Chapter 1218: 205. Rats
“Not them. None.”
“Not them. None.”
“This one isn’t. This one doesn’t have it.”
“None of them are... None of them have it...”
Time slipped through the cracks, and the days continued to pass.
In the blink of an eye, a long time had gone by. Muen had almost completely lost any precise sense of time. He only knew that roughly seven or eight days had passed.
During those seven or eight days, he had gone entirely without sleep or rest. Like a wound-up machine, he followed the equally sleepless Hamreign and searched the entire city at a speed that could only be described as abnormal.
Muen felt completely numb.
He finally realized that her warning not to complain about being drained dry had contained no exaggeration whatsoever.
Hamreign had given him no room to catch his breath at all. The two of them went from one household to the next, one street to the next, one district to the next, as though they intended to continue like this until the end of time.
Had his endurance and recovery ability not truly been far beyond those of an ordinary person, he would have collapsed long ago.
Even so, darkness was already creeping into the edges of his vision, and the words “not them” and “none” were constantly drifting around inside his head.
“How many remain unchecked?”
At last, different words entered his mind, and Muen immediately jolted awake.
Almost instinctively, he reached into his clothes, only to grasp nothing.
“Huh?”
Muen blinked.
His consciousness cautiously swept through his storage ring, and only then did he finally find a register tucked away in the furthest corner.
“It seems...”
Muen patted the register.
After using these things to cross off names for so long, this was the first time he had felt that it was so light, almost like a single sheet of paper.
“This is the only one left?”
“It either is or it isn’t. There is no ‘seems.’”
“It is!”
Muen’s spirits rose, and the numb exhaustion from moments ago vanished.
“Only the people in this final register remain to be checked!”
Seven or eight full days of continuous work, without stopping for even a moment and moving like machines, had naturally produced astonishing results.
In such an enormous city, Muen and Hamreign had relied solely on visiting one home after another, yet in such a short time, they had actually completed most of the search!
It had not even taken half the time Muen had originally estimated!
It was practically a miracle.
“Based on our previous pace, one register... should take only about half a day. In other words, after just another half day, we’ll have completely checked every resident in the city. By then, those survivors will have nowhere left to hide.”
Muen slowly exhaled a long breath of stale air and could not help smiling.
After suffering for so long, even this news, which could not truly be called good news, was enough to brighten his mood.
“Is that so?”
A faint trace of relief could also be heard within Hamreign’s cold voice.
“Most importantly, after checking this far, only three people have undergone Polluted mutations. That is far below what we predicted.”
Muen flipped through the register, unable to conceal his delight.
“That means Miss Dragon reacted quickly and made the correct decision. You gave those survivors no opportunity to continue expanding and spreading the Pollution.”
The three people were Ebra, a member of the Dragon-Slaying Team who had previously come into contact with the little girl’s family, and a pair of sisters who lived alone.
Moreover, because the medium had been sealed off, their Pollution had not been externally stimulated and intensified. They had not rapidly mutated and lost control like the little girl had.
After all, the people of Annabawei had carried this dormant form of Pollution for an unknown length of time.
Whether Pollution had been stimulated or not produced two entirely different states.
Therefore, those three had merely been imprisoned for now.
“Their mutations are progressing very slowly. They should still be able to endure for several days. In other words, if we can completely deal with the survivors within the next few days, perhaps we can clear up the misunderstanding, make them trust me again, and use that to suppress the Pollution.”
Of course, it did not matter even if they refused to trust him.
As long as the survivors could no longer interfere, there were plenty of ways to force them to trust him...
At worst, he could deceive them a little more.
After all, as a good man, Muen Campbell was fairly skilled in that area.
“It seems there won’t need to be any further sacrifices.”
Muen smiled.
“Mm.”
Hamreign nodded lightly, though neither joy nor sorrow could be seen.
“It is naturally a good thing if I do not have to waste any more effort.”
“Miss Dragon has really worked hard during this period.”
“This amount is nothing.”
“Would you like me to massage your shoulders and legs?”
Muen asked thoughtfully.
“If you wish, I can satisfy you.”
Hamreign raised her eyes, her fair, slender fingers opening and closing with remarkable agility.
“...Ahem. Forget it.”
Muen quickly shut his damned mouth, which had started flirting the moment he relaxed even slightly.
He had only been saying it casually.
But given Miss Dragon’s personality, if she helped massage his shoulders and legs...
It would probably feel so good that he died.
Literally.
“Um... would the two of you like some pastries?”
As they chatted, an ill-timed voice suddenly interrupted them.
Coincidentally, the person they had come to inspect was the owner of the coffee shop Muen had previously “robbed.”
The owner had clearly learned from the previous incident. He did not even serve coffee this time and instead brought over sweet-smelling pastries.
“Thank you. I happen to be hungry.”
After working continuously for so long, Muen naturally wanted to rest for a moment.
He simply pulled Hamreign over and sat down in the same place as before.
“There’s always time to eat something, right?”
Muen personally handed a pastry to Hamreign.
Of ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) course, it was not because he had suddenly become that much of a gentleman.
The shop owner seemed to have already reached his limit merely by daring to approach Muen...
Muen glanced sideways.
The man did not even dare look at Hamreign. He was currently crouched beneath the table, trembling all over.
Even among a crowd of frightened cowards, he was the most cowardly of them all.
Muen was speechless, but he did not pay him much attention. He directly put the pastry into his mouth.
A sweet fragrance instantly filled his mouth, and the pleasure it brought quickly swept away his exhaustion...
He had to admit that cowardly or not, the man’s skill was beyond criticism.
On the other side, Hamreign remained the same as always.
Her cherry-red lips parted slightly, and the cake disappeared.
Yet her body also paused faintly, as though even she had been slightly affected by this long-missed delicacy.
It seemed that even Miss Dragon...
Was not nearly as relaxed as she claimed.
Before those golden pupils could pierce him with their cold gaze, Muen hurriedly turned his eyes toward the window.
It was the same location, yet the scenery outside was completely different from the last time.
No one was performing plays about the evil dragon in the central plaza anymore.
There was no audience either.
It was completely deserted.
And aside from that, what filled Muen’s vision...
Was still that dense golden light.
“Truly impressive.”
Muen could not help praising her again.
He extended a finger and touched the faint golden barrier outside the window.
Ripples spread across it like a river beneath sunlight.
Yet it was far denser than any river.
So much time had passed, yet these restrictions showed no signs of fading or weakening.
They still perfectly sealed off every medium connecting the inside and outside.
Muen tried to extend his perception through them, but it was immediately blocked and pushed back.
Had he been one of those survivors, faced with something so enormous and enduring, he probably would have fallen into complete despair.
How was anyone supposed to compete against someone using cheats?
Impossible.
Completely impossible.
“However... I don’t think those people will simply wait to be captured.”
A glint flashed through Muen’s eyes.
Only half a day’s worth of people remained unchecked, yet none of the remaining three survivors had revealed themselves.
It was like a stone suspended over his heart, and he had no idea when it would finally fall.
There were generally two possibilities in a situation like this.
Either those survivors had no way to deal with Miss Dragon’s restrictions and had completely given up struggling, focusing all their efforts on hiding...
Or...
They were preparing to do something enormous at the final moment.
“Do not worry. Nothing will go wrong.”
Hamreign also turned to look over the city.
Her golden pupils flickered, yet her gaze did not seem to rest upon the city before her.
She appeared to be looking toward an extremely distant place.
But that scenery was, in the end, slightly different.
“This time is not the same as that time. The Pollution has been completely isolated. There is no path through which it can spread. They cannot create any significant trouble.”
“Mm. Of course I trust Miss Dragon. You will definitely bring everything to a complete end...”
Muen smiled as well.
Taking advantage of the moment, he tried to secretly reach out and hold Hamreign’s hand to demonstrate his determination...
Boom!
However, before he could secretly close the distance...
Hamreign suddenly stood.
Her aura erupted violently, and the terrifying pressure shattered every cup and bowl inside the coffee shop.
Her fiery-red hair moved without wind.
Killing intent and fury erupted like a volcano.
Standing nearby, Muen instinctively leaned backward and nearly lost the ability to breathe.
“What happened?”
Realizing something was wrong, Muen forced himself to stand and vigilantly scanned their surroundings.
“They have finally shown themselves.”
Hamreign’s golden pupils burned like flames, yet her voice was as cold as the deepest ice.
“Those rats...”
...
...
“Beautiful.”
Clarence walked along the street, admiring the buildings enveloped in golden light, as though a divine kingdom had descended upon the world.
Their ancient, simple style, combined with the golden radiance, produced an artistic atmosphere that even he, a survivor of Tars, could sincerely admire.
Aside from that dragon, who else could create such a magnificent sight?
“However... it is somewhat regrettable. If you had done this back then, how wonderful would that have been? Perhaps none of this would have happened.”
Clarence raised his head.
His clouded eyes struggled to open as he tried to recall those incomparably distant memories.
He could no longer remember many things clearly...
Perhaps it might have been possible.
But time could only flow coldly forward.
Who could rewrite what had already happened?
“So someone must avenge those poor people.”
Clarence smiled gently.
At last, several beautiful images surfaced within his mind.
Yet the curve of his lips...
Was filled with savagery.
He carried a lantern and continued forward along the street.
Inside the lantern burned a wisp of crimson flame, purifying filth and emitting a warm radiance like sunlight.
The light did not spread outward.
Instead, it enveloped Clarence alone.
Magic golems continued to patrol the street, yet every one of them completely ignored him.
Had Muen been here, he would have discovered that this method of concealing one’s presence was almost identical to his own technique of using black flames to devour his aura, a concealment method capable of deceiving even Crowned Ones.
Clarence had done it even better.
Because that wisp of flame...
Came from a true god.
In this way, Clarence arrived at a certain place.
He took a small clock from inside his clothes and turned its hands backward.
Yet after turning them back by only one full circle, the hands could no longer be moved even slightly.
“As expected of you.”
Clarence sighed, speaking with heartfelt admiration.
“I made so many preparations and arranged so much. I even received the Goddess’s support, yet I can still delay you for only such a short time?”
One full rotation of the clock’s hands represented a mere minute.
That was the pitifully short gap between the moment he exposed himself and the moment that dragon found him.
But...
It was already enough.
“Sister Dragon, you have always said that we are rats and that this is a game of cat and mouse...”
Clarence set down the lantern and allowed its radiance to illuminate the darkness around him.
Then he respectfully produced something with both hands.
It was...
A single drop of black, viscous substance shaped like blood...
Yet its true nature was impossible to distinguish.
Clarence stared fixedly at it.
He stared at the object bestowed upon him by the Goddess, his expression filled with incomparable fanaticism.
“Yes, you are correct, Sister Dragon. We truly are nothing more than a few pitiful rats, and this truly is a game of cat and mouse. But...”
“Are you not also a rat?”
“Before a true difference in level, what use is your power, when it is merely great strength?”
“I truly am...
Looking forward to it.”
Tick.
Tock.
The clock began moving.
Clarence also raised his head and looked over the city he knew so well.
It was that city.
Yet in the end, it was not that city.
It was merely...
A dragon-slaying weapon he had created.
“People of New Tars...”
He spoke, his voice trembling.
“I... Clarence, your guide, your savior, your pioneer, your hero, and the founder of this city, hereby... Address you.”