Chapter 897: Explanation

Chapter 897: Explanation

Halbert Dawson was… flabergasted!

What… what the hell is happening?! He thought incredulously.

This was not how he had planned for things to go.

Why was Adam acting this way?

Could it be…

The elderly Herbalist thought of a terrifying possibility.

Did he find out about the Watchers?!

The thought of that caused a chill to crawl down his spine. There was no way a Mana Vortex Magus could have discovered the presence of those ghostly creatures.

No… it was difficult for even a Mana Core Magus to sense their presence—unless they proactively looked for it!

Yet, this boy was able to?!

He screamed inwardly.

Dawson immediately shot to his feet to salvage the situation.

But the moment he rose to his feet, Adam fell on his knees.

The raven-haired youth clasped his hands and desperately begged, “Please, Lord Dawson, I did everything you asked me to do… Please, just give me the antidote! I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die… I’m still so young!”

“W-what are you talking about?!” Dawson screamed in panic. “S-stop lying! I have nothing to do with Brigham Flynn’s death!”

Damn it, those things cost me a fortune!! The elderly Magus thought to himself.

How did he find out about them?! Im-impossible!

All my planning has gone up in smoke! Damn it!

Adam, on the other hand, continued to cry out loud, pouring out all his grievances, “I don’t know what enmity you had with Brigham Flynn that you forced me to poison him… Not only that, you even poisoned me so I don’t betray you!”

The youth clutched his hair, unable to deal with the injustice anymore. “Why?! Why?! Why?! I did everything you asked! I poisoned Brigham Flynn… So then why?! Why won’t you give me that antidote?!”

Realizing that the situation was no longer salvageable, Dawson’s heart sank.

He quickly walked to the bookshelves and retrieved about half a dozen tiny objects that resembled blue snails.

These were called the Slow Watchers, a type of magical beast that could record everything they saw. Needless to say, they were extremely rare and expensive.

Dawson’s plan was to have Adam admit to killing Brigham Flynn and have the entire thing recorded by the Slow Watchers.

He even had a contingency plan prepared.

After all, what he had were only his speculations… not substantial evidence!

Only if he could have recorded the scene of Adam confessing to his heinous crimes, he might have finally gotten what he wanted from the youth.

But now…

Coating his hands with mana, Halbert Dawson reluctantly destroyed the Slow Watchers.

His fate had already been sealed.

If he didn’t destroy those little creatures, then he would be found ‘guilty’ of Brigham’s murder should the recorded scenes ever be made public.

If he destroyed the little creatures, then Adam would deal with him.

And that’s exactly what the raven-haired youth was going to do.

Seeing the old man destroy the Slow Watchers with trembling hands, Adam slowly rose to his feet.

He wiped the tears away and looked at the Dawson with a cold smile, “How did you like my performance? Pretty convincing, no?”

Halbert Dawson immediately turned pale. He subconsciously retreated several steps back as he screamed at the top of his lungs, “Guards! Intruder! Intruder! Help!”

Adam threw his head back and laughed loudly, “Hahaha! You, a Mana Vortex Magus, asking for assistance from a bunch of Mana Liquefaction Magi? You are pathetic!”

“Guards! Guards!”

Halbert Dawson continued to call out for help, but soon he started to realize something had gone wrong… terribly wrong!

Adam looked at the petrified old man with a friendly smile. “Don’t worry. I already cast a barrier around this room. No one can hear us. Needless to say… you also cannot escape.”

Dawson’s body trembled. In that moment, he seemed to have grown several more decades.

“P-please, I-I can explain!” He clasped his hands and got on his knees, mirroring Adam’s actions from a minute ago.

Adam had the same friendly smile on his face, but the words that came out of his mouth were anything but friendly.

“You better have a good explanation, or I’m going to cut you open and strangle you with your own intestines.”

Halbert Dawson shuddered.

How can he say such cruel things with such an innocent face?! He thought fearfully.

D-demon! He’s a demon!

“Y-yes! I will tell you e-everything!” He hurriedly spoke.

***

Adam lounged comfortably on a high-back leather chair, casually sipping wine from a flat cup.

In front of him, Halbert Dawson knelt on the ground, his old and feeble body drenched in cold sweat.

“How did you arrive at the conclusion that I had something to do with Brigham Flynn’s death?” He asked with a friendly smile.

But seeing that harmless smile, Dawson felt even more afraid.

The old man would much rather see Adam seething in rage, but the fact that the latter was so calm and easygoing caused him to be filled with terror.

“Oh, by the way, Lord Dawson.” Adam leaned in.

With the same smile adorning his lips, he added, “If you lie to me, I will murder all your family members inside this building. I will feed them to my snakes. Understood?”

Halbert Dawson couldn’t stop his body from trembling.

A mistake…

A terrible mistake!

He had greatly underestimated the Dark King. Dawson knew he was no match for him in strength, so he sought to get the upper hand through his words.

He was so sure that he could get Adam to confess, but everything had gone awry, and now he didn’t even know if he would get to see sunrise.

“And trust me,” Adam continued. “I will know if you’re lying.”

Halbert Dawson’s pupils constricted.

If he wanted to survive this ordeal, he would have to speak the truth. As for what happened next…

“P-please, promise me you won’t kill me after I tell you everything!” He desperately begged. Then, he quickly added. “Or my family members! Please… please, give me your word!”

Adam smiled. “Of course. I’m a morally upright gentleman. How can I kill others in cold blood?”

He raised his right hand, palm facing outward, and solemnly said. “I swear on my mana that I won’t kill you or your family members after you tell me the truth.”

Halbert Dawson breathed a sigh of relief. But in his moment of fear and panic, he had missed one tiny detail…

Of course, Adam was not going to point it out.

The old herbalist took a deep breath and finally began, “I was requested by Elysande Flynn to perform an autopsy on her father’s corpse…”