For this investigation of the cult hideout, the entire team consisted of just Freud, Lucio, and David, who was there to lead the way.

Fernandes had originally wanted to bring in more backup, but unfortunately all the other Demon Hunting Order members were already on assignments. These two were the only high-tier hunters available.

Still, having Freud along put Fernandes at ease.

What made this doctor stand out wasn't his medical skills—it was his combat ability as a peak third-tier hunter.

When David met Freud, he couldn't help comparing him to Lucio. Both had similar life energy levels, but Freud felt way more dangerous.

Looked like even among third-tier hunters, there were some serious gaps in skill.

By the way, according to how the Church usually talked about things, once hunters completed their third-tier ritual, they counted as "high-tier hunters."

Right now, David still looked like a total rookie at the entry level.

But Freud and Lucio both knew this noble from the frontier had some mysterious power backing him up, making him pretty solid in a fight. That's why they had zero issues with David joining the operation.

As for that so-called mysterious power? They got it—border nobles, being the folks closest to the Dark Lands, came across all kinds of weird supernatural stuff. Nothing unusual about that.

...

Hunters were crazy efficient when they got moving.

The three of them grabbed the assignment and immediately hopped in a carriage heading for the docks. With David playing tour guide, everyone seemed pretty relaxed.

"Actually, the dock district isn't really our jurisdiction," Lucio said out of nowhere during the ride.

He had an elegant long rifle resting on his lap—looked like some kind of long-range hunting gun, probably designed to shoot way farther than normal.

"If a big fight breaks out, it'll attract the cops and the dock enforcement squad. Fernandes is keeping this quiet, so he didn't tell anyone outside the Order..."

"If you're worried about not being able to shoot freely, don't be," Freud said with a shrug. "Our target location is right on the border between the southern district and the dock area. From what I know, it's just some storage warehouse where hardly anyone goes."

David nodded. Yep, that's exactly why he'd picked that particular "sweet spot."

Truth was, the cult they were going after was bait the Shattered Church had deliberately left for the Order as part of their bigger plan.

...

Before long, David and Freud arrived at that deserted section of the dock district warehouses.

As they got closer to the target, David felt this growing excitement. He could almost sense it—another Hand of Divine Corpse was nearby.

The feeling got stronger and stronger, like the thing was calling out to him...

Freud walked up to the warehouse door and just snapped the lock off with his bare hands. That monster-level strength made David raise an eyebrow.

This high-tier hunter who called himself a "surgeon" carried some pretty unusual weapons—no silver sword. Instead, he had this weird 4-foot-long pointed blade.

The thing looked more like one half of a giant pair of scissors.

When he pulled the warehouse door open, this nasty smell hit them—fish mixed with rotting flesh...

Freud didn't even flinch. He just pushed his glasses up with his middle finger and walked right in.

David's eyes narrowed though.

There was something monster-like in there... that wasn't part of the plan.

"Looks like those Shattered Church guys want to leave the Order's hunters with a lasting impression..."

David sighed quietly to himself and followed into the dark warehouse.

In his dealings with Efnathis, David had never mentioned he was a hunter. He'd only said he'd be coming with hunters to retrieve the arm.

And from Efnathis's perspective, the all-powerful "Divine Envoy" was a god's messenger walking the earth—he could come and go as he pleased. He wouldn't give a damn about whatever little traps they set for the Order's hunters...

Right now, in the deepest room of the warehouse, a Shattered Church member sent by Efnathis was waiting with excited anticipation for the Divine Envoy's arrival.

He'd been ordered to bring along a church relic and wait here. The high priest had even told him he might get to see what the Divine Envoy actually looked like in human form—what an incredible honor!

Thank you, High Priest Efnathis, for this opportunity...

Just then, he sensed the hunters entering the warehouse. That meant the Divine Envoy would be arriving soon.

The cultist tried to contain his nervousness and excitement as he picked up a scale that glowed in the darkness with trembling hands.

A second-tier forbidden object: the Deep Sea Scale.

A haunting whisper rose up—part chant, part murmur. As the cultist recited the words, more and more inexplicable sounds echoed around him, like flowing water, like ocean tides, like thousands upon thousands of fish swimming through the deep...

Freud and David, who'd just entered the warehouse, suddenly felt this massive surge of supernatural power coming from deep inside. At the same time, the tall wooden crates around them started shaking.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM...!

They suddenly exploded!

That fishy stench poured out from the shattered wood, and then these crates just started spewing out endless dead fish!

They came like a tidal wave, completely burying both men...

"What the hell is that?"

From his sniper position in the distance, Lucio suddenly saw countless fish pouring out of the warehouse entrance. They practically burst through the doors, forming this horrifying tide of fish corpses.

The crazy thing was, they seemed endless—not only filling the entire warehouse but flooding outside, covering the whole dock. The piled-up fish even fell into the harbor, and this awful fishy smell quickly spread across the whole area...

...

David felt like he was drowning in seawater. The rushing fish swept him down like a whirlpool to the bottom of the ocean. Salty seawater even filled his lungs, making him feel like he was suffocating.

He didn't hesitate—pulled the trigger. The upgraded Heavy Hammer roared repeatedly through the fish swarm. The double-power blood bullets blasted the dense, stinking fish corpses apart, but the next moment even more bodies filled the gaps. It was disgusting as hell.

WHOOSH!!

Suddenly he felt this repelling force next to him. The fish around him got pushed away by some terrifying power.

Through the swarm, Freud's figure appeared. David saw the hunter's blood vial on his chest was already empty. His eyes had turned into these creepy vertical slits, and veins bulged across all his exposed skin, making him look totally vicious.

Demonization potion... the special demonization ability that only high-tier hunters had...

With Freud at the center, a hemisphere about 30 feet in radius got completely cleared out. This invisible barrier-like force field pushed all the fish corpses in the warehouse outward.

"So this is the supernatural path of the Steel Heart Ritual?"

David was secretly shocked. The power Freud displayed completely changed what he thought high-tier hunters could do. He couldn't help comparing himself—and the conclusion was, he probably couldn't even get close to the guy...

That flexible invisible barrier didn't push David away though. Instead, something weird that had been hiding in the fish got pinned down and crushed under the corpses.

The powerful repelling force flattened and burst the thick layer of fish. Blood and pulp splattered everywhere, but the barrier field blocked it all.

That human-shaped thing got crushed in the fish meat until it couldn't move at all. It looked like some kind of deep-sea monster, covered in scales with vicious fangs in its mouth...

Before David could get a good look, the thing just exploded.

But the "gift" the Shattered Church prepared for the hunters wasn't that simple. The crushed monster corpse suddenly started twisting violently!

The fish around them seemed to stop appearing, but now they all started flying toward the monster.

In an instant, countless fish corpses merged into the monster's body. The disgusting flesh rapidly reorganized, and within one breath, a brand new monster appeared in front of the hunters.

Dense fish tails covered its weird twisted body. Countless fish fins going "slap slap slap," twisting and flapping, created this horrifying mental pollution that made you want to puke just looking at it...

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