Chapter 82: The Crowd with Their Own Thoughts and the Mysterious Deceased

“Cough cough… cough cough cough…”

Not far away, the Holy Knight named Jeremy once again let out a series of intermittent coughs, as if desperately suppressing the impulse to cry and vomit. Miss Vilyric cast a glance at him; beneath her mask, her eyebrows slightly raised, but… in the end, she said nothing and continued to quietly wait for Pedrick’s report.

“Daren Morritt, male, human, 29 years old, formerly employed in the Saint of Bright Light Temple Knights’ Third Brigade, Seventeenth Team, Sixth Squad, as a squad member, ranked Courage Knight; this identity has been officially confirmed.”

“Cause of death — excessive blood loss, died from exhaustion in battle. From the inspection traces, the murderer should have had many opportunities to kill him outright, but for some reason, they chose not to do so and instead continuously inflicted more wounds, ultimately leading to his slow bleeding to death. The intention behind this act remains to be determined.”

“It’s all my fault… if only I could have run a little faster, perhaps…”

Jeremy’s voice was full of guilt and regret once more, but this time, Pedrick did not choose to violently reprimand him for interrupting his autopsy report; he merely frowned slightly at the pale-faced knight before moving on to the next stretcher.

Inside was another corpse, tortured to the point of being unrecognizable, but unlike the previous two, this time, the deceased had a fractured, familiar-looking horn protruding from their forehead.

“Aiden, male, Ghost Warrior Tribe, 127 years old, formerly in the Saint of Bright Light Temple Knights’ Third Brigade, Seventeenth Team, Sixth Squad, as a squad member, ranked Arbiter; this identity has been confirmed.”

“Cause of death — his magic core was forcibly taken, leading to the collapse of bodily functions.”

Pedrick moved to the side of the Ghost Warrior’s corpse, pulling down the white cloth that covered only its head and upper body until he reached the waist, allowing a clearer view of the large, bowl-sized cavity in Aiden’s abdomen, seemingly penetrated directly by some object like a palm.

Given that the Arbiter class focuses on being lightweight and mobile, he was not wearing the heavy armor with robust defense, maybe that’s why the enemy could easily pierce his body.

But even so, it was enough to prove the murderer’s remarkable strength.

Pedrick continued to explain.

“From the different causes of death of the three Temple Knights, the murderer’s actions were reckless, chaotic, and brutal, yet they exhibited clear logic and purpose.”

“For the strongest among them, the Vice-Captain Jorse, who reached the level of Resilient Knight, they chose to ambush him, eliminating him swiftly and unexpectedly.”

“And for the remaining Daren Morritt and Aiden, the murderer first killed the latter with a more decisive lethal method in battle, eventually torturing Daren, who was only a Courage Knight, to death.”

Glancing at Jeremy, who bowed his head and seemed to be holding back sadness, the Arbiter respectfully handed over the documents he was holding to the Saintess, who was now observing the features of the deceased with a serious expression.

“According to recorded records, the Saint of Bright Light Temple Knights’ Third Brigade, Seventeenth Team, Sixth Squad should have a total of five members. Including the surviving Jeremy Murray, the last remaining member, the team leader, the Fearless Knight Karina Brett, is currently missing…”

Then, Pedrick reached the last stretcher in the Quiet Room, which appeared to be the smallest, not even half the size of the previous three.

He slowly lifted the white cloth covering it.

Inside lay a girl, lifeless but otherwise looking perfectly intact, who appeared to be no more than ten years old.

The man opened one eye, revealing a pale blue, gem-like translucent pupil that had completely lost its luster.

“The deceased Chloe Laurie, female, 16 years old, with one-quarter Light Tribe and three-quarters human bloodline, confirmed as a registered resident of the Holy Empire, adopted daughter of the Laurie family in Klaus City, mysteriously disappeared four years ago during an outing, with no news ever since.”

“This case is also recorded in the Klaus City Temple Knights’ document archive. It is said that the knights searched the entire city and distributed a massive number of missing person notices but never found a trace, ultimately becoming a cold case. Chloe Laurie was classified as missing; this status has been officially confirmed by the head of the Laurie family.”

“……”

The Saint of Bright Light gazed for a long time into Chloe’s lifeless eyes, then put down the documents with a sigh.

“What was the cause of death?”

Upon hearing this, Pedrick’s already furrowed brow seemed to tighten even more, pausing for a moment before slowly replying.

“Cause of death… unknown.”

“Huh?”

Perhaps because he finally spoke up, the blonde Arbiter turned his gaze to the white-haired girl with furry pointed ears present in the Quiet Room, his hawk-like sharp eyes squinting slightly, particularly aimed at the somewhat odd fox mask on her face.

“Your Highness, who is this…?”

“This is Miss Xī, a valuable assistant I’ve invited to help solve the case, Pedrick. There’s no need to hide anything from her; speak frankly.”

The Saint of Bright Light’s answer, said without a hint of hesitation, seemed to surprise him a little. Pedrick paused for a moment, the piercing gaze that characterized the Arbiter, focusing on searching and hunting, gradually softened as he nodded, dropping any inquiry about the fox girl’s identity.

“Based on the autopsy results, the deceased Chloe Laurie shows no potentially fatal injuries anywhere on her body, including internally. While there are many injection marks on the inside of her wrist, indicating that some drugs may have caused stunted growth or halted development, this is not sufficient to account for the disappearance of her life signs. Therefore, purely from a physiological perspective, the cause of death being unknown is the only conclusion we can currently draw.”

Since she had already spoken, Miss Vilyric decided to be less polite and immediately retorted.

“So that means, if we look beyond the physiological perspective, we can find the answer?”

“……”

With a somewhat cold demeanor, the Arbiter glanced at the fox girl, unsure whether he was annoyed that she had interrupted or if this was simply his usual demeanor.

But in the end, Pedrick decisively nodded.

“Indeed, if we look at it from a theological or soul perspective…”

He retrieved a plain-looking, flat gray crystal, measuring just half the length of an adult human’s finger, and placed it directly on the little girl’s forehead.

But after a good ten seconds passed, neither the crystal nor the girl showed any signs of change.

Just as Miss Xī was beginning to wonder what this represented, the Saint of Bright Light, Yuna, suddenly changed her expression, picked up the dull gray crystal with her long, slender finger, and her voice clearly carried hints of anger and caution.

“What a vicious method, is this… soul plunder only mastered by high-ranking demons? This girl’s body seems to have become nothing but a shell…”

   

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