Rita seemed to notice another aspect and added, "About last night's victim, how did the perpetrator manage to get in, kill him, and create a locked-room mystery?"
"I also checked the walls for any hidden doors or damage, and there was none," Emma said.
Elyon looked at the two women thoughtfully. "You two have reminded me, under normal circumstances, it would indeed be difficult to commit a murder and then create a genuine locked-room, but our opponent isn't ordinary. The 'k' organization must have someone capable of phasing through walls or teleporting. Miss Emma, when you go back, check how many people have such transcendent abilities. Pay special attention to those employed by or part of a noble family."
Emma took notes. "Lesser nobility, unmarried women, accomplices with the ability to teleport or phase through walls, that's it?"
"Yes, and Rita, don't let any of this leak out. You can write whatever you want once this is over."
Rita bit her pen, "Promise me an exclusive interview, and it's a deal."
Elyon glanced at her. "No problem." He thought to himself, agree now, and if need be, push Bell to do the interview later. Elyon felt he was going down the slippery slope of a callous superior. Looking at Bell transcribing Rita's scribbles, he felt he was creating an opportunity for promotion, making up for Garrick's care.
Glancing at the clock, Elyon stood up, "Let's see what Dr. Kraisinger has to say."
The trio made their way to the precinct's morgue cum autopsy room. Dr. Kraisinger was squatting outside, smoking a cigarette. Seeing Elyon and company approach, his expression soured. "I really wish I didn't have to see your face. Every time you show up, it means there's another body for me to autopsy."
"Well, that's not my fault. This time, Miss Emma will do the questioning, I won't say a word. Maybe a beautiful face will brighten your mood, eh?"
"Forget it, just ask away," Kraisinger said, tossing away his smoke.
"What's the estimated time of death, and is the cause of death the same organ failure as before?"
"Judging by the stomach contents, he likely died between seven and nine last night. The death was indeed due to organ failure, aside from the severed arm, there were no other injuries."
Elyon nodded, the same modus operandi as before, only this time the left hand was missing.
"I have another question, Dr. Kraisinger. How could the killer have left the room locked from the inside after committing the murder?"
Kraisinger lit another cigarette. "A demi-god or higher could turn their entire body spiritual or into a mythic state, able to phase through any physical barriers. Of course, demi-gods wouldn't bother with such petty games. Besides innate teleportation or phasing abilities, there are two other transcendental powers that fit your description."
"There are two more? Please, do tell," Elyon said, lighting Kraisinger's cigarette as a gesture of goodwill.
"If a person could turn themselves into liquid or even gas, they could pass through gaps that might as well be walls. Another possibility is that the killer was still in the room when you opened the door."
Elyon was startled by the suggestion. "Are you implying the killer could become invisible or disguise themselves? That they were still in the room after the murder and watched us enter, then left after we departed."
Kraisinger nodded in agreement, with the other two hurriedly waving their arms, scanning their surroundings. Elyon chuckled, "Don't scare me. I'm not afraid of demi-gods, I can die just fine, but a transparent person watching me all the time? I can't stand that."
"It's just a thought. The 'k' organization clearly doesn't care much for human life; there's no need for them to create a locked-room mystery to challenge the police. It's not typical for a killer to loiter at the crime scene."
Still, Elyon felt uneasy. Recalling the first time he used his eye ability, he let his mind go blank, focusing all his attention on his eyes, feeling a warm current flowing from his temples to his eyeballs.
Elyon's eyes turned a pale blue, surrounded by rotating silver circles of intricate magical glyphs. The world seemed to freeze, the speech of those around him slowed to a crawl. He noticed that Rita, like the background, was grey-white, while Emma had a faint earth tone, her watch shining brightly in gold, with a blue charm in her pocket.
Dr. Kraisinger was a bright white. Looking around, Elyon saw no hidden presence. Curiously he glanced through the wall into the morgue, where the grey-white corpse on the autopsy table had a blood-red aura along a cut from the right shoulder to the left thigh. Elyon wanted to examine it further when suddenly everything went dark and he nearly collapsed. Feeling faint, as if suffering from low blood pressure in his previous life, he squatted to regain his energy.
"What happened to you, suddenly squatting on the floor?" Emma asked.
Elyon touched the glasses in front of his eyes, realizing they could shield his eyes when using his ability.
"Nothing. You're a follower of the Mother Goddess, aren't you? That watch is a transcendental item."
"How did you know?"
"I just used my ability. Dr. Kraisinger, you're a follower of the Winter God? You're a transcendent as well, aren't you?"
"An unfortunate Awakened. Just barely at the initial level. Did you find out anything?"
"There, on the lying man, I noticed something." Elyon pointed towards the morgue.
Dr. Kraisinger opened the door and pulled back the cover on the corpse. The stitched-up chest and abdominal area, besides the autopsy cuts, remained intact.
"What oddity did you see?" Kraisinger asked, ready to cut in again if Elyon indicated.
"From the left shoulder to the right thigh, I used my eye ability and saw a crimson aura along a cut, invisible to the normal eye."
Hearing this, Kraisinger drew the curtains, darkening the already dim room. He then retrieved a purple-colored candle and a small vial of white translucent powder from a drawer.
"It looks like we need to use this. Light the candle for me."
Elyon found matches and lit the half-burnt candle. Despite its purple exterior, it emitted a faint blue light, adding a touch of brightness to the room.
Kraisinger sprinkled a bit of the powder over the corpse's upper body. The transparent powder, like weightless particles, hovered in the air, and under the blue light, a crimson mark appeared on the corpse, running from the left shoulder to the right thigh.
"This is revealing powder, isn't it? The Special Actions Division often uses this to track secret societies," Emma seemed familiar with the substance.
"Yes, under the special blue light, it can reveal the deity a transcendent worships. Each of the eight orthodox gods and four dark gods has their own color. Most transcendents tend to worship one of them to prevent their powers from going out of control."
Elyon understood one aspect of his ability. It looked like from now on, a glance could reveal a person's faith, though it seemed to only work on transcendents.
"So, which deity is associated with the color crimson?" Elyon asked.
"The Underworld God. His followers often decorate their temples with crimson, which is also the color of most intelligent beings' blood," Emma added.
Kraisinger grabbed Elyon, his gaze intent. "Your ability is so useful. Next time there's a suspected transcendent event, I'll just bring you to have a look. It'll save me a lot of material costs. This little bottle of powder costs five or six pounds, and the candles aren't cheap either—two pounds each. Now blow the candle out."
Elyon quickly extinguished the candle, complaining, "Such a useless ability. I just took a look and it drained all my energy, and I have to avoid light as a side effect. Why else would I wear glasses?"
Kraisinger gave Elyon a look as if he had made a major decision. "We'll split it seventy-thirty. I can't let you have all the advantages."
"Deal, seventy-thirty. You handle the paperwork." Elyon responded with a smile.
Emma asked, naive as a bunny, "What's seventy-thirty? I don't understand."
Rita interjected, "These two jerks are saying that next time we need revealing powder, there's no need; just have Elyon take a look and save the money. They'll split the savings, seventy to Kraisinger, thirty to Elyon. Elyon will handle the usage and conclusions while Kraisinger takes care of the accounting."
After hearing Rita's explanation, Emma shot Elyon a disdainful look, while Elyon just shrugged. "You think I don't pay a price? Using that ability feels like days of languor, and it consumes magic power like crazy."
Kraisinger chimed in, "That skill is probably the Eye of Magic. For a low-level transcendent to use it without fainting is impressive. But if you can't level up, long-term use could lead to blindness."
"Exactly, I'm risking blindness to earn a little money here. Can you still fault me?" Elyon defended himself, though in truth he wasn't sensitive to light. But the ability's magic consumption was astonishing; he still felt dizzy.
The women continued to look at Elyon with disdain. After some explanation, Elyon felt justified and was no longer concerned about their gaze. Future pounds were what mattered. He just wondered how to trigger the black lines he saw the first time he used his ability.
As the end of the workday approached, Elyon felt he needed a short break. It was time to bring his sisters' winter clothes back from home. The daily pressure of one case after another was suffocating. Elyon wondered if he'd get the chance to punch the final boss of the 'k' organization, though he'd likely lose the fight. He still lacked the ability to phase through locked doors.