Chapter 119
127. Draw your sword!
"The Red Demon of Kitahara?"
In the dead of night, on a high-rise building in the Slums, Shirou stood on the rooftop, gazing out over most of the Slums.
After taking a nap on the recliner that A-Xing brought in the afternoon, Shirou's sleep quality improved a lot, and he is now a little more energetic.
While keeping an eye on suspicious people and things around them, Shirou chatted with Isv.
The conversation covered a wide range of topics, from trivial matters to life ideals.
The casual conversation was just to keep Isv alert, mainly because Is needed it.
Shirou was quite used to this kind of mechanical work.
As is customary, Isv Shirou still happy to have Is ask him to talk or do something.
Even constantly running gears need some lubricant to prevent damage.
Just now, Isv was discussing the identity of that suspect.
He appears to be an Ursus person who fled to Lungmen after becoming infected.
Although it's unclear why they assisted in kidnapping other infected individuals, they kept mentioning something about a "Red Demon" after being caught.
"Yes, the Red Demon of the North is a fairly well-known figure in Ursus, probably similar to the Northern Guerrilla Squad, right? No, you probably don't know anything about that, since you don't even know how to use electronic devices."
On the other end of the earpiece, Is continued to explain Shirou Isv.
It was a casual chat, but it also allowed Shirou to gain a deeper understanding of this land.
Even if it's not needed now, perhaps Shirou will need it someday in the future?
Every word he speaks now, even every single syllable, represents an accumulation of experience for Shirou.
What is experience?
Experience is the accumulation of knowledge, which makes people clearly know what they should do, thus avoiding some detours.
Of course, pure science popularization can be quite dull, so Is Isv cracking a few jokes.
He could keep making jokes about electronic products for quite a while.
We need to make the most of this; he knew that Shirou had been frantically cramming on related knowledge lately.
"Let's not talk about that and continue with the story of that Red Demon."
Hearing Is mocking him again, Isv said Shirou.
However, what he's more curious about now is the Red Demon Isv Is just mentioned.
According to Isv, the other person seemed to have started repeating this phrase after he had trapped him with arrows.
"You're being very boring. As for that Red Demon, he disappeared two or three years ago, and we still haven't found any news about him."
"But compared to the guerrillas, the title of Red Demon is more memorable, after all, the former is a group, while the latter is a single person."
"It is said that if you see red light or red figure flashing in the White Snow- covered northern plains, you can only pray that you are not the target, otherwise you will see your own blood in the next moment."
After first criticizing Shirou's reaction, Isv began to tell Shirou about the Red Demon of the North.
It sounds a bit exaggerated, but that's how rumors get more and more outrageous as they spread.
But that was only a little over two years ago. After that, the Red Demon stopped appearing, and the rumors gradually died down.
The intelligence he has now was collected a long time ago, and he only remembered this matter after reviewing it recently.
The true identity of the Red Demon of the North is unknown, as is his Originium Arts.
The only certainty is that the other side is on the side of the infected, since they are mostly responsible for clearing out mines that oppress the infected or riot squads that execute them.
The infected are largely hated by the people of Ursus, while the other side is on the side of the infected.
The red light and figures stood on the side of the infected, opposing Ursus, hence the title "Red Demon".
"Why does that sound so familiar?"
On the high-rise building, Shirou looked puzzled.
He felt that this so-called Red Demon sounded somewhat familiar.
"Just like you now, red coat, red arrows, you are the Red Demon of Longmen!"
"Isv Is said jokingly."
"A coat, arrows... Is that guy?"
As Isv added to the description, Shirou thought of the Red Knight —Archer.
But this idea was quickly dismissed; if it were that guy, he certainly wouldn't be able to sit idly by and watch Ursus oppress the infected.
Although he disliked the other party, he had to admit that the other party was powerful.
Two to three years of hiding... to put it nicely, to put it bluntly, they either died or were crippled.
If it really is that guy, Shirou doesn't think he'll just walk away so easily.
It's probably just a simple resemblance.
"You know him?"
Isv could naturally hear Shirou's mutterings and wasn't surprised.
Similar methods, clothing, and Shirou's loss of memory.
It's understandable that people would have doubts about the relationship between the two.
"No, it shouldn't be the person I'm thinking of. That guy is very tenacious."
Shirou shook his head, denying Isv's question.
He's overthinking it. Maybe he's also thinking it would be better to have someone from his hometown come along?
"Really? What a pity. I thought I'd have a chance to find out the true identity of that Red Demon."
Isv didn't intend to ask any further questions.
There's no need for that. After all, the Red Demon of the North is a thing of the past, so getting more information won't help.
Unless the other side returns one day and causes a huge impact, this kind of information is dispensable.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you."
Hearing the disappointed tone coming from the other end of the earphone, Shirou also felt a little apologetic.
"No need to apologize; feelings of anticipation and disappointment are also part of life."
Isv didn't think that much about it; in his view, these were just casual conversations.
"Really? You're so open-minded."
Shirou chuckled lightly and said.
Even while chatting, Shirou's eyes never stopped moving.
The Slums were unusually quiet today; he didn't even see the Hooded Figure.
It was so calm that Shirou felt... something was wrong.
It's not that there are no people on the streets; if you don't pay close attention, it's actually not much different from usual.
Shirou felt something was missing, and after telling Isv about it, Isv said:
"This is normal. Even a swarm of Originium Slug will have a sense of crisis when they see someone being caught in a trap ahead. I was originally going to let you rest for a day or two before coming back, but I didn't expect you to insist on reporting every day."
So it's my problem?
Upon hearing what Is said, Isv 'Shirou face darkened.
Although the other party had explained this beforehand, he insisted on coming anyway...
Never mind, let's just treat it as enjoying the scenery and the breeze.
The view of Lungmen city from here is quite nice.
"If that's how you see it, then there's no problem. However, we can't rule out the possibility that the other party might try to hide things from you."
Seeing Shirou's bewildered expression, Isv felt particularly pleased, but still briefly mentioned that the other party might also take action today.
"The darkest place is under the lamp?"
Shirou felt like he'd heard that phrase somewhere before.
It's often said that people are less aware of things happening close at hand, but perhaps what Isv means is that the most dangerous places are actually the safest?
"The sudden death of that suspect caused quite a stir. The other side might have thought that the Knights of the Round Table would take a few days to act, but what they didn't expect was that the search for them... wasn't just carried out by the Knights of the Round Table."
There's something else Isv didn't say: the other person also pursuing this matter is just as stubborn as Shirou.
They probably never imagined that two stubborn fools would be hunting them down day and night.
"But now it seems they're genuinely scared, aren't they?"
Shirou took a few steps forward and came to the edge of the tall building, looking down.
Without equipment, a normal person would not be able to see people clearly from this height.
But Shirou could see everything clearly, not only the people, but also the patterns and numbers on the drain cover next to him.
You can still vaguely see suspicious figures hiding in the corner, wearing straw hats.
Isv said not to worry about it, it wouldn't affect their business.
"Maybe? So, should we wrap up early today?"
Regarding Shirou's question, Isv could only offer his opinion based on past experience.
Personally, he wanted Shirou to get some rest.
After all, to him, those infected people were just strangers. They knew that someone was persecuting them, and at most they felt it was not good, but they would not speak out to stop it. Most people on this land were like him.
However, Shirou is the kind of person who will stand up and stop it. Such a person is easily respected by others, but also easily resented by others.
Simply put, this kind of person won't live long.
He might have been overwhelmed by too much pressure, or betrayed by the people he was protecting... He'd seen this kind of thing many times.
"Let's continue. We should finish what we start..."
As he spoke, Shirou sensed something was amiss.
He heard very faint footsteps and breathing.
There was also the sound of steel rubbing together.
"Draw your sword!"
"Trace on─"
Without hesitation, Shirou drew two swords, one black and one white.
He turned his body to the side, overlapping Gan Jiang Mo Ye, and placed them in the path where the opponent might attack.
Gan Jiang Mo Ye steadily caught the opponent's attack, and the force of the feedback was even lower than Shirou had expected.
However, Shirou didn't think much of it and immediately took a few steps back to create some distance.
"Very perceptive, isn't it?"
Shirou, having created some distance, recognized the newcomer as Hooded Figure.
The other person sheathed their sword and turned to face Shirou.
"Is there something wrong? I was just admiring the scenery here, there's no need to take action, is there?"
Taking a deep breath, Shirou felt that things were getting a bit bad.
He hadn't pulled his hood up yet, and although he was still wearing a mask, it couldn't hide his identity anymore.
It's not some weird movie or TV show; if you cover part of your face, no one will recognize you.
"I'm not stupid. You haven't even changed your coat. Do you really think I can't tell?"
The Hooded Figure, or rather Chen, sheathed his sword.
She only intended to scare the other person at first, but she didn't expect them to react in time.
This was something she hadn't expected. Although she had learned a little about Shirou's skills from Hoshiguma and Swire, it now seemed that Shirou had only shown a small part of them before.