What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

In the infirmary of the Inquisition, the healing officer finished bandaging Leon’s wounds, explained the situation to Aaron Dias at the side, gave a salute, and then withdrew.

“The injuries were nothing serious. A few days of rest would be enough. Fortunately, there was nothing troublesome smeared on that dagger,” Aaron said.

“Thank you, Director,” Leon nodded in response.

“Regarding that assassin, has any clue been found?”

“Not yet.” Aaron shook his head.

“All we know for now is that he possessed transcendent blessed power, and used it to kill Henry Potter at the winery along with eight other gang members. All of them had their throats slit cleanly with a single strike of a dagger. As for the others, their bodies were hidden throughout various locations inside the winery after the assassinations.”

“Could he have been a client of Henry Potter, or perhaps a partner who learned that Potter had been targeted by the Inquisition and sent someone to silence him?” Leon asked.

“I have kept that possibility in mind as well, but the likelihood is not very high.

Beneath the winery, we discovered a compounding room that Potter had set up, with two apothecaries responsible for brewing magical potions inside.

“The assassin also found that compounding room and killed both the guards and the apothecaries there. We even found mana that he had taken with him on his body. However, he did not destroy the compounding room. If he were someone connected to Potter’s criminal chain, it would be unlikely for him to leave behind so much evidence after killing everyone.

Based on everything we uncovered at the winery, together with witness testimony, we can essentially convict Potter already,” Aaron replied.

Although the one who should have stood trial was now nothing more than a corpse, unable to appear before a tribunal.

“That assassin—why did he possess that kind of invisibility ability? That power shouldn’t have anything to do with the Church, right?” Leon probed cautiously.

The assassin’s invisibility ability was known not only to Leon, but also to at least two Inquisitors who had witnessed Aaron capturing the assassin.

The fact that Leon himself had not been killed did not arouse much suspicion.

He had slightly altered the account of his confrontation with the assassin, claiming that the assassin could have easily killed him but never delivered a fatal blow, seemingly wary of the trouble that killing an Inquisitor might bring to his employer.

Aaron’s gaze dimmed slightly as he lowered his voice.

“Unfortunately, there’s no doubt about it. That was the blessing of a Secret God. That assassin was a blessed transcendent.”

“Could he be… someone from the Church?” Leon asked, feigning surprise.

Within the Church, only those with the status of Fully Appointed Knights, bishops, or other ranked Delegate Officers had the opportunity to receive blessings.

Among the Inquisitors, only directors of local Inquisitions or above possessed Church rank.

In common understanding, aside from witches, only the Four Great Churches monopolized the methods of cultivating transcendent beings.

Transcendent miracles were the grace of the gods, and the Church acted as the gods’ will in the mortal world.

“There have always been apostates within the Church, for various reasons,” Aaron said, pausing briefly.

“Some openly oppose doctrine, some violate Church laws and flee out of fear of punishment, some were spies from the very beginning, and some deserted during missions or on the battlefield… Where there is light, there are shadows. The Church is no exception.”

He deliberately did not mention another existing possibility.

That was the existence of certain powerful figures who had obtained the methods of cultivating transcendent beings from the Church, yet ignored Church law and privately raised transcendent servants for their own use.

“Being able to employ such an assassin, that person behind him couldn’t be an ordinary individual, right?” Leon continued.

The assassin’s suicide when escape became impossible had been decisive and resolute, clearly intended to prevent the Inquisition from investigating further through him.

Someone was undoubtedly pulling the strings behind the scenes.

“We still need further investigation on that,” Aaron said as he patted Leon on the shoulder.

“Go back and rest first. You did very well today—without a doubt a great contribution. I’ll record it for you.”

“No, I didn’t really do anything,” Leon said as he stood up.

“You undertook the most dangerous task. There’s no need to be modest,” Aaron said as he walked toward the door.

“Do you want to rest here for a while, or go home first? Shall I have someone see you off?”

“It’s fine. I can go back on my own,” Leon replied.

Although Potter had not been arrested, he had been killed by someone unknown.

Leon was unsure who had been watching the local trade, but regardless, the transaction could no longer continue.

He needed to leave as soon as possible to deal with the breeding farm in the labyrinth.

“All right then—”

Aaron was just about to say something more when sudden commotion erupted outside.

Immediately afterward, Bishop Beckett’s voice rang out in the corridor.

“Sir, we finally found you!”

“Bishop Beckett, did your operation yield results?” Aaron turned around.

“Yes. Acting on the recommendation, we searched the labyrinth that had been sealed thirty years ago in this area. Inside, we discovered a magical beast breeding farm, confirming that the mana was not smuggled in from outside, but produced locally.”

Bishop Beckett’s words plunged Leon, who was still in the infirmary, into an icy abyss.

The labyrinth had been searched by Bishop Beckett? All Inquisitors had been mobilized to raid Potter’s estate—where had they drawn the manpower to search the labyrinth?

Potter’s estate and the breeding farm in the labyrinth were searched at the same time.

So they had already discovered clues long ago, and had never intended to give him any chance to react!

If the labyrinth had been searched, what about Rena?

“Then, was the producer of the mana also caught?” Aaron continued.

“There was someone in the labyrinth during the search, but we didn’t capture them on the spot. They had privately dug a passage to escape from the labyrinth. However, during the mountain lockdown, our people found three individuals: a local hunter, a nearby woodcutter, and a woman who claimed she was gathering herbs in the mountains. To be safe, I brought them all back. I’ll take you to have a look.”

As Bishop Beckett spoke, he led Aaron toward the main hall.

Leon snapped back to his senses and hurriedly followed from behind.

When Leon entered the hall, he saw several lightly armored knights escorting suspects into the Inquisition, handing them over to the Inquisitors.

The Inquisitors respectfully saluted the knights before taking the suspects toward the interrogation rooms.

These knights bore no Fully Appointed insignia of their respective Churches.

Only a unified Four-Pointed Star Emblem was stamped at the center of their breastplates.

They belonged to the Knight Orders’ apprentice knights who had yet to obtain rank.

In terms of duties, they were not much different from Church Delegate Officers, accepting various task deployments.

Their status, however, was still slightly higher than that of Low-Ranking Inquisitors.

After all, apprentice knights had the opportunity to advance to Fully Appointed Knights, and not just anyone had the means to become a knight.

Leon saw two men escorted in first.

When the third person was brought in, the world seemed to lose all color for a brief instant, leaving only the faded pale red on the other’s shawl glaringly vivid.

He saw clearly that Rena was being escorted in, shackled.

Rena’s face was deathly pale, her eyes filled with terror, like a deer surrounded by wolves.

Her gaze swept over the neatly uniformed Inquisitors present.

Every Inquisitor wore a mask, except for three people.

Aaron and Bishop Beckett stood at the rear of the formation, examining the suspects being brought in.

There was also another person, standing far behind the two of them.

At last, she saw Leon.

The moment their eyes met, both of them were momentarily at a loss.

Then Leon saw Rena’s eyes flicker slightly, as if she were conveying some message to him.

Before he could respond in any way, Rena had already looked away.

After the three suspects were taken inside, Leon heard Bishop Beckett begin reporting to Aaron.

“We conducted a preliminary interrogation.

The woodcutter and the hunter have basically confessed.

The only problem is the last girl—she’s the most suspicious.

She claims she went up the mountain to gather herbs, but when asked about her name and address, she kept evading the questions.”

“Do you think she’s the witch producing the mana?” Aaron asked.

“The possibility is quite high. However, we didn’t find Moilai’s Altar in the labyrinth. The location for mana extraction shouldn’t be outside Hamel Town. I’ve already sent people to nearby villages to ask around. We should have results soon. Once we know where she’s from, we’ll immediately conduct a search.

As long as we find decisive evidence at a location connected to her, her lack of cooperation won’t matter,” Bishop Beckett replied.

Hearing this, Leon suddenly understood the meaning behind Rena’s earlier glance.

Rena had not yet revealed the crucial information.

The Inquisition would only have a chance to search the cellar hiding the altar after they found out her address through inquiries.

He still had time.

“Sir, how is the situation on your side?” Bishop Beckett and Aaron continued discussing the case.

“Henry Potter is dead. An assassin blessed by a Secret God slaughtered everyone in the estate, then committed suicide when captured. Fortunately, we still found evidence of Potter manufacturing magical potions,” Aaron said.

“A blessed assassin?” Bishop Beckett’s brows immediately knitted together.

In a corner unnoticed by the two men, Leon silently retreated, quickly disappearing into the corridor as he headed for the side entrance of the Inquisition.