A long while later, Natalia, her face still flushed with a lingering crimson, stood to the side adjusting her skirt. Meanwhile, Eros was leaning over the edge, gazing down at the battle below which had finally reached its conclusion.

  At the base of the clock tower!

  The battle ended the moment the last clergyman in deep blue robes collapsed. The man lay on the ground, his blurring vision reflecting the monster’s gargantuan frame. A bitter smile touched his pale lips; the creature’s strength had far exceeded their estimates. They had given everything—including the lives of the entire squad—and still failed to slay it.

  Fortunately, they had sent out a distress signal beforehand. Other squads would surely arrive soon. He only hoped the monster wouldn't cause too much devastation before then; after all, the surrounding residential buildings were filled with innocent commoners.

  Feeling the strange sensations creeping through his limbs, the man knew he was being corrupted. It wouldn't be long before he, too, turned into a mindless beast. Just as his consciousness flickered out, a shoe suddenly appeared in his hazy field of vision.

  Eros looked up, his gaze calm as he faced the towering monstrosity. Beside him, Natalia said with a heavy tone:

  "The Church's reinforcements will be here any second. We don't have much time; we need to end this quickly."

  Eros looked at her, sounding surprised. "You know what I’m planning to do?"

  Natalia glanced at him, her voice flat. "It’s true we are enemies of the Church, but that has nothing to do with these commoners. If this monster continues its rampage, countless innocent lives will be lost tonight."

  "This thing is strong," she continued, "but we only need to distract it and hold it off until the Church arrives. Once they show up, we leave immediately."

  Eros chuckled. "I thought you cultists didn't care about the lives of ordinary people. After all, you’re always busy with your sacrifices."

  Natalia gave a cold sneer. "And I never expected a 'Remnant of the Night'—rumored to be evil and murderous—would step in to protect a bunch of commoners."

  The massive beast, seeing the two "insects" ignoring it, let out an angry roar. It dragged its bloated body forward, thick legs thumping against the pavement as it charged to crush them. Natalia didn't hesitate, darting to the side to avoid the collision. A creature of that tonnage wasn't something to be joked with.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  When she looked back, she realized the Remnant of the Night hadn't moved an inch. Seeing the monster about to plow through him, she couldn't help but scream:

  "Watch out!"

  Eros acknowledged her warning with a slight nod, and then his figure vanished instantly. Natalia froze, only to hear a voice that was chillingly indifferent echo through the air:

  "Shadow Devourment."

  The moment the words fell, a pitch-black, bottomless abyss manifested beneath the monster’s feet. Countless twisted, obsidian shadow-tentacles surged from the dark domain, coiling tightly around the beast and dragging it into the depths. The monster roared and struggled frantically, but the abyss acted like a swamp—the more it fought, the faster it sank.

  Within moments, the gargantuan body was swallowed whole. The black domain shrank rapidly until it vanished without a trace. Eros stepped out of a nearby shadow as if nothing had happened. If anyone could have seen through the shadow masking his face, they would have noticed his left eye was now a void of pure black—a darkness that seemed capable of devouring souls.

  Natalia stood frozen, speechless for a long time. It wasn't until Eros walked up to her that she asked in a trembling voice:

  "You... are you a Transcendent?"

  She had known he was strong, but she had pegged him at Sequence 6 or, at most, Sequence 5. That single move had shattered her understanding of his power. A monster that terrifying, solved in an instant? Such power far exceeded what a low-sequence Warlock could possess. That meant... Transcendent (High Sequence)!

  Eros neither confirmed nor denied her hushed inquiry. Maintaining a powerful image was beneficial for staying in the dominant position during their "exchanges."

  Of course, the power that devoured the monster belonged to Barbara. With his current strength, he couldn't achieve such a feat. Since Barbara had consumed the spirit of that "Deformity girl" previously, her condition had recovered slightly, allowing her to be a bit more generous with her power.

  "The Church is here. We should go."

  Without waiting for her consent, Eros wrapped an arm around her waist and stepped into the shadows. Shortly after they left, two squads of clergymen arrived. They surveyed the ruins, finding only the five corrupting corpses of their comrades. There was no sign of the monster, as if it had vanished into thin air.

  A scout returned and reported: "Tom and Jack’s bodies are contaminated. If we don't handle them now, they’ll turn into monsters soon. As for the beast that killed them... judging by the tracks, it was massive. Logically, it should be easy to track, but I found no trace of it."

  Another member offered a guess: "Could it have the ability to change size? Maybe it shrank and escaped after the kill?"

  "Impossible!" the first scout said firmly. "These corrupted beasts have no reason. They are driven only by a bloodthirsty madness. They would never think to escape."

  The group fell silent. It was true; such monsters didn't possess the intellect for tactical retreat. Finally, a captain spoke:

  "Search the area again. Don't miss a single detail. If this beast could kill Tom’s squad, it is incredibly dangerous. If we fail to purify it due to negligence, the consequences will be catastrophic."

  "Captain, what about Tom and the others?" a member asked softly.

  The captain closed his eyes and sighed. "Destroy them on the spot, then recover the contaminants from their remains."

  "Yes, sir!"