Just as the monster took flight, an enormous rat scurried out from the corner of the alley ahead. It was trembling violently, as if in the throes of imnse terror, but it still bravely charged out from the alley's mouth.
Tied to the rat with thin thread was a pistol of an eerie black color, which trembled with the creature's frantic pace. Without anyone controlling it, the gun suddenly tore free of its bindings, twitched as if alive, and then shot straight up into the night sky.
"Damn it!"
He glanced back. Hathaway and Briny were already so distant they were little more than indistinct black specks. Seeing this, Jenkins set the cat down, darted into an alley leaving a phantom image in his wake, and nimbly scrambled up a drainpipe to the roof. He gathered his strength and, harnessing the powerful leap from [Cat's Grace], launched himself into the air.
A man in a navy sweater was hardly conspicuous against the night sky; one might miss him even if they were looking for him. All Jenkins could feel was the biting cold of the air, and he hated the sensation of his feet leaving solid ground.
As he soared into the air, he angled his body upward, hurtling toward the flying pistol. Under the moonlight, the black gun and the man in the navy sweater converged high above the street. A look of surprised delight crossed Jenkins's face as he reached for the weapon, but just at that mont, its muzzle flared with fire.
The bullet, fired on its own, missed Jenkins and shot downward, striking the rooftop. It then ricocheted off the street below, flying back up into the air and hitting the pistol. The impact sent the gun veering off in a new direction. Jenkins's fingertips were a re inch away, but now it was impossibly out of reach.
Plumting toward the ground, Jenkins watched with wide eyes as the gun flew directly into the mutated soul. The dark spiritual aura flared with a clarity he had never seen before, its light like a black hole devouring the colors of the night sky. For a fleeting instant, even the stars seed to vanish as the two rged.
An intensely chilling and inscrutable presence instantly enveloped the entire block. Ordinary people, whether sleeping or awake, all felt as if they saw an indescribable black shadow hovering over the street.
Before Jenkins's very eyes, the gun and the mutated soul fused into one.
Fortunately, Jenkins never hit the ground. A soft body broke his fall. He looked over his shoulder to see Hathaway, flying above the street and struggling to support his weight.
"How can you all fly... I an, Hathaway, you can fly?"
"That last opera, 'The City in the Sky.'"
The girl reminded him in a whisper, then gently set him down on a nearby rooftop. They both looked up at the monster in the night sky. The creature now existed sowhere between a spiritual body and a physical one, but it had lost its human form. Dozens of slender, black gun muzzles extended from a dark, fleshy mass, which squird as if on the verge of transforming.
Its amorphous state suggested it was likely to evolve further—a common rule among extraordinary creatures.
"Where's Briny?"
Jenkins still rembered to ask after his friend.
"She's safe. I knocked her out and hid her. But what in the world is that thing?"
Unlike the more experienced Jenkins, Hathaway had never co face to face with sothing so terrifying.
"It's hard to explain... but we need to be quick. This level of spiritual pollution isn't that strong. I think the police will be here soon."
He looked up at the thing in the sky, then shot a sidelong glance at Hathaway. The red-haired girl was already formulating a plan, too focused to notice his peculiar expression.
"Whatever that is, since it can fly, we have to fly too, or else... Oh, my God!"
A soft whinny echoed through the air.
A unicorn, radiating a sacred white light, erged from a tear in space and let out a soft cry under the moonlight. It walked affectionately to Jenkins's side, gently rubbing its golden horn against his arm. With the cat gone, the unicorn felt bold enough to show its affection more openly.
"Oh, God, is that a uni—"
"I'll explain later."
Jenkins placed a hand on Hathaway's shoulder, his expression grim as he t her eyes.
"We've stumbled into so serious trouble this ti. I'll explain everything, I promise, but can we please deal with this first?"
"Okay."
The red-haired girl nodded, still in a daze, and instinctively reached out to touch the small, white creature. It initially flinched, but upon sensing the woman's connection to its master, it reluctantly held its ground.
Her hand made contact with its silky coat. The soft, smooth feel of its fur and its sacred bearing left Hathaway montarily spellbound once more.
She watched in a stupor as the small creature lowered itself so Jenkins could climb onto its back. Only then, a mont later, did she follow him into the night sky.
Even now, Jenkins still had no idea what that gun truly was, much less what it had beco after fusing with the mutated soul.
But in this world, no creature besides the gods was immortal and indestructible. Of that, Jenkins was certain.
As he and Hathaway ascended into the night sky, the gun barrels on the black ball of flesh opened fire on them simultaneously. Jenkins had already warned Hathaway that the gun fired a type of cursed bullet that was incredibly difficult to handle, so she dodged with extre caution.
Her speed and reflexes were no match for a bullet, of course, but as long as she stayed behind Jenkins, the unicorn could conjure a golden barrier to block the projectiles.
This was likely a new ability the small creature possessed now that [Unicorn Summon] had evolved into [Sacred Unicorn Summon]. Once Jenkins learned [The Book's Aegis], however, he would be able to create a similar barrier himself.
"Do you have any attacks that work on spiritual bodies?"
Jenkins asked.
"I do, but it'll take a mont to prepare."
Hathaway replied from behind him.
"Alright, I understand."
Jenkins nodded. "Fall back," he directed, and then charged forward. With the battlefield high above the town, he couldn't use abilities like [Twin Demons], leaving him to harry the monster with [Knowledge Bestowal] and bursts of fla.
But his attacks weren't particularly effective. Each hit would cause the creature to pause its barrage for a few seconds, but it seed that any damage he inflicted was simply absorbed by the black, fleshy mass.
Jenkins had a sinking feeling that once the creature began to properly transform, he would be in for much bigger trouble.
"Get over here, quickly!"
Suddenly, he heard Hathaway shouting from a distance. Without any prompting from Jenkins, the unicorn flew toward her. Jenkins hadn't been expecting much from Hathaway's attack, but to his surprise, the mont she opened her mouth, even the chain of his own pocket watch began to vibrate slightly.
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