Chapter 162: Chapter 106: A Truly Black-Hearted Master

In the Yidrisu District, inside a dilapidated house.

Unlike the neat, three-story, spire-topped buildings surrounding it, this dilapidated house was only two stories tall and stood a full kilometer away from any other structure.

Inside the house.

CREAK.

A black lantern emerged from a door that opened in the floor, rising slowly.

Lisi poked her head out and scanned the area before whispering, "No one’s here. Come on out."

With that, she and Kali climbed out of the basement, surveying their surroundings by the lantern’s light.

There was cluttered, decaying wooden furniture, layers of cobwebs glowing yellow in the lantern light, and mice in the corners, their eyes opening with displeasure.

"Where are we?" Kali asked, covered in dust and grime.

"I’m not sure, but based on our direction, this should be somewhere in the Yidrisu District, or..."

Lisi swung her Two-Handed Axe, smashing the room’s boarded-up wooden window. "Hmm, have we reached the northern watchtower already?"

A red glow shone in, making the whole room a little brighter.

SQUEAK SQUEAK...

A few mice, just roused from their sleep, were caught in the crimson moon’s radiance.

In an instant, a red gleam washed over the mice’s dull gray eyes. Their bodies began to twitch violently as slender tentacles burst out one after another from within them.

"ROAR—"

"Asriel!"

Annoyed by the noise, Lisi flicked her Two-Handed Axe. A cyan blade of light flashed, instantly killing the newly transformed mice.

Kali covered her mouth, staring at the mouse aberrations that had been sliced in two. Their tentacles writhed and struggled while a mixture of red and green slime stained a patch of the wooden floor...

"The northern watchtower... are we that far?"

"Yeah. Let’s go take a look."

Lisi led the way with the lantern, walking through the entire house, upstairs and down. When she returned to the first floor, she frowned. "Found nothing..."

Kali bit her lip. "They... disappeared?"

"They must have used the underground passage to leave, by some means we don’t know about."

"So what do we do now?"

CLACK.

Lisi placed the lantern on the table, put away her Two-Handed Axe, and casually sat on a chair that was still in one piece. "We wait. We’ll figure it out when morning comes."

Kali surveyed the filthy surroundings, hesitated for a moment, then took out a handkerchief to wipe a chair clean before sitting down as well.

"Sister Lisi, who do you think they were? They didn’t seem to be corrupted..."

"Who knows?"

Lisi closed her eyes to rest. "In the city state, it’s not just aberrations that kill people. There are also the heretics you at Dawn talk about, and... hmm,"

"People driven to collapse by despair, those who have been bewitched, or those who are parasitized or controlled are all possibilities."

Kali was stunned. Apart from heretics, none of the others had been covered by her teachers. ’So it’s not just heretics I’ll have to face...’

"Then, why did they..."

"You didn’t actually think the world was what you’d seen before, did you?"

Lisi opened her eyes and looked at her, the corners of her mouth turning up. "Seeing you like this reminds me of Wei’en on his first mission."

"Wei’en?" Kali realized. "Was he just like me?"

"Just as naive. Haha." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"R-really?"

"Actually, I quite like taking newly-minted Investigators like you on missions." Lisi smiled. "It puts me in a better mood when I’m handling these cases."

Kali lowered her head, a little embarrassed. "I’m sorry. I-I’ll work hard."

"I believe you will. Just like that kid Wei’en has become reliable now. But..."

"But what?"

"But work is work. Don’t let all the cases you see and hear about affect you personally... You have to remember, you’re not anyone else. You are just you!"

Lisi’s serious expression was reflected in Kali’s golden eyes. A flicker of confusion crossed her face. ’Am I just me?’

After a long moment, she finally nodded. "I understand, Sister Lisi."

"Good. Get some rest. We’ll request backup from the department after dawn. If Tina were here, those guys definitely wouldn’t have gotten away tonight."

"Ah, I’m sorry."

"It’s not your fault..."

When the room fell silent, Kali curled up in her chair, hugging her knees. Lisi’s words echoed in her mind. ’Be yourself, be yourself, be...’

What they didn’t know was that several kilometers away, on the roof of a three-story building, Melbel stood under the red moon. A faint, silvery-white glow emanated from his body as he quietly watched the dilapidated house.

Beneath his mysteriously patterned mask, a strange light flickered in his eyes, and a smile touched his lips. "Punish the heretics. Grow up quickly..."

On the other side of the dilapidated house was the northernmost watchtower of the Caster City State, perched atop a thirty-meter-high city wall built of massive stones.

Inside the watchtower, dozens of City Guards in heavy armor were split into two teams, one facing outward and the other inward, vigilantly monitoring their surroundings for any threats.

On the outer walls of the watchtower hung as many as twelve wall lamps. Bathed in the radiance of Dawn, they had no need to fear corruption from the red moon.

"Captain, it’s been pretty quiet tonight. Why don’t you get some rest?"

"Yeah, Captain. You still have to get a birthday present for Little Sally tomorrow morning. We’ll keep an eye on things here, there won’t be any problems."

The tall City Guard captain glanced at the grandfather clock and shook his head. "It’ll be light in two hours. Forget it. I can rest after my shift ends."

The vice-captain chuckled. "Don’t blame me for not reminding you. Little Sally has had her eye on that doll for a long time."