The General Security Office is a five-story building with a paint job so white it shines.
No one would guess that this building has a history of over a hundred years.
When this building was constructed, the city government invested a great deal of manpower and resources to excavate and polish the stone materials. The construction workers toiled day after day, and the chant of construction lasted for six years before this sturdy building was finally ready for use.
Just three years after the city government moved in, a more convenient and practical building material, cement, was invented.
The main structure, heavily made of stone, posed many inconveniences in daily life, so the unfinished building was quickly abandoned. It wasn't until the wealthy of the central district jointly purchased the property that the construction was able to continue, and they later donated the building to the public as a resting place for security officers.
With an office space, the security force expanded threefold, significantly enhancing the city's security level.
Looking back at this history, Clayton once thought this was a good deed done by the wealthy out of interest and moral demand, but now he has a new idea.
By infiltrating the security force with dark descendants during the expansion, it would be easier for the elders to protect their own.
Since the patrol routes are fixed every day, they can even designate the location for "accidents" to happen.
Clayton walked into the first-floor office lobby, which was relatively sparsely populated, most of whom were citizens seeking help, as security officers were part-time jobs, and there were not many people without their own work during the day.
The floor was polished so smooth that it could be used as a mirror.
Not long ago, he had been here because he mistakenly killed a monitor, so this time the receptionist quickly recognized him.
"Mr. Bello, the family of the gentleman from last time has been found, it's his wife. Do you want to see her?"
Clayton's steps halted, and this question was quite a shock to him.
Even if he killed a mentally unstable person out of self-defense, with a justifiable reason, meeting the family of the deceased would still be awkward.
However, his beard was too thick, and his clothing and posture still couldn't get rid of the habits from his military days. With this appearance, just a slight frown could be misunderstood as anger.
The male receptionist's Adam's apple rolled up and down: "Actually, it's okay not to meet her. She took the body away without making any demands."
Clayton requested, "Let me see her. I must make compensation. Please tell her that the time and place are up to her, but it can only be after next Wednesday."
"I will help you contact her," the receptionist swallowed his saliva.
"Thank you," Clayton sincerely thanked him, but thinking about what he had to do today, he looked around and didn't find his target, so he turned back:
"Is Mr. Galide here today? I have something to see him about this time."
The receptionist pointed upstairs, "He should be in the archive room on the fourth floor, having a meeting with the fire department. You might have to wait a bit before he can see you."
Clayton nodded and walked towards the stairs without hesitation.
Electricity is becoming popular in this country, with people storing whale oil for power generation. Many public buildings have already installed whale oil generators and elevator devices. However, due to the difficulty of renovation, such stone buildings can only use old-fashioned lighting equipment, such as candles and horse lamps.
It's unclear whether someone foresaw this situation or for other reasons, but the area behind the General Security Office was allocated to the fire department. Even if those lighting devices caused a fire, it could be quickly extinguished.
Moreover, it's close to the dock area, making water access more convenient than other places.
As Clayton climbed the stairs, he saw several gentlemen in red vests walking down, chatting and laughing.
They were all workers from the fire department, and their presence here probably meant that Galide's work was done.
He quickened his pace slightly, and indeed, he saw Galide stretching in the hallway.
Clayton thought about how he would forget the other's appearance, and couldn't help but try again.
The result was similar to before.
Just by closing his eyes, he couldn't imagine the other's appearance anymore. But when he saw the other person with his own eyes, he could still recognize that it was Galide.
"Mr. Galide, I've come to see you."
In fact, after going back last night, Clayton had flipped through the "Two Thousand Common Knowledge for Mysticism Enthusiasts" sent by Tritis to understand the current situation, but he felt dizzy and brain-swollen after just two days.
The book, although called common knowledge, contained many technical terms that ordinary people couldn't understand, mixed with various languages.
He wanted to use this book to understand the current situation, but he would have to reach the level of a "mysticism enthusiast" first.
Tristis overestimated him.
"Let's talk in the archive room," Galide said, walking into the room full of safes with his hands behind his back, looking listless.
During the day, there were hardly any people in the entire General Security Office, and those who stayed on duty could more or less ignore the rules and regulations.
"I want to know about the Dark Descendants, how did we appear in this world?"
Hearing this question, Galide couldn't believe it and covered his forehead in disbelief:
"I don't even know how ducks came to be, how could I know the answer to your question? That should be a challenge for a philosopher. Can you ask something more practical and closer to life?"
Clayton: "..."
Unconsciously, he had also placed too high expectations on the other party.
"Well, I've been transformed into a Dark Descendant in the last six months, and you seemed to say something similar last night, that this kind of thing is increasing, what's the reason?"
Galide breathed a sigh of relief: "Because the Age of Judgment is coming, and the Dark Moon is returning."
"What is that? I've never heard of those two words."
"These two words are actually the same thing. When the Dark Moon appears, the Age of Judgment arrives." Galide squinted his eyes: "It's a bit incredible to say, but it's said that in the old era, there were two moons in the sky. One is called the New Moon, and the other is called the Dark Moon."
Clayton looked out the window, but because it was daytime, he couldn't see anything.
"I'm sure I've never seen another moon."
"Of course, because the Dark Moon hid itself. But now the Dark Moon is coming back, and maybe in our lifetime we can see it. It's the source of our Dark Descendants' strength and life."
Galide didn't seem very happy when he said this, and Clayton couldn't figure out why.
"Even natural creatures have a part that belongs to the shadow. The Dark Moon can guide them to grow stronger, transforming ordinary creatures into new Dark Descendants." Galide spread his arms:
"Just like natural creatures have that star that is always on fire, the Dark Moon is our sun. And without the sun, people become weak. Without the Dark Moon, our strength will be greatly reduced."
Clayton pondered: "I see, that's how I was transformed into a Dark Descendant."
"Not necessarily, in the days when the Dark Moon left, some Dark Descendants chose to seal their own strength and return to the soft and ordinary body of mortals. They wait for the return of the Dark Moon in human society, but long-term human life can also make their families forget the past. Maybe in less than a hundred years, they will forget their original intention."
Galide looked at Clayton's appearance, and he was also looking for something special about the other person.
"Of course, this is just a possibility. If you are the type with greater physical changes, you would be a descendant of these lurkers, after all, the Dark Moon has not returned yet, and its influence on the body is not significant."
Clayton crossed his arms, his heart tangled.
If Galide's statement is true, then his family should also be werewolves, and the kind that are unaware.
Could the younger generation of the Bello family, Donna Bello, be a werewolf?
He asked earnestly: "If a Dark Descendant marries a human, will their children inherit the identity of a Dark Descendant?"
"Good question!"
Galide finally perked up: "It depends on the probability, some people can inherit the bloodline, some can't. How's your history? Do you know about the White Church's Inquisition Court?"
"I know." Clayton had just reviewed this history not long ago.
"The period when the Inquisition Court was disbanded was around the end of the old era, and it was also the time when the theory of 'Species Theory' just began to become popular." Galide raised his right index finger:
"The author of 'Species Theory,' Vanis, ingeniously used the reproductive system and methods to classify organisms. Because there is no reproductive isolation, this made the idea that humans and Dark Descendants are the same species begin to spread, and elves and dwarves were all classified as human subspecies. Although he was eventually burned to death for spreading rumors and blasphemy, the seeds of thought still remained."
"Many clergy within the White Church are also well-versed in academia, and they eventually realized that Dark Descendants cannot be completely eradicated, so they chose to disband the Inquisition Court and reached a peace agreement with us."
"The final result is that we have maintained the main peace with the White Church after the old era, until today."
As I was writing, a centipede crawled onto my leg, so the update was delayed.