Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 382 Let it have its wish

When he got back to the city, Milo's entire lower body looked like it had just been pulled out of a mud pit.

Marshall the cat fared no better. Because he was carried under someone's arm the whole way, he fell off several times along the way, and the little black cat turned into a muddy little cat.

However, even in such a disheveled state, Milo did not return directly to the law enforcement office.

Marshall woke up when they entered Nanwei City.

In fact, its injuries did not seem to be serious.

In Milo's understanding, Imnar's ability to mimic is not simply about changing into the same appearance as the person being mimicked. It seems that from the moment it uses this ability, the rules of deception and the will to replace are already in operation.

If we consider this world as a machine, each soul has its own special place. The imitator, Imnar, directly or indirectly replaces the position of the imitated soul, and the soul that is left behind falls into some inexplicable chaotic slumber.

Marshall was in that state just now; the unconsciousness caused by his injuries was merely a triggering condition.

Of course, this is only Milo's initial assessment of Imnar's abilities.

This is different from the kind of spiritual and will-level replacement that David Derby experienced. Imnar replaced it from the source and became its chosen target. After this deep-seated replacement happened countless times, it could even lead to it losing itself.

"This is the first time I've seen an Old One with such a built-in side effect."

Milo sat on the steps in front of a house by the roadside and poked Marshall, who was lying on the steps barely alive, with a twig.

Marshall slowly used its paws to push the branch away from Milo's hand. Realizing it was covered in wet mud, it looked up at Milo with a resentful expression.
"what did you do to me?"

“I saved your life.” Milo tossed aside the branch he was holding.

Marshall slowly stood up, placed his front paws on the ground, raised his rear end, stretched his back in a feline-like posture, yawned loudly, and then said:

"It transformed into your appearance and attacked me; otherwise, I wouldn't have been so easily injured."

"Oh, who isn't?"

Milo tugged at the tattered shirt at his chest.

Who would have thought that one day they would have to take care of their cat's self-esteem?

……

Marshall began to groom himself carefully, licking his paws clean bit by bit, and seemed somewhat depressed.

It said:
"This is a very special Great Old One. Even in the Dreamlands, its power is unparalleled. The strongest warriors of our race are no match for it."

“And here’s some bad news: it’s much more powerful now than when you first encountered it,” Milo added with a shrug.

“Uh, why?” Marshall stopped licking his paws.

“Because it has become like you,” Milo began to ramble.

“Ah, that makes sense. I’m the second-ranked warrior in our tribe.” Marshall nodded and continued licking his paws.

……

"I'm going to meet someone in a bit. If you don't have any problems, go back to the law enforcement office and find Rebecca."

Milo gave the instructions to Marshall.

"What, does the person you're meeting not like cats?" Marshall asked.

“No, not really. She really likes them, especially gifted cats like you. She loves them so much, especially the food.” Milo shook his head.

"Alright then, I won't go." Marshall wasn't a clingy cat to begin with; it was generally hostile towards most humans, as evidenced by the scratches on Enid's hands.

...

After the rain, the sky clears up.

Finally, a faint ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell onto the street.

As Milo gathered his trench coat and prepared to leave, he noticed Marshall at his feet giving him a wink.

He turned his head in the direction of Marshall's gaze and saw a child squatting inside the closed gate of the apartment building on the steps where they were.

The child stared blankly at Milo and Marshall, his gaze unfocused.

Milo turned to Marshall with an annoyed look and asked, "Has he been squatting there the whole time?"

"I think so, anyway, he was there when I woke up." Marshall licked his fur.

"Why didn't you say so sooner... Oh well, never mind."

Milo rubbed his temples. He couldn't worry about it anymore; the kid didn't seem very bright anyway, and probably wouldn't think there was anything wrong with the kitten talking.

Just as C once expressed a point of view, the people with the most stable sanity in this world are not the psychics, but those born idiots and fools, because to some extent, all the bizarre things that are incomprehensible to ordinary people are not a problem for fools.

The same applies to children who have not yet developed a sense of time; they do not yet have a concept of what is reasonable and unreasonable.

This is a conclusion that Milo has repeatedly verified over the past year. The most significant example is that it is very difficult for dream-inducing techniques to work on children because you can hardly determine what is the most frightening thing in a child's world.

Sometimes, a child's inner world is even more magical than the memories of the Great Old Ones.

……

After making a funny face at the child inside the door and successfully making him laugh, Milo left the neighborhood.

In the abandoned monastery in the north of the city, they found their guide—the Scarlet Witch.

Upon seeing the familiar tattered red robe, Milo began to sigh:
"I'm here to confess. I did something really stupid today."

After all, the contrast before and after is very obvious. When they were in Prayer Square, Milo still had a way to hurt Imnal.

However, on the way back, once Imnar learned his real name, Milo's bullets could no longer reach him.

However, the Red Witch was talking about something else entirely, craning her neck to look at the ceiling of the dilapidated monastery she was in:
"Two sexual assault cases have occurred in the confessional of this monastery."

"Okay, I feel much better now that you say that." Milo was already used to the Scarlet Witch's evasive answers. He took off his wet trench coat and hung it on the iron wall, found a dry spot to sit down, and seriously said a name:
“Imnal”.

The Scarlet Witch remained silent for a long time before asking, "With that little girl from the church helping you monitor everything in Nanwei City, what else do you want to know from me?"

Milo raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected the Scarlet Witch to say something so strange, so he said with interest:

"Look at what you're saying. I'm just asking for your opinion."

"My opinion?" The witch looked up.

Milo shrugged: "Doesn't this guy named Imnar whet your appetite at all?"

However, the Scarlet Witch, unusually, teased Milo in a strange tone, saying, "I don't smell the aroma of communion, but I do smell the tension on someone."

“What are you talking about?” Milo rolled up his shirt sleeves, then pulled a metal flask from his waist and took two small sips.

Milo had long since given up his drinking problem, but after spending so much time in the cold, damp nights over the past year, especially after being soaked in the rain for most of the day like today, a little something to warm his stomach now and then is still nice.

The Scarlet Witch took two steps forward with her hunched body, stretched her neck, and said in a hoarse voice, "You're not sure if you're still its match. You feel suppressed and even find that you can't find its trace at all, so you panic."

She pressed the broken nails on her withered, twig-like fingers against Milo's chest, and said in a sinister tone:

"Fear is a good thing. You'll miss this feeling when you lose this ability completely one day."

Milo pondered the meaning behind the Scarlet Witch's words for a long time before finally speaking:

“It said… I was destined to be one of them, and let me join their ranks.”

The Scarlet Witch swayed her hooded head slightly from side to side and asked calmly:
What else did it say?

"It also said that my name could become taboo in some era long afterward..." Milo paused for a moment, then added:
"It also mentions chaos."

"So, you're trying to follow the mind of an Old One and understand its will?" the Scarlet Witch countered.

“As a fraudster, what it says is certainly not true, but it is not necessarily entirely false either. After all, the most skillful deception is to tell the truth, isn’t it?” Milo shrugged.

"Chaos is an eternal truth. The most romantic thing about this universe is that there will always be irrational beings who break the rules and want to do some outlandish things." The Scarlet Witch turned to look at Milo:

"From the moment you become a visionary, you are already in chaos, becoming a part of the disruption of order."

Milo seemed to be thinking about something, then nodded emphatically:

I think I understand what you mean.

"Imnar's true identity cannot be found in existing texts, but you don't need to worry about that. The entire system of laws to which it belongs is actually the simplest and most basic origin, so simple that it doesn't even need ancient texts; you can find traces of it in children's books," the Scarlet Witch said calmly.

“I’ll take that as you trying to comfort me,” Milo shrugged.

The Scarlet Witch calmly continued to ask:
"What other nonsense did it spout?"

"It also says it longs for a confrontation between rulers."

……

The Scarlet Witch's response was surprisingly concise:
"Then let it have its wish."

(End of this chapter)