"Mr. Moriarty, I'm Iconser Bernard from the Church of the Steam and Machinery God, and these are my colleagues."
The disheveled-haired man introduced himself, deliberately lowering his voice to prevent those inside from hearing words like "Church."
"May we come in?"
"Of course."
Klein stepped aside.
His gaze moved away from that conspicuous mirror, only then noticing that these members of the Machinery Hivemind were all wearing black police uniforms.
As they entered the living room, the previously restless atmosphere settled considerably.
Klein was familiar with this feeling.
When he'd been a Nighthawk investigating cases in police uniform, he'd often received better cooperation as well.
"All right, gentlemen."
Iconser surveyed the detectives around him.
He acted as if Silas, who stood right beside him, didn't exist, and smiled slightly at the detectives.
"I'm pleased to inform everyone that we've apprehended the culprit in this case!"
So they've already discovered the Devil's corpse on the street.
"Wonderful!"
"What a relief!"
"Praise the police!"
Hearing such good news, the detectives immediately burst into cheers, thanking the police for their efforts with visible relief.
"However, for the sake of our overall investigation into the case, we still need everyone's cooperation in giving statements."
Iconser continued, "My colleagues will escort you all to the police station. Don't worry, this won't take much time."
Since it was related to the case, the detectives naturally wouldn't refuse.
They left with the two team members Iconser had assigned, leaving only Klein and the others behind.
Silas didn't take the opportunity to leave. Instead, he stood beside them, observing with interest.
"Mr. Stanton."
He watched as Iconser nodded to Isengard Stanton in acknowledgment, his expression growing increasingly serious.
"Do you know ? That Desire Apostle is dead."
"Is that so?"
Isengard displayed a perfectly measured expression of surprise.
If he didn't become a detective, he'd surely make an excellent stage actor. "Where?"
"Right at the end of this street."
Iconser replied, "His spirituality has already dissipated, and the scene was contaminated by peculiar blood, making it impossible to investigate for clues.
Our preliminary assessment is that whoever killed him was most likely a Beyonder of the Secrets Suppliant pathway."
Correct.
Beside him, Silas nodded slightly.
Klein and Isengard exchanged glances, then Klein stepped forward to give a general overview of the situation.
Of course, he didn't mention anything related to Silas, only saying that the "Desire Apostle" on the second floor had been frightened by some mysterious Beyonder on the first floor and had directly smashed through the glass to escape.
And that the Beyonder on the first floor had chased after him.
"So you're saying that at the time, there were two powerful Beyonders lurking in your house simultaneously?"
Iconser asked in astonishment.
"That's right. These two shattered windows are proof."
Klein pointed to the broken window in the living room, his expression becoming somewhat bitter.
I hope the landlord's family won't express their displeasure over this.
They shouldn't, Mr. and Mrs. Summerr have been quite tolerant.
Before this, I'd already killed someone in the house, and they didn't say anything about it.
"I understand."
Iconser pondered for a moment.
Then he picked up the silver mirror and lightly stroked its surface three times with his right hand.
After a brief pause, he spoke in a low voice:
"Respected Arrodes, my question is: what is the true identity of that Devil corpse?"
The surrounding light seemed to grow hazy. Strange, watery light flashed across the silver mirror's surface, coalescing into a clear image:
It was a young man in an expensive suit with high cheekbones and a pair of cold eyes, gazing contemptuously at everyone present through the mirror.
Above his head appeared several words in Loen script:
Jason Beria. Current alias: Patrick Jason.
"Beria? The Demon family?"
Iconser said, surprised yet somewhat expectant.
What an impressive mirror.
Klein thought to himself as he looked at the mirror.
This mirror appears to be alive, not only having its own name but also possessing powerful effects.
I feel that if I were to perform divination above the gray fog, achieving such results would be my limit.
What he didn't know was that at this moment, Silas, standing to the side, also showed an expression of surprise.
"Whoosh..."
Inside Silas's body, an illusory tide surged, seemingly activated by this mirror.
My cheat is reacting to this mirror?
Just as he was puzzling over this, the image on the mirror rapidly faded, replaced by blood-red words:
"According to the principle of reciprocity, it's my turn to ask a question.
If you lie or cannot answer, you will either accept a task I arrange or be punished."
"..."
Iconser looked at those words, an expression of helpless numbness appearing on his face.
Then those scarlet words rapidly recombined, transforming into a new sentence:
"The true name of Red Light?"
Aiur Moria.
Both Silas and Klein, having read 'Sights in the Spirit World', answered simultaneously in their minds.
However, Silas was invisible and couldn't speak aloud, while Klein hesitated about whether he should answer.
In that moment of hesitation, the corner of Iconser's mouth twitched, and he said resignedly, "Naniedes!"
"Incorrect."
The words on the mirror delivered their merciless judgment. "Task or punishment?"
After struggling for a moment, Iconser sighed:
"Punishment."
"Boom!"
The moment he finished speaking, a silvery-white bolt of lightning materialized in midair and struck him.
"Zzzzt!"
Iconser's body involuntarily convulsed, his hair becoming even more disheveled.
His body went rigid and he fell to the ground, twitching for several seconds as black smoke rose from him.
"Red Light's name is Aiur Moria."
Isengard watched him and said with a sigh.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Iconser gripped the chair's armrest with both hands, struggling to get up from the floor.
When he heard that Isengard knew the correct answer, despair appeared on his face.
"Sorry... you answered too quickly."
Isengard shrugged regretfully. "I didn't have time to remind you..."
Klein nodded silently on the side.
The mirror hadn't fallen to the ground when Iconser dropped it.
On the contrary, it was now floating above Iconser's head, bobbing up and down, as if mocking him.
"..."
Iconser forced out a smile more painful than crying. "All right, next time something like this happens, I'll consult with you all first."
He struggled to his feet and sat trembling in the chair, gasping for breath.
"Are you okay?"
Klein asked quietly.
He seemed to understand now why this official Beyonder's hair had such a unique style.
"I won't die... for now..."
Iconser said with a bitter smile. "But I need to... recover for a bit..."