259 Lost Isle Alley (1/2)
Aurelia Mountain Road was the most prominent street within the Upper District, where the wealthiest of nobles gathered for the most luxurious of entertainments and the highest class of eateries. It was a place painted with riches and glamour.
No other place could compare to the thriving business and overblown prices of Aurelia Mountain Road in the Upper District, but as the universal balance dictates, there were two sides to everything like yin and yang, good and evil, the rich and the poor.
When asked what the most obscured street in the Upper District is, the answer would undoubtedly be Lost Isle Alley.
Lost Isle Alley was an unpopular location that is not easily accessible from any main roads due to the way many high-rise buildings were designed closely like a clump and creating a dark spot that even sunlight does not reach.
It was an eerie place that everyone would avoid like a plague once they learn about it. The temperature of the alley was always low, and the chilly winds send shivers down one's spine. It was like a little ghost town that no one visits, not even rats would dare to go there if there were any.
According to stories, a beautiful young girl was once tricked into that inconspicuous place and subjected to untold humiliation by a group of scummy degenerate young nobles.
The girl eventually died from their restless abuse, but before her untimely and gruesome death, she cursed all the young nobles and their families to die a horrible death.
Since then, strange events began happening in that alley. All the lights lit in that place would die out and plunge the alley into eternal darkness.
All the small-time store owners in the alley were unable to do business. They were also terrified of this unexplainable phenomenon and sold their stores in the alley and moved away.
The family of the degenerate young nobles took advantage of the small-time store owners' plight and bought over their properties at low prices before moving in, but that was when true horror began to unfold.
The degenerate young nobles would disappear one after another each night, only to be found dead at the center of the alley with their limbs bent out of shape, heads twisted a full revolution and eyes gorged out.
At the same time, the family of each degenerate young noble caught an unknown disease with rapidly declining health and would have nightmares every night.
Eventually, it drove them insane until they committed suicide.
Apparently, a powerful vengeful spirit was born due to the unique formation and environment of Lost Isle Alley.
By the time the event blew up, it took the Capital by a storm.
People always had innate fears of the unknown, darkness, and ghosts.
Instead of trying to exterminate the vengeful spirit, they sealed off the place and never tried to demolish the buildings forming Lost Isle Alley.
This was an event that happened over 400 years ago.
At this moment, a cloaked man was seen walking with hurried footsteps into the taboo alley that people eventually have forgotten with time but still avoid.
The cloaked man stopped in front of an old decrepit bar and checked the pitch-black surrounding before he knocked on the worn-out wooden door with a unique rhythmic pattern.
Tap, tap, tap…
The secret knock contained three fast taps, one slow tap, two fast taps, and repeated the process twice.
The wooden door crept open and the cloaked man stepped inside.
”What happened outside—”
Before the person opening the door could finish his question, the cloaked man walked past him, pulled a secret lever that revealed a secret flight of stairs leading downwards, and entered the hidden chamber under the aged-old abandoned bar.
The person closed the creaking door and followed the cloaked man downstairs.
The secret flight of stairs soon disappeared after.
”Shit, shit, shit! Those fucking crazy bastards! They have ruined everything for us!”
The man threw away his cloak and began cursing at once.
Underneath his cloak was a set of noble attire carrying the crest of the Marleigh family, a Baron-level family. The cloaked man had revealed himself to be Grant Marleigh, the current head of the Marleigh family and Baron himself.
He was a lower-class noble of the Crawford Kingdom and not a very prominent figure, inconspicuous in fact.
However, he also had another identity, an inner elder of Illusory Butterfly Sect.
”What exactly happened outside, Elder?”
Hearing this question, Baron Grant Marleigh's blood boiled with more anger.
”The Bloodfiend Sect has gone crazy and deployed all their disciples on a killing spree, shocking the entire Capital! Now, the king is on high alert and a search warrant will most likely be issued soon to have the Capital searched thoroughly!”
”I have official status, so I will be fine as long as I don't blow my cover or reveal anything that will put me under suspicion. You all, on the other hand, do not have official status in this kingdom. You will have nowhere to run once they find this place, especially you two.” The inner elder continued grimly while singling out two people.
The two people mentioned were precisely Leon's adoptive father and mother, Brian and Helen who had gone missing with Mia since the start of the spider crisis.
Apart from them, there were 11 other people and one child in the hidden underground chamber. They were all inner disciples of Illusory Butterfly Sect, minus the child.
”If you two didn't use the secret passage to flee suddenly, and with a child no less, our plan might have still had some hope of succeeding.”