Chapter 153. The Truth (3)

The flames filled the darkness, flickering and fading.

Ash swirled around me.

Looking down, the experimental beast’s glossy black head rolled to my feet on the collapsed floor, turning to black ash, crumbling from the edges.

I exhaled silently, sheathing my sword fully.

My vision wavered.

Snapping back, I found myself slumped against a wooden crate, half-collapsed.

My body felt like it would disintegrate. The recoil from using [Fire Wheel] in a weakened state? I clicked my tongue, raising my arm to clench my fist.

Exhaustion aside, the debuff’s strain was gone, my body normal again.

The debuff magic must’ve lifted when the beastified caster died.

“Hey! If you’re alive, answer!”

Footsteps echoed from outside.

April, rifle raised, rushed in. Spotting me, she lowered her weapon, running over.

“What’s with you? Say something! I’ve been searching forever!”

I turned my head, glancing at her.

“Thought you’d stay back, sniping, not knowing how the Butcher fight went.”

“Ugh, yeah. But you didn’t respond, so I came straight here… Never mind.”

Slinging her rifle, she sighed, looking relieved.

“So, what’s with this beast?”

She pulled her device, lighting the room.

“Thought Butcher came this way. What happened to him? And this beast?”

“That beast is him. He transformed right here.”

“What?”

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

I explained the fight concisely, including the syringe. April’s face paled.

“A serum that beastifies people? For real?”

“No reason to lie.”

“Couldn’t believe it. People turning into beasts? Thought it was a rumor or urban legend.”

I picked up the syringe from the floor, handing it to her.

“This is it.”

“Tch, this syringe… Wait!”

Shining her device on it, she noticed my hand, gasping.

“Hey, you okay?”

“What?”

“This! Blood! It’s bad!”

Grabbing my hand, she pointed at the blood dripping. I shook my head calmly.

“It’s fine.”

In a dangerous district, this bleeding was minor for such a fight.

If it were a ‘curse’ spell persisting beyond the caster’s death, it’d be worse. Getting checked by Amelia, the Saintess, later wouldn’t hurt.

But April’s reaction was starkly different.

“Fine? No way!”

Panicked, she sat beside me, dropping her case and opening it.

She pulled out a first-aid kit, rolling up my robe’s sleeve.

“I’ll patch you up. Hold still.”

“It’s just scratches. Won’t hinder our investigation.”

“Oh, sure. Bleeding like that? Super helpful for getting civilian cooperation. Attracts all the aggro.”

Her logic was sound, so I shut up.

“I’ll stop the bleeding. Looks bad.”

Without waiting, she tore gauze packaging with her teeth, dousing it with antiseptic, cleaning my wounds.

She grabbed bandages.

I let her tend my arm, not refusing her kindness.

While bandaging, she looked up quietly.

“…Can I ask something?”

“What?”

“What’s your past?”

“Past? What do you mean?”

She lifted my arm slightly.

“Even veterans rarely shrug off this much blood. Were you always this stoic?”

“Strange?”

“Obviously.”

Winking one eye, she said.

“You’re not from a district, right?”

Her calm certainty startled me inwardly. She’d figured me out.

“How?”

“I can tell. Got a knack for it.”

Looking at me evenly, she asked.

“Not raised in a bloody city, not a seasoned freelancer, yet so unfazed by wounds. What’ve you been through?”

“…”

I didn’t answer. She stared, then sighed, shaking her head.

“Fine, won’t pry.”

I nodded lightly.

“Sorry, can’t talk about it.”

“Ugh, no need to apologize.”

Sitting, she wiped my blood with delicate hands.

Feeling her gentle touch, I reflected. I hadn’t answered, but what was it?

I couldn’t recall Enoch’s past precisely, only guessing from fragments.

Oddly, I remembered inheriting the Last Sword Saint’s sword, dying repeatedly in the Inner World.

Strangely, pain didn’t faze me. Perhaps even before the Inner World, I was desensitized.

Maybe that’s why I could face death’s agony head-on.

If this was the original Enoch’s influence…

“Ugh, bandaging’s tough after so long.”

April’s grumble snapped me back.

She struggled to bandage neatly, adjusting the tension.

I asked, curious.

“Bandaging’s hard?”

“Not easy to do cleanly for someone else.”

“Thought you were a veteran.”

“Tch, even freelancers don’t often bandage in the dark.”

Pouting, she turned away, embarrassed by her clumsy work.

I recalled Lien perfectly bandaging in darkness countless times.

…What was Lien, really?

Why was she so skilled at bandaging in the dark?

Did a typical maid need such first-aid expertise?

I shook off the sudden question.

Lien was never a ‘typical’ maid, but…

The more I thought, the more puzzling she was.

The closest, yet least known.

Feeling oddly wistful for Lien, I smiled wryly. One day in the district, and I already missed Elsyde’s fortress?

April leaned in.

“Uh, I disinfected, but your face…”

“Not hurt.”

She looked skeptical.

Sighing, she gripped antiseptic and bandages, lightly jabbing my chest.

“Fine. If you don’t wanna show your face, say so. I’ll step out.”

“Thanks for the concern.”

“Tch, obviously. If I pushed to check, I might lose my head!”

“…What do you think I am?”

Dumbfounded, I asked. She glanced away, flashing a playful smile.

“Heh, guess?”

“…”

When I didn’t reply, she huffed, “Tch, no fun,” lifting her chin.

“So, after that fight, can you move? Rest more?”

“Should be fine.”

Catching my breath, I pulled a fatigue-recovery ampoule, popping the cap.

Tilting my head, I swallowed it through my visor.

The liquid slid down, and soon, vitality returned faintly.

More to do, I had to move.

Kneeling, I pushed up, standing.

Placebo or not, the ampoule worked decently.

I had spares from capturing escorts, but I’d ask Amelia for more.

A metallic clink sounded from the beast’s ashen remains.

Looking down, Butcher’s ice-pick wand rolled across the floor.

“That’s the Butcher’s gear. Why’s it from the beast?”

April tilted her head.

“His wand and robe got sucked into his body. Must’ve merged during transformation.”

Her eyes lit up, arms crossed.

“If true, that explains why missing persons’ gear was found inside beasts here.”

“Right. The missing weren’t eaten.”

I concluded slowly.

“They became beasts.”

“So, someone’s using a beastification serum, kidnapping residents, and turning them?”

“Probably.”

“…Why do this?”

April bit her thumbnail, shuddering. I glanced at the ruined wall.

Beyond the jagged, iron-exposed wall, the district’s nightlife glowed like an evocative illustration.

My eyes narrowed, seeing the deep shadows lurking in the retro-lit building maze.

What was happening in Victoria Kazimieśi’s secretive alleys?

April followed my gaze.

“Honestly, Scavengers alone can’t pull this off. Even if they thrive on fear, they couldn’t make a mythical serum on their own.”

“Likely.”

I touched my mask.

Tantalus’s mana serum, casually held by a Scavenger Butcher. Beastification and ‘rebellion’ rumors.

Pieces clicked together.

My device vibrated. Checking, [Nano]’s contact flashed.

Pressing the call button, her bright voice rang out.

> [Freelancer, it’s Nano! Hear me?]

“Loud and clear. Why call?”

> [Unlocked the device file as requested! Something’s off!]

“Off?”

> [Yup! Seemed super important, so I’m sending it now!]

Excited, Nano hung up.

Lowering my device, April squinted, pouting.

“Wow, when’d you get Nano’s contact?”

“Earlier.”

“Thought you were stoic. Sneaky.”

“Didn’t you say freelancers need connections?”

“Ugh, true, but you’re too fast…”

Ignoring her mumbling, I checked the screen.

A notification showed [Nano] as a new contact.

A ding signaled a message.

> [Here’s the file!] with a cheery thumbs-up emoji.

Nano’s upbeat text nearly made me smile, cutting through the grim mood.

Opening the file, I scanned it. April leaned in.

“What’s the message?”

“The file’s contents. Accessible now.”

I tilted the screen toward her.

Complex building blueprints and photo-attached reports filled it.

“Wait, is this…?”

April’s eyes widened in the screen’s glow.

“You asked why this is happening here.”

I added, staring at the screen.

“Why Scavengers are doing this? We’ll find out ‘there.’”

The unlocked clue was revealed.

The district’s long investigation was nearing its end.

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