Mr. Delar’s story was not new; in fact, to an “experienced” Outsider, it could even be called clichéd.
This story, involving the ocean, strange statues, a greedy heart, and a curse, would probably be very suitable for Miss Louisa to use as writing material.
The origin of the matter dates back to a year ago, in the spring of 1852 common era.
Mr. Delar, a cargo dispatcher in the Wharf Area, routinely inspected confiscated contraband and, with a strong sense of responsibility, took valuable small items home for safekeeping. This was also an unwritten source of income for his position; as long as he wasn't discovered, there was no problem.
In a pile of miscellaneous boxes, Mr. Delar discovered a batch of small stone statues. They were about the thickness of an adult man’s arm and the length of a forearm. The statues depicted a Mermaid with her head tilted upwards.
“Mermaid” refers to creatures with a female upper body and a fish-like lower torso, often appearing in fairy tales in this world. This was not the same as the ugly “Mermen” Xia De had seen before, which only had human feet.
“So, you took those statues?”
Listening to the other party’s narration, Xia De asked hesitantly, connecting it to many horror novel plotlines. Horror novels were just emerging in this era; colored court novels, knight novels, and Detective novels that had risen in the past few decades were the mainstream.
“Yes, I took them… I’ve worked here for twenty years, and I never thought that the stories I used to hear from old sailors would happen to me.”
Mr. Delar said dejectedly, huddled in the corner, not caring that the blood on the floor was getting on him.
As a dispatcher, although he had the right to handle those inconspicuous illegal items, if he wanted to sell the goods, he certainly couldn't do it alone.
Mr. Delar had some very reliable partners who played different roles in the entire transaction process. For example, Mr. Lemeir, the crew member, whom Xia De thought was just an ordinary crew member, actually held the position of first mate. In Mr. Delar’s illicit sales of goods, Lemeir was responsible for taking some sensitive items to the New World for sale.
After discovering that batch of Mermaid statues a year ago, Mr. Delar immediately fell in love with them, so he distributed them as art pieces to his companions at a gathering.
For the year since then, everyone who received a Mermaid statue would dream of a dilapidated palace in the deep sea, deep-sea bas-reliefs completely beyond human aesthetics, and the huge, rotting Mermaid corpse floating inside the palace.
The dream would end with “the vision continuously approaching the terrifying giant corpse, and then the mountain-sized corpse opening its eyes.” In the recurring dreams, many people were driven directly insane. And after realizing something was wrong, even throwing away those Mermaid statues couldn't free them from the dreams.
At first, it was just dreams, but starting three months ago, those tormented by the dreams began to die one after another in very peculiar ways.
Mr. Lemeir was one of them. Although the ship he was on said he unfortunately fell into the ocean during a storm, that was actually a pretext given by the captain to reduce panic. Lemeir died from his own madness. Within three days, he suddenly transformed from a mentally normal first mate into a madman muttering insane words, and eventually chose to jump into the sea to commit suicide.
And now, only Jason Delar remains alive.
His face twitching, he told his story, and when he looked up at Xia De, there were bloodshot streaks in his eyes.
“Wait, why didn't you go to the Orthodox Church?”
Xia De promptly raised his confusion.
“Going to the Church would definitely expose our dealings. You thought we just stole goods and sold them? No, we did much more than you think. I don't need to look at the Delarion Magna Carta; I know this is definitely a capital crime. Going to the Church means certain death, and even if I don't die, my property will definitely be gone; not going to the Church, there’s a chance to solve it ourselves. Oh, isn't that an easy choice to make?”
The middle-aged man, with a revolver pressed against his head, asked with wide eyes, an abnormal flush appearing on his face.
Xia De thought about it and surprisingly found that what this madman in front of him said was not entirely unreasonable. But the primal fear of the unknown surprisingly didn't overcome the greed for pounds. Xia De didn't know if greed was truly so terrifying, or if those Mermaids were influencing them.
In short, after their companions died one by one, the survivors all tried their best to find a solution, and then died in peculiar ways.
Mr. Delar, the last one alive, obtained a supposedly useful book through private channels, and then performed a ritual according to the book's contents to dispel the curse on himself. However, the ritual he set up did not attract the “omniscient and almighty great existence” mentioned in the book; instead, it attracted the Outsider living in Tobesk.
“So, although this matter is related to the inheritance itself, it actually has nothing to do with my client, Mrs. Lemeier; she can accept the inheritance.”
Xia De summarized in his mind, then pointed to the floor:
“Next question, where did all this blood come from? Don’t say the hospital; I don’t believe that answer.”
“Sir, how much money do you say it will take to help me…”
“Where did you get this blood? And what are those lumps of flesh?”
“The homeless people in this City can…”
Bang ~
The gun smoke drifted upwards, and the corpse fell backward, immersed in the blood on the floor.
The crazy dispatcher of Coldwater Port had nothing to do with the Detective from Tobesk, especially when it was confirmed that he would not affect his client. Confirming that the other party was a bad person, killing him directly and leaving was the way to avoid further complications.
However, as Xia De looked at the corpse, he suddenly realized that, strictly speaking, this was the second person he had killed in this world. The first, Mrs. Lasoya, was killed from a great distance; this one died right before his eyes, so there were still a few seconds of discomfort in his mind.
greed and desire caused this tragedy. Xia De hoped this incident would remind him that excessive greed is never a good thing.
He sighed, then took out a wooden pipe from his pocket, sprinkled the bone powder inside onto the corpse in front of him, and used the Miracle 【Soul Echo】.
A cold wind blew within the enclosed room, and the flames of the six candles on the ground dimmed slightly, their warm yellow turning to a ghostly blue.
A gray light emerged from the corpse. The light lasted for a few seconds before coalescing, and Jason Delar’s phantom appeared above the corpse. His expression was numb, and his eyes were lifeless; this was the phantom of a soul.
Although derived from the 【Echo】 Ling Rune, this Miracle was actually a standard necromantic ability.
