Hunt's End

A series of crashes echoed through the church.

Pews shattered as a dark beast was thrown against them. The transformed priest scrambled to its feet, then looked up at the imposing black and white beast standing on its former throne. Moonlight illuminated the black mane billowing behind it. Its greatsword, the object of their long pursuit, shimmered with blue light, its gaze fixed on the priest.

The transformed priest roared and raised its staff. The Hunting miracle pattern flashed, and blue energy surged.

The staff was a high-quality intermediary, essentially a weapon, even serving as an external miracle releasing organ.

Invisible attacks were unleashed again.

But now, to Mithra, the blue trajectories were clearly visible.

She leaped, shattering the throne beneath her. The black and white beast landed on the church's stained-glass window, its eyes glancing down.

The transformed priest swung the staff again, a barrage of light converging on Mithra.

Mithra moved effortlessly across the church walls, her black and white form a ghostly blur in the dim light.

The attacks shattered the stained-glass, sending shards of colored glass raining down, followed by chunks of wood and stone.

This church, crudely modified, had long since lost any semblance of its original faith. Hopefully, that god wouldn't mind.

The transformed priest almost demolished the church, but they couldn't even touch Mithra.

Swish!

A blue sword energy suddenly erupted from the rapidly moving figure, striking the priest before they could react.

Fur flew, flesh splattered, a gruesome wound appearing on the beast's body.

And this was just the beginning. As the claws gripping the greatsword flickered with the Hunting pattern, the sword's power surged.

Circular waves of sword energy, unleashed as Mithra moved across the walls and ceiling, converged on the transformed priest from all directions.

Mithra's "Hunting Blade," while not as powerful as the Night Hunter's original, was more than enough to deal with the transformed priest, who was weaker than the Stranger.

After a single volley, the priest could barely stand, supported by its staff.

As it struggled to look up, trying to find Mithra, it realized she had vanished.

Suddenly, a soft sound. It looked up.

The black and white beast was directly above it, saliva dripping onto its face, its claws digging into the church's ceiling.

The claws released their grip. Mithra dropped, landing on the priest.

Simultaneously, she plunged the greatsword into its back, the tip emerging from its chest.

Mithra gripped the hilt with both claws, the Hunting pattern flashing again as she twisted the blade.

"Rooooar—"

The transformed priest shrieked. Mithra's larger size, combined with the impaling wound, made its struggles futile. It was pinned beneath her, with no chance of escape.

Perhaps it remembered the Stranger sacrificing half its body to escape the explosion earlier, a move called "Darkness Boom."

Rumble—

The church shook violently. Weakened by the earlier damage, it finally began to collapse.

The believers and knights still fighting the cursed creatures felt the tremors and watched in horror as the massive structure crumbled before them.

Those who were too close were caught in the collapse.

When the dust settled, they saw a deep crater amidst the ruins. A dark blue beast lay within, only its upper body remaining, covered in bite marks.

And nothing else.

...

Mithra stumbled along the road, her hands and face covered in blood.

"Cough!" She coughed violently, retching, spitting out chunks of flesh, then gasped for air and continued walking.

She had experienced the consequences of prolonged transformation.

She had given in to the urge and eaten the old priest, though only a little. The raw flesh wasn't pleasant, but her bestial nature was satisfied by this act of dominance, even excited by it.

She slammed her head against a wall.

The barking in her ears persisted. Walking under the moonlight, she felt as if beasts were watching her from the shadows, and her own shadow sometimes seemed to crouch like an animal.

"So fucking noisy," Mithra suddenly cursed, black energy surging as she transformed into the Stranger.

"Aaargh—!"

She screamed, her voice echoing through Gross Town.

In an instant, she was Mithra again, clutching her head, still unsteady.

"Mithra...Mithra...I'm Mithra..." she whispered repeatedly, then looked up, clarity returning to her eyes. But the dullness remained.

The barking subsided, her bestial nature quelled.

Ding.

She quickly activated Stabilize.

After finding a house, drawing water, and cleaning herself, Mithra finally had the energy to examine the distilled sense the old priest had left behind.

["Night-Huting Beast Priest" Distilled Sense: Sense distilled from a believer who lost control to their bestial nature after absorbing the remnants of a Wandering God. Absorbing it will greatly increase sense power and enhance understanding of specific miracles. However, it will also awaken the beast within.]

[—"Give me more eyes, so I can pursue the vanished night."]

A distilled sense similar to Erik's, with both benefits and drawbacks.

For Mithra, besides increasing her sense power, it seemed to have no other use. As for enhancing her understanding of specific miracles, it was probably referring to Hunting miracles, which she had already mastered.

Nie Hong had said that she shouldn't absorb too much distilled sense before achieving Clarity.

Unfortunately, Mithra had already absorbed one, and it was from a Wandering God, granting her an immense amount of sense power.

For example, during the recent battle, she hadn't needed to carefully manage her sense power, freely using Hunting miracles, which were normally very costly, yet she hadn't experienced any sense power shortage.

The sensory lag she used to experience after using even a single counterfeit Invisible Blade was gone. Now she could practically spam her own "Hunting Blade."

There was a constant buzzing in her head, and her body felt full.

This world was already starting to change her.

But at least, it allowed her to adapt quickly, right?

Then there was the other trophy.

Mithra pulled the staff from her body.

[Night Hunter High Priest's Staff: A perfectly crafted, high-grade intermediary, superior in material. A symbol of authority for the branch leader of the Night Hunters church. The entire staff can be considered a special intermediary, its core being the legendary "Eternal Night Crystal," said to be able to connect with Anderet.]

Mithra examined it, then, following the information, looked at the beautiful black crystal at the top of the staff, carved in the shape of three folded wings.

[Eternal Night Crystal: A fragment of darkness. It is said that Anderet once brought Eternal Night during the era of the Forty-Four Pillars. Even after Eternal Night was overthrown, some of its power remained, offering another possibility. Sensing it as an intermediary might allow one to understand darkness miracles.]

This staff was probably only useful as a blunt weapon for Mithra.

But in terms of blunt weapons, she already had hammer bro. This thing was awkward and impractical.

Fortunately, Mithra had unlocked the "Blacksmith" option.

She was her own blacksmith!

The Flesh and Blood Forge wasn't just for repairing equipment. A "forge" could do more than just repairs.

Mithra stored the staff inside her body, first separating the Eternal Night Crystal from the staff itself. The crystal seemed more important, so she kept it separate for now.

Then, using her sense, she selected the hammer and the staff to begin the fusion process.

"Ugh—"

Intense pain and nausea surged. Mithra vomited again.

"Phaselos, you didn't mention this side effect of fusing weapons..."

She complained internally, but Phaselos couldn't answer her.

The fusion couldn't be completed instantly. In fact, Mithra didn't know how long it would take for her body to integrate the staff's high-grade materials into her ordinary stone hammer.

But one thing was certain: until the fusion was complete, she would have to endure the pain and nausea.

This was the price for not needing a blacksmith and skipping all the complicated procedures.

It was a good deal.