Gorn seemed to want to protest, but as a towel had been stuffed in his throat, he only managed a muffled sob.
Just then, Davis's eyes sharpened. Having spent years traveling in the wilderness and ruins, he possessed an almost keen sense for impending danger.
He saw that the mass of rotten flesh Fran had cut off had now reformed into a humanoid shape, trembling as if about to stand up.
"Careful, Dr. Fran! That lump of flesh is still alive… It's moving toward you!"
"Mmm, I know."
Fran nodded calmly, then raised Haida's Secret-Hunters standard-issue pistol and fired three consecutive shots at the flesh mass that had barely assumed a humanoid form.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pale grey gun smoke dispersed from the muzzle. Three bursts of brilliant blue flame erupted from the rotting flesh. This thing was merely a secondary product of aberrant spirituality to begin with; under the impact of the steel-cored secret art bullets, it instantly lost its remaining vitality.
It must be said, Sister Haida's tools are unexpectedly effective when dealing with such monsters…
"Alright, let's proceed with the second course of treatment… Father Gorn. Otherwise, given your current injuries, you would die from infection and blood loss tonight."
Gorn's eyelids twitched slightly.
That terrifying devil was killed so simply by her with just a few shots? Although it felt somewhat unreal to him internally, looking at the now-ashing body of the decay, the fact seemed indisputable.
No longer having the courage to voice dissent, he nodded somewhat woodenly.
A short while later, debridement, suturing, and bandaging of some areas were completed. As the parts where Father Gorn had made contact with the corruption product were in the lower half of his body, the main injury zone was there as well.
"How do you feel, Father Gorn?"
Fran pulled the towel from Gorn's mouth and asked.
"Not bad…"
Gorn uttered these words almost through gritted teeth.
In truth, during the surgery, there was a moment when he even regretted being born into this world. And he had nearly lost control of his bodily functions several times.
But he didn't dare refute the seemingly harmless young girl before him. After all, the scene of her dispatching that devil with three shots was still vivid… and her entire process of firing the gun was far too composed; she hadn't even blinked.
He had originally thought this lady, labeled a "monster" in the medical field, was just a puppet propped up by a team. Now it seemed she truly wasn't a normal person…
"Since that's the case, we must be going. Father Gorn, although your condition is rather strained, I still hope you can manage to keep up later…"
Saying this, Fran called Davis to help her collect the medical instruments like scalpels on the floor.
"Me? Keep up?"
Gorn repeated these two words with some confusion.
"How can I possibly move in this state, and… where are you going anyway?"
Fran lightly raised her index finger and unhurriedly answered his question.
"We are now going to Ms. Tamesis's room. We've already been to Mr. Krul's side, but unfortunately, he did not survive."
"Madness!"
Hearing Fran's plan, Father Gorn couldn't help but voice his doubt. His mental state was now nearly hysterical; even though he held some fear for the young girl before him, he could hardly control his emotions.
"Without a doubt, Hanover Manor is a haunted house! Those terrifying rumors about evil spirits and devils are all true! You were turned into a little girl, I encountered that monster. If we stay any longer… who knows what else will happen."
"We should find a way to escape as soon as possible… As for the others, they simply don't matter!"
Only after finishing did Gorn realize his earlier lapse in composure, and a sliver of trepidation surged in his heart.
He looked up at Fran, only to find the young girl looking back at him with a faint, ambiguous smile.
"If we merely judge the content of that statement, what you said is indeed not wrong. Self-interest has never been considered a fault."
Fran lightly raised her index finger, casually twirling the braid by her temple, playing with it as if unintentionally.
"But my plan will not change. If you have other ideas, you can go and try them alone."
As she spoke, she slowly walked towards the door of this prayer room.
"However, I have one last thing to remind you. The commotion here just now was quite loud. That 'Corruption' outside that follows sound will come here sooner or later. And that noise… will also attract Krul."
A sound-following monster… Hearing Fran's concise description, Gorn couldn't help but feel a surge of dread, even becoming oblivious to the pain on his body.
If that monster is named "Corruption," it should look similar to the thing that latched onto me earlier. Just more terrifying; otherwise, Fran wouldn't need to avoid it; she could just solve it with her gun.
But she also said Krul would be attracted… What does that mean? This doctor clearly mentioned earlier that Krul did not survive…
Was he turned into an evil spirit by this manor?
Gorn's finger muscles twitched uncontrollably as an unpleasant conjecture surfaced in his mind.
Thud.
The sound of the door closing rang out. While he was still immersed in his own conjecture, Fran had already called Davis and left the room.
"Please, please wait for me!"
Gorn hurriedly got up, ignoring the pain from pulling his wound, and laboriously pursued the two.
In this situation, being left behind equated to being abandoned. He didn't believe he could survive in this danger-filled manor alone.
—
In the corridor of Hanover Manor's side wing, the battered and scarred "Corruption" was slowly writhing its body.
The human limbs embedded on its body were now all broken and ruined. Its original posture resembled a "centipede."
Now this centipede seemed to have had most of its legs stripped off, leaving only flesh fragments hanging from its body.
Its simplistic intellect didn't understand what that other thing was. Why did it have no flesh-and-blood aura, feel cold like a piece of metal, yet display ferocity and agility in combat far surpassing a wild beast?
Corruption had grown weary of the other's deadly entanglement and chosen a strategy it had almost never used before… escape. In this aspect, it possessed a natural advantage. If it wanted, the darkness of the entire manor would provide cover for it.
But for some reason, it kept feeling that annoying metal monster was still pursuing it, like a hunter tirelessly seeking its prey.
Just then, Corruption heard a sound slowly approaching from afar.
That person wore blood-stained chef's clothes, held two blood-stained kitchen knives for chopping bones, and walked with slow, faltering steps. It was Krul.
Krul's body was wrapped in thick obscurity and filth, so Corruption did not plan to attack him. However, it also didn't intend to run into him head-on, so it slowly concealed its form within the shadows.
"That woman, that woman! Hah… I must break her bones, grind her meat, make her into a full table of dishes, then chew and swallow each bite slowly, one by one…"
His rage was almost uncontrollable, causing snake-like black veins to throb on his arms and neck.
Clang—Clang—
Just as Krul was immersed in his blazing anger, he heard the sound of metal boots stepping on the ground coming from directly ahead.
Looking up, a tall, gray-silver knight's armor stood not far away. Ethereal blue light flickered in the eye slits of its helmet, like human eyes.
It held a halberd, its gaze upon Krul seeming to size him up.
Soon, the knight's armor detected the thick aura of filth within the person before it. The blue light in its eye slits burned intensely, its loathing for the evil thing almost overflowing.
Corrupted individuals everywhere, nauseating auras everywhere. This was likely a demon nest… Must conduct a thorough purge and purification, leave no hidden dangers.
Demonic evils stir ceaselessly; the only thing it could do was slaughter them over and over, time and again… And question its own heart constantly, ensuring it remained loyal.
Krul and the knight's armor collided heavily, like two interweaving phantoms.
In an instant, fierce metallic clashes came one after another, unceasing.
Merely a brief exchange, and Krul's bloodshot eyes widened in disbelief. Even the smoldering anger in his chest seemed temporarily suppressed.
This guy… its movements are very strange.
How to describe it? It's a kind of fluidity.
Knight armor should be very cumbersome, yet the other's every movement was like an unarmored normal person, without the slightest hindrance. Moreover, every angle of its halberd thrust could be called bizarre and tricky; he often had no time to react before being struck.
If combat is an art, then it was likely deeply versed in this path.
Looking at the two points of deep, ethereal blue light in the other's eye slits, Krul inexplicably felt a chilling sense of being seen through.
Even while he stood still doing nothing, it had already anticipated all possible actions he might take and prepared corresponding countermeasures.
Krul had served in the Royal Navy and, after becoming the navigator on the Fenrir, often engaged in battle as well.
Without a doubt, he had some experience with killing… And after being transformed into a "chef" by Hanover Manor, this experience used for dispatching his own kind had been preserved and deepened.
But now, he felt the combat skills accumulated over thirty-plus years appeared crude and clumsy before a suit of armor. The gap between them was a chasm-like divide, like an infant looking up at a giant.
In close combat, every instant could be infinitely prolonged; even a moment's distraction was enough to determine the battle's course. Before Krul's spark of thought could even arise, the knight's armor's halberd in its hand abruptly swept down, severing his arm.
Clang.
The blood-stained kitchen knife fell to the ground, Krul's severed arm still gripping the hilt tightly.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it…"
He clenched his teeth tightly. The stifled depression and irritability that had been constantly suppressed now surged in his chest like a tide.
Not only to be fooled by that woman, but also to be toyed with by this iron shell before him?
Krul couldn't help but roar out, but just as he opened his mouth, the knight's armor's steel halberd had already precisely pierced his windpipe.
…It seems demons from anywhere all enjoy making this kind of meaningless noise.
"Hah…"
Krul vomited a puddle of sludge-like black, rotten blood. Although grievously wounded, a strange smile now inexplicably lifted the corner of his mouth.
He finally understood where this sense of oddness came from.
Although this knight's armor far surpassed him in martial skill and combat experience, each of its attacks was mainly exploratory, and most were tentative and brief… as if walking on thin ice.
This was probably because its body… was not as sturdy as he had imagined.
And the truth was exactly so.
The weaponry the knight's armor could currently use was far too primitive, practically crude. The halberd in hand, while handy, was vastly inferior to the Grey Knights' customary Nemesis force halberd.
And the armor on its body could only be considered relatively fine steelwork, even vulnerable to firearms.
During the fight, it had instinctively wanted to reach for its waist several times, but unfortunately, there was no storm bolter with full magazines there. Otherwise, dealing with this corrupted human before it would just be a matter of pulling a trigger once.
Understanding the underlying logic, Krul's expression turned gloomy and ferocious.
Obscurity and filth within him became increasingly turbulent, as if about to burst forth from his body.
But the knight's armor's movements remained steady with not a trace of wavering, merely churning the halberd within the other's windpipe, striving to destroy his spine.
It had encountered more powerful enemies, been in more desperate straits… but none of that would change what it had to do.
—To "purify" all filth within sight.
Blast them into sieves with guns, tear them into mincemeat, burn them to ashes.
Although the temporary vessel constituted by this steel armor was practically frail, underestimating it because of that… well, one might as well ask that dissolving centipede-like "Corruption" why it ultimately chose to flee.
—
Fran led Davis, moving through the deep, oppressive corridor of the side wing. Father Gorn followed behind them, limping along. Due to his injuries, he could only try his best not to fall behind.
However, the sutures on Gorn's body were firm and solid. Even though he had just undergone external wound treatment and started moving immediately, there had been no burst stitches or oozing blood along the way.
During their advance, he kept observing Fran walking at the forefront of the three.
This young girl wore a summer-style silk gauze white dress. Her shapely legs were clad in snow-white stockings, and the silk jasmine flowers adorning her small shoes swayed gently with her gait.
And that leisurely demeanor, as if she were not walking through a haunted manor's depths, but along a bright, sunny seaside.
Gorn licked his lips covertly.
He wasn't only interested in younger individuals of the same sex. As long as they were children, the opposite sex held an equally fatal attraction for him. It was an almost pathological desire, wanting to ravage and destroy that still-budding, unblemished thing, then admire its tear-stained, despairing appearance.
Previously, he had been in a state of panic for a long time, with no time to attend to other matters.
But now, upon closer observation, he couldn't help but sigh… this monster-like doctor truly was a beauty.
"Haa…"
Gorn exhaled a foul breath, suppressing the constantly rising heat within him. And forced himself to stop looking at her.
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL