Chapter 37: Experiment |
"The man trading Whalehide Ore with me is Opper from Finback Village. A subordinate in his Caravan also mentioned that Opper was cooperating with a Cleric..."
This was Benjamin''s confession, as well as some information he had heard from that Caravan member.
Upon hearing this news, Jacques became extremely excited, claiming he had caught the Traitor''s weakness.
Isabella felt the same. She had not suspected the other Cleric in the village; in truth, there was simply no reason to suspect him most of the time.
In his youth, the Old Priest was a Bishop in Sky Spring City. Although he later left the center of power in Sky Spring City for certain reasons, many people still remembered some of his past achievements.
As things stood now, Isabella was one of those people.
If the Old Priest truly coveted fame and fortune, he only needed to submit a report, and someone would immediately come to escort him back.
At that time, he could obtain plenty of legal Whalehide Ore. Why would he bother sheltering a Caravan smuggling Whalehide Ore here?
Moreover, old age was a top-tier disguise.
Therefore, they would naturally overlook those elderly individuals who struggled even to move, assuming they would not commit wrongdoings out of greed.
It was as if once a person aged, the label of being "bad" was automatically removed from them.
Because of this, Isabella had never once suspected the Old Priest in her mind.
However, at this moment, she had no choice but to start doubting him.
Earlier, she had sensed the foul stench of the Cemetery from within the Cathedral, but the Old Priest had immediately interrupted her. He used the rotting smell on his own body to make her think her Sensing was flawed.
Looking back on it now, there were simply too many bizarre inconsistencies.
It was exactly this strangeness that made her temporarily set aside her grudge against Nemus and step out with him to track down the grave robber.
At that time, her instincts had already begun to raise suspicions, but those doubts were not yet clear, nor had the Old Priest emerged as a definite suspect.
Furthermore, before they left the Cathedral, most of her suspicions had been dispelled by his simple remark that he was old and could not be of much help.
It was only now, when Nemus pointed this out, that a terrifying truth involuntarily surfaced in Isabella''s mind.
''Could it be that the Old Priest has restarted the experiment...!'' Isabella needed to seek help from the Old Priest because of her own background.
Her Family Household possessed a special bloodline. Although they still retained a significant amount of prestige and wealth, their numbers had dwindled severely, forcing them to seal away their family name.
She had a rough understanding of why the Old Priest had originally left Sky Spring City.
The Church had been conducting Special Bloodline Research, and the Old Priest was the primary researcher.
However, more than twenty years ago, this research ended in failure.
It caused significant casualties, and his disciple was paralyzed during the Incident.
Feeling too ashamed to face such a loss and the subsequent fallout, the Old Priest chose self-exile.
Regardless, the Old Priest remained an expert in the field of bloodlines.
If Isabella wanted to revitalize her family, she naturally needed to thoroughly research her own bloodline.
Back in Sky Spring City, as the matter of the experiment gradually faded into the past, people were actually more willing to speak well of the Old Priest.
In the information Isabella gathered later, there were no specific details about the experiment.
To her at the time, it seemed like nothing more than an accidental laboratory mishap, for which the Old Priest had exiled himself. In an era where a lack of accountability was common, the Old Priest''s moral character was already quite commendable.
''But if that wasn''t an ordinary Bloodline Experiment, and the Old Priest''s self-exile was merely a way to avoid punishment, then this whole situation...'' Isabella thought as she walked through the Cemetery, gradually making her way toward the Cathedral.
Yet for some unknown reason, the brightly lit Cathedral and the Old Priest standing at the back door waiting for her now carried an inexplicably terrifying aura.
"You''re back. Is everything alright?" the Old Priest asked. His tone was as kind and benevolent as ever, making all of her previous suspicions feel like nothing more than a ghost story born from Idle Thoughts.
"Everything is fine. We just didn''t find the target," Isabella replied, quickly adjusting her emotions. She paused briefly before adding, "A culprit stealing internal organs has appeared. It might be an Evil Warlock, or perhaps someone suffering from Whale Transformation Sickness."
"I believe we need to report this."
"Is that so?" The Old Priest nodded.
"I will report it through the Grid immediately."
The Old Priest did not delay on the matter and agreed straightforwardly.
This allowed Isabella to breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps the previous situation really was just an accident, and everything that followed was nothing more than Nemus trying to sow discord.
However, the next morning, Isabella received bad news—the Grid was congested, and it was unknown when it would be restored.
"This happens often, so there''s no need to worry. We still have the Caravan for communication; it might just take a few days."
"In the meantime, we can organize some people to search the surrounding area over the next few days."
The Old Priest''s comforting words did not put Isabella at ease. While her face only showed slight concern, her heart felt as if it had plunged into an icy abyss.
The Grid served as a communication and transmission network built upon the power of God, using Cathedrals as strongholds and Divine Idols of Faith as relay points. Although it was true that over the past two or three years, some remote locations would occasionally experience temporary congestion.
But this was all too much of a coincidence.
How could the communication get cut off at this exact moment?
As for the Caravan, if the person secretly sheltering Opper was not Nemus, but the Old Priest, then it would be even more impossible for the information to get out.
On the surface, Isabella pretended to be worried about the Whale Transformation Sickness, but internally, she was already contemplating the severity of the problem.
At the same time, Isabella closed her eyes in Meditation, using her own Faith to sense the greatness of God.
Within the Cathedral, she could feel the presence of God, along with the Grid that existed in dependence on God.
Its precise name was the Faith Grid. Before a Priest reached the Golden Rank, they needed to rely on the Grid to cast Divine Arts.
It was just that Black Iron Rank Priests needed to be near a Cathedral to sense the Grid, whereas Iron Rank Priests could directly sense the Grid in most places. However, while inside a Cathedral, the power of their Divine Arts would be greatly amplified.
Furthermore, in critical moments, Priests could use the Grid to call upon God''s gaze.
Some favored Priests could even use it to summon God''s Cherubim.
At this moment, although Isabella could still use it to draw upon a portion of the Power of Faith accumulated in the Cathedral, she was completely unable to extend her reach outward—whether for communication or to seek a deeper Change.
Isabella opened her eyes and saw the Old Priest standing not far away.
He seemed to have noticed Isabella connecting with the Grid. The slight smile on his aged, withered face appeared to have taken on a sinister undertone.