In an instant, the translucent crystal-like object emitted a gentle light, enveloping Klein and the others like bubbles before vanishing the next second.
This was an item imbued with bubble-like power, serving no other purpose but to protect Klein and his companions from the contamination of the City of Calamity.
Though it seemed Klein wouldn't have been affected anyway… Alaric's thoughts wandered briefly before he smiled and said, "Wait here and don't leave this circle. I'll be back soon, and if I get the chance, I'll grab you an orange."
"No need for that," Klein replied, catching the joke Alaric was making. He couldn't help but retort, "Besides, don't you think the circle joke clashes with the back view joke?"
"Isn't that perfect? It lets us play father and son," Alaric chuckled, stretching lazily as he headed toward the restaurant's main door.
The restaurant's entrance was sealed shut. As Alaric approached, a waiter hurried over and said, "Sir, it's foggy outside. Please don't go out."
Alaric smiled at him, his expression curious, as if he'd spotted a fascinating toy. "If you don't let me out, I might just stay here and poke around to see what's going on…"
His gaze drifted to the depths of the Lemon Restaurant. He had no intention of exploring the City of Calamity's secrets from here, considering Klein and the others. His ideal starting point was the telegraph office, known from the original story for its own serious issues.
The waiter froze for a moment. Before he could speak again, a figure approached... the owner of the Lemon Restaurant.
"Let this guest leave," The owner said, eyeing Alaric with a hint of wariness.
Unlike the oblivious waiter, the owner clearly sensed something more... perhaps the danger Alaric posed.
"A wise choice," Alaric said, offering the owner a smile, his scrutinizing gaze unchanged from when he looked at the waiter.
Alaric knew full well that neither the waiter nor the owner could be considered ordinary humans anymore. They maintained human forms but were, in essence, puppets... much like those enslaved by the Red Priest's uniqueness. Many of Bansy Harbor's natives had long lost their sense of self. In normal times, they might seem ordinary, but when anomalies struck, they became mere servants or marionettes of the City of Calamity.
It was, without a doubt, a hallmark of the Hunter and Demoness pathways.
"I'd love to take them apart and study them, but alas…" Alaric shook his head, withdrawing his gaze and stepping outside the restaurant.
Bansy had changed drastically. Thick fog blanketed everything, and Alaric could sense presences within it... likely monsters or something similar.
"I'm just an ordinary Sequence 6, after all…" Alaric mused with mock sincerity, pulling a cross from his pocket and hanging it around his neck. It was unmistakably the same cross he'd used to purify food, a powerful Sealed Artifact crafted by The Ancient Sun God, exceptionally effective for purification.
"Praise the Sun!" He declared, raising his arms in a classic pose.
Golden light erupted, illuminating half the street so brightly it was nearly blinding.
When the light faded, Alaric surveyed his surroundings with satisfaction and headed toward the telegraph office, following a map he'd studied beforehand.
The telegraph office wasn't far from the Lemon Restaurant. Soon, he stood before it, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "What would happen if I pushed this door open now?"
To Alaric, the telegraph office practically screamed "trouble," as if it were marked with a giant exclamation point.
After a moment's thought, he decided to follow the expected script and knocked on the closed door.
"Who's there?" a calm female voice called from within.
"Open the door, I'm here to check the water meter," Alaric replied with a smile.
The presence inside seemed to choke on the response. After a few seconds, it said, "There's no water meter here to check."
"If there's no water meter, are you all stealing water for daily use?" Alaric asked, posing a practical question. As he spoke, he placed his hand on the door, letting Nyarlathotep's power seep through subtly, without a trace.
His goal wasn't to trigger a crisis in the city but to find a key... a key to the true shadow of Bansy, or rather, to the heart of the City of Calamity.
Though the City of Calamity's core lay on the Western Continent, this place held at least a branch of it.
"We're not stealing water," The voice insisted, unaware of Alaric's actions. It countered stiffly, "You're just looking for trouble."
"It's just a harmless joke. Haven't your friends ever teased you like this? If I offended you, I'm sorry," Alaric said, keeping the conversation going while his power worked. "Actually, I'm here to find someone. Do you know Medici?"
After another pause, the voice replied, "Which Medici are you looking for?"
There was only one Red Angel Medici, but many shared the surname, descendants of the original. Bansy Harbor was, in fact, a gathering place for one such branch.
Given that Medici himself had been tainted by the City of Calamity, it was likely that his descendants here had become its slaves.
"Are there a lot of Medici here?" Alaric asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Not many, just a few," The voice answered mechanically. "The Medici are important figures in Bansy."
"Impressive," Alaric said, raising an eyebrow with enthusiasm. "I'm looking for the War Angel Medici. Is he here?"
"The War Angel Medici left many years ago," The voice replied, now tinged with anger. "He is a traitor who betrayed the grace."
"He was meant to be a weapon, to bring war to this world."
***
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