The Night Watch were not natives of this city. Only outsiders had a chance of becoming members.
The old man revealed the Night Watch's secret, earning undisguised killing intent from Black Crow and Corpse Ghosts. This city was fiercely hostile to outsiders, and competition for resources was brutal. If too many people learned who the Night Watch really were, every member's situation would worsen.
Dark gun barrels pointed at the old man. At a single command from Black Crow, they would fire without hesitation.
"This city exists to nurture darkness. The first members of the Night Watch were imprisoned sinners. We bear all these charges because we were once too kind. We suffer because we upheld justice. All our despair comes from the responsibility in our hearts."
"If you want a better life, if you want to survive better in this city, you have to cast off every shackle, abandon the Night Watch's code, and play by this city's rules!"
Black threads gradually drifted from the old man's cloudy eyes. Malice surged, yet strangely, he remained rational.
"Sooner or later, you'll become just like me. I won't die. Even if you kill me, you'll become the next me!"
His heart pounded wildly, and a beast's roar rose from his shriveled chest. His ribs resembled bared teeth. With every beat, his heart grew more swollen and misshapen, as though something utterly terrifying were gestating inside it.
The old man had been raising malice within his heart all along. The longer he lived, the more terrifying it became.
Often, even when people had a chance to kill him, they dared not act, afraid that the malice inside him would spiral out of control and create a super-monster.
The safest approach was to inject him with blockers and suppressants before he unleashed the