The Last King Of Darkness

From the expression on the girl's face, she seemed petrified.

Useful.

Rod's heart lifted with joy.

As long as he could cling to those long white legs, maybe his personal safety was assured.

----

In the dead silence, the girl suddenly laughed.

Her smile was bright and delicate, like the undulating light spreading across a shimmering lake.

"Fine, I believe you, White Wolf. Take him back to the Church Medical Center. The Healing Nuns will take good care of him. Ah... regarding the Internal Affairs Court, if necessary, just cooperate with their investigation," she said.

She turned her gaze towards him.

"How does that sound?"

It was as if she was seeking his opinion.

Although Rod didn't quite understand, he could guess that these were very favorable terms, so he hurriedly said, "Of course, that's fine."

White Wolf glanced at him, his tone still cool and calm, "Guardian, I think this is inappropriate..."

"Hmm... the Royal City just informed me of a new salary raise slot..."

White Wolf took Rod's arm, "Let's go."

Aro, standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh, whereas Rod kept a serious expression—he was professionally trained and usually didn't laugh.

Ha ha ha ha.

Damn, couldn't hold it in.

"Hey."

Before leaving, the girl called out to him again.

"What's your name?"

Rod turned around, momentarily bewildered, but he didn't notice and responded smoothly.

"Rod."

The girl smiled, "Pleased to meet you, Rod from Redstone Village. My name is Qingyu, the Guardian of District Twelve. I hope we can meet again one day."

----

After White Wolf left, Aro asked curiously, "Sister, why would you do that? The annihilation of the Redstone Village relocation team is a very serious matter. Just cooperating with the investigation, if the Supreme Council gets wind of this, those old men will nag you again."

Qingyu answered calmly, "I believe he's not a Doomsday believer."

Aro asked, "Why? Is it because of the interesting things he said?"

Qingyu spoke softly, "Aro, you don't understand. The followers of the Doomsday Sect are a bunch of lunatics—twisted, deranged, paranoid, hateful. They lack any passion for life, only harboring perverted desires and conspiracies in their minds."

Aro realized, "So they can't come up with such syrupy and pretentious language filled with the air of a greenhouse, nor such a discordant whitewashing plan. Hmm... I feel like we can't come up with it either. The environment in Redstone Village is actually quite harsh... He is indeed a strange person."

Qingyu said with a smile, "That's why I believe he has no direct connection to this matter; he is not the main culprit or the mastermind behind it. It's enough to cooperate with the Judgement Court's investigation without extracting and killing his soul."

"Besides, he's just an ordinary person, uncorrupted, untainted, and without mastery of Spiritual Energy. It would be very difficult for him to accomplish such a difficult task."

The others nearby nodded in agreement, "Exactly, the Guardian is right."

"I've never seen such a naive Doomsday believer."

"He isn't a Fire Holder; the suspicion is minimal."

"Clueless, like a white... flower."

Another person asked, "But why did they specifically attack this relocation team?"

The atmosphere grew heavy.

"They didn't take any goods, nor did they contaminate the source of fire but conducted an unrecognizable ritual... Is it related to the impending Black Tide?" one person speculated.

"Perhaps they were trying to pray to some Evil God. The power leaked from the ritual cursed the bodies..."

"But what's the point of that? Praying to madness only results in madness. There are no signs of any unknown beings descending here; their ritual failed."

Then someone came over to report, "Guardian, the residual Spiritual Energy fluctuation is very strange and indistinguishable, making backtracking unlikely."

Everyone's faces darkened.

----

----

Ever since his Awakening, Rod's mind had been extremely tense and anxious, only now beginning to relax a little.

Although the burly man was not friendly towards him, he was trustworthy. Carrying a lamp in one hand and leading Rod with the other, he ran alone in the darkness. His lamp illuminated only a few meters around him, and beyond was endless darkness and dense Black Fog. No matter how far or how long they walked, nothing changed.

In such an environment, the presence of a strong man always brought a sense of safety, like encountering a strong player in a promotion match, like young Adou lying in uncle Zhao's arms next door.

The fear of death finally receded a bit. As his mind relaxed, Rod felt extremely tired.

He didn't bother to inquire for more information and fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, he found himself in a small room.

White Wolf stood before him and said coldly.

"You will recuperate here for three days. The Healing Nuns will attempt to soothe your soul, helping you to recover your lost memory. In three days, someone will come to interrogate you, regardless of the outcome, you will be granted the identity of a Royal City inhabitant, permitted to move around in the Outer City's Third and Fourth Districts of the Lower City District."

"At the same time, you must keep in contact with the Judgement Court at all times and report at the specified times and places to the Judgement Court on specified matters."

Before Rod could even speak, he turned and left.

What the hell, I have a bunch of questions waiting to ask you, you just run away, how am I supposed to recover my memory? How do I report on these matters?

I can't even make it up if I tried.

After grumbling to himself for a while, Rod finally calmed down, his thoughts racing as he started to contemplate.

Without a doubt, he had to figure out a way to survive here first.

In his remaining memories, the Royal City was their absolute core, where all order was established and powerful organizational structures originated.

Similarly, it was also the safest area.

Being in the Royal City now was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Rod sighed, realizing although his situation had improved somewhat, he was still not out of danger.

The suspicions against him had not been cleared, and the investigation into the annihilation of the migration team hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles.

Moreover, Rod had to assist with their investigation, a delicate balancing act—not raising any suspicion yet not advancing the progress too swiftly.

"I should figure out if I am the murderer myself, so I won't have to keep ducking and diving."

Rod thought calmly. Here, without any support, the best way to ascertain the truth before the local forces was to recover his memory.

And that hope rested solely on the Healing Nun they mentioned.

"I hope you are truly as profound as they say."

"Ah, blue and white... Qingyu doesn't give me much help either, seems my skills are still not impressive enough..."

After his mind wandered for a while, Rod pulled his thoughts together.

What mattered most now was to find a way to stay alive.

Only by staying alive could there be any possibility.

I should quickly grasp an understanding of this world, this Royal City, and their various peculiarities.

Only by doing so could I better ensure my survival.

"Let's start by observing my surroundings."

Rod looked around. He was in a plain and simple single room of about twenty square meters, unadorned, and without many distinctive features.

The only notable thing was that there was no light source in the room, yet a faint glow kept the environment dimly lit.

"Perhaps they have a special way of producing light," Rod mused.

The room had no windows and was completely enclosed, giving it a somewhat oppressive feel.

On a brown wooden table off to one side sat a strange sculpture, composed of swords, flames, and armored humans, with two lines of text inscribed on its base.

But he did not recognize a single word.

Damn, being illiterate is so annoying.

Adjacent to the table was a tall standing mirror with a simple design and a base carved with intricate patterns.

Rod approached the mirror and saw his reflection.

Black hair, light-colored pupils, a somewhat pale complexion, and a delicate and handsome face, as if in the prime of his youthful looks like the young Tom.

"Damn... is this me? Although not quite up to my original standards, not bad at all."

"It just looks a bit too young, around sixteen or seventeen years old. It would be better if I looked a bit more intimidating..."

"Ah, why the amnesia? I can understand their language perfectly fine."

Rod knocked on his head twice, and the handsome guy in the mirror did the same.

But it was of no use, he was still clueless.

He paced the room twice and felt nothing special; everything was so unfamiliar.

"What a pain... It all depends on the Healing Nun now."

After waiting for a while, the Healing Nun from the Church's medical clinic arrived as promised.

Contrary to his expectations, she was not dressed all in black robes, with a headscarf and holding a cross, nor was she wearing leather bodysuits, high heels, and carrying a submachine gun.

Instead, she wore a simple long dress, a gray scarf, and looked like a woman from next door, pushing in an unimpressive cart.

"Hello."

She greeted Rod with a gentle smile.

"This is Youse's Church medical clinic, I am Healing Nun number seven, pleased to serve you."

Rod looked slightly amused; her introduction triggered some rather inappropriate memories.

"Um... do you not have a name?"

Healing Nun number seven smiled softly, "Of course I do, kind sir, but as per tradition, we cannot reveal our names. You can just call me number seven."

She efficiently handled the tools on her cart, taking out a variety of objects, lighting incense, spraying essential oils, and pouring various fluids.

"Alright, please remove your clothes and lie face down on the bed."

Rod hesitated for a moment.

"Er, should I also take off my pants?"

The Healing Nun's bright eyes twinkled as she said in a very soft voice, "Of course, you should take everything off, that's our custom..."

Before she could finish, a deafening voice filled the room.

"Number seven! Have you forgotten the medical clinic's prohibition? No flirting with, no obscenity towards the patients! No reproductive interaction with patients! Third Level warning issued, and if you offend again, you'll be confined for a month!"

"Hey, you, just take off your shirt, no need to lose the pants. Also, if during the healing process you notice any inappropriate behavior from the nun, like touching or stroking where she shouldn't, making any indecent noises or speech, or removing any additional clothing from either yourself or her, immediately shout for help. I will come at once to prevent any unlawful abuse by the nun and ensure your personal safety."

"I am Sister Youse, the head nun. I wish you a pleasant healing."

Click.

The voice died, and the room fell eerily silent.