74. Huntress enter
The moment Marcelline teleported onto the hill overlooking the mansion, the whole world went silent.
Her eyes glowed pure, molten yellow—the unmistakable sign her demon core was awakening, responding to the darkness ripping the city apart.
A low hum spread through the air, a vibration only ancient beings could sense.
Leo landed beside her, claws extended, pupils thin as blades.
But—
From outside the mansion?
Peace.
Absolute, unnatural peace.
The garden swayed softly in the breeze.
Fountain trickling.
Windows glowing gently.
A perfect lie.
Marcelline narrowed her eyes.
"…Hiding its filth behind illusions," she muttered.
"Cute."
She didn't just walk forward—
she vanished and reappeared closer, teleporting in rapid flashes of golden flare until she reached the boundary wall.
The illusion flickered around her skin—
like the darkness recognized something far older than itself.
She crouched on the rooftop edge, observing.
And what she saw…
Froze even her battle-hungry heart.
---
Through the cracks of the broken illusion, the real scene bled through like a nightmare:
Two bodies on the floor — barely alive.
One girl, broken in ways no human should survive—
bones twisted, blood pooling, face pale beyond death.
Chloe.
And beside her—
Aiden
barely breathing, ribs crushed, hand shattered, head bleeding down his cheek.
On the floor.
Dying.
A man with silver eyes—
rage so violent it made the air distort—
stood between them and the creature.
His chest heaving.
Hands shaking.
Maximilian.
Marcelline recognized the helplessness instantly.
The kind born from love—
and the kind that drove humans to insanity.
Kyron was next to him, crying, screaming for help, voice cracking with terror.
Priests—
six of them—
were unconscious, slammed into walls, heads bleeding, holy tools shattered.
They were lucky.
Had they been awake…
They'd have sensed her.
A demoness in near-awakened form.
They'd have attempted a purification.
And Marcelline would've ended them on reflex.
She exhaled sharply.
"Good… they're down. Saves me trouble."
---
And then—
Floating midair…
Laughing with a distorted, echoing voice…
Eleanor.
Possessed.
Her hair whipping like tendrils,
her feet not touching the ground,
her body jerked back unnaturally like a marionette being pulled too hard.
The entity inside her radiated strength—
strong enough to crush humans,
strong enough to kill priests—
But to Marcelline?
It was no Supreme of Darkness.
Just a higher-grade parasite.
A stubborn one.
Her lips curved under her mask.
"So… you're the thing that's been playing hide and seek."
Her fingers twitched, craving the feel of ripping it out.
---
Mask on.
Hoodie up.
Identity hidden.
Demon aura rising.
Marcelline felt the thrill finally shoot through her veins.
"Time to start the fun."
She took a single step forward—
And burst through the mansion's glass window, shattering it into a rain of silver shards.
The force shook the entire mansion structure.
Kyron snapped his head up, speechless.
Max's eyes widened—not in fear, but confusion at the sheer pressure that crashed into the room.
Eleanor's possessed body jerked violently in air.
The entity inside her felt her.
Felt something stronger.
Something ancient.
Something it wasn't prepared for.
A hissed scream erupted from Eleanor's throat—
"WHO DARES—"
Before it could finish—
Marcelline stepped through the settling glass dust,
eyes glowing like twin suns of death,
a slow, lethal smirk hidden under her mask.
Her presence alone made the lights flicker.
The air grow heavy.
The entity panic.
Marcelline rolled her shoulders, stretching lazily.
"Now…"
Her voice deepened, vibrating like a demon bell.
"Let's have some real fun."
Behind her, Leo stayed outside—
already killing the minor demons spilling from cracks in the illusion.
---