Gehrman Sparrow's silence made Tracy's heart sink, as though she had fallen into an ice cavern.
When he saw despair surface on Vice Admiral Ailment's face, Klein took out a piece of paper from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he made it fly forward like a poker card.
With a whoosh, the slip of paper cut through a tiny portion of the invisible spider webs like a piece of metal. It tore open the translucent ice crystal and lacerated Tracy's left arm, causing blood to splatter.
The surface of the paper was quickly dyed with a bright red tinge before it boomeranged back from the trapped Demoness into Klein's palm.
Tracy originally imagined that the piece of paper would come at her throat, but she never expected it to only target her arm. She was momentarily stunned. Only when Gehrman Sparrow folded the piece of paper and placed it into an iron cigar case did she suddenly realize something. She asked, "Your true target is Katarina?"
Klein placed the iron cigar case back into his pocket without answering her. He calmly asked, "You are her descendant?"
Upon hearing this, Tracy, who was still trapped by the ice crystal and spider silk, suddenly let out a low laugh.
"I'm not just a descendant. I'm her child."
Child...Daughter...As Klein rejoiced over his caution in not recklessly killing her, causing Demoness of White Katarina to sense something, he subconsciously analyzed whether Katarina was the mother or father of the Ailment Maiden.
If Katarina was also formerly a male, it's possible that she's Tracy's father, but the problem is that she was already a Sequence 4 demigod during the Pale Disaster that was at the end of the Fourth Epoch. And for the Assassin pathway, a man will change into a woman at Sequence 7 Witch...
In other words, if Katarina is Tracy's father, Tracy needs to be at least l,300 years old. However, it's impossible for a Sequence 5 Beyonder to live for so long. Even most Sequence 4 and Sequence 3 saints aren't capable of that!
There's only one answer, and that is that Tracy was borne by Katarina. Also, it happened in the past few decades... An advanced maternal age of more than a thousand years... Klein nodded slightly and confirmed without any change in expression.
"She's your mom?"
Tracy's expression suddenly turned odd.
"No, my mother."
Just as he was about to ask what was the difference between that and mother since it was essentially a more formal and eloquent manner of speech. Tracy sneered and said, "My mom is another person. She used to be my father."
...You Demonesses have messed up families... But that isn't the reason why you spread catastrophes to the world... Klein used his Clown powers to control his facial muscles as he continued looking at Ailment Maiden, his face impassive.
Tracy, who was already in a dire situation, was now beginning to abandon herself to despair. Without waiting for Gehrman Sparrow's response, she sighed and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Maybe it was all a mistake since I was born.
"Abnormal parents, abnormal family relationship, abnormal sect members. They sculpted me and harmed me. At the age of 8,1 found out that my father, who I had always admired as a role model, had suddenly become a woman. He was becoming like a dainty flower by the day, becoming more and more adept at using his charms. Later on, he even found a male friend and gave birth to my younger brother. Can you imagine that kind of feeling?
"After I ran away from home and came to the sea, I finally found a normal sense of self-recognition and a social identity after many years of hard work. I finally understood what I really wanted. Then, a potion bottle turned me into a woman. Heh, a woman..."
After listening quietly, Klein said without changing his tone, "Your instigation skills are pretty good."
Tracy turned agape, but in the end, she only sighed and smiled with a complicated expression. "I admit that I was trying to win your sympathy. Everyone wants to live. Isn't that right? However, I didn't lie. That was my life experience."
She stopped exaggerating her pain and sadness and paused.
"Before you kill me, I would like to ask you a question. It's a question that won't put you in a difficult spot."
"What is it?" Klein looked at the Demoness and asked.
Tracy hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Before you came to assassinate me the previous time, did Helene know about this?"
Klein was silent for a moment before he said, "She didn't know what would happen."
Tracy's face suddenly glowed.
"Really?"
Before Gehrman Sparrow could respond, she revealed an extremely complicated expression.
"Before I die, can I ask you for another favor? If you can see her again, tell her that I feel very guilty about what happened in the past, but I don't regret it."
At this point, Tracy tried to shake her head, but failed thanks to the restriction provided by the crystalline ice and invisible spider webs.
She could only laugh at herself.
"Forget it, there's no need to tell her. Let's leave it at that.
"You can do what you were here for."
With that, Tracy closed her eyes.
After a few seconds, she didn't feel the pain she expected. Instead, she heard Gehrman Sparrow say in a deep voice, "Say this: No one is to disturb me."
Tracy was surprised as she felt perplexed, and it showed on her face.
However, since she was already facing death, such a small matter wasn't worth nitpicking about. She opened her mouth and said, "No one is to disturb me."
As soon as she said the statement, the same voice echoed on the Black Death, greatly amplified.
The pirates didn't have any doubts about this. It was as if they were following a specific pattern. They instinctively avoided the captain's cabin and continued their work.
Since the captain said not to disturb her, they naturally wouldn't seek her out!
At the same time, Tracy saw Gehrman Sparrow take off his top hat and press it to his chest. He bowed slightly at her, as though he was bidding her farewell.
Then, she felt as though she was isolated from the entire world. There was silence. Even the crazy adventurer was gone.
She had obtained the environment of "not being disturbed" just as she wanted.
The "Magnify" and "Distortion" powers of the Lawyer pathway!
The layer of ice on Tracy's body began to melt, but the invisible spider webs continued to bind her firmly, preventing her from doing anything. She couldn't even change her center of gravity.
Hence, she could only stand there like a lifelike wax statue.
He didn't kill me... Tracy looked ahead blankly, momentarily in disbelief.
She didn't believe that Gehrman Sparrow hadn't taken action because he pitied her. This crazy adventurer had killed many pirates, and there had never been a situation where he showed mercy. As for Tracy, although she believed that she wasn't the typical Demoness and didn't live up to her status as a Demoness, how could she not have done anything bad as a pirate? She was experienced in both the slave trade and in plundering ships.
Similarly, Tracy didn't believe that Gehrman Sparrow was moved by her beauty and her experiences, and had ended up coveting her, because his cold gaze was like he was looking at a dead person.
There must be other factors... A thought flashed through her mind as she made connections with matters she might be involved in. She quickly came to a conclusion. It's likely because of my blood relationship with Mother. As for Demonesses, they're all good at hexes. Once I die, Mother will immediately notice it. When she discovers that there's a problem here, she will make preparations ahead of time, preventing Gehrman Sparrow from finding his target during his subsequent actions. That's why he allowed me to live but made it impossible for me to contact anyone else... From the looks of it, regardless of the outcome of his operation targeted at Mother, he will return to kill me... And if I want to continue living, I have to succeed in saving myself before that happens.
In Tracy's heart, she didn't have much of a relationship with her mother, Katarina. This Demoness of Unaging had lived for a long time, and most of the time, she had maintained her youthful state of mind by dating young men. She was passionate about the occasional children that she had whenever she found it novel to have one. At other times, she was mostly indifferent.
However, as she grew older, Katarina's evaluation of Tracy was that she resembled her past self more and more.
Hence, she was doted on her and provided more help.
However, Tracy didn't want such attention. It only served to make her lose her original gender, putting her into a painful situation that she couldn't shake off.
Phew... Although I hate her and blame her, I still unknowingly rely on her, hoping that she can respect my opinion more... I h-hope that she can escape Gehrman Sparrow's pursuit... Tracy once again began to struggle in an attempt to escape her bound state.
On the one hand, she was trying to save herself. On the other hand, she wanted to inform her mother to be careful of Gehrman Sparrow as soon as possible!
Of course, Tracy found it questionable that Gehrman Sparrow, who had likely advanced to Sequence 4 recently, would be able to harm her mother. She was, after all, someone who had survived since the Fourth Epoch, and was a Demoness with the title of "Unaging." However, she didn't only pin this belief on hope alone. This was because Gehrman Sparrow had helpers, such as the Death Consul who even her mother feared!
Plop!
Tracy finally collapsed on the ground and tried to roll towards the desk. But no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to roll her body.
The person she was fighting against was none other than herself, she who had been "Distorted" and "Magnified"!
Above the gray fog, Klein had already taken his seat in the high-back chair of The Fool. He placed the paper stained with Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy's blood on the surface of the long, mottled table.
Following that, he conjured a pen and paper and wrote a divination statement:
"Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy's mother, Katarina's current location."
Putting down the pen, he held the two pieces of paper and leaned back into his chair. He closed his eyes and repeated the words he had written.
After repeating it seven times, he entered a dream. He saw a tall and towering gothic bell tower appear in the gray world.
Around the bell tower, the white-robed Katarina stood in the shadows of a few houses. She observed the surroundings with a heavy expression, as though she was searching for something. As for the crimson moon hanging high in the sky, its position was identical to what he had seen before entering the gray fog.
This meant that Demoness of White Katarina was still in Backlund. She was in West Borough, in search of a particular target.
