After bringing back the Maison Gardiennage officer, Neuvillette instructed the group, who had been resting, to take a headcount. They confird that a total of seven individuals had tragically fallen victim to the attacker.
The seven corpses were laid out in a row and covered with white cloths, leaving the group deeply shaken.
As they reminisced about the victims, faint mories surfaced of their quiet, diligent natures—individuals who rarely socialized and dedicated themselves to their work.
Once overlooked as re background figures, these individuals would now forever remain etched in everyone's hearts in such a tragic way.
"They must have fought the murderer to their last breath..." a lusine said, her voice trembling with tears. Sadly, they had all been unconscious and hadn't witnessed the victims' final, valiant stand.
A suppressed fla burned in many hearts, threatening to erupt at any mont.
The group sent to rescue the other survivor was also found. They had been fleeing the murderer's pursuit when the attacker, seemingly sensing Neuvillette's return, abandoned the chase and fled.
According to the survivors' accounts, the murderer was covered in blood at the ti. Initially, they assud it was all their companions' blood, but upon closer analysis, they realized the attacker must have been severely wounded, which explained why they didn't pursue them further.
When the survivors saw their companions' corpses, their eyes instantly turned red with grief and regret.
They bitterly regretted not seizing the perfect opportunity to confront the heavily wounded murderer, thinking they might have avenged their comrades right then and there.
But at the ti, their priority had been rescuing the others. If they had stopped to fight the murderer, there would have been no chance of saving anyone.
A flicker of self-reproach crossed Neuvillette's eyes. If he had not rely wounded the attacker before leaving, but had instead restrained him, this tragedy might never have occurred, and they would have captured one of the masterminds.
The attacker had identified himself as "No. 6." The previous operative had ntioned "Lord No. 2" and their ability to wield Elental Power without a Vision. This organization's scale was terrifyingly vast!
One detail stood out: the attacker who ambushed Navia's group had wielded five elental powers, while this one only wielded three. It seed this thod of wielding Elental Power wasn't without its limitations.
Neuvillette knew of only one thod to wield Elental Power without a Vision: the Fatui's Delusions. Yet even Delusions couldn't allow simultaneous use of so many elents.
Could this individual's na hold so significance...?
As Neuvillette pondered, a lusine suddenly rushed forward, her face beaming with joy, and exclaid, "Monsieur Neuvillette, they're safe! We rescued them both!"
Neuvillette paused, then felt a surge of relief.
Then he saw Lyney and his companions approaching. Lynette was cradling a lusine who appeared to be sound asleep. Neuvillette imdiately went to greet them.
Lyney and his group had initially believed they had thwarted the enemy's sche, but arriving at the scene revealed the situation to be far more complex than they'd imagined. Their expressions instantly darkened.
"Thank you all for your intervention," Neuvillette said sincerely. "Thank you for saving this child."
"Monsieur Neuvillette, what exactly happened here?" Navia asked, her eyes scanning the battle-scarred surroundings, her expression growing more grave. "Could it be the sa assailant who attacked my team before?"
"No, it was soone else."
Neuvillette's words imdiately cast a pall over the group.
"He called himself 'No. 6,' while the one who fought you was likely 'No. 2.'"
This revelation sent another shockwave through the group. Even under the most optimistic scenario, the enemy organization likely had at least six combatants of similar caliber.
The group quickly grasped the gravity of the situation. Lyney, having witnessed Navia's current strength firsthand, realized he might be slightly inferior to her. Yet No. 2 had held his own against her in combat.
"And who is this?"
Neuvillette first instructed his n to carry the sleeping Vinani aside for a dical examination. Afterward, he noticed an unfamiliar face among Lyney's group.
"This is Miss Kelly. She was instruntal in helping us rescue Miss Vinani," Lyney imdiately introduced the young girl behind him, sensing Neuvillette's questioning gaze.
"Greetings, Monsieur Neuvillette," the girl said with a smile, curtsying politely as she held the hem of her skirt.
"I can provide you with extensive intelligence about that organization. In a way, I belong to the sa category of people as them."
The young girl then began to recount her encounter with Lyney and the others at a asured pace...
-
Early this morning, the streets were nearly deserted as Charlotte hurried through them.
Days of fruitless investigation had weighed heavily on the group's spirits. Today was the day Neuvillette was scheduled to et with the mysterious organization, and Charlotte decided to take one last chance.
If she spotted a young girl who matched the Murderer's target profile, she would approach her, subtly reveal key pieces of information, and observe her reaction.
It was a desperate asure. The Fatui had been spreading intel for weeks, yet Lyney had yet to report any progress. It seed their efforts had yielded nothing.
The early hour of her interviews, combined with the sensitive nature of her questions, led many to believe Charlotte was cursing them to beco the Murderer's next target. They hurled curses and insults at her, but she rely smiled placidly, soothing their anger without being shaken.
As ti passed, although no new victims had appeared in Poisson, Charlotte's unease grew. She had a premonition that this exchange was far from over.
Realizing that continuing to rely on luck would yield no results, Charlotte decided to check in with Navia, as their agreed-upon eting ti was rapidly approaching.
"I should go ask Navia if she's found any unusual traces near Poisson," Charlotte muttered to herself, changing her course.
"Excuse , are you Miss Charlotte?"
Hearing the greeting behind her, Charlotte lowered her raised foot and turned around.
The woman standing there appeared to be in her early twenties, strikingly beautiful, wearing a pale blue dress that exuded an air of intelligence.
At first glance, Charlotte found her gaze involuntarily drawn to the woman's captivating presence.
"That's . How can I help you?" Charlotte replied.
The young woman smiled, a radiant smile so captivating that even Charlotte, a woman herself, couldn't help but be drawn in.
"I just wanted to ask you sothing."
"How does Miss Charlotte know about the Holand?"
The young girl's words instantly snapped Charlotte out of her reverie. An irrepressible surge of excitent flooded her face.
"Are you one of them too?"
The girl remained silent, tacitly confirming Charlotte's inquiry.
After so long, Charlotte had finally made contact with a key figure. How could she not be overjoyed? She imdiately began explaining.
"One of your mbers told about it."
"Then he's currently..."
Hearing the girl's question, the smile gradually faded from Charlotte's face, replaced by a wistful expression. After a mont, she slowly replied:
"He seems to have returned to the Holand."
"What exactly is the Holand?"
Under Charlotte's probing gaze, the girl simply smiled faintly.
"I'm sorry, Miss Charlotte, but this information is our most fundantal secret. I must respectfully decline to elaborate."
"However, I can offer assistance on other matters, to you or your group."
"I've been observing you for several days now, and only today did I decide to make contact."
"As for why I haven't observed the others, it's primarily because I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't be discovered by them."
Charlotte's expression turned sowhat awkward at the young girl's words. Was she implying that Charlotte was the weakest among them?
Even if it's true, you don't have to point it out, Charlotte thought. As a sowhat renowned journalist, I still have my pride.
Still, the fact that this girl had managed to track her, a Vision user, imdiately earned her a "handle with caution" label in Charlotte's mind.
"Oh, I don't think I've introduced myself yet," the young girl said. "My na is Kelly. I hope we can get along well from now on."
Kelly extended her hand, and Charlotte reciprocated the gesture.
Soon after, having received Charlotte's ssage, Navia arrived with lus and Silver on one side, while the siblings Lyney and Lynette gathered at the agreed-upon eting place.
"Let introduce you all," Charlotte announced. "This is Miss Kelly. She's decided to help us."
Hearing Charlotte's words, the group imdiately ward to the young girl, greeting her warmly.
"I suppose I don't need to introduce them, right? You must have done so research already," Charlotte said.
Kelly nodded with a smile.
"Indeed, I have a basic understanding of each of you," she replied. "Though I must admit, I didn't expect Mr. Lyney and Miss Lynette to be Fatui operatives."
"Miss Kelly, please rest assured," Navia said, defending Lyney and Lynette. "We've cooperated with them several tis before. While the Fatui's reputation isn't the best, at least Lyney and Lynette are genuinely our friends."
lus and Silver echoed Navia's sentints, nodding in agreent.
"Of course I wouldn't mind," the young girl replied. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have revealed myself to et with you."
"Regarding your recent inquiries, I believe I can provide so answers."
The young girl waved her hand dismissively and continued, "Miss Kelly, were the recent victims all similar to you?"
Lyney asked directly, "Forgive for the urgency, and please pardon any offense."
The others turned their attention to the young girl, eager for her response.
"Your deduction is correct, Mr. Lyney."
"I'm quite surprised you were able to deduce this much from such ager clues."
Lyney's heart leaped with satisfaction. He had been on the right track all along.
"You're all familiar with the serial suicide case from a while back, right?"
The young girl's next words startled everyone present, and their expressions turned strange.
Of course we know! They knew far too well.
Seeing their reactions, the girl already knew the answer and continued.
"So of us who've regained our mories have accepted our past lives and chosen to return to the Holand by shedding our physical bodies. The victims of the serial suicide case were such individuals."
"As for why they made such a spectacle of it all, I suspect they wanted to do sothing sensational in the final monts of their otherwise uneventful lives."
The girl smiled faintly.
The others present knew the true reason, but none of them corrected her. That incident had beco their deepest, darkest secret.
"Now, the recent victims are all individuals who refuse to abandon their physical bodies, who refuse to return to the Holand, and who desperately want to maintain their ordinary lives."
"The ones targeting them—the Murderer you're searching for—their goal seems to be eliminating everyone in this world who refuses to return to the Holand. Whether they have ulterior motives beyond this, I can't say for sure."
Lyney's earlier deductions were largely confird by the young girl's testimony. He then pressed her for more information.
"Miss Kelly, do you know how the murderer dissolved the victims?"
"And how did you and your companions verify each other's identities?"
The young girl frowned slightly, pondered for a mont, and then spoke.
"I'm not entirely sure about their thods, but I can answer how we recognized each other. We were originally part of a collective consciousness. All of us are individual fragnts that split off from this shared mind. Once we recovered our past mories, we could sense each other's presence."
"Of course, this sense requires a certain distance to function."
The young girl's explanation cleared up another major mystery for the group, but the murderer's modus operandi remained unknown.
"Miss Kelly, how much do you know about the Prophecy of Fontaine?"
After a mont's hesitation, Lyney finally asked the question that weighed most heavily on his mind.
"I do have so information on that matter."
"But are we really going to waste more ti here?"
"My investigation reveals that the other party has no intention of negotiating in good faith with Neuvillette this ti, as the two hostages were sent in separate directions."
The young girl shook her head gently.
"Although their primary targets are those of us unwilling to return to the 'Holand,' they won't hesitate to harm innocent bystanders if their plans are thwarted."
"I think we should check on the situation imdiately."
Upon hearing her warning, the group's expressions darkened, and they exchanged nods.
"Miss Kelly, do you know where the hostages were taken?"
"Follow . I'll lead the way..."
-
SpyNote: Apparently the author caught covid at this point.
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