Benjamin immediately said to William, "Hand him over to Eliza."
The battle here was basically over. Someone was cleaning up the battlefield, dealing with the corpses of the monsters. Shawn saw Jason Tangel—it turns out he was the one who looked like an abominable giant, a Transcendent on the Barbarian Path.
Eliza was the exotic beautiful woman he had met that day. Just a glance from her left the private detective before her in a daze, almost answering every question.
"Split up." Benjamin came over briskly, saying in a deep voice, "The target escaped."
"There’s only a pre-arranged ceremony here."
Clang.
The bell rang, and the mirrored space shattered.
When Shawn regained consciousness, he had returned to the real world. In the distance was a bustling crowd, and he could hear the cries of merchants below.
Ordinary people were completely unaware of all this; they didn’t even know that a disaster had just been averted.
The recent battle did not affect the real world at all.
"To the warehouse," Benjamin said.
Benjamin, Shawn, and Daisy headed straight for the warehouse while Gemma and William went to investigate the owner of the ledger.
The other Night Watchers split up, and the Death Pilgrim continued tracking the traces left by the enemy. As of now, they hadn’t even found the enemy’s true form, and Dorne City hadn’t encountered such a tricky Polluter in years.
Warehouse.
As they approached, Shawn’s spirituality began to glow. He didn’t even need to identify it, fully relying on his inspiration to lock onto one of the warehouses.
"Here," Shawn said.
Benjamin broke in directly. Accompanied by a dull thud, a dark and bloody scene appeared before them. A cruel Blood Sacrifice Ceremony had been set up here. Black stains spread like trees, and at the center were lambs offered to some existence. Their entire bodies had turned into black wooden forms, legs like roots, torsos as trunks, with hollow faces blurred and indistinct. Everyone’s bodies were entangled, like a bizarre black stump.
"Seal the area immediately," Benjamin turned and said to Daisy.
After speaking, he looked at Shawn and said, "Find some clues."
Upon entering, Shawn’s inspiration went into overdrive, his mind whispering secrets. When he reached out to touch the corpse turned into black wood, a gray mist seemed to appear in his mind. As the mist dissipated, a scene flashed as if through spirit communication.
"Master."
Shawn saw a group of kneeling people, both men and women. Before them was a black and lean figure, its bald head seemingly coated in a layer of slime. Something seemed to squirm under its collar.
When Shawn came back to his senses, Benjamin was already beside him.
"Did you discover anything?" Benjamin asked.
Shawn hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "I think I saw a group of people whose minds were controlled."
His Inspiration Check seemed somewhat exaggerated, even beyond the scope of an Inspiration Check.
The last time, he didn’t seem to have this ability.
Was it because he had come into contact with Sealed Object No. 1?
Knowledge seemed unusually active today, Shawn even felt it whispering.
Domination Spell.
An ability that can control minds. The subjects will strive to carry out the dominator’s orders fully, only spending time on essential survival activities such as eating and sleeping. Due to this limitation, you could notice subtle oddities through observation.
The private detective’s employer noticed her husband’s strange behavior because he hadn’t engaged in intimate activities with her for a long time.
According to Shawn’s judgment, the enemy was most likely a Polluter on either the Wizard Path or Mind Path.
Whichever it was, they were very dangerous opponents.
Dorne City has a population of millions, most of whom could be easily dominated, obeying almost all orders except those clearly suicidal.
Shawn was a Transcendent on the Wizard Path, so he knew all too well how terrifying the abilities of high-tier Wizards and Mind Path practitioners were.
If it were the Mind Path, they could even turn a group of strangers into their slaves in an instant.
.........