Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 403 The Ripper's Feast

"If what should have been buried were to emerge prematurely, the gods would have no choice but to bury the entire world again at all costs. Civilization, all living beings, including you, would all become part of it, waiting for the arrival of the next era."

These words lingered in Milo's mind for a very long time.

He pondered the meaning behind the words spoken by the god of the abyss, from the Enchanted Forest to the city of the ancient giants, and then to the Tomb of Sin and the Pans Canyon...

……

...

Nanwei City.

It is still late at night on March 31st.

Everything is still in a state of silence.

In the misty streets, there are drunken hangovers, scheming lamplighters, patrolling city guards, and law enforcement officers.

It doesn't seem to be much different from usual.

the difference is.

Candles were lit on both sides of the canal's confessional, their light turning the night mist into a warm, dim curtain of light.

The rats, the cats, and the homeless man seemed to have reached a kind of reconciliation at this moment, sharing the offerings placed on both sides of the repentance dock without holding grudges.

Tomorrow marks both the anniversary of Nanwei City's victory over the Great Plague and the one-year anniversary of the tragic accident last year.

Of course, in the eyes of the general public, the incident that occurred at the Confession Pier on April 1 last year was an accident. The bridge collapsed due to heavy rain, which caused dozens of lives to be swept into the canal and eventually disappear into the sea.

The people of Nanwei have always had a magnanimous attitude towards death.

This open-mindedness has been passed down even in a false world of impersonation.

...

This is not Nanwei City, and the people in the city are not Nanwei people.

Everything is an illusion, a mimicry.

But that's what's terrifying—this level of imitation goes almost to the very depths of the soul.

The people here clearly remember everything that happened in the past. They work hard for the living and remember the dead. In their own minds, they are part of Nanwei City.

……

When everyone believes they are being genuine, perhaps the concept of fraud will cease to exist; instead, it will be replaced.

……

However, this replacement is incomplete.

At least for now, it is incomplete.

Because as long as even a single ant in this city remains conscious, this scam could be exposed by a gaze from above.

Imnar's job right now is to fix this uncertainty.

In its original design blueprint, all the weak human souls could be easily imitated and replaced, just as it had done throughout the long years. No human being had ever realized that their relatives, lovers, or close friends were no longer the same people they knew.

Of course, there is also such a situation.

When people discover that the person they once knew best has changed their mind—for example, when faced with the departure of a lover, the betrayal of a close friend, or the depravity of a respected person—they will only attribute it all to the depravity of human nature or the injustice of reality.

But what they didn't know was that behind that familiar face was actually Imnal.

Human beings are both so complex and so simple.

It's so simple that Imnar could easily replace any of them.

After regaining its divine status, it even possessed the power to replace an entire city.

……

However, when this imitation and replacement was put into practice on a large scale, involving hundreds of thousands of people, Imnar encountered some minor problems.

It called it a fish that slipped through the net.

The first to be affected was naturally Milo Valrocan.

But this was something Imnar had anticipated. It knew very well that it could not imitate this person's soul, because he had clearly transcended the realm of ordinary humans, and even the realm of ordinary psychics.

Imnar spent a long time getting to know this person.

Gradually, it discovered that Milo was far more complex than it had imagined. He was burdened with curses and sins, while also possessing a vast amount of knowledge that did not belong to this civilization, or even to this world.

As it tried to transform itself into Milo's appearance, Imnar found that it could only imitate Milo's outward appearance, while its inner self was an emptiness.

Normally, the creature being imitated would fall into a deep sleep, but back on the Church Bridge, it only caused Milo a momentary daze, and thus, two Milo appeared in the Prayer Plaza…

...

However, Milo has always been the most difficult link in Imnar's scheme. It is not in a hurry to solve this problem, but decides to leave him until the end. Before that, it has some minor finishing touches to complete, namely the few remaining souls in Nanwei City that "refuse" to be imitated.

……

Enid Kent.

This is the most...naive person I've ever met in my memory.

When Imnar found this human, it didn't rush to pull her into the slumbering world, but instead quietly observed her for a time. This was because its massive creation needed revision and calibration; it needed to understand why such a weak and mediocre soul possessed a will to refuse imitation. Imnar needed to allow its divine power to mature.

In Imnar's view, the woman named Enid's thoughts and actions did not reach the maturity expected of an adult human being.

She is the only law enforcement officer among the thousands of officers in the entire city of Nanwei who firmly believes that one day she can sweep away all the evil in the city.

It was so foolish and ridiculous.

However, this will, which would seem utterly ridiculous in any environment, is reasonable and normal in her own worldview.

In short, she didn't think she had done anything wrong.

Just like her behavior of being born into nobility but blindly trying to join the law enforcement team, it is full of an almost absurd persistence.

……

Throughout Enid's painstaking search of the criminal investigation team's files and the dossier left behind by Theon, and her infiltration of Dulle Manor to investigate, Imnar was quietly observing everything from a corner.

It disguises itself as a woman at the banquet, but its conversation with Enid is met with perfunctory responses.

He disguised himself as a noble young man and knocked on Enid's door, but unexpectedly got a beating.

...It never understood why such a fragile creature had not been replaced.

In the enforcement team of Nanwei City, there are many people who are more resilient and mature than her, but those people did not put up any resistance or struggle when faced with imitating the rules.

Imnar thought he had been patient enough, but in the end he still couldn't find the crux of the problem.

This involuntarily stirred up a human emotion called irritability within it.

In that instant when he realized he was experiencing emotional fluctuations, Imnar felt...

"It's time to stop."

It realized that it shouldn't be getting bogged down in minor issues at such a crucial time. As long as this plan could be executed perfectly, it would have plenty of time to find loopholes in the rules later. If necessary, it could choose another city as a test subject, and if one didn't work, it could choose two, three, or ten.

……

So, at the Dulle estate.

Imnal decided to deal with this minor problem first.

All that was needed was to put Enid into a deep sleep.

Then, another Enid will appear in this world...

But just as it was about to pull Initra out of this mimicry world...

……

"call!!!"

A strong wind swept through the Dulle estate.

The gale blew out all the candlesticks in the manor, and even the tightly closed doors and windows were pushed open with tremendous force...

Then, in the pitch-black banquet, everyone began to experience severe abdominal cramps, and soon after, everyone, whether gentleman or lady, began to vomit and have diarrhea.

In an instant, all sorts of indescribable and horrifying odors filled the entire banquet hall.

"The wine... there's something wrong with this wine!"

"Poison...the wine is poisoned...oh my god!!!"

"Damn..."

"Oh my God..."

"Who's grabbing my skirt? Get out of the way!! I'm coming out!!!"

In the darkness, various indescribable noises, like crashing and popping, sent chills down one's spine.

But this was only the beginning of the nightmare.

……

A shadow shrouded in thick black smoke leaped into the open hall window.

He pinched his nose with one hand and swayed from side to side like a tightrope walker on the narrow stair railing, watching the spectacular scene below the hall with great satisfaction.

A foul stench filled the air.

Even in such an unbearable environment, he still managed to light a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Because the real show is yet to come.

……

The dark figure sat down on the spiral staircase railing, counting the time on his watch, muttering to himself:
"Hmm... judging by the time, it should have taken effect by now. This is an aphrodisiac that only councilors of the Royal City of Rodel are entitled to enjoy. You guys got it for free..."

At this moment, the nobles in the hall, whose legs were weak from abdominal cramps and who had no strength to escape this disaster-stricken place, began to experience other strange physiological reactions.

Thus, what was supposed to be an elegant aristocratic banquet degenerated into a farcical scene of promiscuity in a cesspool.

……

The dark figure, as if it had performed some great feat, stood up on the spiral staircase railing in the atrium, spread its arms, and loudly announced its arrival:

"My distinguished noble friends!"

"Enjoy the wonderful feast that the Ripper has prepared for you!!!"

……

"The Ripper?!"

"It's that person! He poisoned us!! Ugh..."

"Who is it! Don't move! Don't pull down my pants, you damn thing!"

"Damn it! Who killed him! Someone, kill him now!!!"

“W#？{}%$#%^^$@……”

Roars, wails, and all sorts of indescribable sounds instantly erupted in the hall.

……

"Resentment is the source of power..."

The shadowy figure maintained the same raised hands gesture, just as Max Johnson had done on the day he was sworn in as the new county council chairman, basking in the applause, whether heartfelt or insincere.

However, what struck the shadowy figure as eerie was...

The exhilarating feeling of a surge of power that I had anticipated did not materialize.

The resentful souls below the hall did not make the black smoke around him thicker.

No change whatsoever...

……

His expression shifted from initial smugness to confusion, then to astonishment, and finally to bewilderment.

"What...is something wrong?"

...

At that moment, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind him.

The other person tugged at his trouser leg and said coldly:
"You, get down here."

(End of this chapter)