Somewhere in East Tivian, deep within a narrow alley, in a dead-end. Under Dorothy’s control, Nephthys, enhanced by the Devouring Sigil, swiftly defeats the thugs who had attacked her. Seeing this, Mossance finally decides to step in. He clenches his fist and swings it at Nephthys with incredible speed. Dorothy, noticing this, immediately maneuvers Nephthys to dodge the attack. “That speed... is he a Beyonder?” Realizing that Mossance is different from the thugs, Dorothy becomes more serious. She begins to control Nephthys more precisely, engaging Mossance in a close-quarters fight. Mossance’s punches are fast, creating a whistling sound as they cut through the air. It’s clear that his strikes carry significant force. However, his movements lack flexibility. While he has speed and power, his reactions are slow, making it easy for Dorothy to predict his actions. “This guy... he’s a Craver.” After a few exchanges, Dorothy quickly identifies Mossance as an Apprentice-rank Chalice Beyonder, specifically a Craver. This is one of the Beyonder pathways Dorothy is most familiar with. The fight between Nephthys and Mossance continues. In theory, their strength and speed are evenly matched, making it difficult for either side to gain the upper hand. However, with Dorothy controlling Nephthys, she completely dominates Mossance. Mossance’s attacks are easily dodged, and he is repeatedly struck by the "meteor hammer" Nephthys wields, causing him to cry out in pain. While their physical strength is nearly equal, Dorothy’s combat skills far surpass Mossance’s. After successfully advancing to the Black Earth rank, Dorothy had inscribed the Blazing Quickstrike Sword and Laurent Swordsmanship into her expanded Soul Codex. Of course, to conserve the Soul Codex’s capacity, Dorothy didn’t inscribe the entire sword techniques like Vania did. Instead, she only inscribed basic combat skills and experience. These basic skills include footwork, predicting opponents’ movements, feints, and force application techniques—all versatile combat skills that can be used with weapons other than swords. While they may not reach the same level as when using a sword, they are widely applicable. After all, a master swordsman, even without a sword, can wield other weapons with skill far beyond that of an ordinary person. Under the guidance of master-level dueling experience, Nephthys wields the "meteor hammer," combining it with punches and kicks to relentlessly strike Mossance, leaving him bruised and battered. Soon, Mossance can no longer endure and begins to beg for mercy. "Stop! Stop hitting me! Please, spare me! Ah! I won’t dare do it again, miss!" Mossance, now completely abandoning any attempt to attack and only covering his head in defense, pleads for mercy. Seeing this, Dorothy controls Nephthys to knock him to the ground and then stops, coldly addressing the groaning Mossance. "Spare you? You just tried to rob me, and now you want me to spare you?" "Yes... I was blind! I didn’t realize you were also a true Beyonder. I thought you were just another novice. For the sake of the Mother of Chalice, spare me! Don’t consume me! I can be useful to you!" Mossance pleads with a hint of fear in his voice. Clearly, he mistakes Nephthys for a Chalice Beyonder. In the Chalice spiritual path, it seems there is a practice of consuming others of the same path, which is why Mossance fears Nephthys might consume him, much like Luer consumed Buck. Hearing the name Mother of Chalice, Dorothy is momentarily stunned but quickly responds through Nephthys. "You ask me not to consume you... but did you ever consider the feelings of those you’ve consumed?" Nephthys speaks sternly to Mossance. Hearing her words, Mossance is taken aback. He looks up at Nephthys, his bruised face showing a hint of surprise. "Consider the feelings of those I’ve consumed? You... you’re not from the Blood Devourer Faction?" “Blood Devourer Faction? What is he mistaking me for? Based on his earlier words and this faction’s name, does it refer to a group that specializes in consuming others? Does that mean there are multiple factions among Chalice Beyonders?” Hearing Mossance’s words, Dorothy feels a surge of curiosity. Her intuition tells her that she might be able to extract some valuable information from this man. "I’m indeed not from the Blood Devourer Faction." Through Nephthys, Dorothy responds. Hearing this, Mossance’s face lights up with relief. "You’re not from the Blood Devourer Faction? That’s great! Miss, I’m not from that faction either. You see, among the Chalice societies nowadays, those not from the Blood Devourer Faction are rare. We’re on the same side! So, please, be merciful and spare me this time!" Mossance continues to plead. Hearing his words, Nephthys asks further. "Then which society do you belong to? What method do you use to accumulate Chalice spirituality?" "Well... I used to belong to the High Ring Black Fist Society. We used the Body Forging Method to accumulate Chalice spirituality. Unlike the Blood Devourer Method, which steals Chalice spirituality from others’ flesh and blood, we focus on intense physical training to strengthen our bodies, making them more robust and abundant, thus generating more Chalice spirituality." Mossance explains. Hearing his words, Dorothy is surprised. “Body Forging Method... So, it’s possible to increase spirituality purely through physical training? Instead of stealing Chalice spirituality from others, this method enhances one’s own Chalice. “And judging by the name of their society, they’re involved in underground boxing? I didn’t expect boxers to produce Beyonders. It fits the style of the Body Forging Method.” Dorothy thinks to herself, then has Nephthys smile slightly and respond with a hint of sarcasm. "Black Fist Society? Your boxing skills don’t seem that impressive." "Well... that’s because your skills are too advanced, miss..." "Don’t flatter me. Continue. You said you used to belong to the High Ring Black Fist Society. Why did you leave?" Dorothy continues to probe. Hearing Nephthys’ question, Mossance pauses, then responds with a solemn expression. "It’s not that I left... the society no longer exists." "What?" "The High Ring Black Fist Society was destroyed over a year ago by the Wolf Blood Society of the Afterbirth Cult. I’m just one of the survivors who managed to escape." Mossance says with a hint of gloom in his eyes. Hearing this, Dorothy frowns. "Afterbirth Cult... Wolf Blood Society?" "Yes, don’t you know? In their pursuit of higher-quality blood, they’ve been hunting down other Chalice societies for a long time. Over the years, almost all non-Afterbirth affiliated Chalice societies in Tivian have been secretly wiped out. This includes not just us, but other societies that practiced different accumulation methods.” "Now, many remnants of these Chalice societies are either scattered across Tivian like me, or they’ve gathered in South Tivian. It’s said they’ve formed an alliance there to resist the Afterbirth Cult." Mossance continues. Hearing his words, Dorothy’s frown deepens. “So, there are Chalice societies in Tivian, and they’re led by the Afterbirth Cult. It seems their influence is quite significant. Luer was originally one of them. What a coincidence.” “It seems that while there are multiple Chalice accumulation methods and factions, the Blood Devourer Faction, led by the Afterbirth Cult, currently dominates. Other factions and societies have been suppressed or even eradicated.” “Given the nature of Chalice spirituality, which allows one to grow by consuming flesh, it’s no surprise that a Chalice Beyonder would find it more efficient to consume another Chalice Beyonder rather than an ordinary person. This likely leads to intense infighting and consumption within the same spiritual societies…” “Ugh... Being a Chalice Beyonder seems dangerous. Fellow Beyonders see each other as pieces of meat…” With these thoughts, Dorothy has Nephthys continue questioning. "That alliance in South Tivian—where exactly is it? What’s their current situation? Do you know anything about that?" "Sorry... I don’t know much about that. Since the Black Fist Society was destroyed, I’ve avoided getting involved with other Chalice Beyonders, so I haven’t made an effort to gather information on that." Mossance replies, disappointing Dorothy slightly. Dorothy had hoped that finding the Chalice alliance might provide an opportunity to obtain many Chalice mystical texts. Thinking this, Dorothy has Nephthys continue speaking. "I haven’t been in Tivian for long, so I’m not familiar with the situation here. Thank you for the information. As a reward, I’ll let you go and spare your life." "R-really? Thank you, miss, for sparing me!" Hearing that his life will be spared, Mossance is overjoyed. After his society was destroyed by the Wolf Blood Society, he has been wary of other Chalice Beyonders. Now, this Chalice Beyonder, whom he had tried to rob, has shown him mercy. This is a great relief. If he had encountered a Chalice Beyonder associated with the Afterbirth Cult, he would have been consumed entirely. Seeing Mossance’s grateful expression, Nephthys smiles slightly and continues. "I can let you go, but since you dared to attack me, you’ll have to pay a small price." With that, Nephthys glances at the group of thugs and gestures with her hand. "I don’t need much. Hand over all the cash and any mystical resources you have as compensation for my distress, and then you can leave." Nephthys says with a smile to the group of thugs. Hearing her words, Mossance and his gang are momentarily stunned. After this, Dorothy has Nephthys thoroughly search Mossance and his gang, then lets them go. Since they are in the city center and Nephthys doesn’t have a magic box to dispose of bodies, and since they only robbed her without harming or assaulting her, Dorothy decides not to kill them to avoid causing trouble for Nephthys. Instead, she has Nephthys rob them in return. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎 In the end, Dorothy obtains three sigils—two Devouring Sigils and one Shadow sigil, though she doesn’t recognize the specific type. She also obtained a Chalice mystical text, some miscellaneous ritual materials, and 53 pounds in cash. “Ugh, not even 100 pounds. They’re so poor.” Dorothy thinks, looking at the cash. But there’s nothing she can do about it. After this, Dorothy has Nephthys make her way to a safe street, hail a carriage, and board it. Then, she releases control. "Phew... I... I’m finally back?" In the carriage, Nephthys, feeling her body return to her control, lets out a long sigh of relief. She looks at her hands in disbelief. Being able to control her body again brings Nephthys a sense of security. However, she soon realizes something and opens her designer bag on her lap. After moving aside the "spoils" Dorothy had helped her collect, she sees a pile of crushed brick fragments inside the bag. Digging through the debris, she finds her cracked makeup case and hand mirror. Her precious cosmetics have spilled out, mixed with the brick dust. Seeing this, Nephthys feels her heart stop. With a look of despair, she thinks to herself. “Miss Dorothy... couldn’t you have chosen a different weapon?” … Meanwhile, in the underground chamber, Dorothy, having just helped Nephthys deal with the thugs, stands up and stretches. "Ahhh~ Another good deed done. Feels great~ It’s really different after reaching the Black Earth rank." Dorothy says cheerfully. Through this experience with Nephthys, she got to test her new abilities and feels in good spirits. "However, the spirituality consumption is still quite high. Controlling a marionette from such a distance has no range limit, but it costs at least 1 Chalice to start, and attaching a Devouring Sigil costs another 1 Chalice. Ugh... I just leveled up, and Chalice is already in short supply..." Dorothy mutters to herself, stroking her chin. After advancing, her Chalice reserves had dropped to 6 points. After this ordeal, she’s down to 4 points. It’s clear that as a Chalice-auxiliary Marionettist, Chalice spirituality will be in high demand in the future. However, as a Scholar, Dorothy doesn’t naturally produce Chalice, meaning her reserves will dwindle with use. "It seems that after dealing with the campus situation, I’ll need to head to South Tivian to find that so-called Chalice alliance." Dorothy murmurs to herself. The biggest gain from helping deal with the thugs wasn’t the spoils but the unexpected information about the Chalice societies in Tivian. She now plans to visit South Tivian to find the alliance and see if she can obtain some Chalice from them. “Ah... I kind of miss the Eucharist now~” Suddenly, Dorothy thinks this. Back in Igwynt, she never had to worry about running out of Chalice. "Never mind. For now, I need to head back up and check on the situation at the campus. After this, those guys should be withdrawing from the campus." With that, Dorothy packs up her things in the chamber, picks up a gas lamp, and heads into the exit passage that she had opened earlier. Walking into the passage, Dorothy finds a staircase leading upward. She climbs the stairs, and after what feels like an eternity, her legs beginning to ache, she finally reaches the top. Before her stand two tall stone statues, depicting two hooded hermits with long beards. One holds an open book, while the other carries an armillary sphere. “An armillary sphere and a book—astronomy and scholarship. The stars and knowledge, perhaps?” Dorothy thinks, looking at the statues. She then focuses on the stone door between them. Dorothy approaches the stone door and touches the scratches that form Universal Language. The scratches twist and transform into Pritt Common text. "Congratulations on your ascension, Scholar. More knowledge awaits your exploration. May you go further under the gaze of the All-Seeing Eye." After the message appears, the stone door slowly creaks open. Beyond it, bright sunlight streams in, and Dorothy hears the sound of flowing water.