Chapter 98: The Eerie Mist

The flickering candles illuminated the moss-spotted stone walls, and the clanking sound of armor echoed through the dark, damp corridor.

This was the Trident Knights' garrison in Lei Ming City, or more precisely, the dungeon located beneath the garrison.

Unlike the small black room in the Necropolis, there were no skeletons here telling ghost stories; there were only the most authentic forms of torture, along with screams and wails that pierced the soul.

Strictly speaking, as the lord's army, the Knights did not possess law enforcement authority in a self-governing city like Lei Ming City.

However, if they had the lord's warrant, it was not a problem.

The man holding the candelabra walked to the end of the corridor, stopped in front of a wooden door edged with iron, and cast his gaze toward the knight's squire guarding the side of the door.

"Where is Meier?"

The young knight's squire stood at attention, looking nervous, and glanced hurriedly at the wooden door beside him.

"... Inside."

The moss-covered wooden door exuded a stale, rotten scent, like a back door leading to the depths of hell.

Listening to the faint pleas and wails coming from behind the door, the man frowned slightly, but in the end, he said nothing and reached out to grasp the doorknob.

With a soft creak, he pushed open the rotten wooden door and walked in; a thick smell of blood and the pungent odor of rotting fat rushed toward his face.

"Miles?"

An armed priest with a mace hanging at his waist stood outside the interrogation room's partition, casting a surprised look at the knight who had walked through the door, as if he had not expected him to appear here.

"What wind blew you here?"

"By the lord's order, I've come here to see the progress of your work."

The man called Miles looked around, his gaze landing on the tightly closed door of the interrogation room.

There was something he did not say.

The local citizens had many complaints about their actions, and the boiling public resentment had reached a point where the lord had to step forward to respond.

The interrogation room was busy, and faintly, he heard the sound of nails being driven, so he asked casually.

"Is Meier inside?"

"Yes." The armed priest nodded, saying with a smile, "Besides him, there is also an accomplice of Miranda... At first, he refused to admit anything, but his clumsy acting could not deceive Knight Commander Meier's eyes, and in the end, we pried his mouth open."

Miles nodded and continued to ask.

"And then? How many accomplices have you caught now?"

"The eleventh," the armed priest said with a look of pride, "Thanks to Mr. Meier's deduction, we are getting closer and closer to the truth."

"Eleven." Miles did not show a happy expression upon hearing this; instead, he frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "What kind of necromancer... could have so many accomplices."

Usually, for so many people to be united around a necromancer, this was no longer an ordinary criminal gang—

It was a secret cult.

Placing the candelabra in his hand on a wooden table to the side, he did not go in to disturb his colleague's work, but instead sat at the table with a small window and reached out to pull up the partition.

The moment he pulled up the partition, the thick smell of blood drifted into his nostrils.

Although he had tortured many guilty people for confessions, the tragic scene before his eyes still made him involuntarily tense his face.

He saw the man sitting in the interrogation chair, his head covered by a blood-stained white cloth.

A thick rope hung around his neck, and dozens of iron nails pierced his shoulders, arms, and even his knees and ankles, pinning him firmly to the chair.

Other than the word "horrifying," Miles could not think of a more appropriate description.

There wasn't a single piece of intact skin left on this guy's body; presumably, the torture chambers of the Demon Capital in hell were no worse than this.

And to prevent the prisoner from fainting to death, the interrogation room was specially equipped with a novice armed priest who would irregularly cast healing spells and holy light magic.

Because he was covered by the white cloth, Miles could not see the prisoner's face.

However, he could clearly see that the young lad wearing the novice knight's badge had a face as white as paper, with beads of sweat hanging on his forehead, as if he might faint at any moment... one could imagine how many times he had used holy light today.

But in contrast, Knight Meier's face still held a meticulous expression.

His ten fingers were crossed on the table, his focused eyes like torches, as if no evil could hide before those eyes.

That perseverance was certainly admirable.

But involuntarily, it also made a faint chill rise in Miles's heart.

End it quickly.

He actually couldn't help but silently pray for that prisoner in his heart.

And at this moment, Knight Commander Meier cleared his throat and waved his hand to signal the executioner holding the nails and hammer to step back.

"So, Mr. Braken... regarding your accomplices, have you remembered anything?"

"I..."

The intermittent voice made it unclear whether it was a confession or repentance.

Knight Commander Meier signaled for the person standing beside him to pull off the white cloth on his head, while simultaneously chanting a spell to call upon the holy light.

Bathed in the milky-white holy radiance, the prisoner sitting in the interrogation chair regained a bit of spirit.

And as a mouthful of stagnant blood was coughed out of his mouth, the delirious voice seemed to become a little clearer.

"I... I am guilty, the day before yesterday... no, it should be last month, I did indeed see Miranda."

Except for the prisoner, everyone in the interrogation room was jolted; Knight Commander Meier stared at the prisoner who was slowly opening his mouth and asked sternly.

"Tell me the specific time, and the location!"

Black blood dripped along the corners of his cracked mouth onto his heels; the prisoner named Braken breathed lightly, opening his mouth, letting his fragmented consciousness wander at will.

He could be certain.

He didn't know the guy named Miranda, nor did he know what that guy had done.

However—

He knew that if he answered like that, the Knight Commander before him would certainly not be satisfied.

In the dark, it seemed as if something was pressed against his ear, whispering beside his crumbling consciousness.

'Have you really never seen him?'

Isn't that so? Braken stubbornly answered the inner voice that emerged from the dark, yet what he received was an unquestionable response.

'You have seen him... hurry up and remember.'

I... have seen him? The hazy black shadow drifted to the side of Knight Commander Meier, and seemed to overlap with that majestic and holy figure.

Facing that unquestionable gaze and the echo from the dark, Braken suddenly couldn't make up his mind again.

If he really hadn't seen him... why was he sitting here?

And why was he suffering such torture? Without a doubt—

He had indeed seen Miranda, that crazy alchemist and necromancer.

Not only that.

He was also his servant, serving the same god—that god from chaos.

"Time... it should be the day Grand Duke Campbell held the triumphal ceremony. Location, it seems to be at... the Pavilion of Swords and Broken Swords." Under the influence of that irresistible force, he spoke these clear words with a hazy consciousness, "I saw that face, it was a face... that is hard to forget once seen. Handsome is not enough to describe it all, he seemed not to belong to the human world..."

The Pavilion of Swords and Broken Swords!

The moment they heard this name, everyone in the room except Miles showed an excited expression on their faces.

Especially Meier.

He was so excited he wished he could stand up.

All the prisoners they had interrogated had mentioned that place without exception—

The tavern behind the Lei Ming City Adventurers' Guild!

"And then? Continue!" Meier clenched his fists, his body leaning forward, his eyes staring fixedly at him, "What is your organization! What is the evil spirit you serve? Were you holding a gathering that day? And—what did you see at the gathering!"

This was the most clear-headed one among all the prisoners he had interrogated.

When the other prisoners reached this point, most of them were either crazy or dead.

Very clearly.

Miranda had cast an evil curse on them, preventing them from leaking information about the organization.

This guy's state was good! Meier had full confidence that he could open a breakthrough on this guy! Seeming to be infected by the strong momentum on him, Braken slowly raised his head, and under the guidance of the voice in the dark, slowly opened his mouth, spitting out the most truthful lie.

"Novier..."

"Novier?" Always feeling like he had heard this word somewhere, Meier stared fixedly at him and wrote the name on the paper, "Is this your organization?"

Braken shook his head, his eyes gradually becoming hollow, as if he had become a different person, whispering.

"He is the name of the Eerie Mist, the embodiment of knowledge and conspiracy, one of the great existences wandering in chaos—"

While speaking, Braken stared straight at Meier with those hollow eyes, his voice gradually becoming manic. "At the same time, He is also the true god that we who thirst for truth truly serve!"

The demon finally showed its tail.

Before the holy light, all evil would have nowhere to hide!

Looking at the evil energy suddenly surging from the prisoner's body and this near-suicidal statement, all the knights in the room widened their eyes.

Especially Miles, who was watching from the side.

Previously, seeing this poor guy, he had been completely blinded by womanly kindness, and even for a moment, he had developed a suspicion, suspecting that Knight Commander Meier had caught the wrong person.

Now it seemed—

Meier was right.

Only cultists would recite the name of an Outer God without any avoidance, and the aura exuded by that guy was undoubtedly the evil energy from chaos.

That was evil purer than the undead! A look of shame appeared on Miles's face.

Expressions of shock and astonishment were written on the face of every knight present.

Only Meier was different.

On his face, besides shock, there was also a trace of ecstasy! Novier! Eerie Mist!

So that was it—

He should have guessed it was this one long ago! That voice in the dark had been whispering in his ear, and now he finally knew what the name whispered by that voice was! It was the embodiment of knowledge and conspiracy!

Only those who seek truth can face truth directly!

An unprecedented joy filled every cell of his body, spread through every inch of his nerves, and even swallowed his soul.

A trace of fanaticism appeared on Meier's face, and even he himself couldn't tell who that fanaticism was for.

"And then! Miranda, what did he say to you?"

The prisoner had completely given up resistance and spoke out all the information without reservation.

"He... did not speak to me, but was talking to a woman."

"A woman?"

"Yes, a woman with freckles on her face, if I remember correctly... her name is Chris, belonging to the Silver Scimitar."

All the clues were connected together.

The truth surfaced along with it!

Meier's index finger trembled slightly, his bloodshot pupils dancing with joy.

The name of the evil organization was Silver Scimitar!

The woman named Chris was a key member of the organization!

Unlike those peripheral members, this woman had been in direct contact with Miranda, and they were suspected to have a close relationship!

As long as he caught this guy and subjected her to necessary torture, he would not only be able to find Miranda's hiding place but also uproot the entire cult organization! Meier stared into the prisoner's eyes and interrogated him in an unquestionable tone.

"Tell me, where is that woman named Chris? Where is Miranda!"

Braken stared at the Knight Commander with hollow eyes, his crumbling consciousness seeming to be about to leave that broken body.

The first to disappear was vision.

Then came touch and hearing...

But for some reason, even though his five senses fell into darkness, he could still hear the voice from the dark and clearly respond to it.

'Tell him.'

Tell him what? I don't know at all.

'You know, think about it carefully...'

Think about what? Just as Braken thought this, he suddenly saw a piece of mist, and a forest covered by mist.

In that forest, there seemed to be a fortress built of wood, or rather a small town, and figures in twos and threes were walking toward the town.

He recognized that place.

To be precise, every adventurer recognized it.

Under the gaze of pairs of eyes, Braken, who had been silent for a long time, slowly opened his mouth.

"Labyrinth... the forest and town shrouded in mist... over there..."

"Who is there!"

Meier roared excitedly, but this time Braken had no reaction at all.

The novice priest standing beside him came back to his senses and hurriedly cast holy light, but no matter how hard he tried, the man no longer breathed.

Miles, who had pushed the door and walked into the interrogation room, went straight to the front of the interrogation chair and reached out to check the prisoner's breath, finding that he was already dead.

"He is already dead."

Miles withdrew his hand and looked at Knight Commander Meier, who had stood up from behind the interrogation table, and the other jury knight, continuing with a serious expression.

"Novier, Eerie Mist... one of the four evil spirits of chaos, if what he said is all true, then I'm afraid we have big trouble; this Miranda is probably even more dangerous than we imagined."

"That's right," Meier nodded with a solemn expression, "But it's not too late yet... as long as we can find him."

After saying that, he turned his head to look at his deputy outside the interrogation room.

"Have everyone assemble! Prepare to head to the labyrinth!"

The deputy nodded with a serious expression.

"Yes!"

The target's location had been determined, it was the Mist Town on the fourth floor of the labyrinth... that was an outpost operated by the Adventurers' Guild in the labyrinth.

Although he had been there before, he hadn't searched it carefully, only handing the wanted poster to the local guards.

Now it seemed, it was necessary to focus on searching that place.

Miles stepped forward and reached out to grasp his shoulder.

"Let me and my men go with you, it's better to have more people to look out for each other."

Meier had wanted to nod, but a groundless suspicion surged into his heart, causing him to change his mind.

"No need, I can handle it alone."

Miles looked at him in surprise.

"Are you sure?"

"Wait for my good news."

Meier patted his shoulder and then snapped his fingers.

With a soft click, the prisoner sitting in the interrogation chair, along with the chair beneath him, fell into the bottomless abyss.

The taut rope snapped Braken's neck.

From the very beginning, he had never intended to let this guy walk out of the cell alive.

Watching the ruthless Meier and the departing backs, Miles couldn't help but hold his breath, always feeling that this colleague seemed to have become a different person.

And at the same time, Chris, who was far away in the Necropolis serving as the "Thief Class · Novice Guide NPC," suddenly sneezed without warning and muttered out of the blue.

"Damn it, who is cursing me..."

On the other side, deep in the Mist Forest, in the small town operated by the Adventurers' Guild.

A young man with pale skin was curled up in a narrow, dark hotel room, covering his head with a quilt and shivering.

Ever since he inadvertently completed that ancient ritual, that voice from the dark had been chasing him relentlessly...

He now only regretted one thing, and that was that he shouldn't have tried random things.

Listening to the incessant whispering, Miranda roared under the quilt.

"Enough... get out of my head!"

No reaction—

As if mocking his incompetence, the voice continued.

'You can't escape...'

'No one can escape their destiny...'

'My servant will find you soon.'

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 99 =====