Alexandria's Keeper - Lord Of The Mysteries Fanfiction

-23- Aftermath

Captain Dunn, intent on retrieving the Antigonus family notebook, wore a cloth to protect his hands from the yellowish-brown blood stains.

At Klein's side, Irina, who had been silent until now, suddenly screamed, "DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

Everyone's eyes turned to her, halting Dunn in his tracks as silence gripped the area. Irina refused to elaborate, hastily striding forward and ungracefully snatching the cloth from Dunn's hands before picking up the notebook herself.

Aiur Harson broke the silence, asking, "Why shouldn't Dunn touch that? Lorotta already has."

That she did. Frankly, I couldn't care less about her fate, she's just a side character after all.

Irina sighed, her eyes fixed on the notebook's cover. "I'm uncertain whether the issue lies in touching, reading, or simply opening it."

My head doesn't feel exactly clear right now... but the story must go on.

She continued, "But... there's something... I believe the right word would be corruption."

It was Borgia who asked the next question, "Are you suggesting it corrupts people?"

The history teacher simply nodded, focusing on the effects of her protection. It seemed to envelop her in a cozy yet cold blanket while faint whispers echoed in her mind, slowly draining her spirituality.

Lorotta shifted uncomfortably. "I don't feel anything out of the ordinary though."

Irina finally turned toward the group, adding, "Neither did Klein nor his friends, may they rest in peace. It wasn't obvious to me either. I had to truly focus to realize something was 'wrong' with it."

Aiur wore a perplexed expression. "Was it thanks to your spirit vision or protection?"

It was me reading a novel in another world. Does that count as an answer?

She kept her gaze on the notebook's cover. "I'm not sure... perhaps both? I sensed something, and that's why I stopped the Captain. I then examined it with my spirit vision. I'm not 'accustomed' to those reactions; my missions are usually more on the quiet side, so I've never felt my protection flaring up like today."

Dunn regarded her with a look Irina couldn't quite decipher. "Can you feel how long this protection will last?"

Irina shook her head. "Not sure. Or at least not for now. If I feel it fading, I'll alert you all."

The captain nodded. "Let's keep moving then. We'll finish discussing this once we're back at the security company."

Having said that, Aiur Harson, Borgia, and Lorotta turned and arrived beside Sealed Artifact 2-049. While constantly waking each other up, they stuffed the puppet, which had resumed moving, into the black chest, monitoring it strictly.

Aiur sounded a little more relaxed, "Everything is back to normal."

Dunn, Leonard, and Klein, who had mustered his courage, began searching the suited clown's corpse. They found paper flowers, handkerchiefs, poker cards, glass pieces, and all sorts of strange items. However, apart from that, he didn't seem to carry anything of worth or potential clues.

Irina watched from the side, clutching the notebook, catching Klein's eyes as they fell downward to inspect himself. His face seemed to droop.

She followed his gaze and realized his suit was covered in dust and dirt stains. Out of reflex, she examined her own clothes, noticing the same problem. She also didn't miss the graze on her now-exposed arm. The bullet had torn her sleeve, but her wound had stopped bleeding.