Staring at the old woman, I was nervous.
Extremely nervous.
Even though I was currently the one who held the advantage as the pointed tip of my hand was placed right at her neck, the looming figure that stood before me made my heart grow extremely heavy.
But despite this, I remained steady.
These next few moments were key for me to leave and learn more information about the entire situation.
I pressed the tip closer to her throat.
However, despite the fact that I was pressing the sharp tip closer to her throat, the old lady didn’t look scared at all.
In fact…
She didn’t look like she felt much at all.
Her hollow eyes remained fixed on me as her lips parted.
“…Mirelle. How do you have her?”
She asked the same question, her eyes growing even more hollow as she did.
“Answer me.”
The Twisted Man behind her twitched, and for a brief moment, I almost faltered. But I kept my cool and kept my hand raised to her throat.
Even as the Twisted Man began to move, its body stretching over me, I remained still.
This was a game of nerves.
It was to see who would falter first.
But… There was something that the old lady didn’t take into account.
And that was the fact that even if I removed my hand and ran away, the Twisted Man would still get me. It had already heard my voice.
For that reason, I remained still.
I knew and understood that the Twisted Man wasn’t going to move.
So even as the floor cracked and the Twisted Man moved around me, I didn’t budge at all.
Creaaak.
Staring directly into the hollow eyes of the old woman while feeling the floor behind me sink as a shadow cast over me, I licked my lips.
‘Calm down. I need to remain calm.’
I couldn’t panic. I couldn’t allow myself to panic.
Keeping my gaze fixed on the old woman in front of me, I began to speak again.
“…Who are you? What is your goal? And what do you want with Mirelle?”
The old woman blinked the moment I asked the question.
She seemed genuinely surprised at first, but soon, her lips cracked into a sick and twisted smile.
“So you don’t know?”
Her tone was laced with amusement as she looked at me.
“Despite… being here. Despite having Mirelle with you… You don’t know? Ka… ka… ka…”
A growly, slow laugh escaped the old woman’s lips as her empty eyes stared directly at me, and the Twisted Man stopped, its head moving right next to mine as shivers ran down the right side of my neck.
Eventually, the head stopped before it turned to face me, exposing its twisted smile.
I wanted to run in that moment.
I really want to run.
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t falter, and I pressed my hand deeper into the woman’s neck.
“Answer me.”
“Ke… kek.”
The old woman cracked a laugh yet again, extremely amused by my reactions. I was just about to push the tip further down her neck when her dry lips parted open.
“We follow the doctrine of the mist.”
What…?
The woman’s smile grew even more twisted as she noticed my confusion.
“Do you think that the mist that covers the world is a natural phenomenon? Do you think the reason why floating islands exist is because the land beneath is simply uninhabitable? Kak.”
Cracking another laugh, the old woman’s eyes grew more deranged.
“It is not a natural phenomenon! Kakak! Everything… all of it is the will of the architect!”
Architect?
“He knows it all. He is aware of it all. He is the saviour that will save us from this cursed world!”
The woman’s head twitched in that moment, producing a faint cracking sound as I was taken aback.
Savior? Savior of what…? This felt like some sort of thing some lunatic would say.
‘Well, she is a lunatic…’
“He is the reason I’ve been able to live for so long despite my condition. They all told me that I wouldn’t be able to live further than twenty, but look at me now.”
The old woman opened her mouth.
“I’ve… grown old enough to lose my teeth. Kak. Ka.”
The woman cracked another smile, exposing her empty mouth.
Something about the old woman’s demeanour felt off to me. But at the same time, taking in the information, a theory occurred to me.
‘Could it be that she had some sort of incurable disease that she couldn’t cure, and this, whatever architect or cult somehow managed to cure her from the disease? As a result, she decided to become a devout believer in them?’
This made sense.
If I had to start a cult and had the ability to heal people from strange diseases, I’d do the same thing.
It was the fastest way to gain followers.
‘I think I’m starting to get a better idea of how this strange cult works. I’m curious about the mist, and what they mean by that, but looking at her… I don’t think she’ll elaborate.’
I could only keep her with me at the moment and bring her back to the Guild.
No, wait… I couldn’t quite do that.
She was aware of Mirelle and the Dreamwalker.
I couldn’t afford to expose them, as that would also expose my secret.
‘Ah, shit… If that’s the case, what am I supposed to do with this old woman?’
Staring at her, a thought crossed my mind.
And the thought was…
To kill her.
I licked my lips, my hand trembling slightly. I didn’t pity the woman even if she died. In fact, she deserved death.
I didn’t think I’d even feel much from killing her.
But it was just that…
I had never killed anyone before. The thought of killing someone also felt a little daunting, but if it needed to be done, I was prepared to do so.
‘I’ll probably end up puking after a while, but I’m already used to puking.’
I licked my lips again, feeling my mouth growing even drier than before.
‘Regardless of how I see things, I can’t let her leave. She knows too much, and bringing her back to the Guild is also not an option. Do I really have no other choice but to kill her?’
The more I dwelled on the situation, the more this seemed to be the correct course of action, and my stomach churned even further.
However, I knew that I couldn’t waste time.
Seeing how the woman was just laughing, no longer answering any of my questions, I knew that it was time for me to end things.
But not quite yet.
Feeling the presence of the Twisted Man, I knew that it would still be here even if she ended up dying.
I couldn’t kill her just yet.
‘I need to do it after getting out of this place.’
With my thoughts organized, I was just about to open my mouth when the woman’s voice echoed in the air once more.
“You also look sick…”
“Uh?”
What did she just say?
Looking down on her, I saw her stare at me with a flat expression. No longer was she laughing or smiling like before.
Instead, her face looked serious.
Chillingly so.
“…Ah.”
Then, as if realization had suddenly struck her, the smile returned to her face.
“No wonder. No wonder…”
“What? Wh—”
“I can feel it.”
The old woman cut through my words, her smile twisting in amusement.
“You have a Cognitive Shard… Just like me.”