Chapter 12

42

"Vice Admiral Hurricane, Qilingus?"

Undisguised loathing filled Richard Ernst's light brown eyes, and tightly restrained anger seeped into his words and actions. "Do you remember what you did to a passenger ship called the Marigold this August?"

Qilingus struggled to breathe, keenly realizing that this must be why the Rose School powerhouse had come after him. August-when he had been hunting at sea this year? How was he supposed to remember exactly what he had done? ...He was a pirate. Pirates plundered, killed, and seized women. He had done so much of that; how could he remember one little passenger ship? Marigold, Marigold-he strained to dig a few scraps out of his mind and recalled a blue ship.

There had been little money aboard, only chattering children and unattractive female caregivers. Aside from their delightful yet hoarse screams before death, the only thing that had left an impression on him was the Sequence 6 female Hunter hidden among them. That crazy woman had been young, but utterly merciless when killing. Caught off guard, Qilingus had lost seven or eight sailors to her. Then...

Provoked, Qilingus had beheaded her and displayed her head. A bloodstained pendant had fallen from the female Hunter's neck-a few simple lines depicting a winding road covered with thorns and flowers. This was the emblem of the Pilgrimage Church, said to be the organization managing the Ernst Foundation behind the scenes. Vice Admiral Hurricane had fallen silent for two seconds, but apart from its leader, the organization had no other famous powerhouses. So he had kicked the emblem into the sea along with her body.

"You don't remember? Of course you don't," Richard said quietly. "You tore the children's limbs off as though they were toys, gouged out their eyes because they cried, slit their throats, and threw them into the sea to feed the fish. Including the girls, there were fifty people. Only twelve incomplete bodies were recovered. And Wilhelmina, gentle Wilhelmina-you tore her apart because she was strong and brave. That also made her the only girl aboard the entire ship who wasn't violated."

"They had just left the slums of Intis and were heading to orphanages in Loen to be settled in. They would have new lives, new jobs, new beds, and new ways of living in the future... All of it was destroyed by your stupidity, ignorance, and cruelty. Qilingus, you're waiting for death, aren't you? I won't let you go to the Lord of Storms' kingdom. I will send you to the Kingdom of God, to struggle in endless agony in the abyss and hell."

"No, I've already... paid... the price!" Qilingus hurriedly spoke, a fierce desire to survive flaring within him. "Intis, cough, the navy killed the people involved back then. I can, I can compensate you...!"

"There's no need," the Temperance Angel answered icily. He avoided the hand reaching toward him, then trod on it in disgust and ground it beneath his foot several times. "Your life is the best compensation you can give me and my companions."

Richard glanced up toward the duke's mansion. It was brightly lit, but hurried footsteps could faintly be heard; the duke was already deploying his men. He bent down and pulled the bloodthirsty glove off Qilingus's left hand. Creeping Hunger could not move beneath the angel's imposing presence.

Just then, he abruptly turned his head and looked in a certain direction. Amid the shadows there, a human figure had coalesced at some unknown point. A faint aura of decay and death spread out, making him frown.

"Someone from the Numinous Episcopate? What are you doing here?" he asked.

At those words, a moment of confusion flashed through the eyes of the bronze-skinned gentleman who had appeared there, followed by a thoughtful expression. Azik looked at Creeping Hunger, trembling in Richard's hand, and answered, "I have no connection to the Numinous Episcopate." Then he added, "That item seems as though it could help me. Would you be willing to let me have it?"

He saw the young man opposite him develop an odd expression and felt a little embarrassed himself. His memories were still hazy, with only occasional fragments returning, and his understanding of Beyonder powers was vague and incomplete. Clearly, he could not offer anything suitable in exchange.

But the glove felt very familiar to him. He thought that if he could acquire it and study it carefully, he might recover quite a few fragments of memory.

43

"Twenty thousand," the young man said.

"...What?" Azik failed to follow.

"Sir, as you can see, this is Creeping Hunger, a Beyonder item corresponding to Sequence 5 of the Secrets Suppliant pathway. It's already filled with souls and can handle all kinds of opponents and practically any unexpected situation. It's enough to turn a Sequence 6 into one of the foremost pirate admirals, as you've seen." The young man kicked Qilingus. His practiced sales pitch made one suspect he had once been a veteran salesman. "Twenty thousand pounds is by no means an inflated price. In fact, it's an excellent bargain. Despite its well-known drawbacks of eating people and devouring its owner, its abilities are outstanding. Besides, you don't look as though you need to worry about those little side effects. That's a fair price, if you want it."

A subtle expression appeared on Azik's face. He quickly recalled the assets his past self had left his present self. His Beyonder items seemed to have been stored separately in several locations, while his wealth was mostly in gold coins and Jewelry. Twenty thousand pounds was a large sum, but he could still scrape it together from the few caches he currently remembered—suddenly, he had a strange feeling, as though he were shopping in a store. If he found it too expensive, perhaps this unfamiliar powerhouse might even give him a discount.

Suppressing a smile, he asked in a low voice, "All right. How should I give you the money?"

"Just visit any institution in the city under the Ernst Foundation and tell the person in charge that you wish to make a donation." Richard let out a small breath of relief, feeling a little happier. He had intended to sell this Mystical Item anyway, so having someone "place an order" immediately could hardly have been better.

He casually tossed Creeping Hunger over. A soft splash came from beside his feet. During the minute or two in which the two high-sequence Beyonders had been talking, the barely breathing Qilingus had tenaciously clawed his way along the ground and into the canal.

Richard watched his movements coldly, took a handkerchief from his pocket, and lightly tossed it into the canal. The handkerchief was covered in splashes of dried, blackened blood, and a girl had embroidered a little smiling face on it. More conspicuous, however, was a word formed from several small, blood-written letters:

"Hurricane"

"You struck at midnight, in waters you'd never entered before, and thought you'd covered your tracks. But Wilhelmina left a clue, using her cruelly broken hand-the only piece of her remains that wasn't destroyed to erase the evidence."

Richard spoke. He watched the handkerchief land in the water and instantly turn into a nimble fish. With extraordinary agility, it darted up beside the desperately fleeing Qilingus and wound around his neck. When Sailors breathed underwater, fishlike gills grew on the sides of their faces. Like an experienced predator, the handkerchief tore the Sailor's entire set of gills straight out of his flesh. Before the eyes of the two high-sequence Beyonders, the canal instantly filled with blood, as though a great quantity of red paint had been poured into it. After a few struggles and a few bubbles, Vice Admiral Hurricane's corpse floated to the surface amid the bloody water, his face frozen in an expression of hideous agony.

The handkerchief remained around his neck, as though a pair of invisible hands had playfully tied it into a tight knot.

Azik departed silently with the human-skin glove, while Richard stayed where he was, waiting for the duke's bodyguards to arrive from the distance. He took a small notebook from his jacket pocket, turned to the latest page, and solemnly wrote down the date and "Twenty thousand pounds + Qilingus's bounty ____"

Wonderful, the Temperance Angel thought. This year's proceeds have been quite good. I raised a hundred thousand pounds from the Feysac nobles, and a trip to Loen actually brought me face-to-face with Vice Admiral Hurricane. Not only have I gotten revenge, but I'll also receive the duke's and the earl's thanks. Someone skilled in Spirit Channeling will get his real objective out of Qilingus. That part is none of my concern. As things stand, today's proceeds should come to at least thirty thousand pounds. In light of this incident, charitable donations over the next couple of days should be somewhat higher than in previous years, too... I'll be setting off for Lenburg and the Feynapotter Kingdom soon. Hopefully, the Earth Mother will be as merciful as ever.

"If the estimate is a hundred and fifty thousand pounds... No new institutions for now. A third of the directors have reported that their local facilities need renovating. All right, I'll make arrangements later... Winter is almost here. Buy cotton and cloth. Each poorhouse and orphanage can sew its own new sheets and quilts to save on expenses. The leftovers can be made into new clothes. The children should be delighted... Buy some medicine for the hospitals and add more beds. The patients need nourishment, too... It looks as though we'll be able to get through this winter comfortably."

Richard chewed on the end of his pen. As he continued thinking, he chuckled softly.

44

"The investigation is complete. Qilingus was commissioned by a mysterious organization to assassinate Duke Negan, but for some reason he didn't act tonight," answered Ashigood, the prime minister and Duke Negan's younger brother. "But what happened to that corpse? Who did it?"

"It was the great philanthropist we all know. He attended tonight's ball and went to probe Qilingus at Earl Hall's request," Ace Snake answered. "Qilingus was killed swiftly and cleanly, with little evidence of resistance. Even Creeping Hunger couldn't help him escape."

"This Saint is difficult to control. He won't accept investments or open donation channels, only material aid and some sponsorship," Duke Negan said with a chuckle. "No wonder he remains destitute to this day."

45

Hearing a newsboy's cries, Klein hurriedly took out a one-penny coin and accepted a copy of the Tingen Morning Post from the boy outside the carriage. Many other passengers did the same. He unfolded the paper, and the bold headline immediately leaped into his eyes-

"Notorious pirate Qilingus shot dead by duke's bodyguards in Backlund"

Qilingus is dead? What happened last night... There isn't much related coverage. It only explains the time, place, and incident, leaving all the remaining details to everyone's imagination. Miss Justice notified me, and I passed the news on to Mr. Azik and Mr. Hanged Man. It looks as though Mr. Azik succeeded, without any unexpected developments afterward. He really is a high-sequence Beyonder beyond anything I imagined.

As the big boss behind this incident, Klein had no real sense of involvement whatsoever. While the passengers in the carriage fervently discussed who would receive Qilingus's bounty of ten thousand pounds, Klein fell into a momentary daze, feeling an intense sense of loss. But then he realized he had no way to claim the bounty anyway, so he could only fold up the newspaper and look out the carriage window.

He happened to spot someone he knew: Ademisaul, the natural-born Monster. Ademisaul glanced in a certain direction, then suddenly collapsed with blood streaming from both eyes, prompting the people beside him to crouch down hastily and check on him. What happened? Klein jolted.

He hurriedly strained to lean his head out and look, but the carriage had already left that street. He saw nothing.

TBC

*It was Edward, who had come out for breakfast and to buy a newspaper while he was at it.

Edward: The meal that ran away grew legs and came back on its own? Not bad.

*The church publicly identified the great philanthropist Richard Ernst as merely Sequence 4. Only insiders knew he was the Temperance Angel.

*Skipping ahead in the timeline. Time to show everyone a divine descent.