Of course, Selene didn’t add any more wounds to Bill that would allow Modi and Richter to show off their medical skills. After a brief examination, Modi confirmed that Bill, despite his bandages, was perfectly healthy and could probably do a thousand push-ups… It seemed that things with strong side effects often had strong positive effects, too.

Hopefully, Bill wouldn’t suddenly cry out in a few days, claiming that there were ants crawling on him, begging for another vial…

Having finished his examination, Modi left in a hurry, seemingly with other things to attend to. He gave the two of them his business card, saying they could come to him if they needed anything, or even just to chat.

He didn’t seem like someone who had just found out about his wife’s infidelity. But Selene understood. He was middle-aged. He was probably thinking about his career and how to get promoted, using his wife as a sacrifice… or, more realistically, replacing his wife.

“Doctor Modi is quite talkative. He couldn’t find the stairs on the way to the second floor, so he spent half an hour chatting with me,” Richter walked alongside Selene. “You were up there for a long time… What did you see?”

He glanced at the unremarkable three-story building, his eyes pausing briefly on a window, then quickly looking away.

“There’s a member of a secret organization in the club. It’s either the Omniscient Assembly or the Confederation. Bill went to the cemetery because he was instructed to. Also, he doesn’t seem to be connected to the other heretics in town,” Selene said directly. Richter, though mysterious himself, was still more trustworthy than someone who wouldn’t even reveal their face.

But she didn’t mention anything about the 【Conjugated Self】, the Tantra, or the invitation to join the Confederation.

“The Omniscient Assembly…” Richter pondered for a moment, then said with a complex expression, “I didn’t expect them to be the first ones involved…”

“Uh, are they famous?” Selene ignored half of his statement and asked curiously. “I’ve never heard of them.”

“Yes, they’re very famous, but mostly in prosperous areas, among those close to power,” Richter spread his hands out. “They’re a group obsessed with secret knowledge, madmen lost to history. Their lowest-level members are high-level superhumans—at least fifth-tier. Most of the time, they’re harmless, but they’re also ruthless when pursuing their goals… Don’t underestimate them.”

Richter said in a low voice,

“Most of the time, they don’t oppose order. It’s just that they don’t need to… In other words, if they’re involved, it’s definitely something big. As far as I know, the Arorne Black Sun incident ten years ago, the fact that those brainless heretics were able to summon a Evil god, was all because they had restrained the Pope and the Papal Knights, and captured the Emperor, preventing the empire and the church from intervening—

“The people who saw the black sun went mad, and the death toll continued to rise for several years after that… Nearly fifty thousand people died because of them.”

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Selene, hearing this, quickly dismissed the thought of joining them.

It wasn’t that she thought the Omniscient Confederation’s actions were evil, or that she was against them. She wasn’t particularly loyal to the Divine Construct, and didn’t have that much patriotism. She simply felt that if they caused another major incident, the high-ranking members could escape, but she, a low-level operative, definitely couldn’t…

Richter looked at her quietly, then suddenly said,

“He invited you to join them, right?”

“Whoa—!” Selene let out a strange, high-pitched sound. “Can you read minds?”

“No, I can’t read minds, but I could tell from your expression,” Richter smoothed his clothes, his expression unchanged. “You must know how dangerous it would be to join them, right? Even if you don’t, you should know that, given your abilities, you’d be facing the combined might of the empire and the church. It’s extremely dangerous.”

You’re saying you can’t read minds?

She stubbornly changed the subject.

“Should we tell Duquesne? After all, as you said, he’s at least high-level, a secret member of the organization. He’s a dangerous individual…”

“No matter how dangerous someone is, they still have to fear the law and the church,” Richter said in a low voice. “In this world, no organization can be stronger than the state or the church. Not even the Omniscient Confederation… Why do you think they don’t operate openly and control cities or regions as if they were kings? Is it because they don’t want to?

“So, whether or not we tell Duquesne doesn’t matter. That mysterious person were no different from the other heretics. After the station arrives, his only choices are to escape or to continue hiding. For him, hiding is less dangerous, and there’s a chance he could get away with it.”

“Can I escape?” Selene asked seriously. “I feel like this town is a bit strange. It seems like everyone is fighting. I’m just a little detective. This is a bit much…”

“Where would you run to? Nymph Fu? Or the wilderness?” Richter smiled. “Nymph Fu is the only land connection between the North and South Continents. That huge city has high-level, even superhuman heretics hiding within. They’re caught every year. And you don’t even have an ID. You want to spend a few months in jail, then start over?”

Selene suddenly lost all her energy. She slumped down, her body feeling as if her spine had been removed.

“I should just stick to catching cheating wives. I shouldn’t get involved with the station or anything else…”

She muttered, but she knew this kind of resentment had appeared in her heart countless times over these past two years… Compared to when she had first become a superhuman, when she had unintentionally killed her teammates due to her lack of knowledge, and was filled with self-blame and regret, and locked in a cell, fearing execution… this is nothing...

...

After leaving the club, they followed a few of the suspects Duquesne had identified, but found nothing. Their lives were ordinary and unremarkable… But this was a long-term investigation. There was no rush.

As dusk approached, the two returned to the detective office.

“Ah—Louise isn’t back yet?” Selene turned on the lights, slightly puzzled, but quickly forgot about it.

Louise, an elf who was hundreds of years old, didn’t need her to worry about her. She’d probably gone drinking and lost track of time… Though she claimed that her concept of time was normal, she was often late.

Selene didn’t worry too much and, after washing her face, greeted Richter before going into her room. She didn’t go to sleep immediately but opened her cupboard and, from a concealed compartment in the wall, took out a book.

The cover was made of a material that resembled skin, covered with gruesome, horrific growths. From the side, the yellowed pages seemed to tremble with life, sometimes rising, sometimes sinking, as if parasites were crawling under the skin. Twisted veins formed the word “Shedding of Skin” in Atinewen.

Selene looked at it for a few seconds, then sat down on the bed and opened it.