Chapter 116: Next Hunt
Lea sat cross-legged on the floor of her bedroom, surrounded by the ghosts that haunted her mansion.
They'd been terrified of her at first. After she'd dominated the Twilight Gaunt, the spirits had recognized her as something more dangerous than themselves. Something that could end them if she wished.
But after a month of cohabitation, they'd grown... playful.
One ghost bobbed up and down excitedly, making the light flicker. Another circled her head like a curious bird. A third kept darting into the closet and back out, as if trying to draw her attention.
"Yes, yes, I know.", Lea said to the third ghost, "The skeleton thing is still in there. I'm working on it."
The creature in her closet remained a mystery. It looked vaguely like a beast of burden, but its bones were arranged wrong, with too many joints and segments that bent at impossible angles. Every time she checked on it, it had moved slightly.
Never when she was looking, always when she turned away.
It hadn't attacked her. Hadn't done anything threatening. Just... exist in her closet. Moving when she wasn't watching.
Lea found it deeply unsettling.
"Maybe I should just curse the whole closet...", she muttered, "Seal it shut permanently."
The ghosts seemed to find this idea hilarious, their lights pulsing with what she'd learned to interpret as laughter.
"You're all useless...", Lea said without real heat.
Then one of the ghosts, the one that usually stayed near the front entrance, suddenly streaked up through the floor, bobbing urgently.
Someone entered the mansion.
Lea stood immediately, her playful mood evaporating, "Another client?"
The ghost pulsed confirmation.
"Alright.", Lea took a breath, then summoned her Cursed Constructs to shroud herself in armor and darkness, putting on her Faceless Twilight persona.
She descended the stairs slowly, deliberately, making sure her presence was felt before she was seen.
The main hall was still covered in her black, horn-like material and pulsing tendrils, creating an atmosphere of deliberate menace. Perfect for intimidating clients.
But the man waiting in the hall didn't look intimidated.
He stood calmly, hands clasped behind his back, studying the construct-covered walls with what looked like professional interest. His robes were red and gold, expensive fabric, well-maintained. And on his chest, embroidered in silver thread, was the symbol of two crossed swords with a boar head, practically screaming he was from the Church of the Blood God.
Lea stopped at the bottom of the stairs, analyzing him through her mask. Mid-forties, perhaps. Scarred hands visible beneath his sleeves. The way he stood suggested combat training, ready to move despite appearing relaxed.
A warrior-priest, not just clergy.
"Welcome.", Lea said with a cold and detached tone, "Most people hesitate before entering. You walked in like you owned the place."
The priest turned to face her, offering a slight bow, "I've walked into far more dangerous places than a mercenary's lair, Faceless Twilight. Your reputation precedes you, but I am not easily frightened."
"Then you're either brave or foolish.", she descended the final steps, "Why does an honor-bound priest of the Blood God seek an assassin?"
She gestured to the walls covered in her curses, "This is the opposite of everything you supposedly stand for. So why are you here?"
The priest's expression darkened. "Because sometimes, honor demands we set aside our preferences to deal with those who have already abandoned it."
He reached into his robes and withdrew a folded piece of parchment, "My name is Yosin. I serve at the Temple of Crimson Blades in Vehren, Sydelraa. And I seek your services to track down a heretic."
"A heretic?", Lea took the parchment, unfolding it carefully, "Your church has inquisitors for that."
"This heretic is... special.", Yosin said, his voice tight with controlled anger, "He was once one of us."
He gestured to the parchment in Lea's hands. "And he betrayed everything. Abandoned the Blood God for cowardice. Now he uses sneak attacks, poisons, and trickery. Everything our faith despises."
Lea looked down at the wanted poster.
The face staring back at her was young, maybe late twenties. Sharp features and cold eyes. The kind of face that could blend into a crowd easily.
WANTED: KAEL MORVEN
CRIMES: Heresy, Desertion, Murder of Three Temple Guards
APPROACH WITH EXTREME CAUTION - USES POISON AND AMBUSH TACTICS
Beneath the text was more information: last known locations, suspected hideouts, and a list of his known abilities. And what Lea wanted the most, his Paths.
Carnage, Madness, and Disorder. Supposed Fourth Step.
Lea activated Judgement and listened to Yosin's surface thoughts and emotional state.
Truth. All of it. The priest genuinely believed every word he'd spoken. His anger at this Kael Morven was real, the kind of righteous fury that came from betrayal rather than simple duty.
"Why come to me?" Lea asked, still reading the poster. "Why not hunt him yourselves?"
"We tried three times.", Yosin admitted, and there was shame in his voice, "He killed two of our hunters with poisoned blades. Crippled another with a trap. He knows our methods, how we fight, expect honor even when he has none."
The priest met Lea's masked gaze directly, "We need someone who fights as he does, someone with no honor to constrain them."
Lea would have been offended if he wasn't completely right.
"You want me to fight dirty because your people can't."
"Yes.", no hesitation in the admission, "The Blood God values honor in combat. But He also values results. Justice must be served, even if the method is distasteful."
Lea studied the poster for another moment. Kael Morven, a heretic who'd betrayed his faith and killed temple guards. Someone who used exactly the kind of tactics she specialized in.
This could be... interesting.
"Ten thousand Cee.", Lea said flatly.
Yosin didn't even blink, "Acceptable."
Wow, no negotiation at all. The church must really want him dead.
"All upfront," Lea continued. "I'll need three days to track him and prepare."
"The church can provide five thousand today.", Yosin said. "The remainder upon proof of death, his head will suffice."
Lea nodded, "Return in three hours with the payment. I'll begin immediately after."
Yosin gave a proper, respectful bow, "Thank you, Faceless Twilight. May Courage and Valor be upon you."
He turned to leave, then paused at the door, "One more thing. Kael has no honor, but he is dangerous. He's killed trained warriors through ambush. Don't underestimate him."
"I never underestimate anyone.", Lea said coldly, turning back and walking up the stairs.
Not anymore...
Yosin nodded and left, the door closing behind him with a heavy thud. Lea stood alone in her construct-covered hall, staring at the wanted poster.
Kael Morven. A warrior turned assassin, someone who'd abandoned their faith for something else.
Someone who, in a way, reminded her of herself.
"This is going to be complicated...", she muttered.
The ghosts bobbed around her, their lights pulsing with what might have been excitement or concern. Lea folded the poster and headed back upstairs. She had three hours before Yosin returned with payment.
Her second assassination was about to begin.
And she felt that this would be more straightforward than her first.
=0=0=
The New World.
The Church of Sacrifice faced another problem. But this time it wasn't a sociopathic monarch, but a god.
Lying sprawling on the ground were clergy members, including Eric, even the Saintess and Krima stood no chance. And at the center was the culprit, a hooded child carrying a lantern burning crimson.
"I don't have any misgivings with you all, but I would like to ensure all of you stay alive.", her voice was cute, but the tone was chilling.
Although all of them are badly wounded, none of them died.
Kahelzar, a Shepherd of After. And the Goddess of Fortune.
She had just stood there, doing nothing. Every attack coming after her would, within reasonable bounds, be redirected toward something else, and the attacker would suffer a slight misfortune.
"I bring you a message from the Overseer, the Paladin, the Monarch, and me, the Gravekeeper. To Sularao, until the promised time..."
The ghostly half of her face burns a ghastly crimson flame.
"The universe is bigger than you think."
"Do I need to remind you of what horror lies beyond this world?"
All they could feel was pain, as if something was trying to remove the information from their mind. But Kahelzar fought against that force in her own way, forcing a stalemate.
And keeping all in pain.
"Sularao, I know you have been holding off for more than 7,000 years, but the time is near..."
"For The Admirer, for this world you so deeply loved."
"Stand down."