Time flew by, and several days slowly passed.
In these past few days, Igwinte was as calm as usual. The populace, whether in the Lower City or the Upper City, lived as they always had. The poor continued to toil for a living in harsh conditions, while the upper class spent their days circulating through various social gatherings and banquets.
However... there were still some subtle changes within this calm.
In the Lower City, the number of missing solitary vagrants had significantly decreased starting two months ago. Many horror legends that were originally passed down by word of mouth among the lower class of the Lower City gradually subsided. In the corners beneath the bridge, those struggling to survive worshipped the Holy Mother, giving thanks that She had finally used Her divine power to eliminate the demon that had been slaughtering them in the Shadow.
As for the daily lives of the respectable people in the Upper City, there was nothing different from usual. The cruel murderer who caused the tragedy at Elm West Lane No. 22 and the tragedy at Silver Riverbank No. 14 seemed to have made no new moves recently. This couldn't help but make the Ladies and Misses feel disappointed that they had fewer topics for their daily gatherings.
Meanwhile, the Mr.s recently felt a bit puzzled. They wondered why Viscount Field, one of Igwinte's most important nobles, had suddenly not shown up again after the charity event. According to past experience, he should have continued to attend various events and banquets in the following week, bringing his newly adopted child and continuing to promote his charitable endeavors. Usually, at this time, he would accept media interviews, and many people who wanted to befriend the Viscount would also approach him now. Aside from this period, Viscount Field usually didn't actively attend Igwinte's upper-class gatherings.
However, this year Viscount Field had not appeared again after the charity event. This left many people very confused and also led to widespread discussion. The media who had prepared for interviews but found nothing also began publishing articles filled with wild speculation.
Aside from these minor anomalies, everything in Igwinte seemed peaceful as usual. However, in the hidden world beneath this peaceful facade, things were already in turmoil. The Iggwente Secret Agency and even the Church had been constantly busy recently, experiencing their busiest period in recent years.
After Viscount Field mutated and was killed within the Iggwente Secret Agency, the entire An Yin Bureau was temporarily affected by the poisonous gas released by the mutated monster and fell into paralysis. Ultimately, with support from the local Church, they spent a night finally eliminating the effects of the gas, and the An Yin Bureau resumed normal operations.
Then, on the second day, a team primarily composed of Hunters, mixed with a small number of Church members, immediately moved into the North Mountain area. The people of Igwinte all knew that Viscount Field's several residences were located there, so they were going to search for the true culprit behind this series of events.
Finally, they found Field's villa in the mountains. But when they were ready to storm in, they discovered a scene that astonished everyone.
...
A certain district in Iggwente Upper City, underground in the Cypress Fir Building.
Inside the An Yin Bureau, staff members sat at their desks working busily. Hunters and clerks hurried back and forth. Everyone's face showed fatigue. Everything seemed rushed, and the air was filled with an anxious atmosphere.
Grego walked quickly down a corridor. His eyes had dark circles, and he occasionally yawned, sometimes greeting colleagues who passed by.
After a while, Grego reached the door of the Bureau Chief's office and saw that the entire office door was tightly sealed, firmly nailed shut with wooden boards. Characters and magic circles were also drawn on the boards, applying some kind of seal.
Looking inside through the window, which was also drawn with magic circles, it was a scene of complete chaos. Green vines were wrapped everywhere, completely covering the entire floor and walls. Wooden desks and bookshelves had sprouted anew, and a green mist permeated the space. The vines twitched occasionally, their vitality growing stronger.
After just a brief glance, Grego walked to the door of the room next door. After a light knock, a voice came from behind the door.
"Come in..."
Grego opened the door and walked in, entering a slightly small office. Then, in a glance, he saw James writing a letter behind the desk. He looked at Grego and waved, saying,
"Have a seat. This newly tidied office is a bit small, so please make do."
"Thank you, Mr. James... How long will the situation with your original office last?" Sitting down at the desk, Grego glanced at the wall next to him and asked somewhat curiously. James answered directly.
"Heaven knows. I've already applied for a curse removal team from above, but there's no response yet. Given how things usually go, this state will probably last for a while. Let's not worry about it for now. Which An Yin Bureau doesn't have some unique characteristic scenery of its own?"
Speaking with a slightly humorous tone, James said, and then he looked at Grego and spoke again.
"Now, the investigation at the North Mountain villa... is there any progress?"
"Significant progress has been made. We can now be very certain that this was a Holy Communion Society stronghold that was raided by outsiders while a ritual was being held, and annihilated in the fierce battle.
"The fighting was concentrated in the villa's chapel. Judging from the severe damage to the bodies at the scene and the widespread occurrence of Raw Consumption Symbol backlash, the battle must have been extremely brutal. The bodies of the participating Holy Communion Society members were almost all severely mummified and shattered beyond recognition, making it very difficult for us to determine the exact cause of death.
"The key is the body found in the third-floor art exhibition room. We determined that he was attacked by an unknown, powerful Extraordinary force because his death was very peculiar. We conducted a focused investigation on him and discovered that he was Field's butler, named Luer, surname unknown. He came to Igwinte with Field six years ago after his travels."
"Six years ago... that's very close to when the Holy Communion Society appeared..." Listening to Grego's report, James said thoughtfully, and Grego also nodded in response.
"Yes, that's why we suspect he was the true founder of the Holy Communion Society, and Field was controlled by him. Mr. James, when you went with us that time, you deduced from the ritual remnants in the chapel that there might be a Black Rank 'Beast Transformation user'. We believe it must have been him!"
Grego said. The first time they went to the villa, because there might be combat, James led the team. The subsequent investigation was handled by a few of their Captains there.
"Hmm... that ritual was clearly a promotion ritual, worshipping the Gluttonous Wolf. Plus, we had determined long ago that the leader of the Holy Communion Society was Black Rank, so at that time, I judged that there might be a Beast Transformation user..."
James said contemplatively, and Grego continued to report.
"In the fierce battle that night, Luer, as the leader of the Holy Communion Society, should have fought with the attacking Extraordinary and been killed. The battlefield was on the third floor. However, based on the traces at the scene, we didn't find many combat traces belonging to a Beast Transformation user, such as the large number of claw marks left on the chapel floor. This indicates that Luer's battle here lasted for a very short time and he was killed without resisting for long."
"Killed in a short time? A Black Rank ""Cup""? Are you sure?" Listening to Grego's words, James frowned slightly and spoke with some disbelief. He himself was a Black Rank Extraordinary, and he knew how much stronger Black Rank was compared to Apprentice Extraordinary.
"Yes... although it's unbelievable, the inference we drew after investigating the scene is this. There were absolutely no other bodies at the scene, no other bloodstains besides Luer's. If the battle had continued, many things would have been left behind.
"Although the scene was severely damaged, with a large amount of broken glass, overturned display cases, and three walls penetrated, it appeared to have been a major battle. However, after we carefully observed the scene, we found that the overturned display cases showed a pattern, indicating they were actually overturned by the same force. The holes in the three walls were also highly aligned, and might have been penetrated by the same force in a single strike. Therefore, we infer that the destruction at the scene was likely caused by only one attack, and the engagement at that time might have only happened in an instant."
As he spoke, Grego's expression became serious. He continued to speak slowly to James.
"Mr. James, we believe that perhaps in this battle, Luer encountered an Extraordinary of a higher rank than himself..."