Chapter 10 Chapter Nine: Scenes of Evil, Acts of Evil

He stood in a lighted room—perhaps the living room in the Belisari Tower—with a beating heart in his hand.The slain minotaur fell at his feet, and his closest friends, Danica and the dwarven brothers, stood beside it, laughing wildly and uncontrollably. Cadderly himself joined them in laughing, but once he started laughing, he realized that his friends were not laughing at all, but were crying.They wailed, and big tears rolled down their cheeks, forming impossibly large pools at their feet. He didn't understand what was going on. Something wasn't right; Cadderly felt the whole scene was wrong.He felt warm blood running down his arms and soaking his shirt, but the last time he reversed the vision of the tauren and the labyrinth the magician had created, there was no blood at all!Slowly, fearfully, the young scholar looked down.

The tauren was no longer a tauren, nor had it vanished like the other false visions—as Cadderly had expected.It was Avery - Cadderly knew it was Avery, though he couldn't see the face of the man lying on his back on a table, his hands and feet splayed, a hole ripped open in his chest . Cadderly held Avery's still beating heart. He wanted to scream, but no sound came out.There was a constant tapping sound, sharp but distant. He couldn't call out. ※※※ Cadderly sat up.The tapping came again, more insistently, with a sound Cadderly couldn't ignore.Finally he worked up the courage to open his eyes, and then he let out a deep breath, because he found that he was in his room, and it was just another terrible nightmare.

"Cadderly?" The cry was not part of the dream, and he recognized the commanding, fatherly voice as its own.He closed his eyes again, trying to pretend he wasn't here, or that Avery wasn't there. "Cadderly?" The knock on the door did not die away. What time is it now?Cadderly guessed.The moon had risen, though it was not at the zenith at this moment, because the moonlight did not fall directly into the young priest's east window? Cadderly gave up struggling, dragged himself out of bed, straightened his pajamas, and walked towards the closed door. "Cadderly?"

He opened the door a crack and frowned when he saw Master Avery.And Zirkan Rufo, in his usual posture, squinted from behind the headmaster's broad shoulders. "It's late now," Cadderly whispered through his still-chaotic senses, the nausea still catching in his mouth.He couldn't look at Avery without thinking about that disgusting dream image, couldn't look at the man without feeling the warm blood running down his arms.Subconsciously, he rubbed his hand against the pajamas. "It's late," Avery replied, seeming embarrassed. "But I thought you'd be glad to know that Rufo, and I, have come into town. We'll be staying at this hotel, just four rooms away from you, across the stairs." The chubby professor Glancing over there, his expression clearly invited the young priest to go.

Cadderly just nodded, then scrunched his face again as another drop of imaginary blood ran down his forearm again. Avery saw the uncomfortable expression, "Boy, what happened?" the dean asked with concern. "It's all right," Cadderly replied curtly, but he immediately slowed down, guessing that his behavior might have been more suspicious. "I'm just tired, I'm sleeping..." "Sorry," Avery said, trying to look nonchalant, "but you're not sleeping right now." He took a step forward, as if to enter the room. Cadderly moved quickly to block the door. "I'll be falling asleep again soon," he said flatly.

Avery stepped back, and for the first time since his arrival, looked at Cadderly with a rather displeased light in his puffy eyes. "Still so stubborn?" Avery asked him sharply. "You're taking a risk, young priest. Your leaving the library without authorization may be lightly punished, and Dean Thobix promises to let you make up for it." obligations and research." "I don't care what he promised." "If you continue to be so stubborn," Avery continued, his voice bordering on a growl at Cadderly's sharp retort. "That chance will be gone. I'm not sure if even the magnanimous Thobicus will forgive you for your presumption against God Denir..."

"How much do you know about Denir?" Cadderly asked.In his mind he saw Avery again, lying dead on the table, but he pushed the horrible vision away from his mind because he realized how much he loved this man who was like a father to him. "And why do you care about me? Didn't you call me 'Gond disciple' before?" Cadderly asked sharply, referring to those who only care about inventing, but don't care about their conscience and the possible consequences of their own inventions. His vehement speech came to an abrupt end, and Cadderly looked at the High Master, the father who had been mortally wounded by his rudeness.Avery couldn't refute his last words, and looked more on the verge of tears than outbursts of anger.Behind him, Zirkan Rufo looked almost amused in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," Cadderly said hesitantly.Avery raised a large hand to stop him. "I'm just tired," Cadderly tried to explain, "I've been having terrible dreams lately." Avery's expression turned to concern, and Cadderly knew his apology had been accepted, or was about to be. "We're just four rooms away," the chubby dean reiterated. "If you think you want someone to talk to, come and see us." Cadderly nodded, though he knew he would not go, and closed the door once Avery turned away.He fell heavily and leaned against the door, thinking in his heart how fragile this door is if it is to block the doubts and confusion of the outside world.Then he looked at the desk by the window, and the open book.How long had it been since he closed the book last?

Cadderly didn't even have the strength to walk; he slipped on the bed and collapsed there, wishing he'd put the nightmare of the night behind him. ※※※ Pogue cast the wind ear magic and opened the door of the whole room a crack.The bunk room is located on the southwest side of the second floor of the hotel.Almost directly opposite, across the hall, was Cadderly's closed door.Avery and Rufo were passing the corner diagonally opposite to Pogue's right, heading for the room facing the wide staircase.The hall was quiet now, and Pogue could hear their conversation clearly. "His rudeness hasn't changed since he came to the library," Rufo said accusingly.

"He looks tired," Avery said with a resigned sigh. "Poor boy—maybe he'll be happier when Danica's here." They then entered the room, and Pogue contemplated using magic to eavesdrop on the entire conversation. "Who's Danica?" came a quiet monotonous question from behind Pogue.The young magician froze, then turned around slowly with an effort. The ghost stood there, and no one else was in the bunk room except him.The frail man didn't hold any weapons and didn't make any moves towards Pogg, but the magician still felt threatened.How did the ghost easily touch behind him without anyone noticing?This room has only one exit, and it does not have a balcony leading to the outside like the more expensive individual rooms.

"How did you get in here?" Pogue asked, trying to steady his voice. "I've always been here," replied the ghost.He turned and pointed to a pile of blankets. "There, waiting for you to come back from the lobby." "You should have told me first." The ghost laughed hoarsely and laughed at him, letting him know how ridiculous his question sounded. "Who's Danica?" the small, sinister man asked again, more firmly. "Danica Maupostant," Pogue replied, "from Simon. Do you know her?" The ghost shook his head. "She's Cadderly's closest friend," continued Pogue. "She's a little beauty by all reports, but she's a tough one." Pogue's face and voice grew serious. "This is not good news, my colleague," he explained. "Miss Maupassant has been a formidable opponent of Wall Trinity since the beginning of the war. If she is coming soon, you'd better kill her as soon as possible." Cadderly, and get out of here." The ghost nodded, considering the warning. "Where will she come from?" he asked. "From the library?" "Probably," Pogue replied.He tossed his brown hair to one side, and smiled slyly. "What are you thinking?" The ghost's glare made Pogue stop laughing. "None of your business," he snapped suddenly angrily, pushing Pogue aside and heading for the door. "If you want to take action against Cadderly yourself..." He let the meaning of the words hang in the air. "Let's put it this way, the consequences of failure can be dire," said the ghost, and started to leave the room.But then he turned around immediately, and with his eyes reminded Pogue of the existence of the pile of blankets where he had been hiding before. "Watch your back, young magician," said the ghost firmly, and then he coughed out a gasp of laughter and went back to his room.It was on the north side, between Cadderly's room and Avery's and Rufo's rooms. "From the library, from the mountains," thought the ghost, closing the door behind him. "Then, let's see if Miss Maupassant can make it all the way to Carraton." The ghost sat on the bed and cried out.Using its power, he sent his thoughts out of town to Vander at the farm house. The ghost sensed the typical loathing of the Volbo giant, and from the intensity of the loathing knew that Vander was angry not only at his intrusion, but at the state of the farm as well. Let me in, Vander.The evil man said sarcastically, quite sure that the Fubao giant couldn't resist his invasion even if he wanted to.Vander is the victim chosen by the ghost, a specially selected target, and only Vander, the ghost can perform body transformation no matter how far away the person is.He felt a sharp pain as his spirit left his body, and he was floating, flying on the wind, heading straight for the Vurbo giant's body.When he entered the giant's body, he knew that Vander had entered him, in the Dragon's Fig Leaf hotel room. You are not allowed to leave the room.Ghosts give orders telepathically through the channel formed by telepathy.And don't meet any visitors, especially that stupid magician Bog Reese! The ghost released his weapon and began to look around.Strangely enough, he was in a barn surrounded by horses and cows locked behind railings.The man in the body of the Volbol giant shook his head at Vanderlao's strange behavior, and then walked towards the huge door. In the light of the setting moon the farm grounds were quite quiet, but the house itself was in total darkness; there was not a single window for the light of a candle.The ghost walked through the door and heard footsteps above. "It's me, your master," he said to the hiding guard. "Call the others together and come to the barn. It's time to do something about it." Just a few minutes later, the remaining nineteen "Night Mask" killers all gathered around the leader.The ghost noticed that one of his men was missing, but he said nothing, because he knew that Vander must know what happened to the man, but if he asked them what happened while he was using Vander's body, I'm afraid will confuse them. He drew a simple map on the ground in front of him. "I got word that a woman is coming to Calaton from the Moezhi Library," he said, pointing out the location of the building on the mountain. "There are only a few paths down the mountain, and all the exits are near here. It should be It's not hard to find her." "How many should we send?" asked one of the killers. The ghost paused to think about the question, also noticing the underlying anger in the man's voice.Perhaps the missing killer was killed on Vander's impulse. "Five," said the ghost at last. "This woman must die, and if she has any companions with her, so must die." "That could be a lot of people, maybe hard to deal with," argued the same killer. "If that's the case, kill the woman and retreat," snapped the ghost, the mighty voice of his volbol echoing from the barn walls. "Which five are going?" asked one of the killers. "Choose yourselves," replied the ghost, "but don't underestimate the woman. All the information indicates that she is quite difficult to deal with." "The other five are attacking the city," continued the ghost. "Our information is correct. Cadderly is staying at the inn, The Dragon's Fig Leaf. Here," he said, extending the map to Kara Dunn is close to the area on Lake Impesk and points out the path along the lake. "It's on Lakeview Street. Locate near the hotel, and then follow my... listen to the ghost's orders to act. However, make sure that your positions are not too close, so that no one will become suspicious." "Another five spies are needed to keep the contact with the five people in the city open?" the killer who had questioned earlier interjected. "We've always done that," the ghost replied calmly. "That leaves only four people in the farm house, not including yourself," argued the enraged killer.The ghost doesn't know what the problem is. "If we have to keep guarding the girl—" "Girl?" The ghost's tone was accidentally too surprised. The killer and several others raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Didn't Michalak die for her?" he said contemptuously.The ghost saw problems arose, and immediately scowled, forcing the disgruntled killer back into a low profile. "I'm not questioning your decision to let her live," the killer quickly explained, "and I'm not denying that Michalak deserves to die for drawing a knife on you, because you are the leader of this mission. But if we only Four people stay on this farm, and that girl is a threat." That damn liar would do such a thing.Vander's tenderness had gotten him into trouble before.The Fubao giant is always too honor-oriented, putting this boring idea before the task he should complete.The ghost took a moment to think about how he should punish the giant, and then a cruel thought came to his mind.He starts to smile. "You're right," he said to the killer. "It's time for you to end this threat." The man nodded eagerly, and the ghost grinned even wider.As evil as he is, he immediately thought of how angry, desperate, and powerless Vander would be.That proud Fubao giant would hate it to death. "Let's put an end to this threat tonight," said the ghost with satisfaction, "but first, you and your friends can enjoy her." The evil killers who surrounded him all smiled. "How can we complete the task alone?" This sentence made all the killers cheer. "Meanwhile, set off to the mountains tonight," continued the ghost. "I don't know how many days this Miss Maupassant is from Carraton, but she must not be allowed to come into the city." "Maupassante?" an older, grizzled killer interrupted. "You know the name?" "Nearly ten years ago, we killed a carriage builder by that name," the man admitted. "A carriage builder and his wife. And I must say, that mission paid well." "The surname is unusual, and my sources say she is from Simon," reasoned the ghost. "Maybe they're related." "Fine," the man said, pulling out a short knife and sliding the side of it slowly across his bony cheek. "I've always loved family reunions." The nineteen killers were all quite pleased to find that their elusive leader of the Volbo giant laughed with them, the titan's heartfelt rumble drowning out their voices.Their spirits were high, as the time for the kill was finally approaching, and adding this "Miss Maupassant" to their target list was like adding another layer of icing to an already delicious cake.