Chapter 65: Chapter 52: Chasing the Culprit_1

[Activating special task “Pursuit of the Culprit”]

[Task Objective: Identify the true culprit behind a series of incidents]

[You are embroiled in a mysterious homicide; find the real culprit and uncover the truth]

If initially, Duanmu Huai just wanted to use this Soul Fragment World in subspace to sneak into Todd’s Ruins in search of the Crown of Witchcraft, he is now clearly more interested in this mysterious killer. He has a hunch that this person may have some indescribable relation to Ogis. Although Ogis herself is unaware of the reason, it is certain that things are not as simple as they appear.

Finding a puppeteer in such a large city is not easy due to insufficient manpower. However, Duanmu Huai has his methods.

“Do you really think we’re going to find someone this way?”

Standing at the top of the church’s clock tower, Lorena, full of curiosity, looked at Duanmu Huai and asked.

“Although it’s not a hundred percent sure we’ll find them, there is a certain rate of success.”

Glancing at Ogis seated on his lap, silently staring at the city, Duanmu Huai responds. Unlike other knights, patrolling the streets was not his style. This method was inefficient and relied solely on luck. Instead, he initiated a Reconnaissance Servo Skull to scan the entire city. This would not only provide a detailed map of the Holy City but also quickly locate any abnormalities.

Luckily, due to the recent murders, curfew has been enacted by the church, which avoids certain problems.

However…

“That being said, are you sure it’s okay for you to be with us?”

Duanmu Huai surveyed Lorena, inquiring. When this priestess heard that they too were searching for the killer, she volunteered to assist them. Even though Duanmu Huai admitted having someone from the church on their side would make the search easier, but is she really okay with it?

After all, at first glance, she just looked like a frail, gentle, unwarlike young priestess.

“Oh, please don’t worry, Sir Knight.”

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s question, Lorena, currently engrossed in the Holy Canon, closed the book, clenched her fists tightly, and looked at him with a bright smile.

“I am also a believer in the deity, and I possess the strength to protect myself and purify evil!”

“Ah… well, that’s reassuring.”

Seeing Lorena so confident, Duanmu Huai certainly wouldn’t say anything more, but instead turned his gaze back to the cityscape.

Soon, it started getting dark. The murderous puppeteer usually acted at night, sometimes early in the evening, sometimes well past midnight. Since there was another incident the previous night, when darkness blanketed the city, the streets were practically deserted. Only fully armed knights remained steadily patrolling, hunting for the murderer.

“Hmm… there seems to be no change.”

Staring at the displayed map on his helmet, Duanmu Huai mused to himself. The entire city map was now fully viewable in front of him. Moving white dots on the streets were the patrolling knights, apart from this, there were no abnormal movements.

Time passed slowly. Staying awake all night is a difficult task, to the point where even Duanmu Huai was starting to feel a bit tired. Meanwhile, Lorena was leaning on a nearby column, already dozing off.

After who knows how long, Duanmu Huai’s map displayed an unknown signal fluctuation all of a sudden!

“It’s here!”

Seeing the signal, Duanmu Huai was instantly alert. He rose to his feet.

“Ogis, Miss Lorena! There’s some action, let’s move!”

“Huh? Oh, yes!”

Lorena, awakened by Duanmu Huai, blinked her eyes and quickly replied. As for Ogis, she had deftly snuggled into his arms as soon as Duanmu Huai got up. With Ogis in one arm and holding onto Lorena’s slender waist with his other hand, the jetpack on his back once again blasted a strong jet of air, ascending rapidly into the sky amidst Lorena’s shouts of surprise.

“Sir Knight, you can fly too?!”

Staring out at the soaring heights around her, Lorena squealed in surprise, but Duanmu Huai didn’t respond. He merely locked onto the disturbance’s location and urged the jetpack towards it. It wasn’t long before they reached their destination.

“There she is!!”

In the silvery white light of the moon, Duanmu Huai quickly spotted a petite figure in white wandering on the streets, obviously not a member of the knight order.

Then, the answer is clear.

“Boom!”

Duanmu Huai descended from the sky, landing directly on the street, blocking the path of the white figure. Then he lifted his head, staring at the figure before him.

One must say that when he saw the white figure, even Duanmu Huai was taken aback.

Just like what those young people had stated earlier, this was a girl-shaped puppet wearing a sleeveless white dress. The spherical joints at her elbows were a clear giveaway. Like Ogis, she too bore white long hair, but unlike Ogis who had her hair tied in pigtails, this puppet girl let it loose. But otherwise, her appearance and body were very similar to Ogi’s.

Hmm, was she the dark version of Ogis?

That seemed to be the feeling.

“Who are you?”

At this moment, Ogis also saw that puppet girl. A touch of surprise crossed her usually expressionless face. On hearing Ogis’ question, the puppet girl looked towards her, then broke into a cryptic grin as if she had found a valuable treasure.

“Hahaha! Isn’t this sister Ogis? I didn’t expect to meet you here!”

“What?”

Hearing her speak, Ogis and Duanmu Huai were taken aback. But the puppet girl didn’t provide any further explanation. She just broke into a fit of crazy laughter and then lifted her head.

“This is great! Just great! If I kill you, the Master will know that I am the most perfect puppet! Sister Ogis, prepare to die!!!”

With the puppet girl’s roar, countless crimson strings suddenly appeared around her fingers. These strings stretched directly into the shadow of the puppet girl, then gave a great yank… and immediately after, a huge female puppet, whose face was covered by a mask, emerged from behind the puppet girl.

Wow, that damn thing replicated even the weapon? Was that even possible?

“……….”

The sight left Ogis silent. She then threw the suitcase in her hand. A huge puppet wearing a white mask, black formal suit, and a cloak emerged from it.

“Master, can I deal with her? I don’t know why, but….I can feel that this is very important to me.”

“Go ahead.”

Responding to Ogis’ request, Duanmu Huai just nodded. He wanted to also know what the relationship between this girl and Ogis was. Since she called Ogis ‘sister’, it showed that she was a puppet manufactured later than Ogis. But as far as Duanmu Huai remembered, the Puppeteer Master who had made Ogis blew himself up using a Gundam in the royal city soon after creating Ogis… Then who, and when, did they create this puppet girl?

Now, however, was not the time to contemplate that.

He moved his gaze away from Ogis. Duanmu Huai gripped his war hammer and focused on what was ahead. Lorena stood behind him. At the same time, eerie shadows rose from all directions, surrounding the pair in a circle.

They seemed to be girls, but wore strange white masks, each bearing a double-edged weapon. They let out low, bizarre giggles, like ghostly demons wandering in the pitch black night.

“Hee Hee Hee… we found… a strong one…”

“Hee Hee Hee… our prey…”

Let’s see who the real prey here is.

Hearing the masked women’s words, Duanmu Huai snorted in displeasure and his face hardened.

“Miss Lorena, are you ready?”

“Rest assured, Sir Knight.”

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s inquiry, Lorena nodded determinatively.

“Under the guidance of God, we will surely be victorious!”

“Well then, let’s move!”

At the roar of Duanmu Huai, the next moment, the pair charged at the masked women in front of them.