The "Warlock" named Niess was making smooth progress.
It looked like he was about to strip away the layers of monstrous flesh and completely suppress it.
But Silas suddenly spoke up, telling Klein and the others to step back a bit.
His eyes, belonging to a Secrets Suppliant, could see very clearly. The "Warlock" was making quite a spectacle, and it was indeed taking effect.
However, as the surface curse was removed, something deeper inside was being exposed.
A certain corrupted, sinister black aura coiled within that body, and even the glow from the Warlock's powder couldn't hide it.
As the flesh was burned away, a vague humanoid shape emerged, and that dark presence was about to break free.
But the others couldn't see it at all. They only saw that Niess's abilities were genuinely working.
The Nighthawks at Port Enmat grew excited, placing their hopes on this sole lead to help them crack the case.
Leonard and Klein heard Silas's quiet warning. They glanced at him in surprise, then followed his lead by stepping back, positioning themselves to shield the others.
"Phew."
As the last bit of powder was sprinkled over it, the monster completely stopped moving, becoming a humanoid form sprawled on the ground.
Niess let out a long breath and said solemnly, "I've removed the aberration of the flesh, but it won't survive much longer.
You'd better investigate quickly, whether through spirit channeling or divination."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Niess. I'll get right on it..."
Edward's smiling words hadn't even finished when the monster, which had been lying quietly on the ground, suddenly began to move!
"ROAR!!"
It raised its head, and a sharp, piercing howl erupted from its mangled, hole-riddled mouth, like a knife being driven straight into everyone's soul!
"Buzz!"
Even though Silas had prepared himself, he still felt his head throb. Fortunately, the phantom tides had already surged up, blocking most of the damage.
But the others weren't so lucky. They all clutched their ears, expressions twisted in agony, and several lower-sequence Beyonders collapsed unconscious on the spot.
"This is impossible!"
Niess himself was closest, and blood was already seeping from his ears. His hand had just reached into his bag when he saw the monster move again.
It opened its mouth wide and spewed out a stream of pure black aura.
The moment that aura met the air, it began to burn, transforming into a mass of black flames.
"BOOM!"
The flames seemed alive, lunging at everyone present, especially Niess and Edward in front.
The powder Niess had thrown hadn't even been activated by his spell when the flames reached his hand, burning fiercely and scorching his flesh without mercy.
"Ahhh! This is the Witch's curse!"
Niess screamed in agony. He had assumed the victim was only corrupted by flesh magic.
Who would've thought there was another vicious curse hidden inside?
He hadn't prepared any countermeasures for this, and now his crucial hands were injured, making it impossible to cast spells.
The monster continued shrieking, its flesh gradually returning to a blood-red hue. The curse-laden screams seemed filled with mockery.
The scene descended into chaos. The Nighthawks dodged the black flames, and people kept getting hit, crying out in pain, making the situation increasingly impossible to control.
In the crowd, Ms. Daly was surrounded by invisible spirits that shielded the nearby Nighthawks.
Several black flames flew toward Silas and his group.
He blocked Leonard, drew his silver ritual dagger, made a cut on his hand while chanting, then flicked several drops of blood onto the ground in front of them.
The black flames changed direction, drawn to the blood on the ground.
"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"
Amid the noisy chaos, Leonard leaned close to Silas's ear and whispered with a smile.
"Don't go making things up."
Silas glanced at him and shook his head.
"Enough!"
A furious roar cut through the other sounds. The black coat Edward wore began to writhe, as if something was hidden inside, and invisible ripples began to spread.
The monster, which had been shrieking and spewing black flames, was swept by these ripples and actually stopped moving. It lowered its grotesque, twisted head and fell into slumber.
Edward pulled a dark iron revolver from his coat and pressed it against the monster's head.
His expression was furious, but in the end, he didn't pull the trigger. Instead, he sealed the cage.
He's a Sequence 6 Nighthawk after all, actually able to put this kind of monster to sleep.
Silas thought to himself.
Seeing the situation gradually coming under control, Silas picked up his ritual silver knife and continued his earlier method, leaving drops of blood beside each person burned by the black flames.
The cursed black fires, which had been impossible to extinguish, were attracted to his blood, leaving the victims' bodies and falling into his blood instead.
By the time he made a full round, everyone had been saved. Niess, who had been burned the worst, had exposed white bone on his right arm and had fallen into a deep coma.
Edward's neatly combed hair was now disheveled. He slowly swept his gaze around the scene, his face turning livid.
He seemed to have screwed things up royally.
"Captain Edward, are you alright?"
With appropriate courtesy, Silas walked up to him and asked. His clear, captivating blue eyes were full of sincerity and concern as he looked directly into Edward's eyes.
"What a disaster. Truly unfortunate. At least no one died from it."
Then he watched with satisfaction as the other man's eyebrows twitched violently, his chest heaving up and down.
"Save the injured first!"
Edward forced down his anger, turning away to avoid looking at him, and called out to the Nighthawks on scene to organize rescue efforts.
About half an hour later, the chaos in front of Chanis Gate finally ended.
In total, one person was seriously injured, three Nighthawks were lightly injured, and the three Nighthawks from Tingen were unharmed.
The seriously injured person was the external help Edward had requested, the Sequence 7 Heart of Machinery member, Niess Brown.
Edward stood in front of Chanis Gate, his expression terrifyingly grim.
Behind him, the monster in the birdcage was still sleeping. Not only had the incident not been resolved, but it had created even bigger trouble. His mood was easy to imagine.
Everyone was busy, and no one dared talk to him. But everyone was thinking the same thing: if they hadn't invited this Mystery Pryer, would the outcome have been different?
After all, that Secrets Suppliant from Tingen had just easily removed the Witch curse's black flames.
He seemed to have better solutions for these kinds of problems.
Ms. Daly sensed the atmosphere among the group. After thinking for a moment, she walked up beside Edward and said quietly:
"Captain Edward, what's done is done. You should make a decision quickly.
The longer this drags on, the worse it is for solving the case, and your reputation at the Holy Cathedral will suffer even more."
She meant that Edward should ask Silas for help and resolve the matter as soon as possible.
Hearing this, Edward's face couldn't help but twitch slightly. He knew Daly was right, but doing so would mean that everything he'd done before was just asking for trouble.
After hesitating for a while, he gritted his teeth, walked up to Silas and the others, and forced a smile.
"It seems my judgment was wrong. This time, we still need help from everyone in Tingen. Please."
"Eh?"
Silas looked embarrassed and gave a sheepish smile.
"But… the only ritual I know is a corrupted one. Doing that in front of the sacred Chanis Gate, doesn't that feel a bit wrong?"
"Pffft!"
Leonard, beside him, forcibly held back his laughter. The air burst out, making his lips produce a strange sound like squealing brakes.