Chapter 324: Chapter 321: Daylight Parade of a Hundred Demons
First came the evacuation, before the main event. The passage to Storm City was opened to its maximum capacity, and at this moment, Storm City and the Shadow City were even beginning to overlap and merge into one.
Freddy was overcome with emotion. "Leave it to a Mage to get this done!" All his past attempts had failed, yet Rorschach had managed to bring the entire city’s population back to reality about a week after arriving in the Shadow Land.
Granted, these residents had no choice, but this was the best possible solution. It was predictable that Half-Undead who relied on the Shadow Land for their existence, like the original inhabitants of the Jiaomao Peak District, would now face their final death. And that was for the best. After all, they should have been at peace long ago; it was time to end their existence as neither human nor ghost.
But Rorschach’s words to the crowd while hovering in the air—"Say goodbye to the Shadow Land forever"—caused a great misunderstanding and panic. The first thought of the Core Area residents wasn’t that the Shadow Land was about to be destroyed, but that the evil Red Robed Mage was about to reap their lives.
The fault lay mostly with Rorschach. He was currently in a state of extreme agony and euphoria. After the "Anti-Technique" pre-planted by the Wise Man activated, the two parts of his soul and the foreign elements were being violently shredded and blended together as if in a food processor, then infused with a high flux of Magic Power and fused, forcibly elevating the youth’s life essence to the level of a Great Mage.
His Arcane Perspective was no longer a simple view of Spiritual Lights. Now, wherever he looked, all energy—its operational methods and its underlying rules—was laid bare before him. This included everyone’s Vitality. If Rorschach wished, he could temporarily reverse a living being’s energy metabolism. And their Souls... he could forcibly alter the neural connection patterns in someone’s brain.
’Wait a minute... why are these all Necromancer skills?’ Rorschach reflected, shaking his head.
The fusion continued. Outwardly, there was only one Rorschach, but he could feel a whirlwind of thoughts in his mind, as if two conflicting consciousnesses were battling for control.
Rorschach’s Magic Power continued to skyrocket, so much so that Caroline felt an oppressive force emanating from him. Even though the process was not yet complete, he could now proceed with the next step of the plan.
Spurred by this "little misunderstanding," the crowds in the street began to panic, making it extremely difficult for the Mouse Speakers and Gray Elves to maintain order. The people wanted to flee to a place where the evil Red Robed Mage couldn’t see them, to retreat back to their hovels and caves.
But everything had changed. They were met with a hazy gray sky, unfamiliar streets, and pedestrians who looked even more terrified than they were.
They had returned to Storm City. They had returned to the real world.
...
「The Royal Palace. A routine Round Table Conference.」
With the Kingdom’s overseas colonies constantly expanding and embroiled in conflict, more and more Knight Commanders were absent. The only ones present were the Royal Capital’s resident orders, Golden Rose and Iron Crown; Burning Lion, currently at war with El; and the Elf Corps, Song of the Leaves and White Ashes.
With only five of the twelve orders present, they lacked the two-thirds quorum theoretically required to pass any resolutions. This was, however, only a technicality, as today’s agenda was focused entirely on matters concerning Storm City.
"I have come to a profound realization of my error. My past immature actions have tarnished the reputation of our great and glorious Her Majesty the Queen, brought shame upon the Knight Orders, and had an extremely detrimental effect on the social stability of the Kingdom.
"Hereby, I sincerely offer my deepest apologies to all individuals and groups who were affected..." Alfred recited the words mechanically.
"Alright, that’s enough. Someone else obviously wrote that for you," the Iron Crown Commander interrupted impatiently, cutting off the Golden Rose Captain’s self-criticism. Alfred’s uproar in the Lower House had caused a public outcry, and even the mouthpieces controlled by the Royal Family could only offer a weak attempt to spin the story:
The military setbacks on El Island were the fault of the Lower House dragging its feet and providing inadequate logistical support. The "frank and sincere" Golden Rose Captain, Alfred, had simply expressed his dissatisfaction with these cowardly obstructionists in a... misguided fashion. The papers spinning the story also reminded the public that Alfred was the youngest Knight Commander. The implication was clear: *He’s just a kid!*
Then, the Iron Crown Knight Commander had to clean up his mess: facing inquiries from the Lower House, apologizing to the terrified members, and using a mix of threats and incentives to convince everyone involved to drop the issue...
The Queen sat at the head of the table, her hair concealing her ears. She said, "This matter is now closed. Alfred, starting tomorrow, you will go on vacation in the countryside."
A hint of genuine panic entered Alfred’s voice. "For how long?"
"You will return when notified."
The Golden Rose Captain nodded stiffly. "As you wish, Your Majesty."
The next item on the agenda was the main business. The Iron Crown Knight Order reported that the number of disappearances within the city had recently increased. Furthermore, many citizens claimed to have suddenly recalled friends and relatives who had gone missing. The file of the hitherto nameless third Count Elgin had also been discovered, and everyone suddenly remembered his name...
"All signs indicate that the Shadow City has undergone a significant transformation. It’s highly likely that the ’Nameless Curse’ has been broken and the ancient seal has been lifted."
The Queen’s expression stirred slightly. The Iron Crown Knight Commander put forth his proposal, "Your Majesty, please give the order. The Iron Crown Knight Order is willing to form an investigation team to venture deep into the Shadow Land."
The Elf Corps showed extraordinary enthusiasm, with both of their commanders expressing their willingness to join the investigation.
"Has there been any movement from the Sect? And the Magic Guild..."
Just as the Iron Crown Commander was about to answer the Queen’s question, a small bell on the round table began to chime insistently. No outsiders were permitted at the Round Table Conference; this could only mean an emergency.
"Enter!" With a nod of consent from Her Majesty the Queen, the Iron Crown Commander paused the meeting, opened the door, and allowed the Guard to enter.
The Guard reported to the rulers of the Kingdom, "There are mass riots in Storm City! Numerous suspicious individuals and... creatures are appearing all over the city!"
A clamor rose from outside the window, an eerie sound somewhere between song and noise, echoing through the misty city streets. The dignitaries gathered by the window. The first thing they saw was a hill as tall as a building slowly moving, wielding an ancient wooden staff and shaking a bell whose chimes seemed to coax the very Soul from one’s body.
Thronging around the Shepherd were crowds of people in bizarre attire. There were also small figures clad in mouse skins, looking more like scrawny Goblins than Dwarves, each holding a horn fashioned from newspaper and letting out piercing squeals and songs.
Carriages and pedestrians alike were forced to a halt, some even swept away by the procession that had appeared from the Shadow Land. Cries of pain from a stampede could be heard. Another group, covered in burns and moving like zombies, ran amok through the streets. When sunlight pierced the fog and touched their skin, they burst into flames, starting fires all across the city.
Drivers and passengers of hired carriages fled their vehicles in panic. The Mouse Speakers communicated with the horses, clumsily attempting to take the reins. A Minstrel clambered onto a carriage roof and, surrounded by a chorus of Magic Horns, continued to play his song:
"The stage is empty, so why do we exist?
"In the forgotten land, I already knew the end.
No matter what, the show must go on, and we are unstoppable!"
For some unknown reason, most of the residents who had fallen into the Shadow Land were teleported back to the places in Storm City where they had once lived the longest.
Some lucky ones were able to return to their old homes and see their families, embracing them in emotional reunions.
Others, however, were mistaken for burglars, beaten by strangers, and thrown out into the streets, where both parties then stood and witnessed the ghoulish parade taking over the city.
The two cities overlapped. The buried and forgotten Storm City of the past dragged the Storm City of the present into a maelstrom of chaos and carnival.
Amidst the fog and screams, the sorrows and joys of reunion and separation, the Royal Capital of Istani experienced its own daytime parade of a hundred demons.
