Pastor Abraham Cornus had created an enormous mess, and cleaning it up while trying to capture him was proving to be a long and complicated process. Cassandra and Dallas had been tirelessly moving from place to place ever since they uncovered the connections between the murdered families and the pastor.
In the following days, the city guard arrived, along with Julius and Robert. Their stay in Surock Village was brief before they moved on to other villages to continue their investigation. They focused on tracking which families had been relocated by the pastor, determining where they had gone, and piecing together the full picture. Meanwhile, back in Magisteria, officials were questioning families who had been moved to the city. The information coming from those interviews was beginning to shed more light on the situation.
Investigators discovered that all the families had indeed been subjected to a form of mind magic. However, it wasn't the kind that directly controlled their actions. Instead, it subtly influenced them over time, shaping them into the kind of people the spellcaster desired. In this case, the families had been manipulated into becoming religious fanatics of a deeply disturbing faith known as 'Domir Sacra Severus,' The name, written in an ancient language, translated to "The Divinity of Sacrificing Bonds."
The core concept of this religion remained unclear, and even the families involved couldn't fully explain its meaning. What they did know was that it instructed them to treat every member of their family as if they were divine—bowing to one another, praying to one another, and offering sacrifices to one another.
If not for the murders and the disturbing discoveries, the concept of the religion might have seemed appealing—it emphasized family bonding and mutual respect. On the surface, it could have been seen as something positive.
However, it was now clear that this was nothing more than a hoax created by a deranged individual. With the murders coming to light, the entire city and surrounding villages had taken notice, turning the case into a high-profile investigation. The attention was so intense that numerous news agencies had flocked to Surock Village to question the lead investigators. Cassian, being one of them, found the constant barrage of questions incredibly annoying.
Amid all the chaos, no one could even recall what Pastor Cronus looked like. Everyone who had met him seemed to forget his face when asked to remember. Alix concluded that the pastor was skilled in mind-manipulation magic—though not powerful enough to directly control minds, he was capable of casting long-lasting spells that gradually altered his victims' personalities and behaviors.
As for the mystery of his unremembered face, it seemed likely that he possessed some kind of artifact or treasure that made this possible. That aside lot of attackers had been targeting the investigators, most resembling the ones Cassandra and Dallas first encountered—those with pitch-black eyes and dark spots covering their faces and bodies. These ambushes had caused significant delays and even resulted in some serious injuries. Thankfully, there hadn't been any casualties so far, but the atmosphere remained tense and on edge.
It became clear that the terrorist organization was deeply involved in this, with the pastor seemingly holding a high position within it, judging by how many of these small-time terrorists were after him. Cassian wasn't entirely sure if they were targeting him specifically, but there was definitely a connection between the pastor's actions and what the Cult of Silas wanted.
Cassian wasn't overly invested anymore. Having been involved from the start and already knowing most of the details, the whole thing had started to feel like a tedious crime novel. The kind where the detectives know who the killer is but spend endless chapters chasing him while he slips away, frustrating both them and the readers.
"Damn it, where is this bastard?" Lumine muttered, her irritation clear as they made their way back to the village head's house. It was her second week in Surock, running around gathering information, relaying it back to the city, and updating everyone involved in the massive investigation. The endless back-and-forth was clearly wearing on her.
On top of everything, Aiden's house had become a sort of rehabilitation center, where slowly brainwashed families were being helped to break free from the pastor's manipulations. Low-level magicians were assisting in the process, helping to cleanse the victims' minds, guided by detective Alix whose also been staying in the village heads manor.
Everything was going well, with only minor issues like emotional outbursts and the occasional disturbance. However, for Cassian and Lumine, who had been staying in the same house for the past week, it was becoming increasingly frustrating. As the victims' minds were being freed from the brainwashing, the emotional turmoil often led to loud crying and chaos, making it difficult for them to get any rest.
They had planned to stay at one of the inns in the village, but, unfortunately for them, the long-range message relay board only worked in Aiden's house. So, they were stuck there. Lumine, flopping onto the bed in frustration, groaned, "Can't my sister just catch that bastard of a pastor already so we can go back to the city? I hate living in a village."
Cassian, hearing her vent, couldn't help but smile. But when she complained about the village with such an offended tone, he couldn't let it slide. "Hey, don't hate on the village. It's actually a nice place... You just came at a bad time, with everything going on. My first night here was pretty peaceful, actually," he said, his smile widening as he remembered helping Russella with her tremors, which was also a grim reminder of just how messed up the pastor's actions had been.
Russella shot Cassian a look, clearly annoyed, and sighed heavily. Outside the door, someone was crying and shouting, "Why? Why? Why am I stuck in this madhouse? It's driving me crazy…"
Cassian couldn't help but smile a little at her reaction. He walked over, sat down on the bed next to her, and smirked. "What if I told you I know a way to help you relax, even in this crazy place?"
Lumine gave him a confused look. "You do?"
Cassian nodded, still grinning. "Yep."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
He shrugged, acting casual. "I just do." Then he gave her a sly look and asked, "So, you wanna relax or what?"