Chapter 801 The Witch's Traces
After the crimson light reappeared before his eyes, Leonard discovered that the surrounding gray fog, the palace, and the various Tarot Club members had all vanished, replaced by a small, cramped bathroom with a decent smell.
Phew, every time I go to Mr. Fool's kingdom, the experience is so magical that it makes me wonder if He is a deity on par with the Seven Gods... Leonard sat on the toilet with the lid closed and covered with newspaper. He didn't rush to get up, nor did he remove the spiritual wall that protected his privacy. Instead, he silently pondered everything that had been discussed at the previous party.
Mr. "Sun" is about to become Sequence 5. Another Tarot Club member is about to be promoted. Their promotion speed is very fast. It seems that they are not only familiar with the method of acting, but also have resources far beyond ordinary people. They are either the backbone of an organization or have the help of some important person... Haha, am I not the same?
Emlyn was actually also a member of the Tarot Club. Apparently, he purchased the "Spark" gloves not because he was a member of the "Hermit of Fate," but because they were commissioned by the Tarot Club... He knew Sherlock Moriarty, also known as Klein, and bought them for him?
Miss Justice had access to Hvin Rambis, the Kingdom's advisor, and was even hinted at by him to gather intelligence on the infighting between the two factions. She must be one of the Kingdom's top nobles. Could she be the daughter of a duke? Or even a princess?
The Magician, the Judgement, and the others want to take revenge on the vampire who deceived them, and have invited me to join. Haha, this not only fits with the duties of the Red Gloves, but also allows me to share in the spoils and strengthen the Tarot Club's impression of me. I need to plan it carefully, but the most important thing right now isn't this action, but...
Thinking about it, he lowered his voice and said:
"Old man, Klein, Angel, and I have discussed and drawn up a preliminary plan. Angel possesses the Sequence 4 magical item 'Thief', which will be the key to luring Amon's clone here. Klein can summon the power of 'Hidden' to assist. Now that all the conditions you mentioned have been met, they are formally asking if you would like to join the operation to annihilate Amon's clone."
"Oh, it's not that simple," the Pallez Zoroast in his mind replied immediately, his tone low, unaffected by Leonard's high spirits. "First, even if he has the magical item of the Thief's Path as bait, he must be wary of the Amons coming en masse, not just one. For an experienced Thief Angel King, the latter is almost impossible to make a mistake. Second, he must be able to identify ordinary people who have been parasitized and their fates replaced. Otherwise, he might not realize Amon was there until the magical item is lost. That would be like delivering him food, and a buffet at that."
"He mentioned this, saying it should be possible to effectively identify fate issues. Well, he said he would consult an angel of fate first..."
Leonard added.
"The Angel of Destiny... As expected, he is the one favored by secrets and fate," Pallez's aged voice sighed. "Then there's no problem. I agree to participate. Have you told them my request?"
"Yes, they promised to give you two-thirds of the 'Time Worm'... Old man, does it contain the Beyonder's special properties?"
"In my hands, it's true. In theirs, its properties would quickly fade, leaving only the Time Worm as a talisman ingredient. What a waste. If your witch colleague had handed me the three Time Worms she obtained as soon as possible, our chances of success would have been much greater... Forget it. Quickly schedule a date with them and set the trap. Also, collect some powerful items, spells, and bullets you can use to strengthen yourself and theirs."
How could she have known that at the time? Besides, you said they were lucky to escape after seeing Amon's clone... After muttering a few words in a way that Pales couldn't detect, Leonard nodded while sitting on the toilet.
"There's a pretty good magical item at that party that can unleash lightning to attack enemies..." He told Pales about the effects and side effects of "Word of the Sea." "...Can you fix those side effects? Especially the one where it whips its owner?"
"This thing you're talking about is called a Sealed Artifact. It should be locked behind the Chanis Gate for fifty years. That will make it behave better... but it sounds like it has some living qualities. Why don't you buy it? I think I can make it behave better."
The old voice said in a confident tone.
Leonard was delighted. While calculating whether his savings were sufficient to purchase a Sequence 5 "Seal Artifact," he continued to discuss the key points of the action with Pales, noting the parts that needed to be conveyed to Klein and Angel, planning another "immediate meeting" like last night to convey them. Only then did he remove the spiritual wall, pretend to wash his hands, and leave the bathroom.
He was currently in the underground area of the "Deep Sleeping Church" in the East District. This area had been renovated and reopened due to changes in the parish divisions after the heavy smog. Unlike the Church of St. Selina in Tingen City and the Church of St. Samuel in the North District where he had stayed, there was no security company or detective agency specifically for the night watchmen. A small team of night watchmen could only stay by the Chanis Gate in the basement of the church, which made it inconvenient for them to rest or work.
So after taking a few steps, he arrived at the office area and ran into the "gravedigger" Rosa who was rushing over.
The latter quickened his pace when he saw Leonard, looking anxious, and said:
"Leonard, there's been a homicide."
Murders occurred almost daily in the East District, not to mention other safer areas. Leonard was about to ask if there was anything strange about this, but suddenly realized the other party's purpose and quickly asked:
"Serial murder case?"
Under the pressure of his gaze, Rosa nodded slowly.
————
When the two arrived at the scene, the East District police had already cordoned off the crime scene as ordered, questioned the surrounding residents, and found some clues.
"An hour ago, residents of a nearby apartment smelled a burning odor and came to investigate, finding the victim dead at home...another gang member...The last crime occurred five days ago, and the frequency has clearly increased. The killer seems to be becoming more anxious..."
Listening to the narration of a middle-aged sheriff, Leonard, who was wearing a senior inspector's uniform, summarized in his mind that Rosa walked ahead and came to the side of the deceased first.
It was a male corpse standing in the living room with his legs together and arms outstretched. Like the previous four victims, his body was charred black, with only his eyeballs and the skin around his eye sockets remaining intact. His eyes were wide open, as if he was looking at something in front of him.
Rosa followed his gaze and found nothing else, so she drove away several police officers guarding the scene. She waited until they came out of the living room, which still smelled of fat burned by high temperatures, as if they had been pardoned, before she began to carefully examine the body.
Leonard was more concerned with clues in the field of mysticism. He tried to communicate with the spirits, and as expected, he found that the natural spirits around him were dispersed by some force, and the spirits of the dead were destroyed by some annihilation force, making it impossible to communicate.
As for divination, which the "requiem master" was not good at, he gained nothing.
Tsk, why not ask Klein to try? He's a demigod, he's sure he can figure out something... Leonard immediately considered seeking help, but quickly gave up on the idea due to some inexplicable pride and turned to look at the body of the deceased.
Hmm, that's strange...
He changed the angles and the more he looked, the more he felt that the deceased's posture resembled that used in some religious ritual, but he couldn't be sure for the moment, and his brows furrowed deeper.
"Eternal Blazing Sun!"
The "gravedigger" Rosa on the side suddenly shouted.
What?
Leonard was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered that the deceased's upright posture, legs together, arms outstretched in an embrace, was the pose used by followers of the Eternal Blazing Sun when praising the sun. This was mentioned in the church's internal texts, but there was no Eternal Blazing Sun church in the Kingdom of Loen, and there were very few believers in this deity, so he had long forgotten it.
Moreover, people who were burned to death usually appear in a curled-up position with their limbs bent and hugged to their chests. It is unlikely that they would pose with their arms outstretched like this. The murderer must have arranged the scene after killing the other person, provoking the police and the night watchmen with a posture of praising the gods!
Leonard thought again of the four serial killer victims in the file. With the clue of "Praise the Sun", he soon discovered that the postures of the bodies were the prayer postures of various secret sects, including the well-known cult organization "Aurora Society".
First it was a cult, and then it became the Church of God... He muttered, unable to imagine the horrific scene of a corpse posing with a crimson moon painted on its chest, with only the chest of the charred corpse remaining intact.
Just as he was thinking, the middle-aged sheriff who had led him into the house pushed open the door and walked in, accompanied by a little boy who looked less than ten years old and was wearing a dirty linen shirt. He said nervously:
"Sir, we found a witness, a homeless boy who got some money from nowhere and bought a lot of bread... He might have seen the murderer."
Then he looked at the child beside him, and his tone immediately became fierce:
"Go quickly and tell the Senior Inspector everything that just happened!"
Witnesses... well, since the murder case has never been solved, the police in the East District are quite nervous, which has greatly increased the efficiency of responding to the police and notifying the church. It has only been an hour since the crime occurred, and they have finally found a witness they had never met before... Leonard nodded thoughtfully, and took the child who looked thinner than his peers due to malnutrition to the living room next to the living room, avoiding the corpse praising the sun. He asked Rosa to comfort the nervous child, and stood outside the door, leaning against the wall with one hand on his forehead.
The next second, he turned and entered the room. The original living room turned into a messy alley. A homeless child wearing a patched linen shirt walked through the back door of the apartment with half a loaf of dusty bread in his arms. Suddenly, he fell backwards as if he had hit something, and sat down on the ground. The hard black bread rolled away.
A slender figure slowly emerged from the side of the door that had not yet been closed. She was wearing a black hooded cloak that was tied in front of her chest, covering her curvy figure. Her pale red lips were tightly pursed under the shadow of the hood, as if she was hesitating whether to get rid of this witness.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on the bread that had rolled into the sewage. She threw down two 5-pence coins, and a nightingale-like voice appeared in Leonard's ears:
"Get out of here quickly and have a good meal."
The surprised waif nodded hurriedly, picked up the coin, picked up the bread, wiped it on his clothes, turned around and ran away quickly. The dream collapsed with his departure.
Leonard opened his eyes and still leaned against the wall. From the room came the child's screams after waking up and Rosa's comforting words.
I found you... The corners of his mouth curled up, and he recalled the characteristics of the murderer he had just seen in his mind.
She was about 1.7 meters tall, had brown hair, a slightly round chin, thin, wide lips, and a very distinctive voice. If I could hear her again, I would probably recognize her...
Most importantly, the abilities displayed by the other party include "invisibility" and "instigation". There is no doubt that she is a witch.
An evil, bloodthirsty witch belonging to the "Witch Cult"!
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