A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Those hands and feet were bound by thorns, as if they were being controlled by strings.

"Damn it, how did these things suddenly appear!" The captain of the guards cursed under his breath as he directed his men to block the ghostly creatures.

The guards were certainly aware of the unusual occurrences at the ancient site.

After a few days of calm, strange phenomena reappeared without warning.

Because of this, the travelers realized that Clinton seemed to be in serious trouble.

Moreover, this time the anomaly is more serious than the last one; this time, the creature being devoured by the plant can move.

"Get rid of these things as quickly as possible! Don't let panic spread!" The more people know, the worse the situation will become.

The most urgent task is to eliminate these monsters as soon as possible.

"Captain!! No, these things... can't be killed!" a guard said in terror.

No matter how many times he slashes at them with his sword, they will rise up again.

If you kill everyone inside, the plants will move on their own.

Fortunately, this thing didn't spread like a plague, and those who were afflicted with it weren't infected.

"That scared the hell out of me..." A guard, entangled in thorns, was covered in cold sweat.

The moment he was entangled, he thought he was going to end up like that too.

"Calm down! These things aren't that scary!"

"Find something to lock him up!!" The captain of the guards shouted quickly, a sudden idea forming in his mind.

That's right, if you can't kill it, you can just lock it up.

These things are not inexhaustible; the quantity is limited, but there are always ways to deal with them.

---

Bray walked down the deserted street, his sword already drawn.

These monsters are found in more than one place within Clinton County.

There were also some near where Bray lived.

Dealing with a batch of these monsters requires a lot of manpower, so in some areas the monsters simply cannot be dealt with in time.

For example, the group in front of Bray.

A monster approached, and Bray casually swung his sword at it.

When Bray sliced ​​through the thorny roses surrounding the monsters with his sword, the monsters collapsed to the ground, losing all function.

However, even after the plants withered and fell off, the people inside were not saved this time.

Along with the thorns and roses, those who withered also perished.

The person was thin and gaunt, as if they had been exposed to the scorching sun and lost all their moisture.

Although Jonathan said these things had nothing to do with concepts, the "final echo" was still effective.

Was it honest Jonathan who lied, or were there more complex factors involved? These are questions Bray can't quite grasp.

Bray had originally planned to wait until Virginia and the others reached a safe place before starting the investigation.

But things happened incredibly fast; Virginia came to say goodbye, and then the accident occurred.

The past few days had been peaceful, but suddenly these monsters appeared, which could easily catch people off guard.

"Gurgle..." The monster's voice rang out beside Bray.

"It sounds like a pigeon cawing..." Bray muttered, then wiped the plant residue clinging to the blade.

What followed was a one-sided battle.

Although they appear ferocious, these monsters are completely unintelligent and only know a few simple attack methods.

For Bray, these were all targets; he could basically just swing his sword and be done with it.

After executing more than a dozen of these monsters, Bray came to a conclusion.

That means the people inside had long since been drained dry and died by these thorny roses.

It was the plants that were moving, not these emaciated corpses.

The plants tethered the corpse's limbs, turning the dead into a walking corpse, wandering through Clinton.

At first glance, it looks just like the wandering dead in the "Wandering Tomb".

Of course, it's just a resemblance; these are actually plants that have grown so vigorously that they've mutated.

Bray felt it was necessary to visit Angelia's old house.

There was no clear evidence, but he felt it was related to that place.

The reason is very simple, so simple that it's unconvincing—these plants give Bray a strong sense of déjà vu, resembling those near the old house.

After wiping out the monsters around him, Bray planned to tell Naruko and the others before setting off.

However, just as he was about to go back, a voice interrupted him.

“Oh dear, these innocent people are truly pitiful,” Jonathan said in a light tone, standing on the roof and looking down at the desiccated corpses.

"You are the least qualified to say that."

“But you’ve come at just the right time.” Bray wasn’t surprised by Jonathan’s sudden appearance; on the contrary, he had some questions for Jonathan.

"Just in time? Oh, Mr. Monk, are you saying you've been waiting for me all this time?" Jonathan immediately became cheerful.

“…” Bray was not used to Jonathan’s overreaction.

"What exactly did you do in Clinton?" Bray had many questions for this honest man, but after thinking about it, he only asked one question in the end.

“A lowly man? I merely woke up a gentleman.” Jonathan tapped the eaves with his cane.

"These lively plants have nothing to do with little people."

“I swear to God, I am absolutely not lying,” Jonathan added, afraid that Bray wouldn’t believe him.

“I would never lie.”

“No, you’re lying,” Bray retorted.

"What?! You lied?!" Jonathan's mask changed to one of shock upon hearing this.

"You said these things are unrelated to concepts, but they're still overshadowed by 'a final echo.'"

"Oh, so that's what it is." After hearing Bray's words, Jonathan patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Because the parent organisms that produce these plants are inextricably linked to concepts."

"Your sword didn't sever the plants themselves, but rather the connection between these individuals and their mother plant, which is why they withered."

"Therefore, the villain was not lying; your sword did not strike them, but something else."

"I wonder if Mr. Master of the Precepts has ever heard the saying, 'To cut off karma is not to cut off people.'" Jonathan became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, and it seemed he was about to steer the conversation off-topic.

"..." Bray didn't want to listen to the other party's nonsense, so he drew his sword upwards and slashed at Jonathan from a distance.

A massive figure emerged from Jonathan's shadow, using its thick arms to deflect Bray's slash.

"That's terrifying. If I didn't have bodyguards, I would have been hacked to death. You know, I was beaten up not long ago, and I don't want to be beaten up a second time." Jonathan said this, but his tone was still light.

“But Mr. Bray is quite adept at getting information out of people,” Jonathan said meaningfully.

If what Jonathan said is true, "killing karma is not killing a person," then Bray believes that killing Jonathan would not be considered killing a person.

“But Mr. Bray, you’re being a bit too passive.” Jonathan held up a finger, looking like he was about to lecture Bray.

"Look, if it were Mr. Number Two, a person who upholds the precepts, he would definitely go into the old house without saying a word and kill everyone inside."

"Well, that's assuming those people are cultists," Jonathan said, stroking his chin with a serious expression.

"And then there's Mr. Thief. If there's something in it for him, he'll definitely hack and slash the people in the old house and steal everything."

“…” Bray looked at Jonathan with a cold face. He was right about everything he said—including what he said about himself.

"You should have picked up your sword, and when you sensed something was wrong, you should have smashed everything in your path."

"You're definitely capable of doing it!"

“In this way, some tragedies can be nipped in the bud,” Jonathan said loudly, as if giving a speech.

"Are you trying to persuade me to become a butcher?" Bray simply said.

Then Jonathan stopped talking and started laughing.

"Calling him a butcher is going too far."

"I'm just advising you to become someone who's obsessed with the power that comes with controlling everything," Jonathan said fluently, rattling off a string of awkward lines.

"Want to hit me?" Jonathan suddenly bent down, bringing his face close to Bray's, and asked tentatively.

“I really want to, and not just hit you, I want to chop you up,” Bray said expressionlessly, his forehead bumping against Jonathan’s.

“That’s a real shame.” Jonathan didn’t dodge Bray’s rough action, but said in a light tone.

“You need a Panda Master to flank me, otherwise you won’t be able to cut me down,” Jonathan said casually, then straightened up and adjusted his collar.

"To be honest, I really enjoy chatting with Mr. Monk."

"After all, you won't be like those cynical novel protagonists who bite me like a mad dog when they see me."

If it were someone with an extremely strong sense of justice, they would probably rush over without hesitation upon seeing Jonathan, who frequently caused trouble and killed countless people.

Especially when you still have considerable strength.

In short, he would do everything he could to kill Jonathan in order to vent his sense of justice and anger.

However, Bray knew that all these efforts were in vain.

Putting aside the question of whether he could beat Jonathan—if the other side wanted to escape, no one could stop him.

Even if the Blade of Lightning pierces the heart of the other person, he has a way to escape and, a few days later, he can jump around like nothing happened.

“At this point, the little man really appreciates your negative side.” Jonathan enjoyed the fact that people would listen to his nonsense.

"Ah, right, Mr. Ringholder is planning to resolve this... um, anomaly, right?" Jonathan thought for a moment about what word to use to describe this incident, and then came up with the very fitting word "anomaly".

“Then you can go to that old house; the root of everything is there.” For some reason, Jonathan told Bray a lot of information.

"So it really is that place..." Although Bray had guessed it was the old house from the beginning, Jonathan's confirmation saved Bray the time of verifying it.

"That's right, it's that old house."

“As for this city, you shouldn’t need to worry about it.” Jonathan pressed down his top hat, his feet unable to resist starting to dance.

In fact, these monsters devoured by plants can be dealt with by any adventurer with sufficient skill.

If we could bring in an S-rank adventurer, it wouldn't be a problem at all.

Therefore, what Bray should be concerned about is not the Clinton district.

"What you should be paying attention to is the strange things that might invade the city from the suburbs at any time," Jonathan kindly reminded them.

"..." Bray's pupils contracted, and then he abruptly closed his right eye.

My heart is as still as stagnant water, yet my senses spread like ripples.

After he opened his eyes again, he ran out of the city without looking back.

Without hesitation, decisively and cleanly—leaving.

"That was decisive. I thought I'd have to say a few more words to that scoundrel," Jonathan said with a hint of regret.

However, he still waved and said goodbye to Bray on his own.

It was completely incomprehensible what Jonathan was doing. He seemed to be causing trouble, yet he was telling Bray a lot of information that he shouldn't have revealed.

If I had to find a reason, it would probably be that Jonathan simply found it fun to do so.

Jonathan tapped the mask with his finger, and the expression on the mask changed to an exaggerated laugh.

---

Knowing that it would be impossible to get out of the city on foot, Bray simply called for a horse-drawn carriage used in the city.

Although Clinton heard about the incident, many vendors and similar businesses did not actually move.

After all, it's only a possibility that something might happen, not a certainty.