Bloody Sacrifice

Seeing the bizarre statue, Sifa immediately thought of the diary found in Ain's farmhouse, the one that contained the phrase, "A relatively large number of sacrifices are needed."

Combined with the hellish scene in the hold, a flash of insight struck Sifa's mind.

This was a ritual?

A ritual to some evil god!

Had the diary's owner already obtained what he needed, or was this merely a prelude?

Sifa temporarily pushed those thoughts aside. Now was not the time to consider them. Without hesitation, he raised the Golden Revolver and fired three consecutive shots at the statue.

Doug and the others watched in confusion as Sifa blew apart the statue. This time, however, no blood flowed from its fragments, nor did any strange howl ring out in their minds.

Sifa frowned slightly beneath his mask. His intuition told him that this was probably different from what had happened in Old Madam Paris's basement.

Was it because the sacrifice had been completed?

Just as he was about to warn Doug to leave immediately, Sifa heard a faint unusual sound. Acting almost on instinct, he threw himself backward. Something whistled over his head and crashed into a pillar.

He heard something shatter, heard liquid splashing onto the floor with a loud slosh, and caught the smell of high-proof liquor.

"Dammit."

"Who is it!"

"There's someone in the hold!"

The Black Ties cried out. Already on edge because of the corpses in the hold, the sudden attack snapped the taut string in the gang members' hearts.

Gunshots rang out without surprise. The gang members roared as they poured bullets toward the depths of the hold.

Sifa glanced at the shattered liquor barrel, unable to keep himself from worrying. He worried there might be more such barrels in the hold, and that the Black Ties' bullets might hit the strong alcohol and start a fire.

Suddenly, not far ahead, a man carrying a kerosene lamp was sent flying without any warning.

As though struck away by something invisible, he screamed and fell into the shadows.

The lamp in his hand hit the ground. Its glass shade shattered, and the liquid inside splashed out. When the wick touched the kerosene, crimson flames flared up with a whoosh.

Another Black Tie screamed. This time, Sifa saw it clearly: the man was lifted into the air as if by something invisible. Tight creases appeared in his clothing, then he was slammed onto the deck before being flung sideways into the depths of the hold.

There was an enemy using Invisibility in the hold!

It was the first time Sifa had encountered such a situation. Not daring to show off, he turned and ran toward the stairs.

This was not a place to linger.

He remembered that he was a Hunter, and that he had accepted Doug's commission tonight. So, although he disliked the gang leader, he still gave him a warning.

"If you don't want to die, get out of here!"

Doug seemed to snap awake from a dream, but he shoved two bodyguards in suits. "Don't just stand there! Shoot!"

He hoped to use his men to hold back that thing using Invisibility. But the Black Ties were not fools. Apart from a few who were too terrified to do anything but keep firing, everyone else ran toward the stairs.

A Black Tie with a buzz cut shouted as he fired wildly in every direction. Suddenly, he could no longer make a sound, though his mouth stretched wide open.

He threw away his pistol and clawed frantically at the air before him, as if trying to stop something from entering his mouth.

His face grew redder and redder, his eyes bulged, and one of his teeth was squeezed out.

Suddenly, the Black Tie's body split into two, as if something invisible had torn him apart from within. The two halves of his corpse spun in the air for a moment before being hurled in different directions.

The stench of blood in the hold grew even thicker.

The moment he reached the deck, Sifa's keen hearing caught a strange sound carried on the wind.

Huff, huff.

It sounded like someone gasping for breath, and as though that person were suppressing his madness, waiting for a chance to erupt.

Realization dawned on Sifa. Besides the thing using Invisibility in the hold, there was another danger outside on the deck!

By then, Doug and his men had already run onto the deck. The short, fat man, who had probably not exercised in years, was bent over and gasping after merely running up the stairs, unable to go any farther.

His subordinates were clearly stronger. They rushed toward the boarding ladder, intending to leave the multi-masted sailing ship.

Soon, someone shouted, "Where are our boats? Dammit, how did they drift away?"

"Forget it, we'll swim back."

Enqi Town was near the sea, and practically everyone in town could swim. The sailing ship was not far from shore, so it would not take long to swim back.

One Black Tie was already preparing to jump overboard when a rope used to keep the mast upright looped around his neck. Then a strange cry rang out from above. Someone jumped down from the mast, while the Black Tie was hauled upward, suspended in midair with the rope tightening around his neck.

Under the crimson moonlight, Sifa saw a thin man with bronze skin. His long, disheveled hair covered most of his face.

A large patch of sinister blue tattoos covered his back. He did not look particularly strong, yet he held the rope suspending an adult man with one hand.

He panted heavily. Whether it was because of the moonlight or some other reason, his eyes were faintly red. It was hard to see any reason in them; there was only unmistakable madness.

The Black Ties were panicked and terrified when facing an invisible opponent, but seeing a frail-looking man before them, the gang members were clearly not as afraid.

Without a word, they raised their pistols and opened fire on the man. Worried about being hit by stray bullets, Sifa quickly ducked behind the ship's mainmast.

From behind the mainmast, he saw that the tattooed man dodged the Black Ties' attacks with incredible speed and astonishingly sharp senses.

As he dodged, he casually made use of whatever was around him. Ropes, harpoons, iron hooks, as well as the guns and blades dropped by the Black Ties—all of them became his weapons, and he used them to take the men's lives.

Sifa also noticed that this Lunatic was very strong, but not very bright. It seemed that reason had abandoned him.

His actions were violent and impulsive, governed more by instinct. Yet even so, in the blink of an eye, he had already killed half the Black Ties.

Sifa narrowed his eyes slightly. Could this be a Beyonder?

Using a spoon he had picked up from who knew where, the man with blue tattoos stabbed it into a Black Tie's eye, gouged out the eyeball, and tossed it into his mouth to chew.

He casually swept his gaze across the deck, then suddenly spotted Sifa. Spitting out the eyeball, he pounced like he had discovered new prey.

Shit!

Sifa cursed inwardly, but he did not panic. He raised his hand and fired a shot at the mainmast above him, then ran toward the captain's cabin not far ahead.

The bullet severed a rope on the mainmast, causing the furled sail to drop. The gray-white canvas immediately wrapped around the Lunatic.

By the time he tore through the sail with wild cries and charged out, he saw the captain's cabin door slam shut.

The man curled his lips, revealing white teeth. Drool dripped from his mouth, madness filled his eyes, and with a shout, he charged toward the captain's cabin.

PS: Thanks to Joker and reader 20201206175608179 for the tips. Thanks to No_Words, Summer in the Cool Breeze, and reader 07291 for the monthly ticket support!

Well, since I've already written a PS, I'll shamelessly ask for all kinds of votes. After all, I'm only an eight-year-old child, and today is Children's Day too. Please give me double the happiness~