As evening fell, Klein sat in the armchair in the living room, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace, and picked up the documents that Isengard's assistant had just brought over.
After his ideas that morning were praised by the great Detective, Kaslana immediately said that she also needed a similar document. Stuart sighed in a low voice, saying that he had previously believed Klein to be an excellent Detective based on his composure and calmness when facing Adol's case, but he never expected him to be so outstanding.
At the same time, he told Klein that if he needed manpower or help, he could come to him, as he knew many people in Backlund's Detective circle.
Isengard Stanton also promised to contact the police department immediately and try to provide the relevant information to the Detective who needed it before nightfall.
He is indeed very trustworthy.
At the next Tarot Club, I need to have "The World" ask Little " The Sun " to find out the characteristics of Sequence 6 " Devil " and what abilities the Beyonder of this Sequence possess... I didn't intend to get involved before and forgot to gather the relevant information. Now that I've decided to help, I need to be prepared so that I won't be caught off guard by danger... Klein pondered for a few seconds, lowered his head, and under the light of the gas lamp, began to look through the unsolved serial murder cases in the entire Kingdom of Loen over the past twenty years.
This was much less than he had expected.
Four cases occurred in Backlund, and five cases occurred in other cities combined, for a total of nine cases!
"Well, although the concept of DNA testing doesn't yet exist in this world, and it lacks many necessary criminal investigation techniques, under the Emperor's impetus, a relatively well-developed 'fingerprinting' system has emerged. Moreover, there are extraordinary methods such as Spirit Channeling, Divination, and Dream Divination! In isolated murder cases, without involving nobles, the wealthy, or officials, the police department usually wouldn't seek help from the extraordinary teams of the three major churches. However, serial murders have a very negative impact and can easily cause panic, so they will inevitably make the wisest choice... As a result, it's reasonable and logical that only a few serial murder cases remain unsolved within the last twenty years." Klein quickly understood the reason.
He gathered his thoughts and began to review the cases one by one.
Unable to Divination due to insufficient information, he initially selected two serial murder cases that might be related to the current events, intending to use them as a preliminary entry point.
The case occurred four years ago and involved five victims, all of whom were single prostitutes with one child. They had been abused before their deaths, but there was no evidence of them having had sexual relations with anyone.
The police in charge at the time believed that the killer must have known those prostitutes, otherwise it would have been impossible to accurately select the type of single mothers with children. They started by investigating people living nearby and regular customers of several prostitutes, identifying some suspects, but ultimately failed to find the real murderer.
Although the case file only mentioned it briefly, Klein could clearly see that they had asked the Beyonder from the three major churches for help, but unfortunately, they still couldn't solve the case.
Using the extraordinary abilities of the " Abyss " pathway, it's not against the mysticism to see that a woman has a history of Depravity, nor is it wrong to see that she's a prostitute. But it's illogical to know that she's currently single and has only one child... The police's line of reasoning is correct, so where does the problem lie? Is the real killer, like me, able to resist Dream Divination, Divination, and Spirit Channeling, and evade the investigations of Low-Sequence Nighthawks or Mandated Punishers?
It's possible. Although the major churches are not lacking in knowledge about " Serial Killer," the other party may have had other extraordinary encounters! Klein, from his own perspective, pointed out some issues.
I'm analyzing them as "the same kind"... I haven't let down the name Moriarty... He made a self-deprecating remark, deciding that his priority targets would still be the four suspects.
"Okay, have Mr. Stanton find out the current addresses and status of those suspects through the police, and ask Stuart to find someone to assist. I won't show myself directly to avoid running into official Beyonder. Once we have a clear picture of the situation, we'll collect the suspects' belongings and conduct metaphysical deductions above the Gray Fog." Klein quickly drafted the plan.
The second case occurred eleven years ago, when four dismemberment cases occurred in succession. Originally, these cases were not combined, but the police became suspicious of the way the bodies were disposed of, and it was then confirmed as a serial murder case. The victims were people who worked late and returned home late. There were men and women. They were not robbed and had no common relationship with each other.
Because of the wasted precious time, the case has been unable to find any clues about the suspect.
"This is a problem caused by a mistake. If we ask a ' Spirit Medium ' for help too soon, the Wraith of the deceased might even gather around the murderer... Of course, it's also possible that the murderer 'killed' the soul as well, like in this case... The deceased's body should only have ashes left, which will be very difficult to obtain..." Klein rubbed his temples. Seeing that it was already dark, he stopped thinking about the case for the time being, got up from the armchair, and left Minsk Street.
He has things to do tonight!
He was going to the Bridge South Borough, to the Harvest Church on Rose Street, to find Bishop Utravsky and try to obtain the " Apothecary's " formula. He had already Divination if it was dangerous.
For Klein, having a " Apothecary " as an underling would be extremely helpful.
He will get hurt, he will get sick, and he will encounter enemies who can harm him, but a " Apothecary " who can be found at any time will be his strong support.
After making some changes in East Borough attire, Klein took the Steam subway, crossed the Tussock River, and arrived at the Bridge South Borough.
Along the way, the dim lighting along the subway line and the corresponding gas lamps created a memorable scene.
Klein switched to a public carriage and arrived at Rose Street, where he spotted the small Harvest Church without even looking for it.
This golden church has a striking spire and Holy Emblem of Life engraved on its exterior wall, depicting a simple baby surrounded by symbols such as ears of wheat, flowers, and springs, which is quite different from the surrounding buildings.
At this moment, the church was dimly lit, and there seemed to be few worshippers.
Klein crept in from the side, carefully applying face paint rather than simply relying on his ability to Illusion Creation.
Inside the church hall, rows of seats were neatly arranged, with a huge Holy Emblem of Life at the top and lit candles on either side.
In the front row, there was a tall man in his forties or fifties wearing a brown priest's robe.
Just sitting there, he seemed like a small mountain, giving people a great sense of oppression.
The man was wearing a bishop's soft cap, with light and sparse eyebrows, and obvious wrinkles around his eyes, cheeks, and mouth. At this moment, he was closing his eyes tightly, clasping his hands together, and pressing them against his chin, as if he were making the most devout confession.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, revealing a pale blue hue.
"The Church of the Mother Goddess will not refuse anyone. Why don't you go through the main entrance?" The elderly man, who was in his forties or fifties, spoke in a low and gentle voice without looking up.
"You are Bishop Utravsky?" Klein emerged from the shadows.
The tall man in the brown bishop's robes replied in a gentle tone:
I prefer to be called Father.
"Father Utravsky."
"Yes, Bishop." Klein chuckled deliberately. "Your name and height tell me you're from Feysac. Why then do you worship the Earth Mother?"
Bishop Utravsky slowly raised his head, gazing at the Holy Emblem of Life before him, and said with deep emotion:
"I was born in Indo, on the coast of the Sonia Sea, and I am a man who is fanatical about fighting and killing."
"Indo? He is indeed from the Feynapotter Empire... "Klein nodded almost imperceptibly.
The Sonia Sea is a natural dividing line between Loen, Intis, and Feysac. The eastern shore belongs to Loen, the western shore mostly belongs to Intis, and to the north are the famous port cities of the Feynapotter Empire, such as Indo.
In addition, the Sonia Sea extends northeastward, penetrating the territory of the Feynapotter Empire and connecting with the North Sea. That part of the sea has many islands and is a habitat for animals such as ice bears and seals.
Bear hunting and seal fishing are traditional activities for the local people of Feysac.
As his thoughts drifted slightly, Bishop Utravsky continued gazing ahead and said:
"I committed a grave crime and fled to the Sonia Sea, where I became a ruthless pirate."
"Before I truly fell into the Hell of my soul, I was fortunate enough to meet the missionary of Mother Goddess."
"After that day, I understood the preciousness of life, the charm of all things growing, and gained pure joy from life itself. I made a vow before the emblem of the Mother Goddess to spread Her faith to other countries as a form of repentance for my bloody past."
So, I came, I came here.
In a calm yet emotional voice, Bishop Utravsky stood up. He was over 2.2 meters tall, with a robust physique, and his priestly robes were taut, like a legendary Giant reappearing on the Northern Continent.
Real Giant three to five meters tall, with a single vertical eye... The people of the Feynapotter Empire are generally tall... No wonder they have always called themselves descendants of Giant and believed that they have Giant blood... Klein had to tilt his head back to look at the face of that "priest".
"What brings you here?" Bishop Utravsky asked, head bowed.
"I heard you have something you'd like to commission, and the reward is the ' Apothecary's' formula?" Klein, now in disguise, asked directly.
Bishop Utravsky paused for a few seconds and then said:
"Yes."
"Although I don't know where you heard this from, it is true."
"So, what is the mission?" Klein asked with a smile.
Utravsky scrutinized him for a moment and said:
"I don't think you can fulfill my request."
"Perhaps? I need to know the specifics before I can make an assessment," Klein said, frowning slightly.
Utravsky stood there like a giant pillar, and after a few seconds said:
My request is...
At this point, he closed his eyes briefly:
"Kill me."