"What's wrong with you? Say something!"
Madam Sharon looked at the person across from her, who stood there tongue-tied, and said impatiently.
"But, but..."
The hooded man looked around frantically, appearing anxious and terrified. "There's something! Really, something's really wrong!"
"What nonsense are you talking about..."
Madam Sharon grew even more impatient.
Just as she was about to question him further, her vision was suddenly painted red with fresh blood.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The hooded man let out a miserable wail. His chest and abdomen seemed to be pierced by an invisible blade, instantly tearing open massive wounds!
Madam Sharon and the young woman beside her were splattered with blood.
For a moment, they couldn't react and stood there in a daze. It wasn't until his screams rang out that they snapped awake.
"Triss, get back!"
Covered in blood, Madam Sharon actually looked somewhat eerily bewitching.
She shouted for the girl beside her to retreat, and with a wave of her right hand, a charred wooden staff about twenty centimeters long appeared in her palm. This was a special item created by her Witch abilities: a wand.
"He's been cursed!"
Madam Sharon said furiously. "He didn't even notice it himself. What an idiot!"
She raised the charred wand in her hand.
With a low chant, a jet-black beam of light shot from the tip of the staff, forming a black hemispherical shield above the hooded man's body.
The moment her protection was complete, she saw the surface of the black hemisphere cave inward, as if struck by an invisible blade.
This invisible stabbing attack failed to pierce the shield and withdrew after a few seconds.
"Heh..."
A smile had just begun to form on Madam Sharon's face when she saw a splash of blood-red light suddenly appear above!
"Boom!"
A vicious curse carrying the resentment of death crashed down thunderously. The shield couldn't withstand it and shattered with a crack.
The hooded man below didn't even have time to scream before being smashed into a puddle of flesh and blood!
"Splurt!"
Fresh blood mixed with human tissue splattered in all directions, as if coating the entire room with a layer of red paint.
"Sssss..."
The splattered flesh and blood carried corrosive properties, scorching the entire room until smoke rose.
"Ahhhhh! My face! My face!"
Madam Sharon's wand exploded into two pieces. She herself covered her face and began screaming.
Her exposed, rounded arms, the pale, slender legs beneath her evening gown... All the places affected by the curse just now began to mutate!
Beneath that alluring, delicate skin, hideous tumors bulged out like flower buds yet to bloom.
Her hair began to grow thick and moved on its own without wind, as if each strand had gained independent life.
The girl named Triss, having hidden behind Madam Sharon, was lucky enough to escape the disaster.
Watching Madam Sharon rolling on the ground, her eyes revealed two complex, contradictory emotions simultaneously: schadenfreude and concern.
She stood quietly to the side, letting the other woman wail.
After a few seconds, Madam Sharon's screams subsided. The tumors slowly receded, and her hair returned to normal. Only then did Triss speak up. "Are you alright?"
"It's the aura of the True Creator! The Aurora Order! Those lunatics! I told them long ago not to deal with these lunatics!"
Madam Sharon climbed to her feet.
Half her head had been corroded and rotted away, including the waterfall of smooth, enchanting hair and half of her pitifully alluring face, revealing raw, red flesh that formed a horrifying contrast with the other half.
She cursed the Aurora Order hysterically.
Seeing this appearance, Triss's eyes couldn't help but show shock. She lowered her head.
***
The next day, at the Blackthorn Security Company.
"The manager of William Shipping Company is Mr. Pond, right? He, along with the company's owner and several executives, have all been arrested."
Dunn, who had returned after working all night, said this to the waiting Silas.
Silas was somewhat surprised.
He looked at Leonard, who had gone out with Dunn, and asked puzzledly, "This is a case discovered by us.
Shouldn't we be the ones making the arrests and conducting the investigation?"
Last night, after receiving the news, Dunn had led the team members and relevant police officers to rush to William Shipping Company in the port district.
Seeing a whole cabin full of Southern Continent people, they too were stumped, not knowing how to proceed.
But Silas couldn't be bothered with all that.
Using the excuse that the ritual had drained him too much, he'd returned to Blackthorn Security Company on his own first, leaving Leonard to help.
After returning to the company, he'd taken the opportunity to change out of his bloodstained shirt to avoid scaring Cecilia when he got home.
"William Shipping Company's business involves colonies in the Southern Continent and has connections to the military. They forcibly took over the case."
Leonard explained, his expression extremely displeased. "We'd just arrived downstairs at Pond's place when they showed up.
There was no time at all for the captain to enter his dreams and investigate.
The military's side said this matter involves military secrets and forbids us from investigating."
"I get the feeling they're covering something up. That Beyonder that night also seemed like they were there to silence people."
Silas frowned, recalling that sharp stab from last night. His chest seemed to ache faintly. "There's definitely something fishy going on."
He'd also checked some information after returning last night.
That Beyonder had a light body, moved swiftly, jumped down from heights without any trouble, and attacked with fierce precision, specifically targeting weak points.
These characteristics were very similar to a sequence called "Assassin," which seemed to be connected to the "Witch Cult" and the "Gnosis Society."
Both organizations were secret organizations hostile to the official authorities. Could the military actually have ties to them?
"I've already reported the situation to the Holy Cathedral.
The Holy Cathedral will negotiate with the military," Dunn said, his deep eyes maintaining their calm. "Until then, we shouldn't act rashly."
Both of them nodded to show they understood. Acting forcefully to investigate at a time like this might instead give others leverage against them. Let the bigwigs upstairs argue it out.
After giving them a few more instructions, Dunn hurriedly left. He still had many matters to handle, leaving Leonard and Silas alone in the room.
"You're okay now?"
Leonard looked at Silas's chest and asked quietly.
"Yeah."
Silas patted the location of the wound, producing a dull, uniform echo that made Leonard's eyelids twitch wildly.
He hesitated, and after looking around to make sure no one was nearby, he leaned in and asked quietly, "What exactly is going on with you?"
"I'm not really sure either."
Silas played dumb. "Ever since I was sacrificed to that evil god, then forced to consume the potion, after going through all that chaos, my body became very easy to heal."
"..."
Leonard looked like he was having a hard time accepting this explanation. He struggled with it for a long time.
"Do you feel anything abnormal?"
He asked unwillingly.
"Not at all."
Silas replied. "Keep it secret for me, okay? If my sister finds out, she'll worry."
He patted Leonard's shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of pleading.
Leonard nodded helplessly, then turned and left the break room, heading down to the armory underground.
"Did you discover anything?"
At the deserted spiral staircase, he spoke to the empty air as if talking to himself.
After a moment, he tilted his head as if listening, but soon showed a dissatisfied expression and pursed his lips. "Old man, you're really useless..."
***
In the break room, Silas stretched lazily.
The Secrets Suppliant potion inside his body had digested almost completely.
Only a small portion remained inactive. Perhaps there was something about the law of acting he still hadn't fully grasped.
"Last night was really dangerous..."
If not for his astonishing flesh-and-blood recovery ability, he definitely would have died that night.
Maybe I should agree to help Azik.
He's a high-sequence powerhouse who could help me improve myself.
Silas thought this way and made up his mind. After going back, he'd ask Klein for the Azik family's address, then pay them a visit.