The Artificial Core of Existence (18)
That thing... ate it...
As a high-ranking Transcendent and a Night Watcher of the City of Con Men, Winona had always considered herself well-informed.
Yet today, not only had she suffered repeated setbacks in her dealings with the mysterious man named Gorimshaw, but the situation her friend described now had once again made her feel profoundly ignorant.
She had rushed over as quickly as she thought possible. After hearing about her friend's strange behavior, she had run all the way here, her mind and body focused on confronting the unseen presence. The pile of boxes had seemed odd to her, but she hadn't given them much thought.
But if things really were as her friend described... Winona shifted to watching from the corner of her eye, secretly alarmed.
Behavior so utterly unlike that of a normal person made it far more likely that Mr. Rick was involved in something supernatural.
So now the question was: what exactly was this guy doing here?
He didn't seem purely malicious, yet when discovered, he'd attacked a Night Watcher without the slightest hesitation...
His behavior could only be described as madness.
"What else did he say?"
"Um... Just before he disappeared, he mentioned what we'd talked about. He said that if someone came later, there was no need to keep it secret... He seemed to know you'd come."
Claire naturally tried hard to recall everything her friend had asked about, and soon remembered the strange instruction that had unsettled her earlier.
He really was mad and arrogant...
Her words left Winona momentarily speechless, too.
How outrageous!
Even if, taking the most charitable view, Mr. Rick really did have a serious problem, and even if his actions were supposedly in the name of "justice"...
After all that, especially with