Chapter 59: Holy Water (4)

|A/N: Many important things came up recently, so I'm sorry for the slow upload.|

Perseus POV

As I continued my examination of the contaminated holy water, I noticed something peculiar amidst the clear liquid after a while, especially when I lit the water up. Floating amidst the pristine surface were tiny particles of what appeared to be fine, clear dust. Intrigued, I carefully extracted a sample of the substance for closer inspection.

Under the dim light of the room, the light helped it be noticeable, I separated it from the water and I then knew what it was. It didn't take long for me to recognize the characteristics of the substance.

It was a rare pollen, produced by a species of underwater flower parasites known to inhabit the depths of the sea. These particular parasites were notorious for their ability to wreak havoc on marine life, infesting the bodies of unsuspecting creatures and draining them of their vitality.

While they typically targeted animals, the pollen they produced could also cause significant discomfort in humans upon contact, inducing symptoms ranging from mild irritation to severe allergic reactions.

It was a troubling discovery, one that raised more questions than answers. How had this pollen found its way into the kingdom's holy water, and who stood to benefit from such an act?

Even we don't use it...so who would? This parasite is found quite deep underwater, and any high-ranking mage isn't going to do all that work, so...it's either one of us who's farming this thing...or like that other old man...a descendant or a retiree trying to get revenge.

*****

"So you figured out the contaminant?" Terrence repeated after I told him some basic information, I hid the fact of how I can bless water and other things though.

"Yeah, it's rare, it's not something even the best of investigators or biologists would know, they don't encounter this often. I tasted it, I can verify its authenticity."

"You tasted it?"

"I have a very high poison resistance, I'm fine."

"So we know the possible contamination, the definite contaminant, but...not how they exactly they get it apart from either a mixed or full descendant of Sam Wyatt..."

"Yep, thanks for summarizing it up, but...how will we break this to the prince?"

"Let's just say everything we said until now, Lind said that the base is ready to sacrifice this base as they planned on moving anyway...so we'll leak that it was the snakes, put incriminating evidence here...and eventually the blame will be on them and let this kingdom get its holy water back to make it function properly."

"I also don't plan on being the person credited for discovering the contaminant, so talk the prince out of it, I like my anonymity."

"Sure. But impressive, regardless."

"I know, but...there's a large amount of these things needed to contaminate such a large amount of left behind holy water, so...there might be more of us out there."

*****

"You managed to separate the contaminants?" Cedric exclaimed in shock

"Bro, just don't, I've had that reaction 4 times today, too small, and too translucent for it to be noticed, but the smell...Henry, you can smell it, right? We got sensitive noses."

"Yeah, it's really faint, but...there's a difference, I've never noticed that before." Henry confirmed

"It's a rare type of poison, won't kill ya but it will do the trick for a lot of animals...but I told you that already."

Terrence then told them that we heard quite a bit of rumors from dangerous criminals and bounty hunters that it was the vengeful snakes, which they then said that they'll investigate that lead and separate from us for now, my information should be good enough of a breakthrough, now let's hope that they picked up on the clues we left, including the snake's location.

He did stop them and told them of my request, and since they still wanted me to get something in return, I just asked for money and a cloak. 

*****

As the authorities raided the base of the Truth, I found myself accompanying them as they moved swiftly through the church. Tension hung heavy in the air as we ventured deeper into the heart of the organization's operations, knowing that we were on the brink of uncovering a dangerous truth.

They found our false leads, and the next month after proper preparations, they raided the snakes' base. Suddenly, chaos erupted as members of the criminal organization launched a desperate counterattack against the advancing knights and mages.

Spells crackled through the air, and the clash of steel echoed off the stone walls as the two sides engaged in a fierce struggle for control. I stood in the back with Terrence and just watched the action go down.

As the skirmish raged on, the tide of battle gradually turned in favor of the authorities, their superior numbers and training proving too much for the entrenched criminals to overcome. Slowly but surely, they gained the upper hand, pressing forward with a lot of blood and deaths behind them.

White blade in and red blade out...it's a bloodbath, the snakes didn't surrender and so this was the result.

In the aftermath of the conflict, the authorities uncovered evidence of the organization's nefarious activities, including the production and distribution of dangerous drugs that had plagued the kingdom for far too long plus the contaminants.

Having discovered the containers of the contaminated pollen and confirmed their suspicions of the group's involvement in the holy water crisis. But we didn't find the other descendants of Sam Wyatt.

The next day, we came back and watched all the evidence being collected as we tried to find vital information and secret bunkers to take advantage of.

"They weren't that strong." Elpis commented

"They're untrained commoners." Terrence responded, "All they have is anger, but what else can they do? Anger doesn't necessarily transfer to strength. And if there's no hierarchy...it's only going to result in chaos...most of us don't believe in true equality if you can't tell."

"Yeah, I don't care about that."

"Of course, you don't. You don't care about anything."