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“Digging the heart…”
Celicia stared at the gaping, grotesque wound in the chest of the corpse, her expression growing increasingly dark.
“Is this the direct cause of death?”
“Probably, but we can’t be a hundred percent sure.”
The balding middle-aged man said:
“We examined the body roughly. Aside from the hole in the chest, we found no other external injuries, so the initial judgment is that the cause of death is the extraction of the heart. However, since the body hasn’t been thoroughly autopsied yet, we can’t rule out that the deceased may have first died from poisoning or a curse.”
“There are too many ways to kill without causing external injuries, so there’s no need to dwell on that. What I want to know is, how was the heart extracted?”
Celicia donned gloves and gently lifted the shredded clothing covering the deceased’s chest, peering into the hideous wound.
“This kind of mark shouldn’t have been made with a sharp object, right?”
“No…”
The middle-aged man hesitated, his tone now laced with fear:
“The initial assessment suggests it was done barehanded. He was forcibly disemboweled of his heart by someone using their bare hands.”
“A beast?”
“A human.”
The middle-aged man said:
“And from the initial assessment of the marks, it might have been a woman.”
“A woman…” Celicia’s gaze grew serious.
“I remember there’s a rumor circulating in the lower city about a heart-pulling nymph who tempts men on full moon nights, then extracts and consumes their hearts.”
Celicia glanced up at the pitch-black sky: “Although the weather is bad, today is indeed a full moon night according to the calendar, which means that rumor might be true?”
“Yes… there is such a rumor.”
The balding middle-aged man wiped the sweat from his forehead more frequently and forcefully, making one worry that he might inadvertently pull out the few thin strands of hair on his head.
“But the lower city is full of chaos; it’s too disordered. Every day, there are at least a dozen bodies pulled out from the alleys and sewers, so we can’t confirm whether the rumor is true or not.”
“Whether it’s true or not, it’s at least a lead.”
“Yes, we will investigate it immediately.”
“What about other information?”
“Tem…temporarily, there’s nothing else.”
The middle-aged man stammered:
“When we arrived, the heavy rain had already washed away almost all traces, and the murderer didn’t even use a weapon; it’s truly difficult to find any other clues.”
“So, we can only start from the deceased?”
Celicia lowered her eyelids, her gaze sweeping over the corpse.
It’s no wonder the middle-aged man seemed so bald; the rain-soaked night, the murder, the heart extraction, the count’s son, and even the city’s terrifying urban legends—any one of these mishandled could cost him his job or even his life.
“Why don’t you all retreat for now?”
But at that moment, Celicia seemed to discover something, suddenly saying.
“Eh? Aren’t we investigating anymore?”
The middle-aged man was taken aback.
“This is no longer within your purview.”
Celicia looked at the deceased’s hand.
Due to post-mortem rigidity, the colorless hand twisted grotesquely, as if it were desperately trying to grasp something before dying.
And in the eerily blood-stained nails of that contorted hand, Celicia saw something different.
Scales.
Black, fine scales.
Like snake scales.
“Snake Person…”
As if recalling something, a chill flashed in Celicia’s eyes as she whispered.
……
……
“What is this…?”
Teacher Meila could not actually pull out a hammer or electric drill, like a mad scientist in a story, and haphazardly modify Mu’en. Instead, she brought Mu’en to a lake that resembled mercury.
No, rather than a lake, it was more like a bottomless well.
“This is the well of silver.”
Meila pointed with her hand and said:
“It is the foundation of the academy and also a prison to suppress that thing.”
“That thing?”
“I know you’re curious, but regarding that thing, I advise you to ask less until you become the Crowned One.”
Meila gave Mu’en a frosty glance, urging him to keep quiet.
“Then if we’re not here to visit the prison for moral education, what are we doing here?”
“Of course, it’s to strengthen you.”
“Strengthen?”
“To become the vessel of the Eternal Clock, the most important thing is that your foundation must be stable enough.”
Meila said:
“So I need to enhance you to a certain extent, allowing you to develop resistance against the complex laws of time.”
“Resistance?”
“In simple terms, it means making you more resilient.”
“Resilient?”
Mu’en was even more confused now.
“Why do you have to ask so many questions?” Teacher Meila rolled her eyes.
“Because I don’t know anything.”
“Sigh.”
Meila sighed, looking at Mu’en as if he were the dumbest disciple she had, and pointed to the mercury well:
“Forget it, don’t think too much, just jump in.”
“Oh, so I just have to jump in… What the hell!”
Mu’en yelled in terror:
“You can’t just jump into such a place! That’s mercury, it’s toxic!”
“Although I don’t know what you mean by mercury, in alchemy, pure mercury is one of the fundamental elements that make up all things.”
“I see.”
Mu’en let out a sigh of relief.
As long as it’s not the mercury he understood, it’s fine.
“However, it is indeed highly toxic, so I hope you don’t die too quickly.”
“Eh?”
Before Mu’en could react, he turned his head and saw Teacher Meila’s fair little foot rapidly enlarging in his view.
“What ‘eh’? Get in there!”
Impatiently, Teacher Meila leapt up, delivering a kick that sent Mu’en tumbling into the well.
“Damn it!”
Feeling the sharp pain from the kick on his cheek and the intense discomfort of weightlessness, Mu’en could not help but emit a heavy wail in mid-air.
“Why is there a cursed plot device of anti-gravity skirts in reality too!”
……
Mu’en plummeted into the mercury well.
It felt like falling into thick mud, and Mu’en was instantly enveloped by the viscous, flowing liquid.
Mu’en instinctively held his breath.
But that endless mercury, as if possessing its own consciousness, surged into his body through his nostrils, ear canals, pores, and any possible entry points.
A sharp pain struck him instantly, followed by a sensation that the mercury began to progressively erode his body, spreading rapidly like ink dropped into clear water.
Everywhere the mercury invaded seemed to decay quickly into dust, as if experiencing the passage of countless years.
“Use fire.”
Teacher Meila’s voice echoed in his ears.
Without any hesitation, Mu’en opened his eyes.
In those azure pupils, flames suddenly ignited.
The fire of the King of Withering was both a deathly flame that burned everything and a vital flame that brought new life.
Thus, even when he endured a direct hit from a Crowned One, he did not die.
Under the flames’ burn, the flesh he lost quickly restored, and the newly grown flesh glistened as if coated in mercury.
But this did not grant him relief.
Because the mercury’s erosion continued as if it would never cease.
The pain of decaying flesh and the regeneration of limbs felt like countless ants gnawing at him.
Two distinctly different but profoundly terrifying sensations ruthlessly tormented Mu’en’s consciousness.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have probably gone mad by now.
But—
“Who the hell do you think I am!”
Amidst the endless mercury, Mu’en’s face twisted as he let out a beast-like roar from between clenched teeth.
“I’ve experienced—death—countless times—do you think I’ll—fear you?”
Thus, Mu’en opened his mouth, greedily swallowing even more mercury into his stomach.
Like pouring cold water into hot oil, two incompatible, powerful forces violently collided within him.
—Since we’re seeking thrills, let’s go all the way!
……
……
“Exactly, just like that!”
Watching the changes happening to Mu’en as he was submerged in endless mercury, a glint of excitement shone in Meila’s vibrant red eyes.
“The fire of the King of Withering merely accelerates this process and increases your chances of survival by a fraction.”
“What truly relies on is only you, Mu’en Campbell!”
“Only with such a strong will can you potentially grasp this supreme authority in the future!”
“Only thus—can you help me achieve that ultimate goal.”
