Chapter 30

94

"You're not a journalist."

As soon as she entered the office, Maria said directly to Klein, "You came to the East Borough in that disguise to investigate something, didn't you? I won't ask what, but you'd better get out while you can. The East Borough won't be peaceful for a while. You'll lose your life."

"...Thank you very much for the warning."

Realizing that she had seen through his disguise but had chosen to keep up the act for his safety, Klein felt somewhat touched. But having just spotted traces of Lanevus, he couldn't possibly give up now. He was desperate to find somewhere to perform a divination above the gray fog and confirm whether the person he had seen really was Lanevus.

Seeing that he had accepted her warning instead of dismissing it like other reckless, audacious bounty hunters, Maria felt a little more reassured. "Your caution will help you achieve your goal," she said encouragingly, then added, "The East Borough is a chaotic place. Perhaps we'll have a chance to work together in the future. You can leave through the back door afterward."

"Thank you!"

Klein couldn't have asked for more. To keep up the act, the two chatted in the office for a few minutes before he followed her instructions and slipped out through the narrow back door. Lanevus was long gone, and Klein didn't linger either. Putting his belongings away, he headed toward the public carriage stop.

Along the way, he caught sight of a vaguely familiar figure among the vagrants across the street. Miss Xio? Klein immediately made the guess.

Just then, a carriage suddenly stopped in front of him.

The carriage door opened, revealing a familiar face: the great detective Eisinger Stanton, who was also investigating a case. They had run into each other in the East Borough. Eisinger seemed to still be investigating the serial murders, but had made no progress yet. After boarding for a brief exchange of pleasantries, Klein took a public carriage. Instead of going straight home, he changed carriages and headed to the Quelaag Club in the Hillston District.

In the club's lounge, he quickly went above the gray fog and confirmed that no one had followed him.

Only then did Klein relax completely and feel the fear catch up with him. The aura of the True Creator haunted his mind like a nightmare, leaving the clothes against his back soaked with sweat, drying out, then becoming soaked again.

Klein materialized a sheet of yellowish-brown parchment and a crimson fountain pen with a rounded barrel before him, then deftly wrote down the divination statement he had already prepared: "The source of that inexplicable sense of familiarity earlier."

Putting down the pen and leaning back in his chair, he silently repeated the statement as he entered a dream. In that gray, illusory world, he saw a figure.

The figure had ordinary features, wore round glasses, and perpetually carried a condescending, mocking smile. It was Lanevus!

I've finally found you! Klein stopped using his Clown abilities to control his expression and muttered through gritted teeth.

Then Klein sat upright and responded to Miss Justice's prayer. Reining in his emotions, he spoke in a deep, detached voice:

"There's no need to confirm it. That is Lanevus."

"You may report this to the Church of the Evernight Goddess and tell them that Lanevus possesses the divinity of the Fallen Creator."

95

Lightning streaked across the eternally dark night sky.

Inside the City of Silver's Round Tower, two members of the Six-Member Council-Chief Colin Iliad and Elder Lovia-faced each other in a silent standoff.

Colin sat at an angle beside the table, staring at the back of his hand without saying a word. Lovia was equally silent, her fingers slowly stroking the skull in her arms. The suffocating atmosphere had persisted for a long time. Only the tallow candles on the table quietly burned and melted, while lightning and thunder brought a little sound.

"...Tell me again what you felt that day." After a long while, the Demon Hunter spoke in a hoarse voice.

Lovia's expression remained calm. "More than twenty cycles ago, I heard the Lord roar. Then came utter silence, and a peace that felt as though He had finally found something to rely on. Chief, the Lord has descended."

"That's only your account. The City of Silver cannot afford to gamble." The seasoned demigod remained unmoved. He knew full well that the "Lord" she spoke of differed in many ways from the omniscient and omnipotent Lord the City of Silver had worshipped for over two thousand years. The omniscient and omnipotent Lord had never displayed a filthy, dark side, nor had He tormented His believers with incessant ravings. Thus, despite Lovia's repeated hints and requests for confirmation, Colin Iliad maintained a cautious, skeptical stance, trying to determine whether she had gone mad or truly sensed something.

If only it really were as she said... Colin still couldn't suppress his hope. But he bore the lives of the entire city on his shoulders and couldn't take risks based on a few words from her. Caution and restraint were qualities a chief had to possess.

This conversation, too, ended in failure, but Lovia didn't feel defeated. She was also a member of the City of Silver and naturally had to take responsibility for her fellow citizens. The chief's firm, unyielding attitude reassured her. At the same time, she felt a little helpless at her inability to produce more evidence.

Neither spoke as they walked out of the Round Tower side by side. They would part at the first fork in the road and return to their respective homes.

At the corner of the fork stood an infirmary opened by two Beyonders of the Apothecary Pathway. It specialized in basic treatment and physical examinations for people who had just completed missions or returned from patrol. Since it only provided preliminary treatment, the city's other residents could also visit for medicine and checkups in their daily lives.

At that moment, around ten people were lined up outside the infirmary, waiting for treatment. Half held weapons, apparently having just finished a mission. The first people in line, currently being examined, appeared to be a married couple. The husband stood beside his wife, unable to hide his delight, while she stroked her belly.

Clearly, they were a young couple about to become parents-in the City of Silver, a new birth was the greatest cause for celebration apart from festivals. Sure enough, once the apothecary confirmed it with a smile, those waiting behind them spontaneously applauded and offered their blessings. The couple thanked them repeatedly before the husband helped his wife away. Whispering intimately as they walked, they happened to pass not far in front of Colin and Lovia. They didn't notice the chief or the elder, apparently too overwhelmed with joy.

"I told you! I knew I was pregnant!"

The young woman said excitedly to her husband, "Didn't I tell you? Twenty-one cycles ago, I had a dream. I dreamed that a silver-white giant serpent lying beneath a golden cross covered itself with its wings. I prayed devoutly before the Lord's symbol, and the giant serpent glanced at me with eyes as beautiful as rubies... Ah, this child must be a messenger sent by the Lord! The Lord hasn't forgotten His faithful believers. He's sent a messenger to save us!"

Her husband neither agreed nor disagreed about the dream, but he clearly didn't want to dampen her spirits, so he followed her lead. "Yes, we must pray even harder. One day, we'll be saved... I won't take my scheduled leave for a while. I'll join more patrols, earn merits, and hunt monsters so I can stock up on food and meat for you and the child..."

"It's too early for that! I can still patrol and hunt. We can prepare delicious food for the child together..."

The two walked away, laughing and chatting. Behind them, Lovia and Colin stood motionless like statues.

Both stared almost greedily at the couple's retreating backs, hoping to hear a few more words about that dream.

"Chief..." Lovia broke the silence first. She wanted to say something, but Colin raised a hand to stop her.

"There's no need to say more. Let's wait and see." The elderly Demon Hunter's eyes shone faintly, as though he had regained a little hope in that instant.

He turned, cast one lingering glance after another at the couple as they grew more distant, then finally headed toward his silent home.

96

Eight o'clock, dinnertime. I sat in the best restaurant I could find in the East Borough, comfortably ordered a cream of mushroom soup, a vegetable salad, and a lamb stew, and began enjoying a leisurely, peaceful meal.

The food's all right. I'll eat at the club next time.

Screening suspects was terribly boring. There was really no need for a distinguished angel to stoop to hunting down a swindler. All things considered, I decided to slack off.

My servants, on the other hand, quite enjoyed hunting games. I rummaged through my display cabinet, and the one I finally let out to help was a member of the Andariel Family. He was only Sequence 5, apparently a fellow who had betrayed the hiding places of his fellow family members out of fear that I would kill him. His sequence wasn't high, but he was quick-witted, treacherous, and cunning, so I chose him to run errands for me.

All this required was carrying a blood sample imbued with spirituality around the East Borough and sensing along the way. Individuals contaminated by Lanevus's blood would be more sensitive to my ally's blood, exhibiting all sorts of uncontrollable behavior, even going mad and dying. It was very simple and required no skill whatsoever.

Apparently, another round of screening had ended. He arrived at the café where I was resting, traces of scarlet still lingering in his eyes and a delighted smile on his face. It seemed he really was enjoying this boring murder game. I took the slip of paper he handed me and gave it a cursory glance.

Lanevus was very cautious. When I went out, there had been roughly three hundred and fifty contaminated people in total. We had now dealt with a third of them.

Killing hundreds of people in broad daylight while ensuring no one noticed within a short span of time was no easy task. Even for a Devil, it was quite difficult. Moreover, judging by the message my ally had just sent me, Lanevus had already noticed my activities and was contaminating more people as quickly as possible. He certainly knew how to add to my workload.

"Are you really killing people according to my orders?"

His soul was in my hands, so of course I knew he couldn't disobey my orders. Still, I asked casually, "I mean, you haven't been killing uncontaminated people for fun out of boredom, or dismembering your victims and dumping their bodies where people might pass by to spread terror and cause me trouble, have you?"

"A-absolutely not, Your Highness!" Andariel's smile froze, and he hastily lowered his head. If we hadn't been in a café, he probably would have dropped to his knees, swearing oaths and declaring his loyalty to me.

I interrupted his potentially endless apologies and panic. "All right. Did you encounter anything?"

Andariel paused, recalling and considering, then honestly shook his head. "No."

"But when I passed the Church of Evernight's small chapel in the East Borough, I happened to see someone wearing red gloves talking to a clergyman."

The Church of Evernight was making a move. Was someone they wanted in the East Borough? I didn't count myself among the possibilities. If they were planning to trouble me, whoever came to investigate would have to be at least Backlund's Archbishop. If it was only the Red Gloves... 0-08's accessory did come from the Church of Evernight... The Evernight diocese and the Nighthawks did suffer the greatest losses during the Descent of the True Creator... Lanevus helped with that... Surely it wasn't such a coincidence? Had they found Lanevus? How had they done it? Who had provided the crucial information that let them locate him?

This cream of mushroom soup tasted pretty good.

If they really were looking for Lanevus, I'd have to give my ally a call and ask Him, "Evernight seems to have gotten involved. Do you still want that piece of meat?" If He did, I could get it. I'd just have to snatch Lanevus from the Church of Evernight. But if matters reached too high a level, it might draw the divine servant Arianna here, and then...

But what did that have to do with me? I leisurely sliced my white bread and stuffed lamb stew inside, under the astonished gazes of the other diners.

Whether my ally wanted that piece of meat or not, there would be a spectacle to watch tonight. For a bored Devil, that counted as an entertaining diversion.

TBC

Before I knew it, I'd written over a hundred thousand characters. That went by so fast.

The Angel of the Holy Word, scurrying all over the Forsaken Land of the Gods: "Lord Angel of Fate, where aaaaaare you?!"