Chapter 87 Gerald, Kill Him Now (6K Chapter)
Get back completely the things that "Xiaoxing" failed to get back ten years ago.
After hearing this, the old man thought for a while and whispered, "The 'Devil' troops have been searching for it on that road for ten years and have paid a huge price, but they still haven't found it, not even a clue. 'Lord Yongxin', is it possible that it has already..."
"Took away by Gerard?"
The old man lowered his head: "This is just my guess."
"Oh, don't worry, it's still in the contaminated area." The young man said calmly, "Gerald failed to bring it out back then."
"Why are you so sure?"
The young man fell silent, and the whole room suddenly became so quiet that not a single sound could be heard.
This made the old man feel a little uneasy. He wondered if his previous question had crossed the line.
Fortunately, he soon heard the young man say faintly: "Ah, yes, these tasks were previously handled by Okot, and you don't know everything. Then I should tell you something... Do you know who took this incomplete [Domination] in our hands from the polluted land?"
"This...I really don't know."
"It's me."
The old man was stunned.
Then he heard the young man laugh, and the sound was like a beggar playing a broken accordion with a different melody, and the sound was chilling.
"Jellal wasn't the only one who returned from the deepest part of that polluted land."
The old man's body froze immediately. He stared blankly at the young man in the darkness and asked subconsciously: "You also entered the deepest part of the contaminated area? And successfully brought back a part of [Domination]? If so, why don't you..."
"Why don't you lead the team to get the complete part back?" The young man interrupted the old man with a faint smile, "It's simple, I can't do it... You know whose power [Domination] is, right?"
"… Visas."
"Yes, Visas." In the corner, the figure of the young man began to move slowly in the darkness. He approached the old man little by little. Soon, his face appeared in the moonlight coming in from the window. "Then do you think Visas' power does not require a price?"
When he saw the young man's face, the old man felt that his heart and lungs stopped at this moment.
What kind of face is this?
His entire face was full of pits and pits, like a dissolved clay sculpture, similar to most of the pollutants in the polluted land, but it was indeed a human face. Maggots were constantly wriggling deep in the missing parts, and his eyes were sagging, as if they might fall out of their sockets at any time.
The old man had long known that Yongxin was not in good health and could not see anyone at night, but he never imagined that his health had deteriorated to this extent.
Is this still considered living?
Until the young man shrank back into the darkness, the old man's mind was still in great shock and panic, and he did not come to his senses for a long time.
Until the young man's voice sounded again: "This is the price I paid."
After hearing the young man's words, the old man's body seemed to have a natural reaction and he crawled on the ground, trembling slightly, not daring to look inside again.
"Don't be nervous." The young man said calmly, "I haven't become a monster yet."
The old man took several deep breaths before gradually calming down.
"You and Xixing both returned from the deepest part of the pollution, so why is he..."
"He is different from me. He brought nothing back. But the fact that he was able to return safely has already caused him to lose all his memories of the depths of the contaminated area." The young man said calmly, "And I did not lose my memories. I even brought back some power, but the price was... a part of my life was taken away, and I can never set foot in that place again for the rest of my life."
The calm old man was silent for a long time before he sighed softly: "It's really... shocking power."
"That is Visas." The young man said, "and it is only a small part of Visas's power."
There was another long silence, as if both of them were immersed in the shock brought by the legendary existence.
"Well, Master Yongxin." The old man looked at the young man again, "You can't return to that place, then Gerard..."
"Theoretically, he can return." The young man said calmly, "This is one of the reasons why we have tried to get rid of him more than once in the past ten years."
"……one?"
The young man looked at the old man quietly. Although he could not see anything clearly in the darkness, the old man could not help but think of the image that the young man had just revealed, and his heart trembled again.
“We still don’t know whether Jellal really didn’t retrieve anything from that polluted land.” The young man said, “Did he use that memory to exchange for his safe return, or… the things he retrieved were also sealed in that memory.”
The old man understood what the young man meant, and his eyes widened little by little: "If it is the latter, then doesn't it mean that once he regains his memory..."
"I have regained that part of my power." The young man said calmly, "That is - [Domination], and it is very likely that it is a more perfect [Domination] than mine."
The old man's expression changed again.
If the former Knight of Vesperia also possessed [Domination]... it would be unimaginable.
"So, in the past ten years, we have never relaxed our surveillance on Gerald."
In the darkness, the young man's body began to move again, as if he was looking for something. An old pocket watch was thrown in front of the old man. The old man picked up the pocket watch and found that it had stopped. The hour hand and minute hand were both at the twelve position. The clock was motionless, but the minute hand was shaking slightly, as if something was affecting it.
"This is……"
“The Clock of Desolate Time,” the young man said, “was originally used to detect the concentration of pollution in polluted areas. But after I brought it back from the polluted areas ten years ago, it no longer detects the concentration of pollution, but instead detects something… more special.”
There was a rustling sound.
The young man stretched out his hand from the darkness. This hand was also rotten. The old man's eyelids twitched when he saw it, but he managed not to show any abnormality.
Then, the bony hand fell on the pocket watch.
The old man saw that the hour hand, which had originally stopped at twelve, jumped forward two spaces.
But when the young man withdrew his hand, it jumped to one again, and finally returned to zero (twelve).
"This is……"
"It can sense [Domination]... No, to be precise, it can sense the power of Visas." The young man said, "Although I don't know the principle, the power of Visas is like those legendary corpses that can sense each other."
The old man understood: "In other words, if Jellal also obtains [Domination], then he will be detected by this watch?"
"Yes." The young man said calmly, "In the past ten years, I usually find an opportunity to test him every six months to avoid alerting the enemy. And until his last trip to the Rhine, nothing was detected. Logically, it's still a long time before the next test, but..."
The young man paused.
"His recent changes are indeed a little disturbing, and it might be better to get tested in advance."
"Okay." The old man nodded, and then solemnly put away the pocket watch. "I will go to see him in the next two days."
"No need." The young man said calmly, "He will come to you soon. Don't forget, you are also the affairs assistant of District 4."
The old man understood.
It was almost dawn, and a ray of light appeared in the distant sky.
The old man knew it was time for him to leave.
But before he left, he thought of something and looked at the young man again: "Just now the clock on this watch stopped at two. Does this have any special meaning?"
At this moment, the rising sun has cast its rays of light into the dim room and onto the young man.
His dark and rotten flesh quickly recovered under the sunlight, the maggots disappeared, and the holes were filled.
He was transforming back into the elegant Lord Yongxin and looked like he was reborn.
However, this "rebirth" scene made the old man feel extremely weird.
“It’s easy,” he chuckled, “because I can only turn it to two.”
…
"What are you doing?"
After Gerard woke up in the middle of the night and completed a new deal with Bai Wei, he did not go back to sleep. Instead, he went to his old desk, took out a basket of parts that looked like scrap metal at first glance, and started hammering at them. Bai Wei then had the above questions.
Before the transaction, Gerard would not have to answer Bai Wei, but now it was different. After a brief silence, Gerard still answered while tapping: "These are things to fight pollution. They used to be the standard equipment required to enter polluted areas."
"Oh?" Bai Wei's interest was piqued. "Is it the equipment of your Xiaoxing team?"
"Yes."
“This looks a bit old.”
“Because they are all things from ten years ago.”
"Can't you just buy a new one?"
"No, I don't have the qualifications." Gerald replied, "I am now affiliated with the Skeleton Corps, and the Skeleton Corps does not need such equipment."
"Interesting." Bai Wei said, "That is to say, these equipments were once used by the military, and ordinary people or even ordinary troops could not use them. Then after you came back from the contaminated area, they did not recycle these equipments?"
"No." Gerald said, "Most of them are broken and outdated, and, strictly speaking, they are not equipment."
"If it's not equipment, then what is it?"
“It’s a relic.”
Gerard lined up the "scrap metal" he was tinkering with.
Some of these scraps of metal include a pocket watch that no longer works, a broken monocle, a pipe, a folding knife, and even a long and narrow screw. What they have in common is that they all have names engraved on them.
Ian, Helmer, Eric, Huon...
"This is the rule of the Evening Star... no, it's the rule of the entire pioneer army, or the polluted land." Gerald calmly explained to Bai Wei, "When a comrade in the polluted land cannot be rescued, the one who can return will use some of his own parts or equipment to replace the parts or equipment of the one who can't return. This shows that the one who returns will also live with a part of them, and the one who stays there is not alone, there are people who will die with him."
“So these equipments…”
"They were all hung on me when I came out of the contaminated land ten years ago."
"Is that so?" Bai Wei paused and said, "But you can't remember anything anymore."
"Yes, I can't remember anything." While answering Bai Wei, Gerard's hands did not slow down. He refurbished and sorted out these things that were once equipment and now relics, obviously wanting to turn them into equipment again. "With my current status, there is no way for me to get new equipment, so I can only make do with these."
"It seems like you already have an idea." Bai Wei said, "Tell me, what are you going to do today?"
"Let's investigate further." Gerard replied calmly, "Ocott is the assistant of District 4, but his body has been contaminated like that. If he is not an isolated case, then... the entire upper level of District 4 should be full of contamination, which should be easy to verify."
"So your verification method is to rush to the office in District 4 with this pile of scrap metal to see which one lights up?" Bai Wei understood Gerard's plan, and then couldn't help but sighed, "It's really simple and crude."
"Simple, but useful." Gerald said, "The traces of pollution are not so easy to eliminate. As long as he really existed, we can always find traces."
Gerard pointed to the watch with the name "Herme" engraved on it and said, "This pocket watch is called the Clock of Desolate Time. It can detect nearby pollution."
Then there was the folding knife with the name "Eric" engraved on it: "This knife, called Cyril's Blunt Knife, can cause the greatest critical damage to the pollutants."
Next is Ian's monocle: "This... has no special name. Through it, you can see the 'pollution' more directly."
Gerard introduced all the scrap metal, as if he knew them all by heart.
After listening to this, Bai Wei suddenly asked, "I don't care which of these guys can be used..."
He paused, then said with a smile.
"Why don't you just tell me which ones are used against me?"
Gerard fell silent immediately, and after a while, he picked up the monocle he had just mentioned.
"This lens is not Tianqin's creation. It came from outside. It can not only see through pollution, but also has a certain sealing ability."
Bai Wei smiled: "So you are planning to use this to seal me? Do you still think I am a pollutant?"
"It's just a necessary measure." Gerald replied, "Whether you are a pollutant or not, I have to take adequate precautions."
"So, you're not planning to use all the things with sealing properties in your hands against me, right?"
“That’s exactly what I was prepared for.”
"It's no use even if I tell you this."
"Yes," Gerard said, "This is something I want to do on my own, and it is not part of our deal."
"Of course, our deal is that you can't hide anything from me." Bai Wei said leisurely, "What you are going to do is your business... But when you really want to do something to me, will you notify me?"
"If you ask."
"Haha, interesting." Bai Wei smiled nonchalantly, "I believe it will be very interesting if this day really comes. But before that...just do your own thing first."
"Look at what has become of the Bishop of the Fourth District whom you are familiar with."
…
A few hours later, Gerard arrived at the District 4 office - a branch tower that was only one-fifth the height of the Tower of Babel.
The population of District Four was also among the highest in Lyra City, so when Gerard arrived here, there were already quite a few people doing business here.
After entering the branch tower, Jellal did not hesitate and directly found the receptionist of the branch tower under the identity of the Skeleton Troops. Since it was not the main tower, the receptionist here was a real person, not a clerk like the one in the Tower of Babel. So when the receptionist heard that Jellal came to "investigate a case", he was a little surprised. Of course, it might also be because of Jellal's dress. At this moment, Jellal not only had a bunch of strange, tattered objects hanging on his body, but also had his left eye wrapped in thick gauze, like a seriously ill patient who had just escaped from the hospital.
Although the receptionist was surprised, she politely asked Gerard to wait while she contacted her superior.
As Gerard waited, Bai Wei's voice rang in his mind: "Do you think you can see the archbishop directly?"
"Not likely." Gerard answered in his mind, "Bishop Holman hasn't shown up in more than ten years."
"236 years later?"
"No, earlier."
"A regional bishop has not shown up for more than ten years. Don't you think there is anything unusual?"
"This is not a strange thing in Tianqin." Gerald said, "The five archbishops have not shown up for more than ten years. They have their own responsibilities."
Bai Wei smiled and did not continue the topic. Instead, he asked, "Have your detectors responded?"
Gerard kept looking at the pocket watch in his hand, but the hands of the watch did not change at all.
"At least not here," Gerard replied.
Soon, the sound of footsteps was heard.
Jellal turned his head and saw an old man with white hair walking towards him.
"Hello, Sir Gerard." The white-haired old man introduced himself with a smile on his face, "My name is Terrell, and I am the assistant for District 4."
Gerald looked at Terrel and suddenly asked, "Same as Orcot?"
"If you're talking about the position..." Terrell remained calm and smiled, "It's the same thing."
…
"I've heard about Mr. Ocott's situation. The Skeleton Force came to us last night to ask for information. To be honest, I'm shocked by your accusations against him. In my opinion, your accusations are somewhat... ridiculous. Ah, here we are. This is Mr. Ocott's office."
After leading Gerard to Ocot's office, Trel was also quietly observing this "Knight of the Evening Star".
Lord Yongxin was right. Gerard had come to us in such a short time, and he made no secret of his purpose - because he was wearing those pollution monitoring equipment that should have been outdated, as if he was about to step into a contaminated area.
The old "Clock of Wasteland" was in his hand, but the hands did not move at all.
"Mr. Gerard." Terrill reminded Gerard calmly, "You are too fanciful. This is not a contaminated area."
Gerard walked around Ocott's office and indeed did not detect any contamination, but his expression did not change much: "I want to see Bishop Holman."
Terrell had guessed that Gerard would make this request: "I'm sorry, Mr. Gerard. Bishop Holman is very busy. He doesn't have time to meet outsiders."
"Even if something as big as this happened?"
"The great event you mentioned is just your one-sided statement." Terrell said, "Moreover, even if what you said is true, your level is not enough for you to face Bishop Holman directly... You are no longer the 'Knight of the Evening Star' ten years ago, right?"
After hearing what Terrell said, Gerard asked, "Is this what you meant, or what Bishop Holman meant? Does Bishop Holman know what has happened in the past ten years?"
"Of course, this is just my opinion." Terrell replied, "As for your next question...Excuse me, Mr. Gerard, nothing has happened in the past ten years. Everything is normal. Only you think it is abnormal."
Gerard did not refute Trel. After all, he had heard such words countless times in the past ten years.
He didn't think he would be able to see Holman today, but his goal had been achieved.
Gerard was sure that this office was not where Ocot worked. Terry just took a room to deal with him. As for where Ocot's real office was...it didn't matter. He knew that the office Terry brought him to was fake, and that was enough.
Then there is no need to waste time here.
"It seems that I should look for answers elsewhere." Gerald said.
"You won't find the answer you want, Mr. Gerard." Terrell said lightly, "Because it doesn't exist at all. But of course, I will try my best to cooperate with you before that. Now, let me take you out. There is still a lot of work to do today. Mr. Ocot is gone, so I need to take on more responsibilities. I hope you can understand."
Gerard nodded and walked out of the room, and Terrell followed him, reaching his hand slowly towards the inside pocket of his coat.
Now that Gerard's probing was over, it was now his turn.
Trel did not act immediately because he knew what kind of person he was facing and he should not arouse Gerard's further vigilance at this time.
So, he waited until he sent Gerard to the lobby of the branch tower. In this crowded and noisy environment, he grabbed the pocket watch in his pocket while thinking about his next move in his mind.
As long as he took out the pocket watch and "flicked" it behind Jellal, it would be detected without attracting his attention. Even if it accidentally attracted Jellal's attention, he could explain that this was just an ordinary "Clock of Desolate Time" and he was just detecting the contamination on Jellal.
Although this is a bit impolite, it makes sense. After all, this pocket watch won't...
The moment he held the pocket watch, Terrell suddenly froze.
Because he felt that the pocket watch in his hand... was shaking wildly.
He subconsciously took out his pocket watch and was shocked to find out.
The clock that Lord Yongxin could only count to "two" was now spinning madly at an incredible speed, making this ten-year-old old object look like it would fall apart in the next second.
how so?!
Before Trel could react, Gerard, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around and said, "Just send it here, Mr. Trel..."
Then Gerard also noticed the pocket watch in Trel's hand, and then he took a look at it.
With just this one glance, the pocket watch, which was already at its limit, collapsed instantly.
The ancient hour hand popped out of the glass and cut all five of Turrell's fingers.
By the time the pocket watch broke into pieces and scattered on the ground, Trill's hands were already covered in blood.
Trel stared at Gerald blankly, and a sense of unspeakable fear suddenly surged in his heart.
But he still held it in, pretending to be calm and saying, "It seems that this watch has reached its retirement age," while bending down to pick up the parts.
Gerard frowned slightly. He felt that the broken pocket watch looked familiar. When he was thinking about what excuse he could use to check it, he heard Bai Wei's calm but unquestionable words in his heart.
"Jellal."
"Kill him."
"Now."
(End of this chapter)
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