Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 438 -

Priest Augustus, through the records of the Tomb Guardian, located the grave. While the two were searching in the cemetery, the only surprises that came their way were the occasional startled snakes and the rats hidden in the ground.

Since the cemetery was not very large, they quickly found their target.

It was an inconspicuous little grave near the west side of a stone building that served both as a "church" and an "Underground Cemetery Entrance," close to the graveyard fence. The tombstone, slightly raised above the ground, read that the person buried here was named Muxir Lee Nem, who had died half a month ago.

Besides this information, the tombstone had nothing else, no birth date, no cause of death, nor any life evaluations left by the person who paid for the burial. But considering this was just a small rural cemetery, such a situation was understandable.

After all, having an undisturbed plot in a proper cemetery after death was a treatment many poor people could not imagine.

"This is the one, Shard, quick, help me dig it up,"

Priest Augustus spat into his palms twice, then rubbed his hands together ready to get to work.

"Priest, do you have a grudge against this gentleman?"

Shard hesitated to ask.

"Of course not, I've lived a life of benevolence. Even if I have some acquaintances with whom I'm not on friendly terms, I wouldn't touch their graves,"

the Priest replied and told Shard not to waste time, as they must set up the ritual before two in the morning.

"Then this is..."

"Oh, you're curious about this."

While shoveling dirt, the Priest laughed and as Shard sat the cat on the fence, also preparing to work. He thought about warning the cat not to touch the diseased rats, but seeing Mia's adorable appearance as she squatted on the wooden fence posts, her eyes half-closed, bathing in the moonlight, it probably wouldn't bother chasing after them.

After all, Mia, the city cat, did not seem like the kind that would be good at catching rats.

"A few days ago, a believer who came specifically from the countryside to confess at the church, a peasant woman from a nearby village, confessed through a small window in the prayer room that she hadn't conducted a proper funeral for her husband."

"Isn't this a pretty decent cemetery?"

Shard, taking off his coat, and Priest Augustus started digging, one on each side, the shovels piling the dirt under the fence.

"She and this deceased gentleman were foreigners in the village and had no acquaintances to help conduct the funeral. So, the peasant woman entrusted a man who happened to be staying in the village, who claimed to be a scholar, to handle the funeral. Everything went smoothly at first, but after the funeral, the peasant woman always dreamt of her husband. The deceased man claimed in her dreams that his spirit suffered torture,"

the Priest said, struggling to toss the mound of dirt, his speech fragmented as he continued to relay the story:

"The scholar who took money to help with the funeral had already come to town, and the peasant woman suspected the scholar had desecrated the body, so she specifically came to the church to ask the deity for forgiveness for her negligence at the funeral. The woman, however, never thought about exhuming the body to see for herself."

This made it clear that there was indeed something suspicious going on.

"Then why didn't you let the church handle this matter?"

"This isn't a city matter, and there's no clear evidence tying this to the Circle Sorcerer. Even if the church were to take on the case, it would take several weeks for someone to be dispatched to investigate, especially since there are many truly important matters in the city,"

the Priest explained, and Shard understood what he was saying. Like the three assignments Iluna gave him last week, those were cases neglected by Blackstone Security Company.

The outcome also proved that although those matters sounded suspicious, they indeed didn't need urgent attention.

"So how did you confirm there was a problem with this case? If you were to personally investigate every time you encountered similar issues, I think you'd never finish handling them all,"

Priest Augustus nodded, panting and looking up at Shard:

"From this angle, your skin has become so good. What have you encountered recently... Oh, I probably haven't mentioned this to you, but I have an extraordinary ability to vaguely discern whether someone is lying during confession. This vague feeling allows me to easily discern what those believers really want to express. This is no easy task. When I listen to confessions, I have seen countless dark stories,"

Shard felt lucky that the distant priest he prayed to in Coldwater Port about Daknis by claiming "to have fallen in love with many girls" did not possess Priest Augustus's ability.

"But is this a special ability of 'the other me' of Father Augustus?"

Thud~

Shard's shovel hit something. Because it was hollow inside, the dull sound was distinctly different from the sound of the shovel hitting a stone while digging.

"Wait."

The Priest immediately kneeled down to brush away the loose soil, and sure enough, he saw the unrotted wooden coffin lid:

"Found it!"

Priest Augustus was thrilled. The elderly man had come out so late, even inviting Shard under the pretense of using Angel Potion, all to verify the contents inside the coffin, not for any reward.

From this perspective, although Priest Augustus always thought people's hearts were dark, he was probably one of the most noble characters Shard knew.

The body had not been cremated, and after lifting the lid of the coffin, the pungent smell made both Shard and Priest Augustus involuntarily frown. Having endured the summer, the deeply buried corpse was severely decomposed, and the insects nourished by the body even swarmed in patches under the moonlight.

Shard, holding back his nausea, looked up at Mia. The timid cat had also seen the scene, but it seemed not scared at all. Probably to a cat, it was just something very ugly.

"Priest, don't tell me we have to move this body out... Did you bring gloves? I want to wear three layers,"

Shard asked, frowning, while the Old Cleric also holding his nose, mumbled a reply amidst his nausea:

"Don't worry, if we're lucky, we won't even have to touch the corpse. I will arrange the ritual to appease the body and grant release to its spirit. Before I set up the ritual, Detective, use your moonlight to help illuminate and check if there's anything unusual with the corpse."

As he spoke, Priest Augustus also lifted a lantern borrowed from the Tomb Guardian and illuminated the gruesome scene above the tomb. The moonlight at the tips of Shard's fingers also lit up, casting a silver glow on the corpse, from which a faint black mist was rising. This at least indicated that there was something evil on this corpse.

"Look at this!"

Priest Augustus pointed at the corpse's crossed hands on its chest, the decaying hands almost revealing the bones, and the flesh inside the skin seemed to have been burrowed through by worms. Between the hands, startlingly, there lay a black dagger.

No matter in which region of the Draleon Kingdom, it wasn't customary for the deceased to be buried clenching a dagger.

"It's not a relic, I don't feel any trace of elements."

Shard muttered, covering his nose.

"Well, that's actually good news, watch me get it out."

Acting sensibly, the priest didn't use his hands, but utilized Sorcery—"Shift Object"—to carefully move the dagger out of the corpse's hands.

However, as soon as the black metal dagger was completely removed from the hands of the corpse, the hands suddenly reached up, grabbed the dagger back, and then returned to their original position.

The cemetery fell silent for a moment as Shard and Priest Augustus exchanged surprised looks.

"Detective, I didn't just see things, did I?"

The priest asked incredulously.

"I saw it too."

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Shard said, then thought for a moment before asking,

"Priest, if you don't mind desecrating the corpse, then I'll cut off its hands."

Shard thought the priest would disagree, but to his surprise, he pondered for a moment and then nodded:

"Yes, we can stitch them back together later."

Shard sincerely hoped that "we" meant the priest and the cat, not the priest and the detective.

Shard didn't summon the Moonlight Greatsword; that sword was too sharp, and he risked piercing through the corpse. He pulled out two Roder Cards from his chest and flicked them gently, the sharp cards flying toward the rotting corpse's wrists.

Whiz!

The cards tore through the relatively cool air of the late night, but the next second, they were sharply pierced through by the dagger.

"Oh, I just knew it wouldn't be this easy!"

Shard and Priest Augustus backed away simultaneously, while the cat waiting on the fence swiftly jumped onto a big tree beside the tomb, its eyes widening as it looked down. In the darkness, the cat's eyes seemed to glow.

The corpse, holding the dagger, sat up from the tomb.

"Priest, was this also within your expectations?"

Shard asked, readying for combat. But after the corpse climbed out of the tomb, it surprisingly lunged towards Priest Augustus.

The old priest dodged awkwardly and then kicked out. His intention was to knock the corpse away, but instead, his foot went through the brittle abdomen of the corpse.

Rotten chunks of flesh, worms, and pus flowed out of the corpse as it silently raised the dagger towards Priest Augustus's head.

The old man pointed a finger and spoke a word representing elemental power at a rapid pace:

"Wind!"

Unseen wind, like ribbons, entwined around the corpse's hands. Then, coming from behind, Shard, with his sword raised in both hands, leapt up and decisively cleaved the corpse into two.

The black dagger fell from its hands and stabbed into the ground. The ground that originally grew grass immediately started turning black and smelling foul around the dagger.

Priest Augustus paid no attention to the dagger and hurriedly pulled out a bottle of brown liquid from his pocket that Shard had seen used before during arson and murder. After throwing it on the corpse, the old man pointed again:

"Fire!"

Fierce flames immediately rose from the corpse.

The liquid was the strong oil that Shard and the doctor had used before during gunfire and setting fire while splashing money.

"Priest, does this count as desecrating a corpse?"

Shard was surprised by the priest's proficient actions.

"This is undead, not a corpse. Detective, you can't make such a basic mistake."

The old priest said and then, to Shard's further astonishment, knelt down and pulled the black dagger out directly.

The dagger that had corroded the soil now produced an even more terrifying effect on the priest's right hand. His already frail and somewhat skinny arm immediately contracted and turned black and withered.