Chapter 170: Cannot Escape
Knight Commander Wald quickly brought Lloyd running to the Saint’s Grace Court’s encampment.
The place looked just as crude, nothing more than a collection of worksheds. It was hard to reconcile the sight with the fearsome reputation of the Saint’s Grace Court.
The moment they drew near, Wald found a Hunter and said urgently,
"Get your people out of there! Where’s your Chief Judge?"
"What’s happening? What’s happening?"
"Stop asking questions! Just go!"
Soon, a group of people wearing all sorts of masks came pouring out of the worksheds. They looked like a gang of villains starting a riot, a rather frightening sight...
Then, a Hunter wearing a frog-faced mask came up to the Knight Commander and Lloyd and asked,
"Wald, what’s happened?"
The Knight Commander then explained Lloyd’s earlier discovery and the potential danger that might follow.
Lloyd also added a few details from the side, especially the scene of Jelas praying while holding the Saint Statue.
The frog-faced Chief Judge was clearly aware of the situation and understood how formidable the Forgetfulness system was. He immediately took the matter very seriously. As he arranged for his subordinates to retreat as quickly as possible, he called over another Hunter to question him.
"When you took the suspect Jelas into custody yesterday, didn’t you carefully check his personal belongings?"
"Well... we should have. We followed the procedures strictly."
As he spoke, the Hunter took out a notepad. He checked it item by item, then suddenly exclaimed,
"Huh? The inspection is actually incomplete? We missed the Saint Statue he was carrying?"
Saying this, he showed the form to his two superiors and explained,
"To be safe, we always use two people to cross-check the suspect’s personal belongings to ensure nothing is missed. But on this checklist, both people in charge of the inspection missed the Saint Statue. It’s not checked off..."
"Get everyone out now! And call over the Butterfly Squad."
The frog-faced Chief Judge said urgently, then turned back to Knight Commander Wald and Lloyd.
"Alright, I understand the situation now. You two please step back for now. Leave this to us."
"Don’t you need our help?"
Lloyd asked back, somewhat surprised.
The Chief Judge seemed even more surprised than he was, but he still answered politely,
"Er... you’re certainly eager to help, aren’t you? But we don’t need it for now. We have plenty of experience dealing with the Forgetfulness system."
He had probably noticed Lloyd’s gray Executioner uniform and the lack of any obvious fluctuations of power coming from him. He was clearly no powerhouse. ’Why is he being so bold?’
’Wouldn’t most people be running for their lives at the mere mention of the Forgetfulness system?’
Knight Commander Wald, standing to the side, pulled Lloyd back, motioning for him to retreat a few steps with him before explaining in a low voice,
"Generally speaking, we don’t interfere with their operations... Have faith in them."
"But... you told me yourself that the power of Forgetfulness is strange and dangerous, especially if it spreads over a large area. Besides, our opponent is likely a heavy hitter. If this gets out of control, the consequences will be unthinkable..."
Lloyd said with a hint of frustration, glancing around at the bustling construction site.
’Between the workers and Extraordinary Beings, there must be several thousand people here...’
Wald looked just as frustrated, but he could only reiterate,
"Numbers are useless against the Forgetfulness system. Have faith in them. This Chief Judge is an experienced powerhouse, and his Butterfly Squad is a decorated elite unit."
"Then... are there any stronger powerhouses who can come as reinforcements?"
"It’s unlikely. This all happened too suddenly. If they can’t contain the situation, this entire encampment will probably be lost... But I still believe we can trust in the Saint’s Grace Court’s capabilities."
Despite saying this, he didn’t leave with Lloyd, but instead stayed on the periphery to observe for the time being.
The two of them watched as the frog-faced Chief Judge led several Hunters wearing butterfly masks into a makeshift basement that served as their temporary evidence storage room.
No sound came from within. There was no shout of a Veto Declaration.
But after waiting for a few minutes, they didn’t come out either...
The area suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
"This is bad... Something couldn’t have happened to them, could it?"
Lloyd whispered, then added a suggestion.
"We should go help, shouldn’t we? If the power of Forgetfulness spreads, these thousands of people will be..."
He had always fancied himself a champion of justice who loathed evil. Faced with a crisis that threatened thousands of lives, he would never even consider running away.
Knight Commander Wald also had a grave expression. A flash of conflict and hesitation crossed his face, but it quickly turned into a look of resolute determination, and he nodded.
Then he took out a palm-sized notebook, quickly scribbled something inside, snapped it shut, and stuffed it into Lloyd’s hand.
"If something happens to me too, give this to Korall."
He was referring to the Knight Commander who spoke with speech bubbles.
"Are we going in?"
Lloyd said quickly.
But Wald shook his head, then, without warning, barked in a low voice,
"In the name of Veto!"
Lloyd immediately felt his body sink, as if his feet were stuck in a mire, unable to move.
He never imagined he would be "attacked" by Wald, his ability to move Vetoed.
"The Grand Judge has high hopes for you. You’re a rising star, and you absolutely cannot follow me into danger!"
As he spoke, he used the authority of his rank to call over two Hunters and ordered them to carry Lloyd away.
Lloyd wanted to struggle and shout, but found that even his ability to speak had been Vetoed. He could only watch helplessly as he was carried away.
In the corner of his vision, he saw the Knight Commander signal two Hunters to follow him and resolutely walk towards the evidence storage room.
’Aren’t you just sending them in one by one to get captured?’
Lloyd was frantic. He struggled with all his might, trying to break free.
’But how could mere brute force ever contend with an Extraordinary Power?’
Seeing that he was being carried further and further away, he couldn’t afford to hesitate. ’Sorry, you two,’ he thought to the Hunters carrying him, and then activated his Twisted Realm.
’He wasn’t sure if his power could contend with a Knight Commander’s, but he had to try.’
’He couldn’t just stand by and watch the crisis erupt, couldn’t let thousands of lives vanish right before his eyes.’
So, Lloyd used the power of his Twisted Realm to first Twist the two Hunters’ perceptions and Cognition, pushing them toward ’drowsiness’.
The two Hunters immediately felt as if they hadn’t slept in months. Their bodies went limp, and they both collapsed to the ground, falling fast asleep.
Lloyd was also slammed heavily onto the ground, gritting his teeth in pain.
Then, he began to try and Twist the effect of the Veto Declaration on his own body.