Mulan was slightly startled. Though he did not understand what had happened, his imagination made it easy enough to guess that the sword had just absorbed the Mad Killer's soul directly.
Was it the holy water? The sword? Or was it me?
But Mulan had no time to ponder the cause. A huge shadow flashed past on the second floor, drawing his gaze upward, but he saw nothing.
Mulan backed up a few steps, reloading the Ring of Light while glancing behind him out of the corner of his eye. The three of them had already hoisted the unconscious old count onto the horse's back, and Mulan slowly retreated to their side.
"Mr. Jonester, are you all right?" "Are you hurt?"
Both girls immediately asked after him with concern, and Evan cut in irritably.
"Don't worry. He's much stronger than you imagine. Get out of the estate right away. Once you're outside, don't think about anything. Go straight to my Holy Temple."
"Can they get out?"
Mulan looked at his sword and turned to ask. Evan gave him an assuring look.
"They've already been blessed. Once they escape the estate, they can escape this situation. But they mustn't let fear consume their thoughts or let their minds wander on the way. They have to reach the Holy Temple."
There was no need to worry about that with the unconscious old count, but the count's two daughters were another matter, especially the sobbing Lily. Evan thought for a moment and added something.
"If you have to think about something, think about Mulan. Worry about his safety along the way. It's not far, anyway. You'll be there soon, and once you reach the Holy Temple, you'll be safe."
Hathaway glanced at the crates of holy water on the floor. She felt an urge to stay and help, but she might not be of any use and could even make Mulan dislike her. Besides, her sister was far too worrying. So she immediately agreed.
"All right, we'll leave now. Please be careful, Mr. Jonester. You too, Cleric Evan!"
"No, I won't! It's too dangerous for us to leave like this. I want to leave with Mr. Jonester!"
The sisters' reactions were completely different.
"Lily!"
Hathaway grabbed Lily by the front of her clothes and shook her.
"We mustn't be a burden! Mr. Jonester will hate you!"
Her words made both Mulan and Evan glance at Hathaway. Then Mulan looked at the horse carrying the old count and immediately asked a question.
"Doesn't the horse need a blessing?"
"No. Horses don't have complicated thoughts. Unless their owners drag them down, they generally won't be pulled into the Otherworld. It's safer than they are."
"Then hurry and leave. We'll do our best to save anyone else we can."
After offering those words of reassurance, Mulan took the horse's reins and handed them to Hathaway. He nodded to her and then to Lily before giving the horse a gentle pat on the rump. The horse started moving, and the two anxious sisters instinctively followed it outside.
Neither of them watched where they were going, however. Both turned back to look at Mulan, completely ignoring Evan beside him.
After they had gone only a dozen or so meters from the hall, it had already begun to look hazy. Hathaway and Lily nervously drew closer to the horse, steadying the old count draped across its back as they quickened their pace toward the estate's exit.
Their surroundings were very quiet. The farther they got from the mansion, the clearer everything became. A few minutes later, they had left the estate.
Hathaway and Lily immediately looked back. The estate no longer appeared hazy to their naked eyes, but there were no lights, and a powerful gloom hung over it. Not a single sound came from within.
Gritting her teeth, Hathaway led the horse toward the Holy Temple with Lily.
Inside the estate's hall, Mulan watched the purified area shrink. He crouched down and stuffed holy water into his coat pockets. Each small crate held just ten little bottles, so five in each pocket emptied one crate.
"Mulan, have you noticed? There's a huge shadow circling us."
"Yes. Is that our target?"
"There's a good chance. Either way, we have to deal with it, or sealing the Source Point is out of the question."
Evan held four uncorked bottles of holy water, watching their surroundings in readiness.
Mulan frowned slightly at that, scanning every direction with a grave expression.
"Why doesn't it attack us directly? Is it unable to?"
Evan glanced at Mulan and managed a smile.
"All we can say is that it hasn't fully entered the reality of the Surface World yet, because its vessel can't hold its body. At least, that's true for now. The good news is that this limitation makes it and its vessel hinder each other, and we don't have to worry about it entering Valentine's urban area. The bad news is what we'll have to face..."
"All right, you don't have to say it. I understand..."
Mulan silently sighed, then looked at the holy water in Evan's hands before glancing elsewhere.
"If we're going to deal with it, now is our best chance, right?"
"Yes. That's why we need to leave the purified area and go where it is to deal with it!"
Evan spoke firmly, seemingly ready, but Mulan was still frowning. Even the killer they had just faced would not have been easy to deal with if he had not foolishly underestimated Mulan. And that monster of uncertain whereabouts was another matter entirely.
Mulan knew he was highly skilled, but he still had limits-the limits of a mortal. Evan's power did not seem suited to direct confrontation either. Entering the darkness to challenge a bizarre monster without preparation would undoubtedly pit their weaknesses against its strengths.
With his gun in his right hand, Mulan blocked Evan, who was carrying a crate and about to move forward. His eyes kept surveying their surroundings, and his mind raced as he began considering the problem from a battlefield officer's tactical perspective.
"Evan, does purifying with holy water take much out of you?"
"It uses some holy power, but I still feel all right."
Mulan turned to Evan and asked very seriously.
"How many more times can you use it? I mean in a very short period. How many times can you do it in succession?"
Evan froze for a moment.
"I've never tried that. I don't know my limit."
"All right, one last question. How's your stamina?"
The crates of holy water were actually quite heavy, but Evan carried his without difficulty. Mulan already had some idea of his stamina, and Evan finally smiled.
"Actually, my body has undergone Awakening. My stamina is better than yours, and my reflexes aren't bad either. I just have nowhere near your level of training. Mulan, if you have a plan, tell me!"
Evan had realized that Mulan had an idea, and Mulan smiled faintly too.
"It's not perfect, but it's simple and effective-provided we don't get torn apart the instant we enter the darkness..."
After Mulan briefly explained in a low voice, they immediately picked up the crates on the floor and charged into the darkness one after the other. Instead of heading toward the second floor, where the shadow appeared most often, they rushed into a corridor to one side.
A moment later, at one end of the corridor, intense Holy Light flared like an explosion, purifying a large area.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Mulan led the way, with Evan following behind. Whenever they reached a suitable spot, Mulan shouted an order.
"Here! Detonate!"
Already poised to act, Evan roared as he ran.
"Purification!"
Boom!
Another burst of intense Holy Light flared, purifying a large section of one corner of the count's mansion. Inside a room, several nobles crawled out from under a bed with startled cries and saw Evan and Mulan racing past.
"Mr. Jonester, save us!"
"Stay where you are! Don't run! Hide-"
Mulan merely shouted that to them before continuing onward with Evan.
"Roar!"
A terrifying roar echoed through the mansion, followed by creaking sounds, as though its floorboards could not bear some immense weight. Mulan and Evan looked around as they ran, but saw no trace of anything. Yet a smile had already appeared at the corner of Mulan's mouth.
Has it noticed already?
Mulan's tactic was to reduce the monster's space-at least, that was how it looked on the surface. Though they had plenty of holy water, it clearly was not enough to purify the entire mansion. But the monster might not know that.
This was Mulan's moving trap. Once they made a show of trying to purify the entire Count's Estate, the monster would inevitably reveal itself to stop them the moment it realized what they were doing.
This was far better than constantly guarding against surprise attacks while actively searching for their target. They only needed to stay alert and keep running. Of course, it was also a dangerous gamble, one that relied on Mulan's sixth sense. He was betting that he could detect danger first and react in time with Evan.
"It... it seems to be working..."
Evan was panting, not because he had less stamina than Mulan, but because his expenditure was far greater. Most of the holy water had been used up, and they now had fewer than ten bottles left.
"Dodge!"
As they ran, Mulan suddenly grabbed Evan hard and leaped to one side with him, diving into an empty room.
"Purification!"
Boom!
Light flared. An enormous claw reached toward them, only to vanish in the light less than two meters from Evan and Mulan. But it had not been severely wounded by the Holy Light-it simply could no longer reach them. That meant the attack had not come from its physical vessel.
"It's an Ancient Fiend!"
Evan cried out in alarm, but Mulan reacted even faster. The instant Holy Light Purification activated, he had already rushed toward the doorway. If their enemy had revealed itself to attack, its physical vessel had to be nearby, and the Holy Light had very likely washed over it.
The moment Mulan rushed through the doorway, he saw the ruined corridor-and Sir Bess.
Without the slightest hesitation, Mulan raised his gun and pulled the trigger at Sir Bess.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
He emptied the cylinder in an instant. The bullets struck Sir Bess's chest, limbs, and head, but Mulan did not stop. He surged forward, swinging his sword.
Behind Sir Bess, who had taken six shots, an enormous shadow emerged. Mulan recognized it. He had seen it in his nightmare after the killer's death. Endless darkness writhed within it, and countless Vengeful Spirits struggled ceaselessly...
"Die!"
"Roar!"
One of the Ancient Fiend's sharp claws swept toward Mulan, but when it reached him, he passed through it as though it were an illusion. The sword in his hand continued its sweep, cutting straight across Sir Bess's neck. Mulan immediately pulled holy water from his pocket, uncorked it, and poured it over Bess's corpse.
Evan finally emerged from the room as well and rushed to Mulan's side, wringing himself dry to perform the holy technique that had improved by leaps and bounds during this life-or-death crisis.
"Purification!"
Boom!
Intense Holy Light erupted once more...