Eve picked up the thrusting sword with just a few fingers. It was a slender and lightweight sword with no decoration, not even a sword guard, consisting only of the blade and the hilt. This design greatly reduced the weight of the sword, allowing Sabo to wield a deadly and swift sword with just a few fingers.
"Today is quite nice. Want to play another round?"
"But I've already won."
"That was my stand-in."
"But he was Sabo too, wasn't he?"
The conversation was cold, neither of the two yielding, the thin sword and gun, all the chips laid on the blood-stained gaming table.
Sabo was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"About what happened a few days ago, it was someone named Mentor, who made us do it. The aim was to cover for those people to escape pursuit."
"Who is that Mentor?"
"I don't know. I only know he has many identities, but all are exalted positions, whether in Ingwig or other countries."
"What about those people?"
"That's the second question, Mr. Holmes."
Under Sabo's half-mask, a sinister smile surfaced, as he spread the cards neatly before Lorenzo, with blood still wet and with a sense of eeriness.
"So, shall we play another round?"
...
It was a deathly silence. Despite the warm air and vibrant music, the atmosphere on this high platform was ice cold.
Sabo had redeemed his dignity, but that was all. To acquire more information, one had to re-enter the game. Lorenzo's gaze lowered, lost in thought. Clearly, this time was completely different from before; this time he was facing the real Sabo, a true gambler.
"Isn't it enough already?"
Eve whispered. The Phoenix family princess's understanding of the world's darkness was limited to the family's accounts of wars, and she felt an unprecedented unease.
But Lorenzo ignored her, and like Eve, he was equally uneasy. However, unlike Eve's unease, Lorenzo was genuinely concerned about the entirety of the situation.
Mysterious goods from the North, involving Bola and Sabo and those hiding deeper in the darkness, though most importantly was everything Lorenzo saw in his Spiritual Vision. The mutated bodies, the erect lighthouse; all these grotesque, hideous things crawled out from distant memories, trying to pull him back to that rainy night.
He needed to know the Truth.
"What are the stakes?"
Beneath the brass mask, the voice was calm and powerful like iron.
Then, a genuine smile emerged from beneath the bull mask. Sabo clapped his hands forcefully, the laughter piercing and crazy, like the last revelry before doomsday. He suddenly jumped off the chair, his short body swaying to the edge of the platform, overlooking the grand banquet like a king.
"Gentlemen!"
He shouted loudly, and the dancing crowd halted, looking up at the short man on the platform, a far cry from their impression of Sabo. But they did not care; at this banquet, only the mask mattered. Whoever wore the bull mask was the master.
Sabo was extremely delighted. Dying men find great joy in any pleasure, he shouted.
"Let the ball begin!"
As that voice resounded, the band's music instantly changed. Unlike the previous elegance and beauty, this time the melody was filled with bizarre mournfulness. The musicians played the strings passionately, as if sawing through living people, the music turned into human howls.
The servants appeared from nowhere, and the trays were no longer filled with gold and jewelry, but with hallucogens. The guests casually picked them up, and then exposed the inner side of their wrists. Where the skin should have been smooth, it was now covered with needle marks. They skillfully injected it, thus the door to the Celestial Kingdom opened for these fallen mortals.
It was a pre-doomsday revelry, abandoning all ethics and morals, revealing the darkness of human nature. Eve watched it all dumbfounded; for the girl, this was the beginning of a nightmare. The air was filled with the scent of blood, and the blood was clamoring, trying to join this depraved revelry.
"Stay calm, detective, this is only the beginning."
A cold hand grasped hers, feeling like a thawed ice block, snapping Eve out of the hallucination.
"Stay alert, you don't want to end up like them, do you?"
Lorenzo's voice sounded, and Eve woke up as if from a dream, then with heavy breathing, sweat soaked the mask.
"What's… happening to me?"
Eve asked fearfully. Just now, that bizarre feeling, she felt the world before her shattering, then reshaping into something strange.
"Hallucinogens, there must be quite a bit of their vapors in the air, the effect isn't too significant yet."
In hand was a sharp short sword, drawn from beneath Eve's dress, Lorenzo slid it into Eve's hand, perhaps gripping a weapon could reassure the girl somewhat.
"So this is what the ball really looks like? A grand Banquet of Bliss."
The gray-blue eyes remained clear; Lorenzo wasn't affected by the hallucinogens in the air at all.
"Yes, everyone here is wealthy; wealth no longer satisfies them."
Sabo climbed down from the edge of the platform and returned to the gaming table, taking out a coin from his mutilated hand and placing it in the center between the two.
"Win once, and I'll answer one of your questions." Sabo extended his right hand, raising an index finger.
"And if I lose?"
"You answer one of my questions."
"I didn't expect to be so favored by you." Lorenzo was somewhat surprised, thinking someone like Sabo might demand him to cut off a finger.
"After all, you are Bola's Iron Thorns, Mr. Holmes. In a way, it is because of you that I became Sabo, the leader of the Green Shark; you're practically my benefactor."
Sabo's eyes weren't lying. To a certain extent, his current success was all because of Lorenzo.
"Honestly, this surprises me a bit." Lorenzo was a bit reluctant to believe it.
"It's only natural. As the Eastern saying goes, they call this 'cause and effect.'
Six years ago, at the time of the Red River Tragedy, I was also present. But as you know, someone of my build isn't easily noticed, so I survived, and thanks to you, the Lower City District was reshuffled, allowing me the opportunity to rise."
That was a long time ago, yet mentioning it now, Lorenzo could still smell the scent of blood. He stiffened, as cold as ice.
Eve, on the side, was already stunned, recalling the last time she heard of Iron Thorns. It was from Officer Pres, and further back was the Red River Tragedy. At this moment, she finally remembered.
"An outsider hired by Bola, you threw the corpses into the Thames River that day, creating Bola's success today. And after that, you mysteriously vanished; only a few survivors know your name, but they live in constant fear, imagining you'll appear from some corner to take away these lives that should have died."
That was a story from the past, something Lorenzo never brought up deliberately, nor replied to.
"So, what do you want to play, Sabo?"
Lorenzo remained calm, seemingly devoid of emotions, like a mechanical life.
"How about flipping a coin?"
No one expected Sabo to propose such a game. Playing with the coin with his few fingers, he then said.
"You're not very skilled with cards, right? A veteran against a novice would be too unfair, so you like pure luck. Then this will be it; and...why don't you do it?"
With that, the coin flipped towards Eve, spinning fast before her eyes, finally stopping slowly. The tarnished metal surface reflected a sheen, appearing old, with carvings faded from years of touch, faintly revealing an axe and a shield.