The God of Jesters
Chapter 213 - 4.01.5 Why did they die?

Chapter 213: 4.01.5 Why did they die?

Before the situation could escalate, the door to the office opened, and the doctor appeared while drying his hand with a washcloth. "Please, no need for any violence. It’s not like what you are thinking."

He was young, barely a few years older than Remira, and probably in his early thirties.

His hair was dark, just like his skin. A lot darker than Gehena even. Showing that he belonged to a city south of the country.

And if his accent was taken into account. It was even easier to see where this man came from. But Remira didn’t point out any of it. After hearing the words of this man, she just asked. "Then explain, or I would be forced to take action."

"I would explain the matters with the mortals first. The ones you sensed are mortal humans as you might have assumed. But I can assure you, none of them are good people."

Hearing these words, Remira thought hard. The size of this facility didn’t feel too big, he said there were levels in this place and he was even able to import mortals into this facility.

’Just how long...’ She thought. There was nothing in the path she came that would define what organization these people belonged to. And from the fact that they had hidden themselves from the previous Radiant Knight investigators, it was easy to see that this was not some clean group.

Not to mention, being active in a forbidden zone is a crime worthy of execution. It’s how dangerous these places were considered.

Of course, there were exceptions of people that could go there and Remira, or specifically, the Radiant Knights belonged to this group of exceptions.

"I would go down there and check it myself, but before this. Explain who you are. And why show yourself now?"

Hearing such words, the doctor smiled before introducing himself. "Doctor Dinesh Pal, I have a doctorate in virology and a master’s in course studies. But I know you are not looking for such answers." Doctor Pal said, giving one look toward Farhad, who he found a bit interesting.

"The organization I work for is [Redacted]. A newly established group, awfully similar to yours. It’s just, that our direction of study and methods differ."

"If you need more details, how about you come to the office? I believe we can come to a good understanding. And I can even show you some of the recovered samples we caught aboveground."

When the Doctor had tried to name the organization, his mouth had automatically made a weird noise, making it impossible for Remira to learn the true name of the group.

And a sign that the doctor was under the vow of silence as well. But he could obviously have more maneuverability than their hostess.

"Sir Knight, if you don’t mind. We really don’t mean any harm. We are just here to learn about this curse and remove it from its root and nothing more." Gehena spoke, pushing on the narrative that Pal just spoke.

Remira was barely any greenhorn in society. She has seen too much and knows how the world works. Weaponizing curses was not a new thing. But it was rarely used in war as it was now considered a war crime.

But there was no need to mention all of this here. Acting ignorant and making her opponent put their guard down would obviously make them slip.

So she nodded and after a few more words to show her lack of trust in her hosts, she followed them to the officer.

Sitting on his chair while taking out a small register from under his table, Doctor Pal asked. "Sir Knight, I wonder what I should call you and your followers?"

"Wyrmwood, the one behind me is Dani."

"Then I wonder if Knight Wyrmwood and Dani would appreciate some coffee or tea?"

"Get back to the point."

Seeing that Remira was not in the mood for such games, Doctor Pal thought for a bit and then requested Gehena, who was standing on the side. "Please move out, it’s better if I talk with Knight Wyrmwood in private."

With the presence of someone like Gehena, who held a weapon, it was obvious that his guest might be on edge all the time and would obviously not listen to him completely.

So sending her away was a good way to show his goodwill.

Which seemed to work, as the Doctor could tell, the air in the room was much lighter than before.

"Knight Wyrmwood, I know you don’t trust us yet. But I am telling the truth. There are no ulterior motives behind our actions."

"I came here a decade ago, as a nominal researcher after much struggle. I have read about the incident in papers a lot and have wished to learn more about the curse that devoured this place."

"But none in my circle dared to follow me at that time. And I was called crazy before being kicked out after they learned what I did."

It was a simple story, a young researcher who was trying to make a name for himself, a new direction to deal with curses that no one believed or bothered with.

The old methods were working fine, why bother to find a new cure?

And if all else fails, there are always Radiant Knights and churches. So the direction Doctor Pal wished to explore was considered a stupid and wasteful endeavor by many.

Not to mention, after his college learned that he had entered multiple forbidden zones by his own mouth. Before things can escalate, he is kicked out of academia and forced to leave his family in case his foolishness is exposed.

But Doctor Pal was never the kind to stop.

"What is your direction of study?" Remira, being a Radiant Knight. Could somewhat relate to what the people in Academia might have thought.

There were already multiple methods in mystics to treat them. Why learn a new path?

She alone was capable of exorcizing any corrupted individuals without much effort.

"It isn’t as simple as just learning new ways to exorcize a curse. Neither am I interested in sealing it. My focus is more on studying Curses with Viral tendencies or curses like your friend. Who seems to be filled with vitality while being dead."

At these words, Farhad was surprised at the sharp eye of the doctor, while Remira furrowed her brows.

She was only suspicious before, but she was sure now. "You are a mystic?" She asked. And the doctor nodded, "Calling me a mystic would be too much, I only have surface-level knowledge on that aspect. But I can be considered a curse wielder, without any curses to wield."

"Your body doesn’t possess any energy. But I can feel you have been close to it. But that still doesn’t make you a curse wielder. And I don’t believe you will be foolish to take such a name for yourself without a reason."

"I do wield a curse, but not by will. Similar to that friend of yours." At those words, their eyes of Remira turned bright again. Before she asked. "You, how much do you know?"

"If you are asking if I know who that boy is. Then no, I don’t know who he is." Doctor Pal explained. "The direction of my study is to learn how a curse originates. I have no interest in wielding it nor any interest in destroying it."

"And I believe that a friend called Dani can help me with this..." Before the doctor can complete his sentence, a sword is directly aimed at his neck. "So you finally show your true reason. You are just after the boy?"

"Is he a boy? I can see it’s an immortal curse, so it means it hasn’t been long since he caught it." A bit agitated by the sword, Doctor Pal still kept on speaking. "From what I can tell, Sir Knight also doesn’t know what kind of curse it is."

"..."

"Believe me, I don’t mean no harm. My direction of study... might be orthodox and considered taboo by many. But my belief is that if one doesn’t even know the source of a curse, how can one hope to ever end it for good?"

"Look outside, those Daugrs rose again. The family of the wolves is on the prowl again. All of that after destroying the whole village."

At those words, the eyes of Remira stirred, it was the first time she heard the word Daugr.

Which made her reconsider her actions.

She can use this man, as he might be the only one who can tell her what happened all those years ago.

Why did this weird curse of undeath spread in her village and why did everyone have to die due to it?

"Daugr, is this the name you gave to those blue-eyed undead?"

"Why would I give such a name? I just learned of this name through historical books. It’s not like this is the first time they have appeared."

"And calling them undead would be too much, they are not as stupid as you might imagine."