The mysterious shadow didn't stay at the entrance for long, it phased through the door as if the partition was not there. The shadow floated in mid-air like a ghost as it found its way into Ye Qi and John's room.
Just like how it phased through the entrance, the shadow passed through the room's door. However, when it entered, Ye Qi and John already stood waiting.
John tossed three vials of Holy Water at the shadow while Ye Qi came at it with Burning Hands.
The golden liquid and cylindrical fire made quick work of the dark shadow. The flames lit up the shadow's true feature that was previously hidden behind a black cape that was quickly melting—it was a faceless human shadow.
The shadow cried helplessly under the torment of both Holy Water and the flames before it soon became a pool of black dust, not unlike burnt ashes.
"F*ck! Now I know why the person committed those grave robberies! He was creating Shadow Warriors!" John cursed studying the ashes on the floor. His face was drawn, there was no sign of joy from their victory. Ye Qi beside him shared the same expression.
Shadow Warrior was created using dead body as a lure to bind wandering ghost. After that, the body was cremated with dark incantation written all over it. After the body was burned into ashes, using the incantation, the wandering spirit could be summoned to serve as a Shadow Warrior. Shadow Warrior, as a creature of the spiritual realm could walk through walls and cause death by harming a person's spiritual energy. This was a method that couldn't be detected scientifically, so Shadow Warriors were the perfect candidate for cultivating assassins.
However, Shadow Warrior's most powerful feature was also its biggest witness. They were greatly vulnerable to light and flame. Therefore, most Dark Magician wouldn't use Shadow Warriors as direct method of attack, but as means of reconnaissance. After all, the fact that they could pass through walls and hide from detection meant that they were the literal eyes and ears in the wall. Due to their fragility, a low-level Skeletal Warrior would make a bigger threat in real combat than a Shadow Warrior.
Even though Ye Qi and John knew how to exploit this weakness, their faces were still drawn because of the number! According to the information they had received, this Demon Servant had already stolen at least 30 graves.
At least 30 Shadow Warriors, that was indeed a headache—the power of number, after all, they were two Demon Hunters facing up against at least 30 Shadow Warriors and the Demon Servant behind them. Furthermore, this might not be the extent of the Demon Servant's full capability, so how could they not be worried?
"We have to sniff out this threat tomorrow morning before the sun falls, if we allow the troop of Shadow Warriors to get mobilized at night, we're dead meat!"
Ye Qi looked at John and they nodded in unison. The other party probably underestimated them for only sending one Shadow Warrior, they doubt they would be so lucky again the night after. If they didn't want to be surrounded by 30 Shadow Warriors, this had to be resolved before tomorrow's sundown!
The fire and screaming in the room of course would attract the people's attention. The hotel owner who was still reeling from the murder at the central square immediately called the police station. The constable who recognized the problematic room as Ye Qi's room immediately rushed over with his team of officers. When Ye Qi finally able to convince them it was just a misunderstanding and send them back to the station, the sun had already rose.
However, the constable's visit did prove useful, at least Ye Qi and John didn't have to walk around town to do their investigation. They could simply ask the constable about suspicious characters in the town.
After some elimination, their remaining suspects were Norton, an old man who lived alone and Erica, the widow. Due to their time constraint, Ye Qi and John decided to split up—Ye Qi responsible for Norton and John, Erica. No matter the result, they would meet up around breakfast time at the town entrance before moving on.
However, as the two departed from the hotel, the constable who had just left moments ago returned with a woman behind him.
The woman had a wave of blonde hair and a pair of rare grey eyes. Her smile was marked by a sense of resoluteness and fortitude that was rarer on the fairer sex. Her body was covered by a long black leather coat.
"Mr. Jack, this is your colleague, Miss Lilian who arrived this morning!"
"Colleague?! From Secret Service?!"
Ye Qi who had just praised the constable immediately levelled him a searing gaze after hearing this introduction.
Even though most Demon Hunter's work was done behind the shadows, the ruthlessness of the Erebus creatures with their random targeting meant that occasionally a Demon Hunter's work would bring them into contact with normal law enforcement. Since most Demon Hunter work was beyond the realm of normalcy, that law enforcement involved would be Secret Service.
One was a play-by-the-book agent while the other was an instinct-driven hunter of otherworldly creatures, one could envision the kind of rocky relationship these two types of personality would share. Even though recent years there had been effort among the upper echelon of Demon Hunter headquarters and government to bridge the gap so that the first meeting of their respective members wouldn't end up in a bullet to the head, it wasn't really working so well. This was especially true for Ye Qi who was masquerading as a service agent. If he was exposed, no Demon Hunter guild would be willing to shelter him, he would either have to commit to plastic surgery or lay on a low profile for several years.
"Agent, name! Unit!"
Ye Qi was quite satisfied with his looks so he had no plans for plastic surgery and he didn't intend to hide like a turtle behind the Demon Hunter guild. Therefore, before the actual agent opened her lips, he made the first move—for Demon Hunters who had constant brush-ins with Secret Service, mimicking their greeting was not hard. After all, most Demon Hunters were horrible gossips under the surface. John had also once taught Ye Qi the Secret Service greeting.
"Lilian! Tempest Unit!"
The blonde woman stood to attention and subconsciously reported for duty.
"Jack! Lightning Unit!
The Demon Hunter played along as he flashed his identification.
"Reporting for duty, sir!"
After glancing at the identification, the woman gave the Demon Hunter a formal salute. His mentor who stood to the side gave Ye Qi a surreptitious thumbs up, praising him for his quick wit before pointing at the woman, mouthing, "I'll leave this baggage with you."
After that, John left like he was just a stranger standing around. While he made sure the woman agent wasn't looking, the young Demon Hunter burned a resentful gaze into his mentor's retreating back.