Under Audrey's astonished gaze, the monster Silas had grabbed rapidly dissolved into flesh.
It looked like it would soon turn completely into sludge.
Just then, the monster's swollen belly suddenly accelerated its expansion, and the crying also grew louder.
"Watch out!"
Audrey couldn't help but call out a warning.
"Splat!"
Her words had barely landed when the belly, swollen to its limit, burst open from the inside.
A crimson mass shot out from within, charging straight at Silas's face!
Silas watched calmly and raised his other hand.
"Bang!"
A horizontal sweep of his fist struck precisely on that mass. The powerful force sent it flying, slamming into the wall at the side.
The thing fell to the ground and rolled several times before stopping, revealing its true form.
Audrey saw its true appearance and nearly cried out in shock.
It turned out to be a lump of flesh the size of a baby, with four limbs, but with an adult man's face in the center.
And that face... Silas seemed somewhat familiar with it.
"Lanevus?"
He said in surprise.
It was a man's face, ordinary in appearance, except for a characteristic mocking smile at the corners of his mouth.
It made Silas immediately recall that fraudster he'd once screwed over.
"Wahhh..."
The flesh mass with a human face cried out, flipping over to launch another attack at Silas.
But before it could act, several balls of blazing flame had already shot over, enveloping its body.
"Wahhhh..."
It convulsed and howled in the roaring flames, quickly turning charred black until it became ashes.
Silas watched the ashes.
After confirming it had been completely destroyed, he released his grip and discarded the half-dissolved corpse.
The corpse's abdomen had been broken open from the inside, revealing a horrifying wound.
Audrey noticed the shape of the wound and suddenly felt a jolt in her heart.
A wound from inside to outside, and the victim was working as a streetwalker... She seemed to have discovered a victim of the serial killings!
So these people were killed by something bursting out from inside!
Fors had mentioned before that she suspected there were two killers in the serial murder case.
Could this be one of the killer's methods?
No wonder the police couldn't find anything...
Oh right, that Beyonder just mentioned a name, Lanevus. Could this be the killer's real name?
Audrey carefully observed the black-haired, blue-eyed young man, thinking to herself.
While she was full of thoughts, Silas was also pondering.
The flesh mass from the woman's abdomen was obviously not some Child of God.
He'd only sensed a very small bit of the True Creator's aura from it. If anything, this flesh mass seemed more like Lanevus's offspring.
What is the Church of Evernight doing? After all this time, they still haven't caught him!
Silas remembered that when he'd modified the ritual, he'd screwed Lanevus over, making him bear the divinity from the True Creator in a male body.
Theoretically speaking, that divinity had already deeply penetrated his flesh. The ritual could be considered successful.
Thinking of this, Silas's expression became somewhat strange.
No way, right?
A grown man like him actually got pregnant?
Counting the days, it had probably been two or three months now.
At the development speed of an evil god's offspring, in a little while more, Lanevus would probably give birth to a child.
He just didn't know whether the evil god's offspring he gave birth to should call him father or mother. In a certain sense, either seemed acceptable...
"Ahem."
Silas coughed, suppressing his wandering thoughts.
In that case, this streetwalker's corpse was probably Lanevus attempting to save himself.
He might have been trying to transfer the evil god's offspring to another woman's body, thus sparing himself from the disaster of childbirth... After all, there really was no exit.
If that's the case, then he should be in Backlund right now...
"Good Lord! What happened here?!"
"Quick, save them!"
The voices in the hallway gradually grew more chaotic. The deaths and injuries were bringing confusion. It wouldn't be long before someone came over.
Silas snapped back to attention, simultaneously sensing that the sound of waves in his mind was weakening.
He'd maintained consciousness for quite a long time now. His spirituality consumption was a bit high.
I need to leave quickly...
Thinking this, he stood up and then met Audrey's gaze.
Oh right, almost forgot. There's still a witness.
Silas thought, stepping forward to stand before her.
Audrey's heart immediately tensed.
What does he want to do?
With such terrifying methods, he must be from one of those dangerous secret organizations... Will I be silenced?
Then she heard this handsome but crazy, powerful Beyonder wearing a peculiar straitjacket speak:
"Do you have money on you?"
Huh?
Audrey froze.
"Don't play dumb. I just saved your life.
It's only natural to collect some payment." She heard him continue, impatiently holding out his hand.
"From the look of you, you should be a noble young lady. You can't possibly have no money, right? Pay up. Hurry!"
The image of a powerful figure seemed to have changed somewhat.
Audrey pressed her lips together and said in a low voice, "My wallet is with my maid... Please wait."
She quickly walked to the unconscious Annie's side and retrieved her exquisite leather purse from her. After a moment's thought, she simply handed the entire purse to Silas.
This purse was the latest limited edition, priced at around a thousand pounds. Besides that, there were several small accessories worth hundreds of pounds inside.
Audrey didn't particularly care about this amount of money. Compared to that, she only hoped he would be satisfied.
Silas casually took the purse and removed all the cash inside, about two to three hundred pounds.
Truly wealthy… worthy of Backlund's nobility. Looks like I won't be short on cash for a while.
He thought with satisfaction, tossing the purse back to her along with the rest of the odds and ends.
"Don't go spreading information about me unless you're looking for trouble."
Audrey immediately nodded.
Whoosh!
Silas put away the money and used his nail to cut open his palm. He raised his hand and waved.
A spray of blood scattered into a blood mist that fell throughout the entire room.
This was a clever use of flesh and blood magic that could interfere with divination and prevent being tracked.
So even if Audrey didn't keep her promise and told someone something, they wouldn't actually be able to find him.
Having finished all this, before anyone else arrived, Silas's body transformed into shadow and merged into the darkness, silently leaving the place.
"Phew..."
Only then did Audrey finally let out a long breath, confirming she was truly safe.
Looking at the chaos all around, the dead and injured scattered across the floor, smelling the heavy scent of blood flooding her nostrils, the terror slowly receded while a lingering fear gradually surged up.
That Beyonder was really too terrifying... If he'd been in a bad mood just now, would I have been casually eliminated?
Audrey thought to herself, deciding to keep her promise and not expose his information to official investigators.
On the other side, Silas, who was going to pick up his sister, suddenly froze.
Hmm?
My Hermit potion seems to have digested somewhat...