The Grotesque Miss’s End Story v2c100

Chapter 100: Last Wishes

The battered Old Man hunched over, sitting on his small stool, just like their first meeting, the firelight illuminating half of his face.

Tears of blood streamed down the wrinkles on the other half of his face, hidden in shadow, dripping onto the ground.

“……”

Luo Ling cautiously approached the Old Man, maintaining a vigilant stance, ready to act.

But… even at this close distance, the Old Man’s aura was incredibly weak, as if he was about to die.

Luo Ling finally confirmed that the Old Man…

…was truly about to enter eternal Silent Demise. His Hour of Death was approaching.

Luo Ling’s gaze lowered slightly, focusing on the Old Man’s chest.

She sensed a familiar power there, but she couldn’t quite place it.

She seemed to have used it before, yet also not…

It was this power that was suppressing the Old Man’s life force, preventing him from recovering, forcing him to helplessly watch as he approached death.

Had his ascension failed?

But an ascension failure wouldn’t result in this. There would likely be no body left, and the outside world wouldn’t be so peaceful.

Had he been attacked?

But there were no signs of a struggle…

Luo Ling couldn’t imagine how the Old Man, so confident of victory just half a day ago, was now on the verge of death, trapped here, unable to even seek release through suicide.

Who could have done this so silently?

Even she would struggle…

Just as Luo Ling’s thoughts wandered, the Old Man spoke, his raspy voice tinged with a rusty, bloody scent, grating like a broken flute.

“It’s been a while.”

Luo Ling didn’t respond.

The Old Man chuckled, but his blood-soaked smile seemed strangely out of place.

“Back then, you also stood like this, silent, seemingly reserved, yet also vigilant.

“I remember clearly, Miss Luo Ling.”

Every word the Old Man uttered was laced with pain and torment.

As time passed, the strange wound on his heart would gradually drain his life, but the process was slow, the agonizing pain torturing him until his final breath.

However, the Old Man didn’t seem to mind. He looked at the silent Luo Ling, his smile widening.

“I guessed correctly, didn’t I?”

“It’s not a guess anymore,” Luo Ling said softly. “Philosopher also knows.”

For many, whether the White Witch was truly “Luo Ling” didn’t matter, and this “many” included the Old Man and Philosopher.

Besides, having reached this point, if the Old Man hadn’t figured it out, he wouldn’t be worthy of having led the Company for so many years.

“He was one step ahead of me, he won again,” the Old Man’s voice lowered, not out of disappointment for losing to Philosopher, but because the agonizing pain was wearing him down.

The flickering firelight brought a familiar warmth, reminding Luo Ling of her first meeting with the Company’s board of directors.

The Old Man, just like now, had sat on the stool with his sleeves pulled down, the Boy leaning against the wall by the fireplace, the Woman sitting gracefully on the sofa.

Now, the warm light remained, but only this dying old man was left.

“It was the Woman, wasn’t it?” Luo Ling said, her gaze returning to the present.

“…She betrayed us,” the Old Man said, his voice devoid of anger or sorrow, simply stating a fact. “Not just me, not just the Company, but… us.

“She betrayed all our ideals, walking a path of no return.”

Whether it was the Company or the Harbingers, the Old Man or Philosopher, even though they had chosen different paths, even though they believed the other’s choice was wrong, even fighting to the death…

They had all, in their own way, been trying to save humanity and civilization.

Only now did the Old Man realize that the Woman… or rather, Historian, hadn’t been maintaining a balance of power in Victoria for the sake of balance, but to create an opportunity.

An opportunity to kill them all.

…And that opportunity was now.

If either the Company or the Harbingers achieved victory, the Woman’s plan to kill them all would be impossible. This was why she had maintained the balance.

And now, before her plan was fully exposed, she had achieved her goal.

“Miss Luo Ling, if you would, could you grant me a request?” the Old Man said, looking up slowly.

“This body still contains some of Fate’s power. I’ll refine it into a Sacred Relic and give it to you.

“Including my memories, I’ll leave them all to you, intact.

“Consider this… payment for your… price, how about it?”

The Old Man paused, then grinned.

“Making a deal with a Grotesquery, and such an infamous ‘human-like Grotesquery’ at that… even the radical Harbingers… wouldn’t have done this.”

At this point, the lie about an alliance with the White Witch was self-evident. The Old Man knew that the Harbingers had simply been using her name.

In fact, even now, the Old Man still didn’t fully understand the White Witch, or rather, Luo Ling.

However, he didn’t have much time left.

The agonizing pain was unbearable. The Old Man was nearing his limit, his mind barely functioning.

He just wanted… release.

“I’m not worthy of such a title. I’m simply acting in my own way,” Luo Ling said. “Tell me your request, if it’s not too much.”

“It shouldn’t be… too much,” the Old Man struggled to raise his head. “Just… deliver a message for me.

“Tell my brother, Philosopher of the Harbingers…”

Suddenly, the Old Man’s eyes widened, his voice rising into a desperate scream.

“Don’t ascend! Don’t ascend! Don’t ascend!

“It’s a trap! It will only lead our hopes… to an irreversible end!”

The Old Man seemed to have exhausted all his strength, his aged body slumping, his voice weakening.

“If he insists… tell him…

“I’ll be waiting for him… in the final despair…”

The Old Man’s body stiffened like a statue, not dead, but enduring even greater pain and torment.

Luo Ling, witnessing this, finally nodded, agreeing to his final request.

“…Alright.”

She had expected the Old Man to ask for revenge.

But unexpectedly, even now, his focus remained on Philosopher.

Perhaps… this was the final destination for these two brothers.

Then, Luo Ling offered the Old Man, who had shaped Victoria’s history with his own will, a final act of mercy.

“May you find peace in Silent Demise, free from the pain of life.”

Her childish, cold voice echoed, strangely tinged with a holy reverence.

At the same time, sickly pale white reishi mushrooms bloomed throughout the cabin.

Countless fungal threads spread, enveloping the Old Man’s body with a gentle warmth, guiding him towards the end of his life.

The mysterious power at his heart was enveloped and devoured by the fungal threads, the torment and pain gradually fading. The Old Man’s eyelids twitched, opening slightly.

He stared straight ahead, watching his countdown tick down.

As the Hour of Death synchronized with the present, a smile of relief appeared on the Old Man’s lips.

His life was frozen in this moment.

The chief of the Company’s board of directors, the legendary figure known as the “Old Man”…

…had fallen into eternal Silent Demise.

………

The battle outside raged on.

Ember Kingdom, the combined Authority of two High-Risk Grotesqueries, wielded by their true forms, was incredibly powerful.

The omnipresent, dominating fungal threads forced their opponents to maintain constant vigilance. The slightest carelessness would result in fungal growth on their bodies, slowing or even controlling their movements.

Moreover, any untreated wound would result in blood drain, their lost blood transforming into blood slaves that turned against them.

Although Fiona and Linna seemed outnumbered, they were actually the ones with the advantage.

And the Company’s high-ranking officers, having just endured a grueling battle, were in poor condition, quickly losing ground, barely holding their position at the entrance.

—Their only reason for holding on wasn’t their ability to defend, but Fiona and Linna’s reluctance to kill.

Lu Fangling could see Fiona’s intentions, wanting to ask several times, but unable to speak.

This stalemate further discouraged the other branch directors hiding within Company headquarters from intervening. They were focused on recovering, hoping to preserve their strength for the potential massacre to come.

The various branches weren’t united. The core members and those invited to join had vastly different attitudes towards headquarters; everyone present knew this.

And they knew something else even more clearly.

If the Old Man failed…

Just then, light footsteps echoed from deep within headquarters, faint and inconspicuous, yet instantly attracting everyone’s attention.

A small figure slowly emerged, a white, cocoon-like structure floating behind her.

“Could it be…”

Seeing this, all the Company’s core members stopped, staring intently at the white cocoon.

At the same time, Fiona and Linna also ceased their attack, standing beside Luo Ling.

Luo Ling waved her hand, and the white cocoon floated before the Company members, slowly unraveling, revealing the Old Man’s body within.

The gruesome wounds and the agonizing pain were gone.

The deceased Old Man sat on his small stool, his eyes closed, a peaceful expression on his face, a faint smile on his lips, having found his final release.

Luo Ling, in the Old Man’s final moments, had used the Puppet Ballad’s abilities to heal all his injuries before ending his life.

—However, even if Luo Ling had wanted to save him, she couldn’t. The mysterious power at his heart had already irreversibly destroyed his consciousness.

Fiona looked at the Old Man, the Company director who had once ordered her and Linna’s sacrifice, now meeting such an end, her expression complex.

But to the others… it was a completely different matter.

This was a provocation, a blatant provocation!

The core members present trembled, not from fear, but from rage.

But at the same time, a chill ran down their spines.

Even the Old Man… was no match for the White Witch…

“Let’s go.”

Luo Ling looked at Fiona and Linna. She had only brought the body out so it could be properly handled.

Of course, Luo Ling knew how these high-ranking officers would perceive her actions, but she didn’t care.

Even if they believed the Old Man was killed by the Woman, it made no difference to Luo Ling.

So, she didn’t bother explaining. Doing so would only prolong the inevitable.

Just a bit of infamy, the White Witch had plenty already.

Fiona, sensing something, opened her mouth, then closed it, nodding slightly.

She gave Lu Fangling a final, meaningful look, then took Luo Ling’s hand.

The three figures gradually faded, vanishing from sight.

“……”

Lu Fangling, having understood Fiona’s final glance, lowered her head, silently looking at the Old Man’s body.

Only after the core members closest to the Old Man carefully retrieved the body did Lu Fangling sigh heavily.

“Just why…”

She vaguely sensed something, but she couldn’t ask Fiona under these circumstances.

Lu Fangling knew that showing any friendship towards Fiona now might lead to repercussions.

However, seeing the Old Man’s body, she also knew… the Company’s era… was over.

The Old Man, their backbone, was dead; the Boy, their pillar of strength, was crippled; and the Woman… hadn’t even appeared, her fate likely sealed.

The Company’s collapse was inevitable.