In Terra, a Hunter, and Also a Bad Woman

After the other party finished explaining how the ability worked, Maria immediately connected it to interrogation.

That was why she had boldly agreed to Ch'en's request, even without making any physical contact with the target.

Because she believed that with this ability, even without touching him, she could still pry out whatever she wanted to know!

After confirming that Doll was ready, Maria turned her head and stared at the bloodshot-eyed man before her.

With his eyes wide in rage, he looked no different from a wild beast.

His furious glare seemed to be trying to force Maria back, unwilling to yield even an inch.

But this kind of staring contest was exactly what Maria needed.

Ancient syllables, unlike anything a human should have been capable of uttering, emerged from her throat...

Look at me...

The solemn, eerie voice seemed like countless people whispering beside their ears...

The roaring sound made them feel as though their internal organs were about to shatter.

Ch'en, who was in the best condition among them, was affected the most deeply.

After only a few breaths, a dull pain began to spread through her chest.

But... compared to her, the man beside her was clearly in far worse shape.

As Maria spoke, his gaze seemed to be fixed in place, leaving him able to do nothing but stare into the eyes of the person before him.

He watched those cold gray eyes gradually become stained crimson.

His thoughts were slowly being stripped away.

"Urgh!"

The man jolted awake.

Covered in cold sweat, eyes wide, he sat up from the ground while gasping heavily.

But after taking in his surroundings, he became at a loss.

"Where is this place?"

He had already left the warehouse and arrived somewhere unknown.

A circular stretch of open ground... its boundary formed by rows of gravestones. Pale little flowers carpeted the entire ground, and as he moved, their petals drifted upward into the sky...

Only then did the man notice the strange blue-white moon hanging overhead...

This moon... wasn't right...

It was too big...

If the moon he usually saw was only the size of a button, then this one seemed as though it had been pressed directly against his face.

It took up a full fifth of the sky!

Soft fluorescent light blanketed the land. Within it, the familiar woman in black stood quietly where she was.

And beside her was another woman identical to her, serene and gentle...

"Where is this place? What are you trying to do?"

The man watched the woman before him uneasily, his pounding heart filling him with dread.

Something was wrong... terribly wrong. Everything here was too wrong.

Yet he still stubbornly refused to give in.

"Give it up. I won't tell you anything!"

As he spoke, he struggled to his feet. Even knowing full well that he could not contend with Maria, he still assumed an attacking stance.

"That is your right."

Maria spoke, yet she seemed to agree with his thoughts instead.

That left him utterly astonished.

But before long, he felt his line of sight rising continuously, while cold gradually wrapped around his body.

What... was happening?

His mind gradually slowed, and before the man could understand what was happening, his consciousness began flashing back once more!

"Ugh..."

His body convulsing, the man abruptly dropped to his knees and clutched his own throat with both hands.

The intense pain made him feel as though steel needles had filled his throat... his head and body seemed to have been split apart, connected only by needles piercing through him!

The sensation of being beheaded made him wish he were dead, yet he was undeniably still alive...

"What is this?"

He forced those few words out through his throat.

"Hunting Ground... my ability."

Maria lowered the weapon in her hand and walked toward the man step by step beneath the moonlight.

Her sharp eyes were hidden beneath the brim of her hat, and the man could only kneel there and watch her approach.

Her leather shoes rustled against the grass. The gentle sound that should have soothed the heart instead became as terrifying as poison in the man's mind.

He recoiled in an instant.

But the next instant, his vision went completely black.

When he came to again, a piercing pain in his brain made him howl.

He frantically felt around his temples.

But there was not a trace of blood on his hands...

The sensation of having been pierced through and the uninjured state of his body created a stark contradiction.

Yet even now, he still did not understand what had happened here!

What kind of Originium Arts was this?!

With wide eyes, the man stared at the woman before him in madness. His fear turned into a chilling dread that spread through his entire body...

Yet Maria was completely relaxed.

"This is Yharnam... my territory, the world of dreams."

"The... world of dreams?" The man stared blankly, his face pale.

Doll, who looked almost exactly like Maria, quietly continued.

"Here, as long as you kill the other party, you can strip something away from them... abilities, memories, even life itself."

"And outsiders brought here by you cannot escape unless they receive your permission or defeat you... I am sorry, kind Hunter. I should have been able to do better, but there were too few Umbilical Cords. I could only pull the target's soul in here..."

As Doll spoke, she lowered her head, and a hint of self-reproach appeared on her delicate face.

But Maria merely spun the Blades in her hand.

"There is no need to feel guilty, Doll. You did very well..."

"Although this ability reminds me of some unpleasant things, tools are tools. If they are useful, there is no need to question how they work."

As she spoke, Maria turned around again and looked down at the man. The weapon in her hand traced a beautiful flourish through the air, draining all color from his face.

"More importantly..."

An immense terror spread through the man's heart!

"Wait!"

He raised a hand and knelt on the ground, crying as though begging for mercy.

"I... I'll tell you. Don't do it! Please, don't..."

The feeling of death was not pleasant. Just two simple tests had already pushed his mind to the brink of collapse.

It had clearly happened in only an instant, yet his brain kept replaying that profound terror.

He did not want to experience anything like that again.

But his pleading did not cause even the slightest change in Maria's expression.

Her face remained cold as she turned the blade and pressed its tip against the man's brow.

Beneath the moonlight, her eyes were cold and tranquil.

Reunion Movement

"What did you do?"

Looking at the man kneeling before her, crying hysterically and nearly out of his mind, Ch'en felt for the first time that her brain was not enough.

She had remained beside Maria throughout the interrogation... She was certain Maria had done nothing, only asked ordinary questions.

But the man's state had changed dramatically.

He had begun crying and laughing wildly, occasionally collapsing to the ground and convulsing.

The only thing that could be confirmed was that the man had become deeply terrified of Maria.

Whatever Maria asked, he immediately poured out a long stream of answers, all while cautiously watching Maria's expression.

As though afraid of displeasing her in any way.

That left Ch'en completely bewildered.

After racking her brains without reaching an answer, she could only turn to Maria and ask what exactly she had done.

And Maria answered honestly.

"I only killed him a dozen or so times..."

"Killed him? A dozen times?"

Ch'en looked at Maria's calm face. After hesitating for a moment, she curled her lip.

Obviously, Maria had used some kind of Originium Arts whose effects Ch'en did not know... she simply did not want to explain it.

Ch'en wanted to accuse Maria of using torture again, but... it had already happened. There was no point in blaming her now.

After falling silent for a while, she let out a sigh.

She shot Maria a reproachful glance, then turned back and stared sternly at the man.

"Who are you? What is your goal? Why did you cause trouble in the district?"

"..." The man clearly did not fear Ch'en in the same way, but when he saw Maria silently standing behind Ch'en, his expression instantly changed. He hurriedly spilled out everything he knew in one breath.

"We... we're from the Reunion Movement..."

"The Reunion Movement?! The Reunion Movement from Ursus?"

Ch'en frowned, and her expression immediately became grave.

Meanwhile, Maria moved a little closer to Ch'en.

"What is the Reunion Movement?"

Although she had heard the name Reunion Movement several times, Maria still did not know what it actually did.

"The Reunion Movement is an organization that advocates for Infected rights, originating within Ursus... I do not know its exact structure, but I remember that it used to be a moderate organization. Recently, though, it suddenly became extreme and began hurting innocent people everywhere... Some time ago, it even planned an attack on a Mobile City-State, which resulted in Chernobog being forcibly dismantled."

"Although the public claim was that Chernobog had been struck by Catastrophes... in truth, the Reunion Movement was definitely involved."

Ch'en quietly explained it to Maria.

However, because of the difference in their heights, even after Maria bent down, Ch'en still had to stand on her toes slightly to speak near her ear.

As she spoke, that strange incense-like scent invaded her senses.

When she realized it might be coming from Maria's body, her face reddened as well.

A little embarrassed.