I can evolve everything

The next room was a storage room, slightly smaller than a cell, filled with old furniture and some dusty dolls.

As the four entered, Ryan, who was at the very back, slowly closed the wooden door behind him, finally shutting out the chewing sounds and the dragging of chains from next door.

The world returned to silence.

Harold hadn't brought the oil lamp in; he had simply placed it next to the cage earlier.

Using the faint light filtering through the crack in the door, he groped his way to an armchair and slowly sat down.

"Let's say it here."

"That winter three years ago was the coldest in nearly ten years. The swamps were frozen solid, and many crows that perched in the trees even fell to their deaths from the cold."

The old man's voice was soft and quite calm.

It seems they've already prepared to accept the outcome and stop struggling.

"Nina is sick. It's a very rare disease, the doctor says it's called white lung fever, and it's something that might only affect one in a hundred children. At first, Nina just had a cough, but then she started coughing up blood and had a persistent high fever."

Harold's fingers gently caressed the armrest, his gaze drifting towards the door.

Raine listened silently. He had read too many stories like this in novels in his previous life, but seeing Nina's appearance in person and hearing Harold's story now was a completely different experience.

"I searched for everyone I could find. The apothecary in Ironwood Town, the passing sorcerers, I even went so far as to personally ask the priest of the Sunset City Church... but it was no use, nothing worked."

The priest was young. He held Nina's hand, closed his eyes, and prayed for a long time… but finally, he released her hand and shook his head at me. He said, "The child's life force was inherently very weak; no amount of divine magic can save her now. Divine grace can alleviate her pain, but it cannot prolong her life."

Ella leaned against the wall, arms crossed. The words she wanted to say were on the tip of her tongue, but in the end, she just pursed her lips and sighed.

Even in this world where gods listen to all beings and magic can change everything, some fates are hard to reverse.

In this world, divine magic is not omnipotent, especially when faced with such a rare disease.

"That night, she was in my arms, getting cold little by little."

Harold closed his eyes, as if trying to let the tears flow, but he couldn't.

Those eyes were incredibly dry and bloodshot, as if all their tears had long since dried up.

"She's only five years old... She's the last of the Wilder family bloodline. My son died on the orc front, and my daughter-in-law died of illness. If Nina is gone too, I'll really... have nothing left."

Karen stood in the shadows, her fingers gripping the greatsword twitching slightly.

He could understand his old friend's despair. For an elderly person in their twilight years, family is their only remaining hope in the world. Once that hope is gone, their spirit and vitality will dissipate.

"Just two days after Nina died."

"My patrol caught a man at the edge of the swamp. A wanderer in a gray robe. That was Mars."

"I originally planned to hand him over to the Knights of the North the next day, in accordance with the law. As a necromancer who had been wanted for a long time, all that awaited him was the stake."

At this point, Harold gave a bitter laugh.

"But that night, I was guarding Mars's cell, lost in thought about Nina. Mars, who was in the dungeon, somehow found out about Nina and, through the iron bars, said to me his first words since his arrest."

"What a pity, Sheriff. What a beautiful little angel, her soul is still wandering. Don't you intend to let her open her eyes again and see you?"

Renn felt a chill run down his spine.

It was like the devil's whisper.

It was like offering a deadly poison to someone at their most vulnerable moment.

"I wanted to draw my sword and kill him." Harold clutched his hair in anguish as he said this, "But then he said, 'I have a way to bring her back to life. No divine magic needed, just a little bit of exchange.'"

"I wavered."

"I am a knight, and I have sworn to eradicate evil. But I am just a grandfather who doesn't want to lose his granddaughter."

Harold looked up at Karen with eyes that seemed to be pleading for judgment or for forgiveness.

"I released him without permission. We made a pact. He used necromancy to revive Nina's corpse and used illusion to cover up her decay. When I saw Nina open her eyes again and call me 'Grandpa'..."

The old man's voice gradually choked up, "Even though I know Nina is already dead, even though I know her body is cold... I still feel it was all worth it."

"But what's the price?"

Karen interrupted him coldly.

Although the story is touching, the cage in the basement and the four adventurers who were turned into zombies constantly remind him of the cruelty behind it all.

"The price is... she needs to eat, and Mars needs food."

Harold lowered his head, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.

"At first it was raw meat. Pork, mutton. But as time went on, Mars said that ordinary meat could no longer keep the corpse alive. She began to rot and started to smell of decay. If she didn't eat the flesh and blood of a highly spiritual being, she would completely turn into a pile of bones."

"The so-called highly spiritual flesh and blood..." Renn narrowed his eyes, "...are you referring to humans?"

"Yes."

Harold nodded painfully. "Just then, a few wandering bandits passed through Ironwood Town. I captured them and put them in the basement."

"The first time I killed someone and fed them to a corpse, I vomited all night. I repented for three days and three nights in front of my knight's armor."

"But later... when you see Nina eat those things and her face regain its rosy color, and she can even run and jump again... you become numb."

"One, two, three..."

Harold looked at his hands, which now seemed to be stained with indelible blood.

"To maintain that lie, to keep Nina, I became a monster more terrifying than a necromancer."

"I used my position as sheriff to issue false commissions, luring greedy or innocent adventurers into the swamp. I drugged them, watching them turn into mindless zombies, into Mars's experimental subjects, or Nina's...food."

Silence fell over the room.

Only Harold's heavy breathing echoed in the darkness.

Karen let out a long sigh.

He stepped forward and placed his hand on Harold's shoulder.

"You're wrong, Harold."

Karen's voice was no longer filled with anger.

"Nina died that night. The thing in that cage... was just a demon in your granddaughter's skin. You weren't feeding Nina, but the part of yourself inside you that was afraid to face reality."

Harold was jolted.

He slowly raised his head, looking at his old friend of thirty years, his lips trembling.

"I know... Karen, I've known for a long time."

"From the moment I signed that contract, the glorious knight Harold was already dead. What survived was just a walking corpse."

He supported himself on his knees, struggled to his feet, and, dragging his injured leg, bowed to Karen, Ryan, and Ella.

That wasn't the etiquette between knights, but rather the etiquette of a commoner towards a knight. Perhaps in Harold's heart, he was no longer a knight.

Thank you.

"Thank you... for helping me end this nightmare."

He looked up and a bitter smile appeared on his face, a smile that was even more unsightly than a cry.

"Now, I want to ask you for one last thing."

Harold turned around and looked through the wall at the cell next door.

"Please allow me...to personally see her off on her final journey."