The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Fran flicked his index finger, lightly brushing past Anderson, and began to patiently guide him as if teaching a student.

"First, there's quartz that has liquefied into glass and lost its crystalline characteristics. This is a standard display vessel... Second, there's this."

She took a piece of blood-red chalcedony from the mouth of a statue of a deity and displayed it briefly in her hand.

Anderson fell silent for a moment.

"There shouldn't be anything difficult to say, right? This isn't really a secret to supervisor-level hunters. It's the legendary ultimate alchemy, and the perfect medium that can forcibly transform matter—the 'Philosopher's Stone'."

Baffran toyed with the rose-red chalcedony that shone with a captivating luster, then placed it back into the tip of the deity's statue's tongue.

"I don't understand what you're saying, Doctor."

Anderson gently massaged his throbbing temples, trying to calm his increasingly uncontrollable emotions.

Lu: "Getting bogged down in pointless arguments is not a good habit. You should leave your sophistry elsewhere. The tokens of your main temple are all Philosopher's Stones. As a 'Sun Rider,' do you really know nothing about this?"

Lufran took an exquisite gemstone brooch from the pocket of his white coat and handed it to Anderson with a smile.

When was it stolen? Anderson snatched the brooch, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He hadn't even noticed when Fran had stolen the brooch... The doctor before him was definitely not an ordinary outsourced Hunter...

4. "Hmph. Besides creating various castings, we also conduct alchemical research. This so-called 'Philosopher's Stone' is just one of many byproducts, not the perfect fifth element as rumored."

Ai explained in an annoyed tone, as if he were simply annoyed that the secrets of the cult had been exposed.

"Hmm~" Fran patted his palm with satisfaction.

"After a little guidance, you've learned the art of 'sacrificing a pawn to save the rook,' putting the spirit of sophistry into practice in a very pragmatic way. That's excellent. And coincidentally, I had a surprise in store for you..."

As she spoke, she walked toward the central statue of the deity.

This statue of a young girl lacks the wings and halo that symbolize "divinity," and is depicted only as barefoot and dressed in plain clothes. Unlike other statues with expressions of fear and apprehension, her expression is serene and devout.

Fran rummaged through her small medicine box and pulled out a brand-new, gleaming circular saw. As the saw blade began to hum as it spun rapidly... she gradually sliced ​​open the golden-carved face of the statue.

"What are you doing! By the grace of Zhuyang... What blasphemy!"

Anderson immediately drew his sword to stop him, but a loud clang rang out—a wooden-handled folding knife engraved with the Hunter's Prayer steadily intercepted it.

"Watch quietly until the end, Anderson."

Haida's cool and calm voice slowly drifted over.

Anderson looked rather grim.

The folding knife was just a light, one-handed weapon, yet it somehow overpowered him. She was clearly just the head maid of the funeral parlor... Could she actually be the head of the funeral parlor?

No, even a supervisor shouldn't have such a disparity. She's far more powerful than the evil heir!

"Finish."

As the intense noise of the saw blade gradually subsided, Fran clapped the molten metal from his hands.

Within the golden shell of the statue of the young girl was the face of a girl covered in burn marks. Her eyes were lowered, her calmness terrifying, and her tangled, charred hair had completely obscured its former radiant gold.

"It's you...it's you back?" The moment Anderson saw the person in the statue, he collapsed to the ground as if his spine had been removed.

He then flew into a rage because he realized he had been deceived.

"Impossible! The statue was cast at over 1300 degrees Celsius when the alchemy was activated. How could the corpse be preserved to this extent? It should only be ashes... What trick are you playing?"

“Oh, dear Mr. Anderson, you’re finally being more open. Good, keep it up. I love patients who are willing to open up.”

"The principle is quite simple. After all, casting is very similar to molding; I just need to fill in some skin and flesh to achieve a high degree of similarity..."

While Fran was making his point, Anderson suddenly drew his sword.

The single-handed straight sword, engraved with a rose-red gemstone, burst into flames in an instant, its blade glowing a scorching red heat. This was the second-tier, lower-level secret technique of the Yang Forging System: [Burning].

He slashed horizontally towards Fran's throat, only to feel an overwhelming force... Before he could even see his enemy's movements, he and his sword were sent flying backward, crashing heavily against the wall.

"Ugh..." Anderson knelt down by the wall, vomiting a pool of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

"Sister, I'll ask you one more time, are you really just the 'Head Handmaid'?"

Haida silently stepped forward without responding. She hadn't used a weapon, just given him a simple, unadorned punch... he shouldn't die, right?

Anderson, seeing the other person's expression, spat in frustration.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter who you are... Malz!"

"Ah, finally... finally the moment has come to dedicate my remaining years to my faith. What an honor..."

Malz, trembling, drew a small ceremonial knife and, crouching, plunged it into his chest. His aged body exploded with a deafening roar, the scattered fragments carrying the heat and temperature of molten lava, forming a burning wall.

"Sigrid! Can you see clearly who's in that statue? Don't you recognize them at all?"

Anderson, his face covered in blood, slowly stood up. His distorted features were reflected in the blazing molten fire, revealing a strange madness.

A chorus of "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Vivian pulled the trigger repeatedly, hitting Anderson's internal organs perfectly in the upper body, yet he remained standing.

"It's likely that a part of his body has been replaced with an alchemical creation."

Sihada savored the feeling of her blow; it must have shattered Anderson's spine. An ordinary person would have absolutely no chance of moving in that situation.

Sigrid had somehow arrived in front of the girl's statue. She touched the slashed skin on the statue's face and examined the burn marks on the face beneath the metal.

2. They look so alike; the girl's features are almost identical to mine.

"Is she... me? Is she an imposter, or... am I an imposter?"

For a fleeting moment, her rose-red eyes flickered, and a hint of understanding flashed through them.

"Am I the false 'sun' made of alchemy?"

Sigrid knelt on the ground, her original posture and form beginning to sculpt and peel away, transforming into a two-handed straight sword engraved with sun patterns in the molten fire.

The entire blade was almost entirely composed of pure sunlight, majestic and dazzling, blazing and burning, impossible to look directly at.

"After witnessing the sun and then facing death, I probably won't feel any regret, even if it's a man-made 'pseudo-sun'."

Anderson smiled bitterly, picked up the sword that Sigrid had transformed into, and pointed it at Heda.

"Let's try again!"

Chapter Forty-Six: False Yang and False Sun

"What on earth is going on...?"

Vivian held up her pistol and stared intently at Anderson, who had become one with the scorching wind and molten fire, her teeth clenched.

When Dr. Fran gave the advance reveal, he only showed the girl in the golden statue who looked exactly like Sigrid.

Therefore, she realized that the Sigrid outside was an "imposter" and was very likely the real culprit in this case.

But the current situation has made the truth somewhat elusive. Librarian Malz sacrificed himself to stop Sister Heda, "Sun Rider" Anderson appears to be the mastermind, and Sigrid has even transformed into a sword…

"The truth is not hard to understand, Agent Vivian."

Fran handed Vivian a bucket of popcorn coated in slightly hot caramel, then took one out and delicately popped it into his mouth.

“There are no innocent survivors. Maltz and Anderson are both followers of the ‘Primordial Sun,’ and it was they who facilitated this forbidden alchemy. And Sigrid before us is the ‘False Sun,’ an alchemical creation obtained by sacrificing everyone in the Sunforge.”

"She possesses the true mindset and memories of Sigrid, and perhaps it is her soul that drives the entire alchemical body's actions..."

"enough!"

Anderson had clearly had enough of Fran's explanation. He brandished the pseudo-sun sword in his hand and thrust it straight at her.

The high temperature made the air passing over the sword's edge scalding hot to the point of near distortion. Haida once again drew her folding knife and firmly intercepted it.

But the red-hot metal was transferred from the false sun to her folding knife almost instantly, and the Hunter's Prayer engraved on it burst into flames.

Haida had no choice but to withdraw her hand and retreat. In just one exchange, the blade of the folding knife was nearly melted, and the prayer inscription was completely burned.

"Did you feel it? What is true magnificence! Even stealing a mere glimmer of light from its billions of fragments can unleash such power! Sister, the power you possess is but a firefly compared to it..."

Anderson's expression was respectful and fanatical as he stared intently at the two-handed straight sword in his hand, completely oblivious to the fact that his eyes were bloodshot from the intense light.

Haida inhaled a breath of slightly hot air and lowered her gaze slightly.

Anderson's bones and organs have an alchemical structure, so ordinary external injuries would hardly render him incapacitated in a short period of time.

The safest approach right now is to disrupt the integrity of his physical structure, simply put... tear him to pieces. But with such a drastic move, it would be difficult to avoid the "pseudo-Japanese" sword.

However, the die is cast and the arrow is already on the bowstring; there is no turning back now.

"Please wait a moment, Sister Heda. Didn't I say I'd give you a piece of my collection as a gift during our last house call? I was originally planning to work on it myself first... but now it seems it might be better to let you try it out first."

As Fran's voice rang out, a broken and old yet extremely imposing heavy sword landed in front of Haida, its blade piercing straight into the ground.

"it is good."

There was no time to hesitate during the clash. Haida gripped the Executioner's Greatsword tightly with both hands and drew it to meet the pseudo-sun sword that was releasing flares and burning winds head-on.

In an instant, the dust and rust on the long-damaged power sword peeled away, revealing a flash of cold light, as if it had been reborn.

The swords clashed, then separated in an instant. The two returned to their original positions.

"Tsk, a sword-shaped relic?" (Quickly search)

Anderson had several deep, bone-revealing lacerations on his hands. Broken metacarpal bones pierced through his skin, and blood dripped onto the hilt of his sword, where it then boiled and steamed.

As a seasoned "Sun Rider," Anderson was experiencing this kind of frustration for the first time in battle. The nun before him was clearly so young, yet her combat experience was extremely refined, and her physical attributes were like those of a humanoid evil heir.

She can even shatter her own arm bones with just the force transmitted from the blade... Are you even human?

Heda's condition wasn't good either. The flames on the "false sun" posed too great a threat to her, making it impossible for her to get close. Her arms were now covered in burns, and her corset was gradually falling apart under the licking of the flames.

The temperature inside the alchemy chamber was rising higher and higher.

Haida silently raised her Executor's Greatsword and assumed a classic greatsword starting stance.

The intense heat of the pseudo-sun was spreading rapidly, and this place would gradually become the opponent's home ground... Therefore, she had to decide the outcome in the next strike and fight to the death.

"Not planning to wait any longer? How impatient... Where has the patience that Funeral Home prides itself on gone?"

Anderson naturally noticed the chilling killing intent blatantly clear in Haida's eyes. He smiled deeply and swung his sword, unleashing a blazing inferno that nearly enveloped the entire room.

The impact was so widespread that Fran had to evacuate the room with Vivian. The half-bucket of popcorn that had fallen into the air was also reduced to ashes.

"Peng!"

The golden doors suddenly slammed shut, instantly isolating the entire alchemy chamber from the outside world.

"Does even a duel require a specially enclosed arena? Mr. Anderson is really too ceremonial."

Fran looked at the door, which was now burning red, and felt a pang of regret that he hadn't been able to witness the end of their battle.

"Dr. Fran, is this really the time to say such things? Sister Heda might be in danger..."

The situation was critical, and Vivian had to offer a reminder.

Although she knew that Haida was one of the fiercest among the funeral maids, the Pseudo-Sun Sword was, after all, a forbidden alchemical artifact... She really had no idea who would win.

"I have some faith in Sister Haida. Even if there's an emergency... I've prepared a backup plan."

Fran looked relaxed, his pale white ear feathers slightly curled up, as if he was not in a hurry.

A deafening roar resounded as the golden doors burst open, releasing a wave of high-pressure heat and plumes of smoke.

"call……"

Amidst the choking smoke, one could vaguely make out the newcomer wielding a pseudo-sun sword.

Vivian nervously raised her gun.

Then she saw Heda, covered in flames and coughing, walk out of the alchemy room. She held the Pseudo-Sun Sword in one hand and the Executioner's Greatsword in the other, kicking Anderson's already limp body out of the room.

The "Sun Rider" had dislocated his neck, and the image in his eyes was frozen on the moment when Haida broke through the flames of the solar flare and swung her sword at him.

Sister Heda...you won?

Vivian's tone was somewhat incredulous. Although it was said that the Undertaker's Quarters were teeming with paranoia and madmen, was Sister Haida really that powerful?

Haida's reliability in Vivian's mind suddenly rose to a new level, almost equivalent to Jerry's older cousin.

"Yes. It's been resolved."

Having said that, Haida put down the two straight swords she was holding. She closed her eyes slightly, a wave of weakness washing over her. Just as she was about to collapse, Fran stepped forward and steadily helped her up.

"Burns, inhalation of excessive harmful fumes from the fire, and the high temperature also caused acute heatstroke. Oh, and maybe radiation damage... after all, that sword looks like it has excessive radiation levels."

Fran placed his fingertips on the side of her neck and immediately felt a powerful pump of blood and an astonishing burning sensation.