Chapter 322
He had to consider the casualties around him; this was something only a true "missionary" of the righteous could do.
He needed to maintain a distance that allowed for a quick escape.
Simon slowly reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two throwing knives, hurling them directly to the ground.
The green-haired girl in the alley flickered, and in the next moment, she appeared three meters away. The knives embedded themselves in the white figure left behind, piercing through it and plunging into the ground.
Thud—
A faint heartbeat, that of an ordinary person, echoed not far behind Simon. Before he could grasp what was wrong, a flash of green light erupted behind him.
Not good!
Simon reacted swiftly, turning around, but before he could even catch a glimpse of the figure, the green light pierced through his clothing, marking its presence before him. This was—
The seal of the Keybearer?!
Was it the Keybearer?!
In an instant, he caught sight of a red-haired figure and an iron mask, and Simon surrendered all resistance, allowing the force of the green light to push him, tumbling down into the alley.
"Cough, cough..."
As he hit the ground, blood spilled from Simon's mouth, but he quickly struggled to rise, maintaining a half-kneeling position with his head bowed. He spoke, "Your Excellency, the 'Keybearer,' I had no idea it was you..."
He could hear the footsteps of the ordinary person slowly approaching the edge of the rooftop. The sunlight cast her shadow before him, and he quickly shut his eyes, daring not to peek in any form.
He certainly didn’t believe she was just an ordinary person… He suspected he had already fallen into the Keybearer’s "dream" without realizing it.
At that moment, standing on the rooftop, Xiar looked down at the man kneeling below, feeling a wave of weakness wash over her.
She glanced at the emerald ring on her left pinky and shook her head slightly.
Xiar could not sacrifice her flesh to this seal; she could only let it draw blood.
Having nearly 500ml of blood drawn in one go left Xiar feeling somewhat weak and dizzy. Fortunately, her repeated use of "Lethal Blood Roland" had given her a significant resistance to blood loss and anemia.
She looked at Tara, who stood not far in front of the man, and said, "Let’s begin."
To avoid the explosion alerting Simon to hide, Xiar decided to split their efforts. She instructed Tara to first restrain Simon while she assessed the success of the explosion before regrouping, to avoid a wasted effort.
Fortunately, the explosion went smoothly. A barrel of siege explosives nearly collapsed half a building, severely injuring dozens of Blackwater Party remnants, while the two leaders and attendants who had seen Xiar were torn to shreds by the blast.
No civilian casualties occurred, and the explosion attracted the attention of the police detectives. Xiar had achieved her goal of disposing of that batch of explosives, which was quite perfect.
Now, it was time to deal with the captain of the Chaos Squad.
Having already pinpointed his location, even an ordinary person had a chance of killing a second-tier with a firearm. However, Xiar opted for a more stable approach, using the quieter "Sewing Seal Ring."
Moreover, using the seal ring seemed to lead the opponent to mistake her for the Keybearer, which saved Xiar a lot of trouble.
At that moment, Tara, having heard Xiar's command, walked slowly toward Simon. A white figure emerged from the shadow of the wall beside Simon, grabbing his hair.
"The 'Sadana' will guide you on your future path, lost one."
As their eyes met, Tara initiated the brainwashing.
The mental power of a second-tier was significantly enhanced compared to a first-tier, and it had to filter out the interference of potions. Generally, one needed to put the opponent in a state of severe injury and mental fatigue to ensure success.
But with the opponent showing no will to resist, Tara quickly implanted the "Sadana Mark," making him a member of the Holy Ascendancy.
Such a skilled baptism suggested that Tara had undergone this countless times—though it was unclear why she remained at the "missionary" level and hadn’t moved on to the next tier of potions.
Once Tara had fully controlled him, Xiar played along, pretending to be the Keybearer, and conveyed new instructions to Simon.
Xiar wanted him to receive a "message": the Keybearer would feign death for a while, allowing them to remain inactive. Furthermore, if any other members of the Pleasure Society came looking, he had to relay the message to Tara.
This way, the other extraordinary beings would still receive the news that the Keybearer was "dead," while the internal factions of the Chaos Squad and the Pleasure Society would be informed of the "feigned death."
Until they found the Keybearer’s body, the question of life or death would remain as uncertain as Schrödinger's cat.
After Simon received the information and left with his wounds, Xiar leaped from the rooftop, landing steadily on the ground after a few wall kicks.
The matter with the Chaos Squad was resolved… As long as nothing unexpected happened, there was nothing more for her to do.
Later, she would introduce Tara to Aivina, and then wait for Aivina to finish her business before setting off for Ansu City.
Xiar did not take a carriage but returned to North-South Stone Street with Tara, finding the elderly landlady who had rented them a place before. With just 150 pounds, she purchased number 44.
Other, more rudimentary houses, some without even a washroom, could be bought for around 50 pounds, but the two-story building where Xiar and her sister had previously lived was a bit better and cost several times more.
However, this price was within Xiar's means, and she had specifically brought money with her, so there was no need to borrow from Tara.
After buying the house and receiving the keys, Xiar simply bid farewell to number 44 as she passed by, not entering.
The 150 pounds spent could be seen as meaningful or entirely meaningless; after all, Xiar might never return. Keeping this house was merely a way to hold onto a memory.
Xiar was a person who valued emotions and nostalgia. She was willing to spend 150 pounds to find a bit of peace of mind and have a place to remember.
In fact, this choice was very correct. If Xiar completely forgot this place, it might indicate that her mental state had already deteriorated significantly.
Many extraordinary beings on the brink of losing control, without the help of a "Listener," relied on returning to places deeply etched in their memories to stabilize their minds and recall who they truly were.
With this last task completed, Xiar had nothing more to do in the Bell Tower Alley. She and Tara took a carriage back to Aivina's estate, waiting for Aivina's return.
...
Around five o'clock, Aivina returned to the estate.
This negotiation seemed to have made some progress; Aivina's insistence had yielded certain results.
However, aside from a light breakfast, she had hardly eaten anything all day.
After notifying the cook to prepare dinner, Aivina did not head straight upstairs but went to the dining room, casually asking her personal maid sitting nearby.
"Has Xiar returned?"
Aivina inquired.
"Miss Xiar has already returned. Would you like me to ask her if she needs dinner?"
The maid hesitated for a moment before leaning slightly and whispering, "It seems Miss Xiar brought back a little maid, and she's quite adorable..."
"Mm?"
Aivina blinked, even doubting if she had misheard. Yet her expression remained neutral as she asked, "Oh, where are they?"
"In the study; they've been there for about three or four hours."
The maid replied.
"Mm."
Aivina acknowledged, but for some reason, she suddenly felt less hungry.
She stood up and said, "No need, I’ll go call her."
With that, she left the maid and Nia, who were exchanging glances, and headed toward the stairs—her steps noticeably quicker.
Nia, rarely curious, held back her pace and did not follow.
It's hard to resolve family matters; following her wouldn’t solve anything.
Both she and Aivina knew that Xiar had picked up a little girl, as all the nurses from Adele's side were appointed by Aivina, so the news was naturally well-circulated.
But she hadn’t expected that Xiar would silently bring the refugee child back without consulting Aivina first.
Nia shook her head and sighed, already foreseeing that Xiar would likely end up with a few more wounds...
Meanwhile, in the study, Xiar was quickly flipping through a book, with several others piled up in front of her.
Tara, holding a small fan, gently fanned Xiar, watching her with admiration as she read.
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