Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 146 Secret Action
Backlund was so gloomy at the end of September that the sun could not be seen. Although it was noon, the atmosphere in the entire city was gloomy and depressing.

After lunch, Claire didn't even have a short nap before she was called by Daly to the crime scene of a serial murder case.

The victim's body has been taken away by the "corpse collector", and various marks are drawn on the protected scene.

At the scene, Daly, dressed in a police uniform, looked grim as she explained the current case to Claire in a low voice: "...This case has been confirmed to be a copycat crime."

Copycat...

Claire understood why everyone present was more depressed than the weather. The unsolved serial murder case had already put enormous pressure on the investigators, and now a copycat had appeared!
The Nighthawks went crazy after confirming this fact.

Daly, who was wearing light blue eyeshadow, sighed.

"But there's good news... The copycat's methods were brutal, but they left behind a lot of clues. Al Hassan's Nighthawks are tracking them. This copycat won't escape."

"However, the emergence of copycats has not only increased public pressure, but has also made all the night watchmen and police officers involved in the case increasingly anxious... Everyone is worried that this situation will spread uncontrollably."

In order to catch the copycat as soon as possible, Claire also participated in the investigation. However, to everyone's surprise, although the copycat left many clues, the hiding places found based on the clues were all violently destroyed by an unknown third party, bringing their pursuit to an abrupt end.

……

"They are cultists of the Aurora Society!"

In the evening glow, police officers cordoned off remote street corners.

In the center of the city, Claire read through the report Daly had written on the scene, confirming her vague suspicions she had formed on the way.

The copycat is a member of the Aurora Society!
Based on all the information at hand, although Claire couldn't understand why an Aurora Society member would become a copycat, the fact was that during the investigation, one of the investigators was attacked by Aurora Society cultists!

Daly was equally baffled. While investigating the scene where the police officer was attacked, she frowned and said to Claire, "What is this cultist's purpose? It can't be simply a copycat murder."

"Who can guess what a madman is thinking?! What we need to do now is not to speculate on his thoughts! But to intensify the hunt and completely eliminate these rubbish!"

Al Hassan, who came in a hurry, had endless anger in his tone. The person who was attacked was a new member of his team, a green but serious young man, who was now lying in the hospital.

If it weren't for the extraordinary potion that kept him alive, Al Hassan would have submitted the list of sacrificed team members to Alicia by now.

Daly understood Al Hassan's feelings, but at this point, she could only formally remind him of the organization's discipline:

"The case involves the dangerous Aurora Society. To avoid unnecessary sacrifices among the Nighthawks, the case has been transferred to the Red Gloves... But rest assured, Mr. Al, the Aurora Society case is being personally led by Lord Cecima. Please believe that we will silence these lunatics forever!"

After filling in "Galadia" on the report and stamping it with the Red Gloves Team 7 seal using her identity badge, Claire closed the report, turned sideways to Daly, and added:
"The copycat criminal doesn't seem like an ordinary member of the Aurora Society. He's clearly protected by the rest of the Aurora Society. His identity must be very important within the Aurora Society."

"Destroying clues, attacking investigators... these crude methods of obstructing the investigation seem more like someone trying to cover up the willful behavior of this copycat criminal."

Upon hearing this, Al Hassan clenched his fists, his words filled with disgust for the Aurora Society. "Didn't those Aurora Society lunatics attack the Intis Embassy last night? They might be copycats to deliberately divert our attention."

The assassination of Ambassador Intis last night had already spread like wildfire in less than a day. Furthermore, both the newspapers and the statements of the Loen leadership pointed the finger directly at the Aurora Society.

They directly identified the murderer Beth Lyonness as a cultist of the Aurora Society!

Without any guidance, the people who were paying attention to this matter all speculated that the Aurora Society wanted to provoke a conflict between Intis and Loen.

This view is prevalent throughout the kingdom's society.

Claire, who had witnessed the entire process of Tessa's attack on Ambassador Baker, naturally understood that this argument was wrong, but from this public opinion, she could sense that the vast majority of Loen's top brass wanted to avoid fighting.

Because of this, public opinion in the Kingdom of Loen immediately threw mud at the source of the incident and directed it at the Aurora Society, a terrorist organization that had been active in Backlund recently.

The fact that this kind of public opinion can even dominate the public proves that the majority of the people in the Kingdom of Loen currently reject war.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Claire said softly. She naturally didn't think that copycat crimes were a diversion, because the assassination of Ambassador Bakerland was not something Aurora would do.

……

Classic gas lamps illuminate the dark underground meeting room.

Claire, who had received the meeting notice, sat at a corner of the conference table. In front of her was the relevant information about the assassination of Ambassador Intis, which had been sorted out by a dedicated person.

One of the three Red Gloves and the head of the Red Gloves of the Backlund Diocese, Crestel Cecima, sat in the main seat, the lower half of his face hidden in the shadow of his upright collar, waiting for the Red Glove captains.

In the silence, Claire picked up the documents on the table and looked at them. Although only a day had passed since the incident, the Loen executives had reacted very quickly, directly identifying Beth Lyonness as the murderer.

And with a series of very clear evidence, it was directly proved that Beth Lyonesse was the Aurora Society member lurking in Backlund!

Claire found the investigative report on Beth Lyonness's various acts of worshipping evil gods in the archives. It was well-organized, with the time, place, and witnesses all listed.

The information also includes a list of victims who were sacrificed alive. The victims were all outsiders who were missing and not easily discovered by others. There are black and white photos and brief biographies.

The series of evidence of Beth Lyonness's crimes presented on the round table was far more detailed than what Claire's own team had investigated. Claire heard that the church had directly used a certain Level 1 seal to participate in the investigation, which was why they were able to obtain such detailed results in such a short time.

When the other Red Glove captains arrived at the underground meeting room one after another, Crested Cecima broke the silence:
"The assassination of Ambassador Intis has infuriated the king. Nobles implicated in Beth Lyonness are increasingly under investigation by special authorities... This, of course, has nothing to do with us, but the Church is also being questioned by some, who suspect that our failure to diligently eliminate the cultists surrounding the capital has paved the way for this assassination."

Upon hearing this, a Red Gloves captain scoffed grumpily:
"We investigated Beth Lyonness... Although all of Beth Lyonness's cases are true and verifiable, it's far-fetched to link her to the Aurora Society cult."

"We all understand that the king and the nobles are looking for someone to take the blame. After all, during the actual investigation, we all know that Beth Lyonness is actually closely tied to the conservative group."

"Those people are eager to clear themselves of the blame and always try to shift the blame onto others. But they're really into this… They're actually trying to put the blame on us? Your Excellency Cecima, they're just bullying us."

"And hasn't our king always wanted to start a war? Those noble lords should just accept the fact and fight Intis directly instead of just nagging in parliament. What kind of crap are they!"

Someone nearby held his forehead, pulled the irritable Red Gloves Captain aside, and muttered softly:

"What are you complaining about, you idiot? Even if the kingdom wants to start a war, it can't be so passive and start it by accusing the other side of assassinating the ambassador! Besides, don't forget our most important responsibility is to maintain social stability. Don't talk about war all the time..." Cecima was silent for a few seconds, then said calmly, "The Loen royal family has always cooperated with the church's missionary work. According to the agreement, we have an obligation to help them overcome difficulties in this situation. From now on, all teams will be assigned the additional mission of capturing Beth Lioness, regardless of life or death."

Afterward, Cecima used the information at hand to organize a seminar on how to hunt down Beth Lyonness. After analyzing the information, she also mentioned her Beyonder identity, emphasizing:
"However, the enemy's specific means have not yet been ascertained, and we cannot rule out the possibility that they are carrying dangerous magical items. Therefore, during the pursuit, each team must avoid individual members acting alone. The safety of our members is our top priority."

After making these arrangements, the meeting was drawing to a close. Cecima changed her sitting position, leaning back in her chair, and said to everyone, "Captains Soster, Dunn, and Galadilla will stay. The rest of you can disband."

Claire looked at Cecima in confusion, and also at the other two captains who were named.

Soster and Dunn have the same attitude.

It seemed that none of them knew why Cecima had left them alone.

After the others left, a hint of seriousness appeared in Cesimar's dark green eyes. He didn't explain anything, but simply gave orders to the three captains present:
"Gather your team."

Gather the team members...

The registered players, Hugh Dilcha and Flora, were more likely to be "undercover agents" planted in the underground world. The reserve player, Audrey Hall, had not yet responded to the invitation.

In the end, the only person Claire could keep with her was Daly.

I've been working hard to expand my team... but it turns out all the new players I recruited are fake.

Claire rubbed her forehead and smiled bitterly, but she felt much better when she saw that only Leonard was with Dunn.

Veteran captain "Requiem Master" Soest not only outranked them in his own ranking, but also had more players around him than Claire and Dunn's combined.

A group of more than ten people were at the gathering point, enjoying the night breeze.

No one complained, everyone waited silently.

Because she possessed the Heart of the Goddess, Claire was the first to notice the unusual movement from above.

She suddenly looked up and saw an airship dozens of meters long above her!
A strong yet lightweight alloy supports the cotton skeleton, with the box with the machine gun muzzle, throwing port and cannon muzzle hanging below.

The throbbing of the high-phlogiston steam engine and the rotation of the blades, which were clearly visible to Claire, did not make the loud noise they should have.

This huge ship is so quiet in the night!

The others also looked up. Soest laughed in surprise and said, "It seems there's a big mission tonight. Lord Cecima even sent out this airship."

This huge airship was extremely difficult to detect in the darkness of the night, and it was obvious that it was endowed with some kind of extraordinary ability.

"Perhaps it's a high-sequence secret ability from the 'Sleepless Man' pathway." Claire speculated, watching the airship hovering in the air lower its rope. She followed Soest's example, stepped on the pedals, and was pulled into the airship by the rope.

After boarding the airship, Claire saw Cecima holding a pitch-black spear and using the power of the holy object to suppress an ancient silver-plated mirror.

Claire had seen this mirror before during the operation to capture Mr. A.

The Sealed Artifact "1-63" can separate the Beyonders in a certain area from the real world to the mirror world, which can not only avoid accidental injuries to ordinary people, but also prevent the target from escaping.

The experienced Soest and his team members stepped forward to help Cesimar seal "1-63". With the combined effect of the holy objects and rituals, they finally sealed this ancient silver-plated mirror in a suitcase with a silver chain.

Cecima breathed a sigh of relief, looked at everyone in front of her and said:

"No matter what's going on, eliminating these cultists is our mission. Thanks to the traces left by the copycats tracked by Team Galadilla, His Excellency Saint Anthony, using a certain sealed artifact, finally found the cultists' hiding place."

Cecima's eyes turned cold and she said, "Tonight is the time to clean up!"

The Aurora Society's hidden location?

Besides the copycat, Claire first thought of Lanevus, who was suspected of being involved with the Aurora Society. That fraudster was also one of the masterminds behind the Tingen Incident. Could he also be involved in this operation?
While Claire was pondering, Daly glanced hesitantly at Dunn. However, the hatred in her heart made her ask directly, "Sir Cecima, is Lanevus among them?"

The mention of Lanevus's name caused Dunn and Leonard, who were not far away, to tense up. They had joined the Red Gloves with the intention of avenging their Tingen teammates.

Lanevus is one of their targets!

Looking at these former Tingen Nightwatchmen, Sesima nodded slightly:

"Yes, and Lanevus is one of the main targets of this operation. According to Saint Anthony's deduction, Lanevus must be hiding a great secret. Otherwise, a blasphemer like him, who had once been the 'father' of the evil god, would have been sacrificed by the Aurora Society's cultists long ago."

"but--"

Sesima said solemnly, "After arriving at the location by airship, and after the '1-63' ability takes effect, Team Soest will follow me into the mirror world! Team Galadilla and Team Dunn will remain on guard in the world outside the mirror!"

Dunn took a deep breath and said nothing, but beside him, Leonard couldn't help but blurt out: "I want to apply to enter the mirror world!"

Leonard's eyes burned with hatred.

Daly and Dunn also looked gloomy.

Cecima had anticipated this, and without changing his expression, he slowly said:
"I understand your feelings, and I also believe in your qualities as Red Gloves, so I specially deployed two of your teams for this operation."

"And you must respect this operation. Whether it's the use of the seal or coordinating with me, Team Soest is the most suitable."

"And I need you, who hold this hatred, to guard the world outside the mirror... Due to the warning of Saint Anthony, I cannot guarantee that the '1-63' seal can trap everyone, but we must not let any member of the Aurora Society escape tonight!"

"You must realize that the missions assigned to you are equally important and dangerous!"

(End of this chapter)