"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I-I was just gonna erase the memories of the pain. I-I wasn't gonna mess with anything else, honest," Celeste stammered, her voice trembling with fear.
The noise of her pleas seemed to rouse the others who were soundly sleeping in the room.
"What's happening?"
"Hey, what's with all the noise?"
"What's up? Why's she crying?"
Soon, the room was filled with the sounds of multiple voices.
"Uh, Celeste? What's going on? What are you doing here?" one of them asked, his voice filled with surprise
"I-I didn't do anything. I was just trying to help him, but I suddenly got a bad feeling and panicked...." she replied, her voice still shaky.
"Did he do something?" asked one of the voices as he watched Frederick with a weird gaze.
Celeste glanced around, noting that nothing had changed. "I-I don't think so? I was only scared of-" Her sentence was abruptly cut off by a third voice, interrupting her.
"Ahah! I am sure you got scared of his appearance; well, he does look like a zombie, after all!"
The sentence elicited laughter from everyone in the room, leaving Celeste feeling a bit embarrassed. Could it have been just a dream? She took a deep breath, quickly calming herself down.
"How did he even end up like this anyway? He looks like a pile of bones..." another voice chimed in.
"I can't divulge that information," Celeste responded firmly. The purification process remained a secret, so she couldn't disclose it to them either.
"We heard rumors that it is related to Miss Grize. Was it perhaps her that drained this poor soul? ahah If only she could drain me like that with those juicy-"
Another voice warned, "Dude, stop. If Thomas heard you, he would make you run laps until you die."
"Oh, come on. We're just joking... Although it is true that he's a lucky bastard," a different voice interjected with a laugh.
Celeste remained silent for a moment, contemplating her words. Ultimately, she decided to speak up. "You guys should perhaps consider switching rooms?"
Hearing this, all of them had a bit of a frustrated expression.
"Listen, we're all wiped out. We've all had enough of this whole high-tier authority mess. The mayor's gone mad chasing after it. Even the guild master's puzzled by his weird obsession."
"And now, we're dealing with the fallout. The city is a total mess, but as if that wasn't enough, the main story is creeping up, making everyone lose it even more."
"Sooo...Let's just catch some shut-eye. We'll figure this out in the morning. Alright?"
"...Okay, Perhaps I was imagining things... I must be tired?" Celeste responded weakly, her voice barely audible above a whisper. Now that she thought about it thoroughly, it indeed doesn't make any sense.
Casting one last glance at Frederick, Celeste quickly bolted away, a cold sweat dampening her forehead. She had no desire to be near Frederick any longer.
Using the excuse of erasing memories to search into Frederick's mind was only a favor for Markus anyway…
With that, the sound of her footsteps dwindled, and the door closed shut.
"What's wrong with her?" one of the men asked, scratching his head.
"I don't know. Maybe she's just tired. She's been working non-stop lately... Anyway, let's go back to sleep; it'll be a rough day tomorrow," another replied, shrugging his shoulders.
The others soon returned to their beds, accompanied by the occasional yawn, and the room lapsed back into silence.
After a few minutes, the room was filled with the gentle rhythm of snores, indicating that everyone had succumbed to sleep. Meanwhile, Frederick remained wide awake, his mind racing with thoughts as he analyzed his situation.
From this little conversation, Frederick learned a lot.
"It appears we're in some sort of dormitory. Furthermore, they still seem to believe that my authority is Dark Veil since I'm here. It also suggests that no one knows about my trenchcoat yet."
Frederick's reasoning was simple. If Aegis were aware of the existence of his item, it would imply that they also knew Dark Veil, one of the two authorities his coat was formed of, wasn't his true authority.
Knowing Markus' sharp mind, he surely knows that the greatest threat lies in an unseen, lurking danger. If they didn't know or were unsure about Frederick's authority, they wouldn't even let him stay close to a place where they would be so vulnerable.
Even if Frederick were weakened, they wouldn't take this risk.
'So neither Eris nor Thomas divulged anything about my item,' Frederick concluded. 'Even if Markus is astute, one can't deduce anything from nothing.'
After a few more minutes of contemplation, Frederick began formulating an action plan.
'Anyway, the woman who can erase memories was called Celeste. If she can remove memories, she can probably read them if given enough time. She is truly dangerous. I'll remember that and have to deal with her as quickly as possible.'
He realized that even a fleeting memory of a life he couldn't recall would signal that his memories had been tampered with. Perhaps it has already happened once, and he doesn't remember.
'Also, it seems that Aegis started looking for Blood Dominion, but that's their problem. I don't think I can even fully recover before the main story, so it is useless to think about getting a bit more experience now. Instead, I should focus on recovery and survival.'
Truth be told, despite surviving the purification and appearing to recuperate, Frederick was actually starving at that moment. His need for blood was urgent. A constant hunger gnawed at him, urging him to obtain blood by any means necessary, but this voice was suppressed by Frederick's willpower.
'Blood Dominion's curse is getting stronger. I still have a day or two before I starve to death. I have to recuperate enough and retrieve Dark Cache Trenchcoat before since I still have one or two of these canteens of rabbit blood inside.'
After a few more minutes of deliberation, Frederick decided to rest. Despite having just awakened, consuming the liquid had accelerated his recovery at the expense of his energy. He was thoroughly exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open.
...
In a room, a middle-aged man was sitting at a desk with a serious expression. His eyes were glued to a pile of documents, and his fingers were stained with ink.
The old man's face bore the marks of years gone by, his once-dark hair now replaced with strands of gray, and his hands adorned with scars from battles long past. Yet, despite the passage of time, his demeanor exuded a quiet strength and a depth of experience.
'What the hell is going on here?'
Markus was engrossed in a report detailing the tumultuous events that had unfolded in the city. The document outlined how chaos had gripped the streets and included details of an attempt by one of the guilds to breach the wall surrounding Haven.
However, these were only some details. What made him frown was the meaning of this act.
'I thought the guilds would wait until the main story ends to act, but it seems that's not the case.'
With a sigh, Markus turned his sight to another document containing a list of the casualties that occurred during the chaos.
"This is troubling. The number of casualties and murders is alarming, and even the supposed 'safe zone' on which many were counting appears to have lost its effectiveness. Meaning that it was now possible to hurt others using authorities...Haven was once known for its strict safety, but now it feels more like a prison," Markus remarked with concern.
"A prison that's slowly being filled with corpses."
Markus's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Come in," he said, his voice calm and collected.
"Sir... We have bad news," a young man said, his voice trembling.
"What is it?" Markus asked, his tone neutral.
"Our scouts have noticed something wrong... It seems like hundreds of Hunters are gathering at the border of the Hunter's Forest."
"...What?"