Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 331 Who is the Blood Cultivator?

"of course can."

Sharon nodded slightly after hearing this. "I will contact a few other extraordinary individuals in the next couple of days. Once the team is complete, I will come to find you."

As expected, the noble cemeteries of the Quaternary period were quite dangerous. Besides him, Sharon had already made an agreement with some other extraordinary individuals to form an exploration team.

"Speaking of which, why didn't you invite those people to help you kill the 'Rose School'?"

Lu Ze suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but ask.

Not only those people, but Luzer himself only received the message from the Queen; Sharon did not attempt to use her own power.

“I tried speaking to a few of them, and they all refused when they heard that they would have to fight against an ancient and evil organization.”

Sharon explained.

Why tell them it concerns the 'Rose School'? Why not just lie to them a bit?
Lu Ze thought to himself, but didn't ask.

Sharon and her group belong to the "Temperance" faction, which may mean they have high standards for their words and actions and cannot lie.

He was guessing to himself.

"Okay then, it's settled."

Lu Ze said this.

He wasn't in the habit of small talk, and after finishing his business, he planned to leave. Klein also got up, and the two walked out of the bar together onto the street.

What have you been up to lately?

"Busy playing a role, huh?"

Klein answered.

He felt both happy and pained. He was happy because he was about to get his hands on the special properties of the Human Skin Shadow, but he was pained because he would have to pay a huge sum of cash for it. How many detective cases would he have to complete to earn that back?
Tomorrow is the Tarot meeting, and Luze probably won't make it to explore the tomb in time. That means I have eight days to raise the cash.
Klein thought to himself as he talked to Luzer.

After exchanging a few more words about Russell's diary and Ince Zangwell, and confirming that neither of them had any leads, they said goodbye at the street corner and went their separate ways.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Meanwhile, in Queens.

The Andean Count's mansion is now heavily surrounded by relevant personnel.

The residents here were all from the upper class, and they had plenty of ways to find out the details of the case. Soon, news of the Count of Andes' conversion to a cult and his murder by unknown assailants spread throughout the aristocratic circles. People discussed with great interest the count's bizarre death and the evil cult he had converted to.

"Judging from the methods used to interfere with the divination, it is very likely that the [Blood Cultivator] was behind it."

Inside the luxuriously decorated bedroom, a group of extraordinary individuals were surveying the scene. The leader of the "Mechanical Heart" team respectfully addressed the important figure whose back was turned to him.

"【Blood Cultivator】...Who is that?"

He was an elderly man dressed in a white priest's robe and wearing a clergyman's soft cap. He was none other than Archbishop Horamik Hayden, the head of the Church of the God of Steam and Machines in the diocese of Backlund and a member of the Divine Council.

This important figure also serves as a professor in the Department of Physics at Backlund University.

"Your Excellency, this is a statement from MI9."

The squad leader explained, "Do you remember the Kapin case that caused such a stir before? That was the first time the [Blood Monk] appeared. He also killed Lanluus, who was pregnant with the child of an evil god, and was suspected to be the 'Apostle of Desire' behind the serial murders."

"so."

Khoramik nodded noncommittally.

After a moment of silence, he said calmly, "Bring Iconsel up here."

The squad leader went out as instructed. Soon after, the deacon of the Steam Church walked into the bedroom carrying the silver mirror, still sporting his signature afro and a bitter, resentful expression.

"Your Excellency the Archbishop."

He saluted.

"The divination has been interfered with. Try using 2-111 to check for clues."

“Yes.” Although he had already guessed why Horamick had called him over, Ikonser’s face still stiffened slightly for a moment.

Upon hearing that there might be new clues, the extraordinary individuals, who had been struggling with their investigations, quickly gathered around. An empty room was immediately filled, not only by "Mechanical Heart" but also by MI9, who had come to help, who sat down at the table to witness the deacon using the sealing artifact.

As more and more people gathered around him, Ikonser's expression grew increasingly somber.

He took a deep breath, finally made up his mind, and reached out to touch the surface of the silver mirror.

The room fell silent, and everyone held their breath.

After stroking it three times, Icons asked, "

"Your Excellency Arodes, my question is, who were the extraordinary beings who appeared here last night?"

The light in the room dimmed, and a hazy mist rose from the surface of the silver mirror, eventually transforming into a moving image. Within this image, several peculiar entities were present:

A man, his body as pale as a corpse, roared and charged like a wild beast, leaving many marks inside the building;

A middle-aged man in a tuxedo moved elusively, like a ghost, and was difficult to detect.

Another woman, in a similar state, was dressed in an elegant black dress and seemed to be at odds with the pale corpse.
"The 'heterogeneous' approach, it really is the 'Rose School'."

Someone said in a low voice.

They searched the Andean count's house and found items that confirmed the count had become a follower of a cult from the southern continent. This seemed to provide a deeper explanation for his previous commercial success.

Although someone was speaking, the mirror display did not end. The image then shifted, seemingly to reveal the last person present, but soon all that could be seen was a crimson expanse, nothing else.

"Ok?"

Iconsel frowned.

While others didn't notice, he, holding the mirror, did. When the final image was displayed, the silver mirror seemed to tremble almost imperceptibly.

"Even with 2-111, couldn't you clearly identify the target?"

The others said disappointedly.

This scene is exactly the same as what they see when they perform divination and spiritual communication.

It seems this Blood Cultivator won't be so easy to catch.

After the mirror displayed the answer, it quickly returned to normal, and bloody words appeared on its surface.

It's coming.
Iconsel, suppressing his unease, looked down at the mirror. He was quickly bewildered by the questions that appeared there.

The mirror had the following written on it:

"How would you react if the person you want to please and the person you are afraid of were both present at the same time?"

"I'll be confused."

He said hesitantly.

"Congratulations, you got it right."

White writing appeared on the mirror surface.

It passed just like that?
While Iconsel breathed a sigh of relief, he also felt somewhat incredulous.

"Keep asking it, what is the reason for the conflict between the two sides?"

Horamik said.

Ikonser asked as instructed, and the magic mirror Arodes replied that it was a conflict between ideals and beliefs. However, the question Arodes posed next made his heart tighten:
"Of all the people present, who do you most want to please, and who do you fear most?"

Everyone fell silent, and couldn't help but look at the deacon with the afro.

Iconsel's lips twitched; he didn't know what to say.

(End of this chapter)