Seeing the curse fail to kill the witch, Silas had no choice but to give up and clean up the scene.
He wiped away the blood-formed magic circle on the floor, and his originally charred left hand was rapidly recovering.
As he stood up from the floor, about to inspect the altar, he suddenly noticed several drops of red blood on the entrance hall floor.
Wait, is this the witch's blood?
Silas's heart stirred.
He took out a handkerchief and carefully absorbed the blood onto it, then hid it inside his coat.
Only after completing this did he turn toward the altar to analyze the ritual's purpose from his professional perspective.
Hmm, the ritual's core has been taken away.
But judging from these patterns, this ritual's function is to convert the deceased's life force and resentment into pure energy.
While Silas was pondering, he heard footsteps from outside. Dunn entered with Leonard and Klein.
"Captain, you didn't catch her?" Though he'd already guessed the outcome, seeing them return empty-handed still left Silas somewhat disappointed.
Wait, even if we had caught and killed her, I wouldn't be able to just casually rip out her heart anyway.
Silas thought to himself.
Looking at it this way, letting her escape so I can secretly pursue and kill her myself might actually be better.
He suddenly understood why he'd instinctively hidden the handkerchief.
"Unfortunately, she got away. But our primary objective was to stop the ritual.
Driving her off is acceptable, too. So, have you figured out what this ritual does?"
Dunn asked.
"This isn't a particularly harmful ritual," Silas said. "She's collecting life force and converting it into pure energy."
"What can that energy be used for?"
Leonard asked.
"Healing, or nourishment, probably."
Silas himself wasn't entirely certain.
Dunn circled the altar and picked up the broken silver mirror on the table.
"This should be a personal item left behind by that Beyonder." He handed the mirror to Klein.
"Klein, try using it for divination. See if you can find any clues."
"Yes, Captain."
Klein took the silver mirror and was about to begin divination when he suddenly wrinkled his nose and said with confusion, "Strange, I seem to smell something burnt."
Well, of course. I just burned my hand. If you sniff more carefully, you might even smell roasted meat.
Silas studied the altar nonchalantly and said, "The spirits have all dissipated. I can't perform a séance, so it looks like we'll have to rely on Klein."
"I'll check the second floor."
Leonard went up the stairs.
Silas stayed on the first floor.
He was very interested in Klein's divination and wanted to observe it firsthand.
Although Klein had taught him some divination techniques before, his talent was perhaps all spent on rituals.
He'd never been able to get started in this area.
Klein produced paper and pen and wrote down a divination statement.
Then, with one hand stroking the silver mirror and the other holding the paper, he muttered under his breath.
After repeating it seven times, his eyes deepened, and he lowered his head, falling into a dreamscape.
Dream Divination!
After a moment, Klein slowly awakened and shook his head somewhat helplessly. "It's been interfered with. I only saw some water mist."
"I see."
Dunn said without much disappointment, as if he'd expected this result all along.
Before long, Leonard came down holding a makeup box, his face showing amusement. "Heh, look at this. After Tris became a woman, her interests changed, too."
Later, Klein tried divining with the makeup box again.
Dream divination, dowsing, and other methods were all attempted, but the answer remained the same: the divination was interfered with.
Silas's brow furrowed.
If all these personal items had been set up with anti-divination measures, would the blood traces she left behind also be ineffective?
Probably not, because I drew her blood on the spot.
She had no time to sever the connection with her body, unless she'd been making the corresponding preparations routinely.
But ordinary Beyonders definitely wouldn't do that sort of thing.
Good, so this is a valuable clue.
Silas thought to himself. He quickly made a decision. There was no time to waste.
He planned to use the blood on the handkerchief tonight to track her whereabouts, then kill her directly and rip out her heart!
Meanwhile, Dunn looked around the room. Finding no other clues indeed, he could only sigh and say, "In that case, we'll have to investigate from other angles.
For instance, by using the clothing at the scene, or setting up surveillance at the train station, investigating the house's owner..."
That would require cooperation with the police department, and the process would become tedious.
For Silas, however, this was actually a good thing.
With that, the incident had come to a conclusion for now.
Dunn arranged for Leonard to contact the police, then let Klein and Silas go home to rest.
It had only just gotten dark, and there were still public carriages on the streets.
The two waited at the station for a while, boarded a carriage, and returned to Daffodil Street.
On the road, Silas had wanted to ask if Klein had found any leads on the red chimney rooftop recently, but remembering he was currently under Miss M's surveillance, he said nothing more and just chatted casually with Klein.
Klein can contact Azik. I wonder if Azik could deal with Miss M and save Cecilia.
I have one more chance to block the surveillance. Should I use it on this?
He pondered this while still chatting with Klein. "We really should have eaten dinner outside before coming back. I don't know if they've saved any food for us at home."
Honestly, after a whole evening of trouble, especially after repairing his left hand's injury, his stomach was experiencing severe hunger.
"Let's hope our sister will be thoughtful enough to save us some dinner."
Klein said with a smile.
He was also thinking, planning to go above the gray fog to divine after returning home.
The mystical level there was higher. Perhaps it could break through the anti-divination and find clues.
The crimes Trissy had committed were extremely vicious, and he didn't want such a person to remain at large.
The two parted at their respective front doors.
Silas pushed open the door, and the aroma of food immediately wafted over.
Seeing Cecilia sitting at the dining table laden with dishes, waiting for him, he couldn't help but smile.
If that damned Miss M weren't beside her, the scene would be even better.
"Welcome back."
Miss M said to him with a smile, "What a shame you didn't catch that witch. I couldn't get the materials I wanted either."
So what, are you planning to punish me?
Silas took out the blood-stained handkerchief from his coat and said warily, "I obtained a clue.
I'm planning to go after her tonight. As long as I catch her, I should be able to get what you want."
As he said this, his heart stirred, and he asked, "Or you could come with me.
With your strength, controlling a low-sequence witch should be quite easy, right?"
From the way Miss M fights, I might discover her problem.
However, Miss M just looked at Silas with a smile. After a moment, she suddenly snapped her fingers, and a sharp pain struck him.
"Ugh!"
Silas grunted and grabbed the table for support.
"Silas!"
Cecilia cried out and ran over to support her brother.
"Has your attitude toward me been a bit too disrespectful lately?"
Miss M said with a smile.
Silas trembled in pain, but inwardly he was sneering coldly.
She doesn't dare to act directly. There's definitely something wrong with her!
Got you!