Nicholas had bet everything on his previous plan. The sudden emergence of another enemy was a variable he had never accounted for. It felt as though the hard-won opportunity they had bled for was crumbling before his very eyes. Even worse, now that his displacement ability had been exposed, there was no chance of catching this newcomer off guard as he had with the Puppeteer.
Piers had already reached his limit. He was too exhausted to continue fighting. And while Evelyn and Nicholas were in slightly better shape than their vice-captain, they were merely Dío and Éna level Extraordinaries. It was impossible for them to defeat the enemy on their own.
That wasn't even factoring in the enemy's unknown capabilities. They didn't even know which lineage the man before them belonged to. Moreover, Nicholas could tell— this mysterious figure was far stronger than any enemy they had faced before.
The figure in white raised his right hand. The Corpse Puppeteer's body was slowly lifted from the ground. Strands of mist gathered around him, wrapping his body like a pristine white shroud. As this happened, the fog smothering the cemetery began to dissipate, and the atmosphere returned to normal, except the fact that the environment remained plunged in an unnatural darkness.
Evelyn quickly took up a defensive stance. Her blade poised for a strike. Her lips moved in a low, rapid murmur as if chanting an incantation. It seemed she still had a final trump card yet to be revealed. Beside her, Nicholas raised his revolver—even though he knew the chambers were empty, he still had to maintain a brave front.
However, the man before them paid no attention to their reactions. Perhaps, in his eyes, these two low-tier Extraordinaries weren't even worth his notice.
Despite his lack of aggression, Nicholas and the others remained rooted to the spot, not daring to make a reckless move. This tense standoff continued for quite some time. Nicholas took this opportunity to secretly observe the mysterious man. The aura emanating from him was cold and composed—there was no trace of panic or anger, even after seeing the state of his dying ally.
After receiving help from the man in white, the Corpse Puppeteer's pale complexion improved slightly. It was then that Nicholas felt a shift in the stranger's emotional state—a sudden, sharp surge of killing intent directed straight at them.
Nicholas felt the very air around him condense, followed by an overwhelming pressure bearing down on him. His ears rang with a sharp buzz, and dizziness struck him all at once.
If this continued, he might pass out at any moment.
It seemed the enemy had begun to make a move. Even though they had prepared themselves in advance, they were still unable to respond in time.
"You two, get out of here! I'll try to hold him off for as long as I can!" Piers shouted, but their ears could barely hear anything right now.
Blood began to trickle from both of Piers's nostrils. In truth, the old man's suggestion was the most logical course of action—rather than all of them meeting their end together, it was better for someone to stay behind as a decoy.
Yet, in his current state, Piers could barely stand, let alone hold back a monster of this caliber.
Furthermore, their opponent seemed to specialize in wide -area attacks. So, none of the three were in any position to escape the radius of his power.
But at the very brink of despair, the sharp crack of a flare gun echoed from the depths of the forest surrounding the cemetery. A streak of red light shot into the sky, hanging suspended like a miniature red sun in the dead of night.
"A flare?" Nicholas muttered in confusion, while Piers's previously tense expression eased slightly.
The faint glow from the flare filtered into the dense forest—but it was enough to reveal two figures emerging from the shadows.
The two newcomers were dressed similarly. One was a tall man who strode forward confidently. He wore a top hat and a high-collared coat that nearly reached the ground. His boots struck the earth with firm, heavy steps. In his hand was a massive blade resembling a large saw.
She remained perched on a tree branch above the man's head. She wore a vintage outfit strapped with multiple belts, her long cloak fluttering behind her. On her head was a sharp-brimmed hat with an open tip and her hands gripped a pair of revolvers. Even at a glance, it was clear that her firearms possessed far greater stopping power than the small revolver in Nicholas's hand.
The arrival of these two individuals immediately diverted the white-robed man's attention away from Nicholas and his group. The crushing pressure from before vanished, allowing them to have time to catch their breath.
Nicholas could sense the shift in the white-cloaked man's emotions—he was now alert and filled with caution, completely different from how he had regarded Nicholas's group earlier.
"Looks like we've been lucky enough to survive another day," Piers said with a heavy sigh as he dropped to the ground, his voice filled with relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest.
"Who are they?" Nicholas whispered to Piers, still struggling to wrap his head around the situation
"They're Hunters—Extraordinaries from the Church of the Goddess of Love and Redemption."
Piers's answer made Nicholas pause slightly. At last, Nicholas got to see the face of the Church's elite forces—who operated alongside the Spirit Mediums here in the city of York.
"Rest easy. Like I told you, only those at Tría or higher can carry out missions outside the city. Those two are at least at that level—if not higher. Plus, that flare just now was a signal for reinforcement. Even if that bastard in white had the guts of steel, he wouldn't dare make a move now."
Before Piers could even finish his sentence, the female Hunter leapt down from the treetop. In a single bound, she closed dozens of meters between herself and the white-cloaked man. Even Spirit Mediums who had surpassed human limits couldn't achieve such a feat.
There was no doubt—purely in terms of physical strength, Spirit Mediums were no match for these Hunters at all.
Their hostile gazes met, creating the sensation of an invisible wall forming between them. The Hunter's posture made it clear—she was ready to strike at any moment.
The white-robed man's emotional aura shifted once more. Hostility from before faded, replaced once again by a chilling calmness.
He then turned his gaze toward Nicholas as if trying to memorize his face. He hoisted the Puppeteer's broken body onto his shoulder and raised a hand to manipulate something unseen.
The thin fog that surrounding them began to spiral, twisted into a raging vortex that swallowed the white-robed man and obscured everything within.
When the wind and fog finally dissipated, no one remained in that spot.
The moment the man in white vanished, the sky returned to clarity. The unnatural shroud of clouds and mist dissolved into nothingness. Simultaneously, the hundreds of motionless corpses collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.
…This time, the crisis could truly be considered over.
"Good grief. When I get back, I'm putting in for a month's leave," Piers muttered. He had faced life-and-death situations before, but none had felt quite as narrow as this one.
"If I'd known it would be like this, I might not have agreed to become a Spirit Medium in the first place." Hearing Nicholas's word, the old man couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
Unlike Piers, who had a fair share of experiences in this field, Nicholas was just an ordinary person who had recently become a Spirit Medium —yet he had already been thrown into a situation like this on his very first mission.
"This one is on me," Piers admitted. "As the team leader, I misjudged the gravity of the situation and put you both in unnecessary danger."
"Don't forget to include that in your report," Evelyn remarked.
Her comment earned her a sharp glare from Piers.
The sound of footsteps approached as the female Hunter walked toward them. She removed her hat in greeting, revealing fiery red hair in loose curls that had been hidden beneath it. Judging by her appearance, she seemed only slightly older than Nicholas.
"Who's in charge here?" she asked.
Piers therefore pushed himself up and presented his identification.
"Piers, Vice-Leader of Fourth Operations Division, the Order of Spirit Mediums."
As Piers introduced himself, the other side also took out her own badge. Its design differed somewhat from Piers's, though there were some similarities.
"Margaret, Tier Three Hunter of the Hunters Association."
"Thank you for your help earlier. Without you, we wouldn't have made it,"
"No need. Even if you weren't here, we would have carried out our duty regardless."
Though her words sounded somewhat cold, her demeanor was friendly. Nicholas could sense a trace of satisfaction and pride in her emotions. It was in stark contrast to the other Hunter—whose intimidating aura still prickled Nicholas's skin even from afar.
Suddenly, Margaret's gaze shifted to Nicholas and Evelyn. She couldn't help but raise an intrigued eyebrow.
"Éna and Dío levels? It's a miracle that you guys survive this long."
'Sorry for being just an Éna...' Nicholas couldn't help but complain inwardly.
"What exactly happened here?" Margaret asked. "The Association received reports of anomalies in this area and dispatched us to investigate, but because of that fog, we couldn't get inside the cemetery until now,"
What had happened here was not something either of the two secret organizations could simply overlook. The best course of action was to exchange information for mutual benefit. After all… on the surface, their organizations were allies.
Piers roughly recounted everything that had occurred to Margaret. Naturally, he concealed the details of their own abilities and instead focused on describing the enemy.
"If someone can manipulate the weather to this extent, that guy must be at least Tría level—no, perhaps even Téssera level." Margaret mused.
He likely held back from attacking you initially because he knew we were lingering outside. But once you managed to deal with the Puppeteer, he was forced to step in. It was only when the fog that kept us out disappeared, we were able to reach you." The female Hunter offered a rare smile.
"In a way, your own efforts saved your lives. There's even less reason to thank us."
Both sides exchanged the information they had. However, it seemed that neither Nicholas's group nor the Hunters could determine the true identities of the two rogue Extraordinaries.
For them, the event had been far too sudden; there had been no warnings or threads to connect the pieces.
But Nicholas was different.
Since arriving in this world, he had encountered too many eerie events. He had come across the Moon-worshiping cult, and even glimpsed entities behind them. He had a feeling that all of these incidents might somehow be connected.
The problem now was… who he could trust enough to share this information with?
"Margaret!"
At that moment, a firm voice called out from the other side of the cemetery. It was the man in the top hat, signaling for her to rejoin him.
"It seems our time is up. We still have things to do so I'll take my leave now. We'll report this matter to the Association's higher-ups as soon as possible. I suggest you do the same."
"Of course," Piers replied.
Margaret nodded at his confirmation. She placed her hat back on, then walked over to rejoin the other Hunter. Soon, both of their figures disappeared into the deep shadows of the forest bordering the cemetery.
…And so, Nicholas's first mission as a Spirit Medium of the Order had finally come to an end.
09.11.550
Nicholas Parlay
Spirit medium (Éna)