Chapter 919: Clouds of Suspicion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 919: Clouds of Suspicion
"The bodies are all here. This way, sir."
Tyren led Muen to a basement room. As he pushed open the heavy doors, a biting chill swept out, making even Muen raise an eyebrow.
It was clear the room had been outfitted with expensive cooling arrays to preserve the integrity of the corpses as much as possible.
"Thoughtful of you."
Muen nodded in approval. Sometimes, one had to admit that Tyren hadn't reached his current position by luck alone; the man truly knew his business.
It wasn't just his strength—the "Porsis Behemoth" wasn't a title given for nothing—but also his ambition. To attend to small details with such meticulous care... if a man like him didn't rise through the ranks, who would?
"There are thirteen bodies in total."
Upon entering the room, Tyren continued his diligent display, helpfully providing the relevant information.
"Nine of them were found in the West District, which is under my influence. The other four were found in the adjacent South District, but I managed to secure them through some connections and favors."
"They were only found in the West and South Districts?"
"As of now, yes. I’ve already brought this up with the other gangs and warned them to stay alert. I bluffed and told them these strange occurrences are dangerous, hinting that they're part of a cleanup operation by the Great Nobles. Normally, they’d avoid anything involving the dark secrets of the high nobility like the plague. However, while a few gangs in the South responded regarding these four bodies, the others haven't reacted at all."
"Only the West and South districts... Is it possible those gangs are just ignoring you?" Muen asked, stroking his chin.
"Unlikely."
Tyren gave a low chuckle. Because of his towering height, he remained slightly hunched beside Muen, but a sharp glint—one rarely shown in Muen’s presence—flashed in his eyes.
"Thanks to you, sir, I’m currently a man of the hour in the kingdom’s underworld. As a gang leader on the verge of completely unifying the West District, they wouldn't dare turn a deaf ear to my words."
"Good..."
Muen lowered his gaze to the bodies covered in shrouds.
If these bodies didn't appear at random, but rather died somewhere in the [True Royal Capital] and then appeared in the same location within the [False Royal Capital] for some reason, then the information Tyren provided was a mixed blessing.
The bad news was that an entire district might have already fallen to that raging inferno.
The good news was... the other three districts might not have completely succumbed yet. He still had time to save others.
But that time was running out.
"When did these bodies appear?"
Muen began to lift the white cloths one by one. These people were just like the previous corpse; their faces were frozen in expressions of rage, terror, despair... a cacophony of such emotions.
Their wounds varied—blade marks, arrow wounds, burns from fire—but they almost all shared a common trait: they had fought and struggled violently before death.
"Roughly..."
Tyren thought for a moment. "It was about two hours after you entered that cemetery, sir."
"Two hours..."
Muen’s eyes narrowed.
"So it really was at that moment?"
The time he had spent in the [True Royal Capital] being hunted by the Repentant Witch was also the time he suspected the "vibration" had occurred.
The boundary between the true and the false must have become so blurred then that bodies from the [True Royal Capital] fell into this [False Royal Capital]. Simultaneously, the false counterparts in the [False Royal Capital] likely vanished. According to the laws of a [Perfect] [False World], a real world could never allow two identical people to exist at once.
"So even the Repentant Witch could only move against me when I entered the [True Royal Capital]?"
Muen finally began to understand why he had survived.
At the final moment of the Repentant Witch’s assault, he had been sent back to this [False Royal Capital] for some reason. Naturally, the Repentant Witch in the [True Royal Capital] could no longer reach him.
"Though I don't understand why I was suddenly sent back, based on this theory... there should be a Repentant Witch in this [False Royal Capital] as well."
The thought of there being two of that troublesome old woman made Muen instinctively shudder.
Fortunately, since he hadn't been hunted by the version here after his return, it suggested the one in this world was merely a hollow facade. The Salvation Society couldn't possibly be powerful enough to mass-produce Crowned level experts.
"Should I just charge into the palace and see? After all, the Salvation Society in this world is fake... Hmph, sounds like a death wish."
Muen gave a self-deprecating laugh and quickly calmed down. After his recent experience, he wasn't foolish enough to test the weight of a Crown Bearer again.
If he prematurely drew the attention of whatever powerhouse the Salvation Society left in this [False Royal Capital], he wouldn't be lucky enough to survive a second time. There wasn't another boundary between worlds for him to slip through.
Therefore, he had to find the Maintainer before that person discovered him!
"The fact that the Repentant Witch of this world hasn't made a move supports my theory. In this [Real] [False Royal Capital], the Repentant Witch is 'normal,' and everyone else is 'normal.' Therefore, the person the Salvation Society left here to support the illusion must be 'abnormal.'"
"Because what is 'normal' for a [Facade] is 'abnormal' for the [Truth], and what is 'normal' for the [Truth] is 'abnormal' for a [Facade]."
In short, he had to find the greatest "abnormality" amidst this sea of "normal" illusions!
"Easy to deduce, but difficult to prove."
Muen sighed. After going in such a large circle, he was back to the original, most complex problem.
How was he supposed to find the person supporting the illusion in a sprawling city of a million people?
It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Given the Salvation Society’s cunning and treachery, the Maintainer certainly wouldn't be the King, nor would they be someone parading around as a member of the Salvation Society—that would be making themselves a target.
They would likely make the Maintainer someone inconspicuous, someone no one would suspect, or...
"Someone who, from their perspective, is most helpful to their plan."
Muen’s brow furrowed deeper as his thoughts intensified.
Who could such a person be?
"Sir..."
"..."
"Lord Bruce?"
Tyren’s whispered call snapped Muen out of his thoughts.
"Don't interrupt, I'm thinking."
"No... sir."
Tyren leaned in, looking a bit embarrassed.
"It's fine for you to think, of course, but... while you're thinking, could you put that cloth back down? It's a bit creepy."
"Hmm?"
Muen looked at him in confusion. "You’re actually afraid of corpses?"
"Afraid of corpses? Impossible!"
Tyren immediately puffed out his chest. "Is there anything the Porsis Behemoth fears? It’s just... this face is too terrifying. I’ll have nightmares tonight."
"Heh, so you are scared."
Muen’s lip twitched. He looked down and realized that while lost in thought, his hands hadn't stopped. He had continued uncovering the white cloths one by one.
This was the last one.
"I really don't understand what kind of face could scare a gang boss like—"
Muen didn't just pull the cloth back; he whipped it away entirely, fully revealing the face beneath.
Then, he froze.
Because... it was indeed a terrifying face.
The terror didn't stem from the face being hideous or mutilated beyond recognition.
The face itself was normal—a man’s face, square-jawed with thick eyebrows and large eyes, looking quite righteous.
The problem was the expression. It carried a profound sense of horror.
First, there was rage—a deep-seated fury, as if he wanted to tear someone or something apart with his teeth and claws.
Then, there was fear. In his dark, dilated pupils, there was a vast helplessness, like a rising deep lake threatening to swallow and suffocate anyone who looked.
Finally, beneath those raised brows and wide eyes, there was a violent release of... utter disbelief.
In his final moments, this man seemed to have witnessed something so impossible that his impending death became trivial by comparison.
"This person... it looks like he went through something far more extraordinary than the others for his face to be stuck like this."
To prove his bravery, Tyren leaned in to observe, offering a serious analysis.
"I know," Muen said, his face darkening as he nodded.
"And I suspect it wasn't just the events before his death that were extraordinary. His identity itself is very special."
Muen yanked the rest of the shroud away.
As the white cloth fluttered aside, a set of robes—even purer white than the shroud—was revealed to them.
Though the robes were tattered and stained with blood, Muen recognized the identity they symbolized at a glance.
"Clergy..."
This was a member of the Church’s clergy.
And judging by the Holy Cross Pendant hanging from his neck, this man’s status within the Church was by no means low.
Based on Muen’s understanding of the Church, he was at least a Liturgical Minister responsible for receiving and offering sacrifices to the deities—a high-ranking official qualified to be in close contact with the Church’s true power players, such as Bishops.
"If even the body of a high-ranking Church official has appeared here, that means..."
Had the Grand Cathedral in the [True Royal Capital] truly fallen?
No, that was strange.
That was the Grand Cathedral—the Saint Bran Phazesia Grand Cathedral, one of the nine mortal foundations of the Church. It was presided over by a genuine Archbishop who wielded divine power that could even supersede royal authority.
By all logic, it should have been the final bastion of the Royal Capital against the Salvation Society.
So why did it fall so quickly...?
"Am I overthinking this?"
Muen desperately wanted to convince himself of that.
But inexplicably, he recalled the Grand Cathedral he had seen while in the [True Royal Capital].
Exquisite, elegant, magnificent.
It should have been under the greatest pressure and responsibility while the kingdom faced annihilation.
Yet, amidst that vast, raging fire, it had remained pristine. There wasn't a single mark of battle upon it. It had stood silent and still.
Like a bystander.
"Something’s wrong..."
As his thoughts raced, a forbidden suspicion surfaced. Muen picked up the Holy Cross Pendant from the man’s chest, feeling the faint, lingering warmth of the Holy Light within it. He muttered:
"I have to find a way to get into the Grand Cathedral. Whether it's the one here... or the one over there."