NOVEL WEB Chapter 85: Mr. Gale, A Man of His Word
{T/N: Some parts of this chapter took me for a spin. I couldn't piece together what the Author was trying to communicate, so I left said parts untouched... Good luck reading the 'Mandated Punishers' section, you'll need it...}
...
At this moment, chaos reigned in Ashbourne's courtyard. The fire that had broken out earlier showed no signs of being extinguished... instead, it was spreading...
Servants from several nearby villas rushed over with buckets and other tools to help, their shouts rising and falling in a clamor.
Inside the villa, the flames raged fiercely, often bursting through the windows. It was already impossible to enter and salvage anything.
The key issue was the three gunshots just moments ago, which had sent everyone in the courtyard scrambling for cover in a panic. Now, no one had the mind to try and rescue valuables anymore.
Only Ashbourne, who was unable to flee, remained kneeling in the courtyard, begging for mercy from the gunman on the rooftop...
Once the firefighting efforts halted and most people had taken cover, the courtyard finally quieted down.
This was the moment Odis had been waiting for. He shouted down at Ashbourne, "Someone asked me to pass on a message. He said thank you for your concern, but he prefers peace and quiet. So don't send anyone after him again! He also instructed me to fire three shots at you, but not to kill you. However, you should know that the fourth shot would definitely hit your head!"
Ashbourne hurriedly replied, "I understand! I understand! Thank you, and please pass on my thanks to that gentleman for giving me another chance."
Odis smirked but said nothing more. Instead, he retreated to the center of the rooftop, disappearing from view.
Ashbourne's bodyguards quickly reacted, tearing down the iron gate at the courtyard entrance to use as a shield while they escorted him to safety.
By now, the fire upstairs had grown even more intense, the sound of shattering glass echoing continuously.
One of the bodyguards behind the iron gate chuckled, "That sniper is an idiot. Unless he jumps from the rooftop, there's no way he's getting down through that inferno."
Ashbourne, however, was no stranger to danger. Now that he was safe, he quickly regained his composure, "That man was sent by him... I suspect he's already long gone."
The bodyguards were stunned, except for the three Beyonders, who seemed to grasp their employer's meaning.
Afterward, Ashbourne sat on the ground, staring blankly at the villa now engulfed in flames. No one could tell what he was thinking...
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~Cherwood Borough, Minsk Street~
Even through the thick fog, Klein, standing atop the clock tower, could see the distant blaze.
He smiled, muttering, "Mr. Gale's prediction was spot-on."
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~Baron Ashbourne's Villa~
A few minutes later, a sudden gale swept through the street. It was so fierce, that it was impossible to keep one's eyes open...
Incredibly, the fire in the courtyard was extinguished by the wind. Yet the fire inside the building still raged... That was until the water from the courtyard pond seemed to come alive, flowing onto the shore and into the house on its own.
With the water's help, the flames inside were quickly put out.
As the gale ceased, people cautiously opened their eyes, but they suddenly couldn't believe what they saw... The fire had been completely extinguished, just like that!
A carriage bearing the 'Storms Sacred Emblem' entered the yard, and uniformed members of the 'Mandated Punishers' quickly took control of the scene.
After a brief investigation, the Mandated Punishers headed to the rooftop in search of the arsonist.
At first, they found no corpses, meaning the arsonist had escaped. The rooftop had been scorched by the flames, leaving no trace behind.
As a last resort, the Mandated Punishers used a Sealed Artifact to attempt Spirit Channeling, but the surrounding nature spirits knew nothing. Then they tried divination with another Sealed Artifact but still found nothing.
This was strange. In theory, even if the arsonist had anti-divination abilities, they should have been able to glean some information.
Moreover, Beyonders with such abilities generally lacked the ability to cause nature spirits to ignore their actions.
If someone possessed both, they were likely at least a Sequence 6. But why would a Sequence 6 engage in something as petty as arson?
If a Sequence 6 was after Ashbourne's wealth, that would at least make sense, given that a man of his wealth could only afford Low-Sequence Beyonder bodyguards.
Wealthy individuals like Ashbourne relied primarily on the protection of the Church. As a devout follower of the Church of the Lord of Storms, he would naturally seek its aid against a Sequence 6-level threat.
After all, such wealthy patrons often donated generously to the Church, which in turn had an obligation to protect them. Even if they failed to call for help in time, the Church's Beyonder forces would later investigate and, based on evidence, track down the perpetrator, sometimes even bringing them to justice.
If the culprit couldn't be captured, a bounty and warrant would be issued, forcing them into hiding.
Therefore, generally speaking, ordinary Mid-Sequence wild Beyonders usually wouldn't take such risks...
At this point, the Mandated Punishers realized they couldn't find any clues through mystical means, so they began questioning witnesses.
Their questioning led them to discover something peculiar: the fire had spread uncontrollably far too quickly.
The interrogating member of the Mandated Punishers raised his voice at the bodyguard before him, "Think carefully. Are you sure you're not mistaken? The fire in the villa became uncontrollable in just over half a minute?"
Without a massive explosion, how could a fire spread so fast? Yet no one had heard any explosions, and the gas lamps had been shut off immediately, ruling out a gas leak.
The bodyguard shrank back, intimidated by the man's aggressive tone. He thought carefully before confirming, "There's no mistake. It really only took half a minute! Once the fire broke out on the first floor, we started evacuating the Ashbourne family from the second floor. By the time we reached the courtyard, the fire was already unstoppable."
And so, the Mandated Punishers reached their first conclusion: the arsonist was likely a 'Pyromaniac' or a Higher-Sequence Beyonder from that Pathway.
Next, they learned of the arsonist's shouted message to Ashbourne and quickly deduced that this was an act of revenge by a Beyonder hired by Ashbourne's enemy. But when questioned, the millionaire adamantly denied knowing who the enemy was and offered no leads.
Just as the Mandated Punishers prepared to use a Sealed Artifact to extract information from Ashbourne, he suddenly announced a donation of 1000 pounds to the Church of the Lord of Storms and requested that they drop the investigation.
Following the unwritten rules between the Church and its wealthy patrons, the Mandated Punishers could no longer use coercive measures against him and had to respect his wishes.
The Mandated Punishers realized this case was likely to remain unsolved...
...
Meanwhile, Odis had already taken a rented carriage back to the rundown apartment that served as his hideout. Of course, he still got off the carriage three blocks away and used the cover of night to walk back here.
The cloth bag and tools he had used were safely stored away in the 'Knowledge Moor' via a spatial array.
Earlier, he had escaped the rooftop using a portable Teleportation Array hidden in his coat. After his improvements, the array no longer caused dizziness and could now be used twice a week.
After appearing over ten kilometers away from Ashbourne's villa, Odis quickly recovered, hid in the shadows, and stored his coat and weapons back in the 'Knowledge Moor'.
He even had time to change his hat before calmly returning to the hideout.
From there, he used a secondary array to return home, slipping quietly back into bed.
In the darkness, Odis stared at the ceiling and smiled. The feeling of personally punishing an enemy was… quite satisfying.
Soon, he steadied his mind and drifted into sleep through Cogitation...
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~Cherwood Borough, Unit 15 Minsk Street~
After breakfast, Klein decided to visit the Quelaag Club...
This might cause him to miss any messenger sent by Lord Ashbourne to cancel the commission, but it would also create the impression that he was actively investigating Mr. Gale's whereabouts, justifying his refusal to refund the 10 pound deposit.
While waiting for the public carriage, he bought a copy of the Backlund Morning Post from a newsboy and, sure enough, on the second page was a report about the fire at Lord Ashbourne's residence.
Though the incident had occurred late at night, the Morning Post had already published a detailed account, which surprised Klein.
However, the article attributed the fire to an explosion caused by aging gas pipes, clearly covering up the cause.
Further down, Klein read:
<...Fortunately, last night's fire caused no fatalities, with only minor injuries sustained during rescue efforts...>
As the carriage arrived, Klein folded the newspaper and boarded, thinking to himself: 'Mr. Gale is a man of his word...'
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~Hillston Borough~
Meanwhile, 'Mr. Gale' (Odis) was also taking a public carriage to the Backlund Fighting Club...
Upon arriving at the training grounds, Head Coach Fedray smiled and said, "You haven't come for days. I thought you'd given up."
After all, there wasn't much left for him to teach Odis.
Odis smiled and pulled out a bottle of essential oil, "This is made from red crown balsam and other herbs. It's quite effective for bruises and soreness."
Long ago, Odis had noticed that this world lacked remedies like medicated oils... though 'Apothecaries' likely had similar products, their nature as Beyonders meant that such products were not widely available.
So, he had concocted his own bruise ointment, which worked quite well. He never advertised it though, so it remained obscure.
Fedray blinked in surprise, "If you need any help, just let me know."
Odis cut to the chase, "I want to practice running."
After participating in two Beyonder combat matches, he realized that sprinting effectively in a fight required skill. He wanted to know if there were any tricks to it.
Fedray pocketed the oil and said, "Come with me to the track."