The Seeker | Volume 2

Ling and Palsy watched in shock as the man's body combusted. Blood, brains and bodily materials coated the right hand corner of the room.

"He just exploded…" Palsy said in shock, his eyes wide as he took a step back.

"Has this ever happened before? Do you know anything related to this type of death?"

Ling shook his head slowly, taking off his hat which was coated in fresh, warm blood. 

"How would we tell this to Mrs. Hampshire? She'll be devastated." Ling said in a quiet and slightly shaken voice. Palsy raised his head and gazed outside the window which overlooked the rest of the kingdom, the ink black palace with a malevolent aura could be spotted in the distance. 

Ling then turned back to look at Palsy and sighed. "We should tell her. The Hampshire family had been stated to have certain connections to the throne, how though remains clearly uncertain."

Palsy raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know this?"

"To be frank, I'd often spot Mrs. Hampshire and Mr. Hampshire, walking surrounded by guards when out in the deeper and more violent parts of the empire." Ling replied.

"So you're insinuating that royalty just died? Should this be known to the emperor or should we remain silent?" 

"It's best we should probably tell them. But I prefer finding out whatever witchcraft or demonic works made him suddenly explode like that."

Ling replied carefully, looking out the window and watching the endless expanse of gray fog continue to roll over the horizon. He then sighed and looked back at Palsy.

"I recommend comforting Mrs. Hampshire, in the meantime I'll write a letter to someone I know, someone who I believe can help us."

Palsy raised an eyebrow, curiosity beginning to boil within his body. "And who might that be?"

"A man named Aaron Salista, an old friend of mine." Ling replied calmly. 

"He's from Seraphis Kingdom. So that gives us another reason to go there, along with that investigation you promoted me with yesterday."

Palsy nodded as he continued to observe the bloodied mess in the corner of the room.

"I hope Mrs. Hampshire has a maid service of some kind, her old age could use a break." Palsy muttered to himself as he stepped down the stairs.

When Ling was left alone, he couldn't help but continue to feel a strange gravitation towards the anomaly that just happened. And he knew that Aaron has had apprentices over the years; including Ling himself. That way he could recover more guidance and help with this matter, as he's probably learned more than he could do from training lots of people.

He walked over to a desk in the corner of the room and sat down on the wooden stool. After digging through his satchel, he took out a fountain pen, an ink cartridge and a folded up piece of paper.

Ling would usually use these tools for writing down addresses, bank notes, groceries, or just any variant of documentation in general; but today he has to write something else, something else much more grim and disturbing.

"Dear Mr. Salista.

I apologize if I'm intruding on your daily life, but I request some assistance in your knowledge and expertise. I've come across a rather peculiar and gut-wrenching case. A man suddenly exploded after weeks of irrational behavior, and they were an Order 6 of the Depravity Path. I've always insinuated that the higher you climb the more of a chance you have of losing control, but I'd like to hear your thoughts and possible concerns.

Your dearest disciple; Ling Kitonow.

After he wrote down the letter he folded it back up after letting the ink dry for about 5 minutes, making sure no smudging or anything of a destructive substance would ruin the words. When he went back downstairs he saw Palsy and Mrs. Hampshire on the couch.

Mrs. Hampshire's expression wasn't one he was expecting. She had a neutral expression on her face, as if she was still processing the information long after she had received it. Palsy looked at her with concern and the old lady stared blankly into the lit fireplace, her eyes having no semblance of emotion or color whatsoever.

"I have the note written down, Palsy. I surmise we should call a sanitary company to come to her doorstep and clean up the mess?" Ling asked as he sat on the couch beside his partner.

"There might be residual traces of divinity there, it would make anyone who isn't a seeker go mad. Luckily as an Order 9 I only faced small residual effects."

Ling nodded, flicking open his pocket watch and seeing that it's been 30 minutes since they've arrived. He then turned back to look at Palsy and sighed.

"Would an artifact be useful? I'd suppose among the plethora we have there must be one that can nullify negative residual effects of divinity."

Palsy took this into consideration and nodded slowly, still sitting beside the old lady who's expression hadn't changed.

"The reason the Hampshire family has connections to the throne is because-"

Suddenly, Mrs. Hampshire let out a shrill scream, causing Palsy and Ling to flinch. Mrs. Hampshire's expression was now one of pure fear and agony. Her eyes were wide and she was clutching her head as if having a migraine.

"Mrs. Hampshire, are you alright?" Palsy asked as he got closer to the lady to observe her senseless actions. The old lady remained silent, continuing to hold her head and twitch violently.

"He hears me…he hears me…" That was the only thing the old woman was saying, over and over and over.

"Who hears you, who?" Palsy asked in concern and curiosity.

"The mad king…" 

Suddenly, the old woman fell limp, her eyes rolled back as she died on the spot. Palsy's eyes widened as he began to shake the old woman gently, trying to wake her up. But her heart wasn't beating, no pulse could be felt, and he could gradually feel her skin cooling down. 

"Go, send the letter." Palsy said coldly, his gaze continued to be fixed on the elderly woman who lay motionless. Ling nodded, before putting on his coat and hat before heading out the door. The rain had started to come down again, harder than ever. Ling didn't have the time or effort to buy a carriage trip downtown, he had to deliver this message to the nearest post office as soon as possible.

He moved past the market, the less populated parts of the empire, before arriving at the post office which was situated at a deck near a flurry of boats either coming in with supplies or departing with newly manufactured goods for trading purposes.

"The postal workers have gone on strike due to low pay. I'm not sure the emperor would care unless there's serious fighting and damage." the attendant man told him as he stuffed a pile of letters, documents and addresses into a storage bin among a large collection of other amenities. 

Ling grumbled as he put the letter on the counter and walked away, back out into the rain that poured from above. Upon coming back to Mrs. Hampshire's house, he was greeted with a plethora of sanitary workers, all scribbling profusely at the dirty and blood stained corner.

"I thought the divinity of the accident would have major repercussions on them." Ling said as he took off his coat and cat, putting them on the rack beside the door. He noticed that Mrs. Hampshire's body was now inside a wool sack, getting ready for cremation. 

"They didn't question you?" 

Palsy shook his head. "They knew I was a detective, and they had an artifact that would make it easier to eradicate residual divinity from an area."

Ling nodded as he slouched on the couch slightly coughing.

"The post office was open today, but the workers had gone on strike. It seems I may not be able to deliver the letter. Going overseas and risking my life for a piece of paper seems like a blatantly trivial task."

Palsy nodded at Ling's statements, before taking out a cigar from his pocket and lighting it. 

"We should probably tell the emperor, although I'm sure he won't want any funerals held. In the conversation I overheard, emperor Katsuki made it clear that this place is slowly dwindling when it comes to finances, that he's unable to pay them enough and the overall cost of living here has spiked over 37%." Ling said slowly, watching Palsy huff a stream of smoke into the stale air.

"He'll probably just cremate the body and move on. Just because they have connections with the throne and had a quick dinner doesn't mean he let them soak into his memory, he probably forgot their names to begin with." 

Suddenly, palsy turned towards Ling.

"We can head over tonight if that's alright with you." He said with a nod. Ling nodded in agreement, before standing up.

"I'll have to tell my family I'll be away for the evening. I'll probably return by the time Hàorán is asleep, I'lll probably ask my wife to get a tutor for the evening whilst I'm gone if it comes to it."

The young man then headed out the door, into the rain, and back to his house.