Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 585

As Jenkins raised his pistol, Professor Burns reached out and pressed the dark muzzle down. The professor shook his head, signaling for him to stand back. He shrugged off his coat, tossed it to Jenkins, and undid the top button of his shirt. He rolled his shoulders, and the sound of his bones cracking echoed in the night.

With a low, powerful grunt, the professor shot upward, leaping to the same height as the boy. He was faster, his reactions sharper. He seized the boy's arm with one hand and clamped down on his shoulder with the other, then wrenched him from the sky with sheer force.

After they landed, Burns slid his aged hand, like an eagle's talon, up the boy's arm and yanked it upward. With his other hand, he twisted in the opposite direction. Jenkins heard the sickening crack of breaking bone.

Black flames suddenly erupted from the boy's body, forcing the professor to retreat. An earthy yellow light spread from Burns's feet up his body. He took a step forward, circling behind his opponent, and snaked an arm around the boy's neck. Before the boy could counter, Burns hooked his elbow, compressing the carotid artery. He used his other hand for support, tightening his grip and squeezing with his upper body in an attempt to cut off the oxygen to the boy's brain.

It was a classic grappling technique, but unfortunately, the boy's body had been altered by the Killing Mark. After several seconds of pressure, he didn't pass out. Instead, the time had given him an opportunity to react.

With a sharp tearing sound, the pitiful remains of his shirt ripped to shreds and fluttered to the ground. A black light spilled from the gruesome sigil on his chest. Black smoke enveloped them both, and when the professor was forced to back away again, a terrifying monster emerged from the haze. It now had two pairs of compound eyes, and its height and build had tripled.

Jenkins’s bullet found its mark, but aside from the soft clatter of a flattened slug hitting the ground, the shot had no effect.

Having swapped magazines, Jenkins pulled the trigger again. This time, the bullet, brimming with the golden light of divine art, punched a clean hole through the monster's chest.

When the third bullet flew, the monster finally reacted. Three black crows burst from the dark smoke coiling around its body, intercepting the bullet's path. In its right hand, it gathered an orb of energy that seemed to absorb light like a black hole.

The professor began loudly chanting a prayer, charging forward once more under the protection of divine power.

Jenkins stood his ground, firing shot after shot with his pistol. The flock of crows descended upon him like a crazed swarm of bees, enveloping him completely. Professor Burns couldn't even see a trace of Jenkins within the vortex of black feathers.

"Jenkins, do you need help?"

He shouted, a note of worry in his voice, but his fists never stopped raining down on the monster, which was clearly intimidated by him.

Jenkins's voice boomed back. A moment later, a massive explosion erupted from within the swarm. The dark night sky successfully concealed the residual demonic flames from the professor's eyes, and he even mistook the faint scent of sulfur in the air for the monster's own stench.

"The Sage protects! May the light of knowledge illuminate all!"

As the professor finished his prayer, a brilliant golden light erupted like a shockwave, finally and completely illuminating the dead woods.

When the light faded, the professor was half-kneeling on the ground, panting heavily. The monster had reverted to the form of a boy, lying face-up on the ground, his entire right arm gone.

"Careful. It's not over yet."

Professor Burns stopped Jenkins from approaching to check on the boy, then pointed at his chest.

"The Killing Mark hasn't vanished."

Jenkins nodded, swapped out his magazine, and pulled the trigger again.

But after the click of the hammer, no bullet flew. Instead, the boy's body shot backward toward him, following the bullet's intended trajectory. Before Jenkins even had time to process what had happened, they were practically face-to-face.

His right fist, radiating a chilling cold, struck the boy squarely in the stomach. A bloody hole suddenly tore open in the boy's torso, clamping down on Jenkins's fist and holding it fast. But it was no use. Red flames soon began to pour from the ragged wound in his gut.

The boy let out a pained shriek, his eyes glowing with a malevolent red light. But just as the demon eyes in their sockets activated, a black shadow descended from above and landed on his face. Chocolate's sharp claws instantly gouged out an eyeball, and at the same moment, the professor shouted as he launched himself into a flying kick from the side.

Although their treasure-hunting trip had been a failure, at least Jenkins and Professor Burns had captured the active Killing Mark holder near Nolan. Since two people had defeated the boy, the mark did not transfer upon his defeat.

Of course, both Professor Burns and Jenkins received a stern scolding. According to the itinerary Jenkins had filed, they were supposed to have spent the night in the school's staff dormitory, not be running around the outskirts of the city with shovels.

Thus, Jenkins's lethargy on Monday morning wasn't due to mourning the end of an "eventful" weekend, but rather from a lack of sleep and the severe tongue-lashing he'd received from Papa Oliver and Miss Bevanna.

He figured it would be difficult to find a reasonable excuse to go out at night for the next week. With that thought, Jenkins, slumped over the counter, stretched his back in the exact same way Chocolate did.

Just like Miss Mikhail's sudden visit the day before, Hathaway also paid a visit to Pops Antique Shop on Monday morning. Her purpose was also related to the winter trip. Hathaway knew very well that if she didn't give him instructions beforehand, Jenkins was liable to show up for the journey with a suitcase big enough to fit both him and Chocolate inside.

"No, no, no, you don't need that much luggage at all," she had said. "The manor will provide everything. You just need to bring a few changes of clothes and your cat." The source of this content ɪs NoveIＦire.net

The best news of the day came that evening after he returned to the church. He learned from Captain Bincy that in the city of Eldron, in the Cheslan Kingdom, the Church of the Righteous God was preparing a joint operation with the police department to round up the cultists who worshipped the heretical god known as the "Prince of Lies."

Nolan had been notified because traces of those charlatans had also been found during the Evil God's Child incident, so the Nolan diocese was taking the matter very seriously.

Although they had not yet received the final notice to spring the trap, Captain Bincy believed it wouldn't be delayed until after the New Year's festival. The Nolan diocese was in desperate need of information about the Evil God's Child.

The radiant smile on Jenkins's face at that moment gave Captain Bincy a profound sense of just how much mental stress the whole "my neighbor is a God's Child" affair had put on him. Before leaving, he even patted Jenkins on the shoulder—the one that didn't have a cat on it—as a gesture of comfort, though Jenkins had no idea what prompted it.