Chapter 63: The Corrosive Truth

“We’ve found a lead!”

Early that morning, Roalsa sought out Qing Yu. Though he had only just woken, the moment he heard the news, Qing Yu, pulling Aldoran along and completely forgetting about breakfast, followed Roalsa to the Knights’ Guild headquarters.

The Knights’ Guild headquarters, situated on the eastern side of Alastor, was a towering white edifice, its exterior resembling a grand cathedral. Upon entering, one’s gaze was immediately drawn to the uniformed knights bustling through the spacious hall. The building comprised ten floors, with the examination room for the deceased located on the uppermost level.

“Such is the might of a great city, Aldoran,” Qing Yu remarked, ascending the stairs, his voice filled with awe as he admired the exquisitely crafted walls adorned with oil paintings.

“The Knights’ Guild headquarters in the royal capital is even more magnificent than this,” Roalsa chimed in, a cheerful smile gracing her lips. “Should you ever have the chance to visit the capital, Qing Yu and Aldoran, you absolutely must see it.”

She continued to lead Qing Yu and Aldoran until they reached a black iron door. The door stood ajar, revealing a room containing only a bed and, beside it, a colossal blackboard covered in writing. Olivia was already inside with a Red-haired Woman. Roalsa knocked, and Olivia turned, spotting Qing Yu and the others, then nodded, gesturing for them to enter.

“There aren’t any benches, so I’m afraid you’ll have to stand for a bit,” Olivia said, nodding to Roalsa. She then turned her head towards the Red-haired Woman.

“You may begin.”

“Commander,” the woman began, stepping up to the blackboard and tapping a section of text, “the first thing we discovered were the traces within her internal organs.”

“All of her internal organs showed signs of corrosion by a poisonous gas, reduced to a blood-like fluid, and a significant amount of residual gas remained even during the autopsy.”

“Was it collected?” Roalsa inquired. The Red-haired Woman shook her head.

“The gas is far too corrosive to extract,” she explained. “Even now, the autopsy room requires round-the-clock purification by the Medical Knights. We roughly estimate it will take another week to be completely decontaminated.”

“No wonder the autopsy room has been sealed shut these past few days,” Roalsa murmured, nodding. “However, I’d like to know, approximately how much residual gas remained?”

The Red-haired Woman paused, a complex expression crossing her face.

“Only… one milliliter.”

One milliliter?!

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

“Furthermore, according to the report submitted by the Medical Knights, the deceased’s internal organs were completely ravaged the very instant they were exposed to that single milliliter of poisonous gas.”

The woman continued, tapping a series of numbers on the blackboard.

“Based on the most recent registry of dangerous magic practitioners in Alastor, only two thousand residents of Alastor practice gas-related magic. All of them are below beginner level, capable only of wilting plants.”

“Huh? Alastor actually has such a registry?”

Qing Yu asked, a note of curiosity in his voice, surprised that the types of magic people practiced also required registration.

“Yes, practicing magic of this more dangerous nature requires registration,” Aldoran explained. “It makes it easier to investigate if someone commits a crime later.”

She then resumed listening to the woman.

“Three days ago, I sent a message to the Royal Palace, requesting the latest registry of poison magic practitioners from the Temple Knights. Currently, only about thirty thousand people in the kingdom are officially registered as practicing poison magic. Twenty-six thousand of them haven’t even reached beginner level. Three thousand have only achieved entry-level beginner proficiency. Of the remaining one thousand, four hundred are at a beginner level. And among the final six hundred, only fifty possess the capability to inflict death.”

“Have those fifty individuals been investigated?”

Roalsa, her brow furrowed in deep thought, scrutinized the numbers on the blackboard.

“They have been investigated, but…” The woman hesitated. Olivia waved a hand, signaling for her to speak plainly, without reservation.

After a few seconds of hesitation, the woman grit her teeth and stated,

“Only three among them are capable of instantly inflicting death, yet all three are affiliated with the Temple Knights and have been active exclusively within the capital for the past year.”

“In other words, that group of bandits includes someone as powerful as them.”

Roalsa walked to the blackboard, meticulously examining the various data recorded there.

“No, Lady Roalsa,” the woman corrected, “our preliminary assessment suggests that the individual who killed this woman is far superior to those three.”

Roalsa, startled, spun to face the woman.

“What did you say?”

“The culprit… might be far more powerful than the three Temple Knights…”

Seeing Roalsa’s stunned expression, Olivia chuckled and patted her shoulder.

“To instantly kill someone with just one milliliter of poison gas, one would require at least a third-tier mastery of advanced-intermediate magic. However, those three Temple Knights possess only first-tier mastery of advanced-intermediate magic.”

“How could someone so powerful remain unrecorded by the kingdom?!”

“I don’t know, but if such a powerful individual existed, it’s impossible we wouldn’t have heard of them.”

As Alastor served as the kingdom’s central hub for information, Olivia received tens of thousands of reports daily. These reports ranged from major events, such as wars erupting in distant nations, to minor details, like the birth of a daughter to Aunt Wang at the village entrance, encompassing virtually every conceivable scope. If such a formidable poison magic user truly existed within the kingdom, Olivia, by all accounts, should have known about them long ago; it was inconceivable for her to have no inkling whatsoever.

“How truly strange,” Qing Yu muttered.

He scratched his head, disliking such mentally taxing thoughts, and thus decided to leave the intellectual heavy lifting to Aldoran and the others.

However, the mention of Aldoran suddenly reminded Qing Yu that her authority should be able to help them locate the culprit.

Aldoran possessed the authority to perceive the workings of all things in the world, a power that ought to enable her to track down the killer.

“Oh, right, Aldoran, can you use your ability to see the culprit?”

At this declaration, the other three immediately turned their gazes towards Aldoran.

Aldoran waved a dismissive hand.

“With just a single corpse, I cannot locate the culprit.”

“Ability? What ability?”

Roalsa and Olivia simultaneously inquired, their voices laced with curiosity.

“Aldoran can see what others are doing with her right eye!” Qing Yu answered on Aldoran’s behalf.

“Is it something akin to sensory magic?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

Even though he didn’t know what sensory magic was, he figured a simple affirmation would suffice.

Olivia and Roalsa exchanged a glance, then turned to Qing Yu.

“Aldoran, is that truly possible?”

“Our Knights’ Guild also has individuals capable of employing sensory magic, yet despite numerous attempts, we haven’t been able to locate the culprit. Alastor’s mountain forests are simply too vast; trying to pinpoint the whereabouts of a bandit group using only sensory magic is exceedingly difficult.”

“My sensory magic is not quite like theirs; I don’t share senses with an object. In fact, if you provide me with something connected to the culprit, I can track similar presences through the aura it carries.”

Upon hearing this, the Red-haired Woman looked up, glancing at Aldoran.

“Aura? Aside from the residual poison gas, there’s nothing else that carries the culprit’s aura.”

“In that case, I shall attempt it.”

Aldoran declared, her gaze sweeping across everyone present.

“Poison gas? That substance is far too dangerous!” Qing Yu exclaimed, rushing to stop Aldoran.

He instantly regretted mentioning Aldoran’s abilities earlier.

The other three also hastened to dissuade Aldoran, emphasizing that the poison gas was exceedingly perilous and not something she could easily control.

“Since it’s already been purified by the Medical Knights, I don’t see why I shouldn’t try,” Aldoran countered.

For some unknown reason, Aldoran harbored a persistent feeling that this particular poison gas was connected to the dragon mentioned by the pink-haired Young Woman. Given this, she certainly couldn’t let such a prime opportunity slip away.

She also yearned to understand the true nature of this so-called dragon.

Why did the Young Woman wish to defeat the dragon herself? What secrets lay hidden within the dragon’s lair? Aldoran was determined to uncover all of it.

“But Aldoran! You don’t even know how potent that gas is. Please, let’s just drop it; it would be terrible if something happened to you!”

Qing Yu tried to persuade Aldoran further, but she was already heading towards the door. Left with no choice, Olivia and the others had no option but to follow.

The autopsy room was on the ninth floor, which had already been sealed off. Upon reaching its entrance, ten Medical Knights, clad in protective suits, were already gathered. Dark green energy wafted outwards from beneath the door, while energies of various other hues converged into the doorway, battling against the ominous dark green.

“Only a fraction of the energy dissipates every twelve hours,” Roalsa stated, her gaze fixed on the door.

She then grasped Aldoran’s wrist.

“It’s simply too dangerous.”

“That’s right, Aldoran, it’s far too dangerous! Let’s just wait for other evidence.”

Qing Yu echoed her plea. Ultimately, however, no one could dissuade Aldoran, and they were left with no choice but to dismiss the Medical Knights.

“Aldoran, it’s genuinely perilous. Won’t you reconsider?”

Roalsa continued to question Aldoran right up until the door opened.

Aldoran waved a dismissive hand. Roalsa could only sigh, then raised a hand, and a fierce gust of wind swept forth, forcefully pressing the corrosive energy back into the autopsy room. Olivia stepped forward and pulled open the door.

The room itself had been utterly ravaged by the poison gas, now riddled with various pits and craters. Even high-purity refined jade, capable of withstanding explosions, proved powerless against the gas’s destructive force. Deep green, foul-smelling liquid continuously dripped, landing on the floor and emitting wisps of acrid smoke.

Even Roalsa and Olivia had never witnessed such a sight. For just one milliliter of poison gas to possess such corrosive power was unimaginable; if the culprit had used their full strength, the casualties would have been incalculable.

“Aldoran,” Qing Yu called out, reaching for her, but Aldoran had already stepped directly into the room.

The moment she entered, a pungent odor immediately assailed her. Even with Roalsa’s wind storm suppressing it, the fumes managed to penetrate Aldoran’s nostrils. Aldoran even felt as if her heart had been seized by the noxious vapor, rendering her immobile.

Though the poison gas had undergone purification for several days, Aldoran would undoubtedly have perished there were it not for the protection of her crest.

Even as she swiftly activated her energy to protect herself, the gas that had already entered her nostrils rapidly invaded Aldoran’s body, spreading throughout her vital organs.

A heart-wrenching sensation enveloped her body, every pore seemingly ablaze, and each of Aldoran’s organs felt as though it were being mercilessly torn apart.

A scorching heat assailed Aldoran’s throat, as if consumed by raging flames. Her mouth felt parched, making speech impossible, let alone using her authority to seek out the culprit.

Pain. Aldoran felt nothing but pain. Even taking a single step became an agonizing luxury; her feet felt as if they were nailed to the ground, utterly devoid of strength, leaving her to endure the poison gas ravaging her vital organs.

A profound sense of powerlessness crept into Aldoran’s mind, seizing control of her body.

“…”

Aldoran slowly sank to her knees, the agony in her body slowing her mental faculties, leaving her only to feel the beads of sweat covering her body and tracing paths down her brow.

Though only a few seconds had passed outside the door, to Aldoran, it felt like a century of torment.

Outside the room, everyone sensed the threat to Aldoran’s life.

Her small frame, from standing to kneeling to collapsing, took only a matter of seconds.

Qing Yu’s body trembled. Disregarding Olivia’s attempts to stop him, he rushed into the room.

“Aldoran!”

Just before darkness enveloped her vision, Qing Yu’s voice echoed in her ears.