Night Journey

Chapter 54 Claws
After entrusting Bruce with the work, Cillian sat upright at his desk.

Only then did Cillian have time to carefully perceive the changes in his body.

After slaying the enemies of Chaos, the Blessing of Hatred and Evil further enhanced Cirion's power, bringing his Soul Essence concentration to approximately 6.2%.

He gained a 0.2% boost from killing just one Rank 1 Chaos Cultist, but Cillian was not happy about it; on the contrary, he had a headache.

With the insatiable greed of the Ouroboros Seal, the boost gained from killing a first-rank Chaos enemy will become less and less, until it becomes like that of an ordinary demon, with no further boost.

At that point, Cillian will need some stronger rivals to increase his promotion rate.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Cillian."

Cillian said to himself.

It has only been a little over two months since I became a torchbearer in Baiya Town.

Two months... so much has happened, it feels like it's been longer than two years.

Cillian didn't know how fast other extraordinary individuals on their paths advanced, but judging from the age and experience of Dalin, Anya, and others, he was clearly progressing faster than most.

Opening the notebook, Cillian came to the page about the Ouroboros Seal.

This mysterious mark is not only related to Cirion's origins, but also bestows upon him a powerful blessing.

Ciri's true power is the blessing and the creation of all things, which, based on Ciri's experience and will, has evolved into the present blessing and the hatred and evil.

For some inexplicable reason, Cillian had a strange idea.

Perhaps, the blessing and the creation of all things is not limited to this. When Cirien encounters a certain opportunity, it may evolve into a blessing with a completely opposite power.

Cillian quickly turned the pages of the book. This idea was too far removed from his current self, and there was no need to think about it too much.

On the next page, a jet-black claw comes into view; this is the symbol of Tania.

Cillian looked out the window.

Night fell once again over Hull, and the lighthouse burned quietly, illuminating the city with a bright, clear light.

“Tanya, you’re hiding somewhere in this city, aren’t you?” Cillian murmured, “hiding in some dark corner overgrown with scarlet mycelium.”

Cillian investigated the master Tania served, but found nothing.

Evil and wicked mother fungus.

Whether in public libraries or the city garrison's archives, records of the villains are extremely scarce, consisting only of vague and general descriptions.

The evils of chaos possess power far beyond what ordinary people can imagine. Under certain circumstances, even if one learns of the existence of these evils through written text, one will be corrupted and eroded by the power of chaos.

Not only are ordinary people unable to resist it, but even extraordinary individuals are not immune.

To prevent similar situations from occurring, the authorities have imposed a large-scale information blockade on the Chaos Evils, allowing the public only to have a very basic and vague understanding of them.

Although Ciri is not considered a member of the general public, as a low-level superhuman, he is not qualified to access such classified information. If he were to take the initiative to do so, it would only attract the attention of others.

Cillian closed his notebook and waited for the next day to arrive.

……

The following day, the city sanitation bureau.

Dalin lit a cigarette, and sparks danced in front of Cillian's eyes.

"Cillian, didn't I already approve your leave?"

Having just teetered on the brink of death yesterday, Cillian is now standing before Daelin as if nothing happened.

"My injury has healed, so there's no need for me to take a vacation."

Cillian stretched his shoulders.

"Are you that short of money?" Dai Lin paused for a few seconds, then said, "Taking a day off won't deduct from your full attendance bonus."

The conversation stalled.

Cillian said with great distress, "Daelin, in your eyes, am I just a greedy mole who doesn't care about his own life?"

"A mole, why a mole?"

Dalyn didn't quite understand Cillian's descriptive style.

Cillian didn't bother to explain, "I'm not that short of money, I just love my job."

"Love your job?" Dai Lin asked, as if he'd seen a ghost. "You're serious about loving this deadly job?"

The conversation stalled again.

“Alright, alright,” Cillian said decisively. “I was almost killed by a bunch of lunatics yesterday. If they continue to operate in Hel City, my life will be in danger at any moment. So I’m going to kill them before they kill me.”

Cillian abandoned his joking attitude, speaking sincerely with a sharp look in his eyes.

Do you think this reason is acceptable?

Seeing Cillian's righteous and indignant demeanor, Daelin thought to himself.

"They're here, they're here, they've finally arrived."

Cillian's passion for his work, his description of the scorching Anya sun, and his mysterious origins... all these clues swirled together in Dalin's mind, forming a rapidly evolving idea.

“Cillian comes from a powerful clan and has a noble bloodline. He came to Hel City to thoroughly investigate the rampant chaos events.”

Dai Lin stubbed out his cigarette, looking profound. "Revenge? That's a good reason, but have you thought about the price you'll pay?"

Cillian said without changing his expression, "You've been talking too much nonsense."

Dai Lin choked.

After letting out a long sigh, Dai Lin tossed out a document and tapped the signature area.

"Sign your name."

Cillian signed his name without even looking at it.

Dalyn inspected the area and gestured for Cillian to close the office door tightly. "Do you know where you fought back then?"

Ciri wondered what the question was, "The underground drainage system of Hull City?"

Dailin shook his head. "Only half right. We call that place the Dark Alley."

"Three rivers flow through the city of Hull. To avoid flooding, Hull has renovated a large area of ​​its underground drainage system over the years."

As the city developed, some underground systems were gradually abandoned and neglected until one day, a group of strangers stumbled upon this forgotten area.

Dailin recounted the history of Hull's development.

"Outsiders and people from the lower classes gradually gathered here. They traded contraband privately and engaged in some shady gray businesses. The location of their gatherings and transactions was not fixed. Wherever they gathered and were active, it was called a dark alley."

It is precisely because of the randomness and secrecy of their gathering locations that the city sanitation bureau has always found it difficult to figure out their activity patterns.

Cillian roughly understood, "In other words, I've wandered into a dark alley."

Dalin nodded and continued, "In recent years, a mysterious Chaos group has become active in Hel City. They have gradually taken control of the alleys and caused us a lot of trouble."

“We have conducted numerous investigations into this chaotic group, resulting in many deaths, but we have gained very little information.”

Following his recollection, Dai Lin continued, "A while ago, a night of tidal activity suddenly appeared in the wilderness. The unusual energy reaction attracted the attention of stargazers, and since then, we have intensified our patrols of the wilderness."

Cillian realized the stories were connected. "And then you met me?"

"It wasn't just meeting you, but also that night, that our investigation into this chaotic group finally made a slight progress."

Dalin opened the drawer and handed a photograph to Cillian.

“This is the clue Anya obtained that night; she cut it off from a Chaos believer.”

The photo shows a piece of skin that has been cut off, bearing a tattoo—a dark claw drawn with messy lines.

Cillian held his breath.

Dai Lin continued, "After rounds of interrogation, we only managed to extract one useful piece of information from him."

He paused and continued.

"The chaotic group is called 'Claw of Evil'."

"You wicked claws..."

Cillian took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, and said calmly,
Is that all the information we have?

"Yes."

Cillian probed, "Where is he being held? Maybe I can..."

“He’s dead,” Dalin interrupted, “the day after we arrested him.”

He then handed over several photos, saying, "He was isolated in a solitary cell, monitored day and night by staff, but he still died right under our noses."

Cillian looked through the photos; it was of a pale, decaying corpse.

Dai Lin squinted and murmured, "We dissected his body and found clumps of fungi in his internal organs. It was these things that drained his blood."

Cillian questioned, "Didn't you examine his body beforehand? How could you let him commit suicide so easily?"

"Suicide? I didn't say he committed suicide."

Dailin countered, "Although he is a Chaos believer, he is just an ordinary person and does not possess Source Energy. We conducted a thorough examination on him before he was imprisoned."

“I can be sure that he didn’t have any of those things in his stomach at that time.”

Cillian hesitated, then said, "You mean..."

Dai Lin frankly stated, "I suspect there are enemy moles within the City Guard Bureau."

Cillian didn't understand, "But everyone underwent the Soul Essence Potion test..."

"The Soul Essence Potion test has limitations. It can only detect the existence of chaotic power, but it cannot probe into a person's mind... To put it bluntly, Cillian, I don't actually hate chaotic power."

Dailin lit another cigarette and began to talk about the world as he saw it.

"I think the power of chaos is like a natural phenomenon, such as earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters. It is neither good nor evil in itself, only minds that are distorted by this power."

Dai Lin changed the subject.

"But in most cases, spiritual depravity does not require the influence of chaos."

Dailin reopened the office door.

"That's all we know."

Cillian stared intently at the tattoo in the photo for a long time before finally speaking.

"What you know is no different from knowing nothing at all."

“At least we know what our enemy is called,” Dalin explained. “Like a portrait that is being refined, having a named enemy makes the target more specific.”

Cillian asked, "So what are you planning to do next?"

"Wait."

Dai Lin uttered a single word.

"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, which puts us at a disadvantage. But the good news is that we still have strong control over Hel City. No matter what the evil claws want to do, they will eventually show their faces."

The next second, Dai Lin deflated and said helplessly, "And, no matter how many ideas we have, we still have to follow the leader's orders."

“Okay, I understand.” Cillian then asked curiously, “Wait a minute, what was that document I just signed?”

"Agreement on the handling of remains".

Dalin waved the document around. "If you die in the line of duty, we will give you a proper funeral to thank you for your contributions to Hull City."

"But this is a mass funeral, and before it takes place, you need to be crammed into the cold storage with the bodies of other people."

(End of this chapter)