Gilan walked out of the Black Lake Inn alone.
He stood at the entrance, but all he could see was a desolate scene.
Under the gloomy sky, the shops and homes along the road were nearly deserted. There was hardly anyone around, and the few locals who passed by shot him looks of distaste.
This town seems extremely unfriendly to outsiders.
Gilan thought to himself.
There must be a reason the local Tourism Bureau is working so hard to develop tourism... The coal mines and timber industry that support the town will eventually run out, and the town is still so far behind.
What interested him most about the movie was whether the so-called demons in Black Lake really existed... and, if they did, whether there was some kind of mysterious power that could be used against them.
Just then, Gilan suddenly felt as if someone were watching him.
As though someone behind him were staring straight at him.
Whoosh!
His coat flared as his hand shot to his waist and gripped his gun. He spun around at once.
A furtive figure darted past and disappeared behind the inn.
Gilan frowned, then charged into the narrow alley like a leopard.
The inn was less than two meters from the general store on its left. A large dumpster, a discarded bicycle, and other junk blocked the alley, but none of it could stop Gilan.
He was exceptionally fit. Bracing one hand on the dumpster's lid, he vaulted over it with a bang, covering the ground in three long strides.
In barely two breaths, he had reached the back of the inn.
The watcher had run less than ten meters. He wore plaid casual pants and a khaki overshirt; from behind, he looked like a middle-aged man.
Seeing Gilan catch up, the man let out an angry howl, stopped, and charged back at him.
He wore a Reindeer Mask and clutched a survival knife. He raised it and slashed at Gilan.
Thud!!
Before the blade could fall, Gilan drove a hard right hook into the man's face. The Reindeer Mask shattered, splintering along with flecks of blood.
With a muffled thump, the man crashed to the ground.
Behind the broken half of the mask was a vicious, hateful face. Blood smeared his stubbled cheeks, and his eyes were red. He howled like a deranged Patient:
"Kill! Kill them all! Your blood will earn the Lake God's blessing!"
Gilan's eyes narrowed.
The man's condition reminded him of the maddened villagers in Moon-Scorched Village.
Has he been corrupted by some mysterious force and Miasma too?
An ordinary person struck by Gilan's punch would have been seriously injured or knocked unconscious, at the very least. But the crazed man simply got to his feet, blood streaming from his nose and mouth, and charged again with the knife.
Gilan watched him coldly, then moved in a flash.
His left hand clamped around the man's knife-wielding wrist. With his right fist, he landed several punches in quick succession to the man's throat, chest, and abdomen.
Thud! Thud! Thud!!
The man spat blood over and over, his eyes bulging as the knife fell from his hand.
Smack!
Gilan grabbed the man's head and forced him down onto his knees.
"Who are you? Why were you spying on me?" he asked.
"Kill... kill you all, and the Lake God will live forever... Elixir of Immortality."
The man's expression was twisted, and blood dripped from his mouth, but he kept muttering his ravings.
Then his body went limp, and he died on the spot, blood pouring from every orifice.
Gilan released him and let the corpse fall, frowning.
He had controlled his strength. He shouldn't have killed an adult man with just a few punches.
The next moment, the man's body rapidly decayed and collapsed in on itself, then turned to dust and scattered.
A colorful "1" appeared in the corner of Gilan's vision.
"So he really was corrupted..." He stood still, deep in thought. "Was this guy one of the so-called Lake God Cult members? Have the Cultists infiltrated the town?"
Crash!!
Just then, a crash and the sound of shattering glass came from behind Gilan.
He turned around and froze.
Mr. Oystercatcher had fallen from a second-floor window, crashing hard into the dumpster in the alley.
Thud!!
Mr. Oystercatcher dented the metal dumpster, then rolled onto the ground. Tiny cuts from glass shards covered his body.
Gilan hurried over and helped the groaning man to his feet.
"Mr. Oystercatcher, are you all right?" he asked.
The man's face was contorted with pain. It took a long while before he caught his breath and gave Gilan a slight nod.
Perhaps because he practiced martial arts, Mr. Oystercatcher was in fairly good shape. Despite falling from the second floor, he hadn't been seriously injured.
"I... Miss Sparrow and I saw a suspicious figure in the second-floor hallway. We chased after him and found a piece of parchment he'd dropped. It had an alchemical substance called the 'Elixir of Immortality' written on it."
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and explained, hunched over:
"But before I could take a closer look, he snatched it back. We got into a fight, and then he pushed me out the window... Hurry back! Don't let him get away!"
"I understand." Gilan nodded. "Be careful."
He turned and headed back into the inn. He couldn't help thinking about the man he had just killed, who seemed to be a member of the Lake God Cult. The suspicious person who had injured Mr. Oystercatcher was likely one of his associates.
But when he rushed back into the inn, everything seemed as it had before.
The bartender, patrons, and guests weren't panicked or acting strangely. They were still drinking and chatting. It was his hurried entrance that drew a wave of curses.
Gilan couldn't be bothered to argue. He pulled out his snub-nosed revolver and fired a shot into the ceiling.
Bang!!
"Quiet." He pointed his gun at everyone in the bar. "Did anyone see a suspicious person come down from upstairs?"
The people fell silent, raising their hands as they stared in fear at the gun.
After a long moment, only the white-haired old man known as Old Toto spoke in a low voice:
"No one came down except your two companions."
After confirming the person's appearance with Old Toto, Gilan realized that the two who had come downstairs were actually Mr. Stork and Miss Seagull.
Still upstairs! He immediately turned to stare at the stairs leading to the second floor.
If Old Toto wasn't lying, the suspicious person was still upstairs.
But just then, Miss Sparrow and Fima came running downstairs.
"Mr. Snowy Owl!" Miss Sparrow saw Gilan holding a gun and threatening everyone. Startled, she hurried over to his side and whispered, "Mr. Oystercatcher got into a fight with a man and fell down the stairs!"
"I know. He's all right." Gilan shook his head. "What about the man?"
Miss Sparrow furrowed her brows, hesitated for a moment, then said:
"I watched him run downstairs... Didn't you see him?"
Gilan looked puzzled.
If Miss Sparrow had seen him, had the man simply vanished?
He took a deep breath and tucked the revolver back into his waistband.
"Let's help Mr. Oystercatcher back to his room to rest. We'll wait for Mr. Stork and the others to return... Something's not right about this."
Gilan said in a low voice.
Miss Sparrow found her answer in his expression and nodded gravely.
Thanks to Happy Cream Puff for the 6,500-point tip!
Thanks to Big White Dog for the 300-point tip!