The giant and monstrous body that could easily smash through the building ‘pop’ like a balloon. This sight was beautiful, almost like watching a colorful fireworks display.

  Insanity, such madness!

  Ulrich can’t help but take in a cold breath as ‘blue’ blood spurt from the corpse. The dark iron spike protrudes inside-out, and with each passing second, the sound of water drips.

  At this moment, he could feel something tugging his coat. Ulrich turned, and it was Victor. His ‘eyes’ were charred black, leaving behind a gaping hole.

  This… is the sacrifices of a Weaver? He grimaced with a twisted face.

  Looking at Victor's pale appearance was like staring at a corpse. He could see that Victor was trying to say something, so he leaned closer.

  “I-Is it over?” Victor coughed, barely producing three words.

  “It’s over.” Ulrich smiled, then looked toward Rosaline, who finally walked toward them.

  It’s over… He repeated in his heart. At the same time, his head throbbed, like someone had taken a hammer and smashed his skull inside out. Ulrich shook his head, attempting to shake off that pounding; however, his vision quickly deteriorated.

  What’s wrong with me?

  The last thing he could see was the faint silhouette of the giant abomination, Rosaline, and finally, his own two hands, which were unknowingly doused in blood.

  Blood? My own blood? How could I not notice it this entire time?!

  Immediately, he lost consciousness.

  Year 1329, Third Epoch, July 9th.

  The sky above Belham was clear, so clear that it could reflect the ocean’s surface water. During this time of the year, people expected turbulent weather, specifically raging storms and monsoon.

  Yet strangely, it has been too quiet recently.

  Back at Cartwright Security, under a secret entrance to the underground, there was the “Keeper’s Sanctuary”. The entire underground tunnel that led to the sanctuary was made with crystallized stone that emits a bright blue glow.

  This sanctuary was the most secretive and guarded area in the entirety of Belham. Perhaps, if there were to be one day when a calamity struck Belham, then this sanctuary would still remain intact.

  “How is he?” Captain Ottis asked, his arm crossed as he rapped his finger.

  “Severe spirituality weakness. Fortunately, his loss of sight is only temporary, all due to the benevolent grace of the Night Mother,” Erwin nudged his circular glass frame, then let out a deep sigh.

  “The biggest problem is the ‘corruption’, the source of this corruption… is not ordinary. I suspect this matter is related to a Drowned God.”

  Hearing this, Ottis Owen fell into contemplation. The matter relating to the Drowned Gods was extremely dangerous, just the mention of ‘their’ name could easily bring forth unseen calamities.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  What did he see that night?

  At this moment, Rosaline entered through the tall door frame made of dense, black stone. She looked at Victor, who was still unconscious, his appearance was still pale and shriveled, almost like a corpse.

  Seeing this, she froze momentarily but quickly recovered her bearing as she turned to Ulrich, who lay on the next bed.

  “We need more manpower,” She stated as a matter of fact,” If we had a Seer, all of these troubles wouldn’t have arisen, and the casualties would be greatly diminished.”

  “Months ago, we requested a Seer replacement from Lunden, but this matter is still delayed. As for the support from Minityrsa in the Northern Luminants, it may as well be passing winds.”

  Captain Ottis' expression darkened. He didn't dismiss her words, however, there were many considerations.

  In their profession, any additional manpower is a great blessing. But, this dilemma wasn’t as simple as one plus one equals two.

  For example, they had to follow certain procedures as well as protocol before reaching out to someone. Besides finding someone whose status and background were not problematic, it is even harder to ‘groom’ them.

  Not to mention, this person has to become a Weaver. This final hurdle is the most dangerous part, as the death rate is 9 in 10. Such a rate is disproportional, even with the benefits that they could attach to it.

  In the end, he muttered quietly,” This matters… requires thorough examinations.”

  Rosaline's eyes flickered, then a smile appeared on her face as she pointed at Ulrich,” Examinations? I understand the procedures and concerns you have, Captain Ottis. However, as the ‘Keeper’ of this sanctuary, I suggest we groom this person to be our next Seer.”

  He followed Rosaline's gesture and looked at Ulrich, who was unconscious. Indeed, this person was a great candidate.

  Ulrich's background was not problematic; this is after the account of his relationship with the Blackhand gang, which the Ministry has no qualm with. In fact, Ottis Owen himself was a man of rather troublesome status in the past, before being graced with the blessings of the Night Mother.

  Besides Ulrich’s background, he mostly kept to himself, not actively committing crimes or performing acts of injustice. With the way Ulrich has been behaving under their ‘watch’, Ottis Owen felt extremely positive about him.

  While Ottis Owen fell into deep thought, Erwin wryly shook his head and sneaked his way out of the room.

  These two big bosses… It’s better if I go play with Fred!

  After about a minute, Captain Ottis took a deep breath, then nodded,” Alright. On the consideration that he has contributed greatly in this matter, as well as catching your attention, we’ll give him a chance to awaken.”

  “Only after he ‘passed’ will we pour the resource to train him as our next Seer.”

  “For now, let's wait for both of them to wake up before getting a thorough report on the matter.”

  Hearing this, Rosaline's smile grew wide, though as she glanced at Victor, there was a cloud of darkness that even Ottis Owen failed to notice.

  With that said, he took out a silver earring engraved with a beautiful green gemstone, then placed it on Ulrich’s bed.

  This earring was given to him by Albert Francis, whom Rosaline and the company had rescued from the abandoned building. The boy, in a distraught state, wished to gift the earring to the company as a gesture of gratitude.

  You did well, Ulrich. He praised inwardly.

  Ottis Owen decided to give their newcomer the ‘trophy’ as a gift of appreciation. In fact, in this matter, Ulrich could have run or escaped, but still chose to stay behind to help Victor and Rosaline.

  A normal person would have been frozen stiff or struggled to maintain their rationale, then acted out of pure, animalistic instinct. In his many years as a Watchman, he had seen all sorts of people, many of whom were cowardly and others selfish, but all were inferior to Ulrich.

  Words alone cannot express his appreciation for Ulrich's bravery. In the end, these two should be showered with praise as heroes who saved many lives in the silent hill of the night. Yet, in this line of work, they were like the 'shade after sunrise', unremarkable and lost from light.

  After placing the earring down, Ottis and Rosaline left together. Meanwhile, the earring rested on the bed, reflecting a sublime green light that resembled a vibrant forest.

  If Ulrich were awake at this moment and saw the earring, he would be shocked.

  Why? Because this earring once belonged to Selena Morris, who is currently missing.