The black sun hangs high

Chapter 49 "A Message from the Source"

"Swearing an oath to the gods of Brahman" is a seemingly ordinary but actually very weighty form of oath.

If anyone else had said those words, Hugh would have believed them to some extent, but it was Philip who said them.

Hugh knew that none of this guy's words were credible. If he truly believed in any of the gods, he wouldn't have done these things.

So he only planned to wait until the guy revealed a flaw in his words before verifying it little by little using his own "method".

Upon seeing the stranger before him with a cruel smile on his face, Philip panicked completely. He believed that the other party must be an assassin sent to "silence" him, and it seemed that he was also a spellcaster... Only those damned mages would be accompanied by these strange magical creatures!
“I really didn’t leak any information, I really didn’t do anything to betray Mr. Morrel… I personally read all the articles before publishing them, and I provided all the assistance the Brotherhood needed.”

Philip was panting and trembling, but the terrifying rat was standing right next to his head, and he could even feel its cold, dark breath.

In the face of ordinary people, spellcasters still possess a terrifying suppressive power. At least until now, this extraordinary status remains unbreakable. Even Philip, who usually considers himself superior, is helpless when faced with the threat of death brought by magic.

So Hugh tapped the other man’s face with the crystal gun again, maintaining that somewhat ferocious smile, and said to “comfort” him: “You don’t need to be too nervous, Mr. Philip. I’m just asking you questions on behalf of Mr. Morrel. If you answer my questions properly, then maybe you’ll still have a chance to enjoy everything you’re looking forward to.”

Hearing this, Philip calmed down a little, but then he heard the other person say, "However, if anything you say contradicts what we know, or if you try to shout, you will regret it."

"..."

Philip swallowed hard, then nodded.

So, under Hugh's orders, the scurrying rat "Sniggy" further loosened its grip on Philip, and Hugh officially began his first "interrogation" in his life.

Faced with the looming shadow of death, Philip displayed unprecedented cooperation.

He consciously lowered his voice, afraid that it would attract the attention of the clerks outside. He began to explain his itinerary and all the things he had been involved in over the past few days, even clearly stating where he had spent the night and which lady he had visited.

Hugh even suspected that if he pressed the guy further, he might be able to describe the details of the "visit" in great detail!

"Impressive, Mr. Philip. You can still think of going out for entertainment at a time like this? Can't you control yourself? Hmm?"

"This, this...I..."

Philip was sweating profusely. Fortunately, the spellcaster in front of him didn't seem to care about his nightlife. He heard the other man ask, "As far as I know, Mr. Morrel hasn't finished what he asked you to do yet. Are you in such a hurry to leave because you regret it?"

"No, of course not!"

Philip was getting a little agitated, and just then, the scurrying rat beside him let out a squeak, causing Philip to lower his voice again.

He said, trembling, "Sir, as you know, it's not safe in the city now, so I plan to leave the city first... The work is all arranged, and the interviews with the two princes are also handled by specialists, so there won't be any problems."

Hughes finally got some crucial information out of him, and he immediately pressed on: "You arranged for someone to do it? Such an important matter, and you didn't handle it yourself, but instead assigned someone else to do it?"

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Philip paused for a moment: "But that was the person Mr. Morrel designated..."

Having been in various circles for many years, Philip immediately realized what was going on: "Wait! You're not..."

Before he could finish speaking, the running rat and Hugh made their movements simultaneously.

Snich's three long tails, which had previously relaxed, tightened again, gripping Philip's throat tightly. Hugh raised his hand, and two hideous, terrifying black Calron tentacles appeared in the office. They swayed slightly before thrusting downwards, mercilessly piercing Philip's thick thighs.

"Well!!!!"

The terrifying sight of Hughes casting his magic, coupled with the intense physical pain, nearly caused Philip to faint. Realizing his lie had been exposed, Hughes gave up on the pretense. Once Philip had recovered slightly from the pain, he immediately grabbed him and demanded, "Tell me, who was the designated person? And what did Morel assign you to do?"

“I don’t know him. All I know is that he’s a scholar… He asked me to prepare a manuscript and give it to a member of the fraternity!”

The tentacle piercing Philip's thigh trembled slightly, sending another wave of excruciating pain throughout Philip's body.

A moment later, Hughes's icy question came again: "Besides you, who else knows anything about the interview arrangements?"

"Have……"

Philip was already out of breath, his voice broken: "It's the people from the Independent Government... Ha, Ms. Haya, she's in charge of planning the celebration interviews and parade routes."

He had told everything he knew, and his mind was on the verge of collapse under the torture inflicted by Hugh. Now he only hoped that his sincerity and humility would earn him the other party's pity. For this, he even offered up his check, hoping that the mage in front of him would keep his word and spare his life.

The young stranger seemed quite satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. He stood up and put away the crystal gun, the check, and the money on Philip's person.

He looked just like a bandit who had just finished looting.

"What a pity, Mr. Philip."

Hugh stood beside Philip. This time, he didn't deliberately change his voice and said in Hugh Ernst's voice, "You've probably been fooled. The pass Morrel gave you won't let you out of the city at all. Seren City has been completely sealed off by a magical ritual. If you go through the city gate, you'll just be crushed into mincemeat by the ritual field."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Philip's eyes widened. He struggled to speak, but the running rat, at Hugh's signal, tucked its tail tightly. A large amount of magic flowed into Sniggy's body at Hugh's command, and it immediately raised its head excitedly, its mouth open, emitting a silent hiss.

As if given a command, slight vibrations came from all directions, and the walls, floors, ceilings, and cabinets of all sizes emitted the soft rustling sounds of rats running around.

To Philip’s utter horror, rats emerged from every corner, quickly swarming around him. Some of the bolder ones even climbed onto the wound on his thigh.

The terrifying images and restless magic seemed to awaken the demons within the young man's heart.

Hughes stood outside the swarm of rats and whispered to Philip, "I'm sorry, Mr. Philip, you have to die here... I'm not judging you, but I need you to pass on a message to them for me."

A woman's screams and a man's angry curses came from outside the office.

This is a normal reaction; anyone would be terrified to see so many rats scurrying around their feet.

Extreme chaos engulfed the entire newspaper office in an instant as a sudden swarm of rats appeared. Fortunately, although these rats were incredibly frightening, they were either hurrying along or just scurrying about in the gaps and crevices, and did not attack any of the clerks.

Under these circumstances, no one noticed that the door to Editor-in-Chief Philip's office had opened, nor did they see that an ordinary young man had slipped into the crowd and, along with several other clerks, was screaming and running away from the newspaper office.

About half an hour later, the chaos subsided as the restless rats left. The clerks, recovering from their shock, returned to the newspaper office trembling. They looked around at the mess and finally discovered that their editor-in-chief had disappeared.

The office door was open, and a chilling smell wafted out. The clerks walked in hesitantly, but the scene that appeared before them caused them to scatter and flee in screams and retching.

……

In the current situation, any slightest disturbance can spread throughout the city in an instant.

As Hughes emerged from an alchemy shop on Mrs. Smallstreet in the evening, he overheard the crowd discussing the "rat feast."

As the creator of two consecutive "horror legends" in the city of Seren, he did not want to offer any opinion.

Anyway, he's already contributed enough other stories, these two are no exception.

The riots in the city made magical items that could provide self-defense and protection for mansions very popular, and Hugh, with his rudimentary understanding of magic and the funds he obtained from Philip, gained an absolute advantage.

His backpack was filled with various magical and alchemical items, most of which were legal, though many were contraband—which was normal, since for experienced apothecaries and alchemists, whether to do something or not was sometimes just a matter of paying extra.

Of course, no matter how much these alchemy shops desire to make money, they always have their limits and bottom lines. Although Hugh had tried his best to ask them to provide him with goods that were powerful and effective enough, the actual utility of these things could not compare with the two alchemical bombs that Hugh had obtained from the Dream Sanctuary.

Of all these things, the most powerful should be a few bottles of special alchemical potions.

Or perhaps it is a crude alchemical bomb.

The cylindrical, hard glass jar is divided into three equal parts by special metal partitions. The separated medicines themselves are not problematic, but when the user removes the metal partitions and shakes the mixture in their hand, it can create a sizable explosion.

Hughes's concept of this thing was that of a homemade bomb in the magical world.

However, its power is still difficult to assess.

In addition to this, Hugh also bought two sharpened daggers and short swords, a foldable crossbow equipped with arrows, a bunch of magic crystals that were about to be sold off at a low price, and masks from the Kingdom of Votel, intended for crystal miners and workshop workers to protect against toxic gases.

After it got completely dark, Hugh finally returned to house number 37 next to Loewe Square.

Having seemingly endured all the bad luck that was bound to happen before, his trip and return were finally free of any further mishaps. House No. 37 was also exceptionally peaceful. The shapeshifters, who were familiarizing themselves with the memories and physical forms, were now moving cautiously within the mansion's grounds. They all showed strong fear of Hugh's return, and a few even followed the habit of the giant-eared goblins, attempting to kneel down and show their respect to Hugh.

Such behavior was somewhat excessive, but Hugh didn't want to delve into the reasons behind it.

He had already accomplished most of what he needed to do, and the scurrying rat Sniggy was constantly searching the nearby area for an entrance to the sewers. As long as he could find an entrance, Hugh was confident that he could use his summoned creatures and the swarm of rats he had called to successfully find a way out of Seren City.

Although walking through the sewers can be disgusting, it's the best option under the current circumstances.

"Now, the Black Sun Society's arrangements in Seren City have been greatly affected. They originally planned to use shapeshifters to directly replace the independent government of Seren City and the princes of the two countries who participated in the ceasefire agreement. But now, because of the goblin mage Marcel's regret, all the shapeshifters have been attracted here... The shapeshifters that have eaten their fill and have memories and forms should no longer be attracted by the beacons that have been set up."

As Hugh sorted through the magical items he had acquired, he pondered in his mind: "Philip is caught between multiple forces, and his death may itself serve as a deterrent to the three known powers. Hopefully, they will become more cautious as a result, and even change their original ideas and plans, rather than insisting on pushing everything here to its end..."

Thinking of this, the scene in the city that he had witnessed, the newspaper he had bought during the day, and the miserable sight of Philip being completely overwhelmed by the rats he had summoned all came flooding back to him.

The negative emotions that had once occupied Hugh's heart surged up once again.

So he couldn't help but raise his fist and slam it heavily on the table. Because he used so much force, the dagger and crossbow on the table jumped up.

Footsteps sounded at the door. Hugh stopped and turned to look, only to see Vera standing in the doorway, holding a water glass and quietly watching him.

She didn't go into the room, but instead placed a thin notebook on the cabinet by the door: "Mr. Hugh, it's normal to have emotional problems during special times, but it's precisely at times like these that you should remain calm... At least you should be quiet and not disturb my thinking."

"If you really find the nights unbearable, you might want to take a look at these notes. They are some records I made when I was learning magic in the past, and they might be of some help to you."

(End of this chapter)