Chapter 384 : Exchange

North Tivian, Cathedral District.

Inside the Hymn Cathedral, Tivian’s largest church, countless citizens have gathered for the New Year’s prayers. In a crowded corner of the church, Ed, a corpse marionette controlled by Dorothy, is having a secret meeting with Misha, the leader of the Anti-Mole Task Force from the Serenity Bureau Headquarters and a Royal Knight. The meeting has just begun, and Dorothy has already learned some of the current situation within the Serenity Bureau from Misha.

“The Serenity Bureau has already identified the Eight-Spired Nest as the mastermind behind this. That’s a relief. Thinking about it, it makes sense. The guards of the princess and the duke weren’t completely wiped out. Many of the guards who were farther away or on different floors survived. Quite a few of them had direct encounters with the Vampire who attempted the assassination. At the very least, they could provide the Serenity Bureau with the crucial information that ‘a vampire tried to infiltrate and assassinate’. With that alone, the Serenity Bureau has enough to identify the mastermind.”

In a distant café far from the Cathedral District, Dorothy ponders this in her mind. Then, she controls Ed in the cathedral to smile and respond to Misha.

"Miss Misha, by asking me this, it seems you have a lot of faith in our level of infiltration into the Eight-Spired Nest and the authenticity of our intelligence."

"What else can I do? You know as long as that mole remains undiscovered, we can’t investigate anything properly. Even if we do uncover some intelligence, it’s likely compromised... Relying on your intelligence, while not without risk, is at least a smaller risk."

With a tone of resignation, Misha speaks to Ed. Due to the presence of a high-ranking mole within the Serenity Bureau Headquarters, their investigations into the Eight-Spired Nest have been extremely passive, with almost no success. Their biggest achievement in recent times was uncovering a small mole within the Anti-Mole Task Force, and even that was only possible thanks to intelligence provided by Dorothy. Faced with such a critical situation, Misha naturally turned to Dorothy for information on the Eight-Spired Nest.

For Misha, collaborating with the mysterious, enigmatic third-party force represented by the "Detective" is inherently risky. However, with the identity of the high-ranking mole within the headquarters still unknown, this is the only way to ensure the confidentiality of their intelligence. It’s a necessary move born out of desperation.

"Thank you for your trust, Miss Misha. Since you have such faith in us, we are more than willing to share intelligence with you. You’re right—we do have some understanding of the Eight-Spired Nest’s assassination attempt. In fact... we even had someone on the scene that night."

Ed continues to speak with a smile. Hearing this, Misha can’t help but look surprised.

"That evening... you had someone on the scene?"

"Yes. Our informants provided intelligence that the Eight-Spired Nest might make a major move during the New Year’s event at Bishop’s Square. So, we sent someone there to try and stop their plans. We made some efforts, but unfortunately, they still succeeded in the end."

Ed replies calmly. Hearing this, Misha frowns slightly and asks.

"Then why didn’t you notify us at the time?"

"Because it was too late. By the time we received the intelligence, the event had already started. The people we sent to intervene were even dispatched at the last minute. Although our actions disrupted their original plan, their backup forces were unexpectedly strong, so we couldn’t stop their final desperate assassination attempt."

Ed continues to explain. After hearing his words, Misha furrows her brow and murmurs.

"Because of your interference... their original plan was disrupted? So... it was you who warned the royal guards?"

"Hmm~ That’s right. During our skirmish with the Eight-Spired Nest’s outer forces, we found the body of the poor royal guard who had been replaced. We used a corpse marionette to manipulate him and create a diversion, warning the other royal guards. Although the Vampire assassin was driven off, we didn’t expect them to have a backup plan."

"No wonder... The surviving guards said they encountered an emergency medical team at the entrance, carrying someone who looked exactly like the guard the Vampire had impersonated. They were warned that the guard above was fake. Later, when we questioned the nuns at the emergency medical station, they said no such person had been there. So, it was all arranged by you..."

Misha murmurs with a look of realization, as if a puzzle piece had finally fallen into place. Seeing her expression, Dorothy, far away, nods in satisfaction. Her explanation had successfully covered for Vania.

During the New Year’s event at Bishop’s Square, due to the urgency of the situation, Dorothy had used a corpse marionette to impersonate one of Vania’s subordinates, carrying the disguised Gregor to warn the royal guards about the vampire near the duke. In reality, Vania’s emergency station had no such severely injured royal guard, so Vania couldn’t acknowledge this. The mysterious disappearance of the injured guard needed an explanation, and now Dorothy had provided one to Misha.

"You mentioned earlier... that the Eight-Spired Nest’s backup forces were incredibly strong, so strong that even you couldn’t stop them. What exactly were those backup forces? Who was it that ultimately killed Duke Barrett?"

With a serious tone, Misha asks Ed. Ed takes a deep breath, then gazes up at the grand dome painting on the cathedral ceiling. The painting depicts the religious legend of Arthur receiving the stone sword from the Holy Son. After staring at the solemn Holy Son and the devout Arthur for a few seconds, Ed speaks to Misha.

"The one who ultimately killed Barrett... is someone you’re very familiar with. We don’t know their real name, but their alias is known to almost everyone in Tivian. The newspapers call him—the Night Demon."

Hearing Ed’s words, Misha’s expression tightens, and a look of shock crosses her face. She remains stunned for a moment before finally speaking in disbelief.

"The Night Demon... they’re part of the Eight-Spired Nest? No wonder... no wonder... If the assassin was the Night Demon, then everything makes sense..."

"Makes sense? Did you discover something during your investigation?"

Hearing Misha’s words, Ed also looks slightly puzzled and asks. After a brief pause, Misha replies.

"The assassination site was heavily damaged by wind-based mystical powers. Duke Barrett and several Beyonder royal guards died simultaneously. We suspect that during the incident, the duke and his guards briefly clashed with the assassin and may have seen the killer’s true form. Therefore, after the incident, we immediately attempted to summon the souls of the deceased to reconstruct what happened. However, without exception, all attempts to summon the souls of the duke and the guards failed. Our Silence-path Beyonder claimed that the summoning was obstructed.

"This situation is very similar to the Night Demon’s previous crimes. In the past, after the Night Demon killed his victims, their souls could not be summoned. Therefore, we believe the Night Demon possesses some method of obstructing soul summoning. If the killer of Duke Barrett and the other guards was the Night Demon, then the failure to summon their souls makes sense.”

"I never expected... that the final assassin would be the Night Demon... So, there must be some connection between the series of crimes he committed before and this major assassination. But what exactly is the connection?"

Still with a look of surprise, Misha murmurs thoughtfully. Hearing her words, Dorothy, far away, nods in understanding and thinks to herself.

“The Night Demon has some method of obstructing soul summoning... This is one of the key reasons why they have never been caught despite committing so many crimes. Clearly, they used this method during the assassination…”

“The exact nature of this soul-blocking method is still unclear, but one thing is certain: once this method is used, even the Eight-Spired Nest itself can’t summon the souls. That’s why they specifically had the Night Demon not block Barrett’s soul, as the Eight-Spired Nest needed to summon Barrett’s soul themselves to learn the exact location of the research chamber... But it’s also because of this that we were able to use the Great Shaman’s power to seize Barrett’s soul.”

Dorothy thinks to herself. It seems that the Night Demon is either a Silence-path Beyonder or possesses some Silence-path mystical item, using Silence spirituality to block souls.

"Do you know the Night Demon’s true identity?"

At this point, Misha asks Ed. Ed shakes his head and responds.

"No, the true identity of the infamous Night Demon of the royal capital is a top-secret within the Eight-Spired Nest. Our informant, while holding a relatively high position, isn’t high enough to access that level of information. So, unfortunately, we don’t know the truth about the Night Demon.”

"However, based on your description, the Night Demon can block souls using some method, so he might be on the Silence path, right?"

Thinking this, Dorothy has Ed speak slowly. Misha continues to respond.

"It’s possible, but unlikely. Based on the Night Demon’s previous crimes, his methods are highly skilled, swift, stealthy, and deceptive. He’s a truly powerful assassin... These are traits of a seasoned Shadow-path Beyonder. I’ve always believed he possesses a powerful Silence-path mystical item, which he uses to block souls."

"A Shadow-path Beyonder, huh..."

Hearing Misha’s words, Ed murmurs thoughtfully. After a moment of contemplation, he looks back at Misha and speaks seriously.

"According to intelligence from our informant within the Eight-Spired Nest, there was at least one survivor at the center of the assassination site, right?"

"Yes, your intelligence is correct. Although Princess Isabella was severely injured, the church’s healing nuns arrived in time, so Her Highness survived. She is currently still in a coma and has not yet regained consciousness."

Misha replies directly. Hearing her words, Ed changes the subject and asks.

"Have you thoroughly examined the princess’s personal belongings? Did you find anything unusual?"

"Examining the princess’s belongings... Hmph, from your tone, you’re not suspecting Princess Isabella of being the Night Demon, are you? I admit, the princess was the only survivor at the scene, and the destruction was largely caused by wind-based mystical powers. At first glance, she seems highly suspicious, but Princess Isabella absolutely cannot be the Night Demon."

Hearing Ed’s words, Misha chuckles and replies. Ed, however, asks seriously.

"Are you so sure?"

"Of course I’m sure. Princess Isabella is gentle and kind-hearted, with a strong sense of compassion. Since childhood, she couldn’t bear to step on an ant, let alone kill anyone. In the past, when she went hunting, she couldn’t bring herself to shoot the prey and would often persuade other royals to give up hunting as well. In the end, no one wanted to take her hunting anymore."

Misha says this with confidence. As a royal knight serving the royal family, she is quite familiar with the inner workings of the palace.

"Princess Isabelle’s kindness is well-known. You can get a sense of it just from reading about her charity work in the newspapers. Her kind nature is innate and has been consistent since childhood. Moreover, although the princess has received royal mystical education since childhood and is a Beyonder herself, her rank is only that of a Black Earth-rank Aeromancer. Based on the Night Demon’s performance, his rank is at least White Ash or higher.”

"Additionally, the Night Demon’s exceptional assassin skills couldn’t have been developed without long-term training. Princess Isabella has been under formal royal education since childhood and couldn’t have received such specialized assassin training. Finally, we’ve also examined the princess’s personal belongings and found nothing suspicious."

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Misha speaks with certainty, firmly believing that Princess Isabella cannot be the Night Demon. Hearing her words, Dorothy also nods thoughtfully.

“Kind-hearted since childhood... always under formal royal education... only an Aeromancer... no suspicious Beyonder items found on her... If what this knight says is true, then the princess being the Night Demon is indeed highly unlikely…”

Dorothy ponders this. Meanwhile, in the cathedral, Misha speaks to Ed again.

"We’ve dealt with the Night Demon many times. He’s extremely cautious and cunning. Directly uncovering his true identity is very difficult, so this time I’d like to focus on the Eight-Spired Nest’s motive for assassinating the duke and the princess. Do your informants know the motive behind this operation?"

"The motive... According to our informant, this operation was directly planned by at least a Red Completion-rank high-ranking member of the Eight-Spired Nest. Those below are just the execution layer, so our informant doesn’t know much about this. What we do know is that it’s likely related to Duke Barrett’s research on the Mirror Moon Statue. On the night of the incident, a team from the Eight-Spired Nest went to Barrett’s research site in the southwestern suburbs to completely destroy the research result."

Dorothy has Ed respond. Hearing his words, Misha sighs.

"Sigh... So it really is related to that research? We went to Duke Barrett’s mansion, which served as the research site, yesterday morning. By the time we arrived, the place was already engulfed in flames. Everyone inside was dead. Unfortunately, we found nothing of value in the ruins. The research materials were likely all burned."

Misha sighs with disappointment. Having not obtained more useful information about the Eight-Spired Nest’s motives from Ed, she seems slightly disheartened. At this moment, Ed continues with a smile.

"Not everything was burned. In order to understand how far Barrett’s research had progressed, the Eight-Spired Nest didn’t destroy all the materials. They took some back for analysis. Our informant within the Eight-Spired Nest managed to access these materials, copied a portion through some means, and successfully delivered them to us."

"What? You have part of the duke’s research materials?"

Hearing Ed’s words, Misha’s eyes light up. Ed continues to respond.

"Yes, although it’s incomplete, I think it’s enough for you to partially understand the progress of Duke Barrett’s research. It involves in-depth research into Pritt’s history and culture. To be honest, while we do have some Pritt nationals among us, not many are specialized in this field. These materials would be of greater use in your hands than ours."

Ed speaks to Misha, then raises an eyebrow slightly and adds.

"We are willing to hand over these important materials to you, Miss Misha, as long as you can provide the appropriate compensation..."