Chapter 526 Sacrifice and Death
After that, Cardinal Matilda took the body away.
Because the body might hold some special evidence or symbol, she decided to store it in the Thirteenth Ring, under her jurisdiction, for safekeeping. If needed later, she could continue the investigation there.
After Cardinal Matilda left, Aiwass sat on the soft bed in the bedroom. He placed the mitre he had been wearing in his arms and caressed it.
"You said before, 'Something a little weird, I'll talk about it later'...right."
Aiwass looked up at Sherlock and asked, "I guess you mean... to wait until Cardinal Matilda leaves?"
Obviously, that's what Sherlock thought.
He was leaning on the sofa in the bedroom, legs crossed, lost in thought. Lily had already gone to the kitchen to make tea and snacks, leaving only Aiwass and Sherlock in the room.
Whatever Sherlock wanted to say, now was the time to say it.
"The wound is wrong."
Sherlock replied casually, "In any case, this wound shouldn't be fatal. The lack of bleeding is simply because the bleeding point is too small, not because the blood has been drained. So death is definitely not due to lack of blood."
"So, poisoning?"
"That's impossible. I specifically checked and all the internal organs are intact. No signs of poisoning were found in the trachea, mouth, heart, liver, or subcutaneous tissue."
"Could it be a neurotoxin?"
"The cause of death was not related to cardiac arrest or asphyxiation."
"How did he die?"
"That's the problem, Aiwass."
Sherlock said calmly, "How did she die?"
Aiwass raised his eyebrows: "Since you are so calm, you must have got the answer."
"That depends on the direction of the wound."
Sherlock replied, "The wound is less than two fingers wide, and its direction is perfectly perpendicular, with the force and depth being consistent at both ends. This means that when the dagger was fully inserted, it should have been perfectly perpendicular to the skin. Bishop Mercedes clearly showed no signs of struggle, so the wound is completely untorn and the edges are perfectly aligned. The deepest part of the wound is in the middle of both sides, specifically the uterus, and the other side is not penetrated."
Hearing this, Aiwass realized something: "Ritual knife?"
Such a wound was clearly not the kind of injury that could be caused by a sharp blade piercing the abdomen while two people were standing opposite each other. A straight piercing was actually very unreasonable, and exerting force would be very uncomfortable.
It was more like a ritual being performed by someone—or by herself—while she was lying flat on her back.
Considering that the position was too low, if she had done it herself, the blade might have been tilted, so it was more likely that she had an assistant or that she was being cut with the ritual knife while being controlled. Even if she voluntarily performed the ritual, it would be difficult for her not to tremble at all under the severe pain of the sharp blade, so she must have been controlled by someone.
And if we take into account Bishop Mercedes' cooperation, considering the length, thickness and sharpness of the wound, Aiwas can only think of the ritual knife.
Ritualists often need to carve ritual formations on the ground or hard surfaces, requiring stability. Therefore, the style of the ritual knife is similar to that of a scalpel or carving knife, and the gesture of holding the ritual knife is similar. It is very sharp and hard enough, and the blade is slightly longer than that of a carving knife or scalpel, but generally speaking, the handle is longer than the blade.
And obviously, a ritual knife piercing the abdomen will not kill.
"So I think this could be a sacrificial ritual."
Sherlock offered his speculation: "The wound wasn't fatal, or even serious, yet the person died, and no other body parts or organs were damaged. Bishop Mercedes was very calm when she died, without any struggle. This suggests she must have been exhausted or unconscious. This is completely consistent with the behavior of the sacrificed person. I suspect it was a demonologist."
His views are very professional.
Avalon's main enemy, the Transcendental Ones, are led by Noble Red.
Although the Noble Reds have been crushed by Aiwass now, they were in their active period when Sherlock was in school.
Identifying tampered corpses is a very important skill for lawyers.
One of the ritual spells transforms a sacrificed corpse into a bomb. The moment the corpse is imbued with the power of other paths, it will immediately explode. If the law mage attempts to replay this part of the scene, he will be blown to pieces at close range.
If a lawyer with poor skills was accidentally blown to pieces, he would probably be laughed at by his peers.
But this is definitely not the first scene. Retrospection only works for bodies that died within 24 hours. Otherwise, letting Sherlock retrospect might make things much clearer.
But Aiwass shook his head. "Let me teach you something you won't learn in school—the demonologist's sacrificial ritual isn't actually fatal. Demon sacrifices in Avalon only leave behind corpses, because demonologists will then silence, torture, or remove other parts to supplement the ritual materials."
"Because the correct price for a sacrifice to the devil is 'half'... no matter how much you offer, the devil will only take half. If this is a sacrifice to the devil, then Bishop Mercedes must have been healthy when the sacrifice was completed."
"So if this was a sacrificial death, then the target of the sacrifice definitely wasn't a demon?"
"Definitely not."
Aiwass affirmed, "Ordinary phantom demons—even apostles—wouldn't dare ask for 'all'; that would be over the line. So if she died as a sacrifice, it must have been to a certain pillar deity or celestial minister."
"That's a clue."
Sherlock nodded: "I'll remember that... Um, thank you, Miss Lily."
At this moment, Lily came over with tea.
She divided the tea between Sherlock and Aiwass, and kept a portion for herself. Then she asked, "Master, are you going to tell Her Highness the Saint about this?"
"It has to be said," Aiwass answered without hesitation. "She has a right to know the truth."
"I think so," Sherlock agreed.
"So we're going to the Fifth Ring Road now?" Lily asked.
Aiwass shook his head. "Let's rest for a while and put our luggage away. I'll stay in this room, and you two can pick out a room. Then, you two can come with me to the First Ring to do some shopping and gather some information... There are already too few humans in the Fifth Ring, so information flows faster where the short-lived species gather."
Now the Pope can no longer be contacted, several cardinals know the secret of Saint Ningpo, and the Pope's succession ceremony will be in less than half a month...time is running out for him.
If you want to intervene, the next two weeks is the golden time. If you wait until things have already happened before intervening, you will be in a passive position.
"Then I'll live upstairs."
Sherlock answered without hesitation, "So that you don't disturb my sleep by walking around."
"I walk silently, Mr. Hermes."
Lily was a little dissatisfied.
She felt that her professional qualities as a stalker, werewolf, killer and professional maid were all questioned.
But she was quite satisfied with the result that her room was assigned to be next to Aiwass.
Previously, she had mostly lived in the servant's quarters within Aiwass's room—a small, single room within the master bedroom, only about five or six square meters. It could accommodate simple personal items, a wardrobe, a desk, and a bed. There was a window between the servant's quarters and the bedroom, primarily to prevent sound insulation and allow Aiwass to be heard at any time.
Now that she is a third-level extraordinary person who is proficient in perception, she no longer needs the servant room to receive orders immediately.
The only thing that made Lily a little dissatisfied was that she felt that her abilities seemed to have never been used at all.
When fighting alongside Haena and the others, Lily had realized that unless she transformed into a werewolf, she was completely useless on the battlefield, and could only provide distraction. This made sense, however, as her main job was considered a semi-assassin, and her secondary job was limited to potion making.
But Aiwass had neither asked her for potions nor sent her to assassinate anyone. If attacked, he would always have the Flame-Butterfly or the Night Demon to protect him.
Lily was now a third-level transcendent in the dual-path realm, a formidable figure anywhere. Yet, she felt she still couldn't catch up to Aiwass... The problems he faced were comparable to those faced by fifth-level masters like the Cardinal.
In a place like the Theocracy where fifth-level extraordinary people are everywhere, what use can she be?
Simply accepting Aiwass's gifts and help without being able to give anything in return... Lily felt a little uncomfortable. Although her job was a personal maid... Lily believed that it was a job that anyone could do well. Aiwass kept her by his side simply because he trusted her. This job was not unique to her.
It's not necessary to have her.
What is there that only I can do?
Lily was thinking, but her work was still efficient.
They didn't have much luggage. After packing up their belongings, Lily returned to the door of Aiwass's room.
She patted her face gently, rubbing it a bit. Then, she composed herself, put on a faint smile again, and picked up the box full of money. Considering what had happened on the way here, she had taken out some of the money and put it in different pockets.
Aiwass was a candidate bishop at the time... and now he is even an archbishop. He doesn't have to worry about such things in the territory of the Theocracy.
But as Aiwass's maid, she still had to help him minimize unnecessary trouble.
So Lily opened the door and said, "Master, everything is ready."
"Let's go," Aiwass, who had been waiting for a long time, stood up and grabbed Sherlock who was lying on the sofa. "If you want to sleep, come back and talk."
"What on earth are you going to buy?"
Sherlock complained, "Can't you just ask Lily to buy it?"
"Go buy you some tantric books."
Aiwass replied, "And equipment—that's what I need the money for."
"……ha?"
Sherlock was a little surprised, obviously not expecting this answer: "Buy it for me?"
(End of this chapter)
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