"What the—?!"
The head priest and his subordinates were left utterly stunned as they all witnessed the revived heretic suddenly dive and disappear straight into the apartment's wall...!
"Where did he go...?!" the head priest demanded, his voice trembling with both anger and disbelief as the grip on his sword tightened in frustration. "Search every inch of this place! He couldn't have gone far!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
His subordinates quickly and frantically began searching around the ruined apartment!
Few near the wall where Noah had disappeared carefully inspected said wall, their hands brushing over the cracked surface as if trying to uncover a hidden passage or anything of such...
The others spread out across the ruined apartment, turning over debris and rubble in a desperate attempt to find the vanished man...
But their efforts... proved to be in vain.
"W-where is he...?!"
"What about inside the bathroom or the bedroom...?!"
"There's no one here either...!"
"W-what's going on...?!?"
Every wall, every room, everywhere—they could not find him...!
"Damned heretic...! Did he gain an ability from that evil spirit...?!" the head priest snarled under his breath, scanning the ruined apartment with scrutiny. "Where are you?! Show yourself, you damned blasphemer—"
"I'm right here~."
"Wha—?!"
The head priest jolted in shock at the sudden voice behind him—the undead man they were searching for had appeared right behind...!
However, by pure instinct, he turned around and swung his sword—!
Slash—!
"Whoah there—?!"
Noah barely leaned back in time, the blade slicing clean through the air where his neck had just been!
He twisted midair, pushing himself backward to a safe distance from the frustrated head priest...!
"Phew... that was close."
He steadied his body... then without hesitation—
"Catch you later~."
He dove straight back into the wall once more!
"What—! Hey! Get back here!"
He turned toward his subordinates—
"All of you—arms ready!!!"
"Y-yes, sir!!!"
As the head priest barked his order, he and his subordinates immediately prepared their weapons—crossbows drawn, daggers raised... waiting for the appearance of the undead man.
But then—
"Hey there~."
"Huh—?"
One of the priests closest to the wall was suddenly yanked toward it—followed by a heavy punch that sent him crashing into a pile of broken furniture...!
"—A-agh!!!"
"—!? There! He's there!!!"
The others quickly turned to the sound and saw half of the undead man's torso phasing through the wall...!
"Shoot him!"
A few of the priests quickly aimed their crossbows toward Noah and shot a volley of bolts—!
However, he casually leaned back toward the wall—
Thunk—! Thunk—! Thunk—!
—And disappeared into the structure as crossbow bolts embedded themselves into the same wall...!
"He's gone...?!"
"Damned...!"
They all braced themselves, frantically wary of any wall around them...
But... before they realized it—
Whoosh—!
Bam—!
"Guh—!!!"
Noah instead had burst out from the floor beneath them, his fist slamming into another priest's gut before sinking back into the ground like water!
"H-he disappeared again?!"
"Stay alert—keep your backs covered!" the head priest barked as the grip on his sword became tighter...!
They quickly formed a defensive circle, but... all of the subordinate priests were trembling and sweating, eyes darting in every direction...
Then—
A faint hum rippled through the air behind them—the undead man appeared once more!
But before they could even react, Noah kicked one of the subordinate priests—!
"Arghhh—!!!"
—sending him flying by the force of the kick! His body slammed against the far wall before crumpling unconscious to the floor...!
"Cursed heretic...!"
One of the remaining priests quickly turned around and tried to tackle the undead man down—
"Got you!"
But—
"No, no. No touching allowed~."
"W-what—?!"
Noah's body had turned ethereal for just a moment, allowing the priest to phase through his body like it was mere fog...!
And before the tackler could push himself up from the ground, Noah elbow-dropped him—!
"—Aaghh—?!"
—knocking the wind out of the priest!
"Sleep tight, my brother~."
Then Noah phased through the ground once more, leaving behind another unconscious priest on the floor...!
"W-what... what manner of unholy ability is this...?!" the last subordinate priest screamed in panic, backing away toward his leader.
The head priest clenched his jaw, scanning every nook and cranny of the debris-ridden apartment with furious, darting eyes...!
The silence that followed was... deafening.
A stillness that tightened the heart...!
Their heartbeat was rising by the second...!
But then... the last subordinate priest felt an odd tingling above his head.
"H-huh...?"
As he slowly looked up... he saw a face with a Cheshire smile and a pair of gleaming red eyes sticking out from the ceiling.
"Boo~."
"AAAHHH!!!"
"W-what in heaven—?!"
The head priest turned around to find his last follower screaming in terror before passing out and collapsing to the floor...!
Breathing heavily, the head priest stood dumbfounded—surrounded by his fallen priests.
He was stunned; shocked to see that in just a short amount of time... all of his followers were defeated.
"...For god's sake... these pathetic fools...!"
He palmed his face, hiding not only his disappointment but also his embarrassment toward his subordinates...
"We're supposed to be the elite of the sanctum... but to be taken down by a mere heretic...!?"
Clutching his sword with both trembling hands... his anger finally reached its limit!
"Damned heretic...! HEY! SHOW YOURSELF!!!"
He swung his sword with wild desperation in every direction and at every possible angle, not caring whether he would hit his fallen allies or not—
All in an attempt to slay the undead heretic he'd once killed with ease... but who was now slowly becoming his nightmare...!
But then—
"Why so afraid, my brother~? Did you perhaps see... a ghost?"
The taunting voice of the undead man echoed through the ruined apartment...!
"Grr...! Where are you?! Step out from your hiding and face me, heretic!!!"
The head priest's furious roar rang out, his grip tightening on his blade as his eyes swept across the darkened corners of the room...
A heavy silence followed—
A silence so deep it almost drowned his own breathing...
Until—
Rustle...!
His eyes snapped toward the faintest disturbance behind him—!
"There you are—!"
Without hesitation, the head priest spun around, slashing his blade through the air—!
Slash—!
"Whoa—!"
Noah barely pulled himself back, his ghostly outline flickering into view before retreating again into the shadows...!
"You will not escape—!"
—But the priest wasn't about to let him off—!
"—Holy Blast!"
A sphere of radiant light burst forth from his palm, streaking toward the spot where Noah had vanished—!
BANG—!
The holy explosion scorched the wall, scattering debris and divine embers across the room!
Yet Noah had already phased through the apartment structure itself, his form slipping through the concrete like a wisp of smoke...!
"Whistle~, you really are a 'sharp' one, huh, you damn nutjob of a priest?"Noah quipped, his voice carrying a mocking edge that echoed through the apartment.
The head priest growled in response, his cold gaze scanning sharply across every shadow and crevice.
"Your ghostly trick will not work on me, heretic...!"
"Heh... guess there's no point fooling around with you, huh?I might as well stop hiding..."
Noah slowly stepped forward into the moonlight streaming through the shattered wall...
"Well then... round two?"