Chapter 252: Chapter 252
The eye whirled violently within the liquid, causing the test tube to tremble. The burly man with dark stubble gave it a sharp shake, and it promptly went still, as if falling into a deep slumber, before sinking motionless to the bottom.
One of the men rose, directing his partner to give the bleeding cultist first aid. He then handed the test tube to Captain Bincy, who glanced at it before producing a sealing strip and wrapping it securely around the stopper. With care, he placed it in the small, buttoned pocket inside his trench coat.
Chocolate padded out over the gravel and wound around Jenkins's ankles. Jenkins scooped him up, and the cat squinted, purring as it rubbed its face against his cheek.
“That little cat of yours has a better nose than the two hounds Nicholas specially trained!”
Captain Bincy chuckled, praising Jenkins in a low voice. He gave him a hearty slap on the back, which also served as an explanation for how they’d found them. The Scribes of the combat squad were all grinning from ear to ear. The operation had gone unexpectedly well. After two weeks of grim work, this was their biggest victory yet.
Jenkins let out a long sigh of relief, his back stinging slightly from the captain’s pat. He managed a pained grin and gently scratched his cat’s chin, then turned and noticed Papa Oliver wore a pensive expression.
“There’s something that’s been on my mind for a while, and I never thought we’d actually run into it... And another thing: you’re forbidden from returning to the antique shop until you hear otherwise.”
The cultist, now missing an eye, glared with a terrifying intensity from his remaining one.
“No ‘buts.’ Today is Friday. We should have the interrogation results by Monday. You’re free to do as you wish this weekend. I hear you and Hathaway Hersha have been getting along quite well...”
His tone was firm, and even Captain Bincy wore an expression of agreement. Jenkins could find no grounds to argue.
At least, from how things turned out, there hadn’t been any negative consequences. Even if Captain Bincy and the Church Enchanters hadn’t arrived when they did, Jenkins and Papa Oliver had already gained the upper hand.
The group returned to the church, where they quickly found the man’s information on a wanted list:
Boglo Stipi, alias ‘Still Eye,’ a follower of the heretical god, the Void Demon Eye, and a member of the illegal ‘Demon Eye Collectors Society.’ Twelve years ago, he clashed with the Church of the Unlit Moon in the Cheslan Kingdom while trying to steal a special Series B enchanted eye. He murdered an earl during that incident and had been on both the Church’s and the official government’s most-wanted lists ever since.
The confiscated eye was handed over to the Special Items Processing Office, while the captured Stipi was delivered to professional interrogators. The Church needed to know why he was in the city, if he had accomplices, and whether anyone else was aware of his movements today.
He had, after all, disappeared after entering Pops Antique Shop. If he was on a mission to scout the shop, then the Church’s long-standing outpost would have to be decommissioned. For that reason, until the threat was neutralized, the newly-minted Enchanter Jenkins was forbidden from setting foot in such a dangerous place.
That concluded the day’s work. Papa Oliver told Jenkins he was free to go as soon as he submitted his report, as he himself still had matters to attend to at the church.
The two parted ways in the courtyard behind the church. Papa Oliver assured Jenkins that unexpected incidents were something every Enchanter stationed at the diocese’s outposts had to face, so he shouldn’t worry too much. However, he warned, the Demon Eye Collectors Society would not let this go easily. The storage, transfer, and placement of the eyes required complex techniques, so their members rarely worked alone. Stipi certainly had accomplices, but there was no telling how many.
Jenkins didn’t leave the church right away. Just as he turned to go, he was stopped by Mr. Coppola Bellini from the Special Items Processing Office.
The two of them sat down in his office, where Mr. Bellini poured Jenkins a cup of hot tea.
“Mr. Williams, the thing is, a letter arrived from Church headquarters in the capital. It contains some information you should be aware of, seeing as you were directly involved.”
His mind was still on Papa Oliver forbidding him from returning to the shop.
“Do you remember a man named Brute?”
Jenkins paused, rubbing his nose. It had only been three months, but it felt like a lifetime ago. “You mean the cultist from the Club of Light Chasers? The one they called the Ice Messenger?”
“That’s the one. On the night you made your offering to the Sage, he refused to buy a flower from A-01-2-0198. He should have died then and there, but the Church leadership needed information from him, so we used... special means to keep him alive for a while. You’re already aware of all that, I assume. Well, the current situation is that Brute is dead. Yes, a natural death, more or less. He was no longer of any use.”
“He’s dead? Oh. Well, that’s good news.” ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel fire.net
He nodded, a little bewildered. Even though he had been there, it didn’t seem like something they needed to inform him of personally.
Mr. Bellini seemed to read his mind. He raised a hand, palm down, signaling for Jenkins to hear him out.
“Mr. Williams, you may not have been aware, but this level eight Enchanter, this follower of a heretical god, never once used a divine art related to that malevolent entity. He hadn’t even learned the most crucial core ability of the Club of Light Chasers—the Golden divine ability, Body of Light. This has puzzled the Church for years. That is, until we performed an autopsy and found an ice crystal inside his skull.”
Mr. Bellini opened a black leather-bound notebook on his desk and passed a photograph tucked between its pages to Jenkins. “This is it,” he said.
It was a black-and-white photograph. A smooth, translucent game piece was being held up for the camera, resting on a small towel. The towel was marked with fresh-looking stains—it was impossible to tell if they were blood or brain matter. The piece itself was shaped like an archer, drawing its bow, identical to the pieces used in many popular board games today.
“The Church leadership had to comb through a vast amount of records before we could identify it. It’s C-01-04-4912, the Frozen Archer Piece. It’s not the property of any Orthodox Church, but part of the royal collection of the Hamparvo Kingdom. We never received a report that this item was stolen, but it’s impossible for two Bestowals with identical appearances and functions to exist. Therefore, we believe the Stuart family must have considered the theft a blow to their royal honor and decided to investigate the matter themselves rather than notify the Orthodox Church.”