162 Welcome to the Black Parade (1/2)
Alberto woke up with a shock from his nightmare. Twisting his head, he gazed at the deep night sky outside the window. Firelight rose, burning the sky red. The dew was heavy. He sat on his wheelchair and placed a blanket over his knees. The flames in the fireplace flickered and the high grade pinewood burned soundlessly. It emitted a fragrant scent, calming one down subconsciously.
Even if fire was burning downtown to ashes outside, it was still serene and peaceful inside, as if he belonged to another world. This was the reward that he deserved. As the leader of the Black Hand Gang—the Sicilian Mafia— that had once controlled one-third of downtown, Alberto was now old. He did not have the energy anymore.
While being old had its disadvantages, it also gave him the ability to see through things with old wisdom. For a leader, having good vision was the most important thing. And the current events proved that he was right.
When the parliament’s messenger had appeared before him for the first time, he had not even waited for Mr. Hall to make his request before pledging his entire clan’s loyalty to the parliament. This sincerity had won him the parliament’s trust and allowed him to enter the heart of the parliament, becoming the guard of the asylum.
If this was the boat to success, he was already in first class and watching as his former enemies and partners struggled and killed each other in the ocean. No matter what the result was, everything would be changed if the ritual in the final laboratory of the central security room was successful. All former enemies would be eliminated and he would replace the Shaman as the ruler of downtown. He would be the new Dark King! Yes, if the ritual was successful.
For some reason, he still felt slightly unsettled. But no matter how much he thought, he could not find a flaw or loophole in the perfect plan.
”Father…”
The Shaman’s main force had been held down. Everyone had been blinded and distracted by the riots that had taken over the entire district. No one would be able to stop the parliament’s ritual.
”Father.”
But then, where did this unsettling feeling come from? Alberto racked his brain but he could not find anything.
”Father!” Lorenzo raised his voice, shocking Alberto out of his thoughts.
Alberto’s shoulders twitched and he looked back toward Lorenzo, who has beside him. Seeing the dissatisfaction in his eyes, Lorenzo’s face paled. ”Father, someone broke in through the warehouse!”
”Warehouse? Which warehouse?” Alberto asked reflexively. But then he reacted immediately and his face turned white—what other warehouse could it be? Of course it was the most important one! ”When?”
”A few minutes ago. Someone in the central security room discovered that the black door in the sewer was opened. The bone primates kept outside started going crazy too and they still haven’t been calmed down.”
”They broke in from the sewer?” The unsettling feeling in Alberto intensified. He forced himself to stay calm and waved his hand, ordering, ”Take care of it. Don’t let them cause too big of a disturbance, understood?”
But Lorenzo did not move. He stood in place, opening his mouth to speak but hesitating.
”What are you waiting for?!” Furious, Alberto slapped the armrest of the wheelchair. ”Go!”
”I already went but…” Lorenzo swallowed heavily and said in a trembling voice, ”They…might be Holmes and the Butcher.”
”Impossible!” Alberto practically jumped up from the wheelchair as he glared at Lorenzo. ”What the f*ck are you saying?!”
Quickly realizing that he had lost his temper, Alberto forced himself to calm down. He massaged his temples as he thought. After a long while, he suddenly looked up and stared at his son. ”Why did they show up here?”
”I don’t know either.” Stared at by those eerie eyes, Lorenzo felt goosebumps. He quickly explained, ”They just suddenly popped up out of nowhere. They came along the supply tunnel. Oh right, the smuggler that always transported the supplies was killed yesterday. Do you think Holmes did it?”
Alberto froze. But he instantly reacted. ”True, he’d never give up this chance if he knew that the parliament is holding the ritual here. He even hired that butcher…Kill them!” His eyes grew fierce. ”You must not let them into the central security room! Where is Red Eye and Yellow Foot? Weren’t they sent here by the parliament to protect the ritual?”
”Red Eye is still in central security. Yellow Foot already disappeared with the Butcher.” Lorenzo gulped. ”The third surgery room is surrounded by the dark musicians’ fog. Yellow Foot and his corpse puppets were all in there but we don’t know what happened.”
”What about Holmes?” Alberto stared deeply into his son’s eyes. ”Is he separated from the Butcher?”
”I think so,” Lorenzo replied in a trembling voice. ”He split up with the Butcher and didn’t come out after entering the patient’s ward…He seems to be interested in the mutants.”
”Good, good!” Alberto’s expression turned sinister. After a short pause, he suddenly ordered, ”Take some men and the four musicians from the parliament and seal the entire ward. I don’t care what you do, but kill Holmes! He and the Professor are the scourges of the parliament. They must be killed. And if he’s dead, the parliament will not let down our sacrifices.”
”M-me?” Lorenzo’s face turned ghastly pale. He had heard about the dark musician’s cruelty more than once in recent days. He had singlehandedly destroyed the Pyramid Scheme, and turned the high and mighty Indian musician Puspotkata into an idiot. And apparently, the mysterious Professor had lost a lot to him too. Now Lorenzo had to go deal with him?
”What are you scared of?!” Alberto roared in anger. ”No matter how powerful Holmes is, he’s just a liar who plays tricks! Have you heard of a psychological dark musician who can do more than just scare people?
”Red Eye already said that he hadn’t even broken through the Barrier of Knowledge. He probably hasn’t even sacrificed himself to Satan yet. The only thing he can do is scare people. So if you aren’t scared of him, what can he do to you? No matter how good he is at controlling people, can he control demons?”
Lorenzo froze. He was slightly reassured, but his mind was still shrouded in an eerie cloud. Were matters really this simple? He was not sure.
Lorenzo took a few deep breaths and set down his determination. Turning around to leave, he saw a pale face beside the door. Lorenzo’s face was reflected in those terrified eyes. He stumbled back and practically fell to the ground.
”Disaster, sir, disaster!” The man, face white in horror, reported in a trembling voice, ”Out of control! Sir…what do we do?!”
”What the f*ck are you talking about?” Alberto glared at the man who had rushed in. ”What is going on?”
”It’s Holmes, it’s Holmes!” The man’s voice quivered as he replied, ”A few minutes ago, all the guards in the patient’s ward disappeared. No one knows what that guy did. When we went in, everyone was gone. There wasn’t a single reply. And then the cries came and our men…they’re all dead!”
Lorenzo’s knees wobbled and he collapsed onto the ground. ”Holmes?!”
--
Ten minutes ago, under the ghastly white light, the patient’s ward was completely silent. Even the sounds of breathing seemed to be suffocated by the heavy smell of disinfectants.
”Looking at the time, they should be here right?” Ye Qingxuan strolled down the quiet hall, gazing at the bars to each side. Behind the bars, pairs of blank eyes looked at him. There was no light in those eyes—only numbness, unfamiliarity, and nothingness.
These people were still alive, but their bodies had been turned into monsters, their memories shattered, and their souls thrown into a bottomless abyss. They were still alive, but it was worse than death.
”So scary,” Ye Qingxuan sighed quietly. ”I can’t even find a trace of humanity.” There was no excitement, no sadness and no anger or desolation. They breathed purely to survive, like a zombie. Really, was there nothing left behind?
In the silence, he pressed down on his watch. The snap was crisp. ”All is dark. Only the Tree of Life is forever green,” Ye Qingxuan recited. His eyes flashed with a dazzling light.
In his hand, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei abruptly began shaking and played a gentle melody. Amidst the faint yet warm melody, water vapor gathered from all directions, transformed into perception threads and spread out again.
After the first measure ended, the second began right after. The vague melody suddenly changed and every note rose in key. The second measure had begun! Just as Charles had said, the difficulty rose exponentially. The invisible perception threads suddenly trembled and split into two. They spread again, reaching in all directions. The proximity doubled!