Chapter 99: Clues to the Curse
"call--"
Angel, who was waiting on the side, saw Klein sitting against the headboard, shaking his body, exhaling a breath of foul air, then opening his eyes and standing up from the bed.
"He did die of a heart attack. I saw the moment he fell ill..."
The "fortune teller" briefly described the scene he saw in the dream divination to the other two.
"...But before he died, he was slapped by a woman, presumably a woman's hand. Could a Beyonder use such means to cause someone to have a heart attack and die in their own home?"
Without waiting for Angel and Leonard to respond, Klein pulled out a penny and performed a quick divination.
"There were supernatural factors involved in Val Allison's death."
Muttering these words silently, he threw the coin, his eyes following the coin as it flew up and down, and with a "snap" sound he caught it with both hands.
I opened my palm and, as expected, saw the relief sculpture of George III gleaming in the evening sunlight.
"But this doesn't fit with the previous five cases of instigation. I remember that the 'instigator' didn't have the ability to make people sick or die, right?"
Leonard looked at "King George III" with a confused expression, then turned his head to look at Angel beside him.
"The 'instigators' really can't do it. They only have the ability to persuade with words."
But if it wasn't the instigator, but...
"Then we have to consider the possibility of multiple Beyonders collaborating. They have the 'instigator' search for those with fragile hearts and resentment towards others, and incite them to commit crimes. Other companions search for ordinary people who are weak and sickly, and use their Beyonder abilities to curse them, hastening their death..."
Klein sat back at the head of the bed and joined the brainstorming session, offering his own ideas.
"It doesn't necessarily mean multiple people committed the crime. Perhaps there was only one Beyonder..."
Because of Angel's familiarity with the "Assassin" path, when he heard the key words "women", "instigation" and "curse", the first thought in his mind was completely different from the other two.
"The next sequence of 'Instigators', 'Witches', possess the ability to curse others. They can use their blood, hair, or direct contact to place curses on them."
"You mean, the same person committed all these crimes? She single-handedly killed nearly a hundred people across Tingen City in less than two weeks?"
Leonard took a breath and seemed to want to refute, but after pausing for a moment with his head tilted, he changed his mind.
"Perhaps this is indeed the case. This 'witch' doesn't need to go to every crime scene to commit a crime. She only needs to find her targets among the crowd, slightly influence them, push their inner thoughts, or aggravate their existing illnesses. This way, she has time to kill multiple people in a short period of time."
"But why did she do this? To hide the person she really wanted to kill among the dead? But that would make too much noise. If she only killed a few of them, the police wouldn't even notify the official Beyonders about the large increase in the death toll."
Angel thought about it over and over again, but couldn't figure out why this murderer did this. Was he simply enjoying killing?
"No, maybe there's another reason." Leonard's expression grew serious, his brow furrowed, his languid demeanor, which had been accentuated by his lack of a hat, somewhat subdued. "Just imagine, if Lawrence hadn't been 'instigated' to commit suicide in the street, what would have happened?"
"His factory went bankrupt, leaving him deeply in debt, and even his house was taken away by creditors. Even if he hadn't been provoked into committing suicide in the street, I'm afraid he would have gotten drunk one day and, on impulse, picked up a gun and ended his life, even endangering those around him."
Angel made deductions based on the existing intelligence.
Leonard nodded and mentioned another victim: "What about Magnum, who burned himself to death?"
Klein thought for a moment and replied, "According to the police investigation, Magnum has a deep-seated grudge against his neighbors. He has repeatedly threatened to use 'some harsh measures' against them. Even if he doesn't commit arson this time, a murder will occur sooner or later. Even if he doesn't kill himself, the law will punish him accordingly."
"Next is Val Allison, who died in this bed. According to his daughter, Val had a heart disease, and recently, due to the intense labor, he had frequent chest pain. From what I understand, if a heart disease causes frequent chest pain, death is not far away."
This time, Leonard answered the question himself.
"You're saying that even without the intervention of supernatural powers, these victims were already nearing their death, and this Beyonder simply artificially shortened their already short lives?"
"A more accurate description would be that the lives they were supposed to have had been 'stolen' by this Beyonder."
When he said "steal", he used an emphatic tone.
"She stole the lives of these victims in order to prolong her own life?"
Klein widened his eyes and asked in a low voice, as if he was afraid that his surprised voice would be heard by Tromi outside the door.
"No, stealing lives for personal use is something only a High-Sequence Beyonder can do. Her purpose is probably more complex. For example, she might use the stolen lives to summon certain evil gods, sacrifice them to demons, or use them as ingredients for some kind of large-scale curse. These evil beings love nothing more than fresh life."
His tone was calm and emotionless, as if he was stating a fact that he had already confirmed in his heart.
But Angel's heart was not as calm as Leonard's.
Summon evil gods, demon sacrifices, and large-scale curses.
Behind every word there may be dozens or even hundreds of lives.
It requires the lives of nearly a hundred people as materials. Even if these people only have a few weeks or months left to live, those summoned are probably not simple beings. Even if it is just to curse some targets that she is not convenient to attack, the number of deaths will be astonishing.
Klein's expression was also extremely grim. Seeing that Leonard didn't seem anxious at all, he quickly asked, "Then how do we find her? Carrying out such a large-scale sacrificial ceremony requires a specially constructed altar and venue, as well as complex rituals and possibly even the participation of multiple people."
"That's your business, fortune teller." Leonard forced a smile. "Besides, isn't the surrounding environment of such a large-scale ritual altar, an altar for sacrificing lives, easy to imagine?"
"It's best to stay away from downtown areas and off busy streets. A single-family building is ideal. The air around it is thick with the aura of death. No living being can approach except for the person conducting the ritual," he said confidently, not waiting for Klein's response. "Because we need to store the acquired life, we need to seal the area with a spiritual wall to restrain these ghosts. The temperature in an environment where the undead gather will be much lower than nearby, making it difficult for even sunlight to penetrate."
"Take the deceased's belongings with you. You can easily use divination to connect them with the life that was taken from the deceased. Find the ritual site. I believe you can do it."
"I'll try my best."
Klein was still hesitant.
"There are no outsiders here, so let's talk openly."
Leonard shook his head, somewhat dissatisfied with Klein's attitude.
"Even as a 'diviner,' your efficiency and accuracy are terrifyingly high. Look at Old Neil; he's been in this business for decades, and he still can't match you in divination. And when you were controlled by Sealed Artifact 2-049 while searching for Antigonus's notebook, I later learned that you didn't rely on the notebook to remove the negative effects."
He knows?
Angel was listening to Leonard and Klein's conversation from the side. Suddenly, he said something shocking, saying "there are no outsiders" and then began to reveal Klein's secrets. He subconsciously moved his feet, moving closer to Klein, away from this "midnight poet" who was going crazy for unknown reasons.
Klein's body was also stiff as he stood by the bed, unsure of what to say.
"And you," Leonard's gaze shifted to Angel. "Your extensive combat experience probably can't be explained by the 'Assassin' potion alone, right? I even suspect that without the 'Nightmare' ability, in melee combat alone, even the captain wouldn't be your match. In less than a month, you've defeated so many Beyonders that I can't even count on one hand, and you're only at Sequence 9!"
Sorry, I've already been promoted to Sequence 8...
Seeing Leonard's aggressiveness, Angel frowned and did not rush to refute.
"And I, too, have my own little secrets." The bohemian poet suddenly changed the subject, revealing his own hidden secrets. "This world possesses various magical items and extraordinary powers. There will always be someone who obtains them and becomes the star of the world stage. There won't be many such people, but there will definitely be more than one or two."
"You are, and so am I."
"This doesn't mean that people like this should be imprisoned in Chanis Gate and brought to trial. As long as your actions don't endanger me, the Nighthawks, or even the entire city of Tingen, then we can still be teammates, even closer teammates. I hope you will treat me the same way."
His eyes were frank and sincere as he looked at Angel and Klein in turn.
So this is what you call "open and honest"? Are you thinking that Klein and I, lucky enough to be like you, possess some magical item or mystical power, are opening up here to forge a secret alliance?
Angel didn't rush to answer, but instead looked at Klein beside him, only to find that he was also looking at him with a serious expression.
It seems this guy has a lot of secrets...
However, Leonard was willing to reveal the secret and extend an olive branch, so he might as well agree to it first. If he really didn't intend to use these powers for evil as he said, then the three of them could form an alliance and help each other. If this guy was hiding within the Nighthawks for some sinister purpose, then by interacting with him more often, he could also discover any problems in time and report them...
After weighing the pros and cons, Angel took the initiative to extend his right hand: "I agree. As long as you don't endanger us and don't commit crimes in a broad sense, we will always be allies."
Leonard smiled and stretched out his right hand. Instead of shaking it, he placed it on the back of Angel's hand and turned his gaze to Klein, who had not yet expressed his opinion.
"The prerequisite is that we promise each other not to pry into each other's secrets. Also, it's best not to let the higher-ups know about our special nature. They may not agree with this."
After emphasizing this point, Klein also extended his right hand and placed it on the hands of the two men.
"That's exactly what I wanted to say. I'm glad we reached a consensus." Leonard smiled even more and retracted his arm.
"Let's get back to the mission. You guessed right, I can use divination to find the location of the altar, as long as it's in Tingen City or a nearby area."
After speaking openly and honestly, Klein seemed to relax a lot and no longer hesitated when speaking.
"I need to take as many of the deceased's belongings as possible. I need an absolutely quiet environment. This place is not far from Daffodil Street. Let's go to my house."
"Very good, let's do it. Move quickly, it will be dark soon."
Leonard snapped his fingers, swung the hem of his windbreaker behind him, walked to the door first, and put his hand on the doorknob...
"...Please remove the spiritual wall."
After twisting the door handle a few times, he turned around and whispered.
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