The curse covers a much wider area than we imagined."
"It's not just in Morfala; mass hysteria has been found in all the eastern regions of the Star Plateau occupied by the Empire, and even in parts of the Empire's borders that border the plateau."
"In order to investigate the cause in depth, the military captured several prisoners from the enemy-occupied areas that the empire has not yet liberated. What can be confirmed at present is that similar phenomena have also occurred in the western regions controlled by Rune and Fusak, including the former Kingdom of Pas."
"From demigods to ordinary people, almost everyone except angels has been affected by that unknown curse."
"Perhaps our investigation was misguided from the start. Rather than estimating the extent of the curse's influence, analyzing the hallucinations it causes is the key to solving the problem."
"Fortunately, that same evening the military conducted a survey among some of the residents of Moorfarah and collected some hallucination images."
"But the problem is that everyone sees different things. Some people only see deceased relatives, some see things they are afraid of, some see images that are completely imagined, like a premonition of the future, and some even seem to have witnessed the desecration itself, and their mental state collapsed on the spot. They have been suppressed by the bailiffs sent by the military."
On the bumpy carriage, Jerry Zarathustra held a thick dossier and shared the investigation report he had obtained from the military with several companions.
The sudden outbreak of war destroyed the only railway line in the Morfala area. After much consideration, Klein's squad finally chose to travel by horse-drawn carriage and venture deep into the heart of the plateau.
"So, the curse isn't specifically targeting any one party; its effects encompass everyone on the highlands?"
"That's a reasonable interpretation for now," Jerry Zarathustra said, yawning as he flipped through the few remaining pages of the report. "However, we can't be too hasty in our judgment, since the examples we have don't include members of the 'Rose School.'"
"Long before the military completely occupied Moorfarah, they had already eliminated any 'Rose School' members they could find in the surrounding area, making it difficult to even find a single one now."
"Indeed." Klein nodded slightly. "To the native inhabitants of the highlands, both the Northern Continent people and the Empire are invaders who have ravaged their homeland."
"If the one who cast the curse is a member of the 'School of Roses,' he certainly wouldn't choose members of any particular country or faction, but would target all non-Highlanders, or more extreme, all except supporters of the 'School of Roses.'"
"he?"
"No, no, no, it should be Him no matter what."
Jerry Zarathustra glanced at his silent partner, who was praying to the true Creator, and at Sharon, who was equally quiet, before turning back a few pages of the dossier in his hand.
"The curse only affects those below the angel level. This does not mean that the caster is only a demigod. After all, according to internal investigations, apart from a few military leaders within 'War Red' who maintain a constant spiritual connection with His Highness 'Red Angel', almost all of our demigods have been affected by the curse to varying degrees, including you."
"This shows that demigods generally have no resistance to curses. The reason we can conclude that the angels did not see hallucinations in their dreams is that none of the princes fell asleep that night. Even if they were sleepy because of the curse, they used their own methods to avoid it."
"Second... In fact, the military only asked His Highness the 'Red Angel' a token question; they didn't even bother to ask about the details of the other princes."
"So in the end, even whether ordinary angels will be affected is unknown to us. It is precisely because of this that I am certain that the one who released the curse is definitely Him, not him."
As he spoke, Jerry Zarathustra deliberately clapped his hands loudly, the unmistakable noise echoing in the cramped carriage, successfully attracting the attention of his two obviously distracted companions.
"Ladies and gentlemen, take a look at this."
He spread the file out on his lap and pointed to a report with an accompanying sketch.
"At the same time as the curse appeared, there was also an unidentified crop called 'blood vine'."
"This was extracted from a few 'treasons' captured by the military in the western part of the plateau. Looking at this thing, does it give you any clues?"
The dark brown plant roots encased a blood-red, crystal-like hard mass. Even after being depicted by the artist, the eerie allure of the crimson color remained undiminished, causing Klein and the others to feel an irresistible urge to devour it. Mr. A, who had a regular craving for blood, showed obvious symptoms, his dark red eyes gradually filling with madness, and he only managed to maintain his composure thanks to his devout faith.
The restrained ascetic quickly turned his head away and said firmly.
"It is a blasphemous thing, a product of the evil rituals of the 'Rose School'!"
Klein, who was least affected, nodded, clearly agreeing with Mr. A's assessment. He also looked away, not to avoid the eerie painting, but out of concern for Sharon, who had close ties with the "Rose School".
He worried that Sharon, who also had a "different" pathway, would also be triggered by some kind of uncontrollable negative reaction, just like Mr. A.
"Unfortunately, the military initially thought so too."
Jerry pulled a palm-sized oil paper package from his coat pocket, untied the hemp thread tied in a cross shape, peeled off the oil paper layer, revealing raw beef still glistening with blood, and handed it to Mr. A's mouth.
"In order to find out what the Blood Vine is, the 'Red Angel' specially brought in an elderly mental dragon to analyze the brains of those 'tongues'."
"But the results of the investigation were unexpected, because it seems that blood vine is a special crop like cocoa and poppy, which has always existed."
"It was the refugees from the highlands who discovered this crop in a valley. To fill their stomachs, they ate all the fruit from a clump of blood vine thorns. After sleeping, those who had consumed the blood vine fruit were surprised to find that their wounds had healed and their physical condition had improved, making them more energetic than before."
"Later, when they left the valley and continued westward, they unfortunately encountered a group of Intis troops. The Intis officer in charge of gathering the rioters discovered that this group of refugees was different from others. They all had ruddy complexions and looked healthier than many refugees of Northern Continent nationality."
"Under interrogation by the Intis, the refugees were forced to lead a group of Intis soldiers to the valley where the blood vine grew, and only then did this crop come into the view of more people."
"The mental dragon in charge of the interrogation confirmed that the 'treason' we captured had not been subjected to any misleading measures such as suggestion. He said that he had seen it with his own eyes. Moreover, similar situations have occurred in several 'treasons' captured from different areas. It is very strange, but the military has also been unable to find any evidence that the blood vine came from some kind of blasphemous ritual."
"The sudden appearance of a crop and the creation of similar rumors in multiple places is suspicious in itself," Klein said.
"The logic is sound, but where is the evidence?" Jerry Zarathustra retorted. "The problem is that if we blindly attribute the Bloodvine to the product of some blasphemous ritual, we may not be able to find a solution or determine its true function."
"The military's current speculation is that there is a certain relationship between the blood vine and the sudden curse, since both appeared suddenly at the same time, and there was no trace of them beforehand."
Lacking the necessary clues, the discussion reached a dead end. Klein wanted to say something more, but he also understood that, as Jerry Zarathustra had said, although the Bloodvine's outward characteristics resembled the Tree of Flesh, and although the strange effects of consuming Bloodvine on the human body seemed unsettling, there was ultimately no direct evidence to prove that Bloodvine and the 'Rose School' were closely related.
When poppies, which have hallucinogenic effects, were first discovered, merchants from the Northern Continent suspected them of being related to cults. However, through subsequent research and investigation, they were gradually cleared of suspicion and are now one of the world's best-selling specialties from the Southern Continent. They have even gained an irreplaceable place in the medical field.However, this thing is too strange. Just like you said, the timing of its appearance is too sensitive. So the military has issued an order that all combat teams, except those on the front lines, should take some time out of their primary missions to investigate the origin of this thing."
Jerry Chara, as if to ease Klein's worries, fiddled with his shirt collar and added.
At this point, the conversation finally got back on track. As the file was closed, Mr. A, who had been looking askance, turned around and joined the discussion.
"Lord Borafalga's spell has resolved the issues of anti-divination and the perception of malicious intent upon expiration..."
"V, I'm sorry, we've been delayed in Morfala for too long. Most of our previous investigation into Gostars has become useless and can no longer be used as a reference."
"Chasing down a 'devil' is no easy task." Klein didn't seem to care and reassured them, "The 'Rose School' doesn't have many demigods and angels. Right now, besides fighting against the people of the Northern Continent, they also occasionally have to engage in guerrilla warfare with the Empire's army. We can just check each place where a 'devil' appears, and we'll eventually find him."
At this point, the three people in the carriage all looked at Sharon, who had remained silent all along, hoping to get some valuable information from this former member of the "Rose School".
After all, among the group, only Sharon had a decent understanding of the inner workings of the "Rose School".
Facing the eager gazes of the group, Sharon blinked her azure eyes calmly.
"Gostars is a loner, and I don't think he would choose to become the commander of a resistance like Maihamms."
"So, you think Gostars is more likely to appear in the areas still occupied by the Northern Continent people, and we'd have a hard time finding him in the front lines where the Highland Resistance appeared?"
Jerry Zarathustra pulled out a pen and paper, listed all the possibilities, and recorded everyone's discussion in his notebook.
"That's certainly possible," Mr. A agreed.
Among them, he was the most experienced in infiltration, a skill that even Jerry Zarathustra, who was originally an intelligence officer, could not match.
Influenced by the previous generation A, Mr. A followed his teacher to different countries and regions from the moment he became an apprentice of the divine messenger, accumulating a wealth of experience living in enemy territory.
By putting himself in Gostars' shoes and considering things from Gostars' perspective, Mr. A also believed that infiltrating and roaming the western highlands occupied by the North Continentians, ready to cause destruction at any time, was the most likely option for Gostars.
"But if that's the case, it will be hard for us to make it on our own…" Jerry Chalatu gave Klein a look, and the "trickster" who had just been promoted to squad leader immediately understood.
Klein nodded.
"We cannot obtain intelligence by converting a large number of secret puppets. Even if we did, the number of secret puppets I can convert at one time is limited, and it would be difficult to achieve effective results in a very short time. If it drags on for too long, the large number of innocent deaths will attract the attention of the people of the Northern Continent."
"This is a sensitive time. Many angels from the Northern Continent are in the highlands. If we are unfortunate enough to attract angels or powerful, veteran demigods, none of us will escape."
"perhaps..."
Klein, Jerry, and Mr. A exchanged glances, all understanding each other's thoughts. They tacitly fell silent, handing the opportunity to speak to Sharon, who had hesitated to speak.
"We can try to find opportunities within the 'Rose School'."
"The Rose School"?
Klein and Jerry Zarathustra both noticed Sharon's choice of words. Having been teammates for so long, they knew that Sharon preferred to use the term "licentious" when discussing the "Rose School."
"When the capital fell, many of my fellow 'moderation' members, like myself, were accepted by the Empire. Some of them took the opportunity to escape from the highlands. Some never returned, while others joined the 'liberal' faction for various reasons."
"We can start by contacting these former 'Temperance' members."
Upon hearing this, Jerry Zarathustra's brow twitched instinctively.
In the past, he would have been cursing the family members responsible for taking care of Sharon in his heart, but now he only feels admiration and praise.
It was truly unexpected that the young lady could find out the whereabouts of the "Temporality" exiles in such an environment... Jerry Zarathustra guessed that the patriarch's tacit approval was probably involved.
Without the help of the "Angel with the Lamp" herself, Sharon wouldn't have been able to get any information, let alone access the only source of information she had in Trier—newspapers and periodicals—before she could obtain them. These were the only sources of information she could get her hands on. They had to be reviewed by the family board members who were called butlers but were actually the watchers.
Thinking of this, Jerry Zarathustra quickly pulled out an appendix from the file.
It was a map. He unfolded the square sheet of paper, which showed the details of the highlands, onto his thigh and pointed to one of the place names.
"Kaiser Port, the most important port between Star Plateau and Pass Valley, is still in the hands of Intis."
"However, the two towns 20 kilometers away from Caesar Port were captured by the 'Rose School' because the angel of 'Eternal Sun' was killed by His Highness Medici. The angel who was originally responsible for guarding Caesar Port was urgently transferred to the front line, so the remaining garrison did not choose to take back the towns occupied by the 'Rose School'."
"We can start from there."
He looked at his companions surrounding him and took a deep breath.
"If it were me, I wouldn't let go of such a rare opportunity when an important port is poorly defended."