Chapter 1339: Chapter 1339

I really came out on top here.

Contemplating his new [Titan's Power], Jenkins didn't forget his mount. He placed a hand on the unicorn's back and channeled his [Life Source], hoping to shield the creature from the biting wind and cold. The unicorn let out a pleased little whinny, its wings beating even faster as it soared toward their destination.

"Strange... I could have sworn I just heard a unicorn."

On the ground below, a professor holding an umbrella looked up hesitantly, but saw only a dense blanket of black clouds. Beside him, Papa Oliver also glanced skyward, but he heard nothing.

"Must be your imagination, Burns. Have you ever heard a unicorn before?"

Papa Oliver asked curiously.

"Two years ago, in some ancient ruins, my companions and I discovered a slate that could record sound," the professor explained. "It held all sorts of fascinating ancient noises. But in the end, we had to destroy it. Tucked away within the long recording, a burst of static would emerge every ten seconds, reciting corrupting incantations from the Dark Scriptures."

They were heading toward the church. The sudden downpour and the earthquake had already put Papa Oliver on high alert, and the giant's subsequent roar confirmed his suspicions that something was terribly wrong. The professor had happened to be visiting, so they decided to go to the church together and see if they could be of any help.

"You know," the professor mused, "ever since Jenkins left Nolan, we haven't had anything happen for weeks."

"I'm not trying to say he's a walking disaster, but calamities do seem to follow him around. Perhaps Jenkins really is under some strange curse. Oliver, I suggest you have the church give him a thorough examination. It might help. Speaking of which, how has Jenkins been? Have you heard from him recently?"

"He's currently staying with a princess of the Stuart royal family. How do you think he's doing?"

Papa Oliver chuckled, and the professor's face immediately lit up with an expression of understanding.

The two men hurried along the main avenue toward the city's central church. Despite the torrential rain, the streets were teeming with people. Most of the citizens clutched suitcases or small bundles—whatever valuables they had managed to salvage before fleeing their homes.

A sudden bolt of lightning split the sky, followed by a deep, rumbling clap of thunder that seemed to shake the very air. This raw display of nature's power stirred a primal fear in the hearts of mortals. Papa Oliver could hear a young woman nearby, clutching her child, sobbing softly.

"Let's pick up the pace. I have a feeling today's events are far from simple."

Papa Oliver urged, and the professor nodded in agreement. They raised their umbrellas and pushed through the dense crowd, only to hear shrieks of alarm from up ahead. Following the direction of pointed fingers, they looked up just in time to see a pitch-black mass hurtle through the sky. It crashed into the outer wall of a three-story brick building a block away—what looked to be the office of the Nolan City Guard.

Right behind the dark shape, a figure on a unicorn became faintly visible through the curtain of rain. It collided with the black shadow as it took to the air again, and then the two of them shot off into the distance, one in hot pursuit of the other.

the professor stammered in astonishment.

"The one on the unicorn is one of the Believers of Lies," Papa Oliver said, his voice grim. "As for that black shadow... I don't know what it is, but it reeks of malice and the stench of death. Could it be the cause of all this?"

Papa Oliver said hesitantly.

High above, Jenkins had no idea that his dramatic chase had been witnessed by Papa Oliver and the professor. He had just emerged from the game room, expecting to retrieve his cat, only to find that it wasn't where he had left it.

Panicked, he was wondering what to do when a nearby door burst open. Mr. Hood and Mr. White Cat tumbled out, followed by Hathaway helping a shaken MrMagic. Trailing behind Hathaway was his cat.

The moment it saw Jenkins, the cat let out a series of plaintive meows and scurried to his feet, looking utterly wronged, demanding to be picked up.

As Jenkins scooped up his cat and began to comfort it, he looked up, ready to ask what had happened and why his pet was so distressed. But as he raised his head, he saw the Corpse Gentleman emerging last from the room. A pool of black water formed at his feet, moving with him as if it had a will of its own.

Rage flared in Jenkins. The situation was painfully clear: though the Titan was dead, the Corpse Gentleman had somehow survived. He had tried to kill his friends and Hathaway, and had even terrified the cat that had been obediently waiting for its master. Now he was back to finish the job—but thankfully, Jenkins had returned just in time.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He drew his sword and launched himself into the sky, beginning the very high-altitude chase that Papa Oliver and the professor had just witnessed.

Though the Corpse Gentleman was a demigod, he seemed to be badly injured. He didn't even fight back, simply letting Jenkins pursue him. Jenkins guessed that the death of his true form, the Titan, had severely impacted this human vessel.

The explanation seemed perfectly logical, so it never crossed Jenkins's mind to wonder just what sort of harrowing adventure his cat and friends had endured while he was busy fighting the Titan.

"You despicable coward! You only know how to prey on the weak!"

He roared, sword in hand, urging his unicorn onward in pursuit of the Corpse Gentleman. The fiend flew at incredible speed, blurring into a streak of black light, but with Jenkins's encouragement, the unicorn was just as fast.

They finally converged over the eastern part of the city. As Jenkins closed in, he flung an arc of energy from his sword. The Corpse Gentleman was forced to take the blow head-on. Fueled by Jenkins's fury and amplified by his [The Stranger] ability, which dealt extra damage to all living creatures, the attack inflicted a grievous internal wound. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

He was forced to halt his flight, gasping for breath in mid-air. The unicorn gave a triumphant cry and hovered opposite him.

Within the swirling black shadow, the Corpse Gentleman's form became distinct. He still radiated the oppressive aura of a higher being, a remnant of his connection to the Titan, but it no longer had any effect on Jenkins.

"Mr. Candle," the Corpse Gentleman said, his voice raspy. "Congratulations on slaying the ancient Titan. If word of this got out, your tale would be told in the material world for ages to come. Perhaps someday, your face will even grace a deck of playing cards."

"I don't care what you have to say, Corpse Gentleman," Jenkins snarled. "The only thing that matters is that you're going to die today."

"If I die, there will be no one left to lift the curse on this city," the Corpse Gentleman countered, a wheeze in his voice. "This was all my doing. Kill me, and Nolan will know no peace."

He spoke between coughs, spitting black fluid that mingled with the rain and fell to the earth below, silently seeping into the city's foundations.