Chapter 53: Evil Claws

After entrusting Bruce with the work, Sirian sat properly at his desk.

Only then did Sirian have time to carefully feel the changes in his body.

After slaying his Chaos enemies, Blessing: Wrathful Devourer once again increased Sirian’s power, and his soul marrow concentration reached approximately 6.2%.

Killing just one Tier 1 Chaos Follower resulted in a 0.2% increase, but Sirian wasn’t happy about it; on the contrary, he had a headache.

Given the insatiable nature of the ouroboros seal, the boosts gained from killing Tier 1 Chaos enemies would become increasingly smaller, eventually reaching a point where there would be no further increase, just like with ordinary demons.

At that point, Sirian would need stronger opponents to accelerate his promotion.

“Don’t be so impatient, Sirian.”

Sirian muttered to himself.

It had only been a little over two months since he became a Torchbearer in White Cliff Town until now.

Two months… so much had happened, it felt even longer than two years.

Sirian was unsure about the promotion speed of Transcendent of other paths, but judging by the age and experience of Dailin, Anya, and others, he was clearly much faster than most.

Opening his notebook, Sirian turned to the page about the ouroboros seal.

This mysterious mark was not only related to Sirian’s background but also bestowed upon him powerful Blessings.

Sirian’s true power was Blessing · Incubation of Myriad Aspects, which had evolved into the current Blessing: Wrathful Devourer based on Sirian’s experiences and will.

For some reason, Sirian had a strange thought.

Perhaps, Blessing · Incubation of Myriad Aspects was not limited to this; when Sirian encountered a certain opportunity, it might evolve into another Blessing with completely opposite powers.

Sirian quickly turned the page; this speculation was too far-fetched for his current self and didn’t warrant too much thought.

On the next page, a dark Evil Claws came into view, which was the symbol from Tania.

Sirian looked out the window.

Night had once again fallen upon Heer City, and the Beacon Lighthouse burned quietly, illuminating the city brightly.

“Tania, you’re hiding somewhere in this city, aren’t you?” Sirian murmured, “Hiding in some dark corner overgrown with scarlet mycelia.”

Sirian had investigated the master Tania served, but found nothing.

Evil Entity – Fungus Mother.

Whether it was the public library or the City Guard Bureau’s archives, records of Abominations were scarce, consisting only of vague and generalized descriptions.

The chaos evils possessed powers far beyond human imagination, and in certain specific circumstances, even merely reading about the existence of an Abomination through text could lead to corrosion and corruption by Chaos power.

Not only were mortals unable to resist, but even Transcendent found it difficult to escape.

To prevent similar situations, the authorities had imposed a widespread blockade on information about the chaos evils, only allowing the public to maintain the most basic and vague understanding.

Although Sirian was not a common citizen, as a low-tier Transcendent, he also had no right to access such classified information; actively seeking it would only attract unwanted attention.

Sirian closed his notebook, awaiting the arrival of the next day… The next day, at the City Guard Bureau.

Dailin lit a cigarette, and sparks danced before Sirian’s eyes.

“Sirian, didn’t I approve your leave?”

After just having brushed with death yesterday, Sirian stood before Dailin today as if nothing had happened.

“My injuries are healed; there’s no need for a leave.”

Sirian moved his shoulder.

“Are you that short on money?” Dailin was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Taking leave won’t deduct from your full attendance bonus.”

The conversation stalled.

Sirian said with deep remorse, “Dailin, in your eyes, am I just a greedy mole who disregards his own life and safety?”

“A mole, why a mole?”

Dailin didn’t quite understand Sirian’s metaphor.

Sirian was too lazy to explain, “I’m not that short on money; I just love my job.”

“Love your job?” Dailin asked as if he had seen a ghost, “Are you serious about loving this life-threatening job?”

The conversation stalled again.

“Alright, alright,” Sirian said crisply, “I almost got killed by a bunch of lunatics yesterday. If they continue to be active in Heer City, my life is constantly at risk, so before they kill me, I’m going to kill them first.”

Sirian put away his joking demeanor, his tone sincere, his eyes sharp.

“Do you think that’s a good enough reason?”

Seeing Sirian’s righteous expression, Dailin thought to himself.

“Here it comes, here it comes, it’s finally here.”

Sirian’s enthusiasm for work, Anya’s description of him as a burning sun, plus his mysterious background… a series of clues simmered in Dailin’s mind, fermenting into a constantly growing idea.

“Sirian comes from a powerful clan, bearing noble blood. He came to Heer City to thoroughly investigate the rampant Chaos incidents.”

Dailin extinguished his cigarette, putting on a profound air, “Revenge? That’s a good reason, but have you considered the price you’ll have to pay?”

Sirian said without changing his expression, “You’re talking too much nonsense.”

Dailin choked.

After a long sigh, Dailin threw out a document and tapped the signature line.

“Sign your name.”

Sirian signed his name without even looking.

Dailin checked it, then motioned for Sirian to close the office door tightly.

“Do you know where you were fighting at that time?”

Sirian wondered what kind of question this was, “Heer City’s underground drainage pipes?”

Dailin shook his head, “Only half right. We call that place the Dark Alley.”

“Within Heer City, three rivers flow through it. To prevent flooding, Heer City has, over many years, modified a large portion of its underground drainage system.

As the city developed, some underground systems were gradually abandoned and no longer paid attention to, until one day, a group of outsiders accidentally discovered this forgotten area.”

Dailin spoke of Heer City’s development history.

“Outsiders and lower-class individuals gradually gathered there, privately trading contraband and engaging in illicit gray businesses. The location of each gathering and transaction was not fixed; any area where they gathered and operated was called the Dark Alley.

It is precisely due to the randomness and concealment of these gathering locations that the City Guard Bureau has always found it difficult to ascertain their activity patterns.”

Sirian roughly understood, “So, I accidentally entered the Dark Alley.”

Dailin nodded, then continued, “In recent years, a mysterious Chaos group has become active within Heer City. They gradually took control of the Dark Alley, causing us a lot of trouble.”

“We conducted multiple investigations into this Chaos group, and many people died, but we didn’t gain much information.”

Dailin recalled, “A while ago, the wilderness suddenly experienced a Tidal Night; the abnormal source energy reactions attracted the attention of the Star Gazers, and it was from then on that we strengthened our patrols of the wilderness.”

Sirian realized the story was connecting, “Then you met me?”

“Not only did we meet you, but that very night, our investigation into this Chaos group finally made a slight breakthrough.”

Dailin pulled open a drawer and handed Sirian a photograph.

“This is a clue Anya obtained that night; she cut it from a Chaos Follower’s body.”

The content of the photograph was a piece of skin that had been cut off, bearing a tattoo — a dark Evil Claws outlined by messy lines.

Sirian held his breath.

Dailin then said, “After rounds of interrogation, we only managed to pry one useful piece of information from his mouth.”

He paused, then continued.

“The Chaos group is called ‘Evil Claws.'”

“Evil Claws…”

Sirian took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, and calmly said,

“Is that all the information?”

“Yes.”

Sirian probed, “Where is he being held? Perhaps I can…”

“He’s already dead.” Dailin interrupted, “The day after we arrested him.”

He handed over several more photographs, “He was isolated in a separate cell, with staff monitoring him day and night, yet he still died right under our noses.”

Sirian flipped through the photos; it was a pale, withered corpse.

Dailin narrowed his eyes and murmured, “We dissected his body and found clumps of mycelia in his internal organs; it was this stuff that drained his blood.”

Sirian questioned, “Didn’t you check his body beforehand? How could he commit suicide so easily?”

“Suicide? I didn’t say he committed suicide.”

Dailin retorted, “Although he was a Chaos Follower, he was just an ordinary person and didn’t possess source energy. Before he was locked in the cell, we thoroughly examined him.”

“I can confirm that at that time, he didn’t have these things in his stomach.”

Sirian hesitated, “You mean…”

Dailin admitted, “I suspect there’s an enemy mole within the City Guard Bureau.”

Sirian didn’t understand, “But everyone underwent the soul marrow test…”

“The soul marrow test has limitations; it can only detect whether Chaos power exists, but it cannot peer into a person’s mind… To put it bluntly, Sirian, I don’t actually hate Chaos power.”

Dailin lit another cigarette and began to describe the world as he saw it.

“I believe Chaos power is like a natural phenomenon, similar to earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. It inherently has no good or evil; there are only minds twisted by this power.”

Dailin’s tone shifted.

“But in most cases, a mind’s descent often doesn’t require the influence of Chaos.”

Dailin reopened the office door.

“Above is everything we know.”

Sirian stared intently at the tattoo in the photograph. After a long while, he finally spoke.

“What you know is no different from knowing nothing at all.”

“At least we know what our enemy is called.” Dailin gave an example, “It’s like an increasingly detailed portrait; an enemy with a name makes the target more specific.”

Sirian asked, “So what are you going to do next?”

“Wait.”

Dailin uttered a single word.

“The enemy is in the dark, and we are in the light; this is very passive, but the good news is that we still have strong control over Heer City. Whatever Evil Claws wants to do, there will always be a moment when they show themselves.”

The next second, Dailin deflated, saying helplessly, “And, no matter how many ideas we have, we still have to follow the leaders’ command.”

“Alright, I understand.” Sirian then asked curiously, “Wait, what was the document I just signed?”

“Remains Disposal Protocol.”

Dailin shook the document, “If you die in the line of duty, we’ll give you a decent funeral to thank you for your contributions to Heer City.”

“But it’s a collective funeral, and before it takes place, you’ll need to squeeze into the morgue with other people’s bodies.”