40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 19 19. Ring of Fear (two in one, end)

In a gorgeous room with a soft light source, Jando Skolevok smiled slowly, and then he put the pocket watch in his hand into his pocket.

Just now, twelve hours have passed.

He turned his head with regret on his face.This emotion comes from the scene directly in front of the sofa he is sitting on.

His sister, Irene Sklevok, was standing there with blood on her hands.

As for the blood it came from a hanged man, a former gang member of Scarlet Finale.

Or rather, the last gang member belonging to the Scarlet Finale.

His blood dripped slowly from the wound on the flesh, leaving an indelible crimson mark on the carpet, which is still spreading.

bloody
Jando took a deep breath of the blood-smelling air, stood up, and spoke gracefully.

"I don't think you can gain anything useful by torturing such a madman, my venerable sister."

Hearing this, Irene Sklewok turned her head and glanced at him.

"I also don't think you will end up with anything good if you choose to stay with me like a dead skin." Elena replied coldly.

"Oh, come on, sister. You and I both know that only the Warlord of Glory is reliable in the nest. Is it possible that I really want to run out and seek help from other gangs? I'm not as stupid as Lena."

"She's not stupid," Irene said. "It's you who is stupid, Jando."

"...This is really a sad comment, my respected sister."

Jando covered his face with feigned sadness, but the black eyes exposed between his fingers were full of malice.

"I have always had admiration for you, but why do you despise me so much?"

"There are many reasons, Gendo."

Irene looked at him and replied calmly.

"Pretentious, pretentious, pretentious. Although these shortcomings are normal for a son of a nobleman. However, there is only one thing about you that I can't stand."

"Huh, because I prefer some excellent ingredients from the nest?" Jando asked tentatively.

"No, because you're too stupid."

Irene Sklewok replied coldly. "You're stupid enough to even think that this attack was planned by me."

Jando raised his eyebrows slowly, he let his hand go, and the smile returned.At this moment, you can't see the fear on his face that was twelve hours ago.

At some point, fear is time-sensitive.

"But, my sister, you cannot deny that all this is such a coincidence."

"coincide?"

"Yes, sister, let's not mention how that person bypassed the Warlord of Glory's guard post without being detected. Let's just talk about the suggestion you made."

"If we really split up in the next nest and escape separately as you said, there is no doubt that you will be the one who can survive to the end, my sister."

"As for Lena, I'm more pessimistic. I think she's probably dead now."

Jando smiled gracefully, not feeling sad about the death of his fictional blood relative, but a kind of joy spread across his face.

He had changed his clothes and even had a shower.The embarrassed appearance twelve hours ago had completely disappeared from him.

At this moment, in this room, which was so gorgeously decorated that it was no different from the last palace, Jando Sklewok behaved as usual again.

He walked naturally and gently, and came to Irene's side.

"My respected sister, I know your ability. I have always known that my father's tolerance for me stems from the similarity between me and him, but his trust in you is beyond my reach. And you used him just right. trust, isn't it? Excellent."

"Don't blame me for your incompetence, Jandor. And don't blame me for something I didn't do."

Irene stared at him calmly. "It was you who decided to waste the time of study and practice on tasting flesh and blood. You have spoiled yourself, so don't say anything more."

"Perhaps it may be so, but, my sister."

Jando Sklewok sneered and opened his arms. "I may be inferior to you in every aspect, but you can't be better than me on the road of exploring the art of flesh and blood."

He stretched out his right hand and begged for the tortured blade from Irene: "Please allow me to show you a thing or two, my respected sister."

"I don't have time to waste with you on that sort of thing, Gendo."

Elena said coldly. "Torture is just a means, not an end. You are on the wrong path."

"Moreover, the mind of this servant from the Scarlet Finale was completely shattered long before the Glory Warlord found him. Do you think you can dig out the spirit of others from the flesh and blood with just the blade?"

Jando shrugged, acting very calmly.

"Perhaps I can, sister. You know, I have learned a few tricks of the Rohars family from some ancient books."

"...you idiot."

After saying these words, a clear emotion finally appeared on Irene's face—she glared at Jando angrily, and spoke in a cold voice.

"You acted so carefree, let me guess, because you think we can get more support from the family, don't you? Then you can go back and tell father, the truth you imagined?"

"Isn't it?" Gendo asked rhetorically. "The family can't give up on us, sister"

He smiled again, and there was a kind of superiority on that face that he thought he could see through everything.He blinked his eyes triumphantly, and drew the end of the last word very long.

Elena took a deep breath.

She spoke in a low voice.

"No, Gendo. This is not a conspiracy of mine."

"Father sent us here to deal with the death of the coroner. This matter has affected the face of the Sklewack family. And this matter has nothing to do with me, and I will never do it."

"The family's reputation is more important than anything, Gendo. Father gave us Iron Pride and forty private soldiers, and gave us the help of the Glorious Overseer - a loyal servant with twenty-five spires and thousands of members assembly."

"What do you think we can get from our father? Our value is not as high as you think. Yes, my father spent 20 years cultivating us, but he still has many 20 years to kill."

The smile on Jando's face slowly dissipated, and he tilted his head slightly, trying to stay calm.

And Yi Renai continued, as if she was going to tell all the dislike she had towards him over the years, and unexpectedly lost her usual calmness.

Her face was flushed and her facial features were distorted.It looked angry and scary.

Unlike Jando, she always remembered the encounter twelve hours ago, and the fear in her heart had swelled to the point where it was almost swallowing her reason.

And Jando's behavior just ignited this group of fear just right.

"You took a shower, changed your clothes, and then sat in the false palace built by the servants, thinking that everything was my conspiracy?"

"But don't forget that twelve hours ago you were a slumped, frightened bum! Gendo! You're nothing but a bum!"

Irene sneered loudly, and the voice echoed in the room.Zhan Duo's face turned blue and white, and he was a little speechless.

I don't know if it was a coincidence, but at the moment when her laughter broke out, behind her, the survivor from the scarlet finale who was tortured to the brink of death also opened his eyes at the same time.

There is nothing in the dark eyes, no consciousness, no rationality, no desire for life, and no resistance to death.

There was only an eerie calm, and then, a chilly blue light flashed away.

He raised his head and looked at the blood descendant of the Scolewalker family.Then he opened the mouth with its lips cut off and many teeth pulled out, and began to sing softly with a hoarse voice.

Low, long, with obvious gloom.The tune is soft, but it feels like a knife blade is rubbing against the delicate skin of the neck.

Irene Scholewok trembled all over, and the laughter stopped abruptly.

She turned her head in disbelief, the anger on her face was gradually being replaced by fear.Jando's face changed suddenly, but in a short moment, the memory of twelve hours ago flooded back again.

Killing in the rainstorm, corpses everywhere, cold, the gaze of monsters.
In a trance, the whisper seemed to come from his ear again.

"run."

"no no."

Jando Scholewok stumbled a step forward, muttering to himself.

Fear is back.

He pulled the sharp blade from Elena's hand, tremblingly came to the survivors, and then raised the sharp blade high.

"Stop!" Jando yelled. "Stop singing!"

The survivor was unmoved, his head bobbing slightly.He was bruised and covered in blood, but he was singing softly.

Jando swung the sharp blade sharply, and it pierced the survivor's chest with precision, bringing up a bouquet of blood.

Immediately afterwards, he twisted the blade violently, and shattered flesh gushed from the opening made by the sinister barb.

Jando's eyelids twitched, staring at it all, desperate to hear the scream.He's used this trick a lot in the past, with good results every time.

But, this time, no.

The survivors were unmoved.

The song continued, gushing from that broken face, like his flesh and life.

Gendo let go tremblingly, and backed away—and backed away until he hit the wall.He raised his head and leaned his head against the wall, his face flushed suddenly after this.

He turned his head, growling and questioning.

"Irene Scolework, what the hell are you going crazy about?! Make him stop! I knew you did all of this, you washed his brain and instilled this song into it ,right?!"

His sister did not answer.

His sister just had an expression that Jando had never seen in his life before.From Jando's perspective, he could only see Elena's profile.However, this is enough.

He saw a weeping eye.

"you"

For a moment, Gendor was cold.

He originally thought that this was just a joint conspiracy between Irene Sklevok and the Warlord of Glory. Similar things happened frequently. In the history of nobles, killing people was as simple as eating and drinking.
But
It is impossible for the perpetrator to be so terrified when faced with the situation he created.

"Here it comes," murmured Irene Sklevok to herself. "Here it comes."

"Impossible! Just follow the story you made up! The thing says twelve hours, but twelve hours have passed!"

With a roar, Jando took out the pocket watch from his pocket, and threw the expensive treasure in front of Irene.

"Look, look! Look! Twelve hours have passed!"

He hissed and screamed. "Stop this farce, sister! I won't compete with you for black stripes! I was wrong!"

Under Jando's pleading eyes, Irene Sklewok slowly picked up the pocket watch, and then she closed it.

She turned her head, and on her distorted face, a smile that was torn to pieces by fear was blooming.

"Why do you think that?" she sobbed. "Can I do something like this?"

Jando's sanity was finally completely shattered, he roared and rushed towards the source of the singing, and pulled out the blade on his body.
-
"on the left!"

"No, no, it's the right side!"

The ghost jumped, dodging bullets.

If it was a laser gun, he might not dodge or dodge.However, the live ammunition weapon would always shoot the corner of his clothes into his flesh, and if he didn't remove it in time, he would risk infection.

This is rather annoying, after all, such things as retrieving bullets can only be done after the battle.At that time, his wounds had already healed, and the only way to remove the bullet was to cut open the flesh and blood again.

Ghosts are not afraid of pain, but they don't like pain either.

The conversations of the hunted targets were extremely clear in his ears, and he could even simulate the specific location of the target at the moment just by the direction of the sound.Khalil once said that this is a valuable talent that ghosts don't quite understand.

Can't other people do this kind of thing?

While thinking this way, Ghost leaped high and landed on the ceiling.

The sharp fingernails and his superhuman strength allowed him to easily cling to everyone's heads. Then, he quickly adjusted his posture and jumped out in the next second.

Like a monster that fell from the sky, Specter opened his hands, tearing apart the gang's defenses in the process of rushing forward.The wailing sounded loudly, and the gunfire suddenly weakened.Then, the ghost heard someone screaming.

"Back! Back!" the man yelled frantically. "There's another one behind! God!"

Ah, it's Khalil.

Ghost tilted his head happily, then jumped up again.He concentrated his attention and looked towards the rear. Time seemed to slow down at this moment, allowing him to clearly see Khalil's figure.

Flashing left and right, it was as natural as gliding through the crowd.Khalil didn't dodge any bullets, but the roaring bullets seemed to be avoiding him, and none of them hit.

He charged forward, swinging the blade continuously, taking a life away with each swing, and a cold blue light bloomed under the hood of the cloak.His actions were so fast that the brilliance almost became an elongated straight line.

Seeing this scene, the joy on Youhun's face disappeared for a moment.

Why do you have to use this power, Khalil?he thought silently.

After 5 minutes, the killing was over.

He shook his hands so that the flesh and blood from between his nails would fall out.The ghost came to Kalil, who glanced at his hand and asked, "Where's the knife you made?"

"broken"

"broken?"

"It doesn't last very long," said the ghost. "It broke."

"It's okay, I'll make you a better one another day"

"really?"

"I didn't lie to you."

"Good! Thank you, Khalil!"

Khalil smiled silently, for the time being, he has no enthusiasm for fighting ghosts.The word "another day" has an indescribable ambiguity in the human context.

As for now
He looked up at the ceiling, and the blue light in his eyes suddenly dimmed.

At this moment, his field of vision suddenly increased, and he came to a room on the top floor of the minaret.

He could see a sobbing woman who seemed to have accepted her fate, and he could also see a man who was waving a knife in front of his eyes, muttering to himself, covered in blood and looking crazy.

both targets crashed
It's not scary.

With a sneer, Khalil lowered his head and said to Ghost who was counting the corpses: "Our work today is coming to an end, Ghost, before that, I have a question to ask you."

".what?"

"What do you think about fear?" Khalil asked softly.

Ghost blinked, and quickly gave his answer.Although he didn't understand why Kalil asked this question, he had no reason not to answer it.

"A good weapon?" Ghost said cautiously. "It works, it works on everyone and it always works fast, most people get scared when they see me."

"anything else?"

"And.? Uh, it—should be used with care?" the ghost said hesitantly. "I'm sorry, Khalil, but I've always felt that...fear is different from fear."

He stole a glance at Khalil, who waited patiently without an expression of impatience or disapproval.

So Ghost felt relieved: "That's it, Khalil, that's what I think."

"You understand very well, Ghost, and actually, very well."

Khalil smiled slightly. "Fear is indeed a weapon that needs to be treated with care. We have to carefully select who it should be used on, and of course, how to use it."

"Way?"

"There are many ways to create fear in people, like you know 23 different ways to cook rats. There are many ways, and we have to choose carefully and carefully."

"I don't quite understand." Ghost said honestly. "But I'll write it down, I'll understand later, right?"

"of course."

"really?"

"Of course it's true." Khalil said as he walked towards the exit of the bloody hall.

The spiers of the Warlords of Glory have a complex set of self-elevating elevators, which was destroyed by Khalil in the beginning, so, although it is funny to say, they have to take the stairs to reach the 25th floor.

Last layer.

Ghost followed closely behind, and after a short silence, he spoke again.

"Khalil?"

"Huh? It's okay, don't talk too much, ghost, we are working."

"Oh but, have you memorized those 23 ways? Which one do you think will taste the best?"

"."

“I think teriyaki should be good”

"Ugh"

"Khalil?"

".Um?"

"Why are you sighing?"

".Fry it, fry the mouse. That's it, stop talking, ghost."

"okay!"
-
The cold wind was blowing, and in the early morning of Nostramo, a group of workers were busy going to work.

Their clothes are thin and their expressions are dull.None of them had anger at life on their faces, nor did they walk with their heads held up.They are thin and move slowly, and many of them need to stop and rest for a while even after walking a certain distance.

Eighteen hours of labor is enough to destroy everything, not to mention the diseases that come with it.

Although, yes - the factory will have a holiday every six days, but that's just to squeeze harder, don't expect goodness from the foremen.

During holidays, wages and nutrient cream rations need to be deducted.

The cold wind ravaged their thin bodies and wills, and this group of numb people spontaneously got together, walked side by side, and reported to the group for warmth.

Their breaths intertwined, foul-smelling and dazed, and the white mist they exhaled dissipated in the air.Their eyes are dull and desperate, filled with a kind of indifference to life.

There are many gang members on the street, but no one pays attention to them.

——Such a person would fail even as a commodity.

Walking, walking, they still have to cross three blocks to reach the factory.They walked across the dirty street, across the dark red ground where the sewage was flowing, and passed a tall steeple amidst gangs swearing.

Then one of the workers raised his head.His neck was sore and he needed this to relieve the pressure on his bones.Then, just after raising his head, he stopped abruptly.

".What's that?" He muttered to himself.

His companions moved on indifferently, past him.Not many people paid attention to him, only a few people stood in place like him.

They all rubbed their eyes after staring briefly, wanting to confirm whether everything in front of them was real.

They opened their mouths in disbelief.

They saw two richly dressed men hanging above the bottom entrance of the towering spire.The neon lights of the steeple and the nearby incandescent lights made it clear to them.

They also saw that there was a wide gap in the throat of the two men.Blood was flowing down the gap.

Around the two terrified corpses, there is a line of bloody characters.

The workers were illiterate, and they couldn't understand what that meant, but this did not prevent them from understanding the identities of these two people.

All nesters learn this in their short lives and stick it in their hearts.

If you dress luxuriously, you are aristocratic.

Nobles, on the other hand, are no different from gods.

At this moment, many questions appeared in their minds, their bodies began to tremble slightly, and a strange expression began to bloom on their lifeless faces.

However, they didn't stay for long, and soon left again, embarking on the road to the factory.

They need jobs and they need food.And among the few workers who witnessed the death of the god, there was one person who memorized all the shapes of those characters.

He couldn't read, but he memorized them.

It was cold and windy, and the morning in Nostramo was still the same as the night.No one knows what will happen every night, and no one knows what this event will bring.

On the top of the minaret, two shadows quietly passed away.

　This chapter is recommended to be used with Man with a Harmonica, remember to find the old version.

　　In addition, although the tattooed earl is indeed damned, it doesn't make much sense to describe the process of torturing him. In this timeline, he is just a damn son, not the one who completely broke the midnight lord.

　　


(End of this chapter)