Chapter 1482 A Mysterious Passage <TOC> Chapter 1484 The Confined Region
Translator: SumTLMan
When Angel said that Alex was interesting, he didn’t mean his personality. Instead, Angel noticed that Alex emanated an aura quite distinct from others. If one were to compare this aura to a halo, then while most people’s auras would seem shrouded in gray, Alex’s shone as brightly as daylight.
Given that the only power Angel could presently utilize was illusion magic, he couldn’t immediately discern why Alex had such an anomalous aura compared to others.
So, Angel simply began to closely observe Alex.
During his observations, Angel also noticed that Alex seemed able to see him. When other people’s gazes skimmed past Angel, their eyes registered nothing, presumably due to his illusion magic. However, when Alex’s gaze swept over him, a slight reaction in his pupils betrayed him, although he was good at concealing it.
Could this Alex be someone extraordinary? Yet, it didn’t seem likely.
Angel assumed that Alex would continue to pretend he couldn’t see him. However, much to his surprise, Alex began to converse with him after everyone else had left the church.
“Are you a ghost?” Alex asked again.
Angel studied Alex, this white-haired young man who appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen. When faced with Angel, he showed no emotion — no fear, no surprise, just pure curiosity.
If this were a naive child of four or five, unaware of the ways of the world, it would be one thing. But it was evident that Alex was a deep thinker, yet his thoughts were focused inward, not on others.
He displayed an attitude of “indifference toward the existence or non-existence” of things and people outside of himself.
For Angel to pique his curiosity was already an unusual feat.
“Have you ever seen a ghost?” Angel counter-questioned.
“It appears you’re not a ghost,” Alex asserted with great certainty.
“Your observation is sharp,” Angel remarked, neither confirming nor denying.
Before continuing to answer Angel’s previous question, Alex said, “I’m not sure if I’ve ever encountered a ghost, but my intuition suggests that I might have.”
“Is it because of amnesia?” Angel remembered that a priest named Bertrand had previously mentioned that Alex had lost his memory.
“Eavesdropping isn’t polite,” Alex gently chided without dwelling on it. “Yes, it’s because I’ve lost my memory. I don’t recall what I’ve been through, but something deep within me hints that I might have seen a ghost before.”
Alex paused and asked, “So Mr. Pat, have you seen a ghost?”
“I have,” Angel stated unequivocally, causing Alex to appear somewhat dazed and mutter, “So, ghosts do exist; it’s not just my imagination?”
Angel thought Alex would inquire further about the ghosts, but he quickly regathered his composure. “So, if Mr. Pat isn’t a ghost, what are you? Why can’t other people see you?”
“It’s normal that others can’t see me,” Angel responded. “Perhaps the question you should be asking is, why can you see me?”
Without any hesitation, Alex followed Angel’s suggestion and asked, “Why can I see you?”
“I have no idea,” Angel replied with a sly smile.
This answer, fraught with malice, momentarily stunned Alex; even his usually stoic lips twitched involuntarily.
Angel genuinely didn’t know why, but he suspected it might be related to Alex’s lost memory. Perhaps Alex was once an extraordinary individual. After all, those with special talents usually have strong intuitive senses. The illusion spell Angel cast to obscure himself was rather elementary, focusing merely on the manipulation of illusory energy without involving higher-level “laws.” Anyone with a modicum of talent would sense something wrong, and for apprentice wizards who had already been initiated, seeing through his illusion would be no great feat.
Angel: “I’m quite curious. You see someone that others can’t see, and you’re not afraid?”
Alex: “If you wanted to kill me, you’ve had plenty of opportunities. Why would I be afraid if you’re not going to?”
Ignoring Angel’s comment, Alex sits down and starts jotting down some words on a piece of paper.
“The cause of death of Knight Reven?” Angel mutters softly, then muses to himself, “So now even the clergy have started moonlighting as detectives?”
Alex continues writing swiftly on the paper. The content is quite brief, simply listing the name of Knight Reven and then adding another name on the opposite side — Fanny — underlined with a note that says, “Fanny’s birthday gift.”
After pondering for a moment, Alex crosses out all the characters and writes a single place name: Holy City.
“Where is this ‘Holy City’?” Seeing that Alex has become engrossed in his work, Angel decides to walk around the church a bit before leaving. However, he’s taken aback when he sees Alex has written down a place name, something Angel has been searching for.
Alex puts down his pen and looks at Angel, visibly puzzled. “You don’t know what the Holy City is?”
Alex remains silent for a long time. He doesn’t inquire further about Angel’s background but instead asks, “… Why are you following me?”
“I want to inquire about some information,” Angel replies without evasion.
“What information?”
“Location information.” Angel points to the word ‘Holy City’ that Alex wrote on the paper. “I want to know where this is, what the Holy City is, and what the name of this continent is?”
Angel’s trilogy of questions made Alex’s eyes twitch slightly: “Judging by your tone, you’re not from this continent, are you?”
“I don’t know,” Angel shrugged. “I’m waiting for your answer, aren’t I? Only after you answer can I determine whether or not I’m from this continent.”
Alex studied Angel quietly, feeling this enigmatic individual was shrouded in layers of mystery.
“This is Ghust Town. It’s said to be in the southeast direction from the Holy City, which is a fortified city of the Kruja Divine Court and also the closest city to Ghust Town.”
“Is it just hearsay? Haven’t you been there?” Angel asked.
Alex shook his head: “At least in my memory, I haven’t been there.”
Angel’s gaze unintentionally drifted to the paper before him, where the term “Holy City” was clearly visible. He casually inquired, “If you’ve never been to the Holy City, what’s your intention behind writing it down? Do you think the death of this Knight Reven is related to the Holy City?”
Alex shook his head again: “There’s no evidence to suggest a connection, but…”
Alex paused, falling into sudden silence.
Angel came to gather geographical information, not to solve a case. He was about to continue his geographical inquiry when Alex resumed his previous train of thought.
“However, I believe it’s not just Knight Reven. Miss Camille, Uncle Manny’s family… all these incidents share a common thread.” Alex had surreptitiously researched the cause of these deaths. Although he couldn’t find the culprit, he had stumbled upon some oddities. However, for various reasons, he hadn’t told Father Bertrand or anyone else about it.
Now that Angel had suddenly broached the topic, and given that Angel was a stranger to him and Ghust Town, Alex took a moment to consider. Then, releasing a long-suppressed desire to share, he slowly began to open up.
“Knight Reven had long admired a lady named Fanny. He once confided in me, intending to confess his feelings to her on her birthday. Later, I heard that Fanny told her close friends that her life would be complete if she could listen to sacred hymns in the Church of Song on her birthday.”
“The Church of Song is in the Holy City. I believe that upon hearing this, Knight Reven knew he had to go there alone, as Fanny’s birthday was just days away. Tragically, his severed head was discovered on a bridge pier en route to the Holy City.”
Angel was not keen on dissecting the case details, but Alex was fully engrossed in the investigation.
“Knight Reven isn’t an isolated case. There have been numerous incidents before him where the deceased were found with only their heads remaining. The sheriff claims these killings are indiscriminate, but I disagree. I’ve found a common thread: all the victims had plans to leave Ghust Town.”
“Miss Camille was planning to visit long-lost relatives in the Holy City; Uncle Manny and his family were going to move there… It’s highly likely that Knight Reven was journeying to the Holy City to purchase tickets to the Church of Song as a gift for Fanny.”
“It’s always like this: every victim had intentions, deliberate or otherwise, of leaving Ghust Town. Anyone who steps out of its boundaries ends up dead.”
“The whole of Ghust Town is like a birdcage one cannot escape.”
“As soon as a bird tries to fly away, an unseen hand breaks its wings.”
Angel was initially indifferent to the cases in Ghust Town, but Alex’s narrative kindled a flicker of interest in him.
If Alex’s deductions are true, then all the deceased were people who died trying to leave Ghust Town.
In that case, this string of incidents is indeed far from straightforward.
After all, it’s not feasible that every person would disclose their destination to others, yet, in the end, unsurprisingly, they all ended up dead. Clearly, this isn’t something an ordinary murderer could pull off. Especially when Alex analyzed one of the deceased, her death likely stemmed from an argument with her husband that very night, impulsively deciding to leave Ghust Town. Even wizards with the ability to read minds can’t perfectly track others’ movements; the human heart is fickle, and every second brings countless possibilities.
So, which “murderer” could possibly capture every nuance of every individual’s movements, even catching those who leave due to a sudden dispute, and then kill them?
Therefore, after hearing the details, Angel felt that this might not be a run-of-the-mill case — perhaps something supernatural was at play.
“Anyone who tries to leave Ghust Town encounters something unexpected. So, what do you think is the reason?”
Having vented his innermost thoughts, Alex once again regained his composure: “I don’t know.”
“Are you studying these cases out of curiosity?”
Without hesitation, Alex shook his head: “I’m not curious.”
Chapter 1482 A Mysterious Passage <TOC> Chapter 1484 The Confined Region