The Purpose Behind the Scenes

After the battle finally ended, the area around the old mansion was littered with the mutilated corpses of monsters. The air was thick with the nauseating stench of blood. The troublesome creatures that had chased Sheriff Raymond all the way here had been thoroughly wiped out by the trio, leaving no trace of a threat. The gap in strength between superhumans and ordinary people was simply insurmountable.

The massive crimson scythe vanished from Evelyn's hands as she scanned the surroundings. Seeing no living monsters left, she clicked her tongue in slight dissatisfaction, as if she hadn’t had her fill of killing.

"Teacher, your bloodlust is a bit too intense..." Luo Wei felt as though he was meeting her for the first time.

"What can I do?" Evelyn shrugged. "Ever since integrating into human society, I’ve been stuck at school, playing the role of a law-abiding citizen. I can’t even remember the last time I could act so freely..."

"You should really tone it down..." Luo Wei glanced at her character panel, where the contamination level was visibly rising.

When killing becomes a habit, superhumans often fall prey to uncontrollable backlash. That’s why the most experienced superhumans deliberately restrain their power and rarely act.

"Didn’t expect you to be this impressive..." Helena glanced at the corpses strewn across the ground and then at Evelyn.

At first, she had been somewhat competitive with Evelyn, but even with her brother’s assistance, her killing efficiency didn’t match Evelyn’s. This woman’s combat talent was far more exceptional than she had imagined.

"Hmph, of course!" Evelyn smirked proudly. "This is the result of years of accumulated combat experience. I stood out in my family ages ago. You two are still green~"

Luo Wei chuckled as he watched Evelyn grow more and more smug after being praised.

Teasingly, he asked, "Teacher, you’re always talking about how amazing you were years ago... So, exactly how old are you?"

Evelyn’s face instantly darkened.

"What do you mean by that?" she narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Huh?" Luo Wei blinked innocently. "I was just curious. Are you mad, Teacher?"

Helena was delighted to see Evelyn flustered and chimed in with a grin, "The older a woman gets, the less willing she is to reveal her true age!"

"Who are you calling old?!" Evelyn exploded in anger, a crimson blade materializing in her hand.

"Calm down, calm down!" Luo Wei laughed as he tried to soothe the irate Evelyn. "I was just showing concern, nothing more. Don’t take it to heart~"

Evelyn shot him a glare but finally answered his question.

"24!"

Luo Wei paused. "Isn’t it 26?"

"Ah, right!" Evelyn quickly corrected herself. "It’s 26, 26! I misremembered!"

Helena burst out laughing at her flustered response.

"Ha! You can’t even keep your made-up age straight!"

She continued to twist the knife, "They say memory worsens with age~"

The atmosphere fell into a prolonged silence.

Luo Wei felt the temperature around the old mansion drop and couldn’t help but shiver.

...

After the "Old Mansion Defense Battle," the trio returned to the main hall.

Sheriff Raymond and Officer Leon lay on the sofa, their conditions worsening. Despite the commotion outside, they remained unconscious.

Evelyn glanced at their state and sighed.

"If the sheriff’s words are true, and so many powerful superhumans have gone mad and taken to the streets, the city is likely in even greater chaos than we are. It’s impossible to get them to a hospital now..."

Her implication was that Sheriff Raymond and Officer Leon were likely doomed.

Luo Wei shook his head. "Teacher, you’re overthinking it. Even if you and I died, the sheriff would probably still survive..."

Evelyn smiled wryly, thinking Luo Wei was simply in denial about the impending death of his old friend.

"Let’s hope so..."

The recently concluded battle and the city’s uncertain situation cast a heavy atmosphere over the room.

"What are these insane cultists trying to achieve?" Evelyn frowned, deep in thought.

Luo Wei was equally puzzled. The entire incident had started with the "airship explosion case." Initially, they had thought the Truth Cult, being scapegoats, were outsiders—tools used by the old emperor to divert public attention. But now, driven to desperation, they had plunged the entire city into chaos...

"The airship explosion, the public’s panic, the inexplicable madness of superhumans..."

Luo Wei muttered to himself, his thoughts gradually expanding.

"The third prince, Ophelia, the Truth Cult, the nouveau riche factory owners, and the old aristocracy—all these forces are tangled together..."

His mind raced, trying to piece together the scattered clues.

"Conflict and chaos are everywhere. Saint Callen is like a powder keg about to explode..."

"Chaos... chaos..."

"That’s it. Chaos is the constant theme."

"As Ophelia said, someone is deliberately creating chaos. But chaos is just a means, not the ultimate goal..."

Evelyn watched Luo Wei’s muttering with concern, fearing he was losing his grip on reality.

Just as she was about to interrupt, Helena stopped her.

"Hmm?"

Helena shook her head slightly, quietly watching her brother deep in thought, and made a shushing gesture.

"Shh—! Don’t disturb him."

Evelyn nodded softly.

She remembered the time Luo Wei had exposed her as the culprit. He did possess a sharp insight.

With some anticipation, she watched him, hoping he would figure something out.

Finally, as Luo Wei’s muttering ceased, his expression turned grim.

He looked at the two of them.

"We all know that chaos is the breeding ground for unspeakable horrors..."

"Is the mastermind trying to appease some unspeakable entity? Are they trying to summon a god of chaos?"

Luo Wei desperately hoped this wasn’t the case. This was only the second chapter, and they were already facing a god of chaos? What would the later chapters hold?

Evelyn recalled the information Sheriff Raymond had shared earlier. "He said that when they went to raid the cult, the cultists were performing a ritual... Could it have been for that?"

Helena grew tense. "Is that the Truth Cult’s goal? Are they trying to summon the deity they worship?"

Luo Wei shook his head firmly. "I don’t know which deity the mastermind is trying to summon, but it’s definitely not the Truth Cult."

Helena looked at him in confusion. "How can you be so sure it’s not them?"

Luo Wei pointed to the newspaper on the coffee table and smiled. "Teacher and I have been studying these guys for a while. They’ve been active in the lower districts of Saint Callen for a long time. There’s a lot of information on them, and Teacher used to frequent the lower districts, so she’s dealt with them directly and knows their situation well."

He then looked at Evelyn.

Evelyn nodded and gave a ruthless assessment. "They’re a bunch of losers."

"Huh?" Helena blinked in surprise.

Evelyn explained, "They’re just a black magic organization labeled as a cult. They started by dealing and manufacturing drugs, then used a fake doctrine to deceive poor, ignorant followers into funding them..."

Luo Wei added, "A group like this, hunted down like stray dogs, somehow managed to drive the city’s powerful superhumans mad. If they had that kind of power, they wouldn’t have ended up in such a state..."

So there was definitely something fishy going on.

But Luo Wei had already found a direction for his investigation. He immediately stood up and headed for the door to change clothes.

"Brother! Where are you going?" Helena quickly asked.

"Let’s head back to Bedlam Mental Hospital," Luo Wei said, looking at the two of them. "You’re coming with me."

"To that asylum?" Helena asked, puzzled. "Why are we going there?"

Luo Wei explained, "To visit a fellow patient who lives downstairs from me. He’s a high-ranking member of the Truth Cult."

"That guy who’s always singing and praying downstairs every night, the one who acts all mystical?" Evelyn recalled.

"Exactly," Luo Wei replied, already putting on his coat and a hat.

"But didn’t you say the one pulling the strings behind the scenes wasn’t them?" Helena grew even more confused.

"True, it’s not them, but we might still be able to get some clues," Luo Wei said, his gaze drifting to the thick fog outside the window.

Panic had spread across all the major cities of the empire.

But the madness and loss of control among the supernaturals was a phenomenon unique to Saint Callen.

And this sudden fog had appeared almost simultaneously with the anomalies among the city’s supernaturals.

This couldn’t help but make him draw some connections.