Chapter 26: The Test [3/5]

"Old timer, are you sure we're good? Your story seems full of holes to me. It doesn't add up at all!" the young girl next to Renji said, visibly anxious. She looked even more nervous when her eyes landed on the church knights nearby.

In contrast, the young man beside her seemed incredibly calm, even comforting her:

"Miss Eileen, there's an old saying, 'When you guard against everything, you guard against nothing. When you guard against nothing, you guard against everything.' So relax, we'll be fine."

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Eileen looked even more nervous after hearing Renji, now plotting escape routes in her mind.

Just then, Renji felt something and turned his head to look in another direction. Approaching him was... "Hello, Mr. Renji. I'm Durin, the captain in charge of this pollution case."

"Hello, Captain Durin."

After shaking hands with the middle-aged captain, Renji jumped in before him and asked,

"Captain Durin, how's the investigation going? No offense, but I'd like to repeat that we've got nothing more to tell you. Asking us again won't help."

"I get it," Durin said. "I'm here to let you know we're almost done. One last thing, and then you and your friend can leave."

"Good, what's the last thing?"

Durin didn't immediately answer Renji's question. Instead, he looked over at the grey wolf nearby, now transformed into a monster. "To be honest, I've been a knight in the church for years and seen my fair share of rampaging Eclipses. But a creature this big, with this level of transformation, is pretty rare."

Durin looked the creature over, especially its arm that had morphed into something like a sickle, its feet that had become claws, and its head that seemed to be turning into something like an octopus with tentacles.

Usually, these transformed creatures don't have a fixed form. Their essence is like a twisted, weird materialization.

In simpler terms, the easiest way to identify one of these monsters is to look at how "indescribable" they are.

And clearly, in Durin's eyes, this wolf-monster ranked pretty high on that scale.

"Killing such a monster must have been tough, right?"

"Not really. Speaking of which, we have to thank Callewa's gang for drawing the monster's attention. Maybe it's what they call karma, don't you think, Captain Durin?"

"Perhaps…"

Shrugging his shoulders, Durin glanced at the Grey Wolf's left arm, noticing two obvious injection marks, before shifting his gaze away.

"Alright, Mr. Renji, according to our investigation, you, your companion, and the staff at the Sea Sand Bar have nothing to do with this Tainted Miasma Pollution. The real culprits are Callewa's gang. Well, they're all dead now anyway."

As soon as Captain Durin uttered these words, two groups of people sighed in relief, while another seemed hesitant to speak.

The ones sighing in relief were the young girl beside Renji and Brian, the Sea Sand Bar's owner who had been constantly monitoring the situation.

As for the one hesitating—

It was naturally the young knight standing behind Durin.

But— Right after Durin's next words, the relief that Eileen and Brian had just felt was instantly replaced by a heart-thumping tension.

Because—

"The wrapping-up work I mentioned earlier actually involves this." Durin took out a device from his uniform.

Renji recognized the device. The scar-faced man leading Callewa's gang, who had been robbing his tomb, had a similar device.

It was— A Miasma Detector.

However, the one Durin now held was clearly more professional and precise.

"Given that you don't seem to be a local of the Blackhole Plains, let me explain. According to church regulations, whenever a pollution event occurs, we must conduct a Miasma check on the involved parties and survivors."

"Ah, don't misunderstand, I'm not suspecting that any of you are Eclipses."

"This is just to ensure your health. After all, you were at the epicenter of the pollution. If any energy of Tainted Miasma remains in your body, the church can immediately send nuns to treat and purify you."

Watching the middle-aged knight explain earnestly, Eileen's mind went blank.

'Why? Why is this step necessary? '

When her father lost control, she had never seen the church use this on them!

But thinking about it now was pointless. If the detector had been from somewhere else, Eileen could have hoped that it was broken or inaccurate, allowing her to slip through unnoticed.

But if it's from the church...

It's over.

At this moment, Brian, the owner of the Sea Sand Bar, is also extremely anxious. He's 90% sure that Eileen and the young man are Eclipses. Isn't this a complete exposure?

'Dang it!'

'Why didn't that guy listen to me and just leave?'

Brian's first thought was to tell Eileen and Renji to bolt before the church got involved. But Renji shook his head, saying it wasn't necessary.

Brian got what Renji meant—probably thought they were strong enough to handle whatever comes. So he went along with it.

But now—

'They've run into a guy who's digging deep. What now?'

Brian, who's seen his share of rough times, managed to keep his cool. But he noticed the nervousness on the faces of his staff and Eileen.

Durin, who's pretty sharp, picked up on it all.

The only letdown—

When Durin looked back at Renji, he was hoping to catch some sign of panic. But Renji was chill the whole time.

Still, Durin felt like he'd made his point. He'd shown Renji he was onto them and now was pulling back, sending a message that he'd let it go.

So, he put the Miasma Detector back in his pocket.

"Given how short-lived this pollution event was, and that the monster was quickly taken down, and also, you guys look like you're in a rush—"

"I think we can skip this last step."

Durin stepped aside, nodding, "Sorry for holding you up, Mr. Renji. You're free to go now."

In Durin's mind, this should've been the perfect ending.

But then—

The young man he'd underestimated, didn't budge.

In fact—

"No, Captain Durin, even if the Pollution event was small and short, it's still serious stuff. That's Tainted Miasma Pollution we're talking about. Worst-case scenario, you turn into an Eclipse. I sure don't want to lose control and turn into some ugly monster."

"So, Captain Durin—"

"Can we do the test now?"