“Want to die? It’s not that easy.”
As the playing card fell, the blond-haired middle-aged man, his heart pierced through, looked at Shade in astonishment. The Life Ring behind the man dissipated, but before he could draw his final breath, Shade’s hand reached out
“False Undead!”
With a sudden shove, he sent the man sprawling onto the floor. Gritting his teeth, Shade gripped his sword with both hands and hacked off the man's left palm. Without both hands and severely wounded, the Ring-wielder had no possibility of turning the tide.
Looking at the two severed hands, the Outsider, doing such a thing for the first time, felt a wave of nausea. He turned and lightly tapped the water glass on the table, causing a silver spiritual light to surface on the water. Shade splashed the hot tea over the man's wounds to prevent him from losing too much blood and slipping out of the [False Undead] state
“I ask, you answer.”
“You... don't even think about getting any answers from me! Everything for the Lord of the Crimson Spiral! Just kill me!”
With only a sliver of vitality remaining in his body, his voice was incredibly weak.
“Kill you? Even if I kill you, I can still commune with your soul. Whether you are alive or dead, don't think you can keep your secrets.”
“Then kill me! My soul is graced by my Lord; you'll never get any information!”
Despite his weakness, he still stared at Shade with eyes full of hatred.
“Die?”
The corner of Shade's mouth twitched. If he weren't afraid of something happening to Lacia, he would never have done something so cruel
“Do you know what it feels like to be stuffed to death by drinking water?”
Shade shook the water glass in his hand, and more and more clear water appeared under the power of the spell.
“You monster!” the weak voice cursed.
“I don't want to torture you; that would be meaningless. I want you to realize one thing.”
Shade had already squatted down, his back to the gas lamp on the wall, making his face in the shadows look exceptionally terrifying
“You are a believer of the Lord of the Crimson Spiral—the guardian of the fishmen. If you, as a kin of this Great One, end up choking or bloating to death on water, do you think that deity will acknowledge your identity after you die?”
For the first time, an expression of terror appeared on the man's face
“You... you...”
“Will He still protect your soul for eternity?”
“You demon!”
“No, at least guessing with my mortal mind, He probably wouldn't.”
There was no hint of a smile on Shade's face
“But the [God of the Abyss Drowned] would be very willing to take your soul. Sir, since you are a cultist of an evil god in Coldwater Harbor, you should also know of that Great One. He is very interested in drowned fishmen... especially the drowned merfolk of Coldwater Harbor.”
“No, no!”
Because of the charms placed at the door, no one knew what happened inside the room next. When Shade opened the door and walked out, he was holding a corpse puppet with severed hands. In the room behind him, the carpet had been rolled up and pushed aside to prevent the bloodstains from frightening the maids who would clean the room.
Shade walked quickly along the corridor
“The Crimson Cult wants to perform a sacrifice to the sea tomorrow when the Red Ocean appears. In addition to the human believers who volunteer and the citizens they've kidnapped, they need a woman of noble birth as the final prelude to the ‘Sea Return’ ritual.”
This was the information Shade had just obtained. Under the fear of having his soul seized by an alien god, the man had revealed some information. However, before he could finish, he died. Not from his injuries, but from fright.
The people of this world had a completely different attitude toward faith than the Outsiders.
Amidst the violent night rain outside the window, Shade walked through the corridor lined with windows
“This sacrifice is not a necessary step for the ‘Sea Return,’ but rather a ceremony similar to a prayer. The Sea Return ritual begins when the first ray of sunlight hits Coldwater Harbor tomorrow, and the sacrifice will begin at that same moment. Besides Lacia, the Crimson Cult has five or six other targets, one of whom is...”
Shade looked toward the city
“Sivie Aurora.”
He summoned the servants to tidy up the messy study, while he stood in the corridor, watching the heavy rain outside
“Things are getting more and more interesting.”
Although the rain lasted all night, the small-scale battle around the Sophia Mansion lasted only half an hour before ending.
The continuous arrival of reinforcements forced the attackers to abandon their target. In particular, the lack of news from the attackers who had entered the Sophia Mansion made the lit house amidst the night rain and sea breeze seem exceptionally eerie.
With a Twelfth-Ring Great Witch accompanying Lacia, Shade's worries were greatly reduced, so he did not venture out into the rain.
He had intended to wait for Lacia to return before resting, but after midnight, when it became Wednesday, the princess's carriage still had not appeared at the manor gates. The servants sent to gather news returned from the rain with word that the city was under martial law; carriages could leave the city, but were not permitted to enter.
The Sophia Mansion had suffered a frenzied attack by fishmen, and similar incidents had likely broken out across the city. The inability to get news of Lacia caused the unease in Shade's heart—which he had thought was gone—to rise again
“Even if the fishmen's attack didn't hurt Lacia before dawn, if she doesn't return overnight, I won't be by her side when the ritual begins.”
After dawn, Shade rested in his room for two hours. Upon waking, he greeted the maid Lacia had left behind and left the mansion by carriage.
However, he did not enter the city. Instead, he had the carriage take him to the Sea Cliff Lighthouse, also located in the north of the city. When Lacia was using the alias Miss Princess, she had brought Shade here once. The keeper here was a folklorist, Mr. Edmund.
Holding an umbrella and struggling through the rain, he watched the light of the lighthouse and climbed to the top of the sea cliff. After putting on his mask and knocking for a long time, Mr. Edmund's wary voice finally came from behind the door
“Who is it?”
“Introduced by Old John of Tobesk!” Shade said.
The last time he came with Lacia, she had mentioned half of Old John's name. At the time, Shade didn't know the secret between the writer and the princess, so he hadn't thought much of it, but he understood later.
“Stop lying to me! Hmph, on a rainy day like this, even if he introduced you, no one would risk the rain to knock on my door this late!” the old man behind the door said discontentedly.
“He really did introduce me. I've been here before, remember? That day you came back from fishing, but there was only one small fish in the bucket. My companion bought a Saint Laurent ring, and I sold you a book,” Shade shouted loudly; the rain here was simply too heavy.
“Oh? That did happen...” The old man inside hesitated.
“Old John! Father John, that stingy fellow! Oh, I've never seen a man so stingy in my life!”
The door was suddenly flung open. Before Shade could react, the old man's strong hand yanked him inside.
Though the lighthouse was dilapidated, the interior—separated by only a wooden door—was incredibly dry and warm.
Old man Edmund was wearing pajamas with a coat draped over his shoulders, holding a kerosene lamp. He frowned slightly, looking at Shade under the light
“Yes, he is indeed the stingiest fellow in the world. It seems you truly are his friend. Young man, what on earth do you want so late? Do you think I'm as young as you?”
The old man complained, but he still let Shade find a place to sit and brought him a dry towel.
The bottom area of the lighthouse was the keeper's living quarters. While not large, it met all the necessities of life.
Shade took the towel and dried his hair
“Sorry to disturb you so late. The Sea Return, the Red Ocean, will appear at dawn today.”
“Oh? And so?” the old man asked, sitting in the chair before his desk. The lighthouse was actually connected to gas pipes, and he switched on the gas lamp on the desk.
Shade took a deep breath and draped the towel over the back of the chair
“You must know more about the Sea Return ritual. Last time I came with that lady, you didn't tell us everything.”
Edmund looked at him quietly; his eyes were not cloudy like those of an ordinary old man
“And so?”
“I have money.”
“But you need to convince me to agree to this deal.”
“The Order of Light-Guiding.”
Amidst the sound of terrifying waves crashing against the cliffs outside the lighthouse, Shade gave his answer. Mr. Edmund instinctively narrowed his eyes, then relaxed
“John probably wouldn't have told you that.”
Through the trade regarding the “Tree's Kiss,” Shade had learned that Father John belonged to the “Order of Light-Guiding,” and the latter had even wanted to see Shade's expression upon discovering this. Like Old John of Tobesk, Edmund of Coldwater Harbor operated a secret Ring-wielder black market shop; both were erudite but unwilling to do anything else.
Therefore, deducing that Father John's friend, Mr. Edmund—who could mutually refer business—was also a member of the “Order of Light-Guiding” was not difficult at all.
“What does that matter? I don't care about your secrets. I only know that as long as I pay, you can always provide help. I have no objection to your doomsday survival preparations.”
From behind his mask, Shade stared intently into the old man's eyes.
“What do you want to know?”
Perhaps seeing his determination, the old man pondered for a while before asking in a low voice.
“It's simple, my friend. That lady carries a mermaid's curse. I now know that bindings of fishing rod and line can reduce her urge to enter the Red Ocean. Besides that, are there any other methods?” Shade spoke quickly.
“None.”
The old man shook his head. Shade didn't mind, because he hadn't come to ask this; the question was merely a detour to get the other party prepared
“I also want to know...”
He instinctively lowered his voice
“The original intent of the Sea Return ritual is to awaken the power left by an evil god in the deep sea, thereby summoning a great flood to submerge the city. So, what exactly did the deity leave behind?”
Lightning flashed outside the window, and white light illuminated both their faces. The waves roared, only to be suppressed by the thunder.
The storm had arrived.