"Is it just a coincidence?"
Acheron gazed at the unconscious woman before her, her brows slightly furrowed. A trace of doubt flickered in her deep eyes, and her face unconsciously took on a contemplative expression.
Ever since she decided to secretly follow this woman yesterday, Acheron had been keeping a close eye on her.
But by the next day, she found that the other party's movements had become exceptionally cautious—whether she had sensed the tail or it was simply her nature, the woman did nothing but "stroll" around during the day and find a random hidden spot to rest at night, never letting her guard down for a moment.
In the end, she hadn't been able to discover anything.
But Acheron's intuition told her that things shouldn't be this simple.
So, while the other party was resting, Acheron silently circled behind her and delivered a heavy blow to the back of her head.
She estimated that the woman wouldn't be waking up for at least a few hours.
"I'm not sure if this will alert the enemy. Should I contact the local Ability Bureau and let them take over?"
Acheron knew very well that even if she continued to follow her, there was a high probability she still wouldn't obtain any useful clues.
She pondered whether she should just hand the person over to the Ability Bureau.
But after a moment of hesitation, she rejected the idea.
"The Ability Bureau is likely completely unaware of the changes taking place in the shadows of Muyun City. Even if I hand her over, I have no evidence to prove my suspicions."
Furthermore, she herself had been treated as a suspicious person by them yesterday.
If she went there today without any evidence, it would likely only deepen the misunderstanding, and she would inevitably become entangled in the matter for a long time.
After weighing the pros and cons, Acheron's purple eyes suddenly turned toward the unconscious woman on the ground.
She no longer hesitated; she had made her decision.
Acheron slowly raised her hand, her fingertips glowing with a faint purple light, and lightly tapped the woman's forehead.
A tiny wisp of energy flowed from her fingertip into the other's mind, its strength perfectly controlled. It wouldn't cause any serious negative effects, but it was enough to put her into a deep coma, making it impossible for her to wake up for some time.
According to Sparkle, the Holy God Church was clearly plotting something in secret.
And in this process, they would certainly try every means to avoid the Ability Bureau's gaze and prevent their plan from being exposed.
Looking at it this way, Sparkle might be a balancer moving between the two sides to ensure this game could continue.
In that case, her own existence became an unknown third-party variable.
While understanding the situation, she could secretly throw some obstacles in the Church's way, at least making sure their development didn't go too smoothly.
On the other hand, she could look for opportunities to subtly remind the Ability Bureau.
Acheron withdrew her hand, gave the woman one last glance, and then turned to leave.
Actually, killing this person directly might have been more effective, but Acheron thought about it seriously and decided it wasn't necessary—the woman was just an insignificant pawn. Killing her would not only alert the enemy but also cut off the clues.
Shortly after Acheron left, the woman who had been unconscious on the ground suddenly moved.
Her body turned bright red at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the blood vessels beneath her skin bulged clearly. The blood inside seemed to be boiling, surging wildly through her veins.
Despite such a terrifying mutation occurring within her body, the woman's eyes remained tightly shut, showing no signs of waking. Only a few low whimpers escaping her throat proved she was still alive.
A moment later, the woman's body suddenly shriveled and withered at a visible rate.
The speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, the woman who had been fair-faced and full-bodied just a second ago was instantly reduced to skin and bones, as if all her flesh and blood had been drained away.
Her originally rosy skin completely lost its color, becoming gray and parched, clinging tightly to her protruding bones—a literal mummy just dug out from the ground.
Just when everything seemed to have settled, some time passed.
Suddenly, an extremely weak, almost imperceptible wisp of blood energy quietly seeped out from the shriveled corpse.
Just as this wisp of blood energy was about to vanish into the darkness, a Purple Lightning lit up without warning, instantly binding it tightly.
The Purple Lightning carried a heart-palpitating chill. The blood energy churned violently within it but was unable to break free.
In the blink of an eye, that wisp of blood energy gradually faded under the shroud of the Purple Lightning and finally vanished completely, leaving only a faint, lingering scent of metallic sweetness in the air as proof of its existence.
On the other side, Acheron, who was on her way home, had naturally already sensed the change back there.
She had expected the opponent to have a backup plan, but she hadn't expected their methods to be so bloody and resolute.
"An ability related to blood manipulation?"
Acheron quickly made a rough deduction.
Presumably, that wisp of blood energy had been mixed within the host's body, the two being almost indistinguishable, which was why she hadn't noticed it immediately.
From Acheron's current analysis of the situation...
That wisp of blood energy should have just been an "insurance policy."
It resided in the subordinate, though she wasn't sure if it could Control the host.
Acheron (๑•. •๑): "At least it proves my intuition was right. This person was likely arranged to monitor the Ability Bureau."
"Previously, I just happened to enter and exit the Ability Bureau, and it immediately caught her attention. It seems her mission was to keep a close eye on the personnel coming and going from the Ability Bureau; she would target anyone slightly unusual."
This matter would need to be considered carefully.
At least because of today's events, the person behind the scenes had suffered a loss. They would certainly be more cautious next time, perhaps going into hiding and staying quiet for a day or two.
Thinking this, Acheron made her plans, her fingertips lightly brushing aside her hair ruffled by the breeze as she relied on her Remembrance to find the way home.
...
...
Meanwhile.
In an abandoned, hidden building on the edge of the city, cobwebs covered the mottled walls, and dust danced freely in the faint light leaking in.
Vain and Blood Butcher stood quietly in a corner, their entire bodies exuding a cold aura that was completely out of place with their surroundings.
Vain leaned boredly against the mottled wall, his long legs crossed casually, his thumb sliding across his phone screen, his shoulders occasionally shaking as he was amused by a video.
Blood Butcher, on the other hand, was in a completely different state. Crimson light surged in his palm, jumping and flowing between his fingers like a living thing, his eyes full of excitement.
But at that moment, Blood Butcher suddenly froze. A trace of astonishment instantly appeared on his originally hideous and distorted face, and even the red light surging in his palm stagnated for a second.
"What's wrong, Senior?"
On the other side, Vain was scrolling through his phone, the light from the screen flickering across his face.
Sensing Blood Butcher's movement, he didn't even look up. His finger continued swiping across the screen, his tone nonchalant.
Blood Butcher was stunned for a moment before he seemed to snap out of it.
In his crimson pupils, his expression shifted from blankness, daze, and confusion, finally settling into bone-chilling vigilance. Even his face, covered in dark red patterns, tensed up.
He was silent for a moment before speaking in a gloomy voice.
"The Blood Seal I left behind was triggered."
"Oh? Was she discovered by the Ability Bureau? Is she dead?" Vain finally looked up, the phone screen's light reflecting on his face, a hint of playfulness in his eyes.
Blood Butcher abruptly stopped his movements, his excited expression instantly fading, replaced by unprecedented seriousness.
"She's dead, but it wasn't the Ability Bureau's doing. It was the Blood Seal taking effect."
Upon hearing this, Vain finally seemed to take a real interest.
He tapped the phone screen twice, turning it off before casually stuffing it into his pocket.
"The person being monitored captured the other party alive? It seems the Ability Bureau in this place isn't as boring as I imagined."
However, Blood Butcher had a gloomy face, his brows knitted into a knot.
Vain keenly captured his unease, stepped forward two paces, tilted his head slightly, and asked curiously.
"What else happened? To make even you so solemn, Senior?"
"By the way, who is the culprit? And why haven't I noticed the seal returning?"
After sucking the host dry, Blood Butcher's Blood Seal would automatically return to the main body.
Although it couldn't obtain the host's memories, it could clearly present the images before the host's eyes prior to death.
"It didn't come back. The Blood Seal was erased, and completely so."
"Oh?!!"
This unexpected answer caused Vain to exclaim.
"What a surprise indeed?!!"
He lightly stroked his chin, a playful smile hooking the corners of his handsome face, his eyes showing a bit of interest.
"Someone could actually erase Senior's Blood Seal? It seems I really underestimated the capabilities of the Ability Bureau in this place. This is getting interesting."
If Vain had merely felt that it was novel and developed a little curiosity earlier, then at this moment, his deep interest was truly piqued.
The inexplicable fear rising in Blood Butcher's heart gradually faded, replaced by overwhelming rage.
He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force, his patterned face twisting.
"The people from the Ability Bureau don't have this ability. It's likely the work of some out-of-town Ability User who popped up recently! Even if the local Ability Bureau really had this capability, they'd just be an ant trying to stop a carriage, not worth fearing at all!"