"Ladies and gentlemen, let's now share information together and analyze what has happened in the past two days and the potential follow-up issues."
In the Maternushaus meeting room, Father Frank presided over a meeting. Apart from Father Frank, Archbishop Conrad, the head of the Cologne diocese, was also present on behalf of the church. Due to involvement with the Dark Tribunal, the church paid special attention to the matter.
Archbishop Conrad shared the name with the Archbishop who laid the foundation stone for the cathedral in 1248. He was a plump old man with a kind face and a pair of insightful gray-blue eyes.
In addition to the church and the four supernatural agents, there was also a high-ranking official from the Cologne Police, Officer Sleigh, who led the department specializing in supernatural crimes. He was tall and robust, with red hair and a beard.
"In summary, we suspect there is an unknown criminal organization with the means to enhance human abilities through genetic modification. The theft of Little Agrippina's hair and Attila's blood suggests that their goal is to perfect their genetic database," Officer Sleigh spoke in German, "Of course, their methods and goals are not ordinary; they involve the supernatural realm."
"Now I'll show you a segment of surveillance video. This was discovered when the police checked the surveillance footage after items went missing from the museum," Officer Sleigh said, standing up to open the projector behind the oval conference table, drawing the curtains, and projecting a video onto the screen in front of the table.
The video showed a segment recorded by a camera placed above the showcase containing the stone box in the Roman Germanic Museum in the early morning before the theft. The showcase with the stone box was only in the corner of the camera's coverage area, not the main focus.
The black and white footage was still for the first two minutes. As the third minute began, Officer Sleigh reminded, "Please pay attention."
Suddenly, a humanoid shadow appeared in front of the showcase with the stone box. In a few seconds, the shadow gradually solidified into a real person, wearing a long coat and a hood that covered the face.
After solidifying, the person reached towards the stone box, as if the glass showcase didn't exist, grabbing the stone box. However, the video showed that the alarm was triggered, with a red dot blinking in the corner of the video.
After grabbing the stone box, the person's image slowly blurred, and a few seconds later, both the person and the stone box disappeared.
Officer Sleigh turned off the projector, opened the curtains, letting sunlight back into the meeting room.
Shaun and Laura exchanged glances. They both thought of the "magician who could grab things across space." The person in the video seemed to have abilities similar to that self-proclaimed magician.
"We refer to this ability as the 'Shadow of Darkness.' It's the ability to materialize the spiritual essence of material objects in the real world. As far as we know, some supernatural agents in the demon realm possess this ability," Richard explained.
Officer Sleigh looked at Archbishop Conrad, and the bishop nodded slightly. Officer Sleigh cleared his throat and said, "Forgive me, but from what I know, some supernatural agents in the spirit realm can also do this."
Shaun and Laura frowned, and Chloe "hmphed," disdainfully looking out the window. Only Richard still smiled and said, "No worries, if it were an English spirit agent, they must have been assigned the task by the spirit realm. Before I arrived, the spirit realm informed me that all four agents present are currently responsible for this case."
Officer Sleigh hurriedly added, "I'm just suggesting a possibility, just discussing the facts."
Laura spoke, "Speaking of which, how did the search at Father Schwartz's residence go? Any findings?"
Father Frank said, "We found his diary, confirming that he converted to the Dark Tribunal ten years ago." Father Frank crossed himself at this point, "But his diary didn't mention the name of this organization, using only 'that person and his company' to refer to them. Their connection started after the discovery of the dagger. This indicates that the mastermind behind this is in the form of a company and became active after learning about the dagger. This aligns with Officer Sleigh's inference; many large biotech companies have their own genetic databases."
"Just to perfect the genetic database, is it necessary to involve the Dark Tribunal, offend the demon agents, and become the target of the police?" Shaun asked.
"So, we analyze that the mastermind behind this needs to do something in the near future and urgently requires Attila's blood, so they brought in Father Schwartz for assistance," Father Frank replied.
Suddenly, Laura asked, "You've stored Attila's blood in the church vault. Could the person with the ability of 'Shadow of Darkness' also get in?"
Father Frank said, "No, to guard against the Dark Tribunal, the vault has undergone special enchantment, preventing any spiritual entities from entering and probing special abilities."
"If the role of Attila's blood is as important as they've shown, someone will probably have their eyes on it soon, and this time," Richard paused before continuing, "they will definitely come prepared to ensure nothing goes wrong."
Officer Sleigh said, "I'll strengthen the security of the vault, but to win this supernatural war, we mainly rely on your organization."
Chloe "hmphed" again upon hearing this.
Richard nodded and said, "That's why we're here."
Archbishop Conrad slowly stood up, made the sign of the cross in front of Richard, and said, "Thank you for your organization's help this time. I sense an evil presence in this matter and hope we can overcome it under the guidance of the Lord."
Richard also stood up and said, "This incident has involved a wide range of public safety, surpassing the scope of the commissioned task. Therefore, the English spirit realm also hopes to cooperate with the Catholic Church and the government to nip this matter in the bud."
Shaun couldn't help but applaud in his heart, "When leaders speak official language, they don't need to draft."
After the meeting, the four agents left Maternushaus and came to Café Reichard, a century-old shop right across from the cathedral. This café was Cologne's finest dessert shop, especially renowned for handmade chocolates and various cakes.
Richard picked up a silver teapot and poured himself a cup of peppermint tea. Holding the cup, he said, "Having a cup of peppermint tea before lunch opens up my appetite."
Chloe, enjoying a piece of Black Forest cake, said, "Although Germans don't understand what fine dining is, I will miss Cologne because of this café."
Shaun, sipping his coffee, asked Richard, "Richard, your diplomacy skills are quite proficient."
Richard, sipping his peppermint tea, said, "Before becoming an agent, I worked as a clerk in the town hall of my hometown. It was my first job, so I was dedicated and often tried to understand how our mayor dealt with people. At that time, I had to receive several petitioners from the town every day, mostly retired elderly people, dealing with issues like tree branches extending over fences from neighbors."
Shaun casually remarked, "No wonder. How did you become an agent?"
At this question, Richard fell silent for a moment, wearing an expression as if lost in memories, not speaking for a while.
Laura's face darkened, staring at Shaun, "We all had to die once to become agents. Are you trying to evoke Richard's sad memories?"
Shaun quickly apologized, and Richard said, "No, it's not your fault. It's just that your question reminded me of my fiancée. When I was a clerk in the town hall, I was about to marry my dear Emma ten years ago. It made me feel like the luckiest person in the world. I thought that I, Richard, would stay with my beloved Emma in that small town for the rest of my life. We would have two or three children, travel, and maybe I could even become the mayor, haha!"
Richard laughed happily, but Shaun felt a bitter taste in his heart. He knew that unexpected tragic events would happen shortly afterward, changing Richard's life.
Laura and Chloe fell silent, looking at Richard with sympathy.
Richard continued with a smile, "On that day, after work, I suddenly wanted to buy a bouquet of flowers to surprise Emma at home. I rang the doorbell at her house, but the one who opened the door wasn't Emma or her parents—it was a stranger, a seemingly friendly man. But looking at his smile, I felt a chilling sensation; it was an intuition—I knew something was wrong. I rushed into the house and saw Emma's family, all three of them, had been murdered."
"Later, I found out that the man was a serial killer who wandered into our small town. He knocked on Emma's door, wanting a drink of water. Kind-hearted Emma's family invited him in, but the angelic Emma triggered his murderous intent. During the interrogation, he admitted that he found Emma incredibly beautiful and couldn't resist destroying that beauty."
"I violently beat him to the ground, of course, I was a strong young man at that time. In the end, holding a kitchen knife against his throat, there were a thousand voices in my head screaming: Kill him! Kill him!"
"But only one voice said: He's not worth it, my love, he's not worth it. That was Emma's voice."
"I looked into the man's eyes; there was no fear, only an eager fanaticism. I understood; he wasn't afraid of death, he was looking forward to ruining my life."
"I threw away the knife, looking at him as if he were a pile of dirty dust. Emma was right; he wasn't worth it. I wouldn't let him ruin my life. I turned to call the police, but the man picked up the knife and stabbed me."
"Before dying, I saw a strange symbol glowing on the oval-shaped stone we had found together with Emma. You all know the rest. I returned to the real world in a hospital, and the townspeople considered my revival a miracle. Since then, every time I eliminate an evil monster, I place a bouquet of flowers at Emma's grave."
After Richard finished speaking, he picked up his cooled peppermint tea and took a sip.
Laura and Chloe, almost simultaneously, put on sunglasses to cover their reddened eyes.
Shaun also felt his eyes moist, thinking, "Uncle, if your combat skills were half as good as your sentimental abilities, I wouldn't worry about facing any monsters this time."
Café Reichard was located right across from Cologne Cathedral. If you have the chance to visit Cologne, don't miss the opportunity to sit in the outdoor seats, sipping coffee, and enjoying the view of the cathedral.