"Ms. Louisa, your story doesn't seem any different from a street vendor's."
Saying this, Fran yawned, the tail vertebra of the chimera spine swaying slightly along with it.
"Perhaps, I should consider a more... forceful method of collection..."
"Wait!"
Although Louisa didn't quite understand what "forceful" entailed, one could guess it wasn't anything good. This woman's methods were bizarre beyond measure, likely holding a secret rank above High Priest.
Probably a Sixth-Rank "Apostle," or even a higher-level "Prototype"...
Thinking this, she continued with the second half of her earlier statement.
"But later, the Stellar Abyss Society erected the 'Bell Towers,' and the Abyssal Sea's curse thus fell silent. Those towers are the Stellar Abyss Society's greatest secret; no one knows the secrets within."
"However, some rumors say that enchanting songs can sometimes be heard around the Bell Towers. And those songs seem to cause missing persons cases."
Truly an information broker; Louisa really knew how to pique one's interest. Her words successfully intrigued Fran.
"Any concrete cases?"
"Someone once commissioned me to investigate the whereabouts of their child. But I encountered resistance and warnings from the Stellar Abyss Society during the process, so there was no follow-up."
Louisa tried her best to divert the attention of the person before her towards the Stellar Abyss Society. If she went to provoke those academics, she might find a chance to escape.
"I see..."
Fran rubbed her fingertips, already developing the thought of going to spy on the Bell Towers.
"Is that all you know about the Abyssal Sea curse?"
"Those secrets are tightly guarded by the Stellar Abyss Society. Although I'm an information broker, I also know not to pry into information that invites mortal danger..."
Louisa tried her best to make her tone sound sincere, but that hoarse voice only felt odd.
"Hmm..."
Fran slowly looked at the face hidden within the black robe, her eyes like amber lamps, translucent yet elusive.
"Ms. Louisa, do you smell it? There seems to be a special scent in the air."
"What?"
Louisa clearly hadn't grasped what she meant, pausing briefly in bewilderment. Her expression grew more confused.
It's said that the higher one climbs on the secret ladder, the more... abnormal they become... Karmion was a known madman to the world, Gloria was a madman clad in the prototype of an incarnate deity, and the Chief Hunter of the Burial Court, Ahern, was a frightening madman.
She originally thought it was just jest, but seeing the doctor before her, she felt the person who proposed that theory truly had insight.
"You said... what scent?"
To avoid angering her, Louisa still went along with it.
"The smell of 'lies.' So thick, it's truly nauseating."
Fran smiled, sighing softly. Then she further extended the limbs of the chimera spine "Sphinx" from her own vertebrae. The iron-like limbs casually slid across Louisa's cheek, leaving a shallow wound.
Only now did she see clearly what had been restraining her all along.
Black steel-like bone emerged from the fleshly body. Though seemingly forged from metal, it retained the agility and liveliness of a living creature. How to describe it? Hydra, tarantula, or feathered serpent? Traces of many ancient creatures seemed discernible on it.
Though a terrifying thing, it also carried an intoxicating beauty of metamorphosis...
"You... you are a follower of the Moth?"
Saying this, Louisa could feel her throat trembling uncontrollably, as if from instinctive fear.
"Hey, Ms. Louisa, did I permit you to ask questions?"
If this were an interrogation, this would be the time for punishment. Common methods include breaking an arm, a heavy blow to the abdomen, or other small ways to create intense pain.
But Fran did nothing, just calmly looked at Louisa, her smile unchanged as always.
After all, she was conducting a routine inquiry with a patient; using overly rough methods would violate her medical principles.
"My deepest apologies, I overstepped... About the inside story of the Stellar Abyss Society, I do know a bit more... but most are unverifiable rumors, perhaps somewhat far-fetched."
After seeing Sphinx's true form, Louisa's tone also carried a trace of inexplicable respect.
"It concerns a deity. Or perhaps... you are more accustomed to calling them 'The Hours'?"
"Go on."
Fran didn't respond to her probing, just let her continue.
"Rumors say the so-called Abyssal Sea curse actually comes from the deity 'Abyssal Well' worshiped by the Stellar Abyss Society. It perished in the Lost Age or earlier, and its venomous echo before being exiled transformed into a curse haunting the mortal world."
"In other words, what those scholars now revere... is a great corpse."
When speaking of those colossal images suspended from the heavens, Louisa's voice also became faint, as if afraid of being heard by some intangible presence.
But looking around, there seemed to be only the swirling misty halo, otherwise a vast emptiness.
Hearing this, Fran lightly pinched her chin, falling into thought.
"Whether true or false, your information indeed holds sufficient value. It offsets this consultation fee."
"However, I still have a few small questions. Hmm... among the various cults currently existing in Foy, are there any particularly valuable relics?"
"Relics..."
This question had no connection to the previous content and was quite a jump. It took Louisa some time to organize her thoughts.
"The Stellar Abyss Society holds many treasures explored from undersea ruins, mostly stored in the warehouse of their main temple. However, if we talk about which cult is most enthusiastic about collecting such things... it would probably be the Six-Eyed Crows."
"They've never had much resistance to shiny things."
Fran had just asked this question casually, not intending to delve deeper.
"Very well, your consultation fee has been collected in full."
"Then... may I leave? Or, do you still have any areas where I can be of assistance?"
Louisa's attitude was completely different from the beginning.
Although this doctor hadn't displayed any spirituality from start to finish, all information indicated she was a high-ranking disciple of the Moth cult.
Perhaps having ascended even higher than an ordinary High Priest.
Being able to relish the madness-inducing [Moth-Shaped Song], able to shed a beautiful new life from an old skin, that keen insight towards lies and concealment...
And that wisp of faint white down among her bangs, like the antennae of a silkworm moth.
Though she stubbornly called herself a doctor, that was perhaps just a certain quirk.
"That's not right, is it? Since it's a 'house call,' of course the patient must be restored to health..."
Fran silently and slowly examined Louisa. The chimera spine "Sphinx" then understandingly extended a limb, tearing open the tattered black robe covering her.
Beneath the robe was a hunched, bizarre body.
Most of Louisa's skin was already covered in mottled carapace, its texture and luster similar to chitin. Small mandibles could be seen around her mouth, unlike human lips, more akin to the chewing mouthparts of some sort of lacewing insect.
"What a bold attempt. To reach the Fourth Rank, you actually transplanted the flesh and blood of a Sacred Spawn, and didn't die violently..."
Fran quite admired this experimental attitude of using oneself as material.
However, even if the transplant succeeded... it didn't mean the danger was resolved.
"A sight for you. But this was my only method. If I didn't take this step soon, I would have died of old age."
Facing Fran's scrutiny, Louisa seemed somewhat flustered and uneasy.
She knew true metamorphosis came from within. From skin to bone, like a moth emerging from its cocoon. But she had no time to wait for hatching, and could only seek the aid of unorthodox methods.
Perhaps the truly perfect form was like the doctor before her.
"Daring to try and willing to pay the price. Quite the style of the fanatics from the Lost Age."
Fran commented succinctly, then silently took out her medical kit and began rummaging.
"But, you're about to die."
This was just a straightforward statement, yet it stirred the fear hidden in Louisa's heart. The fear of complete annihilation.
"How could that be? I have already stepped into High Priesthood, whether spirituality or power, it cannot be faked! And there are no signs of losing control either, I can last at least another century..."
"Century?"
Hearing her words, Fran couldn't help but raise a hand to cover her lips, concealing the somewhat impolite smile at the corner of her mouth.
"If you exist as an unconscious Sacred Spawn, it would indeed be more than a century. But the time you can maintain your sense of self... probably less than a year."
"The blessings of the Carapace Kind are not so easily acquired."
"No, that's a lie! You're deceiving me..."
The previously submissive Louisa now displayed a nearly reflexive fury. The carapace on her body also swelled up accordingly, like some sort of cockroach spreading its wing cases. Oh, to put it plainly, a cockroach.
There was no mistake, this doctor was also a follower of the Moth, an Apostle weaving her wings from chaos, longing, and deception. She had no reason not to covet this ancient shell of a mythical creature.
... And even less reason to tell me even a single word of truth!
Louisa tore at her own body, using a large piece of flesh as the price to break free from the restraint of the chimera spine's tail vertebra.
After that, she charged without hesitation in the direction opposite Fran.
Fran did not pursue, just stood quietly in place, allowing the other to plunge into the boundless mist.
"Such an intense reaction. She seemed to retain some sanity, but is actually half-mad? Looks like I'll have to increase the dosage later."
Louisa fled with all her might, and catalyzed her own spiritual knowledge to the greatest extent, seeking an opportunity to break through the secret realm.
Finally, she spotted a gap in the gray mist and charged through it without regard for anything else. Like a moth drawn to flame.
Passing through the mist barrier, Louisa saw the scenery beyond the gap... it was still that gray, cold street, and that doctor still stood in the middle of the street. She even waved as if greeting her.
"Welcome back, Ms. Louisa."
If Louisa had earlier turned Bartley into a trapped beast through information disparity, then the one now imprisoned... was herself.
Looking at the trembling Louisa, Fran began to persuade with considerable patience.
"Let me state upfront, I have no interest in intense doctor-patient conflict. If you're willing to maintain a good medical attitude, we can skip many unnecessary steps."
"..."
Louisa did not reply, just silently and warily stared at the person before her.
She felt she was about to collapse.
If a direct confrontation really occurred, she had absolutely no confidence she could win against this doctor. Using a murmuring secret art to interfere, the other could even treat it as accompaniment, as if she didn't care at all.
As for escape... the current situation was the result of trying.
Louisa had hurried for a long time in that seemingly endless sea of mist, and the gap she eventually found actually brought her back to the starting point.
Unable to resist, and with no way to escape, reality offered her only icy despair.
"My consciousness and spirituality are both extremely stable, I don't need any treatment. And I've already answered all your questions, you should let me go..."
"It seems we didn't make a similar agreement."
Fran gently shook her index finger, not agreeing with this view.
"I said, the questions you answered were your consultation fee. Since you've paid, I must also fulfill my responsibility as a physician."
Saying this, she gradually walked towards Louisa.
This Moth follower was engaged in intense internal conflict, for a moment not knowing what to do.
Submit to the other's control, or... fight back desperately? Before she could make up her mind, Fran had already walked up close.
"The time for thinking has ended. It's too late today; I didn't want to work overtime originally..."
She seemed somewhat weary, and glanced at a pocket watch she was holding.
When did that happen? Louisa thought in shock. The other's movement from coming beside her to taking out the watch had gone completely unnoticed, as if it was completed in an instant.
It was as if... her consciousness had experienced a gap, a period of time had been deleted.
+++
T/N: Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter and want to support my work, I have a Patreon!
[email protected]/PeakTL