Jenkins instinctively lowered his voice, worried he might shatter the cemetery's solemn silence. Standing in this fog-shrouded place just had that effect. Papa Oliver's voice was also low:
"This should be it. I'll go take a look first."
He walked a few quick steps ahead and exchanged a few words with a plainclothes detective, which allowed Jenkins, with his cat in tow, to cross the police tape and survey the scene.
The scene was horrific. Mrs. Gaelt, whom he had met just the day before yesterday, lay on her back before her husband's tombstone. Blood from her crushed skull had dried to a dark, tar-like black. The bodies of her children were scattered around her, each with a different fatal wound, though none appeared to have been caused by a sharp blade like a knife or sword.
But the biggest problem at the scene was the desecrated graves. Centered on the "neighbor" to Mr. Gaelt's left, five graves in a row had been broken open from the ground up. They didn't look like they had been dug into; rather, it seemed as if something had clawed its way out from within.
"That's not right. Weren't most bodies cremated before burial after the Great Plague thirty years ago?"
Jenkins wondered silently.
By now, Papa Oliver had gotten the gist of the situation from the officers. Seeing Jenkins still examining the graves, he instructed him in a low voice:
He knew Jenkins had a high sensitivity to spirits, which was why he made the request.
Jenkins immediately activated his Eye of Reality and scanned the surroundings, but soon shook his head.
"It's probably 'clean' around here. Papa Oliver, these graves..."
Papa Oliver knew what Jenkins wanted to ask. He bent down, and to Jenkins's surprise, scooped up a handful of dirt and brought it to his nose for a sniff.
"Just as I thought. The stench of the undead."
Jenkins couldn't smell a thing, but he trusted Papa Oliver's judgment completely. Judging from the scene, the Gaelt family had clearly been the unfortunate victims of an undead resurrection event. Perhaps the very undead that killed them were the remains of Mr. Gaelt himself...
Everyone knew this was no coincidence. A cemetery under the protection of the Church of Death and End shouldn't experience a natural undead resurrection.
"Papa Oliver, why was Gaelt's body sent to the cemetery so quickly?"
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The police bustled around them. A young officer wondered why two outsiders were standing there, but after a quiet inquiry, he was promptly forbidden from speaking about it.
"Gaelt's case was easy enough to classify; no need to waste KalFax Field's resources. There was nothing unusual on that end. The problem started after the body arrived here."
Looking back the way they came, another team of Enchanters was emerging from the depths of the fog. Judging by the number of divine abilities, it was clearly a squad from one of the Orthodox Churches.
"Why was there a body? Wasn't it supposed to be cremated?"
"That incident was thirty years ago. You have to understand, thirty years is a long time—long enough for people to forget those terrible memories."
Papa Oliver sighed. Just then, he heard footsteps and turned to greet the newcomers.
A group of men in black clerical robes emerged from the dense fog, each wearing a hood and holding a black, gold-edged book.
To an ordinary person, they would look like priests responsible for blessing the cemetery and offering prayers. But Jenkins knew they were the core combat unit of the Church of Death and End—the Gravekeeper Squad.
The man in the lead knew Papa Oliver and extended a hand to shake his. With the hood obscuring his face, Jenkins couldn't tell who it was, but he figured they must have met before, as the man also gave the young writer a nod.
"The dead have risen. Your oversight was lacking."
Papa Oliver said, pointing to the desecrated graves. The hooded man was silent for a moment before replying in a low tone:
"We will get to the bottom of this."
After that, there was nothing more for Jenkins and Papa Oliver to do. The Gravekeepers took over the investigation from the police. But regardless of the outcome, the deceased Mrs. Gaelt and her three children could not be brought back to life.
These people had no real connection to Jenkins, yet he was still furious. Jenkins didn't consider himself a saint; if something had happened to a random family he passed on the street, he might have just sighed and been curious about the truth. But he had interacted with this family. Just yesterday, that kind woman had even wanted to invite him into her house for a while before he left.
"Anger will cloud your mind and lead you to do irrational things. A proper Enchanter must learn to control their emotions. I've told you that before."
Papa Oliver warned him as they walked out of the cemetery together.
He shook his head and took a deep breath, only to be choked by a strange smell in the air, sending him into a coughing fit.
"Cough, cough... but this is just so... I'm sorry, I can't find the right words to describe it."
"I know what you mean, but you have to trust the abilities of the Orthodox Churches. Hmph. An undead resurrection in a public cemetery, resulting in civilian deaths... the Church of Death and End has lost all face this time. They'll use every resource they have to catch the culprit. Otherwise, we from the other churches will be laughing at them for decades."
Papa Oliver's words made perfect sense, and Jenkins knew it. But the image of the bodies strewn across the ground was still fresh in his mind, and his anger hadn't subsided.
"Besides, what happened here might be related to those undead you encountered. The chances of two necromancers appearing in Nolan City at the same time are very low."
Papa Oliver wasn't finished. He glanced back at the crowd, where most of the police were also preparing to leave.
"So, will the Inherited Sage Church get involved in this?"
"Not necessarily. But if undead resurrections start happening in more places, turning into a city-wide disaster like the vampire incident, then all the local churches will join the investigation."
It was Saturday, the day Miss Stuart's hunt was scheduled to end. When a gloomy Jenkins arrived in Ruen, the party was just heading to the rendezvous point. Although they hadn't caught any prey, the princess had enjoyed herself immensely, so the hunt was considered a complete success.
Jenkins couldn't ride a horse and was unwilling to be carried by one of the ladies, so after getting permission, he summoned his skeletal steed to serve as his mount.
Though terrifying in appearance, it was exceptionally obedient. Even though Jenkins now had a unicorn, he was still reluctant to hastily sell the bone whistle that summoned it. He had considered the idea at one of Mr. Hood's gatherings, but he never actively sought a buyer afterward.