As Hal drew closer to the village, his brows knit together instinctively.
An ominous aura hung thick in the air, sending a chill down his spine. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he shuddered.
He looked up at the sky. It was noon—sunlight blazed overhead, harsh enough to sting the eyes.
And yet, strangely, that dazzling light carried a trace of cold, like sunlight filtered through a layer of ice.
The abnormal contrast in temperature raised goosebumps across his skin.
"So it's true…"
Clutching the Sacred Text to his chest, Hal thought grimly: there really was a monster at work here.
As a follower of the Goddess, nearly every priest possessed the ability to sense curses.
The magic released by monsters was, in essence, a curse.
Humans could not dispel it. Only Goddess magic could resist it, suppress it, and ultimately purify it.
"…This is troublesome. Judging by the scale of the curse, at the very least—at the very least—it's Silver-rank."
"Can I deal with this on my own…?"
The thought weighed heavily on his heart like a stone.
In a world overrun with monsters, becoming a priest already required rare aptitude. As a result, every priest who had mastered Goddess magic was invaluable.
To avoid unnecessary losses during monster purification, the Church had deliberately classified monsters by rank.
They were ranked by the rarity of ores—simple and clear.
—Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold.
Silver ranked third.
Normally, one needed over ten years of devotion to the Goddess to handle such a threat.
And Hal had only been devoted for eight.
He was panicking.
But this place was simply too remote. Within a hundred li, he was the strongest priest available.
If he delayed any longer, the monster would only grow stronger.
Hal took a deep breath, the bitter scent of grass filling his lungs, and forced himself to steady his nerves.
Once he entered the village and met the village chief, he quickly learned what had been happening.
The curse had enveloped the area for more than eight days. Ten villagers had already gone missing.
For the first six days, one person vanished each day. For the last two days, two disappeared per day—clear proof that the monster's appetite was growing.
And those ten people were, without question, dead.
Hal's gaze sharpened at once.
"I understand. Please tell me where those ten people disappeared, and where they lived."
"And—over these past eight days, have there been any strangers in the village?"
"Some monsters can disguise themselves as humans in order to hunt."
Internal sabotage could not be ruled out.
If he went out to investigate and the monster seized the opportunity to slaughter villagers in his absence, he would be finished.
The village chief was about to say no—this was a remote backwater, after all, where would outsiders come from?
But then he remembered the man and woman who had asked a few days ago whether they could stay the night.
He hesitated.
Hal noticed immediately, his brows lifting slightly.
He leaned forward, about to press further—when footsteps sounded behind him.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Unhurried footsteps, strikingly clear.
Hal spun around.
Outside the window, the figures of Yuhran and Miliarde came into view.
The village chief startled. "You didn't leave?"
"Leave?" Hal realized something at once. From the sound of it, these two had been here before?
His breathing hitched as he instinctively flipped open the Sacred Text.
Six years of monster-hunting had taught him one lesson above all else:
Never trust anyone who merely looks human.
There were monsters that looked human, spoke human language—and more than a few of his colleagues had died at their hands.
Yuhran clicked his tongue softly and stopped walking, his gaze passing over the village chief before settling on Hal.
This man in white robes, wearing a pendant at his chest—he must be the priest.
About thirty years old.
And that book in his hands…
The Sacred Text?
"Who are you?" Hal asked warily. "Are you human?"
Even seeing Miliarde's pointed ears, he couldn't rule out disguise magic.
Miliarde stopped and studied the priest calmly.
Sensing his hostility, she shook her head lightly, her hair swaying.
"Just travelers."
With that, she continued walking forward.
Hal grew even more tense. The Sacred Text in his hands shimmered, countless white motes of light immediately forming into fireflies that enveloped Yuhran and Miliarde.
A moment later, seeing that the motes did not change color, he finally let out a breath of relief.
This was a curse-detection spell. If one carried cursed power, the light would turn black.
They were normal humans.
Hal sat back down, intending to continue questioning the village chief.
But the moment he turned around, he saw it.
A dense black glow enveloped the chief's body.
Hal sucked in a sharp breath.
"!"
The village chief froze as well, staring at his own hands. His trembling fingers looked especially aged in the dark glow.
"This is… what is this?"
"Could it be that I…"
He looked up at Hal, disbelief flashing through his clouded eyes, his lips quivering uncontrollably.
Hal pressed his lips together, emotions surging violently as his fingernails dug into his palm.
Damn it…
The monster had to be nearby. Just moments ago, the light had been white—yet in the blink of an eye, the chief had been marked.
Did it think the chief's words would expose its location?
So it planned to devour him—right in front of him?
The sheer provocation made Hal grit his teeth.
Yuhran frowned. Having just arrived, he was completely lost as to what was happening.
White light? Black light?
The village chief slid weakly from his chair.
It was over.
Though the priest hadn't said it outright, his expression alone made it clear—this light was no good omen.
Was it his turn now?
His lips trembled as he pleaded, "Please… Priest, save this village."
Hal sighed. "I will."
The words were heavier than he had expected, like a promise he could not keep.
There was no way he could kill the monster today. And barring a miracle, the village chief would vanish tonight.
But even if he couldn't kill it, he had to use the disappearance to find clues.
Hal steeled himself and prayed silently:
"O Goddess above, please grant me the power to save others!"
He clenched his fist, and after leaving the village chief's house, began investigating the village.
Time passed quickly, and evening arrived.
Disappearances usually happened after nightfall—silent, without warning.
Hal prepared himself mentally to fight with everything he had.
And yet…
Inside the village chief's bedroom, he glanced sideways at the man and woman standing nearby, watching. His brows lifted slightly in confusion.
"You two…"
"Don't worry about us," Yuhran said with a wave of his hand—though his grip had already tightened around the steel rod.
The monster was coming for the chief.
He wanted to see what it looked like.
That way, next time, he wouldn't be caught off guard.
And while he was at it, he could earn some goodwill with this priest.
The Sacred Text…
Was now within reach.
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