Truth Is Only One

Yun Feiyang shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Just a guess."

"Tch. So you asked all that, and what did you find out?"

"A bit of a lead."

"Really? Spill it!"

"The demons appearing now, the accident involving Steve and his wife five years ago, your parents' deaths—don't you think there are too many coincidences?"

Mira thought it over. "Five years ago, Kathy killed herself, Steve died, and at the same time my parents had their accident. Now demons show up at Steve's house. When you put it that way, it does seem connected."

"Connected? If you link all the coincidences together, the truth isn't far off!"

"Then tell me, what's really going on?"

With her parents' death involved, Mira couldn't stay calm.

"The key to all this is Kathy. We have no way of knowing why she went mad, but we can speculate."

"Speculate how?"

"Kathy didn't go mad for no reason. Something must have happened to her, leading to her tragedy. And as her husband, Steve definitely knew something. Do you think he might have sought revenge?"

Mira gasped. "You mean that demon is connected to Steve?"

"Very likely! Back then, he might have tried to get revenge but failed, or he might have bided his time. Either way, that's why he disappeared."

"If he wanted revenge, he'd have to find his enemies. Who are they? Whoever dies first is the one!"

Mira gasped again. "Job and Hoyle!"

"Exactly. And coincidentally, they both come from the same place and are both monks."

"Connected to the church?"

"Very likely!"

"Why? Couldn't it just be Job and Hoyle's doing, without the church being involved?"

"No. If it were just those two, the demon—or rather, Steve—would have stopped by now. But does he look like he wants to stop?"

Mira understood. "He really doesn't. If he wanted to stop, he wouldn't have killed Parker, and he wouldn't have told you to leave."

"Right. The hatred in his heart hasn't been released yet, so his revenge isn't over."

Yun Feiyang summed it up. "My theory is that Kathy's death was caused by the church. Steve found out and went for revenge, but failed—though he got lucky and survived. Or maybe he realized he couldn't get revenge, so he went into hiding to build up his strength."

"He reappeared five years later, thinking the time was right, and started his revenge. First, he killed Job and Hoyle. As for Parker..."

"Bad luck that he witnessed the scene. Maybe he even discovered Steve's secret without realizing it, but that didn't stop him from being killed."

"So next, Steve's target is definitely the church, or anyone connected to that time!"

Mira nodded along, then felt something was off. "But we clearly saw a demon, not Steve!"

"Isn't that simple? That demon is something he controls. But I'm more inclined to think he used Transformation Magic to disguise himself. As for why he disguised as a demon?"

Yun Feiyang reminded her, "Did you forget what the village chief said? When Kathy went mad, she kept shouting: 'Demon, you're all demons!'"

"Since a demon harmed his wife, he'll become a demon to claim their lives. That's probably what Steve was thinking!"

Yun Feiyang sneered. "And if he wants revenge on the church, becoming a demon is quite fitting, isn't it?"

"Makes sense. I didn't expect your brain to be so useful!"

Yun Feiyang shot her a look.

"But what does this have to do with my parents?"

"We need to find out what happened back then. Besides, I never said it definitely has to do with your parents. Maybe they really did die in an accident."

"Tch. In the end, it's just your guess. If we catch that demon, won't everything be clear?"

"Not quite. The 'demon' needs to be dealt with, but we also have to stop him from harming others—or rather, make sure the real demon gets what he deserves. And if we don't get to the bottom of this, how will we know if there's a hidden truth behind your parents' deaths?"

"You're right!"

Mira's face darkened. "If my mom and dad didn't die by accident, I'll never forgive them!"

"What do we do next? I'll follow your lead!"

Yun Feiyang nodded. "To find out the truth from back then, we first need to know what Kathy went through. Maybe the church will give us answers."

"The church? Fine, I'll take you!"

"What are you doing?"

He pulled her back. "Are you stupid? If they're really involved, do you think they'll just tell us honestly?"

"Then what do you suggest?"

Yun Feiyang looked at the darkening sky. "We wait until night and sneak in."

"Fine."

Then came the growl of a stomach.

The two stared at each other. Awkward!

"Busy all day, I forgot to eat!"

Mira said generously, "Come to my place, I'll cook myself!"

"Huh? You can cook? Shouldn't it be Lisanna?"

"Who do you think you're looking down on? Lisanna and Elfman's cooking skills were taught by me, alright?"

"Really? Impressive, impressive!"

"Of course!"

After their parents passed away, Mira had to act as both father and mother to raise her younger siblings—how could she not know how to cook? It was just that her siblings, seeing how hard she worked, took the initiative to do what they could.

That's the way poor kids grow up fast!

"Let's buy some groceries first. I eat a lot!"

"Uh..."

Mira hemmed and hawed, looking embarrassed!

"Of course, I'll pay for it. Can't freeload off you for nothing!"

"Heh, you've got some conscience! How about you buy a bit more?"

"Hey~ you're really not holding back!"

"Aren't mages supposed to be rich? One job and it's a million J, tsk tsk... Don't be so stingy!"

"That's my money, not yours!"

"Same thing! Same thing!"

Under the little flyer's exploitation, Yun Feiyang's pitiful wallet was completely drained, and on top of that, he was mocked for being broke.

Where was he supposed to find justice for that?

"Elfman, Lisanna, I'm back!"

The house was decent enough, but the furnishings inside were very simple.

"Welcome back!"

"Look, big sister brought meat! Tonight you're in for a treat!"

A pile of meat and vegetables made the siblings' eyes light up, drool practically dripping!

"Awesome, we get to eat meat!"

"No wait, Mira, where did you get the money to buy so much meat?"

Mira pointed at Yun Feiyang. "There~ the sucker... I mean, the good guy's right here!"

"Wow~ Feiyang Nii-chan, how can we accept this?"

Even as she said it was embarrassing, Lisanna signaled Elfman to quickly take the meat inside.

The good guy Yun Feiyang forced an awkward smile and said, "It's nothing, I couldn't just show up empty-handed to mooch a meal!"

What a huge loss—he should've just grabbed a bite at a restaurant!