Chapter 279: Restoring The Stone Gargoyle

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The non-human monster fell to the ground with a crash, and the short-lived but breathtaking battle came to an end.

Personnel from Secret Rite Tower's Logistics Division could finally rush in to carry out treatment for the wounded. Although their abilities were lacking, or rather not suited for combat, these people were an indispensable part of every single Secret Rite Tower operation.

Compared to the Combat Division and Training Division which was entirely comprised of knights, as well as the Intelligence Division which consisted mostly of knights, the Logistic Division's composition was much more complex.

As they had to deal with way more things, the Logistics Division would also recruit talents from transcendent beings of other races.

Healing the wounded, tying up loose ends, collecting post-battle analysis, conducting identification reports for traces of aether... All of these were the jobs of the Logistics Division.

Caroline walked into the ruins of the destroyed mansion.

Although the battle only lasted for a mere few minutes after it started, the state of destruction resulting from it was terrifying.

The whole Oswald mansion had collapsed entirely. Surrounding buildings were affected as well, with more than half of them being razed to the ground. None of the servants in the mansion survived, and knights that had been near the heart of the battle had met with the same misfortune.

The clash between Oswald and Claude had left behind a huge crater in the ground along with several chasms that appeared as if someone had plowed through the land.

Bloodied flesh and broken limbs littered the ground. Ordinary people like these were little more than paper pulps in the face of transcendent power. The little leakage from the aftershock was more than enough to shatter their bodies.

Destructive-rank, a deserving title.

“Thankfully, the battle only lasted a few minutes. Any longer, and the news tomorrow would probably report that the Central District was subjected to a terror attack.”

Even if this was the case, Caroline couldn’t help but feel somewhat troubled.

However, this was the usual situation when higher-ranked transcendent beings, especially two sides of a similar power level, met.

If both parties were unable to find an opening, a battle could last through multiple days and nights, just like duel between Joseph and Wilde in the past which caused an entire hilly region to be completely leveled.

However, if one side made a blunder, the battle would be over in the blink of an eye.

Just as it had now.

Caroline peered at Joseph who was cautiously removing Claude from the claw of the monster that Oswald had transformed into. Then, her gaze shifted to the area beside him.

An illusory white giant that others couldn't see stood there unmoving.

Virtual Soul Realm… Is this the name of this ability?

Floating bits of information about that giant appeared in Caroline’s vision as she mused, I see, he picked up this ability from the bookstore recently. No wonder I had never seen it before.

Oswald suffered from the disadvantage of having mismatched information, plus his rationality was halved, making him too slow. Otherwise, he would not have been deleted in an instant.

This was the ability bestowed upon her by the bookstore owner—Eyes of Gazing.

She had once been assigned by the Council of Elders to visit the mysterious bookstore and conduct an assessment on the threat level and character of the bookstore owner.

And thanks to her accurate judgment, she had made a significant contribution to Secret Rite Tower's current plans, resulting in her being promoted from Deputy Chief to the Chief of the Logistics Division.

In other words, she was of the same rank as Joseph...

But, it won't stay that way for long. With the conclusion of this battle, news of Joseph regaining his strength will spread like wildfire. On top of that, with Oswald’s death, there is now a vacancy within the Great Radiant Knights which Joseph could conveniently fill…

Caroline pondered in silence.

Naturally, this was good news. Her initial assessment had allowed Joseph’s Demon Sword transfer request to be approved, so the two of them enjoyed quite a pleasant relationship.

After all, the two of them could also be considered part of the bookstore faction...

With Joseph’s comeback, she could also solidify her standing.

Caroline cleared her thoughts and went over to Joseph's side.

Her priority now was to analyze what exactly happened in this sudden battle and the reason behind Oswald’s strange transformation.

Joseph handed Claude over to medical personnel and watched as emergency treatment was administered before members of the Logistics Division hurriedly sent Claude off to Secret Rite Tower for more extensive treatment.

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Such injuries, if not treated properly, would leave behind serious consequences. Joseph's many years of internal injury and suffering was because of this very reason.

“Have you figured something out?” Joseph turned to Caroline all of a sudden and asked in a solemn manner.

While the other traces of battle could be left to ordinary Logistics personnel to analyze, an existence of Oswald's level had to be left to the division chief.

A mysticism that was way too high could result in the investigator being influenced. Therefore, someone of adequate ability to withstand it had to be tasked.

“Just a second.” Caroline stared at Oswald’s corpse and activated her ability.

When she first gained this ability, Caroline had been unable to control the extensive amount of information that flooded her field of vision. As a result, she was in great pain as she struggled to adapt to it.

But through rigorous training daily, she had now gotten a grasp on controlling the power of Eyes of Gazing and was able to use it as she pleased.

A large amount of information first surfaced on Oswald’s corpse which allowed Caroline to learn that Todd was in fact not his grandson but his son…

It was no wonder Oswald spoiled Todd so badly, resulting in the latter developing an arrogance that knew no bounds.

Too complicated...

Caroline couldn’t help but shake her head. Such a person, from his morality alone, was unworthy of the title of the Great Radiant Knight. That was even before mentioning the other heinous deeds that he had committed.

The previous investigations by the Intelligence Division weren't falsified, but the Council of Elders had always overlooked and tolerated such a person.

She always felt that something was wrong, but the involvement of the Council of Elders made her hesitant. Eventually, she still decided not to employ the more extensive ability of her Eyes of Gazing to investigate the reason behind this occurrence.

Instead, she continued to investigate the source of Oswald’s current state.

But the deeper she went, the more Caroline’s frown deepened.

“What... did he see.... His mind couldn't handle it after being selected, and it continued to affect his physical body. The reflection of his soul caused him to transform into a manner that he was supposed to be… What exactly is that thing?”

This was the first time she had encountered a situation where Eyes of Gazing was unable to get a hold of the true circumstances.

She continued to probe and noticed that Eyes of Gazing still wasn't revealing any information, as if it were avoiding something taboo and instead pinpointing a particular part of Oswald’s corpse.

Caroline squatted down and picked out the stone gargoyle from Oswald's clothes that was tainted with his blood.

A look of confusion appeared on her face. Where had she seen this stone gargoyle before and... why was it shattered into pieces?

Caroline perused the surface information and read it aloud, “The stone gargoyle is restoring itself after absorbing that powerful, guilt-ridden soul…”

The stone gargoyle took in the blood as the cracks on its body gradually disappeared.

Joseph's eyes narrowed and he shoved Caroline backward. At the same time, the white giant extended its arm in a bid to grab ahold of the stone gargoyle.

Swish!

The eyes of the stone gargoyle glowed a striking blood red as it expanded its bat-like wings, turning into a huge looming shadow as it wrestled itself out from the grasp of the white giant.

Moments later, it had escaped.

Joseph could pick up a familiar aura. In an instant, he knew who the mastermind behind this whole episode was.

He raised his head and saw a pleased old man floating in the sky above extend an arm to receive the stone gargoyle which had once again shrunk in size.

“Wilde!!!” bellowed Joseph.