In Bayam, inside the safe house near the Wave Church district,
"Hoo—hoo—hoo—"
Luo En leaned back in his chair, his chest heaving violently. He suddenly opened his eyes, which were filled with confusion and bewilderment.
He clutched his throbbing forehead, feeling as if he had just experienced an unimaginable, vast event. But what it was, his mind was a blank.
He couldn't remember anything.
It was like having an incredibly real, incredibly important dream, but upon waking, not a single fragment could be recalled, leaving only an empty, ineffable sense of exhaustion.
"Brando? What's wrong with you?"
Danitz, who was beside him, also noticed Luo En's abnormality. He saw Luo En suddenly wake up, his face pale and his body drenched in cold sweat, and immediately asked with concern.
"Meow?" Lachi, curled up by Luo En's leg, also looked up worriedly, staring unblinkingly at her owner with her amber eyes.
Luo En didn't speak.
He felt an indescribable, bone-deep strangeness. He picked up the half-empty bottle of liquor Danitz had been drinking from the nearby table,
Twisting off the cap, he took a large, direct swig from the bottle.
The burning liquid scorched his throat, which helped to calm his chaotic thoughts slightly.
"Hey, Brando, what exactly did you sense?" Danitz pressed him again, seeing his unusual behavior.
"Did the Disease Maiden catch up?"
Luo En shook his head.
Honestly, he felt very tired right now.
It wasn't physical fatigue, but a deeper, almost soul-emptying sense of weakness. He even found it exceptionally difficult to speak.
It felt like he had just endured an unspeakable battle, and everything had been completely depleted.
He waved his hand at Danitz, indicating that he was fine, then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
He had a vague, bad premonition.
At the same time.
Tracy was currently moving through the city's intricate rooftops and shadows.
She was still searching.
Searching for the whereabouts of that damned 'Flaming' Danitz. With her Assassin abilities, she had successfully found some clues from the ruined residential building.
But with those alone, she still couldn't pinpoint Danitz's location, only confirming that he was still in Bayam.
"I will never let you go." She stopped on a clock tower, overlooking the sleeping city below, and squeezed out this sentence, word by word, through gritted teeth.
In her mind, Brando's cold face, still showing pain and terror, from the suitcase, involuntarily surfaced.
And that Edwina Edwards, that bitch!
In Tracy's view, this matter absolutely had something to do with that damned Iceberg Admiral! Danitz was just an executor, a pawn, and the true mastermind hiding behind the scenes must be that woman!
However, beneath the overwhelming anger and hatred, there was a peculiar thought in her heart, one that even she found absurd.
A glimmer of hope, almost self-deceptive.
Brando... might not be dead.
Everything—perhaps there was still room for redemption.
Although she had seen the body with her own eyes, and there was physical evidence. Rationally, she knew Brando was dead.
But...
But her spiritual intuition as a Demoness was vaguely telling her that things were not that simple.
This contradictory feeling, like two hands, was frantically tearing at her soul, making her suffer immensely.
No matter what—
She shook her head, temporarily suppressing those unrealistic fantasies.
First, find that damned 'Flaming'!
As long as he was caught, all the truth would come to light!
On the Black Death.
Third Mate Mithor, after a brief rest in his cabin, came to the deck with a glass of amber liquor. The cold sea breeze blew against his face, clearing his mind, which had been muddled from days of travel.
Rushing back from Bayam, and then having to carefully avoid the patrol boats of the Church and the Official along the way, indeed made him feel exceptionally tired. However, at this moment, he was in a good mood.
Although it took some twists and turns, and he even almost incurred the captain's wrath, at least he had returned safely to the ship.
Just as he was about to lean against the ship's rail with a relaxed expression, ready to enjoy the tranquility after escaping danger, he noticed that several Sailors on night watch on the deck were gathered together, pointing and discussing something in the direction of the main mast.
Mithor frowned and looked up, following their gaze.
Immediately, the relaxed ease on his face froze.
The captive, who should have been bound and hung upside down from the main mast, was gone!
His heart jolted, and he almost dropped the wine glass in his hand. He quickly walked forward and looked up to confirm carefully.
Gone! Truly gone!
Only a few severed ropes, still swaying in the wind, remained on the mast, but the person was gone!
"Where's the person who was hanging here?!" He immediately rushed over, grabbed the collar of the nearest Sailor, and demanded sharply.
"Th-th-Third Mate—" The Sailor was startled by him and stammered, "I-I don't know! We just looked back, and he was fine, then in the blink of an eye, he just suddenly disappeared!"
"Disappeared?" Mithor's mind went blank. Did he break free from the ropes and fall into the sea? Or was it—
He dared not think further. He knew very well that if the captain found out he couldn't even keep an infected captive, what awaited him would definitely be a fate more miserable than being hung upside down from the mast!
He glanced at the equally panicked Sailors around him and, in an almost roaring voice, gave the order:
"What are you standing around for?! Go find him immediately! Go into the water to search!
If you don't find him, all of you are doomed!"
At the same time, on the Black Death.
The blonde maid quietly pushed open the Door to the captain's cabin, a Door she should not have entered again.
Although Tracy had explicitly forbidden her in the coldest tone from entering this room without permission,
The blonde maid believed that this prohibition would soon be lifted.
She would soon regain the captain's favor.
Because her "rival in love" was already—finished.
Just thinking about the news she had just heard from Third Mate Mithor, the blonde maid's face couldn't help but beam with a brilliant smile. This was definitely the best news she had heard since the captain returned!
Fate is on my side!
However, she was also a little curious. What kind of person was this "rival in love" who had so captivated the captain that even she had fallen out of favor?
With a scrutinizing and curious gaze, she looked at the black suitcase, which exuded an ominous aura.
At the same time, she had another plan in mind.
The captain must be very sad when she sees this body, right?
To prevent the captain from being reminded of sad memories upon her return, it was necessary for her to dispose of this item that would cause her pain in advance.
As for whether the captain would be angry with her for this?
She was confident. In her opinion, a dead person could never compare to a living, warm body.
As long as she could regain the captain's favor when she was most vulnerable, then such a small matter as disposing of a corpse without permission,
It was nothing at all.
As for Third Mate Mithor, that was his own problem; he failed to understand the captain's orders, and it had nothing to do with her.
While fantasizing about the beautiful scene of herself lying in the captain's arms again, she slowly walked towards the suitcase.
However, the blonde maid, immersed in her beautiful fantasies, completely failed to notice that not far behind her, the surface of the large full-length mirror was subtly rippling with a strange distortion.