It was a strange sound.
Rhythmic, heavy, and fast.
Bruce listened carefully, trying to identify it. It sounded like footsteps splashing through water.
Someone was running toward him. Judging by the sound, whoever it was had to be tall, powerful, and solidly built.
Bruce shifted his feet lightly and hunched forward, ready to defend himself. Only then did he notice that the hall floor was covered in water.
Listening closely, he could also hear water dripping.
Suddenly, the mist ahead of him receded, revealing a towering black figure. He leaped out, raising a longsword high and bringing it down at Bruce with the ferocity of a tiger. Startled, Bruce frantically threw himself to the right, dodging the blow.
Staying alive mattered more than looking graceful. He scrambled to his feet, soaked all over.
The towering figure refused to relent. He raised his longsword again and charged at Bruce. The crushing pressure bearing down on him made his calves tremble, but fortunately, he was not completely useless.
He could not win, but he at least knew how to dodge.
Under the immense strain on both his mind and body, Bruce felt he might not last much longer. But whether he was struck or not-even if his head was cut off-he could not believe he was dead.
If that enormous sword hit me, would I feel pain?
The absurd thought flashed through Bruce's mind at the worst possible moment.
Outside Wayne Manor, a black figure appeared beyond the iron gate, then vaulted effortlessly over it into the grounds. He crouched, with the manor's two guard dogs right beside his feet. Neither dog even stood up. They simply lay on the grass, quietly watching the figure who had suddenly climbed in.
The newcomer was Cruno, a missionary of the Goddess of the Night Church and also a Night Watcher.
While still outside the gate, he had detected the manor's two guard dogs, and he had landed right beside them. He held one hand out, pressing down slightly on empty air. An invisible force spread toward the dogs, and they immediately became quiet.
This was a power belonging to an Extraordinary like him, an ability of the Night Watchers bestowed by the Goddess of the Night.
Now that he was inside Wayne Manor, the dangerous presence within became clearer, yet remained unfathomable.
Cruno pushed off with his toes and broke into a swift run. He had pinpointed the evil's location. He simply did not yet know how powerful it was.
Under the usual rules of sacrifice, the more that was sacrificed, the stronger the evil summoned would be. A place as small as Lane Village could not meet the conditions for a powerful evil to descend. Of course, there were exceptions to everything. He had already notified the Night Watchers of nearby branches of the Goddess of the Night Church. At an Extraordinary's speed, they would soon reach Lane Village.
Once they arrived, they would follow the traces he had left behind to this place and confront the evil together.
In the small storeroom, Mondreton's eyes shifted as he sensed an unusual presence within the manor.
"It seems my whereabouts have been exposed. Someone has detected my presence."
Jessica looked bewildered, still unaware of what had happened.
Jessica was still young. Though she had come into contact with the mystical, her understanding of it remained incomplete, and she knew even less about how complicated the world outside was.
"An Extraordinary has detected me and is already on the way."
"Those fluctuations... it should be a Night Watcher from the Goddess of the Night Church. Heh, an old friend. Little Jessica, let me borrow your body."
Rather than concealing his presence as an Extraordinary approached, Mondreton made it even stronger. As it surged, the storeroom windows began to tremble. An invisible wind rose from nowhere, blowing the door open and sending dust flying.
"A Night Watcher? Borrow my body? Wait, I refuse!"
Although Jessica did not understand what the Spirit Body she had summoned was talking about,
she knew nothing about Night Watchers or the Goddess of the Night Church, but she understood one thing: this Spirit Body wanted to borrow her body. That was unacceptable, and she resisted at once. Clearly, however, her resistance was useless.
A flash of light came from the doll Mondreton possessed. It shone onto Jessica, and her whole body floated into the air. An invisible force coiled around her, and she screamed in agony.
"Refuse?"
"Mortal, you simply do not understand. Your weakness, your seal-to a great being such as myself, they are nothing but children's games, unable to withstand a single blow. Since you summoned me here, I had intended to amuse myself for a while. I never expected a Night Watcher to come knocking so soon."
"It has been a very long time since I fought them."
Jessica's feet settled firmly on the ground, her hair hanging loose and disheveled. Her eyes were clouded, and an incomparably sharp presence radiated from her body. Even a glance at her felt enough to pierce one's eyes.
Mondreton now controlled Jessica's body completely.
Mondreton rotated his arms. Though the body was young and small, it was still usable. Besides, the little girl had good potential. He could train her a little.
He burst out of the storeroom like a bolt of lightning, charging straight at Cruno, the missionary of the Goddess of the Night Church and Night Watcher who was racing toward him.
Night Watchers were unique to the Goddess of the Night Church. Granted power by the Goddess of the Night, they took it upon themselves to guard the night and protect the living beings beneath its veil.
"Night Watcher, recite my name! My name is Mondreton!"
Controlling Jessica's body, Mondreton reached Cruno in an instant. With a wild, cruel grin and blond hair streaming behind him, he threw a punch without the slightest restraint.
Although Jessica was small, with Mondreton's power behind it, the punch made the surrounding air shriek.
"Mondreton, the Dragon Lord?"
"Spirituality Shield!"
Cruno was startled. He had heard that name before.
His hands were no slower for it. He spread his five fingers, releasing an invisible force. Silver threads flashed into existence and wove together in his palm, finally forming a shield that blocked Mondreton's fist. A hum rang out, and waves of air rolled outward.
"They're fighting! They're fighting!"
In Wayne Manor's attic, the Vengeful Spirit Doll nervously found a floorboard. It had been damaged before and was somewhat loose, with a little space beneath it. Using every bit of strength, it lifted the board, then jumped down.
Then it laboriously dragged the floorboard back into place, covering the opening again.
The Vengeful Spirit Doll could already feel two presences clashing fiercely outside. Both were powerful, and either could crush it with ease. But it was certain the people from the Church would not lose. Though Lane Village was remote, as long as a disturbance occurred here, missionaries from churches elsewhere would surely come.
Night Watchers never fought alone.
Whatever evil spirit that newly summoned Spirit Body was, or even if he was a powerful fallen being, there were only three possible outcomes for him: imprisonment, annihilation, or a lucky escape.
It was only a weak vengeful spirit, with a pitifully faint presence. It hoped only to hide and survive this ordeal. It had no desire to be caught in the crossfire.
It did everything it could to suppress its presence.
Danvers lay in bed, her thin nightclothes hugging her shapely figure. She frowned slightly, rolled over, and continued sleeping soundly.
The dressing table beside her remained perfectly still. Only its mirror grew darker, losing its original luster, as though it too were suppressing its presence.