At the far end of 23rd Avenue, where countless drifters were, an extremely lanky man, much like a bamboo pole, wandered about in a small alley like a ghost.
This street used by drifters and homeless now only had old folks and children. Those young and fitter adults had already been rallied by the Sun's Faith to fight in the Central District.
The motto of Pope Vincent of the Sun's Faith was 'Fight the n.o.bles, Divine the land, and equalize wealth and poverty.' They would have food to eat if they win.
The tall skinny man stopped at the alley of drifters on 23rd Avenue, and he openly scrutinized these wanderers while at the same time attracting the attention of many of them.
Even at the poor and remote 23rd Avenue, the thin man's wide-brimmed hat seemed outdated, but the man wore it really well, making it difficult to gauge its price.
It was obvious he was rich, yet he gave off a fiercely wicked vibe, so no one went up to him to ask for money.
Only when the lanky man turned into an empty alley did he suddenly feel his clothes being grabbed by someone.
He was slightly surprised at first, then turned his head to see a small girl no older than ten, with a face full of dirt and cracked lips—as a whole, utterly shabby. However, one could still see the child's innocent cuteness.
"Uncle, my mother is sick, my father went to the Central District, and me and my mom haven't had any food for days. Could you give me some money, please?" The little girl choked up as tears ran down her face.
The tall and thin man turned around, squatting down to meet the little girl's eye level.
The man was over two meters tall, but he easily bent down and contorted his body to make eye contact with the little girl up to his thigh, a movement that seemed effortless and beyond the ability of an ordinary person.
"I can give you money to cure your mother," the man's voice was unusually hoa.r.s.e and full of force, his wide-brimmed hat covering the upper part of his nose.
The little girl immediately broke into tears of joy. "Thank you, thank you, Uncle!"
"...Don't thank me too fast." The man slowly raised his hand to gently stroke the edges of his hat. "You should know, everything comes with a price."
Having said that, he gently lifted the brim of his hat, revealing not a pair of ordinary eyes but countless tiny, densely packed holes that were breathing and squirming.
The little girl was momentarily stunned, then followed up with an ear-piercing scream as she stumbled away. But before even taking two steps, she fell to the ground and her body shattered like gla.s.s.
"It hurts!" the little girl cried and rolled on the ground, but her body shattered even more as she moved. "Mom, it hurts so much!"
Zadkiel's lips curled up slightly as he pulled down the brim of his hat to cover half of his face once more. With a snide grin, he said, "What a filial child."
Nearly a thousand years had pa.s.sed, and humanity was still so fragile and greedy.
Being a powerhouse in this world for far too long had made Zadkiel nearly forget the intrinsic nature of humans.
This tall, bamboo pole-like person was called Zadkiel. He wasn't human but was born into this world as a part of the law of 'equivalent exchange.'
In the entire continent of Azir, besides the four Primordial Witches, there still existed many laws, and Zadkiel was one of them. Unfortunately, although this law existed in human society, it was rarely applied in practice.
Wealth inequality, family background, cla.s.s conflict... The so-called law of equivalent exchange was the most useless law in the world.
But this didn't affect Zadkiel, who believed that his birth was to maintain this law. Thus, he had no emotions toward humans.
This mission never ended even after he joined the Path of the Flaming Sword. And according to Michael's words, when the Path of the Flaming Sword reaches the dream realm, Zadkiel could become a being above all things. And the realization of the equivalent exchange of all things would no longer be empty talk.
It was because of this dream that Zadkiel joined the Path of the Flaming Sword.
Had 'Haniel' survived death from the clutches of the bookstore owner? Zadkiel didn't only have some doubts, but he also wondered what sort of existence the bookstore owner was.
Unlike Michael, Zadkiel sincerely believed that all compatriots within the Path of the Flaming Sword had to work together for them to be victorious. The bookstore owner had made Raziel cease thinking, killed Sandalphon without leaving a corpse, and seriously injured Haniel that she had to replace her body...
Now, the bookstore owner has become Zadkiel's number one enemy.
After changing bodies, 'Haniel,' whose mind seemed to have become extremely active, believed that the main powers under the bookstore owner, Wilde and Joseph, had gone missing. Rolle Resources and the Sun's Faith were busy with the uprising, while the bookstore owner's a.s.sistant, a girl presumed to be the G.o.ddess of the Night, had been transferred to the Central District.
The undercover agent planted in the Path of the Flaming Sword by Secret Rite Tower suddenly revealed himself and provided a lot of information pertaining to Boss Lin.
It was now a great opportunity for the Path of the Flaming Sword to join forces to take down the bookstore owner.
Such opportunities were fleeting, but Michael was still cautious enough to let Zadkiel come personally to test the bookstore owner's true strength.
And this was the real reason why Zadkiel had shown up here.
The little girl turned into a pile of minced meat, no longer capable of breathing. Zadkiel pretended to sigh compa.s.sionately. "There's no need to worry anymore. Your mother has been cured." Then he chuckled. "But I have also accepted your price."
"Little Mary!"
A loud male voice suddenly resounded. Zadkiel frowned as he heard the man continue calling out.
"Little Mary, where are you? Uncle Joseph has brought some delicious food and medicine for your mom. It's for the favor you did helping pa.s.s on the message to Uncle previously," the man called out affectionately.
"Hmm?"Zadkiel tilted his head. "Joseph?"
The footsteps of the new arrival came to the adjoining alley, and Zadkiel could even feel that scorching sensation.
A burly, plainly dressed, middle-aged man eventually appeared at the entrance of this alley, and his footsteps halted at the sight of Zadkiel.
It was Joseph.
His gaze shifted away slowly from Zadkiel to the pile of minced flesh and blood beside the latter.
Joseph froze on the spot as an eyeball rolled to his feet, covered in mud.
He lowered his head and stared blankly at the gemstone-like eyeball.
Mary had been a bright girl, who obediently and cleverly accomplished whatever Joseph asked of her. She loved to read and write, and would even help Joseph convey some hints to his daughter Melissa.
She could also be rather mischievous sometimes. Joseph asked that she address him as uncle, but the little girl would always call him gramps. Joseph would pretend to be mad, but he actually got along very well with this child.
She was also the main reason why Joseph came everyday to bring warmth to the community.
This girl and other homeless children and living with others equally always made Joseph recall the time when Melissa was young. It even helped him slightly understand why such a powerful existence like Boss Lin chose to be an ordinary and unremarkable bookstore owner.
"You..." Joseph stared in disbelief at this tall, lanky person.
Zadkiel was somewhat surprised. 'Haniel's' intelligence had clearly stated that Joseph and Wilde had practically perished together, but now, the former was actually alive and well.
"Looks like that bookstore owner let you live," Zadkiel said, revealing sharp teeth lining his mouth as he spoke.
"Who the h.e.l.l are you?" Joseph asked as he started to tremble violently, unable to accept the death of Little Mary.
"Path of the Flaming Sword, 'Balance Keeper' Zadkiel." Zadkiel politely tipped his hat toward Joseph as he introduced himself.
"You killed Little Mary?!" Joseph asked incredulously.
Little Mary? Zadkiel thought for a moment, then glanced down at the lump of minced flesh. He didn't wish to answer Joseph's stupid question.
"Let's make a deal. How would you like to join the Path of the Flaming Sword?" Zadkiel revealed a smile. "We are about to go to war with the bookstore owner, and I've come today to deliver the declaration.
"I'll give you one chance. It's still not too late for you to switch sides now, although... you must have a lot in your battle with Wilde, right?"
"Boss Lin? The Path of the Flaming Sword wishes to go up against Boss Lin?" Boss Lin was even more important to Joseph, and he even put aside Little Mary and scoffed in disbelief. "How could you all grossly overestimate yourselves that hard?"
Zadkiel's face darkened. "Looks like you've chosen death."
Having said that, Zadkiel judged his own position, then said, "I'll kill you here, and the bookstore owner should be able to sense it. It's a ha.s.sle to go all the way over there, so I'll just use your corpse as the declaration of war."
When Zadkiel finished speaking, Joseph heard what sounded like the ticking of a balance scale behind him that seemed to get closer and closer. It was at that moment, Joseph recalled—
Balance Keeper... Tsk, could he be that transcendent being self-proclaiming himself to be the 'Angel of Law' that once destroyed all order more than 600 years ago? Joseph had read about that chaotic event in the confidential archives of Secret Rite Tower.
"Finally guessing it now is too late." Zadkiel chuckled. "I already gave you a chance."
"Little Mary, were you the one that killed her?" The exchange had already been locked in, but Joseph was unchanging, seemingly unaffected as he continued to question, which to Zadkiel was like asking if he had stomped on an ant outside his house.
"So what if I did? That was her price," Zadkiel said indifferently.
——
The alley looked as if it had been ravaged by a ma.s.sive fire. Dilapidated old houses around it, which were uninhabited, were nearly burnt to ashes by Joseph's flames. Gently wiping blood from the corner of his eyes, Joseph looked at the ashes of Little Mary on the ground and sighed.
In revenge, he kicked the balance scale on the ground fiercely.
What the h.e.l.l, that's all you had?
Zadkiel hadn't even gotten to finish his pompous words. After admitting that he had killed Little Mary, the former had been instantaneously turned to ashes by Joseph's flames which destroyed everything.
Zadkiel had been gravely mistaken.
After the great battle between Joseph and Wilde, not only was Joseph largely fine, he had also been enveloped by the vast, powerful aether in the bookstore's bas.e.m.e.nt and even absorbed power from the skull of Calamity Dragon, which Boss Lin had casually chucked there.
The current Joseph was even more powerful than the one that had been in the battle that shook 67th Avenue.
...All things could be burned.
And while Zadkiel was quite difficult to deal with, Joseph used up all his aether to beat Zadkiel back into his original form.
After seeing Zadkiel return to his original form, he still wasn't satisfied and kicked the ancient balance scale on the ground with force.
He had a complicated look on his face as he gazed at Little Mary, whom he had originally intended to take good care of but was now reduced to ashes.
Joseph couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness as he quietly scooped Little Mary's remains into a jar and buried them in the only small garden on 23rd Avenue that was less than three square meters wide. Little Mary's sickly mother would start calling for her soon enough till her voice went hoa.r.s.e. However, Joseph no longer wished to care.
Human life is really too short... Joseph sighed.
He returned to the bookstore with the scale. As usual, Boss Lin was seated at the counter, flipping through a book.
"You are back early today, Joseph," Lin Jie said without looking up.
Noticing Joseph didn't answer, Lin Jie looked up and eyed Joseph before asking, "Didn't you previously complain that kids were annoying? At least it won't be a problem for the time being."
Joseph kept his head down and didn't answer still, as if he were a child that had done something wrong. Lin Jie returned back to his books and didn't continue to speak.
Beginning from a certain day, Joseph felt that he was finding it harder to understand Boss Lin.
He sighed softly, then placed the balance scale on Boss Lin's counter which actually seemed a rather fitting spot.
"I'm going to take a rest, Boss Lin," Joseph finally blurted out after some hesitation.
Lin Jie didn't lift his head and simply responded with a "Mmm."
Joseph paused just as he was about to head down to the bas.e.m.e.nt, with the intention of telling Boss Lin about the Path of the Flaming Sword's declaration of war. However, seeing Boss Lin eying the swaying balance scale with a complicated look on his face made Joseph think otherwise.
"Path of the Flaming Sword," Lin Jie murmured softly, then lifted his hand and gently flicked the scale.
This balance scale of law that Joseph couldn't even move was like a toy in Boss Lin's hand, tipping overwhelmingly to one side.
Joseph gulped and saw Boss Lin's gentle face, but surprisingly felt a familiar sense of fear. Even though they had been together for so many days, his awe toward Boss Lin that had diminished slightly surged up once again.
Lin Jie noticed Joseph watching him and turned toward the latter and chuckled. "Weren't you going to rest?"
"Mm, yes, Boss Lin," Joseph replied nervously and returned to his room.
In the bas.e.m.e.nt, Joseph felt really uneasy, but at least he understood one thing—Boss Lin was somehow p.i.s.sed, or had already lost his patience with the Path of the Flaming Sword. In other words, he had grown tired of watching their performance.