The God of Jesters
Chapter 302 - 5.09.3 It burnt down.

Chapter 302: 5.09.3 It burnt down.

Curses hold fascinating charm to everyone, including gods. What were they, how did they work and why did they exist were questions that no one had been able to find answers to.

And those that do, really don’t possess any proof in their hand. So the research on curses never came to an end because with each new curse, came a new venue to weaponize it.

Although the curse wielders were considered fools who didn’t know what they were doing, it didn’t mean there was a problem with their effort or their ideas. It was more like their method was laughable in the eyes of many.

Specifically, the Exorcist held the perfect control of curses without being stained by it.

"It took the effort of twenty-two specialist mages from our home to develop it. Million of gold and hundreds of sacrifices."

"All goes down the drain." With those words, he broke the head of the vial and carefully dropped it into the water well of the most populated area of the city.

And with night, there was barely anyone awoke at this moment. "Hope everyone remains safe here."

Then he left.

Scart was a weird fella, he didn’t like following orders of Owl, but when given a job, he still did his best to do it properly, including the three-day break he had to take from team exercise, just to be sure that he hadn’t been infected with this little thing he just dropped.

While the others in his team had already started to move again after confirming that he was alive, their Master’s precious pet was very much alive and well.

And did Scart feel a thing after doing this?

Obviously no, he just enjoyed it and had wished to stay here for longer, but knowing the hell this place was going to become, he could only leave. He is not as lucky as his master to not possess a body.

But not as unlucky as well, where his master can’t touch the material world at all.

A give-and-take scenario in this case.

******

There were many eyes on her and her men, all of whom seemed a bit worried while in public.

Each stranger they met was a potential killer and each kid who turned to them was a potential spy.

Even the friends some of them used to know gave them a weird look, without ever approaching them. Which was enough to tell them that they couldn’t go back to their previous false life.

No, considering how long some of them lived here, this false life might just be their true one, but the prior trauma and an urge to support the Radiant Hall had put them on a path that they couldn’t turn away from.

"Start collecting information," Remira said, walking along the road and going to the library at first.

The books were random, and the topics they searched were random. All of it to confuse Jester and his cronies from learning what they were looking for.

Followed by their journey to look for some old adventurers and learn of the legends around the city, with Remira in the lead.

There was a fear in their heart, a chance that they might be harmed one way or another, kidnapped even.

But none of the likes actually happened. With the protection on their mind, some of the fear in their heart was gone, as long as they remained attentive, nothing would happen.

And they were right, nothing happened.

At least to them.

*****

With the group leaving, Remira had wondered what she should do. Or at least her prior self was having such thoughts. But the moment the Ward was placed on her head, something opened in her head.

As if a huge baggage came off. However, instead of feeling happy, the old suicidal feelings were back in her heart. "There is nothing left anyway."

It was common for war veterans to suffer from Shell shock, or in modern terms, PTSD. The horrors they saw in the war stain their mind with illnesses that they can never overcome, the most that one can do is help them deal with the past and help them move on from their accursed memories.

Sheva’s was the same, but in her case, there was her lover, who came back to stop her, then disappeared once again and this time, she didn’t even get to see his death.

But she had held in all those feelings inside her, because prior to the ward, her own goal of bringing Jester to justice still reigned supreme. His death will be her revenge or so she had wanted until she saw a child come toward her home.

A child she was very much familiar with.

"What are you doing here?"

She asked after noticing that the child was too close to their safe house.

Another one of Jester ploys? A dirty game he is playing?

It was definitely that, otherwise how can this Orphan child know where she was. It’s why she soon changed her question. "Who brought you here?"

She was too far from her orphanage and considering her age, it was impossible for her to come to her safe house all alone. There was someone, someone who wanted to mess with her.

Was she treated as a hostage? No, the little girl doesn’t seem to be poisoned or anything, and considering this was their own people and Jester’s habit to cultivate orphans for his war effort, he won’t do so, or so Jara once claimed.

"An uncl... uncle... he said... sai.." Before she could even speak, she started to cry. Making Sheva tremble, almost making her walk out of the compound.

"No." She thought. ’It’s his game, the Jester plays games. I can’t trust her, or at least the one who is manipulating her.’

They are using her for their own purpose, and if she were to stumble here, she might just play into their hands.

"Child, don’t cry. You... you come inside."

"No, don’t do it." Before Sheva could say a thing, a voice came from her side, startling her as well as scaring the child who stuck to the boundary wall and hid herself in fear.

’Who?’ She was surprised by the voice, before her eyes turned guarded against the figure that had walked out from inside of their compound. "You... didn’t you go with Captain before?"

"I did, unlike Captain, ordered me to turn back and see to it that something like this doesn’t happen. And she was right." The young man said, before glaring at the girl from behind the door. "Scram kid... you don’t know what kind of danger you have fallen into."

He warned her, which in turn caused the girl to cry louder. Forcing Sheva to come and shield the kid. "Just a kid and no matter what sort of spell might be on her, they can’t harm us. So she poses no danger to us. We can let her in."

"We cannot just assume that he won’t do anything. You should be aware of what that figure has done in other parts of the world, it won’t be too bizarre if he goes ahead and breaks some rules to get rid of us."

His reasoning was sound, but that sort of reasoning would only work on a sound mind and the current Sheva was far from calm. Her mind already seeked death to some extent, with the pain on the face of the little girl somewhat reminding her of her own past.

"Ignore him." She said, opening the door wider and asking her to come inside.

"Don’t do i.."

"I will take full responsibility. Don’t worry." Sheva said and gestured toward the girl to come inside.

But she just shook her head. "I.. No... Uncle sent me... *sniff to tell aunty something." She barely worded out there words after shaking her head to deny Sheva’s acceptance.

"?? hmm?" The young man suddenly turned worried, as if a warning Remira from before came into his mind.

Sheva asked. "What did he say?" If she doesn’t want to get inside, then it’s for the better. At least she doesn’t have to fight her companion over this.

"Tha.. Fi.. fire.."

"Stop kid... go to that uncle and don’t come back. This is no place for a child." She stopped again, but this time, the face of the young man was not as angry anymore, instead it was filled with fear and worry.

He sweated so much that Sheva picked up on it in an instant.

"??"

She looked at him, not saying a word, before looking at the girl and asking. "Speak, don’t worry that big brother won’t be able to harm you."

"Sheva, remember Captain’s warning. This might be a game of his."

"Then let’s see what sort of game this is." Words spoken with some anger on her face as if some things suddenly fell in place.

She was a woman of choices and for a while now, she has chosen to abandon those choices in favor of being led by a woman much greater than her, someone who can make better choices than her.

Or so she had assumed till now. But from the last few days, she did notice some weird looks from her and had come to the conclusion that Remira had been hiding something from her, something that would affect Sheva.

What was it?

She hadn’t bothered to look for that answer, for she held the desire to end Jester’s Tyranny and bring those orphanages to end or change them in a way that they are not cultivated into people like Jara and his other friends.

So that they are not exploited by Jester, turned into his soldier, doing his bidding in a war fought just for his entertainment.

It was why she lived now even though she sought death. But when the words. "The Orphanage... our home burnt down." Entered her ears, she had hoped she was courageous enough to have taken her life long ago.