Chapter 193: Allen's Use of the Form of Ekern
A gold coin flipped back and forth between Allen's fingers as his sharp eyes occasionally swept over the group of young nuns chatting together, or the ones hanging laundry. His gaze was tinged with judgment as he scanned their chests and rears.
"How long are you going to hold that pose?" Agatha asked with obvious boredom.
Since finishing breakfast, Allen had been standing there with his butt stuck out, right hand raised, flipping the coin while leering at the nuns—no matter how you looked at it, he seemed like a total creep.
"I am the great detective Kobei," Allen announced, his tone smug. "Based on my years of criminal investigation experience, I already have a lead."
He clasped the coin and tossed it to Agatha with a mysterious smile. "All evil is about to be exposed."
"Ooh, baby~" he added with a flourish.
Mid-spin, Allen turned his head—then let out a loud fart as he plopped down onto the ground. Calmly dusting himself off, he stood up like nothing happened. "I'm just too cool."
"What lead?" Agatha asked, completely puzzled by Allen's behavior.
Since yesterday, all he'd done was toss coins around. He hadn't actually done anything.
"I already gave you a hint," Allen said. "Just wait for the final answer."
Allen loved to show off—but only once everything was in place. The final reveal had to be dramatic and theatrical.
"What hint?"
Agatha looked down at the coin in her hand. "The coin is a clue?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be any fun," Allen said with a mischievous grin.
Night fell.
Inside the dormitory, Geralt, Agatha, and Gu Yi realized Allen had vanished after dinner.
Allen had told them earlier that he was going to expose something foul within the monastery and that they should go about their own business.
In truth, they'd tried following him for a bit out of curiosity to see what kind of stunt he was pulling—but he'd quickly slipped out of sight.
Yaaah...
A full moon hung high in the sky.
A crow perched on a branch let out a sharp, grating caw.
Two figures, one large and one small, carried an oil lantern through the forest next to the monastery.
"Madam, I want to go back to sleep…" the little girl rubbed her sleepy eyes, gazing pleadingly at Mother Superior Hilary.
"Nisha, help me with one last thing. Just a little longer," the mother superior said gently.
Hilary led Nisha deeper into the forest, stopping before an ancient tree. Beneath it was a hollow.
Seeing the dark surroundings, Nisha shrank behind the mother superior, overwhelmed and afraid.
"Nisha, crawl into the tree hollow and help me find something," Hilary said in a soothing tone.
"What kind of thing?" the innocent Nisha asked, confused.
"Something very important. You'll know it when you see it. I'm too old to bend down, so only brave Nisha can help me," Hilary coaxed her.
"I'll help you, Madam," Nisha replied seriously, summoning her courage.
As she crawled into the hollow, less than a minute passed before a terrified scream rang out—only to be cut short a few seconds later.
Hilary bowed her head in remorse, whispering a prayer.
"Lord, forgive my sins. I have no other choice…"
Once she finished, she composed herself and slowly made her way back to the monastery.
She had no idea that someone had witnessed everything—Allen had followed her the entire time while invisible.
In the middle of the night, a mother superior leading a little girl into the woods? That was suspicious enough to warrant scrutiny.
It was either some perverse inclination or a dark secret—and sure enough, it turned out to be the latter.
Allen had plenty of experience when it came to patience.
Back at the Greenhill Rehabilitation Center, he'd been the reigning champion of the Fly-Swatting Tournament.
They'd balance a grain of rice on their noses, and whoever got the most flies to land won.
Now, peering into the hollow, Allen narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.
Inside the tree hollow.
Nisha was terrified to discover several other children trapped inside.
They wore the same monastery uniforms, but she didn't recognize any of them.
Thick tree roots, as wide as arms, wound around them, completely binding their tiny bodies. No matter how hard they struggled, there was no escape.
Scattered on the ground were children's skeletal remains, sending icy dread coursing through her.
At the center of the hollow stood a stump serving as an altar. Skulls of children were arranged like candleholders, with clumps of hair, tattered cloth, and what looked like dried innards forming a grisly ritual site.
Before the altar stood a hunched, twisted figure chanting in an incomprehensible language.
The creature resembled a female, but her blackened skin was filthy and covered in grime, exuding a sickening stench.
Creee... creee...
Suddenly, a strange noise echoed out—like someone gasping for air as their throat was being crushed.
The creature stopped chanting and looked toward the sound, its black, soulless eyes scanning the empty space in confusion.
Creee... creee...
The noise came again—from a different direction this time.
The creature snatched up a bone blade from the altar and swung it into the shadows.
But it struck only air.
Creee... creee... creee...
Now the sound came from multiple directions all at once, like the hollow was teeming with invisible monsters.
Clang!
The creature hurled a skull—but again, it hit nothing.
"Ahhh—!"
Nisha screamed in terror as a figure suddenly materialized inside the hollow.
The creature followed her gaze and saw a figure covered in mud, with branches sticking out of its head.
It froze, seemingly unsure if this being was one of its own.
But then—
More and more identical figures began appearing out of nowhere, each one looking exactly like the last, as if they were perfect clones.
Run!
The creature had only one thought: escape. Without hesitation, it bolted for the hollow's exit.
It didn't know what these things were or how strong they might be—so it chose to flee.
Creee... creee...
The grotesque sound followed it, echoing endlessly like a maddening chant.
As it burst out of the hollow and tried to flee into the woods, it was stunned to find the trees filled with the same strange figures.
It quickly turned and fled the other way.
The creatures scrambled after it on all fours, letting out their unsettling cries as they pursued.
---
Inside the bedroom.
Geralt was carefully oiling his sword.
His weapon, his lifelong companion, was like a second limb—meticulous care was essential.
"There's movement!"
Geralt's ears twitched. He stopped what he was doing and looked toward the forest through the window.
Thanks to magical potions, his senses were permanently enhanced far beyond a normal human's.
Having spent his life walking the edge between life and death, he was constantly on alert—it was second nature.
Agatha and Gu Yi opened their eyes from meditation and looked at Geralt.
"There's a bunch of creatures coming out of the forest. They're heading for the monastery," he said.
The sudden commotion was impossible to ignore. The sheer number of beings was enough to rival an army.
"We can't just sit here. Yao-mei, go warn the abbess. Geralt and I will try to hold them off."
"Got it."
The three sprang into action.
Gu Yi ran to alert the abbess, while Geralt and Agatha coordinated their positions—one close, one at range—hoping to buy some time.
They could hear the stampede of footsteps clearly now.
With the moonlight blocked by thick foliage, everything was plunged into darkness.
Geralt's golden eyes, enhanced with night vision, scanned the woods.
"They're coming. Get ready."
He gripped his sword tightly.
Agatha drew her bow, her eyes locked on the tree line.
Moments later, a female-like monster burst out of the woods, glancing over her shoulder in terror as if fleeing from something horrifying.
Behind her came a swarm of crawling, unknown creatures.
Thwip!
A golden arrow streaked through the night sky and struck one of the pursuing beings.
"What the...?"
Agatha watched in surprise as, after hitting just one, the entire group vanished along with it.
The monster, confused, halted and peered back into the woods, fearing more might appear.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Why'd you shoot me?!"
A figure emerged from the woods, covered in mud, with tree branches sticking out of his head—Allen.
"Allen?!"
Agatha was thoroughly unimpressed by Allen's ridiculous new look—shirtless and covered in mud. What was he thinking?
"Answer the question—why'd you shoot me?" Allen demanded, puffing up indignantly.
"You looked like a monster!" Agatha said awkwardly. "Then you made all those clones... I thought she was being chased, so I tried to help her."
Allen tore off the branches and wiped off the mud. "She was the monster. I was pretending to be a monster to flush her out. That wasn't some illusion—it was the real deal: the transformation spell Form of Ekern. That's my mount, by the way. Honestly, we've got zero team synergy. Superman wouldn't have shot me."
Form of Ekern began with a flourish like the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara, then branched out into hundreds or thousands of clones.
Doctor Strange once used it against Thanos.
But the spell had many limitations.
For instance, if any clone was hit, the whole spell collapsed. Also, all the clones could only cast one simple spell together—thinking one person could fight as an army was just a dream.
"Not necessarily…" Agatha muttered under her breath.
In reality, if Geralt hadn't been a melee fighter, he'd probably have already chopped Allen into pieces.
Allen looked way more monstrous than the actual monster—anyone would've taken a swing at him.
"Constipated Kagune!"
At Allen's shout, a blood-red chain shot from his backside, wrapping around the fleeing monster.
"She eats children. I'm guessing she's from Guangdong."
Allen dragged the monster over to Geralt so he could examine her origins.
"She eats kids?" Geralt latched onto that key detail.
"I left markers in the woods. Follow them and you'll find a tree hollow. There are still children inside—along with a bunch of bones," Allen explained.
"Wait here."
Geralt dashed off to investigate.
At that moment, the three abbesses appeared with a crowd of nuns, shielding the children as they emerged from the monastery.
But the expected threat didn't materialize. As their fear faded, curiosity took over and they began approaching to see what had happened.
Mother Superior Hilary caught sight of the monster—and her face went pale in an instant.