She and I, Alone

Volume Two

Title: Chapter 119: She and I, Alone

After the violent explosion, everything finally settled.

Pre-arranged sound-isolation formations by the mages ensured the blast, powerful enough to awaken half the city, did not breach the courtyard. Yet, the pervasive smoke and dust still mingled with the faint mist, carried by the gentle breeze from the riverbank.

Following three full-power magical cannon blasts and the expenditure of 1,350 arrows, the basement had been utterly transformed into a colossal pit. Above its unobstructed maw, a few dim stars could be glimpsed through the breaks in the dark clouds.

The blood pool had been forcibly filled, and within the depths of this immense crater, no ‘non-human’ entity remained capable of standing.

The thugs had retreated under Ewan’s command. Within the exceptionally vast pit, Ewan stepped over charred remains, making his way towards the edge.

In the furthest corner, only a fraction of Miss Siren’s body remained, stripped of her former allure and beauty. Instead, she exuded a burnt, foul stench, more repulsive than any roadside beggar.

Yet, she was still alive. Her mutilated torso twitched and writhed, her blackened heart exposed and still beating. Her once glamorous, heavily made-up face was almost entirely scorched, rendering her true features unrecognizable.

‘What terrifying vitality,’ Ewan mused. ‘And this is merely a clone.’

From this alone, he could deduce just how formidable and troublesome her true body must be.

‘What a pity it isn’t her real self.’

“How are you feeling, Miss Siren? Do you like my grand gift?”

Ewan removed his top hat, inquiring politely.

Ewan’s composure seemed to sting her nerves. She cast a venomous gaze at him, her charred lips constantly writhing, as if cursing furiously.

“Hm?”

Ewan heard nothing, pausing for a moment before he understood. He removed the sound-isolating earplugs from his ears, offering Miss Siren an apologetic smile. “My apologies, what did you just say? I couldn’t hear you…”

“…”

Seeing Miss Siren’s eyes suddenly widen, glaring as if she wished to devour him whole, Ewan blinked. He then suggested earnestly, “Perhaps… you could say it again? I promise to listen carefully this time.”

“…I’ll kill you! I will definitely kill you later!”

Miss Siren shrieked, her face contorted in a grotesque snarl. Her piercing scream unleashed an inexpressible hatred.

In the corner of her eye, where she could barely see, the Shadow Butcher had been utterly reduced to scattered charcoal by the magical cannon’s beams. Only a half-bloodied butcher knife remained, stuck in a messy pile of stones, looking exceptionally desolate.

As for the other Moon Beasts and living corpses, they had long since been blown away to who knew where.

“So… you, too, can feel hatred for a companion’s death.”

Ewan lowered his gaze, studying Miss Siren’s face as he murmured softly.

“I hate it, of course I hate it!”

Miss Siren wailed in agony, and crystal-clear tears actually streamed from the corners of her eyes.

“He, he was my backup food! Do you know how much harder losing him will make my path to advancement? I’ve been waiting, waiting for the moment the great moon descends to devour him, to merge with him, and thus reach a higher—”

Pffft.

Ewan plunged his short blade into Miss Siren’s remaining limb. Holy light surged in, and the intense burning sensation made her wail again, cutting off her words.

Ewan’s expression hardened once more. He suppressed the disgust in his heart, his voice also turning slightly cold.

“To believe someone like you would shed tears, I truly was too naive.”

“Someone like me?”

Even enduring intense pain, Miss Siren burst into laughter after hearing Ewan’s words, as if she had heard a hilarious joke.

“It sounds like you really dislike cold and heartless people like me, hahaha, how wonderful, truly wonderful.”

Ewan frowned.

Miss Siren’s laughter only made him more irritated. He didn’t want to drag this out, so he went straight to the point.

“Answer me, where is Senior Anna?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

“I have no reason to lie to you. She and I made a small deal. According to our agreement, I temporarily cannot interfere with her actions, so where she goes is her freedom.”

“You would let Senior go so easily?”

“Let go? What are you saying? You make us sound like villains who would harm her.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Ha, haha, of course not. On the contrary, in this world, we are the only ones who would absolutely never harm her. So, she will eventually return to us willingly.”

Miss Siren revealed a genuine smile, speaking with deep affection, “We are her family.”

“Shut up!”

Ewan plunged the short blade into Miss Siren’s limb again, coldly refuting her. “You are not her family.”

“We’re not? Haha, if we’re not, then who is her family? You? Ewan Campbell, what standing do you have here?”

Miss Siren’s laughter grew increasingly mocking.

“That question has nothing to do with you.” Ewan lowered his eyes.

“Haha, indeed it has nothing to do with me, but I am very curious, Ewan Campbell. Even if you find Anna Campbell, what then?”

“I will save her.”

“Her ophidian transformation has reached its final stage; she is already one of us. Even if you don’t care, do you think anyone else would accept her?”

“That has nothing to do with you.”

“You seem very confident. Do you have a cure for ophidian transformation? No… you have no confidence at all.”

Miss Siren’s eyes widened, as if she had suddenly discovered something.

“Ewan Campbell, you are the Duke’s son, the son of Duke Campbell! You can easily deploy a magical cannon, strictly regulated by the military, in the Bellrand district. If you wished, with the Campbell family’s influence, it wouldn’t be difficult to invite a Crown Bearer to assist you.

Even if a Crown Bearer cannot be summoned during this special time, you could still mobilize the Knight Order, the Guard, or even the Adventurer’s Guild, or the mercenaries under Three-Yue. But…”

Miss Siren lifted her head, straining to get closer to Ewan’s face, as if wanting to pierce through his cold, false mask and shatter his fragile heart.

“But none of these situations have occurred. Instead, you’ve gone to such great lengths to conceal your identity and specifically recruit those rats to work for you. Why? Why? Why is this? Because you are afraid, Ewan Campbell!

‘You understand that Anna Campbell is already an enemy to all humanity, yet you have no absolute certainty of bringing her back. So the more you want to save her, the less you will trust anyone.

‘In the end, you are still just as I predicted: alone, pitifully fighting a solitary battle!

‘Haha, isn’t it laughable? Despite your noble status, your vast resources and power, you are constrained by that very nobility, living such a pathetic—’

The mocking laughter ceased abruptly.

The surrounding rubble suddenly trembled, and the recently settled smoke and dust began to spread once more.

Ewan seized Miss Siren by the neck, slamming her violently onto the ground.

The tip of his blade pointed at her blackened heart.

His face, which was not his own, remained expressionless, but his pale blue eyes seemed to have frozen into ice.

“Enough with these theatrics. I’ll ask you one last time: where is Senior?”

“How stubborn. Didn’t I say? I don’t know.”

“Is that so? Then you have no value.”

The pure white blade slowly pierced the blackened heart. Foul blood flowed, and Miss Siren’s remaining body began to convulse violently.

Even as a clone, her body still seemed to possess the sensation of pain. Thus, with the convulsions, she began to wail in agony.

Watching her cries, Ewan lamented for the third time today that this was not her true body.

“Whitechapel District!”

But just then, Miss Siren suddenly spoke.

“Although I don’t know her exact location, the last place she disappeared was in the Whitechapel District.”

“Hm?”

Ewan raised an eyebrow, looking at her in confusion.

‘This creature gave in so easily? Or… is it another trap?’

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Miss Siren’s face was contorted, her eyes filled with malice as she stared intently at Ewan.

“Perhaps, it would be better for you to see her.”

“…”

“Ha, I’m truly looking forward to it now. What kind of expression will you have when you see her in her current state? That feeling of hope plummeting from the heavens into an abyss, transforming into despair, haha… I am truly very much looking forward to it!”

Sizzle.

An immense holy light surged into the suddenly defiled heart. Amidst the endless agony of burning flames, the vitality in Miss Siren’s eyes gradually faded.

Through the gaps in the dark clouds, faint starlight fell, casting Ewan’s profile in an icy, marble-like glow.

Ewan gazed at Miss Siren, asking softly, “Can you relay a message to your true body for me?”

“Ha… Please speak.”

“Tell her that the next time we meet, I will kill her.”

Ewan lowered his head, declaring with a resolute, unwavering, and unshakeable will, “I will kill her with my own hands, in the way that will cause her the most pain.”

****

“What a pity.”

Outside the courtyard, Rat King Sam looked on with a pained expression at the magical cannon, which, after three blasts, had automatically dissolved into a pile of scrap metal. He was reluctant to see it go.

It was exhilarating.

As he controlled the magical cannon during its firing, watching the dazzling beam tear through everything, he experienced a thrill no less intense than an orgasm.

Unfortunately, three shots were too few. He hadn’t had enough fun.

Moreover, if he had such a weapon, why would he ever worry about not being the most prominent figure in the lower district?

“Power that does not belong to you will only bring you destruction.”

A detached voice sounded in his ear, making the Rat King’s body stiffen instantly.

“Mr. Bruce.” Rat King Sam bowed respectfully.

The things this man had revealed in just this one night had completely subjugated him, leaving no room for other thoughts.

Now, Rat King Sam was a loyal hound at Bruce Wayne’s command.

“If something like a magical cannon were discovered by the Guard or the Knight Order, nine heads wouldn’t be enough for you to lose,” Ewan said blandly, glancing at him.

“I… I know. I was just thinking, just thinking.” Rat King Sam wiped away a cold sweat, driving all inappropriate thoughts from his mind.

“Does Mr. Bruce have any further instructions?”

“Have you found what I asked you to investigate?” Ewan asked.

“Yes, I have!”

Rat King Sam’s posture straightened instantly. He gestured, and a subordinate quickly ran over, presenting a thick stack of documents with both hands.

“Everything you asked me to investigate is here.”

“That’s a lot,” Ewan remarked, taking the documents.

“Naturally. The scope of your request was simply too broad,” Rat King Sam said.

Urban legends.

Rumors and gossip.

People with strange behaviors.

Individuals concealing their identities.

Abnormal personnel movements.

Although limited to the past two days, considering the vast population of the lower district, all this information combined was truly immense.

“Actually, I have a small question.”

“Speak.”

“Mr. Bruce, it’s clear from your requests that you seem to be… looking for someone.”

Rat King Sam stared at the thick stack of documents, puzzled. “But why don’t you provide more details? If you could give us specific characteristics, we could absolutely help you find the person you’re looking for.”

“Absolutely?”

“Yes.”

Rat King Sam puffed out his chest, a hint of pride on his face. “If it were just a single gang, I wouldn’t dare make such a promise, but now almost all the major gangs have united. Even if the person you’re looking for could turn into a rat and hide in the sewers, as long as they’re active in the lower district, they will absolutely not escape our watchful eyes!”

“It sounds tempting, but I simply cannot do that.”

Ewan lowered his gaze, flipping through the heavy documents in his hands.

Uniting these gangs to form a network covering the entire lower district was one of Ewan’s original goals. This was because these gangs weren’t just comprised of thugs who only knew how to fight.

The vast numbers of ‘bottom-tier citizens’ who relied on the gangs for survival were the truly terrifying element.

However, Ewan couldn’t do that. The consequence of involving such a massive, diverse group of ordinary people would be that the entire city would know someone was looking for Anna Campbell.

This was absolutely unacceptable. Just as Miss Siren had said, no matter how noble his status, no matter how many methods he possessed, when it came to saving Senior, he could trust no one.

In this matter, no one would stand with him. He could only step into the darkness alone, a solitary figure in this vast city of millions, searching for that equally solitary girl.

Therefore, Ewan could only settle for the next best option: the laborious and clumsy method of information sifting.

“But thankfully… this wasn’t entirely without收获.”

Ewan sifted through the documents, discarding all useless information and retaining only content related to the ‘Whitechapel District.’ The scope had narrowed significantly.

“So, Senior, where would you hide?”

His finger tapped the documents lightly, and Ewan instinctively began to think from Senior Anna’s perspective.

“If it were you…”

His gaze moved quickly, and Ewan’s eyes soon settled on a piece of information.

“Locarda Academy, abandoned campus, suspected sightings of the heart-gouging Siren from urban legends…”