༺ S2. Resentment Grazing The Stars – 1 ༻
Three shadows were passing by on the night road illuminated by street lamps. In the silence, only the sound of footsteps was distinctly echoing. Step. Step.
Leading the way was Bennett. Just in case they would have any encounters with fanatics, he moved forward with careful attention; he wished to avoid potential combat situations as much as possible.
After checking around the corner and confirming that no one was there, he walked close to the walls. Led by Bennett, Niolle and Tara followed behind him.
The reason Bennett was so cautious was because he judged that they should not engage in combat in their current state. Especially when considering Niolle and Tara were still in shock.
Tara looked around with shimmering eyes as if searching for prey, while Niolle, with her head bowed, followed the cues of Tara and Bennett.
Both had recovered enough to move from the mental shock, but they coped in different ways. Moreover, they seemed somewhat… twisted. Not in the body, but in the mind.
In Tara’s pupils, the flames of the mansion were still reflected. Wrath, pain, resentment. She wanted to kill the fanatics immediately.
In Niolle’s pupils, the shadows of the mansion were pressed down. Guilt, regret, compulsion. She still regretted her decisions and wanted to make amends.
In dangerous situations, emotions must be killed. Bennett believed so. When swayed by emotions, people would cling to slim chances. Just like his attempts to restore his sister’s body.
As they approached Carter Street, they began to see more people. Despite the late night, some were wandering drunk and others were awakened by the fire and commotion at Abraham’s mansion.
“We will……. pass as inconspicuously as possible. Avoid the light and stick to the shadows. We cannot leave any eyewitnesses.”
“……Abraham is already dead. Will those fuckers still chase us?”
“If it were me, I would chase.”
Why had the Order of the Silver Twilight killed Abraham. They had been all too kindly informed about the reason through a letter; a letter that demanded the cessation of research. They wanted Abraham’s research to stop.
His documents were lost along with the mansion due to something the fanatics summoned at the end. However, they would naturally suspect. What if…… the three who escaped from the mansion had Abraham’s research documents?
Therefore, if there was even a hint of suspicion, they would try to kill them to tie up loose ends.
At that, Tara let out an Ah… With that faint lamentation, she spoke.
“…….We actually know, though. The location of the remaining research materials.”
Following Abraham’s guidance, they had investigated the Forbidden Stacks of Miskatonic University, where a copy of the research materials was stored in the vault; the last legacy of the old man, which the Order of the Silver Twilight so desperately wanted to erase.
“We still do not know the reason they obstruct the research as so……. But the important thing now is that the fanatics have enough reason to chase us. Let’s move.”
“……Right.”
Shadows cut across the darkness. The number of people gradually increased, as did the number of street lamps lit. Furthermore, they even occasionally saw white cowls mixed among the crowd.
Bennett stopped at a wall and raised his hand.
There was a white cowl leaning against a lamppost ahead, surveilling the surroundings as if on guard. The fanatic looked around indifferently, staring piercingly at passersby.
Niolle gestured anxiously. Let me handle this. Please give me a chance. However, Bennett firmly shook his head. Tara, who seemed ready to rush out at any moment while clenching and unclenching her fist, was also stopped.
“Wait here for a moment. 『Icicle』.”
Upon muttering the spell, a sharp and pointed icicle grew from inside Bennett’s sleeve. He carefully concealed the icicle in his hand and moved.
Bennett hid behind the shadow of a passing drunk, approaching quietly. When close enough to the fanatic, at a speed neither too fast nor too slow…
Shunk.
“KEUU…….!”
He stabbed the fanatic’s lung through the ribs. Simultaneously, he grabbed the fanatic’s throat with his left hand and injected mana in a split second. Crack. Something snapped and life quickly faded from the fanatic’s eyes.
Bennett positioned the fanatic’s body, making it look like he was sitting back against the post, resting. He adjusted the clothes to hide the wound made by the icicle, creating the appearance of a momentarily sleeping body.
Bennett gestured. Tara and Niolle left the wall and followed him. Niolle sighed in relief as if glad he was safe, checking Bennett’s condition.
On the other hand, Tara was looking at the fanatic’s corpse. She bent down to scrutinize the expression on the corpse’s face as if wanting to see the pain it endured.
“Why did you use Icicle? Was it to make it more painful?”
It would have been enough to simply break the neck. When asked with such an implication, Bennett answered in a simple manner.
“I intended to freeze it from the inside if necessary. Even if the incantation gets interrupted, sometimes the magic still activates. That is why I was a bit more cautious. After all, the magic they use is…….bizarre and beyond what is common sense to us.”
“……I see.”
Leaving a cold corpse behind, the group entered Carter Street.
===============================================================
Carter Street was bustling with shops like restaurants, clothing stores, and hardware stores. As a place where money flowed, many buildings were lit up late into the night, with shadows of people clinging to the brightly lit windows.
White-cowled fanatics were also not a rare sight. To avoid being caught, they needed to be ever more cautious in their movements.
Niolle, seeing a sign on the street, pointed out the location of No. 201 and took the lead as if to say to just leave it to her.
She used her exceptional vision to move unpredictably, climbing building exteriors using drainpipes, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and sometimes hiding in bushes or narrow alleyways.
When they were about three blocks away from their destination…
“⋯⋯⋯⋯!”
Niolle pointed at a police car parked on the side of the road. A police officer, holstering a gun, was looking around outside the vehicle. Having learned the basics of this world’s common knowledge while living with Abraham, she knew these were the city’s guards maintaining law and order.
The fanatics had committed a terrible crime by killing Abraham horribly and setting the mansion on fire. Therefore, seeking their help might smooth things out.
They might even get protection. Cooperation could lead to a crackdown on the Order of the Silver Twilight. This could possibly make up, even if only a little, for their current predicament of being chased after losing their base and Abraham’s death.
If only she could rectify her mistake…
“Wait, Niolle……!”
So, ignoring Bennett’s attempts to stop her, Niolle ran towards the police to borrow a notebook and pen, intending to testify against the fanatics’ misdeeds.
As the short-haired girl approached, the officer asked in a very professional tone with half-squinting eyes.
“What is the matter at this late hour? Your expression looks quite……..troubled, Miss.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“You must not be able to speak, I see. On top of that you have brown, short hair, huh…….”
It was a comment that seemed to check her appearance. She should have felt something was off right then.
The officer smacked his lips, then drew his pistol from the holster.
Niolle’s head went blank. The aimed gun. The finger pulling the trigger. Come to think of it, Abraham’s mansion was very close to the police station.
Despite the chaos, the police had not shown up until the mansion was completely engulfed in flames. And before that, there were the dead cat and ominous threat letters. As well as the people suspiciously surveilling the mansion…….
If Abraham wasn’t foolish, he would have reported to the police long ago. But not once had they seen the police take any action. The public authority was in league with the Order of the Silver Twilight.
Bang-!
Niolle clenched her eyes shut. But the expected shock and pain didn’t come. Wondering why that was, she cautiously opened her eyes.
“…….I told you…to wait.”
Bennett was suddenly right before her eyes.
Slash-!
With one swift move, Bennett drew his sword and slashed the police officer’s throat. The officer spilled blood with a look of disbelief on his face and then collapsed dead.
As Niolle was about to express her gratitude, she noticed blood flowing down Bennett’s left shoulder. Bright red blood was dripping down his arm, indicating he had been shot while trying to protect her.
“…………Euh, ah.”
“Next time, do not run off on your own.”
Bennett tried to maintain his composure, but the pain was evident in his furrowed brow, the cold sweat rolling down his cheek, and his trembling left arm. Niolle could see it ever so clearly.
While Niolle was trembling with guilt, Tara looked inside the police car while healing Bennett’s wound.
“『Heal』……. Ah. There’s another one inside the car, huh? Bennett. Let’s kill him.”
Inside the car, a young man, terrified and shivering, was picking up the radio.
“R-Respond, respond over, S-Sergeant Paul had his, his head cut off h-here……..!”
Tara gathered mana in her fist. With a single punch, she could shatter the young man’s head along with the window. But Bennett stopped her.
“Why?”
“Not all police are with the Order of the Silver Twilight. Perhaps the dead scum is one of them, but the one inside has a cross around his neck. That is a symbol of a different religion.”
“But still, he was with the bastard helping the Order of the Silver Twilight, right? Then he’s somewhat responsible. He must be punished.”
Bennett met Tara’s gaze. Blind rage was burning in her eyes. And the ease with which she spoke of killing… Normally, Niolle would have intervened, but she was too overwhelmed by guilt.
Leaving a witness was not an option. Thus, killing the young man seemed to be a safer choice.
However, Bennett felt that it shouldn’t be done. He had already killed many, so it wasn’t that he had suddenly turned into a hypocrite. Rather…
He was more concerned that killing this young man would make Tara’s heart go greatly awry.
“……The police shot after checking Niolle’s appearance. It means our descriptions are already out there. Even if we kill this person too, the body will soon be discovered. There is no need to shed more blood.”
“Why are you acting so out of character?”
“Out of character, you say……. I am not quite sure which one of us that is referring to. Let’s move. Given the commotion, we need to at least resupply and regather ourselves at the secret hideout. We do not have time.”
Haaa……“.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Leaving the frightened young man behind, the group headed towards the secret hideout. Since they had killed a police officer on Carter Street, it was only a matter of time before the net closed in on them. They planned to quickly gather supplies from the secret hideout and then leave.
“This is……”
“It is literally a ‘secret’ hideout.”
The secret hideout, prepared by the investigator on the second floor of the East Shopping Mall, was remarkably secure. Magic was layered in multiple levels, concealing it perfectly. If it weren’t for the report, they might have never realized there was a hideout here.
It seemed the investigator had already finished making exceptions for the three of them. The hideout revealed itself and the group entered.
The two murders on Carter Street. The police pursued the case with unusual zeal. However, despite thoroughly searching even the city’s sewers, the trio of murderers was nowhere to be found.
