"Ten times? For real?"
Although Byrne had nearly faltered when he first probed the black mud mask, it hadn't felt quite as exaggerated as "ten times."
"So, what do we do now..."
Before Selena could finish, Renee spread her hands. "Heh, what else can we do? We call the Captain, of course. A heretical artifact of this level isn't something we can handle."
Byrne's mouth twitched slightly at her words. Heh, a classic case of 'when in doubt, let the Captain sort it out.'
Fifteen minutes later, Marco arrived at the repair shop in Silver Maple Lane. This time, Marco wasn't wearing his usual corporate attire; he had changed into loose casual clothes. The moment he stepped into the back room, his aura shifted. Marco's eyes, which usually held a hint of indifference, were now as sharp as daggers tempered in ice, quickly scanning the entire room.
His gaze swept over the scattered tools, the corrosive marks, the unconscious owner, and the trio of Byrne, Renee, and Selena, before finally landing on the iron cabinet against the wall.
Seeing the Captain, Renee immediately stepped forward. "Captain, the scene is basically under control. The current issue is that there are two heretical artifacts hidden in that cabinet, and the intensity of the Chaos contamination exceeds my recovery limits."
"I understand. Good work, the three of you. I'll take it from here."
With that, Marco walked straight toward the iron cabinet. He didn't immediately activate a psychic probe like Byrne and Renee had; instead, he circled the cabinet for a moment. With a slight flick of his fingers, a strand of pale golden psychic energy flowed out, circling the edges of the cabinet like a swimming snake. He didn't touch the cabinet rashly, nor did he probe deep; he simply sensed the energy fluctuations leaking from within.
After a moment, Marco withdrew his psychic energy, his brow furrowing. "There are indeed two incredibly powerful and distinct Chaos energies in this cabinet. One belongs to the Lord of Plague, which makes sense. But the other... actually comes from the Lord of Desire."
The Lord of Desire?
Byrne was surprised to hear this epithet for Slaanesh. Among the four Chaos Gods, Slaanesh presided over desire, pleasure, and excess. His followers were often obsessed with extreme sensory gratification, and their creations mostly focused on warping the mind and amplifying emotions.
This explained everything. The eerie whispers and illusions triggered by the black mud mask had revolved around extreme emotions, perfectly matching the mental erosion methods used by Slaanesh's followers.
The problem was that the doctrines of Nurgle and Slaanesh were fundamentally opposed. The former wallowed in decay and suffering, while the latter chased extreme sensory pleasure; their followers were traditionally mortal enemies. Why would a Nurgle-worshipping shop owner hide a Slaaneshi artifact? Could the owner have been planning to convert?
But during their earlier battle, the owner's behavior had been incredibly devout, showing no sign of wanting to betray Nurgle. Then again, Byrne found it somewhat absurd. In less than a week, first there was Tzeentch, and now Nurgle and Slaanesh. Heh, we're just missing Khorne to complete the set of four.
While Byrne was thinking, Renee spoke first. "That shouldn't be right. How can these two types of Chaos energy appear together?"
Marco stood up. "Correct. Under normal circumstances, these two energies could never appear in the same heretic's lair. The followers of the Lord of Plague find release in decay and disease, while the followers of the Lord of Desire chase extreme sensory pleasure. Their doctrines are fundamentally incompatible; it's a wonder if their followers don't start fighting on sight. Yet, this impossible thing is happening right in front of us."
Selena speculated, "Maybe the shop owner was coerced into doing this, or maybe he was planning to abandon the Lord of Plague for the Lord of Desire."
Marco shook his head. "Neither of those possibilities holds water." He turned and pointed at the owner on the floor. "Look at the signs of corruption on him. The plague energy writhing under his skin is pure and concentrated; that state only comes from long-term, devout worship of the Lord of Plague. This kind of follower has an obsession with his 'Grandfather' that is rooted in his very marrow. He wouldn't just convert to the opposing Lord of Desire; even if coerced, he would have a primal repulsion when other Chaos artifacts got close. It would be impossible for him to hide it so calmly."
Selena tried again, "But if the person coercing him was far stronger than him, they might have been able to forcibly suppress his religious instincts."
Renee took over from the side. "That possibility is very low. I scanned his soul earlier; the core is still a fanatical worship of the Lord of Plague, with no traces of being forcibly altered or suppressed. Faith, especially faith in the Chaos Gods, binds to the soul once it takes root. Forced external interference would only lead to the soul's collapse, rather than maintaining its integrity like this."
Leaning against the wall, Byrne rubbed his temples and added, "And when I fought him, he kept muttering about 'the Grandfather's blessing.' His every word and action showed a devout faith in the Lord of Plague; there wasn't the slightest hint of him being coerced or wavering."
After Byrne spoke, everyone fell silent. Nurgle and Slaanesh artifacts in the same cabinet, with a Nurgle-worshipping owner showing no resistance—this was a bizarre situation that defied common sense.
After a moment, Marco looked at the iron cabinet again. This time, he didn't just look at the surface; he opened the cabinet doors directly. Simultaneously, he turned his hands, and a ball of concentrated pale golden psychic energy appeared in his palms, covering them like a pair of gloves.
"Now that we've ruled out the shop owner's own reasons, there's only one possibility left: the fact that these two heretical artifacts can be placed together isn't the shop owner's doing, but someone else's. And this person has the ability to make two opposing Chaos energies coexist temporarily without conflict."
Before his words faded, the pale golden psychic energy in Marco's palms vibrated, and a fine net of golden light instantly covered every inch of the iron cabinet. This net was like a scanner, constantly sweeping the entire cabinet.
"Heh, found it."
In less than a minute, Marco gave a short shout, and the scattered golden net quickly converged into a single point. This point of light landed on a tiny scratch on the inside of the cabinet door. The scratch was extremely well-hidden; it would have been impossible to notice without careful observation, looking just like an accidental bump from transport.
The moment Marco's psychic energy touched the scratch, a very faint purple glow suddenly emerged from it before quickly dissipating.
Seeing this fleeting ripple of energy, Marco said gravely, "Although this energy was deliberately concealed and vanished extremely fast upon discovery, I could never mistake it. This energy fluctuation, filled with trickery and distortion, comes from the Lord of Change."