NOVEL WEB 15. Bishop the Detective
The young nun soon led Eliz and the others to the bishop's office.
Eliz was quite nervous inside, but outwardly she did not let on and seemed confident.
"Welcome. Lady Elizabeth Von Roseblood, I presume?" Bishop asked, standing to greet them and fixing his gaze on Eliz, who stood at the head of the small group.
Eliz took off her hood, flipped back her coat to catch the fabric of her dress, and bowed to him. Wherever he came from, someone like Bishop should be accorded the same respect as any noble.
"Thank you for seeing us, Bishop," Eliz said before straightening up.
The bishop clasped his hands in front of his chest and bowed slightly.
"Bishop Arnot Dominic. At your service, Miss Roseblood. That's not a trouble." He lowered his hands and looked at the rest of their group, who had already revealed their faces.
"And they are?" Bishop Dominic asked.
Eliz would have preferred to get right to the point, but it seemed she would have to endure the unnecessary procedure of pleasantries first.
She raised her hand and pointed to the appropriate person when introducing them.
"My brother, Eren Von Roseblood. Son of Baron Hephisto, Donovan Hephisto. And our captain of the guard, Liani Backhorn." She made the introduction as brief as possible.
Eliz, however, had already seen how the bishop intended to proceed, so she continued immediately to prevent further nonsense.
"If you do not mind, Bishop, I would like to get to why we are here."
Bishop Dominit immediately closed his mouth again and gave Eliz a stern look; she did not even flinch, and the bishop nodded.
"Of course. Dolio. Please get out." He turned to the young nun who had led them here. She bowed and left the office.
The bishop glanced at the rest of their group. "Should not they leave, as well?" Eliz suggested, but she shook her head.
"The matter concerns them as well."
"Very well. Let us sit down." He pointed to the chairs and stools where they could sit.
Eliz, of course, took the most comfortable chair directly in front of Bishop's desk, leaving the others to arrange themselves as they wished.
When everyone was seated, the bishop looked directly at Eliz.
"Well?"
Eliz got straight to the point. "I know about a Dark Mage."
Donovan and the captain snapped their heads and looked at the calm Eliz. Only Eren was confused by her words.
Bishop frowned and sat up straight. "Indeed? Please continue."
"Selene Derevell is a dark mage. She controls the people around her and tries to murder me." Announced Eliz. It's true; she murdered her. In the last secession, as the system calls it. But it was real enough for Eliz, even if it had not happened yet. The probability that Selene would repeat it was high.
"What the...!" Donovan stood up abruptly and stared at Eliz. She slowly turned her head and returned his gaze unflinchingly. In the end, his reaction did not surprise her. Eren was also relatively calm, perhaps because he had no idea what that meant. Captain Backhorn had a stern look on her face, but she was watching Donovan.
"Elizabeth! What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Do you even know what you are talking about? This is a serious matter! You are accusing Selene in front of the bishop!" Donovan shouted at her, stressed.
Eliz sighed and shrugged her shoulders before looking at the bishop again. "I am sorry, Bishop Dominic. Unfortunately, young Lord Hephisto is one of those whom Lady Derevell actively influenced, including my brother. That's why his reaction is so extreme. On the other hand, my brother began to recognize Lady Derevell's oddity, which eased his discomfort." She explained.
"Elizabeth!" Donovan tried to stop Elizabeth, but a firm grip fell on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Captain Backhorn standing up, preventing him from moving.
"Young Lord Hephisto. I suggest you calm down and sit back down."
"But..."
"Sit down."
Donovan felt the grip around his shoulder tighten, and for a moment he thought of resisting such treatment, but the captain was much stronger than he was. So he bit his tongue and sat up again. Captain Backhorn let go of him but remained standing behind his chair.
The bishop watched with interest, and when the situation had calmed down, he turned his attention back to Eliz.
"Did she try to murder you? How?" he wanted to know the details.
Eliz involuntarily ran her hand over her throat again. "She took control of Eren. He tried to slit my throat last night. His eyes were all black."
Eren narrowed his eyes at his sister. "No. I did not do that!" he got terrified.
Eliz did not look at him; after all, he was right. He really had not done it yet. But only Eliz knew that, and she could justify it by saying that she could not make a scene and returned Eren to his room so he didn't know anything in the morning.
Bishop looked at the shocked Eren for a moment. "I see. I have heard of the dark mages' ability to possess other people. Usually, this requires the person in question to have a weakened mind and be unconscious. In this case, asleep. It seems that you have been lucky, Lady Elizabeth. How long have you suspected Lady Devevell of being a dark witch?"
Eliz was not entirely comfortable with this topic, so she was glad Bishop Dominic did not dwell on it for long.
"A few months. I have only become certain in the last few days." She answered, beginning to feel that Bishop Dominic had the mind of a detective. His questions were straightforward, he wanted to know the circumstances and the description, and he did not let on his thoughts. It was as if she was on some detective show.
"I see. From what you describe, Lady Derevell has a connection to dark magic. But I am afraid I need more solid evidence. I assume you had it when you came in?"
Eliz nodded. "Of course." She replied and stood up.
Everyone watched her, and when she placed the suede box on the table in front of Bishop, Donovan's eyes trembled in shock, as did Eren's.
Captain Backhorn just raised her eyebrows in wonder.
"Lady Derevill sent this to my brother when she realized I was trying to keep him away from her influence. If I am not mistaken, it's an item with a dark curse meant to do something to him to maintain her influence over him."
"Hmm." Bishop Diminik stared at the box as he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a pair of gloves.
They were pure white with gold intertwined markings on the palm and back of the hand. He carefully pulled them over his hands, and Eliz took a step back in the meantime.
After putting on the gloves, he took out another object that looked like telescopic glasses with similar or identical markings on the lenses as on the gloves. He put them over his eyes, adjusted them a little, and concentrated on the box.
Then Bishop reached into the box with both hands and opened the lid.
Bishop Arnot Dominic was pleased with his interaction with Lady Elizabeth.
Of course, he knew a little about her since she was the daughter of one of the few dukes in their kingdom. Rumor had it that she was beautiful but had the nature of a poisonous snake. Fortunately, Arnot did not fall for rumors and preferred to see what people were like for himself.
His impression of Elizabeth was very good. The young woman was strong and determined. And she was very good at keeping her emotions in check. Arnot was a good judge of character and could see that Lady Elizabeth was frightened, despite her efforts to hide it. That was understandable when she was in danger of being killed in her own bed.
When she placed the suede box in front of him, she immediately stepped back. This only confirmed his impression of her bravery. Despite her fear of it, he had noticed how tightly she had clutched the box earlier. She kept the thing to herself despite having someone stronger than herself by her side and only let it go when she was sure she'd found someone who knew how to take care of the thing. Now that she could pass the responsibility to someone else, she was glad to hand it off.
Arnot retrieved a pair of gloves from the drawer with magical sigils that stimulated and directed his power of light. The power of light was not like mana that could be channeled through the body, where the Enhanced person wanted. Unlike the mana that came from the mana pool, the power of light came from the heart. It flowed through every vein and blood capillary. So if he did not channel the power of light, it would flare up like a torch.
With the magic seals, he could direct the power of light to a specific action. Simply put, it was like placing a mouse at a crossroads and putting a delicious cheese at the end of one of the paths. The mouse always chooses the path with the cheese. This is how the power of light behaved.
The glasses had a similar function: they redirected the power of light into his eyes so that he could see things that were invisible to ordinary or even enhanced eyesight.
Arnot took the box and opened it. On the pillow was a pretty but plain bracelet with a crystal holding a lock of hair. Under other circumstances, it would have made a nice love gift. Similar items are given to soldiers going to war by their loved ones as talismans for protection. In this case, it was a scary object. As someone who already had experience, Arnot felt his skin prickle. He carefully moved his fingers so that he was only touching the box and not the object inside it.
The gloves on his hands and the glasses' lenses suddenly seemed to glow with white light.
For Arnot, the world had changed. Colors were muted, inanimate objects became dead gray, and people looked only like dark silhouettes, but they were filled with the light that represented their souls and mana pool. All he saw in color were energies.
So Arno could see things that no one else could.
And so he could also see the Dark Energy that the bracelet contained. He moved the object away from him and looked at the dark tentacle-like tendrils that moved restlessly and dyed golden hair jet black.
"Dark magic, a curse type. Rank 2." He announced loudly, carefully closing the box again and looking up.
Suddenly, he turned his head sharply toward Elizabeth.
In this way, Arnot could see the energy in people. Ordinary people had only one ball of light in the center of their chest. It represented their soul. Some of the Power of Light users who specialized in healing also had ways to measure a person's lifespan or state of health based on the intensity of the light. Some specialized only in hunting the Dark Ones. And finally, some sought the God of Light. The Seekers of Light were the most passionate worshippers. They believed that evidence could be found all over the world that the God of Light had lived or was living on Earth.
Arnot was neither of these. Yet he could perceive something strange.
As he raised his head to look at the men affected by the dark magic, he noticed something strange about Lady Elizabeth from the corner of his eye. However, when he looked straight, he could see nothing unusual. Just two glowing spots. One in her chest and the other around her belly, which stood for the soul and the mana pool.
Slowly he turned his eyes away from her, hoping to see it again, but it did not happen anymore. He thought he saw something else in her silhouette earlier: a metallic silver mesh around the soul energy. But he must have been mistaken. It would not be unusual if it were a smudge on a lens or a defect.
Instead, he turned his attention to the two young men.
Their souls were clearly tainted by dark magic. This was evident because their souls had black spots that obscured the light. By the amount and size of the stains, one could tell if they had been marked for a long time. The young men had only a few spots but were already as big as a little finger.
He stopped using the power of light and took off his glasses.
"It is confirmed. The object is one afflicted with a dark curse, and you two young men are under the influence of dark magic." He officially announced.
The two young men were shocked.
Arnot could only sympathize. Now the Dark Magic and the Dark Mage had to be dealt with.
Eliz watched Bishop curiously as he donned his gear. Somehow, she had imagined that he would just... do it. She had not expected him to need any equipment to do it. What a strange power.
When the lenses suddenly lit up, and so did his gloves, she brought her fingers to her lips to stifle an amused smile.
The way he was dressed in white, with gloves and glowing glasses... he looked like some mad scientist. All that was missing now was that he had a couple of tubes in front of him.
Now that she had put the task in much more capable hands, she felt better. It was as if a considerable burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
After a moment, the bishop began to examine them through his glowing lenses and announced his verdict. Eliz exhaled and sat back up again. She did not look at the two young men in the room, who had turned as pale as a wall.
Eliz, however, could not help smiling. Things seemed to be coming to an end.
"What happens now?" She asked.
"You will go into isolation." Replied Bishop.
Eliz blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?"
Bishop put his gloves and glasses back in the drawer before answering her. "You are going to go into isolation. These two men must undergo a cleansing to rid themselves of the dark magic. And you do not have to go through it yourself, but as you said, the Dark Mage is trying to kill you. Until things are cleared up, you will be safe here."
Eliz did not budge, she did not like it, but she could not disagree; it was reasonable.
"Lady Derevell also has Chad Legorned and Gray Ironhound under her influence. Probably the entire House Derevell as well." Said Eliz instead.
Bishop nodded. "It'll be taken care of. I'll report it as soon as we are done, and a group of Dark One hunters will begin preparations."
"Will you hunt her down? Will you kill her?" Eliz asked.
The bishop nodded. "Of course, it is in our best interest to capture her alive, but the Dark Ones who are this far gone can't be helped." To his surprise, Elizabeth smiled after this answer.
"Wonderful." She ran a hand over her neck.
Bishop hesitated. "I probably would not call it that."
Elizabeth's smile remained unbroken. "I am. She wanted me dead. I'm looking forward to her dying."
A chill went down the Bishop's spine at this statement. When it comes to revenge, women are the most frightening.
