In the ritual site on the second basement level of King's Campus, Edmund, the Captain of the An Yin Bureau stationed there, was looking up at the blasphemous statue before him, listening to the report from his subordinate.
"They were all affected by Spirit Sight? As expected... How could the guys who were dressed like that and sleeping all over the floor in this cult ritual site not have problems? Those kids actually wanted to argue with me at first?"
With a light chuckle, Edmund turned around and said to the subordinate beside him. When he arrived at this ritual site and woke up the students dressed in uniform cloaks who were sleeping all over the magic circle, they tried to argue that they were just doing some club activities to create atmosphere, that there was nothing wrong, and they were normal and wanted to go back to class. They deliberately avoided answering any questions from the Hunter.
Of course, Edmund, who had seen many such situations, naturally didn't believe the students' nonsense. After failing to get any information by asking, he decisively had his subordinates escort all these students to the City hospital for forced mental evaluations. The result was that they were all contaminated by Spirit Sight.
"According to the hospital, the Spirit Sight that affected them was very subtle. Although their concepts had been influenced, they were not aware of it, and it would be difficult to detect without a professional examination," the Hunter team member reported beside Edmund.
"Heh... These kids, they even dared to threaten me, each one saying his father was some Earl, some manager... Even if your father was some Marquis or chairman, it wouldn't work here."
Edmund said with a disdainful tone, curling his lip. His expression and tone, combined with his sloppy clothes, not-so-clean face, and messy hair, gave him a slightly rogue look.
In the early hours of the morning, the night patrol at King's Campus suddenly heard continuous gunshots from somewhere, which scared him so much that he quickly went to find the school security. The security guards patrolled the school for a long time but couldn't find where the gunshots came from.
To be safe, the security guards immediately contacted the student dormitories and asked them to check the rooms and confirm the students' situation. This check was a shock; more than a dozen students were not in their rooms.
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, the security guards immediately called the police. After the police arrived, they followed the night patrol's instructions to search near where the gunshots were heard and finally found the Secret Knowledge Society's meeting point, whose door had been damaged.
Then, after going in a little further, the police Captain immediately felt something was wrong. He immediately pulled his men back and contacted the An Yin Bureau through a special channel.
After that, Edmund came with his men. In the depths of the meeting point, in the ritual site, they found a group of students dressed as cultists lying on the magic circle. After waking them up, none of them cooperated with the investigation, and some of them were arrogant, which angered Edmund so much that he kicked the most arrogant one on the spot and then forcibly sent all of them to the hospital.
"Going out on a mission before dawn, they find it annoying, and so do I," Edmund muttered with a slight tone of complaint, then bit a cigarette, lit it, and puffed out smoke for a while.
"How is the on-site investigation progressing now?" Edmund asked the Hunter team member beside him, who immediately replied.
"Reporting to Captain, we are currently investigating the three levels of ruins simultaneously. On the first and second levels, we found a total of thirteen bodies, seven of which were burned and six were dismembered. In addition, we also found a large amount of blood, bullet casings, and bullets on the floor and walls of the second level... both pistol and rifle bullets. It is almost certain that an Extraordinary battle using conventional firearms occurred here." "Can you confirm that an Extraordinary battle occurred?" Hearing the words of the team member beside him, Edmund frowned slightly, and the team member beside him also nodded seriously.
"Yes, among the seven burned bodies, one was burned in a very abnormal state, as if fire was ignited from within the body by some ability and burned it. The six dismembered bodies seemed to have been torn apart. From the condition of the wounds, this might have been caused by the great strength of the 'Cup' or the enchantment of the'Shadow'. Even if they were not Extraordinary, corresponding Extraordinary Items should have been involved."
The team member continued to answer, and Edmund, after listening, rubbed his chin and muttered.
"A pyromancer... someone from the'Shadow' or 'Cup' path... Interesting. Are there any other findings?"
"Yes, we found that the battlefield was largely cleaned up. In many places, the bloodstains were dense, but there were no bodies. Many bullets were found, but there were no gun wounds on the few bodies left at the scene. We suspect that the injured and intact bodies were handled and placed elsewhere first, so the scene we are investigating is also a processed scene."
The team member reported, and Edmund, after listening, raised his eyebrows slightly and continued.
"So, it seems that the winning side was quite capable after winning. After a great battle, they still had the time and energy to clean up the battlefield so thoroughly. The attackers were not bad," Edmund said in a joking tone, but in his heart, he secretly noted the characteristics of the mysterious attackers.
"By the way, has the observer who was supposed to be stationed at this school been found?"
Edmund continued to ask. If he remembered correctly, the Bureau had sent someone to King's Campus to inquire not long ago. The dispatched personnel returned to the Bureau after contacting the observer here, and the report they submitted stated that everything was normal at King's Campus and no further investigation was needed.
Now it seemed that this place was far from normal. The two dispatched personnel might have some issues, and the observer definitely had issues.
"Reporting to Captain, after verification, the dispatched observer at King's Campus is named Andrew Wine, and he is still missing. We searched his residence and office but did not find him. His office showed signs of being ransacked. What is surprising is that Andrew's residence was already covered in dust, indicating that no one had lived there for a long time," the Hunter team member immediately replied to Edmund's question. Edmund frowned slightly after hearing this.
"No one has lived in the residence for a long time... Continue to search for Andrew's whereabouts. If you really can't find him, contact his family and prepare the relevant materials to send to the Supernatural Department to apply for channeling to see if you can channel anything."
Edmund continued to order. At this time, he was already guessing that Andrew might have died a long time ago.
"Yes."
The Hunter Captain responded to Edmund, and after saluting Edmund, he retreated, leaving only Edmund standing there, looking at the tall blasphemous statue in front of him.
Looking at the spider head on the statue, Edmund, with a serious expression, took out a document from his pocket. It had many black and white photos printed on it, most of which were similar statues with a spider's head and human body. Below each photo was written the location and time of discovery, as well as a description of the general situation.
'Here we go again. How many have been found now? I didn't expect this one to be under a school. This thing is really everywhere.'
Taking a deep breath, Edmund thought as he looked at the report in his hand. This was not the first time the An Yin Bureau had encountered similar statues, and they had already secretly clashed with the Eight Point Nest in many places.
'Eight Point Nest... Why are these guys pursuing and desecrating these statues everywhere? Who is this otherworldly goddess... So many things are unknown, it's really a headache.'
Scratching his head, Edmund thought with annoyance in his heart. Then he cast his gaze into the distance and saw several charred bodies placed side by side.
'Also, what must be paid attention to is the new force that appeared this time, attacking and completely annihilating an Eight-Pointed Nest statue stronghold. This is a force that must be taken seriously. The ability to ignite someone from within is not something an ordinary Apprentice or Black Rank Extraordinary can possess.
"Quite a number of people, swift action, high execution, and Extraordinary with a high Rank in charge, ah ah... It seems I will have to write a five or six-page report specifically for this later."
Scratching his head, Edmund muttered like this.
...
The sky was clear and sunny, in the afternoon.
King's Campus, girls' dormitory.
In a double room on the fourth floor, Emma was sitting on her bed reading a book. Although her expression showed she was reading seriously, her eyes occasionally glanced at the empty bed not far away.
"Not back yet, Neff? It's been days, nothing really happened, right..."
Looking at the empty bed, Emma muttered with a worried expression. Her roommate had been gone for several days since saying goodbye in a hurry that night, with no trace whatsoever, which was very unusual.
'Today, many police officers suddenly came to school. It is said that a group of students have gone missing. It feels so scary. Is Neff's sudden disappearance also related to this matter?'
Emma thought to herself. Just as she was thinking about whether to go see the police who were still at school and tell them about this matter, the dormitory door opened. When Emma's attention shifted, she saw that the door was already open, and a familiar figure walked out from behind the door.
"Neff? You're back?!"
"Ah, Emma, long time no see~"
Walking into the room, Naifnis, dressed in a stylish outfit with a new bag slung over her shoulder, smiled and waved to her roommate sitting on the bed. Emma immediately spoke with some surprise.
"Neff, what have you been doing these past few days? I haven't seen you all day, you didn't go to class, and you didn't say anything when you left. I was really worried."
"Oh, that, sorry, sorry. I had to rush back home because I suddenly received a telegram about an urgent family matter. Don't worry about anything."
Naifnis said with a smile to Emma as she closed the dormitory door and walked towards her desk. From her smile, she seemed to be in a very good mood.
"Urgent family matter? Hmm... It's understandable, but looking at you, I thought you went shopping," Emma said, looking at Naifnis's new clothes and bag, which were clearly expensive. Naifnis, who was already sitting in her seat, continued to smile and reply.
"My bag accidentally broke while I was doing something, so I bought a new one after I finished. I also changed my clothes because I had some money."
Naifnis continued. At noon today, Dorothy came to the City to find her and Vanya and distributed some of the spoils according to their contributions. Besides other things, Naifnis received 100 pounds in cash. As a main-job college student, Naifnis's first priority after getting the money was to go shopping in the City for new clothes and a new bag, replacing her original bag that was full of brick fragments.
Being able to earn money to support herself and even splurge a little by participating in the Rose Cross club activities for the first time felt very good.
Shopping, coupled with the complete disappearance of the Eight Point Nest's influence in the foreign campus, made Naifnis feel much better, so she returned quickly.
'Well, now it's time to get down to business.'
Thinking this, Naifnis, who was seated, opened her new bag and took out several books of different thicknesses that looked a bit worn, placing them on the table.
These were secret transmissions. Dorothy had given them to Vanya and her specifically after going to the City at noon today. Each of them had several books.
'According to Miss Dorothea, as long as I read these books and pray to Aka, I can accumulate what is called'Spirituality', just like reading Ci Rong's books before. After accumulating enough Spirituality, I will be qualified to enter the realm of the true Extraordinary.'
Looking at the several secret transmissions on the desk, Naifnis thought with some excitement. As a former student of the Secret Knowledge Society, she had also dreamed of becoming a true Extraordinary. She had not expected that today, with the entire Secret Knowledge Society gone, she would actually be able to catch a glimpse of the path to the Extraordinary.
'Thank you, Rose Cross, thank you, Aka...'
Naifnis thought silently with gratitude in her heart and prepared to start reading when she was alone. On the other side, Emma, seeing this scene, tilted her head slightly.
"Neff, with so many books, are you preparing to retake classes?"
"Ah, yes, these study materials are for reviewing... What? Retake classes?!"
Hearing Emma's words, Naifnis turned her head in shock, looking as if she had suddenly realized something terrifying.
"Yes, did you forget? The Prit Architecture Appreciation class from last semester is being retaken this semester because the exam questions were leaked. You were still reviewing before you left. This time you completely missed the exam," Emma said flatly, saying words that made Naifnis despair.
'Ah ah... I completely forgot, there was an exam!! I have absolutely no score this time!' Naifnis cried out in despair in her heart, her previous joyful mood instantly shattered.
What Naifnis was thinking about now was whether to go explain the reason to the teacher, but if she told the truth, it would probably cause even bigger trouble.
For a moment, Naifnis, who had been in a good mood just now, felt a sense of gloom about the future.
'Aka... please save this student!'