Accompanied by Ms. Cecil's cold, harsh voice, her figure emerged from the shadows of the thicket.
Following closely behind her were several investigators from the Seventh Agency.
They were all injured to some degree.
Their uniforms were covered in filth.
They were gasping for breath, looking utterly disheveled.
“Where is Luke?”
Cecil strode forward.
Her sharp eyes were fixed on Elias.
“An infernal demon took him.”
Elias met Cecil's gaze with a sincere and innocent expression.
He was the picture of honesty.
After all, it was the truth.
Just a moment ago, he had already devised a plan.
He couldn't hide what had happened tonight.
The act of summoning Guss had been witnessed by the Seventh Agency investigators on the spot.
In other words, he hadn't intended to hide it from the start.
Under those circumstances, there had been no time to hide it anyway.
So, there was no point in playing dumb now.
However, regarding the cause, process, and outcome of this incident, he had to exercise some subjective initiative and perform a reasonable “creative spin.”
He couldn't exactly hand over that bone flute, could he?
What kind of international joke was that!
That was currently his greatest tool for survival.
In the treatment room, just revealing it to Guss for a second had saved his life from that infernal demon.
And according to Guss at the time...
The connection between this bone flute and the Moon Lord was undeniably close.
“Speaking of infernal demons.”
Cecil took a small step forward.
“Mr. Rockland, is there something you need to explain to me?”
She deliberately emphasized her words.
“Including that lie you told me earlier, looking me in the eye and saying Mester's Treatment Room had nothing to do with you.”
The pain from Elias's spiritual body being torn was still raging.
With every breath, his nerve endings were screaming in protest.
“I can explain everything.”
Elias immediately raised his hands in a familiar French military salute.
His attitude was beyond reproach.
“But first, I want to see my sister.”
Elias forced a wry smile.
“Fine,” Cecil agreed.
Although this guy didn't have a single word of truth in his mouth and the suspicion that he had deceived her was ridiculously high...
At least from tonight's standpoint, he was an ally, not an enemy.
Not just an ally, but one who had performed a monumental service.
He had fought to the death to take down that mountain of flesh.
Furthermore, despite his injuries, he had pursued Luke all the way here.
Of course, there was surely some shady reason behind his pursuit of Luke.
For now, she could only attribute it to the dog-eat-dog infighting within Wayland Capital.
But the feat of killing the mountain of flesh was a concrete achievement.
Even if his subjective motive was to stand up for his sister...
Objectively, he had indeed resolved a catastrophic trouble for the Seventh Agency.
Moreover, she quite appreciated the fact that he had stood up for Charlotte.
Thinking back on it now, a chill still ran down Cecil's spine.
She didn't even dare to imagine.
If the mountain of flesh had broken into the city tonight...
On a night like tonight, a festival night, the streets were filled with celebrating citizens.
She didn't know how many innocent civilians would have perished.
And it was also a stroke of luck within the misfortune.
After the mountain of flesh was blown apart by this guy, the Life Scholars from the Lily of the Valley Convent, who had been lured away by the living corpses, were able to return.
This allowed the critically injured investigators, who were clinging to life by a thread, to survive under the scholars' emergency treatment.
From this perspective, Elias was the savior of their entire squad.
Thinking of this, Cecil's tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
The hostility in her eyes also faded.
“Follow me.”
She turned around, leaving Elias with her cold, rigid back.
...
Some time later.
The two of them arrived inside the Seventh Agency's sanatorium.
Outside Charlotte's ward, only the sound of their footsteps echoed.
His sister's condition had stabilized.
The red-haired girl lay on the hospital bed like a quiet doll, silent and still.
Elias also asked about Victoria's situation.
Upon learning that she was undergoing emergency treatment and the process of erosion purification, he and Cecil went to the main hall of the building.
The moonlight, cool as water, poured in diagonally through the massive glass windows on the side of the wall.
Mottled light and shadow were cast upon the statue of the Goddess of Magic directly ahead.
It gave the Goddess of Magic an aura of divinity and inviolable brilliance.
Elias sat on a wooden bench in the waiting area.
Ms. Cecil stood opposite him.
One sitting, one standing.
Cecil looked down at him, her expression grave.
“Now, isn't it time you talked?”
“If you explain it well, it means there are only some minor misunderstandings between us.”
“I won't arrest you, and our pleasant cooperation can continue.”
“If you don't explain it well...”
She let out a cold laugh.
“You'll just have to spend your long and boring life in the beautifully landscaped Pris Isle High-Security Prison.”
“Alright.”
Elias shrugged helplessly.
The pain in his spiritual body made him gasp.
However, this didn't stop him from having polished his mental draft on the way here.
That's right, it was almost entirely the truth, with just a bit of tampering on some key points.
To maintain the persuasiveness of his story...
He accurately connected his Mental Channel to Cecil.
“What I'm about to say involves too much.”
“No one else besides you and me can know.”
Cecil gave him a suspicious look and gestured for him to continue.
She wanted to hear what kind of secrets could come out of that mouth.
“Actually, that day I went to Mester's Treatment Room...”
Elias sighed in his mind.
“My original plan was to investigate that bastard Mester.”
“As you know, Brian's soul was almost drained by him.”
“And he's my brother's partner.”
“As for me, I'm just a lighthouse keeper in Moon Bay.”
“I can't look after my family's safety every day. I was really afraid they would meet a tragic end.”
“So, my original intention that day was to sneak in quietly and scout things out.”
“If I couldn't win, I would retreat immediately and call in the Seventh Agency to clean up the mess.”
Elias spread his hands, his face full of innocence.
“Who knew that as soon as I arrived...”
“You guys had already started taking action against the treatment room.”
“So I thought, isn't this perfect?”
“With the authorities involved, I'd just wait for you to arrest the suspects. Why should I risk my own life?”
Hearing this, Cecil nodded slightly.
This part of the logic was completely consistent, fitting the normal mindset of a cowardly free transcendent.
“But!”
Elias's tone shifted, becoming extremely strange, even carrying a hint of incredible absurdity.
“Who would have thought that right after you left with the main force...”
“An infernal demon inexplicably appeared on the second floor of the treatment room!”
“Your people went to investigate but were thrown out by him.”
Elias paused.
“Just when I thought I was well-hidden and could take the chance to slip away...”
“That demon, from across an entire street...”
“Insisted that I go over and help!”
Hearing this.
Cecil's relaxed brow instantly knitted back into a tight knot.
Even with her vast experience, her brain experienced a momentary crash.
“What did the demon want with you?”
Cecil stared intently at Elias, trying to find a trace of a lie in his micro-expressions.
But she failed.
Because it was the truth.
She tentatively voiced the absurd conclusion she had deduced earlier at the treatment room scene.
“He wanted you to pick a lock?”
Elias was also stunned to hear this question.
He had been thinking that the story of Guss asking him to help pick a lock was simply too far-fetched.
He hadn't even known how to make it believable.
Who would have thought Ms. Cecil already knew about it?
“You even figured that out?!”
Guys, do you feel me!
She gets me!
“That's right!”
“I originally went there to pick a lock!”
Rate on N.U.
