"There were no survivors in those houses," York said, stirring from his thoughts and turning to Lu Li. "Did you not find any, or..."
"No survivors were found."
York's expression darkened.
"Perhaps everyone is hiding, just like us," Gemini Reid analyzed, his thoughts turning to their grim future. "But the anomalies will figure that out soon and start searching the houses for anyone taking cover."
"Will they co here?" Ivo asked, peeking out from behind a clothes rack.
"That's why I'm not leaving just yet," Lu Li stated.
The imdiate crisis had passed, and the survivors from the upper floor ca downstairs. After offering Lu Li their quiet thanks, they returned upstairs at York's insistence, taking Ivo and Webb with them. If the anomalies started paying attention to the houses, an overcrowded clothing store would inevitably arouse suspicion.
The optimal arrangent was one owner, one assistant, and two custors. Besides, soone needed to guard the second floor in case any anomalies tried to get in through the windows.
Gemini Reid once again cleared the damp earth from the fireplace, but the fire, having been smothered for too long, had gone out completely. He had to start it anew.
After a while, a faint but warm fire flickered in the fireplace once more. Gemini Reid added a few more logs, then stood and looked at Lu Li. "Did you find Emma?"
"Mhm."
Lu Li told them about the situation at the Echo Cathedral, including the self-sacrifice of the parishioners and his own speculations, hoping to hear their thoughts.
"Other than spreading a curse, nothing cos to mind..." York mused.
"They worship so kind of 'deity.' Perhaps it's a summoning ritual," Gemini Reid analyzed. "'To rember'—that's the key."
They exchanged a look, arriving at the sa conclusion at once. They had sacrificed themselves, paying with flesh and blood to summon so 'deity.' But for the ritual to work, soone had to rember them. If they were forgotten, the ritual would lose its power.
"That's very close to the truth."
Their assumptions aligned with Lu Li's own thoughts, but one point still troubled him. Tristan had once beco the servant of an evil god. Were these people trying to appease and sacrifice to that sa 'deity,' or a different one?
"We're powerless right now," Gemini Reid sighed. The mysteries remained unsolvable. All they could do was wait, and Lu Li, the only one who could move about freely, was tethered to them by the need to ensure their protection.
"We can act," Anna declared, refusing to sit idly by. She propped her chin on her hand, tilting her head as she looked at Lu Li. "While we're not being disturbed, why don't we clear out the neighborhood?"
On the one hand, it would make their shelter safer and more secure. On the other, the opportunity to absorb human essence without consequence was a rare one. Besides, they might find other survivors hiding in the nearby houses or basents.
Lu Li agreed, and he and Anna left the shop once more.
The houses they had already cleared across the street remained empty. This ti, they focused on their own side of the street, starting with the shop's imdiate neighbors.
Knock, knock, knock.
Lu Li knocked on the door of the residence adjoining the shop. A mont later, the sound of slow footsteps ca from within.
Creeak.
The door swung open to reveal the lifeless face of a middle-aged man.
Lu Li glanced up. In the inverted city reflected in the sky, several octopus-like tentacles writhed just beyond the threshold.
"May we co in?" Lu Li asked.
"Co in...?" The man's gaze froze on Lu Li. Then, moving like an animated scarecrow, he began to back away. "Of course."
Lu Li stepped into the house, followed by Anna, whose eyes curved into a smirk.
Screeeak.
The door closed slowly behind them. Just before it latched shut, there was a sound like sothing heavy thudding to the floor.
A minute later, Lu Li and Anna erged onto the doorstep and headed for the next house.
The clearing didn't always go so smoothly. After the second residence, the third building turned out to be a restaurant. Through the front window, seven or eight patrons could be seen sitting at tables.
Evil spirits typically resembled humans more than other anomalies did—after all, they had been human before they died. Although plunging into the Abyss saturated them with the aura of the In-Between and twisted them into vengeful spirits, before that stage, as re ghosts, they largely retained their self-awareness. It was simply that this awareness had beco inherently hostile toward the living.
Such as the patrons of this restaurant, for instance.
On one hand, like aristocrats who set themselves apart from commoners with elaborate rituals, they brought the at they acquired to the restaurant to have the chefs prepare it as steak. As paynt, the restaurant would take a portion of the at.
On the other hand, their food was their forr brethren.
With this "refined" thod of dining, these ghosts attempted to distinguish themselves from the other anomalies that devoured raw flesh, much like the vampires and werewolves of legend.
Sticky glasses of red wine, juicy steaks, snow-white napkins tucked into their collars, elegant cutlery—it was a sinister scene, reminiscent of so aristocratic ritual.
The patrons even smirked as they watched Lu Li and Anna enter, ask a few questions, and then "hastily retreat" like a pair of ignorant country bumpkins.
Soon after, however, Lu Li and Anna returned, carrying the "at" they had acquired from the fourth house—an excellent cut of ribs.
This proved their standing. The patrons, while not exactly filled with awe, began to treat them with far more respect.
The proprietor didn't understand why the ribs were so clean, as if they had already been expertly butchered. He chalked it up to a special ability of Lu Li and Anna's and, quite pleased, carried the at to the kitchen. He offered them two complintary glasses of freshly drawn blood, still warm.
Anna didn't take a seat. Looking curious, she approached the other patrons' tables, carefully inspected their dishes, and then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, delivered her critique: "The steak is overdone, it's far too seasoned, and it reeks of cheap, treated wood."
Though Anna's own culinary talents were modest, her aristocratic upbringing had made it easy for her to spot genuine flaws.
A chef in a clean apron erged from the kitchen, wanting to know who dared to find fault with his cooking.
Anna lifted her chin proudly. "Anna Lota Bessy, heiress of the House of Lota."
Though by the ti of her birth, the family na was no longer used as a middle na.
So of the patrons had once belonged to the nobility, but most were simply trying to set themselves apart from the denizens of the anomalous slums. They didn't recognize the House of Lota, but the na sounded impressive enough. The chef's indignation subsided, and he rely muttered that this was an ordinary restaurant, unable to compete with the cooks from aristocratic estates.
The plan was working. Anna continued, "May we be entrusted with the ribs? I will permit you to observe the process."
As patrons, they were of course eager to taste a more refined dish. As a restaurant, they were happy to learn more sophisticated cooking thods free of charge. And so, Lu Li and Anna entered the kitchen unimpeded.
Click.
Lu Li, bringing up the rear, quietly closed the wooden door.
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