No one was there…
Derek closed the library’s main door.
‘Maybe he went to the kitchen to sneak some food.’
The kitchen door was shut tight.
He then went to the prayer room.
The door was open, but inside was only a statue of a deity.
‘Then he must have gone out…’
Derek walked through the corridor and pushed open the back door.
He arrived at the academy’s rear courtyard.
The snow had stopped, but the wind was still howling.
Whoosh… whoosh…
The cold wind rushed into the collar of his robe.
“You’d better have a good explanation for this.”
Looking at the vast expanse of white in the courtyard, Derek tightened his collar and muttered.
There was a line of footprints in the snow, leading from the back door out toward the rear mountains.
Derek followed the footprints forward.
He passed through the vegetable garden and arrived in front of a dilapidated shed.
He stood at the doorway; a faint glimmer of light leaked through the cracks in the door.
The sound of metal meeting flesh and blood came from inside.
The door wasn’t locked.
Perhaps the person inside was too focused and had forgotten about it.
Derek reached out, pushed the door open, and walked inside.
It took him three seconds to process what he was seeing.
The interior wasn’t large, with pitchforks and hoes piled in a corner.
In the center was a door plank, propped up on two wooden crates.
A man lay on the door plank.
Derek didn’t know him, but from the rough condition of his skin, he could tell.
He was likely a farmer.
His chest had been split open, revealing a straight incision running from his collarbone down to his abdomen.
The edges of the incision were neat, and all the internal organs inside were gone.
Marco stood before the door plank, still wearing his white nightgown.
His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing forearms stained with blood.
He wore a pair of leather gloves and held a silver dinner knife.
Two magic lamps were placed on either side of the door plank, illuminating the small shed brightly.
Marco turned his head and looked at Derek in the doorway.
The expression on his face was serious and solemn, just like when he usually saw him in the library.
“What are you doing, Marco?”
Derek’s tone was so calm it surprised even himself.
“Dissection.”
Marco replied flatly.
“Are you insane?” Derek’s hand trembled slightly. “You’re desecrating a corpse! This violates our doctrine!”
His voice suddenly rose several notches.
“Desecration… doctrine…”
Marco repeated these two words a few times.
He took off his gloves, a smile appearing on his face.
“Aren’t you the same?”
“Stealing the church’s donations to exchange for ale at the tavern.” “Getting dead drunk, then rolling around in the dormitory.”
“Greed, desire… you’re no different.” He sneered.
“I’ll turn myself in tomorrow. What about you?” Derek said.
Marco suddenly fell silent.
“Do you know who this is?” Derek pointed at the man on the door plank.
“No.”
“Where did you get him from?”
“A nearby village.”
“You stole a corpse too!” Derek loudly questioned.
“No, not stolen.” Marco said. “Borrowed.” “He died of the plague this morning.”
“I just borrowed the corpse to examine the internal organs.” “I’ll return it first thing tomorrow morning.”
“You’re a seminary acolyte, not some cultist!”
Derek took a step back, his heel hitting the door threshold with a dull thud.
“You’ve already gone mad…” He trembled, his lips moving as he whispered.
“Are you going to report me?”
Marco asked in a definitive tone.
Derek didn’t answer. Instead, he turned and left.
Marco stood where he was, watching Derek’s figure disappear into the darkness.
“It’s snowing again.”
With a creak, he closed the door again.
—
“And then? Did it just cut off there?”
Vivian widened her eyes, eagerly pressing for more.
Just as she was getting into the story, Derek, who was telling it, suddenly paused.
“There’s not much more to say after that.” Derek said helplessly.
“I turned myself in at the academy and reported Marco’s actions.” “He was expelled, and I received a major demerit.”
“After graduation, I dutifully rolled off to this godforsaken place, Ma’en City.” “Worked in this humble church for most of my life.” “And then it’s the story you already know.”
“Did you really steal the church’s donations to buy ale?” Vivian asked curiously.
“Hahaha~”
Derek leaned back in his chair.
“When I was in school, I did do that.” “But later, I confessed my actions to the academy.”
“Elios forgave me.”
He stroked his white, bushy beard and laughed.
“But don’t worry, Vivian, I don’t do that anymore.”
“I dare swear in the name of the divine that since coming to Ma’en City, I have not misappropriated a single coin from theä¿¡å¾’’s donations.” “Especially your donations, a total of twenty-five copper coins.” He took out a small notebook from his robe and glanced at it. “I remember it clearly.”
“Do you still roll around at home now?”
Thump.
“Ow!”
Nolan couldn’t hold back anymore and flicked Vivian on the head with his finger.
Why were this girl’s points of focus so strange?
If this kept up, the topic would be led astray into a ditch.
Vivian rubbed the bump on her head, looking at Nolan with a pitiful, aggrieved expression.
“What happened to Marco after he left the academy?” Nolan asked.
“At first, we corresponded for a while by letter.”
“The letters mentioned that after leaving the academy, he renounced the light faith of Elios.”
“He converted to the God of Blood and Life, becoming a follower of the Vampire Demigoddess Liola.” “He became a blood mage.”
“I scolded him fiercely in my reply, and after that, we lost contact.” “Where is he now?” Nolan continued.
“I don’t know. The place Vivian mentioned, I’ve never heard of it.” Derek answered.
The lead was broken.
Vivian’s head started to ache again. Now they knew the other party’s identity.
Blood Mage, Marco.
But they had absolutely no idea where Marco was.
The criminal was right before their eyes, yet they couldn’t catch him.
It felt like the frustration of stopping mid-poop.
“So what do we do now?”
“Should I go wander around Black Rat Street a couple more times? Maybe I’ll really bump into him out for a stroll.”
Vivian spread her hands, her tone tinged with helpless amusement.
Nolan thought for a moment, then clapped his hands to attract the attention of the other two.
He weighed his words, then continued:
“Now we can confirm the other party is a blood mage.”
“I suspect he might be conducting some kind of evil sacrificial ritual.”
“Given their style, it’s a reasonable assumption that they’d need a large amount of blood.” “That would explain the attacks on residents last night.”
“Derek and I will search the city for possible ritual sites.”
“Vivian, you go look for people in the city who can supply large amounts of blood.” “As a vampire, I imagine you’re quite familiar with this.”
“Yes, sir!”
The young vampire lady stood at attention.
Derek was so amused by Vivian that he threw his head back and laughed.
“Hahaha, was that sudden display really necessary?” Seeing this, a faint smile also appeared at the corner of Nolan’s mouth.