Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 768 - 125: Hunt II

"Do you have anywhere to go?"

Hearing this, the townspeople looked sorrowfully at the deep pit outside the forest. That was once their familiar home, now completely gone. Confusion filled everyone's hearts, and their nightmare was far from over. If the Imperial Army discovered they were still alive, they'd surely hunt them down to the very end.

The silence spoke for itself.

Ethan cast a sidelong glance at the shadowy figure, "And what about you?"

"Me? What's with me?"

"Where's your Demon King City?"

The magnificent Demon King City, filled with countless dark creatures and the mighty Four Heavenly Kings—this was the typical setup in most demon king hero stories. Ethan thought that such a large castle shouldn't have a problem housing a few refugees.

"What Demon King City?"

"Are you really the Demon King?"

Ethan felt a headache brewing. The puzzled reaction of the shadow seemed genuine, suggesting she might have encountered an odd Demon King without even a private castle.

"Yes! I-am!"

Only this question seemed to trigger some strange switch. The shadow's tone in reply matched exactly what it had been at Ethan's home, even striking a bizarre pose to defend its legitimacy as a Demon King.

"So where are your subordinates? The Four Heavenly Kings, the Dark Dragon, at the very least skeleton soldiers, right?"

"Don't need them. I'm a solo act."

The shadow crossed its arms, taking pride rather than feeling ashamed.

It was confirmed, this character was nothing more than a small-time drifter, the kind that's not even in a gang, a "lone wolf." This conversation forced Ethan to abandon the idea of using the grand Demon King City as a temporary operations center. She turned to the trembling townsfolk, "Do you know how to get to the nearest city?"

A few nodded.

"If you want to survive, forget everything that happened here. From now on, you're a group of wandering merchants."

Ethan made a decision, "Take me to the nearest city from here."

"What about me?"

"You go find me some mounts."

Ethan gave the shadow an annoyed glance.

.................

Late at night, in Gear City.

The empire's border city, a grand and resplendent trade capital, remained brightly lit even at midnight.

Today, Gear City was more lively than usual. Earlier this evening, an exciting piece of news had spread throughout the city.

The notorious Demon King had finally been defeated. The people of Gear City no longer had to fear the Demon King's disturbances. They no longer needed to fear the night and could revel in singing and dancing all through the night until dawn.

Although the empire had lost its hero forever, this brave and fearless young man had fulfilled all his duties. He was a hero in everyone's hearts. The royal family planned to hold a memorial service for him in a few days, erecting a monument in the center square of the Imperial Capital for the hero.

Moreover, a hero never truly disappears.

Whenever night falls, should another Demon King arise, he would return to the people in a different guise, in different forms, to fight for them.

Until then, everyone in Gear City could thoroughly enjoy this night—it was the hero who earned it for them!

The overwhelming reports spread throughout every street and alley of Gear City. The newsboys were eager to broadcast this exhilarating news to every corner of the city.

However, not everyone could fully enjoy this hard-earned night. In the city's southwest corner, a couple blocked the path of a young girl dressed in a luxurious bubble skirt, adorned like an upper-class lady.

"Great Summoner Haitia, please forgive our presumptuousness, and please stand up for us!"

The couple saw her as a savior.

Gear City still housed many residents living in the lowest strata, and for them, the best news was that after the Demon King was eradicated, Great Summoner Haitia had returned to her hometown.

She had been a member of the Demon King subjugation team, brave and kind.

They had too many things to confide in Haitia. They wanted to tell the Great Summoner how the officials and aristocrats of Gear City behaved while she was unaware.

Haitia halted her steps and responded to the couple with a bright, refreshing smile.

She was just as kind and courageous as the rumors depicted.

"Don't worry, please tell me what happened?"

Her display of goodwill made the couple overwhelmingly grateful, nearly moved to tears. Bitterness had been bottled up in their hearts for too long, and today, the heroes had finally returned to their side.

This city was about to get better.

"It was our child, she was taken away by Baron Fulin a few days ago. He let the security team break into our home, accusing our daughter of stealing something of theirs, but that child was always with us and never went to Baron Fulin's mansion."

"There must be some misunderstanding."

Haitia said, "Please follow me."

The couple exchanged incredulous glances. They never imagined that the Great Summoner would actually be willing to mediate for them.

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

Baron Fulin's mansion wasn't hard to find as it was located in the busiest area of Gear City. The manor was brightly lit, and the strong smell of alcohol could be sensed from behind the fence. Haitia gestured for the manor guards to step aside, ascended the steps, and gently knocked on the door of the baron's mansion.

Before long, a plump, bald middle-aged man, reeking of alcohol, opened the door, holding a wine bottle in his hand. His clothes were disheveled and barely covering his body.

Haitia briefly explained the couple's purpose to Baron Fulin. The drunken man stared at the pair for a long time before saying, "Misunderstanding? This is absolutely not a misunderstanding. Their daughter has confessed to everything. Great Summoner Haitia, you must be deceived by these dregs of society. They're like rats from the gutters, filthy and yet seek to win your sympathy—if you don't believe me, Chief Blake can attest to it!"

The next destination was Gear City's Security Office.

Upon learning that Great Summoner Haitia was coming, Chief Blake rushed back to the Security Office overnight. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He looked somewhat shabby, reeking of alcohol, clearly having joined the festivities. He presented the case files to Haitia, and during custody questioning, the girl accused of theft confessed to all her crimes. When asked about the girl's sentence, Chief Blake hesitated.

Under Haitia's repeated questioning, he reluctantly recounted the tragedy.

Learning of her sentence, the girl attacked the detective escorting her. During her attempt to seize his gun, the detective was forced to shoot her dead.

Upon hearing this, the couple turned pale, their lips trembling.

"Impossible..."

They kept repeating the same phrase.

The case files prepared by the Chief were full of holes; all the testimonies came from the girl's confession and the subsequent shooting was solely the detective's word.

Such incidents happened daily, yet the Chief had full authority to interpret the case, leaving the couple to only look to Haitia with pleading eyes, hoping the wise Great Summoner could see through this clumsy trick.

However, the only response they got was Haitia's helpless gaze.

They had to leave the Security Office and return to the cold streets.

"These people are truly rotten, aren't they?"

The gentle Haitia suddenly changed her expression, "Your daughter must have been killed by them."

The sapphire blue eyes emitted a mesmerizing glow as she looked at the couple, "Someone has to do something to ensure the truly wicked are punished. But my strength alone isn't enough. Would you help me? Would you be willing to personally punish those who trample on the law?"

Their dim eyes flickered with hope once more as they grasped the final straw to save themselves.

Haitia displayed a satisfied smile, gently guiding them, "I know a spell; it's a simple summoning spell..."

A spell that even ordinary people who had never dabbled in summoning could proficiently use.

She suppressed that faint, almost undetectable emotion.

Haitia spoke patiently, guiding the couple to carve a summoning array with their blood behind the Security Office where they cut open their palms. This was something she was well-versed in.

As long as she could control hatred, she had mastery over their hearts.

With the recitation of the incantation, the summoning array drawn with blood flared up in dazzling light.

When the light dissipated, the silence returned to the street.

Behind the Security Office, two fragmented corpses lay on the vacant lot.

Haitia finally laughed, a stark contrast to her usual gentle smile; her current smile was filled with fanaticism.

How wonderful.

Today,

She had purged two more who had succumbed to evil in the empire.