“Decisive actions... Just who could it be?”
The white-robed Cleric Fula muttered to himself as he inspected the several variant corpses in front of him.
“Four werewolves, and the corpse of a hunter who was possessed by a shadow demon.” The more Fula observed, the more he could confirm the ruthlessness and decisiveness of the person who had acted.
He could not even sense any traces of extraordinary power—such as battle qi, magic, or vital energy and blood—on the corpses.
It was as if they had been slaughtered using pure physical strength.
Yes, slaughtered.
None of the werewolves had more than three wounds on their bodies—their throats slit to prevent them from making any sound, and a single fatal stab to the heart, causing these werewolves to die under the full moon without being able to struggle.
As for the possessed hunter, there were only two traces of attack on his body—one from a kick and another from a stone.
Within the residual shadow energy in the surroundings, Fula also discovered traces of purification.
“If it were a demon hunter, there would be no reason not to come out and see me... Is it a tactical retreat to cover their tracks and hide any trace of extraordinary power? Just what is this fellow's objective?”
The more Fula thought about it, the more he felt a headache coming on.
The main reason was that he had not sensed the presence of this variant killer in the village at all last night.
That fellow had hidden their extraordinary power and purpose too well, making it seem entirely like an improvised slaughter while passing through...
“This kind of pure physical strength and precision... they are likely at least a Professional-grade Martial Artist or Knight who specializes in physical training...”
Fula constantly calculated the other party's motives in his mind, having a premonition that they were coming for him.
In the end, he let out a sigh. “Never mind... I was careless.”
He had originally planned to burn the witch to death and then slowly wait for these hidden variants to riot on their own before killing them—this would have further strengthened and solidified the faith in the village.
He simply had not expected all of them to be killed in just a single night.
Most importantly, the extraordinary Warlock behind the creation of these variants had not been investigated yet either...
That was the most troublesome matter of all.
“I should still investigate the matter of that Sister first...” Fula muttered to himself.
He felt there was also something off about that Sister.
There was a sense of... an imposter.
“Friar Fula!”
Just then, a guard's voice came from outside the church doors.
“Grand Friar Fula, Knight Macar requests an audience.”
Macar? Instead of watching that Sister, what is he doing here? Fula's eyes narrowed slightly in mild surprise.
“Let him in.”
Though slightly surprised, Fula did not intend to refuse the meeting. After slightly adjusting his friar robes, Fula called Macar in.
By now, he had already hidden both hands back inside the wide sleeves of his white robe.
This was a habit shared by most Clerics—they would keep their bodies as neat and clean as possible, conceal their actions, and establish and abide by strict disciplines.
In exchange, they gained powerful inner strength.
“Macar greets the Grand Cleric.” Macar bowed deeply in salutation before raising his head.
“Macar, there are only the two of us here. No need to be so formal or restrained. Speak if you have something to say.” Fula's words were as flat and smooth as a mirror, matching his cold gray eyes as always.
Clerics would usually adopt that deliberately benevolent tone only when they were preaching.
In their understanding, human emotions were finite.
“Yes, Grand Friar Fula...” After a slight pause, Macar began to recount what he had encountered today.
Naturally, he omitted some unnecessary details, only explaining the strange occurrences in Roke Town in detail.
“Did you not go in to investigate?” Fula asked after quietly listening to Macar's explanation.
Macar froze for a moment before shaking his head. “The matter is of grave importance. I had an obligation to bring back the news immediately. I have also brought along hunters from Roke Town.”
“Mm... It is indeed good to be cautious. Macar, I am very pleased to see you grow. If the situation is true, I will apply to the Holy Synod for a trial on your behalf.”
Fula nodded, giving Macar an emotionless praise.
“I dare not take the credit. This is merely my duty.”
Macar had long since grown accustomed to this kind of emotionless praise from Cleric Fula.
Most members of the Church of Dawn were typically cold on the inside and warm on the outside—during missionary work, every single one of them was incredibly enthusiastic and kind, but when handling affairs internally, they appeared to have no emotion at all.
However, they were exceptionally efficient.
“I will handle the investigation of this matter myself. Hand those hunters over to Sikai, another cleric.”
Fula walked over to his desk, pulled out a sheet of white paper, and began writing on it with a quill pen. As he wrote, he questioned Macar: “By the way, Macar—Friar Gelin is currently outside, yes?”
“Ah, uh... Yes, she is currently beside Maqi.” Hearing this request, Macar's tone momentarily faltered, but he still gave his reply.
“I want to see her.” Fula quickly finished writing what he wanted on the white paper.
His palm then glowed slightly as he swept it across the surface of the paper, fixing the ink.
“Ah? This...” Macar hesitated—because at this moment, Ogre had not yet disguised himself.
In his rush to report this matter, he had not even had the time to let Ogre go back and put on his disguise.
“What is it, Macar? Don't tell me you have fallen for her, or perhaps you did not take good care of Friar Gelin.” Macar's hesitation did not escape Fula's notice, yet Fula's tone still did not undergo any obvious change.
After casually rolling up the finished paper, Fula's entire hand ignited with a pure white flame.
Miraculously, the fire did not burn the paper; it only formed one golden pattern after another on its surface.
“Yes... indeed there is.” Macar looked at the calm Cleric Fula and ultimately agreed. Then, in a somewhat stuttering tone, he said, “But Gelin... Friar Gelin, she... might find it a bit inconvenient right now. It's that time of the month for her, which I fear might defile the holy...”
“It does not matter... I will simply go out to see her and treat her while I am at it.”
Macar's reaction piqued Fula's interest. He had not expected the church's famously dense knight to fall so quickly for an ordinary-looking sister.
How very interesting.
“No... it is not that.” A wave of guilt washed over Macar, leaving him somewhat at a loss for a moment.
“Macar, do not forget how everything you have came to be.”
Fula extinguished the flame in his hand and opened his palm. A white dove flew down right on cue from a large tree outside the window, landing on his palm.
“I will go with you to see her in a moment.”
After securing the golden-patterned paper roll under the white dove's claws, Fula released the bird and calmly turned his head back.
“Yes...” Knowing there was no way to avoid this, Macar could only agree.
He understood that the more one tried to avoid something, the more likely it was to happen.
When he had made his excuse the first time, Fula had not let it slide... which meant this matter could no longer be refused.
I am sorry... Miss Gelin. Macar felt exceptionally guilty toward Ogre.
However, he did not believe this matter would have a particularly negative impact on Ogre either.
Meanwhile, at this very moment, Ogre, who was currently enduring Maqi's pestering, also sensed trouble brewing...
Because the moment Macar left to report, Eve, who had been hiding, appeared right after him.
Ogre reckoned the careless Macar had probably forgotten about this entirely.
This is going to be really troublesome.
Ogre could sense a very strong hostility coming from this girl...
Because for the latter half of the journey back, Macar had strongly insisted on carrying him on his back—and since Ogre had to maintain his disguise to the end, he could not really refuse.
“Long time no see, Sister Eve! Did you just get back from the city? I couldn't find you at all yesterday.” Maqi, on the other hand, did not react oddly; she was actually rather happy.
The moment Macar returned to the village, she had received the news and come out, not expecting to run into Eve at a time like this.
“Mm...” Eve nodded with a smile.
However, her gaze did not wander from Ogre for even half a second.
If I had known, I might as well have let Macar deal with that wretched town.
Ogre silently pulled up his scarf and carefully retreated behind Maqi.
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