The sense of relief that I felt was only short-lived. Staring at the old woman in front of me, I knew that it was time for me to get rid of her.
But at the same time, getting rid of her would mean allowing the Twisted Man to roam without her control.
’Thankfully, I’ve asked the Section Chief to come. Perhaps he might be able to handle the situation.’
The only issue was whether he would come or not. I had high hopes that he would, but there was no guarantee.
’I can only secretly hope that he saw my message.’
Things would be a lot easier for me if he arrived. But I still had to do something about the old lady. She simply knew too much.
From the Dreamwalker to Mirelle… She had seen both of them, and I couldn’t afford to have her spill anything on them. Especially the Dreamwalker.
While back then, the Dreamwalker was still a Nightwalker, the two didn’t look much different than back in the masquerade scenario. Zoey and the few others who were present were all well aware of the ’Jester’ and everything that had happened.
It was for that reason that I couldn’t afford to take the risk.
Keeping her alive was the same as killing me.
’She has to leave.’
…Or at least, that was what I planned on doing. But the moment we stopped and prepared for the inevitable, a faint cackling echoed from behind me.
“Kek.”
It sounded dry, and every hair on my body rose. The air felt colder, and as I slowly raised my head, I saw the old woman smiling at me with her toothless mouth.
For whatever reason, she looked unbothered by the current situation, almost finding it amusing to some extent.
This made my mind scramble.
’What? Did she figure something out? No, it doesn’t matter if she figured something out. What I’m more worried about is whether she has some sort of plan. If that’s the case, what do I do?’
My thoughts swam in all directions as I tried to figure out the situation. But by the time I started thinking, it was already too late as the old woman opened her mouth to speak again.
“You… You’re wearing the same look that I once had. You are thinking of getting rid of me… right?”
With a sudden laugh, the old woman’s wrinkles grew more pronounced as her mouth curled further. I practically felt chills run down my entire body the moment she acted like that, but at the same time, I tried my best to remain calm.
’Nothing good will come from panicking. I need to remain calm.’
I had already experienced my fair share of situations such as these. I was scared, but I was also more experienced in handling the situation.
All I could do was calmly assess what was happening or whatever the old woman was planning before taking care of it. The puking and fear could be pushed for later.
“Let’s… say that I am. Do you—”
“I’m a little surprised.” The old woman cut me off before I could finish speaking, her hollow eyes squinting slightly as she looked at me. “I am surprised that you’re not concerned at all about the Cognitive Shard that is in your body. Do you not care about it at all…?”
Her brows furrowed slightly as she shook her head. “No, that doesn’t quite make… sense. Then why? If it were anyone, they would be rejoicing. Wishing to join us…? Why are you different? Why are you..?” The old woman paused, as though a sudden realization struck her.
“I see what it is.” She cackled. “…You must have some sort of way to prevent the Cognitive Shard from completely taking over your body. I’ve seen people who have lost their will to live. You aren’t one. You’re definitely looking for the cure, and since you’re not interested in mine, it must mean that—”
“Who said that I’m not interested?”
“….Huh?”
The old woman took a moment to process my words.
I continued.
“I… did at first think it was a little much, but I’m interested. If I were to say yes, would you accept me?”
“…..”
The old woman didn’t speak. She looked at a complete loss. I couldn’t blame her, I’d also be confused in her situation. It went against what I said before. But it wasn’t like I said those words without any merit. I was indeed a little interested in whatever their cult was.
I understood that this quest was probably going to be a very long one. In that case, wouldn’t it be more efficient if I just went there directly?
If I became a member of their cult, I could probably solve a lot of troublesome quests without needing to do much. The only issue was them forcing me to do things that I didn’t want to do. Illegal things too.
I wasn’t really keen on doing that.
…And it wasn’t like it really mattered to me. After all, I had only said this to waste time and jumble up her thoughts. Enough for the Dreamwalker to lodge its hands against her mouth.
“…..!”
Her expression changed drastically the moment it happened, obviously caught off guard by the situation.
Rumble! Rumble!
The surroundings shook as a result, and figures began to emerge from the shadows, their presence completely taking over the entire room as I found it hard to breathe under their presence.
From their clean suits, to the top hats they were wearing… I recognized the monsters in an instant, and my expression turned grim.
’Twisted Men…’
As expected, there were more than two.
Looking around, I could count six of them in total, and my legs started to feel like jelly as a result. The old lady’s eyes changed the moment they appeared, her expression turning triumphant as she looked at me.
Things did indeed look extremely grim for me. I could tell that he was a few seconds away from dying.
But…
’I’ve observed enough to know it won’t happen.’
And exactly as I thought such thoughts, the Twisted Man moved behind the Dreamwalker and stood before the old lady as her eyes widened in shock. She tried to say something, but the Dreamwalker blocked any noise from coming out of her mouth as she started to trash around in an attempt to escape.
But it was useless.
The Dreamwalker wasn’t going to let go.
And then…
CRACK!
Her hand snapped with a sickening pop, the bones twisting in the wrong direction as a wet crunch echoed through the air. Her eyes widened, not just in pain, but in sheer disbelief, trembling as she tried to scream.
“Hmmm—!”
CRACK!
Then came her leg, bending backward like it had no joint at all. Her skin turned ghostly pale, veins pulsing beneath the surface, and her eyes filled with blood, turning a deep crimson as she gasped, mouth quivering, but no words came out, only a gurgle.
The Dreamwalker didn’t let go. It kept its hand over her mouth.
With another crack, her other arm bent and cracked, producing an extremely grotesque scene as her body started to dry up.
I could only stare at the scene for a certain moment before turning around and moving towards the exit of the place.
CRACK!
Even as I heard another crack, I didn’t look back before finally entering the portal and feeling my consciousness fade.
’…In the end, all manufactured products have their own flaws. Even anomalies.’