Chapitre 35: Old Neil’s Problem
Chapter 35: Old Neil's Problem
Klein tugged on the cord connected to the little bell that served as the bell for Old Neil's bungalow. There was no answer, so he repeated the process while the others stayed a few meters behind him.
Seeing that there was still no reaction from inside the house, he commented heavily that Old Neil might have been to the doctor, but they all knew the truth.
'Damn…' William pursed his lips.
Just then, a distant melody began to be heard from inside the house. Someone seemed to be playing the piano in a melancholy tone.
Dunn's face became much more serious and stern, and he wasn't the only one. A transparent liquid began to come out from under the dark wooden door.
The liquid, at first more like water, began to turn a deep crimson red.
'Blood.' The same thought crossed the minds of each one of the Nighthawks.
"Dunn, why are you here?" Old Neil's voice sounded almost completely normal, except for being a little hoarser than usual.
Something trembled inside William's heart. Beside him, Debris stirred as if she was ready to jump into William's hands.
"We've come to visit you, since we haven't seen you for a few days we thought you might be sick and need to see someone," Dunn spoke calmly.
Old Neil did not reply instantly, but waited a few seconds, then exclaimed in anger and terror, "No! You're lying!"
Klein and the others wanted to say something, but he cut them off.
"I know my condition isn't quite right, but I haven't hurt anyone, I swear!" Then he raised his voice. "I have never betrayed the Nighthawks, I have done nothing wrong. Klein, William! Remember when I told you about the Mystery Pryers maxim? Do as you wish, but do not harm. I keep following it."
'You…' William froze, staring at the door.
"Go back, guys. Tomorrow I'll be back to normal, I would never hurt anyone." Old Neil pleaded.
"What have you been doing all this time?" The Captain did not lose his composure and continued talking to him.
"I'm trying to resurrect Celeste! Dunn, I found a way!" Now the old man responded with much more enthusiasm than before. "You know, when I was younger I tried to cure her illness, but failed due to lacking the necessary knowledge. If I had been a High-Sequence Beyonder, all of this would be much easier. No... no I can give up now. Go back, Dunn, please."
Dunn asked again. "How do you plan to resurrect Celeste?"
"I'll use the 'Alchemical Life' method to create an immortal body for her. Dunn, you might not know of it, but Sequence 4 Beyonders from the Church of Mother Earth are good at this. The corresponding Sequence in the Savant pathway can barely do it as well. Yes, I will complete it with the aid of God's favor." He began to explain. "Then, I'll summon her spirit from the spirit world and pray for God's help to combine her spirit and body. Isn't it a great idea?"
"Actually, that's a great idea. Let us in, Neil, maybe we can help you." Dunn squeezed his eyes shut.
Both Klein and Royale didn't know what to say, so they kept quiet trying to take in what was happening. William, on the other hand, stared at the door with a look that was difficult to interpret.
"Are you still not willing to leave me alone?" The voice became a little hoarser. "I'll be back to normal tomorrow, I swear. I swear I'll stop trying to make undeserved claims, and I'll stop stealing your coffee beans, Dunn."
Dunn Smith placed a hand on his hat.
"You're misunderstanding something, Old Neil. You're our teammate, and we know you're not okay, so we just want to visit. We're not leaving until we're sure you're okay."
There was a slight hesitation from inside the house. "There's no problem with me, really. I'll recover tomorrow."
The blood continued to flow under the door into the garden.
"We've known each other for years, Old Neil. I'm really worried about you, so I won't leave until I see you with my own eyes." The captain of the Tingen Nighthawks commented softly.
"...Alright." The old man sounded defeated. "There really is nothing wrong with me."
The door opened with a creak. From the furniture to the carpet to the walls, everything was covered in blood and hair. Old Neil's head hung in the air, connected to the ceiling by the same sticky liquid.
He had two additional pairs of eyes on his cheeks and forehead. These eyes were lashless, and an indifferent red color.
The piano played by itself with the same melody as before.
"You see? I'm perfectly fine." He said with a beaming smile.
Fortunately, the Nighthawks focused their sights on Old Neil. Otherwise, they would have noticed how William firmly gripped Debris's handle and lifted her on sheer instinct.
It wasn't a conscious move, nor was it driven by fear of Old Neil.
No, what caused this reaction was the aura that was pouring out from the entire place. It was an instinctive act that came after meeting Adam, and almost dying against Madam Sharon.
'It's the same as then... No, it's even a bit stronger.' He remembered the moment he met Adam. Incredible as it was, William felt no fear, which surprised even himself. 'Right, trying to escape won't do any good with these existences. If so, I'll just fight with everything I have.'
His mind forgot the fact that he was not facing an existence like the ones he was imagining, but only someone contaminated by it. His eyes sharpened, like a predator poised to hunt down his prey.
"Darling." Debris warned him.
And that woke him up. He realized that he had started to leak some of Debris's aura subconsciously, which would probably have drawn everyone's attention in the room if he had moved. Luckily, not more than a second passed since he drew Debris.
'Thank you.' He looked at Old Neil's condition.
"No problem." The sword said.
William took a deep breath. 'Now... we must take care of this.'
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone