Now was not the time for impulsiveness and Xia Jienan had never been the impulsive type. What Sean was doing now wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. In a world like this, it wasn’t uncommon for people to quietly fall into certain obsessions.
He needed to figure out why Sean was doing this.
“All right,” he said, pretending to be helpless. “In this situation, I don’t really have a way to refuse, do I? But since things have reached this point, can’t you at least tell me what you’re planning to do?”
Ye Yuzhi lowered his gaze and answered softly, “I don’t want to tell you.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want you to hate me,” Ye Yuzhi said. “You don’t know what I’m trying to do yet you still want to help me. You’re… good people.”
He paused and his voice became gentler. “You’re also my friend. I don’t want my friends to hate me.”
Xia Jienan almost laughed. The man had tied him up yet still had the nerve to say he didn’t want to be hated but he wasn’t going to use that to provoke Ye Yuzhi.
“I honestly can’t imagine what you could possibly do that would make me hate you,” he said. “Can it be worse than tying me up here?”
Ye Yuzhi nodded. “You will hate it.”
“Even if I don’t know what it is?”
“Yes.” Ye Yuzhi answered, taking out his gun to check the bullets. Then he reached into another pocket and pulled out something very familiar, Xia Jienan’s own gun.
After confirming the ammunition, Ye Yuzhi came to stand before him and spoke quietly. “Actually, to prevent you from interfering with me, I should’ve crippled your legs first.”
There was a hint of sorrow in his eyes. “But I thought about it and decided I shouldn’t go that far. I’m not good with this kind of weapon and if I ended up ruining the rest of your life… that wouldn’t be my intention.”
Xia Jienan: …
Inwardly, he muttered, “I’m performing a psychological analysis on Sean.”
It was a method they had learned through experience, one that allowed them to determine another person’s sanity value. If it succeeded, he would know Sean’s current state of mind.
[You perform Psychoanalysis on Sean: 32/50. 1d3 = 3. SAN = 15.]
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Xia Jienan still sucked in a breath when he heard the result.
What on earth had Sean gone through? How could his sanity be this low? It wasn’t that the Sean who first interacted with them had been hiding things, this Sean’s mental state had seriously deteriorated.
No, then he remembered. If Sean really was the vessel, then as long as he remained in Guerrero Town, his sanity might continuously drain without warning.
Xia Jienan had read his original experiences in the notes and judging from Anthony’s notebook, what Sean was experiencing now was very likely the so called “sanctification.”
When sanity dropped to zero, that would indeed count as “sanctified.”
Realizing this, Xia Jienan looked Ye Yuzhi straight in the eyes. “Are you trying to summon an evil god now too?”
Ye Yuzhi frowned. “He’s not an evil god.” Then he froze slightly. “How do you know?”
He had never told anyone about his intention to summon that being. So how did Samuel know?
“I’ve seen some things…” Xia Jienan answered. “And if that’s what you’re planning to do, then I’ll definitely stop you.”
Before Ye Yuzhi could react, he immediately continued, “But not because I hate you. I’ll stop you because what you’re trying to do is wrong.”
“It’s not wrong,” Ye Yuzhi insisted. “It’s the only way… the only way everyone can be saved. He is a merciful god. He will help us…”
“Sean!” Xia Jienan cut him off. “Doing that won’t save anyone. What will truly save everyone is stopping the ritual at Anthony’s manor. Do you remember the materials you were looking for in the library at the beginning? Do you remember what you were trying to accomplish back then? You told us how to stop the ritual. You didn’t want Him to descend, wasn’t that so?”
“…That was back then,” Ye Yuzhi murmured. “But now, this place has already been ‘contaminated.’”
He looked out the window. The throbbing pain in his arm had been constantly reminding him of something.
Last night he had another nightmare but this time the pain felt distant. It was as if he were watching his past self through a fogged over pane of glass.
Ye Yuzhi knew it was Him protecting him.
To repay that protection, to fulfill his mission or perhaps to fulfill his own wish, he had to do this.
“Only by calling His name can this calamity be saved,” he said, repeating words he couldn’t even recall the origin of. Then he turned back to Xia Jienan. “When that moment comes, you’ll understand me.”
Xia Jienan called out to Ye Yuzhi, who was preparing to leave. “Since that’s the case, I’m going with you.”
Ye Yuzhi turned back to look at him, a faint hint of confusion in his expression.
“I don’t believe what you said.” Xia Jienan hadn’t originally thought the other intended to summon the King in Yellow but if Ye Yuzhi’s sanity had dropped so drastically without him noticing, then anything was possible now. Even if yesterday they had fought those believers side by side.
“So,” he continued, “as your friend, shouldn’t the way you convince me be to take me to Him and let me witness for myself that what you’re saying is real?”
Ye Yuzhi hesitated. “But it’s very dangerous.”
“If He’s truly a merciful god, why would it be dangerous?” Xia Jienan seized upon the flaw in his logic. “You yourself think it’s dangerous, doesn’t that prove that He isn’t such a ‘merciful’ god after all? And besides, if He really exists, wouldn’t He protect me too?”
I’m using Persuade on Sean, Xia Jienan thought silently.
[You use Persuade on Sean: 01/80. Extreme Success.]
[Opposition successful. Sean begins doubting his firmly held belief.]
Thank goodness, Xia Jienan thought.
A flicker of uncertainty crossed Ye Yuzhi’s face. He sensed something was off, he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly but just as Xia Jienan had said, if what he was doing was truly right, then he didn’t need to… didn’t need to go this far.
But what exactly made him so convinced that what he was doing was dangerous? What made him feel that Xia Jienan had to be kept away, preferably far from Guerrero?
What wasn’t right?
He stood there for a long moment before finally forcing himself to step forward. He untied the ropes restraining Xia Jienan and handed his gun back to him.
After a moment of further hesitation, he voiced what he felt. “I’m not sure where the problem is but… I think something’s wrong with me.”
He paused again, then added in a low voice, “If I do something strange… stop me.”
Xia Jienan let out a quiet breath of relief, his expression softening into a smile. “As long as you don’t take advantage of someone helpless, I definitely will.”
Ye Yuzhi stared at him and then whispered, almost timidly, “Mm. I won’t anymore.”
They went down to the cellar to get some food from Alide. Xia Jienan secretly checked on the unconscious cultists again to make sure none of them had woken up. After satisfying their hunger, the two of them left the church together and headed toward Anthony’s manor.
On the way, Ye Yuzhi couldn’t help but speak again. “It’s very dangerous.”
Xia Jienan thought privately that he had seen far worse dangers than this but outwardly he wore an easy smile. “Mm but if we’re together, it won’t be dangerous. I’m pretty good with a gun, you know.”
He tilted his head to glance at Ye Yuzhi beside him. “Don’t be so tense. Let’s talk about something lighter.”
“There’s a small village in the southern part of Country E. It’s a great place to visit in the spring, good scenery, relaxing atmosphere. Want to check it out someday?”
Ye Yuzhi blinked, caught off guard. “What?”
Seeing his dazed expression, Xia Jienan couldn’t help reaching out to ruffle his hair. “May I invite you to go with me, Mr. Sean?”
If it was this person in front of him, he wouldn’t mind staying a while longer, providing some personal support, keeping him company and pulling him back from the edge of losing control.
__________
Author’s Note:
Ye Yuzhi’s current state is the side effect of madness, he can’t tell reality from illusion. You can understand it as him genuinely believing he is Sean right now. He can’t even hear the dice voices at the moment.
His SAN dropping another 10 is because it’s overnight, his SAN decreases every night (not sure if anyone noticed).
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
You made it to the end. The translator would like a tiny coffee. ☕
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Guerrero’s Lair (1)Chapter 2 · Guerrero’s Lair (2)Chapter 3 · Guerrero’s Lair (3)Chapter 4 · Guerrero’s Lair (4)Chapter 5 · Guerrero’s Lair (5)Chapter 6 · Guerrero’s Lair (6)Chapter 7 · Guerrero’s Lair (7)Chapter 8 · Guerrero’s Lair (8)Chapter 9 · Guerrero’s Lair (9)Chapter 10 · Guerrero’s Lair (10)Chapter 11 · Guerrero’s Lair (11)Chapter 12 · Guerrero’s Lair (12)Chapter 13 · Guerrero’s Lair (13)Chapter 14 · Guerrero’s Lair (14)Chapter 15 · Guerrero’s Lair (15)Chapter 16 · Guerrero’s Lair (16)Chapter 17 · Guerrero’s Lair (17)Chapter 18 · Guerrero’s Lair (18)Chapter 19 · Guerrero’s Lair (19)Chapter 20 · Guerrero’s Lair (20)Chapter 21 · Guerrero’s Lair (21)Chapter 22 · Guerrero’s Lair (22)Chapter 23 · Interlude (1)Chapter 24 · The interlude (2)Chapter 25 · The interlude (3)Chapter 26 Part 1 · Calling in the Wind (1)Chapter 26 Part 2 · Calling in the Wind (1)Chapter 27 · Calling in the Wind (2)Chapter 28 · Calling in the Wind (3)Chapter 29 · Calling in the Wind (4)Chapter 30 · Calling in the Wind (5)Chapter 31 · Calling in the Wind (6)Chapter 32 · Calling in the Wind (7)Chapter 33 · Calling in the Wind (8)Chapter 34 · Calling in the Wind (9)Chapter 35 · Calling in the Wind (10)Chapter 36 · Interlude (4)Chapter 37 · Interlude (5)Chapter 38 · Interlude (6)Chapter 39 · Interlude (7)Chapter 40 · Interlude (8)Chapter 41 · Interlude (9)Chapter 42 · Welcome to Doville (1)Chapter 43 · Welcome to Doville (2)Chapter 44 · Welcome to Doville (3)Chapter 45 · Welcome to Doville (4)Chapter 46 · Welcome to Doville (5)Chapter 47 · Welcome to Doville (6)Chapter 48 · Welcome to Doville (7)Chapter 49 · Welcome to Doville (8)Chapter 50 · Welcome to Doville (9)Chapter 51 · Welcome to Doville (10)Chapter 52 · Welcome to Doville (11)Chapter 53 · Welcome to Doville (12)Chapter 54 · Interlude (10)Chapter 55 · Interlude (11)Chapter 56 · Interlude (12)Chapter 57 · Interlude (13)Chapter 58 · Interlude (14)Chapter 59 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (1)Chapter 60 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (2)Chapter 61 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (3)Chapter 62 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (4)Chapter 63 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (5)Chapter 64 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (6)Chapter 65 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (7)Chapter 66 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (8)Chapter 67 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (9)Chapter 68 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (10)Chapter 69 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (11)Chapter 70 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (12)Chapter 71 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (13)Chapter 72 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (14)Chapter 73 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (15)Chapter 74 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (16)Chapter 75 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (17)Chapter 76 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (18)Chapter 77 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (19)Chapter 78 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (20)Chapter 79 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (21)Chapter 80 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (22)Chapter 81 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (23)Chapter 82 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (24)Chapter 83 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (25)Chapter 84 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (26)Chapter 85 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (27)Chapter 86 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (28)Chapter 87 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (29)Chapter 88 · Tunnel in the Dark Night (30)Chapter 89 · Interlude (15)Chapter 90 · Interlude (16)Chapter 91 · Interlude (17)Chapter 92 · The Promise of Hamelin (1)Chapter 93 · The Promise of Hamelin (2)Chapter 94 · The Promise of Hamelin (3)Chapter 95 · The Promise of Hamelin (4)Chapter 96 · The Promise of Hamelin (5)Chapter 97 · The Promise of Hamelin (6)Chapter 98 · The Promise of Hamelin (7)Chapter 99 · The Promise of Hamelin (8)Chapter 100 · The Promise of Hamelin (9)Chapter 101 · The Promise of Hamelin (10)Chapter 102 · The Promise of Hamelin (11)Chapter 103 · The Promise of Hamelin (12)Chapter 104 · The Promise of Hamelin (13)Chapter 105 · The Promise of Hamelin (14)Chapter 106 · The Promise of Hamelin (15)Chapter 107 · The Promise of Hamelin (16)Chapter 109 · The Promise of Hamelin (18)Chapter 110 · The Promise of Hamelin (19)