The malice radiating from the strange eye was overwhelming. Even though Galad avoided its direct gaze, he could feel its hostility pressing on him petty, venomous, like the glare of a spiteful villain.
If it had been just a man, Galad could have ignored it with ease. But from such an evil and eldritch existence, even a glance was perilous.
His head rang as though struck, and hot blood gushed from his nose and eyes.
Illusory waves roared in his mind, soft and distant, like an unseen tide rising to shield him. The sound kept him from collapsing entirely, but his wounds deepened still blood streamed over his lips and chin, pattering darkly onto Old Neil's wooden floor.
Time was slipping away.
Galad steadied his breath, fixed his eyes on the flickering candlelight, and whispered in prayer:
"The Lord who created everything…"
The words slipped into the strange cadence of Hermes. Only after Old Neil's lessons did Galad realize that this was the language his lips now formed.
With the first line, the world beyond the Wall of Spirituality dimmed. Even Dunn and the others, only a few steps away, blurred into vague silhouettes.
On Old Neil's chest, the blood-drawn symbol stirred, glowing faintly, as if it had taken breath and life.
"The Ruler behind the curtain of Darkness…"
The Darkness stirred. Some indescribable existence was rising silently, unseen.
Shadows devoured the room. Only the twin candle flames still shivered faintly, bean-sized, fragile.
And in the suffocating dark, distorted whispers seeped through. Layer upon layer, countless voices overlapped, crawling into the ear, gnawing at the nerves, clawing at the mind.
The blood-pattern sank deeper, devouring Old Neil's skin and flesh, etching itself directly onto his chest.
The eerie floating eye froze midair, paralyzed, suspended like a corpse in black water.
Galad faltered. He could no longer continue.
The whispers clawed at his skull, each word digging into marrow, threatening to hollow him out.
Danger!!!!, His Instinct screamed at him.
He abandoned the honorific recitation midway, and with what influence he had already invoked, shouted into the oppressive dark:
"Praise the Lord's glory, for degeneration is the new birth of all!"
The blood-mark twisted violently. The eerie eye, once hovering outside, was dragged down sucked into Old Neil's chest as if by invisible hands.
The True Creator's emblem dissolved instantly, bleeding outward like ink in water, but the crimson circle penned it in, forcing its spread to remain confined to a patch of skin.
The flesh there blazed red. Something writhed beneath.
With a sickening tear, four cracks split open.
From within the crimson skin, four eyes slowly opened—two above, two below, unblinking and cold, gazing in eerie silence.
And yet… Galad thought he saw not only malice but also confusion flicker within them.
"Bang!"
He thrust his dagger forward, piercing the Wall of Spirituality, and shouted with all his breath:
"Your Excellency Cecima, now!"
Whoosh—!
A lance of white light cleaved across his vision.
It wasn't light as humans knew it. In that instant, the world itself seemed erased, leaving only that single, absolute brilliance.
By the time sight returned, Creste was already at Old Neil's side. Behind Galad, the silver-white briefcase hit the floor with a metallic crash.
A clean strip of flesh had been carved from Old Neil's chest, revealing raw pink muscle. Strangely, not a drop of blood flowed.
With a wet plop, the excised flesh fell to the floor. The four eyes upon it rolled wildly, darting in every direction.
The piece of skin twitched and writhed like a living creature until, at last, it collapsed into black ash and vanished completely.
"…It worked???"
Cold sweat soaked Galad's forehead. His voice trembled in disbelief.
Everyone's gaze turned to Creste.
The senior Nighthawk stood still, his right arm hidden at his side. After a long silence, he spoke calmly:
"It succeeded. The expulsion was clean."
Whew—!
A collective breath of relief burst from the others.
"That's great!" Daly's eyes glittered with tears.
Even Dunn and Seeka, normally so stoic, could not hide their joy.
Their gazes fell on Galad.
"Galad you saved him..."
Dunn gripped his arm firmly. His eyes were solemn, but his voice was thick with gratitude."First Seeka, then Klein, now Old Neil… I'm glad I invited you to join us back then."
"Pure luck," Galad forced a grin, though fear still lingered in his chest.
The others surrounded him with praise and thanks, their relief mingling with affection. In that moment, Galad truly felt how deeply Old Neil was loved by all.
Then Creste's calm voice cut in:
"You used the True Creator's authority of degeneration."
It wasn't a question.
"You saw right through it," Galad admitted, wry.
The ritual he'd performed was known as Degenerate Revelation. Normally, its sole purpose was to drive Beyonders into madness, turning them into sacrifices for the True Creator.
But Galad had bound it, restricting its effects to a small patch of flesh. The gathered corruption was then excised cleanly with Creste's holy relic.
An evil rite, twisted into salvation.
"Haha…"
For the first time, Creste smiled.
"You are clever… frighteningly so." His dark green eyes gleamed, lake-deep. "But don't do this again."
The smile deepened, but Galad caught a glimpse through the shadow of his collar
Behind those lips, Creste's teeth were lined with writhing, transparent parasites. Each one bore faintly human faces, whispering, wriggling, grinning.
"..."
Galad stiffened. A chill raced down his spine.
At last, he understood why Creste never revealed his mouth.
———
Old Neil remained unconscious. Dunn laid his coat over him and set him gently upon the round table, while Daly stayed by his side. The rest fanned out, combing the house for lingering danger.
Galad wandered upstairs, entering the bedroom.
On the desk, among scattered notes, a folded slip of paper slipped free. He caught it, brows furrowing as he read.
It was an honorific name brief, incomplete but alongside it were several rituals.
And at the end of the honorific… a name stood clear.
Hidden Sage.
Galad's pupils contracted sharply.