In the ritual site on the second underground level of King’s Campus, Edmund, the stationed captain of the Serenity Bureau, stood looking up at the blasphemous idol before him, listening to the report from his subordinate.
"So, all of them are affected by cognitive poison? As expected... Those guys lying around in such attire on this heretical ritual site couldn’t possibly be normal. Those brats actually tried to argue with me at first?"
Edmund chuckled lightly, then turned to his subordinate beside him. When he arrived at the ritual site and woke up the group of students lying on the formation, all dressed in identical cloaks, they had tried to explain that they were just engaging in some club activities to create an atmosphere, claiming there was nothing wrong and that they were perfectly fine. They even demanded to return to class and evaded the questions posed by the Hunters.
Of course, Edmund, having seen such situations many times before, didn’t believe a word of their excuses. After failing to extract any useful information from them, he decisively ordered his subordinates to escort the students to a hospital in the city for a mandatory psychiatric evaluation. The results showed that all of them had been contaminated by cognitive poison.
"According to the hospital, the cognitive poison affecting them is very subtle. Although their beliefs have been influenced, they themselves are unaware of it. It’s hard to detect without a professional examination," the Hunter Squad member reported to Edmund.
"Hah... these brats, they even tried to threaten me, saying their fathers were earls or managers... I don’t care if their dads are marquises or board members, it doesn’t work on me."
Edmund spoke with a tone of disdain, his expression and demeanor, combined with his sloppy attire, unshaven face, and messy hair, giving off a somewhat roguish vibe.
In the early hours of the morning, the night patrol at King’s Campus suddenly heard gunshots coming from an unknown location. Terrified, they immediately contacted the school security, who searched the campus but couldn’t pinpoint the exact source of the gunfire.
To be safe, the security team contacted the dormitories to check on the students. The headcount revealed that over a dozen students were missing from their rooms.
Realizing the severity of the situation, the security team called the police. Upon arriving, the police followed the patrolman’s directions to the area where the gunshots were heard and eventually found the Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge gathering point, its door already broken.After venturing a bit further inside, the police captain immediately sensed something was wrong. He ordered his team to retreat and contacted the Serenity Bureau through a special channel.
Soon after, Edmund arrived with his team. Deep inside the gathering point, in the ritual site, they found a group of students dressed as cultists lying on the formation. After waking them up, none of them cooperated with the investigation, and some even acted arrogantly. This infuriated Edmund, who kicked the most defiant one and then forcibly sent all of them to the hospital.
"Having to deal with a mission before dawn... They’re annoyed, but I’m even more annoyed," Edmund muttered with a hint of complaint, then lit a cigarette and took a few puffs.
"How’s the on-site investigation going?"
Edmund asked the Hunter Squad member beside him, who promptly replied.
"Sir, we’re currently conducting investigations on all three levels of the ruins. On the first and second levels, we’ve found a total of thirteen bodies. Seven of them are charred, and six have been dismembered. Additionally, we’ve found a large amount of bloodstains, bullet casings, and bullet fragments on the walls and floors of the second level... Both pistol and rifle bullets were found. It’s almost certain that a Beyonder battle involving conventional firearms took place here."
"Can we confirm that a Beyonder battle occurred?"
Edmund frowned as he listened to his subordinate’s report, and the team member nodded seriously.
"Yes. Among the seven charred bodies, one shows abnormal burn patterns, as if the fire was ignited from within the body. The six dismembered bodies appear to have been torn apart. Based on the wounds, this could have been caused by the immense strength of the Chalice path or the enchantments of the Shadow path. Even if it wasn’t a Beyonder, it’s likely that a corresponding mystical item was involved."
The team member continued his report, and Edmund stroked his chin, murmuring.
"A fire manipulator... someone from the Shadow or Chalice path... Interesting. Any other findings?"
"Yes. We’ve noticed that the battlefield has been extensively cleaned. Many areas have dense bloodstains but no bodies. We’ve found many bullet fragments, but the few bodies we’ve recovered don’t show many gunshot wounds. We suspect that the wounded and intact bodies were removed and disposed of beforehand. So, the scene we’re investigating now has already been tampered with."
The team member reported, and Edmund raised an eyebrow, continuing.
"So, it seems the winning side had plenty of energy left after the battle. They even had the time and effort to clean up the battlefield so thoroughly. The attacking group must be quite capable."
Edmund spoke in a joking tone, but in his mind, he was carefully noting the characteristics of the mysterious attackers.
"By the way, have we found the observer who was supposed to be stationed at this school?"
Edmund continued to ask. If he remembered correctly, not long ago, the bureau had sent someone to King’s Campus for an inquiry. The dispatched officer had contacted the observer here and then returned to the bureau, submitting a report stating that everything at King’s Campus was normal and no further investigation was needed.
Now, it was clear that nothing here was normal. The two dispatched officers might have some issues, and the observer was definitely problematic.
"Sir, after investigation, the stationed observer at King’s Campus is named Andrew Wynn. He is still missing. We searched his residence and office but couldn’t find him. His office showed signs of being ransacked. Surprisingly, his residence was covered in dust, as if no one had lived there for a long time," the Hunter Squad member promptly responded.
Edmund frowned upon hearing this.
"His residence hasn’t been lived in for a long time... Continue searching for Andrew. If we can’t find him, contact his family and prepare the relevant materials to send to the Paranormal Division. We’ll request a séance to see if we can summon anything."
(T/N: séance = attempt to communicate with spirits)
Edmund continued to issue orders, already suspecting that Andrew might have been dead for some time.
"Yes, sir."
The Hunter Squad leader responded to Edmund, saluted, and then left. Edmund remained standing in place, gazing at the towering desecrated statue before him.
Looking at the spider-headed figure on the idol, Edmund’s expression turned serious. He pulled out a document from his pocket, which contained several black-and-white photographs. Most of them depicted similar spider-headed, human-bodied statues. Under each photo were notes on the location, time, and a brief description of the circumstances.
“Here we go again... How many of these have we found now? I never expected this one to be under a school. These things are everywhere.”
Edmund took a deep breath, thinking to himself as he looked at the report in his hand. The Serenity Bureau had encountered similar statues before, and they had clashed with the Eight-Spired Nest in many places.
“The Eight-Spired Nest... What are these guys after, chasing and desecrating these statues? Who is this heretical goddess? There’s so much we don’t know. It’s giving me a headache.”
Edmund scratched his head, feeling troubled. Then, he glanced around and noticed several charred bodies placed side by side in the distance.
“And then there’s this new force that has to be taken seriously. They attacked a Eight-Spired Nest ritual site and wiped it out completely. That’s a force to be reckoned with. The ability to ignite someone from within isn’t something an ordinary Apprentice or Black Earth-rank Beyonder can do.”
“They have numbers, act swiftly, have high execution capability, and are backed by high-ranking Beyonders... Ugh, looks like I’ll have to write a five or six-page report on this later.”
Edmund scratched his head, muttering to himself.
…
Clear skies, afternoon.
King’s Campus, girls’ dormitory.
In a double room on the fourth floor, Emma sat on her bed, holding a book. Although her expression suggested she was reading intently, her eyes kept darting toward the empty bed across the room.
"Still not back, Neph? It’s been days... Could something really have happened?"
Emma murmured with a worried expression as she looked at the empty bed. Her roommate had left in a hurry that night and hadn’t been seen since, which was highly unusual.
“Today, a lot of police showed up at the school. Apparently, there’s been a case of multiple students going missing. It’s really scary. Could Neph’s sudden disappearance be related to this?”
Emma thought to herself, considering whether she should go and talk to the police still on campus about her roommate’s disappearance. Just as she was pondering this, the dorm room door opened, and a familiar figure walked in.
"Neph? You’re back?!"
"Ah, Emma, long time no see~"
Entering the room, Nephthys, dressed in a fashionable outfit and carrying a new bag, waved at her roommate with a smile. Emma, however, looked shocked and immediately spoke up.
"Neph, where have you been these past few days? You’ve been missing all day, skipping classes, and left without saying a word. It’s really worrying."
"Ah, sorry about that. I suddenly received a telegram about an emergency at home, so I had to rush back. Don’t worry, everything’s fine."
Nephthys smiled as she spoke, closing the dorm room door and walking over to her desk. From her expression, it seemed she was in a very good mood.
"An emergency at home? Hmm... I guess that makes sense. But looking at your new outfit, it seems like you went shopping instead," Emma teased, eyeing Nephthys’s expensive new clothes and bag.
Nephthys, now sitting at her desk, continued to smile.
"My bag got damaged while I was handling things, so after everything was settled, I bought a new one. Since I had some extra money, I decided to get some new clothes too."
Nephthys explained. At noon today, Dorothy had come to the city to meet her and Vania. Based on their contributions, Dorothy had distributed some of the spoils to them. Nephthys received, among other things, 100 pounds in cash. As a full-time college student, Nephthys’s first instinct upon getting the money was to go shopping in the city, buying new clothes and a new bag to replace her old one, which was full of brick dust.
Her first participation in a Rose Cross Order activity had not only allowed her to earn money to support herself but also to indulge in some luxury. It felt great.
The shopping spree, combined with the complete eradication of the Eight-Spired Nest’s presence at King’s Campus, left Nephthys in high spirits, so she decided to return to campus.
“Now, it’s time to get down to business.”
With that thought, Nephthys, now seated at her desk, opened her new bag and pulled out several books of varying thicknesses, all looking somewhat worn, and placed them on the table.
These were mystical texts, given to her and Vania by Dorothy when she came to the city at noon. Each of them had received several books.
“According to Miss Dorothy, as long as I read these books while praying to Aka, I can accumulate so-called ‘spirituality,’ right? Just like when I read Thorn Velvet’s books before. Once I’ve accumulated enough spirituality, I’ll be qualified to step into the true Beyonder world.”
Looking at the mystical texts on her desk, Nephthys felt a surge of excitement. As a former member of the Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge, she had once dreamed of becoming a true Beyonder. She never expected that, now that the entire Scholarly Society was gone, she would actually get a glimpse of the path to the mysticism world.
“Thank you, Rose Cross Order... Thank you, Aka…”
Nephthys silently expressed her gratitude in her heart, then prepared to start reading the books when she was alone. Meanwhile, Emma, noticing this, tilted her head slightly.
"Neph, with all those books, are you preparing to retake your exams?"
"Ah, yes, these study materials are for reviewing for the... Wait, what? Retake exams?!"
Hearing Emma’s words, Nephthys turned around in shock, as if she had just remembered something terrifying.
"Yeah, don’t you remember? Last semester’s Pritt Architecture Appreciation class had its exam leaked, so we’re all retaking it this semester. You were even reviewing for it before you left. This time, you completely missed the exam," Emma said nonchalantly, delivering the devastating news.
“Ahhh... I completely forgot about the exam!! I have no grades for this one!” Nephthys screamed internally, her earlier joy instantly shattered.
Now, Nephthys was considering whether to explain the situation to her professor, but revealing the truth would likely bring even bigger troubles.
In an instant, Nephthys, who had been in high spirits just moments ago, felt her future turn bleak.
“Aka... Please salvage this student!”