Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 579: The 13th Gate

Chapter 579: The 13th Gate

Just as the Zion Empire had Enforcers born out of the ingenuity of the Saints of the Warrior Wheel and the Judah Dynasty had the Covens born out of a need for the denizens of the Devil Wheel to belong, Salem Theocracy had the Gatekeepers.

They were an elite force that accommodated only Mystics of the Divine Wheel, unlike Enforcers that not only housed Warrior Wheel Mystics.

Their task was simple; to destroy the heathens.

Dressed in white and red combat robes with the insignia of the Only One God, a humanoid being with arms spread wide, etched on it, they served as a scourge to the nonbelievers.

Naturally, the higher echelons of the Church of Angelica determined who and what could be considered heathens.

Due to a variety of reasons, only Mystics of the 4th Lock and higher were allowed to apply for their ranks.

Each battalion was split into what was called Gates with the members within the Gates regarded as Keepers.

Frederick, as the leader of the 13th Gate and a Veteran of the Divine Wheel, was assigned 36 Keepers, each experienced enough to handle whatever came their way.

When he’d first received the news from the Archbishop, what stood out to him most was the fact that a fellow Divine Wheel Mystic had already died.

Among denizens of the Divine Wheel, a sense of camaraderie persisted and so, hearing such news was enough to kindle the fire within Frederick.

Even if he hadn’t been ordered to move, he would have done so regardless.

No heathen would get away with killing a brother of the faith.

This sentiment was shared by all in his unit, which was why, as they rode into Florence, they didn’t even bother to meet with those in charge and immediately began the search.

Considering rumors had begun to spread within the city of the existence of the Dark Cloaked Devil, it was only right that they dealt with those who were spreading these dark tales.

It took less than two hours before a few individuals, both men and women, were dragged to the city square by the Mystics, with Frederick waiting there for them.

None dared to raise their heads, their bodies trembling with some even shedding tears in silence.

They were terrified and rightfully so.

All those in Kastarus were aware of how brutal the church was during such matters.

Frederick scanned them briefly before he asked. "Who started the rumor?"

Tying his blonde hair into a bun, he reached for his blade and pulled it free, revealing a long sword that was almost the height of a woman of average height.

The sound of the sword leaving its sheath caused those kneeling to tremble some more as they knew that the cold arms of death were upon them.

"Please, spare me, it wasn’t intentional. I heard it from a relative that managed to escape Picenza. If I had known it would..."

The woman did not finish speaking before Frederick’s blade moved, severing her head from her shoulders.

Her blood dyed the cobblestones red as the Veteran moved on to the next. "Speak."

"..."

Ten minutes passed and in that time, Frederick carried out twelve more beheadings, each one as quick as the first.

Once he was done, he wiped his blade before turning to face those that had gathered. "The Church has made a decree!... There shall be no more fear-mongering, no more mentions of a monster that does not exist. Any who does not adhere to this shall taste my steel. That is a promise."

With that, he took steady steps, quickly exiting the central square.

This was only just the beginning.

The main task, hunting the Dark-Cloaked Devil, had only just begun.

***

We have company.

The moment Humphrey was done speaking, she revealed herself in all her maddening glory.

Her ridiculously large body was now suffused with a malevolent red that appeared quite similar to the essence of destruction permeating the core of the Drowned Palace.

Once headless, she now had what looked like a merger of different ghostly heads stitched together on a macabre sight that left one nauseated.

Staring at her incited madness within a person, causing even those not related to the Storm Wheel to exhibit changes like having fish-like skin and gills.

Just as Sinbad had said, Udele had lost her humanity, returning to a primal form that wished for nothing more than death and destruction.

Of course, even though she had completely lost her mind, it was not a complete loss as she had become one with the Drowned Palace.

She was the Drowned Palace’s main consciousness, which meant that the entire relic was her domain.

Arriving at this realization caused Alex to immediately snap, manifesting a black and white circle beside Udele that shot out a beam of purifying light.

Udele let out a scream as the light struck her at point black range but before it could destroy her, a new face revealed itself.

Space curved and the attack was reflected toward the crimson sea, allowing Udele to be free of it.

Tyrant floated into the crimson space, his gaze zeroed on Ana.

Unlike Ana, who hadn’t completely recovered, his mental capacity, rejuvenated by the constant streams of electricity permeating his mind, was quick to deal with the confusion, and now, he was prepared to go again.

Alex’s expression shifted as he thought that in her crazed state, Udele would attack Tyrant.

It seemed that didn’t happen which brought up the question, was Udele not completely out of her mind?

Of course, nothing mattered at the moment as the sea serpent once again revealed why it had completely trumped Alex and the others the first time he appeared.

A lightning forest erupted within the crimson space as he reached through space, shrinking the distance between himself and Ana to claim his prize.

Before he could, though, a pair of domineering eyes manifested in his psyche, seeking to dominate him.

This act disoriented him for a moment as he cursed out loud with Alex taking advantage of this to snap while Humphrey dealt with the lightning forest by transmuting the air to form a protective barrier.

A black hole appeared next to Tyrant and it immediately began to suck him in as Sinbad continued to attack his psyche with the uniqueness he had, a gift from the Goddess of Storms.

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