Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 212 Secret
Although the scene was somewhat gruesome, looking at Anne, Levi felt he might understand why the Queen had awarded her the medal.

Because Anne is exactly the kind of citizen the Queen desires. She has no awe towards any monsters, only curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Moreover, Anne always analyzes the existence of these monsters from a purely scientific perspective.

From her previous conversation with Olivia, it's clear that Olivia believed the monster couldn't be exposed to light, turning into a thick liquid in sunlight, making it seem like a demon. However, Annie interpreted this as the monster being easily flammable, with a very low ignition point.

In other words, no matter how bizarre the things these monsters do, Annie will only find a scientific explanation, and will not think of them as devils or demons like Olivia does.

Or rather, in Anne's view, even a devil or demon is just some kind of creature that has not yet been fully understood. Once it can be understood, then its true form will not be a big problem.

That's understandable, though. On the North Star, after she hung up the sea monster's corpse, everyone else just watched from afar, while only Annie wanted to climb inside and find out what was going on.

Well... demystifying is very important.

As is often said in online novels and science fiction, so-called gods and demons are either aliens or beings living in other dimensions.

See, now that you put it this way, doesn't it seem much less threatening compared to omniscient and omnipotent gods and immortal demons?

Although we may still not be able to win, at least we won't regard it as some untouchable and invincible sacred thing.

Just as a person cannot defeat a bear with their bare hands, but that doesn't mean the bear is deified as some kind of god.

At most, I'll just grab a gun and take care of you.

Well, of course, this isn't without its downsides. For example, after meeting Olivia, Annie became quite interested in the puppy and expressed a desire to examine it personally to see how it seamlessly transitioned between its enormous adult and juvenile forms.

As a result, the little puppy was so scared that it stayed in Olivia's arms and didn't dare to come out.

Well, seeing this, Li Wei was relieved. Clearly, no matter what kind of mysterious creature it was, it would be afraid when it encountered a ruthless person like Annie.

After all, this person not only knows how to use a knife, but also... is very skilled at it.

Considering that Anne had studied biology at the graduate school, this is not surprising.

Li Wei glanced at the three archaeologists who were playing with the monster's corpse like they were committing a morbid murder, then silently withdrew his gaze and began to carefully examine the chapel.

Although the ceiling was destroyed, fortunately, the adjacent walls were not greatly affected. Levi held a gas lamp and looked around at the walls. Strange and eerie patterns were carved on them, and on the wall directly in front of the chapel was the mark of the All-Seeing Eye.

Well, at this point, Li Wei found himself somewhat speechless.

Generally speaking, different civilizations and religions have different characteristics of worship. But here, it's unusual; regardless of the deity worshipped, the representative is always an all-knowing eye.

From this perspective, the idea that the all-knowing eye represents all the gods who created this world is not entirely unfounded.

Li Wei recalled the Cheshire Cat's words in the dream world: believers of different gods can all obtain what they desire from the all-knowing eye.

So, is the all-knowing eye about unification or fusion?
In this monastery, what role does the All-Knowing Eye represent?
Li Wei pondered, then withdrew his gaze and looked at the altar below the Eye of Omniscience. It was a stone altar, much cleaner than the other places. It looked as if it had been cleaned, with withered flowers, a piece of animal finger bone, and a bowl of dried blood, leaving only traces of dark red.

This doesn't seem like something these monsters would do; it's more like something humans would do.

Li Wei recalled the markings on the map indicating this place.

Dedication.

What exactly are those Luddites offering?
What do they want to do?
Unfortunately, those who knew the secret are dead, and now they have to find the answer themselves.

Li Wei shifted his gaze to both sides. Based on his experience, there would be murals on the walls of such religious buildings, and there were many in the churches of the Holy Lord Church. They were basically depictions of the Holy Lord creating the world.

But if Li Wei were to comment, those murals weren't exactly...beautiful.

He had once seen the world-famous Creation of Adam mural in the cathedral of the Holy Episcopal Church in the foggy city. In that mural, the Creator God's appearance was gradually melting, his skin trembling like waves, and blood gushing out like a waterfall. Two eyes rolled out of their sockets, held by the Creator God in one hand, the left eyeball raised high becoming the sun, and the right eyeball lowered low becoming the moon.

Teeth fell out of the mouth and transformed into mountains, while hair became dense forests…

While that's how it's recorded in the holy book, the way you've drawn it so realistically is really disgusting...

Moreover, it was an entire wall, three stories high, with even the pores of the creator god clearly visible.

Li Wei seriously doubted the mental state of the painter who created this painting. What kind of madman could produce such a work?
Incidentally, many children who entered the church at the time were terrified and burst into tears upon seeing this painting for the first time. Well, Li Wei thought that was to be expected; with such a disgusting painting, it would be rare for anyone not to be frightened.

Okay, I've digressed. Let's take a look at the murals here... Well, after looking through them, Li Wei realized that the murals here didn't seem quite right either.

The chapel has four walls. The front wall is carved with the All-Knowing Eye, while the other three walls are painted with three pictures.

On the wall near the door, there is a painting of a person dressed in a style of finery reminiscent of ancient Greece, standing proudly at the top of a crowd, with a group of people prostrating themselves below, seemingly showing their loyalty to him.

On the opposite side of this painting, the composition remains the same, though the content has changed slightly. The man standing on high has hands stained with blood, and those who were originally kneeling before him are all in excruciating pain; some have even grown wings and claws. In the background are houses engulfed in flames.

The last painting depicts a man being forced into a tomb by several fully armed soldiers with swords and knives, opposite the All-Seeing Eye. Despite being surrounded by swords, the man still raises his hands and opens his mouth as if to roar in resentment. However, his tilted body suggests that he was forced into the coffin.

Li Wei keenly noticed that in this mural, the man's eyes weren't fixed ahead, but rather looking in his direction. He compared the two and realized the man's gaze perfectly aligned with the All-Seeing Eye. It was as if the All-Seeing Eye was coldly watching the executed man.

“It’s amazing.”

Just then, Olivia walked over.

"Is this the legend of King Solomon? I never expected to see it here."

"King Solomon?"

It shouldn't be the Solomon I know.

“I have read about him in my ancestor’s bookshelf.”

Olivia nodded and began to speak.

"I've heard that he was once... or rather, almost became one of Emperor Arthur's knights. He was active in the early days of Emperor Arthur's reign, when King Solomon was a kind and benevolent lord with powerful magic, deeply loved by his people. Later, Emperor Arthur found him and gained King Solomon's recognition and loyalty. Originally, after that, he was supposed to fight alongside Emperor Arthur in the north and south..."

"but?"

"Well, no one knows exactly what happened. All that's known is that after a banquet, King Solomon suddenly went mad. He killed all the people in his territory and used magic to turn them into monsters. So Emperor Arthur had no choice but to lead his army to invade Solomon's territory, which had become a city of death, and kill King Solomon..."

"This story sounds rather strange?"

"Yes, the records say that King Solomon loved his people like his own children and was deeply loved by them, but after that he became a different person, killing his own people and turning them into monsters? Nobody knows what happened in between. It's quite strange."

“Well, it’s even stranger that a mural depicting the story of King Solomon is now here.”

"…………………"

Olivia wasn't stupid; she understood Levi's meaning almost immediately.

"Wait, you're not going to say that King Solomon is in this monastery, and that the monsters we encountered before were people who were transformed by King Solomon, are you?"

"Looking at the mural, it really does resemble it, doesn't it?"

Li Wei gestured with his chin towards another mural nearby. Beneath that mural, under the raised hands of the enraged King Solomon, the people displayed immense suffering; indeed, some had their faces and bodies contorted and deformed, sprouting wings and claws…

"And didn't you say that King Solomon could turn people into monsters? This map was found by the Luddites, so they might be planning to awaken King Solomon and turn the people of Dreicart into monsters."

"This is really unreasonable!"

Olivia's face was also ashen, and she clenched her fists in anger.

"These despicable cultists, their plot will absolutely not succeed!"

"Better so."

Li Wei didn't say much. If this place was really related to King Solomon, then it would be a bit troublesome.

　I didn't drive before because I rarely went out, so learning to drive was pointless. Ugh, now I have to learn to drive, it's so annoying.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)