The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 342: The Resurrection Ritual

[Sara removed her disguise and, retrieving a thick, ancient tome hidden beneath her pillow, opened it to the page describing the resurrection ritual.

[Aileen seems to be in a great hurry. Did something happen? Lu Li, in his role as a servant, murmured in the hallway, glancing toward the bend. The three other servants nudged him, urging him to follow her.]

“Aileen seems to be in a great hurry. Did something happen?” Lu Li repeated.

The exorcists exchanged glances. The narrative was clearly trying to distract them from Sara. Without a word, they followed the baroness.

Silence fell once more at the bedroom door. No one knew what was happening inside. No one knew where Sara had hidden Adam’s body. No one except the Shadow Puppeteer.

[Before beginning the ritual, the caster may use an animal or a body for practice. The following items are required for the resurrection ritual: the body of the deceased or an equivalent volume of flesh; moss to cover the body (graveyard moss is best); a location untouched by sunlight; a few candles, some blood, and an incantation. The caster may add ingredients at their discretion, but not reduce their number. This ritual has been revised thirteen times by the Spiral Alchemists’ Association, all rights reserved by the Spiral Alchemists’ Association... Sara whispered the words from the book.]

[She felt a sense of absurdity and resistance, yet she had no other choice. It was either trust her uncle Andrew and the Book of the Dead, or accept Adam’s death and submit to her father’s will—to become one of those married women she had seen, a beautiful bird in a gilded cage, stripped of all freedom.]

[“Chirp-chirp...” The bright song of a bird drew Sara’s attention. A beautiful blue-winged bird landed on the balcony railing, bathing in the sunlight. It was her father’s favorite, one Sara had often seen in his study. Looking at the bird, Sara was suddenly struck by a sense of injustice. Why could a caged bird fly free, while she was to be locked away in this estate?]

[“Practice the ritual...” a voice whispered from the depths of her mind. Envy and injustice pushed Sara toward the balcony. The blue-winged bird tilted its head, watching her. It had no fear of people, so Sara easily caught the creature her father so dearly loved.]

[Sara felt the warmth and the beating heart beneath its soft feathers. Her fingers tightened involuntarily. The little bird grew uncomfortable and began to struggle, pecking at Sara’s hand. A jolt of pain made her instinctively fling the bird away. In mid-air, the blue-winged creature spread its wings...][Clatter! The scissors on the edge of the table fell, and with them, the blue-winged bird, half its head pierced through. It dropped to the floor, gave a faint flutter of its wings, and fell still. Scarlet blood spread across the white carpet, as beautiful as it had been the night before.]

[Sara stared at the rapidly cooling body of the little bird. This was her first kill. She had expected to feel sick, to grieve, but nothing happened. She felt as calm as she did during her etiquette lessons.]

[Now she could begin the ritual.]

[Coming to her senses, Sara placed the bird’s body and the scissors on the table, wiped the blood from her hands, and knelt to scrub the stain from the carpet. But no matter how hard she tried, the bloody mark remained starkly visible against the white pile.]

[Sara decided to leave the carpet for now, tossed the cloth into the wastebasket, and looked at the book again. Her bloodstained fingers traced the list of required ingredients. There were candles in the room, she had memorized the incantation, the treehouse in the garden could serve as the ritual site, and she could find moss in a shady corner behind the estate.]

[Creak... The door opened a crack. Sara peered out, carefully scanned the empty hallway, and slipped out of the room. She did her best to avoid the servants as she made her way to the treehouse.]

[The fresh air in the treehouse mingled with a strange odor. Sara knew it was the smell of decay. The body would soon begin to decompose, releasing an unbearable stench.]

[Sara laid the blue-winged bird’s body on the table, took out the moss she had gathered along the way, and carefully covered its feathers. With everything prepared, Sara began to chant the incantation.]

[But nothing happened. The bird’s body remained motionless. “Is it fake?” Sara felt her heart clench. But then, the bird’s chest, covered in dark green moss, began to rise and fall, emitting distinct, muffled thumps. The bird’s heart was beating again.]

[Sara’s heart filled with joy, but in the next instant, a dull pop echoed from the bird’s chest, and it fell silent. Blood trickled from its beak.]

[The resurrection had failed.]

[But Sara was not upset.]

[She sat down in a chair in the treehouse, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. After analyzing every step, Sara began the ritual again, but this time, the bird’s body didn’t react at all.]

[In the book, Sara found the explanation—a creature could only be resurrected once.]

[Sara only had one chance.]

[Sara was running out of time.]

[Sara had to keep trying.]

[The second time is always easier than the first.]

[Sara buried the blue-winged bird’s body under the tree and returned to her bedroom to await Aileen’s return.]

[Soon, Aileen’s footsteps echoed in the hallway. Sara pretended that nothing was wrong, until she saw the bloodstain on the carpet by the table...]

The baroness entered the bedroom. Lu Li and the others remained outside.

[Upon entering the bedroom, Aileen cried out. She saw the scratch on Sara’s arm, the blood on the carpet, and the scissors in her hand. “I accidentally hurt myself with the scissors,” Sara explained curtly, trying to calm Aileen.]

[“But the wound is deep, my lady, you’re bleeding!” Aileen exclaimed. “It’s just a little blood. Bandage my hand,” Sara replied calmly.]

[Aileen sensed that her mistress had changed, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on how. She found some bandages and began to dress the wound.]

[In the hallway, Petra frowned. This was all too simple. What had happened in the bedroom while they were gone?]

[Sara watched as Aileen bandaged her hand and then said softly, “Aileen, I want to spend some time in the treehouse. Come with me.”]