The Eldritch Files

"Something's wrong!"

Outside the Sea Workshop, the Executioner Captain codenamed Mountain Crocodile shouted several times without receiving a response. His expression changed drastically. "Someone has set up a second layer of interference inside our blocking perimeter."

"Even our radios can't penetrate this layer. I can't get a direct lock on the D7s' limiters."

The Doctor adjusted his glasses with his middle finger, speaking unhurriedly. "What kind of situation could cause this? And what are the potential consequences?"

The Mountain Crocodile Executioner Captain was a little surprised by the Doctor's calm demeanor. He said urgently, "The D7s are all dangerous individuals. If they disobey an order, they are to be terminated on the spot. But right now, I have no way to terminate them!"

"As for what they might do..."

"...Dammit, those lunatics. Some D7s even have a tradition of hunting Investigators for sport. They're not afraid of the consequences!"

Little Fatty grew anxious as well. "The D7s don't have the ability to set up another barrier inside the blocking perimeter!"

The Doctor, however, remained calm. He said lightly, "It's actually quite simple. If someone bribed these D7s to target our Investigator during the mission, they would first have to consider how to sever your control over their remote devices."

"Don't forget, this is a smuggling den for relic items. All they had to do was place an object with a Barrier ability inside beforehand, tell the D7s its location, and have them retrieve it during the mission."

The Executioner Captain was momentarily speechless. "Then you..."

The Doctor's brow furrowed slightly. "The key question now is, how much of a threat do the D7s pose to the Investigator?"

The Executioner Captain replied, "Normally, not much of a threat. The restrictions on a D7's authorization for Encrypted Spells are too great, so their power is generally lower than an Investigator's."

"But these ones inside are no ordinary D7s. They've all participated in forbidden experiments. The powers of the Disaster Management Bureau's three major Sequences have all been tested on them!"

"..."

Little Fatty, who was standing nearby, hadn't known about this. His eyes widened when he heard it.

The Doctor also seemed a bit surprised. He paused for a moment before saying, "Prepare to go in and rescue him. Although, according to my calculations, he should be fine. We still have to go through the motions!"

The nearby Executioners were stunned. "How can you be so sure?"

The Doctor said, "Because he didn't bring Black Tiger with him, which means he's confident. With his connections, it would be very difficult for anyone in this city to plot against him."

Little Fatty felt something was off as he listened. "What if you're wrong?"

"There's no benefit in being wrong."

As the Doctor picked up his briefcase and started walking inside, he added with a hint of regret, "The Investigator License in our team is non-transferable..."

"..."

"..."

"Hm?"

Meanwhile, in the storage room, Han Su and the three D7s saw Pot Lid Head walk in. Both sides were somewhat invigorated.

This guy was born with the corners of his mouth turned slightly upward, making it seem like he was always smiling no matter when you looked at him. As a child, he had a pot-lid haircut, and his naturally smiling lips made him look a bit daft.

Now that he was grown up and had a shaved head, those smiling lips made him look as if he were sneering at everything.

"You're here too?"

Jackal, standing to the side, suddenly spoke in a rush. "Brother, we're all living on borrowed time. We took this sweet gig to take out this Investigator. We even have something to block the dog leashes. Let's escape the city together!"

Pot Lid Head showed no reaction, merely glancing at the three D7s and then at the Investigator, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Jackal, unwilling to give up on recruiting Pot Lid Head, ground his teeth and said, "As D7s, we've hit a dead end. We could all be terminated at any moment, and that includes you! Don't regret it if you don't join us!"

Pot Lid Head raised his cuffed hands and cleaned out his ear.

"Pah!"

Iron Hook suddenly cursed, "Ignore him! If he dares to interfere, we'll take him out too!"

The power of the Banshee was currently wrapped around him, making his face increasingly pale, even taking on a deathly gray hue. He was like a bowstring being pulled tighter and tighter, about to release a fatal strike.

After spitting out the curse, he shot a look at Sawtooth and Jackal, signaling them to keep an eye on Pot Lid Head, while his own body moved like a flash of lightning.

It was as if he had escaped gravity itself, seemingly flying through the air as he lunged straight for Han Su. His face was masked with a terrifying, ferocious color, and it even seemed as if sharp, vicious claws were growing from his hands.

Han Su pulled his gaze away from Pot Lid Head, suddenly reached behind his back, and raised the dark muzzle of a gun.

Iron Hook's ferocious expression suddenly cleared up considerably.

Even Jackal and Sawtooth, who were in the corner with savage expressions, hastily repairing their wounds to charge forward, stopped chanting their spells mid-syllable.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Han Su emptied the entire magazine in one go. Jackal and Sawtooth, still in the corner and not yet fully recovered from their injuries, had no room to dodge. Each took a bullet and coughed up blood, held up only by the Spiritual Power still active within them.

Iron Hook let out a yell and retreated, but still got grazed across the stomach.

"You've sealed this area off, haven't you?"

Only then did Han Su put away his gun. He gave them a friendly smile, faced the three men with their varying expressions, and cracked his knuckles. "In that case, I'll play with you for a bit!"

"You motherf—"

Jackal and Sawtooth were instantly enraged, coughing up another mouthful of blood. Even Pot Lid Head glanced sideways at Han Su, his eyes filled with disapproval.

As Han Su put away his gun, his eyes had already turned icy cold.

'If it wasn't for Pot Lid Head's interruption, I would've lost my patience long ago. I can't waste the opportunity Miss Ai arranged for me...'

If the unexpected gain from the painting earlier had left Han Su wanting more, then these three D7s suddenly revealing their vicious ambitions, combined with this sealed environment, was a pleasant surprise.

'It's confirmed that the burn scar on my body contains a Mysterious Power.'

'But right now, I can only activate its Tier One application. To activate Tier Two, I have to rely on the Fishing Song.'

'I originally thought I'd have to leave the city to be able to chant the Fishing Song out loud without worry. But now, you've sealed this area off, creating the safest possible field for me...'

'On top of that, what I need right now are opponents with high Spiritual Activity to deepen my Understanding.'

'Even these guys seem to have been carefully selected. They're heinous criminals, so I won't have any psychological burden killing them...'

'Isn't this little setup from Miss Ai a bit overpowered?'

'Of course, understanding is one thing, and caution is another. These three D7s are strange through and through, and there are three of them. Shooting them first before we duel won't hinder my training, will it?'

'This also sends a signal to Pot Lid Head. I'm shooting them, not you. You should know where you stand.'

...

"You're courting death!"

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Iron Hook saw Han Su put his gun away. His eyes turned severe, the gray shadow on his body flickering erratically. Even the gunshot wound on his stomach didn't seem to affect his movements for the moment. He suddenly drew a short blade and lunged viciously at Han Su.

Banshee Sequence: summons a projection of a Banshee onto one's body, increasing speed and making one's trajectory erratic and difficult to track with the naked eye.

In truth, Iron Hook was gritting his teeth, cursing himself internally. 'What was I so afraid of just now? Once the Banshee's ability is active, what kind of reaction speed would he need to hit me? I could have just charged straight in...'

But he couldn't help it. The sight of the gun had triggered a subconscious fear, and it was that very fear that had gotten him shot.

Facing the opponent's impossibly sharp blade, Han Su calculated in his mind as he suddenly stepped forward.

[Giant's Eye!]

A flash of white light flickered in his right eye for an instant.

Accompanied by a terrifying power that seemed to descend from the heavens and a drumbeat that blurred the line between real and illusory, Iron Hook felt as if he had plunged into a pool of glue. His entire body felt warm, filled with an indescribable sense of ease and comfort.

But along with that ease and comfort came a sudden surge of fear. He abruptly looked down.

He had been using the Banshee's power, his entire body enveloped in that incredible, bleak aura. But as he charged toward Han Su, that aura was fading from his body.

When he first charged, his momentum was ferocious. But after just two steps, he felt his aura wither, and his body seemed to lose all its strength.

'Did he strip the Banshee projection off me?'

Realizing something was wrong, he quickly tried to retreat, but Han Su had already strode forward. He slammed his left fist into the gunshot wound on Iron Hook's stomach, nearly pulverizing his intestines and making him double over like a shrimp.

The next moment, Han Su drove a knee into his chest, the impact on the bullet wound launching him into the air. He then shot out his left hand, grabbed his head, and held him suspended.

On the back of his hand, a copper-colored cross-shaped scar faintly appeared.

Han Su looked into Iron Hook's eyes and asked calmly, "Who used a Spell to sign a contract with you?"

"Let my brother go..."

By the wall, Jackal and Sawtooth were frantically trying to use [Devil's Kiss] to further heal their injuries. As they got up, their flesh was still visibly squirming, making their movements naturally slower.

Seeing Iron Hook in Han Su's grasp, they ignored their injuries and began chanting a spell out loud.

The air suddenly filled with a thick, foul stench.

This was the Sea Workshop, which already smelled of rotting fish bones, but now the odor was even more intense.

A layer of greenish-gray gas appeared in the air. Like a living thing, it expanded, gathered, and bizarrely coiled toward Han Su.

'Sea Beast?'

Han Su guessed internally. He wasn't sure which Encrypted Spell from the Sea Beast Sequence this power belonged to, but he knew that using the power of the Sea Beast Sequence was accompanied by a strong, foul smell.

"Alright!"

He crushed Iron Hook's head with one hand, and then, as they'd demanded, he threw the body at them.

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