The God of Jesters
Chapter 130 - 3.01.2 Thieving.

Chapter 130: 3.01.2 Thieving.

"Hah, don’t make such a face. The father deserved it, while the brother. Well, it’s complicated, but I did right my wrongs with him by bringing him back." I laughed at my own words, but it didn’t Max seemed enthusiastic after listening to such words.

Well, I understand that he might be suspicious of me and my intentions, and these details that I said might have caused him to reconsider his choices. But lying won’t do any good at this moment. The minds of people are ever-changing and highly prone to disliking lies.

And concerning my need for this man, I can’t afford for that to happen.

"You were at the center of the Dream Disaster?" Every child has heard of this event. So of course Max being someone who gave priority to information due to his old job, knew certain details. Which was probably why he asked such a question.

"Well, what gave me away? But yes I guess. In a way, I just gave my hand to those cultists. Though, I don’t believe they will be called cultists in the future."

"But why? Thousands have died..."

"The weak die, You should know this better than anyone here Max." With some push, Max shut up. In the end, all he could do was sigh and bottle up his frustration. That was all he could do if he wished to give peace to his dead daughter and not to mention, her eventual revival.

"What do you want me to do with her? Kill her now?"

"No, you are stronger, but among those that follow her, there is one that is your equal. Not to mention, the girl knows you and your moveset. The moment you startle her, she will always be on guard against you. Believe me, I know. I had known her since her childhood. She is one dangerous individual."

At my words, the eyes of Max turned sharp, though he hid it soon after. "So what now?"

"Nothing, just stay away from her for now. Let her kill some rats in the sewer and ask some questions. It’s not like she will find anything as long as you are not caught."

In this whole city, there were only two among the living who knew of my existence, with one being Max and the other being someone very special that the rest of you would meet later.

As for the rats?

I was not so stupid to go snooping around in a city with two legendaries, My control over the rats has reached only certain areas and I don’t wish to move into the deeper parts. Not for a while at least.

"The sun is going to rise soon and I will go to sleep. So move away from here. I don’t want to wake up and find out you are already caught by them."

With those words, my direct consciousness faded away, as a little insect crawled out of Max’s ears and then fell on the roof.

As for Max, he followed Fahna for a while more, reading her moves and confirming if she was still the same old girl he remembered. And to his surprise, she was a lot different than before. One can even say better.

But not so much as to become a threat to him.

"It’s time." With those words, he disappeared as the sun started to rise. Leaving Fahna to hunt for her father’s killer all on her own.

******

With the only remaining family gone, Max has returned to being alone. If it was like before, he might have done a normal job to earn a living. But none of that mattered anymore. Being an adept level knight with affiliation to the nature church.

He was often called a druid due to his abilities, as he barely ever needed to consume solid food and substances as long as his feet remained on the ground. But that can only sustain life at a minimal level.

Which would be detrimental to what he had chosen to do.

He desired revenge more than anything and there was nothing more in this world he wished for besides bringing the criminals to justice.

As for the public justice where the people raided the Iron Tooth Gang’s building? It was truly not a proper justice.

Just some low-level thugs were killed during that time, while those who were directly responsible for the operation of the gang were never found or identified. They slowly merged back with the public, going back to their daily life in peace, waiting for the public anger to die down, before propping up another Iron tooth, with a new name of course.

It has happened before and it will happen again, rarely is the true mastermind behind this ever captured. And it’s also always the rich and affluent that operate such gangs.

But going into detail would be too much.

For now, after killing those he could find, Max had returned to the world of darkness that he once was part of. Doing odd jobs for the Jester for the information on the criminals behind the Iron Tooth.

And considering that he was never earning any money through Jester’s job. Meaning no money to buy food and drugs that will enhance his strength. Forcing him to dedicate the two hours of his day routine to pickpocketing.

Targeting only those who won’t feel the pinch of loss, he did his work thoroughly, striking the city at random.

Sometimes on the streets and sometimes at the homes of the rich.

And each time, he only took enough that it won’t become much of a bother for the rich so much so that they start pursuing him.

Though, this time it was a bit different.

When Max had just entered a home he had been eyeing for the last few days. He noticed a peculiar smell there.

"??"

The last night was hectic for him, his mind was not as stable as he would have wanted.

The very fact that he might be working for a terrorist was scary to him. Not to mention who his enemy was going to be in the future.

But for his daughter, he was ready to face it all. And it was due to all these thoughts that when Max entered the room, it took him a while to notice the smell.

’Death and rot.’ Being from the bloodline of nature, he could see death easily, just like he can see vitality. And this death smelled a bit peculiar.

’A single man lived here, so why are there three different smells of death?’ The moment he considered such a question became the very moment he chose to leave this place.

There was no need to go into details or turn curious over foolish things. He was here to earn money and nothing else.

What happens here is not for him to care about.

However, before he could leave, he stopped his steps.

’If someone had saved my daughter in time, my life would have been different.’ Max never considered himself to be a good man, he had killed countless people for money. And considering the path he has chosen to walk, there is a chance he will do the same again.

But for some reason, the peculiar smell of life and death made him stop in his tracks.

"Whatever, I would just put an anonymous report about it," he spoke, before looking down below out of the window, seeing how some police were always active in this particular rich area. And why wouldn’t be, the rich had to be protected. ’They can’t even find anything odd with this place?... there are three dead at least, How did the perpetrator do this? Magic will be noticed, so the only thing left is corruption.’

Knowing this city, he knew the perpetrator would be protected. Which he can’t accept.

He can’t let the tragedy repeat once again.

Neither someone’s daughter will die for no reason, nor their sons.

’I have really fallen.’

With those words, he walked deeper into the room, coming across a living room filled with human skins. All are stretched on a tanning rack next to a chemical solution, drying under the artificial light generated from light bulbs.

All of them were tall, and all of them were humans.

With one body still on the operating table, barely alive with barely any skin on her.

"So it was you?" He had seen cruelty a lot of times. But this was too extreme, even for him.

The girl wanted to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth. No, moving was too much pain, how she was even alive was a miracle in itself. Though calling it a miracle was too much, the eyes teared with blood, even a single blow of air caused her to feel immense pain.

Almost reminded me of my past, making it a bit relatable for me while also curious, as it’s been too long and I had forgotten how it had felt.

If I was in my prime, I would have gone into her mind, lived through her trauma, and solidified my own past memory.

But it was too much, I was just a shade of what I used to be.

As for Max, he just came to the crying girl who didn’t seem to have any hope left in her mind and silently slit her throat. Letting her leave the world in peace.

’With the preparation and the designs on this operating slab, it’s an occultist or a mage. They probably know I am here.’ Killing the only living occupant of the room, Max knew that staying any longer would be suicidal, he could feel the room changing. And the vibrations on the floor also gave him a sign that there was a group of people slowly climbing the steps.

’Ah, I should have run.’