly. At first, Luther thought Royale would assume he had lost his mind. Yet to his surprise, she merely frowned, rose briskly, and with a swish, drew the revolver from her waist holster.

"Which direction?"

she asked. "Which direction feels wrong to you?"

Which direction?

Luther froze for a moment, unable to answer. He could only instinctively sense danger, but he had no idea what it was or where it was coming from.

"Did you see any images? Tell me. I can try divining it." Klein stood as well, his expression grave.

"Who are you?! Don't come any closer! Ah—"

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

"Rozanne!"

Royale's expression changed slightly. She sprinted toward the lounge door, yet still remembered to tell Luther, "Protect your sister and hide here! Klein, come with me!" Without waiting for Luther's response, she rushed out with her gun.

Luther shuddered and hurriedly pulled Cecilia over to find somewhere to crouch.

Klein gripped his revolver tightly and rushed out after Royale.

Rozanne was still screaming outside, and he could not help feeling anxious. After all, there were only two Nighthawks present, one of whom was a newcomer like himself. If the enemy was too powerful, he feared things might turn ugly.

Royale, who was charging ahead, had already passed the partition. She raised her gun in both hands and aimed in a certain direction.

"Stop! Don't move!"

The elegant, aloof lady let out a loud, unladylike roar.

Klein ran past the partition, holding up his revolver as he aimed along Royale's line of sight. The situation in the hall immediately came into view. Rozanne was sitting on the floor. She did not appear injured, but she looked badly frightened, scraping her legs against the floor as she desperately shuffled backward.

In front of her stood the intruder.

When Klein saw who it was, he could not help but gasp.

"Hanass!"

he cried out.

"He's Hanass? Didn't the captain and the others catch him?—I said don't move! If you move again, I'll shoot!"

Royale said. The first half was a question for Klein; the second was a warning to the uninvited intruder.

"I don't know..."

Klein was deeply shocked, not merely because he had seen Hanass, but because of Hanass's current state.

Dark circles under his eyes, thick, coarse brown hair, and the air of a stern, anxious middle-aged man—this had been Klein's original impression of Hanass. But apart from his unchanged appearance, the Hanass before him had undergone a complete transformation in temperament. His face bore an unprecedentedly blissful smile, as if he were immersed in incomparable happiness. His eyes were unfocused. Though guns were pointed at him, he did not spare them a glance, instead staring at empty air as he smiled and muttered to himself.

More horrifying still, his entire body was drenched in blood, as if he had just been caught in a rainstorm of blood before entering. Bright red blood constantly dripped from his face, hands, and the black classical robe he wore.

The sight of such an alien Hanass made Klein's skin crawl.

Just then, he heard Hanass speak.

"It was the Lord who guided me here."

His tone was dreamy. Something bulged and wriggled beneath his robe, as though living creatures were hidden inside. "He is right. The Lord's aura is here... My salvation is here... Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!"

Hanass's expression gradually turned fanatical. Ignoring Royale's repeated warnings, he stepped toward the partition. Beyond it lay the hallway where Luther and the others were hiding.

Royale gritted her teeth.

"Rozanne, get up and run inside! Klein, fire with me, understand?!"

she shouted.

Klein immediately answered. Rozanne also recovered from her fright and got up to run past the partition. Seeing Hanass draw nearer step by step, Royale pulled the trigger without hesitation, and Klein fired as well.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire and smoke instantly filled the hall of Blackthorn Security Company. Hanass stopped walking, his body swaying back and forth as if he had been struck by hammers. One bullet even hit him in the face, burrowing viciously into his eye socket as red and white matter sprayed out.

Seeing a familiar face reduced to such a state made Klein feel sick, and he instinctively stopped firing.

"Don't stop!"

Royale shouted.

But he was shot in the head... Klein thought. Then he saw that the wounded Hanass had not fallen! Amid a series of wet, nauseating sounds, bright red tumors wriggled out from his wounds. Even the bullet embedded in his eye socket was pushed out by the growth. The still-hot metal projectile sizzled as it burned Hanass's flesh before clattering onto the floor.

Under their astonished gazes, Hanass bared his teeth at them in a savage grin.

"Are you trying to stop me?"

With a ripping sound, he thrust his hand into his grotesquely overgrown eye socket, tore off the tumor, and crushed it before raising his arm...

"Watch out!"

Klein suddenly felt his body become light, then found himself involuntarily pulled to the right. Royale had dragged him away from where he stood. Focusing his gaze, he saw that his previous position had already been splattered with flesh and blood. Those disgusting things corroded the floor and partition, giving off smoke and making sizzling noises!

What the hell...

Klein's scalp went numb. Hanass had already mutated. He was immune to handgun bullets, and his flesh could corrode things. How were they supposed to deal with him now?

Aside from his revolver, he still had a Sleep Charm in his pocket. There were also two Sealed Artifacts stored in the captain's office behind them. If he could break away and retrieve them—no, those two Sealed Artifacts were not offensive. They could only be used to determine whether a target was harmful. Was there any other way...

Klein's mind raced as he kept dodging the chunks of flesh Hanass threw at him, occasionally returning fire with his handgun. The hall quickly became a complete mess, wrecked beyond recognition.

Should I use the power of Above the Gray Fog...

The situation was becoming somewhat desperate, and for a moment, Klein even had that thought.

Fortunately, Royale called out to him. "Klein! I'm switching to Demon-Hunting Bullets. Can you buy me a few seconds?"

"Alright!"

Klein's eyes lit up at once. Right, the revolvers were loaded with ordinary bullets right now. If they switched to Demon-Hunting Bullets designed for evil creatures, perhaps they would work!

He quickly pulled the Sleep Charm from his pocket. It was a silver piece the size of a baby's palm, covered in Hermes incantations, along with all kinds of symbols and spirit numbers. Simply holding it, he could feel the tranquil, peaceful power it radiated.

"Crimson!"

Klein shouted in Ancient Hermes, channeling his spirituality into the charm. Then he swung his arm and hurled it toward Hanass.

Bang!

The silver piece exploded into a ball of dark crimson flame that enveloped Hanass's head. His body swayed, and the twisted smile that seemed fixed to his face rapidly faded as his eyelids drooped involuntarily.

It worked!

Taking the opportunity, Royale emptied her cylinder and loaded silver bullets engraved with exorcism patterns and the sacred emblem of the Evernight Goddess into her revolver. She softly recited a prayer to the Goddess. The tranquil, hidden power of the night manifested soundlessly, resonating with her and the revolver.

After finishing her prayer, Royale's gaze was serene as she aimed her revolver at the still-slumbering Hanass.