Chapter Twenty-Eight: Remnants of the Old Gods

Having obtained information unrelated to himself while in a perfectly safe situation, a satisfied Shad planned to turn and leave, intending to share today’s findings with Dr. Schneider.

But then, the woman’s elegant, whispering voice resonated in his ear once more:

【You have come into contact with 'Enlightenment'.】

He stopped in his tracks, knitting his brows. The 'Enlightenment' element was related to civilization, though strong traces of arcana and incantations could also trigger its appearance. But here...

He stood in the narrow space between the pipes and the wall; because it was a dead end, there was little trash, though animal excrement was abundant. Shad scrutinized the wall before him. It was almost entirely covered in chalk and paint, featuring vulgar phrases, shapes of intimate organs, and many other strange markings he preferred not to contemplate.

His two existing spirit runes did not currently possess the ability to enhance vision, but his true advantage over ordinary people was his ability to decipher almost any text.

Below a phrase insulting the gods, at a position above Shad’s waist, some strange patterns caught the young detective's eye. He treated them as text, and sure enough, he grasped their meaning and pronunciation:

"Manifest."

The ancient language required a full six syllables to express such a simple meaning.

Amidst the thin mist, a white light flickered before Shad. He stepped back but kept himself within the gap between the pipes and the wall.

The curious cat was startled awake by the white light, and the person holding it watched as a dilapidated stone statue slowly rose from beneath the ground.

Its base was square, and the statue, reaching only to Shad’s waist, depicted a nobleman with bat wings and a cloak.

Shad closed his eyes, allowing blood-tinged tears to overflow from beneath his lids. He covered the cat’s eyes and turned away quickly, hearing the whispering voice in his ear—a joyous whisper, reciting a story never before told:

【You have made contact with the remnants of the Old God, 'Duke of Blood, Lauer'.】

【A god of the Old Days born from the primal, defiled blood. He thirsts for blood and is driven mad by it. In the twilight of the Old Days, he cultivated his kin through the curse of blood, his mind blinded by the curse of blood, roaring in the depths of a castle in the dark of night.】

【You have listened to the story of the Old God, 'Duke of Blood, Lauer', and you have learned one of the miracles of the Old God, 'Duke of Blood, Lauer'.】

"Can I engrave a spirit rune?"

After a moment, confirming that this was all the information available, Shad, having emerged from his surprise, asked in a whisper full of anticipation. The headache caused by the close encounter with the Old God’s statue had even subsided because of it.

Then, Shad heard the woman’s voice in his heart chuckle:

【You have obtained the incantation, 'Blood Resonance'. You have not yet acquired enough stories belonging to this deity, Outsider. Miracles are not so easily attained.】

The whispering in his heart fell silent, and the Old God statue transmitted new power to Shad. The ring of命 (fate ring) hidden behind his soul rotated, absorbing minute golden elements, causing the brass ring to be flecked with golden particles, condensing the spirit belonging solely to his soul.

Shad’s right eye suddenly turned blood-red; he had gained the power to see faint, lingering traces of blood.

Fully understanding what had just occurred, Shad did not first check the power he had gained, but instead checked the cat in his arms.

Although the cat had witnessed the entire emergence of the Old God statue alongside Shad, fortunately, its gaze had been drawn by the scattered white light, so it had not observed the full visage of the statue as Shad had. Therefore, other than being a bit listless, "Little Mia" had not suffered the mental shock Shad had.

As for the power Shad gained, to put it simply, his right eye could now see lingering, imperceptible traces of blood on air and object surfaces when the incantation was actively triggered.

In Shad's world, such a feat could be accomplished through certain technological means. But when he used the incantation, he needed no instruments, only to open his eyes, and as long as any blood residue remained—no matter how faint—he could see it.

While not a powerful ability, it was unexpectedly well-suited to Shad’s profession as a detective.

Shad had never heard of the Old God "Duke of Blood, Lauer." In fact, he had never heard of any Old God other than the "Father of the Infinite Tree."

The story of this Old God made it sound like he was no benevolent deity. This judgment was entirely correct; therefore, after obtaining the incantation and the story, the voice in his mind also warned Shad that he was coming into contact with a silver element, [Profanity], an element unique to evil gods.

Whether it was because his own perception of this Old God’s [Profanity] was shallow, or because the power of this stone statue with its base leaned more toward [Miracle], Shad gained nothing from the [Profanity].

Yet, the gain of the incantation was quite good. Arcana required corresponding spirit runes to be used, while incantations did not require spirit runes and were common occult abilities for ring-wielders. Because they were "common," the effects of incantations were often inferior to arcana, though some incantations did have usage restrictions.

According to the doctor’s notes, incantations obtained through contact with Old God remnants could usually not be learned by other means.

Thus, Shad had essentially come upon a rare incantation for nothing, though it was a pity the effect was not particularly significant.

Since he had already obtained the benefits, the next step was, of course, to leave immediately.

Shad could not take the Old God statue with him; he didn't even dare to touch it with his skin. The existence of the statue was clearly related to Madame Lassoya, and an Old God statue could not have existed naturally in the city; she must have brought it into this alley to hide it.

Bringing an evil god’s statue into the city like this was a serious criminal offense, and thus Shad finally concluded that Madame Lassoya was no good person.

So, he recited the six syllables of the ancient word for "Manifest" in reverse order, causing the evil god’s statue to slowly sink back into the ground.

Only then did he cautiously slip away from the alley entrance. Not even bothering to save money, he boarded a carriage at the next intersection and, without hesitation, set off with his cat toward Dr. Schneider’s psychological clinic in the East District of Tobesk.

But unluckily, Dr. Bill Schneider was not at the clinic.

The people at the clinic recognized Shad, who had been invited as a guest by the doctor the day before, so Dr. Clay, who was in charge of receiving him, informed him of Dr. Schneider’s whereabouts.

The wife and daughter of a count in the city—whose name could not be disclosed—had recently developed binge eating disorder. The count’s private doctor believed it to be a psychological issue and had specifically invited Dr. Schneider to diagnose and treat them. Dr. Schneider would be staying overnight at the count’s estate outside the city and would not be back, at least not today.

As for the address of the estate and the count’s surname, they could not be told to Shad in order to protect the patients' privacy.

"But Mr. Hamilton, you can leave a note for Bill; he will see it when he returns," Dr. Clay said kindly, though he firmly refused to disclose the location of the count’s estate.