Seeing the newcomers, Duquesne immediately stepped forward and briefly explained the situation, clarifying the identities of the people involved and what had happened. The priest and the paladin nodded slightly. “What level was the evil spirit the heretic transformed into?” the paladin, clad in heavy armor, asked Duquesne, removing his helmet.

Duquesne shook his head, saying regretfully,

“It died too quickly. I only saw that it looked like an eye. But that also means it wasn’t very high-level…”

Selene nodded slightly. Hopefully, that was the case.

“Even if it’s incredibly weak in the material world, it still has the essence of a demon, which makes it very dangerous,” the priest next to him said gently, her gaze falling upon Selene, who was sitting on the ground, looking exhausted. She clearly also recognized the famous detective. “Miss Nitya, were you the first to see it?”

She took a few steps closer, looked at Richter, who was next to Selene, and asked,

“Do you need any assistance?”

“I’ve already taken some measures, but you are a messenger of the Mother Earth. You’re probably more skilled in this type of magic. I’ll leave it to you,” Richter smoothed his clothes, making room for her.

The priest gathered her robe and knelt beside Selene. Her fingers, emanating a pale green light, gently touched Selene’s temples. She introduced herself softly, her voice as gentle and warm as her appearance.

“I am a priest from the Mother Earth Cathedral on Green Land Street. You can call me Caroline… Now, relax your body and mind. Imagine yourself as a sapling, a warm spring breeze blowing past, the warm sunlight shining down…”

A warmth spread from Caroline’s fingertips to Selene’s body. The throbbing pain in her head gradually melted away like ice under the sun. A warm current spread throughout her body, making her feel as if she were soaking in a hot spring, and a sense of peace and security, as if she were lying in her mother’s arms, welled up inside her… This was the Church of Bountiful’s “Spring Renewal,” one of the basic divine spells of Mother Earth.

But the voice didn’t appear.

—As expected, even though divine spells came from the gods, merely receiving them didn’t trigger the notification.

Selene’s mind wandered for a few seconds. Then she closed her eyes, feeling the changes in her body. Her spirit energy, which had been depleted by the sight of the falling city, was replenished, and her mind became focused again. She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—

Divine magic is so convenient.

While she was receiving treatment from Caroline, Duquesne and the paladin walked to the side of the cell. They looked at the pile of mashed flesh on the floor and began to talk.

“This is… the demon’s remains?” The paladin twitched the corner of his mouth and couldn’t help but glance at the old station manager and the quiet elf, sighing inwardly, “You’re a little extreme.”

Duquesne didn’t think there was anything wrong with it and replied seriously,

“To be safe, I thought it was necessary.”

“….You’re the ones who were there. You decide.”

The paladin shook his head. Then he tapped the back of his left hand with a finger on his right. The platinum gauntlet and the blade made a sharp, clear sound.

He raised the large sword, which was studded with pure white crystal, and held it before his chest, saying in a deep voice,

“I implore the Lord of Glory, the God of the First Light, the God of the Miraculous World, the God of Eternal Light—grant us fire and light!”

The moment the words left his mouth, a brilliant light emanated from the crystal on the sword and fell upon the cell. A pure, white light enveloped the flesh and blood within. A reassuring sizzling sound came from within the light, and when the light faded, nothing remained.

This was the “Short Prayer” technique, which only clerics could use. The effect was slightly weaker than a full prayer chant, but it was quick and convenient, and its power was more than enough in this situation—at least, the flesh and blood, and any potential corruption or threat, were gone.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He immediately turned and looked towards Selene.

Caroline’s treatment was over. She was now providing treatment and performing simple purification rituals on the other three who had seen the eye. She seemed to have a lot to talk about with Louise, and the two chatted while performing the treatment.

“Let me ask you first, you’re not going to do that to me, are you?” Selene looked at the approaching paladin and asked calmly.

“No,” the paladin stopped half a meter away from her, his greatsword hanging on his back. He took a book with a horn clasp from his hip, holding it above his head. “As the first to see the demon, you must undergo the necessary examination… I ask, you answer.”

Selene knew that the book in his hand was called the “Bright Oath,” one of the sacred texts of the Divine Glory Church, and nodded in agreement.

“First question. Do you have faith?” the paladin asked in a deep voice.

This wasn’t a trick question. Though there were many gods in the Divine Construct, with fourteen main deities, and the number and proportion of believers far exceeded that of Selene’s previous life… among superhumans, the proportion of believers was much lower than among ordinary people, even lower among mages. So, Selene calmly replied,

“I don’t.”

The paladin nodded slightly, somehow confirming the truth of this answer, then continued,

“What are your thoughts on the heretic who died?”

“A complete idiot. Even a dog wouldn’t eat his brains,” Selene said earnestly.

“… Third question. What do you think the Scholar of Sin is?”

Selene was going to give another impassioned answer, but considering she had just been stared at by an eye that might have been the Scholar of Sin, she simply said, “A Evil god.”

The paladin continued to ask a few more indirect questions. Selene’s answers were normal, and he seemed to relax a little.

Caroline, seeing this, walked over and said gently,

“It seems you’ve all been fortunate enough to escape unharmed. But if you notice anything unusual later, please come to any church and seek help from a priest.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she clapped her hands together and took out a small box.

“This is Miss Nitya’s reward for her meritorious service a few days ago. Since you’re here, we’ll give it to you now.”

Selene was startled. Looking at the small box, which clearly couldn’t hold many gold or silver coins, she hesitated.

“This is it? Or is there actually a valuable gem inside…?”

“No,” Caroline smiled and said something that made Selene’s blood pressure rise, “The town’s finances are a little tight lately, so we’re not giving you any money.”

Then, seeing Selene’s eyes darken, she added before Selene fainted,

“Of course, as compensation, we’re willing to offer a special item in place of the gold coins.”

She waved the small box in her hand.

“For example, this original manuscript from the Fourth Era, written by the Magic Emperor, Annea.”

Selene knew who this Magic Emperor was—the most legendary superhuman mage of the Fourth Era. He was the son of a Duke, sickly since childhood, and displayed his talent when he was around twenty years old. He reached the peak of the superhuman path in just a few short years.

“Magic Emperor” wasn’t a secular title, but an ancient title for incredibly powerful mages, those who made indelible contributions to the field of magic. Annea was one of the most talented mages in ten thousand years. In many people’s eyes, he was the greatest of the Magic Emperors.

A manuscript written by such a figure was naturally incredibly valuable. If you were to put a price on it, it would be worth tens of thousands of gold coins… Could she accept something like this?

Seeing Selene’s hesitation, Caroline explained,

“Of course, it’s not a gift. It’s just a chance to read it… Don’t worry about not gaining anything. It’s written in cipher. It records fragments of the Magic Emperor’s knowledge. The content that is revealed depends on the reader’s knowledge and strength.

“If you don’t gain anything after reading it, the church will offer other compensation. We won’t let you suffer any losses.”

Seeing that she had said so much, Selene didn’t say anything else, but nodded in agreement, accepting the compensation. She took the small box from Caroline’s hand and carefully pulled out a piece of parchment.

She glanced at it and put it back in the box. Her expression was calm as she said,

“This isn’t a good environment. I need to find a quiet place to read it.”

“No problem,” Caroline nodded. Seeing that the mess had been more or less cleaned up, Duquesne called two guards and took the Lost One next door. As they were about to leave, Caroline joined them.

The three people from the detective agency followed behind. Richter looked at the group ahead and whispered,

“Actually, you got a bit of a raw deal. Even if Annea’s manuscript does record ancient magic… it’s not like that knowledge hasn’t been rediscovered.”

Selene sighed and shook her head.

“No, no. Actually, I’m very satisfied with this compensation.”

Seeing her insistence, Richter didn’t say anything else. He figured she had probably seen something that caught her interest in that brief glance… As long as you’re alive, being happy is more important than anything.

Selene knew his words were reasonable—no matter how powerful a Magic Emperor was, he was still just one person. In the thousands of years after him, there were many excellent and outstanding mages, and the accumulated knowledge had long surpassed any individual… Even if there was lost magic, it was probably because it wasn’t very practical, and there was no need to research and pass it down.

But she insisted on this, and she had her reasons.

The moment she touched the parchment, a voice appeared in her mind.

The voice said:

【You have come into contact with Crown IX—The Lurking Serpent.】