The Loen military demigod with golden eyes nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, that's the case. It's very similar to the style of some guys from the Intis intelligence agency.
"However, he had only taken that clump of dirt for a few seconds when the Tutanesis II Mummy disappeared, so he shouldn't have had time to complete the ritual."
The evening gown lady lowered her head to look at the thorn crown inserted at her neck, and spoke with a somewhat sluggish reaction.
"Perhaps he, or they, had already completed the other steps of the ritual. As soon as he teleported back, he immediately threw that clump of dirt onto the altar and completed the final step.
"Of course, it might not be a ritual. It could also be some sealed artefact that can achieve certain effects with the help of bodily fluids. In this regard, there are too many possibilities."
Although the main effects and negative effects of sealed artefacts generally follow the sequence characteristics of the 22 pathways, allowing researchers to make rough guesses, just as every person has a different personality, sealed artefacts, due to differences in the things they are combined with, the environment when formed, possible aura of high-level beings, curses from original owners, etc., each have various strange and peculiar characteristics. Without actual testing, no one can anticipate them all and list them.
The golden-eyed demigod pulled out a chair, sat down, and said:
"This aspect is difficult to investigate and can be temporarily ignored. However, you missed one direction of investigation just now.
"Do you remember that 'tornado'? It lifted the coffin of the Tutanesis II Mummy, caused the leakage of ritual materials inside—that is, bodily fluids—and made the mummy roll out, obtaining the condition for zombification. In any case, this laid the foundation for subsequent developments. Therefore, it can be fully confirmed that this was done by that mysterious person or his helper."
The evening gown lady's look of listlessness faded a bit. She slowly removed the thorn crown and said:
"Do you mean that the Church of the Lord of Storms holds the high-sequence formula and most of the Beyonder characteristics of the 'Sailor' pathway? There shouldn't be many Beyonders or magical items that can create a 'tornado' but do not belong to them. We can investigate along this line?"
The golden-eyed demigod nodded.
"Moreover, I recall that not long ago, there was a case in the East Borough where Mr. X of the Aurora Order was killed directly in a gathering he himself had convened. At the scene, 'Lightning Storm' and 'tornado' were used.
"This drew high attention from the Church of the Lord of Storms, and they have been searching for clues.
"Two 'tornadoes' appearing in quick succession in the same area that do not belong to official organizations cannot be a coincidence. I think we can preliminarily determine that there is an internal connection. The killer of Mr. X and the thief of the mummy are likely the same group. It is necessary for us to investigate jointly with the Church of the Lord of Storms."
The evening gown lady put down the thorn crown, thought for a moment, and said:
"This is a very good direction.
"Moreover, we can also analyze some situations from their purpose and motive. People who simply regard the mummy as a material for zombie-making would not risk such high danger to attempt theft. I suspect that for that group, the Tutanesis II Mummy has additional important significance."
"Key to the ritual?" the golden-eyed demigod said thoughtfully. "From the scene, the one holding a special item to attract the mummy's chase should be a 'Wraith', or have a corresponding magical item. Combining purpose and motive, I have a guess..."
The evening gown lady's heart stirred, and she blurted out:
"Restrainers who defected from the Rose School?"
"Yes." The golden-eyed demigod nodded gently. "Although the creation of mummies is influenced by aspects such as Death faith and Sun worship, after the Rose School came to dominate in places like the highlands and valleys, they did not prohibit this burial custom. This sufficiently indicates that mummies should play a certain role for them, perhaps as a ritual requirement for a certain Sequence."
Saying this, he laughed self-deprecatingly.
"There is also another possibility: showing off and performance.
"That group may not really want the mummy; it's just that they met the conditions and had an opportunity to steal, so they put on a grand performance. For certain Sequences of certain Pathways, this is the key to digesting the potion."
As a being that was half-god, half-human, he had indeed seen many things, so naturally he thought of more possibilities.
The evening gown lady considered for a moment and said solemnly:
"I suspect it is not a single possibility, but a mixture of multiple factors.
"We'll use this as a basis for investigation."
............
In Backlund, Jowo District, near the Tasok River.
"The Silent" Mahams sat at the square table covered with a tablecloth, looking at the rows of golden nails placed on it, and said in a low voice:
"Zatwin, who do you think stole that Kadef Mummy?"
Not far behind him, on a piano stool, a figure quickly took shape.
This figure wore a black clerical robe, with a black glove on the left palm, had a thin face, brownish skin, eyes sunken like a mummy, and stubble that was black at the roots and white towards the ends, stretching from both sides of the mouth to the ears. However, they were not thick and were quite short, giving a scattered look.
Zatwin's eyes were close to his skin color, a light brown. He clearly had a priestly aura, yet gave a feeling of eerie terror, as if he would become twisted in silence. He thought for a moment and said:
"Those who yearn for the Kadef Mummy and are willing to take risks during a demigod battle can be counted on one hand. Among them, the only one hiding in Backlund is Sharon.
"She probably has received help from Reinette Tinekerr; otherwise, it would not be possible."
Mahams picked up a golden nail covered with fine patterns, was silent for a few seconds, and said:
"Who is that person good at teleportation?
"It doesn't seem like Gehrman Sparrow... Did Sharon hire another helper?"