"There's a problem there," Klein said solemnly as he pointed at the flight of stairs that separated the living room and dining room.
He had read in the internal information of the Nighthawks that when a spiritual perception had a similar situation, it usually meant that there was something evil or filthy hidden at the target location. If one wasn't confident, it was best not to touch it, or else one could easily lose one's life. Sometimes, even a mere glance could cause irreversible damage.
Dunn looked over. With his high spiritual perception, he immediately realized that something was amiss. He turned to look at Klein and calmly instructed, "Do a divination to see if the exploration will be successful."
Before entering the castle, Captain didn't even ask me to do a divination. He's rather confident … This means that he believes that the hidden object might be more dangerous than a wraith … Klein nodded silently, put away his revolver, and handed his cane to Frye.
Then, he removed the topaz pendant from his sleeve and held the silver chain with his left hand as he deliberated over a suitable divination statement.
In the blink of an eye, his eyes turned dark as an invisible breeze swirled around him.
"The exploration of the castle's hidden location will be successful."
"The exploration of the castle's hidden location will be successful."
…
After reciting it seven times, Klein's eyes returned to normal. He saw that the topaz pendant was spinning clockwise.
Although it wasn't a big rotation, it was indeed spinning clockwise!
This meant that the exploration would be successful.
Klein, who had become a true Seer, immediately nodded at Dunn and Frye.
"The danger is within the range of what can be resolved, or none at all."
Dunn wore the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem on his left chest and pressed down on his silk top hat. He quickly walked towards the flight of stairs and familiarly searched for the mechanism.
Frye, who had already picked up the iron glove, returned the cane to Klein. He raised his revolver and vigilantly guarded his surroundings, as if he was afraid that an enemy would suddenly appear.
I'm still not professional enough … In the domain of the Nighthawks … Klein pulled himself together, drew his revolver again, and stayed on guard.
After a few minutes, the half-squatting Dunn Smith pressed something, and the flight of stairs immediately produced a heavy creaking sound.
The floor there cracked open, revealing a staircase leading downwards. A cold and dirty feeling filled the air, almost solidifying.
Dunn glanced at it, removed Sealed Artifact 3-0782 from his chest, and threw it into the secret door.
After jumping a few times, the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem stopped somewhere.
If there were undead creatures inside, they would definitely pick up 3-0782 and throw it back … That would be interesting … Klein stared at the staircase and waited patiently.
The lingering coldness and filth soon melted like snow under the Sun. Warmth and purity enveloped the entrance of the secret door.
"Klein, the two of us will go down. Frye will stay here to prevent other enemies from destroying the mechanism." Dunn, who was experienced, made a decision.
"Alright." Klein didn't have stage fright anymore. He took two steps forward and walked to Dunn's side. Frye nodded lightly, not letting his guard down.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Dunn led the way down the staircase, his footsteps echoing in the silence.
He didn't prepare any lanterns or torches, because to a Beyonder of the Sleepless Sequence, darkness wasn't an obstacle, but a blessing.
In such an environment, their vision wasn't affected.
After a few steps, Dunn suddenly turned his head and looked at Klein. "I forgot that you don't have night vision. I'm used to not preparing illumination items …"
"… Captain, don't mind me. I have Spirit Vision." Klein realized that he didn't feel surprised at all.
That handsome Captain from before was indeed abnormal!
In his Spirit Vision, the darkness in front of him was filled with gray. Although it was very blurry, it was enough for him to barely see the staircase.
Yes, Captain is very healthy, and his mental state is also very good … Klein carefully stretched out his feet and slowly walked down.
The staircase wasn't long. After about fourteen or fifteen steps, it touched the ground.
Sealed Artifact 3-0782 was lying there, emitting warmth and purity as it shone with a faint light.
With the light, Klein could see even more clearly. He looked around and realized that it wasn't a big basement. The original shade was gone, but it was still damp.
In the middle of the basement was a black coffin. The nails on it were dark red in color.
The lid of the coffin had been pushed open a slit, and he could see a white skeleton lying inside. A headless skeleton.
Dunn looked around before bending down to pick up the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem.
"Captain, this coffin … Well, its purpose is to prevent the dead inside from turning into zombies or wraiths …"
Klein examined the dark red nails on the black coffin and the way they were arranged. With his rather good knowledge of mysticism, he could tell that it was an ancient ritual, a ritual to prevent zombies from turning into zombies.
At the same time, he muttered inwardly, But under normal circumstances, who would be wary of their relatives turning into zombies for no reason? Uh, the person helping to bury the corpse might not be a relative … Well, the reason why the coffin was placed in the basement and not in the tomb was to prevent others from discovering it …
At that moment, Dunn, who was wearing Sealed Artifact 3-0782, leaned close to the coffin and looked at it carefully for a while.
"The deceased was probably poisoned to death."
"That means the person who poisoned him used ritualistic magic to prevent him from turning into a zombie for revenge … This should be something from thirteen to fourteen hundred years ago, right? He actually turned into a wraith in the end … This will is simply too shocking! "Klein walked to the coffin and said," Where's his head? That ritual doesn't require cutting off his head … "
Dunn thought for a moment and said, "I have a theory.
This wraith didn't always exist, but only appeared recently. It's only fifteen minutes' walk from the town to the ancient castle. The troublemakers of the past must have come often, but before this incident, there were no rumors of a wraith appearing in the ancient castle. "
Klein nodded indiscernibly.
"Captain, do you mean that someone came here recently, opened the coffin, and took away the deceased's head?"
"Yes, that ritual prevented the deceased from turning into a zombie, but it also locked his resentment in the coffin, preserving it in disguise. When the coffin was opened and the ritual was lifted, the resentment quickly turned into a wraith with the help of its metal glove …"
"The person who opened the coffin didn't leave a corpse behind. He's not an ordinary person … Besides, why did he take away the deceased's head?"
Dunn stared at the skeleton in the coffin and said, "For the resentment to be preserved for so long, other than the ritual, it should also be because of the deceased himself. He might have been a Beyonder when he was alive, or he was a descendant of at least two generations of a Mid-Sequence Beyonder. Yes, I'm talking about the Mid-Sequence Beyonders in the past, Sequence 6 or 5."
"And there's always something special about such a corpse. His head might be useful in certain rituals or situations."
At this point, Dunn paused and said, "What I said before was all speculation, but some of it can be verified. We'll split up and investigate the town later. See if anyone came to the ancient castle when they were young and got injured here. Yes, if they're still alive, it proves that the wraith did appear recently."
"Logical way of thinking," Klein praised. He searched the basement again but didn't find anything else.
He tried to use ritualistic magic to depict the "guest" who had entered the basement, but as it had been more than a month, and the wraith had lingered here for a long period of time, affecting the environment, he couldn't obtain any effective results.
After that, he replaced Frye and let this expert in the field of corpses do a further examination.
Fifteen minutes later, when the Sun was about to disappear from the horizon, Dunn and Frye returned to the main hall of the ancient castle along the stairs.
The former fumbled around to close the secret door, while the latter gave a brief description.
"It was indeed death by poisoning. The marks on the neck only appeared in the last three months."
This means that there's a high possibility that someone came here … Klein nodded in thought.
Following that, the three Nighthawks rushed back to Lamud Town before the sky turned dark and booked two rooms at the hotel. The members who obtained Sealed Artifact 3-0782 needed to take this dangerous item for a walk outside the town. They would take turns every two hours, so they only needed two rooms.
After a simple dinner, Klein, Dunn, and Frye immediately split up and went to different parts of the town to question the residents who had been staying there for a long time.
And in such situations, the police identification was especially useful.
…
"Officer, why are you asking about this? I remember that I used to go to that abandoned castle when I was young … Injured? Definitely, how could a child not have fallen? I remember, yes, I was cut by the sharp rocks on the castle's outer walls … "A man in his forties with soft blond hair looked at Klein in confusion and answered honestly.
This was the fourteenth person Klein had questioned. Two of them clearly remembered being injured in the castle when they were young.
The Captain's guess is correct … Klein made a judgment. He took back his identification and smiled.
"Thank you for your cooperation. I have no more questions."
Just as he was about to leave without his cane, the man in his forties rolled his eyes and said, "Officer, are you interested in that castle? My house has a portrait of the first baron of the castle. That's my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather … Uh, anyway, it happened a long time ago. He took an oil painting from the castle. It's said to be the portrait of the first Baron Lamud. "
"Do you want it? It's a real antique! "
If it was a real antique, your house would have sold it a long time ago … This guy sure has guts. He even dared to lie to the police. Should I pull out my gun and scare him later? Klein criticized in his mind. Thinking that it wouldn't cost him any money, he said, "Who knows if it's a real antique.
"Who knows if it's really an antique? I believe in my own judgment and judgment."
"Take it out and let me take a look."
The blond middle-aged man immediately put on a smile, returned to the house, and rummaged through it.
After a while, he came out with the oil painting.
Klein scanned the portrait on the oil painting and saw the baron wearing a white curly wig. He had gentle facial features, bronze skin, and an indescribable sense of vicissitudes hidden in his eyes.
This looks like Mr. Aztec! Klein's eyes widened as he subconsciously looked at the baron's right earlobe.
Then, he saw an inconspicuous black mole nearby.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
