Chapter 20: White Dove

Mel leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

The side effects of Void Walk began to manifest: dizziness, nausea, weakness in her limbs.

More importantly, she could feel that the Quintessence in her body was almost depleted.

Or perhaps these side effects were actually caused by the over-exhaustion of Quintessence.

After all, she didn't have these feelings during her first Void Walk.

“In other words.... unless it's an emergency, I can only use it once at most.”

Mel murmured to herself, a faint, weak smile appearing on her pale face.

“At least.... I shook them off.”

The young girl took a deep breath, then pushed open the door to her home.

Warm sunlight streamed through the window, casting a soft golden light on the wooden floor and on the white dove standing on the windowsill.

Wait, a white dove?

Mel raised her head and looked at the white dove that had appeared on her windowsill at some unknown time.

There seemed to be something hanging from the white dove's chest, which was swaying gently with the dove's movements.

“Good day, Miss Shepherd.”

Under Mel's gaze, the white dove's beak opened slightly, and it spoke human words.

The hoarse male voice drilled directly into Mel's eardrums, each syllable carrying the cold texture of an official seal.

“Pardon my impertinence——but your method of escape just now was a textbook example of ineptitude. You were just one step away from successfully depleting your Quintessence, which would have allowed you to remain in The Void forever.”

Mel stared at the white dove, for a moment not knowing how to react.

Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, dyeing the dove's feathers with a golden halo, which only made its dark eyes appear even deeper.

“Who... are you?”

The young girl subconsciously took a step back, her weak body leaning against the doorframe.

The exhaustion of her Quintessence made it difficult for her to even stand, let alone deal with such a bizarre situation.

Mel's fingers, which were clutching the doorframe, trembled slightly, and the cold sweat seeping from her back soaked through her shirt.

The dizziness from Quintessence exhaustion made the dove's outline flicker in the sunlight, like some strange illusion.

She pinched her palm hard.

The pain reminded her that this was not a delusion.

The white dove tilted its head, observing her appearance, much like a scholar in a laboratory observing a white mouse.

“I am an agent of the Fifth Department. You may refer to me as (Messenger), number D-0719.”

The white dove's wings stirred up a current of air, and an ID card refracted a silver light in the sunlight.

“The Fifth... Department?”

Mel's pupils trembled slightly, “What... are you going to do?”

Her voice sounded like a taut violin string.

“Three days ago, Jessica Hall's flock began to self-mutilate en masse.”

The white dove paced to the edge of the windowsill, its tail feathers sweeping across the dusty glass.

“Some of them dug out their own eyeballs and buried them in the rose garden, some carved mathematical formulas on their skin with silver dinner forks, or dissected their own brains with dining knives. They believed that truth was hidden beneath the skull. Some even tried to use mathematical formulas to prove the inevitability of death, filling an entire wall with their own blood. Truly a carnival in the style of a believer of Knowledge.”

The white dove's voice was full of sarcasm.

Mel remembered Jessica's broken prayers in the alley.

Those ramblings about the "revealer of truth" suddenly took on a new meaning.

“When we detected the fluctuations of a Red Moon sacrifice, we were already prepared to clean up the mess.”

The white dove continued, “But the scene was suspiciously clean, even the bloodstains had been licked clean by the moonlight——this is not the quality a novice should have.”

As a Shepherd in the Stress Phase, your method of dealing with Jessica was quite impressive——if we ignore the fact that you triggered a flock riot.

Let me tell you a piece of knowledge.

When a Shepherd dies, the flock they control goes through three stages——Lost, Madness, Destruction.

And Jessica's flock has now entered the second stage.

When they reach the third stage, they will begin to spread their truth.

Just imagine, a group of self-proclaimed mad mathematicians, using forks and scalpels to prove the absurdity of existence to passersby.

At that time, the entire city will become a giant madhouse.”

“So... are you going to arrest me?”

“Arrest and judgment, that is the work of a judge. We are Shepherds of Order.”

The white dove elegantly preened its feathers, its voice devoid of any inflection.

“Although we are believers of Order, we are not averse to believers of the Red Moon and Chaos who are within a controllable range. Moreover, the Fifth Department needs to observe ecological samples of Red Moon Shepherds, and Bishop Oliver has already vouched for you, so please rest assured, you will be fine. And as for the mess you left behind, we will also take care of it for you. Just consider it a way to boost our performance.”

The white dove said, then flapped its wings.

“And in exchange, we need you to answer a few questions.”

“What questions?”

“First, how did you become a Shepherd?”

Hearing this, Mel's fingers unconsciously began to trace the wood grain on the doorframe.

The white dove's dark pupils seemed capable of seeing through all her secrets.

The young girl suppressed the dryness in her throat and spoke in a low voice: “Three days ago.... I had a nightmare, and then I woke up with a start. Then, a lot of strange voices appeared in my ears.... that voice said, I was the chosen Shepherd.”

Hearing this, the white dove tilted its head, its feathers shimmering with a soft luster in the sunlight.

“All Shepherds go through an awakening ritual, but it is rare for a Shepherd to be personally awakened by Them. This situation is extremely rare.”

The white dove continued, “Then the second question, what is your shepherding method?”

“I....”

Mel pressed her lips together, somewhat resistant to answering this question.

Seeing this, the white dove seemed to have noticed something.

Its beak opened and closed slightly, emitting a gurgling, vibrating sound, as if chewing on some form of invisible data.

“Shepherding method.... let me guess——”

The white dove suddenly flapped its wings and took flight, the wind from its wings carrying the scent of old parchment.

“Is it killing?”

Mel's back slammed hard against the doorframe, splinters piercing her palm.

The white dove's dark pupils reflected the young girl's abruptly contracting pupils, like two precise scalpels dissecting the bloody alley in her memory.

The wound blooming on Jessica's back under the moonlight, the touch of warm blood flowing through her fingers, and the thrilling satisfaction of the Red Moon devouring the corpse.

“It seems I guessed correctly.”

The white dove landed on the candlestick on the dining table, its claws making a crisp sound as they collided with the brass candlestick.

“No need to show such an expression, madam. Eight out of ten Red Moon Shepherds have shepherding methods that involve blood. The Shepherd we dealt with last month was even more troublesome. He needed to carve the victim's ribs into the shape of a crescent moon——your shepherding method is already considered elegant.”

Mel noticed that when the white dove spoke, its neck feathers would fluff up slightly, like the pipes of a church organ breathing.

When it mentioned “ribs,” its right claw unconsciously rubbed the engravings on the candlestick, a kind of instinctual biological irritation leaking through its precise training.

“Generally speaking, Shepherds like you need to be contained.”

It used its beak to preen the downy feathers on the inside of its wing, and tiny white feathers fell off, slowly drifting in the moonlight.

“However, Oliver used thirty years of his credit line as a guarantee, saying you are like a newly emerged blue butterfly——beautiful and temporarily harmless. Given his own reputation and character, the Fifth Department has decided to acknowledge his guarantee. I hope you will not disappoint him.”

After a pause, the white dove added: “Now it's your turn to ask questions,”

The white dove suddenly spread its wings and flew towards the bookshelf, its claws hooking onto the spine of a book.

“This is the procedure. A newly promoted Shepherd has the right to understand the basic rules of the Fifth Department.”

Hearing this, Mel watched the hardcover book swaying slightly under the dove's claws, her mind suddenly a tangled mess.

She seemed to have many questions to ask, but she didn't know what to ask.

“You....”

After a moment of silence, the young girl finally spoke, her throat aching with dryness:

“How will you deal with Jessica's flock?”

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