In the office on the top floor of the headquarters of the Daily Observer, Spellsinger of God Ace Snake sat behind a desk and listened to Captain Kuhn's report.
There was no expression on his face, but the way he leaned forward indicated his seriousness.
Captain Kuhn flipped open his notebook and described the events of the night in detail. He then repeated the results of the interrogation of the relevant personnel. Finally, he said,
"Yesterday morning, I used Sealed Artifact 1-025 to divine the true culprit behind the attack on the Lord's believers. The final outcome pointed to this ball.
"Miss Hazel's testimony after she woke up also indicated that she stole the treasure of a charming lady at the ball, which is the seed that caused a disaster.
"The Primordial Moon aura that Detective Ebner Bryan sensed at the ball originated from that seed.
"The reason why the Forsaken One entered Backlund and reported to the Church was to find believers who were tempted by the Primordial Moon. And according to the latest information they provided, the tempted believer became a Demoness of Pleasure's advancement to Affliction.
"Finally, we just obtained the Beyonder circle that Lieutenant Berner had previously inquired about how to resist the Demoness of Afflictions. We even spent 8,000 pounds to buy a Beyonder item from the Sun domain…
"In summary, we have confirmed that the mastermind behind the assassination of the believers and the Mandated Punishers is this Demoness of Afflictions."
Having reported to this point, Captain Kuhn, who was wearing a modified captain's hat, closed the notebook in his hand and waited for His Excellency Spellsinger of God's to ask about the details.
The Spellsinger of God, Ace Snake, thought for a moment, as though he was digesting the Captain's report. After a long while, he said in a magnetic voice, "Logically speaking, there's no problem. I basically agree with your point of view… However, do you have any idea why the Demoness of Agony treats us so well?"
"There's one thing. In the previous operation of the Mandated Punishers," He "heavily injured a Demoness of Pleasure… She might very well be the same person as this Demoness of Afflictions," Kuhn immediately replied, clearly prepared.
"Spellsinger of God's" shook his head slightly and said, "She wouldn't go around in circles just for revenge… In fact, even the attack this time only looked dangerous. Even if no one saw through it in advance, something happened to His Highness and those ordinary people. In reality, it would only embarrass the Church. In the end, I would most likely be demoted and transferred… My intuition tells me that her goal isn't that simple. She definitely has a bigger plan."
"Your Excellency, your deduction is very reasonable… It's just that we can't guess that witch's thoughts at the moment." Captain Kuhn smiled bitterly. He didn't think that if something really happened, it would only be "rather embarrassing". After all, it was the lives of innocents! It was something he swore to protect when he became a Mandated Punisher.
"Demonesses are always scheming. Furthermore, this one has been corrupted by the Primordial Moon. She's probably even more unpredictable… Yes, I approve of you using 1-025 to divine Demonesses again. You have to capture her as soon as possible, " Ace Snake said with a smile.
"Yes, Your Excellency." Captain Kuhn nodded.
Next, the two of them talked about how to handle the aftermath and how to deal with the people involved.
"As the instigator of this incident, Miss Hazel should've been imprisoned under the Holy Wind Cathedral as an experimenter… However, her father is a Member of Parliament of the House of Commons, and she has a wide network of friends. She's also related to the military, and her family is a devout believer of the Evernight Goddess… Therefore, to avoid some trouble, we decided to hand her over to the Church of Earth Mother. After all, she might've been contaminated by the Primordial Moon, and the Church of Earth Mother has more experience with such pollution than us."
Captain Kuhn didn't have a good impression of the troublemaker. He only didn't punish her too severely because he was worried about her influence and because she was only being used.
"Not a bad punishment… Earth Mother is biased towards the God of Combat, and she doesn't have a good relationship with the Church of Evernight. By handing that lady over to the Church of Earth Mother, I believe she will be taught a proper lesson. Furthermore, the reason for handing her over is very good." The Spellsinger of God praised with a smile before asking, "How did Miss Hazel become a Beyonder? Have you investigated clearly?"
Speaking of this, Kuhn became serious again as he replied, "She refused to tell us in the beginning, but through some means, we made her reveal some truth… It turns out that she met a teacher by coincidence. That teacher led her onto an extraordinary path… However, according to her description, we have come to the conclusion that this so-called teacher should be a Parasite, and she has ill intentions towards her teachings."
Upon hearing that, the Spellsinger of God leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment before saying, "Recently, we have a lot of matters to attend to, and we are severely lacking in manpower… Her teacher is also in the North Borough… It's best to inform the Church of Evernight and get the Nighthawks to deal with the Parasite."
"Yes, Your Excellency." Kuhn had just nodded in response when the hat on his head suddenly trembled. He hurriedly apologized to the Spellsinger of God and listened to the voice coming from the hat.
Half a minute later, Kuhn straightened his modified captain's hat, slightly organized his words, and asked, "Your Excellency, we just received news that when we were investigating the Beyonders among the guests at the ball, we discovered another believer of the Primordial Moon… And she seems to be the Forsaken One's target. She requested to share the results of the interrogation with us… What do you think?"
Ace Snake pondered for a moment and did not answer directly. Instead, he asked something else. "Most of the ordinary people in the ball haven't been released, right?"
"Yes, Your Excellency. Although there's spatial isolation created by 2-001, we can't confirm if the Primordial Moon's corruption will leak…" Captain Kuhn replied.
"It's not good to detain these ordinary people, and we aren't good at detecting such pollution, so it's better to find someone more professional to help! Agree to the Forsaken One's request, but in exchange, we need them to send people to help us complete our investigation." Speaking up to this point, Ace Snake looked at Kuhn and said with a smile, "Speaking of which, you were able to successfully eliminate the monster Berner transformed into today, and you have to thank the saints of the Church of Earth Mother for their support. If it weren't for her help, I'm afraid you would have to persist until I arrive to truly kill it."
"The Church of Earth Mother actually sent out a Saint?!" Captain Kuhn was shocked when he heard that, but he immediately thought of something and said, "It should be for Detective Ebner Bryan. He really is highly valued by the Church of Earth Mother! Although he didn't do much during the battle with the mutated monsters, he used the Earth Demon statue to save many people."
"Oh? Driving the Earth Demon Statue? This Detective Bryan is the person who reported to you that Hazel has the aura of the Primordial Moon on her? Do you have any information about him?" After hearing Captain Kuhn's words, Ace Snake was slightly interested in Ebner.
"Detective Bryan is a student of the famous Detective Isengard Stanton who has been famous for many years. Previously, he was famous for solving a kidnapping and trafficking case committed by a subordinate company of the Dock District's Eternal Life Society. However, according to the information obtained from the Church of Steam, this matter was actually done by the Forsaken One, and Detective Bryan had only helped.
"Isengard Stanton came to Backlund ten years ago and quickly became famous. As he has a close relationship with MI9, we always thought he was a member of the military… But now, his student is so highly valued by the Church of Earth Mother. We believe that he's very likely a spy buried in Backlund by the Church of Earth Mother. Furthermore, they should've made connections with Prince Edessak long ago."
Captain Kuhn recounted the information he had on Ebner and sighed. "However, it's all thanks to this detective's warning today. Otherwise, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been easy to deal with… And this detective could have left to report to the Church of Earth Mother. That way, he wouldn't have been involved in such a dangerous matter."
The Spellsinger of God nodded and didn't say anything else. Then, he waved his hand and signaled Kuhn to carry out the plan that they had discussed.
At this moment, Evan, the Mandated Punisher who had been by Ebner's side to protect him, knocked on the door and walked in. He first greeted the two of them before saying, "Your Excellency, Captain. The guests at the ball are asking us why we detained them… Matthew and Robert haven't replied, for the time being, so they asked me to ask for instructions on what excuse to use."
"Heh, that's simple. Tell them that someone wants to assassinate His Highness. We detained them to investigate the possible accomplices among them." The Spellsinger of God laughed and continued, "I'll personally inform His Highness. I believe he'll cooperate…"
"Yes, Your Excellency," Evan replied respectfully before turning to leave.
But at that moment, the Spellsinger of God stopped him again and added, "In addition, tell the guests that Detective Bryan discovered that the assassin had used a bomb to assassinate him. That's why he didn't really cause a disaster… He's the hero who saved everyone."
"This…" Evan was dumbfounded, but he immediately stood up and said, "Yes."
After Evan left, Captain Kuhn asked with a frown, "Sir, are you thinking of using Detective Bryan as bait?"
"Heh heh, it might not be useful. It's just an idle step… There's no need to send someone to follow him. Since he obtained the Church of Earth Mother Favor, he naturally has the protection of the Forsaken One! Heh heh, I want to see if that Demoness is really that vengeful or if she has other plans!"