Published at 12th of August 2024 7:27 am

Chapter 82 Two Faced

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It was not particularly because of the last words the smoky figure had fed him before it had vanished, but Elmer personally could not afford any mishap in what he was about to do, despite how sick it was making him feel deep down. So he had to ensure that nothing passed him by, most especially the effects of Eddie’s ability.

“In what sense?” Elmer inquired, directing his question at Eddie for a further and deeper explanation on his previous answer.

Considering the current scenario surrounding him, Eddie, and Ms. Edna, he should normally have been feeling weird for asking such a question, but he lacked the space in his head to worry about such meager things.

As a matter of fact, he was already way past such a mindset already. If he was to help Mabel, then caring about what people thought about him had to swap places with focusing on the atrocities he had to commit to succeed in his exploits no matter what.

Now, knowing Eddie and his somewhat bipolar nature, Elmer only hoped that the man would indulge him.

With his heavy, lifeless eyes, Elmer probed Eddie using a piercing gaze as the man gave out a drawn out sigh, while slowly bringing his turned-up face down from the moon.

The visibly reduced speed of Eddie’s latest actions almost made him seem like someone who had taken a great deal of alcohol and had become drunk after several attempts to resist its intoxication.

“Well, in simpler terms, everything about my being slows down,” Eddie mumbled, his tone of speech weirdly changing between being drawn out and quickened at intervals. Ms. Edna’s brows caved in at that, after which she pinched her eyes and exhaled softly, a bit dejected. “My thinking process slows down. My talking slows down. My movement slows down. My metabolism rate slows down. Most of all, my cardiac output slows down. So the longer I use my abilities, the slower all these shall be once I have put a stop to it. Like now. I’m sure you must have noticed.”

Elmer’s gaze flickered instantly as he came to an understanding on both the reason for Eddie’s snail paced responses, and as well the dangers of False Cognition.

In truth, it was not as perilous as Ms. Edna’s unique ability, Whispers of Time, but still, a significantly lowered cardiac output could potentially lead to death.

If he went by everything he’d learnt in health education at the orphanage, the general cardiac output of resting adults went within the range of four to eight liters per minute, anything lower than that would most likely result in severe dizziness and fatigue, due to the lack of adequate blood supply to vital organs.

Eddie was already experiencing the dizziness obviously, that meant his blood was pumping at below the threshold of four liters per minute. So if he had allowed his ability the leeway of running amok for even a little bit than it had done, his cardiac output would have been a lot lesser than his current one, and he would have already been coughing up blood as a result of damaged organs from inadequate blood supply.

And if False Cognition had been prolonged for even a longer period of time, then he would have been dead as soon as he had put a stop to it.

This deduction made Elmer share sudden fears for the unique abilities he would have for both the Pathway of Time and Souls.

He doubted that ascending the Echelon of Time would unlock his ability for the Pathway of Souls, as he was not meeting the requirements for that particular pathway during his ascension process, but he feared the ability that would come with it nonetheless. He had so much dread lingering over him regarding it.

Although, his widened eyes and the fast rate at which his heart was beating now was not because of the fear that he had for the abilities that would come from his pathways, rather, it was because he was strangely somewhat relaxed due to knowing that the plan he had made in the warehouse might prove successful.

He had not been sure of the success rate of what he was about to do before, but with Eddie’s explanation of his ability, and the effects it was already having on him, Elmer no longer saw any huge chance for failure on his part.

It had been the man’s heightened physical characteristic, flexibility, that Elmer had been quite afraid of. But now that everything about Eddie had been significantly slowed down, the flexibility would no doubt be practically unusable.

His plan would definitely work.

“So,” Eddie pushed aside the conversation of his ability, and in return unknowingly snapped Elmer away from his thoughts. “I’d love to hear how it went in there, but we have our journey back home for that. What do we do now?”

Ms. Edna seemed to ponder, but Elmer knew he could not allow her to get ahead of him and let out whatever idea she might be having—at least not at this moment.

Any delay would be detrimental to what he had prepared to do—to the step he was about to take into the dark, muddy waters that would completely turn his whole life around.

“I think we should involve the authorities tonight. The corrupted one was not from Ur, he was a citizen of Andhera,” Elmer blurted instantly—his voice barely above a whisper—making Ms. Edna and Eddie look at him sharply, the turn of the one gazing from a lower height far quicker than the other’s. “If I recall the law precisely, it’s said that a citizen of a city should be taken care of by that city. In that regard one of us should wait behind while the rest head to the police station to report it. I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave the body behind without anyone looking over it.”

Ms. Edna stalled for a while, seemingly in something of a lessened shock, before nodding.

“Yes. You are right. Involving the authorities would be the best. I would have been able to work on it and send a report to the Church directly, but since he’s from a different city it’s a bit too complicated for me to handle myself. Why is the corrupted one of a different city even here in the first place? I’ve never had to deal with such a situation before.”

You would have been able to work on it yourself…? I said we should involve the authorities because I thought that it was the normal procedure for something associated with a dead body… But you could have handled it yourself if he was not from a different city…? What would you have done, buried him alone…?

Elmer quickly shook his head from his unnecessary thoughts as he said, “I think you should be the one to stay behind Eddie.”

It was almost beginning to feel as though he was the one in the highest Echelon amongst them. Although, that might prove true in a couple of minutes if he truly went ahead to turn all three of their worlds upside down.

Eddie made sure his folded arms remained locked. “Why is that?” he asked, slowly.

Elmer, in this instance, knew the exact thing to take advantage of. It was something that would make even a higher reasoning Eddie to not protest against his words, talk less of the one with a slowed down thinking process.

“I presume it’s almost about 10:00. Ms. Edna requested that she wanted to be back with her daughter before the curfew began, and that request I’d like to keep,” Elmer said. “So I’ll accompany Ms. Edna home and return with a couple of police officers afterwards. The effects of False Cognition would hinder you if you went about it, that is why I thought it would be better if you stayed behind.”

“That—”

“Alright. I’m fine with that,” Ms. Edna had been about to put forth her thoughts when Eddie had forced his words to sweep over hers. It had been slow still, but a great deal faster than his previous ones.

And with that Elmer’s plan had been completely set in place, bar the dazed Ms. Edna who had the countenance of someone who did not enjoy that her decisions were being made for her.

Regardless, Elmer knew he could not allow her to fight back, therefore he did not permit the silence between them to linger for even a moment so Ms. Edna would not be able to speak.

“We will be leaving now since there’s no time to waste,” Elmer said, stopping Ms. Edna from making known her thoughts once again.

He was glad she was weakened.

He turned to Eddie. “There are crates in the warehouse, I suggest you go in and relax. Standing would do you little good.” As Eddie nodded and stiffly shuffled away from the wall to begin his proceedings toward the warehouse, Elmer faced Ms. Edna. “I’m sorry for making your decisions for you, but I think it would be best if you take the time to be with your daughter instead, and rest as well. Everything is done here already. Eddie and I can handle the rest for tonight. You need your strength for tomorrow’s paperwork.”

Ms. Edna sighed, noticeably coming into reasoning with Elmer’s words.

“Alright,” she was finally able to speak. “I understand.”

“A good night to you, Edna,” Eddie said groggily as he finally took hold of the workings of his legs and wobbled forward step by step.

“Good night, Dick. And please keep your wittiness away from the police officers when Mr. Elmer arrives with them.”

“Ah! Who do you think you’re talking to, Edna? I’m always serious.” Eddie chuckled as he strode away from the warehouse’s shade, each word having been poured out like that of a drunkard’s.

And the little interaction between Ms. Edna and Eddie made Elmer bite down hard on his lower lip, his breathing softly hastening as a result of his heart squeezing tightly like it was a piece of overripe orange between a seasoned farmer’s hardened hands.

It hurt him.

But as soon as Eddie wobbled past him, each step taken very slowly while he approached the warehouse, ‘DCK 01’, Elmer immediately activated his spiritual eyesight, and brought before his view the line of red colored essence that was wrapped around his finger, leading all the way into the sconce of The Warlock’s Torch in Ms. Edna’s hand.

Without wasting a moment, he breathed out an indiscernible exhale, and just like he had practiced within the warehouse, he snapped his fingers, causing the spirituality essence that had been wrapped around his finger to disperse, and the paper of money in the sconce of The Warlock’s Torch to turn ablaze.

Ms. Edna, who had already been trying to get up to her feet, gasped in shock at that instant. And as she put her eyes onto the burning sconce of the artifact in her hands, so did Elmer swiftly turn to his side and raise his already cocked revolver, pointing its nozzle directly onto the back of the groggy Eddie Dick, who was already on the verge of responding to Ms. Edna’s cry of shock.

Elmer let himself have a very brief moment of cogitation. But even with his little trial to think of some other way that would make this night end on a better note than what it was trodding toward, nothing changed.

He could see no other options that would hasten the speed of his goal’s success.

So much for tonight being the best night of his life.

As soon as Eddie turned halfway around, Elmer wasted no time any longer, prompting him to pull the trigger and causing the symbols on his revolver to glow a golden, attractive beauty which was in a vast contrast to what its current use was. And following that action was a bullet flying out of the nozzle of Elmer’s mystic artifact and straight into the side of the witty man’s head, which in return gave rise to a sickening chill being draped over his body like an unwanted cloak.

He heard his heart pounding as the sound of the softly pouring rain seemingly intensified within his earlobes.

I have to act like they do, think like they do, become them in all entirety…

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