By the fourth reorganization, Halperin's face no longer showed anger, only helplessness and exhaustion.
Isaac didn't know what to say, Halperin remained silent as well; the man and the lich looked at each other in awkward silence.
"I----"
Halperin had just opened his mouth when it was as if something had been stuffed into it, and his words were interrupted.
Then his head exploded, the fifth time.
This time, during the reorganization, Halperin stated directly, "Since this thing is with you, it seems we can't have a proper talk. We'll talk again next time."
Isaac nodded. "Okay."
"We can make a deal. Come see me tonight at that apartment building from last night, and don't bring..." He glanced at the empty space beside Isaac.
Then Halperin's body was torn apart for the sixth time.
This time, the light mist did not immediately begin to gather. After hesitating for a moment, it drifted into the depths of the alley and quickly disappeared into the shadows, clearly leaving directly.
Isaac stood there for a few moments, and after confirming that Halperin had indeed left, he slowly exhaled.
"Boss, just now—"
"This Halperin is really tough; I'd call him the King of Toughness."
Isaac: "----"
What a resilient fighter!
"Alright, this trip was worthwhile. Getting on board with Halperin was much more useful than getting bogged down in a bunch of nonsense like Glen."
o
Isaac walked out, pulling down his hat brim. "So, which apartment building should we meet him at tonight?"
"Of course I'll go, but before that, you should go back to the office."
Isaac returned to the office, thinking that Carlo, Li Jiehao, and Fenri should still be at the Joint Investigation Bureau. He took out his key and was about to insert it into the lock when the door opened from the inside.
Li Jiehao was still gripping the doorknob. He had changed into a new outfit from the Harper and Sons Clothing and Hat Shop, and he looked much better overall, except his hair was a bit messier than in the morning.
"You are—oh, Brother Isaac!" Li Jiehao took a step back and opened the door.
"Were they waiting for me?" Isaac was somewhat surprised by the sudden opening of the door.
"Hehe, I heard the keys ring. My hearing is still good."
"You waited at the door specifically to hear the key ring?"
Li Jiehao scratched the back of his head. "I learned it from playing games. Before my parents came home, the key would ring at the door, and I would have a few seconds to turn off the computer. Later, I got used to it, and I would get up whenever I heard the key ring."
Isaac didn't quite understand, so he took off his hat and put it on the shoe rack. "Why are you back?"
"The boss suddenly said he needed to go back to the firm, so he brought me back with him." Li Jiehao gestured towards the living room.
Upon entering the living room, Isaac saw Carlo sitting behind his desk with his hands crossed on the table, while Fenri lay beside him.
He walked over, but Carlo raised his hand and gestured for him to stop. "Wait."
Isaac stopped in his tracks. Li Jiehao, who had intended to follow him in, also stopped at the doorway upon seeing Carlo's gesture. "W-what's wrong?"
Isaac noticed that Carlo's gaze wasn't on him, but rather on someone slightly behind and to the side of him.
There was nothing in that direction—there should have been nothing there.
But a feeling of nausea rose and spread, as if something was churning in my stomach.
The space beside him began to distort, the blurry light and shadow shifted, and the outline gradually emerged. The thing had no fixed shape, and its edges were solidifying into a shape that resembled a human, gleaming with a damp, dark red luster.
Li Jiehao gasped for breath at the doorway. "Holy crap—holy crap? Holy crap!"
The distorted silhouette leaned forward, opening into a mouth-like structure, from which a broken voice squeezed out: " Schuster —save me— Schuster —save me—"
The sound didn't just come from that direction; it seeped from the surrounding walls and floor. Blood even began to seep from the walls, outlining unrecognizable symbols that kept changing, as if they had come alive.
Isaac felt a wave of nausea wash over him, as if something was churning inside him, rising uncontrollably and trying to escape from his mouth.
He managed to steady himself, but his gaze couldn't leave the emerging outline.
"Ugh!" Li Jiehao let out a short, dry heave, bracing himself against the doorframe with one hand and covering his mouth with the other, his face flushed red.
Fenri stood up, pressed her ears back, and stared at the silhouette.
The silhouette pointed toward Carlo, the humanoid structure twisting and writhing between light and shadow. Sometimes shoulders and arms could be discerned, sometimes it blurred into a reddish chaos. For a few seconds, a face vaguely took shape, the arrangement of the features roughly resembling a human, but it was instantly scattered again.
Schuster —help me—
It wanted to take a step forward, its figure twisted, and in the next instant it appeared four or five steps away.
Carlo looked at the demon that had suddenly approached and said, "Tsk tsk, look at the mess you've made of yourself."
" Schuster —help me—"
The edges of the humanoid figure began to tremble violently, and the face reappeared, even more clearly than before, its mouth slightly open.
"What exactly did you do during that ceremony?" Carlo asked.
The figure blurred further at the edges, as if it had been torn apart from the inside by something.
"I don't... I don't know..."
"Ha?"
"I—I can't remember—I can't remember anything— Schuster —help me—I don't know—I don't know—I don't know—"
The figure leaned forward a little more, and its face became clearer, with features almost resembling a human's, but its eyes were empty.
Carlo clicked his tongue. "Tsk, you don't know anything, so what are you doing here?"
" Schuster —help me— Schuster —I don't know—I don't know—"
"That's enough. If you don't know, you don't know. Repeating it so many times, are you trying to show off your ignorance? Even though you're quite knowledgeable in this area."
The figure paused for a moment, then Carlo stood up, walked around the desk, and approached the demon.
Isaac took a step back, bracing himself against the wall to steady his breathing. Li Jiehao, on the other hand, could barely stand; his breathing was rapid, and his pupils began to dilate.
Carlo glanced at Li Jiehao, took a six-sided die from his pocket, and tossed it over; it landed on the ground.
2.
Li Jiehao shuddered, then his eyes cleared, though he was still terrified, and he plopped down on the ground and shuffled backward.
Carlo stopped, and the twisted figure began to tremble, its face flickering between light and shadow.
What are you now?
The figure trembled, its voice broken and intermittent: "I—I am Nehir —I am— Elesha— "
"Are you sure? You're not behaving like a human being."
The figure's trembling intensified suddenly, the features on its face blurred and then reappeared, its lips moved, words caught in its throat, multiple sound sources attempted to speak at the same time, staggered from one another.
"I am Nehir Elesha... Nehir Elesha..."
Carlo pulled out the pair of ten-sided dice. "Since you're so sure, let's put them on a check."