*****

*****

Chapter 159 A Familiar Face (2)

Tss tss tss tss tss tss…

Ephebo’s face rapidly melted and dissolved into the water. The murky, transformed water was accompanied by a foul smell of decaying flesh, and greasy oil floated on its surface.

Vikir and Dolores had already seen his face before it dissolved. It was a familiar face, to both of them.

“…Mozgus?”

Vikir mumbled to himself as he held the black case floating in the water.

The bald head with no eyebrows, a sharp beak-like nose, thick pursed lips… The face they just saw undoubtedly belonged to Mozgus.

Mozgus, the holy knight of Quovadis, carried a thick bible and led the inquisition against heretics. Why was someone like him, who was destined to fight against demons as the forefront when the era of destruction arrived, found here as a corpse?

Vikir furrowed his brow in puzzlement. ‘Mozgus before regression was undoubtedly a human, even a hero who had disappeared along with a thousand demons before the era of destruction. How…’

Dolores solved Vikir’s mystery, saying, “This isn’t Mozgus.”

While examining the remaining body of Ephebo, Dolores shook her head.

“Mozgus had a twin brother. He was a member of the Old Testament, unlike us.”

Mozgus’s twin brother, Mozpus. He was also a powerful holy knight with a formidable physique and a strong sacred power. However, he had secluded himself deep in the Old Testament’s monastery during his long period of training, and no one had seen him.

…As far as the world knew, that it.

“He didn’t disappear due to his training but had his body taken over by a demon.”

Vikir could only swallow a sigh of frustration. Dolores, on the other hand, frowned with concern.

“There are quite a few people currently in training at Quovadis… It can’t be, right?”

“I can’t guarantee anything.”

The issue didn’t end with just this. Vikir recalled that a powerful figure from Baskerville had been involved in training, just like himself.

Given the current situation of Baskerville and Quovadis, those powerful figures who were either undergoing training or had disappeared for a long time posed a significant threat.

Vikir looked down at Ephebo’s decapitated body.

The Ninth of the Ten Corpses. This man was undoubtedly capable of turning others into demons and controlling them, even taking their faces.

Perhaps, even Quilt’s face was also stolen.‘Thinking about it, they did say Quilt’s face resembled a retired actor, right?’

Vikir couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable about that actor’s retirement, the reasons behind it, and the lack of recent updates about him.

He also knew of a strong figure who had recently entered seclusion for training.

“When are you enrolling in the academy? Let’s go together! I might enter the academy a year or two earlier. If we both start as first-years, it’ll be interesting…”

A connection that had lasted since they were eight years old. Originally, they would’ve enrolled in the academy together. Camus Morg, her name surfaced in Vikir’s thoughts.

He somehow felt uneasy about her, a sensation creeping over him.

She had been conducting constant searches since Vikir’s disappearance from the Black and Red Mountain disaster. Wanting to find him, and thinking about his daily.

However, one day, Camus suddenly left the light side and joined the dark side of the Morg Clan. Then, she disappeared from the public eye, citing that she’s going for a seclusion.

Even Vikir could not fully fathom the reasons behind it.

‘…I’ll worry about it later. For now, I need to focus on the hunt.’

Vikir snapped his thoughts back to the task at hand.

Swish.

Vikir picked up the black leather case that Ephebo had used to cover his face and put it in his pocket. This artifact exuded a type of magic, similar to Beelzebub, but it seemed to have a lower magical potency, about 25% or so compared to Beelzebub’s.

However, things will be different if I remove Hebe, Pedo, and Gerento’s leather from them.

*****

*****

While Vikir was immersed in his thoughts, Dolores hesitated and called out to him, “Uh, Mr. Night Hound.”

When Vikir turned his head, he saw Dolores wearing a mixed expression of sadness, confusion, doubt, and trust.

“If this is what’s happening within the Quovadis Clan… What should I believe now?”

Quovadis had always been an unwavering symbol of good to her.

Even though the Old and New Faction were in conflict, Dolores had always believed that, in the end, they could unite under the banner of the Rune Religion. But now, witnessing the tragedy within her own family, she started to think that the fundamental issue was something else.

Behind the Old Testament, there were demons. Witnessing this fact with her own eyes and ears, Dolores felt that everything she had believed in was being denied. Quovadis was no longer the symbol of absolute goodness.

It was easily tainted and manipulated, no different from any other faith. Furthermore, the direct appearance of demons among humans was a significant event. What did this signify? ‘War! The Great War with demons!’

The intelligent Dolores could sense that she was in the midst of a massive storm. Moreover, she knew that the mysterious man before her, the Night Hound, was engaged in a long and arduous battle.

“I’m not sure anymore. I’m not sure what to take as true. There may be more than meets the eye.

Dolores bowed her head and spoke with a confused and uncertain tone. Any man would find her to be captivating because of her stunning beauty. But Vikir remained silent as is his wont, offering no words of comfort.“What you choose to believe is your decision.”

Vikir continued to advance, stoic and unwavering, as he always had.

Dolores followed Vikir, who had moved from the Fourth Quarter to the Third Quarter, while still appearing uncertain.

In the hallway leading to the Third Quarter, as they delved deeper into the building, the presence of magic became more pronounced. The foul and oppressive smell suggested that something flesh-like was decaying in large quantities in the deeper parts of the building.

It felt as if they were descending into a narrow, humid cave filled with damp soil. “There is something inside.”

The Night Hound advanced, relying on his keen sense of smell. Meanwhile, Dolores had come to a complete understanding that the Night Hound had not attacked the Quovadis branches recklessly but had acted according to some rational reason and principles of his own. Therefore, she began to actively assist him in the aftermath.

“First, I will inform the upper echelons of my family about this. It should be trustworthy coming from the New faction and, more specifically, certain organizations I’m involved with.”

“…Do as you wish.”

With Vikir’s permission, Dolores began to write a letter. She placed it on a pigeon’s leg, and the recipient was Chief Martin Luther, the New faction’s leader. Given the current state of the Old Testament, even her father, Herbert L Quovadis, couldn’t be trusted.

“Koo-koo, please hurry. I’m sorry for giving you work at night.”

The white pigeon, hearing the holy maiden’s heartfelt request, flapped its wings and flew into the sky with great strength.

Swish!

A few white feathers fluttered into the darkness as the pigeon, carrying Dolores’s letter, shot up into the sky.

However…

Phew-phew!

Shortly after, a sudden shot pierced the pigeon’s body, and it tumbled down into the abyss. Dolores’s letter was disintegrated by an aura and turned into ashes.

Vikir narrowed his eyes beneath the mask, taking notice of the incredibly high speed of the shots.

Sssss…

The overpowering stench of rotting flesh and decaying earth began to blend into the air. Gradually, two dense shadows swirled in the middle of the corridor, connecting Quarters 2 and 3.

“Who’s there?” Dolores’s face tensed with alertness.

Before long, two men emerged in front of Vikir and Dolores. Tall, with lean builds, and dressed in tailored suits, they both held the same black cylinders in their mouths.

“Pedo & Hebe.”

Pedo and Hebe, just like Ephebo, served as Quilt’s Shadows.

Both of them emitted an extraordinary aura, making them look like high-ranking undead creatures. However, what was even more concerning than their overwhelming aura and presence was something else.

“Do you think these undead creatures were people we knew in their past lives?” Dolores asked, her voice filled with deep concern.

It was unlikely that these people, who had been corrupted directly by demons, were ordinary beings in their previous lives. There was a high possibility that they were individuals known in the public eye in some way.

Vikir looked at Pedo and Hebe and beyond, then responded with an indifferent tone, “I hope not.”

*****

*****