The City of Marronligar

Author has something to say: NevertheSame - Daniel Aaron Martinez

Before discussing the ethical position of the Lightless, I would like to relay a true story.It is well known that the Lightless were "fallen" from certain humans, but few lived to witness the process.One of the survivors was just six years old at the time of the tragedy.At that time, she was sitting on the bed with her still-weaned brother in her arms. Her mother and grandmother had already cooked fish soup and were waiting for the return of her fishing father.Her father had brought back no catch, a weary wry smile on his face.

At a certain moment during the dinner, the man suddenly curled up, showing an extremely painful expression.He looked at the two young children, their eyes were filled with tears, their mouths were opened and closed, but they couldn't make a sound.But then, the man's eyes suddenly turned red, his face was horrifying, sharp teeth and claws that did not belong to humans grew rapidly, and his twisted muscles stretched and tore the old clothes. "He" becomes "it".

The once gentle father, husband and son tore apart their mother's body like beasts, gnawed off his wife's flesh, and rushed out the door after "eating".The girl hugged her younger brother and curled up in the corner of the bed, covering her trembling and weak body with the worn-out quilt.It wasn't until the screams stopped that she poked her head out tremblingly to see the tragedy in front of her.Heard that she grew up to be a city watchman and hoped her changed life would bring her inner peace.

——Miscellaneous Notes of Silver Bay Tower·The Rumor of the "Lightless One"

Adrian closed his eyes, stood at the place where the murder happened, and mobilized all senses except vision to search for any possible clues.Louis' hand was still on his shoulder, not much force, but he could really feel the heavy weight and the man's body temperature.

A little hot - Adrian thought, almost blushing.Because the eyes are closed, this feeling is more vivid than usual.

Unlike sunlight, fire, boiling oil, and freshly baked potatoes, this temperature is reserved and calm.It doesn't have thorns like thorns, but the enthusiasm polished by time, which makes people subconsciously want to get close.

No, now is not the time to be distracted - in order to get rid of unnecessary thoughts, Adrian adjusted his breathing again.

The sea breeze from the east blows over the steep steeple of the old church, and the surrounding vegetation rustles; in the distance, there are endless sounds of sea tides and birdsong, mixed with the chatter of salt drying workers when they are resting.And farther afield, within the walls of Marenliga, the life of the citizens went on, and they might mention the tragedy of the fishing village in a tavern.

Since several corpses had been lying here overnight and soaked in the remaining blood for several days, apart from the saltiness brought by the sea breeze, the air was still filled with a faint stench.That's the smell of death.

Adrian has to constantly subtract his senses: delete the daily repeated natural noises, deduct the distant noises made by the living, and then slowly analyze the remaining "abnormalities".In a state of concentration, the hand on Louis's shoulder and the temperature passed seemed far away.

The smell of blood.There is still a bit of an alternative taste that should not appear here.what is that?

the wind.Once you get used to it, it's nothing short of absolute silence (sooner or later a long-term resident gets used to that); but at certain times, the slightest sound of wind can evoke primal dread in one's mind.After removing the sound of the wind—no abnormalities were found for the time being, only the silence as if time stood still.

Soft soil on the soles of the feet.It rained here a few days ago, and the Lightless Ones should have left footprints. Whether they can be identified from the chaotic group of footprints is another question.

On the night of the tragedy, what was it like here?

The scene has been simply cleaned up, and Adrian can only rely on imagination and reasonable inference to outline the scene at that time.The three victims died on the same night and in the same place, but not necessarily at the same time.The Lightless generally do not bring food back to their lairs, but settle on the spot.The three people who were killed should have happened to appear nearby one after another.

However, it is meaningless to speculate on "why do they do this" and "why do they choose to attack" without light-they have no thinking, so they will not have motives and plans.It's as ridiculous as reading arrest warrants and laws to the lightless, then putting on torture tools and sending them to the gallows.

Then it's much easier - find the Lightless One's lair, kill it, and hand over the body to that wicked noble collector.

Adrian opened his eyes, and it took a few seconds to adjust to the flood of light, color and sound as his senses restarted.Louis had let go of his hand at some point, and was standing sideways observing his expression at the moment.

Cynthia looked at Louis and Adrian curiously through the narrow observation port on the guard helmet, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"I smell a little... the smell of 'not belonging here'. Although it is very faint now." Adrian tried hard to find a suitable description, trying to define the smell that was about to be completely blown away by the sea breeze.

He turned his gaze to the piece of cloth that Cynthia was holding in his hand, and asked politely, "Can I have a look at that thing, please?"

Cynthia handed Adrian the little evidence.Louis raised one corner of his mouth and joked, "Adrian, can you find the murderer's current location by smelling it?"

Adrian glanced at him dissatisfied: "Master, please don't use people as hunting dogs."

Cynthia turned her head, thankful that the helmet blocked her expression.

Ignoring Louis' free-spirited ridicule, Adrian took the piece of cloth that was so dirty that the original color could not be seen clearly, and sniffed it again.This time, after deducting the smell of blood, what was left was more distinct, and Adrian quickly determined the type of smell.

"It's... coke. It also smells of damp gun|powder." He concluded.The tone was not very firm, but it was Adrian's habit to leave room for himself.

The experienced Louis pushed this conclusion further: "It should come from an abandoned mine. There are no people, no light, and there are snakes and rats in the mine tunnel. It is simply a beautiful home for the lightless."

Louis was well aware of the situation around Marenliga, and also knew many "secrets" of the city that a real guard like Cynthia might not have heard of.He looked around and locked his eyes on the bush where Cynthia had found the clothes.

If I remember correctly, there is an iron mine that has been abandoned for nearly 40 years in the valley about three miles away from the fishing village, which should be the closest suspect.Below the mine pit is connected to an underground river that flows to the sea. Louis has also heard many strange stories performed on this stage, and he once believed in it when he was young.

Without too much hesitation, Louis decided to set off immediately.Even if the murderer they were looking for was not there, at least one wrong option could be ruled out.

Cynthia had no objection: "I don't need to be on duty today, coming here is purely a personal act."

Adrian, who tried to be safe in everything, still asked symbolically: "Don't we need to make some preparations? Just go straight there?"

"What are you preparing for? Are you going to the temple to ask for help from a team of teaching police? Or are you holding a statue to let the Lightless make confession?" Louis asked with a smile. "Thinking itself is a kind of preparation. You see, we all carry weapons on our bodies and know what we may face, that's enough. And now is the ideal time to deal with the Lightless - although the mine is dark , but their perception of time and light has not completely changed, the aggressiveness and danger during the day will be much lower than at night, at least our chances of survival will be greater."

"...I'm sorry, master." Adrian subconsciously apologized to Louis, even though the other party said too much.He pursed his lips and clenched the scabbard hanging on his belt—this short sword was given to him by Louis the night before.

"You don't have to apologize for everything, it's like I'm bullying you." Louis turned away, opened the path covered with weeds at the edge of the bushes, and took the lead in the direction of the mine. "Obviously they look a bit similar, but they are completely different from Samuel in other places. Although they are all good aspects."

——From the first meeting to now, how many times has he mentioned his uncle's name?

Adrian couldn't help thinking that again.

Now it seems that Luis probably had a long-term cooperation with Samuel, and therefore preconceived that every Torreso tribe has the personality and aptitude of Samuel.In other words, Louis is demanding Adrian by Samuel's standards, or trying to find Samuel's shadow in Adrian.

Adrian, who is delicate but unwilling to express, suddenly feels worried: Will he let Louis down?

Will he let Louis down because he is "different from Samuel" or even "not as good as Samuel at all"?

Adrian knew that he and Louis were not a real master-student relationship, nor did he have a moral obligation to respond to each other's expectations, but this inexplicable anxiety still bothered him.Maybe it's because of low self-esteem, maybe it's because you care too much about what other people think.Adrian had never been so dissatisfied with the sensitive, extreme nature of Torresso's bloodline.

However, it is not difficult to put aside unnecessary emotions: as long as you realize that there are more important things in front of you, the sense of responsibility will temporarily replace other emotional thoughts, allowing Adrian to fully calm down.

Standing at the entrance of the abandoned mine, the three of them exchanged glances and entered a state of alert in advance.

Even though the sun was shining above his head, the black hole in front of his eyes looked extraordinarily gloomy, as if a cold wind was blowing out.Adrian, who is sensitive to five senses, knows that this is not a psychological effect-the mines inside are criss-crossed, and the air flow is more complicated. It is indeed a little difficult to find the Lightless One.Still, he should be up to the job.

Cynthia held the hilt of the sword and asked Adrian in a low voice: "Can you feel it inside?"

Adrian slowly approached the entrance, standing on the dividing line between light and shadow, holding his breath to perceive every gust of wind blowing on his face.

He smelled the same smell from the depths of the mine - coke, gun|powder, and the smell of blood fermented for several days.

"It's the same smell, but stronger," Adrian whispered. "It's in there."

Some firewood was scattered outside the mine.Louis took out the small bottle of fuel and flint that he carried with him, made two torches, and handed them to Cynthia and Adrian respectively.He motioned for Adrian to follow behind him. "Your eyesight is very good. If you find that thing first, don't act rashly and leave it to me to deal with it."

Adrian nodded.

Louis looked at Cynthia again: "You walk behind us and block the way for the Lightless to escape. I believe in the quality of the guard's armor and sword."

Cynthia's response was very crisp: "Don't worry, I won't hold you back." She held the torch in one hand, and drew out the long sword with the other. The chain mail glove rubbed against the hilt of the sword, making a crackling sound.

The three walked cautiously down the mine tunnel to the depths, their footsteps were very light.With the torches in their hands, they gradually adapted to the dark and cold environment, walked through the maze-like network of mine tunnels, and followed the direction of the wind that Adrian said to find dangerous targets.

When Adrian stopped at the fork of the main mine road and the branch ramp, Cynthia held her breath reflexively.She dared not speak loudly, for fear that her voice would be amplified by the long and narrow passage like a pipe, and spread all the way to the ears of the Lightless, making them fall short of success.

Adrian didn't speak either.He pointed the dagger in his hand to the top of the cave ahead: a pair of blood-red eyes were staring at the three of them.Twisted limbs hang on the roof of the tunnel at unnatural angles, strong claws wedged between the earth and rocks, like a humanoid bat; bloody rags hang scatteredly on the muscular body that once belonged to humans On the ferocious body.

That was the Lightless One both Louis and Cynthia wanted to find.

Louis raised his long sword horizontally, assuming a vigilant posture ready to fight at any time - the client wanted the "as complete as possible" dead body of the Lightless, so he did not bring his usual firearm, but two straight swords.Cynthia took half a step back, guarding the narrow passage.

Not to mention Adrian.As soon as he smelled the breath of the Lightless, he seemed to be a different person: his young body possessed the explosive power of a cheetah, and the overflowing murderous aura was chilling.

That is the best proof of the Torresso bloodline.

The moment the Lightless Man bared his sharp teeth and attacked the three of them, Adrian suddenly had an idea: kill the Lightless Man and prove his ability in front of Louis.

—Yes, kill it, just like killing the doping dealer, kill this Lightless One.

—kill it, like good Uncle Samuel.He can do it, so can I.

—Kill it, kill it, kill it.

Adrian thought so, and he did.At that moment, he forgot that Louis was the bounty hunter who took over the entrustment, and that Louis had just said to him: Don't act rashly, leave it to me to handle.

Fighting instinct and subtle pride overcame consistent sanity.

The torch in Adrian's hand fell to the ground.He put aside Louis who was standing in front of him, rushed forward with lightning speed, tightly gripped the silver-plated dagger in his hand, and stabbed at the oncoming Lightless One.