Chapter 43: Demonic Ritual

243 New Year Road, Hillsdon District.

At the door stood a young man with messy brown hair, his expression clearly filled with gloom.

"Captain," he called out, a trace of hope appearing on his previously gloomy face upon seeing Simon and the others.

"Rayleigh," Simon's voice was still hoarse. "Open the door."

Rayleigh silently complied, grabbing the doorknob and opening the door for them. As they entered, a strong smell of blood hit them.

Through the open door, they saw the scene inside.

In the living room, a woman in a bright long dress lay on the floor. Blood spread from her abdomen, staining her dress and the floor, creating a hellish, horrifying scene.

That was Eve, Simon's team's Seer Beyonder, Eve Fischer.

Ashes remembered her. He had seen her at the detective agency not long ago, a girl with a delicate face and a faint smile. But now, the girl named Eve had turned into a stiff corpse.

Her delicate face was twisted in pain, showing she had suffered greatly before death. Her abdomen had a large, bloody wound, but her abdominal cavity was empty.

Blood had pooled on the floor and dried, but her internal organs were missing.

"Lorota," Simon's voice remained hoarse, but now with a hint of deep-seated hatred. He gritted his teeth, "I hope you can communicate with Eve's spirit and find the killer!"

To preserve the scene, they hadn't touched anything, not even moving Eve's body, hoping to use spirit communication to find the murderer once Lorota, a true Spirit medium, arrived.

"I can't," Lorota stood by Eve's corpse for a long time, her face bitter. "Her spirit has vanished. I should say all the spirits that were here have disappeared. The new spirits don't know anything."

After receiving the acting method from Ashes, she had been actively performing since returning to Backlund. Working during the day and acting at night, without rest, she had successfully advanced to Sequence 7, the Spirit medium.

At this stage, the "Corpse Collector" pathway undergoes a qualitative change. Spiritualists can master various mystic rituals related to spirits, directly communicating with natural spirits and wandering souls in the real world.

This was why Simon had asked her for help. But even a skilled housewife cannot cook without rice.

Even as a Spirit medium, she was powerless without any spirits present.

"The spirits have vanished?" Simon and Al's expressions both darkened.

Even though a night's time would cause most spirits to dissipate, the remaining ones could still provide some basic information. But now, Lorota said the spirits had completely vanished, indicating someone had interfered beforehand.

The killer knew there would be an investigation and had cleaned the scene in advance.

"Then we'll have to use the most traditional method," Borgia suggested.

Simon closed his eyes in pain, but his extensive experience allowed him to start analyzing the case.

"Although diviners aren't good at combat, Eve had already advanced to Sequence 8, the Clown. Even if she had just advanced, she shouldn't have been completely defenseless. But the scene shows almost no signs of struggle, indicating the killer is at least a Sequence 7 or even Sequence 6 Beyonder!"

"And the motive?" Rayleigh, another Beyonder from Simon's team, clenched his fists. "Why did the killer murder Eve?"

"The most common reasons for murder are revenge and passion," Al frowned, offering his guess. "Could it be retaliation from a wild Beyonder they were tracking?"

As official Beyonders, they inevitably offended some wild Beyonders, especially members of extreme cults like the Aurora Order. This seemed like something they would do. Unfortunately, there were too few clues to make a definitive conclusion.

"There's another clue," Lorota said slowly. "Although faint, there's a smell of lilac and currant in the air, and combined with the fact that the killer hollowed out Eve's insides, it seems like some kind of ritual."

"If it's a ritual," Al's expression turned serious. "Then it's either the Demon Worshippers or the Rose School."

Backlund had many old organizations with Beyonders. Among them, there were relatively harmless ones like Elemental Dawn and the life school of thought, as well as extreme terrorists like the Aurora Order, who worshipped the True Creator.

If it's about rituals, then only the Demon Worshippers, who worship demons, and the Rose School, known for their bloody sacrifices, fit. Demon Worshippers control the "Criminal" pathway, while the Rose School controls the "Prisoner" pathway.

From the names of the potions alone, one could infer the high crime rates among these pathways' Beyonders.

Although they still didn't know who the killer was, they had a preliminary range: likely the Demon Worshippers or the Rose School.

To narrow it down further, they needed to find out why Eve was targeted.

And for a wild Beyonders to kill an official one, the most likely reason remained revenge.

"Simon," Al said solemnly, "it's best to start with the wild Beyonders you've been tracking recently. We'll also help investigate."

"Alright," Simon replied hoarsely but didn't move further, standing silently by the corpse.

Al fell silent until Borgia nudged him, giving him a look.

Finally, Al's team and Rayleigh left the living room, giving Simon some space.

"Want a smoke?" Al pulled out a pack of cigarettes from somewhere, lit one, and asked.

"Give me one," Borgia, who never smoked, replied in a low voice.

Al tossed him a cigarette without hesitation.

"Simon and Eve were a couple," Lorota explained softly to Ashes, "They were planning to get married next month, but now..."

Lorota's eyes dimmed. Though they were both Beyonders, and she wasn't even on the same team as Eve, their friendship was strong as fellow women. They had just gone shopping together two days ago to celebrate her advancement to Spirit medium.

Who would have thought it would come to this in just two days?

Ashes remained silent, having already learned some information on the way here.

Eve had joined the NightHawks two years ago and was assigned to Simon's team, which consisted of Simon, Rayleigh, and Eve—standard for Backlund NightHawks. Teams generally comprised three to four members, usually including two Sleepless -path Beyonders and one auxiliary professional, often a Corpse Collector or Seer.

Al's team had also followed this standard configuration before Ashes joined.

Eve had advanced to Sequence 8, the Clown, half a month ago, and was about to marry Simon. She was supposed to have a bright future ahead of her. Now, she was a cold corpse.

"I can't do anything," Lorota closed her eyes in pain.

(End of Chapter)

50 Power stones = Extra Chapter