"Moonlight Greatsword."
An unusual clanging sound came from in front of him. Xia De swung the glowing two-handed greatsword he had drawn forward.
Immediately, the sword struck something indistinct in the thick darkness. The Moonlight Greatsword's own light could only illuminate a very short distance around its blade, so even when he hit the enemy, Xia De only knew that the opponent was very short and wore a black robe.
Xia De's attack didn't work, but the girl beside him was a Six-Ring Arcanist. After Xia De's sword made a sound of hitting something, she threw an object forward that was completely unobservable in the darkness.
The Maid shrugged her nose:
"It's above!"
Xia De swung his sword upwards again, and the arc of the silver moon briefly left a trace in the darkness:
Clang!
He again felt the Moonlight Greatsword hit something with immense power, then lost the target.
"Can you still pinpoint its location?"
He bit his left index finger, smeared the blood on the ring on his right hand, then pressed the ring face against the blade of the Moonlight Greatsword.
The demon hunter seal was completely imprinted on the Moonlight Greatsword, and strangely, Xia De's blood in this darkness had a silver glow even more distinct than the light from his body.
"Behind us."
Still swinging the sword in a sweeping motion towards the corresponding direction, this swing was blocked again, but a miserable scream, almost piercing the eardrums, actually rang out in the darkness.
The thick darkness thinned for a moment, and Xia De finally saw what his opponent looked like. It was a hunched, curled-up humanoid creature wearing a ragged black robe, the size of a child, with its entire body wrapped in the robe, only its stick-thin, withered yellow legs and webbed feet exposed.
The scream and the thinning darkness lasted only for a second before returning to their original state.
"It seems the seal is very effective. It doesn't need to cause damage, just hitting it works."
Xia De thought to himself, while Tifa continued to twitch her nose:
"Detective, its movement speed is very fast. It's moving quickly around us."
"Moving quickly? No problem."
A rattling sound came from Xia De's sleeve, but the material of the Great Sin Chains itself almost had light-absorbing properties, so Tifa couldn't clearly see what Xia De had done.
Under Xia De's control, the chains extended straight forward. When Xia De felt the length was sufficient, he suddenly raised his right hand, and then immediately felt the Great Sin Chains hit something:
"Bind it!"
He thought, and the chains in the darkness had already begun to try to entangle the thing's body. But the little demon in the darkness quickly broke free from the entanglement of the chains, and then rushed directly towards the two people in the darkness.
"Ahead!"
A piercing scream came again, but this time it wasn't a scream of pain from injury, but a menacing roar.
The two-handed greatsword thrust forward, but hit no target. And around the faint light of the blade, the figure in the ragged black robe, like a monkey, had appeared in front of the two.
The thick darkness surged forward like waves, trying to extinguish the light on Xia De's body. The figure under the ragged robe suddenly raised its head, fully revealing its face from under the hood.
On the unusually smooth white face, there was no mouth, no ears, no nose, no eyebrows, only a single large eye vertically in the center of the face, the whites of the eye filled with bloodshot veins, and a yellow eye rolling wildly in its socket.
"Be careful, the "Servant of Secrets" has a constant ability, 【Fear Aura】!"
Tifa pulled Xia De's hand, dragging him backward, while she stepped forward:
"Banish!"
She waved her hand, pushing it towards the monster in front of her. Although it had no mouth, it still let out a piercing scream. The demon's body, illuminated by the faint light from Xia De, retreated as if pushed into an invisible space, but the demon was clearly resisting this banishment.
The rattling of chains sounded again. In the moment the demon and Tifa's Miracle were in a stalemate, the Great Sin Chains wrapped around the demon's body, which was clad in a black ragged robe. Xia De tightened his right hand and punched the demon's face with his right fist.
Squish~
With a disgusting sound, the fist wearing the demon hunting seal burst the large eye, and blood-yellow fluid splattered everywhere. But at the same time, Xia De also felt a stinging pain; the demon's power was corroding his flesh.
"Where is the vital spot on a demon's body?"
He asked immediately.
"These terrifying things can't even be considered flesh and blood creatures. Different demons die in different ways. If you don't know the specific method, these things are immortal. Only demons can kill demons without any conditions. Detective, please continue to attack it. Once it's completely weakened, I can banish it back to where it belongs."
"Okay, no problem."
Taking a deep breath, Xia De unleashed his physical strength, his right hand striking forward rapidly. Because his body was glowing in the darkness, his fists almost formed chaotic light and shadow, constantly imprinting on the demon in front of him, causing its flesh to rot continuously.
Meanwhile, the candidate witch beside him chanted ancient, tongue-twisting incantations. After half a minute of preparation, she extended her hand forward again and pushed:
"Banish!"
Pure white light instantly illuminated the darkness. The demon, whose head had been almost beaten to a pulp by Xia De, stumbled back a step in this light, falling into an invisible space and disappearing.
The surrounding darkness immediately dispersed. The late summer afternoon sun outside the window shone on them; they were standing at the door of the study.
"Is it over?"
After a moment of silence, Dr. Alfred, who was crouching behind the desk, cautiously poked his head out from under the table and asked.
"It's over, but I'm taking the ring, the red potion, and the parchment. Also, we need to do something to you."
Xia De said, walking out of the study and looking into the corridor; everything outside was normal. It seemed that this demon had indeed appeared because he touched the ring.
"Don't kill me!"
Dr. Alfred immediately said, trying to shrink back under the table.
"We're not going to kill you, just make you forget about this."
He looked at the girl beside him, who nodded; she would handle this matter.
"Since you're going to make me forget, can you make me forget more things!"
The doctor, still crouching behind the table, asked in a low voice.
"What else do you want to forget?"
"Take everything away!"
Perhaps due to fear, he even started to sob:
"I understand everything now. That bottle of red potion really was problematic! Make me forget, forget everything. I don't want to remember that I caused Frank Bondi's death! Oh, God, forgive me! I truly knew nothing. God, I shouldn't have touched these cursed relics."
He curled up under the desk, already sobbing uncontrollably.
Dr. Alfred voluntarily handed over all his research notes and, crying, willingly cooperated with the memory erasure, so Tifa's process of clearing his memory went smoothly.
The doctor lay flat on the sofa, and as Tifa's hand moved above his head, he fell into Sleep.
So Xia De covered the doctor with a blanket, then quietly left with the Maid.
Leaving the quiet clinic and returning to the street, Xia De closed the clinic door downstairs and looked back at the ophthalmology clinic's sign, then walked with the girl beside him along the street towards where the horse-drawn carriages were parked at the intersection.
"Is this commission considered finished?"
The Maid was still pondering today's events:
"Based on the clues, we gradually learned the truth about the blind man regaining his sight, and were attacked by an enemy after obtaining a crucial item. I think this should count as a complete Detective novel story."
"No, no, ordinary Detectives don't encounter powerful enemies at the end of a commission."
Xia De said, playing with the ring in his hand. The potion, the ring, and the parchment were all in Xia De's pocket. The Maid neither asked what they were nor wondered why a demon had suddenly appeared just now.
"Besides, the commission isn't over yet. I haven't even met the real client."
"But the doctor has lost his memory. How do you plan to respond to the client?"
She asked curiously. Now Sparrow's investigation report couldn't be given to the client.
"It's simple, tell the truth."
Xia De put the ring into his pocket and waved to the coachman who was standing in front of the carriage, grooming the horses. The coachman immediately threw the large comb into the cloth bag draped over the horse, then put on his hat, climbed onto the carriage, and turned the carriage around, ready to welcome new guests.
The client, Mr. Thoma Mandis, knew about the death of the musician Mr. Bondi even earlier than Xia De, the Detective. When Xia De and the Maid visited him, they first spent some effort convincing him that they weren't swindlers, and only then did they discuss the commission.
Omitting the details about Dr. Alfred, Xia De informed the client of the investigation results surrounding Mr. Bondi's death. Since the client was blind and couldn't read, Xia De could only narrate:
"Currently, my view is that there indeed exists a method to treat eye diseases, but this method has significant side effects. I have already obtained Mr. Bondi's relic, which includes the potion he used. Although the amount of these potions might not be enough for you to fully regain your sight like him..."
According to the medical records, complete restoration of sight required large doses of the red potion to be dripped into the eyes, while the yellow potion was merely a diluent prepared with a small amount of the red potion.
"...But I think, at least it can allow you to vaguely see some light."
Xia De handed the half-bottle of light yellow potion, which looked like oil, to Mr. Bondi:
"I cannot guarantee whether you will experience the mental derangement that Mr. Bondi did after trying it, sir. Would you like to try it?"
Mr. Mandis was silent for a long time, trying to uncork the bottle several times, but finally, he touched Xia De's arm and tremblingly put the bottle back into his hand:
"I've actually always been curious about Frank's cause of death... I also worry that once I truly see the light, I will no longer be able to endure the darkness."
"So, do you still need me to continue investigating that doctor? Because Mr. Bondi is dead, further investigation will be very troublesome. I would like to request an extension for the investigation time. Of course, regarding the investigation fee, I can make some concessions."
Mr. Mandis sighed, hung his head, and after a long time, spoke:
"Let's terminate the commission. For this commission, Frank died, and Sparrow Detective also died. I think this is God telling me that I shouldn't continue the investigation."
He gave a bitter smile and looked at Xia De with eyes that were only white:
"Even if I find that doctor, do I really dare to treat my eyes? Detective, judging by your voice, you must be very young. So please tell me, if you were me, would you continue to pursue the light?"
Tifa also looked at Xia De. Xia De hesitated for a moment:
"Probably."
"Why? Because young people dare to try?"
"No."
Xia De shook his head, then realized the other person couldn't see.
"I also fear that once I've seen the light, I won't be able to endure the darkness again. But my very presence in this world is to see more scenery and more stories."
Even though he knew the other person couldn't see, Xia De still pointed to his eyes:
"If I can't see anything, then what's the point of me being here? If I'm truly deeply entrenched in darkness, even if there's only a sliver of a chance to regain light, I will definitely seize it."
"Youth is truly wonderful. What you said makes a lot of sense."
Mr. Mandis said, letting out a long sigh.
He still chose to terminate the commission.
