The Black Saint is My StalkerCh93 - What do you want to bet on?

2 extra chapters for B.K0036 for winning the draw in the CG 10k contest! Enjoy!

It would be better to not keep a demon prince like Andraste waiting. But Aoibhinn found that her ‘welcome party’ was a little lackluster. Staring at the cluster of demons that stood before her, the witch couldn’t help but find these low-ranking beasts rather boring. That won’t do. OBlhqX

She plucked several lilies from her crown and tore the petals to shreds before blowing on them with an incantation. The dust of petals landed on the horde of demons.

At first, there was no reaction.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Until one of the beast-like desire demons began to shake and twitch. Magic melded with demonic miasma. The crimson mistletoe placed inside of its body reacted in vigor, resonating with Aoibhinn’s breath. The demons seized and mutated before her eyes, spurring her satisfaction.

Better. YGHfyU

…

An evacuation was called as soon as the team arrived on sight.

Protect the civilians first, kill supernaturals later. The alarms sounded around a four-block area, people who lived there were forced to stop their nightly activities or roused from their sleep. Though it was frightening, every civilian knew the drills and knew how to locate the shelters in case of a large-scale outbreak.

It wasn’t the norm to have many people moved at once. But Leonie had deemed it fit after her assessment of the situation.

But even more strange than the evacuation itself, was the fact that the evacuation itself did not see any hiccups.

The threat that loomed within a single building did not scatter to harass the evacuation, staying neatly inside the sight in wait. It even gave the team enough time to call in cars to set up a perimeter and soon the lonesome rundown church was isolated.

Han Li had a bad feeling about this. And he wasn’t the only one.

“Ever heard of patient lesser demons?” Oscar sneered. The team surveyed the location of interest. Leonie had pinpointed this particular church earlier on in the night but none of them truly expected to see the stifling thicket of miasma that simmered with the old church. It was a miracle that whatever beast lied in wait for them had sat still and hadn’t yet unleashed chaos out into the surrounding neighborhood. fTQVO

The team grew increasingly antsy, thinking that perhaps it was a mid-tier demon hiding within.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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It was an odd choice; having the sentinel and exorcist act as bodyguards while the two mainly melee roles were there twiddling their thumbs in wait. But Han Li assumed that it had something to do with the current team dynamic. Oscar might not have been the most friendly of guys, but he also wasn’t completely abrasive unlike someone else on their team.

“More like lazy,” the paladin rolled his eyes and shrugged. While he wasn’t nearly as fidgety as Han Li, it was obvious that he too was itching to go inside. His bladed staff rested in his palms and he kept shifting from one leg to another. Gu176P

“It could be a mid-tier,” Han Li added.

Demons were generally separated into two major groups in terms of ranking; lesser and higher. Higher demons were coincidentally also a type of higher being, while lesser demons were not. But even these major groups had their own divisions. For lesser demons, there were basics and then there were mid-tiers.

Mid-tiers were…well. They could be annoying, especially when there was more than one of them stalking around. Not only did they forgo the general standard appearance of a basic lesser demon, but they also differed in behavior.

Soon, their radios blipped. Leonie’s voice came through to the earpieces, “Only one left! Get into positions.” ObfwWU

Oscar scrunched up his nose in disapproval. But he did not voice his opinion and responded, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Got it, cap’,” Han Li replied in turn.

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“So what do you want to bet on?” Oscar asked as the two of them approached the entrance, stalking up the steps to the door. Han Li drew his talismans and placed them over the wood.

“Uh,” Han Li replied intelligently, “A horde? Of lesser demons. Basics.” d6SRvG

“Heh, what if it’s a higher demon?”

Han Li shrugged, “Guess I’d have to eat my own foot. And you?”

“Going to bet it’s a mid-tier. Maybe two.”

Just in time, Leonie’s voice cut through the radio, “Alright, we’ve taken position. Ready when you are.” gLXeNE

Together, the vanguard and paladin chorused, “Going in.”

Oscar stood back when Han Li held his hand up in a seal, activating the talismans stuck to the door. Lightning sizzled and ate into wood. A sharp bang sounded as the door splintered and blew apart. It only took one hard kick from Han Li for the ruined wreck to swing open in their rusted hinges.

Darkness greeted them from the depth of the church. A heavy waft of miasma blew in their faces, making Oscar gag. But he waved it off, maintaining composure.

Their only choice was to venture forward. DUdXrm

Granted, it would have been nice to enter with an exorcist instead of a paladin in a demonic infestation scenario— but hey, Han Li wasn’t the captain. What did he know?

It took a while for their eyes to adjust. Although there was dim lighting slipping in from the tall stained glass windows, the miasma was so thick that it left a wispy black haze that clouded the interior. The nave, where pews would have sat in rows, was eerily empty and the tall roof caused their steps to echo.

Han Li froze after only a few steps, not wanting to walk inside too deeply, in fear of giving their unknown foe more room to flank them. For now, he had Oscar to cover his back, which suited him just fine.

More talismans were drawn from his coat. Han Li unleashed them into the thicket of miasma. And though he could not exorcise the stifling mist of demonic energies, he could at least momentarily displace them. QOTHdI

Calling forth his spell with a hand seal, lightning buzzed between the talismans, giving a brief burst of light. The stained glass of the church walls glowed hauntingly while other silhouettes could be outlined from the rampant darkness of miasma that lingered.

“Did you see that?” Han Li said with a hushed voice.

“Looked like wrath demons or maybe something else,” Oscar hissed, eyes darting around in search of movement in the shadows.

But Han Li swore he saw the silhouette of a woman. His heart raced with alarm, flashbacks of Darmine haunted him. YJUEr

Without extra lighting, however, he could not make out what was behind the veil of darkness and confirm what it was that he saw.

Cautiously, Han Li took a step forward.

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It was then something dash in the corner of his eye. Han Li reacted immediately, sending a talisman towards the blur of shadow. It landed on— something. But it was hard to tell what it was in the darkness, especially when it was traveling so quickly toward him. Han Li cursed beneath his breath and leaped backward, narrowly escaping the demon’s reckless lunge.

Up close, he saw what looked like the large fleshy head of a horse with its skin peeled away. But it had no eyes, only bare tissue that covered the sockets, and in the place of horse teeth, there were sharp and jagged fangs. aBOD i

Without wasting another second, Han Li snapped his hands into a seal to unleash another blitz of lightning.

The creature screeched, but oddly the sound did not come from the horse head but just a little above it. Han Li quickly flicked his gaze up, barely noticing the extended growth that seemed to jut out from the horse body’s back. A human-like torso was attached there, and it too did not have any skin with no eyes on its round fleshy head. Its hands ended in claws that came down to swipe at Han Li.

If he had been just a second slower, Han Li would not have been able to deflect the blow. But he raised Weian and the demon’s clawed digits made contact with steel. The horse demon bucked, sharp hooves kicked.

A loud bang was heard, the smell of gunpowder in the air. The demon shrieked again, staggering on its hooves. Han Li did not waste time and rushed in. First, he quickly unleashed three more talismans that stuck to the demon’s body before brandishing his sword. 93u1QC

When the beast tried to kick at him, he activated one talisman to stagger its movement before cleaving with his sword. Weian’s silver edge caught it in its horse throat. The monstrosity fell but still kicked about wildly, the human torso flailed as well. It swung its large hands around, eager to catch prey.

But that did not last. Another bang and shotgun pellets found themselves in the demon’s human head. Oscar rushed in and with one clean slash, he sliced off an offending hand coming his way before jabbing the tip of his blade into the thin human neck.

The demon fell, limp, before dissipating into a wisp of black smoke.

But despite the demon’s departure, the miasma in the church still remained stiflingly high. bQ GB1

“What’s going on?” Leonie’s voice carried a little more urgency than usual, sharp over the radio’s static, “How is the situation inside?”

“Not good,” Oscar chuckled without any humor. After dispatching the demon, he turned the mounted flashlight on his staff and swept it across the deep church nave, “Looks like neither of us won that bet.”

“What?” Leonie replied with confusion.

Han Li turned his head toward the stream of light, catching sight of the mass within the church. He smiled wryly, “You’re right. It’s not a mid-tier, nor a horde of basics.” g7INCy

Oscar spat, “Ain’t it? It’s a bloody horde of mid-tiers!”

The cluster of weird horse-human demons watched them with their eyeless sockets, slowly inching forward.

Author: here’s the extra update prize!! I hope you guys enjoy while my soul slowly but surely dwindles….*cough cough cough*