Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 198 Conquer
Not knowing what secrets were hidden in the traveler's prosthetic leg, Tessa didn't answer Claire's question. She simply said, "If you need it, I can give it to you. As long as it's no more than seven times a week, I can handle it."

Claire rolled her eyes. "That's not funny at all."

Tessa took over the subsequent events of Alicia. Claire borrowed the traveler's artificial leg to return to the Tranquil Church in Wintershire. It is worth mentioning that the traveler's artificial leg cannot go directly to Wintershire. Claire was first teleported to Tingen, and in the second teleportation, she came to the vicinity of the Tranquil Church.

The heavy stone door, the familiar corridor, and Xijia, dressed in dark clerical robes, waiting inside. This repetitive scene made Claire smile bitterly. "Xijia, are you waiting here for me again at the behest of Archbishop Cecilis?"

Xijia looked at Claire with a strange look. "You suddenly appeared in the bathroom, and then disappeared just as suddenly... What happened? I asked Gray, but she didn't know. I also asked Archbishop Cecilis, but he only said you would be back soon."

Claire responded, "I was testing a magical item with the ability to travel through the spirit world, and was teleported back to Backlund... and that's when I thought of a way to get back here."

"No wonder you suddenly appeared and disappeared in the bathroom." Xiga led Claire to see Cecilis.

The intellectual beauty with glasses smiled upon seeing Claire. "I thought you'd come back, but you came back much faster than I expected. Did you run into any trouble?"

Claire smiled wryly and nodded, then asked, "Teacher Sersilis, how did you know I was back?"

This time she borrowed the "Traveler's Prosthetic Leg" to come to the Amanda Mountains, but why was she still tracked down by Archbishop Cecilis, who asked Xiga to wait for her arrival at the old place?

Claire wanted to know, was there something wrong with the Traveler's Prosthetic Leg, or did Archbishop Cecilis have the ability to detect?

Sersilis did not hide anything and patiently explained:

"It's not that there's a problem with your spiritual journey, it's that the spiritual fluctuations in the Amanda Mountains, especially near the Tranquility Church, can't be hidden from me."

"If you really had to come here on foot, I wouldn't be able to track you down."

"But you rely on 'spiritual travel'... When you appeared in the Amanda Mountains, you shone brightly in my spiritual vision, like a lamp in the darkness."

So that's how it is. Claire felt relieved. She could tell that this was some kind of ability of Archbishop Cecilis related to the spiritual realm, and it had an enhanced effect near the Tranquility Church. In other places, Archbishop Cecilis would find it difficult to accurately confirm the specific location of the traveler.

Her doubts dispelled, Claire frankly explained to Cecilis the reason for her return: "Teacher, I want to have a spirit body with storage capabilities. It doesn't have to be too big, just a two-meter-long cabinet will do... I wonder if you have any information here?"

Sersilis adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, her gentle voice taking on a hint of seriousness. "You wish to acquire such a special spirit... However, before you officially become a Spirit Shaman, I do not recommend commanding a large number of spirits. This will only increase your spiritual burden and confuse the roles of Requiem Master and Spirit Shaman."

I can completely handle this kind of spiritual burden, and besides, I don't actually need to play the role of "requiem master" or "spiritual witch"...

Claire sighed inwardly, but remained persistent as she continued to plead with Sersilis, "In order to complete a mission more smoothly, I need a spirit of this ability. I also believe I can afford a second spirit."

Sersilis did not refuse directly, but gave advice out of concern, which shows that Sersilis has clues about this spirit.

Sure enough, seeing that Claire was still insisting, and that she had legitimate reasons and was mentally prepared, Sersilis pulled out a bone box from her pocket and handed it to Claire. "There's a lake in a cave where there are traces of this type of spirit. I'll go with you."

What Cecilis meant was that she should keep an eye on things in case Claire showed up and something went wrong in the process of sealing the spirit.

Claire naturally wouldn't refuse such a kind gesture and said gratefully, "Thank you, teacher."

During the day, fine snowflakes drifted across the Amanda Mountains. Occasionally, cold-resistant creatures appeared in the white mountain scenery. During a period of trekking, spirits could be seen passing by in a flash, but these traces were extremely insignificant in the vast mountain range.

Walking in the Amanda Mountains, you will be enveloped by a sense of tranquility.

This feeling does not seem like a natural phenomenon. It is quite similar to the feeling behind Chanis Gate, but it lacks the danger behind Chanis Gate.

As if she had guessed that Claire would leave after obtaining the storage spirit, along the way, Sersilis took the initiative to teach Claire some special training courses, especially the details of the "Requiem Master". Finally, she reminded Claire:

"I've heard a little about Backlund's situation. I know you have a special mission, but I still hope you can spare some time to participate in the Requiem Master's special training trial. It will be beneficial to you."

Claire nodded.

Then, crossing a hidden gap, Claire followed Sersilis into a cave. Dark white flames lit up around Sersilis, like clusters of will-o'-the-wisp.

The stone walls in the cave look eerie.

Darkness wouldn't blind the "Sleepless Ones"' vision, and Claire didn't understand why Sersilis did this.

Sersilis explained, "It's a disguise that can conceal the presence of living beings like you and me. This state won't easily disturb those spirits."

It turned out to be like this...

Claire thought that the mist butterflies she had summoned could achieve a similar effect. In future events involving spirits, she could use the mist butterflies to replace the will-o'-the-wisp fire of Sersilis.

Going deeper into the cave, the way was blocked by a dark lake. The lake was dead silent, without any signs of life.

Claire looked around but didn't see any spirits. She looked into the lake but didn't see anything unusual either.

Is the spirit that Sersilis mentioned gone?
Cecilis stood a little further back and showed no sign of intervening, as if testing her.

But through Sersilis's attitude, Claire knew that the spirit definitely existed, but she just didn't see it.

Do you want me to dive underwater?

Claire stood at the edge of the lake. The lake was like a mirror, and her figure was reflected in the water.

Claire's gaze dropped from that familiar and elegant face to her neck, and she actually felt the urge to strangle that fair neck.

The moment she realized something was wrong, Claire came to her senses.

Is it affected by the newly acquired cufflinks?
Unable to carry the holy coffin, Claire temporarily carried this magical item left by Alicia.

But this low-sequence magical item couldn't possibly affect my thoughts in such a short period of time...

Claire's gaze fell back on the lake, and she realized that it was the reflection on the lake that was causing the trouble!
The reflection in the lake is the spirit that Sersilis mentioned, and it is an evil spirit!
Claire looked at the crimson eyes reflected in the lake. With the cooperation of the nightmare doll at her waist, her dream-entering ability was quietly activated. At this moment, Claire descended into a place shrouded in dust and fog.

It's Backlund.

Claire figured it out in an instant.

The evil spirit's dreamland is Backlund, which is plagued by pollution!
In the haze, Claire saw a disheveled figure running away in front of her. It was an elegantly dressed nobleman holding a cane.

But now, the man's face was filled with fear as he walked in panic. Claire watched as she caught up with him, knocked away his flailing cane, and slashed his shoulder with her sharp short blade. As he dodged in pain and fell, she expertly severed his hamstrings and shattered his knee.

Claire watched helplessly as she dismembered the man while he was still alive, and finally selected the parts that satisfied her and stored them in the small black leather suitcase she carried with her.

Similar incidents have occurred more than once in this foggy city.

Claire read through each case...

Different from the "Yuffie" who is full of malice for revenge, and different from the sad "Qiuqiu", the owner of this dream is a complete evil spirit!
"She" or "he" is a collector of human organs, constantly hunting down their own kind and committing one murder after another.

He eventually fell into the water and died during a fight with the police officers.

"No wonder the bodies of victims of many disgusting crimes are buried in public cemeteries managed by the church... Otherwise, there would be another undead spirit like this." Claire's mind was completely unaffected by these dreams. She could even calmly comment on the mistakes and omissions in the case.

Before she finished her words, Claire saw a lake appear under her feet in her dream, and her reflection in the lake was looking at her with resentment.

"Does your storage ability come from your collecting habit from your previous life?" Claire said with disdain, ignoring the resentful gaze in her reflection.

"But I can't be picky, so I'll just use you for now."

Claire's words, which treated the other party as a non-human, provoked the reflection's face to distort. The entire reflection jumped out of the lake and pounced towards Claire.

There are three ways to subdue spirits in dreams:

Fill the regrets of the dream owner;
Influence the dream owner;

And beat the dream master until he begs for mercy...

The last one is more dangerous and is not a common method.

When Claire turned around from in front of the underground lake, the bone box in her fingertips was already gleaming with a hint of spiritual charm.

Cecilis, who had remained silent the entire time, removed the eerie will-o'-the-wisps and spoke to the icy Claire, "The vast majority of the evil spirits we command are actually of this type. Therefore, every time we seal an evil spirit, we have to face this dark evil."

Claire's expression recovered a little. She understood that Sersilis was reminding her that even if it was an evil spirit, it was best to use less methods of restraint and subjugation, otherwise there would always be a day when she would be trapped in the evil spirit's dream.

Sersilis continued to talk about her experience: "Fighting evil with evil not only includes violence, but also inducement, deception, disguise, etc. These are also the methods we often use to deal with these evil spirits in dreams..."

Claire was silent after hearing this.

Then there was a sudden realization that I had learned something...

With the storage evil spirit, Claire's purpose of this trip was successfully achieved. Considering that there were too many things going on in Backlund, Claire did not plan to follow Cecillis back to the Tranquility Church.

Returning to Backlund, she used up two more shuttle times. Claire confirmed that, at least this week, she would not be able to use Tessa's magical item to travel back and forth between Backlund and Mount Amanda.

When Claire returned to St. Samuel's Church and found Tessa, who was replacing Alicia, she saw Tessa frowning as she studied a file.

Seeing this, Claire couldn't help but be surprised and said, "You are quite serious. Perhaps you are suitable to be a Nighthawk."

Facing Claire's teasing, Tessa sat up and threw the case record in her hand directly towards Claire. She said, "This is a recent report. It's a case handled by the Mandated Punisher. Take a look for yourself."

Claire took the case report and saw the line "Murder of a Rich Man and His Followers in Cherwood District." Soon, Claire saw a familiar name:

Kaping.

"Kapin was killed?" Claire frowned.

Tessa tapped the table with her fingers, supported her face with her other hand, and nodded.

"I've been so caught up in the 'Devil's Painting' incident these days that I haven't been able to complete my investigation into Kapin's case... I didn't expect that I'd just wanted to read the Nighthawks' recent reports and see Kapin's murder case."

"There are over ten relatively intact bodies found in the Kapin Villa, and there are still a few that have been destroyed and whose remains have yet to be counted... It's obvious that they were silenced."

Claire quickly finished reading the report. Since it was a case handled by the Punisher, the report did not contain many details about the case.

Claire put down the worthless report and asked Tessa directly, "You asked me to pay attention to Capin before. What did you see from Beth Lyonness's memories?"

"Beth Lyonness's memories are fragmented, and what I know is incomplete." Tessa rubbed her forehead and said, "What is certain is that Capin is Backlund's largest human trafficker, and he uses women as mercenaries to win over many powerful people. This seems to be the reason why he can get away with it."

"Hmm? So, those rumors about Capin are actually true?" Claire looked at Tessa and raised an eyebrow. "Then, with your personality, you didn't bother Capin?"

Claire could confirm that although Tessa had become a witch, this woman's moral bottom line was much higher than hers. It would be fine if she didn't see it, but if she really encountered such evil people and evil deeds, Tessa would definitely intervene.

As expected, Tessa sighed:

"I've been there."

"But Capin was protected by Beyonders... I had just completed a major case at the time, so it wasn't appropriate for me to take on another one. Furthermore, from Beth's fragmented memories, I deduced that both Capin and Beth were merely puppets being manipulated. Even if Capin were killed, Backlund would have new slave traders to replace him. Only by identifying the person behind Capin could we cut off this source of trouble."

"Now, by some strange coincidence, I've discovered that Alicia is behind Beth Lioness. But I still can't tell if Alicia is related to Capin..."

Tessa continued:

"After you left this morning, I reviewed the case reports that Alicia personally handled. Judging from her performance in handling strange incidents and some complex cases, she is simply a perfect and reliable night watchman."

"Alicia was able to lurk in the Church of Evernight because she behaved cleanly enough."

Claire also knew that Alicia was highly regarded among Backlund's Nighthawks. "But we can be sure that Alicia is definitely not clean."

Tessa nodded slightly. "Yes. Beth Lyonness is the hand that does her dirty work. Perhaps Capin plays a similar role? But...why would Alicia get involved in human trafficking?"

"Could this matter be related to a conspiracy of the Blood Cult?" Thinking of the demon family of the Alicia sisters, Claire said divergently.

After hearing this, Tessa pondered, "That's one idea... but it's incredible that an external force like the Blood Worship Cult could drag down so many of Backlund's dignitaries, even if there were extraordinary powers involved."

(End of this chapter)