Chapter 130: Mystical Artifacts

The result was inconclusive.

The Coin Toss Divination Ritual was a type of Spiritualistic Divination that was quite accurate and reliable. But at this moment, the result was unexpectedly inconclusive.

"Captain..."

Ashlynn spoke up.

Ron Samuel nodded his head, his narrowed eyes disappeared as fast as it appeared as he said, "Receiving an inconclusive result in a Coin Toss Divination Ritual usually means?"

He swept his gaze at the others.

They stared at him in confusion, before Bruce absentmindedly answered, "Outside interference...?"

"That's right..." Ron Samuel smiled, "We've made sure with the Wise One that he's not possessed anymore, but why is it that we're still receiving outside interference when we're trying to divine his fate?"

He asked once more.

This time, Ashlynn readily answered, "Is it because of Mystical Artifacts?"

"Bingo..." Ron Samuel's smile deepened, "Based on the very first book of the Cavaliers Path Manual, Chapter 3, Verse 16. Mystical Artifacts harboring Mana would almost always interfere with Divination..."

"However, the caveat is that the Mana contained within the Mystical Artifact must match or overwhelm the Mana used by the seeker of truth for it to successfully intervene on the Divination."

"In other words, the Mystical Artifact Calvin has in his person must be something quite powerful... At least, it is something that I cannot possibly subdue..."

"What...?" The Cavaliers glanced at each other.

James Branzuela stared defiantly at Ron Samuel, "That's impossible! If a Mystical Artifact like that really exists in his person, then why is he still..."

"Alive? Is that what you want to say?" Ron Samuel interrupted him, "To be honest, I have no idea how he is still alive. But the fact that he's still sane and not showing any signs of losing control or falling into depravity can only mean two things..."

"One, he has no idea about the existence of that Mystical Artifact in his body, and lastly... The Mystical Artifact in his body isn't there to harm him. In short, the presence of that Mystical Artifact may be beneficial to him.

"But Captain... If that's the case, then why was the result inconclusive?"

"It's probably because that Mystical Artifact in his body is trying to protect him from any supernatural interference. He was already possessed once, so how could the Mystical Artifact let that happen to him again?"

"I'm sure that since the artifact does not know where the enemy is and where he's coming from..."

"It spread out a net."

"Instead of trying to selectively filter out suspicious interference, it decided to filter everything. If you are asking me if this is something good, then I am not too sure. All that I know is that this artifact isn't out here to harm us all..."

"The enemy of the artifact is the one who possessed Calvin... Is that what you are trying to say, Captain?" James Branzuela said with a smile creeping up his lips.

Ron Samuel nodded, "The enemy of our enemy is a friend. In short, we should stay our hand for now..."

"Stay our hand? Captain, are you even sure that the artifact in his body won't come after us when it's done dealing with the Red Cloud?" Bruce asked.

"Bruce... You're a newbie that does not have that much experience against the Red Cloud, but let me tell you this. I guarantee you that even if he finds the base of the Red Cloud in Ashmelion. He won't be able to do anything against them. It's not that easy to defeat the Red Cloud. If he wants to bring them down, then he needs our help."

"How ironic... Last time, an unknown person left some vague clues for us which says that we need his help, but now... Calvin needs our help... How strange..." Ron Samuel mused.

"Strange indeed, but I suggest that we also do our own investigation. I bet the Church wouldn't like it if we just stay put here and continue playing card games or drink coffee..." James Branzuela had always been an upright man who did his job properly.

In all honesty, he had been feeling guilty that he had been spending at least a week without doing anything substantial for the Church, even though he was receiving his salary from their money.

Now that there was an opportunity for him to do something for the church.

How could he possibly miss this chance?

James Branzuela almost immediately proposed to work.

Ashlynn raised an eyebrow, "Are you trying to snitch on us?"

"What snitch? I was just saying that we should do some work since we're receiving a salary from the church..."

Ron Samuel narrowed his eyes and stared at James Branzuela, "So you want to work that much?"

"Captain, don't be too unreasonable... What I said is right... We can't just take our salaries without doing any work for the church..." James Branzuela could feel a sense of foreboding and he immediately cried out as if he was trying to protect himself from the upcoming apocalypse.

"All right, say no more." Ron Samuel languidly said, "If you want to feel like you deserve your twenty joselian pesos daily salary, then you do need to render some work..."

"How about you go and clean the coffee machines behind the counter as well as the kitchen? The Center Borough has dozens of illustrious shops, yet little did these people know that the Center Borough is directly under Ashmelion's biggest latrine..."

"In short, I bet there are hundreds of rats roaming our kitchen now, so you go ahead and clean it!"

"Captain..." James Branzuela let out a heartbroken yelp.

He wanted to slap his lips for talking so much.

Ashlynn took advantage of this opportunity to jest, "Senior Brother James. Now you know there's a reason why donkeys do not talk..."

James Branzuela didn't even talk anymore.

He just shot her a venomous glare before he let out a sigh and resigned to his fate. Sigh, cleaning wasn't really that bad. So long as he could feel that he deserved his salary, then it was fine.

He walked into the kitchen and started his rampage against the rats.

Having relegated some work to James Branzuela.

Ron Samuel turned to look at Ashlynn and Bruce, "Both of you understand what you need to do, right?"

Bruce and Ashlynn glanced at each other before the two of them nodded their heads and simultaneously replied, "Yes, Captain!"

It was already deep in the night when Calvin arrived at Malasakit Inn. It took him quite a long time to return home for he was stuck in line while trying to buy vegetables and delicacies that were suitable for both Charlotte and Cecilia.

The topography of Ashmelion made it so that vegetables were quite rare, apart from root vegetables such as potatoes, et cetera. But of course, just because it was rare didn't mean that it was impossible to find. He just needed to fork out more money than usual.

Calvin didn't mind doing that.

His salary was five joselian pesos a day.

He was earning in a day what most people earned in a week.

He had the right to do whatever he wanted with his money and he chose to use it in order to buy some nutritious ingredients for both his wife and daughter.

Arriving at the Malasakit Inn, he instantly shot up to the higher floors.

"Daddy!"

Cecilia greeted him when he entered the room.

Calvin noticed the groceries on top of the table but didn't find any sign of Charlotte.

Was she asleep?

He doubted it.

It was about eight in the night and Charlotte knew that he would usually come home this time of the night. In other words, she should be awake so she could cook the ingredients that Calvin brought with him to the wet market.

A frown appeared on his face as he swooped Cecilia off the ground and asked the little girl with a smile.

"Where's your mother?"

"Mommy? Mommy told me that she'll go back to the old house to fetch something... She told me she'll be back before you come back home, but mommy is still not here... Where is she, daddy? Is she not with you?" Cecilia replied with a confused look on her face.

Calvin's face tightened.

Charlotte...

She returned to the old house in the Northern Borough...

Why did she do that?!

Didn't she know how dangerous the Northern Borough is for her when we've offended the Yellow River Gang?

Fucking hell...

Calvin inwardly cursed.

He couldn't help but criticize Charlotte for her actions.

But as he did so, he suddenly remembered about the existence of a certain medallion that they seemed to have forgotten to take with them from the old house.

The Medallion of a Crow Within the Sun!

So she went to the Northern Borough to take it?

Why didn't she wait for me?

Why did she have to go there alone?

I don't understand...

Calvin gnashed his teeth, but he knew that there was no time to waste.

Handing over a can of ice cream to Cecilia. He coaxed the little girl that he would go out for a while to fetch Charlotte from the old house. Surprisingly, she was obedient. But it could be because of the can of ice cream that she had already opened and was already eating with gusto.

Calvin took one final glance at Cecilia before he went out of the inn.

He could only wish and pray that nothing bad had happened to Charlotte at this moment, or else he wouldn't know what to do!

The night was rowdy at the Northern Borough for some reason.

Dozens of people were gathered around holding signboards raised up into the air. Calvin paid them a glance and discovered that they seemed to be protesting against something.

[Stop violent demolition!]

[I've sacrificed my heart and soul for the land and its people - Jose Yang]

[Relocation first! Second, demolition!]

The words carved in expressive calligraphy made Calvin understand what was happening.

Although he pitied these residents of the Northern Borough. There was nothing that he could do nor he could spend any time doing something for these people. He needed to save Charlotte first before anything else.

Running past the protesters, Calvin continued on his journey to Hampaslupa Street. He ran and shoved anyone that dared to stand his way. Those that wanted to express their complaint faltered upon seeing the hardened look on his face. He was unstoppable.

If a general blocked his way, he would kill that general, if a devil blocked him, he would kill that devil! Even if a god stood in his way, Calvin would still kill him!

Time was of the essence and must not be wasted.

Calvin arrived at the small hut that was their previous house and discovered that it was a mess.

The wooden bunk bed had been crushed into smithereens, the utensils and even the wooden stools, as well as the table, weren't spared.

A frown appeared on Calvin's face and he knelt onto the ground, "Footsteps are fresh... must've left a few minutes to half an hour ago..."

He mused before walking over to the destroyed bunk bed, "The destruction started here from the bed frame and the epicenter of the attack expands into a circular shape... A blunt weapon... A hammer?"

He searched around the bunk bed for a while and then discovered that there was something beneath the bed. No, it wasn't a thing— it wasn't an object. It was someone whom Calvin was familiar with. It was Grandma Elsa!

"No..." Calvin squeezed a word out of his trembling throat. He dragged the person underneath the shattered bunk bed and confirmed that she was indeed Grandma Elsa! The kind old lady who helped Charlotte with raising up Charlotte in the past few years was now dead!

Even in death, there was no sorrow on her face.

Instead, there was this defiant look that disdained to give any answers.

Calvin reckoned from the state of her body that even as she was being tortured by those that did all of these to her, she refused to give them what they needed.

That was the only reason why her suffering lasted for so long. She didn't give the perpetrators the answer they needed, she didn't sell out Charlotte to those bastards.

"Requiescat in pace..."

Calvin stretched his hand out and closed the eyes of the kind lady.

He then took a blanket and covered her body with it before he deliberately left his contact info in an unassuming note mixed within the rubble and mess in the room. This way, the investigators wouldn't find it strange that his contact info was present.

He then stood up and walked out of the hut with a stoic expression on his face.

A few minutes after his disappearance.

Two figures appeared in front of the small hut. After they made sure that no one was looking at them, they entered the room and discovered that the room was in shambles.

"What happened here? Did he cause all of these?" Bruce asked with a grim face.

Ashlynn shook her head, "If he was the one that did all of these, then we would've known it..."

"After all, we're so close and with our Predator senses, it wouldn't be that hard for us to notice if there was some struggle going on inside the house. I wonder just who did all of these? It's obvious that the person in question has a heavy grudge against our newbie..."

"I mean, they didn't even bother to erase their presence. That's a sign that they didn't care if someone discovers whatever they are doing...."

"Wait, does that mean..." Bruce suddenly had an enlightened look on his face.

"That's right..." Ashlynn let out a smile, "The people who've done all of these doesn't care if the authorities discovered them. In Ashmelion, other than the judiciaries, who else can force the law to turn a blind eye to their actions through the use of bribes and their influence?"

"The Quads!"

"Yes, the Quads... If they've messed with someone unrelated to us, then no one would definitely pay attention to the crime that they committed. Unfortunately, they've touched one of us and they are out of luck for doing that..." Ashlynn shook her head and let out an assured smile.

"Are we going to make a move? Can we even take down the Quads?"

"Did you really think that it's that easy to take down the Quads?"

"It's not that the Judiciaries does not want these parasites gone, but in order to crush them all, we need to know where they are! If we do not even know where they are, then talking about crushing them is useless..." Ashlynn patiently explained.

Bruce may be a senior to Calvin, but he was still a newbie for Ashlynn.

She didn't blow off her top when he asked these questions. Instead, she explained and acted like a prim and proper senior. Bruce couldn't help but feel weird. Was Ashlynn really this kind? Then, what about the annoying Ashlynn that I've known in the coffee shop?

Was that nothing but a mere facade?

Bruce felt a shiver down his spine and he couldn't help but think that women were indeed scary.

Similar to what was depicted in the books of the founder of the Joselian Kingdom. The Hard-to-Understand Heart of Women. Jose Yang was indeed right! Women do have four sides!

In short, they have four facades!

This prim and proper senior acting should be one of her facades...

Then, what about the other two?

Bruce surreptitiously glanced at Ashlynn, but he didn't say anything.

The two of them inspected the room, careful not to touch anything so they won't disturb the place.

"What is this?

Hidden underneath the rubble was a rectangular object covered in blankets and clothes. Bruce walked forward and curiously opened the sheet only to get a shock of his life. Beneath the covers was a corpse! It was the cadaver of an old woman!