novelraw Chapter 892: No One is a Bad Person
Chapter 892: No One is a Bad Person
The trader Anthony pulled a map from his backpack.
“How... is there... another map... of the Wastelands?”
Ophelia came over and spread the map out on the table in front of Lu Li.
“To hide our true objective,” Lu Li said, studying the map.
The route map was centered around Midnight City, with the Old Sewer branching out in all directions like a web. To the east, the network was denser and more extensive—because the farther east one went, the fewer human towns there were, and the more anomaly nests.
Thick main lines, like tree trunks, encircled Midnight City, while thinner offshoots stretched outward like branches, along with countless hidden passages and the deep, bottomless levels of the Old Sewer.
The known terminus of the Old Sewer’s tendrils, the one closest to the coast, was in the town of Locou.
It was a coastal town.
...
“I hope this will be of use to Mr. Lu Li...”He heard the sound of heavy, disorderly footsteps in the corridor outside the mayor’s office. They stopped right behind the door.
Knock, knock—
Valendo, the assistant, didn’t move. They knew who was on the other side.
“Valendo, open the door,” Mayor Matteus said.
Valendo opened the door, allowing the Inquisition Guard to burst into the mayor’s office. They seized him and headed toward Mayor Matteus.
“You have no right to do this!”
Valendo’s futile resistance ended with him being pinned against the wall, unable to move.
“Mr. Mayor, where is he headed?” an official knight demanded, standing before the desk and interrogating Matteus.
“Who?”
Matteus was rummaging through the main desk, which was piled high with books and documents.
“The fallen exorcist.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The Inquisition knight had no intention of playing word games. He declared that due to his contact with a heretic, Matteus would be subjected to a physical and mental evaluation by the Inquisition Guard, and that all his actions would henceforth be accompanied and ‘protected’ by them.
Matteus was the mayor, and removing him from his post—especially while Vinnelag was shrouded in the misty tide of the Eternal Night—was not only an overreach of authority but an exceedingly foolish act.
“I thought you would seize me and throw me in a dungeon, just like any ordinary citizen,” Mayor Matteus remarked.
Instead of protection, their actions—following Matteus everywhere he went—amounted to surveillance and endless questioning about Lu Li’s whereabouts. To avoid any extra trouble, he simply took up residence in his office.
This went on until the third day.
Knock, knock, knock—
There was a knock on the mayor’s office door.
Unlike before, the assigned knights didn’t push Valendo aside to open the door themselves.
Averting his gaze from the knight sitting ramrod straight off to the side, Valendo opened the door and was surprised by the person on the threshold.
The old man at the door was dressed in a luxurious dark-gold cashmere robe, with two embroidered ribbons descending over his chest. Upon his head rested a magnificent and sacred crown of gold and jewels. His thin face seemed sharp, but his deep-set, dark-blue eyes softened his features.
“Bishop Ussa.”
After Valendo stepped back, Mayor Matteus said his name.
“You may all leave,” Bishop Ussa said good-naturedly.
The knight guards placed their hands over their chests in a sign of respect and left the mayor’s office.
Just as Valendo was about to leave, he was suddenly called back.
“Valendo, isn’t it? Child, you may stay.”
Valendo glanced back at the mayor, and Matteus nodded at him.
“Stay. If you want to be a politician in the future, you need to know just how corrupt and depraved the higher-ups can be.”
Thud—
The door closed again.
Mayor Matteus said:
“If you’re still asking about Mr. Lu Li, I know nothing. Instead of wasting your energy spying on me and trying to pry words from my mouth, you would be better off ensuring the safety of the citizens during this misty tide of the Eternal Night.”
“The purification of the fallen exorcist is also important,” said Bishop Ussa.
Bishop Ussa removed his crown and held it before him, the opening facing upwards.
“Where is this exorcist?”
“You have asked me that countless times over the past three days, and I do not know,” Mayor Matteus replied, repeating the same answer he had given hundreds of times.
“Matteus, do not let the exorcist’s status blind you... Perhaps he was once the hope of the human world. But after evidence of his collusion with cultists was discovered, he no longer belongs to our side. If an exorcist becomes a believer and returns to Vinnelag, all the upper echelons of society who came into contact with him will be defiled...”
Bishop Ussa’s dark-blue eyes stared intently at Matteus.
“Vinnelag will perish because of it.”
Matteus fell silent for a moment, considering Bishop Ussa’s supposition, but not out of fear.
Recalling everything about his meeting with Lu Li—his impressive rationality and composure—Matteus shook his head slightly.
“You don’t know Lu Li.”
“We all know that the evil spirit worshipped by the Church of Shadows was once Lu Li’s most important companion. We also know he is a legendary exorcist who dares to walk the wastelands. As for your supposition, it is utterly impossible. You’ve never met Lu Li, nor have you spoken with him, have you?”
“Matteus, the ground we stand on is Vinnelag,” Bishop Ussa said quietly, as if telling a story.
“This is humanity’s last sanctuary. For more than twenty years, we have prevented any anomaly from setting foot here. No one can break this rule—not you, not I, not even the last exorcist.”
Matteus couldn’t refute those words, because restoring past glory was the very foundation of Vinnelag. He could only respond to Bishop Ussa with low-grade sarcasm:
“The Midnight City embassy is just a block away.”
Bishop Ussa didn’t pursue Matteus’s point and said slowly:
“We have seen many people and gods led astray by faith, and we instinctively use more radical measures to solve this problem. You know, an accusation of colluding with a heretic is enough to have you removed from office.”
“So, at least you’re not hopelessly hidebound,” Matteus said.
Matteus quickly regretted those words.
When both sides of an argument believe they are good, someone will always end up being the ‘bad guy’ in the other’s eyes.
“We will send four squads to the Snow Mountains, the Old Sewer, and the Lennon Archipelago until we find Lu Li’s location.”
Matteus couldn’t restrain himself and shot to his feet.
“You can’t do that!”
Those dark-blue eyes remained good-natured, but now they filled Matteus with hatred.
“We follow the principles of the Inquisition; the knights sacrifice themselves for their faith. And you... you bear the burden of the knights’ sacrifices.”
“You’re the one killing them!” Matteus roared, the veins on his usually calm face bulging.
“Even the filthiest methods serve to enact justice,” Bishop Ussa replied.
“Ridiculous—”
“Mr. Mayor!”
Valendo’s sharp cry stopped Matteus from uttering the blasphemous and insulting words against the Inquisition that were on the tip of his tongue.
Matteus’s bloodshot eyes stared with hatred at the calm bishop. The mayor collapsed back into his chair and forced out an answer with all his might.
“...The... Old... Sew... er.”
“The Old Sewer... He plans to escape to Midnight City, correct?”
“This is why you don’t know Lu Li,” Mayor Matteus no longer hid his animosity toward Bishop Ussa, sneering caustically.
“Thank you for your concern for the knights. I won’t trouble you any further,” said Bishop Ussa.
Bishop Ussa placed his crown back on his head, bid his farewell, and turned to leave.
Matteus, trembling with agitation, stared blankly at the closed door.
Three days of delay... I hope Mr. Lu Li has already left the Old Sewer...
At that very moment, Lu Li had just set foot in the Wastelands.