Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 466: Follow me

Chapter 466: Follow me

Despite seeing war in all its forms, Arthur had to admit that the sight before his eyes was not for the faint of heart.

He had tried to stop the situation from escalating but the more he got involved, the more the situation spiraled out of control.

Those he had led now turned on each other like deranged beasts, slaughtering themselves without the slightest bit of hesitation.

It was terrifying, to say the least.

Realizing he had no chance at stopping this madness, Arthur did the only sensible thing he could think of; fall back.

He made his way to where he’d left Emily, hopeful that the young lady had not been affected by whatever insanity had gripped the people.

He had no idea what had caused though he had some clues most of which were pointed at the crimson Nighteye in the sky that seemed to have grown even more red since the last time he saw it.

Perhaps it was merely a visual mistake but he couldn’t put much thought into it as he had other pressing matters to attend to.

Soon, he arrived at where Emily had been only to be met with a grotesque sight.

Emily lay unconscious on the snow-covered streets and meters away from her, stood an abyssal tree that elicited revulsion just by looking at it.

Instinctively, he rushed over before letting out a howl after which a tide of liquid magma bathed the tree, causing hot steam to erupt as the extraordinary heat melted the snow.

Arthur took a single leap, landing beside Emily before picking her up after which he turned to face the tree.

Expecting a burnt sight, he was forced to lower his expectations as he stared at the undamaged tree... or rather, it was better to say that the attack had damaged it, however, the tree had such a ridiculous vitality that it quickly healed the damage done.

Arthur’s expression turned grim as he detected the overflowing life force within the grotesquery while his mind ran circles attempting to figure out the origins of the abyssal spawn.

Alas, he ended up with nothing as the tree looked unfamiliar.

A first-timer on the surface?... Perhaps.

Just as Arthur made to attack again to test just how powerful the tree’s healing factor was, Emily stirred.

"Uncle, is that you?" She asked in a hoarse tone.

Arthur nodded. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so." Emily nodded while massaging her temple. "But I think I just had the weirdest dream."

"Dream?"

"Mn, I dreamt of a bloody tree with flesh for bark and bones for branches with pus covering its bark and boils serving as fruits. I have no idea how such an imagery got into my head."

Arthur considered pointing out that what she’d described was not a dream but a normal human coming into contact with an Otherworldly was not good for their mental or spiritual health, especially since this wasn’t her first time coming in contact with the vile creatures.

"We should leave," Arthur suggested, trying not to alarm her.

Emily shook her head. "But what about the others?... I remember them fighting with the intent to kill. Uncle, we need to stop them."

"No, we don’t. We already did our best. As it is, staying up here underneath that red light will soon leave us as depraved as those currently fighting. We must go underground."

"But..."

"That’s enough, Emily. I hope you don’t plan on acting as a nuisance right now." Arthur berated her, leaving her silent and sulking.

Letting out a sigh, Arthur glanced around for a moment before deciding to let out a howl after which he encased the abyssal tree in an earthen box.

Once done, he immediately left with Emily, leaving those in the abandoned city to continue in their depraved acts.

***

"What is going on, Veronica?" Adelia inquired as she stood in the Supreme Order’s communications room which seemed to be in quite a bit of activity as the radio operators frantically went about their work.

Ignoring the chaos for a moment, Adelia utilized radios to engage in conversation with the current overseer of BlackWatch and the head of the Valkyries.

Veronica replied from the other end, her voice slightly distorted, perhaps as a result of interference. "Your Dial must have registered something by now."

"It has. A First Class Otherworldly this close to the center of the Empire?... Is it the Night Kindred?"

"Those bloodsuckers may be insufferable but they aren’t mad. Even they understand what would happen should this continent be devoured by the Abyss."

’It wouldn’t be long before the whole of Eventide would be swallowed up.’ Adelia thought to herself as she remarked. "I’ll deal with the situation close by but before I go, I have to ask; is this as serious as the Great Calamity involving the 13th?"

Silence followed briefly before Veronica replied, her calm tone mixed with an underlying sense of dread. "It’s even worse."

Adelia barely stopped herself from showing her panic as she intoned. "Alright then. Let’s try to do what we can to prevent a repeat of that horrible disaster."

"Of course. We are currently doing all we can to pin down the identities of the Otherworldly attempting to breach the barrier between worlds but so far we have only marked one out."

"And which one is it?"

"The Greatest Evil Above the Veil."

"... So the strongest one."

"Unfortunately," Veronica replied before adding. "However, I have received word that the Battle God is currently engaged in combat with it."

Adelia rubbed the side of her head as she muttered. "Unbelievable."

"There seems to be another Otherworldly active as we have received reports of victims turning into abyssal trees."

"One of the Order members experienced that as well. Right now, the Lady is trying to figure out what could be causing the transformation."

"Alright then, please do share any information you gain in the meantime."

"Likewise."

Just as Adelia made to cut the lines, Veronica spoke up.

"Also, I’d advise you to be careful when going after the Otherworldly on your side."

"Why?"

"Alongside the report of the Greatest Evil engaging in battle with the Battle God, we also received news that the Otherworldly is being assisted by an Abyss Wheel Mystic, one that is most likely a Lock away from being a Daemon."

"... I see."

"Just be careful."

With that, the radio lines went dead and Adelia was forced to let out a sigh.

The situation was even worse than she thought.

First the Night Kindred and now the Abyss, what were the chances of both happening at the same time?

Of course, she didn’t brush off the fact that one may have led to the other.

Regardless, she needed to prepare herself to face off against a First Class Otherworldly.

Speaking of, did she even have the strength to do such a thing?

As more questions arose in her mind, perhaps an unfortunate attempt to get rid of the dread in her heart, Adelia stepped outside to confront the Exarchs who were waiting to receive their orders.

Taking a deep breath, she commanded. "Follow me."