Chapter 36: Reminder |
Stepping out of the Cathedral and arriving at the cemetery, the sky had darkened completely.
Only the distant lights of the Cathedral provided a faint illumination, allowing them to make out the tombstones scattered across the grounds.
Soon, the two reached a spot near the edge of the cemetery.
These were all new graves, belonging to those who had perished during the recent Nest Beast disaster.
Isabella gazed at the graves, a heavy sense of guilt weighing on her heart.
She then stepped behind the tombstone of one of the graves, having already caught the stench of rot.
A hole had been dug there, exposing a significant amount of putrefying flesh that radiated a foul odor.
Ghastly white bones had been casually cast aside, and the entire corpse had been carved open.
The noxious stench billowed upward, but Isabella did not step back. Instead, she furrowed her brow and carefully examined the surrounding tracks.
Warlocks were individuals who practiced the Meditation Method but refused to place their faith in gods.
The earliest Warlocks had been Demon Worshippers. They obtained demonic spells from Demons and styled themselves as Mages.
However, after facing severe crackdowns from various Churches, these Mages were gradually forced to adapt. They sought to break free from demonic influence and pioneer spells that truly belonged to mankind.
Thus, the Warlocks were born.
Even now, Warlocks existed in a gray area, tolerated but never fully accepted.
The truth was that some Warlocks simply could not abandon their old habits, continuing to research bizarre and macabre subjects.
There was even a rumor that the Disasters ravaging the Great Earth had likely been unleashed by Warlocks delving into some Taboo.
In short, while Warlocks were not universally hunted on sight, their treatment was not far from it.
Most Warlocks either quietly submitted to the Church for monitoring and control, or desperately concealed their identities.
Under such circumstances, materials for Witchcraft experiments were incredibly difficult to procure.
Because a portion of their spells originated from Demons, Witchcraft was rife with bloody rituals that required human tissue.
It was only natural that Isabella''s first instinct was to suspect a Warlock.
But she soon noticed a glaring inconsistency. "Why was the skull left behind?"
Demonic spells strongly favored heads, hearts, and blood.
Yet, while this corpse was missing its heart, the head remained completely untouched.
"No, it is not just missing a heart; it is missing all of its internal organs," Nemus interjected, offering a timely reminder. "It is just that organs like the liver, kidneys, and intestines decompose rapidly, which is why only some completely rotted residue remains."
"Anything that was even slightly better preserved has already been taken."
Nemus''s reminder finally steered Isabella''s thoughts toward Whale Transformation Sickness.
"It is not a Warlock. If it were, they would likely have employed concealment spells, making it highly unlikely for me to stumble upon this so easily."
"It was a patient with Whale Transformation Sickness." Isabella''s sharp mind quickly pieced together the correct answer.
On the other side, Nemus had reached the same conclusion. From what Isabella had told him, she had actually spotted the Watchman earlier but dismissed the sighting as a mere illusion.
''From the looks of it, does the Old Pastor want something involving Whale Transformation Sickness?'' Nemus firmly believed that no matter what a person did, there was always an underlying motive.
Even if an action was purely for amusement, that amusement was the goal. If the Old Pastor had merely turned a blind eye, the implications would not be so dire, but he had actively offered his help.
Had Nemus not arrived, Isabella would have completely failed to uncover the subsequent anomalies. This made the situation incredibly intriguing.
''The simplest explanation is that he wants something. Did the Old Pastor discover Controllable Whale-transformation in the Watchman? Or is he raising a Whale? Does he need the various resources produced after a Whale-person transforms into a true Whale?''
As Nemus pondered these possibilities, his suspicion that the Old Pastor harbored a dark secret grew stronger.
"I found some tracks. The question is, do you want to pursue them?" Nemus asked Isabella, pointing toward a crushed blade of grass nearby.
Isabella glanced at Nemus, then shifted her gaze toward the woods, which had melted into a mass of pitch-black shadows under the night sky.
"Naturally, we must give chase. The threat posed by Whale Transformation Sickness is catastrophic; we cannot simply let this go!" Isabella nodded with utmost seriousness. Instantly, a faint, radiant light began to flow across her body.
From the Cathedral not far away, a mote of the Power of Faith flew through the air and descended directly onto Isabella.
Divine Art: Sanctuary.
"Believers surround the deity, and the deity shields the believers. Under the Glory of the divine, all harm shall be averted."
Under the effects of the Sanctuary Divine Art, the recipient was granted absolute safety. No matter the environment, the power of the spell would naturally steer them away from danger.
After casting the Divine Art, Isabella raised her hand, summoning a radiant sphere that floated gently by her side.
Spell: Illumination Orb.
Without hesitation, Isabella stepped into the pitch-black mountain woods, coordinating with Nemus to track the lingering footprints.
One had to admit, Isabella possessed true grit. She was no spoiled Noble heiress. She was a Cleric willing to walk among the commoners to understand their struggles, a Cleric brave enough to venture into a remote mountain village and hunt for a killer in the wilderness dead of night. She was a true believer!
Nemus offered a faint smile and swiftly followed her.
Although Isabella''s lack of experience meant she had yet to fully grasp the true depths of the world''s depravity, her choice to embrace kindness was not merely born of naive Cognition.
The mountain path was treacherous at night. Fortunately, one of them was protected by a Divine Art, while the other possessed physical Attribute Values that vastly exceeded the absolute limits of the Black Iron Rank.
Following the subtle tracks, the duo quickly covered a considerable distance.
"The trail ends here." The Watchman had moved rapidly through the mountain ridges. Combined with the complex terrain, he had quickly slipped beyond the limits of conventional tracking.
"It seems our only option is to conduct a large-scale sweep of the area tomorrow," Isabella muttered with clear reluctance, her eyes continually scanning their dark surroundings.
"Once we return, I need to report this immediately."
"But do you really think your report will go through smoothly?" Nemus asked, turning his gaze toward Isabella.
"You and Jacques are here investigating something specific, aren''t you?" Nemus continued, not giving her a chance to answer.
Isabella instantly tensed up. She had no idea why Nemus was suddenly bringing this up. Was he planning to silence her?
"There may be hidden problems within this village, but your scrutiny shouldn''t be focused on me."
"Do not put too much blind faith in appearances. People constantly overlook fatal flaws just because of someone''s lofty status or superficial demeanor."
"What exactly are you trying to imply?" Isabella furrowed her brow at Nemus, sensing the heavy underlying meaning in his words.
"You should start reevaluating the inconsistencies back at the Cathedral." Having said his piece, Nemus turned and strode away into the distance.
He left Isabella standing there, completely stunned.