Odd Containment Specialist.

Chapter 948 Fog Rising from the Lake
"We can't see clearly, but some people are looking at us very intently. Lord Castanet, do you see the people on that clock tower over there?"

"Is there a problem? Aren't there already plenty of lower-class people surrounding us lately?"

“Some people give me a very different feeling. For example, that one, he might not be a vampire, but a human.”

"You mean...blood hunters?"

"It's possible. Duke Rosa has been gone for so long, it's not impossible for the Blood Hunters to become active again."

"We'll have to wait until after this matter is resolved."

Castanet and Blue Lily chatted casually, while in the distance, on the bell tower, the upper suspension bridge, and the flying buttresses of the church, people concealed their presence and secretly observed everything.

Among them were people from funeral homes, clock towers, and even the Tower of Babel. Some of them, who had learned of the news in advance through their own channels, seemed to be drawn together by some alluring destiny, gathering here to try and catch a glimpse of the momentous event that was about to unfold.

Most of these people didn't care about whether the world would be destroyed or not. Some just wanted to join in the fun, some wanted to witness the outcome, and some were followers of the Scissors of Division, just to catch a glimpse of the power of the supreme being known as the King of Division.

Whether the King of Rift or the Bureau of Control ultimately triumphs is of no concern to these people.

Those who can climb the ladder to get here won't care about the fate of all humanity when a comet hits Earth, because their own underground fortresses are already built, and they're only here to watch a good show.

Five kilometers away, on a clock tower, a man and a woman quietly observed the lakeside environment through binoculars. The blond, blue-eyed man had a calm face and a slightly serious expression, while the blue-haired woman smiled, her snow-white skin seemingly glowing under the light of the mineral crystals.

"You're wanted by the Bureau of Control, yet you're still so concerned about world safety?" Flandre asked with a smile.

"I suppose so. I'm also investigating a secret. I recently heard that you, Miss Flandre, have also become a secret mouthpiece. Is that true?"

“I suppose so, after all, I’m an information broker. What, Lord Edward, the near-ascended one?” Flandre addressed him in a subtle tone.

Edward put down his binoculars and smiled slightly: "Don't believe the rumors. As a former investigator of the Control Bureau, how could I possibly choose to be promoted to an anonymous position? I'm just an ordinary human with an excessively strong sense of curiosity."

"So what are you investigating now?"

“You can’t say that, or you’ll sell it as intelligence, right? With you here this time, the Bureau of Public Opinion Management’s expenses will probably increase by 10%,” Edward joked.

"I'm not that corrupt, and I didn't risk coming here to watch this show for hush money. I'm doing this to make things easier for the Control Bureau. The battle between Sprite the Rift and the Control Bureau isn't my money-making project. My money-making project is the audience list."

Flandre picked up her binoculars and looked into the stained glass window of the Blood God Church, a few hundred meters away. She saw a blurry human figure.

"Look, that guy over there is the leader of the Little Knife Society. The head of this little cult is also an A-level wanted criminal by the Bureau of Control."

And over there, there's a mortician at the funeral home. He arrived just a day ago. He must have heard the news quite late, but he acted very quickly. I wonder where he heard it from. Maybe it's from the Six Eyes Cult?

Oh, and those three secret tongues over there, they're from another secret cult. If we ignore them, within three days of leaving, what happened here will be known all over the world like flyers.

These people are all cash cows. If they can leave here alive, a single name can fetch millions from the control bureau.

"It seems your religious beliefs are purely for money."

“I don’t have your pure pursuits. The mundane things in life are enough for me to enjoy. I only ask to enjoy life to the fullest, to live a life free from illness and disaster, and to die peacefully in my old age,” Flandre said sincerely.

Edward: "No way. If all you care about is money, why don't you auction off that forbidden book on death? You could even open a class on it and make a lot of money."

“Uh…wait for the heat to die down.” Flandre chuckled awkwardly, her expression slightly displeased. “Do all you legendary investigators say such hurtful things when you chat with people?” “Miss Flandre, perhaps our chat should end here. I think we should walk a bit further away. It seems that important person has arrived.” Edward put down his binoculars and jumped onto the roof outside the clock tower.

Flandre immediately stopped smiling, took one last look at the center of the lake, and without hesitation, flipped over the railing and followed closely behind Edward's back.

The sounds of the streets by the lake suddenly fell silent.

The silence lasted only a moment, seemingly without any force at play, but rather by sheer coincidence. It was like a noisy classroom during evening self-study suddenly falling silent for no apparent reason. A passive desire to shut up spread like a plague without cause, and ultimately everyone remained silent for a non-existent reason.

Now, the scope of this silence is even wider. Although it lasts for a very short time, the speed and timing of its suddenness are enough to make everyone feel uneasy.

Castanet and Blue Lily remained silent. Everyone on the street was walking, but driven by the instinct of human beings as social animals deep in their blood, they all quieted down and, while continuing their normal activities, began to investigate the reason for this unanimous silence.

There was no reason... the atmosphere seemed to have been severed by something.

The wind blows from the center of the lake.

Castanet and Blue Lily stood up abruptly, neither of them speaking. They both knew that this time it wasn't just crying wolf... or rather, the wolf had really come.

"Here it comes." Castanin casually tossed the remaining half of the blood and the wine glass into the lake.

Blue Lily took a step back, and the figures that were not nearby seemed to teleport to the shore. The vampire elders and nobles who were originally sitting in various places on the lake shore gathered here as if they had received an irresistible summons.

The vampires and humans on the street began to whisper among themselves, a scene that piqued their curiosity.

"What's wrong? What are you trying to do?"

"Is war about to break out? Which family are they going to fight?"

"How is that possible? Didn't you see those two from the Rhodes family and the Kikivig family standing together?"

"Yes, the second son of the Rhodes family cut off the manhood of the third son of the Chichivig family, and had half of his own face torn off, yet they can still stand together!"

"Look, there's more over there!"

Old gossip and secrets erupted at this moment. Travelers, innkeepers, missionaries, humans, and vampires all exchanged information, shared their thoughts and guesses, and soon they were surprised to find that all the famous nobles they could name had gathered here!

If that were all, it wouldn't be surprising, since we often see this kind of thing during major conflicts between families and family alliances.

However, the sight of families and political alliances that are mortal enemies standing together without any distinction between themselves, as if they were welcoming something, inevitably makes one think of the impossible within the possible.

"Could it be..."

"Is the Grand Duke coming back?" Someone whispered, and a trembling emotion and physical reaction quickly spread through the crowd.

But soon, some people realized the error of this conjecture, because it was obvious to anyone with discerning eyes that these highly respected nobles who had achieved immortality did not show any respect.

It's not that the Grand Duke has returned.

What's coming...something even more ominous.

(End of this chapter)