Inside the dimly lit study, Roland solemnly opened a report from the West District Demon Hunter Team using a letter opener.
His brow was furrowed, as if he had anticipated something, yet also as if he harbored certain doubts.
His gaze and attention slowly returned to the letter.
“The two injured members are recovering well today. No abnormal incidents have occurred in the West District, and no reinforcements are needed.”
Roland breathed a sigh of relief, yet the heavy stone in his heart did not seem to fall.
He looked at the back of the stationery, where there were several dots pricked by a pen tip. This appeared to be a form of code, confirming the identities of both parties.
Roland’s brow furrowed deeply. He let out a long sigh, as if a great weight had finally been lifted. He picked up his longsword, and with a faint sound of blues music, his figure vanished into thin air.
...
Inside the blood-stained manor hall, the man in the red robe looked up at the girl standing not far away. A sense of familiarity stirred within him, and painful memories surged like a rising tide, wave after wave, driving him toward hysteria.
“Neither human nor ghost... you remind me of a group of people I despise.” The man swung his scythe, channeling the power of his waist to hurl a savage strike.
“But you are even purer than they are—and even more disgusting!”
The girl watched him expressionlessly, allowing the blade to slash across her abdomen. Fresh blood gushed out, gathering in increasing amounts. With a slight twitch of her fingers, the floating blood instantly coalesced into longswords, throwing knives, hunting knives, daggers, hand axes... flying toward the man from every direction.
“You are... one of them. You are from the Royal Court. How is this possible...” The man’s figure stiffened as a throwing knife pierced his shoulder. “Magic flowing within the blood... how can this be!”
He watched as the girl’s wound healed instantly, momentarily left speechless.
The girl ignored him, only casting a cold glance his way.
Immediately after, her figure blurred into a series of afterimages. Accompanied by the piercing sound of breaking air, the monster that had finished its feast nearby suddenly stiffened. The sounds of flesh tearing and bones crushing echoed through the empty hall. Despite its massive mouth, it didn't let out a single scream—not even a whimper—before it was sliced into neat blocks of meat.
The Doctor was stunned. The God's Blood boiling within his body caused him immense agony. He watched with his own eyes as the girl, now seemingly a different person, began to ravenously devour the neatly sliced chunks of flesh. Combining these scenes with the information he had gathered earlier, he found the situation beyond belief.
“No heart, yet doesn't turn into a blood demon... able to consume God's Blood at will, and those blood-red vertical pupils... Tsk, a monster among monsters.” The man held his breath, waiting for his opponent to show a weakness after her feeding.
The girl’s body trembled, the murderous light in her eyes intensifying as her blood seemed to turn an even deeper shade of crimson.
“Ugh... ahhh...!” she let out a low growl, clutching her head and collapsing to her knees in pain.
Fantastic visions assaulted her newly recovered sanity, and the intense pain within her body forced an instinctive cry from her lips.
This sudden reaction caused the Doctor to hesitate for a few seconds, afraid to attack recklessly.
A sky shattered by thunder, a god clutching lightning standing amidst the clouds; a masked man covered in bulges, swinging two giant blades linked by chains; a one-eyed god throwing a spear with all his might... it pierced through space, ignored distance, brushed past time, and traveled backward through history to strike at her.
She saw a poignantly beautiful sunset. All glory, all sin, and all light vanished in that moment. She saw living beings once again treading upon scorched earth, as emerald green sprouts struggled to break through the soil...
“Now's my chance!” The Doctor brandished his scythe, finding an opening amidst the rain-like attacks, aiming for a killing blow.
No matter how powerful one's regenerative abilities were, once the head was severed and the body shredded, they would be helpless!
The blood surrounding her formed a spherical shield, enveloping the girl. Despite the man’s full-force attacks, he could only barely scratch her, though the speed of her recovery had slowed significantly.
The Candle of Dawn in her pocket began to burn slowly. Within the pale blue flame, faint images of magic circuits radiated outward.
“Ugh!!!!” The girl let out a pained whimper. Her trembling body gradually steadied, the hatred and rage in her eyes slowly fading. Her attire reverted to her original off-white nightgown, now soaked through with blood.
Now! The Doctor swung his scythe, hacking down heavily toward Li Yue’s body.
But the surrounding layer of plasma sprayed outward like bullets. The violent blood nearly riddled the man’s body. At the same time, the strains of blues music echoed in the air—plaintive and mournful, as if mourning the innocent dead.
“Tsk, at least half the objective was achieved.” The man dragged his broken body away, his expression twisting with rage and resentment. “The other half, I will take back as well. No matter who I have to use, it’s all the same!”
The blues music grew clearer. After a specific melody, a figure rapidly materialized on the scene.
Before him was a vast field of corpses, scattered limbs, plasma everywhere, and Li Yue lying on the ground covered in wounds.
Roland frowned. Just yesterday, he had suddenly received notice that the West District Demon Hunter Team had found three missing members. Then, at noon today, he discovered that the letter’s encryption process had been imitated—except the culprit didn't know that the dots indicated the date. This error made Roland realize something was wrong.
He didn't alert anyone and simply rushed there at full speed. Upon arriving in the West District, he found Miller’s manor at the outermost edge was enveloped in a barrier. Outsiders could enter, but it was very difficult to leave.
Witnessing the tragedy before him, he could almost guess that this was a meticulously planned conspiracy by an organization to obtain something.
His figure flickered between illusion and reality as he slashed toward the corpses nearby. The melody of the blues resonated throughout the hall, harmonizing into a grand symphony.
The Doctor’s figure flickered as he fled through the manor. Several musical notes in the air bounced between the walls, instantly striking his newly repaired body and blasting several holes into him.
He held his breath, dragging his mangled form underground. Ignoring the filth of the dark sewers, he fled frantically.
The distant melody gradually dissipated. Receiving the feedback, Roland’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he increased the intensity of the distant music, but the target was ultimately too far, and the feedback grew fainter.
“Unison!” The increasingly clear blues music seeped into the ground. Exquisite musical staffs seemed to appear in the air, inscribed with heart-wrenching tunes.
Blue flames erupted around Roland’s body, and he vanished from the spot in an instant.
A man wearing a smiling face mask and strange clothing appeared before the Doctor, blocking a wave of the melody with his cane. The powerful strike caused a slight crack to appear on his smiling face mask.
“Laughing Mask! How are you so...”
With a loud bang, the mithril longsword and the black cane collided heavily.
Following the dissonance, Roland arrived through the air. The melody centered around him began to rage, the sorrowful tune seemingly singing a graceful song in unison.
“Truly, seeing is better than hearing. What a legendary blues, Mr. Roland.” Laughing Mask straightened his mask and gave a deep bow. The blood-red shadow behind him instantly swallowed the two of them, as if they had vanished from the face of the earth.
“A ‘Gate’... they really came prepared.” Roland frowned, his figure returning to the blood-stained courtyard.
He picked up the unconscious Li Yue. Noticing her severe injuries, he took out medicine from his portable medical kit and began emergency treatment.
The sorrowful blues lingered within the manor, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
...
In a dark alley, Laughing Mask stood up within the shadows. The jaw portion of his mask had shattered, with pieces even beginning to fall off. He straightened the mask, gasping for air.
“What happened? How were we detected? And with such a huge commotion.”
“It works out; the panic will only make us stronger.” The Doctor lay on the ground, a mocking smile on his lips, seemingly mocking himself.
“Don't underestimate the information suppression capabilities of these demon hunters.” Laughing Mask hesitated. “An incident like this will, at most, spread among the nobility or some secretive black-market informants.”
“That’s enough...” The Doctor struggled to sit up, but his broken body was at its limit. His blood-red coat was stained with numerous black smudges.
“To think there are still people from the Royal Court in this city. She drank the half-bottle of God's Blood we’ve been tracking for so long. A true monster.”
“Ha! The real monsters are about to wake up. To think the performance is ending just as we were about to take the stage!”
“Heh, I can't even remember what she looks like, but the next time we meet, she will definitely die.”
“The Royal Court... heh...” Laughing Mask hesitated for a moment, then let out a laugh. “Freaks!”
Supporting each other, the two walked deeper into the alley, their figures vanishing into the shadows.
Roland held Li Yue. Her condition had improved, but she remained unconscious. After settling her in a bedroom, Roland explained the situation in detail to his team members. Afterward, he walked into the office. With a heart full of self-reproach and solemnity, he used a hesitant pen to write another sorrowful composition upon the musical staff.
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