Wraith Mage?
Countless associations flashed through Mulan's mind. All sorts of novels, films, and television shows he had seen came flooding back. Looking at the seemingly unchanged mill again, he almost felt as though what had just happened had been an illusion.
"Come on, I'll take you back!"
Walton said nothing more and led Mulan straight back to the carriage. Once it started moving, they soon returned to the city.
Inside the carriage, Walton kept studying a necklace set with a large blue sapphire, his expression somewhat grave. Mulan did not dare disturb him, but he also examined the necklace closely. It was probably the one Walton had seized from the Siren.
"Mulan, you'd best not look directly at this necklace. It will give you nightmares."
At that, Mulan instinctively sat up straight and tried to avert his eyes.
"What is it?"
Walton took a small metal box from inside his coat, placed the necklace inside, sealed it, and tucked it away again. Only then did he turn back to Mulan.
"This is a sacred relic called the Heart of Deep Blue. It's beautiful, and it's dangerous. You'll understand someday. All right, let's talk about something else."
Walton sat a little straighter, though his expression relaxed somewhat. He pulled a handful of things from his pocket and passed them to Mulan, who instinctively reached out to take them. Looking down, he saw they were dolls.
"Just hand these people over to them after I leave."
These 'people'?
Slightly startled, Mulan lowered his head and studied the dolls. There were seven in total, each only as long as a finger. Every doll was exquisitely detailed, its multiple layers of clothing remarkably lifelike. Their expressions ranged from terrified to vacant, and they looked quite adorable.
The instant he saw the dolls, Mulan already had a vague suspicion. At the same time, he felt a deep awe of Wraith Mages.
"Hand them over to whom?"
"Aren't you going to ask what these dolls are?"
Mulan thought for a moment, then ventured a bold guess.
"Don't tell me these are the cultists you captured?"
Smack!
Walton clapped his hands.
"Correct! You have a richer imagination than most people, too! I'm very fond of spirited young men like you."
Mulan looked astonished. Although he had suspected as much, having it confirmed still seemed utterly inconceivable. Aren't Wraith Mages a little too terrifying?
"Who should I hand them over to?"
Holding the dolls in his hands, Mulan became extremely careful, unsure whether handling them too roughly might have some effect. Walton, however, was entirely casual. He grabbed a doll and began tugging hard on it.
"There's no need to be particularly careful. These dolls are very tough. Even a knife can barely cut them. They'll only truly die if they give up themselves. As for whom to hand them over to, someone will come looking for you..."
Riiip...
An arm came off the doll in Walton's hand. Walton stopped mid-sentence, and Mulan froze.
The doll actually began trembling slightly. A thick, jam-like red substance seeped from where its arm had been...
"Er, a minor accident. Don't worry about it. Look, all better."
Walton plucked out one of his own hairs and tied off the doll's wound. The blood stopped seeping out. Then he handed it back, along with the severed arm, to Mulan, who was breaking into a cold sweat. Once again, Mulan confirmed something to himself.
Wraith Mages were terrifying. At the very least, Sir Walton was terrifying.
Just then, Walton suddenly leaned closer to Mulan, giving him a fright. Mulan forced himself not to recoil as Walton lowered his voice.
"By the way, your position gives you a fair amount of freedom. After I leave Valentine, help me take care of a few personal matters..."
"Please, go ahead!"
Mulan did not dare be negligent. This Sir Walton was clearly a major figure, the sort who was countless times more powerful than Priest Good Head. Getting on his good side early would definitely benefit Mulan enormously. Even if there were no benefits, he certainly would not dare offend him. Going back to Priest Good Head for protection would surely be useless.
But as he listened to what Walton said next, Mulan's expression grew strange, even turning somewhat embarrassed toward the end. He gained a deeper understanding of Sir Walton...
"I'm sure you'll handle it well."
By the time he finished speaking, the carriage had stopped. Sir Walton tapped his cane, and the door opened by itself. He gestured for Mulan to step out, and Mulan hurried down from the carriage.
Sitting inside the carriage, Walton offered one last reminder to Mulan, who stood in the street.
"All right, I should go catch my train. This carriage still isn't as comfortable as a train. Someone will come answer your questions. Until next time."
As his words faded, the carriage door closed. The horses, like undead creatures, pulled the carriage away, trailing the mist beside it, and vanished before Mulan's eyes. Soon, the surrounding scenery grew more vivid.
The drizzle falling on Mulan brought a faint chill. Every so often, a passerby glanced at him as he stood there in a daze.
Mulan looked down at the dolls in his hands. After Sir Walton left, they all seemed to come alive, wriggling in his palms. A few had already stood up, but Mulan immediately caught them between his fingers.
The most active was the doll that had lost an arm. Clutching its severed limb, it writhed and rolled in Mulan's other palm. Its movements suggested terrible pain, yet its face wore a smile.
Mulan felt some sympathy for the doll. But when he thought of what these people might have done, and of the girl aboard the Princess Niseriel, that sympathy instantly vanished.
Mulan also thought of the earlier disappearances. With nobles among the missing, the Valentine Police Department had come under immense pressure, and the bodies found afterward had not accounted for everyone. Perhaps that serial killer had taken the blame for some people Sir Walton had made disappear.
After a moment's thought, Mulan stuffed all the dolls into his pocket and kept his hand inside to hold them down. Only then did he stride toward home.
Mulan had attended a prayer service today, which had helped ease his mental condition somewhat. But Priest Evan might have had more to do with that effect than the god. He had also truly witnessed the power of supernatural beings.
Beyond his deep shock and awe, Mulan felt intense excitement and curiosity. Living an ordinary life was certainly a kind of happiness, but faced with an opportunity like this, few young people could remain unmoved or feel no longing.
Since Sir Walton had said someone would come looking for him, Mulan believed he only needed to stay home.
Before that, however, he felt he should hurry and take care of Walton's personal matters, preferably before the "they" Walton had mentioned came looking for him.