They all turned to the door for different reasons. Victor was perplexed, confused at the newcomer at the door. He hadn’t used the signal flare, no chance to, yet someone already arrived?

  As for Ulrich, it was merely a moment of distraction, though the Bishop of the Twilight Order was visibly more shocked than the other two.

  Prior to attacking the watchmans, he cast a spell, conjuring a veil that isolated the inside from the outside. Images and sound were distorted, concealed from the real world. Technically speaking, no one, not a sound, or thing can escape this spell. And if something did pass through, it should have alerted him.

  Yet, that gunshot came without a warning, startling him greatly. The Bishop's eyes narrowed, his finger froze in the air, hovering inches away from Ulrich’s face.

  The newcomer slowly crept forward, revealing their appearance; her appearance. It was a woman, a very young woman. One that Ulrich recognized, and the same one he’d met not long ago.

  “Anna!” Ulrich exclaimed, stuttering his words as they struggled to escape his mouth, “W—Why are you here?”

  She turned her head, a smile flashing on her rosy cheek. Anna lowered her hand slightly, still holding onto a Lewis Powell revolver, then picked up the edge of her black dress, performing a slight bow. Her posture was perfect, her head lowered just right, and there was no tension on her face.

  It’s… perfect! The perfect service, perfect maid!

  Ulrich hissed with cold breath. Just like their first meeting, she spoke calmly, introducing herself.

  “Anna Castella, at your service.”

  Her voice was soft and pleasing to the ear. But Lewis Smith was not happy, not at all. He pointed at the ridiculous Anna, who just introduced herself, and scowled. “If you know better, turn back where you came from. When I am still being nice!”

  She tilted her head, letting the edge of her dress go, and raised the gun, pulling on the trigger.

  Bang!

  The smoke billowed from the gun barrel; traces of sulfur powder lingered in the air.

  “I do not speak with the degenerates who worship ‘him’.” She said blankly, her face void of emotion, as though her previous demeanor was a ruse.

  Ulrich was startled by her sudden action. He didn’t know her true identity or motive, but seeing as she attacked Lewis right away, he’d assume she was on their side. That was all that mattered.

  When Anna shot Lewis, the Bishop had to turn intangible, becoming a living shadow to dodge the bullet. Had it been any ordinary bullet, he’d be fine. However, that bullet was not ordinary, not in the slightest. Due to Anna’s attack, Ulrich was free, spared from the grip of the Bishop’s hand.

  He quickly got up from the rubble of the wall and checked on Victor, noticing that he was fine, or at least alive. Quickly, he pried open Victor’s hand, grabbed the emergency flare signal, then turned to Anna Castella.

  “He’s a Bishop of the Twilight Order. I don’t know how strong you are, but I doubt even you can handle him without suffering great damage.”

  Anna fell silent, then said. “What is your plan, sire?

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  Ulrich shuddered.

  “Please, just call me Ulrich.” He smiled wryly, raising the signal flare in his hand, “Can you buy me some time?”

  She nodded. Once again, Anna raised her gun, aiming at an empty spot on the wall. Her movement indicated that she could see beyond normalcy, easily unraveling the Bishop’s trick.

  Bang!

  She pulled the trigger again, followed by the exasperation of the Great Bishop.

  “Damn you, woman!” He howled, conjuring a wall of writhing tendrils rising from the floor. Each tendril had eyes and a mouth, making it terrifying to look at. However, to the mysterious Anna, she only frowned, then disappeared from where she stood.

  The tendrils collapsed on the space she once stood, eating a mouthful of air. The Bishop's mood worsens, clearly affected by her evasive maneuver. Ulrich didn’t waste this moment of distraction and moved toward the window, raising the flare in his hand at the sky, then lit it.

  He’d imagine a firework-like sound, or a sharp whistle cutting the oppressive air in the room. But there was nothing, utterly, nothing. It was as though an unforeseen force had malfunctioned the flare, rendering it useless. His expression dropped, and Anna's voice came right behind him.

  “I see that your plan didn’t work?” She asked, tilting her head. The gun didn’t stop moving, pointing at spots on the wall.

  “Little seer, this isn’t your first time being trapped in my domain. Haven’t you figured it out by now?” The Bishop's voice came through from all sides of the walls.

  “You think I’ll let you actually call for reinforcement, and not try to stop you? You’re too naive!”

  That’s right. Why did he thought that was going to work? This Lewis Smith was the same person who faked his death and most likely planned this ambush. Such a brilliant and inconceivable scheme, how could he possibly not see through Ulrich’s plans? The answer to this was simple.

  The Bishop had already seen through his plan, but let him have a false sense of hope, knowing it was futile. Realizing this, Ulrich took a deep breath, throwing the flare gun on the floor, letting it roll.

  Ulrich's mind cleared, conjuring two spears in his hand, then turned to Anna and nodded.

  She didn’t return the gesture, simply pointing her gun at the wall, pestering the Bishop with great accuracy. Ulrich followed through, rushing at the slithering shadow lying inside the wall. Since there was no escape, he might as well fight!

  The Bishop figure flickered, then transformed back into his human appearance and met Ulrich's charge head-on. Their clash was equal in strength, but Ulrich knew it was a ruse to let him lower his guard. Unlike their first encounter, Ulrich didn’t believe the trick of playing weak would work again. Or did it work in the first place?

  The Bishop answered by conjuring a dark blade beneath his groin, sending it upward.

  “You are a person of faith, but your action targeted my manhood!” Ulrich groaned, sidestepping to protect his family jewel. Even by the standard of these madmen, don’t they have some decency? Unbelievable!

  Lewis opened his mouth, wanting to speak. But Anna's bullet came flying from behind Ulrich’s head, straying just a couple of inches off. The Bishop, irritated, tilted his head to dodge the bullet, then conjured daggers from the shadow of Anna Castella. He didn’t hope to inflict any injuries, only wanting to distract her for a brief moment.

  That was enough. Ulrich blinked for a fraction of a second, only to be greeted by a wall of darkness.

  The tendrils sprang from the ceiling, its mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, gnawed at the seer, eating him whole. In that same instant, Anna recovered her bearing, escaping the hail of daggers thrown at her. She whispered in Hermes:

  “Ablaze!”

  Instantly, the dark room was lit, as though someone had poured gasoline and thrown a gaslighter at it. The heat and intensity of the flame instantly disintegrated all the shadows in the room; the tendril and Ulrich's spear included. Yet, he felt no heat, not in the slightest. The bright fire had flashed his eyes; yes, and startled him, but he wasn’t burned at all!

  Anna used this moment to pull him back, their shoulder touching one another. Meanwhile, Victor's body let out a sizzle sound, his body oozing excess black substance that had clung onto his spirituality prior. Perhaps it was the degeneration planted by the vicious Bishop.

  “You!” The Bishop exclaimed, finally learning Anna's identity.

  “Damnable Sun worshipers!” His voice shrieked, like a trapped beast.

  Ulrich found the flame familiar, recalling a certain stinky priest in his mind. He swiped the trail of blood off his cheek and looked at Anna, also guessing her true identity.

  “You… are a follower of the Verdant Sun God?” He hesitantly asked.