Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 61 - 58: A Meeting on Spells

"Do you really hate him that much? To be honest, as a matter of fact, that person’s malice didn’t actually harm you substantially, your death was a foregone conclusion, even if I were to publicly disclose this matter, he would at most end up in a bit of an awkward situation. Do you really want me to desecrate your body, just to cause him a little trouble?"

Lyle couldn’t understand why this corpse was so obsessed with the truth, as if something was urging him on. Compared to the truth, Lyle would rather preserve the integrity of the corpse for burial.

"I can’t ascend to heaven, so the integrity of my body doesn’t matter to me anymore, but Old Gael, Trifado and the lame Erie are still alive. Shouldn’t I do something?"

"Who are they?"

"My friends, a bunch of good-for-nothing beggars. Old Gael has a bald parrot that only knows how to curse, Trifado is a kind old man who would share a few rotten fruits with me, Erie used to be a pickpocket, always boasting about his past glories..."

"They might be the dregs and rejects of this world, but they are my friends. Now there’s someone who takes pleasure in poisoning them with malice, I can’t stand by and watch them leave this world like I did. And now, the evidence to tear off that hypocrite’s mask is inside my stomach, and I don’t even have to feel the pain."

"Why haven’t you started working, sheriff?"

The body, deprived of its magic power supply, slumped onto the table. Lyle cut open the stomach and removed small clumps of gelatinous bread. Upon cutting them open, Lyle found his target: in the center of the bread clumps lay a small piece of frosting, containing a similar powdery substance. After testing with reagents, he confirmed the poisonous nature. Lyle found the same substance in five or six pieces of frosting, eliminating the possibility of unintentional error.

The beggar was right; the well-known country gentleman was earning a reputation while also committing malicious murders. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Medusa wriggled out from his sleeve.

"Feeling upset?"

"A little."

"Then let me tell you something even worse. People from the church have arrived, heading straight for this law-enforcement office. Guess what will happen when they discover this corpse and you meddling with it?"

Lyle’s gloom turned to panic, "How did you know?"

"Remember what wood I am made from? If you spent more time inspecting me each day, you would’ve noticed that I’ve become a bit brighter than before, and I keep getting brighter. Holy Spirit Wood has the ability to sense sacred energy. Understand, my dear~"

Hardly had her words fallen when Mr. Garrett’s body squeezed through the corridor.

"Little Butler, the church is here. I’ll go and stall them, you quickly hide the body. If it comes to it, just get out fast and don’t get caught."

Before his voice faded away, he hurriedly crawled back into the corridor.

Lyle carried the corpse and ran towards the iron door on the other side, which led to another concealed exit from the law-enforcement office. As for the bloodstains left on the table, they would have to wait; the corpse was the top priority.

Bang!

Lyle crashed into the iron door, dizzy. They had actually locked the door! How was he to hide, let alone escape!

He needed to think of a good solution, but Lyle found anxiety was nearly consuming all his brain cells.

"Gurgle!"

"My ring!" The Talent Sphere flowed away like water, taking Andrei’s ring from his finger.

Was this "naughty boy" rebelling?

Inside of it seemed to carry a hint of purple.

"Gurgle."

It bounced onto the corpse, stuffing the purple into the old beggar’s mouth, under Lyle’s astonished gaze.

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle..."

Familiar chilly breath, familiar magic power flow.

The corpse resurrected, and the old beggar stood up.

Lyle stood frozen in place, dumbfounded.

"Then I’ll go lay low for a while." The old beggar nodded at Lyle, pressed Andrei’s Badge, and disappeared in front of Lyle.

Problem solved.

"You still have a pool of blood and a crime scene to deal with, darling Lyle," Medusa reminded kindly.

"What do you mean ’crime scene’?"

"Am I wrong? Desecration of corpses is a grave sin in the eyes of the church."

.........

Lyle had just wiped away the bloodstains when he heard the disordered footsteps in the corridor, with many people heading this way.

Lyle took a deep breath, with time pressing, his clean-up of the scene wasn’t thoroughly done, but he was ready and could barely manage.

It was like igniting a fuse—the explosion sent the thick wooden door flying, grazing Lyle’s hair, and shattering the stone table behind him.

Well, the scene was cleared now, in total chaos.

Amidst the rising dust, Lyle caught a glimpse of a fleeting shadow that seemed to be a Double-headed Studded Hammer.

Coughing sounds came from a few people.

A reproachful middle-aged man’s voice, "Karen, what are you doing! Violence is prohibited!"

"I’m sorry, Monk, I smelled Black Magic, just being cautious," a young woman’s voice.

"Heh, Black Magic, that’s a big accusation. Is that why you took down my basement door?" Mr. Garrett’s voice.

As the smoke cleared, the first to appear was a girl under one meter seventy, dressed in an old-fashioned dark brown nun’s habit, her headscarf messily tied on top of her head, her golden hair stuffed like straw. Although she had a pleasant appearance, her unkempt attire made her look more like a naughty boy.

Then came Mr. Garrett; his robust frame nearly filled the corridor. He first scanned the area, then shifted his gaze towards Lyle, nodded slightly, and stepped aside.

Lastly, a middle-aged monk appeared, wearing a traditional monk’s robe with a typical Mediterranean hair-cut: medieval monks would shave the center of their heads to express devout faith, like wearing a halo of angels.

"Karen, where is that Black Magic aura you spoke of?" The monk looked around, making sure nothing was amiss.

The girl looked around, her delicate nose twitching slightly, like a little dog sniffing, "It’s gone."

Lyle breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he hadn’t given anything away.

"Detect Evil!" Without another word, Karen, the girl, cast a Holy Light Sorcery spell at Lyle’s face.

Lyle was startled, the spell was too familiar, almost as if Raymond had appeared. Was this how the church said hello, with a Detect Evil to the face? If Mr. Raymond’s Detect Evil was like a meteor strike, then this was barely a breeze.

Lyle stood naturally in place, even with a holy glow shimmering on his body.

"Purifier?!" It seemed like the harmless safety sign worked just as well here.

"Karen! Your test just now was a desecration of the Holy Light, apologize now!"

"I am very sorry, Your Excellency the Purifier," the girl promptly apologized.

"It’s no trouble, my name is Lyle." Raymond had knocked out no less than ten thousand, and he had never heard an apology; this was a good girl.

"May the Holy Light bless you, Sir Lyle. I am Monk Sari. May I ask what you are doing here?"

"What am I doing? I’m tidying up the warehouse," Lyle pretended to be utterly confused.

"I see, my apologies for disturbing you," Monk Sari led the way back to the corridor.

That’s it?