Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 426 Hunter and Prey Under the Cover of Night

"In the darkness, who is the hunter and who is the prey is never determined by the light."

"When the moonlight is obscured by clouds, the shadow begins to learn to kill."

Between shadows, the only truth is—

Only those who survive to the end deserve to be called hunters.

—The Secret Records of the Eternal Night Blood Alliance

The night in Areston was shrouded in a heavy, iron-gray hue.

Dark clouds, like a heavy curtain, blocked out the moonlight, and even the church bells sounded muffled and slow, as if they were pressed down in cotton.

The oil lamps on both sides of the street swayed in the wind, flickering and casting shadows on the dilapidated walls that looked like menacing ghostly hands.

High up, Celian crouched on the edge of the eaves of an abandoned merchant guild, completely hidden in the shadows.

The night wind ruffled her cloak, bringing with it a faint smell of blood.

Her pupils contracted into narrow vertical slits as she gazed at the patrol below—seven Divine Knights.
The synchronized steps caused the joints of her armor to make a soft, metallic clanging sound, like the ticking of an hourglass, reminding her that the hunt had begun.

At the rear of the column, a young knight lagged behind, his longsword hanging limply, seemingly weary from the long patrol.

--Chance.

Selene leaned forward, her cloak taut in the air. The next instant, the shadow seemed to be torn apart, and her figure plummeted from the eaves, landing silently on her feet, the movement as swift as a phantom.

A cold glint flashed in the dim lamplight. The young knight only had time to widen his eyes and utter a half-scream before his throat was ripped open by the sharp claws, and hot blood splattered onto the stone pavement.

However, the sudden muffled sound still alerted the patrol team ahead.

"Enemy attack!" The leading female knight's voice was clear and sharp, like a steel sword being drawn from its sheath.

She is Sephiroth Orestia, the Grand Master of the Order of Divine Grace, and Queen Medusa's personal guardian knight.

Her armor reflected a holy glow under the flickering lamplight. Her right hand was already gripping the hilt of her sword, and her left hand raised the holy emblem, causing the knights around her to immediately form a semi-circle around her.

Selene looked up, licked the blood from the corner of her lips, and gave a smile that was almost one of pleasure.

She could feel the pure, almost repulsive, divine power emanating from Sephir, like the scorching sun burning her skin.

A direct confrontation would consume too much of her time and energy—and tonight, she wanted a long hunt, not a duel.

The next instant, she swayed and transformed into a shattered shadow, slipping into the depths of the alley.

The knights rushed in, only to catch a glimpse of a cloak swaying at the end of the alley before disappearing into another shadow.

Sephir stopped and slowly exhaled a cold breath, his gaze as sharp as an eagle locking onto its prey.

"Block out this area, detachments give chase." Her voice was flat, yet carried an undeniable authority. "She won't go far—tonight, she is the prey."

The bell on the street corner rang again, deep and long, but it was drowned out by the sound of iron hooves clashing with armor.

The night in Areston is completely permeated with the atmosphere of the hunt.

The wind howled in the night sky, like a taut string.

With a touch of her boot toes on the rooftop, Selian darted towards the next rooftop like an arrow, her cloak trailing a black arc behind her.

The tiles trembled slightly beneath her feet, then rolled off with a cracking sound, breaking the deathly silence of the night.

"There—!" someone shouted from the other end of the roof. Two knights of divine grace rushed out, their holy emblems glowing faintly on their chests.

Selian didn't stop. With a wave of her right hand, a crimson wave of blood surged out like a twisted scythe, forcefully pushing the two of them back.

Tiles shattered and scattered, accompanied by short, muffled groans and the sharp scraping of metal in the night wind.

When she landed, she had already turned into a dark alleyway, and her shadow swallowed her figure like water.

However, the next moment, a holy light exploded at the alley entrance—a low-ranking one-winged angel was summoned to descend, its wings trailing a faint light, illuminating the shadows like a lighthouse.

“Expose her location!” Sephir’s voice echoed in the light, cold and brief.

Holy light tore through the darkness, revealing Selene's figure. She suddenly accelerated, flicking her finger, leaving only a corner of her cloak fluttering in the air.

The charging knight swung his sword down, the holy flames blazing brightly, but it only severed the empty piece of cloth.

Rooftops, stone statues, rain gutters—Cerian's figure moved between the city's high and low points. Once, she leaped from the church bell tower, using her opponent's shoulders for leverage, and soared into the air like a night bird skimming across the water.

On another occasion, she was walking among the wooden beams in the dock area, the planks creaking under her feet, when the knight chasing closely behind her broke a beam and fell heavily between empty boxes.

Dark clouds obscured the last vestiges of moonlight, and only the footsteps of the pursuers and the clanging of armor echoed through the empty streets.

Sephir watched the battle from a window in a high tower, her gaze like that of a falcon locked onto a distant, shifting dark figure, yet always just a step too late.

"Split into teams, open up the encirclement, and block her escape route."

Sephir gritted his teeth and gave the order.

Below, the Divine Knights dispersed, like a cast net, encompassing the entire city as their hunting ground.

As night deepened, a murderous intent quietly brewed in the shadows of the alleyways and under the eaves.

The night was split into countless fragments, like a curtain cut open by a knife.

The scattered squads of Divine Grace Knights wandered through every corner of Areston, their holy emblems glowing faintly on their chests, reflecting the focus and unease on their faces.

The first sound of a hunt occurred in the corridor of a dilapidated chapel.

The lone knight on patrol pushed open the creaking wooden door, the holy light barely dispelling the dust.

Just as he held his breath and listened, the shadow above the stained glass window twisted silently—Selian swooped down, her crimson claws piercing through his armor like blooming roses.

The sound of metal cracking and a low gasp rang out simultaneously, and blood dripped from between his fingers onto the church icon, forming a sickly flower.

The second hunt took place in the dock warehouse area.

The two knights stood back to back on guard, the mist beneath their feet surging silently and suddenly coalescing into a "Blood Knight" clad in crimson armor.

It raised its spear and charged forward, while Selene, like a blade in the night, silently swept past them from behind, her claws tearing through the gaps in their armor and stealing the rhythm of their heartsbeats.

The blood mist quickly engulfed the corpse, leaving only the holy emblem rolling on the ground, coldly reflecting the moonlight.

The third place is a forgotten stone-paved alley.

A young knight of divine grace heard low footsteps coming from the end of the alley and, his heart pounding, raised his sword to meet the attack.

Suddenly, a gust of wind rushed in from the side, and he saw only a pair of scarlet eyes light up in the shadows, followed by a chill that rose from the back of his neck—the last touch before death.

The clanging sound of the sword falling on the stone slab seemed to bid farewell to his soul.

Each attack by Selene was clean and precise, not a single strike was superfluous. Her movements were like a dance—spinning, diving, landing, her black cloak billowing in the wind like the waves of night. Blood congealed into tiny red beads on the back of her hands and in her hair, but she casually flicked them away, like an artist scattering excess paint.

The prey is dwindling, and fear is growing.

The remaining knights began to retreat in panic, the light of the holy emblem became unstable, and their breathing became rapid like bellows.

Those warriors who once marched in unison and swore oaths seemed to hear the huntress's low laughter in the darkness—a laughter that carried the unique elegance and cruelty of vampires.

In the distance, atop the tower, Sephir sensed his men rapidly dwindling and his gaze grew increasingly cold.

"Everyone, gather in the Cathedral Square!" she commanded, her voice carrying through the streets in the holy light. "We will end her under the holy light!"

The direction of the square lit up with an even brighter light, like a white net spread out in the night.

Selene licked her fangs and gave a meaningful smile—she knew that the prey had gathered together on their own initiative.

The night in Alleston was as dark as an iron curtain, but the Cathedral Square burned with a bright white light in the darkness.

The Grand Master of the Divine Grace Knights, Sephiroth Violet, stood at the top of the main steps of the sanctuary. His golden hair, illuminated by the holy light, resembled a burning flame. He held a halberd and his gaze was as cold as ice.

In the center of the square, a heavily wounded knight knelt before the stone steps, panting heavily, blood seeping into the cracks of the stone through his shattered silver armor.

The surroundings of the sanctuary were eerily quiet, as if only his agonizing groans echoed.

The shadow of the eaves trembled slightly.

Selene—that black shadow that moved between the night sky and the crimson hue—skimmed lightly to the edge of the square, her scarlet pupils slightly contracting in the holy light.

She saw the seemingly isolated knight, and a hint of amusement curved her lips. The prey... was right before her.

She approached silently, her vampire aura spreading like a cold wind across the stone slabs. Just as she extended her blood claws—

boom!
Four barriers of holy light suddenly rose up, sealing off the square into a dazzling cage.

More than ten knights of divine grace appeared simultaneously inside and outside the barrier. Their holy swords transformed into blazing white rainbows under the holy light, all pointing towards the vampire princess in the center of the square.

High-pitched chants echoed through the night sky as Sephiroth descended slowly from the heights of the sanctuary, his halberd trailing a radiant tail of flame, his voice as cold and sharp as a blade:

"Daughter of the Night, tonight, your end has come."

Selene narrowed her eyes, her figure instantly transforming into a shadow as she attempted to slip past the barrier.

However, the holy light burned like the scorching sun, and her shoulder was scorched the moment it touched the barrier, the smell of burning filling the air.

She let out a low roar, gathering waves of blood in her hands, causing a barrier to tremble violently. Shattered fragments of light scattered like meteors, but were quickly repaired by the power of the holy chant in the next moment.

Two knights seized the opportunity to rush forward, their holy swords slicing through the air with a divine roar as they struck her side—

Metal clashed with blood claws, sparks flying.

Selene ripped open one of the men's breastplates with a backhand slash, but was also slashed on the shoulder by another sword, blood blooming like red flowers on her black battle armor.

She was panting, her back slightly hunched under the intense holy light. Even the vampire's powerful regenerative abilities were suppressed to their limit by the divine power.

The knights around her closed in step by step. Sephir's halberd drew a semicircle in the light, its radiance like the first rays of dawn, ready to utterly kill her.

On the eastern horizon, a sliver of dawn began to appear—for low-ranking vampires, this was a death sentence.
However, the vampire princess Selian looked disdainfully in the direction of the sunlight, showing no interest whatsoever.

However—just as a glint of certainty flashed in Sephir's eyes, a mysterious smile slowly crept onto Selene's lips.

She pulled an ancient, mysterious card from her bosom, its surface glowing with a deep red light. Her fingertips lightly traced the writhing, coiling snake shadow on the card, and she softly chanted a string of lost dragon language.

Suddenly, a wind from the abyss blew through the square, which was shrouded in holy light.

Ancient dragon language spells surged between Serian's lips, deep and resonant like the sound of tides rising from the depths of the earth.

The mysterious card shattered into countless streams of light between her fingers, seeping into the earth through the cracks in the stones of the sanctuary square. The next instant, the entire square trembled as if gripped by an invisible giant hand, and even the air seemed to emit a low groan.

thump—

The thumping of the world's heart resonated so intensely it made my eardrums ache.

The stone slabs cracked, the statues on the temple steps collapsed one after another, and a dark crack ran through the center of the square, bottomless, as if extending into an unknown abyss.

From within the crack, a roar that spanned the ages first came—the furious cry of an ancient behemoth whose name could not even be described by the gods, as if questioning the heavens: Who dares to disturb my slumber?
The earth collapsed, and scales rose up like mountain ranges, pushing the broken stones and debris upwards.

Each of its scales is engraved with twisted life patterns and incomprehensible symbols, reflecting an eerie interplay of gold and dark blue.

The colossal body, spiraling upwards, resembled an endless black mountain range, slowly rising from the abyss.

Then—that massive, fortress-like head emerged from the ground.

Their eyes, burning with cold golden flames, hung directly above the knights' heads, then lowered down, gazing down at these tiny mortals with the air of looking down on an ant colony.

That gaze was neither angry nor pitying, but a cold scrutiny that froze the soul.

With each breath, the air, carrying the salty, decaying scent of the ancient deep sea, floods into everyone's lungs, making each person feel as if cold tentacles are crawling inside their chest cavity.

The towering bell tower of the sanctuary was nothing more than a child's toy before it; with a gentle touch, it collapsed with a deafening crash, accompanied by the sound of iron and stone breaking.

The formation of the Divine Knights instantly collapsed—some collapsed to the ground, muttering incoherent prayers;
Some had their eyes wide open, their pupils dilated with fear, their minds shattered like broken mirrors.

A few knights who still held the holy sword charged forward with shouts, but the white light couldn't even produce a spark on the giant serpent's scales.

Jormungandr raised its head and opened its enormous maw—its roar materialized into a shockwave that shattered the glass of the surrounding buildings, sending dust and debris raining down like a storm.

The next moment, the giant maw fell and swallowed Serian whole in the center of the square.

However, it was not devouring, but protecting—within its body, thick scales and flesh shielded it from the approaching sunlight of dawn.

The giant serpent's body began to slowly sink back to the earth, its coiled torso crushing everything in its path, leaving behind winding, deep valleys.

Dust, screams, bells, hymns—all were buried in the abyss of silence.

Moments later, the giant shadow vanished completely, leaving only ruins and a rift valley on the ground.

The overnight siege ended in vain, with countless casualties.

The first rays of dawn pierced through the dark clouds and shone on the broken walls and ruins.

Before the steps of the sanctuary, Sephir knelt on one knee, his halberd broken and his armor riddled with cracks.

She gazed at the dust and smoke left behind by the departing giant serpent, her teeth clenched, and whispered a vow:
"I will catch up, Daughter of Darkness... even if it means crossing Hell."

"When the giant shadow obscures the moon and stars, the brilliance of mortals is as insignificant as a firefly."

Before dawn arrives, the river of night will continue to swallow countless drowning victims.

—From *The Mysterious Beast Chronicles: Jormungandr*

(End of this chapter)