Pastor's Tantra

Chapter 526 Death as a Sacrifice

After that, Cardinal Matilda took the body away.

Because this corpse may be some special evidence or have some kind of symbol. So she decided to store the body in the Thirteenth Circle under her jurisdiction for preservation. If you need to make a call later, you can go to her to continue the investigation.

After Cardinal Matilda left, Aiwass sat on the soft bed in this bedroom. He put the religious crown he was wearing before into his arms and caressed it casually.

"You said before, 'It's a little weird, we'll talk about it later'... right?"

Aiwass looked up at Sherlock and asked, "I guess you mean... to wait until Cardinal Matilda leaves before talking?"

Obviously, that's what Sherlock thought.

He was leaning on the sofa in the bedroom, crossing his legs and thinking. Lily had already gone to the kitchen to make tea and prepare refreshments. There were only Aiwass and Sherlock in the room.

Whatever Sherlock wanted to say, it was time to say it now.

"The wound is wrong."

Sherlock replied casually: "In any case, this wound should not be fatal. The wound bleeds less simply because the bleeding point is too small, not because the blood has dried up. So it is definitely not due to ischemia."

"Then, poison?"

"It's impossible. I specifically tested it and found that all the internal organs were intact. No reaction expected from poisoning was found in the trachea, mouth, heart, liver and subcutaneous tissue."

"Could it be a neurotoxin?"

"The cause of death was also not related to cardiac arrest or asphyxia."

"How did you die?"

"That's the problem, Aiwass."

Sherlock said calmly: "How did she die?"

Aiwass raised his eyebrows: "Since you are so calm, you must have got the answer."

"Then it depends on the direction of the wound."

Sherlock replied: "The thickness of the wound is less than two fingers wide, the direction is very standard vertical up and down, and the force on the upper and lower ends is consistent with the depth. In other words, when the dagger is fully inserted into the body, the dagger and the surface of the skin should be Completely vertical. Bishop Mercedes obviously showed no signs of struggle, so the wound was not torn at all and the edges were very neat. The deepest part of the wound was in the middle of both sides, the specific location was the uterus, and the other side was not penetrated."

Hearing this, Aiwass realized something: "Ritual knife?"

Such a wound was obviously not an injury caused by a sharp blade piercing the abdomen when two people were standing against each other. In fact, it is very unreasonable to penetrate straight, and it will be uncomfortable to exert force.

It was more like a ritual that was performed by someone - or by herself while she was lying on her back.

Considering that the position is too low, the blade may be deflected if operated by oneself. Therefore, it is more likely that there is an assistant or that one is cut with a ceremonial knife while being controlled; and even if it is Even if she voluntarily performed the ritual, it would be difficult for her not to tremble at all under the severe pain of the sharp blade, so she must have been controlled by someone.

And if one considers the cooperation of Bishop Mercedes, considering the length, thickness and sharpness of the wound, Aiwass can only think of a ceremonial knife.

Ritualists often need to carve ritual formations on the ground or hard surfaces and need to ensure stability. Therefore, the style of the ritual knife is actually close to a scalpel or carving knife, and the gestures of holding the ritual knife are similar. It is very sharp and hard enough, and is slightly longer than the blade length of carving knives and scalpels, but in general the length of the handle is greater than the length of the blade.

Obviously, a ritual knife pierced through the abdomen cannot kill someone.

"So I think it's possible that this was a sacrificial ritual."

Sherlock gave his speculation: "The wound was not fatal, or even seriously injured, but the person died, and no other body parts and organs were damaged. Bishop Mercedes was very calm when he died, without any struggle. This shows that She should have been knocked out or unconscious. This is completely consistent with the behavior of the victim. I suspect it is a demonologist."

His views are very professional.

Avalon's main enemy supernatural beings are the transcendent path supernatural beings led by Noble Red.

Although Noble Red has been crushed by Aiwass now, they were active when Sherlock was in school.

Distinguishing corpses that have been tampered with is a very important skill for lawyers.

Among the ritual spells, one of them is to transform a sacrificed corpse into a bomb. The moment the corpse is infiltrated by the power of other paths, it will explode immediately - if the lawyer tries to retrace this part of the scene, it will be blown to pieces at close range.

If an unskilled lawyer is accidentally blown to pieces, he will probably be laughed at by his peers.

But this is definitely not the first scene. Rewinding is only effective for corpses that died within 24 hours, otherwise it might be much clearer for Sherlock to rewind.

But Aiwass shook his head: "Let me tell you some common sense that is not taught in school - the demonologist's sacrificial ritual is actually non-dead. The demonic sacrifice in Avalon will only leave a corpse. This is because demonologists will silence, torture, or remove other parts after the sacrifice to supplement ritual materials.

"Because the correct price of a sacrifice to the devil is 'half'... No matter how much you offer, the devil will only take half. If this is a sacrifice directed to the devil, then Bishop Mercedes must be there when the sacrifice is completed It’s healthy.”

"So if this is death as a sacrifice, it means that the target of the sacrifice must not be a demon?"

"Definitely Not."

Aiwass affirmed: "Ordinary phantoms - even apostles don't dare to ask for 'all', that's already crossed the line. So if she died as a sacrifice, it must have been sacrificed to a certain pillar god or heavenly being." manage."

"That's a clue."

Sherlock nodded: "I remember... Well, thank you, Miss Lily."

At this moment, Lily came over with tea.

She gave the tea to Sherlock and Aiwass, then kept a portion for herself, and then asked: "Do you plan to tell Her Majesty the Saint about this, Master?"

"It has to be said," Aiwass replied without hesitation, "She has the right to know the truth."

"I think so." Sherlock agreed.

"So we are going to the Fifth Ring Road now?" Lily asked.

Aiwass shook his head: "Let's take a rest first and put our luggage away. I'll stay in this one and you two choose a room. Then you go with me to the first ring to buy some things and ask more. Information... There are already too few humans in the Fifth Ring, and information circulates faster where short-lived species gather."

Now that the Pope has been unable to be contacted, several cardinals know the secret of Saint Ningbo, and the Pope's succession ceremony will be held in less than half a month... there is not much time left for him.

If you want to intervene, this half month is the golden time. If you wait until something has already happened before intervening, you will become passive.

"Then I'll live upstairs."

Sherlock replied without hesitation: "You will save me from disturbing my sleep by walking around."

"I walk silently, Mr. Hermes."

Lily was a little dissatisfied.

She felt that her professional qualities as a stalker, a werewolf, a killer and a professional maid were all being questioned at the same time.

But she was quite satisfied with the result of being assigned her room next to Aiwass.

Before, she basically lived in the servant's room in Aiwass's room - it was a small single room in the master's room, only about five or six square meters inside. It can accommodate some simple personal items, a wardrobe, a desk and a bed. There is a window between the servant room and the bedroom. The main purpose is to avoid soundproofing and to be able to hear Aiwass's voice at any time.

Now, as a third-level transcendent who is proficient in perception, she no longer needs a servant room to get orders immediately.

The only thing that made Lily slightly dissatisfied was that she felt as if her abilities were never put to use at all.

When she fought with Haina and the others before, Lily realized that unless she transformed into a werewolf, she would be completely useless on the frontal battlefield. The best she could do was interfere. But this is reasonable, after all, her main job can be regarded as half-assassin, and her secondary job is only good at making magic potions.

But Aiwass neither asked her for the magic potion, nor sent her to assassinate anyone. If he was attacked, there would always be the Fire Butterfly or the Night Demon to protect him.

Now Lily is already a transcendent at the third level of the dual path, and can be called a strong person anywhere. But she felt that she still couldn't keep up with Aiwass... The problems he encountered had reached the level of a fifth-level powerhouse like the Cardinal.

In a place like the Theocracy, where fifth-level extraordinary beings are everywhere, what use can she have?

Just accepting Aiwass's gifts and help, but not being able to give anything in return... It was actually a bit uncomfortable for Lily. Although her job is to be a personal maid... Lily believes that it is a job that anyone can do well. Aiwass keeps her by his side just because he trusts Lily. The job is not unique to her.

It's not like she has to.

What is there that only I can do?

Lily thought about it, but her work was still neat.

There is not much luggage for a few people. After packing up several people's belongings, Lily returned to the door of Aiwass' room.

She patted her face gently and rubbed it. She gathered her emotions, showed a faint smile again, and picked up the box full of money. Considering what she had encountered on the way here, she specially took out part of the money and put it in different pockets on her body. .

Aiwass was a reserve bishop at the time...and even an archbishop now, so he didn't have to worry about such things in the Theocracy's territory.

But as Aiwass's maid, she still had to help him minimize unnecessary trouble.

So Lily opened the door: "Master, everything is ready."

"Let's go," Aiwass, who had been waiting for a long time, stood up and grabbed Sherlock who was lying on the sofa. "If you want to sleep, we can come back."

"What on earth do you want to buy?"

Sherlock complained: "Can't you let Lily buy it?"

"I'll buy you a tantra book."

Aiwass replied: "And the equipment - the money I brought is for this time."

"……ha?"

Sherlock was a little surprised, obviously not expecting the answer: "Buy it for me?"