Published at 25th of August 2026 9:40 am

Chapter 241: Fangs And Blood

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Chapter 241: Fangs and Blood

The sounds of construction had begun bleeding out from the docks and into the surrounding streets. By midday, work was in full swing. Members of the Church of Light were everywhere, moving back and forth like ants, all smiling and all under the watchful eye of Cardinal Chelk.

Anytime someone passed him, they bowed fervently and did their best to look as productive and helpful as possible. Each time, the Cardinal smiled, offered a few words of encouragement, then sent the zealous worker on their way with a blessing.

His round face was inviting, his white and gold robes a beacon of hope to the faithful. On the outside, he was jovial and warm. Beneath the smile, his thoughts were anything but.

He didn't know why, but the entire day had sat on him like an oppressive fog. It didn't affect his acting. Not a soul around him would have guessed he'd rather see these humans burned to ash than spend another day among them, but it had worn down his patience. So when a section of the docks collapsed because the monkeys had stacked too much weight on it, he finally saw a chance to release some stress.

"Who is responsible for this area?"

Walking toward the damaged section, Chelk saw there were no injuries or casualties. The humans were already scrambling across the broken dock, working frantically to save supplies before the ocean waves carried them away.

At his question, a man who looked to be in his forties hurried over. He was lean, with the worn body of a laborer and clothes that made his lack of status obvious. A Shardless.

"That's me, Your Excellency! Apologies, I thought the spot was secure. We should be able to salvage"

"Please, do not apologize, child. Orashal's Light does not judge. It cleanses and forgives. As long as you are all safe, that is what matters. Come, I have another job for you. You there, take charge. Make sure this doesn't happen again. The house of the one true god must not be delayed further."

"Yes, Your Grace!"

The younger man Chelk had chosen beamed from ear to ear and immediately got to work, his voice carrying across the docks as he began shouting commands.

"Do not worry, this is not punishment. I have been watching, and I feel your skills are needed elsewhere."

Smiling weakly at the Cardinal's words, the laborer followed Chelk toward the only warehouse still somewhat standing amid the construction.

Opening the door for the man, Chelk motioned him through, then stepped inside behind him as the door shut.

About ten minutes later, the Cardinal stepped back outside. Alone.

No one blinked. No one even thought to question it. As Chelk walked among them again, he still received the same smiles and wishes of good health from every member who passed. Even the group salvaging supplies from the collapsed dock smiled and waved when they saw him.

Even if they found the body, no one would question him.

Looking up at the sun, Chelk felt some of the weight that had followed him all day begin to lift from his shoulders. Killing humans always helped him relax. He could still feel the moment the man's heart stopped beating, could still see the terror and sadness in his eyes. It was like a drug to him, and like any drug, the euphoria dulled his senses.

Not for long, but long enough for Fang to go unnoticed.

While the Cardinal was busy receiving praise and admiration, still drunk on his recent kill, the Broodspawn slipped between the shadows and entered the warehouse unseen.

Inside, the broodspawn remained hidden. The warehouse was mostly empty, holding only a makeshift stage with a dais and a few rows of benches for the faithful. Following his nose, it wasn't hard to find the hidden door. He pushed aside a few crates, the wood scraping softly, and caught the fresh scent of iron leaking through the doorframe.

'I'm in. I've found a hidden door. I'll report if I find anything.'

'Be quick. Broodfather wants us ready before he arrives.'

Not wasting another second, Fang sank into the shadows and drifted beneath the narrow crack under the door.

His new form came with many advantages, all of them tuned toward stealth and assassination. Even without the skills from his Phantom Curator class, his black skin naturally absorbed light, making him almost impossible to see in the dark.

On the other side, the metallic scent of blood hung thick in the air. Some of it was fresh, but most smelled old. Beyond the door stretched a long corridor and its existence made Fang hesitate. From the outside, this corridor shouldn't have been here. Based on the shape of the warehouse and everything surrounding it, Fang should have been standing in the open beside the building, yet somehow the passage continued ahead of him.

He hesitated only a moment, but after sensing no immediate threat, he continued with his mission.

He was part of the advance squad sent ahead of the main group, consisting of Snare, Bug, and himself. Their job was simple: scout the enemy, search for traces of Gregor, and rescue him if possible. Otherwise, they were to gather as much information as they could and wait for Seo-jin.

Rescuing Gregor had been given the lowest priority. They were only supposed to attempt it if they believed they could do so without too much trouble, and right now, Fang was trying to determine exactly that.

Although his own tracking ability was decent, it was nothing compared to Snare's. The moment they'd arrived at the docks, Snare had seen through the Church's defenses. Finding no real threat beyond Chelk, he'd sent Fang down to explore the only area his sight couldn't penetrate.

Traveling the length of the corridor, he found two doors at the end. Sniffing at the first, he smelled death and violence. Recent. From the other came death as well, but a different kind. A waiting death. Something close to the edge, but still alive.

He sniffed along the frame of the first door, then its handle, before moving to the next and doing the same. Nothing seemed wrong. No scent of danger, no trace of mana. Only the familiar stench of the Light element.

Manifesting from the shadows, he wrapped his hand around the handle of the door carrying the stronger scent of death and slowly pulled it open. It made no sound, nor did anything stir inside, but the second Fang peeked through the opening, a wide, wicked smile spread across his face.

He'd never seen one before, but somehow he knew exactly what he was looking at.

A murder room.

It was small and built for one purpose. Stone walls, stone floor, a drain cut into the center. Rust-colored stains filled the cracks where cleaning hadn't reached, and the air was warm enough to carry the smell of blood, burned meat, and old piss. A heavy table sat beneath a single light, its surface covered in scratches, dried blood, and black patches where something hot had scorched the metal. Chains hung from the walls beside hooks, restraints, and tools Fang didn't recognize but understood well enough.

The dock worker was still on the table.

He recognized the human's clothes from the docks, though most of them had burned into his skin. There wasn't much damage from the outside. That was what made the corpse interesting. His stomach was swollen, his limbs curled tight against the table, and his fingers had locked into claws. Blood had cooked black around his nose, ears, and mouth.

He stepped closer and sniffed...cooked meat.

The heat had started inside him.

The skin had split along his stomach and chest where the pressure became too much, exposing dark meat beneath. Fat had melted underneath and collected in the wounds as a greasy film. His eyes had collpsed into their sockets, and his tongue sat swollen between burned lips. Even his teeth had cracked from the heat.

Leaning over the corpse, Fang studyied it with growing interest. The man's back had arched hard enough during death to leave his shoulders and heels pressed into the table. Fingernails had torn against the metal until several peeled backward.

Whatever Chelk had done, he'd kept the human alive through most of it.

Fang's smile widened.

He liked the bird already.

Looking around, he grabbed a few of the tools lying around that he thought Panic might like, swallowed them down, and left the room. With only one option remaining, he laid a hand on the other door's handle and pulled it open, revealing nothing but darkness beyond.

Able to see perfectly through it, he sneered when he spotted Gregor's stumped body lying on a wooden slab. The human looked like shit, his skin pale and body wasted, but he was alive.

'I've found the human. Bringing him out now.'

'Is he alive?'

'Barely. They removed his limbs, but he's breathing.'

'Let me know when you're ready to exit. Bug's in position.'

Stepping to the human's side, he bent down to grab him when Gregor suddenly shot up and sank his teeth into Fang's neck. Gnashing and growling, Gregor tried his best to tear a chunk from his throat while the Broodspawn stood there completely unamused.

"I know we've never met, but I'm not your enemy. I am one of the Brood."

"Oullhit!"

Fang was pretty sure he'd just said bullshit, but with his mouth full, it was hard to tell. Unwilling to argue further, he dissolved into shadow and slipped free of Gregor's bite. A moment later, he stepped back out of the darkness and stood over him.

"This should help."

Bracing for punishment, Gregor's eyes locked on the demon as he waited for the hit. Instead of physical pain, something else struck him entirely.

Small strips of bloodlight began leaking from Fang's body, and the instant Gregor saw the familiar glow, his breath caught. The anger drained from his face, followed quickly by the fear.

"How did you get in here? Where is Seo-jin?"

Seeing a tear slip from Gregor's eye, Fang felt disgusted. He chalked it up to not knowing much about this human, but no matter how he looked at him, he couldn't understand why his father considered him worth saving.

"Broodfather will arrive soon."

Not wasting any more time, he curled his tail around the human and lifted him from the slab. Carrying Gregor was easy, but getting him out would be harder than getting in. While holding him, Fang couldn't phase into the shadows the way he normally could. Still, with his Stealth at S+, he could move with confidence.

Leaving the room, he carried Gregor back through the corridor. When they reached the hidden door leading into the warehouse, he set the human down, phased into shadow, and slipped underneath. A few seconds later, he returned.

"Stay quiet. Once we cross this, Snare will create a distraction."

"I am ready."

Respecting the human's quick response, Fang studied him for a moment and, to his surprise, saw no fear. Maybe there was some worth to this human after all.

Wrapping his tail around Gregor, and with one claw resting on the handle, he sent the signal through the broodlink, and waited for his own. Soon, distant shouts began to rise above the noise of the docks, quickly followed by screams.

Throwing the door open, he burst into the warehouse and ran straight toward the opposite wall. A shattered window sat high above, and without breaking stride, Fang leapt through it with Gregor in tow.

Sunlight hit them in the face the moment they cleared the glass. Fang struck the wood below and skidded to a stop, claws scraping across the boards as he found them completely surrounded by rushing demonic Vent Bugs and hundreds of Elderwarren kits.

Finding the signal through the broodlink, he broke into a run. Snare and Bug were waiting, and from there, the trio would take Gregor back to the Time Capsule.

But sometimes

"Leaving, Gregor?! Without saying goodbye?!"

Even the best-laid plans could fall apart.

Pressure slammed into them both, dragging at their bodies and slowing them considerably, but it didn't stop them.

Radiating a powerful aura of pure Light, Cardinal Chelk floated toward them, his bald head tilted as he watched the pair struggle beneath the weight of his presence.

"You are stronger than you look. But no demon can stand against the Light!"

His aura ignited, and the pressure bearing down on Fang tripled, finally forcing the Broodspawn to his knees with a crack of wood beneath them.

Gregor was in worse shape. His bones already felt on the verge of breaking as blood seeped from his mouth and ears, running hot across his skin.

All around them, chaos continued to spread. The Vent Bugs and kits that hadn't been crushed flat by the Cardinal were attacking anything in sight. Human screams mixed with cries for help as fire spread through the docks and multiple sections of the new construction began to crumble.

Holding Fang and Gregor down with one outstretched hand, Chelk raised the other and spoke calmly over the noise.

"Noisy monkeys."

Light flashed from his hand, and in less than a heartbeat, every human and kit caught in it turned to ash. The Vent Bugs lasted a second or two longer, but before the retreat sounded, almost half of them joined the dead. The survivors scattered in every direction.

"F-rank trash. This was your plan? I'm disappointed. Now, your friend here, that I take as an insult. Is Seo-jin that much of a coward that he sends this excrement in his place? Truly revol"

"You speak words you should not. I won't allow you to insult Broodfather."

Laughing, Chelk's stomach shook as he lowered himself back to the ground.

"Broodfather? What a disgusting name. You should"

Mid-sentence, the Cardinal suddenly tensed. In front of him, the demon trying to rescue his hostage pushed himself upright as though Chelk's pressure meant nothing. At the same time, bloodlight began leaking from the darkness of Fang's body, rising into the air as a pillar of blood.

That alone wasn't what made Chelk tense.

Across the docks, more pillars of bloodlight rose to join Fang's, one of them burning with flames. They surrounded the docks from every direction.

Including the one in front of him, Chelk counted ten auras.

All of them A-rank.

As the situation began slipping from his control, Chelk heard something that only made it worse. Gregor was laughing.

Coughing blood between each broken laugh, Gregor managed to roll onto his back, his eyes glowing grey as he stared up at the Cardinal.

"You pissed off the Brood, Cardinal! You should not have done that!"

"Silence!"

Realizing he needed to act fast, Chelk raised his hands to attack, but stopped short.

On either side of his head, Tiamat and Bahamut hovered inches away, both sets of fangs exposed.

Somehow, without the Cardinal noticing, Seo-jin now stood directly behind him.

The Broodfather had arrived.

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