Chapter 322: Chapter 319: Poker-Faced Rorschach and Meme King Rorschach
"Agent of the Lord of Order, paramour of Deryats, we need not be enemies." A voice that sounded like countless others layered together poured into both of Rorschach’s minds.
To his surprise, the allies the Marquis had been waiting for—these ancient Shepherds—were actually making a friendly overture to Rorschach. "We Shepherds are like brothers to the Mouse Speakers. We were all once followers of Her Highness Deryats, born from the same root. Today, we stand together."
Original Rorschach breathed a sigh of relief. With these behemoths on their side, the outcome was all but decided. It seemed the hand in the carriage had sensed Little Coal Ball and decided to "do them a favor."
But Red Robed Rorschach immediately protested, "First, Deryats and I have a purely platonic relationship! She helped me, I helped her, and that’s it. Second, you claim to be brothers with the Mouse Speakers, yet you stood by and watched as they became the primary slave race in the Shadow Land while you just went about your shepherding. You have the gall to say that?"
The grand, complex voice returned, beginning with a long, drawn-out sigh. "Beneath the Lord of Order and the other Divine Spirits, what difference is there between any of us, great or small, and a mouse in a hole? The Mouse Speakers were enslaved yesterday and are freed today, all with the permission of the Lord of Order.
"All we can do is take the masters who abuse their slaves and turn them into lambs, as a small measure of punishment. We thank you for what you’ve done today. Please, say no more."
With that, the giants shook their spiked rods, and the bells on them jingled. The sound wasn’t loud, yet even the Elves and Dwarves on the battlefield closest to Freddy’s horn could hear it crystal clear.
Normal people who heard the jingling merely grew dazed, but the Shadow Guards began to whimper. Their black forms started to fade, revealing the pale, agonized souls within. The Shepherds did not collect these souls in their sheepskin pouches as they usually did; instead, they kept ringing their bells until every soul had dissipated.
With his souls freed, the tragic Marquis was weakened once more. He no longer held an advantage over Singrev and couldn’t even face the hammer’s attacks directly as his various split souls fused back together. He hadn’t heard the Shepherds’ message to Rorschach, so he was unaware of their defection, leaving him confused, furious, and on the verge of losing his sanity.
Red Robed Rorschach’s arrogant shout echoed from the sky. "Marquis, give up! Everyone’s on our side now. What have you got left to fight me with?"
"Your soul is about to be devoured by the Shadow Land." The two Rorschachs landed one after the other on the carriage, looking down at the twisted Marquis. He was like a cornered beast, helplessly trying to attack every living thing around him, yet unable to mount an effective offense.
Red Robed Rorschach made his golden star burst into specks of glittering powder. He gathered the powder in his hand, then bent his elbow forward to "sprinkle some salt" on the Marquis.
"AARGH—AAGH..." The Marquis let out a terrible scream. But as a fine layer of golden light covered his body, his form stopped twisting and returned to that of a normal human—a scarred old man with sagging skin.
Now that he had lost his power, death was quickly catching up to him.
"No, what are you doing?" the old man accused them weakly. "I... I maintained order in this evil land, allowing the dregs unwanted by Kingdom society to eke out a miserable existence."
"As the Lord... I was diligent in my duties, preventing the power of Evil Gods like Mother Earth and Is from invading the Shadow Land and, by extension, Storm City... Why... Can that short man... do that? While I’m still alive, give me back my power... Otherwise, the Shadow Land will be in danger! Storm City will be in danger!"
Original Rorschach took a step closer to the old man. "Lord Marquis, you did an excellent job. You were practically the incarnation of order in the Shadow Land. But for that very reason, now that we need to destroy the Shadow Land, we must also destroy you, who are so deeply bound to it."
The Marquis reacted as if he’d heard a joke. "Destroy Shadow City? Heh heh... I see... I see..." The dying old man was lifted by several Mouse Speakers and brought to the feet of the Shepherds. The two groups seemed to be communicating something.
A Shepherd’s hand brushed over the old man’s body, helping him close his eyes. Both Rorschachs simultaneously felt the life of the Marquis, the longest-reigning ruler of the Shadow Land, completely extinguish.
Red Robed Rorschach called over to Freddy the Minstrel. "See that? Only protagonists get to win with speeches. Villains just die from monologuing!"
Freddy hadn’t expected the battle to end like this. After hearing the Marquis’s last words, he had a new thought. "Um... Mr. Rorschach Number Two, I don’t think Lord Marquis was strictly a villain. This was a war with no righteous side."
Red Robed Rorschach simply grabbed his staff and bonked the minstrel on the head. "Did you sing yourself stupid? Didn’t you want the residents of Shadow City to one day return to the surface? Once we break the seal, everyone will be free to come and go. Your dream will come true! And he was nothing but a stumbling block to our cause!"
Red Robed Rorschach clenched his fist. "There’s an old saying in the Far East: ’Those who follow us will prosper; those who oppose us will perish!’ And another one: ’Only those who recognize the trends of the times are truly wise.’"
Freddy took a step back. He didn’t know any old sayings from the Far East, but the minstrel felt that this Red Robed Rorschach seemed a little too extreme.
Original Rorschach rubbed his temples, a headache forming. He put a hand on Red Robed Rorschach’s shoulder. ’Let’s just merge already. I can’t stand seeing this meme-spouting kid with my face and my voice anymore! How many terrible jokes have you told since you showed up?’
"I’m the main body! Which means the way I am now is Rorschach’s true nature!" Red Robed Rorschach declared, twirling his magic staff.
"True nature? What on earth is going on?" With the battle over, Caroline finally had a chance to get to the bottom of things. Two Rorschachs, identical in height, face, and voice, stood before her, yet their expressions and personalities were completely different. And both of them acknowledged that they—and the other—were Rorschach.
"It’s a long story... First, we were in the cranial chamber. The one stationed there wasn’t an Elf Elder, but the illusion of a powerful Ancient Mage who claimed to be guarding the Shadow Land on the Lord of Order’s command."
As Original Rorschach spoke, he spread out his vast Domain and completely collected the final portion of the Lord of Order’s power. This meant the seal on Shadow City would be completely broken.
Red Robed Rorschach picked up the explanation. "That Ancient Mage was the true supreme administrator of the Shadow Land. The Marquis, the Count, and the Black Cultivator were merely agents of his power, appointed by him."
The Black Cultivator shook his head. "Rorschach Mage, you are mistaken. I acted on the decree of the Lord of Order himself to collect and control the lingering venom of Is within the Shadow Land, for the purpose of purification and my own use."
"Whatever you say. The Ancient Mage had become something like a ghost, and he still had to work overtime for the Lord of Order. He got tired and decided to just destroy his own workstation. That way he wouldn’t have to be a wage slave anymore—not for the rest of his life!"
"The old Mage wanted to blow Shadow City to smithereens. He discovered that I, being unrestrained by the Lord of Order’s power, was the key ingredient for the ’explosives.’ And so, the plan we’ve been carrying out until now was born."
Caroline struggled to parse Red Robed Rorschach’s Otherworld vocabulary, but she managed to grasp the general meaning, as well as why there were two Rorschachs.
Red Robed Rorschach continued, "That old coot used some incredible magic to split me in two. Then, using the technology the Elves left in the Holy Statue, he temporarily completed us into two people. As a bonus, he also gave me all his knowledge about the Shadow Land and a ton of magic."
Original Rorschach had now finished collecting the last of the power and picked up the explanation again. "The more ’reliable’ me led you, my teacher, out of the Holy Land to travel the Shadow Land, break the seals, and reclaim the Lord of Order’s power. The less ’reliable’ me..."
"And the ’optimistic and cheerful’ me stayed inside the giant statue to manage the big picture, take over the administrative privileges the old man handed over, and direct the ’poker-faced’ me in making the necessary preparations to destroy the Shadow Land."
After speaking, Red Robed Rorschach slammed his magic staff on the ground. Illusory circuits instantly materialized across all the streets of the Core Area, with the heart of the magic array located beneath the "King’s Chariot." Original Rorschach winced and checked the butt of the staff for damage. Red Robed Rorschach just pursed his lips. ’I’ve been wanting to do that for a while...’
Placed all throughout Shadow City were special "explosion" magic arrays designed for the Shadow Land—a joint creation of Red Robed Rorschach and the Wise Man’s Illusion.
Caroline was utterly shocked. She frowned and admonished Rorschach, "You... You two actually let an outsider tamper with your own soul!"
The two Rorschachs replied in unison, "Of course I didn’t want to! But that Mage was too powerful, and he made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Since I couldn’t fight back, I might as well enjoy it!" On this point, the two vastly strengthened Rorschachs had indeed reached a consensus.
Both of them grew serious at the same time, their synchronization rate finally hitting 100%. "And now, we’re going to merge. From this moment on, Shadow City has completely lost the protection of its seal. The true great enemy is coming!"
