Silphier’s workshop and dormitory.
“Is, is this the blood of that One Who Steals Lives…?”
Looking at the black liquid in the transparent vial, Silphier asked.
“Yeah, that’s right. Do you think you can analyze it?”
“I’ll try to give it a go…”
“Thanks, let me know if you need anything.”
If it’s her, figuring out what that One Who Steals Lives is won’t be impossible.
With a faint smile and a nod, Rudell exited her room and headed for the hallway.
“Did things go well?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll have results in a few days.”
Nodding at Kurt’s question as he waited around the corner, Rudell walked down the hallway.
“So? What do you plan to do now?”
“It seems like they want to meet me over there, don’t you think I should?”
After all, they created a monster that kills people in a similar way to him.
Rudell thought of it as a challenge thrown at him by the Church.
If he didn’t want to see more people dying, it meant he had to reveal himself.
“Well, it’s common sense not to avoid a fight that’s coming towards you.”
Ultimately, he had to settle things with them sooner or later.
Of course, it was because what the Church was doing wouldn’t just end here.
He might not know exactly what they were up to, but one thing was for sure: if left unchecked, something bad would definitely happen.
In the worst case, the “City Devourer” from the original story might actually happen.
He had to somehow prevent the horrifying ritual of sacrificing all lives in the city to Thanatos from taking place here.
Just then, while Rudell was pondering what he needed to do next, Kurt called out to him.
“Rudell, I have something to say about that monster.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Due to his personality of rarely speaking unless necessary, Rudell tilted his head in curiosity.
“That monster… it has a scent I’ve smelled before.”
He had kept it a secret from others, but Kurt was also there last night.
If it were the original character, he would have been caught by Fernand right away, but this Kurt had one key difference from the original.
He had been trained by Kyle, the world’s top assassin.
Thanks to that training, Kurt had also grown accustomed to masking his presence, if not to Kyle’s level.
“What do you mean? A scent you’ve smelled before?”
“It’s not a smell I’ve encountered here. It’s something familiar… like the scent from my hometown.”
“Huh? Your hometown…?”
The Eternal Winter Plains.
Why was a scent from a place days away from the Royal Road coming from that One Who Steals Lives?
“Hmm…”
The One Who Steals Lives, Shadow Magic, the Eternal Winter Plains.
As Rudell pondered the seemingly mismatched words, he let out a low groan, but no conclusions came to him despite his thoughts.
“Wait a minute… a scent?”
“…?”
As a thought crossed Rudell’s mind, he looked at Kurt.
Kurt raised an eyebrow at his gaze, and Rudell asked with a hopeful notion.
“So, about that scent. How far can you smell it?”
“This place is too mixed with too many other smells, so I can’t smell too far. If it’s that scent, I should be able to detect it from about a hundred meters away.”
“H-Hundred meters!?”
“That’s me narrowing it down as much as I can. Back home, I could sense scents from even farther away.”
“W-Wow, that’s impressive…”
Guess it’s just in his nature to be a hunter.
At this point, his sense of smell was practically animalistic.
With this, they might not even need to rummage through the alleys looking for the guy.
“Alright, then let’s move together tonight.”
“Let’s do it.”
*
The sun set, and night fell once again.
Huff…
As he faced the chilly night air, Rudell let out a short sigh.
Below his feet lay an area much dimmer than the other parts of the Royal Road.
The Third Residential District.
Its original name was the Old Royal Castle District.
But these days, most people in the Royal Road referred to it as the Slum or back alleys.
A place where the losers who had been eliminated from the everyday competition of the Royal Road gathered—those impoverished drifters and the broke.
And because of that, it was also the perfect breeding ground for the Church of the Eaters of Death.
The despair, anger, and regrets that they held were emotions that the Church could easily exploit.
For those whose lives were practically Hell, why would they refuse the hands of Hell?
“Find anything?”
“There’s no scent here. We might need to move elsewhere.”
Kurt shook his head, adjusting the mask he had pulled down in response to Rudell’s question.
He had already searched through the Slum thoroughly, yet found no notable traces.
“This is odd…”
Normally by this time, they would see at least a few low-ranking members or pawns.
But today, it was strangely devoid of such sights.
“Could they be hiding now…?”
Since Rudell had been steadily hunting Church members, it wasn’t surprising if their power had diminished.
But was it really logical for them to challenge him and then hide like this?
For Rudell, it was hard to comprehend.
“Let’s go deeper in.”
“Got it.”
Thus, as Rudell and Kurt leaped across rooftops towards the heart of the Slum…
“…?”
“What’s wrong?”
With Kurt stopping in place as if sensing something, Rudell asked in confusion.
“The scent is coming from over there.”
“Over there?”
Following Kurt’s gaze, Rudell turned to see a shadowy area with significantly less light, almost resembling a gaping hole among the Slum.
“That’s…”
The darkest area of the Slum was essentially a place abandoned by the kingdom.
Unlike the outer districts where laws and order still nominally functioned, this was a lawless zone.
A site where all sorts of criminals and organizations clashed daily.
Its intricate sewers even became a dungeon filled with monsters, making it a particularly dangerous place.
This was the center of the Slum.
Known colloquially as the Black Spot.
“Are we going?”
“Of course.”
It was obvious there was no turning back now.
Having learned that the Church was plotting something here, he had to see it through, no matter what.
“Let’s go.”
K sniff sniff
As Kurt sniffed the air, he jumped across another rooftop, and Rudell followed him, moving closer to the Black Spot.
After a short while…
“The smell is strong from that building.”
Not long after, Kurt stopped atop a roof, looking down at a building below.
The building was quite grandly constructed, contrary to the name of the Slum.
Of course, it looked quite rundown, as no maintenance had been done whatsoever.
“This is…”
If Rudell’s memory was correct, that building’s identity was the Old Royal Castle…
It was the castle from the days when the Slum was the center of the Royal Road during the kingdom’s founding.
When comparing it to the current royal castle, the difference was like that of a luxurious mansion and a shack, but it served as a historical testimony to the serious state of the kingdom back then.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Absolutely.”
Kurt nodded in response to Rudell’s question.
“Hmm…”
A low groan escaped Rudell as he took in the unusually quiet surroundings…
There wasn’t a single person passing through, and the atmosphere screamed “I’m a trap!”.
“What sort of events would unfold here…”
The developments had already veered halfway away from the original tale.
What might occur in the near future was something even Rudell found hard to predict.
Hoo…
Regaining his breath, Rudell leapt down from the rooftop, heading towards the Old Royal Castle.
The sound of creaking door frames filled the air as the wind swept through the alley…
And the darkness seen beyond the half-broken door looked as if a massive creature was opening its mouth.
“Are you ready?”
After eyeing the scene for a moment, Rudell asked Kurt.
“Of course.”
“Alright, then let’s go.”
As Kurt nodded, Rudell took a short breath and moved towards the abandoned old royal castle.
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