The True Hunter

Edward didn't move at Kevin's words. He warily scanned the surrounding crowd. The festive crowd naturally avoided the area where he and Kevin were, as if they hadn't noticed them, as if that space was originally empty, with nothing there.

At this moment, the distorted face seemed to be pulled by something, returning to a deathly calm, then a mechanical smile appeared on its lips, as if an invisible hand was pulling Kevin's mouth, forcing him to make a 'smiling' expression. The voice also began to flow smoothly:

"Mr. Edward Smith, is it? Forgive my rudeness, I'm still getting used to this body. That little fellow just popped out unexpectedly.

I've been wanting to dig more out of his memories to get more information. But now I don't need to. You've appeared at the perfect time!"

"What exactly are you?" Edward's tone was icy, his expression unreadable, whether it was anger or fear.

"Me?" The person looked somewhat forlornly towards the Holy Light Church, as if he had come alive from being dead.

"I'm just a pitiful soul who refused to disappear, crawling out of the Sea of Hades."

"Stop speaking in riddles. You can possess Kevin's body, so you're definitely not 'human'. What kind of monster are you?" Edward pressed on.

"Let's not talk about that for now. You killed those two 'puppies' that can smell, didn't you?" the person retorted.

"Dogs that can smell? You mean those two vampires? I killed them, what's it to you?" Edward's tone was as cold as ever.

"It's nothing, nothing. They weren't my dogs, it's just a bit inconvenient without them to guide the way. I'll have 'Blood' lure two more out next time. But I'm really interested in you, Mr. Edward."

Edward was certain the person before him was a hunter. But this hunter was different from his kind.

The hunters Edward had encountered before were powerful and silent, attacking directly without giving him time to react.

Back then, if Edward hadn't relied on his powerful items, he would have been captured. The person before him didn't seem to be in a hurry to attack, as if he had a strong desire to talk. He continued:

"First, allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Mr. Worm." The person bowed politely.

"Worm? Is that your codename?" Edward asked.

"It's definitely a codename. True names disappeared with my last death. My current true name? I think calling me Kevin is more appropriate."

"Are you completely replacing Kevin's identity to live in this world? What is your ultimate goal? Why do you hunt us?"

"Us? No, no, no. We only capture those who have been 'Baptized'. Only such people are pure, life that can 'Sublimate'. As for you... how should I put it, you're truly interesting." Mr. Worm spoke unhurriedly, as if he were chatting with Edward over afternoon tea.

Edward raised an eyebrow, feeling inexplicably guilty. Had his identity as a transmigrator been discovered? He asked calmly:

"How am I interesting?"

"I discovered from 'Kevin's' memories that you never intended to carry out the divine decree from the start. This also matches the aura you have now. The scent of a Baptized person is very faint. You should have been abandoned by that aloof, singular being. You're not worth our effort. Yet, you carry the aura of 'Merit' bestowed by Him, meaning you've at least completed one of His missions. It's truly strange!"

"What does that prove?" Edward had a realization in his heart.

"It proves many things, of course. For example, someone helped other Baptized individuals complete their divine decrees, thus earning great 'Merit'. Perhaps a divine decree event happened here too? But why can't I sense the aura of any Baptized individuals? Is it because of this?" Mr. Worm pulled out a shiny silver Amulet from his neck.

"It's quite exquisitely made. Did you hide them all? It's fine, I'll find them slowly. For us pitiful souls, time is the most precious, and also the cheapest."

"You're telling me all this just to get me to reveal their whereabouts?" Edward had a bad feeling.

"No, no, no, I don't need to force you to say anything." He continued:

"Let's not talk about these boring things. Let's talk about you again. You're more interesting."

"Me? What about me?"

"You're very special in 'Kevin's' memories. You know many things others don't, as if you were born knowing them. Those Brotherhood members even thought you were a born 'Sage'. A being more 'Prophet' than a 'Prophet'."

Edward's lips were tightly shut. Had his biggest secret been discovered? He heard Mr. Worm continue:

"Actually, I know even if you don't say it. You didn't receive a divine decree, but a Divine Revelation! Throughout the long river of time, there have always been lucky ones who received Divine Revelations. That is wisdom bestowed by the singular existence. Their achievements are always extraordinary.

You're very smart, hiding among a group of divine decree recipients and even fleeing to this desolate Land of Eternal Slumber when things looked bad."

"What do you want to say? And what is the Land of Eternal Slumber?" Edward's face remained impassive, but he thought, Divine Revelation? Could my reincarnation still be a 'Divine Revelation' from 'God'?

"What I want to say is, you are qualified to join us. I sincerely invite you to join 'us' now. We'll discuss the rest after you join." Mr. Worm said with a smile, just as Kevin had smiled and welcomed him to the Godfall Brotherhood back then.

"Us? What exactly are you?" Edward asked.

"As I said, you'll only have the right to know after you join us. But I can give you a hint." Mr. Worm said, feigning profundity.

"You should know that all Baptized individuals can advance to what you call the Fifth Stage. In fact, the Fifth Stage is just the beginning. With your intelligence, you must know what I'm referring to, right?"

Seeing Edward remain silent, he continued:

"I can give you some time to consider. There's no need to rush."

Edward looked around and asked:

"What if I refuse?"

"You must understand that a God-Enlightened person is a rarer existence than a Baptized individual. I really want to know what knowledge that singular being has stuffed into your head?" The corners of his mouth pulled into an exaggerated arc, as if he were looking at a delicacy.

"Aren't you afraid I'll escape? I've successfully escaped twice in Ailande!" Edward asked with a half-smile.

"Ha, Mr. Edward, it seems you've guessed some of our taboos. We indeed cannot act in crowded places. Killing too many mortals would displease that singular being. But can you really escape this time? This is just a small city with less than fifty thousand people, not a giant city like the Imperial Capital with millions. You have nowhere to hide!"

"One last question." Edward's left ring flashed, and two weapons appeared in his hand. If people from Edward's past life saw them, they would recognize them as two Uzi submachine guns.

He pointed the silenced Uzis at the opponent's head and asked:

"Can you get out of Kevin's body now?"

"Sorry, he's been completely digested by me. Even when I saw you just now, his soul was only a remnant." Mr. Worm touched his stomach as if he had just eaten something delicious.

"You said so much to me just now, only to digest food?" Edward's tone grew increasingly cold.

"Not entirely. According to the requirements, we must issue an invitation to every God-Enlightened. But you'd best not accept. I haven't tasted a God-Enlightened yet." Mr. Worm's tone grew increasingly manic, his eyes beginning to glow with an eerie red light.

"Then I have no guilt. Please crawl back to your Sea of Hades!" Edward pulled the trigger. The two Uzis hissed. Under Edward's astonishing wrist control, in four seconds, all 100 rounds in the magazines were poured onto the opponent's face.

When reading transmigration novels in his past life, Edward often fantasized about building two Uzi submachine guns after transmigrating, letting enemies experience the feeling of being facerolled by Uzis. This time, he had done it, but felt no joy.

Because the opponent hadn't moved at all. In his focused casting state, he saw the copper bullets hit the opponent's face like little peanuts, creating shallow dents before bouncing off and falling to the ground, scattering deformed bullet heads at his feet.

Mr. Worm chuckled twice and asked mockingly, "Is that all you've got? Then the 'Silver-Winged Magician' is nothing special. Do you understand the strength of a being two tiers above you..."

Before the opponent finished speaking, Edward had already replaced the magazine and said, "Try this, then."

The dual guns spat fire again, this time not just hitting the opponent's face, but peppering his entire torso and head with bullet holes. Mr. Worm's body erupted in a mist of blood, already riddled like a beehive.

The barrage of attacks forced Mr. Worm back two steps, his bloody, mangled face horrifying. But he didn't fall. His eyes glowed with an eerie red light, and the blood and flesh that flew from his body flew back into him before hitting the ground. The dense bullet holes began to shrink, squeezing out black steel needles.

As Mr. Worm's flesh gradually reformed, he roared, "That hurt! You bastard actually laced those copper beans with refined gold! You've successfully angered me!" With that, he swung his right hand, transforming into a stream of light that shot straight for Edward's face.

Even though Edward was prepared, he still couldn't see the opponent's movement. A flash of light appeared beneath his feet, and a thick stone wall rose between them, just managing to block the stream of light. But the light showed no sign of slowing, easily piercing the stone wall and grazing Edward's cheek, leaving a shallow bloody gash. In that instant, Edward saw clearly: it was a giant praying mantis forearm.

Seeing his attack miss, Mr. Worm retracted his right arm, which had transformed into a mantis foreleg, and was about to attack again. But he saw flashes of light under Edward's feet. The thick stone wall, along with the plaza tiles around him, turned into a viscous liquid like mud, encasing him into a stone sphere.

A hole nearly ten meters deep split open beneath him, and the stone sphere plunged into the pit with a whoosh. Edward's feet flashed again, and the pit quickly closed.

When Edward watched Fullmetal Alchemist in his past life, he thought calling them Alchemists was worse than calling them Earth Style ninjas. The screen was full of earth spikes and more earth spikes. Were they Earth Traveler Sun? But after he became an Alchemist himself, he realized it was truly satisfying! But this time, he wouldn't use earth spikes. He'd start with a Sand Burial for you.

He knew this wouldn't hold the opponent for long. There were too many people here, not a suitable place for a full-blown fight. So, the item behind him activated. His blue double-breasted suit and the high round hat on his head gradually turned white, and silver wings unfurled from his back. Two streams of blue flame erupted, and his body shot skyward.

Yesterday, I successfully signed the contract and was featured on the fantasy category's new book recommendation.

Thanks to Junlin Flower Sea and Marius for the monthly votes. Receiving the legendary monthly votes on the first day of signing was quite exciting!

If you ask me: why wasn't I excited when I received the first recommendation ticket? Because I voted for myself ^_^

Thank you all for your continued support. I will keep working hard. This is the third 3000-word chapter.