"What are you going to do then?" I asked.

"I will search for Valen," Saint Maverick said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because whatever I can do with my individual power now is negligible. But if I can get Valen's soul to interpret my commands, he can assist us inside this domain."

His reasoning was sound.

With Judy staying to help the rest of us search, Saint Maverick's absence wouldn't hurt our chances.

But there was another problem he wasn't thinking about.

"The fact that Valen hasn't reappeared, nor caused any disturbance, means three things.

"One, he was killed by the God's hammer.

"Two, he was killed by Ghoul Valen.

"Three, he's trapped somewhere because of the gazes of the shadowy beings. Even if you go there, you can't do anything," I said.

"You are correct," Saint Maverick admitted. "The probability that Valen can assist us is only twelve percent. But that probability is higher than what I can achieve alone, which is three percent."

"Alright. If that's what you want," I said.

Saint Maverick didn't waste time.

He headed in the direction where Ghoul Valen and Valen had been blown away earlier.

I checked myself: earpiece, Dante, and four Positive Energy Bullets.

'I did a good job provoking the Exorcists.'

'There was a low chance we would need to exorcise this domain, but now provoking them is going to help us.'

Exorcising Rank 4 Domains was not simple.

And due to being ambushed before being pulled into this domain, I was woefully underprepared.

But I had to work with what I had.

"Dante, let's go that way," I said, pointing toward the direction of the hill where the shrine was located.

I didn't say the actual location aloud.

Judy could hear anything that went through the earpiece, and she would send a drone whether I liked it or not.

She hadn't sent one only because I told her not to.

Dante lifted me onto his shoulder and started running.

Yuna flew beside us. "Lord of Shadows, are we not going to search for the lantern?"

'Yuna, no,' I thought. 'We're not searching for it. I'm still under the inngirl's cursecraft. My bad luck will make sure I never find the lantern.'

There was no point wasting time on a guaranteed failure.

Actually, because I was affected by the curse, I knew I would soon land in a disadvantageous position.

Which meant…

My enemies might find the lantern faster.

…

Saint Maverick POV

Saint Maverick had been moving for twenty-five minutes now.

"I do not trust Caelum. New directive: remain cautious. He exhibits deceptive patterns," Judy said, her robotic voice flat.

"Give him some space. He was probably trained from childhood to distrust people. It's normal he isn't showing us his full hand," Saint Maverick said.

Now that he was alone with his partner, he didn't bother with the cold expression he used in front of others.

His mechanical face softened into a wry smile.

"I do not trust him Statement: suspicion level remains high," Judy repeated.

Saint Maverick shook his head.

Judy was still upset because Caelum had destroyed one of her drones and an earpiece earlier.

They moved through the festive marketplace.

"I have located the Rank 5 Vampire Prince," Judy announced.

Saint Maverick nodded. "What about Ghoul Valen?"

"No visual or thermal signature. Observation: based on damage patterns in surrounding structures, he has vacated this area."

Saint Maverick's expression tightened.

If anyone encountered Ghoul Valen now…

They would die.

The only reason they survived last time was because Valen helped them.

He absorbed most of the attacks and used his strength to distract the Ghoul Valen's attention unknowingly.

But now, they didn't have him.

"I am detecting increased shadow distortion ahead. Estimated zone: fifty meters," Judy said.

Saint Maverick braced himself. "We're here?"

"Affirmative."

They entered the plaza.

The silence hit them immediately.

Saint Maverick saw him—Valen—frozen on one knee.

His headless form seemed to be trying to glare at the shadowy figures around him.

He couldn't move.

Every shadowy figure in the plaza was staring at him.

Their gazes were pinning him down like invisible spears.

"Judy," Saint Maverick said. "If I gather the gaze of every shadowy figure in this plaza, Valen should be freed. If that happens, can you attach yourself to Valen and use your circuits to input commands into his soul? Can you try to communicate with him?"

Judy paused for a full second.

"Processing… processing… processing… Conclusion: communicating with his soul will require extensive calibration. Estimated time: incalculable until the process beings. Probability of him destroying me during the attempt: forty-seven percent."

"So you can't do it?" Saint Maverick asked.

Judy made a sound resembling a robotic snort. "Correction: I can attempt it. New directive: proceed with calculated risk."

Saint Maverick smiled faintly.

Both of them were risking their lives.

But neither of them showed even a hint of hesitation.

They knew the truth.

If they hesitated, they would die in this domain for sure.

They needed to act, even if the odds were terrible.

He braced himself.

The internal components inside him whirred loudly, louder than before.

Sparks jumped across his arms.

Judy hovered back slightly to avoid the heat.

Then Saint Maverick moved.

He struck the first shadowy figure with the flat of his broken blade.

Its gaze snapped toward him instantly.

He moved again, faster than his damaged frame should allow, striking another. Then another.

Each one turned to face him.

He kept moving. He had to.

His joints screamed. His frame overheated. His vision flickered. But he didn't stop.

More of the shadowy beings turned toward him. Their gazes locked onto his frame, gradually releasing Valen from their hold.

Almost there.

Finally—

Every shadowy figure in the plaza turned toward him.

Saint Maverick froze in place instantly.

Their collective gaze locked him down completely.

His arms stiffened. His legs stopped responding.

A mechanical warning flashed in the back of his vision.

But he didn't fight it.

Because beside him—

Valen moved.

The headless vampire prince rose slowly from his kneeling position.

His posture was tense, almost shaking with anger.

Even without a head, his body language made the emotion clear.

Blood rippled around his arms.

Spears formed above him, each one vibrating with lethal energy.

He was about to fire them.

"Warning!" Judy said sharply. "New directive: cease hostile action. If you attack the shadowy entities, you will be immobilized again."

She knew Valen couldn't hear her.

But she said it anyway.

Because if Valen attacked—

He would be frozen again within seconds.

And depending on how many figures were still looking at Saint Maverick, he…

Might also stay trapped.

…

Second Exorcist (True Name: Maths) POV

Maths rubbed the bridge of his nose as he walked between the twisted row of abandoned stalls.

Every wooden frame looked half-melted, half-burned.

The domain trembled under his feet.

"Sigh… why did we have to get into so much trouble?" he muttered.

He wasn't an Exorcist-type Cursed Spirit at all.

He had only disguised himself as one for fun.

That was his nature. He liked interesting things.

The meeting with Caelum sounded like entertainment, so he tagged along with Kaora, the large Exorcist.

He expected chaos, drama, even violence.

He did not expect this.

A Rank 4 Cursed Spirit's domain, layered with blackout mechanics, forced kneeling, shadowy gazes, and a hammer-wielding God in the sky.

Kaora was insisting they "save the domain," which was the part Maths found the least amusing.

"That idiot plans to die here…" Maths muttered.

He wasn't worried about himself.

He was an Immortal Class Cursed Spirit.

So he couldn't die.

But Kaora could.

Kaora knew that.

Kaora also didn't care.

His plan was simple:

Let everyone else die, let the domain stabilize, and sooner or later someone from New Order would arrive to pull Maths out without exorcising the Rank 4 Cursed Spirit.

The plan was cruel, stupid, and pointless.

Maths didn't care about the cruelty, but the stupidity was annoying.

"He's going to die for nothing. And I'm stuck playing along," Maths sighed.

He moved through the market, kicking a broken lantern aside.

His steps were relaxed, almost bored.

He wasn't stressed, not even with an angry God floating above the domain.

Then his steps halted.

Maths blinked slowly.

Hanging from a twisted tree branch was a lantern.

A shrine lantern.

The exact type they needed.

"…damn, so I can increase my luck even here?" he muttered.

He raised a single finger.

The lantern trembled in the air, pulled by his spiritual thread.

It flew straight into his waiting hand.

He turned it slowly.

The handle was old but intact. Charcoal residue lined the inside.

A specific rune was carved into its base.

It was the same rune from the shrine photos Saint Maverick had shown earlier.

"So this is the lantern everyone wants? That was easier than expected."

He brushed off a bit of dirt from its frame.

"I guess now we don't need to worry about anyone exorcising this domain."

He shrugged.

Immediately after he said that—

The air rippled.

Maths froze.

"Oh," he murmured.

His gaze lifted toward the sky.

The God above was no longer calm.

Its head shifted.

Its expression twisted into something close to fury.

Eight different giant hammers moved.

Each one was larger than the mountain ranges outside the domain.

Maths' expression hardened.

"This…"

The hammers began to fall.

Each one dropped toward a different region in the domain.

Each one large enough to flatten several mountains.

Their descent tore the air apart.

Shockwaves raced outward faster than sound.

It was impossible to escape.

Impossible to block.

Impossible to survive for anyone who wasn't immortal.

Maths understood the timing instantly.

'The God attacked the moment I picked up the lantern.'

It was checkmate for them.

The God saw the lantern as the exorcism trigger.

It struck before anyone could use it.

The hammers were seconds away.

The air pressure hit him before the hammer did.

The wind howled.

The ground splintered.

The trees bent at sharp angles, uprooted instantly.

Maths could only look up as the first hammer touched down.

The impact swallowed everything.

A crater dozens of kilometers wide formed instantly.

Shockwaves rolled across the domain.

Buildings vaporized.

Forest turned into dust.

Ground fractured into deep ravines.

Even the domain's sky flickered, as if the entire illusion couldn't sustain the destruction.

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