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𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐝
“This is not good. . .”
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As Luke ran through the northern street, he was gritting his teeth.
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The citizens marching down the street were filled with anger, already on the verge of a riot.
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If this continues, it will become unmanageable.
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I have to meet up with Falx and get out of here before that. . .
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“There it is!”
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In the abandoned house on the northern street, there are Falx and Pit.
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But it was already surrounded by the mob.
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“Is this the place? The beastkin bastard is hiding!”
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“Hey, you filthy beastkin! Don’t hide, come out!”
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“The spread of black spot fever is your fault! Take responsibility!”
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The anger of the mob is not subsiding, but is becoming more intense.
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“You guys, get out of the way. It’s best to destroy this shabby house along with the beastkin!”
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A man appeared with a huge hammer.
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“Hey, break it down!”
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As he swung the hammer and tried to strike, someone grabbed its head.
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The man who lost his balance fell backwards.
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“You, what are you doing!”
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The one who held down the man was Luke.
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“I’m glad I made it in time. Ah, I’m sorry about earlier.”
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Luke bowed to the man and knocked on the door.
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“Falx-san, it’s me! Luke! I came to help. Let’s evacuate from here quickly!”
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“Wait, wait, Luke!”
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Alma was in a hurry, but it was too late, the killing intent was swelling behind Luke.
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“You came to help? You, do you know the beastkin hiding here?”
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The man who was still pretending to be tough approached with his hammer clenched.
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Behind the man were about 20 men filled with murderous intent.
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“That’s right, and you are?”
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“Ha! We are good citizens who came to exterminate the filthy beastkin spreading the black spot fever! If you don’t want to get hurt, get out of the way quickly!”
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As the man reached out to grab Luke’s collar, Luke thrust out his left hand.
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Suddenly, a gust of wind blew up.
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“Whoa!”
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“W, What is this?!”
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The men backed away from the wind that was strong enough to blow away the house.
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When the wind stopped as suddenly as it had started, there was a gap of several meters between Luke and the men.
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Luke opened his mouth.
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“Please do not come any closer. I will not take your life, but I cannot guarantee that you will remain unharmed if you approach.”
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His tone was calm, but it was filled with an undeniable resonance.
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“You. . .you. . .”
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The men were still trying to act tough, but having witnessed Luke’s magic, they were completely deflated.
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“What are you doing there!”
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Then, a cavalry unit riding on running dragons arrived.
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“A state of emergency has been declared! All group activities are strictly prohibited! Disperse immediately!”
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“Miranda-san?”
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Luke was surprised to see the face of the cavalry captain.
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It was Miranda Coles, the captain of the Mercapolis Security Team’s West District Squad.
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“That face, you’re. . .Luke, right? What are you doing in a place like this?”
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“I came to help because I heard that a beastkin acquaintance of mine is in danger. What’s going on?”
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“A beastkin, huh. . .”
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Miranda slightly furrows her brows at Luke’s words.
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“. . .Right, we, the security team, will take responsibility for protecting that beastkin. We have a duty to protect them as citizens of Mercapolis. Given the current situation in the city, our base should be safer.”
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“What’s going on? Why is the black spot fever happening now?”
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“You know that much.”
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Miranda, who was surprised and widened her eyes, eventually nodded as if she had thought of something.
“Luke, you guys might want to know about this situation. Can you come with us while we protect those beastkin? I’ll explain the details.”
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“Thank you. That’s what I wanted.”
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Luke bows to Miranda and knocks on the door again.
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“Falx-san, and Pit! You can relax now! We’ll take you to a safe place, so please come out!”
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“First, let me say thank you. We’ve heard that you protected the forest dwellers from the demon beast activity. And you even defeated Balthazar. If it weren’t for you, Mercapolis would have suffered a great deal of damage. I really appreciate it.”
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As soon as Falx and Pit were protected and arrived at the base, Miranda bowed her head.
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“I really wanted to hear more details and use it as a reference for next year’s defense, but as you can see, it’s not the time for that.”
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Miranda looks around with a self-mocking expression.
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The security team’s base was like a battlefield.
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Patients who could not be accommodated in hospitals and churches were brought into the base, but there were not enough personnel to treat them, and it was like hell.
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“The black spot fever started about three days ago.”
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Miranda, who sat down on a chair, began to explain.
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“The council tried to deal with it, but it was too late because of the demon beast activity. Above all, the speed of the disease spread was abnormal. It was only a few people on the first day, but it exceeded 1,000 people on the third day. Even the people at the healing institute say this is their first time.”
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“I see. . . It’s definitely different from the infection speed of a normal infectious disease. Are you collecting information about the infected?”
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Luke looked at the map spread out on the table.
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The map is marked with the locations of treatment centers and churches, along with the number of patients.
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“The reality is that we can’t collect all the data accurately. Even as we speak, more patients are being brought in.”
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Miranda’s words were reasonable.
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With so many patients, it would be difficult to even collect data.
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“We’re asking for cooperation from churches and accommodations, but it doesn’t seem to be yielding good results. The council is divided on how to deal with it, and some councilors are saying that the cause of this is the beastkin and they should be expelled immediately.”
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Miranda glanced at Falx and Pit, who were sitting on the sofa next to her.
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Leah clung to Pit’s arm with a wary look in her eyes.
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“Rest assured. As long as you’re here, no one will harm you. The reason I asked you to come is because I wanted to ask you something. Are there any cases of the black spot disease among the forest dwellers?”
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“I haven’t heard of any. At least in the week we were there, there were no cases of black spot disease among the beastkin or the human tribe.”
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“I see. . . I wanted to check the situation in the forest. It’s said that beastkin don’t get the black spot disease, but it seems that’s not the case. There are a few cases of beastkin in Mercapolis who have contracted the disease. That means there must be another factor. . .”
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Luke stood up.
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“I have a hunch about that.”