I upgraded and added points in the Holy Inquisition

Chapter 258 257. The last painting

"problem occurs?"

When Lloyd saw the manager approaching with the two investigators, he suddenly had a bad premonition...

In the streets and alleys of the dazzling city, there has been an unofficial ranking list - 'the person everyone least wants to meet', and the profession of 'investigator' ranks third on this list, even behind the police and Above the tax collector...

It was inevitable that Lloyd was secretly complaining.

The manager who brought the people here took the initiative to explain:

"Don't be nervous, dear member, these two gentlemen are here to understand the situation from you, not to arrest you."

Lloyd nodded and heard one of the investigators say:

"You know Agathe? A street painter, and you received one of his paintings three days ago?"

"Huh? I do know a young painter who often sets up a stall in front of the used book market, but we don't know each other's names... He did give me a painting, but not three days ago, but today."

Lloyd answered truthfully.

The manager next to him quickly explained:

"Uh... Actually, the young painter you mentioned is called Agathe... As for the painting, he actually sent it here three days ago and I accepted it on my behalf. It's just that you haven't been here for the past three days. I didn’t come over, so I can hand it over to you today.”

His words were quite rigorous, which made Lloyd realize that something might have happened to the painter, and he asked:

"What's up with him?"

"We'll talk about this later. Can we check the paintings you received today?"

"Of course, please hang it on the wall in the basement."

Lloyd said, turning back to take the key and help the investigator open the door.

As soon as the door was opened, the two investigators' expressions froze, their brows furrowed, and they quickly motioned for Lloyd and the manager to retreat.

Then, the silent investigator ‘said’ directly in his partner’s mind:

"The smell in here... mental pollution?"

The investigator responsible for communicating nodded and ‘answered’ in his mind:

"Yes, it's mental pollution, but fortunately it's not very strong... It should be within our response range."

"Well...don't turn on the light yet, let me take a look first."

The investigator who was obviously from the [Intelligence] department said that, he opened his [Pupil of Intelligence] and saw the afterglow of the originally invisible spiritual power in the basement.

"Judging from the remaining aftertaste, this guy should be conducting some kind of ritual-related research inside. It should be a special kind. These aftertaste show patterns that I have never seen before, some of which look like... It’s hard to describe, just see for yourself.”

As he spoke, he directly projected the scene he saw in his partner's retina.

I saw a faint light blue aura remaining in the air, like nematodes twisted into twists, slowly swimming on the workbench and in the air, and then gradually dissipated in the air.

"It's indeed a bit strange, but it doesn't look dangerous. It should be some kind of simple functional ritual. Maybe it involves some gray areas? Anyway, spiritual pollution should not come from this."

The first investigator said in his head and looked back at Lloyd.

He was currently dealing with the manager's sales promotion, which tricked him into becoming a higher-level member.

"Maybe, but that's not our business. Okay, get ready and go in and take a look."

The second investigator from the [Intellectual] Department said, taking out a sharp triangle from his pocket and holding it in his hand so that he could cut his palm and use the pain to stay awake when he was in danger.

The same goes for his partner. The two of them chatted secretly. After making some simple preparations, they walked into the basement and turned on the light next to them.

The painting on the wall instantly came into view. The two of them looked at it and suddenly felt a creepy feeling of strangeness and curiosity.

"This painting... is really ugly and strange. The lines are disordered, the colors are chaotic, the theme is unclear, and there is no beauty or artistic flavor. Can you tell what the author is expressing?"

"I can't understand it either. It looks like a lot of messy mosaics. It's so ugly that it makes people feel uncomfortable... Is this really the work of a so-called 'painter'? Rather than the graffiti of a mental patient? Even if it's the so-called post- Modern abstract themes don’t look like this either.”

"But the good news is that it doesn't contain the taboo knowledge we are most worried about. It's just that the painting is so bizarre that it makes people's scalp numb and makes them feel physically uncomfortable... Maybe the victim was already in a bad mental state when he created this painting. Already..."

"Well, in this way, we can calculate the approximate onset time of the victim..."

While appraising the painter's work, the two investigators carefully inspected the basement and even rummaged through the trash can.

As a result, except for the things that didn't seem to be out of place, they were all simple and basic ordinary materials. The previous mental pollution only appeared for a moment when the door was opened, and then disappeared.

"What about this painting? Do you want to recycle it?"

"Since it's determined that there is no danger, it's better not to mess with other people's things... But it's better to check the mental condition of the young man? Do a mental evaluation. I can't help but wonder if such a painting can be hung on the wall. His mental state..."

After a brief discussion, the two investigators called Lloyd in. Then they suddenly got angry, made a sneak attack, and dazzled his eyes with a flashlight for no apparent reason.

Lloyd was caught off guard and was shaken dizzy.

"Oh, oh, oh, my eyes!!! Are you trying to kill someone?"

"Don't get excited, don't get excited, it's just a simple check. Why did you react so violently?"

"Then you should tell me in advance..."

Lloyd said angrily and kept rubbing his eyes.

"Okay, okay, let's do a simple mental assessment..."

As the first investigator spoke, he took out a picture album similar to a color blindness test chart from his pocket. There were some mosaic patterns on it. He flipped it to one of the pages and handed it to Lloyd. “Look at this, what does it look like?”

Lloyd squinted his eyes and took a casual glance, then replied angrily:

"Vicious kitten."

"Uh... This is obviously more like a tiger, right? But it's also a cat... Then take a look at this again?"

The investigator casually turned to another page.

"Ding Ding Cat...oh, its scientific name should be Dragonfly."

"What about this?"

"Kamizato Ayaka...uh, I mean the little turtle."

"There seems to be no problem...Okay, one last question..."

The investigator closed the album, turned back and pointed to the painting on the wall, and asked again:

"What about this? What do you see up there?"

"Huh? The ancient battlefield composed of broken swords, corpses, blood and fire looks desolate and cruel. Although the painting technique is a bit immature and chaotic, the emotional temperament is well conveyed."

Lloyd answered truthfully.

"what?"

The investigator was stunned, pressed Lloyd's shoulder, and took out a flashlight to shine in his eyes.

"Are you here to deliberately cause trouble?"

Lloyd immediately broke away from his hand. It seemed that he was really angry. He subconsciously reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist.

The investigator forcefully explained:

"Don't get excited, listen to me, your mental condition is very dangerous now, I am here to help you."

"Oh...what danger could I be in? I know what you mean. Don't you just think that this painting looks like mosaic graffiti? Can't you understand it? Can't you even appreciate this kind of post-modern abstract art? Can you please Do you have some imagination? Or some aesthetic level and artistic attainments? "

Lloyd asked angrily.

"Uh... So the painting you saw is the same as what I saw?"

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with my eyes. Do you think I'm as blind as you?"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, the second investigator quickly had a private chat with his partner, seemingly discussing something.

Then the investigator lowered his head and apologized sincerely:

"Okay, I'm sorry, I misunderstood. It's just that this incident involves forbidden knowledge, so I have to be careful. I hope you can understand."

"Forbidden knowledge? What happened to the painter?"

Lloyd asked quickly.

"To put it simply, he inserted the paintbrush into his ear, stuck it into his brain, and then used what he brought out to try to draw a picture..."

The investigator just said this briefly, which made Lloyd shiver, as if his ears were hurting.

"But the painting was not completed. He died of cerebral hemorrhage only halfway through the painting...and was discovered by the landlord yesterday."

The investigator continued.

"This……"

Lloyd couldn't help but look up at the pretty words on the wall. This might be the last work of the young painter.

"In short, this is the situation. Since you insist that your mental condition is okay, then we have no other problems here."

The investigator said, preparing to turn around and leave.

Lloyd stopped him and asked:

"Why did this happen?"

The investigator shrugged, showed a helpless smile, and explained simply:

"Who knows? For people like painters, writers, and sculptors, someone will encounter this kind of incident probably every one or two months, but you just don't know it, so the 'artistic attainments' you call, in this case Times are not necessarily a good thing...

But your painting is fine, keep it well. "

After that, he left with the silent investigator.

"Ugh……"

Regarding this kind of thing, Lloyd could only sigh helplessly.

He remembered that the black car master Goldron had mentioned an incident before, and it was also a painter involving forbidden knowledge.

Only this time, it happened to someone I knew.

　Thanks to Hoshino Aqua for tipping me 3000 points

　　

　

(End of this chapter)