At the local police station, Duanmu Huai managed to find some leads. The chief inspector wasn't particularly pleased to see them at first, but upon learning they had been brought in by Earl Best, he loosened up somewhat.
According to the police, this was definitely the work of some criminal gang.
Their reasoning was grounded in solid evidence.
According to the police's autopsy records, the people who had been killed before had all been bitten to death by some kind of creature while still alive. The photograph in the tabloid was misleading — that was only one of the wounds. In fact, the attacker hadn't simply bitten the victims' necks. The victims' entire bodies had been mauled, as though they had been killed by a pack of wild animals.
While the autopsy did confirm death by severe blood loss, that was an entirely different matter from the vampires of popular legend — anyone with that many wounds on their body would die of blood loss regardless.
As for the graveyards, yes, they had been disturbed — but all the evidence showed the graves had been dug open from the outside. A real vampire would be coming from the inside, not the outside.
The tabloids had simply taken things out of context to run sensational headlines.
The police's conclusion that this was gang-related wasn't without basis either. Because the bodies...…were not local residents, and not even travelers from elsewhere in the country. Their investigation had found that the victims were all foreign nationals — illegal immigrants, every single one of them.
So the police had concluded this was most likely the work of a human trafficking organization — perhaps there had been an internal dispute, or some kind of conflict with the immigrants, and the organization had killed them and attempted to dispose of the bodies.
Of course, there were inconsistencies in this theory as well — if it were human trafficking, why use this method to kill? Wouldn't a straightforward shooting be simpler? The police's answer was that it was done to keep the other immigrants in line. The victims had very likely been mauled to death by attack dogs kept by the criminal organization — which would also explain the unusual bite marks on the bodies.
They were therefore currently investigating local criminal networks and looking into whether there were any leads related to human trafficking. From the police's perspective, this was a straightforward murder case of a particularly vicious nature, with no connection whatsoever to vampire legends.
"In any case — please convey to Earl Best that the police will find the perpetrators and bring them to justice!"
With that, the chief inspector showed Duanmu Huai and the others out of the station.
"...…"
Mary stood outside with her notebook, looking at Duanmu Huai with a blank expression.
"Mr. Duanmu, what do we do next?"
"The police can pursue their own investigation. They also said as long as we don't interfere with their work, we're free to do as we please. Now...…you remember the locations where those bodies were found, don't you."
"Ah, yes."
Hearing Duanmu Huai's question, Mary gave a nod and opened her notebook.
"They were found in a renovated manor house in Vennart Bay. According to the police, the property had previously been abandoned. A gentleman by the name of Vyncourt purchased it and planned a complete renovation, and during the renovation process workers began going missing one by one — and then the bodies were discovered...…"
Mary furrowed her brow.
"Moreover, the bodies discovered had nothing to do with the missing workers. They were all male, and according to the autopsy reports, the time of death was estimated to be several weeks prior."
"So the police are currently investigating on the basis of human trafficking and gang activity. They're trying to find the missing workers, but so far without success...…and what about Vyncourt?"
"The gentleman appears to have suffered some kind of severe psychological shock and is currently recovering in the state psychiatric hospital. The police did attempt to speak with him, but...…it seems they didn't get much out of him."
"Ha — a psychiatric hospital. Another familiar destination."
Duanmu Huai gave a cold snort.
"Hm? Familiar?"
"That's right. Ordinary people who encounter monsters always end up like this — they perceive something their minds cannot process, they have a breakdown, and they go mad. Everything they say is dismissed as the ravings of a lunatic, and they get shipped straight off to a psychiatric hospital. If you told anyone else about your own experiences, you'd probably end up in the same place — which is exactly why psychiatric hospitals are actually excellent places to find leads."
"Well...…"
Hearing this, Mary went slightly pale.
"Do we have to go? I'm a little frightened...…"
"That's up to you — wasn't it you who said you wanted to record the details of your investigations and write them into stories?"
"...…I'll go!"
For the sake of her dream, Mary steeled herself.
Though the decision had been made, Mary couldn't hold back her questions as they made their way to the psychiatric hospital.
"Mr. Duanmu, you said people go mad when they see those things...…but we've seen quite a few similar things ourselves by now. Why don't I feel like it's particularly dangerous??? And you and Miss Lorena seem perfectly normal as well?"
Looking at Duanmu Huai, Mary raised the question that had been puzzling her. It wasn't that she wasn't afraid of those creatures — the Shoggoth, the Baskerville demon hound, or the Glaaki avatar she had dealt with herself, all of them were disgusting enough and terrifying enough, and Mary had certainly trembled with fear before them.
But for Mary, it seemed to be just that — much like going through a haunted house or watching a horror film. Frightening in the moment, certainly, but after sleeping on it, the fear faded.
So Mary found it genuinely difficult to understand why ordinary people would go mad at the sight of such creatures.
"That's not hard to understand. You already know that Lorena and I come from different worlds. In my world, creatures like these are commonplace — as an [Inquisitor], I've executed somewhere between a thousand and eight hundred [Warp] entities, and as a pilgrimage priest, Lorena has encountered no shortage of demons and monsters either."
At that, Duanmu Huai spread his hands.
"So for us, the creatures here are disgusting, yes, but they're nothing remarkable. At most they're just an unfamiliar kind of horrible thing."
"Mm...…"
"But people in this world are different. They haven't grown up seeing monsters around every corner — they've never once believed monsters could exist. So when they witness these creatures with their own eyes, their entire worldview collapses...…you can imagine what that's like — discovering that something you had always taken as completely ordinary and self-evident is in fact nothing of the sort. How terrifying that would be."
"Um...…sorry, I don't think I can really understand that."
"Then let me put it this way."
Duanmu Huai snapped his fingers.
"If you discovered that the people you're looking at right now aren't actually the way they appear to you, what would your reaction be?"
"...…???"
"Simply put — imagine that everything you're seeing right now is an illusion. The images your eyes capture aren't the real picture. In truth, me, Lorena, all your friends — our actual bodies look like writhing masses of flesh with blood vessels snaking across the surface like serpents, covered all over in eyes sealed beneath a thin membrane. Suppose that one day you suddenly saw all of humanity looking like that — what would your reaction be?"
"Ugh...…"
Hearing this, Mary went visibly pale.
"That...…that is genuinely terrifying...…"
"And that's what it's like for these people. They came into close contact with something this world was never supposed to have, and because of that, their perception of the world began to shift toward those things...…simply put, can you imagine what it would be like to one day perceive the world through an ant's antennae or a bee's compound eyes?"
"Ugh...…please stop, I'm feeling a little ill...…"
Just imagining it had already left Mary pale-faced and unsteady on her feet.
"That's it exactly. Those people couldn't bear the impact, so they lost their minds."
"But I don't seem to be like that at all?"
"Thank your Golden Eye for that. Because of it, your mind remains permanently stable. Just as you said — frightening in the moment, and then a good night's sleep puts it right...…you'll see soon enough what an ordinary person without the Golden Eye looks like after encountering those creatures."
As they spoke, the group arrived at the psychiatric hospital located on the outskirts of town. The place had an unusually gloomy atmosphere — every window was completely sealed with iron bars. Walking through the grounds, patients in hospital gowns drifted about listlessly, and the orderlies looked as dead-eyed and lifeless as sleepwalkers. Of course, none of that was the point. Duanmu Huai found the hospital director, a Dr. Berg, identified himself, and requested a meeting with Vyncourt.
"No."
The bespectacled, balding doctor refused Duanmu Huai's request point-blank.
"That patient is extremely agitated. He has been moved to a ward designated for patients with severe violent tendencies. He cannot be exposed to any stimulation at all, particularly...…"
As he said this, the balding man looked Duanmu Huai up and down, and narrowed his eyes.
"Particularly dangerous individuals like yourself, who are liable to cause psychological trauma in others."
"...…"
Even if it were true, Duanmu Huai was already tempted to use force. Was that any way to speak to someone?
Though it was, admittedly, true...…
So Duanmu Huai simply acted.
He reached out across the desk, grabbed the balding doctor by the throat, and hauled him straight up off his feet.
"What — what are you doing?"
The bald man's face went white as he struggled desperately, opening his mouth to cry out — but Duanmu Huai simply applied slight pressure with his right hand, and the man's scream died in his throat.
"Just as you said — I'm not someone to be trifled with, Dr. Berg."
Duanmu Huai looked into the bald man's eyes with cold calm, letting a thin thread of killing intent seep through, then spoke.
"If you refuse to meet my request, I'll have no choice but to subject you to a small amount of psychological trauma myself."
"W-wait, if you do this, I'll call the police...…"
"This is a psychiatric hospital. Perhaps the doctor himself is a bit unhinged. And can you trust what an unhinged person says?"
As he said this, Duanmu Huai tightened his right hand again.
"Or would you rather end up as a corpse than be committed as a patient?"
"Urk...…ngh...…"
"I'll give you one chance. Take us to see him. Yes or no?"
"...…"
The bald man was now completely grey-faced and unable to form words. All he could do was nod frantically — after all, his own life still mattered most.
Good. Intimidation, successful.
Duanmu Huai gave a satisfied nod, then released his grip. The bald man dropped heavily to the floor. Duanmu Huai stood over him, looking down with an unhurried expression.
"Right then. Lead the way."
(End of Chapter)