Solana had wanted to incinerate them all at once with her flames, but right at that moment, bizarre plants suddenly appeared.
Startled, she could only temporarily pull back the pitch-black flames already flickering at her fingertips, pretending to be shocked by the scene before her.
The people who had been chatting nearby also seemed shocked by the scene, staring dumbfoundedly at the bizarre plants.
What was going on?
Why did a patch of plants suddenly sprout from the ground? Why did those flesh buds suddenly burrow out? This was simply unheard of!
Unlike the reactions of those around her, the Sister in the white robe remained unfazed. She simply walked over calmly to examine the long-haired man who was now collapsed on the ground.
Seeing the Sister step forward, the one-eyed man also plucked up his courage, wanting to go see what was happening. Just as he was about to pull the cloaked man along, he realized that the man had already vanished without a trace.
Huh? He ran? How could he be such a coward?
He turned his head again; the other man nearby had already run to the bar counter several meters away.
“Hmph, what a bunch of cowards!”
Spitting in his mind, he braced himself and ran toward Solana.
After reaching the girl's side, realizing he was a bit too close to the front, he nudged himself back slightly before asking with forced composure:
“L-Little girl, are you okay?”
“I-I'm fine...”
Solana kept her head down, putting on an act of forced composure.
“Don't be afraid, I—”
As the one-eyed man was speaking, another blood-curdling shriek rang out, scaring him so badly that he instantly hid his entire body behind the girl.
Only after a long while did he belatedly realize what he had done. He coughed twice, stepped out, and looked toward the source of the shriek.
It was still the spot where the long-haired man lay, and the white-robed Sister stood beside him.
Only beneath her, a large pool of blood had already seeped from the long-haired man's chest. It was precisely the symptom they had mentioned earlier!
That symptom appeared again?!
Seeing this, the one-eyed man was utterly terrified and wanted to run, but suddenly remembering the little girl next to him, he could only remain stiffly in place for the moment.
“I absolutely cannot show fear in front of a little girl, or where would my dignity go!” he kept psyching himself up in his mind.
Seemingly sensing the slightly heavy breathing beside her, Solana cast a suspicious glance at the man.
His expression is so dramatic, what is he thinking?
Forget it, it has nothing to do with me. That Sister's identity doesn't seem simple, and I can't expose myself yet.
With that thought, Solana quickly and subtly turned her face away, resuming her terrified expression.
At that moment, the Sister finished her examination and gently waved her hand.
With a swish, the crimson plants quickly burrowed back into the ground, and the bizarre worms instantly exploded, splattering sap everywhere.
Immediately after, she walked toward the two of them. She gave the one-eyed man hiding behind the girl a strange look and asked:
“Now, tell me everything you know about those symptoms.”
“Right away, right away,” the one-eyed man quickly agreed.
At the same time, he took a step forward and began to explain:
“The matter... it started yesterday. The first one to show the new symptoms was... Old More in the shanty at the far east end of this alley.”
Seemingly not yet recovered from the bizarre scene earlier, his words were still a bit halting:
“He... he caught a strange disease three years ago, the kind where scales grow on the body. You should be familiar with this disease, milady; it's very common in the slums. He has a wife who ran around everywhere trying to find a cure for him, spending almost all of their savings.”
The one-eyed man's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he continued:
“We all thought this strange disease was incurable, but in the end, his wife actually found a way. Just ten days ago, for some unknown reason, Old More's symptoms suddenly eased a lot. We were all a bit incredulous, and some even asked how she did it, but she always refused to say.”
“Later, after hearing about this, more and more residents of Candlelight Alley started asking around about the cure. Coincidentally, they all seemed to have found the method, and more patients gradually began to recover. But when we pressed them, they still kept their mouths shut.”
“Of course, we wouldn't meddle too much. We didn't have any sick family members, so asking about it was just out of curiosity.”
“But the turning point of the matter happened yesterday at noon. Old More's wife suddenly smelled blood drifting from the shanty. When she lifted the tattered curtain, she saw that Old More had already collapsed on a rotting straw mat, his body curled into a ball, blood constantly gushing from his chest as his entire body shook uncontrollably.”
“At first, we all thought it was an accident. After all, a person dying in the slums is as common as a dead rat. It's completely normal. But just today, several more people died from the same thing. And what's more, those who died were the sick relatives in the families of the residents who had found that cure!”
“What exactly was that cure?” the Sister asked, her brow furrowed.
“I only heard about it, I'm not sure... they all bought some... somewhere in Candlelight Alley...”
However, just as the one-eyed man was about to utter those words, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Suddenly sensing something was wrong, he looked down. He saw that, at some point, a large, striking pool of blood had already seeped from his chest!
How is this possible?!
How could I end up like this too? I clearly didn't have that strange disease!!
In his shock, he gradually felt his body grow heavier and colder...
Until, with a thud, he collapsed.
Following that, those bizarre thudding sounds seemed to have made a pact, ringing out one after another, and then again!
Thud... Thud... Thud...
When the sounds finally ceased, only the Sister and the girl in front of her remained in the entire tavern, standing there in a daze.
Rate on N.U.
