Chapter 86

In the semi-underground two-story building, Lumi'an and Aurore ate their late lunch in silence.

The lamb, which should have been tender, seemed to have lost its flavor in their mouths.

After barely filling their stomachs, Lumi'an was about to clear the dishes when he suddenly heard the sound of jingling getting closer.

"Is it Lya and the others?" He turned his body and cast his gaze toward the door.

Aurore also noticed and put down her knife and fork, raising her head to look at the entrance.

Soon, the doorbell rang.

Without hesitation, Lumi'an got up from his seat, walked to the door, and peered through the peephole to examine the visitors outside.

Indeed, it was Lya and the other two outsiders.

Unlike when they parted, Valentine had finally changed his clothes—when he was influenced by the "Sufferer" aura, he had set himself on fire, and although the injuries on his body were healed by Mrs. Pouali, the burned clothes could not be restored.

Lumi'an opened the door and greeted them with a warm smile, "My cabbages, did you miss me so soon?"

"Hey, you finally changed your clothes?"

Valentine was no longer wearing a white vest with a blue tweed coat but had switched to a yellow vest with a black suit, and his pants were still dark. Lya's white cashmere dress had an additional white fabric flower on her abdomen and wrists, one large and two small, covering the damaged areas, and the sewing was quite good. As for Rein, Lumi'an could neither tell if he had changed his clothes nor find any traces of his previous injuries, suspecting that this guy had at least two sets of the same clothes.

"We have made some progress on both matters," Rein answered calmly, gesturing for them to come in and talk.

Lumi'an turned to seek his sister's opinion, fully opened the door, and invited the three official investigators inside.

This was the first time Rein and the others met Aurore, and they greeted each other politely.

"The constellation is about to change, and the villagers will soon have good luck. It has been preliminarily confirmed that this message was spread by the parish priest," Rein said, sitting down at the table and getting straight to the point. "But I don't think it's that simple. This method and the rhetoric are very similar to those of a rural witch, and the parish priest wouldn't normally come up with something like this."

A rural witch refers to those in small towns and villages who predict good and bad luck as a side job.

Aurore nodded thoughtfully, "Is it influenced by the deceased wizard?" Yes, this is a tactic to secretly incite the villagers to worship an evil god.

"Did the villagers believe it so easily?" Valentine was very angry.

He had a look of how could the people of Cordu village be so foolish.

After all, believing in the "Eternal Sun" couldn't help them escape poverty.

And they were often oppressed by the parish priest and the administrative officials... Aurore didn't voice this complaint, fearing that Valentine would attack her.

She could even imagine that when some villagers were bewitched and began to worship the evil god, they would receive some benefits from the parish priest and his followers, such as reducing their contributions to the "Eternal Sun" by half, or no longer being bullied by Ponce and Bene, and even using the name of this villain to scare their annoying neighbors. In short, they would genuinely feel that their luck had changed and their lives had hope, thus making their faith even stronger.

Of course, this wouldn't make Aurore think that the villagers were doing the right thing, as the government and the church mainly wanted money, while the cult wanted lives.

No one answered Valentine's question, and only Lumi'an "kindly" offered a suggestion, "You need to personally ask them and conduct a deep investigation into why their faith changed so easily." If you really find the answer, I think the Holy See will appreciate you.

The Holy See is a term for the Pope of the "Eternal Sun" Church, and many church leaders can also be called this. Lumi'an originally didn't know this but learned it from the reference materials Aurore bought.

Valentine fell silent, slightly moved.

Aurore looked at Rein and changed the subject, "Have you also found the whereabouts of Sibyl's husband, Jean Morey?"

Rein turned his head to look at Lya, gesturing for her to speak.

Lya nodded and said, "We infiltrated Jean Morey's house and took an item belonging to him."

"Using this item, I performed a dream divination."

Dream divination... Aurore nodded slightly, not at all surprised.

When Lumi'an described the exploration of the castle yesterday, she had already guessed the paths and approximate sequences of the three official investigators based on their performances: Clearly, Lya belonged to the common "Seer" path in Intis, and she was not a Sequence 9 "Seer" or a Sequence 8 "Jester," but at least a Sequence 7 "Magician," as evidenced by her extraordinary abilities like "Paper Puppet" and "Damage Transfer," as well as her proficiency in divination and acrobatic skills.

Aurore was unsure if Lya had reached Sequence 6, as she didn't know much about the subsequent stages of this path.

Valentine belonged to the main "Sun" path controlled by the "Eternal Sun" Church. Similarly, he was not just a Sequence 9 "Praise" or a Sequence 8 "Lightbringer," and Aurore deduced from his abilities like "Summon Holy Light," "Create Holy Water," and "Sun Halo" that he was a Sequence 7 "Sun Priest," and he hadn't reached Sequence 6 "Notary," as he hadn't shown the corresponding abilities.

Rein's extraordinary abilities were not of the common type in Intis; he was likely a "Warrior."

This path was mainly controlled by the "War God" Church of the northern Fersac Empire, but in the past five to six years, many "Warrior" path Extraordinary Beings and Supernatural Beings have appeared in various countries.

In the Curly Buddha Research Society, several members, either actively or passively, chose this path.

According to Aurore, this path is also called the "Giant" path, with Sequence 9 being "Warrior," Sequence 8 being "Fighter," and Sequence 7 being "Weapon Master." Sequence 6 is a qualitative change from the previous stages, called "Dawn Knight," possessing the strength of a giant and able to create a "Dawn" effect in a certain area around them, dispelling illusions and negative, evil energies.

They can also form a full-body armor called "Dawn" on their surface and wield weapons they are skilled in, with the most powerful being the "Dawn Sword," a two-handed greatsword. Using the "Dawn Sword," they can unleash the most powerful attack of their sequence, "Light Storm," which can destroy human bodies, eliminate ghosts, and even vanquish evil spirits.

Based on Rein's performance, Aurore believed he was a Sequence 6 "Dawn Knight" but hadn't yet become a Sequence 5 "Guardian."

Aurore had always felt that these three official investigators were not inferior to herself, and now she realized they were even more powerful. Without proper preparation, she wouldn't win in a one-on-one fight.

It's important to note that in official classifications, Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 are considered low sequences, possessing only some special abilities but with obvious flaws. Sequence 7 to Sequence 5 are considered mid-sequences, beginning to possess powers beyond the mundane. Sequence 4 and above belong to the demigod realm, truly high sequences.

According to some members of the Curly Buddha Research Society who were embedded in official organizations, for handling ordinary supernatural events, a mid-sequence investigator usually leads two low-sequence investigators in a three-person team for the initial investigation, with more advanced forces deployed as needed. This time, facing the anomaly in Cordu village, Intis sent three mid-sequence investigators, showing the seriousness of the matter.

Even such a joint investigation team seemed insufficient in Cordu village.

Aurore had already shared this information with Lumi'an, and now the siblings listened quietly as Lya continued.

"In the dream divination, I saw the shepherd Pierre Berry. He took out some fingernails wrapped in hair and hid them in a hay stack." Lya described the scene she saw in the simplest terms.

Hay stack... fingernails and hair... Lumi'an immediately connected this to his discovery guided by the three sheep.

He also found some fingernails wrapped in hair in the hay stack in Berry's sheep pen.

He furrowed his brow and said, "Are those the fingernails and hair of Jean Morey?"

"Was he killed by the shepherd Pierre Berry, right in Berry's house?"

Aurore nodded in agreement, "This custom of hiding fingernails and hair outside the house to avoid affecting the family's constellation and luck is usually limited to family members with a bad reputation or those who were murdered by relatives. But since Jean Morey was killed in the shepherd's house, Pierre Berry cautiously cut off his fingernails and took some hair, hiding them in the hay stack outside the house?"

"No wonder... That must be from the previous victim. How many people have they secretly killed?" Lumi'an suddenly sneered, "Even in such a situation, they still think about not affecting their own constellation and luck?" "Ignorant!" Valentine cursed.

He and Rein, Lya had already received Lumi'an's information about the three sheep, the hay stack, and the corresponding folk customs.

After further discussion, they decided not to make any other attempts for the moment and to observe the reactions of the parish priest and his followers. Lya and the others then bid farewell to Lumi'an and Aurore and returned to the old tavern.

The siblings didn't mention their midday speculation, fearing it might affect the official investigators' will to break the cycle from within, as they might just be influenced and could potentially escape with external help.

After tidying up the table and helping to wash the dishes, Lumi'an returned to his room and lay on the bed.

With a complex mood and many thoughts, he couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He eventually calmed down through initial meditation and drifted into a deep sleep.

In a room filled with a faint gray mist, Lumi'an opened his eyes and sat up.

He looked down at his chest, his gaze seemingly penetrating the cotton gray shirt and flesh, seeing the black thorn symbol and the dark green pattern.

Is this the source and cause of the cycle? Lumi'an silently said to himself.

The black thorn symbol was the root of the problem, while the dark green pattern brought the protection of a great being, giving Cordu village a chance for redemption.

This could be traced back to nearly six years ago.

Lumi'an remembered clearly that at that time, he was still wandering, surviving by being underestimated due to his young age and his ruthless nature beyond his years.

Then, one day, he met a dying old man.

Perhaps because he had just accumulated a bit of wealth and felt a bit arrogant, or perhaps because the old man reminded him of his only relative, his grandfather who had raised him until he was about 10 but unfortunately passed away, Lumi'an chose to offer some help.

Although he couldn't save the old man's life, Lumi'an still took him to the crematorium and buried him in a free cemetery.

The dark green symbol was what he found on the old man's body during this process, and from then on, he often had dreams of a vast gray mist.

His luck also worsened, and he began to struggle to find enough food. Fortunately, he soon met Aurore.

PS: Third update. Thanks to all the Silver Alliance members who have tipped, and I'm also asking for monthly votes. Yes, the first update of tomorrow will be at 00:05.