Even after witnessing such a horror, Silas was calm enough to explain the scene in detail to the police. Because he had been descriptive enough, the police, realizing the severity of the case, had arrived quickly with the entire team—paramedics, forensics, and other specialists.
A group of policemen had arrived at Silas's home. The group consisted of three policemen dressed in the usual khaki-colored shirt and trousers, and a medic.
Silas had already mentally prepared himself for this. Even if it was a case of natural death, he would have to answer some general questions. Moreover, the case did not look like a normal one to Silas because he had clearly sensed high levels of manacules near the body.
But the questioning did not begin right away. Silas, who had described the scene in great detail, had also mentioned in his description that he had entered the room with the corpse. According to health protocol, Silas would first be checked for signs of contamination.
How did I forget about this? Right, I was lured in by something. This is really bad. This body is very fragile; if there are any possibilities of contamination, this would be the first one affected, he thought.
The medic performed a series of tests on Silas, who was a little nervous. Fortunately, the tests turned out negative. This meant Silas did not show any serious signs of contamination. Another thorough test was required, however, and that would be done later when Silas was taken to the hospital.
"How did you discover the body?" The round of questioning that Silas had anticipated had started.
"I went to check on Mrs. Miratya. I noticed that the lights on the first floor were on. When I went up looking for her, I made the unfortunate discovery."
Silas had assumed he would be taken to the police station. However, perhaps because he had only just turned eighteen and still looked very young, the police were being considerate. Or maybe they simply did not want to escalate a potentially traumatic experience.
"Did you touch or move anything?"
"Inside the room, I did not touch anything."
Another policeman was noting down Silas's answers. At first, Silas was confused because the police were being a little more professional than they normally would for a case of unattended death.
Maybe they know the death has supernatural elements involved.
"When was the last time you saw her alive?"
"The day before yesterday. I did not personally see her, but my mother visited her."
As soon as he spoke, he realized something.
The state the body was in... it had already started decaying. That was not a stage that could be reached in a single day. It would take at least a week to reach the condition it was in!
After answering several more questions related to the scene and informing them about his mother's absence, the questioning session ended. Silas was taken to a nearby hospital with a group of medics.
...
Meanwhile, at the death scene.
A group of three detectives had entered the room with the corpse. All of them were wearing protective gear.
The detectives examined the scene. They did not communicate with each other for the time being; it was difficult to do so from inside their protection.
They examined the body, which had already started decaying and turning black in a few places. Larvae and maggots were crawling all over it. The corpse was in very poor condition.
The room was untouched. Except for the several bugs on the floor, there was no sign of any external activity. The room had no windows; being closed on all sides made it extremely dark. Combined with the temperature of the room, the conditions of the corpse provided an optimal breeding ground for housefly larvae.
After completing the round of inspection, the detectives left the room and then the house. The house was sealed with tapes. The detectives removed their protective masks, and one of them spoke.
"It is a case of Accelerated Advanced Decomposition. Send in the forensics."
After explaining the scene, the detective stepped aside, walking to a corner. He took out his phone and called someone.
...
"Hello, this is Konan Postal Service, how may I help—" On the other side, the call was answered by Riana.
Before Riana could complete her punchline, which she had been working on for quite some time, the voice from the other side had already begun speaking and explained the situation.
"You're kidding, please say you're kidding. This has to be a joke, right?" Riana asked.
"No."
The call disconnected.
"Fourth goddamn case. Fourth in the past three days. I can't do this anymore. Another Accelerated Advanced Decomposition case."
"You don't have to come if you don't want to." The voice belonged to Milson, who was sitting on the sofa in front.
"Will I get paid if I don't come, Captain?"
"No," Captain Kel replied.
"Get ready to head to the location," Captain Kel commanded the members of his team of official wielders, including Riana and Milson.
"Actually, Riana, you can stay. The frequency of this particular case has been very high. There might be more. Milson, you stay back too. If there's any new case, then report to the scene."
After giving his orders, Captain Kel was ready with his team of official wielders and left for the recently reported case of Accelerated Advanced Decomposition.
...
"What would our dummy name be if we were situated on a beachside?" Milson, who was sitting on the sofa, looked at Riana and asked.
"Huh?"
He had a mischievous look on his face, as if holding back his laughter. Riana knew exactly what was about to come.
"Konan Coastal Service!" Milson burst out laughing at his own joke.
Riana looked at him pathetically. The joke was so bad that she could do nothing but sigh as she thought, How did I end up here?
"By the way, do you know about Anomaly 37?" Since they had nothing to do at the moment, they were casually chatting.
"Anomaly 37?" Riana expressed her confusion.
"Yes, you must have seen the video about the fire in the sky that's been circulating all over the internet lately."
"Isn't that special effects? What about it?"
"I heard it was a very strong anomaly. They're calling it Anomaly 37. In fact, I've got news that the anomaly originated somewhere in this area!" Milson explained.
"No way..." Riana felt a little scared just thinking about it. She could not imagine an anomaly of such magnitude.
"Well, even if it is around this area, we probably won't be dispatched. The anomaly is so strong only the high-level wielders would be allowed."
"That's a good thing." Riana sighed again, this time in relief.
...
At the hospital, Silas's check-up was complete. Fortunately, he showed no signs of contamination or infection.
Silas wasn't too worried about some minor disease anyway. He was a septa-wielder, and there were plenty of healing-related spells in the spell index.
There was the 5th-tier Regeneration spell, which could easily close severe wounds, and then there was the more effective version of it—a 6th-tier spell, Advanced Regeneration, which could even regrow severed limbs.
Silas had a lot of tricks up his sleeves. A minor infection was nothing in comparison to these spells from the spell index.
He made his way out of the hospital when he got a call. It was his mother. He picked up. On the other side, Sophia was very worried; her voice easily gave away her anxious state. Silas explained everything to her in detail.
"I am returning tomorrow," Sophia said.
"You don't have to, everything is fine—except for Mrs. Miratya, who passed away in an unfortunate way. There isn't any way of holding a funeral. After the body is released from their custody, it will be cremated right away. We can hold a funeral with the ashes in an urn. That's what I was told by them."
"That is not the problem. I am worried for my son," Sophia explained, her tone carrying a little anger.
Ah, right. I thought she was returning for the funeral. I am her son, she has every right to be worried.
After he consoled his mother and convinced her not to change her already made plans, he returned home. Sophia was not happy with this, but perhaps a little proud that her son was becoming more responsible. She felt a bit of happiness knowing he was growing into an adult who could take on responsibilities.
On his way, Silas dropped by a mobile phone shop. He wanted to get a new screen guard. He had previously thought that it was the screen itself that had broken, and fixing a screen was a big hassle. But after confirming that he had been lucky, with only the screen guard being damaged, he had already planned on replacing it.
After getting a new screen guard, which made his phone look as good as new, and testing for any defects, he returned home. It was already evening, and Silas was very hungry. He thought of getting some takeout, but he found himself with no money at all. He had apparently used up his last few notes on the new screen guard.
After reaching home and passing by Mrs. Miratya's house, which still had a lot of police personnel gathered, he went inside. He ordered a food delivery for his dinner and went up to his room.
The food delivery arrived in no time, and Silas ate his dinner in peace. It had been a wild day. It had only been two days since he had transmigrated into this world, and he had already gotten involved in a complicated matter with supernatural elements.
After eating his food Silas went up to his room again. It wasn't late but he was already sleepy. It was a very exhausting day for him.
He prepared to sleep. He turned off the lights and lay down on the bed, which was extremely soft and comfortable.
Silas slowly drifted into deep sleep.
...
Suddenly, he was awake.
He was standing in an unknown place, on unfamiliar land. It was a barren, reddish-orange wasteland.
The air was dusty, a thick brown smog covering the entire area, limiting his vision to only a few meters.
As he looked up, he saw high above the cloudy sky, right over his head, the Sun shining brightly and radiantly.
Around the Sun, there were seven celestial objects arranged in a circle, far apart from each other. These celestial objects, that were of different colours, were the seven moons.