Alfonso rubbed his aching neck and asked Rachel, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Rachel stared at Marcus standing next to Karin and said, "Todd agreed."
Alfonso paused, then sighed, "Since His Majesty has already made his decision..."
Rachel lowered her voice and said, "I have already sent a request for help to the Valkyrie Order, and I have increased the number of people sent by the Alien Association. You should also have the Knights send some more people over."
Alfonso recalled the scene of the battle just now and couldn't help but feel worried: "Letting such an undead into Twilight City, which is densely populated, I'm worried something bad will happen."
Rachel said, "Marcus won't be entering Twilight City. We'll settle him somewhere else... Oh, by the way, your mission is over. His Majesty wants you to go back now."
Alfonso glanced at Marcus: "Mission over? My feud with him is probably far from over."
"Don't think about solving anything right now," Rachel said. "In Todd's words, Marcus is very useful to us right now."
Alfonso turned to Rachel and asked, "Your words are making me suspicious. Are you implying that Marcus will be disposed of once he is no longer useful?"
Rachel nodded slightly.
Alfonso frowned and asked hesitantly, "Is this also His Majesty's decision?"
Rachel shook her head: "No, this is my decision."
Alfonso turned his head, his words tinged with displeasure: "Using others and then discarding them is unwise. You may gain short-term benefits, but you will alienate many people completely."
Rachel smiled and said, "So you mean you want Marcus, this undead, to stay in the Dragon Kingdom forever, even if it might cause an undead plague, and you just want to turn a blind eye?"
Alfonso didn't know how to answer the question for a moment.
After an internal struggle, Alfonso whispered his decision: "If one day Marcus really has to die, at least arrange a fair duel between him and me. If I win, then everything will be for the best..."
Rachel asked, "What if you lose?"
Alfonso: "After my eyes are closed, you can do whatever you want."
The next morning, Rachel took Karin on their journey home.
Marcus was placed in a special carriage, guarded by dozens of knights and Valkyries who were responsible for giving special "care" to this guest.
Starting from Lone Rock, head north.
Sitting in the carriage, Rachel held the quiet Karin and said softly, "Remember, you can't take such risks next time."
Karin said softly, "I just felt I should do that."
“Doing something is one thing, paying the price is another.” Rachel gently stroked Karin’s hair. “Sometimes, you try your best, you carry heavy burdens, but in the end you find that everything has returned to square one.”
Karin looked up, puzzled.
Rachel smiled and said, "Don't overthink it."
Karin lowered her head thoughtfully, swallowing the words that were about to come out.
Rachel lifted the carriage curtain, looked at the scenery outside, and said, "Before returning to Muxi City, we need to take Marcus somewhere."
Karin suddenly grabbed Rachel's hand: "If possible, please don't hurt him."
Looking into Karin's dull, lifeless eyes, Rachel asked, "Marcus's body is stitched together from body parts. He only retains his most primal instincts and intelligence. His behavior is more like that of a ghoul than a human. In your opinion, is he still the same person he always was?"
Karin lowered her head and said, "I know he is no longer the Marcus he once was, but he still remembers me and many things from the past. If I were to judge him, he would be half human and half undead."
Rachel said, "So, you think the reason he continues to exist is because of the half-human within him?"
Karin nodded gently again.
Rachel smiled.
She patted Karin's head: "You and Todd are the same. You both value Marcus's humanity more and downplay his threat as a necromancer."
Karin asked, "Does Todd also think Marcus should be kept?"
"Todd supports keeping Marcus on a conditional basis, on the condition that an experiment be conducted to see if the latter truly possesses humanity."
Rachel's words puzzled Karin once again: "Experiment?"
Rachel turned her gaze to the window: "You'll find out soon enough."
Three days later, the group finally arrived at their destination—the San Sidlow Monastery.
Hearing the monks chanting and the distant tolling of bells from the clock tower, Karin asked Rachel in surprise, "Why did we come here?"
Rachel gestured for the knights to open Marcus's car door.
Marcus, who had been imprisoned in the carriage for a long time, was already on the verge of exploding with rage. He smashed open the carriage door and rushed out of the carriage, but stopped in his tracks when he was attracted by the towering cross of the San Sidlow Monastery.
Rachel waved her hand, signaling all the knights and Valkyries to remain vigilant and retreat.
Marcus stroked the patterns on the gate of the San Sidlow Monastery and, as if possessed, walked inside.
Along the way, the monks who saw Marcus were terrified and fled in panic.
Marcus, however, paid no attention to the noisy humans and walked straight into the depths of the monastery.
Rachel, supporting Karin, followed Marcus under the protection of knights and Valkyries, until they finally arrived at a room built in the innermost part of the monastery.
Marcus carefully pushed open the dusty door, brushed aside the cobwebs hanging everywhere in the room, walked to a wall, and gently stroked the engraving on the corner.
Karin, who is blind, asked, "Where are we?"
Rachel said, "Marcus went into Myris's room. Ever since Myris disappeared, Todd has ordered that this room be kept in reserve and that no one is allowed to enter."
Karin nodded and then asked, "What is Marcus doing now?"
Rachel looked closely and said, "There are some knife marks on the corner of the room. Marcus is examining those marks carefully."
Karin was silent for a moment, then said, "I know what those are. They were carved by Myris, recording Marcus's height from childhood to adulthood."
Rachel muttered to herself, "Memories of father and son?"
Marcus turned around, went to the bedside, pulled out a box from under the bed, opened it, and found a silver dagger lying alone inside.
When Karin learned all this, she covered her mouth and whispered, "That was the gift I gave Marcus at his coming-of-age ceremony. I always thought he had lost it."
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