Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 191 Praise of Azathoth
"Who would believe it? The woman I've been thinking about the most this month is actually you."

This was the first thing Milo said after meeting the Scarlet Witch.

The other person slowly raised their head.

With his face covered by a hood and his hair disheveled, he just stared blankly at Milo without saying a word.

Milo paused for a few seconds, then exclaimed in realization, "Oh, you didn't actually turn out to be a guy all along, did you?"

The Scarlet Witch still did not answer.

I guess they're too lazy to engage in this pointless conversation.

She slowly tilted her head, looking at the shadows of the seven people behind Milo.

"It seems you have found a new ancient totem."

"Oh right, let me introduce them. They are... never mind, there are too many people, these are my colleagues." Milo glanced at the "group" behind him, then turned to the group of seven and introduced, "This is my... um, what's his name again?"

“A guide,” the Scarlet Witch added.

"Yes, the guide."

Of the seven members, only Eric had mastered sign language, but Milo was able to read many question marks from their body language.

Almost everyone in Nanwei City has seen this witch in her red robe.

Everyone regarded her as a mentally unstable, homeless lunatic.

Milo, however, claimed that this was his guide...

Being a mentor is not an easy job. In academia, those who are more scholarly like to refer to a famous scholar or predecessor they admire as their mentor, which roughly means that they are following in the footsteps of a predecessor.

But mistaking a crazy old man on the roadside for a guide is still a bit...

……

"Ugh, I'm too lazy to explain to you guys."

Milo shook his head. He had encountered too many problems lately, and there were some things he couldn't handle at all, so he had to "reciprocate" with the little wildcat Enid.

"Last time you disappeared like you'd seen a ghost, how come you dare to suddenly show up again now? Didn't you say that hunting dog was after me? Aren't you afraid it'll snatch you away as well?"

Milo remembered everything the Scarlet Witch said before she fled in panic last time.

However, no sooner had Milo finished his teasing remark than a chilling laugh emanated from the Scarlet Witch's hoarse throat:

"Hehehe... Didn't you smell the stench? Oh... so you didn't know anything, huh? You're so slow on the uptake. You ask me why I dared to show up? Because the hounds have already hunted once!"

"Uh...?" Milo was a little confused.

He instinctively gripped the revolver, wary of his surroundings.

To be honest, he really didn't smell any stench.

"No need to look around anymore, it's not here." The Red Witch's laughter didn't stop. She pointed at Milo with her thin, dry fingers and said, "The hound's fangs were almost within reach several times, and you didn't even know it. You actually managed to escape. Lucky fool."

"What do you mean? You mean the hounds have already come looking for me?" Milo felt a little uneasy.

He suddenly recalled several times before when old Theon had reacted with inexplicable alertness.

“No doubt about it, it came looking for you. You still have the stench it brought from a foreign land on you. It’s unbelievable. Hounds never let their prey go. How did you…” The Red Witch leaned on her cane and slowly wriggled around Milo, looking him up and down as if examining some bizarre collectible.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she exclaimed in realization:
"I understand now. It was the banishment spell that saved your life."

"You even know this?" Milo's lips twitched slightly.

He hadn't expected that the Scarlet Witch would recognize their current state as a result of their exile simply by glancing at the group of seven's shadows.

However, the Scarlet Witch did not answer Milo's question, but continued talking about the hounds. She asked Milo, "There are seven sinners here in total. There must have been more than seven before, right?"

"A sinner?" This was the first time Milo had ever heard such a title.

Eric's shadow was also gesturing nearby—"Who the hell are you calling a sinner?"

“In ancient civilizations, banishment spells were used to punish wicked people who committed serious crimes. The sinners would be trapped in an endless abyss from which they could not escape.” The Scarlet Witch stopped and explained calmly, “There were definitely more than seven shadows following you before, right? Someone was carried off by the hounds, wasn’t there?”

At this moment, Milo finally understood how Maggie Green had disappeared.

On the day of the funeral, Milo was observing the life of a sign language interpreter.

The seven-man team noticed something was wrong. They heard Maggie Green scream, and even the sniper, Old Luo, saw her being dragged away by some indescribable creature.

Milo could never understand why an exiled person would mysteriously disappear.

It wasn't until the Scarlet Witch brought it up.

"Maggie, was she kidnapped by the hunting dogs you mentioned?"

Milo frowned.

If that's the case, then it's exactly as the Scarlet Witch said.

The hound's fangs were once within arm's reach.

……

"You should be glad they didn't fully remember your appearance and smell. It seems you didn't reveal your true form when you last crossed the time barrier. The hounds could only find your approximate location. Maggie, isn't she? The name sounds like a girl's. Her medium resonated with you to such a high degree that the hounds mistook her for you... What a wonderful coincidence that you actually escaped the hounds' fangs. Praise be to the great Azathoth."

The Scarlet Witch raised her hands high, then knelt down, assuming a devout worship posture.

But Milo felt no joy at surviving the ordeal; he asked urgently, "Will it come back?"

“Not in the short term, but their return is inevitable.” The Scarlet Witch gave Milo an answer that made his heart sink: “The hounds will hunt their prey until the target is completely destroyed and leaves no trace in the universe. Your scent and appearance will remain in their minds. As long as you are alive, they will eventually realize that they have chosen the wrong target. When that happens, their return is unavoidable.”

"Damn, so you can't shake them off, huh?"

Milo cursed.

"And although you escaped the hunt this time, they have closed the distance to you infinitely. Their memories of you will become clearer, allowing them to find you even more accurately next time." The Scarlet Witch's tone was calm: "I have foreseen that you will be entangled by endless shadows, and that your bones and limbs will be offered as sacrifices in the temple of Mushisha..."

“Them?” Milo noticed the pronoun the Scarlet Witch used when referring to the hounds.

"Oh yes, you didn't think there was only one hound, did you? No, there are thousands upon thousands of them, roaming through angles and spaces, and any one of them could be your mortal."

The Scarlet Witch's tone was incredibly chilling.

(End of this chapter)