Maybe I really am a Villian

Chapter 137: Surprise 2

Alger was sitting with a tense expression, waiting for any lead he could get about the assassins who had caused the incident and even tried to defame the Church.

After the investigation, they had only managed to determine that the assassins were Fire Element Masters based on the condition of the site. The victims had died from clean, single strikes delivered by sharp blades, suggesting that the assassins had dealt the finishing blows when their targets least expected it, just as professional assassins usually did.

They had also collected blood samples from the site of the confrontation between the guards and the assassins. The blood belonged to four different individuals, meaning there had been at least four assassins involved in killing the guards and the Viscount’s daughter before fleeing with the help of a spatial artifact.

There was a possibility that a spatial mage had been involved as well, but the investigators found no traces of continuous spatial magic usage at the scene. If a spatial mage had actively fought there, such traces would normally have remained.

Because of that, the Church dismissed the possibility of a spatial mage being part of the assassin group. Spatial mages were extremely rare and highly sought after by every major power in the world. Someone with such an ability had little reason to engage in shady work like assassination when they could obtain far greater benefits elsewhere.

What the Church didn’t know was that Asher had already erased every trace of spatial energy from the battlefield by using the black fog before leaving the site.

As a result, the investigators found nothing that could connect the attack to spatial magic.

And now, using that blood as a medium, the Church was trying to locate the assassins through divination.

However, there had still been no progress.

That meant one of two things.

Either the assassins were using an anti-divination artifact, or they were hiding somewhere that divination couldn’t reach because of some other protective force.

Whatever the reason, it was creating a major problem for Alger, who was in charge of the investigation.

If he failed to find the assassins responsible for this incident, the reputation of the Church would suffer greatly.

Not only would the higher-ups of the Church hold him responsible for failing to uncover the culprits, but he would also have to face the anger of both the Church leadership and the public.

Alger suddenly stood up from his chair and slammed his hand onto the table in front of him.

The table shattered instantly under the might of a Grandmaster.

Wooden fragments scattered across the room as a wave of mana spread outward.

Alger’s expression was filled with rage as he muttered through gritted teeth,"Those assassins..."

"If they wanted to kill that girl, then they could have just killed her. Hardly anyone would have cared much."

"But they tried to defame the Church by pretending to be believers of the Church."

He paused for a moment before continuing in a grave tone,"It’s either some fanatical group of Church believers..."

"...or someone is deliberately trying to frame us."

"And if we fail to find the one responsible, the public will blame the Church for it."

"They may even begin to believe that the Church itself orchestrated this incident."

The atmosphere inside the room became heavy.

Just then, a knock came from the door outside.

A Master-rank member of the Church, who was also part of the investigation team, stood outside waiting for permission to enter.

"Come in,"

Alger said after calming down his anger.

The Master-rank member entered the room and immediately noticed the state of the shattered table and the scattered fragments around the room.

He glanced at Alger before speaking in a serious tone.

"Archbishop Alger, I have good news."

"We finally found a lead regarding the culprits behind the incident and their location."

As soon as Alger heard that, hope appeared on his face.

He immediately asked,"Where are they?"

The Master-rank member answered without any delay, clearly afraid of provoking Alger’s anger further.

"They are in a forest in the northeastern part of the continent."

Alger didn’t hesitate for even a moment.

"Contact the nearest Church branch there immediately."

"We leave for the location at once before they can escape."

The Master-rank member nodded quickly.

Then he turned around and left the room, leaving Alger alone among the broken remains of the shattered table.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Reaper Guild...

Asher’s vessels had already gathered every piece of information they needed.

They had also taken away the corpses of No. 89, No. 91, and No. 110 so that the Church would be drawn to the headquarters as quickly as possible.

No. 1 and No. 2 were still lying on the ground.

Their faces had become completely expressionless, but they were still alive.

Their faces had become completely expressionless, but they were still alive.

Both of them silently watched Asher’s vessels, trying to understand what they were planning next.

After everything they had witnessed so far, they were certain of one thing.

Whatever was coming next would be something insane.

One of the vessels, who had been keeping watch over them the entire time, finally looked down at them and spoke in a calm voice.

"It is time for you two to die."

After saying that, the vessel summoned something from his subspace and placed it beside No. 1 and No. 2.

The moment the two Grandmasters saw what had been placed next to them, their eyes widened in shock.

But they could do nothing.

The black spears radiated the same terrifying black fog.

Their mere presence continuously erased any will they had to resist, move, or even think of escaping.

They could only remain lying there, helplessly staring at the Asher vessel.

Then, one after another, all of the Asher’s vessels teleported away from the headquarters.

Only a single vessel remained behind at the headquarters.

He stayed there to complete one final task and then he too would leave the headquarter.