The driver at the wheel suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone's thoughts. "Stop guessing. The target seems to be back!"
In front of the mansion, a similarly black sedan drove straight into the courtyard before stopping. Immediately after, a man with salt-and-pepper hair and a stern expression got out of the car; it was Oct, who had just returned home.
Just as the people in the car were about to act, the peripheral surveillance personnel suddenly reported through the communicator of the burly man in the front passenger seat, "Wait, it looks like there are hounds!"
"Fuck! I knew these damn bloodhounds would track us here!" The burly man's expression turned cold. He gripped the communicator and ordered, "Team Two, Team Three, go deal with those pesky hounds!"
"Roger that!"
"Roger that!"
After two consecutive responses, two cars parked by the roadside suddenly started and drove off in one direction.
"Now, it's our turn! No matter what's wrong with that woman, this mission must be completed. Mr. Chu Feng is watching us!"
"Yes!" After a chorus of affirmation, they all changed their attire and exited the vehicles.
By the time they appeared outside the mansion, they were figures in black robes, their faces hidden by white masks.
「Inside the mansion,」
Oct sat at the dining table, about to eat the dinner his mistress had thoughtfully prepared, when he glimpsed a flash of crimson in the reflection of the dinner knife in his hand. Startled, Oct immediately dove to the side, narrowly dodging an attack from behind.
"Eudora, you... what kind of monster are you?"
Sprawled on the floor, Oct stared in disbelief at the beautiful blonde woman whose right arm had transformed into a blade of flesh and blood.
"Who would have thought, you old fool. You're quite spry for your age!" Eudora shattered the solid wood chair impaled on her arm. A strange smile touched her lips as she brandished her flesh-blade arm, intending to mince Oct into pulp.
Watching the monster slowly approach, Oct, no ordinary man, scrambled to his feet and fled the mansion like a madman. This monster was beyond what an old man like him could handle.
BANG! A chair slammed into Oct's back, sending him sprawling.
"I can't let you run away! If you get caught by one of Priest Sirio's men and say something you shouldn't, I won't be able to bear his wrath!" Swinging her flesh-blade arm, Eudora swayed her hips, giggling as she slowly approached Oct, who was still desperately trying to get up from the ground.
"Don't... don't kill me! Eudora, we've had so many wonderful nights together, don't you remember?" As death loomed, the pale-faced Oct clung to hope, playing the emotional card.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Eudora's smile vanished, replaced by a grim expression. "Shut your filthy mouth, you fool! You damned piece of trash!"
Enraged by Oct's words, the monster clearly abandoned any intention of toying with him. She raised her right arm, ready to slice the man at her feet in two.
But out of nowhere, a Knight's Longsword firmly blocked her descending arm.
CLANG!
"Sorry, but I can't just let you cut him up like that!"
Eudora looked up. To her astonishment, six figures in black robes and white masks had appeared inside the mansion, seemingly out of nowhere. Feeling the imposing power from the Knight's Longsword, Eudora's expression became extremely grim. A single word escaped through her gritted teeth.
"Exorcists..."
And powerful ones at that, their strength rivaling her own.
"Dio, seize this opportunity! Have a proper bout with this old man's mistress!" one of the robed figures on the other side taunted, clearly unfazed by the situation.
"Fuck it, why don't you do it?" Dio retorted irritably. The Knight's Longsword in his hand pulsed, and a sudden surge of power from the blade sent Eudora staggering back several steps.
Damn it! Eudora cursed inwardly, eyeing the surrounding Exorcists. It seems I won't be able to complete the mission. I need to get out of here, fast!
But the next words from another robed figure shattered her hopes of escape. "Keep an eye on her, everyone. I think this lady is showing signs of trying to flee."
"Don't worry, she won't get away. The Spirit Trapping Formation has just been set up!" Another robed figure walked in from outside, casually shaking a bag filled with Crystal Stones.
"Where in the world did you Exorcists come from?" A series of sudden developments left Eudora on the verge of despair. Sensing the auras of these Exorcists, their power clearly placed them at the apex of the Exorcist world. Why on earth would they appear here?
"That question..." The man wielding the Longsword shifted his stance, raising his Longsword as he replied, "I really can't tell you!"
The words had barely left his mouth when, with an explosive CRACK, the robed man with the Longsword charged. His weapon, emitting a faint glow, slashed down viciously.
CLANG! Eudora's figure was hurled backwards, crashing through two walls before she finally stopped.
Having barely blocked the strike with both arms, which had transformed into blades of flesh, Eudora slowly crawled from the rubble, her face gradually contorting with ghastly scars. Her two blade-like arms writhed and, in the blink of an eye, morphed into blood-red claws.
"This shell... I spent a long time choosing it. It seems it's going to be ruined here today!" Eudora said with a hint of regret, slowly dragging her blood-red claws across her skin. Her voice laced with hatred, she thrust both clawed hands into her chest. With a slight downward pressure, the smooth skin of her abdomen split open in a large gash.
But she didn't stop. Grabbing the edges of the torn skin as if shrugging off a coat, she pulled. With a sharp tug, the smooth skin peeled away from her body.
What stood in its place was a blood-red monster, its flesh constantly writhing.
As the robed man with the Longsword clashed with the monster, the roaring sounds of battle filled the air. A stout robed figure hauled Oct to his feet, asking mockingly, "Old man, look up. Take a good look at your mistress's current form. Which do you find sexier, this thing or her?"
But Oct, having narrowly escaped death, was in no mood to consider the monster's appearance. The moment he was pulled upright, he grabbed the robed man's hand. "Are you here to save me? Quick... get me out of here!"
The continuous roars of battle and the monster's shrieks from behind assaulted Oct's frayed nerves. Panicked, all he wanted was to leave this place immediately, to get far, far away from that creature.