Chapter 27

"Here's the poison." Emily handed it out to Joseph.

"Thanks." Joseph then looked left and right.

"Can I meet Aesop?" He looked at Emily intently.

"Sure. It's not like I'm not gonna let you in." She laughed while leading the way.

After about a few minutes of walking, she then stopped in front of an oak door.

"Here you are." Emily opened the door while letting Joseph in.

Joseph then went in and mouthed a thank you to Emily.

"I'll leave you two alone." Emily smiled before closing the door behind her.

"I really hope your plan works." She mumbled before leaving to make dinner.

---

Eli looked at Emily in a new light after the incident. Although, he didn't show anything on his face.

He was really curious about what was under there. Were there weapons? Something they weren't supposed to know?

To be honest, he wasn't allowed to use his owl while they weren't in a match. He just used it secretly with Tracy's pestering. (Portraying to the last chapter)

"Ugh, I guess I have to go in there." He glanced at Emily as he thought before deciding to sneak out at midnight.

---

Joseph looked at Aesop's pale face. Aesop's lips were chapped as it didn't get the moisture it needed.

Joseph held Aesop's hand which was comfortably warm. He brought it closer to his face as he kissed it.

"Hah..." Joseph let out a breath of air.

"I wonder... What would've happened if I hadn't gotten feelings for you?"

"Would anything have changed? Would you still be awake right now?" He tightly clenched Aesop's hand as he buried his face on the bed.

"J-Joseph." A weak voice suddenly came out from the thin boy's pale lips.

Surprised, Joseph hurriedly sat up straight.

His eyes watered the instant he saw Aesop's face.

"A-Aesop!" Joseph stuttered as he hugged the frail man. "Are you okay?!"

"Listen... I don't care what you do from now." Aesop suddenly said.

Joseph looked at him in surprise before sitting back down and lied Aesop down again.

"Just don't regret anything." The pale-faced man faintly smiled at Joseph before he went back to sleep.

Hearing those few words, Joseph suddenly felt something strike him.

Of course.

Why should he ever regret meeting Aesop? His life would've been lifeless if he never did.

How could he ever forget?

He suddenly remembered his brother's last words.

[Don't dwell on the past before it engulfs you.]

He never did understand what his twin meant. But, after hearing what Aesop said, he finally gained enlightenment.

"Claude... I finally understand." Joseph mumbled before a smile formed on his thin lips.

He then kissed Aesop's forehead before leaving. He planned to tell Emily about Aesop's waking up the next day.

---

Midnight

Eli sneaked out of his bedroom as he went to the room.

He looked around and made sure no one was awake before entering.

He closed the door behind him and went towards a drawer.

"Agh, it should be here." Eli mumbled before he screamed and jolted away from the drawer.

The lights which were originally turned off suddenly opened.

"Shit." He thought as he stared at the figure standing before the door.

"What business do you have here?" Emily crossed her arms as she raised her brow.

"A-ah. I was just trying to find the first aid kit." Eli said as he felt cold sweat trickling down his face.

"It's in the clinic."

"Ah- then I'll be leaving." Eli smiled before walking past Emily.

He took large strides while walking but then he had to stop.

"Eli... It was you, wasn't it?"

"Ah fuck. I guess I'm gonna die today." Eli thought.

"What do you mean?" He said while turning around to look at Emily.

"Eli..." Emily smiled.

"Oh, God." He thought.

"Are you talking or not?" Emily said as an even wider smile followed.

"OKAY, OKAY IT WAS ME! DON'T KILL ME!" Eli shouted as he raised his hand in the air.

"There we go." Emily said as she then returned back to her usual attitude.

"Eli, once you look there, there's no turning back." Emily had a nonchalant look on her face.

Eli gulped.

"Think about it. Do you really want to go in there?"

Eli stared at Emily who was twirling her bangs. Although he decided without giving it much thought, he wouldn't ever think that he would've saved someone because of it.

"I... I want to see."

"Alright."

---

2 weeks later

In these 2 weeks, Jack would put a small amount of poison on the host's tea.

The poison had no taste which was why it was hard to detect. The poison would also only show symptoms 1 month in.

At that point, it would've been too late since his body would've weakened by a lot.

On this day, Joseph was walking towards Yidhra's room as he was humming a tune.

It was what he and his brother would always sing together.

Upon arriving, he then knocked on Yidhra's door.

There was no reply.

He knocked again and this time, he finally heard her.

"Ugh. I was still sleeping." A grumpy voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

The old oak door opened as he heard the creaking sound coming from it.

"Sorry." Joseph smiled at her (follower).

Yidhra, who was slithering, looked at Joseph in surprise. It was like he was surrounded by a halo of light.

"Ew. What is this? Disgusting." She said out loud despite being in her main form.

Her follower was just standing there with her head bowed down.

"Enlightenment?" Joseph said in a confused tone before laughing.

"When are we going?"

"Didn't I tell you not to bother me until I told you so?" Yidhra groaned.

"You did but..."

"I guess I did let this go on for a while." Yidhra thought.

"Ugh. Fine. Let's get this over with quickly." Yidhra said in a disgusted tone before her follower suddenly disappeared.

"I'll go tell Jack."

"Go."

---

"Jack. It's time." Joseph knocked on Jack's door as he talked.

"Apologies, give me a minute." A voice came from the other side.

A few seconds later, Jack came out of the room without his mask.

"Ah? You didn't wear it?" Joseph looked at Jack's bare face.

"I will. You've already seen my face so it is of no problem." Jack said as he closed the door behind him.

"You look great." Joseph smiled.

"Ah... You've truly changed." Jack sighed. "Let's talk while walking. Follow me." He added.

"Where are we going?"

"We're meeting the rest of the hunters."

"Alright."

After a few corners, they arrived at the biggest door Joseph's ever seen.

"This..."

"Relax. The previous host got this room made for random activities."

"Ah? Previous host?"

"Mmm. From who I've encountered there were 3 different hosts. There were probably a lot more than I know that only Yidhra and Hastur knows."

"Oh. I see." Joseph nodded.

Jack pushed open the gigantic door and the inside surprised Joseph.

The interior looked like it was around 2 large houses worth of space. It was even bigger than where he used to live. Considering that he was from a noble family, you could imagine how large it was inside.

Actually, it couldn't really be called an interior as it actually looked more like a park of some sort.

They could faintly see the silhouettes of the hunters from the door.

"What is this exactly? And how big is the manor?"

"Bigger than you could ever imagine." Jack laughed before they walked towards the middle.

"Ah? Wu Chang and Hastur?"

"Yes. Hastur was bored and Black just wanted to hit the host." Jack sighed as put on his mask again.

"Well then, let's get to work. Shall we?"

---

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