Chapter 904: The Unnoticed Anomaly
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 904: The Unnoticed Anomaly
"Is this... suicide?"
A secret chamber with no other exits, thoroughly bolted from the inside.
A corpse that had died under mysterious circumstances.
When these two factors were linked, "suicide" seemed to be the only logical explanation.
However...
"Seven arrows in the back. That’s a bit too 'classic' for a suicide, isn't it?"
Unless this gang boss named Raskin had specifically trained in some divine technique that allowed him to shoot himself in the back just to end his own life, there was definitely something fishy about his death.
Muen leaned down, carefully observing the arrows protruding from Raskin's back. In the darkness of the secret chamber, a faint blue magical glimmer flickered occasionally on the shafts. This indicated that what killed him weren't ordinary arrows, but expensive magic arrows.
It made sense; after all, an ordinary arrow couldn't possibly kill a gang boss.
But this only made the shroud of mystery harder to pierce. Muen looked around, his eyes flickering with doubt.
Aside from these few arrows, Muen couldn't sense even a trace of mana or fighting spirit within the room. It was as if the arrows had been fired out of thin air and then materialized directly in Raskin's back.
No, "thin air" wasn't the right term, because even spatial magic would inevitably leave behind some traces of mana or spatial ripples.
Yet, in this room, there was nothing.
"He... he's really dead?"
Only then did Tyren snap out of his shock at the scene before him. He walked cautiously to Muen's side, his face filled with disbelief.
"Raskin... the Raskin just died like that?"
"He's dead," Muen said calmly. "Seven arrows to the back, three of which pierced vital organs—that’s likely what killed him. At the same time, there are other marks on his body; he clearly engaged in a fierce struggle with someone."
"A... a struggle?" Tyren couldn't wrap his head around it. "This is his room, one of the small courtyards he specifically set up for himself. How could he have fought someone here? And the surroundings..."
"And the surroundings don't even show signs of a fight," Muen finished for him. He reached out and touched the wine glass on the table next to Raskin. The red wine inside was a vibrant crimson. He lifted the glass and took a light sniff; judging by the aroma, it had been opened and exposed to the air for no more than ten minutes.
Everything in the room was intact. Even the wine glass so close to Raskin was sitting perfectly in its place. One could easily imagine a scene where, before bed, he had leisurely opened a bottle of red wine, preparing to enjoy a sip or two.
And yet, Raskin was dead.
He had died in the place he considered the safest.
Muen stepped closer, getting a clear look at that pale face and the lingering anger and fear etched upon it.
This was absolutely not the expression of someone who had been leisurely drinking wine before bed.
"Interesting." Muen suddenly chuckled. "What is this? A perfect locked-room murder?"
"A... locked-room murder?"
"Haven't you ever read a detective novel? Someone dies in a sealed room, and it's staged to look like a suicide so the killer can escape blame."
"Oh... I remember now." Tyren had a moment of realization. "I've seen those. Street stalls sell them. But..." He scratched his head, looking puzzled. "I always thought those were boring. Because every so-called 'perfect locked-room murder' ends up involving magic or mysterious powers or something. A truly perfect locked-room murder doesn't seem to exist."
"Correct. A perfect locked-room murder does not exist," Muen nodded.
In his previous life, the locked-room murders in detective novels used specific tricks to deceive the reader, but those only existed in books. Those seemingly clever methods couldn't even fool modern forensic technology, let alone the magic of this world... or his own senses, which were countless times sharper than a normal person's.
He didn't need any tools. If Muen wanted to, he could see every speck of dust in this room, let alone "clues."
To his eyes, those things were as clear as the mole on his senior sister's breast.
Yet, the locked-room murder before him was so perfect—so perfect that he couldn't find a single flaw.
This was beyond absurd. Logically speaking, unless a Truth-Tier Grand Magister was bored out of their mind and suddenly had a whim to kill a gang boss for fun, and then went through the trouble of erasing every trace to set up this room... only then might Muen fail to notice anything.
Aside from that, no other level of trickery should have been able to deceive him.
"What... what do we do now?" Tyren swallowed hard as he looked at Raskin's corpse. "Raskin is dead. This is a major event that will shake the entire underground world of the Royal Capital! We... we..."
"What are you panicking for? We didn't kill him."
"But..."
"Quiet. Let me think."
Muen raised a hand, plunging the room back into silence.
Raskin's sudden death didn't just leave behind the eerie mystery of a locked-room killing; it also disrupted Muen's plans to a certain extent.
Without Raskin as a springboard, his idea of leveraging the entire dark side of the Royal Capital would undoubtedly become much more troublesome.
Could someone have anticipated his move and killed Raskin in advance to block his path?
No.
Impossible.
If they knew he was here and were willing to send a Truth-Tier Grand Magister to play such petty games, wouldn't it be easier to just capture him?
No matter how exceptional his current combat strength was, he absolutely could not stand against a Truth-Tier Grand Magister.
But the scene before him...
Muen looked again at the wretched corpse of the gang boss. Even though he had almost bled dry, Raskin's eyes were still fixed on a certain spot. Within those already dilated pupils, a certain flame seemed to still be burning.
"By the way, have you noticed anything unusual lately?" Muen asked suddenly.
"Unusual?" Tyren blinked, not understanding why this Dark Emperor's train of thought had suddenly jumped to this. "What kind of unusual?"
"Anything strange that has happened in this city. Eerie events, irrational situations, or even urban legends passed around by word of mouth... As a gang leader, you should be able to sense something."
"Why ask that? What does it have to do with what's in front of us..."
"It's related," Muen said expressionlessly. "My intuition tells me it's related."
In a seemingly normal place, a very bizarre event that couldn't be explained by common sense had suddenly occurred.
Under normal circumstances, you might think it was an accident.
But Muen didn't think so.
Because he hadn't forgotten that this "normal" Royal Capital was, in his eyes, actually "abnormal." He had come here specifically to seek the source or the reason for this "abnormality."
"This... I'm not too sure right now. To maintain stability during the war, the Royal Capital has been managed much more strictly than usual. Before... before I was fished out by you, I was mostly in a state of dormancy," Tyren said cautiously, glancing at Muen.
"What about your subordinates? As a boss, you should have plenty of men."
"I have plenty of men... but gathering and summarizing intelligence from them takes time. After all, their composition is too messy..."
"Go," Muen interrupted Tyren directly. "As fast as you can."
The Dark Emperor's tone was as calm as ever, but Tyren already felt a mountain of pressure.
He instinctively stood up straight. "Yes!"
"Also, you can use Raskin's people as well," Muen added.
"Raskin's?" Tyren was stunned. "His people... how could I..."
"Are you stupid?" Muen gave him a look reserved for idiots. "He's dead, and he died silently. Aside from you, no other gang power knows. Do you understand what that means?"
What did it mean? It meant...
Gulp.
Tyren swallowed, his throat suddenly feeling dry.
A few minutes ago, he had been miserable because he was the fish that had been caught...
But now, he realized he suddenly had the possibility of taking a massive step upward.
If he swallowed Raskin's territory and men, then he, the Porsis Behemoth, would truly experience a period of wild growth. By then, the balance of the entire Royal Capital's underground would be completely shattered.
Not to mention, he now had this true powerhouse standing behind him. Since the boss had spoken, he didn't have to worry about biting off more than he could chew!
More power and strength were right before his eyes. Tyren suddenly felt that being someone's fish wasn't so bad. At least... the fish raised by a big shot got the best feed.
"Go. Complete my task as quickly as possible."
"Understood!"
With a massive cake waiting to be devoured, Tyren was suddenly filled with drive. Without another word, he walked straight out into the night.
Soon, torchlight flickered from the end of the alley. The sound of a crowd approached, and the sounds of arguing and cursing grew clear.
The triumphant laughter of the Porsis Behemoth rang out exceptionally loud in the night.
Muen didn't pay any mind to the gang wars in the darkness of the Royal Capital.
He just suddenly had a very familiar feeling.
Back in Belland, in order to get information on his senior sister and the so-called "Banshee," he had also utilized the gang forces of the Lower District.
But if he thought about it carefully, there was a huge difference between the two.
Because he wasn't looking for a person now. It felt as if he were looking for something grander—a city that should exist within logical reasoning and reality.
It sounded absurd, but that was the reality.
His reason kept telling him... the Royal City shouldn't be like this. This city, surrounded by the flames of war, shouldn't be this peaceful.
And yet... the city before him was undoubtedly real.
Real buildings, real streets, a real night... real people.
Even Raskin, who had died so bizarrely in a locked room, was real.
"But I still feel like something is wrong."
Muen looked at Saint Bran Phazesia under the night sky, his brow furrowing gradually. He murmured:
"Something is definitely wrong. Definitely..."
"It's as if I've overlooked something..."
"It must be something very important. But what is it..."
Muen walked out of the room as he pondered.
Just as he stepped into the courtyard, a few drops of cold moisture touched his skin, temporarily interrupting his seemingly meaningless contemplation.
He instinctively looked up and sighed.
"It's raining again?"