He rested the umbrella on his shoulder and straightened his white collar.
"First, let me tell you my name. I am Daniel Pacino, a Night Watcher of the Goddess of the Night Church, the newly appointed bishop of the Gothe District, and an instructor in occultism at Isco Higher Academy in the Rune Kingdom."
Mondreton chuckled twice. He understood the mockery in those words perfectly: he would not be dying at the hands of some nobody; being killed by this man was an honor.
Though this human was indeed powerful, one should never underestimate the offspring of a god, even if he was only an avatar!
"Human, perhaps you do not yet know my name. I am Mondreton, Sixth Son of Dreams, Dragon Lord!"
Mondreton roared, his power erupting as wild grass flew in all directions.
Mist rose from the ground, instantly spreading across the entire lawn and enveloping him, Cruno, and Daniel.
Within that mist, none of them could discern where the others were.
Cruno shifted his feet slightly. He could feel himself walking over muddy ground.
"A dream!"
Cruno immediately realized he was inside a dream and hurriedly closed his eyes. Within a dream, sight could deceive him. He had to use his own power to perceive reality and dispel the darkness.
"I know. Mondreton, right? I heard you shouting your name from far away. There's no need to..."
Daniel broke off, shaking his head with a smile.
"As expected of someone who inherited a fallen bloodline, you're quite good at running away. I thought you would put up a fight."
He planted the umbrella's tip against the ground. All the thick mist dispersed, and he and Cruno returned to the real Wayne Manor.
"So powerful."
Cruno stared at Daniel in astonishment. They were both Night Watchers, yet Daniel was stronger than him by who knew how many times. Although the umbrella enhanced him with Beyonder power, his own strength was undoubtedly formidable as well.
And he was very young, seemingly only in his early twenties.
He had just said he was the new bishop, and his clothes did indeed bear the marks of that office. The upper half had more red scrollwork than a missionary's robes.
From now on, he would be Cruno's immediate superior.
"Cruno Bain, Night Watcher and Lane Village Resident Missionary of Rhode Town, pays his respects to Your Eminence. Thank you for saving my life."
Cruno bowed, pressing one hand to his forehead with his eyes closed.
"At ease."
Daniel nodded and looked toward Wayne Manor, shrouded deep in darkness.
"Someone still needs help. Let's go."
Daniel's gaze flickered, as though he had sensed something, and he headed toward the manor's attic. Cruno followed closely behind.
"This really is a foul place. I'm not particularly fond of it." Daniel waved a hand through the air before him, clearly disliking the smell in the attic.
He went straight to Bruce's room. The door was locked from inside, but opening it was no difficult task for a Beyonder.
He poked the door handle with the umbrella's tip, and the door opened on its own.
Daniel looked at Bruce lying on the bed. Bruce was immersed in a nightmare, his expression grave and his brow tightly furrowed.
"He actually held out until now. His will is strong. He carries the scent of the night. He qualifies. I'm quite fond of such outstanding people."
A faint smile appeared on Daniel's lips. He touched the umbrella's tip to Bruce's forehead. A glimmer of light appeared between Bruce's brows, and his expression gradually relaxed.
Then Daniel and Cruno turned and left.
When the two reached Wayne Manor's main gates, several figures rushing toward them had only just landed. They were the Night Watchers who had come to provide support. Upon seeing Daniel, they all bowed, clearly aware of this young man's identity.
His status was exalted. "Your Eminence."
"Your Eminence, has the evil being been eliminated?" the Night Watchers hurriedly asked.
"No. An avatar with a fallen bloodline. He escaped."
Daniel did not consider this a disgrace at all. Evil beings escaping was perfectly normal. Even as a bishop, he could not be absolutely certain of capturing one. A fallen bloodline still retained traces of divinity, making it even harder to deal with.
"An avatar with a fallen bloodline? Were his Beyonder characteristics recorded? We can arrange to capture him."
Hearing Daniel's words, the arriving Night Watchers exchanged glances. This was indeed a problem. A fallen bloodline was far harder to deal with than an ordinary evil being.
Moreover, a fallen bloodline involved the God of Fall. If its bearer managed to perform some ritual of advent, things would become even more troublesome.
Daniel glanced at Cruno, who had also been watching him all along.
"I've already recorded them."
Meeting Daniel's gaze, Cruno immediately stepped forward. From the moment he had first encountered Mondreton, he had recorded his Beyonder characteristics.
Whenever Mondreton used Beyonder powers, traces of those characteristics would remain, allowing the Church to track him down.
"Besides this bearer of a fallen bloodline, keep an eye on the Gargoyle as well. Its disaster rating is higher."
Daniel spoke calmly. The moment his words fell, his figure vanished into the night.
"Cruno, let's go to the church and make a record first."
Trouble really did come one thing after another. They had yet to uncover any leads on the Gargoyle, and now a bearer of a fallen bloodline had appeared.
"All right." Cruno nodded.
There was no time to lose. The Night Watchers all departed, leaving the manor standing alone in the dark, silent night.
Bruce felt as though he had had a terrifying dream.
He had dreamed that a giant wielding a greatsword was hunting him through a manor, and he had no strength to fight back.
Unlike ordinary dreams, in which he was unaware of what was happening, he could feel pain when the greatsword struck his body in this one. The pain pierced him to the marrow.
The greatsword had hacked at his body relentlessly, sending blood spraying and chopping him into a mass of mangled flesh. Only his head remained relatively intact, lying amid bloody mud as he watched the blood-drenched blade swing down toward it.
Yet he had continued to hold on.
He had desperately wanted to simply die and escape that inhuman torment. But he had also understood with absolute clarity that once he accepted he was dead, he would truly die. He did not want to die.
At last, he opened his eyes.
Bruce stared blankly at the ceiling. Faint sunlight brought a little warmth to the room.
It was already morning. The dream was finally over.
He tried to sit up, but unbearable pain wracked his entire body, which refused to obey his brain. Fortunately, the pain gradually faded, and he regained control of his body.
"Did I have a nightmare?"
Bruce could clearly feel his heart pounding wildly. Even for a nightmare, that shuddering terror was unlike anything he had ever experienced. His entire body trembled, weak and cold.
"That wasn't an ordinary nightmare."
Bruce drew a deep breath. Having only just awakened, he could not immediately recall exactly what had happened. All he knew was that he had been chopped into pulp. Such a bizarre dream was far too unusual; it had to be connected to mysterious powers.
Bruce brought up his character status panel.
Under spirituality, his value had abruptly surged from 9 to 21, an enormous increase.
"So it really was a supernatural incident!"
Bruce gradually recalled everything that had happened in the dream.
Fortunately, his will had been strong enough. His Breakthrough ability had also helped him understand in advance that he could remain alive as long as he did not believe he was dead. That was how he had held on, his desire to survive pushed to its utmost limit.
An ordinary person who did not understand what was happening would probably have died long ago in a dream like that.
"Was it Jessica again? Did she use some other method?"
"I have to find her and get some answers!"
Bruce strongly suspected that Jessica was behind it.
But he did not know why he had ultimately survived what should have been certain death. Had Jessica come to her senses, or had someone else intervened?
Once sensation returned to his body, Bruce got out of bed. He did not know how to face Jessica. There was something wrong with him as well, so he dared not rashly approach the Church. But how could he confront Jessica and her mysterious powers alone?
This really was a troublesome situation.
Bruce put on his coat and looked at the red bedroom door. To his surprise, he felt a little afraid to step outside.