Sauntering leisurely into the Watkin Shoebox, Lady Seph was followed by a plethora of fully-equipped constables that rushed in rapidly to apprehend the Watkin Murderer. Among them, there was a pudgy, middle-aged man, whose frown was deep enough to touch his own double-chin.
Less than three minutes have passed since Lewis received the report about the whereabouts of the Watkin Murderer. Eager to seize the man that he had been chasing for the past few weeks, he flew out of his office's window and raced here as fast as he could. However, seconds before he arrived, another more powerful existence already made her way into the store and did his job for him.
"Young man, you constables sure are slow… If I were a few seconds late, that pretty little lass wouldn't be able to retain her head..."
Lady Seph sassed the beefy man, not impressed with how slow he was in reacting to the incident.
"My apologies, Lady Seph. I'll be sure to make a satisfactory report that will compensate the Frie Clan..."
Gritting his teeth his frustration, Lewis placed his clenched fists to his sides and gave the woman a deep bow. He did not know that Shin and Ariel just happened to be in the store the moment the Watkin Murderer struck. But Lewis wasn't all to blame. The constables who first discovered the felon's position were all merely Spirit Apostles. Should they have entered before Lewis had arrived, the Watkin Murderer might have already made his escape.
Nonetheless, if he had known that there were two innocent children stuck in the same place as the wanted criminal, Lewis might have done things a little differently.
"Don't tell that to me, just hope that Edward doesn't erupt on you… He seems to love that lass quite a bit."
Glancing down at the scarlet-haired little girl, who was still trying to regulate her own breathing and the old man helping her do so, Lady Seph ominously warned Lewis. A cold shiver ran down the spine of the weighty man once he realised who the old man and the girl was. The Frie Clan's First Elder was famous, or one might say, notorious for having an explosive temper. Gulping down a mouthful of nervous saliva, Lewis prayed that the Ariel would hopefully emerge unscathed.
"Alright, while you are busy worrying about your life, let me see the retard that tried to mess with my attendant."
Lady Seph wore a playful smile as she walked towards her new patient. Summoning out the Iofiel Angel, the elderly woman glowed in a dim golden light, in preparation for her next task.
"Are you going to heal him?!"
After seeing the familiar stance, Shin was able to deduce what Lady Seph was attempting to do. Shocked that she was going to help restore the person who had tried to kill him and Ariel earlier, the black-haired youth questioned his teacher.
"Of course I am! Is there a problem?"
"That man tried to kill us! Why should he be healed?"
Shin was extremely clear on how supernatural Lady Seph's abilities were. If someone said that she could raise the dead, Shin would be compelled to believe that person. He felt that someone like Lady Seph should only use her powers to do good, not save a known murderer that had attempted to maul them just a few minutes earlier.
"Shin… We are healers, not judicators. We do not decide who is right or wrong. Who is worth saving and who we should let die. We save lives. I hope you remember that..."
Lady Seph's face turned sombre as she put on the most serious expression that Shin had seen yet. With her brows furrowed and lips curved downwards, the elderly woman gently exhaled out a mouthful of air while explaining her position. Taken aback by her sudden solemnity, Shin closed his mouth in indignation. Evidently, he was not convinced.
"Well, you're too young to understand it now anyway..."
Wearing a bitter smile, Lady Seph diverted her attention back to the Watkin Murderer, who was lying unconscious on the floor. Using the Iofiel Angel, she closed her eyes as a melodious tune filled the room. Behind her, the phantom of the divine woman spread her wings wide as an ostentatious harp appeared in her hands. Using her heavenly fingers to pluck the mystical strings, the Iofiel Angel started to play a mellifluous song.
The Watkin Murderer's fingers began to twitch as his ears picked up as the aria descended onto his body. A golden light, akin to droplets of rain, started to flow out of his body. His yellowed skin gradually turned into a healthy pink colour and the wound on his left stomach begun to close. At this point in time, Lady Seph seemed to notice that something was amiss in the man's body and sent forth a wave of spiritual energy.
Scanning every single cell in the Watkin Murderer, Lady Seph tried to determine the cause of the anomaly she sensed. And after ten seconds, she started to give a deep frown. Closing her eyes, her eyelids trembled as she bit her lip. Only after a substantial amount of time, did she stop supplying mana to her Spirit and released the light, enveloping the felon.
"What's wrong?"
Lewis was puzzled. Usually, when a healing process started, the healer would continue supplying mana until their patient's condition had stabilised. But looking at the Watkin Murderer, it was evident that he was far from making a full recovery.
"This man… He's a walking corpse..."
"What?!"
At her words, everyone in the room gasped out in shock. If the famed Lady Seph was unable to do anything to heal the Watkin Murderer and even blurted out such dismal words, it meant that the man was truly beyond saving.
"His infection had destroyed half of his organs. One of his lungs is punctured, and his heart is lacking the strength to continue pumping blood. Without proper access to clean food and water, his body is severely lacking energy, and many of his bodily functions had shut down. It is a miracle that he is still alive right now… Even if I used all my abilities to heal all the damaged parts, due to prolonged stress and days of lost blood, he would still breathe his last within the hour."
Lady Seph calmly accessed the man's condition and narrated it to those present. Before, she was wondering how Shin and Ariel, two Rank 2 Spirit Practitioners, could hold back a fully-grown man in the Spirit Core realm. But after accessing the Watkin Murderer's body, she finally understood why.
Breathing out a mournful sigh, Lady Seph addressed Lewis:
"He will wake up shortly, so if you have any questions for him, make it quick. I hope you won't stress him too much before he passes..."
Strangely, Lady Seph was empathetic towards the felon and calmly rose from her position. Finding a stand to lie on, she folded her arms and beckoned for Shin.
"Boy, tell me what happened in the store. Don't leave out any details."
"Ermmm, it started when Ariel and I were shopping..."
Although Shin was thought that Lady Seph was not behaving like her usual self, he still recounted the details of how he met the Watkin Murderer. From the start where Ariel and he entered the Watkin Shoebox, to the appearance of the felon, how he deduced that he had Amcinoma and how they managed to fight him off.
Listening earnestly to his explanation, Lady seemed apathetic, but her fingers were furiously tapping her sleeves like a broken clock.
"I see… Well, you're not wrong. The man did suffer from acute Amcinoma, but his injuries were far more serious than you thought. Externally, it looks like all he had was Amicinoma, but internally, he had been broken down to the bone..."
"What do you mean?"
"I might have some questions for this 'Watkin Murderer.' Hah... Looks like I'm still not immune to this..."
Shin was extremely puzzled at Lady Seph's words. But before he could inquire, a hoarse cough could be heard coming from the unconscious man lying stationary on the floor.
"He's waking up!"
One of the junior constables cried out. Drawing the eyes of everyone in the room, including the incensed First Elder, the Watkin Murderer suddenly became the centre of attention. Coming to his senses, the felon gave a cursory scan of the room. Attempting to move his hands and legs, he felt a tight constriction binding his movements. Turning his head around, he saw a horde of constables surrounding him with their weapons unsheathed. Even the pudgy constable captain had summoned out his Emerald Jade Gladius.
"You are under arrest for the murder of Andrew Watkin, how do you plead?"
Typically, Lewis would bring his prisoner in for questioning, but hearing Lady Seph claim that the man had less than an hour to live, he did not want to waste any time by moving the felon.
"...Jeffe..."
Panting heavily, the Watkin Murderer's face turned red as he attempted to mouth out some words.
"What's that?"
"...nam… son..."
But no matter how much he tried, the words were unable to properly flow out his mouth.
"I said, how do you plead?!"
Irritated by the Watkin Murderer's actions, Lewis raised his voice a little while trying to pull out some answers from the convict.
"MY NAME IS GAWIL JEFFERSON!!!"
Like a despaired window, the man lying on the floor wailed. He had enough of people calling him the Watkin Murderer. Being compared to the man, he abhorred the most, sickened him to the stomach. The feeling had bottled up inside of him for the past few weeks, and now finally, he was unable to take it anymore.