Chapter 109: Faceless One and Wild Joy

　　”……”

　　An eerie silence, coupled with a man frozen in motion as if ensnared, lingered between the inner room and the garden for a long while.

　　Finally, a deep, echoing laugh filled the air.

　　”Hehehe…”

　　The laughter grew higher and wilder, like a joyous mad dance pushed to extremes.

　　”Hehehe… Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!”

　　”Hahahahahaha!!! Who the heck are you? How can you be this interesting? So confident, so arrogant—oh, I like it! Fun, fun, so much fun, hahahaha!!”

　　Jeremy slowly rose to his feet, his hollow chest turning toward the White Fox Girl standing in the doorway of the inner room, and somehow, a crazed smile reminiscent of a mask appeared on his face.

　　From the deep cavity in his chest, thick, pitch-black liquid trickled down, healing his wounds and restoring him to his original form—even his long-sleeved clothes appeared to miraculously fix themselves, as if they had always been part of him.

　　”Tsk… So noisy. How can there be such a mad god like you? No wonder those Faceless Ones aren’t normal either…”

　　Removing the small hands that had instinctively covered her ears, the black gem beside the girl danced around her mischievously, swirling a few times as invisible pressure began to spread.

　　”Now then, do you have any last words before you’re taken down?”

　　”Oh wow! What tremendous power you have! This is quite something! Although I didn’t find my original target, I have stumbled upon unexpected gains—how interesting!”

　　Jeremy’s black and white mask twisted into an even more exaggerated and eerie smile, then shrank like a living being, transforming into a seemingly serious expression. He raised a hand and magically produced a top hat that clashed incredibly with his demeanor, giving a slight bow.

　　”Beautiful Miss Fox, since you’re so intent on seeking me out, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Musk, the world’s best character performer—happy roles, sad roles, clown roles, tragic roles, as long as they’re interesting~ I can imitate them all… hehehe…”

　　”Character performer? What’s that?”

　　Apparently curious about his words, the White Fox Girl paused, tilting her little head in confusion.

　　”Oh, you don’t understand? That makes sense~ This profession is rather profound. Allow me to demonstrate~”

　　As he spoke, the black and white mask on his face vanished again, revealing the true appearance of Holy Knight Jeremy, who placed his hands on his chest, simulating a fervent prayer.

　　”O great and noble Light Goddess… I praise your name… you are the embodiment of dawn and hope…”

　　”Ahem! How about it, how about it? Am I imitating it perfectly? Am I a very~ devout believer? Hehehehahahahahaha!!!”

　　Just as the sincere prayer reached halfway, the suddenly reappearing man clutched his stomach and laughed wildly, the contrast between his movements creating a shocking juxtaposition to his previously pious demeanor, enough to make any normal person wrinkle their brow.

　　”Crazy… wait, you wouldn’t be the mad god, would you? Hey… isn’t this godhood a bit too bizarre?”

　　”Thank you for your compliment!~ The audience’s recognition is our endless motivation, hehe!”

　　”But there’s one thing I need to correct; I’m not a mad god. If this Fox… hmm, Miss Xī doesn’t mind, feel free to call me Wanxiang~ My friends call me that as well, or more formally—[God of Faceless and Wild Joy]… you can~ do that too~ hehehehehe!”

　　In just a few sentences, Jeremy… or rather Musk, had already changed expressions several times, each of his words representing completely different emotions and attitudes, filled with a wild joy that made it difficult to discern his true intentions.

　　So, the White Fox Girl nodded in agreement.

　　”Alright, I fully understand that you’re just a bored madman looking for trouble.”

　　Initially, Vilyric was still pondering… why would the so-called mastermind go through such elaborate trouble to create so many strange occurrences, whether hiding other ulterior motives or not…

　　First of all, the Faceless Ones could clearly act more covertly, yet just two nights ago, they specifically attacked the Temple Knights, causing a citywide uproar.

　　Moreover, the Faceless Ones had the ability to assimilate, so why did they only kill Aiden and others in a way resembling a release of malice, deliberately leaving Jeremy alone?

　　Given the disparity in power, if that mask truly wanted to stop them, the latter, as a mere pious knight, wouldn’t have a chance to escape.

　　Such actions practically broadcast the message, “I have problems” on Jeremy Murphy’s face.

　　So at that time, Pedrick suspected him, Yuna suspected him, and Vilyric did too.

　　With the study of soul science in the Holy Empire, even if they couldn’t reach Vilyric’s level of summoning the deceased, it was entirely possible to recall memories of the departed…

　　So, the fact that they didn’t assimilate those knights but simply killed them seemed to hint at a method for investigators.

　　Indeed, it was meant to cause the sole survivor Jeremy Murphy to become suspicious, allowing him to wash away doubts through investigation, and consequently lead the investigators’ attention to the first victim, Chloe, and the second victim—the Temple Knight Karina, who both had Light Tribe blood.

　　Such behavior appeared somewhat nonsensical, but as long as one interacted more with the Faceless Ones and delved deeper into them, the aware would eventually realize a critical problem.

　　If the spread of the Faceless Ones was through assimilation and not displacement, then… why did only Chloe Laurie, the girl, die when her soul dissipated after assimilating the Temple Knight Karina?

　　There was only one explanation: Chloe’s situation was different from that of other Faceless Ones; her mask was special.

　　But… as long as they dodged the initial wave of suspicion, in the later stages, even if this abnormality was noticed, it would, due to its similarities with Karina and the aforementioned “Light Tribe blood,” naturally attract most investigators’ attention, causing them to overlook Jeremy Murphy, who also had interactions with Chloe but was “fine and dandy.”

　　Does it sound quite convoluted and twisting, leaving people frowning?

　　Precisely, because many of these actions seem redundant and nonsensical, Vilyric had yet to thoroughly grasp the situation, leading her to temporarily hold back.

　　Through those redeemed Faceless Ones, they confirmed the most definitive evidence, and after the exchange just now, the Priestess finally understood.

　　This was indeed the mastermind, the [God of Faceless and Wild Joy] who deliberately created the effect of shifting from Chloe to the Holy Knight Jeremy.

　　He didn’t intend to do anything to Mingguang City or have any conspiracy; he simply wanted to make the situation murky, complicated for the sake of complexity, leaving people scratching their heads.

　　Yet at the same time, he left clues for investigation.

　　Because this was just a puzzle he left behind for fun during the handling of certain main objectives. The [God of Faceless and Wild Joy] was clearly a troublesome character who delights in entertainment.

　　But he didn’t anticipate that the Oracle of the Lingyin Merchant Association would pinpoint the retreating Karina Brett, sending the capable disciple [Soul] to stop her, resulting in a mutually destructive battle.

　　Karina died, but her mask didn’t possess anything peculiar, making it so that the investigators, lacking a suspect, would quickly notice Jeremy, who had already been cleared of suspicion; therefore, he wouldn’t be able to hide any longer.

　　Naturally, the ensuing events would lead to a citywide riot by the Faceless Ones, possibly incentivized by other factors, like how they mistook the Priestess, who infiltrated the Soul’s spiritual realm, for the real Light Goddess, especially as the Faceless Ones were searching for her…

　　But whatever the reason, since the situation had developed to this point, even if Vilyric didn’t actively seek him out, the already exposed [God of Faceless and Wild Joy] would probably have to show up personally.

　　This is, the final battle where the dust settles.

   

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