Martial Arts Worlds-Chapter 341: Murder of Roah York

'Gunshot from Roah York's house? Wait, since the time moved backwards for a whole week, this is the moment that Roah York dies!'

Kiernan pulled out his red-hilted knife from his boot and stormed inside the house. He made his way up the stairs and arrived at the office.

There, a close-eyed Roah York looked slumped in his chair, a bullet wound at the side of his head, and a smoking gun in his hand.

No one else was there.

'It is suicide after all?'

Kiernan frowned and then said.

"I guess it is suicide! Quest successful!"

He awkwardly smiled, wondering if that was enough to convince the system that he had found the right answer, but nothing happened.

[…Good try]

'Oh, the system is capable of sarcasm? Interesting, but I guess this isn't suicide. The mission was to find the killer, but if Roah York killed himself, does that make him the killer? I don't know.

'It only took five seconds for me to go from outside here. The killer couldn't have possibly created this scene of suicide so quickly.'

He also took the front door, so the killer couldn't have possibly escaped that way, but there were some windows in the office that led straight to nearby roofs.

However, they were closed, and it didn't look like they had opened for a while.

'I am pretty sure I could've heard the sound of the killer escaping through the windows. I really don't think there was anyone else in the house when Roah York died.'

Kiernan rubbed his forehead, moved closer to Roah York, and examined the wound on his side.

While examining it, he asked about the system.

"So, you're capable of turning time?"

[…I am]

"What if I am dying, and I ask you to turn time, will you?"

[…I can't do that. The creator has put restrictions on me]

"I guess I am not the only one with limitations put on them, then. You turned time just now to help me to solve the investigation, which isn't breaking any rules, correct?"

[…Correct]

"Alright…"

Kiernan thought, but then his forehead crunched, and he smelled something truly awful, as if he was standing inside a sewer system.

'What the hell is this smell?'

He pinched his nose shut, left the office, and then noticed that the smell was gone.

With a frown, he returned to the office, and that same smell was still there, lingering in the air like a foul cloud.

'Strange…'

Kiernan looked at the corpse of Roah York and pinpointed the location of the smell emanating from his mouth.

'A well-dressed man like him wouldn't go to sewers in his free time.'

Kiernan found it very strange, but then he noticed something that was very strange as well.

A pile of ash, right under Roah York's chair, and it was slowly vanishing like it was being absorbed into the floor.

Kiernan took out his phone, snapped a picture of it, and then pocketed his phone.

'What's with this pile of ash? It looks like he burned something, but why is it right under the chair, and why isn't there any smell of burning?'

The ash kept sinking to the floor and slowly vanished from sight.

'It disappeared quickly so the detectives wouldn't have any idea about this pile of ash. This sewer smell seems like it is fading as well, as it isn't as strong as before.'

Kiernan then checked out the windows, and there weren't any signs of break-in. It was impossible for anyone to have been in this house during the time of the killing.

'Sewer smell and that pile of ash are my strongest clues. I must understand what that means, so I guess I will be visiting a library.'

Kiernan thought, and then left the house, but as soon as he stepped out, the time reverted back to the normal date.

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'That feels so strange… Right, what about the picture?!'

Kiernan pulled out his phone, and to his relief, the picture was still there.

…

With the moon rising high in the sky, Kiernan found the library bathed in an ethereal silver light and found a seat for himself on the second floor, close to the window, where he could admire the night sky.

With him were several stacks of books, all about smells and their meanings. It was a lot of reading.

Kiernan opened the first book and started browsing through the pages, but there was nothing that was anywhere near what he was looking for.

The hours flew by, and the library was moments away from closing, but at that moment, he arrived at the third-to-last book.

It was about Martial Abilities.

These were the books that the librarian gave him, so he was confused why she would give him a book about Martial Abilities.

With a frown, he started browsing through, but as he expected, there wasn't anything that he was looking for.

However, at that moment, he arrived at a page that caught his attention.

'Certain Martial Abilities have a scent to them that will linger in a place for a short time after being used. It can range from sweet smells to foul odors.'

Kiernan's eyes widened in surprise, and he turned thoughtful.

'This must be it—the Martial Ability user must've killed Roah York, but it must've been a long-range ability so that person didn't even need to be in the same room!'

However, he also wondered about the pile of ashes. He browsed more to see if there were any answers.

At last, a little bit before the end of the book, his answer appeared on the page.

'When Mindbreaker uses their abilities, it usually leaves a mark on the person's body or in their vicinity, but that mark is not permanent and fades very quickly.'

Kiernan closed the book and chuckled to himself.

'Bingo. That pile of ash disappeared almost instantly. It must've been the mark of Mindbreaker, and now I know that Mindbreaker killed Roah York.

'Makes sense—some Mindbreakers have the ability of mind control, and that must've been how he masked Roah York's murder as suicide.'