In the dock area of Fish Sail Port, the salty sea breeze couldn’t dispel the tense heat as a conflict suddenly broke out.
A recently successful Puki Master heard the malicious taunts from several adventurers leaning against cargo boxes, aid at the mycelium marks on his face.
With just three exchanges of heated words, rage overwheld the dam of reason, and fists took the place of pale argunts.
The scene instantly spiraled out of control.
Nearby Puki Masters saw this and imdiately directed the Puki, who had been busily unloading fish from fishing boats, to gather around and support.
On the other side, the adventurers’ companions also roared and joined the chaos. In an instant, the roars of n, the screams of won, and the unique "puff puff" sounds of Puki mingled together, as human fists and fungal tendrils clashed savagely.
With a screeching tallic sound, soone couldn’t hold back and drew their weapon!
Just as the brawl was about to escalate into a bloody conflict, a synchronized and heavy footstep sound tily resonated.
"Wing of Judgnt! Stop imdiately!"
A voice imbued with authority shouted harshly. Solalin, leading the squad, arrived just in ti. The holy emblems on the team mbers’ chestplates glead with undeniable authority in the sunlight, instantly suppressing the out-of-control scene.
The well-trained church warriors quickly intervened in the lee, efficiently separating and subduing both sides of the conflict.
Soon, the humans involved in the brawl, whether Puki Master or adventurer, were all detained.
However, when the team mbers faced nearly a hundred Puki staying put, they were at a loss.
In the past, capturing troublemakers with a magic pet only required finding a sturdy cage to lock them up.
But these densely packed Puki... there weren’t enough cages...
A team mber instinctively turned to look for their team leader, Solalin, for instructions, only to find their captain leaning in the distant corner, bent over, vomiting intensely as if even her bile was being expelled.
Just a mont ago, when her gaze swept over those familiar-looking Puki scattered across the dock, Solalin almost instinctively activated the [Realm of Truth]...
In an instant, the sunny, sea-breeze-kissed port city scene shattered and faded away!
What replaced it were countless chaotic color blocks, climbing greedily over the city’s every corner, seemingly trying to assimilate everything into that blasphemous sight!
"in... the rest is... up to you..." Solalin, trembling, said with all her strength to the priest who ca running.
She then stumbled away, nearly collapsing, towards the temporary command center of the sub-commander.
...
Ten minutes later.
"You ask what’s going on with this city... haven’t you noticed in the past two months, there’s been a lot more dried mushroom slices in our rations?" The sub-commander of the Wing of Judgnt asked Solalin, who had suddenly sought him out, with so confusion.
"You an..." Solalin’s face visibly paled.
"Ugh—!"
Watching his subordinate vomiting relentlessly while holding onto the wall, the sub-commander stepped forward, patting her back helplessly.
"Is it really that uncomfortable? Your... that thing..." The sub-commander gestured at his eyes with his fingers.
"Realm... of Truth." Solalin weakly responded, her stomach churning again.
"Yes, yes, is that skill really so sinister?" The sub-commander, knowing his subordinate’s special abilities, obviously couldn’t personally feel that impact.
Solalin took the paper handed to her and wiped the corner of her mouth, her voice still trembling sowhat: "It’s not just nausea... it’s severe pollution! I absolutely don’t dare to use it again now! And what’s with those Puki? How could demons be running around the streets at will?"
"They’re not running around," the well-inford sub-commander patiently explained, "those are Puki controlled by ’Puki Masters’. It’s a principle similar to contracted magic pets but more convenient and with a lower threshold."
After the sub-commander explained in detail about the Puki Masters and symbiosis, Solalin could hardly believe her ears.
"For... for a bit of power, you let unknown things parasitize your body? How is this any different from those who, for eternal life, pledge allegiance to the Empire, willingly becoming the fallen vampires?!"
"Hey! Watch what you say!" The sub-commander urgently interrupted her bold statent, "Our task is to resolve conflicts and maintain order, not to incite more trouble! Not a word of this outside!"
"But these demons... they’re essentially... the sa thing..." Solalin struggled to describe the suffocating uniformity and chaotic nature behind every Puki she sensed.
Back then, she also thought this thing would only stay in the Underground City and perish with it, yet she never expected it to beco like this today!
The sub-commander frowned after hearing her out, pondered for a mont, and said, "Simply determining that all Puki are the sa entity because they share the chaotic color is too arbitrary."
Solalin wanted to argue, but the sub-commander quickly continued:
"However, your discovery and concerns are not entirely without rit. Do this: during your spare ti, write a detailed observation report, objectively describing the phenona you observed, excluding all subjective speculations. I will attach it to the regular report and submit it to the bishop for judgnt. In the anti, refrain from using that skill, rember, maintaining order is our primary mission here."
The handling was reasonable and fair, and Solalin had no choice but to agree, turning to leave.
"Oh, by the way," the sub-commander added behind her, pointing at the ss on the ground, "don’t forget to call a retainer to clean this up when you go out."
...
"How was it?" asked the waiting priest companion, in, outside.
After Solalin recounted the sub-commander’s arrangents, she asked, "in, do you also think I’m overthinking?"
in looked at her and replied honestly, "I can’t imagine there’s sothing in the world capable of simultaneously controlling such a large number of individuals to act independently. You have to understand, this isn’t Puki within an Underground City range, but spanning across Mushroom City, Fish Sail Port, and Novid. Who knows how many Puki Masters and Puki there are, saying it’s all one entity is just too..."
in wanted to say "ridiculous," but felt the word might be sowhat hurtful and couldn’t think of a more suitable expression at the mont.
However, Solalin didn’t seem to mind this. She seriously contemplated and, just as in ntioned, couldn’t imagine what kind of existence it would be.
If everything was it, and it was everywhere, wouldn’t that make it akin to a god?
It’s too absurd, so absurd that she even started doubting herself.
The sub-commander and in were right, she was being too arbitrary.
In the end, it’s just speculation stemming from this rare, scarcely referenced skill [Realm of Truth], lacking further evidence.
In any case, it’s best to just honestly write the report...
...
What Solalin didn’t know was that her report was not overlooked.
The report was submitted by the sub-commander to the regional bishop’s hands and eventually, the docunt found its way onto Archbishop of Light Ditas’s desk.
Ditas’s gaze slowly swept over the content of the report, his aged and deep-set eyes showing not a ripple of emotion.
He remained silent for a mont, then calmly placed the report into a drawer, without issuing any related instructions.
He had an important eting with several dukes today, the core topic being how to systematically incorporate those seemingly potential ’Puki Masters’ into the Kingdom’s military system to counter the imminent Demon Race invasion.
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