Terence followed slowly behind him. Upon seeing the two Secrets-Hunters, he offered a concise greeting, seemingly unsurprised. The recent anomalies were likely a follow-up to the "Plum Moon ritual," so having the original response team handle it again wasn't unusual.
Compared to hastily reassigning a team with no relevant experience, entrusting matters to those already familiar with the situation was far more reliable...
"Good day, Professor Terence. Pleased to be cooperating with the White Cup cult once more."
With the customary Secrets-Hunter etiquette, Haida gave both a concise greeting.
"I feel the same." Terence nodded in acknowledgment, his tone as steady and resolute as ever.
He then surveyed the surroundings, carefully observing the Outrider Hunters and Burial Attendants stationed by the security perimeter. But he completely failed to spot the doctor's figure.
"Hmm... What about Dr. Fran? She didn't come along?"
Hearing this question, the expressions of both Haida and Vivian simultaneously became somewhat odd.
This White Cup Error-Purger seemed to believe Dr. Fran was genuinely employed by the Secrets-Hunter Cult. But in reality, her appearances were random. The more interesting an event, the more likely this individual was to show up.
Clearly, this doctor with a bit of a cleanliness fetish wasn't too interested in crawling into a filthy sewer...
"Dr. Fran is occupied today. Besides, the Medical Division is busy. She can't accompany us every time."
After brief consideration, Haida decided to fabricate an excuse.
"I see." Terence nodded with an expression of understanding.
That was reasonable. Based on his initial assumption, though Fran was nominally an external consultant, her actual position within the Cult was likely director-level or higher... She couldn't possibly serve as Haida's team doctor every time.
Child, recalling his recent encounter with Fran, chimed in.
"Speaking of which, I ran into her at the Mirror of Enlightenment Club a few days ago. Besides being a doctor, she's also a very impressive diviner..."
Vivian's expression was inexplicably placid. Strangely, she wasn't surprised at all by this... After all, the doctor herself was peculiar enough. Being multitalented seemed just part of her character.
Haida lightly stroked her chin, deep in thought.
Dr. Fran had taken a Lamp Moth gauze robe from Dorothy during the last "Quarterly House Call"... That was probably why she was moonlighting as a diviner at the Mirror of Enlightenment Club.
Just like how she obtained a Burial Attendant's outfit at the Sated Club earlier and soon appeared at Norlington Central Museum posing as one.
Was she trying out new clothes wherever she got them?... At that moment, Haida felt she understood her logic.
"Mr. Child, what exactly did you ask her to divine?"
Curious about what Dr. Fran was like, Vivian asked Child.
"Recently, I kept hearing fragmented whispers and had occasional headaches. She said she'd use 'dream divination' to take a look... After waking up, the previous symptoms indeed vanished and haven't recurred."
Child's tone was clear and cheerful. Clearly, being free from the nightmare's torment put him in a good mood.
"Oh, that's truly remarkable..." Vivian couldn't help but narrow her eyes skeptically.
Judging from Child's description, it seemed Dr. Fran had simply hypnotized him and then performed treatment...
"Ahem." Terence gave a light cough, interrupting the two who were about to continue chatting.
Although this sewer entrance had been sealed off for some time, and a little delay probably didn't matter... It was more appropriate to discuss these off-topic matters later.
"We shouldn't delay. Let's descend."
"Right."
Haida agreed with Terence and was the first to climb down the ladder into the pitch-black sewer pipe.
---
Stepping into the sewer, the foul stench of decomposing organic matter, mixed with warm, sticky dampness, assaulted their senses. Even wearing masks couldn't block it completely.
However, the Secrets-Hunter logistics team had clearly made some prior arrangements, such as illuminating the area near the entrance with lamps and clearing debris that could hinder movement.
Guided by a White Cup pipeline engineer, the group quickly found the spot where Moloch had seen the headless corpse pile.
"Strange corpses."
Terence approached a shriveled, headless body for a closer look, clicking his tongue in wonder.
"Dying in a damp place like a sewer, not decomposing into a bloated state is one thing, but there aren't even any maggots..."
It was as if the corpses had lost all vitality at the moment of death, turning into some inorganic substance like charcoal.
The others might not fully grasp what this signified, but Haida was all too familiar with it...
This was the mark of the Decapitation Throne... Ahern had truly been here.
As if sensing the presence of the living, several corpses that still had heads slowly rose from the pile. Their rotting skin was covered in clotted blood and fungal patches, exactly as Moloch had described.
Perhaps due to muscle dissolution and joint damage, their movements were very sluggish. This also explained why the previous maintenance team had escaped so easily.
Just as Terence was taking his gun off safety, several loud gunshots rang out abruptly.
The muzzle flare flashed and vanished, a wisp of grayish gunsmoke drifting from Haida's barrel. The heads of those few corpses sprouted dark, savage holes in response.
"Living dead... Be careful. These things might carry infectious diseases."
Terence cautioned everyone prudently.
The Withered Crown cult also enjoyed using controlled corpses to spread plague; they had to be handled with care.
Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a woman's voice, tinged with amusement, softly sounded.
"Hmm~ Very vigilant. Professor Terence, your hygiene awareness is commendable. If everyone were like you, we'd avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble..."
Her voice was highly distinctive, belonging neither to Haida nor Vivian.
"Dr. Fran?" Haida immediately looked toward the source of the voice.
"Dear Sister Haida, good evening."
Fran walked out slowly from a dark corner, a wisp of pale mist still lingering on the hem of her white coat.
"Although the environment here is concerning, considering you need a professional, I had to make a special trip... Facing corpses of unknown origin, how could you lack an experienced coroner?"
---
Haida had originally thought Fran wouldn't come, as she hadn't appeared during other recent missions.
Moreover, this reconnaissance mission was in the sewers, an extremely harsh environment.
But Fran's somewhat unexpected appearance now indicated the mission's content had piqued her interest. Of course, it could also be this individual's particular obsession with the "coroner" role... She was always hard to predict.
Fran didn't immediately examine the corpses but turned to Child instead.
"Mr. Child, allow me to conduct a brief follow-up. Hmm... Have you been hearing any strange whispers or murmurs recently?"
"No, I haven't. But I have been dreaming lately. How to describe it? The scenes in the dreams are very quiet and have a peaceful feeling. I actually feel very relaxed upon waking."
After a moment of recollection, Child responded quite earnestly.
"No need to worry. It's just a minor method to stabilize the spirit. Given your excellent condition, you likely don't need the next stage of dream therapy. But if you feel discomfort again, remember to come find me at the Mirror of Enlightenment Club. Just make an appointment with Dawn."
To maintain her diviner image in front of Child, Fran, relying on excellent self-control, forcibly resisted using terms like "next stage of treatment" or "follow-up consultation," which she commonly used.
It's worth noting that she hadn't actually used any medication on Child. The reason he had dreams that soothed his spirit was most likely due to something Luyala did...
Vivian, having listened to their entire conversation without missing a word, couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling a trace of confusion.
Wasn't this just standard post-treatment follow-up? So why was Child so firmly convinced Dr. Fran had been performing divination for him...
"Alright, now it's time to give these gentlemen lying on the ground a physical examination."
As she spoke, Fran deftly put on medical rubber gloves and walked toward the pile of corpses oozing thick, filthy blood.
"The most troublesome aspect of being a coroner in Norlington is the unstable doctor-patient relationship. One might accidentally get attacked by a patient. But fortunately, Sister Haida's earlier pacification was very effective."
Maintaining a warm, amiable smile, she approached a dissolving corpse and took out a small scalpel.
"Highly dissolved soft tissue, covered in a large amount of filth. The 'external examination' process is visibly going to be arduous..."
She pursed her lips, sighed lightly, and began scraping away the dark red and black filth on the corpse's surface, mostly a mixture of decaying sludge and congealed blood.
A vague, extremely deep wound could be seen at the carotid artery, resembling fang marks left by some kind of snake.
Fran gazed at this wound, her amber eyes flickering slightly, deep in thought.
"Next, let's begin the 'internal autopsy.'" She started cutting the skin on the dissolving corpse's chest with precision and fluidity.
The mirror-sharp scalpel traced lines from both shoulders down to the lower abdomen, leaving a "Y"-shaped incision.
Professor Terence was quite willing to appreciate Fran demonstrating her superb skills, but considering safety issues like infection, he offered a reminder out of habit.
"Dr. Fran, aren't you using any other protective equipment besides gloves?"
Of course, he didn't think Fran would be negligent about hygiene. He just wanted to try to understand her medical philosophy better from her explanation.
"Good question."
Fran voiced approval while her hands never stopped moving.
"This area is one of the pipe junctions in the Sandrunk Street sewer system, and this corpse pile has existed for at least three months. During this period, there haven't been any large-scale epidemics or poisoning incidents in the South District. Therefore, we can preliminarily conclude they don't carry malignant infectious diseases or biological toxicity."
"Using temporal logic for reverse reasoning... I understand."
After listening, Terence nodded slightly and moved closer to the dissolving corpse undergoing examination. A decay stench so thick it was almost palpable followed.
"Besides that, there's also some medical experience. If they truly carried ailments created by the 'Withered Crown' cult system's secret arts, I would be able to tell."
Fran opened her medical kit, took out a small circular saw, and attached the steel blade.
The blade emitted a high-speed whirring sound, easily cutting through the dissolving corpse's ribs. Soon, she completely removed the entire chest plate along with a mass of organs that were no longer recognizable.
"Although I wanted to use Virchow's method to remove the organs one by one, they've already fused together... Can only take them out together."
Fran removed the blood-and-bone-fragment-covered saw blade, pouting slightly with regret.
Haida looked at this tangled mass of dissolved, rotten entrails, her gray-hazel gaze darkening slightly.
Liver, heart, kidneys, lungs, large intestine... Everything was fused and interlocked together, becoming a single, unified mass of flesh. Intertwined and fused, indistinguishable from one another.
"Can human internal organs decay into this state?"
"To be very responsible, no. Due to post-mortem 'autolysis,' internal organs can become soupy. But solid matter does not join together in this interlocking, overlapping manner."
Fran patiently explained to Haida, considering whether to give her a few modern medical textbooks next time.
Terence, having dealt with the Red Cup cult for years, was also somewhat versed in flesh-and-blood secret arts. The current state of these organs gave him a vague sense of familiarity...
After a moment's contemplation, he ventured a guess: "So, you mean these organs had already 'grown' together while the patients were alive?"
Fran looked at Terence and blinked slyly.
"Correct."
"However, the term 'while alive' isn't entirely accurate. Do you think they... are truly dead?"
Hearing this, Vivian subtly shifted half a step closer to Haida.
Having their skulls shattered by full-metal-jacket bullets and their chest plates and all organs removed doesn't count as "dead"? Even a Red Cup High Priest would be dead in such a state...
"I can prove he's still alive with a simple experiment."
Fran removed her blood-stained gloves, revealing her left hand with several suture lines. She then inserted her slender, pale index finger into the dissolving corpse's gaping mouth.
Crunch!
Almost the instant it went in, the dissolving corpse bit down with extreme ferocity. Fran had already withdrawn her finger a step ahead, causing its jaws to snap shut on empty air.
"You see, just a little temptation is enough to make him unable to restrain himself."
She spread her hands lightly, showing the others the results of her experiment.
"What on earth is this thing..."
Terence showed a rare expression of astonishment. As an extremely senior relic expert, he had witnessed many bizarre relics. But this situation was a first.
The brain turned to pulp by a gunshot, organs completely removed, and no corpse-controlling secret arts present... Why could it still move?
"Time to reveal the answer. It's actually quite mundane... Given a bit more time, everyone probably could have figured it out."
Fran used the scalpel to pry open the dissolving corpse's mouth, revealing two abnormally sharp canine teeth.
"Vampire..." Haida keenly seized upon this characteristic.
Connecting this with the previously escaped Byers, many previous inconsistencies were now nearly fully illuminated.
Special relics, consecrated silver, and sunlight. Generally, only these three methods could effectively harm a Blood Kin.
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL