Free Web NovelChapter 247: Chapter 247 Business Partner_1
If the underworld created by the agent of Death was spacious enough to accommodate all the slain victims, then there truly wouldn’t have been a need for the agent to leave one of the corpses abandoned outside the city to be discovered. The only explanation is that his created underworld was full.
If the agent truly summoned the dead and operated using the identities of the deceased within the city, including two missing cases and one murder case suspected to be the work of the same person by the Heretical Judgment Bureau, no matter how you calculated it, the agent of Death should have already killed four people.
"Why would he kill so many people?" Aiden was somewhat perplexed, "Has the time limit for the power he acquired expired?"
"No, the Ancestor once told me that offering up one death could grant the ’Death God’s Blessing’ for nearly half a month," Kael slowly stated, "This person clearly killed people he didn’t need to kill. I guess... this might be his preference."
"Preference?"
"Have you noticed any commonalities among the victims?" Kael prompted.
"All are females under the age of forty." Aiden thought for a moment, then recognized the pattern, "Indeed, he does have a preference for his targets."
If the agent killed only out of necessity to obtain the Death God’s blessing, then he wouldn’t need to be selective about his victims, nor should he commit unnecessary murders.
Yet now, not only is the agent very likely to have killed an extra person, but the three discovered victims also faintly reveal his killing preferences... Combining these two points, the likelihood that the agent kills out of preference is quite high.
A killer who delights in murder, he could strike again at any moment... This was truly as bad as it gets.
Thinking this, Aiden’s expression darkened.
"So, that’s why you guess he’d be active in Fireworks Alley and the Upper Town," Aiden finally understood Kael’s earlier speculation.
Looking at the conditions of the corpse-dumping and missing cases, the agent appears to favor hunting solitary women at night as targets.
To seek out targets, these two locations would be the most suitable hunting grounds for him—Fireworks Alley goes without saying, and Upper Town is home to opera houses, ballrooms, upscale restaurants, and many other entertainment venues that operate at night. If one is a resident living nearby, there might be a preference to walk home alone at night.
"Exactly, in fact, when compared, Fireworks Alley is the most probable," Kael said, arms folded, "Not only are there more prey, but there are also plenty of opportunities to strike. Moreover, I suspect the victim he used to conceal his tracks... was likely a courtesan. To impersonate a victim, he would probably roughly follow the victim’s life trajectory."
Aiden thought it over, and although not absolute, this primary direction for the search was more or less correct.
"But I have a question. If the agent of Death is manipulating the dead to act within the city, where is his own body?" Aiden asked.
"Most likely in his own created underworld. If the corpse of the dead is destroyed, the gates of the underworld will reopen and swap out his own body. Living humans can’t enter such a space, but as undead, a member of the High-Rank Bloodline would have no issue," Kael responded.
"Hold on, if his own body is hidden in the underworld while he manipulates the dead on the outside, how are you going to find his scent?" Aiden frowned with suspicion.
"Hm?" Kael realized something, "Are you perhaps under the impression that the way he manipulates the body is like a necromancer hiding his Life Box, attaching a fragment of his soul onto the corpse to remotely control the body?"
"Isn’t that the case? Necromancy is a black magic that stems from the ’Death’ power, and since he has powers granted by the Death God, should he not be capable of such a level of necromancy?"
"Warden, vampires cannot achieve spirit and flesh separation," Kael smiled.
Aiden was stunned for a moment.
"It seems the Heresy Tribunal’s intelligence on vampires isn’t complete, not even a high-ranking Judge like you is aware," Kael spread his hands and sighed, "The curse engraved on our bodies bestows us with unique powers, but it also afflicts us with blood addiction and a fear of sunlight. This curse won’t allow our spirit to peel away from our flesh; vampires are incapable of becoming liches."
Aiden indeed was unaware of this intelligence, or rather, the current Heresy Tribunal had no record of it... What the Heresy Tribunal was really concerned with was primarily the weaknesses of vampires and methods to defeat them.
"Vampires can’t split their soul into fragments to enter a corpse, but High-Rank Bloodlines can infuse a part of their own body into a corpse and merge with it. Only then can they manipulate the dead across the gateway to the underworld, leaving their scent on the corpse," Kael explained.
"I see... Then I have another question, if he can hide his true body in the underworld, what if he keeps hiding there? Wouldn’t we be unable to attack him?" Aiden posed another question.
"That’s not a concern. This kind of ’underworld’ created through powers has certain limitations, it must have an ’anchor’ fixed in this plane to exist," Kael waved his hand, "In other words, this ’underworld’ must depend on something in this world to exist, either it’s the wielder of the power or the dead summoned from this underworld. If all the bodies of the dead summoned from the underworld are destroyed, he’ll also have to come out, otherwise, an underworld without an anchor will dissipate." freewёbnoνel.com
"Got it." Having fully understood the third power in the hands of Death’s Deputy, Aiden now finally had some confidence.
"How about it? Even this piece of intelligence is shared with you, shall we start taking action tonight?" Kael proposed.
"Alright," Aiden agreed after a brief consideration, allowing a serial killer to roam the city was too dangerous no matter how one looked at it, "But let’s get one thing straight, you only need to find out where the Deputy is hiding, and make sure he is being watched."
"Oh?" Kael revealed an overjoyed expression, "Does that mean... Warden, you’re confident you can take him down?"
"I’m not confident, but I have someone I can ask for help," Aiden calmly replied.
Abigail had promised that she would take action as long as the hiding place of Death’s Deputy was found, and Aiden figured she was not likely to go back on her word on this matter.
"Is it Miss Lidel?" Kael almost immediately guessed, since he had personally experienced her strength.
"It’s her," Aiden nodded, there was no need to hide it.
"You actually have dealings with a strong ally of that caliber, may I ask what is the nature of your relationship?" Kael asked curiously.
Aiden thought for a moment, "Let’s call it a business partnership."
"What kind of ’business’?" Kael lowered his voice, already assigning a significant meaning to this business in his own mind.
The collaboration between two mysterious and powerful beings on the path to divinity could potentially affect the political landscape of a country.
Faced with the vampire’s rampant imagination, Aiden responded expressionlessly, "We are planning to partner up to produce feminine hygiene products."
"Eh?"
