Enki Town, Police Station.
"Let me out, you blasphemers! You can't keep me here!"
"I am a favored one of the Night, a servant of the Goddess! I haven't killed anyone, I haven't committed any crime!"
A sharp, old voice echoed from the temporary jail cell in the Police Station, greatly troubling Pitman. There was an event at Memorial Square today, and Kaosi had nearly all the personnel from the Police Station deployed, leaving only Pitman to guard the door.
Pitman was initially happy to have some peace, but having an old woman in the temporary jail cell who constantly babbled and occasionally shrieked was another matter entirely.
"Shut up!"
Pitman approached the cell, violently striking the bars with his police baton, and pointed at Paris, the old woman awaiting trial by the Desie County court: "Behave yourself, old hag, you don't want me to use this to teach you a lesson."
He shook his baton, making a threat.
Paris, with messy hair and a sinister expression, her eyes filled with resentment, extended a finger like a chicken's claw and pointed at Pitman, saying: "The Goddess will not forgive you! She will bring down the most severe punishment upon you, for you have just threatened her servant!"
"Is that so? I'd like to see how your Goddess punishes me."
Pitman stepped back two paces, a cold sneer on his face.
Suddenly, the wall outside the jail cell collapsed without warning. Pitman, standing directly beneath it, only managed to let out a rabbit-like shriek before being crushed under the wall.
As the wall fell, dense Mist and dust immediately surged in. The structure of the upper floor was also damaged, and a large amount of falling rocks and debris completely shattered Pitman's hope of struggling out from under the wall.
The Police Station shook violently, rumbling loudly. By the time the immense sound stopped, two-thirds of the two-story building had become a ruin.
Clang.
The entire fence of the temporary jail cell fell. Paris, her expression timid, walked out, stepping on the piled rubble. Seeing red liquid seeping from the bottom of the stone pile, a smile gradually appeared on the old woman's face.
In the dense white Mist, she closed her eyes, raised her hands, and loudly declared: "I am a favored one of the Night! Behold, those who offended me have already received the Goddess's punishment!"
Mist rolled in, surging into the Town, gradually spreading towards Memorial Square.
At Memorial Square, Bishop Morgan of St. Witt's Church was giving a sermon. Gathered before him were many low-income residents from Kingston Road, as well as owners of small workshops, shops, restaurants, and inns from Mermaid Road.
But people didn't necessarily care what Bishop Morgan was saying; they were more concerned with when the Bishop's sermon would end so they could collect the large quantities of food and daily necessities piled behind him.
On the other side of the Square, on the high platform for the 'Construction Fund Launch Ceremony,' the prominent figures of Enki Town had gradually arrived.
Town Chief was shaking hands with Sir Bison, while the bald, grey-bearded rancher Spencer discussed investment amounts with the long-faced, dark-skinned, and dark-eyed fishery owner Richard.
Kaosi, portly and wearing a wedding ring, circulated among these figures, his face beaming.
This made Archier, a police officer assigned to patrol duty and only able to walk along the edge of the Square, very envious.
He whispered to his colleague next to him: "One day, I'll also stand on a similar platform, smoking a cigar and speaking loudly."
"Did you drink this morning? Otherwise, why are you so drunk?" His colleague clearly didn't take his words to heart.
Archier was about to elaborate on his career blueprint to his colleague, proving he wasn't speaking idly, when he heard a cry for help.
"Help! Please save my wife, my poor Nancy!"
The two police officers looked in the direction of the sound. A man in his fifties was running towards Memorial Square. Behind him, the distant street was already enveloped in Mist, the scene blurry and invisible.
Archier exclaimed, "Oh! Why is the Mist so thick? I've lived in this Town for thirty-seven years, and this is the first time I've seen such dense Mist."
His colleague's attention was on the man calling for help. The police officer jogged over and called out, "Jim, what happened?"
"I don't know."
The man named Jim was panting, his head and hands covered in blood, his clothes stained with dust, and his pant legs torn and frayed.
"We weren't planning to go out today. We don't need relief, and we're not interested in the construction fund."
"Just like always, Nancy was in the kitchen starting lunch, and I went to the garden to feed the dog. Suddenly, the Mist came, and I wasn't paying attention, couldn't even see my own house."
By the time Archier arrived, Jim was tightly gripping his colleague's arm.
"Then I heard a terrible sound, very terrible, Officer. I can't describe it. And then, my house collapsed. It should have been very sturdy; my grandfather built it, and it had never broken down."
"But just now, it completely collapsed. I heard Nancy's scream, and I know she's buried in the house, but I can't save her by myself."
Jim released the police officer's hand and pointed in the direction he came from: "I knew all the police were at Memorial Square today, so I came for help, Officer, you must—"
Before Jim could finish speaking, his clothes suddenly lifted, as if an invisible person had grabbed his collar. Before the two police officers could react, the man in his fifties let out a cry of surprise, lifted off the ground, and flew backward into the dense Mist.
The cry of surprise in the dense Mist turned into a scream, accompanied by the sound of tearing clothes and breaking bones. Jim's voice completely ceased.
A moment later, something flew out of the dense Mist and landed at the feet of the two police officers.
It was an arm.
Only half an arm remained, with broken white bones protruding from the flesh, still stained with some bits of flesh.
"Shit!"
Archier shouted: "There's something in the Mist! How did the Mist come so fast!"
In the short time they had been talking to Jim, the dense Mist, which had been in the distance, was now right before them.
"Run! Run!" His colleague jumped up like a rabbit, turned, and ran towards Memorial Square.
Just then, Archier felt a gust of wind blow past him. He sensed something slippery and damp in the wind, something he couldn't see.
That thing passed by him.
Then, his colleague, who was running towards the Square, suddenly stumbled, then slid backward on the ground.
Archier suddenly saw that his colleague's right leg clearly had a constricted mark on his pant leg.
He was entangled by an invisible thing.
"Save me! Help! Something's got me!" The police officer yelled, trying to pull out his gun.
Suddenly, he flew up, reaching a height of seven or eight meters.
He only managed to let out a scream before falling with unusual speed and force.
Splat—
The police officer fell to the ground, his head split open and bleeding, his limbs deformed.
Then, he flew up again, and fell down again. Flew up again, and fell down again.
Splat – Splat – Splat –
With these rhythmic sounds, Archier watched helplessly as his colleague was slammed into an unrecognizable corpse!