Chapter 189: Chapter 167 Gerard and the Four Pillars God Sect
On the evening of his 24 years, 1609 months, and 16 days, Gerard sat atop the steps of the high platform, looking down at the adventurers below receiving their Blessings, but his mind wandered back to himself 134 years ago.
Back then, after three attempts at the examination, he finally entered the institute just before the human age limit of 25. However, because he had no real interest in academia, Gerard joined the Crime Hunting Hall as an ordinary Hunter.
The one responsible for mentoring him was a predecessor from the Blood Saint Clan who had a penchant for smoking and was quite lazy, always conveniently having to use the bathroom whenever there was administrative work to be done. He was jokingly referred to as the “Restroom Hunter,” which taught the young Gerard a valuable lesson.
Being a Hunter was not a glamorous profession; the day-to-day was just as tiresome as dealing with trivialities, especially in an era where racial, gender, and class discrimination were still rampant. Many people, although not outrightly wicked, were like fishbones in rice, eliciting an indescribable loathing.
The more he interacted with them, the more it felt like his throat was piling up with fishbones, and one day he would need blood to cleanse it.
But the unreliable predecessor could often precisely discern Gerard’s low spirits, occasionally taking him to teas and casinos to relieve the pressure. Though Gerard was always reticent, his predecessor’s lecherous smile with a face full of stubble indeed swept away the shadows in Gerard’s heart.
Until one day, Gerard and his mentor were both assigned to a special task force to take part in an operation to eradicate the Four Pillars God Sect’s evil cult. Initially, Gerard didn’t take such organizations seriously, under the most benevolent Blood Moon; evil was like water accumulated after rain, bound to evaporate under the scorching sun eventually.
However, the operation frequently encountered unexpected incidents. The main forces were separated, and the sect members fought to the death with the Hunters, and by the time they reached the cult leader’s location, only Gerard, his mentor, and another old Hunter were left.
The mentor asked Gerard to stand outside the door to prevent anyone from escaping and to be in charge of the early warning.
The rationale was very legitimate, leaving Gerard with no room to refuse.
Seeming to notice Gerard’s eagerness to prove himself, the mentor said with a laugh, “When you lead the team in the future, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to step up. Now it’s my time to look cool; you just wait outside—and come to the rescue if anything happens to me.”
Even in dire circumstances, the mentor could still dispel the darkness in Gerard’s heart. So Gerard watched the two of them push open the doors, holding up the Hunting Lamp, and walk into the dark room to search for the hidden cult leader.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes passed without a sound from inside, but Gerard couldn’t wait any longer and raised his Hunting Lamp to walk into the room.
The Darkness in the room seemed so thick it almost had substance, and the light from the Hunting Lamp couldn’t penetrate it—not even the latest model Hand Cannon could combat this unknown terror.
Snap. He stepped into a puddle of liquid, blood. Gerard looked down and saw a strange corpse lying on the ground, and following the trail of blood, he saw two figures intertwined.
His mentor was biting the old Hunter’s throat while the old Hunter’s sword had pierced the mentor’s heart.
“It’s beautiful, don’t you think?”
The unfamiliar corpse was speaking, scaring Gerard into sitting on the floor, only knowing to point the gun muzzle at the body.
“I’m not a Mage, and I don’t have any weapons; there’s no need to be so tense,” the corpse sat up and said with a smile: “As soon as you pull the trigger, I will die.”
“Vampires fear Hunters taking action against them, so they bite to kill the Hunter first, then the Hunter retaliates and kills the Vampire; I just happened to be sleeping here.”
Gerard’s tone was intense: “You’re lying!”
“You’re quite decisive in your rejection. If it doesn’t fit with your own truth, then it’s not the truth, right? I quite straightforward way of thinking,” the corpse tilted its head: “You’re surely wondering why would a Vampire be afraid of the old Hunter attacking him, right? It’s because there was an old grudge between them.”
“But my mentor was so nice, how could he—”
“Because he was nice to you, does that make him a good person his whole life? Never offended anyone, never done anything wrong?”
Gerard was stumped but quickly retorted: “You are the leader of the Four Pillars God Sect!”
“Because I’m a bad guy, so everything I say is wrong, right?” the corpse revealed a sweet smile: “I really like your straightforward thinking.”
“But do you know why The Gods of Four Pillars exist?”
“Desire!” Gerard panted, his teeth clenched in anger, “You are a group of desire demons that tempt people into corruption—”
“It’s peace of mind.” The corpse placed its hand on its heart, “To become stronger, to become smarter, to be more popular, to experience more happiness… People seek peace of mind, so The Gods of Four Pillars answered their wishes.”
“Those two, they wanted peace of mind, which led them to slaughter each other and die here. Because if they didn’t, they couldn’t vent the darkness within their hearts.”
“You actually agree with me inside, don’t you, Hunter Gerard. You’re a perceptive kid; during your exploration, you’ve realized that the seniors and the old hunters didn’t get along well, you’ve long been guessing their untold stories…”
“You’re even more aware that the senior’s smoking, his laziness, and his disheveled appearance all stem from his vast and gloomy past. From his few words, you deduced that the senior is a pitiful failure, under his smile, madness potent enough to destroy reason is festering…”
Gerard pressed the gun muzzle against the corpse’s forehead, but the corpse smiled, raising a blood-stained finger, and under Gerard’s eyes, drew two blood-like streaks.
“The rain will indeed evaporate into the sun, but some of the water has long seeped into the soil, becoming nourishment for the earth. The evaporated water doesn’t disappear either; it follows the natural cycle, awaiting the next downpour. The rain won’t stop, it keeps falling, because I exist, because you exist.”
“In a world where the law turns into a slaughtering knife, committing a crime is not shameful.”
“So, Gerard, whom are you crying for?”
The corpse finally spoke no more, and at this moment, other hunters also belatedly arrived, concluding the operation.
A hundred years hurried by, and Gerard became lazy, reckless, and unruly, but he also grew stronger. Just when he thought he could sleep in the paradise of Kaimon City, a familiar name woke up those memories covered in dust.
So, Gerard volunteered, formulated a detailed plan, and in his most powerful state, eradicated the new-born Four Pillars Divine Sect, hoping his current achievements could compensate for his past regrets.
But Gerard felt no satisfaction—because this generation’s Sect Hierarch was the weakest he had ever seen.
Naive, confused, speaking in a low voice, almost like a recent college graduate, catching him was not much harder than catching a cat.
Therefore, when Ash claimed to have lost his memory during the interrogation, Gerard believed it on the spot, thinking he was the unfortunate scapegoat used by someone behind the scenes to erase memories.
Later, Professor Selin approached Gerard to elucidate the danger of Ash, even willing to expend favors to ask him to ‘reassess’ Ash’s measure. Although Gerard spared Ash out of respect for his peer, his thoughts did not change—he still considered Ash an insignificant lamb.
Then, a series of events erupted like a sudden storm: prison breaks, controlling the prison, the Blood Moon Judgement, Selin’s disappearance…
Just now, Gerard received a message: the president of the Elf Rights Protection Association, Selin Dole, disappeared, his fate uncertain, the news temporarily sealed.
A hundred years had passed, and although he sat under the brilliant Blood Moon, Gerard felt as if he had entered that dark room again.
Ash Heath, undoubtedly the leader of the Four Pillars Divine Sect, was the source of chaos, the head of secrecy, his mere existence brought catastrophe, he was an evil vortex!
With a perfect disguise, he gained the trust of the Three-winged Mage and the folly of the chief law enforcer!
“So just like last time…” Gerard murmured in a voice only he could hear, “Am I only able to mend things after the fact?”
Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the procession of blessings.