Old Gods, Rapid-Fire Guns, and Prohibition

Chapter 2 [Black Mud and Thorns]

Even away from the port, the air in Winster is still cold.

Ethan stood beside the parked car, looking at the huge silent manor in front of him, and for a moment he felt like he was looking at a grave.

As one of the five major mafia families in Winchester, the Pauletta family naturally owns a private estate.

This manor is located in the eastern suburbs of Winster, adjacent to the wealthy area of ​​Winster. It covers a vast area and is the family business accumulated by Ethan's great-grandfather's generation. Now it is about to change hands.

"Let's go, young master. Al is waiting for you." Anya stood quietly by and waited for a while before speaking.

Ethan nodded and walked into the manor.

The manor was very quiet, as if there was no one there.

Anya walked aside and said slowly: "After the mediation ended yesterday, Al asked me to dismiss the servants at home."

Ethan's father, Alberto, only married one wife in his life, Ethan's biological mother. After she died of complications during childbirth, Alberto never married another woman.

So after his eldest brother Leonardo died along with the elite members of the family, there was really not much left at home.

Walking across the long lawn, Ethan entered the old family house.

There was no light in the room, making it dark and cold.

Anya picked up an oil lamp, lit it, and led the way.

Finally they stopped in front of a room deep in the second floor.

Anya knocked gently on the wooden door and said, "Al, Master Ethan is back."

Anya, who always spoke in an indifferent and even mechanical tone, was now extremely respectful.

"Come in." After a while, a voice came from the room.

Anya answered and opened the door. There was a light on in the room, but the curtains were closed, so only the area illuminated by the light could be seen.

On the velvet-covered bed, a middle-aged man was leaning against the pillow and looking at them. The oil lamp made his face look yellow and weak.

Alberto.

Although he was only in his early fifties, Ethan smelled the scent of exhaustion.

Anya had already quietly retreated and closed the door.

There were only two people in the room now.

"Ethan, come here, let me take a good look at you."

Although Alberto was already very weak, the way he leaned over and spoke still had the air of a lion giving orders.

Ethan could only do as he was told, slowly walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Listen to me, Ethan. The family is finished, but this has nothing to do with you. You've always been a good person, so you don't have to be afraid. There are only two things you need to do. First, sign and hand over everything the family has in Winster tonight. Second, leave Winster and return to the capital. I've prepared a ship for you. It's tonight."

Alberto said it all in one breath, without a word of nonsense.

Ethan didn't know how to react. After a long while, he said, "Then what about you...Father?"

"I am going to die, my son. Maybe tonight, maybe the next."

Alberto laughed, and the smile made his face a little redder, but it made him look even more weird.

He suddenly grabbed Ethan's arm with such force that it hurt.

"Listen, son, don't be greedy for anything in Winster. Live the rest of your life in the capital and be an artist, just as your mother wished. The property I left in the capital is enough for you."

Ethan looked at the strange man in front of him, who was theoretically his father, with mixed feelings.

He certainly didn't have much emotion, but he could still feel the man's sincerity.

So he nodded. Alberto loosened his grip, closed his eyes, and leaned back against the pillow.

So far.

Ethan stood up and prepared to leave.

However, just as he reached the door, he suddenly heard a crisp sound, like something metal falling to the ground.

Turning around, he saw something rolling from the side of the bed and stopping at his feet.

In the dim light, he could see clearly that it was a completely black ring with indescribable patterns interwoven on it, which looked like black mud or thorns.

He recognized it as the emblem of the head of the Poretta family.

He looked back at the way he had come. On the bed, Alberto's left hand was spread out limply, and it was obvious that the ring had come out from there.

Seeing this scene, Ethan had a bad feeling. He picked up the ring and walked to the bed. He gently called out "Father" and held Alberto's hand again.

Alberto's hands were getting colder.

There was no need to check for breathing; he was already dead.

Just like he said, he was about to die, maybe tonight, maybe the next moment.

Until the last moment, he held the ring tightly, thinking of his family in his heart, but he said nothing to Ethan.

Because Ethan is a good man, he hopes Ethan can live a good life in the second half of his life.

Something deeper was enveloping Ethan. The man in front of him had done the best for his family.

After holding the ring in silence for a while, Ethan went out and found Anya.

Anya just nodded when she heard the news of Alberto's death and said, "Master, your room has been cleaned up. You can go take a shower and rest for a while. I will take care of this."

Her tone remained calm, but her eyes were clearly filled with deep sorrow.

Ethan didn't know what to say, so he could only leave.

Coming to a room deep on the second floor of a detached house next to the main house, Ethan sat on the bed and waited for the bathtub to be filled with hot water.

He had experienced so many overwhelming things that day that he needed to take a shower to calm down.

Subconsciously stroking the emblem wrapped in black mud and thorns, he suddenly felt a vibration, and then an extremely strong light appeared in front of his eyes, just like what he saw on the boat. The mercury-like living thing squirmed and slowly wrapped around the emblem in his palm.

Then, some light appeared on the emblem. It was dark and faint, and was immediately swallowed up by the thing.

Then, as if a voice was telling him, or as if it were a physiological reaction like breathing or blood flow, he had to do something.

Proclaim your name.

Ethan was a little surprised.

It’s true, it’s real, not an illusion.

At first he thought it was a side effect of time travel on the boat, but now he has confirmed that it is real, he really brought the 'name of the true God' with him.

Moreover, there are similar things in this world.

The black light on the emblem is proof of that.

Wouldn't that make him invincible?
Because in that game, possessing the 'name of a true god' is equivalent to becoming a god, and your words are enforced. As long as a name is declared, all the authority and power contained in that name will be controlled.

Looking at the dazzling mercury that was wriggling like a living thing, Ethan took a deep breath and slowly uttered a word.

　Please read the new book!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)