"It's locked," Ayumi grumbled, stepping back from the door.
Shinso remained silent for a few seconds before looking above the door. Resting on a small alcove was a small metal object. He reached up and grabbed it before looking back at the door.
"I think this is some kind of door unlocker," Shinso commented, carefully looking over the shape of the doorknob, silently scanning for any faults or indications in the work of simple machinery.
"Or…" Ayumi suddenly smiled, her body jolting forward as she planted her foot directly above the doorknob. The door was sent forward with surprising speed, landing on the ground of the apartment room. Shinso's eyes widened as he stepped back, gazing at Ayumi with wide eyes.
"What the hell!"
The girl rubbed her hands together like some kind of magician, that smirk still resting on her face. "Don't assume I learned nothing from studying those books with Mr. Ryujin."
As the duo stepped into the apartment, the scale of the room quickly registered within them. This room was vastly different from the apartment rooms they had been occupying for the past weeks. The walls and floors were decked with intricate patterns engraved in mahogany wood. A chandelier adorned with crystalline jewels and shimmering emeralds hung above the bed.
Heavy, thick curtains filtered out the sunlight from outside, shrouding the room in darkness that was only permeated by the light of the hallway. The walls of the apartment room were decked out with paintings and caricatures of historical figures, landscapes, and somewhat erotic scenes.
One of the paintings, showcasing a homosexual couple commencing with a rather vulgar session, sent a flurry of heat coursing through Shinso's body. His cheeks flushed a deep crimson as he raised his collar to suppress his flurry of emotions.
Decorative objects like porcelain vases, intricately designed figurines, and other objects that the duo could only guess what they were for were sitting on countertops, splayed across the floor, and sitting inside glass cabinets. Strangely, the fireplace across the bed was on, the flames burning and flickering, casting light and reflecting off the chandelier, bedazzling the room with a macabre light show of deep oranges and yellows.
The smell of rotting flesh deeply contrasted the room in its entirety. Shinso turned his head and noticed a light filtering from under the room beside the king-sized bed. Though it wasn't bright enough to attract too much attention. The longer he looked at it, the more the revolting smell coursed into his nose and caused him to gag.
"—I think it's in here," Shinso announced, turning back to Ayumi.
The girl walked over to the door, shaking the doorknob to confirm its condition. It was unlocked.
"Strange…what if he was taking a bath?" Ayumi thought to herself as she turned the doorknob and opened the door, an eerie creaking sound reverberating off the walls of the porcelain-coated bathroom. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back, her hand darting over her mouth as she caught sight of the corpse splayed in the bathtub.
Stanton Ralph was slack in the tub, his naked body half-submerged in the water. The bathwater was clear, but the suds and soap prominent in the water prevented the duo from seeing anything that they didn't want to. Stanton's eyes were closed, almost eerily tranquil and calm; it was as if this ambassador was taking a nap rather than being dead.
"H-he doesn't look dead," Ayumi's expression became riddled with puzzlement, recovering from her nausea through her abilities as a Bloomer. The girl took a step forward and analyzed the situation.
"Look through his room and see if you can find any clues."
"Alright," Shinso turned away and began to scout the room. He approached the thick curtains and opened them, allowing light to filter in through the windows. Now that he could see properly, the boy huffed and began to inspect every nook and cranny of the space.
Ayumi's hands slowly wrapped around the arms of the man, her teeth gritting upon feeling how cold they were. With a herculean combination of suppressing her primal instinct to puke, alongside the strength of her body attempting to hoist the man, she managed to set his naked form onto the carpet, wrapping a towel around his lower regions.
The man's skin was clear as glass, not in a literal sense, but in a way that had Ayumi pondering his skincare routine. Feeling a pang of jealousy and curiosity, she stood up and opened the cabinets above the sink, marveling at the countless ointments and skincare products lining the interior of the cabinet.
"Damnit, Ayumi!" She silently scolded herself, returning to the task at hand.
She knelt back down and continued to investigate the corpse. Stanton's lips were slightly slack, allowing her a look into his mouth. The man's teeth were also perfectly white, bordering on the snow that sat outside and polished the entire kingdom. His delicate golden hair had been tousled into intricate curls hoisted above his head like trophies; the locks containing not a drop of water or soap within them.
The rest of his skin remained unscathed, not a scar embellished into his flesh. Ayumi quickly understood this man's philosophy on bodily appearance. A noble must always retain an utmost perfect appearance. But…how could he have died if his body appeared in such peak condition that it riveled superstairs back in her home world?
Could it have been internal problems? Why would it be listed as murder then? If this corpse smelled so pungent, why would his body be in such perfect condition?
She suddenly caught sight of an object glistening in the water of the bathtub. It appeared shiny and thin, though barely visible through the suds. With careful hands, Ayumi hesitantly bent into the tub and extracted the object. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the object, it was a syringe!
"Shinso?" Ayumi called out from the bathroom.
"Yeah?"
She turned around and gazed at the boy with wide eyes. "Would you mind having the apartment owner come to this room?"
Shinso hurriedly stood up, approaching the kicked-down door and running down the hallway.
Ayumi remained silent as she gazed at the syringe. Strangely enough, this syringe's barrel appeared as if it didn't contain a drop of liquid within it. She immediately guessed it had been washed out in the tub to prevent accidents or anyone noticing.
A few minutes later, Shinso returned with the apartment's owner. His eyes were glazed over, obeying all of Shinso's commands like a drone.
"You brainwashed him again?" Ayumi looked back at him, arching an eyebrow.
"He threatened to kick me out," Shinso replied, kneeling down to closely inspect the corpse with gloved hands.
Seeing them, Ayumi asked a question. "Where'd you find gloves?"
"I looked in the kitchen; making contact with a corpse with bare hands can lead to all sorts of issues," Shinso replied sternly, carefully inspecting the body of the noble.
"You." Shinso pointed back at the man standing in the doorway. "Find the nearest medical kit."
Without saying anything, the man left the room and slogged down the hallway like an obedient drone. After he left, Shinso looked back at the corpse.
"He doesn't look to be in bad condition." He noted, sniffing the air. He activated his aura vision and spiritually assessed the man's condition. The entirety of his spirit body was a dark color, much like the captain's corpse and the photos of Catherine and Carter. This confirmed that Stanton was completely dead.
His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of a faint crimson pulse located above Stanton's left eyelid. The area ebbed with a malevolent red glow that spilled across his forehead and pulsed down to his neck. The glow primarily gathered in his forehead, taking the shape of what looked to be a brain.
"What the…" Shinso leaned in closer, gazing at the saturated areas of the man's spirituality. Images suddenly flashed through his vision, abruptly starling him. His vision shifted, the areas around his eyes darkening as a harsh fluorescent light buzzed above his head. After a few more flashes of light, the image came to full view.
Stanton's body had been completely stripped naked, splayed on a medical table with restraints locking down his arms and legs. Only a bitterly cold cloth was covering his genitalia and buttocks, causing his body to shiver and convulse with the irritating sensation. Shinso's eyes widened as he scanned the new room through this dreamy scene.
The walls were made of dark wood, and a harsh lantern shone over Stanton's body, which shimmered and glistened with sweat and palpable fear. The door suddenly opened before him, and a figure walked in. A dark-colored surgical mask obscured most of their face, except their eyes. The man was a little taller than he was, his body a hunk of muscle and fat.
"Embezzlement…" His low voice sounded behind his mask, a deep growl that seemed to rumble the entire room. The masked man reached into a nearby drawer, taking out a small syringe filled with a dark-blue liquid with traces of purple.
He flicked the barrel of the syringe to quickly diminish the air bubbles, before turning back to Stanton and smirking. "...a rather heinous crime."
"Do you know who you're dealing with!—" Stanton's protests were immediately silenced by the man's gloved hands covering his mouth.
"I don't care who you are, all I care about is what's underneath your skin, about what's inside that head of yours."
The masked man raised the syringe, the pinhead-thin tip hovering just above his left eyelid. "Consider this a blessing, Stanton Ralph, it's not everyday that a devil like you can ascend Mount Purgatory."
His voice carried a faint hint of solemnity as he continued speaking. "Only those who keep their maloviolent deeds secret are those worthy of divine judgement. Concealment is the antithesis of confession, the essence of what our creator craves."
The masked man leaned in even closer, his voice now a low whisper. "Tell me, Stanton Ralph, why use others' profits for your own gain? Why let selfishness, lust, and greed engulf you like the demon you are?"
He finally removed his hand from Stanton's mouth, allowing the man respite and a chance to breathe. "I did it because everyone else I've dealt with has only diminished my chance of finding a good job. Coming to this shitlot called Seraphis Kingdom made me think I could use their money freely and they wouldn't find out!"
Stanton's confession came out blurred and frantic. His entire body trembled as if he were staring into the eyes of a malevolent existence.
"You're a lot like my other patients, Stanton. You're one who craves respite and paradise through obscured acts of degradation. One of my clients, a certain Sanson Cecilé, was a lot like you. A saint on his exterior, a fool to divine wrath; a covenant of blasphemy. I too had to silence him, because the only way to silence those who oppose God, is to take it from their source…"
He slowly positioned the syringe above Stanton's eyelid, leaning in close and taking a hold of his golden hair.
"...God's favorite organ."
With a sharp move, the man slid the syringe into his eyelid, quickly injecting the blueish-purple liquid. Stanton let out a sharp yell, his body erratically thrashing and contorting on the table like a man possessed. His body suddenly fell slack, his head lolling to the side with glazed eyes. A small trail of drool pooled from his mouth, slowly dripping to the floor beneath him.
The man let out a low sigh, nodding his head as he began to clean off the syringe with a dirty cloth. He turned his head and looked towards the cabinet in the corner of the room, opening it and taking out a small suitcase.
Within the suitcase were a series of items: a deck of hand-painted cards with numerous house-hold objects, a miniature bell, a handheld, leatherbound journal, and a small amount of candles including a lighter beside them. He picked up a fountain pen and some ink that remained usable, writing something down in eerily neat handwriting.
"A gift to Stanton Ralph."
Shinso's vision began to swim, the colors and images slowly losing saturation. As the lights flashed and dulled, he fell back on the bathroom floor, coughing and spasming as if having a seizure. A sudden, sharp slap from Humphrey roused him from his spasmodic condition.
"Never, I mean never try to look into the mind of a crazy person!" He barked, taking a hold of Shinso's collar and pulling the boy to meet his face, which was mere inches from his.
Before Shinso could speak and reveal what he had seen, the dark-skinned man's brows furrowed as he looked towards Ayumi.
"You're heading back to your apartment, me and my team will deal with this." Even amidst the anger and impatience in his voice, Humphrey's flickered with an emotion only Shinso could properly see—ambivilence.