Chapter 196: The Lonely Me and Her
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 196: The Lonely Me and Her
Following the violent explosion, the dust finally settled.
Thanks to the soundproofing arrays the mages had prepared in advance, the blast—loud enough to wake half the city—failed to break past the courtyard walls. However, the billowing smoke still drifted into the thin mist, carried by the gentle breeze from the riverbank.
After a maximum-power bombardment from three magic cannons and the expenditure of one thousand three hundred and fifty magic arrows, the basement had been completely transformed into a massive crater. Looking up through the unobstructed ceiling, one could see a few dim stars peeking through the gaps in the dark clouds.
The blood pool had been forcibly filled in. Within this deep pit, nothing "inhuman" remained standing.
The thugs had already retreated under Muen’s orders. In the exceptionally empty crater, Muen stepped over charred chunks of flesh as he approached the edge.
In the furthest corner, barely a fraction of the Banshee’s body remained. She no longer possessed her former allure or beauty; instead, she emitted the scorched stench of rot. She was a sight more repulsive than any roadside beggar.
Yet, she was somehow still alive. Her mangled remains struggled and twisted, her pitch-black heart exposed and still beating. Her beautiful, heavily made-up face was almost entirely charred, her true features unrecognizable.
Such terrifying vitality... and this is only an avatar.
From this, one could deduce just how formidable and troublesome her true body would be.
What a pity it isn't the original.
"How are you feeling, Miss Banshee? Do you like my grand gift?"
Muen removed his top hat and inquired with polite refinement.
It seemed Muen’s nonchalance stung her nerves. She cast a venomous gaze at him, her blackened lips twitching incessantly as if she were hurling curses.
"Hmm?"
Muen heard nothing and paused for a moment before realizing why.
He pulled the earplugs used to block the cannon fire from his ears and offered the Banshee an apologetic smile.
"My apologies. What did you just say? I didn't catch that..."
"..."
Seeing the Banshee’s eyes bulge as if she wanted to swallow him whole, Muen blinked and offered a solemn suggestion.
"How about... you say it again? I promise to listen carefully this time."
"...I’ll kill you! I will definitely kill you!"
The Banshee shrieked with a distorted face, her piercing scream venting an unspeakable hatred.
In the corner of her eye, she could just barely see the Shadow Butcher. Under the beams of the magic cannons, he had been reduced to scattered cinders. Only the broken half of his blood-stained cleaver remained stuck in the messy pile of stones, looking exceptionally desolate.
As for the other Moon Beasts and zombies... they had long since been blown to parts unknown.
"So... even you can feel hatred over the death of a companion," Muen murmured softly, lowering his eyes to study the Banshee’s face.
"I hate you! Of course I hate you!"
The Banshee wailed in grief, and surprisingly, crystalline tears actually flowed from the corners of her eyes.
"He... he was my reserve food! Do you have any idea how much harder my path to advancement will be without him? I’ve been waiting... waiting for the moment the Great Moon descends to devour him, to merge with him and reach a higher—"
Pfft.
Muen drove a short blade into the Banshee’s remaining limb. Holy Light flooded in, and the intense burning sensation made her howl in agony again, cutting her off.
Muen’s expression turned cold once more. He suppressed the nausea in his heart, his voice turning slightly frigid.
"To think I was naive enough to believe someone like you could shed real tears."
"Someone like me?"
Despite the excruciating pain, the Banshee burst into laughter after hearing Muen’s words, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"It sounds like you really despise cold and heartless people like me. Hahaha, wonderful, truly wonderful."
Muen frowned.
The Banshee’s laughter made him increasingly irritable, so he decided not to delay and got straight to the point.
"Answer me. Where is Anna?"
"I don't know."
"Liar."
"I have no reason to lie to you. I made a small deal with her. According to our agreement, I cannot interfere with her actions for the time being. Where she goes is her own business."
"You would let her go that easily?"
"Let her go? What are you talking about? You make it sound like we’re villains who would hurt her."
"Aren't you?"
"Ha, haha! Of course not. Quite the opposite—in this entire world, we are the only ones who would never hurt her. That is why she will eventually return to us of her own accord."
The Banshee flashed a genuine smile and said affectionately, "We... are her family."
"Shut up!"
The short blade plunged into her limb again. Muen rejected her words coldly. "You are not her family."
"We aren't? Haha! If we aren't, then who is? You? Muen Campbell, in what capacity are you standing here?"
The Banshee’s laughter grew more mocking.
"That has nothing to do with you," Muen said, looking down.
"Haha, indeed it doesn't. But I’m curious, Muen Campbell—even if you find Anna Kabulin, what then?"
"I will save her."
"Her Snake Transformation Disease has already reached its final stage. She is already one of us. Even if you don't care, do you think anyone else will accept her?"
"None of your business."
"You seem very confident. Do you have a way to cure the Snake Transformation Disease? ...No, you don't have a clue."
The Banshee’s eyes widened as if she had suddenly discovered something.
"Muen Campbell, you are the son of a Duke! The son of Duke Campbell! You can easily deploy a military-grade magic cannon in the districts of Belland. If you wanted to, with the Campbell family’s influence, it wouldn't be hard to call upon a Crown Bearer to help you.
"Even if you couldn't get a Crown Bearer during this special time, you could call the Knight Orders, the Guard Corps, or even the Adventurer’s Association or the mercenaries under Mitsukoshi. But..."
The Banshee tilted her head back, straining to get closer to Muen’s face, seemingly trying to shatter his fragile heart through his cold, false mask.
"But none of that happened. Instead, you went to all this trouble, hiding your identity just to recruit these rats to do your dirty work. Why? Why? Why is that?
"—Because you’re afraid, Muen Campbell!
"You understand that Anna Kabulin is now an enemy of all humanity, but you have no absolute certainty that you can change her back. The more you want to save her, the less you can trust anyone else.
"In the end, just as I predicted, you can only fight alone, like a pathetic wretch!
"Haha! Isn't it hilarious? You have a noble status, vast resources, and power, yet you are shackled by that very nobility, forced into such a miserable—"
The mocking laughter stopped abruptly.
The surrounding rubble suddenly trembled, and the dust that had just settled began to swirl again.
Muen grabbed the Banshee by the throat and slammed her hard against the ground.
The tip of his blade pointed directly at her pitch-black heart.
The face that did not belong to him remained expressionless, but his pale blue eyes seemed to have frozen into ice.
"Enough of your nonsense. I’m asking you one last time: where is she?"
"How stubborn. Didn't I say? I don't know."
"Is that so? Then you’re of no use."
The pure white blade slowly pierced the black heart. Foul-smelling blood flowed out, and the Banshee’s remaining body began to convulse violently.
Even as an avatar, this body seemed to still possess a sense of pain. Along with the spasms, she began to wail in agony.
Watching her scream, Muen felt a third pang of regret today that he hadn't caught the original body.
"White Chapel District!"
But just then, the Banshee suddenly spoke.
"I don't know her exact location, but the last place she was seen was the White Chapel District."
"Hmm?"
Muen raised an eyebrow, looking at her with confusion.
This creature gave in that easily?
Or was it... another trap?
"I’ve changed my mind."
The Banshee’s face twisted as she stared at Muen, her eyes full of malice.
"Perhaps... it would be better to let you see her."
"..."
"Ha! I’m really looking forward to it now. I wonder what kind of expression you’ll have when you see what she’s become. That feeling of hope falling from the heavens into the abyss, turning into despair... Haha... I truly can't wait!"
Sizzle.
A massive surge of Holy Light was injected into the defiled heart. Amidst the endless agony of burning flames, the life in the Banshee’s eyes gradually faded.
Through the gaps in the dark clouds, thin starlight fell, illuminating Muen’s profile, making it look as cold as marble.
Muen gazed at the Banshee and asked softly, "Can you pass a message to your main body for me?"
"Ha... go ahead."
"Tell her that the next time we meet, I will kill her."
Muen lowered his head, declaring his intent with a resolute, firm, and unshakable will.
"I will kill her with my own hands, in the way that causes her the most pain."
*
"What a waste."
Outside the courtyard, Rat King Tom looked at the magic cannons with a pained expression. After three shots, the magic cores had automatically dissolved, turning the cannons into piles of scrap metal. He was reluctant to let go.
It had felt too good.
When he was operating the magic cannons earlier, watching those blinding beams of light tear through everything, he had experienced a pleasure no less intense than an orgasm.
Unfortunately, three shots were too few.
He hadn't had enough.
Besides, if he had these things in his hands, why would he ever worry about not being the top dog of the Lower District?
"Power that doesn't belong to you will only bring you destruction."
A cold voice sounded in his ear, making the Rat King snap to attention.
"Mr. Bruce," the Rat King said, bowing respectfully.
In just this one short night, the things this man had displayed had forced him into complete submission. He no longer dared to harbor any other thoughts.
Now, Rat King Tom was the most loyal dog under Bruce Wayne.
"If the Guard Corps or the Knight Orders found something like a magic cannon, you wouldn't have enough heads to lose," Muen said indifferently, glancing at him.
"I... I know. I was just thinking, just thinking."
The Rat King wiped away cold sweat, driving all those forbidden thoughts from his mind.
"Does Mr. Bruce have any further instructions?"
"Did you find what I asked you to look for?" Muen asked.
"I did!"
The Rat King straightened his back and waved his hand. A subordinate quickly ran over, offering a thick stack of documents with both hands.
"Everything you asked us to investigate is right here."
"That’s a lot," Muen remarked as he took the documents.
"Naturally. The scope of what you asked us to check was simply too broad," the Rat King said.
Urban legends.
Rumors and gossip.
People acting strangely.
People hiding their identities.
Abnormal movements of personnel.
Although the search was limited to the last two days, this was the Lower District with its massive population. Combining all those factors resulted in a staggering amount of information.
"Actually, I’m a bit confused."
"Speak."
"Mr. Bruce, it’s not hard to see from your requirements that you seem to be... looking for someone."
The Rat King stared at the stack of documents, puzzled.
"But why don't you give us more details? If you could give us specific characteristics, we could definitely help you find whoever you’re looking for."
"Definitely?"
"That’s right."
The Rat King puffed out his chest, a hint of pride on his face.
"I wouldn't guarantee it if it were just a single gang, but now almost all the major gangs have united. Even if the person you’re looking for could turn into a rat and hide in the sewers, as long as they’re active in the Lower District, they absolutely cannot escape our eyes!"
"It sounds tempting, but I simply cannot do that."
Muen lowered his eyes, flipping through the heavy documents.
Uniting these gangs to form a net covering the entire Lower District had been one of Muen’s goals from the start.
Because these gangs weren't just made up of thugs who only knew how to fight.
The vast number of "bottom-dwellers" who lived under the gangs' influence were the truly formidable force.
But Muen couldn't be specific.
Because the consequence of using such a massive, disorganized base of ordinary people was...
The entire city would know that someone was looking for Anna Kabulin.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Just as the Banshee had said.
Despite his noble status and his many methods, he couldn't trust anyone when it came to saving his Senior Sister.
In this matter, no one would stand by his side.
He had to step into the darkness alone, searching for that equally lonely girl in this massive city of millions.
Therefore, Muen could only settle for the next best thing: the tedious, manual method of filtering information.
"But fortunately... this time wasn't a total loss."
Muen flipped through the files, discarding all useless information and leaving only the content related to the "White Chapel District."
The scope narrowed significantly.
"So, Senior Sister, where would you be hiding?"
Tapping his finger on the documents, Muen instinctively began to think from Anna’s perspective.
"If it were you..."
His eyes moved rapidly, and he soon locked onto a specific piece of information.
"Rocada Academy, abandoned campus... sightings of a figure resembling the Heart-Devouring Banshee from urban legends..."