Thursday morning, in the northern district of Indo Port, at St. Ekaterina Church.
A team dressed in tight-fitting uniforms and carrying standard-issue silver swords entered the underground area. Leading them was a man in his forties, standing over two and a half meters tall, with sharp features and a handsome appearance. The only downside was his thinning hair, which was on the verge of forming a "bald spot."
Unlike the others, he not only carried a silver sword at his waist but also had a knight's lance strapped to his back, longer than his own height.
Behind him followed four men and two women, who trailed slightly behind the half-giant as they entered a rather spacious room.
The room was filled with bookshelves holding numerous files and related materials, with a long table in the center.
At that moment, a woman in her early twenties with black hair and brown eyes was sitting on a chair beside the table. She seemed unaware of the newcomers as she chugged a bottle of Lelange.
Seeing this, the man behind the half-giant leader, also over two and a half meters tall, coughed and reminded her, "Siltana... His Excellency Oaken is here!"
Hearing this, Siltana quickly put down the bottle, let out a hiccup, and stood up, awkwardly greeting, "Your Excellency Oaken, Captain... You're here..."
She wasn't worried about being caught drinking on the job—after all, it was a common habit among Indor officials...
What Siltana was concerned about was that she had unilaterally ended her previously assigned task, and His Excellency Oaken might hold her accountable. So, she quickly grabbed a stack of files from the shelf and said in a somewhat ingratiating tone:
"Your Excellency Oaken, Captain... The documents you need are all here."
The half-giant, Oaken, was clearly familiar with Siltana's habits. Seeing her so eager, he smiled and said:
"Siltana, why were you assigned to guard this place? I remember your previous task was to accompany Lady Nasali, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Greyfort..."
"That young lady now spends every day soaking in Old Belov's hot spring inn. I couldn't keep following her into the baths, especially since Indor has been swamped with cases lately, and we're short on hands... So, I requested this task of guarding and organizing documents from the captain..." Siltana explained, subtly winking at her captain before adding, "Well, it's been so busy lately that the captain probably forgot to report it to you."
"...Yes, I did approve it. I just got too busy and forgot to report it," the captain of the "Demon Hunters" team said after a moment of confusion, covering for his subordinate.
Seeing this, Oaken chuckled but didn't call them out. Instead, he brought up another matter:
"Old Belov's hot spring inn? Hasn't he sold it yet?"
He remembered this matter because, although Lord Panin hadn't personally intervened, his secretary had made it clear, which was why the Belov family had been struggling in Indor.
Siltana looked up, meeting the high-ranking deacon's gaze for the first time, and asked with confusion, "Your Excellency Oaken, we all know the Belov family is innocent... Since Lord Panin has already... why can't we just... let it go?"
When mentioning Panin, Siltana's tone noticeably soured...
Because of his contract with a sacred relic, that old lecher had been the high-ranking deacon stationed in Indor Port before becoming a demigod, and he had once made advances toward her... If not for the captain's intervention, she might not have been able to withstand the pressure.
As a result, Siltana had no fondness for Panin and instead felt deep sympathy for the unjustly oppressed Belov family.
Oaken glanced at her and replied expressionlessly:
"Siltana, you need to understand that Panin is now a hero upheld by the Church! Even though he has fallen, some of his 'last wishes' must still be carried out..."
A hero? I don't believe for a second he was ever a hero! He probably summoned that demon himself and then messed it up! Siltana cursed inwardly but didn't dare to argue with His Excellency Oaken, knowing it would be pointless.
Seeing her fall silent, Oaken's tone softened slightly, and he added after some thought:
"I remember the gang that had been lowballing the hot spring inn was taken out by 'Iron Man.' Old Belov should now be able to sell the inn at a fair price... Later, hint to his son that they should sell it quickly and move to a city far from Indor.
"After all, Panin's friends, relatives, and those he promoted are all concentrated in Indor and Sunia Island. They can't exert influence elsewhere..."
Siltana sighed and nodded helplessly, then took another swig from her bottle.
The high-ranking deacon of the Church of the God of Combat, known as the "Spear of God," His Excellency Oaken, paid no attention to Siltana's drunken display of dissatisfaction. He walked over to the table piled with documents and picked up a file to examine.
The rest of the "Demon Hunters" team, including the half-giant captain, gathered around. After grabbing a few bottles of Nepos that Siltana tossed their way, they officially began their work.
—Nepos was a distilled liquor native to Feysac, made from potatoes or grains, famous for its high alcohol content and fiery kick... Additionally, it was quite affordable, making it popular among ordinary Feysacians.
Amid the rustling of papers, the "Spear of God," Oaken, pondered for a moment and said:
"It's now confirmed that the reason so many Beyonder individuals have come to Indor recently is the rumored ruins that may appear offshore tonight...
"The source of this rumor is unknown, but since so many people believe it, whether it's true or not, it's worth taking seriously."
The half-giant captain frowned and added:
"But are there really ruins offshore? This rumor dates back to twelve years ago, when I had just joined. My first suspected Beyonder case was about a fisherman who claimed to have seen a giant skeleton...
"At the time, a high-sequence Beyonder from the 'Corpse Collector' pathway passed through Indor. His unstable state caused his aura to leak, nearly bringing disaster to the entire city...
"In the end, it was Lord Panin who led the team to stop him... For that, Lord Panin was severely injured, and the entire team was nearly wiped out.
"So, we've always thought that the fisherman might have gone mad after witnessing that battle...
"After all, the battle did indeed take place at sea."
After hearing this, His Excellency Oaken, the "Spear of God," shook his head lightly and said, "You're mistaken... According to the documents I've reviewed, there was no battle at all... Panin merely watched from a distance as the other party left... That high-sequence Beyonder harbored no hostility..."
"What?!" Everyone who heard this, including the captain and Siltana, was stunned.
After all, half of the "Demon Hunters" team had been lost in that incident, and Panin had been promoted to a high-ranking deacon with a contract to a "sacred relic" because of his supposed "merit."
But if there was no battle, where did the merit come from?
Oaken thought for a moment and added meaningfully, "The higher-ups in the Church wanted Panin to gain merit... even if half the team was lost due to his reckless ambition."
"No wonder Hesta and Gnar were transferred away from Indor after that incident..." The half-giant captain looked as if he had realized something but then gave up on saying more.
Siltana, however, furrowed her brows. Given Panin's usual behavior and his sudden death in Sunia Island, she felt there might be a deeper scheme at play.
"Anyway, we need to proceed under the assumption that the ruins are real and make arrangements accordingly. We'll also need to send people to follow up tonight... Siltana, since you organized the documents, which Beyonders currently in Indor do you think we should pay attention to?" Oaken steered the conversation back to the main topic.
Siltana snapped out of her thoughts and replied after some consideration:
"The most troublesome ones are naturally 'Iron Man' and 'Doctor Strange.' We've been monitoring them for so long, and even with Your Excellency personally stepping in, we still haven't caught them... That shows how slippery they are!"
When mentioning "Doctor Strange," her eyes flickered, and she continued:
"However, I think they pose the least threat. After all, since their 'debut,' these two have never killed indiscriminately.
"To be honest, if not for our official stance, I'd actually have a pretty good impression of them.
"Especially 'Doctor Strange'... Just listening to his 'declarations,' if it weren't for his undeniable strength, I'd think he was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old noble boy with a vivid imagination."
"Hmm, these two are indeed troublesome, and we can't let our guard down just because of their past behavior... But if necessary, cooperation isn't entirely out of the question...
"Besides them, who else should we pay attention to?"
Siltana thought seriously for a moment and said:
"I think, compared to those two 'vigilantes,' the Duke's daughter, Nasali, deserves more of our attention! That's also one of the reasons I stopped following her... Only by easing surveillance can we catch her off guard."
"Why do you say that?" Oaken asked, surprised.
"Her arrival in Indor was too coincidental. She's also been subtly probing me for information, and her recent hot spring visits are highly unusual! I even suspect that the rumors about the ruins were spread by her or someone behind her!
"She definitely has some hidden agenda! And, most importantly, when I'm with her, I often feel like there's someone else nearby... but I can't find anything...
"One day, I was sure some of my alcohol had gone missing, so I started paying attention. I used the excuse that drinking would harm the 'Demon Hunters' image and stopped drinking in front of her... But when I counted my bottles of brandy later, I found that some were still missing!
"Even though my brain told me the amount was the same... my gut told me my brain was 'full of it'!"
"But that could just be your gut being full of it! There's no evidence—it's pure speculation... This doesn't even count as reasoning," Oaken said dismissively.
Siltana, however, smiled slightly and said:
"But that doesn't stop us from listing her as a key target, does it?"
...
At the hot spring inn, Nasali, who had been intermittently "playing dead" all day, put on her clothes and looked at her teacher helplessly. "Teacher, this really isn't working..."
"I know..." Her teacher, a demigod of the "Spectator" pathway dressed in a bathrobe, nodded, a hint of excitement in his eyes. "You don't need to be the bait anymore. The 'Magic Mirror' has given me new instructions!
"Hurry and rent a boat. We'll set sail tonight!"
Hearing this, Nasali, with her fiery red hair, didn't feel relieved. Instead, she looked at her teacher with even more concern.
"What exactly does the 'Magic Mirror' want? Why is it so fixated on those ruins?"
...
Meanwhile, in the living room of a villa in the port district, Closfia closed a mysticism book she had been reading. She glanced at the clock and smiled to herself:
"'Greed'... 'Magic Mirror'...
"I originally just wanted to take the opportunity to hold a ritual and complete Dunn's final treatment...
"I didn't expect there'd be an extra reward!"
(End of Chapter)