The God of Jesters
Chapter 720 - 11.04.6 They are here.

Chapter 720: 11.04.6 They are here.

Darde woke up in the hospital, numb to the pain under the effects of the drugs, and there she was, his sister, appearing pretty. "Annoying."

He said, looking at her. "Did you know I will be hit?"

"By the time I got close, you already were." Speaking about things that already happened doesn’t affect her at all. Which is why she could talk freely about it. "The man who attacked you was at least master level. They sent someone so strong to kill you and you specifically. Even then, he was pretty much a coward while doing so... Darde, what are you hiding from me?" She spoke, looking at her brother.

Long gone was her fear of his death, although frustrated by how little she could have done in that situation, she still needed to make sure if this fight was really something that could be fought. "If he shot you from close range from the start, you would have died, but that man still maintained distance while assassinating you." She spoke out about all her thoughts on the matter.

Holding the lineage of the prophet made Gloria all the more aware of little details that can be treated as premonitions.

"I don’t know what kind of answers or signs you are looking for, but there are none here, Sister. I lived an honest life... well, that can be lived in this city anyway." Darde spoke, feeling hints and pieces of pain in his body that couldn’t be ignored too easily with drugs. "For now, can you call for the officer outside? They must be curious why the sound of this room cuts off all of a sudden." Darde spoke, causing Gloria to go mute before turning around and calling out to the officer outside.

"He is awake?" Surprised for a bit considering how much Darde had bled on the streets, they treated it as a miracle, considering the potion he was fed by the enforcer of the city, who worked directly under the city government.

Sadly, potions that can work on normal humans are far more expensive than the common ones already available, so it can only be looked at with envy.

"So they died?" Darde acted surprised after hearing the report, acting out with a tinge of emotion, but not doing any level of overacting. "It’s my mistake; they were after me, and those two only had the bad luck of being with me." Darde knows the man ahead of him, the assistant superintendent under the chief, he knows the fact that Darde is being hunted by some party, and he learned the extent of the danger after the death of two officers who were with Darde.

So, taking in the report, which was mostly just lies, he left the hospital as soon as possible, not even bothering to leave any officers in the corridor, which irked Gloria a bit, knowing her brother was unguarded after an attempt on his life, but Darde just ignored her worries. "They have their own lives to worry about..." There was little fear on his face even after facing death so close, which made Gloria’s suspicions even worse.

How did the cowardly brother who was afraid of the dark become such a monster? All of it felt so unreal. "Stop doing whatever you are... You know your answer, so leave this place and stay with those capable of protecting you." She suggested with a worry-tinged tone. But Darde only shook his head. "I got a month from the chief, and around eight of those days had already been wasted to some extent, I can’t afford it."

"I need to ensure something before I leave this place." Darde also refused to go; he couldn’t at this moment, not so soon, considering he was close to learning what the cult had plans in the city for.

As for his own life? Or those who were after him? Well, his first plan somewhat matched the second one—none of which he could tell his sister. "You will never be able to see Neru grow up. Is this what you want?" Gloria asked, looking at her younger brother, who went quiet.

"That is the case anyway, they will keep coming after me, and to keep them safe, I either have to die, or never meet my family again." He spoke with a tinge of sadness. And although it might appear cruel, that was all that Gloria wanted.

If her brother realizes this on his own and follows through, then the fate she saw will never come to pass. Her brother will remain alive, albeit lonely, and Neru will still have both of her parents alive, with one of them even in her life.

"All the more reason for me to end it at its source, sister. If you wish to help, you can go and look for the Plague Church case and see what the issue is there." From the words he heard from the assistant superintendent, Darde knows that certain Knights have arrived in the city for them. "Just do it, and I promise, I will be more careful from now on."

Darde lied as always; his mind was set on death until he successfully pulled off his plans. And Gloria, being a Mystic herself, knew that her brother was lying. But she just sighed. "As long as it lightens your load." She ended up accepting his lies; this is the least she could do for a suicidal brother of hers who still doesn’t understand the ramifications of growing up without a father figure.

To her little brother, there was always her, but what would happen if Darde were to die? What will happen to his daughter? One can only wonder at the pain. And the most she can do is hope that her brother doesn’t fall into doing whatever he is planning.

******

A day later, Gloria did her due diligence, learning more about the Chapter of the Plague church operating here and the legacy the tree holds. ’Calling out a different group to investigate?’ Such oddity, early on, she didn’t consider it too odd, knowing how it works in the world.

But this is a major religion we are talking about, people who have an entire country’s worth of Knights making their numbers.

Why would someone like that call for a different set of Knights? ’Something odd is going on." Gloria spoke, looking from a distance at the Man who appeared. "Monstrous." Even from a distance, Gloria’s premonition was telling her that the man ahead of her could feel his gaze, but there were few changes on his expression or movements.

While the woman behind him, ’she is a blur.’

’What kind of monsters are these?’ Gloria spoke, feeling a rush of puke coming to her throat, which finally forced her to put down the telescope. ’Things are not simple.’ Why did her brother suggest this job? What he knew was what she didn’t. And how did he come to the conclusion that these people will play an important part in it all?

’They are dangerous... but they can be the only way.’

******

Mini also looked at the same scene that Gloria did, its just that her expression was far uglier, as if she had eaten shit. "These two monsters." Frustration welled up in her, and the thought of calling her siblings came to her head, but soon, she shook it all away.

The events that transpired in Plague church were her doing, which in a way left them useless for the time being, and their actions far more conservative. Making it easier for her to sow seeds into the city without being caught, like what happened in the restaurant not too long ago.

Even then, the only reason one of the seeds was exposed was because a Priest from the plague church detected the oddity beforehand.

But now. "Good game... whoever you are." Asking for help from another organization generally meant that the Plague church itself is incompetent enough to not do its own job properly or save itself. Which generally won’t happen, if ever.

’For them to put down their ego...’ The party that had been hounding them came to her head again. ’Those hiding in darkness.’ Their existences were found by their master a decade ago, when countless coincidences in his life that were generally ignored finally found concrete footing during his ascension.

And since then, they had made the apparent war more open than before. ’Truly masterful.’ They came for countless projects of theirs, each more important than the last. But one way or another, failures abound, and most of their plans were thwarted before they even showed any promise.

It is what forced the siblings to divide and make their plans separately in different places, hoping that one of them would succeed before those very men came to ruin their plans again.

’Well... whatever.’ She changed her attention to the other figure again. ’I guess it makes sense why the retaliation came so slowly by their end.’ She looked at Darde, recovering in his room, while not far from him, an officer slowly made his way toward Darde. ’And they still give you the priority over us.’

Which meant only one thing. ’You can’t die... not so fast anyway.’

For the first time, she will come out in the open.