Chapter Twenty-Nine
Clearly, Ark's appearance was quite different from usual, and Denos swallowed hard as he looked at Ark.
“Heh, maybe it’s just something like that, right? She’s still working as a doctor in the city.” Denos joked, looking at Ark. “Maybe when we go over there someday, she can even make us some refreshments.”
"What happened?" Lady looked at the little spider that suddenly jumped to her side, its limbs outstretched to protect her, as if there were some monster in front of her.
The abandoned child, who had been helping him repair things, also sensed the danger and flicked a sharp knife from his hand.
The two red demons had left their original positions and were now standing in opposite corners, staring intently at Ark who was standing there.
The sudden surge of danger emanating from that guy made everyone feel a weight on their hearts. Although they couldn't sense magic or anything else, they were instinctively filled with fear.
It's like the tension before a battle against a powerful monster; your heart starts racing for no reason.
“But this mask is hers, it still smells of her blood.” Ark looked at the man, took a few deep breaths to calm himself down: “Give me an explanation, where did you get this mask? Please, don’t stay silent. I don’t know if I’ll kill you before I can get an answer, believe me, I’m capable of doing that.”
His voice grew softer and softer, as if speaking these words had exhausted all his strength. Or perhaps, his attempts to maintain composure had left him utterly weary, and he now felt an urge to tear it to pieces.
"You mean the previous user of this mask?" The guy pointed to the mask on his face: "She's dead. This is what she gave me before she died."
It sounded like a woman's voice, but Ark didn't care whether it was a man or a woman. Suddenly, he felt a tightness in his chest and wanted to find a place to lean on for a while.
"Is that so? He really is dead." Ark said helplessly, "But that makes sense, the time is almost up."
Then it raised its head again and looked at the crow: "What's your relationship with her?"
"She saved my life, and I followed her for a long time."
"A long time? Ha, you've only been with her for a few years."
"It has been six years."
"I've been with her for forty-six years! You call that long?" Ark suddenly became agitated, slapping its head. "How old was she? Not even sixty yet, right? How... how could she be dead..."
As he spoke, Yak looked up at her and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
It returned to that expressionless face.
"Please accept my condolences. Human lifespan is very limited," Dedeline said softly from the side.
She was a little older than that guy, but she was still a child, while the other had died of old age.
The man wearing the raven mask didn't come to comfort him; he just nodded slightly.
“She was seriously ill,” the crow said after a pause. “She already had it when I saw her.”
“The magic infection was my fault. She had lived with me in the carriage since she was very young. Anyone who travels in the Chaotic Region will inevitably be infected to some extent,” Ark said softly. “At first, we could suppress it with some methods. This situation continued for decades, until she became so weak from it that she would likely die if she entered the Chaotic Region again. She stayed in a city where we stopped to rest. Like here, it was a small city, nothing special. Just a place that didn’t even deserve a proper name on the map.”
“But even so, you didn’t spend her last moments with her.” Raven hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ark and said, “When she died, she was still telling me stories of her adventures. She even gave me a skincare product. She said it was a gift from the merchant who had always taken her with him.”
"Someone?"
“You know the characteristics of your own constitution. The fact that she can still roughly remember you means she cares about you a lot. The magic infection made her memory worse and worse, and for a long time afterward, she just sat alone in a dark room wearing a mask, lost in thought.” Raven looked at Ark and said, “Although I’d like to catch up with you now, it seems like everyone is still here. It doesn’t seem appropriate to talk about these things now.”
"It's alright, you can continue. Anyway, those are the things we can discuss." Hack waved from behind, indicating that there was still plenty of time.
Nina shrugged and moved to a corner, looking like she wanted to lean back and rest.
It's just a subconscious habit; there are just too many organizations appearing here all of a sudden. If anything unexpected happens, this place is obviously safer than other places.
Yak nodded, having calmed down somewhat. Although he was still in a bad mood, he couldn't let it affect his ability to conduct himself normally.
He just felt very sad; he had seen similar deaths many times before. His friends were dying one after another, and he felt there was nothing he could do.
At times like these, he would feel that his longevity was a mistake, a huge mistake.
"Twelve is dead."
The second thing the crow said was very strange.
As expected of a crow, all it ever does is spread news of who has died.
However, upon closer examination, everyone felt a bit creeped out.
During the Blood Sun, Twelve was undoubtedly a hero. He had an excellent record and was extremely brave. He was far better than those guys who tried to avoid him.
“And another of his friends, an assassin, is also dead.” This time, Raven looked at Deedris as he spoke: “You’ve met him.”
"Huh?" Deedri frowned.
These two messages are a bit strange.
Twelve was indeed injured, but the paladin came to his rescue at the last moment. At the end, his breathing seemed steady; even though he was weak, he wasn't dead. He still had a magic core within him; that shouldn't have made him so vulnerable.
The assassin's death was even more undeserved; if I remember correctly, he should have been safe at that time. Dedeline took the injured man to the church, and his wounds have already been healed.
Although it's normal for people to die during Blood Sun, these two guys shouldn't be so weak as to be killed by monsters that aren't dangerous.
"Did the ascetics kill them?" Ark voiced the speculation in everyone's mind.
This is the simplest line of thinking, and indeed, it's something that guy would do. It's normal to reflect on your actions when you're misunderstood.
But that doesn't make sense, because there are humans among them. The assassin should also be human, and even Twelve is only half-human.
These two guys helped protect the city, and even if we were to hold them accountable for their past sins, we should wait seven days.
Here's an explanation of a rule in the church. If a sinner makes a sufficient contribution, they will be given a grace period, usually about seven days.
This time isn't for any particular purpose, but simply to allow them time to carefully consider how they should be punished.
Some churches even leave those they deem unreasonable to be punished, waiting for someone else to rescue them. This way, they can both fulfill their obligations and feel at peace with themselves. Why not?
“They violated at least two of their own rules: dealing with prisoners without any grace period and harming humans.” Dedeline looked at Ark. “Both of these situations would greatly damage the Church’s reputation. And now is a special time.”
“The term ‘special period’ is quite apt, after all, there are quite a few freaks gathered here right now.” Hack looked at the people in the room: “Therefore, I’ve deduced two conclusions.”
“Firstly, on the positive side, there are others who are trying to frame the Church and disrupt the current situation. After all, the Blood Day has just ended, and the scene will inevitably be chaotic. Even the involvement of the ascetics cannot completely calm it down,” Nina added softly. “Secondly, there are things we don’t want to see.”
“They’re preparing to seal it off,” Yak said softly. “They’re going to cleanse the city.”
The air grew heavy, as if a murderous intent was gathering around us.
“Oh, damn it, they really did do that.” Denos said, rubbing his head with a headache. “I remember that’s how the last large-scale infection was dealt with. I thought it was bad enough to have it happen once.”
The so-called "cleanliness" is exactly what it sounds like: killing all the unwitting people here.
It's a very simple method, and very easy to execute. Anyone in the church who isn't thoroughly investigated will be hunted down. The city is sealed off, and after a final count of heads, the entire population is cremated. The entire city is burned down, and those deemed safe are moved to a safe zone for a short period. Within three to five years, the church will rebuild a new city here and bring in immigrants. Those who originally lived here are moved to a city strictly controlled by the church.
In that case, it doesn't matter what's hidden inside.
"I'm a little skeptical that the Church would be so decisive." The raven hesitated for a moment, then looked at the two red demons on either side: "But now I'm willing to believe it. Because now demons have intervened, and there are even many guys whose backgrounds we don't know."
“There’s another reason that could lead to this, and that’s the appearance of multiple demons in this city.” Ark hesitated for a moment before asking, “Which reason do you prefer to believe?”
“It’s all the same. No matter what, we will be affected quite a bit.” Hack paused and said, “We came here to discuss cooperation. But there’s a fait accompli: the city is now under lockdown, and you can’t leave even if you want to.”
Yak sighed helplessly. Although he had roughly guessed that this would be the result, he still felt a little uncomfortable when his guess was actually confirmed.
They have no way to leave, so getting out of this chaos becomes quite difficult.
Here's a brief mention of lockdowns. In this world, a lockdown doesn't mean sending more people to block the gates.
Instead, it meant cutting off the supply of crucial provisions. The most essential supplies needed for normal survival outside could only be provided by the church. Cutting off these supplies would be tantamount to isolating everyone in the city.
"Cooperation from everyone?" the red demon in the corner suddenly spoke up: "Just you guys?"
“No, there are about twelve people left. Apart from the swordsman, the rest are all witchers,” Raven added. “We gathered together and discussed it. After a vote, we decided to cooperate with you.”
“Witchers and monsters cooperating sounds like the end result will be us killing each other first because of infighting.” Denos shrugged beside him. “Come on, man. We don’t have a basis for mutual trust. In essence, the fact that we haven’t drawn our swords to fight each other is already a sign of our goodwill.”
"You look like a human. I'm surprised there's a normal human here."
"Don't worry, even if I were human, I wouldn't be on your side. Ark paid me a huge commission, a full 30% of the profits. You have to understand how tempting it is to get 30% of the profits by following a cunning businessman. The reward is enough to keep me loyal forever," Denos said jokingly, but the atmosphere was anything but relaxed.
The reason for joining forces is simple: the church's power has now completely disrupted the balance of power. The situation of mutual suppression has turned into a one-sided one.
The only way to improve the situation now is for other forces to unite, with the sole purpose of preventing the church from acting rashly.
And at the heart of it all, the Demon.
How much of it is there? What are its true abilities? When does it plan to reveal itself, or will it remain hidden forever?
Its next move will fundamentally affect the outcome of this game, and if its actions are unexpected, countless plans will fall apart again.
Even though there's no foundation of mutual trust right now, we've still come together.
Because this inn is inhabited only by witchers, monsters, and freaks. The owner has gone to seek refuge and doesn't seem to have any intention of returning.
Now that everyone in the hotel is cooperating, it means this place will become a kind of base. Such a base-like landmark is of great significance. A large target, in the current situation, can suppress any bold ideas from either side while simultaneously attracting attention. Conducting covert investigations will become much easier.
In addition, there is now a crucial piece of information: the only information about the demons is currently in their hands.
This cunning fellow left very few traces in the city, practically none at all.
Therefore, the only and most crucial piece of intelligence has now been transmitted to everyone, which is exhilarating.
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