Chapter Sixty-one: The Disciplinary Bureau
Before the kingdom’s Disciplinary Bureau’s hateful hounds arrived, Li Wen had to leave quickly, and even leave Ark Town.
She walked straight to the nunnery, where many of her belongings were still kept, including materials left over from various rituals, and spoils of war obtained after defeating the fire mage.
As for Tilroghzakh’s drop, no, spoils of war, there was only a contract filled with bloody text. It was with this contract that the opponent summoned the halberd that almost killed her.
That halberd was quite powerful, but she didn’t know if Li Wen could use it. Her Bone-Corroding Short Sword, in the previous battle, could not withstand the Spell-less Arc Light under the enhancement of residual light, and the enchantment on the short sword was directly destroyed. The blade was also corroded by the demon’s blood into an unrecognizable state, and it had already met its end.
She would study the contract later, but the most important thing now was to leave here.
As soon as Li Wen left the cathedral, she encountered an unexpected person. No, it was not appropriate to say unexpected, after all, the fire that ignited the cathedral was visible throughout Ark Town, let alone the nunnery near the cathedral?
Sister Luna of the Candle Sun Church looked at Li Wen in a daze, her eyes full of sadness and confusion.
“Miss Mephist… why?”
Li Wen was too lazy to correct her.
“What do you mean by ‘why’?”
The young nun was stunned.
“If you’re referring to the fire in the cathedral, then I’m very sorry to tell you, it wasn’t me… If you want to ask about that insidious priest, then I’m very sorry, he’s already dead, and I was the one who did it,” Li Wen said without mercy.
“Why…” When Sister Luna heard Li Wen say the word “priest,” her body trembled noticeably. “Priest Mog… such a good person, why did Miss Mephist…”
Why?
Li Wen was a bit impatient. She looked at the nun and said coldly, “If he hadn’t attacked me during the ritual, I wouldn’t have bothered with him. No matter what conspiracy he and Siswell behind him were brewing, someone else would have dealt with it, not me.
“As for you saying he is a good person? I’m sorry, I don’t know how you came to that conclusion, nor do I care what happened between you or what stories you have. I just want to say… everything you have is insignificant compared to Doomsday Twilight. The destruction of the world is imminent, and you are wasting my time here.”
As if venting some resentment, Li Wen said a lot more than usual, then left the scene without even looking at the nun’s expression.
*
At dawn, Elder Morgan of Ark Town was waiting early at the church entrance.
Everyone in the town saw the fire yesterday. To prevent the fire from spreading further, Old Morgan organized the village guards and some enthusiastic townspeople to extinguish the fire. Now the fire was extinguished, and the onlookers had dispersed.
He was still here for a reason.
As the first ray of dawn fell on the ground, a solemn and sturdy carriage stopped in front of Old Morgan.
Several people dressed in black and wearing leather caps got out of the carriage. The leader was a middle-aged man, and the rest were young people.
“My lords.”
Old Morgan bowed his head. The priest from the neighboring town had told him that these people were from the capital, and none of them had a simple identity.
The leading middle-aged man nodded slightly and said sternly, “Where is Pastor Aid?”
“Mr. Aid is already waiting in front of the ruins of the church…”
The middle-aged man said no more, leading the people behind him towards the cathedral.
“A strong smell of purgatory, it should be…”
As they approached the cathedral, a young man in the group suddenly said.
“We’ll discuss it after we get to the scene,”
The middle-aged man interrupted directly.
“Captain, you’re too serious. This time it’s probably the work of the scoundrels from Dark Dawn. Alas, it’s a pity for the resident priest here. I heard he’s a talented graduate from St. Peter’s Theological Seminary. He had better choices but insisted on coming to such a rural place to preach.”
The speaking young man paid no attention to the increasingly dark expression of the middle-aged man and babbled on.
“I’ve said it before, all speculation is just speculation before investigating the scene.”
The rest of them exchanged glances and shrugged helplessly, seeming to be accustomed to the temper of the captain of the Disciplinary Bureau.
The once sacred and solemn Candle Sun Cathedral had turned into a scorched ruin. An old priest in a black priest’s robe stood before the ruins, offering a silent and sorrowful prayer.
“Pastor Aid, what’s the situation?”
The old priest came back to his senses and nodded to the middle-aged man.
“Captain Xu En, only one nun survived in the Ark Branch Church. That young and promising priest should have died in the fire.”
Upon hearing this, Xu En assigned two team members to conduct a preliminary investigation.
Although these people were still young, they were elites of the kingdom’s Disciplinary Bureau and were familiar with the entire process.
One of them took out a strange and complex alchemical instrument, while the other took out a book full of incantations.
The one holding the book recited the incantations to cast a spell, and a blue light enveloped the ruins of the cathedral. The cathedral, which was originally a ruin, miraculously began to restore itself, finally turning back into the complete cathedral it once was.
This was a “Chrono-Reconstruction” (time-based reconstruction), a second-tier magic, which could simply repeat events that had occurred within the range of casting, with very low accuracy.
The other person looked down at the instrument, mumbling continuously.
While they were investigating, Xu En was talking with Pastor Aid.
“Do you know Priest Mog well, Mr. Aid?”
“We only met once, about three years ago. He applied to be stationed in Ark Town, and this place happened to be short of a ritual priest… However, from the initial impression, he was a young man with great potential and awareness. But now this has happened, alas… I wish him well in the palace of Glor.”
Xu En nodded. This was not much different from the information he had. He opened his mouth to ask again, but was abruptly interrupted.
The two teammates had completed their investigation.
“Judging from the scene, the fire was caused by a conflict between two Transcendent beings,”
The mage holding the book said confidently.
The other followed closely and said, “One is a Transcendent of the Glorious Spectrum Series, presumably that priest. The other is… Hmm, I can’t quite tell. Judging from the Aether reaction fed back by the absolution ritual, it gives me a terrifying and horrifying feeling. It shouldn’t be anything good.”
“There is a strong aura of purgatory left at the scene, and the spatial barrier has cracks. Someone should have attempted to summon a demon or other monster.”
“Someone must have used a curse…”
“The priest’s body was not intact; his bones were completely burned by the flames.”
“And then…”
“The conclusion?”
Xu En asked directly.
The two looked at each other and said in unison.
“It must be the work of Dark Dawn.”
