"We have searched the whole village, but no survivors have been found. How are you doing over there?"
The sea monster stepped up from the river step by step, water drops dripping along the metal mesh of the diving helmet, like a distorted face.
"There are 52 wolf corpses in total. Anvil and I have ensured that they will not stand up again." Bai Ya, who was sitting under a tree and wiping arrowheads, replied, "It's a pity that four arrows were lost. I applied for silver-plated arrowheads last time. The equipment department took me two months."
"Stop complaining, sissy. You can count the number of agents from the Bureau of Investigation who are still using bows and arrows on two hands these days." Anvil sneered.
"Then let me tell you briefly?"
Ed looked at Miss "Nightingale" and Mr. "Gummy" with a look of inquiry, and after receiving a positive answer, he said:
"...The entire village has been corrupted by the secret text of the 'Feast', including the livestock and insects."
While reporting, he lowered his head and took shorthand notes in his notebook to avoid having to hand in the mission log later.
"Totems of the Circle Brotherhood appeared on the scene, the statue of the Maiden of the Lake enshrined in the village church was desecrated, and the priest was killed. The motive is still unclear, and it may be related to some kind of secret ritual... Specific clues require further application for review. The Difference Engine of the Crow’s Nest.”
"That's great - we'll be copying your work from now on. I'm worried...does anyone else want to report?"
Bai Ya was about to continue speaking, but was given a cold glance by Luo Wen and could only say in dismay.
"..." The stranger said nothing and took out a piece of parchment stained with blood from his coat pocket.
Opening the ancient scroll, the bloody writing is dripping, like dripping blood.
Secret text? !
"The son of Shuowang has a certain destiny.
The blood moon suddenly appears, and disaster strikes.
The snow falls in the summer, and the soul is not intact.
When the pack of wolves dies, the lone wolf lives alone. "
The Keeper's program automatically translated the content on the parchment and projected pale white flame subtitles in front of Ed's eyes.
Poetry? No, it's more like some kind of fable, or prophecy...
Son of Synopsy - old George once called Quinn this. Will it have something to do with her? Ed guessed.
The blood moon suddenly appears, and disaster strikes. It must be referring to Managamu, the "Moon-eating Demonic Wolf". Could it be that Quinn will be affected by the blood moon in some way, or that she will cause the blood moon to come?
As for the snow falling in the summer...the lone wolf lives alone...this specious sentence can have many explanations. It may be some kind of vision, or it may be a side description of the image of Managam. Just these two words You can't guess too many things in a sentence.
"What is this?" asked the sea monster.
"It looks like a ghost drawing to me," Anvil replied.
"Does anyone recognize the symbols above?"
Rowan inquired. There was not much expectation on his face, so Ed naturally remained silent. After a moment of silence, he continued:
"It looks like some kind of ancient writing. Put it away. We need to go back and let professional occult researchers decipher it."
"... Let the subsequent investigators handle the rest. Stranger, Bai Ya, and Anvil, the three of you take the first carriage and return along the road. Ed, you and I will take the second seat with Miss Olivia. Two cars.”
"...Sea monster, you should still have some energy left, so stay here to support the following teams."
In addition to special operations investigators, the Bureau also has a large number of regular investigators. Mainly ordinary people, responsible for information exploration, damage processing, personality crystal recovery and other follow-up matters.
"No problem, I'll take care of it." The sea monster readily agreed.
…
"Rowan, I need laudanum..."
Olivia, who had been silent until she got on the carriage, suddenly spoke in a low voice. Her voice was extremely hoarse, with a staccato vibrato.
"My hands...can't do it..."
I saw her tremblingly taking out a syringe from her waist. The beautiful and slender right hand wearing a dark black lace patterned glove was shaking violently and could hardly hold the syringe.
"I see."
Luo Wen, who had always discouraged others from smoking, calmly took the syringe, inserted the needle into her arm, and pushed in the liquid.
"Thanks."
Olivia whispered in relief. Almost in just a moment, she seemed to have forgotten the bumps of the carriage and fell asleep on the carriage seat.
"Is Miss Olivia injured?" Ed asked in surprise. From what he could see, Nightingale didn't seem to have any external injuries.
"No..." Rowan's voice was very soft, "Miss Olivia has severe traumatic stress disorder. Although this disorder can be temporarily overcome through some drugs and self-hypnosis, it will still be reflected afterwards."
"This..." Ed looked at Olivia, who was curled up and sleeping on her side in the seat. The moonlight shone through the gap in the car window on her peaceful face, as if covered with a silver-white veil.
"What specifically caused it?" He also lowered his voice.
"This started from ten years ago... no, eleven years ago."
Eleven years ago? This happened to be the year her father, Mr. Christopher, was killed. Ed nodded slightly, waiting for Rowan to continue.
"Despite her outstanding potential, Miss Olivia has not been trained as an extraordinary person since she was a child. Christopher only wants her to be an ordinary person."
"I still remember what she looked like when she was your age: a beautiful voice, who loved singing, flowers, and colorful and beautiful clothes, just like all girls of that age. If it hadn't been for that night, she would be even more beautiful now. It should be performed on the stage of the Royal Opera House in Holland."
Ed couldn't imagine Nightingale wearing anything other than black. The melodious and sad black color will always envelope her, as if it should have been so a hundred years ago.
"What really happened that night?" he asked.
"Under Christopher's desperate cover, Olivia took Quinn and hid in the secret room underground at home." Rowan closed her eyes, "That night was the night of the full moon."
The carriage ran over dead branches and bumped with a "crack", and Ed couldn't help but hold on to his cane.
He had seen Quinn's appearance after turning into a beast. An ordinary person and such a crazy monster were forced to be locked in a secret room. The despair in it could be imagined.
"Quinn, who was severely stimulated, inspired her first animal transformation. At dawn, when we rescued the two people from the secret room, Miss Olivia's body had...suffered multiple organic damages."
Rowan tried to describe what he saw as plainly as possible, using mild medical terms. But Ed knew that the scene was much more bloody.
"From then on, anything related to 'wolves' would give her a visceral fear. Crow's Nest even moved the kennel for raising bloodhounds to the West End."
"So...Miss Olivia only joined the Bureau after her parents passed away?"
"Yes, after losing her parents, Miss Olivia chose to embark on the path of the Beyonder. The far overloaded training and fighting - it was almost a way of self-destruction, which also further aggravated her physical and mental health. Mental burden.”
"I see……"
After a short silence, Ed suddenly asked:
"What about Quinn? When did she join the Bureau?"
