When asked by his noble friends about the case details, Kons, who worked for MI9, showed a slight change in expression, then smiled bitterly.
"Very regrettably, MI9 has confidentiality regulations. I can't answer directly. But..."
He gracefully took a sip of black tea, building suspense to the fullest.
After attracting everyone's attention, he finally said leisurely, "I can mention some facts. As for the specific reasons, you'll have to speculate for yourselves."
The tea party quickly quieted down. Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
The tall and thin Kons said, "After entering Capim's villa, we discovered the scene was very clean.
Of course, there was definitely rubble and garbage. By 'clean,' I mean we didn't find any trace of bodies at the scene, not even a bit of blood."
"However, according to our investigation, that night, aside from those innocent young girls, there were over a hundred people inside the villa.
Including a deputy police superintendent, a member of the House of Commons, multiple officials, wealthy merchants, their attendants, Capim's subordinates and servants in his residence.
All these people vanished without leaving even a drop of blood!"
Kons's voice trembled slightly, as if he too felt afraid of this fact.
Everyone looked at each other with shock and uncertainty.
These noble children had some understanding of the mystical world.
The reason they hadn't become Beyonders was because their families were constrained by the royal family and the churches.
Publicly, they could only choose to become official Beyonders, and most of them were unwilling to be restricted.
In their limited knowledge, they had never heard of such a peculiar thing.
"Were they teleported away through a ritual?"
Someone boldly speculated.
Kons only smiled.
"I heard rumors that at the time, someone saw massive amounts of blood pouring out from the door and windows."
At this point, someone else interjected with a question. "Kons, you said there wasn't a drop of blood at the scene. Does that mean the rumor is false?"
However, to everyone's surprise, Kons shook his head and said, "It's true."
Everyone was in an uproar.
Two completely different descriptions were both true, but how could such a thing be possible? Yet no matter how much they asked, Kons was unwilling to answer further.
The ability to manipulate blood... sounds similar to the Sequence 6 "Rose Bishop" from the Secrets Suppliant pathway that [The Sun] mentioned.
Audrey maintained a charming smile on her face, but her mind was racing.
Could it have been done by the Aurora Order?
No, if it were the Aurora Order, Kons and his colleagues wouldn't be working so hard to find leads.
It should be someone outside the Aurora Order...
Audrey "read" her friend's true thoughts from his expression.
Suddenly, a figure emerged in her mind.
That person she met at the mental hospital that day, wearing a straitjacket, able to use flesh and blood abilities.
Though mad, he wasn't depraved or twisted. Most importantly, he didn't seem to be aligned with the Aurora Order!
Could it be him?
Thinking of her previous agreement with that person, Audrey hesitated.
She had originally planned to share the results of today's investigation at the Tarot Club, but if it involved that person, sharing it publicly seemed a bit...
Then I'll just tell this deduction to Mr. Fool alone. In the public setting, I'll only describe what happened in the case.
But Audrey quickly had an idea.
I'm sorry, sir who saved me. You said I couldn't tell anyone else about this. But I'm telling a great being. He shouldn't count as a "person," right?
Audrey thought this way.
After the tea party ended, she made an excuse that she was tired and sent away her personal maid Annie.
She had the golden retriever Susie guard the door outside while she stayed alone in her bedroom, clasped her hands together, and sent a prayer to Mr. Fool:
"The Fool who doesn't belong to this era..."
At the same time, Hilston District.
Fors had Xio help her go out to buy ink, while she took the opportunity to report to The Fool, informing that great mysterious being that His devotee was being investigated.
"The Fool who doesn't belong to this era..."
Jowood District.
"Hmm?"
Two voices layered upon each other rang in his mind. Klein, who was in the bathroom using the toilet, let out a light exclamation. With a rustle, he looked up from his newspaper in surprise.
---
Silas looked down, examining the black iron glove in his hand.
The Queen told him this glove was a Beyonder item made from the Sequence 5 "Disciplinary Paladin" Beyonder characteristic of the "Arbiter" pathway.
After his confirmation, it should be correct.
After trying it out briefly, he roughly figured out how to use this glove.
The glove's main function was to issue "prohibitions."
So-called prohibitions were a powerful ability of the Arbiter pathway after reaching Sequence 6.
By issuing prohibitions, one could forcibly establish rules for the current area, forbidding others from performing certain actions.
If the other party forcibly did so, not only would they be severely restricted, but the glove holder's power would also be enhanced.
For those who violated the prohibitions, the glove holder could declare them guilty.
While enhancing their own power, they could also unleash a powerful ability called "Death."
By targeting the opponent's head, they could launch a powerful, difficult-to-dodge attack.
Of course, the number of prohibitions that could be issued and the targets were limited.
For Beyonders of the same pathway, at most two prohibitions could be issued within a period of time. For those not of the same pathway, only one could be issued.
Moreover, the glove only worked on Beyonders of Sequence 5 and below. The higher the sequence of the target, the more spirituality needed.
As for the glove's side effects, Silas had currently only found one.
That is, after putting on the glove, the holder would gradually become arrogant, full of confidence in themselves, believing they could control the situation, and would refuse to take the glove off.
No wonder Herras was so stubborn, knowing I was a Shepherd and still fighting for so long...
Silas thought with understanding.
No matter what this glove was originally called, Silas now named it the "Hand of Arrogance," as a reminder to himself not to use it excessively, lest he fall to the same fate as Herras.
However, if one truly fell into madness, it was questionable whether one could act according to one's own wishes.
Including this one, he now had three Beyonder items on him. Two came from the Queen: the "Hypnotist's Mirror" and the "Lucky Wheel." The remaining one was this glove in his hand.
Having all three Beyonder items on himself was indeed a bit much.
"Cecilia, do you want this glove?"
He held up the black iron glove and asked his sister.
"No. Brother, don't forget, my current sequence is too low. Using such a strong glove would drain my spirituality dry."
The black-haired girl looked at him helplessly. "Give me that mirror instead. I feel I can handle it."
True.
What she said made sense. Silas nodded and took out the mirror with a crack in it.
"Will you cooperate well with my sister?"
He politely asked the mirror. Its response was even somewhat fawning as it obediently let itself be held by the black-haired girl.
---
The glove's abilities have been slightly modified; they were indeed too strong before.
The previous text has also been revised. If any readers feel there's a conflict, you can go back and review those revised chapters.