Capítulo 28: Chapter 28: Qilangos
Chapter 28: Qilangos
Alice lowered her head, bit her lower lip with her upper teeth, and coughed lightly to cover up her almost uncontrollable laughter as she requested the Fool's follower for help.
The Fool, seated at the head of the bronze long table, responded more skillfully under the cover of the gray fog, "The premise is that my follower happens to be in Backlund."
"Alright." Alger withdrew his gaze with a mix of disappointment and anticipation.
"What is special about that magical item of Qilangos?" Audrey began to inquire about her mission target, and Alice also perked up her ears.
Facing Audrey's question, Alger seemed prepared and answered without hesitation, "The true name of that magical item is unknown, but those who know a bit about it call it 'Creeping Hunger.' Qilangos must satisfy it with the soul and flesh of a living person every other day, or it will take its owner as a substitute."
This description made Alice frown. She had a natural aversion to such evil items that craved human blood, having never seen the cruelty of the extraordinary world.
"This is an important clue to finding Qilangos," Audrey said with a slight frown, also showing her dislike for the magical item.
"Yes, but in a metropolis with at least five million people, the disappearance of a few homeless people won't be noticed," Alger reminded, causing Alice to pause suddenly. She realized that the former Alice was also a homeless girl whose disappearance would go unnoticed.
Alger continued, "Since obtaining 'Creeping Hunger,' Qilangos has become very difficult to deal with. He was originally just a 'Wind Blessed,' possessing decent extraordinary abilities in the fields of water, wind, and weather. But later, people discovered that he could drive targets mad, enter others' dreams, summon light to purify the undead, enhance himself with singing, and change his appearance to look like different people. Almost omnipotent."
At the end of his words, Alger speculated, "We suspect that all these abilities are brought by 'Creeping Hunger'..."
"Shepherd!" Derrick and Alice almost simultaneously blurted out.
Klein also thought of this matter—after all, there was a Shepherd in Tingen City now, and information about Shepherds had been made public to every Night Watcher.
"Shepherd?" Audrey and Alger asked simultaneously.
Alice looked at Derrick, stopping him from explaining with a glance, then raised her eyebrows at Audrey and Alger.
"I will try my best to gather more information you want, or you can propose other rewards, and the Fool can witness it," Alger immediately offered.
"I can also pay a reward," Audrey quickly added.
"Mr. Sun can supplement what I say," Alice glanced at the naive Derrick, realizing his pure nature was worrisome, "I will split the reward with Mr. Sun... Well, we can discuss the specifics later—I just need information about the Life School and clues about the 'Monster' pathway's extraordinary."
Realizing the value of his information, Derrick gratefully glanced at Alice. Although Alger regretted not getting the information for free, he accepted the situation. Audrey also realized Derrick's purity and her trust in Alice increased a bit—after all, Alice was genuinely doing a good deed.
So, Alice slowly began to speak:
"The 'Shepherd' is Sequence 5 of the 'Secret Prayer' pathway, which is controlled by the Aurora Order. The characteristics of the magical item you mentioned are very similar to the abilities of a 'Shepherd.'
"A 'Shepherd' can 'herd' souls, including resentful spirits and evil spirits. They can devour these souls into their bodies, drive them, and use the extraordinary abilities corresponding to these souls, just like herding lambs for a deity.
"A 'Shepherd' has a limit on the number of souls they can herd, but they can replace them. A 'Shepherd' who reasonably matches extraordinary abilities is recognized as the strongest in encounters below demigod level."
After saying this, Alice looked at Derrick, who shook his head, "Miss Destiny's introduction is very comprehensive; I have nothing to add."
Then, Alice looked at Alger and Audrey with a warning look, "If you encounter Qilangos, my only advice is to run."
"Strongest in encounters below demigod level" was a rather hollow concept for Alice, as she had not seen many serious battles between extraordinary individuals. However, under Dunn's repeated warnings, she remembered to run if she encountered Mr. A.
Alger and Audrey both nodded. Compared to Audrey, who lacked understanding of battles between extraordinary individuals, Alger's expression was more serious. He understood the weight of "strongest in encounters below demigod level" and how terrifying a reasonable combination of multiple extraordinary abilities could be for low-sequence extraordinaries.
But just investigating information, the adventurous Miss Justice thought she could give it a try: "Mr. Hanged Man, I am willing to accept this commission, but I cannot guarantee finding 'Hurricane Lieutenant' Qilangos."
"There is no better answer than this. Whether you succeed or not, as long as you try, I will pay you a certain reward afterward, such as some secret knowledge and information. And if you succeed, I might directly provide you with the main material for 'Mind Reader,' of course, provided we know what it is." The Hanged Man's attitude was quite generous, and Alice thought she might get the information she wanted.
"Deal."
This transaction was concluded with Miss Justice's voice, and with Klein's permission and help, Alger materialized Qilangos's portrait.
Alice also memorized Qilangos's appearance—well, just in case.
This one of the seven pirate generals had a distinctive broad chin, brown hair tied into an ancient warrior's bun at the back of his head, and dark green eyes that seemed to hold a smile but were exceptionally cold.
After the transaction, it was time to share information and discuss. After Alger and Audrey fell silent, Alice pondered and spoke for the first time in this session: "...An ordinary woman, due to some unexpected reason, became pregnant with the true... the offspring of the Fallen Creator. Mr. A of the Aurora Order left Backlund for this reason, and perhaps soon, Mr. A will return to Backlund with her."
(End of this chapter)
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