South Tivian, Bishop’s Square.
Not long after the New Year’s countdown ended, the audience in the square was immersed in jubilation. These hardworking commoners, guided by the host, were enjoying one of the few festive moments of the year.
The fireworks that had been lighting up the night sky gradually ceased, and the audience’s initial excitement for the New Year began to settle. Just as everyone was eagerly anticipating the next exciting performances and events, the host unexpectedly announced that the evening’s festivities were coming to an end. This left everyone momentarily stunned.
According to the earlier promotion of the event, there were supposed to be more performances and a fundraising activity led by the princess, targeting the other distinguished guests in attendance. But now, all of that was canceled. With a few apologetic words from the host, the event came to an abrupt end.
Faced with the host’s announcement, the reluctant audience couldn’t help but express their disappointment. While voicing their dissatisfaction, they also began chattering about why the event had ended so suddenly. Many people turned their gaze toward the balcony where the royal family had been seated, but it was now empty. The disappearance of the princess and the duke only fueled further speculation.
Although the sudden end of the event left everyone feeling let down, it was, after all, a free event with no admission fee. So, while disappointed, the audience didn’t harbor any resentment. The high-quality performances earlier in the evening had already provided plenty of entertainment, and they had even been fortunate enough to witness the dance of Tivian’s most famous dancer. For these commoners, who rarely had the chance to visit a theater, tonight had already been a worthwhile experience.
The stage lights dimmed, and after a brief period of disappointed murmuring, the dense crowd in the square began to disperse. Above Bishop’s Square, Dorothy’s bird-shaped corpse marionette continued to soar. Sitting on the street corner, Dorothy, hugging herself tightly, was observing the scene below through the marionette’s eyes.
“So it’s over? Well... it would have been unwise to continue the event after realizing there was danger nearby…”
Dorothy thought to herself, her brow furrowed as she watched the scene captured by the marionette’s vision.
“This is bad. I had planned to use the corpse marionettes in the audience to make a big donation during the fundraising segment at the end of the event, hoping to catch the royal family’s attention and establish a connection with the duke... But now, because of security concerns, the event ended early. My plan to make a connection is ruined…” Dorothy felt deeply conflicted. Her ultimate goal in attending this event was to make contact with Duke Barrett and obtain information related to the Mirror Moon Goddess. However, with the interference of the Eight-Spired Nest, the event ended prematurely, and the fundraising segment was canceled. Her plan to make a grand donation to attract attention had fallen through.
Although Dorothy had successfully saved the royal family, countless audience members, and the indigenous people of Kapak during the night’s events, preventing a further escalation of tensions between the indigenous people of the New Continent and Pritt, and had even acquired a mystical item, her primary objective had not been achieved. She had failed to make contact with Duke Barrett, leaving her feeling deeply frustrated.
“Sigh... There was no other choice. The audience had to be saved, and if the duke had died, it would have been even harder to make contact. But after all this, it seems there’s no chance to reach him tonight.”
“Now, I’ll have to find another way to contact the duke. At the moment, the only person who can help me connect with him is Adèle. Adèle has long been involved in Pritt’s high society, and the fact that she was invited to this event by the princess shows that she has a stable line of communication with the royal family. I can ask her to help me reach the duke.”
“But the problem is that the questions I want to ask the duke are related to the mysticism world. If I ask Adèle to help me make the connection, she will inevitably come under suspicion from the royal family for being involved in the mysticism world. This could affect her future activities in Tivian as a celebrity. The Tivian government wouldn’t be comfortable with such a high-profile celebrity being involved in secret societies.”
Resting her head on her hand, Dorothy pondered this. Currently, not many people know that Adèle is involved in the mysticism world. Aside from Adèle herself and her subordinates in the Crimson Heart, only Dorothy, the church, and the Wolf Blood Society are aware. In the eyes of the Tivian government, Adèle is still just an ordinary celebrity.
Adèle herself prefers to keep her involvement in the mysticism world hidden from the Tivian government. According to Adèle, there was a time when the Wolf Blood Society frequently reported her to the Serenity Bureau for being involved in the mysticism world. Fortunately, Adèle had hidden her Beyonder activities well and had the support of the Radiant Church’s Holy Mother Faction, so the Serenity Bureau’s investigations had yielded no results. Since Adèle has gone to great lengths to hide her secret involvement to maintain her public performances, Dorothy feels it would be inappropriate to risk exposing her by asking for her help in making this connection, especially since Adèle had just helped her greatly.
“Sigh... For now, I’ll just have to see if there are other opportunities to make contact. Since both of them are safe for now, there will be chances to reach out later.”
Using the bird-shaped marionette to continue monitoring the Blue Weave Street No. 1 building, Dorothy sighed. Due to security measures, the building was equipped with numerous Illuminating Beacons. Considering the consumption of Shadow spirituality and to avoid misunderstandings, Dorothy hadn’t sent small marionettes inside to scout the royal family’s movements.
However, since the two royals had been persuaded by their bodyguards to return inside, and the Eight-Spired Nest member disguised as a royal bodyguard had disappeared, it seemed the royal security system was now fully operational. The assassins had either been driven away or captured, and the two royals were now under tight protection.
“Gregor is currently removing his makeup, Nephthys and Kapak are still settling the indigenous people, and Vania has already left the scene. Once I meet up with Gregor, I’ll leave too. Ugh... It’s freezing sitting here on the street…”
Dorothy thought to herself, preparing to withdraw the marionettes monitoring the area around Bishop’s Square. The audience in the square was slowly dispersing, and the event was truly over.
But just then, something unexpected happened.
Boom!!!
A sudden loud explosion shattered the peace of the night. The windows of Blue Weave Street No. 1 shattered simultaneously, and a powerful gust of wind, carrying various fragments, burst out through the broken doors and windows, scattering debris and shattered glass across the area.
It was as if a powerful force had erupted from within the building. All the doors and windows of Blue Weave Street No. 1 were blown open by the intense internal pressure, and objects from inside were hurled out into the night. The deafening explosion caused the surrounding civilians to scream in panic, and the remaining crowd in the square began to flee in terror.
“What just happened?!”
Dorothy, who had been about to pack up, was startled by the sudden turn of events. Using the marionette’s vision, she watched in shock as Blue Weave Street No. 1 continued to spew violent gusts of wind. The wind blew fiercely for several seconds before finally subsiding. Once it stopped, Dorothy immediately received a message from Adèle.
“Great Aka, please once again bridge the connection between me and Detective…”
“Detective, what was that wind just now? Did the royal guards clash with those spiders?”
Through the information channel, Adèle asked Dorothy, who replied with a serious expression.
“We’re not entirely sure what happened. Logically, the Eight-Spired Nest members should have already retreated... In any case, that situation was unexpected on our end as well. I’ll investigate further. You do your best to maintain order and ensure the civilians evacuate safely.”
“Alright~ Good luck, Detective.”
After ending her conversation with Adèle, Dorothy immediately controlled the bird-shaped marionette flying above the square to head toward Blue Weave Street No. 1. The marionette flew through one of the broken windows, using the light from the square to observe the interior. What greeted Dorothy was a scene of utter devastation.
The interior of Blue Weave Street No. 1 was in complete disarray. The floor was littered with shattered glass, and everything that had been standing was now toppled over. Vases were smashed, drawers were pulled out, and paintings that had hung on the walls now lay on the ground.
Dorothy continued to guide the marionette deeper into the building. Soon, she came across several bodies lying on the floor. These bodies were covered in cuts and slashes, as if they had been struck by sharp blades. Blood soaked the crumpled carpets, and their wide eyes were filled with shock.
As Dorothy guided the marionette further into the building, she noticed more and more strange marks. The furniture and walls were covered in deep, sharp cuts, as if they had been slashed by some kind of blade. The further she went, the more numerous and deeper these cuts became.
“These marks... they look like they were made by wind blades. Was that earlier wind caused by someone using a wind-based ability?”
Dorothy thought to herself, recognizing the sharp, elongated cuts. She had seen similar marks at the scene of Davic’s ambush by the Hunters and during Edmond’s battles.
As the marionette ventured into darker areas of the building, away from the light coming through the windows, Dorothy reanimated a relatively intact guard’s corpse. She had the corpse retrieve a gas lamp that had miraculously survived the chaos and light it, allowing the marionette to continue its exploration.
Following the direction of the cuts, Dorothy guided the marionette deeper into the building. Soon, it arrived at what seemed to be the epicenter of the earlier explosion—a large hall.
The scene that greeted Dorothy was even more chaotic than before. Under the light of the gas lamp, she could see the carpet torn to shreds, mixed with glass shards and wood splinters scattered across the floor. Chairs and tables had been sliced into countless pieces, and the chandelier from the ceiling had shattered into several fragments on the ground. The walls and floor were covered in dense, crisscrossing cuts from wind blades, giving the impression that the room had been ravaged by a violent storm.
On the floor of the hall lay several bodies, their flesh torn apart by countless sharp cuts. Some had limbs severed. Dorothy examined the faces of the less mutilated corpses and realized they were the bodyguards who had been protecting the royal family on the balcony earlier!
Those bodyguards, who had been capable of repelling a White Ash-rank Vampire, were now all dead in such a gruesome way.
Seeing the bodies of these bodyguards, Dorothy’s expression darkened. She then began using the marionette to search for traces of Barrett and Isabella. Soon, she found them.
Near a shattered sofa, Dorothy discovered Isabella, dressed in her evening gown, lying on the floor. Her body was covered in blood, and she had several cuts on her.
Not far from Isabella, Barrett was slumped against a wall, his body covered in blood. His head hung low, his face obscured.
Seeing this scene, Dorothy immediately had the marionette approach to check on the two royals. She found that Isabella was still breathing. Although she had injuries, none were life-threatening. The blood covering her seemed to have splattered from the nearby bodyguards, not her own. It was unclear if she had sustained a head injury, but Isabella was unconscious.
Barrett, on the other hand, was in far worse condition. He had many more cuts than Isabella, and one particularly deep wound was on his neck. More than half of his neck had been severed, and warm blood was still flowing from the wound. His wide eyes were filled with disbelief and shock.
Duke Barrett Despenser had been assassinated in Blue Weave Street No. 1, South Tivian.
Seeing Barrett’s condition, Dorothy, sitting in the cold wind, took a deep breath. She was in shock herself at this sudden assassination.
“How... how did this happen? Didn’t the assassins from the Eight-Spired Nest already retreat? How did they suddenly succeed in the assassination? Did they have a third assassin? Was this assassin not detected by Adèle’s desire detection? As a member of the Eight-Spired Nest, didn’t he have a desire for cruelty? Was that powerful wind earlier the bodyguards fighting against the assassin?”
Rubbing her temples, Dorothy was deeply puzzled by the scene before her. This outcome was completely unexpected.
Dorothy had thought that with Isabella and Barrett aware of the assassins, the event ending early, and the two confirmed Eight-Spired Nest assassins driven away, their safety was assured. But in just a few minutes, all the bodyguards were dead, Isabella was injured and unconscious, and Barrett had been assassinated. How had the Eight-Spired Nest managed this? Did they have a third assassin? And if so, why hadn’t they used such a powerful assassin from the start?!
Seeing the scene before her, Dorothy felt a chill run down her spine. She had never expected the Eight-Spired Nest to have such a formidable assassin hidden on-site.
Dorothy controlled the marionette to carefully inspect the chaotic hall, searching for any trace of the mysterious assassin. But after a thorough search, she found nothing. The assassin seemed to have vanished without a trace after completing the mission.
With a grim expression, Dorothy had the marionette take one last look at the assassination scene. After glancing at the unconscious Isabella, she closed her eyes and prayed.
“Great Aka, please relay a message to Sister Vania. Tell her to go to Blue Weave Street No. 1, the building where the strange phenomenon just occurred. She doesn’t need to hide her identity. There are injured people here who need her healing.”
After sending the message to Vania, Dorothy had the marionette take another look at the bodies of Barrett and the other guards. She then closed her eyes and began to contact Nephthys and Kapak through the information channel.