The moment she heard the battle above, she had already cautiously set up multiple rituals for herself in the basement.
[Bullet Protection], [Weak Penetration of Natural Resistance], [Slash Protection], [Stable Casting], [Weakness Reinforcement].
Of course, she had fully buffed herself and prepared her strongest attack in advance before coming out to confront them here.
Although she was talking to Aiwass now, her attention was actually focused on Haina.
As soon as Haina was distracted, she would immediately throw the Curse Infant in her hand. It would automatically track the heart, and once it made contact, it would burrow into the body, directly tearing at the internal organs from within and causing frost damage.
While causing unbearable pain, it could also freeze the blood vessels near the heart. Even if the target survived, any strenuous activity would tear their internal organs, causing massive bleeding. Even a Bishop wouldn't be able to save someone from such injuries.
...But if this attack missed and she got into a prolonged fight.
Even with all the buffs she had applied to herself, she probably wouldn't be able to defeat this young Inspector.
She could sense that the opponent had definitely mastered Third Level power. At least half a level higher than herself.
Although she didn't know the opponent's Path characteristics, she was very likely to lose.
Only one chance!
The moment she saw Aiwass raise his gun at her, she decided on her upcoming strategy.
She had specifically reinforced her defenses.
If it were a high-powered firearm, she might be wary. But the Lady's Grip had very weak power.
It might not even be able to penetrate a thick oak wine barrel full of wine. The female knight opposite her could probably block this bullet with her muscles directly.
Such a bullet, even if it accurately hit her weak points like her eyes or throat, would not cause her serious injury.
And Aiwass Moriarty was just a young man who had never touched a gun and knew nothing. As Otherworlders of the Resonance Path, they could sense each other clearly... Even if Aiwass had an extraordinary profession, he was definitely at least one level lower than her.
Because she didn't sense any threat from him.
He dared to shoot Ademar because Ademar had already lost his combat ability. It was equivalent to shooting a stationary target.
And observing Ademar's corpse, the bullet's power was normal. It had not been specially modified by a craftsman.
But she was alive and could dodge. Since he didn't know if she could dodge this attack, he would definitely choose to shoot her torso to ensure a hit.
And the protection she had prepared would definitely easily block this shot.
But she could pretend to have suffered a fatal blow, making the young female knight lower her guard. Then, she could take the opportunity to ambush the opponent
"How about it? Let's make a bet!"
She laughed heartily, as if truly fearless: "You only have one chance!"
Veronica knew that if this bullet could hit her weak points, such as her eyes or throat, it would probably indeed interrupt her spell. But first, Aiwass might not even dare to shoot like that he only had one chance.
She continued to pressure the opponent, and that young man would choose to play it safe!
And as long as this shot didn't hit the originally fatal weak point, she could safely block it;
Even if the worst happened, it would only be her spell being interrupted. The pathetic little pistol in his hand still couldn't cause her effective damage and she still had a chance to ambush that female knight.
No matter what, I won't lose at least.
Hurry, hurry.
"Just shoot me quickly"
After quickly determining her tactics based on her experience, Veronica stood still and continued to mock:
"What a ridiculous and pathetic boy. You didn't kill me last time, but this time you won't escape. You wouldn't think that if this Water Icosahedron could kill that fool, it could..."
Bang!
The next moment, the gun fired.
A dark line pierced through Veronica's head.
Her bald head directly split into four, bursting open like a watermelon.
The spell Veronica maintained lost control and dissipated, and an extremely cold gust of wind swept through the entire bar. It made Haina involuntarily take half a step back, and Aiwass's wheelchair rolled backward until it hit the wall and stopped.
There was no need for a follow-up strike.
Because she died too quickly and thoroughly, the continuous damage caused by "Shadow" and "Corrosion" couldn't even be dealt.
Tiny white specks of light gradually emerged from her corpse and flowed into Aiwass's body.
[Killed a Second Circle Otherworlder, gained 16 free experience points]
This was the simplest way to skip class.
Among the protective rituals she could use, there were no physical resistances of the "cutting," "piercing," or "blunt force" types. In other words, she could at most only resist "slashing" and "shooting." And her ritual level was too low to be effective against extraordinary weapons.
Then, one only needed to find an extraordinary weapon with "cutting," "piercing," or "blunt force" characteristics, and before entering combat, use a sneak attack to hit her weak point. This would penetrate all resistances like attacking a normal unit, dealing at least one-third of her health in a single blow, directly putting her into a defense-broken and unconscious state.
Then, a round of output would take her out.
And in reality, without the triple HP bonus from the four-person dungeon BOSS module, one shot was enough to directly kill her with a headshot.
After all, the system that produced "enchanted cards" came from the Great Sin Scholar's ability. Purple extraordinary equipment, which was extremely rare in Environment 0, would basically be standard issue for everyone after two versions, so the "extraordinary" tag was quite generously given by the Great Sin Scholar's Phantasmagoric Card.
Rather, if it didn't give the "extraordinary" tag, the weapon cards materialized by Phantasmagoric Cards simply wouldn't be able to damage monsters after two versions enemies at that time had basically already universally covered non-extraordinary resistances, and weapons and consumables that didn't involve extraordinary power couldn't even hurt people anymore.
How could it be like now, where even blue and white equipment can kill people?
What is this?
This is the suppression of version updates.
"You saw it, she made me shoot. I originally just wanted to scare her."
Looking at Haina's somewhat astonished and bewildered gaze, Aiwass shrugged innocently: "It's not my fault."
...I know. Don't be afraid, Mr. Aiwass. You are completely innocent; you were forced to shoot because your life was threatened I can prove it for you.
Haina was half a step late before she slowly nodded.
She looked back at the female sorceress's corpse and was silent for a moment.
...But why was she so arrogant?
She tried to explain everything that had happened before her, trying to rationalize it: "Perhaps she thought your shot would miss..."
Oh, right, she said, 'I couldn't kill you last time.' Could she be the Demon Scholar who kidnapped you? That's why she underestimated you, not expecting that as a Priest, besides having deductive abilities, you also have the courage to fight her!"
Haina spoke more and more smoothly, feeling that she had completed the logic.
Aiwass shook his head repeatedly.
This person was charmed, she could say anything... If you're greedy for my body, just say so. This logic made him not know how to respond.
"We can still transport one person's body back. But two people definitely won't work."
Aiwass didn't take the bait, but calmly suggested: "So my suggestion is, we try to contact the nearby Surveillance Bureau. Let them send people to supervise and seal off this place. Pelican Bar must be related to these Demon Scholars.
"You can check the basement of this bar; there should be a large amount of ritual materials inside."
"Excellent!"
Haina was extremely excited: "The incident is resolved!"
But then, she suddenly remembered something: "Speaking of which, how did you know the bartender's name?"
"Because I've been here before."
Aiwass didn't shy away: "It was the day I was attacked and kidnapped.
"In fact, what I told you before wasn't entirely accurate. Or rather... I didn't know they were Demon Scholars at the time."
"They?"
"Yes. Besides this woman, there was also a middle-aged man. Before I was attacked, the two of them came to drink with me... I thought they were good people at the time, so I treated them to a meal.
"But I didn't expect that I would fall unconscious shortly after leaving the bar. In a daze, I saw a huge stone archway. So I knew I must have been taken to Stone Archway Park. I never thought that the people who knocked me out were them or rather, there must have been something wrong with the food I ate that day.
"That's why I tested the bartender. I suspected he poisoned me and recognized me."
"So I think we can't let our guard down yet. There should still be a more powerful Demon Scholar alive. He's a man, around forty, with brown eyes, also bald, and has a slight Stibium Kingdom accent he said he was a stone merchant, traveling between Stibium and Avalon."
Aiwass spoke half-truths.
His itinerary that day was easy to investigate. The deep impression he left wasn't just on this wild elf bartender, but also on all the guests who came that day.
So, there was no deceiving anyone here.
And Aiwass also had to pay special attention to the perspective issue.
If he really were an innocent person, then he shouldn't have known about the special nature of these two people. So it was perfectly reasonable that he didn't report it on the first day from Aiwass's perspective at the time, he had indeed just gone out to play and was attacked on his way home.
But now, he had to tell the story. Because once the Pelican Bar started to be investigated, his itinerary for that day couldn't be hidden from anyone.
Similarly, from his perspective, he also wouldn't know that the man had already been killed by him. He was currently unaware that there was a deceased person, a wanted criminal, at the ritual site.
As expected, Haina immediately explained to him, "Don't be afraid, that person is probably dead I completely understand the whole incident now.
"They were likely hiding in this bar. Then that day, they saw you alone in the bar and decided to use you as a sacrifice to summon a demon.
"This bartender was their accomplice, so he poisoned you, making you unable to resist their sacrifice.
"That woman just said something like 'failed to kill you last time,' and that man also died at the ritual site… It must have been that the demon he summoned backfired, and his student decisively fled the scene. Unexpectedly, the demon first killed its summoner, and then you survived."
"So that's what happened."
Aiwass nodded thoughtfully, "If that man is already dead… then it generally aligns with my speculation.
"In that case, Senior Sister we don't need to immediately report it to the Surveillance Bureau."
Now that Haina was needed, Aiwass no longer called her by name but reverted to the address of Senior Sister.
"Why?"
Haina was a bit puzzled, "Wouldn't it be faster to find them with more people?"
"Someone among the fleeing guests must have reported it to the Surveillance Bureau. And I just fired two shots, people outside must have heard it. The Inspector should be here in a while, we just need to wait here."
At this point, a clear hesitation appeared on Aiwass's face, easily discernible even to Haina.
She immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
"Actually," Aiwass lowered his voice, "I might have left a book here.
"I was dizzy when I left that day and left something here."
"What book?"
"It's a forbidden book."
"forbidden book?!"
"Yes."
Aiwass nodded, saying seriously, "It's called '"Alchemy Cipher"', and it should have been taken by this bartender to the basement.
"I originally didn't dare to ask for it back. But since we don't have to notify the Surveillance Bureau immediately, I still want to retrieve it. That book is very valuable… and I'm also worried that if it stays here, someone might trace it back to our Moriarty Family."
"…You."
Haina felt a headache coming on.
Even without considering his looks in this short day of interaction, she greatly admired her junior brother.
Smart, diligent, cultured. He was even a seeker of the Path of Dedication and fought alongside her. From the perspective of handling the female Demon Scholar, he could even be considered to have saved her life.
She was not an ungrateful person.
But how to handle this matter…
Haina thought for a moment, first sheathed her sword, and the halo in her eyes gradually extinguished.
"Just this once."
She also lowered her voice, saying seriously, "I know that among the big figures, some people secretly study those forbidden knowledge. But I didn't expect you to be the same…
"I don't want to report you, but at least don't bring it to public places, okay? It's very dangerous!
"Even if you're not searched by a passing Inspector of the Surveillance Bureau, you might be targeted by malicious individuals you might not know, the price of such mysterious books is very high in the black market!"
Of course I know.
It's precisely because it's expensive, and you, Senior Sister, are afraid of poverty and can empathize with the pain, that I brought this up here…
"Yes, Senior Sister is right…"
Aiwass nodded repeatedly, looking pitiful, "Can Senior Sister help me find it? Since it's illegal, it should be hidden in the basement; if it's valuable enough, it should be in some important box."
"…I suspect you were targeted because of that book!"
Haina hadn't lectured him enough and couldn't help but say a few more words.
But looking at Aiwass, she still softened.
She sighed and handed her Inspector badge and sword to Aiwass: "You stay here, don't go out. If I haven't returned and the local Inspector arrives, show them this. Tell them someone is already investigating and have them wait here.
Also, speaking of Alchemy, I just remembered. According to standard case procedures, this gun of yours will later need to be submitted to the Surveillance Bureau for inspection to see if there are any traces of illegal Alchemy modification."
"I understand. It's necessary."
Aiwass nodded without hesitation.
Haina was a little uneasy: "Tell me honestly, is there or isn't there? I feel its power is a bit strong. If there is, I'll help you deal with the body, I can slightly hide the traces on the body Alchemy modified weapons are also illegal."
"No, there isn't."
Aiwass guaranteed very certainly, "You can check it freely. Let's not deal with the body… If someone finds out the body was handled by you, you won't have an easy time either."
Not to mention this is enchantment, not modification… And it would be a ghost if Phantasmagoric Card could be detected by these novice technicians from the Surveillance Bureau whose highest level is below forty.
Do you understand what an industry technical barrier is?
Upon hearing this, Haina felt a warmth in her heart.
Although she was the one who offered to help the other party, for some reason she felt as if she had been helped.
"Be careful, I'll be back soon."
Saying that, Haina opened the basement door. And then closed the door.
After she left, Aiwass gently sighed.
The expression on his face, like a puppy who had made a mistake, immediately retracted and vanished without a trace. He became expressionless.
The next moment, Aiwass stood up from his wheelchair.
His movements were very fluid, without any delay.
And the moment he left the wheelchair, the shadow beneath him moved slowly, as if a living thing had suddenly been awakened. Like an amorphous monster, it slowly crawled from his skin, spreading and twisting across the floor.
The entire messy bar hall became dim.
It was as if it wasn't noon, but an evening with the lights drawn. All the light entering from outside was blocked.
Splash, splash…
Aiwass stepped on his own shadow, actually making a sound like boots stepping on puddles on a rainy day. His shadow seemed to have turned into some viscous liquid, or like flowing, black blood.
Completely ignoring this anomaly, Aiwass walked directly to Veronica's body and meticulously searched her body in the dark.
When they met that night, Veronica had shown him she had a thick stack of letters hidden close to her body in her clothes.
He had seen it clearly at that time. The last letter he sent them was hidden inside.
These letters were kept in her bra.
If Veronica, after she was presumably killed along with the shadow demon, forgot to destroy or intended to temporarily keep this letter…
Now that she had suddenly died, it would become evidence that could link this matter to Aiwass.
Aiwass tricked Haina away precisely to quietly retrieve this fatal evidence.
As it turned out, just as Aiwass had expected.
Aiwass pulled out a stack of letters of varying sizes from Veronica's clothes. And he saw his own letter at a glance.
"Heh."
Aiwass sneered, clutching the letter tightly.
As expected.
This was the last piece of evidence.