Chapter 83

Chapter 83 – Mechanism

In the upper part of Igewent City, by the northern bank of the middle-upper reaches of the Iron Mud River, continuous gunshots echoed above Buck’s mansion, startling the residents by the White Silver Riverbank and causing panic throughout the area.

Inside the corridor on the third floor of the mansion, Dorothy manipulated four zombie puppets to continuously sh**t at the wooden door at the end of the corridor. The high-speed, dense bullets pierced through the wooden door and entered the study. Buck, who was standing in the study, hurriedly dodged to one side but was still directly hit by two bullets, causing bl**d to trickle from the corners of his mouth.

‘Enemies outside too!? Someone has broken in?’

This was Buck’s immediate thought. The servants outside, after firing their revolvers, did not reload slowly but instead drew out pieces of paper from their bodies and stuck them neatly onto themselves. When the papers burned out, a faint “Cup” mark appeared where they were stuck.

The bl**d-Eating Sigil, almost a standard equipment for members of the Holy Communion. As Buck’s butler and servant, they naturally wouldn’t lack this item. Since they had already become zombie puppets, the “Cup” inside their bodies would be useless anyway. It might as well be used now under Dorothy’s instruction.

With the activation of the bl**d-Eating Sigil, the eyes of the zombie puppets glowed red, then they charged forward together, slamming into the wooden door with great force and breaking it.

“What…”

Seeing the familiar figures suddenly rush into the study, Buck couldn’t help but be shocked. However, before he could think much further, the four zombie puppets imbued with the bl**d-Eating sigil pounced at him and Colif fiercely and swiftly.

“Ahh! What’s wrong with these guys! Aren’t they your subordinates, Buck!”

“I don’t know! They must have been controlled by something! Just like Brandon earlier!”

For a moment, both Buck and Colif were besieged by the enhanced zombie puppets. Buck was relatively okay; although he was hit by two bullets, it didn’t affect his basic mobility too much. He could still hold his own against them.

However, Colif was different. Already injured at the dock, he was hit again by Brandon, severely impairing his ability to move. Facing the frenzied assault of the enhanced zombie puppets, he was constantly scratched and bitten, and a single mistake would result in large chunks of flesh being torn off, with bl**d gushing out even more violently. Colif quickly turned into a bl**d-covered figure amidst his cries.

Seeing this, Buck realized that things weren’t going well. He seized an opportunity and wiped his watch. A small mechanism inside started to activate.

The part of Buck’s watch that touched his skin automatically opened due to the mechanism, and a folded sigil hidden within was imprinted onto his hand, burning to ashes and leaving behind a mark.

At this moment, a red glow flashed across Buck’s eyes.

Hidden within Buck’s watch was a bl**d-Eating Sigil duplicated through special techniques. The bl**d-Eating Sigil was originally designed to mimic the extraordinary characteristics of a Thirster. Typically, it allowed ordinary people to temporarily possess Thirster-like physical abilities by consuming “Cups,” but the effect was minimal when used by a Thirster themselves. Unless multiple sigils were used simultaneously, allowing the slight effects to accumulate instantly.

In simple terms, to achieve the same level of enhancement as an ordinary person, a Thirster needed to use multiple sigils at once. The bl**d-Eating Sigil in Buck’s watch was a special version created by repeatedly writing it on a piece of paper using special techniques, making it extremely precious. It could function like several sigils at once while consuming a vast amount of “Cups.” Almost no non-Extraordinary Being could survive its use, let alone have a chance for a final burst of power. This was Buck’s trump card.

Relying on the duplicated bl**d-Eating Sigil, Buck nearly expended all his “Cups” to gain a significant boost in physical capabilities, reaching a level that could overwhelm the zombie puppets. For a moment, his form transformed into a high-speed shadow, nearly impossible to track. Buck wielded his sword, moving swiftly among the zombie puppets, cutting down four of them in a few flashes of blade. The zombie puppets struggled and fell to the ground, their bodies severed, losing their ability to move.

“d*mn… This actually worked? This guy has some tricks up his sleeve…”

Inside the carriage, Dorothy couldn’t help but mutter under her breath upon seeing this scene, clearly indicating that Buck was far more formidable than Burton had been.

‘Bad… All the zombie puppets in this house are gone, and those two are injured and heavily wounded. This is a messy situation. Giving up now would be such a waste…’

Sitting in the carriage, Dorothy thought to herself. In her view, Buck’s sudden strength earlier was something Burton and Colif lacked, possibly due to him using some kind of trump card. Clearly, there must have been side effects or limitations to this card, which was why he hadn’t used it earlier. Soon, those enemies would be at their weakest.

‘Do not retreat in a mess. Take advantage of their weakness. Since it has come to this, there’s no way we can let you escape.’

Resolute, Dorothy got off the carriage herself, pulling Edric up from the coachman’s seat with the zombie puppet ring, and they both walked towards the bloody mansion nearby.

…

In Buck’s study, corpses lay everywhere, bl**d spattered, and the carpet was completely drenched in bl**d.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

Supporting himself with the table, Buck, whose sigil had just worn off, continued to pant heavily. Meanwhile, Colif, struggling to stand up beside him, weakly asked:

“Have we… finally taken care of it?”

“Not yet. That guy’s ability is too strange. We haven’t even encountered his true self yet, so it’s far from being resolved,” Buck said, scanning the surroundings as he stood up straight.

“He… or they might still be lurking outside somewhere. If we go out now, it will be very dangerous. We need to leave immediately through the secret passage…”

As he spoke, Buck approached his fireplace and stretched out his hand to grab a candlestick, turning it left and right several times, triggering some mechanism inside.

Following this, with the sound of a loud mechanism, the bookshelves in the study slowly opened, revealing a secret room with a “Cup” altar at its center.

“Take all important items and we’ll leave immediately!”

As he spoke, Buck and Colif entered the secret room. In the process, Buck, who was about to take something, paused, then pulled a rope by the wall after entering the secret room. The secret room began to close automatically until the entrance was fully sealed.

Understanding that the threat remained, Buck chose to seal the entrance to the secret room, preventing any pursuit.

‘Huh, still remembers to close the door…’

Dorothy, who had just arrived at the first floor of Buck’s mansion, couldn’t help but smile slightly at this sight. Then, the zombie puppet ring activated, summoning the “eye” she had always left in Buck’s study.

Under the influence of the zombie puppet ring, Brandon slowly rose from the pile of corpses.

Brandon had been directly impaled by Buck, but such damage couldn’t stop a zombie puppet. However, Dorothy still released Brandon from his zombie state at the moment he was pierced, making it appear as if he had been killed in Buck’s eyes.

The reason for doing this was twofold: First, Dorothy didn’t want to expose the true nature of her ability, giving the opponent a false impression that her ability was some sort of mind control. Second, Dorothy wanted to keep Brandon as a contingency plan for future actions. Buck believed Brandon was dead and thus wouldn’t be overly cautious, potentially allowing for some unexpected uses, such as a sudden backstab when the angle was right.

However, the opportunity for a backstab never came, but another role emerged.

While thinking, Dorothy and the zombie puppet Edric made their way to the third floor. Dorothy found a place to hide and instructed Edric to stand in the corridor, pointing his g*n at the bookshelves in the study.

Then, Dorothy began controlling Brandon to turn the candlestick above the fireplace, matching the direction and rhythm exactly as Buck had done earlier.

Brandon, who had pretended to be dead, watched Buck’s entire process of turning the candlestick and memorized every detail perfectly.

With the correct input of the signal, the mechanism in the study hummed again, and the bookshelf serving as the secret room’s door slowly opened.