Fifth Hundred and Thirtieth Scratch
In the west of Adus, Dosa.
During the night in Dosa, darkness and silence reigned. The evening wind blew, and the entire city was shrouded under the shadow of nightfall, with only a few flickering lights visible.
Just as the whole city fell into the silence of the dark, in a house at the edge of the city, the lights continued to flicker. Inside the house, a rhythmic beeping sound persisted. At a corner table sat two men dressed in robes, resembling locals from Northern Ufeiga, seated behind a long table. On top of the table lay a machine connected to various lines. The two men leaned over the table, busily working on something. Behind them stood a young man from the Main Continent, also in robes, standing still, his expression anxious as he waited for something.
“Mr. Kloshi… The response from Karnak has arrived.”
Suddenly, one of the robed men sitting at the long table stood up, holding a piece of paper and turned back to address the young man behind him. The young man referred to as Kloshi brightened upon hearing the robed man’s words and immediately responded.
“What did they say?”
“The response from Karnak says they have obtained intelligence about Aidan’s movements tomorrow morning, and they will make corresponding deployments to ambush him. Additionally, regarding your ghost messenger, they mentioned that no ghost messenger was seen arriving in Karnak this afternoon. Your messenger hasn’t reached its destination.”
The robed man continued to speak to Kloshi. Upon hearing that Karnak had received his intelligence, Kloshi couldn’t help but relax slightly, taking a deep breath. However, when he learned that his messenger hadn’t made it to Karnak, his brow furrowed again.
‘Not reaching Karnak means my messenger encountered problems on the way. What could have happened? Was it attacked by spirit body creatures in the Netherworld? Or did Aidan sense there were spies in the city and deployed other ghosts to counteract us?’
After listening to the report from the robed man, Karnak pondered possible reasons for his messenger’s disappearance halfway through. He believed his messenger must have encountered trouble in the Netherworld, either intercepted by Aidan’s spirits or confronted by fierce Netherworld spirits.
Kloshi thought it unlikely that Aidan would intercept his messenger because Dosa was large enough, and the corresponding projection area in the Netherworld was extensive. An individual ghost’s perception range was limited, requiring many ghosts to monitor such a vast area. He had confirmed that there were no such monitoring souls in Dosa’s Netherworld projection. Moreover, Aidan alone couldn’t control so many ghosts.
Therefore, Kloshi concluded that his messenger likely encountered those evil spirits that roamed between the living world and the Netherworld.
‘This is most likely just an accident. My messenger was probably attacked by some evil spirits. It’s not likely Aidan is behind this. If Aidan knew my exact location in Dosa, I wouldn’t be able to stay here safely. He would immediately bring people to find me.’
Kloshi thought this through and then slowly walked to one side, picking up a cup of tea to drink. Just as he raised the cup to his lips, an unexpected change occurred.
“!!!”
Suddenly, as a “Silence” extraordinary being, Kloshi’s soul perception heard a piercing shriek. He recognized this sound, which ordinary people couldn’t hear—it was the warning call from his sentry ghost outside the base. This was his ghost alerting him!
Upon hearing the shrill alarm, Kloshi’s heart sank, and his face turned grim. Without hesitation, he turned his head and sternly addressed his two subordinates nearby.
“We’ve been exposed! Destroy the documents! Evacuate quickly! Each person for themselves!”
After speaking, Kloshi rushed to the table, grabbing a kerosene bottle he had prepared earlier and splashed it onto the accumulated documents. Then, he pulled out a box of matches, lit one, and threw it onto the table, causing flames to erupt and rapidly spread.
After setting the fire, Kloshi quickly ran to the wall, opened a window, and jumped out, disappearing instantly. The two robed men inside the room exchanged glances and immediately acted, jumping out different windows and fleeing in separate directions, leaving the rapidly spreading fire behind.
After jumping out the window, one of the robed men landed in a narrow, dirty alley. Without thinking, he started running as soon as he landed, heading quickly in one direction. Just as he reached a corner, a tall, black figure suddenly appeared on the other side of the corner, lunging at the robed man. Caught off guard, the robed man was knocked to the ground by the immense force.
Once knocked down, the robed man was pinned beneath the tall figure. He struggled desperately to free himself, but at that moment, a pain he had never felt before surged through his body. In a state of extreme numbness, he involuntarily trembled. After a violent convulsion, he foamed at the mouth and lost consciousness.
After the robed man fainted, the towering figure slowly stood up, looking down at the unconscious robed man. Searching his body, the figure found a seal.
…
On the other hand, after jumping out the window, Kloshi began to run swiftly toward the city exit. Due to overall poverty, few lights were on in Dosa at night. The surroundings were dim, and the moonlight provided the main source of illumination.
With quick steps, Kloshi raced through the narrow alleys, heading toward the city outskirts. He encountered no obstacles along the way. While running, he pondered how he had been exposed and where things had gone wrong.
Despite the almost unimpeded path, Kloshi remained vigilant, constantly alert to any sudden developments. His vigilance proved correct, as he was soon attacked.
As Kloshi reached a crossroads, a figure that had been lying in wait suddenly lunged at him from the right side. Seeing this, Kloshi immediately sidestepped, dodging the attack. He then pulled out two daggers from his pocket and threw them at the attacker, accurately hitting their vital points. The attacker let out a cry and fell to the ground, motionless.
Having successfully neutralized the attacker, Kloshi was about to catch his breath when another, even taller figure suddenly appeared behind him, grabbing him tightly. Kloshi couldn’t escape, and the grip was unexpectedly strong. Struggling, he realized he couldn’t break free.
Seeing this, Kloshi grabbed the hand that was restraining him. As he used his ability, dark spots began to spread across the attacker’s arm. These spots quickly covered the attacker, making him appear ill. The attacker weakened visibly.
Feeling the weakening grip, Kloshi tried harder to break free. Just then, several figures of similar build emerged from other directions at the crossroads, rushing toward Kloshi. Nearly freed, Kloshi was now restrained by multiple attackers, pressed to the ground by several large men. No matter how he struggled, it was futile.
‘Bad situation… How did so many people come out of nowhere!’
Lying on the floor, Kloshi was pinned down by numerous attackers. Their strength was immense, and he felt his skin being scratched by multiple hands, causing pain.
Clamped down, unable to move, Kloshi felt a wave of despair. At that moment, a series of loud bangs echoed through the air.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Accompanied by a series of gunshots, the figures pinning Kloshi fell to the ground, screaming. Freed from restraint, Kloshi immediately stood up and turned around in the smoke-filled space. He saw a familiar robed man standing at the opposite side of the crossroads, holding a smoking revolver aimed at him.
That was one of Kloshi’s subordinates. The attackers who had restrained him had all been shot dead by him. Looking at his subordinate, Kloshi was somewhat stunned.
“Run! They have many more people! Split up!”
The robed man holding the g*n shouted at Kloshi, then quickly ran off in one direction, disappearing from sight. Seeing this, Kloshi paused momentarily, then turned and ran in another direction. Soon, his figure vanished into the darkness at the end of the street.
After Kloshi completely disappeared, the crossroads returned to the quiet of the night. Apart from the bodies and bloodstains on the ground, everything else was unchanged.
At that moment, a figure appeared again at the end of one street leading to the crossroads. It was none other than the robed man who had fled hurriedly earlier. After helping Kloshi, he had quickly escaped, only to reappear on the same street after Kloshi left. He slowly walked toward the crossroads.
Standing at the crossroads, the robed man looked around, surveying the scene. He watched the corpses he had “killed,” watching them slowly rise and “resurrect.”
Seeing this, the robed man showed no surprise, instead smiling. The resurrected attackers also smiled, mirroring his expression almost perfectly.
After exchanging smiles with the resurrected attackers, the robed man and the attackers turned their gaze in the direction Kloshi had disappeared, facing the darkness that hid Kloshi’s form. Their smiles remained unchanged.
…
After being “rescued” by his subordinates, the lucky escapee Kloshi immediately continued his frantic flight toward the city outskirts. Without stopping, he reached the outskirts of Dosa and quickly found a remote, hidden stable. There, he acquired the horses they had prepared beforehand. Mounting a horse, Kloshi rode away under the cover of night toward the outside of Dosa.
Under the night sky, the wind howled over the desert. Riding through the darkness, Kloshi quickly distanced himself from Dosa. The city lights rapidly faded from his view.
After riding through the vast, desolate desert for most of the night, Kloshi gradually slowed down. He looked up at the sky and, in his soul vision, saw the floating shadows in the air.
Seeing the shadows in the sky, Kloshi sighed in relief. The tension he had felt for nearly a night eased. Searching his body, he found a bone card. Holding it tightly, he continued riding, heading into the wilderness filled with countless undead. The guarding undead paid no attention to his approach.
Thus, Kloshi rode among the dead, moving toward Karnak, guarded by the deceased. Along the way, what he saw was faithfully reflected in Dorothy’s eyes.
At this moment, Dorothy sat atop a tower in Dosa, gazing into the distant darkness. Beyond her sight, Kloshi brought her vision to places beyond her reach. Unbeknownst to him, he had become a nail driven into Karnak for Dorothy.
Kloshi never imagined that he would be a spy and informant in Dosa and still play that role in Karnak.
