I thought about it a little. This entire mess, I mean. It's like a mixed vegetable salad with all sorts of spices and condiments. And it's only gonna get messier as days pass.
"It's messy but it should be tasty," I thought about ways I could handle all this mess. It was obvious that the amount of information was still incomplete.
"??" Hearing my words, Harik and Iris got confused a little.
Turning to them, I looked at Harik first. Other than fighting, what else was he good at? He was an Angel of Light, wasn't he? Maybe he can act as a healer in town until things unfold?
Then I paused and turned to Iris.
"I am here to find my brother. And also help him with something going on in this town. Our angel buddy is trying to find his wife. What about you? What's your purpose here?" I asked as I looked at her.
Honestly, I had a rough idea of what she was doing here, but still. It's better to ask directly than to beat around the bush.
"You already know, don't you?" She gave me a knowing smile.
'No. I don't,' I wanted to speak, but I gotta make it look cool.
"There are things I can permit and things I can't. Tell me your methods this time and let's see if we can both be helpful to each other," I spoke with a serious voice as I crossed my arms, and then waited for her to answer.
"I am using the soul energy of people and healing a bunch of children and elderly," she spoke, and I understood the gist of it. Given how I was 'sacrificed' by Lily and Jasmine, I guess it's a 'deal with the devil' kind of thing?
"Humans," I sighed, making her chuckle a little before adding,
"This city is pretty much in crumbles, putting on a show of its prosperity. Everyone is trapped by at least someone, trying to save their lives by sacrificing anyone around them. To use them is as easy as sipping tea. Just give them a bait and they will come crawling to you."
Things aren't just bad behind the scenes but also on the surface too, huh?
"Ummm… excuse me. I am not following what you two are talking about," Harik chimed in, clearly wanting to be a part of the conversation.
Iris looked at me and I nodded as she began explaining things in more detail to him.
"You see, ever since your wife descended, she has created a lot of chaos and confusion within the city. The first was the viscount's son, whom she enchanted without even trying. Then was the loss of an artifact which the viscount bought after selling everything he had."
"Lady Angel then was captured by the Merlin. Viscount is now making deals with the demon worshippers. With no pay and no master, most of the guards quit, or are abusing their powers."
"Lack of money is now causing a financial crisis for the lower-class people, and children and youngsters have been forced to become bandits and thieves now. Those who have money are preparing to leave the city as soon as possible."
"With how things are on the surface, in the underground market, the demon worshippers and dark mages are collecting more and more, trying to take over the city. Though their methods of sacrificing people for their gods is causing an increased fatality rate on the surface, which is creating a disruption everywhere."
"People need money so they are selling their loved ones or strangers, including but not limited to the guards and higher authority people. I doubt it would be long before bandits take over this place as well, making this a lawless city."
Iris summarized everything that was happening in the city in as few words as possible. And hearing her, even I was surprised on the inside. I knew things were bad, but to this degree… I did not know.
"Throw in a mix of gods and demons, and you get a whole new level of crazy," I sighed as I looked at Iris. I now understood why she was here, in this city.
Her powers revolved around getting other people's souls. Normally she just takes a part of it before she wipes their memories and lets them roam free, but she needs to 'store' those people for at least a few days before she can do the process. But things were different here. She gets a complete human being for literally free just for some normal voodoo.
A city like this is a kind of perfect for her. Plus, given her arsenal of powers, she can easily heal people in exchange so that would make her seem like a saint in the eyes of the onlookers.
"So. What should I do next? You said that you can help me save my wife… Can you really do that?" He seemed kinda desperate there.
"Yeah. It should be possible given the timeframe we have," I answered him before looking at Iris and continuing,
"What about you? Are you going to stand against me or with me? Or perhaps neutral?"
She pondered for a moment before speaking," I will die if I go with you. And I will definitely die if I stand against you. I mean, I can try going for a fight right now, but taking risks isn't my thing. So, I will stay neutral. You don't seem the type to kill unnecessarily, so I will just take it as a sign of fate that I shouldn't bite more than I can chew."
That was the right call. But I am afraid that I cannot let that happen. I need to have a good amount of cards in my arsenal if I want to pull this whole 'Save the Angel,' thing off.
'Since threatening her will do more harm than good,' I pondered before throwing in a bait,
"And here I thought I could hold up a partnership with you. I was even going to let in a little info about your original body."