Night fell.
A black coffin rested quietly on the mortuary platform. Inside lay Miss Elisa, her expression dignified, hands folded over her lower abdomen, pressing down an exquisite red jewelry box between them.
Inside the mourning hall, all the bulbs had been replaced with warm-toned ones. Lit up together, they cast a soft glow.
Constrained by the venue, it could not be made magnificent and opulent, but every detail spoke of elegance.
Karen sat on a chair in the corner. Behind him stood several rows of seats prepared for mourning guests, and on a counter up front were wines, drinks, and snacks—not expensive, but varied.
The appointed time arrived.
Pike stepped outside with a pen and wrote on the directory board: *Miss Elisa's Mourning Hall*.
Dinkum carried a jar of clear water, sprinkling the path leading from the exterior to the mortuary platform.
Alfred walked over to the stereo, made a couple of adjustments, and a song began playing: "My Lord Count."
This was the theme song of a vampire film released two years earlier. The protagonist was a vampire count, and rather than his military exploits, the movie told a tale of his loves, hates, and passions.
It was the tragic story of how he sold his soul to the devil for the one he loved.
Yet Karen knew that, in reality, the inspiration for this figure—or rather, for the archetype he represented—had been ordinary humans, not bloodthirsty aberrant demons.
None of that mattered now; the song had been chosen simply to suit the occasion.
Karen leaned slightly to the side, gazing outside as he waited for tonight's guests.
Would Captain Neo show up?
A small blue sedan appeared and parked on the roadside near the funeral parlor. The man who had wept that night stepped out, dressed today in evening wear that gave him a polished air.
Entering the parlor, he walked up to the platform and stood beside the coffin, gazing down at the woman lying within.
From Karen's angle, the deep attachment in his eyes was clearly visible; such an expression could not be faked.
About a quarter of an hour later, a stretched black Pilsa executive sedan pulled up at the curb. A young woman stepped out. Her features bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Elisa's—likely her sister.
Two male servants accompanied her from the car.
Upon reaching the parlor entrance, she glanced around, her eyes openly betraying her disdain for the surroundings.
Catching this detail, Karen smiled faintly. The woman gave off an all too familiar scent—the cold detachment of aristocratic families was embodied in her to perfection.
Dinkum, who was still sprinkling water, moved out of the way. But as the woman approached, one of the guards behind her shoved him aside anyway, sending Dinkum tumbling straight to the ground.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Seeing Dinkum knocked down, Pike rushed over to help him up. Just as he was about to demand an explanation, Dinkum seized his arm.
Dinkum glanced toward Karen sitting in the corner. Seeing that Karen remained seated, Dinkum picked himself up and pulled Pike back.
The woman paused, looking at Karen in the corner.
Then she turned around.
*Slap!*
A stinging crack landed across the bodyguard's face, immediately leaving behind a bright red handprint.
Without a word, she walked inside and stepped onto the mortuary platform.
Seeing her arrive, the man dropped to his knees before her, bowing low.
The woman didn't spare him a single glance, looking only at Elisa in the coffin.
After a long silence,
she reached into the coffin, drew out the box beneath Elisa's hands, and opened it. Inside were Elisa's fangs and claws.
"Heh, heh..."
A chuckle escaped the woman's lips.
"Heh, heh..."
She kept laughing, covering her face.
Karen quietly picked up a piece of sesame candy from before him, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. It wasn't overly sweet, but it released a rich, nutty fragrance as he chewed.
The woman set the box back in place, descended the steps, and walked toward Karen.
Her two bodyguards moved instinctively to follow, but Alfred stepped directly into their path.
The woman raised a hand, and the two bodyguards silently retreated.
Next, Karen caught the scent of her perfume. It was very strong—Eunice would never wear something so heavy.
Sitting down beside him, she asked, "Are you the Inquisitor here?"
"No," Karen replied honestly.
"Where is the Inquisitor?"
"He isn't here."
"Understood."
She pointed toward the mortuary platform. "The woman lying inside is my older sister."
Karen nodded. "I can tell."
"Do we look alike?"
"Yes."
"No. In fact, we aren't alike at all. I'm not foolish enough to bring myself to such an end over a man."
"Over him?"
Karen pointed at the man still prostrating himself beside the coffin.
"Hah... him?"
The woman laughed, shaking her head.
"She wasn't *that* stupid."
Karen took another piece of sesame candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.
Seeing this, the woman frowned slightly. She reached out, took a piece herself, and hesitated over unwrapping it.
"It's quite good," Karen recommended.
"Oh? Really?" Unwrapping the candy, she placed it in her mouth. "Just average."
"Will you be taking the coffin and the body with you?" Karen asked.
"Yes."
"All right."
"Regardless, thank you for holding a funeral for her."
"It was our employer's arrangement; we merely carried it out. There's no need to thank us."
The woman leaned back slightly, still chewing the sesame candy while her eyes scanned the outside.
Just then, a silhouette emerged from the night: a middle-aged man with sharp, angular features, wearing a black overcoat.
The moment he appeared, the woman's two bodyguards dropped to one knee before him.
"Father..."
The woman stood up and walked toward him.
"I thought you wouldn't come."
The man didn't answer his daughter, heading straight for the platform instead.
The male servant remained on his knees, his body trembling—clearly terrified of the man.
"Lord Count... I... I failed to protect the young lady... I, Gross, am guilty! Guilty!"
The man addressed as the Count merely looked at the woman in the coffin. Then he picked up the small box and opened it.
"Removing the ancestral fangs is a grave disrespect to our race."
Karen stood up and replied, "Because no one informed us of specific procedures beforehand, we could only prepare the body according to local customs. Please forgive us."
The Count shifted his gaze to Karen and asked the same question the woman had asked earlier:
"Are you the Inquisitor here?"
"No. Our boss is away. I am a God's Servant here."
"Only God's Servants are here?"
"Yes, sir."
The Count descended from the platform, walked over to the chairs, and sat down.
The woman took the initiative to pick up a piece of sesame candy, unwrapped it, and held it out to the Count:
"Father, though Sister is gone, you still have me."
Instead of taking the candy, the Count struck his daughter across the face.
*Slap!*
The blow knocked the woman to the floor.
Watching this from his seat beside them, Karen thought:
*Mm, it seems this family has a fine tradition of slapping faces.*
"Father?"
"This is your sister's mourning hall. You should show proper respect, Edith."
Edith didn't dare talk back. She climbed to her feet, wanting to sit next to her father.
"Go kneel before your sister's coffin."
"Father?"
"Go!"
Biting her lip, Edith ultimately walked to the platform and knelt down.
The Count turned to Karen.
"When does the memorial service end?"
"It concludes at two in the morning," Karen replied.
"Good. Have the funeral fees been paid?"
"They have."
The Count nodded, sat upright, and closed his eyes.
For a long stretch afterward, the atmosphere remained oppressive and dull.
Those kneeling kept kneeling; those sitting kept sitting; and the one lying kept lying.
Alfred brought Karen a glass of ice water and today's newspaper, knowing his young master needed something to pass the time.
Karen gave a subtle gesture.
Alfred understood, pouring a cup of hot tea for the Count, who acknowledged it with a slight nod.
Then,
Alfred poured tea for the other two guests as well, placing a cup before each of them.
Edith lifted her head slightly, staring at the teacup set on the floor before her. She gritted her teeth but didn't dare lash out.
Because both she and the servant Gross were kneeling with hands flat on the tile and their rears raised, placing cups before them made them look from afar like two dogs crouching to lap up water.
Karen hid his face behind the newspaper.
A bloodthirsty aberrant demon had died, and her sister and father happened to be in York City too?
Moreover, they clearly hadn't slipped into the city in secret. They must have come for another purpose, and in a semi-official capacity.
Karen guessed they were acting as envoys for their family, here to negotiate cooperation with an orthodox church, earning them a degree of recognition and protection.
Very likely, it was the Church of Order itself.
Otherwise, it wouldn't explain why they brazenly showed up here. After all, they hadn't known Inquisitor Pavaro was absent before arriving. Daring to face an Inquisitor out in the open meant they didn't fear conflict or being reported.
Yet, could it really be such a coincidence?
They had just arrived, and Elisa succumbed to lostness and killed herself?
Karen checked the time. It was just past midnight.
Normally, memorial services ran long to allow distant visitors enough time to pay their last respects. If no one else was coming, there was no need for those who had already mourned to linger.
At last, the Count stood up and said, "Edith, take your sister home."
"Yes, Father."
Edith was finally able to climb up from the floor. She signaled her two bodyguards to step forward and move the coffin.
Just then, a cluster of figures suddenly appeared outside, standing at a distance along the road. The atmosphere inside the mourning hall froze instantly.
The two bodyguards immediately took position at the doorway, while Edith looked outside with a tense expression.
"Heh, heh... Ha, ha, ha..."
The laughter came from the male servant Gross, who had been kneeling on the floor all this while. He slowly rose, looked at Edith and the Count, and shouted with a twisted grin:
"The Bocart and Magna families are here! Second Young Miss, My Lord, neither of you will be leaving today!"
Bocart and Magna were two of the three great bloodthirsty aberrant demon families alongside Avanas. During the previous era, at the peak of the aberrant demons' reign, each of the three families had controlled an entire kingdom.
Edith whirled around and glared at the servant. "Gross, you betrayed us!"
"No, I didn't!" Gross roared in fury. "I'm avenging my beloved lady! I'm avenging my beloved lady! You... you people are the executioners who murdered her!"
Stepping down from the platform, Gross continued, "Why were you so heartless? I really don't understand! Why did you do this to the young lady? When I went behind her back to track you down, begging for a bottle of rest fluid, you gave it to me! I was overjoyed, practically insane with happiness, because I knew that with it, my beloved lady could temporarily hold off the torment of lostness!
"When I brought it to her, she wept! After all these years away, she felt the warmth of home once more! She even said she would go to the alley across from the hotel where you were staying, Lord Count, and kneel to pray for your blessings!
"Yet after she drank it, the lostness suddenly accelerated—far faster and sooner than expected!
"She didn't even get to see that man one last time before she was forced to drive silver nails into herself!
"Why?!
"How could you be so cruel?!"
The Count stared at Gross. "So you contacted the Bocart and Magna families?"
"Yes, that's right! They're furious and alarmed that you came to York City representing the Avanas family to negotiate with the church! They never imagined Avanas would choose to betray our entire race!
"They were desperate to stop it, so I contacted them! I guessed you would come here tonight! I guessed you, and *you*, would definitely show up!
"Because you murdered her with your own hands! As the killers, you'd surely come to admire your handiwork!
"And I was right! So I told the people from those two families in York City to wait here! And now, their wait is over!
"In the young lady's mourning hall, you will be buried with her!"
"Madman! Lunatic! You traitorous dog, Gross, I'll tear you to shreds first!"
Fangs emerged at the corners of Edith's mouth, but just as she was about to pounce, a whistle blew outside.
Immediately, the shadowy figures outside sharpened into focus. Dressed in black divine robes and wearing black masks, they materialized like a pack of phantoms.
Yet how could they possibly be bloodthirsty aberrant demons? Nor could they be operatives of the Bocart and Magna families lurking in York City. Impossible—because they were the Whip of Order!
Karen had seen Tyers and his squad members before. None of those Whip of Order men possessed the aura of the group before him—that sheer, dread-inducing presence.
A single glance was enough to tell the gulf between them.
*So the strength between different Whip of Order squads can vary this drastically?*
"H-How... How is this possible?!" Gross stared in disbelief at the figures outside.
At that moment, a cloud of black mist appeared in the center of the mourning hall. As the mist dispersed, Neo's figure emerged.
"The groups from Bocart and Magna who unlawfully entered the city have already been purged by Order," Neo stated calmly.
"Neo!"
Edith looked at Neo, a look of delight spreading across her face—a delight far deeper than mere relief at escaping an ambush.
The Count looked at Neo as well, his expression complicated.
Gross pointed at Neo, stammering, "Y-You... You... How could you do this?! How could you?!"
"I knew you wouldn't settle for merely holding a funeral for her," Neo said. "I knew you would look for a way to avenge her. As an ordinary human, you couldn't take revenge yourself, so your only option was to contact other powers. Even back in Sangpu City, I knew you had channels to reach the other two families."
"I sought those contacts only to buy rest fluid for the young lady! But it turned out the rest fluid from the other two families was utterly useless to her! Heh, heh... You even factored that into your calculations?!
"She misjudged you! The young lady truly misjudged you! Neo, you beast!"
Neo replied placidly, "The Count came to York City representing the Avanas family to negotiate cooperation with Order. I must ensure the Count's safety. This is for Order."
"And the young lady?! What was she to you?!" Gross shouted at the top of his lungs.
Neo's eyes shifted toward the coffin resting on the platform.
The Count spoke up. "By agreement, this cooperation was to proceed in secret. Now you have effectively brought it into the open. The Avanas family has no way out. That was the outcome you wanted, wasn't it?"
Neo shook his head. "I am only responsible for ensuring your safety, Lord Count."
Edith strode toward Gross. "Traitor, I'll kill you first!"
A leather whip lashed out, blocking Edith directly.
"Neo, let me kill him! A servant daring to betray his master's house deserves nothing less than death!"
"He is an ordinary human. He must face trial," Neo said calmly.
"Don't stop me, Neo! He's our family's servant—I have the right to dispose of him! Don't stand in my way, Neo!"
Clearly, Edith and Neo were old acquaintances.
Neo stepped up to Edith and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Stand still. Don't move."
At the physical contact, Edith suddenly grew self-conscious, a hint of bashfulness creeping in. She said:
"All right, I'll listen to you."
Neo looked at the Count standing nearby and asked:
"Lord Count, was the rest fluid you gave Gross fake?"
At this question, a flash of terror flickered in Edith's eyes.
The Count replied sternly, "I could have refused to give her the rest fluid, but if I chose to give it, why would I give a fake? In the past, I could stand by and watch her step into the abyss of lostness for betraying our family, but as her father, I wouldn't push her forward myself.
"Furthermore, now that we are cooperating with the Church of Order, giving her the rest fluid and using her relationship with you to foster ties between Avanas and the Church of Order would not meet any objection from the family elders.
"In fact, when I saw Elisa lying in that coffin, my first thought was that you had wanted her dead for your own career, so her identity would no longer hold you back.
"I know that because of Elisa, your squad was stranded in Sangpu City for years without promotion. This time, you finally obtained this opportunity after immense effort."
Neo murmured, "So it wasn't you..."
The Count said as a matter of course, "Naturally, it wasn't me."
"Then it was her."
A black dagger materialized in the hand Neo had resting on Edith's shoulder, severing her head in an instant.
Gripping Edith by the hair, he held her severed head before his face:
"Though she never told me, I know she missed home, and she missed her family.
"As it happens, you can accompany her in burial.
"That way...
"My Elisa will never be alone."
Chapter 161