《Contractbound》


 1 The Missing Person

    "Val, what do you think about this?"


    "Who are you talking to, Mr. Hymes?"


    "Just call me Graham. I''m talking to no one; just myself, to keep me focused, you see? Say, Mr. Arnaud, your last name is not really common along these parts. Are your parents from abroad?"


    "So you''ve noticed, Mr. Hym- I mean, Graham. In that case, you can call me Ruben, to be more familiar. They say it''s always a good idea to be on the good side of law enforcers." said the plump Ruben somewhat cheerfully.


    "But I''m not a law enforcer, just a private detective." Graham retorted.


    "Arent private detectives on the good side of the law? Anyway, my father was from Verne, Rodin. Do you know where that is? He moved here to make a fortune and I must say the poor man succeeded."


    Ruben paused for a second and took a deep breath. His face turned reddish from just saying those short sentences. "He''s dead now, but thanks to him my family and I can live this lavish life. I pray for him every Sunday you see, as a form of respect. But enough of my story, we''re here for my son. You can check around the room to help you with your investigation. I''ll wait outside. Ask me anything if you need it."


    "He''s a talkative one, isn''t he, Val?" said Graham while entering the bedroom carefully. He pushed his hickory trilby hat down and took out a pen and a notebook from his coat pocket.


    The man in the dark brown trench coat observed the big sized bedroom attentively. The room had a king-sized bed placed in the middle with a drawer on the left side and an end table on the right side. There was a lamp on the end table. On the other corner of the room were a chair and a coffee table situated opposite a black and white TV. The bed itself was still made as if no one had slept on it.


    "Val, what are we looking for here? This room is very clean." Graham turned over and asked Ruben who was standing just outside the door.


    "So, do the maids clean this room every day? When was the last time they cleaned this room?"


    "Yes, she does. There is only one maid responsible for this room. The others are given other parts of the house to take care of." answered Ruben somewhat proudly. "We pay her seventeen duits a week because we''re very satisfied with her work," he said while casting a glance at the clean room. A glimmer of pride can be seen in his tired eyes.


    "Val, he seems very generous. Seventeen duits equal thirty-four pennings. Food normally costs two to three pennings for something humble, not to mention she must also get food from the house''s kitchen. Being a maid here doesn''t sound like a bad idea; this family must be very rich." muttered Graham with a tinge of envy in his words, "I wonder how much hagelslag I can buy with that money."


    "Were you saying something, Mr. Hy- Graham?" asked Ruben curiously.


    "No, nothing. Are those drawers locked?" Graham pointed at the drawers near the bed. "Also, can you please go over the events again? Don''t miss any single detail if you can."


    "They are locked, but I have the spare keys here." Ruben reached into his pants'' left pocket and went into the room to hand the keys to Graham. "So it was last night, around eight. I was in the study when the landline rang. I picked it up and heard my son''s panicked voice, bombarding me before I could even say anything," he paused, " He said something about him being followed and that he needed help. My son sounded very desperate and in a hurry. After saying that, the call was hung up. I called for my assistant and told him to contact the police and a trustworthy detective agency." Ruben recounted what had happened last night.


    "You mentioned the police, does that mean they''re on this as well?"


    "No, they aren''t. They told me, to wait seventy-two hours before filing a missing person report. Those zakkenwassers!" answered Ruben with a hint of anger in his voice.


    "That''s just their procedure. What can you tell me about your son? What even is his name?" asked Graham while opening the drawers one by one, starting from the topmost.


    "His name is Fabien; he should turn twenty-two in two months. He studied business here in this city, at Sloten University. He is not very social, that boy. All he has probably brought friends home only very few times. He takes after his mother, preferring to stay at home with his books and his trinkets. I never understand that side of him. When I was young, I was very social, popular even. I went to a lot of social gatherings. That was where I met my wife..."


    "Can we keep it about him, please. And where is your wife?" interjected Graham, seemingly rather irritated by his fat client''s off-topic talk. He continued to listen while rummaging the drawers.


    "Ah, pardon. It''s a habit you see. They say it dies hard. Anne is in her room. Her health hasn''t been good lately. My son, he never really tells me what he''s doing or what he''s involved in, so I don''t really have anything that might help. I hope you can find something inside those." said Ruben while pointing at the drawers.


    "As a matter of fact, I have," answered Graham while picking up an ornate ring with a complicated pattern on it. He showed it to the chubby man and asked, "Recognize it?"


    "No, Mr. Detective. Where did you find it?"


    "It''s hidden in the second drawer from the top, underneath a pile of clothes."


    "I''ve never seen him wear it. I don''t even know when he got it. Is it a clue? I know a jeweler who might be able to help you. I always take Anne there to buy her jewelry. He is a trustworthy man, always delivers. Maybe he knows who made the ring."


    "Val, this man has a severe case of verbal diarrhea," whispered Graham while turning his back against Ruben.


    He observed the ring carefully trying to find clues to its origin or function, or anything at all. The ring was inlaid with a red, fiery gemstone. Looking at it made people feel like the hidden anger in their hearts could come bursting out at any moment. The complicated pattern on the ring looked like three rectangles with a circle inside each. At the corner of each rectangle were more circles and there were two upside-down crosses at the bottom. Looking at the pattern for too long made Graham feel dizzy and confused. The ring itself was made of lead, grey in color, and light in weight.


    "Val, this ring might be an important clue, but it still doesn''t tell us where our guy is." he said while turning back to face Ruben, "Tell me about your jeweler. His name and address."


    "Sure sure. His shop is called Bron''s, I think that is his great-grandfather''s name. His name is Emiel, a reputable one that man is. The shop is fifteen to twenty minutes away from here by motor carriage, on Grotemarktstraat, where all the big stores are. His is number 14. Tell him I sent you and he will help you any way he can." answered Ruben enthusiastically.


    "Thank you, Ruben. I will look around the room some more."


    "In that case, I will be downstairs in my study. Just call for Janssen, my assistant, if you need anything," said Ruben. Shortly after that, he made his way downstairs to this study.


    Graham continued to look for clues in the bedroom. He checked the closet, under the bed, behind the television only to find nothing. There was no trace of human activity in the room, not even something that could be a hobby.


    "Val, our guy sure is odd. I don''t think we will find anything else here. The ring is our only clue for now. We should go check out that jeweler, Emiel, isn''t it? Let''s pay him a visit." said he as he bid goodbye to Ruben and left the two-story house.


    He went to the street and called for a public motor-carriage to head to Grotemarktstraat.


    ...


    It was a busy afternoon on Grotemarktstraat. A lot of motor carriages, public and private ones, drove by the large street. People were walking about, some stopping at stores, some heading to other buildings, some got into various motor carriages. The many stores there were packed with customers, business was good.


    At around three in the afternoon, a public motor carriage pulled over by the street and a man in a dark brown trench coat and a trilby got off after giving the driver five penning coins. He looked to be in his late twenties with a rather good-looking appearance. His hair was covered by his trilby, but the uncovered part showed his amber hair and on his face was stubble with a darker shade. His chiseled face was adorned with a long and thin nose and sharp-looking green eyes. The man looked around, seemingly looking for something before finally, he walked into a store with the sign "Bron''s".


    Inside the store, a bespectacled thin man, who seemed to be the storekeeper, was busy cleaning some glass displays with jewelry inside. The store was rather big, with a lot of luxurious looking rings and necklaces and bracelets placed inside display cases. Before long, he saw the man in a trench coat entering the store while looking around, mumbling something. It was inaudible at first, but the closer he got, the storekeeper could make out some of the words, "Pieces of jewelry... expensive... crazy...."


    The storekeeper asked in confusion, "Good afternoon, Sir, can I help you?"


    "Good afternoon. I''m Graham Hymes, a private detective. Call me Graham. Are you Emiel the jeweler?"


    "That would be me, yes. Are you here to buy jewelry? For the loved one?" answered Emiel, switching on his salesperson mode, his big eyes sparkled.


    "No, I''m single." answered Graham, and then he looked over his shoulder and whispered, "Val, it doesn''t feel good to be reminded about that." Graham turned back to Emiel and said, "I''m here because Mr. Arnaud told me you were the best person to seek help from. I''m looking for his missing son and this ring is the only clue." He took a ring from one of his many pockets and showed it to Emiel.


    "His son is missing?! That Fabien? When?" asked Emiel in exclamation as he took the ring from Graham. Surprise was apparent in his voice. He took a closer look at the ring and studied it. "Hmm... this looks intricate. Is this his ring?"


    He went to the back of the counter and took out a loupe and put it close to his eye, the ring on the other end. "This stone looks like fire agate, but that''s the only thing I can identify. The ring is made of lead, but I''m sure you know that much."


    Graham nodded.


    Emiel continued, "I don''t know who made this ring, there is no engraving of their name, but this should be expensive, considering the complication of the pattern." He put back the loupe, gave the ring back to Graham, and said while massaging his temples, "I am feeling rather dizzy... maybe I''ve worked too long"


    After pausing for a while, he adjusted his spectacles and continued, "but I might be able to point you in the right direction. I heard there is an antique store somewhere on Oosteindestraat. I don''t know where exactly, I just heard rumors. But be careful, that area is pretty infamous. You can try to buy my good luck necklaces. Many rich men and rich ladies wear them." he said while gesturing open arms as if welcoming a customer.


    "I will be careful, and no, I don''t need good luck charms." answered Graham and then whispered in his usual style: head down to his shoulder, "Val, he is rather thick-faced... That area should be the street with a lot of crime happening. A pretty fitting place for a suspicious antique store, I must say."


    Seeing his customer talking to himself, Emiel ignored it and continued his sales pitch, "So, anything else I can help you with? Maybe you want to buy a necklace for your mother? Or a ring for a potential partner. You never know when you will need a ring."


    "No, thank you, and I''m pretty sure there won''t be a situation where I desperately need a ring." rejected Graham. "Thanks for your help. I''ll be leaving now," said he while walking out of the store.


    "Anytime! Come again, don''t be a stranger!" shouted Emiel from the back of the counter.


    "I don''t think I will... I don''t think I will..."


    Graham walked out to the street and stopped for a while. "What now... Val, I think we should get back and prepare first. We might want to blend in there-- I don''t want any pickpockets. But before that, I like me something sweet."


    After saying that, he walked along the street to find a convenience store. It only took him about three minutes of walking to reach one, since it was the market street. The sign at the front read Tulpwinkel. It was the most famous convenience store chain in the republic, with hundreds of branches everywhere. Graham entered the store and went to the bonbon section, near the entrance.


    "Val, what do we feel like eating today? I want some chocolate. This Dolcebambini brand is here. You know that it is my favorite, right, Val? Especially the one with chewy jelly beans inside. Voila! Here it is. I''ll take two."


    The few people in the store, including the cashier, were looking at the mysterious man in a trench coat talking to himself in front of the chocolate shelf.


    Graham, not noticing their stare, walked up to the cashier to pay for the two big sized chocolate bars, 165 grams each. He handed them over to the cashier and waited for the cashier to enter the item code to the register. "The total is thirteen pennings, Sir." said the cashier.


    "Are you sure that''s correct? It was only six pennings each when I bought them yesterday." Graham tried to haggle.


    "I''m sure it''s correct." answered the cashier, feeling somewhat on guard against the weird man in a trench coat trying to haggle the price of chocolate bars.


    "Okay, here you go," said Graham reluctantly after taking seven duit coins from one of his pockets. He waited patiently for his one penning change.


    "Here''s your change. Thank you and come back again." said the cashier in an automated voice like he had said the same line over a hundred times.


    Graham went out of the store with light steps, almost jumping. He went to the side of the street and stopped a public motor carriage that was about to pass and got in it. The space inside was only enough for two, at most three if the passengers were small enough, so to save money, people usually split the bill between passengers. It costed somewhere between five to twenty pennings, depending on the distance-- not very cheap, but it was one of the fastest methods of transport available.


    "Take me to Tuinstraat no. 7, Vakbond Apartment. I''m rather in a hurry, so you can drive fast."


    "That would be seven pennings, Sir." said the driver from behind the glass separating them.


    "When did the price go up? I only paid six pennings this morning," argued Graham.


    "Sir, the price has always been like that. You can pay or you can walk." retorted the driver calmly. He seemed to have had a lot of experience with haggling customers.


    "Alright alright, here you go." Graham gave up. He took out three duit and one penning coins from one of his pockets and gave it to the driver, sliding it through the small opening in the glass.


    The motor carriage drove along the street fast. Inside, Graham opened one chocolate bar and ate it slowly, piece by piece. He tried to savor the taste for as long as he could. He was looking out the window while eating, people watching. It was already a little after five, the streets still quite busy. People walking about, wearing colorful but warm clothing. The sun had started its journey to the horizon, so the sky was orangish in color. Graham took another bite of his chocolate and let it melt in his mouth, happiness shown in his eyes. It took the motor carriage no more than eight minutes to reach Tuinstraat.


    "Sir, we''re here. Don''t forget your belongings." reminded the driver.


    "Thanks, good man, but everything is here," Graham said while pointing at his dark brown trench coat. He got out of the motor carriage while holding down his trilby. He checked his watch: it was five twelve. He went to building number seven on Tuinstraat: Vakbond Apartment.

 2 Oosteindestraats Antique Store

    Graham entered the old-looking apartment building. The wooden doors creaked when he opened them. As he entered it, he was greeted with a hallway with doors on each side and a staircase near the entrance to the right. He walked up the stairs while finishing his partially-eaten chocolate. The wooden stairs creaked just as bad as the door, and the paint on some segments of the wall had come off. He stopped on the second floor and made his way to room number 23. The sign on the door showed ''Hymes Detective Agency''. The sign was rather old but well made. It was made of a wooden plaque and the letters were engraved neatly. The black letters made a nice combination with the terracotta plaque. He fished out a keychain from one of his pockets and unlocked the door.


    By the time he entered his room, he still hadn''t finished his chocolate, so he went past his office after hanging his coat on the coat stand to his kitchen and put both his chocolate bars inside his refrigerator. He then went to his bedroom and turned on the light to undress. The bedroom was small, with only the bare necessities inside: a double bed, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf full of books. There was also a full-body mirror leaning against the wall next to the wardrobe. Graham would often use it for his disguise purposes.


    "Val, what should we wear today? That area is infested with pickpockets. I''m not willing to give those slip-gibbets a single penning." mumbled Graham while searching through his wardrobe. He took out an old white shirt from the bottom and a pair of tattered brown denim pants. He then rubbed the dirty wall in his room and wiped his hand on the old shirt. The shirt, previously just looked old, now screamed homeless from its every pore. After all of that was done, he wore the shirt and pants, tucked the shirt in, messed up his short hair, and stood in front of the mirror.


    "With this, I should look poor enough. For extra measure, I''ll hide my valuables under my shirt. Good enough, don''t you think so, Val?" he said, feeling proud of himself. "I deserve some more chocolate."


    He went to his fridge in the kitchen and took some more chocolate pieces from the already eaten bar. After that, he took all his coins from various pockets of his trench coat and stuffed them inside a wallet. He also took out the ring and dropped both the ring and the wallet under his shirt. They rubbed against his belly, making him slightly uncomfortable.


    "Sigh... no matter how many times I''ve done this, it always feels a little uncomfortable. Val, I think we''d better walk. Public motor carriages won''t take me in like this."


    Graham walked past his office to the front door, took his keys, and locked the door behind him. He stuffed his keys under his shirt and walked down the stairs. It was already dark when he left the building. There were still many people on the street, however. Some of them were going home, some of them going somewhere else.


    "It... it''s cold..." said Graham while crossing his arms. He walked faster to keep himself warm in the cold night. "Should I have worn my coat, Val? But I don''t want them slashed by pickpockets, like last time." he pondered. He decided against going back to grab a coat in the end and continued walking.


    From Tuinstraat to Oosteindestraat, it would normally take someone around ten minutes by motor carriage. To walk there, it would be forty to fifty minutes depending on how fast the pace was. Graham walked faster than usual, both to keep himself warm and to get there soon. A lot of people were staring at him and when they saw him approaching, they would stay away from him.


    "Val, seeing a homeless-looking man rapidly walking to your face must not be pleasant. I would do the same if I were them."


    After some distance, he started to sweat profusely, and the smell made him even more homeless-like. He continued walking and heading to his destination, which took him around forty-five minutes despite his pace. He wanted to check his watch to see the time but he forgot he had taken it off when he got home earlier.


    The situation on Oosteindestraat was very different from the streets he passed earlier. There were only a few people and it was dark. There was a slum area nearby but after it got dark most of them would stay at home. There were many stores on each side of the street, mostly just a front. At the back, some of them were actually gambling parlors or brothels. There were also stolen goods stores there, but someone must know the right people to be able to find them.


    Graham headed down the street and tried not to stand out by altering the way he walked. He hunched his back a little and limped. The more he walked deeper down the street, the more people he saw. There were a couple of man and woman making out under the street light, the man looked drunk, the woman like a prostitute. There were groups of people sitting and drinking, yelling at passersby. Three children could be seen walking around the street. They looked to be around twelve or thirteen years old.


    Graham whispered, "Val, they are pickpockets. I''ll keep my arms crossed so they can''t reach my stuff. But who would want to steal from a homeless man anyway?"


    The children were sizing him up for a while before deciding to ignore him. He kept walking down the street looking for the antique shop. A lot of stores had their lightbox sign turned on. On Graham''s left, the sign read ''Sweet Love Hotel''. It was obvious it was a hotel with a prostitution service. Such hotels were common in the city. But of course, if the police came, they would just be normal hotels. The same applied to the restaurants. A little farther from the hotel, there was a Longese food restaurant. From the front, they looked like they were only selling noodles and dumplings and the like, but if someone went to the back, there would be a gambling den. It would also be gone by the time the police came.


    Graham''s eyes were caught by the sign which only read ''Antique Store'' that was located in a small alley in the middle of two closed stores. The sign''s neon box wasn''t turned on, so it would be very easy to miss it.


    "Val, who would build a store in a small alley with a turned-off sign? Doesn''t the owner want to make money? It doesn''t even have a name!" muttered Graham.


    He went into the alley and observed the store from outside. The sign looked old, and the light probably couldn''t be turned on anyway. The building was made of wood, in contrast with the stores nearby that are built of concrete. The windows were dark, probably covered with shades from inside. On the only door, there was an open sign. He grabbed the handle and pushed the door.


    "Huh? Is it closed?" he said in confusion. The door wouldn''t budge when he tried to push it. He then tried to pull the door-- and it worked.


    "Why make a pull door in a small alley? You might hit someone!" complained Graham. As he entered the store, the wind chimes made a noisy clanging for a while, and then went quiet.


    Inside, it was dark; the only source of light was a single lightbulb in the middle of the room. The store felt suffocating with the narrow paths and numerous stuff littering the room. There were antique vase, antique statuette, paintings, books, brass utensils, and some creepy looking dolls, all looked dusty. There were also rolled up parchments in the corner of the store and a grandfather''s clock whose ticking sound was the only sound in the room. Graham went to look at the pile of books and noticed some of them were written in languages he didn''t understand. There were also strange patterns on the parchments, but he couldn''t make out the rest since most of the parchments were rolled up.


    He walked deeper into the store to find the owner, but there didn''t seem to be anyone. He saw on the wall there were different kinds of masks, a lot of them scary. There was a display case with what looked like a puppet inside, but on its face, there were no eyes, mouth, nor nose. It was just a faceless face. The skin looked very real, like human skin with a light brown tone. It wore a tattered t-shirt and shorts, with no shoes on. On its toes, there were real-looking toenails which appeared to have been clipped.


    "This place gives me the creep." muttered Graham, "Hello, is anybody here?"


    Tick... tock...


    Tick... tock...


    Only the sound of the grandfather''s clock could be heard.


    Since no one answered him, we kept walking around the store, until he found a door at the back of the counter. The door was covered by seashell curtains that hung along the wall, so it would be easy to dismiss it as part of the wall. He knocked on the door lightly with his knuckles.


    There was a voice from behind the door which belonged to a woman, "Yes...? Who is it? Come in, dear, it''s not locked."


    It was a small room, looked like a dwelling. The room was only half as big as the store. There was a single bed on one corner, a door, probably leading to a toilet or kitchen, a sofa, and a table with a landline phone on it. There was an old lady sitting on the sofa reading a thick book. It was another book with letters Graham didn''t understand.


    "Ma''am, isn''t dangerous leaving your store unattended like that? And your door unlocked?" asked Graham, genuinely concerned, observing the old lady at the same time.


    The lady put the book down on the sofa. She looked to be in her late fifties, wearing a traditional Long Empire outfit with a long-sleeved high neck shirt and loose black pants. Her black hair, which mostly had turned grey, was tied up with a hairpin. Her feature was soft but still showed her beauty despite the wrinkles. She must have been a very pretty woman in her youth. She was a lot shorter than Graham, who was 182 cm tall. Her sitting posture was elegant, still showing signs of youthful vitality.


    "No need to worry, dear. I would know if someone with bad intentions enters this place. Show me your palm." answered the old lady while extending her hands, waiting for Graham to give her his palm. Her voice was soft, like listening to water running through a canal.


    "Eh? Okay..." he said while placing his right palm on the old lady''s hands, "I''m here to ask you something, Ma''am. Are you the owner of this place?"


    "Yes, I am. Yes, I am." answered the old lady gently. "You are here to ask me about that ring, yes?" she placed her finger on Graham''s palm and ran it over his palm. Her finger felt warm, warmer than the room.


    "How did you know? And are you reading my palm? Is that how you knew?" asked Graham inquisitively. He never believed in the supernatural, but he was not unfamiliar with it. He retracted his hand and crossed his arms again.


    "Yes and no, that was the answer. It was more than that. It seemed that fate had brought you here. I tell you about the ring-- and more, but at a cost." she said assuringly.


    "What cost? And who are you?" he responded defensively.


    "Only two guilders. Cheap, isn''t it, considering the knowledge you''ll learn after that. The money is necessary for the exchange. As for your second question, you can call me Paim. No need for formality even though I''m old, just Paim is fine."


    "740 pennings?! That''s a lot of money. I can buy more than a hundred Dolcebambinis with that much money!" Graham shouted in disbelief. "Val, this whole thing is screaming scam from its every pore."


    "Now, now, dear, no need to tense up. You can ask your employer to cover the cost. Ruben Arnaud, isn''t it? You can use my landline to call him." she tried to assure him and pointed at a landline phone on the table next to the sofa. She then got up at went to the door leading to the store and said, "Find me at the store when you are done. Oh, and you can also ask ''him'' first." she pointed at Graham.


    Graham, caught off guard, could say anything for a while.


    After coming back to his senses, he said, "Val, how did she know all this? I can only think of one logical theory; she''s been spying on us. She watched us go out of Ruben''s house, and she saw me talking to you. She didn''t even need to do it herself, she could have paid someone." He paused and thought. "Or maybe she did use magic. There are many things in this world that we don''t know. Well, first thing first, let''s call Ruben."


    He reached out to the landline, took a slip of paper with numbers on it. He turned the dial and waited for the call to connect.


    Ring...


    Ring...


    After a while, someone picked up the phone and said, "Hello, this is the Arnauds household. Who am I speaking to?" The voice belonged to a man.


    "Hello. Is this Janssen? This is Graham Hymes. Can you give the phone to Mr. Arnaud? This is about the investigation."


    "Wait a minute, Mr. Detective."


    There was a sound of the phone being put down and faint footsteps walking away. After a while, the sound of footsteps now approached the phone.


    "Hello, Graham? Did you find anything?" the voice of Ruben full of anticipation.


    "Yes and no. I''ve gone to Emiel and he told me about this antique shop that might know about the ring. I''m here now, in fact, I''m using the landline of this store. The owner, an old lady, claimed that she knew about the ring, but..." he paused. It felt awkward to ask for money from his employer before finishing the job.


    "I''m listening."


    "But she would only tell me if we pay her two guilders. I have the money right now, but can you pay me back the money, since it is part of the investigation?"


    "Two guilders? That won''t be a problem. For my son, that amount is cheap. I''ll give you your money back if you come here, and some bonus added if you can find my son soon."


    "Thanks. I''ll come over soon in that case. Goodbye." said Graham in relief and hung up the phone.


    "Val, thankfully our current employer is not some cheap bastard like our previous ones. Anyway, she also told me to ask you, but I already know your answer."


    He then went out to the store to find the old lady Paim. When he touched the door handle, it felt warm in his hand. He closed the door behind him and saw her crouching next to the pile of rolled parchments. She took out one and beckoned Graham to come closer.


    "Give me the money first, it is necessary to conclude the exchange." she offered her hand waiting for the money.


    Graham reached into the wallet in his shirt and took out two guilder bills from it. The green-colored bill had the face of the previous president imprinted, with the Republic of Tulp''s coat of arm at the back. He unwillingly gave the money to Paim. Even though he knew Ruben would give him the money back, it was still a difficult thing for him to do. He then sat on the floor next to the old lady, ready for her to fulfill her end of the bargain.

 3 The Ornate Ring

    Graham and Paim both sat in the dim room. The only source of light was the lightbulb in the middle of the room. It cast shadow to everything there, making it feel eerie. The puppet in the glass case sat there quietly, its non-existent eyes seemed to wander around the room. The silence in the room was only broken by the sound of tick-tock from the grandfather''s clock and the two people''s breathing. Paim took one of the parchment papers from the pile and opened it. She then turned to him and asked, "Can you grab all the candles from the first drawer behind the counter?"


    He got up and went to get the candles. When he opened the drawer, he saw nine candles inside.


    "There are nine here. Grab all of them?" he asked, making sure he wouldn''t make a mistake.


    "Yes, dear."


    They were white, votive candles with a diameter of around five centimeters. They seemed to have been used before because he noticed the wicks were black. Graham had some difficulty carrying all the nine fat candles in his hands, so he held them in his chest with both arms. He asked her in curiosity, "What are these for?"


    She asked back, seriously, "What do you know about divination?"


    "Nothing, really. I don''t know anything about it. Are we going to do divination to find my guy? Does such a thing work?" he answered and asked back. He gave the candles to Paim, dropping all of them on the table in front of her. It was an old-looking wooden table, with intricate patterns adorning it. His sharp eyes noticed wax remains on the table, indicating it had been used before in a similar fashion.


    "We are. Just trust me, dear. What we are going to do today is fire divination by candles. You will need to wear the ring; it plays a vital role in deciding whether you''ll get your answer or not." she said, still with her soft voice. She put back the parchment after memorizing the pattern inside.


    "Val, what do you think of this? I don''t really believe in magic, but let''s keep an open mind," whispered Graham. He then wore the ring on his right ring finger.


    Suddenly, his body felt warm, despite the cold night. It felt as if he was on a tropical beach, and it was a sunny afternoon. He also felt like his mind had never been that clear before; he could process thoughts faster, and there was some knowledge entering his mind; knowledge he didn''t know before. He couldn''t get anything out of it, though, as if they were a locked part of his brain. However, he also heard faint murmurs in the distance, but he couldn''t make out what they were saying.


    "It''s best not to wear the ring too long; bad things might happen. Let''s finish this quickly," said Paim.


    She took nine candles and set them up in a seemingly random formation. There was a row of four candles at the back, three in the middle row, with each candle positioned between the candles on the back row. Two candles were in the front row, on each corner, forming an open rectangle. Then it struck him: the candles were in the same formation as the circles on the pattern on the ring!


    "Is there any reason to set the candles in this formation?" asked Graham while sitting down again next to her.


    "I will explain to you later, dear. It''s also easier that way. We''re short on time, after all."


    She lit the candle one by one with a match that she had prepared, starting from the top left corner all the way to the middle right corner, forming an inverted six. She then gestured Graham to be very quiet. The flames burned bigger and bigger with each passing second, consuming the noise in the room. Even the grandfather''s clock couldn''t be heard. The room grew colder and colder as if the heat was sucked in by the candles. Graham didn''t feel the cold, however, since he was wearing the ornate ring. The flames burned in unison, and Graham stared intently at the burning flames.


    Seconds passed, the room grew colder, and Graham''s consciousness seemed to fade as if he was hypnotized. Slowly, a faint image seemed to appear within the roaring candle flames. It was of an old looking building. And then the image changed to that of a river. The image stayed still for some time before it suddenly became the image of a man that looked like Graham with his eyes gouged out, red blood flowing from the empty eye sockets. There was a blurred figure before him, that of a giant man with long hair and long beard, burning flames for eyes. Screams of pain and agony filled Graham''s ears before he suddenly snapped back to reality. It was Paim who pulled his body back.


    "Don''t stare at the fire for too long. Bad things will happen. Five minutes should be the limit" she warned him.


    "Shouldn''t you have said that before? How much time has passed? It didn''t feel that long."


    "Seven minutes."


    "Wow, it sure felt really short back there. I was sure it wasn''t even two minutes long. So, tell me, what was that about?" he asked with genuine curiosity.


    "We just borrowed the power of the Fire Divination Deity to do fire divination by candle flames. It was safer than using bigger fire like a bonfire, but the results would be more vague. Normal people won''t get any results doing this, but you are wearing that ring," she pointed at the ornate ring, "and I''m not exactly a normal person. Now tell me, dear, what did you see?" she suddenly became talkative, but her voice was as soft as ever, with no hint of malice in it.


    "I saw an old building, and then it changed to a river..." he paused, taking a deep breath, "after a while, I saw myself with my eyes gouged out, and a blurry figure standing before me."


    "The building and the river should be a clue to the man you''re looking for. As for the second image, it seems to be about the future."


    Shock struck Graham, "You mean I''ll die like that?!"


    "No, no, no. Don''t you worry, dear. It''s not about death. The image we see through fire divination is not a concrete one. It is symbolic-- it is up to us to interpret it. And I can assure you you won''t die like that, if anything, it should be a good sign." she smiled gently. "Now, take off the ring. We don''t want anything else to happen to you."


    He nodded and took off the ring. He then dropped the ring to the inside of his shirt. Suddenly, the room became cold again, and he felt it. "So what about the ring? What is it exactly? Why do I feel warm when I''m wearing it?"


    "I don''t know who made it, but after seeing what happened, it seemed that my initial assumption was correct. That ring was made from the remains of someone who had made a contract with the Fire Divination Deity. That''s why wearing the ring lets you borrow His power, including the warmth that you felt."


    "What remains? What contract? And you said Fire Divination Deity, what exactly is that?" he bombarded her with questions.


    "Those are questions for another day. Come back to me after you have found the person you''re looking for. Now go. I need to close the store for the day." she politely kicked him out.


    "I''ll remember your promise, and don''t forget I''ve paid two whole guilders for the information." said Graham as he was walking out of the store, "Thank you for your help."


    As soon as he got out, he folded his arms tight again because the night was very cold.


    "Val, I.. I... dammit it''s cold!" he shivered. "I would have never thought we would use magic to finish our commission." he emphasized the word magic, "let''s get home first and think about the images we just saw later."


    "Anyway, should we wear the ring? It made us warmer back there." he pondered for a moment before deciding against it, "Nah, she said bad things can happen if I wear it too long."


    He increased his walking pace. It was later in the night, so a lot of shady characters would be out and about, so he didn''t forget to limp a little, as to stay in character. As he was walking past the people in the street hoping for them to ignore him, he kept his arms folded tight against his chest, a bit lower to his stomach, so he could feel his belongings without looking too conspicuous.


    The moon was shining brightly. It was the middle of the month, and the full moon was in the sky. The streets below were lit by the moonlight. The trees on each side of the street cast their shadows, and night insects could be heard chirping. It was a beautiful night, but he had no time to enjoy it. Graham walked out of Oosteindestraat and kept walking until he got back to Tuinstraat. One would know that they were on Tuinstraat because the trees got denser like it was a forest street. There were also flowers and shrubbery. It was the street with the most residential area. It was pretty popular for workers and other middle-class people since rent was not that high.


    Graham entered the old apartment building once more and headed upstairs to room 23. He unlocked the door and locked it from inside. At his office, he went to his coat stand and took his hickory-colored trilby that he had hung there along with his coat earlier and wore it. He then went to the kitchen and grabbed the chocolate bar that he had almost finished. He went to his bedroom and ate the remaining chocolate pieces.


    In the dark bedroom, he sat quietly, wearing his trilby and eating his chocolate. The bedroom was clean and all the stuff was neatly placed. The clothes were all folded and arranged inside the wardrobe. Besides clothes, he also had a wide array of disguise items, like a wig, fake mustache and beard, different kinds of glasses, hats, and coats. His favorite was still the hickory colored trilby that he bought years ago when he was still in university studying criminology.


    "Val, remember when we bought this hat? It was a fashion statement years ago. Many criminology students had one, albeit with different colors. It was a sign of status; a display of coolness. The guys thought they looked classic, like detectives from various literature. I was one of them. I bought one. And many years later it is still with me, accompanying me solving cases. Just like you, Val." he reminisced.


    "Now, Val, let''s go over the clues we have. Ruben''s son, Fabien, disappeared last night after calling his house asking for help. He sounded to be in a hurry." he thought for a while. "We didn''t even know where he called from. The only clue was this ring." he took out the ring from under his shirt.


    "Now, if we hadn''t gone through the supernatural way, how would we have gathered clues from this ring? I would have tried to find out how it had come to Fabien''s possession, maybe through the ring maker. And from there, we could probably find more clues to his whereabouts. However, who knows how long it would take me to find the ring maker. Nobody seems to know."


    He took a deep breath, "But instead, we got helped by an old lady from an antique store. I still cannot believe what I saw a hundred percent, but there are many inexplicable things in this world. And it is now our only clue. We can only go forward. On top of that, time is pressing; if I don''t find Fabien within 72 hours, the police will take action. If they find him first, I won''t get my commission money."


    "I think the event is like this: Fabien somehow got a hold of this ring, which then put him in trouble. There must be someone or even a group behind this ring, assuming Paim''s words are trustworthy-- a ring with special power would be desirable by many people. So this someone or group, let''s go with a group, since it''s more likely. Only one person is unlikely to scare Fabien to make him go into hiding. Now, based on the images we saw, he seemed to have been hiding in an old-looking building near a river. Why couldn''t the divination just give us the exact address, it would make things easier." he complained.


    "We need a map." Graham got up, went to his office, and switched on the light. There, he went to a shelf full of documents and files and took a map of the city from it. He unrolled the map that was drawn on a piece of think paper on his office desk. The desk was neatly arranged as well, so he had a lot of space for the map.


    "Let''s see. There are two rivers running through this city: Vecht River and Amstel River. Vecht River flows through the west part of Sloten, starting from the south all the way to the north. It is unlikely to be the river in the image because West Sloten is mostly full of new buildings. That''s where the commercial areas are. Amstel River, on the other hand, cuts diagonally through East Sloten, including Oosteinde area. That one is more likely; there are a lot of old, abandoned buildings there."


    Graham sighed in relief, "I think we''re getting closer, Val. Tomorrow, let''s walk along Amstel to find old buildings. It might take a lot of stamina, so I''ll let you do it."


    He rolled the map and put it back on the shelf where he took it from. He then turned off the light and went to his bedroom. He took out all the things under his shirt and placed them on top of the table next to his bed. He got undressed and took a shower, washing off the sweat from his body before finally lying down in bed.


    "Val, there is still that last image that we saw from the divination, with me having my eyes gouged out. She said it was a good sign, but wouldn''t people die if their eyes were gouged out like that? Maybe not if they got medical assistance immediately. But it''s still unsettling. What do you think will happen to us, Val? I hope everything will be alright. There are still many questions I want to ask her too. I will go back there after I find Fabien. She''s made a promise, after all. And most importantly, I still have one more chocolate bar in the fridge; I don''t want to die before eating it."


    Graham''s breathing became slow and regular; he had fallen asleep.

 4 Amstel Riverside

    It was five in the morning. The neatly arranged bedroom had a person lying in bed. He was wearing a brown pajama shirt and matching pajama pants. The man slowly opened his eyes and stretched his body. He got up from bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face. The saw his reflection in the small mirror in the bathroom; his hair a little messy, his amber-colored stubble had shown signs of growing. His skin was still tanned from all the fieldwork he had done. His sharp eyes, light blue in color, looked cold in the dim bathroom. Staring into them made someone feel like they were staring into an icy lake in a cold winter. The man went back to his bedroom and got dressed. He chose to wear his favorite black leather jacket and a pair of black gloves, and a pair of denim pants with leather shoes.


    "G, I know you''re still sleeping, but I''m going now. I''m taking over today."


    He went to his office and before leaving, going behind his desk and opening a drawer. There was a commando knife inside with a black metal alloy handle. The blade had a length of 18 cm while the total length of the knife was 29 cm. On the handle, there was a carving of a name: Val. The knife belonged to him, Valentine Hymes. He sheathed the knife and put it under his jacket. It was not illegal to carry a knife in the republic. Guns, however, were forbidden.


    Valentine closed the drawer and went out of his apartment room. He made his way downstairs and out in the street. It was still very early, and in early Autumn like that, the temperature could get low enough to make people shiver. There were not many people in the street, but there were some. It was Thursday, so most of them were people who needed to go to work very early. Lucky for them, public motor carriages started operating at as early as four o''clock in the morning. Val stopped a motor carriage that was driving by and got it.


    "Oosteinde, the bridge that crossed Amstel River. Hurry!" he said to the driver.


    "Okay, s-- wait, aren''t you the person from yesterday who tried to haggle? I remember taking you here!" said the driver in surprise as he started driving.


    "Less talking, more driving," answered Valentine.


    "...!"


    "..."


    Valentine didn''t say anything again, and then muttered to himself, "G, sometimes you''re embarrassing."


    The trip went in complete silence until they reached their destination: the bridge crossing Amstel River. The driver pulled over on the northern side of the river.


    "That will be six pennings, Sir."


    Val took three duit coins from his pocket and slid them through the gap in the glass separator without saying anything, not even smiling.


    "Thank you." said the driver. After Valentine had gotten out of the carriage, he muttered, "That man must not be a morning person." and drove away.


    "G, we''re here. So according to you, our guy must be hiding in one of these buildings?"


    The bridge was a long one, connecting the two sides that were separated by the big river. The river itself was very dirty, especially around that area, because there was a slum under it, on the tiny pieces of land that it covered. Many people from the slum had woken up and started their activities. Some went fishing in the dirty river, others went scavenging for food nearby. There were a lot of buildings on each side of the rivers; several of them looked old.


    "G, I''ll wear the ring. It should be alright if I don''t wear it too long."


    Valentine took out a ring from his pocket and wore it. Suddenly, his body became warm and his mind clear. There was knowledge implanted in his brain, but he didn''t pay attention to it. He also noticed that his eyesight had become many times better. He could see a rat coming out of a sewage drain far below, and he could follow the rat''s movement perfectly. Valentine welcomed the good change and tried to focus on the image that he had seen the night before through Graham''s eyes. No image came to his mind but his guts told him that he would recognize the part of the river and the building that it showed. For now, he chose to trust his instinct. He ran fast to the southern part of the bridge and agilely made his way down from the high bridge.


    ...


    The sun had just started to shine. It was a cold morning. In Oosteinde, inside an abandoned building, a man was lying down in a fetal position. He was shivering from cold and hunger. He had been hiding in that building for two days, not even daring to go out for food. He was lucky to have carried a bottle of water. He was wearing a tucked-in dress shirt, a pair of striped pants. He looked to be in his early twenties, with light, brown eyes, blonde hair, and thin lips.


    The abandoned building he was in was a food-processing factory that went bankrupt. It was formerly used mainly to make canned whale meat, but since the rise of animal rights activist movements, the government had been pressured to forbid the consumption of endangered animals. After the bill was passed, fewer and fewer people ate whale meat, and after a while, the company went bankrupt. It was a big, empty factory with a lot of hiding spaces. The man got up and drank his last bit of water from his bottle.


    ...


    In the slum area under the bridge, two men walked into a person fishing in the river. They were both tall and wearing masks and shades. Their faces couldn''t be seen under their cover. One man had black hair that was neatly combed to the back and the other had short, curly brown hair. The man with black hair was wearing a white shirt with a pair of black pants, while the other one was wearing a zipped jacket with denim pants. The two men looked muscular, but the curly-haired one was more so. The curly-haired man kept his hands in his jacket''s pockets as if he was hiding something.


    The black-haired man said to the curly-haired man, "Let me do the talking. Don''t cause any trouble. We don''t want unwanted attention."


    He approached the fishing man and took out something from his pocket,


    "Excuse me."


    The fishing man ignored them for a while before turning to look at them.


    "Have you seen the man in this photo?"


    "Depend, who is asking?" said the fishing man indifferently, observing the two masked men before him.


    "We''re not the police, if that''s what you mean. He is our friend." the man with black hair said, "Here''s something for your trouble." He took out one stuiver bill and handed it to the man.


    "Thanks!" the man said ecstatically, "I don''t know nothin''. You can ask Old Benthe. She knows everythin'' that''s goin'' on here." He pointed at a house at the edge of the slum.


    "Thank you," said the black-haired man.


    The two men walked away from the fishing man, who immediately packed his fishing equipment and strolled away somewhere. The curly-haired man turned to his companion and said,


    "Sixteen pennings only for that information? We could have beaten him and gotten it for free."


    The black-haired man ignored his partner''s complaint and went to the direction that the fishing man had given them. The house was made of scrap metal put together, and dirty rags to cover any opening. From the ''window'', they could see an old woman, probably in her sixties, sitting inside the house.


    The black-haired man spoke loudly, "Excuse me, is this Old Benthe''s house?"


    Old Benthe had long noticed the two men when they were still talking to the fishing man. She went out of the house and greeted them,


    "Hello. I''m Benthe. Are you looking for someone?"


    "In fact, we are. Have you seen the man in this photo?" the black-haired man showed the photo to her. He didn''t lie about being the man in the photo''s friend because he could see from her eyes that lying would be useless.


    "Five stuivers." she named her price.


    "That''s crazy! Old hag, are you out of your mind?!" shouted the curly-haired man angrily.


    The black-haired man extended his arm in front of the curly-haired man, to stop him from making any move.


    "I apologize for my partner''s behavior. Here''s the money." he handed five stuiver bills to her.


    "Apology accepted, along with the money." she smiled mischievously. I saw that man you are looking for the night before last night. He went that way," she pointed north-east towards the buildings on the river bank. "He probably sneaked into one of those old factories."


    "Thank you, ma''am." said the black-haired man.


    The two men walked north-east towards the buildings that Old Benthe pointed at. The black-haired man said to his partner,


    "You should keep your anger in check. We need to find the ring no matter what. We don''t want any trouble."


    "I''m sorry, okay." the curly-haired man apologized.


    ...


    On the small road by the riverbank, Valentine was still running as fast as he could. Two days had passed since he got the call from Janssen the assistant, so he needed to hurry. Most of the buildings that he passed looked old and abandoned. It would take too much time to go check them one by one. When he was in front of a building with a sign that read ''Whaly in Belly'', he suddenly got a splitting headache. The image that Graham had seen before came to his mind: it was the building he had seen.


    He took the knife out and readied it. He walked quietly inside the factory and observed his surroundings. The morning sunlight penetrated the darkness in the building. It was a big factory, with equipment still placed inside. He didn''t know anything about food-processing so he couldn''t make out what was what. He only knew they could be dangerous. The factory had no power; it seemed the electricity company had cut off service to that building.


    It was very dusty inside. Valentine checked the floor for footprint, and he could see faint prints left there. Only a set of them could be seen going inside, so he deduced that Fabien hadn''t gone out and nobody else had come in. He followed the footprint all the way to the second floor, to an office room. The lock on the door was broken, but it wouldn''t budge. It seemed to have been barred from inside. There were windows, but they all had railings, so it would be impossible to break in through them.


    Valentine knocked on the door. "Fabien, I know you''re inside. Your father sent me."


    There was nothing. The man inside didn''t seem to trust the stranger knocking at the door.


    "My name is Graham Hymes. I''m a private detective. Janssen gave me the call. I have your ring right here." Valentine said, trying to convince Fabien.


    He then heard the sound of someone moving and footsteps coming closer. Fabien was weak, but he was still on guard. He said,


    "Show me the ring through the window first."


    Valentine raised his hand and showed the ring that he was wearing on his right ring finger. He heard a sigh of relief from inside the room and the sound of a barricade being taken apart.


    The door was opened, and Valentine could see the man inside. Fabien looked pale, his lips dry. He was shivering from cold. He opened his mouth and asked in a weak voice,


    "Can you fight? There are people chasing me."


    "No problem."


    "You can just give them that damned ring, maybe they will go away. But maybe not; I''ve seen their faces." Fabien added, "In any case, let''s get out of here.


    ...


    "We''ve checked three buildings so far, but there was no trace of someone entering." said the curly-haired man.


    The black-haired man stopped for a while and observed the pavement.


    "There are two sets of footprints. One was older than the other one. This must be the building. Be careful, our target has a helper. There should be two people inside."


    "Can we kill them?" asked the curly-haired man.


    "Yes. Our target has seen our faces. But the ring is still the most important. I''ll set up a ritual to make them fall asleep. We go in after that."


    The black-haired man took a strand of grass and a lighter from his pocket. He then started chanting,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Sleep, burn this grass,"


    The surrounding area became dim and quiet. The grass caught on fire easily despite being wet from the morning dew.


    "I wish upon thee for the people inside this building to be granted peaceful sleep."


    The grass burned entirely and the surrounding area returned to normal.


    "They should be sleeping now. Let''s go." said the black-haired man.


    The two men entered the abandoned factory with the sign ''Whaly in Belly''. Inside, it was very quiet except for the sound of their footsteps and a faint snore from upstairs. The two men walked upstairs to find a man lying down on the floor. The curly-haired man was about to approach him when his partner stopped him.


    "Don''t. There should be two people sleeping here, but there is only one now. His helper somehow got out of my spell. We must be careful, that person must not be a normal one."


    "Can you do it again?" asked the curly-haired man.


    "I can only do it twice a day. I can do it once more, but I need time."


    After he said that, a shadow suddenly jumped at the black-haired man.


    "Watch out!" shouted the curly-haired man.


    The black-haired man managed to dodge the lethal attack, but he got slashed in his side. However, it was only a flesh wound.


    "Shit!" she shouted while stepping back.


    "Deal with him! I''ll prepare the ritual. Don''t use your gun; it will wake them up." he said as he was searching for something to burn.


    The curly-haired man took out a knife from under his socks and attacked the shadow. The shadow dodged. He could clearly see the figure now; it was a man in a leather jacket carrying a commando knife. His sharp green eyes showed no fear, but he was very careful. He didn''t make any offensive move, just waiting for the curly-haired man to make his move first.


    He launched a kick and it hit the leather jacket man. The leather jacket man defended the kick with both arms, but the impact still pushed him back.


    "How long?!" he shouted at his partner.


    The black-haired man answered, "Keep him busy!"


    The leather jacket man tried to slash him with his knife, but his movement was too slow, so the curly-haired man could dodge to the side. He slashed the man back and barely hit him in the left arm. The leather jacket man stepped back and grunted in pain. He seemed to be muttering something under his breath.


    The curly-haired man threw another stab, but it seemed like the leather jacket man could follow his every move. He didn''t manage to dodge entirely because he was slow, however. His left hand was slashed; his glove torn and blood dripping.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Sleep, burn this paper,"


    The surrounding area turned dim.


    "I wish upon thee for the man in the leather jacket to be granted peaceful sleep."


    The paper that the black-haired man had found burned entirely. The man in the leather jacket suddenly felt drowsy, and shortly after, fell asleep.


    Both men observed the leather jacket man to make sure he was asleep.


    "He is no amateur." said the curly-haired man while cleaning the dust off his own jacket. Shortly after he did that, the leather jacket man suddenly got up and attacked him.


    "My arm!!" the curly-haired man shouted. His right arm was slashed by the man''s knife. The wound was deep. A lot of blood was dripping from his slashed flesh. He dropped his own knife as a result.


    "Something seems different about him! Shoot him!" said the black-haired man.


    The leather jacket man moved with agility and slashed the curly-haired man while he was still trying to take out a pocket gun from his jacket. His right wrist got wounded and he dropped his gun.


    "Piece of shitstain!! Argh!!!" screamed the curly-haired man in pain while stepping back. He also noticed that the leather jacket man now had cold, light blue eyes.


    "His eye color changed! What the fuck!" he shouted.


    The black-haired man took his own knife and attacked the leather jacket man, but he dodged it easily and stabbed the black-haired man in his right shoulder.


    "Argghh!" he took a step back and held his shoulder to stop the bleeding.


    "This guy is too dangerous! We should make a run for it!" shouted the black-haired man.


    The curly-haired man had lost a lot of blood and both his weapons, so he couldn''t fight anymore. He agreed with his partner''s suggestion and started retreating.


    "He''s chasing us!" shouted the curly-haired man as he ran, "Do something!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Sleep, offer you my blood!"


    He took the blood from his shoulder on his hand and the blood seemed to boil.


    "I wish upon thee to give the man in the leather jacket a horrible nightmare!"


    The man in the leather jacket suddenly stopped and held his head. He screamed in agony.


    "Hurry! It will only last four seconds!" urged the black-haired man.


    "Why didn''t you use it during our fight?!" asked the curly-haired man, increasing his pace with difficulty.


    "I can only use it once a week, and it takes a lot of blood!"


    The two men ran as fast as they could without saying anything anymore. They left the abandoned factory and running until the factory was far behind them. The curly-haired man tried to stop the bleeding from his wrist and arm while running, and the black-haired man kept holding his right shoulder. They went across the bridge to a parked motor carriage beside a closed restaurant. They got into the carriage and drove away.

 5 Case Closed

    In an abandoned factory by the river, Valentine Hymes was resting. He took off the ring that he was wearing and put if safely inside his pocket. His head had been aching badly because of it. His body had been injured in the fight before, but it was not fatal. However, his left hand was wounded and he needed to bandage it. He tore the t-shirt he was wearing under his leather jacket and wrapped around his left hand after removing his torn glove. He stuffed the ruined left glove in his pocket. After tending to his wound, he walked over to the knife and gun that his attacker had dropped and took them. He then approached the sleeping Fabien and shook him to wake him up.


    "The job''s done. Let me get you home first. We''ll talk later."


    Fabien, who had just woken up, held his head because it was aching. He was confused as to what had happened. He looked around and saw blood on the ground.


    "What had happened?" he asked curiously.


    "A fight. I''ll tell you later. Get up." Valentine told Fabien as he headed towards the entrance of the factory. He added, "We''ll get a carriage."


    "Okay." Fabien nodded, still pressing his hands against the back of his head. He looked around once more and noticed his water bottle. He carried it with him.


    The two men walked quickly out of the abandoned building. Valentine kept his alert in case more attackers came. The followed along the riverbank and arrived at the big bridge. It had been busy already, at seven in the morning. A lot of motor carriages drove past, and people walked by. They looked at the two men waiting at the side of the street: one looked awfully pale and the other one messy as if he had just gotten in a fight. Valentine kept his bandaged hand inside his pocket.


    A public motor carriage pulled over after seeing Fabien waving at it. The two men got in and sat comfortably in the motor carriage. The driver noticed Valentine and said,


    "Hey, mister. It''s you again! Going back to Tuinstraat?"


    "..." Valentine didn''t say anything for a second, "Take us to Hoogstraat number 3."


    "Are we in a hurry again?" asked the driver.


    "Up to you."


    The driver started driving after observing his customer from earlier and his new friend. He seemed to have noticed that the two passengers were not in their best condition, so he drove fast.


    "I''m going to take a nap. Let me know if something happens," said Valentine to Fabien.


    "Alright." he nodded.


    The rest of the trip went in complete silence, save for the sound of the engine. The driver tried to ask questions several times, but Fabien was still too weak from hunger, so he only answered shortly. After a while, the driver got tired and just gave up.


    When they almost arrived at the destination, Fabien nudged his saver to wake him up. It didn''t take much, because, before long, the person opened his eyes. Fabien looked at his eyes and he felt something was amiss. He asked, "Have your eyes always been green?"


    "Yawn..." he covered his mouth with his fist and stretched his limbs, "Yes, why?"


    "No. Nothing. We''re here." Fabien didn''t continue the topic anymore.


    It was Graham who had woken up. He asked the driver, "How much?"


    "Six pennings. The same as this morning."


    "But I''m sure I only paid five pennings yesterday," argued Graham.


    "Sir, I''m sure you didn''t." insisted the driver.


    Graham turned to Fabien and looked at him in the eyes, "Can you please pay?"


    "Fine. Here you go, six pennings." Fabien slid the coins through the opening.


    "Thank you. See you again!" said the driver. After he had driven by for some distance, he knocked on a wooden ornament in his carriage twice and on his forehead twice while saying, "I hope my baby son doesn''t turn like that."


    Graham and Fabien entered the two-story house. Janssen, the assistant, greeted them and called Ruben and his wife, Anne. Three people went down to the living room where the two men were seated.


    "Thank you for bringing my son back, Graham. I knew it was right to trust you," said Ruben.


    "Thank you, Mr. Detective. Thank you. I was very worried." said Anne. Her voice was still weak. It was apparent that she was not in very good health.


    You''re welcome, Mrs. Arnaud. It wasn''t easy, but I did my best." said Graham humbly. He rested his hands on the armrests and leaned back on the sofa.


    "Tell me, what happened?" asked Ruben worriedly. He noticed Graham''s hand that was wrapped in cloth.


    "So, it was like this. I went to Emiel''s store, but he didn''t know anything about the ring. He told me to find an antique store on Oosteindestraat, so I went. I met the store owner, and she knew something, but I had to buy the information. That was when I called you. After I gave her the money out of my own pocket..." he emphasized the word ''my'', "...she told me that Fabien was hiding somewhere near Amstel River."


    Graham paused for a while and took a deep breath, "And then I found him hiding in the old Whaly''s factory. Two men came after him and we had a fight."


    "Did you fight too, son?" Ruben asked Fabien.


    "No, papa. I somehow fell asleep, so I didn''t see any of that. But when I woke up, there was blood on the floor."


    "Blood!?" Anne said worriedly.


    "It was mostly the attackers. I got only slightly injured. Your son is completely fine." assured Graham while showing his blood-stained cloth wrapped around his left hand.


    "Who are those attackers?" asked Ruben.


    "I don''t know. Their faces were covered in masks and shades. I could only see their hair. One had black hair and the other one brown and curly. They seemed to be pros." Graham gave his assessment.


    In the short time he fought with them, he was cornered. He didn''t see Valentine''s fight with them because he was put to sleep and his consciousness only woke up when Valentine got a terrible nightmare.


    "Did you say black hair and curly brown hair?" interrupted Fabien.


    "Yes, why?"


    "They''re the people who were chasing me! I''ve seen their faces!" he exclaimed.


    "Do you know them, son?" asked Ruben.


    "No, I don''t recognize them."


    Silence fell upon the room. Everybody seemed to be thinking about something.


    Suddenly, Graham spoke, "Anyway, my job here is done, can I get my reward now?"


    "Sure, sure. I''ve prepared it for you." he then turned to Janssen, "Can you go get it, please?"


    Janssen, who had been standing next to Ruben, left the room. Shortly after, he came back with a brown envelope.


    "This is your reward: thirty guilders plus an extra two guilders as reimbursement."


    "Thank you. I almost forgot. What should I do with the ring?" Graham took out the ornate ring from his pocket.


    "You can keep it. It has given me more trouble than it is worth." Fabien said.


    "Where did you get this ring anyway?" asked Graham inquisitively.


    "A friend sold it to me. He said he needed money. He was probably lying, but he is my friend."


    "Val, I wish I had a friend like him." Graham lowered his voice and whispered. He then said, "Alright then. I''ll keep the ring." He turned to Ruben, "Are you alright with that, Ruben?" asked Graham to be polite.


    "No problem. That was my son''s, so it''s up to him. Thank you again, Graham." answered Ruben.


    "Val, we got a lot of money," he muttered.


    Graham got up and left after saying goodbye to everyone. It was still early. He checked his watch for the time and it was nine twenty-three in the morning. He was thinking of stopping by the bank first to deposit his money, but he remembered that he was still hiding the gun that his attacker dropped. He decided to go home.


    He arrived home and entered his office. It was a small office and dark. There was no direct sunlight because his bedroom and the kitchen were in the way. There was a big shelf full of files and documents and other stuff, and a sofa for the guests to sit on, and also a chair opposite his office desk. There were drawers in the corner of the room next to his desk. He switched on the light and sat in his chair.


    Graham took out the gun, the knife, and the ring and put them on his desk. He also took out Valentine''s commando knife and set it separately. The gun was small; it was a pocket revolver. There was only one bullet left inside the chamber.


    "Val, I don''t know what kind of gun this is. You should know better about it. I only can shoot, and even then I miss three out of five times." he self-deprecated. "There was only one bullet inside. We''d better find more if we want to use this. For now, we can keep the gun in our office."


    Graham unlocked a drawer and put the gun inside. He then directed his attention to the knife. It was a pocket knife, much shorter than Valentine''s 29-cm knife.


    "This knife is much shorter than yours. Thanks to your knife I could defend myself." he put the knife in the same drawer as the gun.


    "Now there is this ring." he took the ring and brought it closer, "It makes our body warm, and it also improves our eyesight tremendously. But wearing it for too long can give us a terrible headache." he thought for a while and continued, "We should ask Paim more about the ring."


    He stuffed the ring in his pants pocket and went to the kitchen to grab his other chocolate bar. He ate some pieces quickly and went to his bedroom to get changed. He took off the leather jacket, now dirty, and left it in the dirty laundry basket. He also took off his torn t-shirt and right glove and put them in the same basket as the jacket. He went to the bathroom to unwrap his left hand and wrapped it with a proper bandage. After his preparation was done he took his favorite dark brown trench coat and stuffed Valentine''s knife inside one of the pockets, not forgetting to also carry the money he just received.


    "Val, I''ll be borrowing your knife," he said while putting his trilby on his head.


    He went out and took a public motor carriage to the bank. It was located on Grotemarktstraat, on the same street as Bron''s Jewelry. He entered the bank but stopped by security who did a body check,


    "Sorry, sir, we''ll have to take your knife. You can get it back later." the big and intimidating bank security said.


    Graham went in and deposited thirty guilders and kept the two guilders on his person. He went back to security, retrieved his knife, and left.


    "Val, it''s still early. Let''s walk to Oosteindestraat. We''ll have breakfast on the way."


    It was one hour before noon. The sky was cloudy and the wind blew. The leaves started falling off the trees, and the wind blew them away. The street was busy with motor carriages driving by. Graham walked leisurely in that cold morning. He stopped by a small restaurant to have breakfast. He ordered the most famous breakfast in the republic: toast with butter and hagelslag, eggs on the side, and fresh fruit. He also ordered a cup of hot chocolate. Everything cost him only five pennings. He left the restaurant and continued walking.


    It took him a total of more than one hour to walk from the bank to Oosteindestraat, without counting the time he spent for breakfast. He had felt tired by the time he reached his destination. He first went to a corner store to buy a bottle of water. It was only half a penning. He continued walking and finally reached the nameless antique store. He opened the door and was greeted by a smile.


    "Welcome, dear. I knew you would come back." Paim, the store owner, said.


    "How did you know? Did you divine it?" asked Graham curiously.


    "No. It''s because you have paid." she smiled meaningfully and continued, "I believe you have a lot of questions. Come to my room, we''ll have a seat there and talk."


    Graham followed Paim to the room at the back. They both sat on the sofa.


    "Do you want anything to drink? Tea, perhaps?" she offered politely.


    "Hot chocolate, please, if you have any."


    "I don''t have anything like that, dear," she answered truthfully.


    "That''s okay then. I''m good. So, tell me about the ring."


    "Before I answer that, did you encounter someone who did something you couldn''t explain?" she looked at him in his eyes; her dark brown eyes glimmered with anticipation.


    "In fact, I did. Two people attacked me. One of them did something and suddenly I felt inexplicably sleepy. He also chanted something and suddenly I had a terrible nightmare and a splitting headache." Graham recounted.


    "Only one of them? What about the other one?"


    "The other one was really strong, but there was nothing abnormal about him."


    Paim nodded and said, "You''ve just encountered a contract-bound person, or a Contractbound, for short."


    "What contract? What are they?" he looked at her in the eyes with genuine curiosity.


    "Do you remember our divination last night? We borrowed the power of Fire Divination Deity, you, through the ring. A Contractbound is someone who has made a contract with certain deities. The person is then granted some of the deity''s power. You haven''t made any contract, so you needed the ring to borrow the power." she explained.


    "How to make a contract? How many deities are there?"


    "Oh, there are many, dear. To make a contract, you need to find a scroll containing the deity''s sigil. Once you open the scroll, the knowledge of how to proceed will enter your brain. Each contract will require different sacrifices-- and the process can be very painful." she paused, thinking for a while.


    Graham was listening intently.


    She continued, "A lot of people have died trying to make a contract. They couldn''t bear the pain."


    Graham seemed to have been slightly shocked. He continued to ask, "Are you also a Contractbound?"


    She smiled mysteriously and said, "I am, and I am not."


    "Val, what does that even mean?" he whispered to himself. He looked at her and asked, "So if I want to be a Contractbound, what should I do?"


    She looked somewhat relieved, "Do you want to be one? Once you make a contract, there is no turning back, dear. You can only proceed forward. Your world will never go back to that of a normal person."


    Graham went quiet for a while and thought.


    "Hmmm... I''ll think about it. Last question; do the deities have names? Other than just Fire Divination Deity or something?


    "They do. Someone will know the name once they enter a contract with a deity." she paused; her tone became serious, "But you must never say their names out loud, ever."


    "What will happen?"


    "Something really terrible," she said coldly. After saying that, her smile came back, "Come back here tonight if you have made up your mind, dear. It has to be tonight. I''ll help you with the ritual. Bring the ring; you''ll need it."


    "One more thing; why are you helping me?" he asked Paim without any ill intent.


    "Because you paid me." she laughed.


    It was the first time Graham had heard Paim laugh, and her laughter sounded unsettling even though there was no malice in it. It somehow sounded like a broken record. Moreover, her eyes were wide open while laughing.


    "It''s because I can feel that bringing you over to this side is the right thing to do," she added.


    "Alright. I''ll come back here if I decide to make the contract. I need time to think it through. Thank you very much for your help."


    He got up and left the store. He took a public motor carriage home. He once again tried to haggle the price without success. He arrived home seven minutes later. He walked upstairs, entered his office, and hung his coat and hat. He sat down in his office chair in the dark while thinking.


    "What do you think we should do, Val?"


    Silence.


    "I know what you would do. You are more of a doer than a thinker. You would definitely say yes." he paused for a while, "I need chocolate."


    Graham got up and took pieces of chocolate from his fridge and ate them slowly while sitting in his office.


    "Now, our line of work is getting more dangerous, Val. This morning we had to fight two dangerous people. If not for you and the ring, I might have died." Graham felt grateful, "Also, the more famous we get, the more difficult our commissions will be. That divination power can be very helpful to us."


    He paused for a while, eyes on the ceiling.


    "What''s my goal, Val? I''m just a normal person. I live day by day. I like solving mysteries. I like chocolate. But what is my goal in life?"


    "Maybe I would like to be not normal for once. Maybe after becoming a Contractbound, I will find my goal. Maybe I will be able to help more people with the new power. It''s all maybes, Val."


    He pondered for a while again.


    "But all those maybes are definitely better than the boring normal life. It''ll be dangerous, I''m sure of it, but it also sounds very exciting."


    "Maybe I''ll die on the job, but isn''t that what we''ve come to accept, Val? When we decided to get into this line of work?"


    He ate the remaining piece of chocolate.


    "I''ve decided to do it! What about you, Val? I know you''ll be with me in this."


    His green eyes glimmered with anticipation and excitement.

 6 The Cards and the Ritual

    It was Thursday night. The sky was clear; the full moon shone more brightly than usual. Graham exited his apartment building in his favorite getup: a dark brown trench coat, a pair of dark-colored pants, and a trilby. He was wearing a shirt and a sweater underneath his coat, and a pair of leather boots. He had Val''s knife stuffed inside one of his pockets.


    It was nine in the evening, so there were still many public motor carriages around. He stopped one and asked the driver to take him to Oosteindestraat. It didn''t take them long to reach the destination. Graham paid the driver and got out of the carriage.


    He stood by the street for a while, observing the situation. It was as dark and gloomy as ever, and the people around still looked shady. He took out the ring from his pocket and wore it.


    "With this, Val, I should be able to see those pickpockets clearly." he smiled, amused with himself.


    After he put the ring on, his body became warmer. He somewhat regretted wearing so many layers. His eyesight also improved significantly. He started walking down the street, heading to the antique store in a small alley. He could clearly see people staring at him, and after a while, some children with questionable motives approaching him. When the children got closer, he avoided them with agility and walked faster towards his destination. In front of the store, he tapped to check if his belongings were still intact.


    "We made it, Val, and my coat also made it without extra holes."


    He took off the ring, entered the store and was greeted by the familiar smile,


    "Welcome. I see you have made up your mind."


    "Yes. I''ve decided to tread the path of a Contractbound. What do I need to do?"


    Paim got up from her chair and went to a corner of her store. She took out a scroll and handed it to Graham.


    "We still have a lot of time. The ritual can only be done at one after midnight," she said matter-of-factly.


    "So what do we do in the meantime? And can I open this scroll now? I assume this is the scroll with the sigil that you mentioned." he was looking at the scroll in his hand. It was the size of a common piece of paper, and the scroll itself was made of leather. It was light brown in color and felt rather heavy.


    "Sure, open it. The knowledge of the ritual will be transferred to your brain once you open it. After that, while waiting, we can prepare the ritual materials. You can tell me what we need." she said with her soft, aged voice.


    "Don''t you already know what we need?" he asked her.


    "No, dear, I don''t. I made a pact with other deities. Some of the powers intersect, that''s why I could also do fire divination if that''s what made you ask." answered Paim, now sitting on a small chair making herself comfortable in the dim room.


    "You can be under contract with more than one Deity at a time?" the revelation surprised him.


    "Yes, you can, but remember that each contract requires sacrifices." she finished talking.


    Graham opened the scroll with both hands. He saw a pattern on it; a sigil. It was the same as the one on the ring. As soon as he saw the sigil on the scroll, knowledge entered his brain. He went dizzy for a while, and after recovering, he told Paim what they needed. He spoke while massaging his temples,


    "We need four black candles, myrrh essential oil..." he paused, "As for the offerings: eyes of a recently deceased person, a finger of a dead infant. Lastly, lead for the seal." he said with horror in his eyes, "How in the world am I supposed to gather the materials?"


    Paim only smiled faintly and said, "The ring. That was made from the remains of a deceased Contractbound. It can be used as the offering."


    Graham breathed in relief after hearing her answer. He was glad he didn''t have to go to the cemetery and dig the grave.


    "I assume you have the black candles, the myrrh oil, and the lead, then?"


    "I do. Now, do you know how to conduct the ritual?" she asked.


    "Yes, the knowledge is also here." he pointed at his head. "First, sprinkle the essential oil around the room; that is to appease the Deity. Next place the four candles on each corner of the scroll, facing the four cardinal directions. Redraw the sigil using my blood and place the offerings in the middle. Then, light the candle in the order: North, East, South, and West."


    Paim nodded in approval.


    "Next, summon the Deity. If the ritual is successful, the Deity will grant the power. After that is done, end the ritual and seal the scroll using lead." he finished speaking.


    "Some warnings," Paim said, "Redrawing the sigil is not that simple. You will need a lot of blood, a lot," she emphasized that word, "That''s why you must be in prime condition to do the ritual. And after you''re done, make sure to end the ritual properly. If you don''t, you and everyone present won''t be guaranteed survival."


    Graham nodded.


    "Now, go gather the materials. The candles are in the drawer, second from the top. Is the third drawer there should be some lead foil. As for the oil, it''s in the backroom, on the table." she gave directions to him.


    Graham went to gather all the materials. He was lucky the store was not big, only cluttered, so he could get everything quickly. He handed everything over and asked,


    "It''s only ten something now. We have a lot of time. What should we do?"


    "Our preparation is ready, so we can just kill time now."


    "Let''s play a card game. I''m rather nervous now, I need to calm down," he said. His heart was beating fast. It was a life-changing moment that he was going to experience. There was no turning back once he had done it. He needed to be at his best physical and mental states.


    "I have a deck of cards. Let me go get it. We can use that table." she pointed at the table they had used for divination before and got up to grab the cards. She then sat on a small chair and asked him, "What game are we playing, dear?"


    "It''s a game called Schildpad, or just Pad for short. Do you know how to play it?"


    "No, unfortunately. I don''t really play card games, but I can learn as we play," she said honestly. She was confident in her ability to learn fast.


    Graham received the card from Pain and started shuffling. They were only playing for fun, so there was no need to be so strict about the rules. They would just play base on his knowledge. Graham dealt the card to both of them, each getting nine cards.


    He said, "The goal of the game is to score as little as possible. The cards'' value is just as the numbers show, so a three has the value of three points. Jacks and Queens score ten points. Kings score zero points, and aces score one point. A two scores negative two points."


    "So those three cards are desirable, yes?" Paim asked for confirmation.


    "Yes, you are correct. Now, you cannot look at your hand. Could you please arrange the card into two rows: four cards in each row? They must stay face down. You''ll have an extra card; set it aside. It is your backup card." Graham explained how to play like he had done it many times.


    Paim nodded and arranged her cards into two rows like instructed.


    "Now, you can look at one card, but don''t flip it over. Just take a peek at it and remember what it is," he said that as he flipped open the card in the bottom left corner a little. It was a four of hearts.


    "Oh, I should remind you not to use your divination power," Graham added.


    Paim smiled meaningfully and nodded slowly.


    "Each round, we draw a card from the deck. There will be two: the face-down deck and the face-up deck from the cards we discard. You can choose to draw from whichever you want. You go first since I am the dealer." he said as he flipped over a card from the deck and made a new face-up deck. It was an ace of spades.


    "Wow, you''re lucky!" he exclaimed. "So as I''ve said before, you can choose to draw a card from the face-down deck or the face-up one. In this case, you have an ace of spades. It scores one point only.


    "Then don''t mind if I do." she took the ace of spades and then paused. "What do I do with this card?"


    "Replace one of your cards with that. We must always have eight cards at all times. Oh, I almost forgot. If two cards on the same column have the same value, they cancel each other out."


    She nodded and proceeded to replace one of her cards with the ace of spades. "I put it down face up, yes?"


    "Yes. The game is over when one player has all cards face up. At that point, we count our scores. Now discard the card to the face-up deck."


    Paim discarded the card that was replaced by the ace of spades. It was a four of spades. Graham saw the card and on his turn, he took it and placed it at the top of his four of hearts. Now they scored zero. Next was Paim''s turn, and she looked at the card she just drew from the face-down deck with a frown.


    "I don''t like this one. What should I do with it?" she asked.


    "Discard it, and after that, you must flip over a card."


    She discarded the card; it was a ten of spades. She then flipped over a card in her hands and it was a two of diamonds.


    "I''m feeling lucky today, dear," she said full of confidence.


    Graham drew a card from the face-down deck; it was an ace of clubs! He replaced a card with his new one and discarded it; it was an ace of spades!


    "My luck has gone down the drain," he said, scratching the back of his head.


    The game went on for several minutes, and after Paim''s turn, he had all her cards face up. Graham had his last turn and flipped over all his remaining cards. It was time for them to count their scores.


    "Now, it''s time to count. Do you remember the backup card? You can use it now to replace any card you want." he said as he flipped over his backup card. It was the queen of spades. He discarded it right away and grunted. Paim did the same; however, her backup card was the king of diamonds.


    "You are really lucky. Is that part of your supernatural power?" he asked while counting his scores. His total scores were six points.


    "Who knows, hmmm," she spoke mysteriously. She got him to help her count her scores, and the totals were negative four points!


    "I lost!" he exclaimed.


    "Must be beginner''s luck, hehe." she laughed creepily.


    They played six more rounds until the time showed fifty past midnight. They stopped playing with the end results: Graham won one out of seven rounds.


    "It''s almost time. Are you ready, dear?" Paim asked.


    "I am much calmer now."


    "Let''s get ready." she cleaned up the cards and put them on a shelf.


    Graham, who had been sitting on the floor this whole time, got up and opened the scroll for the second time. Now, nothing happened, since the knowledge had been transferred to his brain. He got curious and asked Paim, "When I opened this scroll again, nothing happened. What if someone else opens this scroll?"


    "As long as it hasn''t been sealed, the same knowledge will be transferred to that person."


    He nodded and then got up to sprinkle myrrh oil around the room. Woody, earthy scent entered his nose and made him calm. He felt like his throat became clear and his mood became strangely positive. After sprinkling the oil, he set up the four black candles in formation, each pointing to the four cardinal directions.


    "Val, I''ll be using your knife again." he burned the blade with a lighter that he had borrowed from Paim for some time and slit his left palm.


    "Uhmpf!"


    A muffled cry of pain escaped his mouth. Fresh blood came pouring out of his open wound. He let it drip on top of the sigil, following along its pattern. He first drew the three rectangles adjacent to each other. Once the blood touched the sigil, it got sucked into it and turned dark red in color. He had to use a lot of blood to draw each part because the blood kept getting sucked away.


    After he finished drawing the rectangles, he drew the circles on each corner and inside each rectangle. It took him some time to finish the circle, and he drew the next part: the upside-down crosses and a triangle between. He then placed the ornate ring in the middle of the sigil.


    By the time he finished redrawing the sigil, he felt weak because he had lost a lot of blood. Strangely, however, his wound healed rapidly, and only a scar was left. He didn''t ask Paim about it because he needed to concentrate. The calming aroma in the room helped him keep his focus despite losing a lot of blood.


    Next, he lit the black candles starting from North, and then East, followed by South, and lastly West. Once the candles were lit, the light bulb that was illuminating the room suddenly died. The candles were the only source of light now. Silence crept into the room. He could even hear his own heart beating faster with each passing second. Graham started the summoning chant.


    "Thee I invoke, the One born from Fire,"


    "Thou art the master of Fire Divination,"


    "Thou art the master of Palmistry,"


    "Thee, that teachest Logic and Rhetoric,"


    "Thee, that bringst Peace of Mind and dispelst Fear and Timidity,"


    "Come thou forth, and accept my offering,"


    "And grant me your power, worthy of thy name!"


    As soon as Graham finished chanting nothing happened for a while. He waited patiently without saying anything. Suddenly, everything went dark.


    Whoosh!


    Flame came gushing out from the center of the sigil, consuming the ring and spreading around Graham. He couldn''t see anything else despite the fire raging. Everything else was dark. Suddenly, he felt unbelievable pain.


    "Aaarrghhh!!!!"


    Graham kneeled down and wailed in agony. He felt like a hot giant fork was inserted into his eye sockets, trying to gouge his eyeballs out. His eyes were burning, blood came pouring out. He covered his eyes with both hands, but the invisible fork didn''t stop. It kept plucking his eyeballs out until it succeeded. Graham almost passed out from the pain, but he managed to stay conscious.


    His eye sockets were in great pain after his eyeballs were gone. But when graham touched his closed eyelids, he still could feel his eyeballs there. The moment of peace didn''t last long. He felt immeasurable pain shortly after. Now it felt like something was trying to insert two boiling lava balls into his ''empty'' eye sockets.


    "Make it stop!! Arghh!!!


    The pain was almost unbearable. Just when he thought things couldn''t get worse, he now felt pain on his finger skin. He dropped down to the floor. His finger skin felt like being skinned open. Something was tearing his finger skin one by one!


    He was almost at his limit. After the last finger skin was torn away, he felt like something wrapped his finger skin with something smooth and soft, but extremely hot. The pain wrapped around each of his fingers on both hands, slowly covering the open flesh. When it was over, the light in the room came back. He opened his eyes and saw no blood anywhere.


    The pain was gone! It was like it had never been there in the first place.


    Graham panted. He remembered Paim''s words to end the ritual properly. He put out the fire from the candles one by one, starting from West, all the way to North, and moved them away. He then rolled the scroll and sealed it with lead foil.


    Once he had sealed the scroll, it burned by itself and the ashes entered Graham through his nostrils.


    Paim brought him a glass of water and he gulped it down quickly. She then asked him while looking at Graham''s now bright red eyes, "How was it?"


    "Painful," he answered shortly, still catching up with his breathing. When he had calmed down, he asked with concern, "So is the scroll inside of me now? What about lead poisoning?"


    "Don''t worry, dear. It''s not inside your physical body; it''s inside your spiritual body. Congratulations!" she smiled.


    Graham nodded.


    On Friday, August 30, 1968 EH, Graham Hymes had become a Contractbound.

 7 What Comes with the Power

    Paim and Graham were sitting next to each other; the latter was trying to control his breathing. One and a half hours had passed since he began the ritual. The dimly lit room was as cluttered as before. There were four black candles that had been extinguished; each much smaller than when they were lit. It was very quiet; Graham''s heavy breathing could be heard faintly.


    "Now, I''m going to give you some warnings regarding the world of Contractbounds. Listen carefully." Paim said softly but sternly.


    Graham turned his attention to her; the glimmer in his red eyes got stronger the more he recovered.


    "First, you need to learn to control your power. Your red eyes will attract attention."


    "Why?" he had guessed that Contractbounds should not display their power in the open, but he didn''t understand the reason.


    "The Police are not a fan of stray Contractbounds. They will monitor you strictly if they find out that you are one. And the moment you cause trouble, they will lock you up. You don''t want that, don''t you?" she asked.


    "No, of course not. You said stray Contractbounds; does it imply that there are official Contractbounds?" he tried to confirm.


    "Yes. The Police have their own division of Contractbounds. Of course, they keep it a secret from the public."


    Graham nodded. He could understand that making the existence of Contractbounds public would cause panic in society. They had strange powers, and the offering materials were taboo, at least in his case.


    "Second, as I''ve said, you can be in contract with several Deities, but you must be very careful in choosing. Some Deities are malicious. That brings us to the third point: the Deities you''re in a contract with will ask you to please them from time to time. Every Deity is different in the way you can please them. The malicious ones can go as far as ask you to kill innocent people or sacrifice living humans to them."


    "What about my Deity?" he worriedly asked.


    "I don''t know, but His nature is not evil. You will know when His messenger comes to you. A personal note; an encounter with a messenger is very rarely pleasant." she emphasized the word ''very''.


    "How did yours go?"


    "Oh that, I don''t want to tell you. It''s really personal, dear." she refused to answer.


    Graham''s mind started to wonder how it was.


    "Now with that out of the way, I need to close my store. You should go now." she smiled and looked at Graham, and looked at the door.


    "Alright alright." he got up. "Thank you very much for your help. Can I come here to ask you questions if I have any?"


    "I''m sure you do, but I''m afraid not. I won''t be around anymore. But we will see each other again when the time is right." she smiled, her eyes showed a hint of regret.


    "Where are you going?" he asked while rubbing dust off his coat and pants. He was lying on the floor after all when he was in pain.


    "I cannot tell you that. Now go!"


    "Okay okay." Graham put his knife back inside his pocket and walked out of the store. The moment he walked out, he heard a loud noise.


    Thump!


    He looked back and the antique store was gone!


    "Val, I''m not the only one seeing this, right?" he looked around the area trying to find the store. The spot where the store had been was now an empty plot of land with grass and weed growing wild.


    "Whatever, let''s just trust her. She said we would meet again after all." he decided to just let it go and went home.


    It was a cold early morning, with the full moon shining brightly. His body was strangely warm, but not hot enough to cause him to sweat. It was comfortable warmth. He started walking and noticed that his eyesight was tremendously better, even slightly better than when he was wearing the ring. He also felt there was new knowledge in his brain, but he set it aside for now. He needed to focus on getting home safely.


    Oosteindestraat had always been famous for its crime rate. The street was big but dark. It was far from Central Sloten, so patrols were scarce. There were also slums nearby. Desperate people sought desperate measures. Usually, normal people wouldn''t walk down that street late at night, not to mention at two-thirty in the morning.


    Graham walked fast, with eyes on his surroundings. There were no motor carriages driving by, and only a few people were left in the street. Some of the street lights were broken, making some parts darker than the others. He saw a man ahead of him walking in his direction. The man was wearing a beanie and a mask covering his lower face. His clothes looked elastic, the kind that made it easy to move around in. Graham could deduce that the man might be a thief. He watched the man carefully with his new eyes.


    As they got closer, the man''s movement became weird. His mouth underneath his mask seemed to be moving, and his left hand was making a kind of movement as if it was taking something from the air. Graham saw his weird behavior and checked his belongings right away, and his feeling was correct; his wallet had gone missing!


    When the man saw him checking his belongings, he got into a position to start running, but it was too late. The gap between them was close, so with a slight move, Graham could grab the man''s right arm. He pinned him down to the ground and got on top of the man to prevent him from running away.


    Other people in the street watched what was happening, but they stayed out of it. Graham looked the man in the eye and said convincingly,


    "You will now return my wallet."


    "I-- I don''t understand what you''re talking about!" the man tried to deny it.


    "You will return my wallet now because my money is inside it. I don''t want to lose my money because otherwise, I''ll be angry. I''ll bring the Police here if I''m angry. I am friends with people from the Police. You don''t want to be a wanted man, do you?" he gave the man some reasons that he just made up, but he said it very seriously.


    The man looked confused, and as if he was enchanted, he took out a medium-sized brown wallet from under his shirt. It was Graham''s. He checked the content of his wallet while still pinning the man down.


    "Yes, everything is inside. Thank you. Now you may leave."


    He got off the man and cleaned the dust off his coat. The man ran away and went into an alley. Graham continued heading home.


    "Val, the street is dangerous at night. I wish there was a motor carriage we could take."


    The people in the street turned away from him as he walked past them.


    "That man earlier used a strange trick to swipe our wallet. So there is also that kind of power." he thought for a while. "These new eyes are amazing. Thanks to these I could see his weird behavior. Also, how did the man just give me back my wallet? I gave him bullshit reasons. Is it maybe part of the power?"


    He continued walking home, but as he was walking, he felt a headache that was growing stronger with each passing moment. He deduced it was the effect of the eyes because it was similar to the ring. He increased his pace because the headache was getting unbearable. At one point, he even ran. Graham arrived home at three fifteen. Once he arrived, he went straight to the shower. The water eased his pain a little, but it was not enough.


    After showering, he dressed up in a simple t-shirt and loose pants. He sat on his bed and thought about what had happened today while massaging the back of his head.


    "Val, the first thing we need to do is learn to control our power. Paim was right; the eyes are too eye-catching. Not many people have bright red eyes after all." he touched his closed eyelids, "and the headache too."


    His contract granted him powerful eyesight. He had already tried it first-hand and although amazing, it had limitations. It drained a lot of his stamina, and the result was the headache that might at one point make him pass out.


    "Val, we really need to turn off this eye power now. I can''t bear the headache any longer."


    Graham tried to concentrate. He controlled his breathing like Paim had told him after the ritual. He then focused on his eyes. After a while, he felt like there was a switch somewhere in his brain that was connected to his eyes. He switched it off and his eyes felt cold for a while. However, the headache was slowly receding.


    "Okay, we did it, Val. But it is too troublesome to have to do this every time we need the eyes. We need to learn to do it faster tomorrow."


    "Speaking of Paim, who exactly is she? Her store just vanished into thin air. I think she must be very powerful to pull something like that. Although she has been nice so far, we must still be careful of her."


    "Now, I think it is time to access the knowledge that entered our brain earlier," he said and focused on a part of his memory that seemed new. It was the knowledge about his powers.


    Besides his eyesight, he also got two powers of divination. The first one was fire divination, which included paper burning, fire scrying, smoke divination, and ashes divination. The second was palmistry, the extent of which was still unknown to him.


    "We should try out our new powers, especially palmistry. It is really not clear what I can do with it; is it for reading fate? Reading personality? Should I become a fortune-teller?"


    His contract also granted him the knowledge of logic and rhetoric, the former strengthening his already great logical mind, the latter giving him the power to better persuade people.


    "These abilities seem to be well-suited for my job, don''t you think so, Val? We need to practice often so these abilities will get stronger. I think that''s how it works."


    "Now, on to the next thing: about being a Contractbound. As we have seen, Val, there are different strange abilities out there. One that can make people sleep, one that can give someone a nightmare, and one that can steal belongings in secret. That man was unlucky to meet us; if it had been someone else, they would have never noticed. His movements were very subtle."


    "There is also that thing about meeting the messenger. Paim said it would not be pleasant. I''m curious about it now." his mind seemed to wander for a while.


    "Well, nothing to be done now. We need to sleep. I feel exhausted."


    He lied down in bed and started sleeping. After a while, his breathing became regular.


    ...


    It was still early in the morning. The room was dark; the street light couldn''t penetrate the thick curtains. Graham was lying down in his bed when suddenly he opened his eyes.


    He couldn''t move!


    His chest felt heavy as if there was something sitting on it. He tried to move his fingers, but he failed. He tried to turn his head to the right, and yet he failed again. He could only raise his head slightly and see straight. He could see the door to his room and the clock on the wall. It showed 3:33. He tried to scream for help, but no sound came out of his open mouth.


    His chest felt heavier and heavier, making it difficult for him to breathe. As he was panting for air, he saw the door to his room being opened slowly.


    Creak...


    The door creaked as it was being opened very, very slowly. Cold sweat ran down Graham''s neck. He tried to scream once again and moved his body, but nothing seemed to bear success.


    Bang!


    Suddenly the door shut close. Then there were footsteps.


    Clomp... clomp... clomp...


    The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard.


    Clomp clomp clomp clomp...


    The footsteps became faster and closer.


    Time seemed to have frozen. Graham tried to force his eyelids close, but he couldn''t.


    The footsteps disappeared.


    Suddenly, there was a giant black figure standing at the door staring at Graham.


    His heart skipped a beat from the shock. The figure was just standing there, staring at him. Graham couldn''t make out what figure that was; his mind was just refusing to process the image.


    Clomp... clomp... clomp...


    The sound of heavy footsteps came from the figure. It was walking towards Graham.


    The closer it got, the faster his heartbeat.


    Clomp... clomp... clomp...


    The figure was now standing right next to him. He couldn''t turn his head, so he couldn''t see what it was doing.


    Hee... hee... hee...


    He heard a creepy laugh. Suddenly, there was a face in front oh him. It blocked all his field of vision.


    It was the figure!


    It was smiling!


    It showed its sharp yellow teeth. Graham wanted to scream so badly and just ran away but he couldn''t do anything. He felt his knees go weak.


    He suddenly opened his eyes. He woke up for real now. There was no figure, and the clock showed four in the morning. He just had sleep paralysis. Sweat ran down his neck and arms. It took him some time to calm down. Once he had calmed down, sat down on his bed and said,


    "Val, did you also see that?" he then shook his head, "I don''t think so. After all, we don''t share dreams."


    He decided to go back to sleep after going to the toilet to pee and drinking some water in the kitchen. When he got back to his bedroom, he saw a piece of brown colored paper on his bed. He flipped it over and there were words that were burned into the paper.


    ''Please the Deity by divining great secrets.''


    Graham read the words and it dawned on him: it was the messenger that Paim was telling him. After he finished reading it, the paper burned itself into ashes.


    "Great, now I have to clean it. So, that''s what she meant by meeting the messenger is not something pleasant. I will never get used to something like that, Val." he complained. He wiped the ashes from his bed with his right hand and took it with his left. He then threw the ashes into the dust bin and sat on his bed.


    "So, I have to divine great secrets to please my Deity. What even counts as a great secret? I guess we will just have to do it."


    Graham yawned. He felt very sleepy and tired since his sleep was interrupted. He lied in bed and tried to sleep again. It didn''t take long for him to enter the dream world. This time, no figure disturbed him.

 8 New Case

    On Friday at seven in the morning, the sun was shining. The street outside was busy with people and motor carriages. There were noises of people chattering and engine running. In a dark room, where the morning sunlight was blocked by heavy curtains, a man was still lying down in bed. He was wearing a simple t-shirt and a pair of loose pants. He opened his eyes and got up from bed. The man opened the curtains and stood in front of a mirror. His light blue eyes looked cold in the room illuminated by the morning light. He was Valentine Graham.


    "G, I don''t feel anything different about my body, not even warmth," he said.


    He tried to concentrate on his eyes; to activate the power. He controlled his breathing and tried to find the switch that Graham was describing.


    "Still nothing. Maybe only you have it, G."


    Valentine grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something on it. He put the paper on the table next to his bed. He then closed the curtains and lied down in bed; he went back to sleep.


    One hour after Valentine went back to sleep, Graham woke up. His eyes had dark circles around them because he didn''t have enough sleep.


    "Val, did you wake up?" he asked. He opened the curtains and noticed the piece of paper on the table. He knew right away it was from Valentine. They had communicated that way many times before when the other was still asleep.


    "G, I think the power is only yours. I don''t have it."


    Graham sat down and thought about it. He tried to find a logical reason why Valentine didn''t have the power.


    "Val, you''re awake, right?"


    There was no answer, but he could feel it.


    "Now, why don''t you have the power but I do? Are you sure you have tried everything? Knowing you, I''m sure you have."


    He went into thinking again.


    "I have some idea, but I don''t know if it makes sense. So, I think it''s because the contract is bound to the soul, not the body. Maybe the Deity treated us as different souls, Val."


    His eyes glimmered as if he had just got a great idea, "If that''s the case, then, in theory, you should be able to make a contract with another Deity."


    He then remembered something, "Speaking of Deities, Val, didn''t Paim tell us we would know the name of the Deity once a contract is made? Nothing like that happened to me."


    Ding... dong...


    Suddenly there was someone ringing the bell to his detective office.


    "A minute please!" he shouted from his bedroom. He washed his face quickly and went to his office without changing. He turned on the light in his dark office room.


    He unlocked the front door and opened it to his guest. It was a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties. She was wearing an elegant red blouse and a black skirt with matching high heels. Her face was adorned with makeup. The woman carried a black leather purse in her right hand.


    Graham let her in and gave her a seat. He looked lousy in comparison with the woman.


    The woman observed him for a while and asked, "Is this Hymes Detective Agency?"


    "Yes. I am Graham Hymes, private detective. Just call me Graham like everyone else. Is there anything you need my help with?" he sat down in his own chair opposite the woman; his hands formed a triangle in front of his nose.


    "My name is Naomi Bakker. I heard from Mr. Arnaud that you are a capable detective," she observed Graham again from his head to his waist.


    "Oh that Ruben." he interrupted.


    "Yes." she nodded and took out a photo from her purse. It was of a man in his late thirties, a handsome man with dark hair and a mustache. Next to him was Naomi without makeup. She still looked beautiful even without one.


    "This is my husband, Bram Bakker. We''ve been married for sixteen years now, we have two children and a happy life..." she paused, "but lately, my husband changed. He often comes home late, and he is easily irritated. He spends most of his time outside, away from his family."


    She went quiet for a while, as if thinking about something. Graham already came up with a guess as to why her husband changed. He had had similar cases in the past.


    "Do you suspect that he is seeing another woman?" he asked.


    "Yes. That''s why I''m here. I want you to find out who that other woman is. You don''t need to do anything else; just find out who she is. I will handle the rest." her eyes showed anger.


    "You''re not going to kill her, are you?" he asked curiously.


    "No, of course not. I just want our marriage to go back to normal, no matter the cost." her voice didn''t waver as she said that.


    "How can I find your husband?"


    "He is a government official, so he works at the city hall from nine to five. He used to go straight home after work, but now I don''t know where he goes. He is a careful man; I once tried to tail him but I think he noticed me and somehow disappeared from my sight. That''s why I need you."


    "Alright. The commission fee will depend on the overall difficulty of this mission."


    "It''s not a problem, Mr. Detective. I don''t care how much I have to pay as long as my dear husband comes back to us."


    "One more thing. Sorry if this may be impolite, but can I check your palm?"


    "Why?" she was taken aback, "Are you good at reading palms?"


    "Something like that." he smiled.


    Naomi gave him her right hand, but he interrupted. "Both hands, please."


    He gave him both hands with open palms. Graham observed her hands carefully. She had short fingers and long palms. Her nails were neatly manicured with red nail polish on. Her palms felt smooth to touch, and they were soft.


    "Val, her palms showed us a strong character, but she may lack empathy at times. They also showed us restlessness and agitation," he whispered.


    "What did you see, Mr. Detective?" asked her after seeing him whispering to himself.


    "I will try my best to find the person your husband has been seeing. In the meantime, you should try to relax. Why not go to the cinema or go shopping?"


    She seemed to be thinking for a while but didn''t say anything.


    "Is there anything else, Mrs. Bakker?"


    "No. Nothing," she said quickly. "I''ll take my leave now. You can call this number if you have any updates." she gave him a slip of paper with her landline number on it.


    Graham accompanied her to the exit and said goodbye to her. He then closed the door and sat back in his chair.


    "Val, it''s time for us to try my new power."


    He took a small piece of paper and wrote a statement on it.


    ''This mission will be dangerous.''


    He then placed the paper on top of a glass plate that he had prepared before. He lit the bottom right corner of the paper with a match and watched the paper burn. It burned slowly and before long, the entire paper turned to ash.


    "This means the answer is yes. But the paper burned slowly, so the danger should not be life-threatening?" he expressed his thought. "Let''s check again to make sure." He wrote another statement on a different piece of paper.


    ''This mission is life-threatening.''


    He repeated the same procedure: lighting the paper from the top right corner. Flame consumed only part of the paper.


    "It means the answer is no. So, this mission should not kill me."


    He then took yet another piece of paper and wrote something on it.


    "Val is better suited for this mission than me."


    He repeated the procedure and he was left with a half-burned piece of paper.


    "It means the answer is no," he said. Suddenly, he felt a growing headache.


    "Ugh, the headache again. It seems that I cannot keep doing this forever. My power is still limited."


    He decided to stop using the divination and got ready for the day. He still had a lot of time, so he wanted to have breakfast first.


    "Val, let''s try one more thing," he said. He took five candles from a drawer and set them up in a circle. "I only have five candles, not enough to make a formation. But it should be okay, right, Val? My question is a very trivial one." he got up and turned off the light in his office.


    Graham lit the candles one by one starting from the north all the way to the west. Once all the candles were lit, the surrounding area went dark and quiet. He kept repeating the questions in his mind.


    ''Where should I go for breakfast?''


    After repeating the question enough times, he stared at the flame intently. Slowly, an image came to be. It was a blurry image of a small diner near his house. Graham recognized it right away. Once he saw the image, he stopped staring at the flame and the surrounding area became normal again. He put out the fire and turned on the light.


    "Val, I guess we''ll be having breakfast at Don''s Pancake House today."


    Graham got changed. Since it was just for breakfast, he dressed up simply: a maroon sweater with a black t-shirt underneath, a pair of denim pants, and a pair of dark brown loafers. He also brought the pocket knife that he got from the fight, a lighter, and a small notebook and a pen with him. He left his apartment room and locked the door behind him.


    In the hallway, he saw his next-door neighbor, a young man in his early twenties. He was standing in front of his apartment room. Graham observed him for a while and saw that there were black circles around his eyes. He must have had a lack of sleep. Graham greeted him.


    "Morning, Luuk." Graham nodded in his direction.


    He was Luuk van der Meer, a young medical student at Sloten University Department of Medicine.


    "Morning, Detective Hymes." he nodded back.


    Graham didn''t say anything else because they were not really close. Luuk was the type to keep to himself, so he rarely engaged in small talks with his neighbors. It was even rare to see him outside his room.


    He left his apartment building and walked east towards the diner. It was a beautiful but cold morning, with birds chirping and leaves starting to fall. He walked leisurely while enjoying the view. It was only nine-thirty; he had a lot of time.


    It didn''t take long for him to reach his destination; a building with the sign ''Don''s Pancake House'' painted in pink and brown color. There was a picture of six fresh-looking pancakes next to it. Graham entered the diner and he was greeted by a busy atmosphere. There were a lot of people sitting and eating there. He went to sit facing outside, on his favorite seat near the entrance.


    "Morning, Graham. What are you having today?" asked someone. She was Mirjam, the waitress at the diner. They were already familiar with each other since Graham had often come here.


    "The usual, please. And a cup of hot chocolate with mint." Graham ordered.


    Mirjam nodded with a smile and went to the counter and shouted, "Don, the usual for Graham!" she then proceeded to serve other customers.


    Not long after, Mirjam came back with his orders. He had bacon pancakes with bananas and peanut butter toppings and a cup of mint hot chocolate. He ate his food quickly, as usual.


    While Graham was eating, someone came into the diner, and Graham got a nagging feeling in his heart to look at the person. He raised his head and observed the person who had just come in. He was a handsome man in his late thirties with a mustache. He was wearing a black coat with a suit underneath. On his head was a top hat. Graham recognized the man right away; he was Bram Bakker, his target!


    His target came in alone, and he sat close behind Graham and ordered food. It seemed like he was just there for breakfast.


    "Val, what''s our target doing here at this hour? Shouldn''t he be at the office?" Graham muttered. He concentrated and switched on his eye power. He finished his food while observing the man from time to time. He tried to be subtle because he remembered Naomi''s warning that Mr. Bakker was very careful.


    Once he had finished his food and drink, Graham went to the counter to pay. His totals were only three pennings. He gave the money to Mirjam and quietly asked her, "Do you know the man in the black coat right there? The one with a mustache and a hat?"


    "He..." she said but was interrupted by Graham who put one finger over his lips. She understood and lowered her voice. "He has come here only three times, so I don''t know who he is. But every time, he always orders the same food."


    "Hmm..." Graham thought. "So he doesn''t normally come here for breakfast. His habits changed, but what changed it?"


    As he said that, Mr. Bakker raised his hand to call for the waitress. He then paid for his food and left. Graham saw that and left after some time. He wanted to keep some distance between him and the man, and with his eyes, he should be able to follow him easily.


    Mr. Bakker walked rather fast. He walked straight without looking around, seeming confident about his action.


    "Val, he seems to have done this many times," he whispered.


    They kept walking for another fifteen minutes before finally Mr. Bakker stopped in front of a two-story house and knocked at the door. Graham hid behind a tree and kept observing. The door was pushed open a little, and Mr. Bakker went in. From Graham''s angle, he couldn''t see the person who opened the door for his target.


    "We''re currently on Tuinstraat North, Val. That house is number is three. I should write it down." said he as he wrote the address in his notebook.


    Graham waited at his hiding spot for a while, looking for any signs of activity from his target. After thirty minutes of waiting, nothing happened, so he decided to ask around to find out whom the house belonged to. He went to the house next to it and rang the bell. A woman wearing a hair roller came out.


    "Yes, can I help you?" she asked politely and when she saw him, she said, "I don''t think I know you, Mr...?"


    "Graham Hymes. I''m a private detective. Just call me Graham." he shook her hand. "I have questions about your neighbor." he pointed at the house next door.


    "Oh, what happened? Is she in trouble?" the tone in her voice didn''t show concern, but excitement.


    "No, no. Just asking."


    "Oh, alright." she sounded disappointed. "I don''t know her, really. She just moved in last month, and she only rarely comes out of the house. At least that''s what I see. I''m a housewife, you know, so I stay at home most of the time."


    "A lot of men in this neighborhood have had their eyes on her. I also often see different men coming into her house." she shared.


    "Who takes care of her lawn?" he asked while pointing at the well-mown lawn.


    "That would be Eric. In fact, he mows a lot of the lawns in this neighborhood. He said he needed the extra money, that boy. He should be at home at this hour. He lives with his grandparents. Their house is number nineteen." she pointed at a house in the distance. Graham nodded and wrote everything in his notebook.


    "Thank you very much for your help, Ma''am," he said politely.


    Graham left the house and started walking towards the direction that the woman showed him. It didn''t take long for him to reach the destination; a small house with a well-mown lawn and flowers. He rang the bell and an old man came out.


    "Yes? What can I help, young man?" the old man stood at the door with the help of a cane.


    "I''m looking for Eric. I heard he lives here. I''m a detective. I need his help with something." he said, observing the old man. He looked to be in his sixties, still healthy except for his right leg.


    "Jongen! Come here! Someone is looking for you." he shouted to someone inside the house. After a while, a boy, about fourteen came out.


    "Who is it, Opa?" he asked the old man who turned out to be his grandpa.


    "He is a detective." the old man looked at Graham. "You should come in." he offered.


    "No need, Sir. It will be quick." Graham refused.


    "Alright then. I''ll be inside if you need me. Now be good and answer his questions, Eric." the old man walked with the help of his cane inside.


    Graham looked at the young boy and asked, "Why are you not at school, kid?"


    "I can''t go to school on Fridays. Every Friday my grandma needs to have her weekly check-up. Someone needs to accompany her, and you can see my grandpa cannot do it." he said honestly. "Are you here for that?" he asked Graham back.


    "No, not just that. Do you know the owner of house number three? The one who just moved in last month? I heard you always mow her lawn." he readied his notebook.


    "Oh, that is Mevrouw Cornelia. I don''t know her full name. She is very beautiful and kind. She always gives me extra money for mowing her lawn, more than the other neighbors."


    "There we go, Val. We have our target''s name." Graham whispered.


    "Yes?" Eric asked Graham, thinking he was talking to him.


    "No, nothing. Continue."


    "That''s it. I don''t know anything else about her. I think she lives alone. I''m never inside her house."


    "Is it true that many different men often visit her?" Graham asked.


    "Yes, but Opa said I shouldn''t pay attention to stuff like that." he shrugged.


    "That should be all. Thank you for your help, kid. If you need a detective, just call me." he closed his notebook and stuffed it inside his pants pocket.


    He then left the house and walked back to Mevrouw Cornelia''s house.


    "Val, we already have the woman''s name. That should count as a job well done. It hasn''t even been half a day." he praised himself.


    "Next, we just need to report it to our client."

 9 A Boring Investigation

    It was a Friday afternoon on Tuinstraat North. The beautiful cobblestone street was packed with people. Leaves were falling slowly from a tree, being blown away by the gentle breeze. A young man was hiding behind the tree; he was no other than Graham Hymes. He had been observing house number three for four hours, but there was still no sign of activity.


    Graham had contacted his client earlier through a payphone nearby, informing her about his findings. She requested that he do a stakeout with the promise of extra payment. That was why he gladly accepted. However, after doing it for hours he got very bored. His body became stiff.


    "Val, this is very boring. I''ll wait one more hour and if nothing happens I''ll just go," he complained.


    He had already done divination by burning a piece of his notebook, and his question was whether his target would make a move. The paper burned entirely, indicating a positive answer. It didn''t show him the time, however, and he couldn''t keep repeating the process because of the headache. He could only wait.


    Not long after, he saw the door of the house being opened, and a man came out. From his angle now, he could clearly see the person behind the door: it was a beautiful woman with a slender figure. She was rather tall with a thin face. Her hair, curly and red, fell on her back. Her fair skin complemented her floral dress. Her eyes were soft, like the first layer of snow in winter, her lips, the color of a red apple. Her small, thin nose added more character to her face. Graham could understand how all the men around fell for her.


    "Val, she is a beauty," he muttered.


    He could only saw her at a glance because the door was quickly closed again, but his eyes could perfectly capture her whole figure. Graham came back to his senses when the door was closed and turned his attention to the man; Bram Bakker. He walked up to the side of the street and stopped a public motor carriage.


    Graham quickly stopped one for himself. Lucky for him, there was one not far behind the one Mr. Bakker took. He quickly got in and said to the driver, "Follow that carriage in front of us. Quick!"


    "It''s you again!" said the driver in surprise. It was the same driver that Graham had got a lot of times. The driver started driving and followed the other carriage at a distance by Graham''s request.


    The carriage at the front drove at a normal speed; the passenger didn''t seem to be in a hurry. Judging from the route they were taking, Graham could already guess where his target was going.


    "We''re now on Raadhuislaan, aren''t we?" he confirmed with the driver.


    "Yes. That carriage is stopping," he pointed at the carriage ahead of them, "Do you want to stop here too?"


    "Yes, please. How much? Can I get a discount? I take your carriage a lot." Graham asked the driver, smiling hopefully.


    "I don''t think so, sir. I need to feed my wife and kid. Five pennings, please." Graham gave the money to the driver disappointedly. He got out of the carriage and started following Mr. Bakker again.


    The situation on Raadhuislaan was very busy since it was a big avenue. A lot of people around were wearing professional-looking clothing: the men in suit and the woman in formal wear. The Town Hall, at a square in the heart of the avenue, was where most people were going. It was a huge grey building with a classic architectural style. It had a single minaret with a giant bell inside. The bell used to be rung if there was a disaster or enemy attack. Nowadays, they used a very loud siren instead.


    Graham followed Mr. Bakker to the Town Hall, but since he didn''t have any business there, he didn''t enter the building. He went to a caf¨¦ nearby, from which he could still see the Town Hall. He sat outside at the coffee and ordered a cup of hot chocolate and a buttered toast. Not long after, his orders came. He took a sip of his hot chocolate and he smiled in delight.


    "Hmm... this hot chocolate is very good, Val. It''s sweet and very rich; just how I like it. This is even better than Don''s."


    Graham then dipped his buttered toast in his hot chocolate. He ate it and again, it made him smile. He was very satisfied with the exquisite food experience he was having. After finishing his toast, he took a piece of paper and wrote something on it.


    ''Will Mr. Bakker go anywhere but home after work today?''


    It was a question he was going divine about. He lit the paper on fire from the bottom right corner. The paper burned halfway, indicating a negative response. Mr. Bakker would go straight home today. Graham felt a slight headache.


    "Val, judging from the rate of the headache, I think ten times should be the upper limit of divination per day for now, and I''ve already done seven-- eight, if it includes palmistry." he hypothesized.


    Graham decided to still follow Mr. Bakker. Him going home after work didn''t mean he wouldn''t meet anyone on the way, and if nothing else, he could learn where his client lived. It could come in handy.


    He had been sitting at the caf¨¦, observing people when he suddenly saw a familiar face. It was Mirjam, the waitress at Don''t Pancake House.


    "Mirjam! Hey!" Graham shouted her name while waving his hand. Mirjam was surprised at first and when she saw who it was, she came over to him.


    "Hey, Mr. Famous Detective." she smiled while teasing Graham.


    "I''m not famous or anything. Are you done with your shift?" he asked while observing her.


    She was wearing a floral knee-long dress and a denim jacket on top. Her flaxen hair was tied in a ponytail. Her round face was decorated with freckles and beautiful thin lips. Her blue eyes looked rather tired. She must have had a lot of customers at work.


    She brought her slim body to sit in front of Graham. "May I?" she asked while taking the seat.


    "Sure." Graham nodded, giving her permission, "Do you want to order anything?"


    She shook her head and said, "I''m done with today. There were so many people at Don''s today. It felt never-ending. I wonder why a lot of people came today; including you. I haven''t seen you in days." she looked at Graham in the eyes. "Not that I''m complaining," she continued, "It means business is good. But I''m still tired."


    "I''ve been busy with cases lately. It''s difficult to be me," he jokingly said.


    A smile surfaced on Mirjam''s face.


    "In fact, I''m here on a case. You came at the right time. With you here, it will look more natural." he explained casually.


    "That''s not just an excuse to ask me on a date, is it?" she said teasingly.


    "No, no, it''s not. I swear." Graham blushed a little.


    "Just joking." she laughed. Her laugh was much more pleasant than Paim''s laugh in Graham''s ears. "Anyway," she added, "Why have I never seen you with a girl? You''re not bad looking, I can say."


    "I don''t have time for relationships." he said nonchalantly, and then whispered, "Val, I''m just really bad at dealing with women, but I can''t tell her that, can I?"


    "Were you talking to yourself again?" she said with accusation.


    "It''s just my habit to make mental notes. It is needed in my line of work." he came up with an excuse, and whispered again, more quietly, "Val, it is clear that she controls the flow of this conversation. We need to do something."


    Mirjam ignored his muttering and asked, "So what kind of case is it? Don''t tell me you''re actually stalking a woman?"


    "I''m not that kind of person, mind you," he answered, slightly pained by the accusation. "It''s confidential. What you don''t know can''t hurt you," he added, speaking like a wise man.


    "Yeah, yeah." she brushed it off.


    "By the way, can I read your palms? Just for fun. I have only learned that recently."


    "You''re a fortune-telling detective now? Sure! I like fortune-telling." she smiled excitedly and gave him her right hand.


    "Both, please." he requested.


    Mirjam gave him both of her hands with palm side up. Graham observed her palms and ran his finger across it. Her palms were square and firm, showing signs of hard work. Her fingers are short and slender.


    "You need to rest more," he said seriously.


    "That one should be obvious enough from my tired eyes." she rolled her eyes.


    "Haha. Okay, what about this: a man will come to you and change your life," he said mysteriously.


    "That sounds interesting. Is he handsome and rich?" she asked with wide eyes.


    "I cannot see that detail." he shrugged.


    "Well, that''s good enough then. I want to get married soon and have many children. I don''t want to die alone and single and old and all wrinkly." she said half-jokingly. Her smile showed a hint of loneliness.


    Graham only smiled.


    "Do I have to pay for this?" she asked.


    "No, you don''t. Just treat me to a meal the next time I come over to Don''s."


    "Deal!" she smiled happily.


    The two of them continued chatting for a while. After some time, Graham had a nagging feeling in his heart, the same as what he felt earlier. He concentrated to activate his eye and he saw his target walking out of the City Hall. He deactivated his eye again before Mirjam noticed anything.


    "I need to go now. My target has made a move." he stood up and took some money out of his wallet. "Can you pay for me? The waiter can keep the change," he gave Mirjam five penning coins and left in a hurry.


    Mirjam was dumbfounded for a second and called the waiter asking for the bill.


    "The total would be seven pennings." the waiter said.


    Her face went red and took out two penning coins from her purse. She paid the waiter and left while grunting, "No wonder that man is single!"


    Graham had been long gone when she said that.


    "Val, we should buy contact lenses. It would have been difficult to explain if she had seen my eye color changing." he made a mental note while dashing across the avenue.


    He watched Mr. Bakker stop a public motor carriage and got in. He did the same and asked the driver to follow his target. Their motor carriages drove across Vecht River and headed south towards Hoogstraat South. It seemed that Mr. Bakker was going straight home.


    When the motor carriage in front of them stopped, his driver also stopped his. Graham paid the driver five pennings and got off. He followed Mr. Bakker to a two-story house with a beautiful garden. He took keys out of his pocket and entered the house. It was house number twenty-two. He then looked around to find a payphone and when he found one, he entered it and inserted a penning coin. He took out a slip of paper from his wallet and dialed the number.


    "Hello." said the woman''s voice from the phone.


    "Hello. Is this Mrs. Bakker? This is Graham Hymes speaking." he spoke with a low voice.


    "Oh, Mr. Detective. Yes, this is Naomi Bakker speaking. Is there any news?"


    "Is your house number twenty-two? Is your husband home right now?" he asked, confirming the facts.


    "Yes, and yes. He is home right now."


    "Then that means he went straight home from work. After he left that woman''s house, he went to work and didn''t leave until five. After that, I followed him home. He did nothing else in between." he told her matter-of-factly.


    "I see. I will ask him about the woman tonight. Thank you for your help, Detective Hymes. I''ll stop by tomorrow to give you your payment" she said.


    "Oh yes. About that..." Graham told her the total commission fee based on the difficulty of the task. "Thank you. Have a good one." he hung up the phone.


    He then thought out loud, "I guess the job is done? But I haven''t encountered any danger. Was my divination wrong?"


    He brushed the thought aside for now and took a public motor carriage to Grotemarktstraat and stopped at the shopping center. He went to an eyewear store there and bought a pair of dark brown contact lenses. They would last him three months and required some adaptation before he could not feel discomfort in his eyes anymore while wearing them.


    He walked home and had dinner on the way. It was a simple dinner of noodle soup and grilled pork. He arrived home at seven and went straight to the shower. He really hated sleeping with a sweaty body, so he always cleaned himself before that.


    It was still early, so he practiced meditation, something he came up with while brainstorming for ideas to better control his power. He did it for an hour before deciding to go to sleep. He was exhausted from the previous night''s lack of sleep and the boredom of doing a stakeout. He lied down in his bed and reviewed his day.


    "So, Val, today we got a new case, and I guess we finished the job. But something still feels off. We will ask Mrs. Bakker tomorrow about her husband; she should be confronting him as we speak."


    "And that Mirjam. When I read her palms, I saw something about a man coming into her life. I hope it is a good sign. She is a good person." he smiled, thinking about his conversation with her.


    "She can be pushy and straightforward. I hope that man can bear with her."


    "Next, about my power. I have used divination a total of nine times today. If my theory is correct, I should be able to do it one more time. I guess we should try it, Val."


    He got back up and grabbed a piece of paper. He wrote a statement on it.


    ''Tomorrow I will encounter danger.''


    He lit the paper as usual and waited for the answer. The flame spread slowly and consumed the entire paper.


    "It means yes. There will be danger tomorrow. But the paper burned slowly, meaning it is not mortal." he rubbed his chin, thinking. "So what will happen if I try it one more time?"


    He took another piece of paper and wrote on it.


    ''Tomorrow I will get a lot of money.''


    He lit the paper on fire and just as his lighter touched the paper, the flame went out and Graham got a painful sting around his nose. He touched it and there was a lot of blood.


    "So, Val, that''s my limit," he said in pain. He went to the bathroom to wipe the blood off and cleaned the table in his bedroom from the ashes. He then went to bed.


    That night, he didn''t have any nightmare. He woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and energized. It was eight in the morning. He washed his face and tried out his new contact lenses.


    "Dammit, these don''t feel comfortable at all," he cursed. He felt like there were lumps on his pupils. He had to get used to it to hide his changing eye colors, however. His eyes now were deep, dark brown in color.


    Ding... dong...


    The sound of the front bell rang. He had a guess of who it was. He got changed quickly and opened the door.


    "Good morning, Mrs. Bakker." he greeted her with a smile.


    Naomi Bakker entered his office. She was wearing a white blouse with a black skirt today. Her expression looked cold. She took a seat and Graham sat opposite her. She took out an envelope from her handbag and handed it over to him.


    He opened the envelope and counted the money inside. There were a total of sixteen guilder bills, including the extra payment for the stakeout.


    "How did it go with your husband?" he asked.


    Naomi smiled, but her smile was not genuine. It was an automated smile, like that of a salesperson. She said, "Everything is fine now. My old, loving husband is back." her eyes didn''t even move even though she was smiling.


    "Are you sure? You can tell me anything. Everything will be kept confidential here." he assured her gently.


    "No, no, nothing, really. Everything worked out well. That woman turned out to be his co-worker who has been sick for a while, so he''s been helping her out. Isn''t my husband a kind man?" she kept smiling.


    "Okay, if you say so." Graham didn''t really believe her, but he had no other way to confirm.


    "In that case, I''ll take my leave now. Have a good one, Mr. Hymes." she got up from her chair and left the office.


    "Val, something seems off about all of this," Graham said and paused.


    "We need to investigate."

 10 Under Control

    In an apartment building inside room number 23, Graham was hurriedly getting ready to continue his mission. He put on a white shirt and a pair of dark brown cotton pants. He took his coat and stuffed everything he might need inside the many pockets; including Valentine''s knife, a lockpick, sleeping pills, and a facemask. He didn''t bring the gun because it was illegal and would cause too much trouble, and he didn''t wear the facemask right away because it was also illegal to cover his face in public unless he was sick. He put on a pair of sneakers and left his office.


    Graham locked the door behind him and went out to the street quickly. It hadn''t been five minutes since Naomi Bakker left his office, so she shouldn''t have gone far. When he got there, however, he couldn''t see her figure anywhere. He went behind a tree and tore out a piece of paper from his notebook. He wrote a statement on it.


    ''Naomi Bakker is going home.''


    He lit the paper with his lighter and watched the flame consumed the paper. It burned the whole paper quickly, which meant Naomi was going home. He waved his hand to stop a motor carriage and got in. He told the driver her address: Hoogstraat South no. 22. He also told the driver to drive fast.


    It took him less than seven minutes to reach his destination. Once he arrived at Hoogstraat South, he got out of the carriage and paid the driver. It was Saturday and the street was not as busy as usual. Most people were staying at home with their families. There were only a few motor carriages on the road and some bicycles.


    "Her husband and children should be home I think, Val," he said. He hid behind a tree again not to attract attention and tore out another piece of paper.


    "At this point, I''ll be out of paper before I can finish my chocolate in the fridge."


    He wrote the statement on the paper, trying to be as specific as he could.


    ''Naomi Bakker, Bram Bakker, and their children are all home.''


    He lit the paper on fire and it burned entirely, indicating a positive answer. He then swept the ashes with his hand and threw them into a rubbish bin.


    "They are all home, Val. I''ll go in and check on them."


    He walked up to the door and rang the bell. It didn''t take long before the sound of footsteps could be heard getting closer. The door was pulled open a little and a man''s head stuck out from the gap; it was a handsome man with a mustache, Bram Bakker.


    "Yes? Is there anything I can help you with?" he said with a smile. His smile looked creepy.


    "Is your wife home? I''m her colleague. Ruben Arnaud sent me here." he lied.


    "Ah, Mr. Arnaud! But I''m sorry. She''s currently away." he said, still smiling. There was no happiness in his smile.


    "Hmm... What to do..." Graham knew that Mr. Bakker was lying. He concentrated for a while to activate his eye power while pretending to think. After some time, his eyes turned red under his contact lenses.


    He looked at Mr. Bakker in the eye and said convincingly, "You''ll let me enter your house because I need to see your wife. Mr. Arnaud specifically asked me to see her. You don''t want to disappoint him, do you?''


    Mr. Bakker looked confused for a while and then opened the door a little. When Graham was about to enter through the gap, he smelled a strong stench of blood.


    Bang!


    Suddenly, Mr. Bakker came out from behind the door and hit him in the head with a vase. Graham fell to the ground in pain. His head was bleeding. There was a sound of a door being locked from inside.


    Some passersby stopped and watched what was going on. Graham then yelled, "Call the Police! Somebody has been murdered in this house!"


    Graham got up and wiped the blood from his head.


    "Val, there must be a back door. We need to get there somehow," he said as he ran back to the street. He thought for a while before running to a neighbor''s house. He rang the bell and someone came to the door. It was an old man.


    "Can I help you?"


    Graham looked at him in the eye and said with a serious tone, "Someone has been murdered in the house next door. You''ll let me enter your house and use the back door because I need to catch the killer."


    The man hesitated for a while before finally opening the door. He looked confused. He didn''t say anything as Graham entered his house and searched for the back door near the kitchen. It took less than one minute from the time he entered until he exited through the back door.


    The back door led to a small service road for garbage trucks. From the back door, he went to Mr. Bakker''s house and he saw the back door was open. He looked around immediately but couldn''t see the figure of Mr. Bakker anywhere. He had a hunch as to where he might have gone, but he would divine it later to make sure. For now, he wanted to check up the condition of Naomi Bakker and her children.


    As he got closer to the back entrance, the smell of blood became stronger, and there was a faint stench mixed in.


    "The smell of decay!" he said.


    He covered his nose with his forearm and entered the house. It was dark and very suffocating inside. He had to control his breathing to prevent himself from vomiting. All the windows were covered by the heavy curtains and the lights were off. He went to the living room and was shocked by what he saw.


    "Val, this is madness!"


    On the floor, the lifeless body of Naomi Bakker was lying on her back, with her arms and legs spread forming a star. Her stomach was cut open and her guts taken out. Her eye sockets were empty, only blood pouring out of them was there. On each side of her head were two decapitated heads of her children with eyes wide open. Their expressions were that of terrible horror.


    A pentagram was drawn using blood around her, with complicated symbols made using her chopped up intestines. On the sofa nearby, the headless bodies of her children were sitting straight, with their hands on their laps, as if forced to spectate the whole thing.


    Graham went out of the house because the stench was too suffocating.


    "Val, it''s the Police''s job to do murder scene investigation. We need to catch the husband. He''s too dangerous to be let roam free." he said with urgency.


    He went some distance away from the Bakkers'' house and tore a piece of paper from his notebook. He wrote something on it.


    ''Bram Bakker went to Mevrouw Cornelia''s house.''


    He triggered his lighter and tried to burn the paper. But when the paper touched the fire, it burst into flames instantly.


    "What just happened?" he said in confusion.


    He tried it again. He tore out a piece of paper and lit it on fire. But the moment the paper touched the fire, it burst into flame again. He got no answer from his divination. He cleaned up the ashes not to leave any evidence.


    "Val, I think someone is interfering with my divination. Our target might be more dangerous than we thought," he said while throwing the ashes into a rubbish bin.


    Graham gave up with divination and went to a secluded alley. After making sure that it was safe, he took out a sleeping pill from his pocket and swallowed it.


    "Val, you take over," he said. After some minutes had passed, Graham finally felt sleepy and fell asleep.


    Shortly after Graham fell asleep, Valentine woke up and stood up. He cleaned the dust off his coat.


    "G, we need something more convenient to switch."


    Valentine ran to the main street and hailed a motor carriage. As a carriage was pulling over, he heard the sound of police siren approaching in the distance. He asked the driver to take him quickly to Tuinstraat North, where Mevrouw Cornelia''s house was. He got off the motor carriage and paid the driver seven pennings.


    Valentine went to a secluded alley and took out a facemask, the lockpick, and his knife from the pockets. He wore the mask and hid his knife under his sock. He then hid the coat and the trilby somewhere in the alley.


    "G, wake up." he tried to wake up Graham''s consciousness.


    He walked out of the alley and went to the back of Mevrouw Cornelia''s house. He didn''t wait until night time because then they might have long been gone. The road where the back door was was relatively quiet, but there were still people. He hid behind a bush and waited until the people were gone.


    When it was safe for him to do so, Valentine climbed to the second floor of the house using the help of a wall and the balcony railing. He then picked the lock of the door on the small balcony and entered the house quietly. He heightened his alert.


    The inside of the house was dark and reeked of blood. He could hear someone in the kitchen downstairs making something. He deduced it was the house owner. There was only one source of the sound, however. He couldn''t locate his target. He walked down the stairs carefully, without making much noise. The woman downstairs seemed to be cooking while humming to a tune. The closer he got to the kitchen, the stronger the stench of blood that penetrated his nose.


    The staircase was facing the kitchen, so a part of it could be seen. From where he was standing, he could see a man lying down motionlessly on the kitchen table. It was Mr. Bakker!


    His right arm and right leg were missing, and blood flowed from the cut parts. The cuts looked rough, like it had been done with a dull butcher knife. Valentine walked closer quietly. He could see that Mr. Bakker''s eyes were still open and tears ran down his face, but he didn''t move at all. He was being chopped up alive!


    Once he got to the entrance of the kitchen, he could clearly see a woman boiling an arm and a leg in a large pot while humming. It was the beautiful woman that Graham had seen before: Mevrouw Cornelia. Valentine sneaked behind her and stabbed her with his knife.


    He missed!


    Mevrouw Cornelia had dodged to the side in time.


    Valentine grabbed the hot pot and threw it at her. She quickly moved aside but some boiling water still splashed on her left arm. The mutilated limbs fell down on the floor.


    "How impolite!" she said while licking her injury. She looked calm despite being attacked in surprise.


    Valentine charged at her and managed to stab her left shoulder. She attacked Valentine in the neck with her unnaturally long nails, but he parried it with his knife.


    "Shit!" she cursed.


    Her beautiful face looked twisted. She ran out of the kitchen in a hurry. She held her shoulder tight while running towards the living room.


    Valentine ran after her and but he was pushed back by a sudden gust of wind. He hit the wall and pain coursed all over his body. Suddenly, sharp fingernails stabbed him in the chest and he barely dodged it.


    "Bloody fuck!" he cursed in pain as blood dripped from his wound.


    He managed to avoid being hit in his vital organ. He tried to attack back but he only hit thin air.


    Mevrouw Cornelia had become much quicker!


    Her red hair was blown by the gust of wind surrounding her. Her face looked calm with craziness hidden underneath.


    Valentine charged at her but he was pushed back by a gust of wind.


    Baam!


    He hit a bookcase, books falling down on him.


    Mevrouw Cornelia was standing there looking straight at him. Her lips moved as if she was chanting something.


    "Fucking hell!" Valentine cursed and darted towards her.


    He gripped his knife tightly in his right hand and aimed for her heart. She dodged but Valentine quickly slashed her abdomen.


    He hit her!


    Blood spurted from her slashed abdomen, and she was staggered, but she still didn''t stop her chanting.


    Valentine used this opportunity to pin her down to the ground.


    Crash!


    She fell to the ground; her head hit the floor.


    He got on top of her and quickly moved his knife in a stabbing motion aiming for her head.


    She smiled!


    As the knife was about to touch her forehead, he stopped moving and remained motionless. Valentine had lost consciousness!


    "Finally, you are under my control. Now, what do I do with you?" she said sinisterly, looking at the motionless man on top of her. Her soft eyes were no more; now there was only evil intent reflected in her cold eyes.


    Suddenly, the knife continued its course and pierced through her skull.


    "Aaaah!"


    Her eyes were wide open in disbelief. She thought she had won.


    It was Graham! He had taken over because Valentine''s consciousness faded.


    Blood spurted from her skull and her mouth. Her wide-open eyes became lifeless soon after. She had died.


    Graham got up from her now dead body and fell to the ground. He had lost a lot of blood. He took off his bloody shirt and ripped it to cover his wounds. He needed to stop the bleeding soon.


    "Val, what have you done to our body..." he complained. As he was saying that, Mevrouw Cornelia''s body suddenly burst into flames.


    "What in the world!" Graham exclaimed.


    Shortly after, her whole body had turned into ashes, and among her ashes, there were two scrolls left behind. Graham grabbed the scrolls and tucked them on his back. He then used what remained of his shirt to clean the blood off his face and body. After that, he also cleaned his blood off the floor as best as he could. When he finished cleaning up, the remains of his shirt were all bloody.


    Graham went back to the kitchen to check Mr. Bakker''s condition. When he saw that Mr. Bakker had died of blood loss, he quickly went upstairs and left through the balcony door. He closed the door behind him and jumped down to the bushes. He couldn''t climb in that condition.


    Graham carefully went to the alley where he had switched with Valentine, avoiding people while doing so. It took him a while to find where Valentine had hidden his coat because he was still unconscious then. He then took off his bloodied gloves and facemask and stuffed them inside his pocket along with his bloody shirt. He wore his trilby and walked naturally as if nothing had happened. Nobody could see his blood under his coat.


    He waved his hand to stop a public motor carriage. When he got one, he got in and sat down in pain, but he didn''t show it. The driver didn''t notice anything and just started driving his passenger to his destination.


    Once he got home, he went to his bathroom and burned his bloody shirt and facemask in his bathtub. He then washed the blood off his coat and pants with hydrogen peroxide.


    After he was done, he went back to his office to check the two scrolls that he had got from Mevrouw Cornelia.

 11 Battle Loo

    On Saturday morning, at around eleven, Graham Hymes sat in his office chair in pain. He was topless, but his body was wrapped in cloth. Blood seeped out from it. In front of him were two brown-colored scrolls that looked ancient. Graham lifted one and it was heavier than it looked-- and very sturdy. Graham had stuffed them behind his back but there were no signs of folding on them.


    Graham didn''t know what scrolls they were; the only way to check was to open them. He wanted to do divination first to make sure it wasn''t dangerous to do so. He took a piece of paper and wrote on it:


    ''It is not dangerous to open these scrolls.''


    He lit the paper on fire and it was burned entirely to ashes. It was safe to open the scrolls.


    Graham opened the scroll on the right first. The sigil on it looked like two columns with an upside-down triangle between them and two circles on each end. The moment he saw the sigil, knowledge entered his brain. He paused for a moment.


    "This scroll belongs to the Deity of Lies and Attraction. Are you interested, Val?" he said with a deprecating smile. He remembered the rumors about many different men going to Mevrouw Cornelia''s house.


    "You need four red candles and Dragon''s Blood oil. The offering materials are the tongue of a dead liar and the hearts of a deceased couple who were in love while alive." he rubbed his chin and put the scroll aside.


    "Next one," he said as he grabbed the second scroll.


    He unrolled it and saw the sigil on it. It looked like a crown with seven circular points at the top and an upside-down cross. There were two big circles resembling eyes. Knowledge entered his brain as he saw it.


    "This one belongs to the Deity of Secrets. I wonder how many Deities are there. We should do some research one of these days," he thought for a while.


    "The ritual requires four yellow candles and Frankincense oil. The materials for the offering are the eyes of a dead thief and the brain of a recently deceased philosopher. As for the seal, we need copper for both scrolls." he said without fluctuation in his emotion.


    "All of the rituals so far require parts of a dead person. I can only think of three ways to get them: rob a grave, steal from a morgue, or kill someone. No wonder there are many unsolved murder cases around." he came to a realization.


    "Val, I think the second scroll suits you better, but you must choose it yourself. We can keep the remaining scroll; maybe we can find a buyer in the future," he said with glimmering eyes.


    "Now, let''s do divination to find out where we can find the materials." He said as he grabbed nine votive candles that he had bought before.


    He set the candles in the same formation that Paim had done; resembling the sigil of the Deity of Fire Divination. He then lit the candle one by one from the topmost and going down in a spiral. After the candles were lit, he repeated the questions in his mind,


    ''Where can we find the offering materials for these scrolls?''


    After concentrating for a while, an image started to appear in the flame. It was a dark house with a man''s mutilated body lying somewhere in it. It was Mevrouw Cornelia''s house. He then blew out the candles and cleaned up his desk.


    A moment later, the doorbell was rung. Graham hid the scrolls inside the desk drawer and locked it. He then wore something to cover his injuries, went to the door, and opened it. There were two men in blue coats with the police logo on them. They were the Police.


    "How can I help, officers? Graham asked politely.


    "We''re here to ask you about Mrs. Bakker." one of them said. He was tall and had a rough face. He had a scar across his nose. His brown eyes looked as though it pierced through someone''s soul.


    "Ah, sure. Do you want to come in?" Graham offered.


    "If you don''t mind." said the other officer. He was shorter with a friendlier face, but still carried an air of danger around him.


    The three men entered the office and sat down. Graham sat in his chair with the shorter officer opposite him. The taller one sat on the sofa near them. The two police officers observed the private detective''s office intently.


    "This is a very neat office," the shorter officer said with a friendly smile.


    Graham noticed that the taller officer who was sitting on the sofa was muttering something. His lips moved fast. Before he could say anything, he felt his consciousness fade.


    "It''s done. He is under control. He cannot lie now." said the taller officer.


    "So, when was the last time you saw Naomi Bakker?" the shorter officer asked with a cold expression.


    They didn''t notice that the eyes of the person they were talking to had turned light blue in color.


    "I saw her earlier this morning," he said expressionlessly, as if under control.


    "What did she do here?" the shorter officer asked a follow-up question. The taller officer was writing in a small notebook.


    "She came here to give me my commission payment." he only answered the question.


    "What commission did she give you?"


    "She asked me to find her husband''s mistress."


    "Did you find her?"


    "No, I didn''t," he lied still expressionlessly.


    "So why did she still give you the money?" the officer kept asking. His eyes looked cold as if talking to a murder suspect.


    "She canceled the commission, saying it was a misunderstanding and gave me trouble money."


    The taller officer nodded, indicating it couldn''t have been a lie.


    "What did you do after she left?"


    "I got changed and went to her house," he said monotonously.


    "Why did you go to her house?"


    "She looked very strange, and the fact that she canceled commission so suddenly triggered my detective intuition, so I wanted to check it," he said without wavering.


    "What time did you arrive at her house?"


    "Around eight-thirty."


    "It checks out." the taller officer said.


    "What happened there? Tell me what you know." the shorter officer asked.


    "I rang the bell to her house and her husband came to the door. I asked him to enter the house to check up on his wife but he refused. He then hit me with a vase in the head."


    The two officers looked at the recovering injury on the detective''s head.


    "Then I asked the passersby to call the police. I went to their neighbor''s house to be allowed to use the backdoor. Through the neighbor''s backdoor, I saw that the Bakkers'' backdoor was open. I went in." he said still without expressions, as if in trance.


    "What did you see inside?"


    "I saw Naomi Bakker''s and the children''s dead bodies inside. I couldn''t stand the stench of blood so I went out. Then, I went home."


    The taller officer nodded.


    "Did you see the husband? Or anyone suspicious?"


    "No, the husband was not there. I didn''t see anyone suspicious."


    The taller officer wrote everything in his notebook and nodded to his partner. He then snapped his fingers.


    "Thank you for your cooperation, detective." the shorter officer said while smiling again, seeing the detective in front of him recover from his trance.


    The three men then stood up and he accompanied them to the door.


    After making sure they had left, he shut the door and said, "G, I hope my performance wasn''t bad."


    He then went to the bedroom to get changed. He put on a t-shirt and a pair of elastic pants. He wore a beanie to cover his head and a pair of sunglasses. He took some cloth and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. He stuffed a clean face-mask into his pants pocket and the other stuff into a dark-colored coat''s pocket. He also took some plastic sheets from the shelf and a lock pick. He wore a pair of sneakers and clean gloves and left the room.


    "G, I''m going back to the witch''s house. It should take the police a while to find out about her."


    He went to the street and hailed a public motor carriage. He told the driver to drop him off near Tuinstraat North. Even though they both streets were named Tuinstraat, they were not really close to each other. It would take Valentine around thirty minutes to walk from his apartment building to Tuinstraat North.


    It took the carriage six minutes to take him to his destination. He paid the driver five pennings and went to a secluded alley. He wore his facemask and walked to the back road of Mevrouw Cornelia''s house.


    It was already past noon when he arrived there. The back road was still relatively quiet, but Valentine was cautious nonetheless. He found the house and agilely climbed up the balcony. The door that he had picked before was still unlocked. He wrapped his sneakers in plastic and opened the door carefully.


    As he entered the house, the foul stench of blood penetrated his nose. He listened attentively for any sound from the house. There was no sound coming from the house; only sounds from the neighborhood could be heard. He walked downstairs while still on high alert.


    He could see the kitchen from the stairs and the body of Mr. Bakker was still lying there. The blood had dried up. He remembered that the stove was still on when he fought with Mevrouw Cornelia, so he went and checked. It was already off; the gas had run out.


    "G, we''re lucky the house didn''t explode," he shrugged nonchalantly.


    He then went to where Mevrouw Cornelia had died. He was expecting to see her ashes still spread on the floor, but there was nothing like that. There were no ashes at all. On the spot where her ashes should have been, he saw a ball of coagulated blood sealed in copper. He approached it cautiously.


    "G, is this the remains that Paim mentioned; the one used to make the ring?" he deduced. "So that''s what happens after a Contractbound dies. Not even clothes remain."


    He touched it with one finger. The copper felt cold to touch and the texture was jelly-like. After making sure it was safe, he took it and stuffed it inside his coat pocket.


    "I guess that''s the material. Now it''s time to clean up," he said matter-of-factly.


    He took out the cloth from his pocket and poured some hydrogen peroxide on it. He then went to the spot where his blood had been. It was already wiped clean before, but he needed to be safe. He rubbed the cloth on the floor gently, making sure he didn''t bleach the wooden floor. After that was done, he stuffed everything back inside his pocket.


    "G, let''s search the house."


    He went to search the rooms, but there was nothing valuable. Valentine didn''t want to take any money or jewelry because it might alert the Police. The last room he checked was upstairs. It seemed to be Mevrouw Cornelia''s room.


    "This seems to be the witch''s room, G," he said with a low voice.


    The room was spacious, with a king-sized bed and a big wardrobe. Inside the wardrobe were a lot of beautiful clothes of different kinds. Most of them looked classy. Valentine searched behind the clothes and found a box. It was locked. He used his lock picking skill and opened it shortly after.


    There was a scroll inside. It looked similar to the ones that came out of Mevrouw Cornelia''s ashes, but it felt heavier when Valentine lifted it. He stuffed the scroll inside his coat pocket.


    "That should be it." he said.


    He stuffed the box inside his coat pocket and closed the wardrobe. After closing the room door behind him, he walked out of the house through the balcony door and closed it behind him. He then climbed down the balcony and saw a bush that was pressed in. It was where Graham had fallen. He tried to return the bush to its original form as best as he could.


    "G, you need to go on a diet," he said self-deprecatingly.


    Valentine went far from the house and when he thought it was far enough, he got rid of the box inside a dumpster. He then went to the street to hail a motor carriage to take him home. It didn''t take him long to get home.


    Once he was home, he sat on his chair and burned the plastic wrapping his sneakers on an ashtray. Valentine then took out the scroll and opened it. The sigil on it looked like a triple pendulum with two crosses on each side of the outer pendulums.


    When Valentine looked at the sigil, there was no knowledge that was transferred to his brain; no ritual procedure, no offering materials.


    "You need to have pleased three Deities. That''s what it said." he paused for a while, "This scroll probably belongs to a higher Deity if that''s the requirement."


    He then locked the scroll away in his drawer along with the other two scrolls and the coagulated ball of blood. He then went to the bedroom to get changed.


    "G, let''s eat at Don''s," he said as he opened his drawer.


    He put on a black t-shirt and his favorite leather jacket on top. He changed his elastic pants with a pair of denim pants. He took off the beanie but kept the sunglasses. He wore a different pair of sneakers and went out.


    He walked leisurely to Don''s Pancake House with hands inside his jacket''s pockets. The street was not as busy as usual. It was the same as Don''s. Valentine arrived a moment later and the place was not as packed as usual. It was Saturday after all. People chose to stay at home with their families.


    "Good afternoon, Graham!" a cheerful voice greeted him. It was Mirjam, the waitress.


    "..." Valentine smiled a little but didn''t say anything. He checked his watch and it was one forty-three in the afternoon. He went to sit near the door where he could observe passersby.


    "Ah, so you are in ''that'' mood." she nodded while still smiling. She had interacted with Valentine before, so she knew.


    "Give me a beef burger with extra pickles and a cup of black coffee," he said without slips of the tongue.


    "Okay, coming right up!" she went to the counter and yelled to the kitchen, "One beef burger with extra pickles and a cup of black coffee!"


    Valentine sat there in silence, watching people walking by. The tree leaves were falling more frequently, and the gentle breeze blew them away. He was enjoying himself at this moment.


    Shortly after, his orders came. Mirjam brought the food and drink to him, and after a while, asked curiously while standing in front of him,


    "So, how was the case from the other day?"


    "Confidential," Valentine answered shortly while observing her.


    Mirjam was wearing a light blue blouse and a purple plaid skirt with an apron over them. The apron has the logo of Don''s Pancake House embroidered on it. Her flaxen hair was tied in a ponytail.


    "Aw, you''re no fun. Come on please tell me just a little. After all, you used me..." she paused as if she just remembered something.


    "Graham, you owe me money!" she shouted.


    Valentine was embarrassed, both by people''s stare and by Graham. His face blushed red.


    "How much?" he asked while covering his face with one hand.


    "No, it''s okay. I was only kidding." she laughed seeing Valentine embarrassed like that.


    "I''m still not telling you about the case," he said.


    "Okay okay, I understand. By the way, can you read my palms again? When will the man come into my life?" she asked with a twinkle of hope in her eyes.


    Valentine couldn''t refuse, so he took her palms and tried to read it. He couldn''t see anything, however, and just said, "Soon".


    Mirjam looked rather happy and smiled widely.


    "Thank you, Graham!" she said as she walked back to the counter.


    Valentine finished his meal quickly and paid. He didn''t want to be asked random questions again. As he was leaving, Mirjam said cheerfully to him,


    "Come again, Mr. Detective!"


    He walked leisurely home while enjoying the view.


    "G, tonight I''ll conduct the ritual," he said.

 12 The Second Ritual

    In a badly lit detective office, a man in a t-shirt was sitting in the dark. He was holding a ball of coagulated blood sealed in copper in one hand, fiddling with it occasionally. There were two scrolls in front of him, and he looking at the scrolls while his thoughts wandered. He was Valentine Hymes.


    "G, I guess this coagulated blood needs to be made into something else before someone can use its power; just like the ring," he said, feeling nothing from the ball. He added, "There is only one ball. Only one ritual then."


    Valentine thought for a while. He had two choices: the Deity of Lies and Attraction, or the Deity of Secrets. He had seen some of the powers of both deities during his mission involving Mevrouw Cornelia and made his own guesses.


    The former had enabled her to control him and Mr. Bakker. He wasn''t sure whether it only worked on the opposite gender or not, but the effect of the control wasn''t something trivial. She could make Mr. Bakker kill his own family, and not resist being mutilated alive. It was a sinister ability. It had also enabled her to control a gust of wind. It was a useful offensive and defensive ability.


    He saw the latter''s ability when Graham''s divination failed. Judging by the name, he guessed that the Deity had given her the ability to interfere with Divination. He didn''t know more about the ability because it was too mysterious, just as the name.


    "The first Deity grants useful abilities, but controlling people should be your business, G. I''ll make a contract with the Deity of Secrets." he made up his mind.


    "We''ll switch. You can go buy the remaining materials," he said.


    He put back the scrolls and the ball of blood inside the drawer and locked it. He then went over to his bedroom and lied down in the bed, his eyes closed. Not long after, he had gone to sleep.


    Only seconds after Valentine went to sleep, Graham woke up. He got up from the bed and stood in front of the wardrobe. He wanted to get changed. He undressed and put on a white shirt and a pair of striped pants. He couldn''t wear his favorite coat because it was still wet from being washed. He wore a brown sweater over his shirt. He also put on a pair of brown loafers.


    He left his room and went down to the street. He would go to a hardware store to buy yellow candles and the oil if he could find it there as well. It was still three in the afternoon; he had a lot of time.


    The hardware store was located on Grotemarktstraat. It would take him around one hour of walking, but since he had time, he decided to save money. He walked casually while looking around. More people were seen walking in the street than hours ago. It was a nice day for walking, so Graham could understand.


    At the intersection at the end of Tuinstraat, Graham stumbled upon someone he recognized. It was Luuk van der Meer, the medical student from next door. He approached his young neighbor and greeted him,


    "Hi, Luuk!"


    The young man in a grey cardigan looked back to find the source of the voice.


    "Oh, hello Mr. Detective," he said shortly. He looked as tired as usual, with black circles around his eyes.


    "Did you not sleep well?" Graham asked curiously.


    "No. I''m always up all night doing campus work. It''s never-ending," he complained.


    "Where are you heading to?" he asked. They were walking in the same direction.


    "I''m going to Grotemarktstraat," he said. His whole person carried a gloomy aura, so even answering a basic question like that, he sounded rather unfriendly.


    "What a coincidence. Me too." Graham replied, not minding his neighbor''s lack of enthusiasm.


    They didn''t have a lot of chances to interact with each other because they were usually busy with their own businesses. That was why Graham wanted to use this opportunity to know his neighbor better. However, he didn''t really know what to talk about.


    "Today is such a nice day for a walk," he said while smiling awkwardly.


    "Yes, it is," Luuk said shortly, killing the conversation.


    They walked together in awkward silence for a while. The two men walked side by side leisurely. After a while, the silence almost became unbearable, so Graham racked his brain for a conversation topic. However, Luuk spoke first before Graham could think of anything.


    "So, how is it to be a detective?" Luuk finally asked, sounding a little curious.


    "It is never boring--" he paused, remembering his stakeout mission, "maybe sometimes it''s boring. But mostly it is interesting. You get to meet different kinds of clients."


    Luuk was listening seriously as if he was in a lecture.


    "Sometimes it can be pretty dangerous. You need to always have your guard up."


    "What kind of danger?" he asked, genuinely looking interested in the topic.


    "Sometimes a simple mission like finding a missing person can get you into a fight," Graham said, remembering his previous commission, "And an affair investigation might turn into a murder case."


    Graham then thought of Naomi Bakker. He felt sorry for her and her two children. They had to die tragically.


    "But we don''t usually investigate murders. It''s the Police''s job," he added, after a short pause.


    "How do the Police treat private detectives?"


    "Some of them don''t like us. Some private detectives sometimes mess up crime scenes unknowingly. The Police also often get a call about suspicious people stalking the callers. They turn out to be private investigators hired by someone."


    Luuk nodded. He was imagining the situation.


    "But a lot of them treat us kindly. We, in a way, are their informants. When a commission we are handling turns out to be a serious crime, like murder, we usually hand it over to the Police."


    "So what kinds of cases do you handle?" Luuk asked.


    "Simple cases, like missing cats or affairs, or even frauds. But many a time clients who don''t want to or cannot go to the Police for whatever reason will go to us instead. Usually, that is a more serious case." Graham explained to Luuk from his experience as a private detective.


    "Hmm..." he said. He seemed to have understood Graham''s explanation and went into thinking.


    "Why are you interested?" Graham asked in turn.


    "Nothing. It just sounded fun. Maybe I will be a forensic doctor in the future." he said with genuine interest.


    The talked more for a while before finally, they arrived at their destinations: Grotemarktstraat.


    "I''m going to the hardware store. Are you going there too?" Graham asked politely.


    "No, I''m going somewhere else. See you later," said Luuk while waving his hand.


    Graham bid his goodbye with Luuk and they went separate ways. Graham walked to a hardware store called Oscar. It was a famous hardware store chain across the republic.


    It was a big store with a lot of aisles. Quite a few people were there at the time. It was bright inside, with a lot of banners hanging from the ceiling. They had discounts for certain items; Graham hoped what he needed would be on sale.


    Graham went around for a while, looking for where the candles and oil were. It took him long enough to find all that he needed, and he was lucky the oil was also available in the store. He had wanted to use his boosted logical thinking skill to find them faster, but he didn''t have the theoretical framework to make a deduction. He just didn''t go shopping enough.


    After he got everything, he went to the cashier to pay. The cashier looked at the price sticker on each item and totaled them.


    "Your totals are thirty-eight stuivers, Sir." the female cashier said while smiling.


    Graham had checked the price before, but he was still shocked by the total. It was almost two guilders.


    "Why are these things so expensive?" he complained.


    "I didn''t set the price, Sir." the cashier shrugged indifferently, but still trying to be polite.


    Graham took out two guilder bills from his wallet and gave them to the cashier. The cashier gave him two stuiver bills as the change. The cashier put his items inside a paper bag and handed it to Graham.


    "Thank you. Come again!" the cashier said as Graham left.


    "Val, now I know why Paim wanted us to pay her. These ritual items are very expensive," he muttered.


    Graham left the store and stopped by a food stall to buy dinner. He got himself a beef sandwich with extra cheese. He ate his food quickly while walking home. He arrived home at six thirteen and went straight to the bathroom.


    In the bathroom, he took off the contact lenses and breathed in relief. He then took a shower, washing away the sweat from his body. After he was done showering, he put on a simple white t-shirt and a pair of elastic pants. He then sat in his office chair after turning on the light.


    "Val, we still have a lot of time. Let me do some divination."


    He took out some pieces of paper and wrote on one of them.


    ''Valentine''s ritual will bring danger to his life.''


    He burned the paper and it was only burned halfway.


    "Your ritual won''t be life-threatening, Val. Next question."


    He wrote on another piece of paper.


    ''Valentine''s ritual will be painful to him.''


    He burned the paper following the usual procedure and watched it burn. The flame consumed the whole paper slowly.


    "Hmm..." Graham thought, interpreting his divination result, "So the ritual will be painful, but the degree of pain won''t be that high."


    Graham wrote another thing on another piece of paper.


    ''Will I get a visitor tomorrow?''


    He lit the paper on fire. It burned slowly halfway and stopped. After a while, it continued burning itself entirely. Graham rested his chin on his hand, thinking.


    "Does it mean no and yes? So no visitors halfway through the day and I might get a visitor later? That''s probably it." he said with doubt at first and then became confident.


    Graham wanted to test his theory so he wrote on two pieces of paper.


    ''I will have no visitor in the morning.''


    "I will get a visitor in the afternoon.''


    He burned the paper one after the other and both pieces of paper burned entirely, indicating positive answers.


    "So divination results can also be like that," he concluded.


    He cleaned up the ashes from divination and put his lighter away. It was still not one after midnight yet so he decided to kill some time by reading a novel. It was an old-looking book with a picture of a single eye on the cover.


    Graham was engrossed in the novel that he didn''t notice the time. It was almost one when he checked the clock on the wall, so he put down his book. He turned off the light and went to bed to switch with Valentine.


    Graham closed his eyes and slept. Shortly after, Valentine opened his eyes and got up.


    "G, wake up," said Valentine. He woke up Graham''s consciousness just in case.


    It was time for the ritual, so he prepared everything he needed, including the copper for the seal. He took out some copper wire that was lying around on the shelf. He was going to use the table in his bedroom for the ritual.


    First, he sprinkled Frankincense oil around the room and more around the table. A pleasant balsamic, slightly spicy aroma entered his nose and helped him focus. He then opened the scroll of the Deity of Secrets and laid it down on the flat table. He then placed the four yellow candles on each corner of the scroll; each pointing to the four cardinal directions.


    After he had finished setting up the candles, he slit his left palm to let blood flow. When he was about to do that, he noticed that Graham''s scar from his previous ritual had been gone. The sharp, hot blade pierced through his skin, cutting it open. Valentine felt pain but he didn''t react. Blood poured down on the sigil under his hand.


    He redrew the sigil using his blood, starting from the outline of the acorn-shaped crown. It took him a lot of blood to finish drawing the crown because his blood kept getting sucked in by the sigil. After he was done with the outline, he drew the two circles in the middle with a giant upside-down cross at the bottom. He had lost a lot of blood when he finished redrawing the whole sigil. His slit palm healed rapidly as soon as he finished the sigil. He placed the ball of coagulated blood sealed in copper in the middle of the sigil.


    The next part was lighting the yellow candles. He did so in the order from the North, East, South, and lastly West. Once all the candles were lit, the light in his room went out and everything became dark. Only the light from the flames illuminated the room. Valentine then started the summoning chant.


    "Thee I invoke, the One born from Fire,"


    "Thou art the master of Things Hidden,"


    "Thou art the master of Anti-Divination,"


    "Thee, that didst see through Veils,"


    "Thee, that didst make the Waters rough with Storms"


    "Come thou forth, and accept my offering,"


    "And grant me your power, worthy of thy name!"


    As soon as Valentine finished chanting, the room went into total darkness; not even the candle lights were present. After a while, flame burst out from the sigil, consuming the ball of blood and spreading around Valentine.


    He suddenly felt pain in his eyes. It was the feeling of hot iron fork stabbing his eyeballs, plucking them out. Valentine gritted his teeth in pain. It took a while before he felt his eyeballs were gone. He touched his closed pupils, but he still could feel his eyeballs there.


    The next round of pain came. He felt two ice-cold balls being inserted into his ''empty'' eye sockets. He felt his blood frozen when it touched the balls. He was in great pain, but he bore it.


    After the pain in his eyes, now he felt like something was sawing his skull open.


    "Argh!! Bloody fucking hell!" he cursed in agony.


    The feeling of the teeth of the saw cutting his flesh apart was excruciating. It felt like forever before the sawing motion ended. Then, something burning stabbed his brain and ''took'' it away. He then felt it being replaced with a freezing blob of mass. He couldn''t feel his head because of the cold.


    After it was over, the light in the room went back, and the pain was all gone. Valentine breathed in relief. He then put out the flame of the candle one by one in reverse order.


    After all the candles were put out, he rolled the scroll and sealed it with copper wire. Once the seal was in place, the scroll burst into flames and the ashes entered Valentine through his nostrils.


    He waited for a while to make sure everything was alright. The room was quiet, with only the very faint sound of tick-tock from the wall clock. Once he was sure the ritual was over, he took a glass of water from the kitchen and gulped it down quickly. He controlled his breathing and felt the change in his body.


    "G, I think I did it," said Valentine calmly, his bright yellow eyes glimmered in the dark kitchen. Looking at them made someone feel exposed. Valentine smiled in satisfaction.


    On Sunday, September 1, 1968 EH, Valentine Hymes had become a Contractbound.

 13 Night Vision

    It was really late at night. Valentine Hymes was sitting in his office chair in the dark, his eyes glowed yellow. There was a hint of mystery in his eyes, and staring at them would make someone feel naked, as if the eyes pierced through their layers.


    Valentine looked around. Even though it was dark, he could see well. It was as if everything had its own source of light to him, faintly glowing in yellow hues. He sat down for a while, getting used to his night vision.


    After a while, he concentrated to find the imaginary switch in his brain to turn off the power. It took him some time to feel something that he had never imagined before. When he finally found it, he turned off his eye power and the room became dark again.


    "G, your eyes don''t give you night vision, do they?" he spoke quietly.


    Valentine closed his eyes. He sat down in silence. His breathing could be faintly heard in the quiet room. He was trying to feel his new power besides his eyes. The knowledge had been transferred to his brain; he just needed to access it.


    The contract with the Deity of Secrets had given three kinds of power. The first one was his night vision. The eyes didn''t enhance his eyesight as Graham''s did but they allowed him to see well in the dark. It could be very useful for night missions. However, it made his eyes glow yellow and drained his stamina, so he couldn''t keep the power active at all times.


    The second power was anti-divination. Divination directed at him by someone spiritually equal or weaker than Valentine wouldn''t work. It was just like the time Graham tried to divine something related to Mevrouw Cornelia. His divination just failed. He could also use a medium to interfere with divination in an area as long as the medium remained. It was a vague description, so Valentine had to come up with his own guesses.


    "So, in theory, if I place a medium in the witch''s house, anything happening there cannot be divined?" he made a guess, and added, "G, I''ll need you to do an experiment for me later."


    He was also thinking of what medium he should use. If he needed to plant the medium in an area, it must be something inconspicuous. But at the same time, it must be something not easily removed. He really had to be creative in his choice of medium for this power.


    The third power that he got was directly related to secrets. It was the ability to make a word a secret in a limited area. As long as they were in the area, anyone spiritually weaker than Valentine would lose the knowledge of a certain word.


    "Hmm... this ability is peculiar. I wonder how it even works. So if I say the word sleep is a secret, people will forget about that word? What about the action itself?" he rubbed his chin, thinking. "We''ll experiment tomorrow with Mirjam."


    He was brainstorming of the use of his third ability. It was a very versatile ability, but the restriction applied to both the caster and anyone in the area.


    Valentine opened his eyes and concentrated to activate his night vision. Among his abilities, it was the most straightforward.


    "G, most of my abilities are very vague. I will need your superb brainpower to come up with ways to experiment."


    He got up from his chair and went to his bedroom. He felt exhausted after the ritual. He saw that he had forgotten to put away the candles, but he didn''t bother to do it. He just wanted to go to bed.


    He lied down in bed and quickly fell asleep.


    ...


    In an old apartment building that was lit by yellow light, a young man came out of room number 24. He was Luuk van der Meer, the young medical student. He was wearing a beanie and a mask covering his face. It was a cold night, so he wore a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of equally dark pants. His hands were covered in gloves and his sneakers made a very little sound when he walked.


    He moved fast towards the first floor and he left the apartment building. The street that night was very quiet. It was cold outside, but Luuk didn''t mind it. He kept walking east from Vakbond Apartment.


    It should take someone around forty to fifty minutes to walk all the way from Tuinstraat to Oosteindestraat; his destination. But Luuk walked unbelievably fast. His steps were light and almost soundless. He could also nimbly avoid any obstacles, even though he was walking in the shaded area, where the moonlight didn''t illuminate.


    After walking for a while, he saw two men walking together. One was fat with a beer belly while the other was thin. The fat one looked drunk while the thin one was sober. They were wearing shirts.


    Luuk hid in the shadow of a tree and perked up his ears to listen in to their conversation.


    "It''s because of you that we are in this mess right now." the thin man said to the fat one annoyedly.


    "I''m sooorry. But arent'' you haaaappy?" he said drunkenly.


    "Well, the party was okay," said the thin man, not sounding excited, "and the girls they brought were pretty. But now I have to walk you home!"


    "Yes, yes, leet''s walk hoome." he said happily, his red face shone in the moonlight.


    They walked closer and closer to the tree where Luuk was hiding. Once they were close enough, Luuk came out and pretended to walk in the opposite direction. The thin man saw him in all black and got wary. He protected his belongings and pushed his colleague farther from Luuk. The fat man was too drunk to care.


    After making sure the two men were within distance, under his mask, very quietly, he started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the fat man''s wallet mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and a wallet appeared out of thin air. He nimbly stuffed it inside his pocket and increased his pace. He turned to an alley and disappeared.


    "Who was that? Your frieeend?" asked the fat man.


    "Of course not. He might be a thief targeting you. But when he saw that I wasn''t drunk, he ran away." the thin man said proudly.


    In the dark alley, Luuk was hiding in the shadow, his eyes glowed red in the dark. He checked the wallet that he had just stolen for its content.


    "Only one guilder... what a waste of time," he said with annoyance.


    He took out all the money, totaling one guilder and twelve pennings and threw the wallet away. He got out of the dark alley, avoiding broken bottles and trash littering the ground perfectly. He could clearly see where the trash was. He got back to the main street and continued walking east.


    Along the way, he didn''t see any more potential targets. He arrived at Oosteindestraat less than forty-minutes later because of his very fast pace. The street was rather busy tonight, but most of the people were either drunk or had ulterior motives.


    Luuk tried not to stand out while walking. His goal was not the gambling parlor that was disguised as a Longese restaurant, but the karaoke bar. There would usually be rich people getting stupid drunk there while being accompanied by escorts. However, there would usually be a sober person who acted as a guard.


    Luuk stood at the door waiting for someone to come out. It was close enough, so he could use his power the moment he saw a target. It didn''t take him long until someone came out. It was three men with two women. Two of the men looked very drunk, but the women didn''t. Luuk guessed they must be escorts.


    He started to chant his Deity''s name to steal the drunk men''s wallets, but before he could finish, the one sober man glared at him. Luuk felt incredible danger from the man''s glare so he stopped his chant and ran as fast as he could.


    ...


    On Sunday morning, Graham opened his eyes. He looked at the clock on the wall opposite him and saw the time; it was seven-thirty. He yawned and stretched for a while.


    "Ugh... I don''t want to..." he complained and went back to sleep.


    Half an hour later, Valentine woke up. he stretched his body and got up from the bed. He washed his face and wore his contact lenses to hide his always changing eye color.


    "G, you lazy shit. Wake up," he said as he went out of the bathroom.


    He got dressed and wore his usual attire; a black t-shirt and a pair of denim pants. He wore his leather jacket over the t-shirt and went out for breakfast. Graham had divined that they would not get any visitors in the morning, so he didn''t have to worry about flipping over the ''closed'' sign.


    He had planned to have breakfast at Don''s, while also experimenting with his new power using Mirjam. It was a cloudy day; the wind blew strong. Valentine put his gloved hands inside his pockets.


    He arrived at Don''s Pancake House less than five minutes later. The diner was packed with people. A lot of them were families eating out together on a Sunday morning. He entered the small diner and sit at his usual spot.


    "Morning, Mr. Detective." greeted a voice he was familiar with.


    "Morning," Valentine said shortly.


    It was Mirjam, with her freckled face and flaxen hair. Her hair fell on her shoulder. She was wearing a tight t-shirt and a pair of denim pants which outlined her figure perfectly. She noticed Valentine''s outfit. She could somehow start to see the pattern.


    "So now you come here every day?" she said teasingly.


    Valentine only nodded.


    "Give me oatmeal pancakes with syrup and a cup of black coffee," he made his order.


    "Coming right up!" she smiled and left. She then shouted Valentine''s order to the back.


    Valentine then sat in silence waiting for his food to come. He was also thinking of a way to experiment with his new power. To activate it, he had to declare a certain word a secret, and within the limited area, the word would become a secret. He was not sure of the size of the area, so he had to try it as well.


    Before Mirjam came back with his order, he quietly said,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word Graham a secret!"


    Nothing seemed to happen, but Valentine could feel that his power was in effect. He looked around to make sure no one noticed anything.


    "If someone noticed something, that person must be another Contractbound," he thought.


    Mirjam came back with his food shortly after. After serving him, she was about to leave but Valentine stopped her.


    "Hey, Mirjam, what''s my name?" he asked seriously.


    Mirjam didn''t see any sign of joking from the man in front of her, so she became confused.


    "Why? Your name is -----." she tried to say it but the word didn''t come out of her mouth.


    "-----. Your name is -----." she tried again. She became very confused.


    "You forgot my name? That hurts my feeling." Valentine said, teasing her.


    He had also tried to say Graham under his breath, but the word didn''t come out. He still knew Graham''s name instinctively, but it was as if the knowledge of that word was gone.


    "Maybe you should go back there and try to remember my name," Valentine suggested seriously.


    Mirjam, in confusion, went to the kitchen which was some distance away. Valentine concentrated hard to try to listen to her, and he could barely hear her still trying to say Graham''s name. He came to the conclusion that the area of effect was at least as big as the diner.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word Graham no longer a secret!"


    He said very quietly. Right after saying that, he tried to say Graham''s name and he succeeded. Not long after, Mirjam was rushing to him while shouting.


    "Your name is Graham!" she could finally say it.


    People were watching, and Valentine got embarrassed. He pretended not to look and continued eating his food. Mirjam was apparently embarrassed, so she went back to behind the counter.


    "What just happened? Why couldn''t I say his name?" Mirjam said to herself. She couldn''t make sense of what had just happened.


    After finishing his food, Valentine walked around to continue experimenting with his power. He watched the people around him. Most of them were either families or couples. He then saw a young couple who were displaying affection in public. There were no rules against it, but it aroused Valentine''s mischievous spirit.


    The couple was walking in front of him, the man squeezing the woman''s ass. They were talking about how much they loved each other, so Valentine had an idea.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word love a secret!"


    After he said that, he perked up his hears to listen in to their conversation.


    "Honey, you know how much I ----- you don''t you?" said the man. The word he intended to say didn''t come out.


    "You what?" said the woman confusedly.


    "I ----- you. I ----- you." he kept trying but he couldn''t say it.


    "What are you trying to say? Don''t confuse me." the woman started to get annoyed.


    "I said I ------ you! I fucking ----- you! Dammit!" the man also got irritated.


    "Why are you swearing at me?" the woman got irritated.


    "I''m not! I''m just trying to say ----- but I can''t!"


    "You are being weird." the woman said. She stopped walking and moved the man''s hand away.


    "I''m not being weird. I was just trying to say I ----- you but I couldn''t! Can you say it?"


    "Say what!?" the woman got angry because she thought her boyfriend was making fun of her."


    Valentine watched the whole thing and held back his laughter. He then walked past them and said under his breath,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word love no longer a secret!"


    He had deactivated his power, but the couple was still arguing. A lot of people were watching, but Valentine walked away as if it had nothing to do with him. He decided he had had enough fun and went home.


    Valentine entered Vakbond Apartment building and went upstairs. In the hallway, he saw Luuk van der Meer who was locking his apartment room door. His eyes looked very tired. He must have had very little sleep, Valentine thought.


    Luuk saw Valentine and greeted him.


    "Good morning, Mr. Detective."


    "Morning," he said shortly.


    Luuk noticed that the man in front of him was somehow different from yesterday. He didn''t say anything else and walked downstairs. Valentine unlocked his apartment door and entered his office.


    It was still early in the morning, but Valentine had nothing else to do. He took off his leather jacket and contact lenses and lied down in bed. Not long after, he had fallen asleep.

 14 Stolen Walle

    It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon. Graham had just woken up from his sleep. He looked at the time; it was already one-thirty. He had slept for too long. The back of his head hurt a little from oversleeping.


    He had woken up earlier this morning; at least his consciousness did, because Valentine woke him up. He saw Valentine using his new power and how he pranked an innocent couple in the street. He felt bad for the couple, but he must admit that it was funny.


    He was washing his face when he heard the bell rang. He quickly put on his contact lenses, got out, and open the door for his visitor. It was just like his divination predicted; he would get a visitor in the afternoon.


    He switched on the light and opened the door: it was a fat man with a beer belly. He looked sleepy and restless. Graham let the man in and they sat down.


    "Hello, sir. I''m detective Graham Hymes. How can I help you?" he asked politely while observing the man.


    The man''s lips were dry and he covered his eyes with his forearm when he entered the room. He seemed to be sensitive to light. He also massaged his temples from time to time. Graham came to the conclusion that the man was hungover. He probably didn''t get enough sleep last night either.


    "I heard you are a great detective." the man said honestly.


    The corner of Graham''s lips rose.


    "Last night I lost my wallet. I couldn''t find it anywhere this morning. I don''t need the money inside; I need my documents." the man said anxiously.


    "First, tell me who you are," he asked.


    "I''m so sorry. I was too worried I forgot that. My name is Egbert Visser. I''m an accountant." he said, still with nervousness in his tone.


    "Alright. Mr. Visser, where did you lose it? Tell me what happened." Graham said slowly to calm his client down.


    "I don''t remember. I was very drunk last night, but I went to a bar with a bunch of other coworkers. I walked home with a friend. He was sober. He said there was a suspicious man walking towards us."


    Graham''s attention was piqued. He asked, "Tell me more about the man."


    "I don''t really know. In fact, I didn''t remember seeing him. My friend only told me he was wearing a mask when I phoned him earlier. Do you also think he might have stolen my wallet?"


    Graham was thinking for a while.


    "It''s possible. Did he bump into you?"


    "No. I didn''t feel anyone bumping into me. Even if I was drunk, I should have been able to remember something like that... right?" he said not really confidently.


    "Probably." Graham rubbed his chin, and said, "Now, please describe your wallet in detail."


    "It is a leather wallet. Brown. That''s the color. I don''t know how much money is inside. I don''t remember how much I spent last night. But there should be some money left. There are cards, including my identity card."


    Graham noted down the description in his notebook.


    "I''ll start working right away. Come back here in three hours," he said assuringly.


    He then took out a blank card and handed it over to Mr. Visser.


    "Leave your landline number here," he said, and then added, "The commission fee will depend on the difficulty of the mission."


    Egbert Visser nodded in acknowledgment and scribbled his landline number on the card and gave it back to Graham.


    "In three hours?" he asked with hopeful eyes.


    Graham nodded. He then sent the man outside and closed the door behind him.


    "Val, the suspicious man sounds like someone who tried to steal my wallet. I''ll use my divination to find both the wallet and that man."


    Graham took out nine votive candles and set them up for the ritual. He turned off his office light and sat in silence. He lit the candles one by one, moving in a spiral. Once the candles were lit, he concentrated and repeated the questions in his heart.


    ''Where is Egbert Visser''s wallet?''


    The room got darker and darker, with only the flames flickering in the dark. The surrounding area became quiet. After a while, a blurry image started to surface on the burning flame. Graham focused on the image with his eye power activated.


    It was the image of an alley. There was a brown leather wallet just lying on the ground next to a dumpster. There were a lot of broken bottles nearby. After a while, the image got even more blurred and eventually disappeared. In its place, the blurry image of a street with a lot of trees surfaced.


    Graham recognized the street. That was the very street he lived on; Tuinstraat. He closed his eyes and opened them again quickly. The image on the flame had disappeared. The put out the fires and put the candles away.


    "Val, the wallet is closer than we thought. But it''s disappointing that the thief doesn''t have it anymore."


    Graham got ready to head out. He wore his favorite trench coat, which had been washed and cleaned, and a pair of gloves. Nowadays he always wore a pair of gloves since he never knew when he would stumble upon a crime scene. He also brought Valentine''s knife.


    The alley in his divination was not far from where he lived. He only needed to walk less than thirty minutes to reach it. Graham walked quickly because he didn''t want anyone else to pick up the wallet before he did.


    He arrived at the alley twenty-two minutes later despite almost running. He was panting because of exhaustion. After he regained his breath, he entered the alley to start searching for the wallet. Based on the image he saw, it should be next to a dumpster. However, there were a few dumpsters in that alley.


    "It smells here, and very messy. Maybe I should manipulate someone to clean this alley up," he complained.


    He concentrated for a while to activate his eye power. Once it was active, his sight became massively enhanced. He could even see cockroaches and rats moving about. He scanned the area with his eyes and his attention was grabbed by a brown leather wallet lying on the ground. He carefully picked it up.


    "Val, the money inside is gone. The cards are here though. It seems the thief is only interested in cash." he said after opening the wallet.


    There were a lot of cards inside, including one that looked like an identity card. There was no money inside the wallet at all. There was also a photo inside; it was of a man and a little girl. The man was Egbert Visser, and the little girl Graham guessed was his daughter.


    "Mr. Visser in this photo doesn''t look that much different. This must be a relatively recent one. He looks happy here. His daughter looks like a nice girl too." he said with a slight hint of longing in his voice.


    He then put the wallet inside his coat pocket and took out his notebook. He tore out a piece of paper and wrote a statement on it.


    ''The thief took away Egbert Visser''s money.''


    He lit the paper on fire and waited for the result. He stood up with his body covering the paper, making sure the wind wouldn''t blow the fire out. The paper burned entirely, confirming his deduction.


    "Our suspicion was right. We can divine later where the thief is with this much information, Val. I hope he doesn''t have anti-divination power."


    Graham cleaned the ashes from his divination and walked back home. He didn''t want to sweat, so he walked relaxedly. It took him more than thirty minutes to reach home, and in the end, he was still sweaty even though the wind was blowing gently.


    He entered the apartment building and got into his office. Graham turned on the light because he didn''t have Valentine''s night vision. He took off his coat after taking out his wallet.


    He looked at his watch and said, "Val, we have around one more hour until Mr. Visser comes back. After I divine his whereabouts, we need to switch. You''re much faster."


    He then set up the candles again for another divination. He turned off the light and lit the candles one by one, in the same order as he did before. Once they were lit, he concentrated and repeated the questions in his heart.


    ''Where is the thief that stole Egbert Visser''s money?''


    After a while, silence crept to the surrounding area. It became dark. A blurry image started to appear in the flickering flames. It was of an apartment building; one that was very familiar to Graham. It was Vakbond apartment! The blurry image then zoomed in to a room, and through the blurry image, Graham could somehow make out a room number. It was number 24, the room next door!


    Graham was slightly shocked, so he couldn''t maintain his focus. The image instantly disappeared and the room turned back to normal. He put out the fires and moved the candles away.


    "So, the thief is either Luuk or someone hiding inside his room. No matter which was the case, Luuk must know the thief. Val, switch over." Graham said after processing what he had seen.


    He went to his bed and lied down there. After a while, he fell asleep. Shortly after, Valentine got up and prepared himself. He took out his knife that was still inside Graham''s coat. He didn''t want to wear the coat because it was difficult to move in. He instead wore his leather jacket and hid the knife under.


    He got out of his room and stood in front of the door to room number 24. He wanted to make preparation before confronting the thief. Since he knew that the thief must chant something before being able to steal his belongings, he planned to ban a certain word.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word Deity a secret!" he said quietly.


    He planned to ban the word ''deity'' altogether to prevent any chanting, although it would also make him unable to chant. He could then just move out of the area of effect to be able to chant again.


    Right after he finished his uttering, he got a stabbing pain in his head. His power had failed. It seemed that he couldn''t ban the word ''deity''. He then changed his plan.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word I a secret!"


    He got another stabbing headache after finishing his second chat. His power had failed again. He concluded that he could not or was not yet able to ban common chanting words. He didn''t give up, however.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word steal a secret!"


    He thought that since his opponent was a thief, he would need to say the word ''steal'' in his chant, so he banned that word. This time, there was no stabbing feeling in his head. He had successfully made the word ''steal'' a secret, and on top of that, he could still freely say a chant.


    Valentine rang the bell.


    ...


    It was a Sunday afternoon. Luuk van der Meer didn''t have any classes at uni today. He woke up really late after his dangerous activity last night and was just doing nothing. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.


    He got up and opened the door. It was Graham Hymes, the detective from next door. Luuk never expected his neighbor to come to visit him, so he was surprised.


    "Hello, Mr. Detective. How can I help you?" he asked while observing the man in front of him. He looked cold and his gaze felt like he was being pierced layer by layer.


    "Can I come in?" the detective said shortly. He seemed to be observing the room through the gap in the door.


    "What is it about?" Luuk felt a bit wary.


    Just as he said that, the detective pushed the door open. Luuk was fast enough to react, he ran into his room, leaving the dangerous man alone. He heard the sound of the door being closed and locked from inside.


    Luuk grabbed a pocket knife and thought of a way to get out of the situation. He then saw the detective and saw that he was carrying a dangerous-looking commando knife. He started chanting right away.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the detective''s knife mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and the knife that the detective was holding disappeared and reappeared in Luuk''s hand. He didn''t use the word ''steal'' in his chant at all.


    He saw that the detective looked taken aback for a very short time before he suddenly charged at Luuk. Luuk struck him with his knife, but the detective had grabbed a thick book to parry Luuk''s knife attack. He then hit Luuk with the thick book and he managed to make Luuk drop the commando knife. The detective quickly grabbed his knife and chanted in succession.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word steal no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word knife a secret!"


    Luuk heard the whole chant but seeing the detective with a knife again, he started his own chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the detective''s ----- mine!"


    His chanting had failed. Luuk panicked. He tried again by modifying the chant.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the detective''s weapon mine!"


    He then felt that the chant was successful. He made a swiping motion with his right hand and a thick book appeared in his hand. Since he was not specific with his chant, he got the weapon that the detective had been using most recently. He dropped the book right away, but it was enough time for the detective to make his move.


    The detective then stabbed his right thigh and blood spurted from the wound.


    "Aaarggghh!!" he screamed in pain.


    The detective disarmed him easily after that. Now Luuk had no more chance to run away. His thigh was in great pain and he was losing a lot of blood. He didn''t understand what was going on. He only knew that the man before him was very dangerous. His cold eyes didn''t show any sign of giving mercy. Luuk gave up fighting and started pleading for his life.


    "Please don''t kill me. I won''t resist."


    He raised both hands and just sat there in pain; his back leaning against the wall.


    ...


    After his target had given up, Valentine got a piece of cloth and wrapped it around the wound that he had inflicted. His goal was not to kill the man; he was just making sure the thief wouldn''t be able to run away. He wrapped the cloth tightly to stop the bleeding. His target had lost quite some blood; the floor was covered in it.


    He then looked at Luuk in the eyes and held the knife against his neck.


    "Are you the thief that tried to steal from me the other night?"


    Luuk, feeling scared, answered honestly, "Yes. It was me. But I didn''t steal anything, so why are you doing this?"


    Valentine didn''t answer his question.


    "Did you steal a drunken fat man''s wallet last night?"


    "Yes, I did. I''m sorry. I threw away the wallet." he said. Cold sweat ran down his neck.


    "I''ve found his wallet. Now give me back the money you took from his wallet."


    Luuk took out money from his pocket. It was one guilder and twelve pennings.


    "I only took this. I swear," he said honestly.


    Valentine looked at Luuk and judged that he was telling the truth. He took the money and put it inside his pocket with one hand; the other still held the knife. After he was done, he got up and cleaned the dust off his clothes.


    "Thank you for your cooperation. I''ll come back later, so you''d better not go anywhere," he said coldly.


    "Oh, I''ll take this as a souvenir." he squatted and took Luuk''s pocket knife that was lying on the floor.


    Luuk couldn''t respond. He could only look at his assailant in confusion and fear. He couldn''t even muster the energy to stand up.


    Valentine went to the door and took the keys that were hanging from the lock. He then went out and locked the room from outside, leaving the dumbfounded Luuk inside his room.

 15 Dealing with a Thief

    Valentine was sitting in his detective office alone with the light on. On his hand were keys that he politely got from his neighbor. He was spinning the keys using one hand. On the desk in front of him was a pocket knife that he was keeping safe. He rested both of his legs on the desk.


    He was waiting for his client, Egbert Visser, to return with his commission money. Graham had told the man to come back in three hours. After waiting for some time, finally someone rang the bell to his office.


    "It''s not locked!" he shouted without moving from his chair.


    The door was opened and a fat man with a beer belly walked in. It was Mr. Visser. He had come back after three hours as instructed. He saw the detective sitting with his legs on the desk and was slightly taken aback. He took a seat and sat comfortably.


    "Your wallet, your money, all there," Valentine said while sliding two things across the desk after taking his feet off it.


    Mr. Visser''s eyes widened. He hadn''t expected that the detective would actually find his stolen wallet within three hours. He took the wallet and checked the content.


    "Everything is still inside," he said in relief, "you can keep the money, Mr. Detective. I really only need the cards."


    Egbert Visser stuffed the wallet inside his messenger bag.


    "How much should I pay you for this?" he asked with a happy tone.


    Valentine didn''t really know how to calculate commission fees, so he just came up with a random number.


    "Five guilders."


    Egbert Visser''s eyes widened in disbelief. He had been prepared to pay much more, but he didn''t say anything. Valentine saw the shock in his client''s eyes and thought that his client thought that it was too expensive.


    Egbert Visser quickly took out five guilder bills from his bag and handed it over to Valentine. He didn''t want the detective to change his mind.


    "So, where did you find my wallet?" he asked curiously.


    "It was discarded-- lying around somewhere," Valentine answered matter-of-factly.


    "What about the thief? Was it really the man from last night?" he asked again; his tone was inquisitive.


    "Yes. He has been taken care of," he said.


    Egbert Visser saw Valentine''s eyes had a scary glint while he was saying that. He also noticed the pocket knife on the desk. He decided not to ask anything else.


    "In that case, I''ll take my leave. Thank you very much, Mr. Detective. The rumours were right; you are a great detective." he said quickly, as if wanting to leave as soon as possible.


    He got up and left the room. He then closed the door behind him gently. He didn''t want to offend the homeowner. Valentine was just sitting there the whole time. He then noticed that he hadn''t hidden the pocket knife.


    "G, you deal with the thief," he said after sitting in silence for a while.


    He cleaned up the desk, stuffed the money inside his wallet, and put away the knife. After that, he lied down in bed and started sleeping. Seconds later, Graham woke up and started complaining.


    "Val, why did you only charge him five guilders..." his tone was regretful.


    He then went out of his apartment room to his neighbor''s room. He unlocked the door and heard the sound of someone moving with difficulty inside. He readied the knife and opened the door.


    Inside, he saw Luuk was limping to the bedroom, trying to avoid his guest. Graham closed the door behind him and locked it. He then approached Luuk quickly. He was faster because he could walk normally.


    "Hey, Luuk, no need to run. I''m just here to talk," he said convincingly.


    Luuk sat down on his bed and observed his guest. Something about him seemed different. He felt less dangerous, but more dangerous at the same time. He couldn''t understand his instinct.


    "You''re not going to kill me, are you?" he asked warily.


    "No, I''m not," he said with a genuine smile. He then took a chair and sit on it.


    To Luuk, Graham''s genuine smile looked evil.


    "How''s your injury?" he asked, looking at Luuk''s wrapped up thigh. There was a lot of blood on the cloth.


    "It''s better now. Contractbounds heal faster than normal people after all," he said, still observing Graham''s every move carefully.


    Graham concentrated and activated his eye power. He then looked at Luuk in the eyes.


    "I''m going to ask you some questions. You will tell me only the truth because it''s in the best interest of both of us," he said convincingly.


    Luuk felt somewhat confused by the statement. He felt a strong urge to comply. He nodded slowly.


    "Why did you try to steal my money?"


    "It''s to please my Deity. You should know that too as a Contractbound. My Deity wants me to steal a lot of money to please Him." he said honestly.


    Graham nodded. He now understood why Luuk had stolen Egbert Visser''s money as well.


    "Is the Deity you''re in a contract with the Deity of Theft?"


    Luuk nodded. "Yes."


    "What abilities did He grant you?" Graham asked with interest.


    "I have night vision-- pretty useful for a thief. And also the ability to steal things within my vicinity. I need to be close enough to the target though. The last one is boosted nimbleness. Again, very useful for a thief." he answered informatively.


    "What offering materials did you have to use in your ritual? And how did you get them?"


    "I had to offer the intact feet of a dead athlete and the right hand of a pickpocket. I''m a medical student, so it was relatively easy for me to collect the materials. It just took me longer to wait for the right dead body."


    "How did you become a Contractbound?" Graham asked his next question. He had been listening attentively to Luuk''s answers. They were all very informative.


    "My professor at university told me all about it. He was also the one helping me gather the materials."


    "Which professor? Why did he bring you over to this side?" Graham asked with suspicion.


    "I don''t remember. After becoming a Contractbound, I haven''t seen him again. In fact, I don''t even remember his face."


    Graham thought for a while. He guessed that it must have been a Deity''s power. It was kind of similar to Valentine''s secret power, but more powerful.


    "He offered me to become one when he noticed that I was interested in crime. I go to the university library a lot to read books about it."


    Graham went quiet for a while. He was thinking of the professor''s motive of making Luuk a Contractbound. If he had no ulterior motive, he wouldn''t have had to go through the trouble of erasing Luuk''s memory of him.


    "Have you tried looking for him?" Graham finally spoke.


    "Yes, but it is too difficult to look for someone whom everyone has a hazy memory of. Not even one person remembers him clearly."


    "Not a single person? That is definitely suspicious," he concluded.


    "It is, but there is nothing else I can do about it. And he hasn''t actually done me any harm." Luuk shrugged.


    "Val, he doesn''t seem to be lying," Graham said under his breath.


    Luuk looked at him but didn''t pay it any mind. He had heard the rumors about the detective''s peculiarity.


    "True. Alright. Moving on. What else do you know about Contractbounds?" Graham added.


    "Only a few things. I know that we heal more quickly than normal people."


    Graham touched his chest. He had totally forgotten that he was injured there because suddenly the pain was just gone.


    "I also know that Contractbounds must please their Deities. Otherwise..." Luuk paused.


    "Val, this is the first time we''ve heard about this," Graham whispered and then looked back at Luuk, "Otherwise...?" he prompted.


    "Otherwise their Deities would punish them. I''ve never actually seen that happen. I''ve only become a Contractbound for a month."


    Luuk really didn''t seem to know the Deity''s punishment. The professor didn''t appear to have briefed him a lot. Graham''s mind went racing. He was thinking of all the possibilities of what might happen to someone who displeased their Deity. A lot of different scenarios came to his mind. He would try to divine it later to make sure.


    "What else do you know?" he then continued asking.


    "That''s all I know. I haven''t encountered any other Contractbounds so far. I''m trying to stay low-profile..." he paused; his expression showed that he remembered something.


    "Actually, last night I might have encountered one. A dangerous Contractbound. When I was about to activate my theft power, a person glared at me with killing intent. I ran away at once."


    "Did this happen on Oostaindestraat?" Graham deduced.


    "Yes. How did you know?" Luuk was pleasantly surprised.


    "I''m a detective," he said mysteriously.


    "Come on, tell me," Luuk begged him.


    "Okay. I deduced from the fact that you were going east from here because that''s where I found the wallet. And also that street was where you tried to steal from me." Graham explained.


    "That simple?" Luuk was in disbelief. He had thought Graham had used his power.


    "Yes, it is that simple," Graham confirmed.


    Luuk hadn''t mentioned anything about a greater Deity, so Graham held back asking him about it.


    "So... uhmm... are you going to turn me in?" Luuk asked nervously.


    "No, actually. I''m just a private detective, not a law enforcer," he said factually.


    Relief surfaced in Luuk''s eyes.


    "Now, I have an offer for you," he said strongly.


    Graham looked at Luuk in the eyes while smiling. Luuk looked at Graham and he genuinely was interested when he heard the word ''offer''.


    "What is it?" he asked monotonously, as if not interested.


    "Do you want to be my occasional collaborator? What that means is, occasionally I''ll come to you and ask for your help in finishing a mission."


    Luuk was listening, and asked, "What''s in it for me?"


    "Money, of course. And experience. You like studying crimes, don''t you?"


    Luuk pretended to think for a while. He actually wanted to say yes right away, but couldn''t show too much enthusiasm or he wouldn''t have any bargaining power later.


    "Hmmm... but I''m already busy with my studies."


    "I''ll contact you only when I know you''re available. I have a way to know," Graham said mysteriously.


    Luuk nodded and say, "Alright, I''ll do it. Do I have to sign a contract?"


    "Yes, I''ll make one later," Graham said factually.


    Graham then got up and looked around Luuk''s apartment room. It was smaller than his, but it had the same number of rooms; the living room, the bedroom, the kitchen, and the bathroom. The rooms were messy with a lot of papers and books and random stuff lying around.


    "Val, I won''t last a day in this room without the urge to clean it." he clenched his fist and then turned back to Luuk, "Have you eaten? Let''s get something. It''s my treat for injuring you."


    "Really? I haven''t, actually." Luuk said, pleasantly surprised.


    "But I''m not buying anything expensive," Graham warned him with cold eyes.


    Graham helped Luuk stand up and waited outside for the latter to get changed. Once both of them were ready, the two men walked downstairs and outside the apartment building. The sun had started to set and the street was busy with people.


    "I know a cheap but good pizza place near here," Luuk spoke once they were outside.


    "Sure." Graham nodded.


    Graham and Luuk were walking for a while before arriving at a small pizza place called ''Punk Pizza''. The name rubbed Graham the wrong way, but he tried to keep an open mind.


    It was a small building, with seats inside and outside the restaurant. The cobblestone street made gave a nice view for people sitting outside. There were a lot of people in the restaurant at the time, and there were only two seats remained outside.


    The two men sat down on the remaining seats and called for the waiter or waitress. A young girl, probably around eighteen, came over to their table.


    "What can I do for the two handsome men?" the waitress spoke teasingly.


    "Aren''t you too young to speak like that?" Graham said.


    Luuk only shrugged.


    "Hehehe..." the waitress only laughed.


    Graham ordered a tuna pizza with pineapple and a glass of chocolate milkshake while Luuk got a vegetarian pizza. He only ordered water to drink. The waitress noted down their orders and left.


    "You don''t eat meat?" asked Graham curiously.


    "No. Why?" asked Luuk back.


    "Nothing," he answered shortly and then turned back, "Val, he''s lame."


    Luuk overheard him and confronted Graham, "Did you just call me lame?"


    "No. It must have been the wind." Graham brushed it aside.


    They sat in silence for a while, each observing their surroundings. After a while, Graham spoke quietly, "So, among these people, who are within your power''s reach?"


    "Luuk thought for a while and said, "Probably only the tables right next to ours. I must be really close to my target, and the target must be in my line of sight."


    "Do you have a limit to how many times you can use it a day?"


    "Yes. I think ten times should be my limit now. If I use it more than that, I''ll only get a stabbing pain in my head but no power." Luuk said.


    "Val, it''s the same as us," Graham muttered again.


    Luuk just watched without reacting.


    Graham then whispered, "Can you steal from the person behind me?"


    Surprised by the request, Luuk asked, "Are you sure you want me to do that?"


    Graham nodded.


    Luuk started chanting very quietly. The noisy restaurant helped mask his chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the man in blue''s wallet mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand under the table and the wallet appeared there. He gave the wallet to Graham, who opened the wallet to check the content. There were some money, some bank cards, and an identity card with the name Gerwin van Beek. He closed the wallet again.


    Graham pretended to pick up something from the ground and talked to the person behind him.


    "Sir, you have dropped your wallet," he said while giving the wallet to the man.


    "Ah, thank you!" the man said sincerely. He then checked inside the wallet to see if the content was missing. When he saw everything was in there, he exhaled in relief.


    "What was that for?" Luuk asked with a puzzled expression.


    "I just wanted to see how your power works from up close," he said nonchalantly.


    Not long after their little shenanigan, their orders arrived. They started eating right away. Graham ate with a normal speed, while Luuk ate very fast. He had finished his food when Graham still had half a plate of pizza left.


    "Val, he eats like a beast," he muttered.


    After the two finished eating, they asked the waitress to give them the bill. The same young waitress came to them.


    "Here''s your total, handsome." she handed the bill to Graham while smiling weirdly.


    Graham didn''t pay her any mind. His focus was on the bill. The total for everything was eighteen pennings. It was rather cheap for good pizza. Graham took nine duit coins from his pocket and gave them to the waitress. The waitress winked and left their table.


    "The food here is good, but that waitress is a wacko," Graham said to Luuk.


    "Maybe." Luuk only shrugged.


    After they finished eating, the two men went back home and entered their respective apartment rooms.

 16 A Pleasant Dream

    Graham Hymes sat down in his office chair with a hand under his chin. He had just come back from dinner and was now thinking of what to do next. He had finished his commission for the day but it was too early to go to bed. He looked at the time; it was eight in the evening.


    "Val, we still need to experiment with your anti-divination power. We can try switching back and forth for now. But I''ll do some divination first."


    Graham took out some candles from his drawer. The votive candles had now been much shorter than before; the wax had melted a lot. He arranged the candles in the formation and turned off the office light. After the room was dark, he lit the candles one by one following the usual procedure. He then repeated a question in his heart.


    ''What medium should we use for anti-divination?''


    The room got darker and darker until the candle lights were the only thing he could see there. Graham concentrated hard until an image surfaced on the flames. It was an image of red liquid. After a while, the image gradually disappeared.


    "Blood! You can use your blood as a medium, Val. Maybe just drop your blood somewhere hidden."


    After it was done, he put out the fire but left the candles there. The still needed them for the experiment later. Graham turned the light back on and took out a piece of paper and wrote a statement there. He wanted to use divination to make sure.


    ''It is safe to use blood as a medium.''


    He burned the paper and the flame very slowly spread but it stopped after burning only a tiny piece of the paper. It indicated a negative response.


    "Hmm..." Graham was thinking, "So it is very not safe to use blood. But why did my other divination told us to use blood? Maybe my question was not specific enough?"


    Graham took out another piece of paper and wrote, ''It is safe to use Valentine''s blood as a medium for anti-divination.''


    He burned the paper again and this time, the flame spread very quickly and destroyed the whole paper.


    "So it is indeed safe to use our-- your blood as a medium, Val. I guess leaving blood randomly is dangerous because there are abilities that can curse us using our blood? Using it for anti-divination probably is safe because the blood would also have the property of anti-divination?" Graham made a lot of guesses.


    After he was done with his guesswork, he got up and went to his bedroom. He then lied down in his bed. He could always sleep easily in beds. Moments later, he had fallen asleep. Valentine woke up not long after and got up.


    "G, wake up." Valentine woke Graham''s consciousness up.


    He then went to the center of his whole apartment room, which was the corner of his office intersecting with the kitchen and bedroom. He chose the spot to make sure every corner of his room would be under the area of effect.


    He slit his left palm a little and let his blood pool in. Once it was enough, he started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium"


    The surrounding area became quiet. The blood on Valentine''s palm let out a mysterious mist that spread to the surrounding area.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped his blood on the floor and it left a visible stain. However, since it was his own room he didn''t have to worry about anyone cleaning his bloodstain. When he wanted to use his ability somewhere else, he had to make sure his blood medium was well hidden.


    After he was done with his first preparation, he took an unused blue pen from the shelf and got ready to use his power again. He slit his palm and let the blood accumulate. After that, he started chanting again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium"


    The surrounding area became quiet again, the same as before. The blood on Valentine''s palm let out a mysterious mist that spread to the surrounding area.


    "For I declare this item under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He then dropped the blood on the pen carefully, making sure it only dropped there and nowhere else. Once the ritual was over, he felt a slight headache.


    "G, I''m nearing my limit for today, said while massaging his temples.


    Valentine waited for a while for the blood on the pen to dry. He looked at his slit palm and the injury was rapidly healing. After the blood dried out, he took the pen and put it inside his pocket.


    Valentine went out of his room and down to the street. He turned to the nearest alley and hid the pen somewhere random. He then tossed one penning coin next to the pen and went back home.


    "G, now we switch again," Valentine said.


    He lied down in bed and after some time, he finally fell asleep. Graham woke up seconds later and he woke up Valentine''s consciousness. After that, he got up from the bed and went to sit in his office chair. He saw what Valentine had done so he knew what he needed to divine.


    Graham turned off the light and lit the candles. He concentrated and repeated the questions in his heart.


    ''Where does Graham Hymes live?''


    He looked into the flames and waited for a reaction. After waiting for a while, no image came out, and suddenly, the flames went out. His divination had failed.


    "Alright. It failed, Val. On to the next one."


    He repeated the same procedures with the candles. Now, he changed the question.


    ''Where is my unused blue pen?''


    After repeating the question, no image appeared after a while, and again, the flames went out. It failed again. He got a slight headache. Graham was also nearing his limit for the day.


    "So you can put anti-divination on an item. That''s good to know. Now on to the last experiment." he said while massaging his temples.


    He repeated the procedure again and watched the flames intently. He said a question over and over in his heart.


    ''Where is my one penning coin that Valentine threw away?''


    The surrounding area became dark and quiet. After a while, an image surfaced on the flames. It was that of a secluded alley. The image then zoomed in and he could see his one penning coin and other stuff nearby. However, the pen was not in the image.


    Graham let the ritual finish and put out the flames. The headache became more intense after his divination. He massaged his temples again and then concluded the results of his experiment.


    "So, shrouding an area in anti-divination makes the whole area unable to be divined. If it is on an item, only the item cannot be divined; the surrounding area is not influenced. However, even if we divine the whole area, the item will still be out of the divination. Interesting power you''ve got there, Val."


    After he was done with the experiment, he cleaned up his messy office desk. He put away the candles and swept away the ashes. He then got changed to a simple t-shirt and a pair of elastic shorts and lied down in bed.


    "Val, let''s review what we had learned today," he said while lying down comfortably.


    "First and foremost, your power is pretty versatile. It could disrupt enemies'' chanting if used correctly. And your anti-divination is very important in our line of work."


    "Do you remember the two police officers who came here? They were Contractbounds, right? I bet within the Police there are Contractbounds with divination power."


    He lied down quietly for a while, enjoying the peaceful night.


    "Next. We got ourselves a collaborator. It was quite surprising that our next-door neighbor turned out to be a Contractbounds. His power can be very useful in some situations. I hope he will be available when we need him."


    Graham smiled in satisfaction. After a while, his expression turned serious.


    "So, from Luuk, we learned that Contractbounds who fail to appease their Deities will get a punishment. It is something to note. There is also that mysterious professor of his. He can erase people''s memories of him; that''s a dangerous power."


    "And lastly, about our limit. It seems that ten is the limit for new Contractbounds. But I have noticed that my headache wasn''t as bad as before when I was nearing my limit. Maybe we can increase it by practicing our power, Val."


    "I want to divine what will happen tomorrow, Val. But I''m almost at my limit and I''m already comfortable. I''ll do it tomorrow first thing in the morning."


    He was getting sleepier and sleepier. Not long after, Graham had fallen asleep.


    ...


    It was 3:33 in the morning. Valentine suddenly opened his eyes. He was awakened from his sleep. He activated his eye power and looked around because he felt something was not right. His bedroom was still the same. It was dark, but he could see well. Nothing was different from it. He put on a pair of pants and went to his office. He wore his leather jacket and stuffed his commando knife under it.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Valentine raised his alert; it was too early in the morning for visitors. He opened the door a little and through the gap, he could see that it was only Luuk van der Meer. Luuk looked restless; the black circles around his eyes were even more defined.


    "What do you want at this hour?" Valentine asked, feeling suspicious. He looked around and heightened his alert. Everything looked normal, but Valentine still felt that something was amiss.


    "There was someone suspicious entering this building," Luuk said seriously. He seemed rather worried. His face was pale and his tired eyes reflected nervousness.


    "Maybe it was just one of the tenants?" Valentine asked, making sure.


    "No, it wasn''t. That person felt very dangerous. He didn''t even seem human." Luuk said with fright.


    "Where did you see him? How did you see him?" Valentine asked inquisitively.


    "I was about to go out for my usual night activity when suddenly someone entered through the main door. I hid and observed the person for a while but he emitted a very dangerous aura," he explained.


    "Did you see where he was heading to?"


    "No, because I came back here. We need to check it out." Luuk urged him. He seemed to be really concerned about the suspicious entity.


    "That''s not my problem," said Valentine shortly. The whole situation seemed suspicious, so he didn''t want to put himself in danger. He closed the door on Luuk.


    Once the door was closed, Luuk banged on the door loudly like a madman.


    "OPEN THE DOOR!!" the Luuk outside was yelling, but his voice was much deeper and hoarser than the original''s voice.


    He kept banging until there was a crack on the door. Through the crack, Valentine could see someone was peeping. It was a fiery red eye that was full of hatred. Seeing the eye made one''s blood boil.


    After seeing the eye, Valentine suddenly fell down. His surroundings became dark, even with his night vision he couldn''t see anything. It felt like he was in a very large dark cave where he couldn''t tell which direction was which. He just kept falling and falling and falling into the abyss. It was endless.


    He tried to slow down his fall by spreading his arms and legs, but he still kept falling. It felt suffocating. The cold air that hit his skin felt like sharp pieces of glass, tearing his skin apart. He felt like his blood vessels could burst at any moment from the pressure.


    After falling for what felt like hours, he finally reached the ground, hard. His whole body splattered on the hard rock surface. His head was in pieces; his eyes and his brain were no longer intact. His bones were crushed. He couldn''t see anything but he could feel every inch of his body destroyed.


    But he was still alive, and pain coursed through his every vein. He should have been dead, but he was alive to feel every organ of his body crushed; every blood vessel ruptured. He wanted to scream in agony, but he couldn''t. His tongue was mangled.


    Suddenly, he woke up. Cold sweat ran through his body. He was only dreaming! It felt very real; even the pain felt very real. It was a very twisted dream. He had never had that kind of dream before. He got up from the bed and went to the kitchen. He took a glass of water to quench his thirst.


    Valentine gulped down the water quickly. It felt cold and refreshing. After drinking, he went back to his bedroom. But when he was about to step out of the kitchen, he was suddenly underwater.


    He held his breath and tried to swim up, but the water was dark. Valentine didn''t know which way was up and which way would lead to his demise. Everything was silent, only the sound of the water inside his ear canals could be heard. He was swimming and swimming, but he reached nowhere. It felt like hours. He was unable to hold his breath anymore, but there was no way he could breathe. The longer he was there, the weaker he got. He was kicking in desperation, but it only dragged him further down. He drowned deeper and deeper into the depth.


    Finally, he could not hold his breath any longer; ice-cold water filled his lungs and blood vessels burst in his body and behind his eyes. His eardrums burst and the pain was like a thousand hot needles had stabbed him. He couldn''t keep breathing, for it was excruciating, but he was desperate for air. Water filled his throat as he tried to breathe, and agonizing pain burned his throat, like swallowing a hot iron whole. He was kicking and flailing, but no one could save him.


    As Valentine was drawing his last breath, he was jolted awake. Cold sweat ran down his spine. Valentine punched himself hard to make sure he was really awake. Pain spread from the impact: he was not dreaming. He got up from the bed and looked around. He remembered that Graham had experienced something similar. He saw a brown piece of paper lying on the spot where he was sleeping. He picked it up and read the content.


    ''The Deity has requisitioned the uncovering of great secrets.''


    Valentine remembered Graham''s words and quickly went over to the trash can. Shortly after, the paper lit itself on fire and burned into ashes. The ashes dropped right into the trash can.


    After that was all done, Valentine lied back down in bed. The clock on the wall showed 3:35. He went back to sleep and had a pleasant dream.

 17 Another Day, Another Case

    It was Monday; eight in the morning. Graham Hymes was sitting alone in his usual spot at Don''s Pancake House. The small diner was showered in the morning sunlight, lightening up the mood. The homey feeling that the family-owned diner had was reinforced by the smiley faces of its patrons who were enjoying their food while chatting and laughing. It was noisy, but a kind of noise that made someone want to stay longer.


    Graham was enjoying his breakfast of buttered toast with hagelslag and a cup of hot chocolate. He bit into his warm toast and let the melted chocolate sprinkles and butter touched his palate, and down to his taste buds. The sweet chocolate and the slightly salty butter created a delectable harmony inside his mouth. It was a flavor that he was very used to; one that he really liked.


    After enjoying his little moment of pleasure, Graham came back to his serious mood. He had come to fill his empty stomach. Earlier in the morning, he found Valentine''s handwritten note about the nightmare he had had last night, and the way to appease his deity. Graham was slightly surprised by how similar their requirements were.


    "Val, I believe in coincidence, but this is such a convenient coincidence. Do you think there is more to it?" he said in a low voice while chewing. He occasionally dipped his toast in his hot chocolate, doing it carefully to avoid dropping any sprinkles.


    He was taking his time as he was in no hurry. Right after waking up, Graham had divined what would happen today and his fire scrying ritual had shown him the diner. He was not sure what would or when it would happen, so he might as well stay around and wait.


    Graham sat in silence and was lost in thought. He didn''t even realize Mirjam had come over to his table. When she took a seat, he was mildly startled and when he saw it was the freckled woman, he smiled at her warmly. He somewhat enjoyed her company and wouldn''t mind one now.


    Mirjam looked at Graham in a friendly manner and spoke to him.


    "What are you thinking about, Graham?" her voice was warm and soft, without any hoarseness in it.


    "Just some case. It''s not really important." he brushed aside the topic. It was not really something he could discuss with a normal person.


    "Are you sure it''s not about some girl?" she started teasing him. It was done in a friendly way, with no hint of malice in her tone.


    "No, it''s not. Why do you care? Are you jealous?" replied Graham. He had made a promise with himself that he would not play by her rules. He must be the one controlling the flow of the conversation.


    "Yes, I am very jealous actually. When are you going to ask me out?"


    Her answer was in no way serious, and Graham knew that, but her brutally upfront response made Graham blush. Mirjam was smiling the whole time; her eyes reflected her mischievousness.


    "Why are you even here? You have other customers to serve." Graham changed the topic. He had admitted defeat by not responding directly to her good-natured chaff.


    Mirjam was looking at Graham for a while as if analyzing what the detective might be thinking. She then smiled cordially left his table. She walked triumphantly back to the counter, sunbeams shining through the windows lit up her path. She was ready to serve other customers.


    Graham was back to sitting alone in silence. He somewhat regretted it, but he didn''t mind it. He was very used to being alone, with Valentine as his only company.


    Graham was watching the people walking about outside the diner from his spot. The street was busy because it was Monday. Most of the people walked fast, trying to reach their destinations as quickly as possible. Not a lot of individuals were out there to enjoy the beautiful, sunshiny morning.


    The sound of people chattering was suddenly broken by a scream.


    "Help! Someone is dead! Help!"


    It was a man in a suit and an untucked shirt underneath. He was running frantically towards where people gathered, trying to get as much attention as he could. The busy diner was not spared from his effort.


    The man ran into the diner and at the doorway, he screamed once again.


    "Someone''s dead!"


    He looked to be an ordinary office worker, but all the screaming and running had quickly deteriorated his appearance. His face was panic-stricken, as if he had seen a ghost. His body was not sweating that much, meaning he hadn''t run that far, but he was still panting for air. His office life must have been mostly sedentary with little to no exercise.


    His distressed cry had garnered the attention of both people in the street and the customers at the diner. They failed to react to the man''s dramatic action, seeing that nobody else did. They were just watching, waiting for someone to take an action first before deciding what they would do themselves.


    Graham saw his eyes and he could judge right away that the man wasn''t just screaming for attention for the sake of it. He stood out and spoke to the distressed office worker.


    "You need to calm down because you''re causing a scene," he spoke with a calm voice. Graham''s eyes were glowing red under his contact lenses; his voice carried a sense of spiritual dominance.


    The man did as Graham told. He took a breath and tried his best to calm down. He seemed to be a very ordinary person with an ordinary life. Something extraordinary like what he had seen was enough to cause his world to turn upside down. Once he had calmed down, Graham spoke to him again.


    "I''m a detective. Tell me what you saw," he spoke assertively.


    "There is a dead body near the dumpster! I was just going to throw away my coffee cup before going to work and it was there!" the man said with a loud voice to make sure everyone could hear him. He kept pointing somewhere.


    "Please take me there," he requested to the man and then turned back, "Someone please call the Police."


    The man led Graham and a bunch of other curious bystanders to the dumpster where he had found the dead body. It was in an alley; a different one from where Valentine had planted his blood-covered pen. From the diner, it only took them around five minutes of walking to reach the dumpster.


    The horrid smell of urine and feces struck everyone''s nose. Only a handful few were able to keep it together and approached the scene. They were curiously trying to find out what happened, to satisfy their desire to be in the know. Graham sternly instructed everyone not to get too close and not to touch anything around the body. He needed to preserve the scene until the Police came.


    He observed the dumpster from a distance with his strengthened vision. There was a body of a man lying near it. It hadn''t started decomposing yet. His lifeless eyes and mouth were wide open as if the last thing he saw in life was something terrifying. His fingers were scratching his face, leaving obvious scratch marks under his eyes. It almost looked like he had tried to gouge his eyes out to stop seeing what had been in front of him.


    The dead man had no facial hair, and he looked rather young, judging from his feature. The clothes he was wearing were a normal warm outfit like half the people who were there. There was no visible wound, at least from what Graham could see from that angle. Besides the scratch mark on his face, there was no other injury, not even a scratch on his exposed skin. The jacket that he was wearing had no bloodstain either. It would be up to the Police to determine the cause of death; he could only offer his assistance if necessary in that aspect. Even though there was still no solid proof, it was very likely that it was not a mere accident.


    Graham felt the strong need to find the culprit. The accident happened around his neighborhood, so it made him, to some extent, concerned. If it was really a case of homicide, people he knew or even himself might be the next victim. He needed to solve the case not for a sense of justice, but rather a sense of security. He was also secretly hoping the Police might reward him for helping them catch a criminal.


    Not long after, the sound of police sirens came in the distance. The domineering swirling of blue and red lights could be seen getting closer and closer; with each second the sound of sirens got louder and louder. The sound of chattering stopped once the convoy of police motor carriages arrived. Many men in blue coats came out and started to secure the death scene. They didn''t approach the body for they were still waiting for the medical examiners to arrive. They set up a police line and started interviewing the people around, including Graham.


    "Are you the one who secured the area?" asked one of the officers after seeing that most bystanders were standing at a distance from the body.


    Graham nodded. He noticed that it was the same officer with a friendly smile that had interviewed him about Naomi Bakker.


    "Thank you," the officer shot Graham a warm smile, "Has anyone come near the dead body?"


    "Not since I arrived here. I don''t know before that." Graham answered honestly.


    "Who first discovered the body?" the officer asked inquiringly.


    "It''s that man in the messy shirt." Graham pointed at the man. He was standing some distance away from the dumpster, looking around. He seemed confused about what to do.


    "Thank you for your time," the friendly officer nodded at Graham and approached the man in question. Graham was trying to listen in to the interview, but he didn''t have to try hard to do that because the man spoke loudly. It seemed that he naturally always spoke loudly.


    The officer asked him about how he came to find the dead body and the man answered, "I was on the way to work. It was around eight-fifteen. I finished my coffee but I didn''t see any bin around so I went to the dumpster to throw away the cup. And the man was in there." he said with his eyes wide open. It looked like he still couldn''t believe that it was happening in his life.


    And then, as if realizing something important, he slapped his face with his palm, "I need to go to work!"


    "You need to stay here for now. Did you see anyone suspicious around the time you found the body?" the voice of the officer could be heard faintly.


    "No, there is no one. I was the only one there. When can I leave, officer? I really need to go to work!" he started panicking again as if afraid of being late.


    "You need to stay at least until our medical examiners arrive. They might have more questions for you."


    Graham wanted to go back home and divined what he could about the body, so he approached the officer and asked, "Can I leave?"


    "Yes, you can leave after our men ask you for your contact," the officer shot a glance at another officer who was asking everyone there for their contacts.


    Graham understood it was the procedure even though he was sure the friendly officer already had his landline number and his identity. He waited for a while until another officer came over and asked him for his contact. He gave it to him honestly and left the scene, after observing the dead body one last time.


    He walked back home and arrived seven minutes later. Graham directly set up a ritual to divine about the dead body. He lit the candles, concentrated and repeated the questions in his mind.


    ''Who is the dead body near the dumpster?''


    After a while, an image appeared. It was of a blue one-story house. The image then zoomed out and showed a street. It was a cobblestone street with a lot of trees. Graham recognized it right away. The street in the image was Tuinstraat North.


    After a while, the image gradually disappeared.


    He then concentrated again and repeated another question.


    ''What caused the death of the man near the dumpster?''


    After concentrating for a while, a blurry image slowly formed up in the flames. It was of the dead man a moment before his death. He suddenly started scratching his faces and dropped dead. The image stopped there. It was not clear what caused him to die.


    Graham went into thinking for a while and started divining again. He repeated another question in his mind.


    ''Who killed the man whose dead body is near the dumpster?''


    The candles were burning for some time but no image appeared. After waiting a little longer, Graham put out the fires except for one candle.


    "It seems my divination was not interfered with, but it couldn''t show me anything. It is likely that the killing method is something that cannot be traced back to the killer." he deduced.


    Graham took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it to confirm his theory.


    ''The murder of the man near the dumpster involves the supernatural.''


    He lit the bottom right corner of the paper on fire and it consumed the whole paper rapidly, indicating a positive response.


    "Val, the paper burned really fast, so it indeed involves the supernatural. A Contractbound is very likely to be behind it."


    He then wrote another statement on another piece of paper.


    ''It is dangerous for me to try to catch the killer.''


    He lit the paper on fire and it burned the whole paper, but at a slower rate than the first one.


    "So it is dangerous, but it shouldn''t be life-threatening. We should be able to pull it off it comes to that," he said while sitting in his dark office chair.


    "I''m sure the Police also have divinators; maybe even better than me," he was thinking for a while. There must be other divination methods that the Police knew of and used.


    "We have the option to leave it to them to catch the murderer. I''m sure they have dealt with something similar in the past. But the body was found near here. That alone is enough to put us in potential danger. If the murderer showed up nearby, we would be the closest one to react, so we have to be prepared, Val."


    "Not to mention the mysterious killing method. I won''t be able to sleep well until I know how they did it. It was just too mysterious. We need to know more about it so we can guard against something similar in the future. Maybe, it would even count as a great secret that I need to divine; you, uncover. So we might as well investigate this case too."


    Graham had decided what to do. He got ready right away to start investigating. His first destination would be the blue house on Tuinstraat North.

 18 Chasing Shadows

    It was a Monday morning on Tuinstraat North, a beautiful cobblestone street with a lot of trees. The leaves on the trees had some turned reddish in color, and they started falling slowly. It was sunny, with a gentle breeze carrying the fallen leaves. A public motor carriage was approaching and slowly pulled over to the side of the street. Before anyone stepped out of the motor carriage, a conversation could be heard between the driver and the passenger.


    "No, sir, there is no such thing as ''special Monday discount''," the driver spoke with mild annoyance.


    "But I''m sure last Monday another driver gave me a special discount." the passenger, a man in a dark brown trench coat and a trilby, was insisting on getting a discount.


    "Sir, it''s five pennings. That''s final." the driver stood his ground.


    The passenger looked dejected and unwillingly took out five penning coins from his coat pocket. He handed the coins over to the driver through the opening in the glass separator. The passenger then got out of the motor carriage and looked around the street. It was Graham Hymes, who was there to investigate the death of the unknown man.


    On the street where Graham was right now had a lot of houses on both sides. It was one of the streets that were intended as residential areas. The Government had built a lot of medium-to-large-sized residences there which came with sizable front yards. The richer homeowners had usually renovated their houses, while the more humble inhabitants had usually not done any. That was why there were a lot of similar-looking houses as well as many different-looking ones at the same time.


    The house that Graham was looking for was a blue one-story one. However, within his vicinity, and even farther away, there were a lot of them that matched his criteria. Blue, along with orange and brown, was the popular color for painting houses in the Republic of Tulp after all.


    Graham went somewhere with fewer people so that he won''t attract attention while doing divination. He tore off a piece of paper from his thinning notebook and wrote something on it.


    ''The house of the dead man near the dumpster is within my line of sight.''


    He burned the paper right on top of an open trash bin. The flame burned the whole paper.


    "So one of these should be the dead man''s house. But I can''t divine them one by one, Val. I will reach my limit sooner than I can find it."


    Graham went back to the street and walked to another spot that was as secluded. Around him now there were only three blue one-story houses. Graham ripped off a piece of paper and wrote his divination question on it.


    ''The house of the dead man near the dumpster is within 10 meters radius.''


    Graham burned the paper and the flame only burned halfway, which meant it wasn''t the case. Not long after he finished his divination, he got a slight headache. He ignored it for now and walked to another spot some distance away and repeated the procedure with the same question.


    ''The house of the dead man near the dumpster is within 10 meters radius.''


    This time, the paper was burned entirely. His headache was growing more intense in the process. The ashes fell on Graham''s palm and he quickly discarded them to the nearest trash bin while massaging his temples along the way. There were three blue houses around him, and one of them was the one he was looking for.


    Of the three blue houses, one looked slightly different, not because it was beautifully decorated, but because it looked unmaintained. The other houses had their lawns mowed and the shrubs trimmed. That one house, however, was not. The grass was overgrown; the paint on the wall was peeling. It almost looked like nobody lived there.


    Graham had a feeling that it was the house that he was looking for among the three, but he didn''t want to use divination to confirm because he had done it nine times today. One more time would be his limit and he wanted to save it for an emergency.


    He noted down the house number in his book and observed it for a while. The windows were visibly dusty, signing that either it had not been lived in for a while or the owner was very negligent. There was also the possibility that the man had lived alone while alive with a full-time job and no time for housekeeping. The house had no porch. From the street, there was a pathway made of flat rocks cutting through the lawn leading all the way to the front door, where it ended in an elevated step.


    The curtains inside were drawn, so Graham couldn''t see what it was like on the inside. He also wanted to see if there was somebody home, although at the same time he found it unlikely. He decided to use his usual method: talking to neighbors. He walked up to the front door of his next-door neighbor and rang the bell. After ringing the bell twice, he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer and the door being unlocked. A man, about fifty, opened the door and came out. He was wearing only a t-shirt and shorts.


    Graham wasn''t expecting to see the man of the house because usually, they would be working at this hour. "Good morning, sir," Graham greeted the man with his warmest smile.


    The man politely smiled back and replied to him, "Good morning. Anything I can help you with?"


    Graham noticed that the man spoke in a mild Rodinian accent, similar to Ruben''s but stronger; probably because Ruben Arnaud was raised in the Republic.


    Graham concentrated and activated his eye power. He then looked at the man in the eyes and said persuasively, "You will believe me when I say I''m from the Water Company and here to ask about your neighbor because he has plumbing problems. You will answer my questions without asking anything because you are not a busybody."


    The man nodded slowly in confusion.


    "What can you tell me about your neighbor from that house?" Graham pointed at the unkempt house next-door. He readied his notebook.


    The man''s confusion was gone in an instant; the lights in his eyes returned to normal. "That is Mr. Dechant''s house. He lives alone there. I have never seen any family members since he moved here two years ago."


    More Rodinian, Graham thought. "What is his first name? What does he look like?"


    "¨¦tienne. That''s his first name. He forty-something, but he looks young. Maybe he''s one of those people with baby faces? He is not that tall, but not short either." the man gave a not-so-clear description of his neighbor.


    "¨¦tienne Dechant. What does he do for a living?" Graham asked while writing down the information the man just told him.


    "I think he works in an advertising company. I''m not sure about the detail because he''s not very social." the man seemed to be trying to recall.


    "Do you know the name of his company? Or the location?"


    "No, I really don''t," the man sounded regretful, "But he always walks, so I guess it''s not that far."


    "So how did you know that he works for an advertising company?"


    "He mentioned it when we greeted each other for the first time." the man said honestly.


    "Val, there are many advertising companies in this city alone, that doesn''t narrow it down," Graham muttered to himself. The man saw it but he didn''t ask anything. "Have you seen him with anyone lately?"


    "No, I haven''t. In fact, I haven''t seen Mr. Dechant in a while."


    Graham thought that we wouldn''t get any other useful information from this man, so he decided to stop his interview.


    "Thank you very much for your time," he said goodbye politely to the man.


    Graham went to several other neighbor''s houses and repeated the interview. Most of them said more or less the same thing as the first man. They didn''t know ¨¦tienne Dechant that well. The man seemed to have actively avoided interactions with his neighbors for some reason for them not to know him after one year. But from the physical description that he got from them, it matched the dead body from this morning. It made Graham suspicious. There must be something about his life that he couldn''t show to anyone.


    "Val, we need to enter the house to find more clues. You should do it. Illegal trespassing is your specialty after all." he concluded. "But we''d better do it tonight. We don''t know where the Police will show up here. It should be anytime soon if they can find his identity card on his person."


    Graham needed to wait until nightfall for Valentine to sneak into the house, so he decided to go home first. It was still early, so he wanted to just walk instead of taking the carriage; that way, he could stop by the store to buy more candles and a new notebook.


    ...


    At night, the crescent moon was hiding behind dark clouds. The stars were not shining either, making the street look gloomy. Only the street lights illuminated the streets below, and the lights from the houses gave a sense of direction. A man wearing all black was moving discreetly among the shadows of the trees. He was wearing a face-mask and a beanie; only his eyes could be seen clearly. His dark brown eyes looked cold in the cold night.


    Valentine moved swiftly to the backstreet of the houses on Tuinstraat North. He was looking for the back door to break into because it would be safer. Graham had used his last divination of the day to divine the danger, and it was not mortal, but Valentine was still on high alert. As he entered the alley leading to the backstreet, he saw patrolling officers approaching from the main street. They didn''t seem to notice Valentine in the shadow.


    It was darker in the backstreet because there were fewer streetlights, but Valentine could see well in the dark; everything was glowing a pale yellow shade to him. He found the door of the house not long after. It was easy to notice because the house was the only one in bad condition. The back of the house was worse than its front.


    Valentine carefully lock picked his way into the house and entered the kitchen where the back door led to. All the lights inside the house were not on, showing no human activity. Only the streetlights penetrating through the gaps in the curtain lightened up the house.


    It was very quiet both inside the house and outside in the streets. Only the occasional private motor carriages would drive by. Valentine checked his watch: it was one after midnight, so he had a lot of time until dawn.


    There was nothing that stood out inside the kitchen. The dishes there seemed unused, just lying around on the hanging racks. There were none in the sink nor in the drying rack. The man might have eaten out a lot. Valentine moved on to the living room. He walked very quietly with his knife ready in case someone else was in the house waiting to ambush him.


    The living room was just as plain as the kitchen. There was a television and a sofa and chairs, but no decoration. The wooden floor creaked when he stepped on it, no matter how carefully he trod. He stopped moving immediately and heightened his alert. He stooped down and waited for any signs of movement. After some moments of silence, he continued inspecting the room.


    The living room was dusty, and only one of the chairs showed a sign of recent use. The dust layer on it was thinner than that on the others. The dead man was indeed enigmatic. His lifestyle was different from that of common people.


    Valentine moved on to the next room. He stepped very lightly to avoid loud creaks from the floor. He opened the door a little and saw through the gap. After making sure it was safe, he opened the door and entered the bedroom. Musty smell penetrated his nostril the moment he stepped into the room.


    It was a medium-sized bedroom with a king-size bed with a messy blanket on it. There were a wardrobe and a desk with drawers. The room looked simple, without any decoration. Everything in the room was only the bare necessities. The man who lived here probably was a pragmatic person. There was a door at the other end of the bedroom, which probably led to the bathroom.


    Valentine lifted the blanket slightly to check what was underneath it, but there was nothing. He carefully returned the blanket to its original position and moved on to the wardrobe. Inside it, there were men''s clothes of different styles, but most were formal shirts. He checked the pockets of the shirts and found nothing but penning coins. He looked behind the clothes but there was no hidden cabinet or boxes there.


    Next, Valentine checked the drawers. The topmost drawer was unlocked but there were only coins inside. Most of them were penning coins and with some duit and stuiver coins mixed in. He didn''t take anything because it might be traced back to him even though something inside him was screaming to just stuff those beautiful things inside his pocket.


    The second drawer was full of assorted items like screwdrivers and pins and nail clippers. There was nothing really useful inside, so he moved along to the third drawer.


    The third drawer was locked, but it was only a simple mechanism, no match for Valentine''s lock picking skill. It was a tiny lock, so he had to focus hard. His night vision helped him a lot. Once it was open, Valentine pulled it and looked at the content. There was a single piece of paper with a drawing on it. He didn''t touch the paper, because his instinct told him it was a bad idea. He only looked at the image on it and etched it in his memory.


    The image was of four interlocking rings, with each ring having countless eyes on it. Some of the eyes were open and some were closed. All of the open eyes were looking straight at the viewer of the image. In the middle of the rings, there was a silhouette of a figure, but it was unclear what the figure was. It was a bizarre sight.


    After having it memorized, Valentine closed the drawer and went back outside. He chose the spot that was about in the center of the house. It was the corridor next to the living room. He took out his knife. Next, he slit open his palm and let the blood pool. He then started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium"


    The surrounding area became strangely quieter than before. The blood on Valentine''s palm emitted a mysterious mist that spread to the surrounding area.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    Valentine dropped a tiny bit of his blood into the gap between the wooden floor panels. He waited for a while for the blood to dry and his wound to heal. Once the blood was dry, he checked if it was conspicuous. It was only a tiny drop of blood, so it wasn''t really that visible.


    After his anti-divination ritual was done, Valentine carefully went out of the house through the back door and closed the door behind him. He walked back to the main street and swiftly started walking home.

 19 A Side Mission

    A man in all black was walking down the quiet street cautiously, but briskly. He was wearing a wool hat and a facemask. His slender body moved with nimbleness in the dark night. He was both careful and observant. Whenever he saw another human being, he would observe them before deciding to move along.


    It was Luuk van der Meer. He had gone out to do his usual night activity and was heading to Oosteindestraat, where a lot of drunk people were gathering. With his fast pace, it didn''t take really long for him to reach his destination.


    Oosteindestraat was packed with people that night. Luuk went into a Favaran restaurant called ''La Padella'' and was approached by someone.


    "I''m looking for Mastro Gianni," Luuk said shortly to the man.


    The brawny man in front of him didn''t budge. He just sized Luuk up and finally asked, "Who is asking?"


    "A thief."


    Just with those two words, the brawny man understood. He went through the back door and disappeared from sight. Luuk stood there patiently. He knew that the man had to ask for permission first before allowing someone to enter the back of this restaurant. This, after all, was only the front of a hidden organization.


    The brawny man walked intimidatingly towards Luuk. He shot a glance at him and then nodded. He gestured for Luuk to follow him inside. Luuk walked calmly behind the brawny man through the back door. He walked through it and entered the kitchen that didn''t have many cooks at that time. The brawny man walked through a door in the kitchen and Luuk followed.


    Behind the door, it was not that different from the restaurant, except for the many men in black coats and fedoras staring at him. Even though it was late at night, the place was busy. Because the place was dimly lit, it was somewhat difficult to see. But it was not a problem for Luuk and his night vision. His eyes that were glowing in the dark enabled him to see things clearly as if they were illuminated by a red light. However, it made him attract too much attention as well. He needed to master his power better because he believed he would be able to prevent the glow then.


    They walked down a similarly dimly lit corridor with a lot of closed doors on both sides. There were various different noises coming from some of the doors. Luuk wasn''t bothered by any of that, because he had his goal in mind. They arrived at the end of the corridor in front of a double door. The brawny man knocked on the door and a voice from inside told them to come in.


    "You come in. I''ll wait here. This is the only exit, don''t try anything funny." the brawny man warned Luuk.


    Luuk didn''t respond and opened the door. Inside, it was a classic looking office with an older man sitting leisurely behind the desk. The office was spacious and well decorated. There was a grand piano in one of the corners and a shelf with countless books. The carpet on the floor looked exquisite. The office room made the guests feel that the owner was someone with good taste, but no hint of arrogance was felt since there were no weapons being displayed, nor were there trophies hung on the wall.


    Luuk was on guard the whole time. He knew that the person sitting behind the desk was someone dangerous. That person didn''t need to display his power because he knew nothing could threaten him. That was the feeling that look was getting from the man with grey hair sitting across from him. The man was wearing a neat suit and a tie. He was exuding a gentlemanly aura with cold-bloodiness mixed in. He looked at the tense Luuk and flashed him an approving smile. He gestured Luuk to take a seat.


    Luuk sat down and waited until the man spoke. Something about the man made him nervous.


    "You must be the thief," he said. His voice was charismatic and assertive.


    "Yes. Are you Mastro Gianni?" he asked; his nervousness had slightly decreased because of the man''s voice and smile.


    "Yes. Do you want anything to drink? Coffee? Tea?" he offered Luuk still smiling all the way. His manner of sitting was very relaxed.


    "No, thank you," Luuk answered shortly, gesturing with his hand.


    "You look very tense, young man. Relax. You are still young." he said strangely soothingly.


    Luuk calmed down a little for some reason after hearing his words. He then asked, "So, what job do you need a thief for?"


    "Young people nowadays always go straight to the point," he complained jokingly, "There is something I want you to steal."


    "Why don''t you send your many men to just take it by force?"


    Mastro Gianni chuckled. He seemed to have expected such a question.


    "I can''t just take it by force. This must be done discreetly. I cannot tell you the reason, however."


    "Don''t you have Contractbounds working under you?"


    "I do, but they are on another mission. And besides, Contractbounds are rare," he said still with his assertive voice. His eyes seemed to be judging Luuk''s reaction.


    Luuk understood what he implied by that utterance. Even though he had Contractbounds working under him, it didn''t mean it was guaranteed that they had the necessary abilities. They were, after all, rare, so he got whatever he could.


    "Alright. So what should I steal?"


    "The details are inside this envelope." Mastro Gianni slid a big envelope across the desk towards Luuk. "You can bring a helper, and I don''t care whatever method you use. You only need to make sure that it won''t be traced back to us," he said, suddenly with a domineering voice.


    Luuk nodded. He grabbed the envelope but didn''t open it. He only tried to feel the content from outside.


    "You will be paid fifty guilders in advance. It is inside the envelope. The remaining will be paid based on the results. Any question?"


    "No. Nothing. I''ll get it done as soon as possible," he said with intentness.


    "That''s the spirit." Mastro Gianno smiled wide, "You can find me here once the job is done."


    Luuk nodded.


    "Beppe!" shouted Mastro Gianno. The brawny man, hearing his name being called, opened the door from outside and politely entered the room. "If you have no more questions, Beppe will accompany you to the exit," he said with a friendly tone. He then shot a glance at the burly man.


    "I''ll take my leave then." Luuk gave a nod and got up from his chair. He followed Beppe outside and waited while the latter closed the door slowly. They walked back down the corridor and out to the restaurant front.


    "Don''t even think about just running away with money," Beppe looked straight at Luuk''s eyes once they arrived back at the restaurant. "Fratello Maggiore is watching," he said threateningly.


    Luuk shrugged it off and walked out of the restaurant.


    ...


    Graham Hymes woke up late on Tuesday. He had used up all of his divination power so he felt exhausted. The clock on the wall showed ten-twelve. He stretched his body and got up from the bed. He continued stretching again while standing up and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He looked at himself in the mirror; his stubble had grown a lot. It wouldn''t be long until it turned into a full beard. He took a shaving knife and trimmed it. His strong jaw line looked even more defined afterward.


    Just as soon as he was finished, someone rang the doorbell to his office. He quickly got changed and answered the door after turning on the light. It was Luuk with his sleep-deprived face. He was actually not bad-looking, but the constant dark circles around his eyes made him look scummy. He was carrying a big envelope that caught Graham''s attention, but he didn''t ask about it.


    "Morning, Luuk. Need anything?" he said while opening the door for his guest. Both men came into the office and sat opposite each other.


    "I have something I need to have done and I need your help to do it," he said seriously while yawning at the same time.


    "What is it? I''m in the middle of an investigation right now."


    Luuk looked at Graham''s outfit and looked around sarcastically.


    "Not right now, right now. You get what I mean, I know." Graham shrugged.


    "I know I know. I was only kidding. This job pays a lot, and it should be simple enough. I need your secrecy power." he said. He remembered that the person in front of him had used that kind of power while they were fighting.


    "In that case, I want fifty percent of the payment," Graham said after thinking for a while. He needed to investigate the murder, but aside from the bizarre picture that Valentine found, he had only the mysterious company that the dead man had worked at. He needed to divine the picture or the company first before proceeding with the investigation.


    Luuk didn''t seem surprised by Graham''s demand. "Sure," he said instantly. He then put the envelope on the desk and moved it closer to Graham. "Everything is inside this envelope."


    Graham took the envelope and opened it. Inside, there were two photos and a lot of money. There was also a document. Graham took out the photos first and studied them. One was that of a black and white image of a strange-looking artifact with intricate patterns carved on it. There was a single open eye in the middle of the cube-shaped artifact. The second photo was that of a man with dangerous-looking eyes. Even though it was a photo, Graham felt like the man was staring directly into his eyes.


    "So we are to steal this artifact from this man?" Graham deduced.


    "Yes. There is intel on this man inside the envelope too. But there is only the exact information that we need¡ª nothing else."


    "It''s a job for you, Val," Graham muttered. He then turned back to Luuk and asked, "Who commissioned you to do this job?"


    "It''s a hidden organization that goes by the name Fratello Maggiore," said Luuk, studying Graham''s reaction.


    Graham was only slightly surprised. "So you''re working for the mafia now?"


    "I''m not working for them," Luuk denied, "I was introduced by someone. I want the money and the chance to steal something great to please my Deity."


    "I thought your Deity only wanted money."


    "Yes, but I got this intuition at a spiritual level that stealing this item would appease Him," Luuk explained vaguely.


    Graham didn''t ask further. He read the document inside. There was the address of the man in the photo. His name was also on it. The target''s name was Zeger de Witt and he lived on Paleisstraat. It was the street where high-ranking government officials lived! Graham didn''t expect his target to be someone important.


    Luuk saw the change of expression on Graham''s face and seemed to understand the reason. "I was also surprised when I saw his address."


    Graham didn''t respond and continued reading. The intel said he would always carry the artifact with him, so trying to steal it from his house while he was away was out of the question. He kept reading the document and it said that the target would be attending a dinner party in three night''s time at the house of the minister of finance on Koningsstraat.


    The next part of the document was the observed abilities of the target. So he was a Contractbound as well. He had been observed to be able to shape-shift and spread illnesses, as well as instigate infighting between teammates. Graham went into thinking. His target seemed to have made contracts with several Deities. He would not be an easy target.


    "So, our chance of stealing is either when he is sleeping or when he is on his way back from the dinner party," Graham finally spoke.


    "I think so too," Luuk said. "But he has several abilities. Those would be difficult to deal with."


    "Our goal is only to steal, right? As long as we do it covertly, we don''t need to engage in a fight at all."


    Luuk nodded. "Yes, I agree. I also would like to avoid a fight at any cost. This commission is not worth my life."


    "We have three days to prepare. Can you observe the target to see if the intel was correct? I''ll come up with a plan." Graham suggested.


    "I think I can do it." he agreed after thinking for a while.


    "Meanwhile, I need to carry on with my investigation and also the preparations," he said, indirectly asking Luuk to leave.


    Luuk understood the hidden meaning and got up from the chair, "I''ll take my leave then." he left the office and closed the door behind him.


    Graham, who was now alone in his office, took out candles and pieces of paper. He needed to do a lot of divination today. He turned off the light and came back to sit in his chair.


    First, he set the nine votive candles in the usual formation, following the pattern on the sigil of his Deity. He then lit the candles one by one starting from the top left all the way down to the middle, forming a spiral, or an inverted six. Once all the candles were lit, he concentrated and repeated the question he wanted to ask in his mind.


    ''What does the picture with four interlocking rings with numerous eyes mean?''


    After he repeated the question enough times, the room suddenly grew darker and darker. Graham waited for an image to form in the flames, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head. The flames all went out at the same time.


    "Argh!" he shouted. His head hurt really bad and he felt blood running down his nose. He touched it and saw blood on his finger. He then wiped it with a tissue and came sitting down again.


    His first divination had failed, but he still had to do several others. He relit the candles in the same procedure. Once it was done, he repeated the question.


    ''Where did ¨¦tienne Dechant work when he was alive?''


    The room grew darker and darker. After a while, a blurry image gradually formed in the flames. It was a company building, but he couldn''t read the name because of the blur. The image then zoomed out and showed the street where the building was. Graham recognized the street. It was Bloemstraat, a street south of Grotemarktstraat. There were a lot of entertainment places there.


    Graham noted down the information and got ready for his next divination. He didn''t need to lit the candles because they didn''t go out. He only needed to concentrate on a question.


    ''What secret was ¨¦tienne Dechant hiding?''


    The same thing happened to Graham again. The flames went out and he got a stabbing headache. Someone had done anti-divination on some matters regarding the dead man. It meant the secret was worth guarding.


    "Val, I wonder what secret Mr. Dead Man was hiding. We need to find out somehow."


    Next, he would try to divine about Luuk''s commission. He lit the candles again and repeated the question.


    ''What is the best way to steal the artifact from Zeger de Witt?''


    He waited for an image to appear but instead, he got a throbbing pain in his head. He had failed for the third time.


    "Val, I think we''re involved in matters higher than our current level," he concluded.


    He then took a piece of paper and wrote on it while massaging his temples and the back of his head.


    ''The commission to steal the artifact will kill us.''


    He burned the paper and watch the flame consume it slowly. It then stopped midway, indicating a negative response.


    "At last, something good, Val." Graham smiled.

 20 A Company Visi

    Graham left his office in the afternoon at two. He had rested for a short time to ease his head pain after having multiple failed divination attempts. Today, his plan was to have breakfast at Don''s and go to Bloemstraat to find the advertising company that ¨¦tienne Dechant used to work at. He was wearing a warm black sweater and a pair of striped pants, which made him appear slightly taller than he actually was. His medium-built body appeared slender in the sweater.


    He walked over to a newsstand on the way to the restaurant. There, they sold a lot of different newspapers, but the most popular in the Republic was De Telegraaf. The people liked it because it tended to stay more neutral and not exaggerated. Then there was Vergroten Dagblad, which tended to report the news in a very exaggerated manner with nonsensical headlines. People usually bought it for the entertainment, but there were also people who actually believed in it and would loudly preach its contents as the truth. Those people were usually the ones who would easily believe in conspiracy theories without fact-checking.


    Graham paid one penning for one copy of De Telegraaf and one copy of Vergoten Dagblad and continued his way to the diner, carrying them under his arm. He arrived at the diner shortly after and entered the small but homey building and sat at his usual spot. He was greeted by the usual friendly smile.


    "Good afternoon, Graham." said the friendly voice warmly.


    "Good afternoon, Mirjam. I want oatmeal pancake with peanut butter and bananas. And one hot chocolate please, extra rich."


    "Okay. Anything else for Mr. Detective?"


    "No, that''s all. Thank you." he smiled at her.


    Mirjam left his table and he sat alone quietly, observing the diner. It was not as busy as usual, probably because lunch hour had already passed. The people there right now were only two elderly men enjoying their food, a woman and her son, and two young women. It was peaceful there, without anyone screaming at the top of their lungs about dead bodies.


    Graham unfolded De Telegraaf and read the headline news; ''Unidentified Dead Body Found in Sloten. A male dead body was found near a dumpster in an alley in Sloten. The body was found by a man who was on his way to work at around eight in the morning. There was no identification present on the body. The cause of death is still unknown until now. The Police are currently trying to find out the identity of the dead man and the cause of death. They didn''t deny the possibility of murder.''


    After reading the headline news, he put it aside and unfolded Vergoten Dagblad. He wanted to compare their news for some insight, but mostly for entertainment. He read the headline news: ''Murdered Man Dumped in a Dumpster in Sloten. A man was brutally murdered and his dead body was dumped in a dumpster in broad daylight. The body was found by a man who denied all involvement in the case. He said he was just going to work when he found the body at around eight in the morning. The dead man had no identity present. Is it possible that he was a foreign spy?''


    He stopped reading right away and face-palmed. Not long after, his food came, so he set aside the newspapers and ate his food. He poured some of his hot chocolate on his pancakes and sliced them into pieces. He put one piece into his mouth and the flavors made him smile. The warm oaty pancake topped with the crunchy peanut butter and soft banana was softened by the rich hot chocolate.


    Mirjam came over and took the seat next to Graham. She was bored because there were not many customers there. She was really used to chat casually with them whenever she was free. That was why she was well-liked. Some regulars even came specially just to eat food while talking with them. They had felt that the diner was like home to them.


    "What''s on the news?" she asked Graham while taking a glance at the newspapers on the table.


    "I''ve only read the headlines. It''s about the dead man that was found near here," he told her.


    "Oh I remember! The panicked man who went shouting yesterday morning? Tell me about it! I didn''t get to see the dead body. By the time I finished my shift, the Police were already there." she pleaded with curiosity.


    "What can I say? There was a dead man in the alley. You can read in on the newspaper yourself," Graham shot a glance at the newspapers.


    "But it''s more fun to hear from someone who has seen it."


    "Well, he was dead. They don''t know yet what the cause of death is. But he looked terrified. And then the Police came," Graham gave her only a small detail.


    "Do you think he was murdered?" she asked with wide eyes.


    "It''s a possibility. But there is no proof yet," he didn''t confirm it nor deny it. He didn''t want to spread panic around the neighborhood.


    "Isn''t it scary if he was actually murdered? Thinking the murderer is walking around free," she said half-jokingly, but Graham could hear some concern in her voice.


    "Just stay safe. Don''t walk around alone at night. I''m sure the Police will solve the case soon, as they always do," he said. He didn''t want to undermine the danger, but he also had to make sure that people were not overcome with fear.


    "I guess you''re right. Speaking of which, you haven''t paid for your food yesterday."


    Graham face-palmed. He totally forgot about that.


    "A bunch of you guys followed that shouting man and didn''t come back. Most of them had paid this morning, so all is fine."


    "I''m really sorry." he apologized wholeheartedly. Even though he always asked for discounts, he wouldn''t deliberately not pay for something.


    "And also you owe me two pennings from that expensive caf¨¦. You gave me only five pennings, but your totals were seven," she said without malice.


    Graham face-palmed yet again. "In my defense, I didn''t know it would be that expensive." he said honestly, "I''ll pay for everything."


    "Thank you! You''re the best!" Mirjam smiled and then went back to her post. There were new customers so she had to serve them.


    "Val, it was really embarrassing," he muttered.


    Graham sat alone again. He picked up De Telegraaf and unfolded it. He skimmed through the news columns and his attention got caught by one. ''Family Massacre: Murderer Hasn''t been Caught. The massacre that befell the Bakkers has until now been unsolved. The whole family was murdered in cold blood in their own house. The husband was initially suspected, but his body was found two days later in another house. Cornelia van Breemen, the owner of the house where Bram Bakker''s body was found, has been declared a prime suspect and is currently missing. Contact the Police immediately if you think you have seen her. The Police will reward any information regarding her whereabouts.''


    "So that''s the official version. I''m sure the Police know she''s dead. They must have divinators in their rank, but since there is no body, they must declare her missing instead."


    He continued reading.


    ''Tension Rose between Federal Republic of Krefeld and Union of Labinsk Socialist Republics. Despite the incoming cold winter, the situation between the two countries is getting hotter. The Chancellor of the Federal Republic has demanded an official apology after a commercial flight flying from Siegen to Bredevoort, in the Republic of Tulp, was shot down over the sky of the Union. The Union''s officials have not given any explanation and have remained silent on the topic. The passenger flight that was carrying civilians was shot down on Thursday, August 29. No survivors have been found despite rescue attempts from various parties.


    Graham put down the newspaper. His mood was affected by the news. He hoped there would be no more wars because he hated them to his core. He finished his food and called for Mirjam to pay. He also paid off his debt. Once he finished paying, he said,


    "Here is the interest payment," he handed her the two newspapers and left.


    His destination was Bloemstraat. It would take him twenty-five minutes to go there by motor carriage. He stopped one and got in. After he paid nine pennings to the driver, he got off and looked around the street. If Grotemarktstraat was the center of stores and supermarkets, Bloemstraat was the center of businesses.


    The street was six lanes wide with a lot of motor carriages and bicycles passing by. There were a lot of people in the street, going to various different locations. There were a lot of tall buildings that looked like they reached the sky. The walls of buildings made him feel like he was in a concrete forest. It would take too long to walk down the street because the street itself was split into many sections: Bloemstraat North, East, South, and West, not to mention the many alleyways scattered around.


    Graham walked up to a man sitting down on a bench reading a newspaper.


    "Good afternoon."


    The man put down his newspaper and looked at Graham.


    "Do you know if there is an advertising company nearby?" he asked politely.


    The man thought for a while and said, "I don''t remember the detail, but I think there is one over there. Five minutes away from here." he pointed South.


    "Thank you."


    The man nodded and got back to reading his newspaper.


    Graham walked in the direction that the man pointed at and after walking for a while, finally he stopped in front of a building. Even though he had never been there before, he recognized the building at a spiritual level. It was the building that appeared in his divination. Although the image was blurry, it perfectly matched the one he had in mind.


    The company had a sign at the front. It was called ''Fast Media Advertising''. The building itself had seven floors and looked quite modern. There were a lot of people entering and exiting the building. Graham felt rather out of place. It felt as if he was in another era.


    He entered the building through the revolving door and came up to the reception desk. The was a woman donned in a lot of makeup sitting behind the curved black desk. She was filing her fingernails while sitting leaning far back on her chair. When she saw Graham, she looked slightly surprised and tidied up her hair and clothes and sat straight.


    "Good afternoon. Can I help you?" she said with a friendly voice, but it sounded like she had said the same line over and over. She smiled really widely.


    "Hello. I''m looking for Mr. Dechant. Is he in today?"


    "Which Mr. Dechant are you looking for, Mr....?"


    "Miller. Call me Miller. Is there more than one Mr. Dechant? I''m looking for ¨¦tienne Dechant. " he lied about his name and was somewhat surprised by her statement.


    "Yes. What are the chances, right? They are both non-natives and they work at the same company!" she said excitedly. "Mr. ¨¦tienne? I haven''t seen him in a while. I''ll call his department. Give me a minute." she opened her logbook and called the number of ¨¦tienne Dechant''s department.


    Graham waited and watched as she started talking on the office landline. After asking about ¨¦tienne Dechant, she didn''t hang up the phone but chatted for a while about topics Graham had no interest in. Her voice was high-pitched and could sound annoying to listen to for a prolonged period, but she was friendly, so probably people didn''t mind that much.


    After waiting for what felt like forever, Graham finally got annoyed.


    "Val, should we smack her in the head or what?" he muttered. He then pretended to clear his throat audibly.


    "Ahem!"


    The receptionist seemed taken aback and realized someone was waiting for her. She quickly said goodbye to the person on the other side of the landline.


    "I''m so sorry I got carried away." she apologized embarrassedly. "Mr. ¨¦tienne is taking a week off. He won''t be in until next week."


    "That''s alright then. Can you tell me everything you know about him?" Graham looked at her in the eyes and his eyes glowed red under his contact lenses. "And you cannot tell anyone about my visit because this is a sensitive matter."


    She looked confused at first and then started talking in her usual chatty manner. "Mr. ¨¦tienne doesn''t really associate a lot with people. He prefers to keep to himself. And his Rodin accent is very apparent when he speaks. He never stands out, really. I''ve never heard him get in trouble."


    "When did he start working here?"


    "He started about two years ago. He moved from Rodin to work in this country. That''s what I heard. Oh, and he is single. He looks really young for someone over forty. Some of my friends were hitting on him but he didn''t respond. We start to think that he might be gay." she shrugged.


    Graham noted all the information in his notebook, although some of it was really not important.


    "In fact, I''ve never seen Mr. ¨¦tienne with any woman, at all. Or with anyone, really. He really is a strange man. I wonder why he moved out of his country." she continued gossipping.


    "Who is the closest to him? I mean, who is the best person to ask about him?"


    "No one, really. As for the best person, you are talking to her. I know all the gossips going around in this office." she said proudly.


    "Val, I don''t think we''ll get anything useful out of this exciting conversation," he muttered sarcastically.


    "Sorry, I didn''t hear you. Can you repeat that?" she said while moving her chair closer towards the desk.


    "No, it was nothing. Anything else you can tell me about him?" he brushed it aside.


    "Hmm..." she thought for a while, her index finger tapping her lips. "Last week he looked anxious, like stressed. Maybe that''s why he is taking the week off."


    "What do you mean?" Graham got interested.


    "He looked like he didn''t sleep. His eyes had those black circles, you know. And he really didn''t focus at all. People said he wasn''t listening to any of them when they tried to talk to him. Maybe he was thinking about something. I don''t know about his personal life so I cannot tell you what it is."


    "Did he look scared to you?" he asked, trying to confirm his theory.


    "Now that you mention it, maybe he did look scared. He would often look around after exiting the office. I can see it clearly from here, you see?"


    "Anything else?"


    "Nothing. That''s all I know. Do you also want to know about the other Mr. Dechant?" she said excitedly.


    "Not interested. Maybe next time." Graham refused. He really didn''t want to hear her gossip about another coworker and he was not interested in the other Mr. Dechant unless he was related to the case. "Thank you for your trouble."


    "You are welcome!" the receptionist smiled at Graham and went back to filing her nails.


    Graham walked out of the office building while speaking in a low voice,


    "Val, I think I have an idea what the bizarre image is."

 21 Doing Research

    Graham Hymes was walking down the six-lane street leisurely. It was a lovely afternoon with a gentle breeze. The street was noisy with motor carriages driving by and the tapping sound of people''s footsteps. He was going to the city library that was located on Raadhuislan, which would take him too long to go on foot, so he stopped a public motor carriage and got into one.


    He arrived fifteen minutes later and got out. The city''s public library was located in the same square as the Town Hall. Everyone had access to the library as long as they could show an identity card. Many citizens from various cities would often come to Sloten''s Public Library because it was deemed as one of the best libraries in the country in terms of collection and facilities. It was also open 24 hours, so the patrons usually spent much time reading from the many collections inside. At night, many people would visit the library with the purpose of staying the night. The city allowed it, as long as they abode by the rules.


    The library itself looked classic, just like all the other buildings around the square. It was a big three-story building with giant marble pillars supporting it. Inside, marble columns stood high up to the ceiling up above. The inside of the library was very spacious. Bookshelves towered high wherever eyes could see. There were rows of tables and chairs available for people to read at and sofas were gathered in some corners of the building. There were stairs leading to the second and third floors where more chairs and sofas could be found.


    There were a lot of people inside the library at that time. Graham went in and was asked to show an identity card by library security. Once he showed it to the man, he was permitted entry. He stopped at the entrance to admire the beautiful architecture of the library.


    "We''re back here, Val. When was the last time we came here? Back at Uni? I remember we used to come a lot. The library at uni sucks compared to this." he reminisced.


    Graham looked at the labels of each bookshelf to find the one he was looking for. He needed to find the history section which contained books on mythology and history of the world. It didn''t find him the right shelf, but to find the right book among the countless books there would take some time. He wanted to do divination but he might burn down the whole library if he did so.


    After browsing for a while, he took two heavy-looking books from the shelves and sat down on a sofa with the books next to him. He leaned back and started reading one. He skimmed through the book with the title: The Evolution Theory.


    ''At the beginning of time, there were giant creatures roaming the Earth. Mankind didn''t exist at that time until one day, a cataclysmic event happened and wiped away all the giant creatures. Millions of years later, humanlike creatures started appearing, and very slowly, they evolved into the bipedal mammals that we are today.''


    Graham went into thinking. "Val, this theory sounds plausible, but there has been no proof as of now. No remains of the ''giant creatures'' nor the ''humanlike'' creatures have been found. And the way this theory was written is too vague. There is no detail at tall, only vague descriptions."


    There had been no discovery of remains of giant creatures as far as Graham knew. There were, however, rumors of some giant creature sightings coming from around the world. Although, most of them were not very reliable. They only had blurry photos which could really have been anything. But people liked this kind of story; it gave them something to talk about.


    He put down the first book and picked up the second. It was titled ''A Creationist Theory of Human Existence''. He skimmed through the book again.


    ''At the beginning of time, there was only Chaos. The Earth was barren with Fire raging everywhere. One day, God rose from the depth of the Earth to create Order. From Fire, He created light on the first day. From Fire, He created the sky on the second day. From Fire, He created dry land, seas, plants, and trees on the third day. From Fire, He created the Sun, Moon, and stars on the fourth day. And then, in his image, He created mankind from Fire. After God had created Order, He went back to His slumber in the depth of the Earth, only to wake up on the Day of Judgment.''


    Graham analyzed what he had just skim-read and thought for a while.


    "Val, I''ve also heard of this one, but some things do not check out. According to this, the Earth had existed before everything else was created. How is that possible? And everything was created from fire. How is water created from the fire? And right now we know that numerous Deities do exist. The book doesn''t mention any of that."


    Currently, Graham had confirmed the existence of at least five Deities, and he was sure there were many more. He didn''t know what those Deities were or how they came to be. He needed to find out more in order to be prepared for anything. However, he knew that information regarding the Deities would be controlled by the Government, so he didn''t expect to actually find a book about them in the library.


    Graham got up and went back to the shelves. He wanted to look up the bizarre image or even the numerous Deities. He went through all the shelves, scanning all the books with his eyes and quickly skimming through the ones that caught his attention, but there was none that had what he was looking for.


    By the time he finished reading, it was almost six. He quickly returned put the books down in the read-book box. He didn''t put it back on the shelves himself because it would make it harder for the librarians. A lot of people had misplaced a lot of books before, which was why they came up with the box idea. It also made it easier for the librarians to check which books had been read.


    Graham left the library and hailed a public motor carriage to take him home. He arrived at Tuinstraat and paid the driver. He entered his apartment building but something was off. There were a lot of Police motor carriages parked outside, and people talking in the street, their faces looked very curious and concerned. Graham tried to listen in their conversation.


    "I can''t believe something like this is happening so close to my house!" said a woman in a house dress.


    "Yes! It''s scary. I hope the Police catch the killer soon. I don''t feel safe." said another woman hugging her toddler.


    "Val, I think someone has been murdered in our apartment building," he muttered and started running inside.


    A lot more people were gathered inside, watching the happenings in a room on the first floor from the corridor. There were Police officers inside the room and the body of a woman sitting on the sofa in the living room. With his eyes, he could perfectly see the condition of the dead woman from outside.


    She was leaning back on the sofa with her hands on the face, like she was trying to cover it from whatever was in front of her. Her mouth, which was visible from the gap between her hands, was wide open. Her shoulders were all tensed up. She was wearing a house dress, and there was no visible bloodstain on it. In fact, there was no bloodstain anywhere, not even on the sofa or on the table in front of her.


    The Police officers in the room were inspecting her house thoroughly. They flipped over every picture frame, opened every drawer, and checked every room. If Graham was correct, her apartment room layout should be similar to his and Luuk''s, so from outside, he wouldn''t be able to see her bedroom or her kitchen. He gave up trying to find clues by looking in from outside, and he couldn''t enter because of the Police line.


    Graham turned to the man standing closest to him and asked, "What happened?"


    "Can''t you see? Someone was murdered!" the man said frantically.


    "I know that. I mean, who found the body, and who is she?"


    "I don''t know who found her like that. I only heard screaming and I ran down here. People had already gathered when I got here. I don''t know who she is either." the man said with his voice still quivered.


    "Thank you," said Graham, then turned to a woman that tried to look calm but a hint of sadness was apparent in her eyes.


    "Ma''am, do you know her?" Graham nodded up, pointing to the dead woman with his head.


    "Yes... She''s Nora. She''s my friend." her voice was wavering. It seemed like she had just overcome her initial shock.


    "Are you the one who found her?" he asked with a soft voice.


    "Yes. We were going to have dinner together..." she said. Tears were starting to form in her eyes.


    "I''m sorry for your loss," he said to her.


    She only nodded and did not say anything else.


    At that point, Graham''s intuition told him to look inside the room again, and there, he saw a Police officer walking out of her bedroom with a transparent plastic bag that was used for containing evidence. Inside the evidence bag, there was a drawing that Graham knew very well. It was of four interlocking rings with numerous eyes. In the dead center of the rings, there was a disfigured black silhouette that he couldn''t make out of. It was the same one he found in ¨¦tienne Dechant''s house!


    Graham went away from the crowd and spoke,


    "Val, this confirmed my theory. That drawing is a death threat!"

 22 Destressing

    Graham went back to his apartment room despite the noise coming from downstairs. He sat in his office chair with the light still off after taking off his coat. He took a piece of paper and wrote a divination question on it.


    ''The woman downstairs was murdered by the killer of ¨¦tienne Dechant.''


    He was already pretty sure it was the case, but he just had to make it more definite. He burned the paper and the flame quickly consumed it, indicating a positive response. He then wrote another question on a different piece of paper.


    ''The bizarre-looking drawing of rings with countless eyes is a death threat.''


    Graham tried to burn the paper, but it took a while until it caught fire. It was as if something was resisting his divination. After he managed to burn the paper, the flame slowly consumed the whole paper. It confirmed Graham''s suspicion.


    "Val, we need to tip the Police secretly. This is an important discovery. I don''t know if they have found Mr. Dechant''s house, so we need to include that information as well."


    Graham planned to send the anonymous tip to the Police later. For the time being, he wanted to use his remaining divination of the day. He had done six so far if he counted correctly. He still had four more chances. He took out candles and prepared them for fire scrying ritual.


    "Val, since I can''t divine the bizarre image directly, what about divining things around it? Technically, my divination is not directed at it, is it?"


    Graham lit the candles one by one using his usual procedure. Once he was done, he concentrated and repeated the question in his mind.


    ''Which place might have information regarding the death threat found in the murder victim''s room?''


    After a while, the room grew darker and darker. Everything became quiet, and only the light from the candles could be seen in the room. Slowly, a blurry image formed in the flames. It was of an old-looking house with overgrown vines. The image then zoomed out and showed an empty street with a lot of farmland nearby. After a while, the image slowly disappeared and the room gradually became normal.


    "Val, that should be Zuideinde. That would be the only region in Sloten that still has farms. But it is two hours away from here." he concluded. "I''ve just realized that basically I do this every day. I might as well change our agency name into ''Hymes'' Supernatural Agency''," he ridiculed himself.


    His next divination would be something about the killing itself. He concentrated on the still burning candles and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Where will the next killing take place?''


    He waited for a while, staring at the candles. One second, two seconds, three seconds, one minute passed but nothing happened. The room didn''t grow darker and there was no image forming in the flames. It seemed that Graham''s divination had failed, not because it was interfered with, but it just failed to give him any information. However, since he was nearing his limit, he still got a headache.


    "Sigh... I guess divination is not all-powerful. It would be really helpful if we could know the place of killing ahead of time, so we could prevent it." he paused and massaged his temples, "I guess even though it failed, it was still counted towards my quota."


    He put out the fires and went to his bedroom. He lied down in bed and spoke, "Val, we switch. You write the info for the Police. Our handwritings are different, and yours should be untraceable."


    He closed his eyes and fell asleep not long after. After Graham had slept, Valentine opened his eyes and got up from the bed.


    "You know, G, among our abilities, falling asleep quickly should be the most powerful." he jested.


    Valentine then went to the office in the next room and took a piece of paper, not for burning like Graham, but for writing. On the paper, he wrote the anonymous tip for the Police. Before he started writing, he prepared an anti-divination ritual to avoid any tracing back to him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this ink as a medium"


    He raised the pen that he would be using for writing. It emitted a strange mist that made one feel like lost.


    "For I declare this item under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    The pen continued emitting the strange mist. Valentine started writing his message right away.


    ''¨¦tienne Dechant, the first victim. Tuinstraat North number 43. The same image as the second victim was found, suspected to be a death threat.''


    ''Signed: Friendly Neighborhood Watch''


    Valentine''s handwriting was neat and beautiful, unlike Graham''s messy one. His could even be mistaken for a woman''s. With the ink as the medium, the whole paper wouldn''t be able to be divined about. Even if they wanted to erase the ink to cancel the power, they would have to erase the whole ink, making the paper unusable.


    Once he was done with the note, he folded it and tucked it inside his pocket. He then wore his more rarely worn leather jacket and gloves and went out. It was already eight by the time he and Graham finished.


    He went to the apartment room next door and rang the bell. It was Luuk van der Meer''s. Not long after, Luuk came out and asked readily. Since he had agreed to be his associate, he had always waited for the day the detective would take him on a case. And they had the mission they needed to do as well.


    "Yes? Is there anything I can help with?"


    "You''re obviously free. Come with me. Combat gear," he said shortly.


    "Okay. Let me go get ready first." he agreed.


    Luuk closed the door and went back inside. A few minutes later, he came out in his usual easy-to-move-in clothes and a pair of gloves. He also had a facemask and a beanie hidden inside his wallet, ready to use anytime. He wore his most lightweight shoes and hid a knife under his sock.


    Valentine looked at his partner''s attire and nodded in approval.


    "Where are we going?" Luuk asked curiously.


    "To have dinner." he answered straightforwardly.


    "..." Luuk wanted to complain, but he didn''t. He knew that the man in front of him wouldn''t ask him to be combat-ready just to have dinner. He followed Valentine and the two men exited the apartment building, which still had some Police officers going about. It seemed that the investigation wasn''t quite done yet.


    "Do you know what happened there?" Luuk gestured at the direction of the crime scene.


    "Someone''s been murdered. You be careful," he commanded.


    Valentine and Luuk walked in silence for a while before Luuk finally asked,


    "Where are we going for dinner?"


    Valentine shrugged, "No idea. Let''s just stop at the first place we see."


    Luuk wanted to complain again, but he didn''t say anything. The man in front of him was cold but carefree at the same time. He seemed different from his usual warm and calculating self. Luuk even felt that they were two different people.


    They were walking for quite some distance before they finally stopped at a restaurant. It was a 24-hour burger place which did not look very busy, probably because it was past dinner time already. They entered the burger place and ordered food. Once the finished ordering, Valentine said to Luuk,


    "We''re going to have fun tonight. For now, we eat and wait here. My treat."


    Luuk only nodded. When their food came, he ate as slowly as possible, so he would have a reason to stay quiet. The man in front of him didn''t feel very conversation-partner-like.


    Valentine was very patient. He didn''t mind sitting in silence without moving for hours on end. He could be watching people walking by and be content with it. Luuk tried to start a conversation several times but Valentine only gave short answers, so in the end, he just gave up. He endured the awkward silence for hours, ordering drinks and snacks from time to time to ease his pain.


    After sitting for hours, Valentine finally decided to make his move. He stood up and stretched a bit. It was already midnight when the two of them left the restaurant.


    "Where are we going?" asked Luuk while following Valentine who was walking really fast.


    "Oosteindestraat South," he answered shortly.


    Luuk then understood what the detective was trying to do. Oosteindestraat was infamous for its illegal activities, but Oosteindestraat South was even more dangerous. There were many gang members hanging around there, and they were known to be very violent. Nobody would dare walk there at night without protection. The Police had tried to secure the area many times, but they seemed to always be able to hide.


    Because of the fast walking pace of the two men, they arrived at their destination within less than an hour, and they didn''t feel that tired. Valentine, because his stamina was great in the first place and Luuk, because his contract enhanced his stamina which he needed for running away. They were already wearing their masks when they entered the dangerous area.


    "Are you going to pick a fight with all of them?" Luuk asked after seeing many people gathering there.


    "Yes. But no need to kill them." Valentine answered seriously.


    There were many people smoking and drinking alcohol in the dark night street. A lot of them had tattoos and piercings. They were wearing dark leather jackets with a fiery skull logo on the back. It seemed to be their gang logo. The men saw Valentine and Luuk and started gesturing to each other. They showed malice in their eyes.


    Valentine and Luuk walked closer to them, and when they were close enough, one of them who looked like the leader spoke,


    "Where are you two lovely couple going?" his tone was full of mockery. He was a brawny man with a buzz cut.


    The other men laughed jeeringly.


    Valentine gestured at Luuk with his head and suddenly attacked the man who just spoke.


    Bump!


    He blocked Valentine''s fist with both arms but got pushed back.


    "Fuck!! Guys, attack them!" he yelled angrily. He retreated to behind his men.


    Valentine dodged the attack from two men and positioned himself.


    Luuk saw a burly man carrying a baseball bat. He quickly chanted,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the muscular man''s baseball bat mine!"


    He made a quick swiping motion with his right hand and the baseball bat disappeared from the man''s hand and appeared in his hand. He then used it to smack the head of a thin man who charged at him.


    Smack!


    The thin man fell unconscious and Luuk kept swinging his bat like crazy.


    Crash!


    Slam!


    He hit two other men in the process, rendering them unconscious.


    The leader saw the whole thing and yelled loudly to his men, "Be careful! They are not normal people!"


    Valentine had taken a wooden plank lying nearby and used it to attack his enemies.


    Thwack!


    A man tried to hit him from behind but he dodged and hit him in the head.


    "Shit! There are too many of them!" Luuk shouted while avoiding a knife attack. He hit the man''s hand holding the knife with his baseball bat.


    "Dogshit!" the man shouted in pain. He dropped his knife, and when he was about to pick it up, he was smacked in the head.


    Whack!


    "But aren''t you enjoying yourself?" said Valentine while punching a man in the face. He looked at Luuk and could see that his eyes were gleaming with excitement.


    "Who are these two?!" a man frantically yelled.


    "Keep attacking them! Don''t be scared!" shouted the leader from behind his men. He was looking for something. "Found it!"


    Holding a thin iron plate and a stick, the man started chanting,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    He hit the iron plate with the stick in a rhythmical motion.


    Badum! Badum! Badum!


    The sound of the bear resounded around the area. The men under his command suddenly felt invigorated, as if their morale had been raised significantly.


    "Kill them!"


    "Skin them alive!"


    "Destroy them!"


    The sound of malicious cheering could be heard in the quiet night. The man came from all directions at once to outnumber Valentine and Luuk.


    Both of them, having night vision and boosted nimbleness, could easily avoid the attack from any direction. Valentine gestured at Luuk and he understood right away what the detective meant.


    Smack!


    He pushed through the enemies, hitting them with his baseball bat. When he was close enough to the leader, he found a safe position and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the drumming man''s iron plate mine!"


    He made a quick swiping motion and the iron plate appeared in his right hand. The thumping sound of the War Drum stopped. He then attacked the leader with his baseball bat while using the iron plate as a shield.


    "Fucking bullshit power!" The leader said. He was definitely much more powerful than his men. He blocked Luuk''s bat attack with the stick and the stick broke. He quickly retreated and tried to find another thing to use as a drum.


    His underlings came to help their leader by charging at Luuk, but since the War Drum effect had stopped, they were not as vigorous as before. Valentine quickly helped Luuk.


    Crack!


    Valentine hit a man in the head with a beer bottle. He was using everything he could find as a weapon. He quickly chanted,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, declare the word drum a secret!"


    Once he finished chanting, everybody felt like something had been erased from their knowledge.


    The leader had found something else to use as a drum. He chanted,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, played this War -----!"


    It failed! He was shocked; the word didn''t come out of his mouth.


    "What the hell is happening!!" he shouted in confusion and rage. He tried chanting again while watching the two men overpowering his underlings.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, played this War -----!"


    It failed again!


    "Fucking piece of useless trash!!" he was raging.


    His underlings, without the supernatural aid from their leader, were no match for Valentine and Luuk. Although Luuk was just fighting based on instinct, his agility made him difficult to hit, and his attacks were too fast for them to defend.


    Smack!


    Whack!


    Thwack!


    Men fell unconscious left and right. When he saw that there was no one else but him, the leader felt afraid, but his pride would never allow him to beg for mercy. He started chanting something.


    Bang!


    Valentine hit the leader''s head with a trash can lid very hard before he could finish his chanting. He stumbled, but before he could get back up, Valentine hit his head again.


    Bang!


    The sound of metal hitting hard skull was resounding in the quiet night.


    Bang!


    Valentine hit him again until he fell unconscious. Luuk was just watching and he somewhat pitied the man.


    Valentine and Luuk were the only two people standing. Around them, men of different build and height were lying unconscious on the ground. They were all bruised and injured, but still breathing.


    Luuk felt strangely relieved. He felt like his built-up stress from all this time had just gone away like that.


    Valentine cleaned the dust off his clothes and turned to Luuk, smiling with satisfaction.


    "And that''s the end of tonight''s shenanigans."

 23 Making Use of Whats Available

    On a quiet street in Oosteindestraat South, the night was darker than usual. The street lights were flickering occasionally. In the dark night, an unusual sight was happening. A lot of men were lying unconscious on the pavement; bruises embellished their faces. Among the men, there was one who was being tied by two people.


    "This should be tight enough." Luuk van der Meer said. He had found the rope he was using for tying the gang leader from a nearby dumpster. He turned to the man next to him and asked, "What are you going to do with him?"


    "Well make use of him and his men for the mission," he said, sounding confident like he had planned ahead.


    "Is this your plan all along?" Luuk asked with surprise.


    "Yes," he lied convincingly. It was actually something he just thought of after seeing that the gang leader was a Contractbound. He initially came only to practice his teamwork with Luuk.


    Once Luuk had finished tying the gang leader up, they both carried the muscular man away from the scene. He was really heavy, and Luuk was more agile than strong, so they couldn''t carry him too far away. They stopped at a secluded alley where Luuk had found the rope and laid him down over there. Once Valentine had made sure that the rope was tied securely, he turned over to Luuk and spoke,


    "I''m going to check around. Make sure you watch him properly."


    Luuk nodded, then watch Valentine''s back as he was walking away from the alley. He found somewhere safe and after making sure there was no danger, he lied down and tried to sleep. He didn''t need any sleeping pills this time because it was already late at night; he was naturally sleepy. It took him longer than usual to fall asleep because the place was very not comfortable. Soon after Valentine had fallen asleep, Graham woke up. Graham got up and spoke,


    "Val, wake up. We''ve switched over."


    He woke up Valentine''s consciousness who had just fallen asleep. Since they were still outside and not in a safe place, they must always be prepared. He then walked over to the alley and casually spoke to Luuk, who was watching him walk closer.


    "How is he? Did he wake up?"


    Luuk was slightly taken aback. The man''s way of speaking was different from the man he had spent hours with.


    "No. He''s still unconscious. Do you want to wake him up?" he asked.


    "Yes. We need to talk to him,"


    "How? I don''t know how to wake up someone passed out. Do we just slap him in the face?" Luuk said honestly.


    "Don''t. Let''s just wait. It''s been long enough; should wake up any time soon."


    The two men waited there patiently, watching the tied-up man lying unconscious under the flickering light. Not until one minute later, the gang leader woke up. Confusion was apparent in his eyes and he looked around. Seconds later, he felt the pain in his head and started grunting.


    "Urgh!"


    He then remembered what had happened. He and his men had been beaten up badly by the two people in front of him. His green eyes reflected hatred and fear.


    "Who the fuck are you guys? Are you two fuckers going to turn me in? Leave my men alone!" he spoke while moving frantically, trying to loosen the rope tied around him, but it didn''t work. The two men in front of him were wearing facemasks, so he couldn''t see their faces, only their eyes. The taller one had brown eyes and the shorter one had glowing red eyes. He guessed it was night vision.


    "No. Actually, we have a job for you and your men," said Graham matter-of-factly.


    Luuk was just watching from the side. He didn''t know what the strange detective was thinking, but he trusted him.


    "So fucking beating us up was part of the job?!" he asked angrily.


    Graham looked at him in the eyes, his own eyes glowed red under the contact lenses. He spoke softly,


    "You''ll calm down and listen to us or we''ll beat you up again."


    The burly man was swayed by his words and calmed down. The expression on his face no longer showed anger and anxiety, only confusion. He still didn''t understand what was going on.


    Luuk saw how the man calmed down after Graham told him to and felt amazed. He remembered how he also willingly returned Graham''s wallet after he tried to steal it.


    "First, tell us your name and where we can contact you," Graham asked him, still looking at the tied up man straight in the eyes.


    "Jacco. I''m here for the most part. During the day, you can find me at Moeders; a restaurant on Grotemarktstraat," he said, trying to avoid Graham''s stare. He felt somehow intimidated by it.


    "So you have a job. Why are you doing this then?" Luuk interjected.


    "None of your fucking business!" he refused to answer.


    "Now, hold back with the swearing. What''s your last name? We need it as well," Graham said. With only his first name, it would be difficult to track him.


    "I can''t fucking stop swearing; I''m uneducated," he said sarcastically. "van Wert. That''s my last name."


    "Jacco van Wert. Got it. I''ll tell you the detail of the job tomorrow. I''ll come to find you at the restaurant. We will pay you and your men, so don''t worry." Graham told him in a convincing manner.


    Graham gestured at Luuk and they both walked away, leaving Jacco alone all tied up in the dark alley. Jacco looked at the two men confusedly. They just came and went as they pleased. He didn''t even know their names and they didn''t even untie him. Between the two men, the one with brown eyes seemed more dangerous.


    Once the two men were gone, Jacco yelled loudly, so that his men could find him and untie him. Not long after, a lot of men with leather jackets with fiery skulls came and untied him. They asked what had just happened, and Jacco only said,


    "We''ve got a job."


    ...


    In the dark night street, Graham and Luuk were walking fast, but Graham was visibly slower. He was trying his best to keep up. They arrived at Oosteindestraat after walking for a while and saw that the street was already busy. It was late at night, so people had already come. Drunkards and prostitutes were a common sight there.


    "I assume you''re going to try stealing from people now?" Graham asked in curiosity.


    "Yes. It''s a waste if I don''t since I''m already here anyway." Luuk said nonchalantly.


    "I have something I need to do here as well. I''ll come with you."


    Both of them walked down Oosteindestraat still with facemasks on. People saw them but they didn''t care. A lot of people there hid their identities for many different reasons. It was just a normal sight in that dimly lit street.


    The street itself was not really wide. It was only a three-lane street, and at that hour, there were rarely any motor carriages passing by, so people felt safe even standing in the middle of the street. Drivers also know how bad the drunkards could be, so they usually chose another route.


    Luuk was looking around, finding potential targets. He had deactivated his night vision because he was almost at his limit. He didn''t need it right now because the lights coming from the various establishments were enough for him to see the people gathered there. He saw a busy restaurant and decided it would be easy to get close to people there.


    Luuk gestured to Graham and the latter only nodded. He wasn''t going to enter the restaurant with Luuk because he had another goal in mind. Luuk nodded and entered the restaurant alone. It was really packed, with drunken men eating while being accompanied by escorts. They were also female customers with male escorts there, and they looked very rich. Some intimidating-looking people were standing around those rich customers; they were probably the bodyguards.


    Luuk came close to a spot where there was a drunk man laughing and chatting while a woman was sitting on his lap. He pretended to be looking for someone and when he was close enough to his target, he started chanting very quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare this drunk man''s wallet mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand without looking away from his target. A moment later an expensive-looking wallet appeared in his hand and he nimbly hid it under his clothes. He quickly left the restaurant in a normal manner before anyone suspected anything. Outside, he saw Graham talking to a sober-looking person. He turned to a secluded alley and after making sure everything was safe, he checked the content of the wallet.


    Inside the wallet, there were nine guilder bills with a lot of penning coins. Luuk took all the guilder bills and tossed the wallet in the alley. He stuffed the money in his pocket and walked out of it. He met up with Graham who had just finished talking to the person.


    "Who was that?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "Just someone who will help me with something," Graham said nonchalantly.


    He had convinced the person, using his power, to take the note Valentine had written to the Police station. He had also convinced the person not to tell the Police anything about the sender. He knew the Police could always use their power to interrogate the messenger, but Graham wasn''t worried. He was wearing gloves and a facemask, and the letter also had Valentine''s anti-divination.


    "I''m done here. I''ll go home now," he said to Luuk.


    "Me too. I just made big bucks." Luuk said proudly.


    Graham and Luuk started walking back to their apartment building, but since they were done with their business, Luuk didn''t care to wait for the slow Graham. Graham arrived home much later than Luuk. He entered his room and went straight to the shower. After showering, he lied down in bed and started reviewing the day.


    "So, Val, there have been two murder victims as of right now. I hope either we or the Police can catch the killer soon. It''s happening too close for comfort," he paused.


    "At least now we have a clue about the bizarre image. It is somewhere in Zuideinde. We can go there tomorrow. It is kind of far from here, so we should go before noon."


    "The next thing is about the mission to steal the weird artifact from Mr. de Witt. We have now another helper. A lot, actually. We can make use of them for our plan. Anyway, that Luuk is not bad."


    Graham stared at the ceiling for a long time, thinking about various things. He gradually felt sleepier and sleepier, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

 24 Zuideinde

    On Wednesday, at eight in the morning, Graham Hymes was waiting sleepily for a public motor carriage. He had had a quick breakfast of a street stall sandwich. The city was getting colder and colder each day, but not as cold as winter yet. Graham was still wearing his trench coat and a trilby. His hands were covered in gloves. He carried a briefcase full of candles and paper and other necessary stuff.


    Graham had a feeling that he might have to stay longer in Zuideinde, so he was prepared. He had also told Luuk of his plan to steal the artifact and instructed him to visit Jacco in his restaurant to brief him about the plan. He had promised to come today, but he might not be able to if he was still not done with his business.


    One moment later, a public motor carriage pulled over after seeing Graham''s hailing him. Graham walked up to the driver''s side first and asked,


    "Are you willing to take me to Zuideinde?"


    The driver seemed to be thinking for a while before he finally said, "I''m really sorry. I can''t drive that far."


    It was indeed rather difficult to find someone who was willing to drive people that far-- Zuideinde was two hours away after all. But it wasn''t impossible, because many people still needed to go to and from there, so the drivers could still make money by carrying passengers too on the way back.


    He waited and hailed more motor carriages, but most of them refused to drive that far. Graham got curious why a lot more drivers refused to drive there. It was definitely not normal. He stopped one and after the driver refused, he asked,


    "Why are all the drivers refusing to drive to Zuideinde?"


    "Haven''t you heard, mister? They said there was a ghost there! One driver saw one while driving and he was scared shitless!" the driver said with full-blown emotion.


    Graham frowned. He had never seen ghosts and didn''t use to believe in them. However, after entering the world of Contractbounds, he wouldn''t be surprised if ghosts were also real. He asked the driver curiously, "What happened to that driver?"


    "He drove as fast as he could away from that area and hit an electric pole. He is lucky to have stayed alive. Now all drivers don''t dare to drive there."


    Graham thought that it would be impossible to just wait for a driver who was willing to drive him there. They would most likely all refuse. He decided to just use his power to convince this one. He looked at the driver in the eyes, his own eyes glowing red under his contact lenses.


    "You will take me there, right? Because I''ll pay you extra if you do, and I''ll make sure you''re safe," he said with a convincing tone.


    The driver looked confused for a short period of time and then finally nodded slowly. He gestured Graham to enter and started driving once he was inside. To get to their destination, he needed to go west from Tuinstraat and turn left towards the south at the first intersection. From there, he only needed to drive straight south until they reached Zuideinde. It was an easy route. The distance was the only problem before, but now the ghost rumor was a problem on top of that.


    A lot of trees were visible from inside the carriage, and once they made the turn, the view changed to tall buildings and a lot of stores. A lot more motor carriages were driving in the street, with bicycles driving slowly on the side of the street. Graham had once thought about buying a bicycle, but he decided against it. It was too impractical because he would often need to abandon it to go to places that bicycles couldn''t reach.


    The city view lasted for about an hour. The further south they went, the viewer tall buildings they saw. The buildings were slowly replaced by houses and apartments, and they were slowly replaced by farms and fields. There were corn and wheat fields on each side. There were people working on the field with heavy machinery that Graham only knew as a tractor. He didn''t know the different kinds. To him, they were all tractors.


    The further south, the view became different. There were tulip fields, but the flowers were not blooming in that season. The place would be a tourist destination when the tulips were blooming.


    After driving for two hours, the motor carriage that he was in went under an arch with the sign ''Zuideinde''. He had arrived at his destination, and without seeing any ghosts. He asked the driver how much the normal fare was.


    "Usually it''s fifty duits," the driver said. He seemed rather tired after driving for a while.


    "Here you go, plus the extra for your trouble. If by the time I''m finished you''re still around, can you take me back to central?" Graham slid three coins of twenty duits through the gap in the glass divider.


    The driver took the bronze-colored coins and thanked his passenger. He watched Graham got out of his motor carriage and drove away to another location still within Zuideinde. He wanted to rest there and find another passenger before driving back to central.


    Graham was looking around. He had been in the area before but not often, so he was not familiar with it. The place was not as busy as other parts of Sloten, not even East Sloten. Zuideinde belonged to South Sloten, and it was mostly a tourist area. But since it was autumn, the main tourist attraction was not available, so not a lot of tourists were there. The people currently there were mostly locals. In winter, the place will start getting busy again for the winter festival.


    Graham walked around to look for a hotel. He needed to rent a room just for the day to do his divination. He couldn''t just do it out in the open because it would attract too much attention. After walking for a while, he stumbled upon a small two-story hotel called ''The Hotel''. Graham looked at the sign for a while.


    "Val, this hotel name sounds like the worst name, but at the same time the best."


    He entered the hotel and came up to the reception table. There was a teenage boy at the reception table, probably sixteen or seventeen years old. He was wearing a shirt under a vest, looking professional. He stood up when he saw Graham and greeted him with a clumsy smile.


    "Good morning, Sir. Welcome to The Hotel. How can I help you?" he tried to sound more mature, but his inexperience was apparent in his tone.


    "Morning. I''d like a room, please. Do you accept hourly rent?"


    "Uhm..." the boy looked unsure, "Let me ask my dad-- the manager first." he entered the room behind the reception desk.


    "This seems to be a family-owned hotel," Graham concluded.


    He looked around the hotel interior while waiting for the boy to come back. The inside of the hotel was all wooden, so it gave off a classic vibe. The lobby itself wasn''t huge, but it was nicely decorated with flowers and paintings. The sofas available looked comfortable.


    Not long after, the boy came back still with his clumsy smile. "Yes, we do, Sir. The shortest duration is half a day, though."


    "That''s good enough. I''ll take one room."


    "Can I borrow your identity card, Sir?"


    Graham gave his identity card to the boy and he wrote down the detail on the guestbook. After he was done, he returned the card to its owner. He turned at Graham and said, "Your room is number twenty-five on the second floor. Here''s the key."


    Graham took the key that the boy was handing over and asked, "Just out of curiosity, who named this hotel ''The Hotel''?"


    "That was my Grandfather, Sir. This is a family-owned hotel."


    Graham nodded and showed a face of approval. He then asked another question, "Do you work full-time here?"


    "No, Sir. The usual receptionist is sick, so I''m helping out around here." the boy said politely.


    Graham nodded. He then thanked the receptionist and headed to the second floor.


    "Enjoy your stay at The Hotel!" the boy shouted enthusiastically.


    The staircase creaked under his weight. He walked slowly not to make too much noise. The second floor looked similar to the first floor, with the wooden interior. There were several rooms down the corridor. Graham looked for his room, which was number twenty-five. It was the fifth room on the right. He unlocked the door and entered the room.


    The hotel room was not huge, but it had enough space. It was also nicely decorated and felt comfortable, although the floors creaked. There was a king-sized bed and a small television. Graham looked through the curtain and from his room he could see the tulip fields unobstructed because there were not many tall buildings there.


    He went over to the table after turning off the light and shutting the curtains. He took out the candles from his briefcase and set it up for the ritual. Once the votive candles were in formation, he lit them one by one in the usual order. After that, he repeated a question in his mind and concentrated. He had a feeling that his divination would be more successful because he was closer to the area.


    ''Where can I find the information regarding the death threat?''


    After a while, the room became dark and the flames burned brightly. Gradually, a blurry image appeared in the flames. It was of an old, abandoned-looking house in the middle of an overgrown field. The image gradually disappeared after showing Graham what he needed to know. The room slowly became normal again after that.


    Without putting out the candles, he took a piece of paper and wrote something on it.


    ''There is danger waiting for me in the abandoned house in the middle of the field.''


    Graham lit the paper on fire using the flame from the candle. It very slowly burned and consumed the whole paper.


    "So, there is danger, but it''s not life-threatening."


    Graham then looked back at the still burning flames and concentrated. He repeated his next question in his mind.


    ''What is the danger that is waiting for me in the abandoned house?''


    After a while, the room became dark and silent. A blurry image slowly appeared in the flames. It was too blurry, more so than usual, so Graham couldn''t make out what it was, but it looked like an ethereal figure with no defining features. After that, the image disappeared little by little. The room turned normal.


    "Was that the ghost from the rumor?" Graham was surprised.


    His divination had shown him that the level of danger was still acceptable. It wouldn''t be a mortal danger, but he was still baffled.


    "How in the world am I supposed to deal with a ghost?!"

 25 Ghost Busting

    Graham was sitting stupefied inside his dark hotel room. He was thinking hard of a plan. Earlier, he had just done divination to figure out where the clue about the bizarre image lied. However, his divination also showed him a ghastly figure that he might have to deal with in order to get closer to his clue.


    The candles that he had used earlier for divination were still burning. He decided to use divination again to find a way. After all, it was his most reliable power so far. The stared at the burning candles and concentrated hard. He repeated a question in his mind.


    ''How to deal with a ghost?''


    The room became dark and quiet. The burning flames became brighter and brighter and little by little a blurry image appeared in the flames. Graham saw a figure of a man, and recognized right away that it was himself! The Graham in the flame was being attacked by a macabre apparition, but when the apparition got close enough, he splashed it with his own blood and sizzling smoke rose from the body of the apparition, but it didn''t die. The image stopped there and gradually disappeared.


    Graham thought about what he had just seen and analyzed it.


    "From what we''ve seen, Val, I think a Contractbound''s blood is effective against ghosts." he rested his chin on his hand and continued speaking, "Maybe because we are in blood contract with the Deities. But it didn''t seem to kill it based on the image."


    After he had finished his divination, he didn''t put out the candle flames. He still wanted to do one more divination.


    "I guess it''s an overkill to divine this one using this whole setup," he said in self-criticism.


    He concentrated and repeated a question in his mind. It was a trivial question, but since he was not familiar with the place, he needed to ask it anyway.


    ''Which restaurant is the best around here?''


    An image slowly formed in the flames. It was still blurry, but it was clearer than the image from the earlier divination results. It was of a restaurant that looked busy enough from outside. The blurry sign could still be read and it said ''Oma''s Kitchen''. The image then switched to the inside and Graham could see that a lot of people were eating the same food: beef stew or apple pie. After that, the image disappeared little by little.


    "That restaurant looks promising. We should try it out before going back to central later," he said gluttonously.


    Once he was done with his divination, he cleaned up the table and put away the candles. He then made a special preparation to deal with the ghost. Once his special preparation was all done, he felt very weak, so he rested for an hour and a half to recover his energy.


    "Val, I''ll handle this ghost," said Graham while stuffing everything he needed inside his medium-sized briefcase, including the hotel bed sheet.


    Graham put Valentine''s knife inside his coat in a position where it could be taken out easily. He had coated the knife in his blood to fight against the ghost. He went out of his hotel room and locked it. He didn''t really know where the abandoned house was, so he planned to ask the receptionist boy.


    On the first floor, the young receptionist was watching something on television when he saw Graham walking down the stairs looking at him. He turned down the volume right away and greeted his guest with a smile. Graham came closer and asked him,


    "Kid, do you know where there is an abandoned house in the middle of a field?"


    The boy looked visibly unhappy being called a kid, but he didn''t say anything about it. He only responded to Graham''s question politely after thinking for a while, "I think you mean the Bauwens'' house? It''s about 300 meters away from here to the north."


    "Do you know how to get there?" asked Graham in his low voice.


    "Why do you want to go there?" asked the boy with genuine concern.


    "Why?" he asked, pretending not to already know the answer.


    "People are saying there is a ghost there! I''ve never seen it myself but some other people have. It''s better not to get near the building." the boy warned Graham. He sounded worried about his customer''s safety.


    "A ghost, huh?" he asked calmly, and then lowered his voice and spoke closer to the boy, "I actually came here to deal with it."


    The young teenager looked surprised, but hearing Graham''s serious tone, he decided to trust him, "It''s a bit difficult to get there unless you know the area well. I can take you there."


    "Sounds good." Graham immediately took up on his offer.


    "Let me ask my-- the manager first," said the boy. He then went back to the room behind the desk and disappeared from Graham''s view.


    The boy came back some minutes later. He had got changed to more casual clothes. He looked much younger now that he was only wearing a jacket with a t-shirt underneath and a pair of denim pants.


    "Okay, I''m ready, Mr. Hymes," said the boy.


    "Just call me Graham. What should I call you, kid?" said Graham casually.


    "Not kid, definitely. My name is Stefan," he introduced himself while walking around the reception desk, and then said, "Let''s go."


    Graham followed Stefan out of the hotel and to a small alley next to it. The alley led them to another street with fields directly on the northern side. Stefan walked across the street to the field and followed a path through a lot of tulips.


    "So, Stefan, tell me more about this ghost," Graham said while looking around. He thought that the view would be much more beautiful when the flowers were in full bloom.


    "It started a month ago. Old Lars was working in his field where the house was visible. Then he said from the house something came out. It looks very scary! Like you could see through the skin, so the bloody organs were visible. Old Lars ran away as fast as he could after that." he answered with enthusiasm, like a student who was able to answer the teacher''s question.


    "What happened to this Old Lars?"


    "He is fine. But he doesn''t dare to go near the house anymore. He asked someone to work on his field that is near that house," he paused, and then as if he had just remembered something important, said, "Oh, and there is that carriage driver. He saw the ghost in the middle of the street and drove so fast he hit a pole."


    They kept walking and taking turns occasionally. Graham would have been lost without Stefan. The view around them slowly changed. The field became ridden by tall grass that was knee-high. In the distance, an old, abandoned house was visible. It was much bigger than the one in his divination, but it was the same building nonetheless.


    "We''re here," Stefan said, watching the house from afar. "They said the ghost is there."


    "Thank you. I''ll take over from here," he said sincerely.


    Graham went ahead to the house carrying the briefcase on his left hand. His right hand was ready to take out the knife at any moment. The house got closer and closer and he could see its detail. It was a very old architecture style, similar to the Town Hall and the library. They must have been built around the same time. The house had two floors, and all the windows had been broken; it would be easy to break into. The stone walls, although old, still looked very sturdy. There were overgrown vines on some parts of the house.


    Graham entered the house through one of the broken windows; his right hand was already holding the knife. The inside of the house gave off an eerie vibe, and the smell was musty and suffocating, even though the windows were broken open. All the furniture was broken; almost none was left intact. The chandelier had fallen down to the stone floor. There were portraits on the wall, but all the faces were torn out. There were some doors that were closed, while the others had fallen off their hinges. The doors looked sturdy, so it might not be easy to break them open.


    Graham went around the house very carefully, with his eyes glowing red under his contacts. He had never dealt with ghosts before, so he didn''t know if they would make noise while moving. He could only watch his surroundings vigilantly. He was walking past the broken chandelier when suddenly he heard a high-pitched shriek.


    "Aaaaaaaaa!!!"


    Graham covered his ears, but the sound still stunned him for a second. He felt chill from behind his back, so he dropped his briefcase and quickly rolled away to his right.


    Clash!


    Something hit the broken chandelier. Graham turned around quickly and saw an ethereal figure crashing into the chandelier, then walking through it like it wasn''t there. The figure was floating in the air, emitting a dark aura.


    Graham waited for the right moment and when the figure was close enough, he lunged at it with his knife which was covered in his dried blood.


    Puff!


    He hit the air. The ethereal figure had dodged his attack. Graham quickly backed away and slit his palm. Fresh blood poured from his open wound and he quickly splashed it on the rapidly approaching ghastly figure.


    Sizzle!


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"


    It was stunned! The fresh blood injured the ghost, and it shrieked in agony. Graham was stunned again by its wail. He quickly regained his composure and kept a distance from the ghost. He then drew a circle on the ground with his fresh blood from the wound that already started to heal.


    The ethereal figure was visible provoked even though it had no face. Its tall, floating body quickly lunged at Graham and wasn''t stopped by the circle of blood on the ground.


    Wham!


    Graham barely managed to dodge but it hit his right shoulder.


    "Urgh!" he wailed. It felt like he had been hit by a truck.


    He splashed his fresh blood on the ghost again and it made a sizzling sound when it came into contact with the ghost. It wailed again while not being able to move from the pain. Graham was stunned but he quickly regained composure and charged at the ghost.


    Stab!


    His knife hit the ghost and it was visibly injured!


    The ghost phased through the floor and disappeared from Graham''s sight. Graham jumped and stood inside the circle of blood he had drawn earlier, adding some more blood to make it a complete plate. The ghost couldn''t attack him directly from below, so it tried to attack him from behind. Graham was prepared and splashed blood on it, which he followed up by stabbing the ghost.


    The ghost''s attack became faster the more it was enraged. It wailed from time to time to stun Graham, who would then splash his fresh blood all over it. It was injured but didn''t show any signs of dying. After all, it was already dead, so it couldn''t die again. Graham ran quickly to his briefcase and opened it while the ghost was still writhing from being splashed by his blood. He took out his specially prepared anti-ghost mechanism.


    It was the bed sheet from the hotel. He quickly ran over to the ghost and splashed some more blood on it. He became rather weak from using too much blood, so he had to finish the battle soon. While the ghost was stunned, he quickly wrapped it in the bed sheet and tied the opening in a knot. The ghost was trying to phase through the sheet but it failed.


    Sizzle!


    "Aaaaaaaaaa!!!


    The sizzling sound and the wailing of the ghost could be heard again. Graham had sprayed his blood all over the bed sheet, so it would hurt the ghost to even touch it, and it prevented the ghost from escaping. It had taken him long enough to finish splashing his blood all over the sheet, and even longer to recover the lost blood. But, as a Contractbound, he recovered much more quickly than normal people.


    Graham came closer and observed his work. The blood-stained bed sheet was twisting and squirming, the ghost inside still trying to escape. It was not successful, however. After making sure it was safe, he closed his briefcase and cleaned the dust off his clothes.


    "Ghostbusting, successful," he said with a proud smile.

 26 The Bauwens House

    At noon in Zuideinde, inside an old abandoned house, Graham Hymes was watching a blood-stained bed sheet that occasionally squirmed and twitched. Inside it was a ghastly apparition that he had trapped using his blood. The ghost was shrieking in pain from time to time, which stunned him each time it did so. Graham had tried to plug his ears with crumpled paper to reduce the effect to some extent, but it did not work. The shriek''s damage was at a spiritual level.


    He left the twitching bed sheet alone and went to check the old house. He needed to find the clue about the bizarre image of rings and eyes. He left the main hall with the broken chandelier where he had fought with the ghost and went to the nearest room ahead of him.


    He entered the room through the doorway with the broken door lying nearby. It was the living room. Although all the chairs and tables were broken, they still exuded their exquisiteness. They were designed in the style that was popular in the Republic a very long time ago. There was also a broken bookshelf on the floor, but all the books were gone.


    The living room had nothing to take note of, so he moved along. The room was connected to a dining room, again with everything broken. From the looks of it, there used to be six chairs around the dining table, probably indicating the number of the family members. He had seen a faceless portrait of a man and a woman, presumably the owners, but not of any children.


    "Val, all the furniture inside this house seems to be broken. What do you think caused it?" Graham went into thinking.


    He had the idea to divine it later, but for now, he had to move on. He searched all the rooms without doors being in his way but found nothing. There was, however, a door in the kitchen that probably would lead to the basement. It was locked shut and looked too sturdy to break open, and the lock looked too intricate to pick. He put down his briefcase and tore a piece of paper off his notebook and wrote a question on it.


    ''Is the clue I''m looking for behind this door?''


    He took out a lighter and lit the paper. The flame consumed the whole paper quickly, indicating a positive response. He now had to get behind the door.


    He tore off another piece of paper and wrote a statement on it.


    ''The key to this door is somewhere in this house where I can reach.''


    He burned the paper and it slowly turned into ashes, which meant the key was inside the house and he could reach it, but not that easily. He cleaned up and picked up his briefcase.


    Graham went back to the main hall and the bed sheet was still there, and it was still twitching and shrieking. The stunning effect was really apparent the closer he was to the ghost. He let it be and walked up the stairs to the second floor.


    The second floor of the house was just as derelict as the first floor; however, all the doors were still intact. Graham tried opening the door nearest to him and it was unlocked. He entered the room and found himself in a child''s bedroom. It looked like a girl''s because there were patches of pink paint on the wall and broken dolls on the floor. The bed had no mattresses and was missing a leg. There was a doll of a girl in the middle with a nail stabbed through its chest. Graham etched it in his memory for later use in divination. He didn''t dare to touch it, however, because his intuition told him it would be dangerous.


    Besides the doll, there was nothing else of interest, so he walked out of the room. He went to the door next to the child''s bedroom, but the door was locked. He tried kicking the door open but it wouldn''t budge, so he gave up. He walked down the corridor to the right and tried to open the door at the end of the corridor on the right. It was not locked, and he entered the room.


    The room he just entered was noticeably bigger. It had a king-sized bed that still had the mattress on it, but the mattress was ripped apart. Some of its springs were protruding from its frame. There was a vanity mirror that was broken into pieces near the bed, and a fallen wardrobe on the floor. Graham checked the wardrobe, but since it was fallen, he couldn''t open it, so he destroyed the back and looked inside. There was nothing. He then checked the bed thoroughly, including under the mattress, in which he found a small rusty key. It looked too small to fit into the door in the kitchen, so he guessed it must be for another door.


    After he had found the key, he searched the room again but found nothing, so he got out. He went back to the locked door and tried the key, but it didn''t fit. He then walked down the corridor to the left and opened a door on his left. It was not locked, so he entered the small room. Inside, there was a smashed bunker bed for two people. It looked to be a boys'' room. There was drawing on the wall, which could only be partially seen because the paint had peeled off. Graham searched the room carefully, leaving no mattresses unturned, but found nothing in the room, so he walked out and went down to the end of the corridor.


    At the end of the corridor, there was a door and it was locked. He tried to insert the small key into the lock and it fit. He carefully unlocked the door and entered the room. Strong musty smell penetrated his nose right away. The room behind the door was dark; there was no window from which the sunlight could pierce through. He was only relying on the light provided by the sunlight coming through the corridor windows.


    It was hard to see inside, so he had to use his eye power, but even then it only gave him booster vision, not night vision. There were more dolls inside the room, and they looked creepy from afar. Graham had to get close to even see their features. The dolls were all different. Two dolls looked like adults while the other two looked like boys. There was one doll lying in the corner that looked like a baby. The dolls had something in common: all their eyes were gouged out. However, there was no nail stabbing their chests.


    "Val, what do you think about these dolls? In total, there should be six of them, the same number of chairs in the dining room. I think each doll represents a family member," he analyzed, "But why are their eyes gouged out. Is that some kind of symbolism? And then there is the doll that gave off a dangerous feeling. It had a nail stabbed through its chest," he said while observing the doll, his chin rested on his hand.


    Besides the dolls, there was also a cradle that was smashed in half. Graham searched under the cradle for the key but didn''t find anything. He then had an idea and tore off a piece of paper from his already thin notebook. He wrote a statement on it.


    ''It is safe to touch these dolls in this room.''


    He burned the paper and let the flame consume it. It quickly burned entirely, which meant the dolls were safe. Graham put away his lighter and took out his knife. He picked up the dolls one by one and shook it violently, listening to any clanking sound from inside. The two adult and the two boy dolls had nothing in them. When Graham shook the baby doll, he could hear the faint sound of something heavy rubbing against the doll''s inside. He stabbed the doll in the back to make an opening and took out a big bronze key.


    "This key looks ancient. I wonder if they are still in production these days," he said while observing the key in his hand. It was the size of his palm and there was some complex design at the base.


    Having found the key, he made his way downstairs and saw that the bed sheet was still writhing.


    "It seems ghosts have unlimited stamina or something, Val," he muttered.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"


    The shrieking of the ghost stunned him, but it was not as effective now that Graham was really used to it. Searching the house while being accompanied by occasional familiar shrieking was far better than deathly silence. He let the ghost be.


    He went back to the kitchen and inserted the bronze key to the lock. It fit perfectly and Graham turned the key. The sound of the door being unlocked could be heard amidst the intermittent shrieking. He carefully opened the door and cold air blew out of the dark staircase. He took out his lighter and lit a candle to illuminate his path, and after making sure it was safe to do so, he proceeded.


    Graham walked down the stairs to the basement. The shrieking became very quiet, like he had entered a different place altogether. He walked down carefully, trying not to slip.


    "Val, I wish I had your eyes," he wistfully said. He had considered switching, but his memory was much better than Valentine''s and his divination might still come in handy, so in the end, he didn''t do it.


    Step... step... step...


    The sound of his footsteps echoed in the dark. After walking down for what he felt like forever, he finally reached the end of the staircase and there was a door there. He opened the door, hoping it was unlocked, and it opened with a loud creak. The door was heavy, so he pushed it open slowly, with each push created the loud creaking noise.


    He entered a big, dark room with his candle as the only source of light. He walked deeper into the room and was surprised by what he saw.

 27 Important Findings

    Graham Hymes was standing in a dark basement with a candle on his right hand, while his left was holding his briefcase. The flame from the candle was the only source of light in the pitch-black room. Using the limited lighting, he shone upon the diabolical object in front of him.


    Graham was standing in front of a pile of countless human skulls of different sizes. They were stacked on top of each other neatly, like they were deliberately arranged into that formation. At the base of the skulls, there was a sigil that Graham was not familiar with. It was drawn on the stone floor using paint, or blood, he was not sure. It was black, not that contrasted with the dark stone floor. The sigil itself featured a tuning fork-like shape that was entangled with a lot of lines and circles.


    "A ritual?" he thought out loud. He had limited knowledge of Contractbounds, so he could only guess.


    He observed the stack of skulls closely, trying to etch it in his memory. Once he was done, Graham moved away from the pile of skulls in the middle of the room and went to the further end of it. There, he found a table with an open book on it. It looked like a journal of some sort, with messy handwriting covering the pages. Graham read what was written on the already open page.


    ''The Deity of Conflict and Putrefaction requires human heads as sacrificial materials in order to please Him. If the Plague Cavalry, that is the Contractbound in contract with this Deity, fails to do so within 133 days, they will turn into a mindless embodiment of affliction. The heads must be stacked in the form of a pyramid and ritual must be started exactly at three thirty-three early in the morning.''


    At the bottom of the writing, there was the sigil that was the same as the one drawn on the floor.


    Graham analyzed what he had just read and spoke in a low voice, "So each Contractbound has a different name. Based on the ritual, I guess the owner of this journal was a Plague Cavalry."


    He paused for a while and continued, "I wonder what we are called."


    ''The Deity of Great Battles and Decay offers similar power to my Deity, but I chose to be a Plague Cavalry because a Sagitarr has to kill people in war to please their Deity. If only we could get into contracts with three instead of only two Marquises...''


    "Sagitarr? Marquises?" Graham got into thinking, "This is all guesswork, but I think a Sagitarr should be the Contractbound of the Deity of Great Battles and Decay. As for a Marquis, do you think it is the level of the Deity, Val? I don''t see anything else in the paragraph that it could refer to."


    Graham flipped over to the next page and read the content with difficulty because of the bad lighting and the messy handwriting.


    ''Information regarding known Contractbounds.''


    ''Fire Divinators are those who are in-contract with the Deity of Fire Divination. They have superb divination abilities, mostly related to fire, but are lacking in direct combat. However, their boosted vision makes up for their shortcoming to some extent. They have the ability to limitedly see into someone''s future through palmistry, but it only happens very rarely and under special circumstances.''


    Graham stopped reading and reacted to the information, "My question has been answered. So I''m a Fire Divinator. Apparently, I can to some extent see into the future? Is it the case with my vision of Mirjam''s male guest?"


    ''Slumberers are those who are in-contract with the Deity of Sleep. They have the ability to put people into sleep and stun their foes with a horrible nightmare. They are also granted night vision, for the dark is where they thrive. They will feel more invigorated during the night and will be able to fall asleep wherever and whenever they want. However, they lack any offensive abilities and will feel tired more easily during the day.''


    ''Romancers are those who are in-contract with the Deity of Lies and Attraction. This Deity is one of the only three Earls governing over two domains. Romancers have the ability to make people of the opposite gender attracted to them by telling them lies. Their lies will also be more subtle and difficult to detect. The more powerful Romancers can even control their victims completely. They also have the ability to create a gust of wind to attack their foes. However, the cost of power is their iron-hard nails that never stop growing.''


    ''Murderers are those who are in-contract with the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter. This Deity is the second of the three Earls who govern over two domains. Murderers are granted boosted vision and the ability to smell blood from afar. They will instinctively know how to use and fight with sharp weapons such as knives and swords. They can also sense the blood pulsing in their foes and strike where it will hurt the most. They are granted the ability to use their own blood for various effects as well. However, their craving for blood will make them slowly lose empathy.''


    ''Mediators are those who are in-contract with the Deity of Reconciliation. They are amazing talkers, and granted the ability to use speech and reasons to calm down people and solve conflicts. They exude an aura that makes people tend to like them better. They are also able to fool their foes into thinking that they are friends. Their active ability allows them to create a neutral zone for a short time, where no fights can happen. However, their knowledge of combat will be impeded, since their natural element is peaceful times.''


    ''War Marchers are those who are in-contract with the Deity of War. They are granted leadership ability to lead their men to war. They have the ability to use the war drum, which will boost their men''s power. They are also able to incite conflict between people, to sow distrust among them. Their body is enhanced to be physically strong, to better withstand blows from their foes. Since they thrive in conflict, peaceful times often agitate them.''


    ''Not enough information regarding the seventh Deity.''


    ''Not enough information regarding the eighth Deity.''


    ''Jewelers are those who are in-contract with the Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones. This deity is the last of the three Earls governing over two domains. Jewelers are granted incredible knowledge of herbs and precious stones, and how to mix herbs to produce incredible effects. They can also sense the existence of precious stones from a distance. Jewelers are probably one of the few Contractbounds who can make money easily. They have no active abilities, however.


    ''Not enough information regarding the tenth Deity.''


    ''Denuders are those who are in-contract with the Deity of Uncovering. They are those who uncover the wickedness of thieves and evils. They are granted the ability of tracking, which gives them a limited vision of what has happened in the past. Their sense of smell is also greatly boosted. Denuders are great interrogators since they can make their victims unable to lie. In combat, they can strip their foes bare of their weapons. Since their calling is to uncover iniquity, any lies happening near them can anger them.''


    Graham took in all the information he just read. It was so much information at once.


    "Val, your Deity of Secrets should be among the ones with not enough information. We know the other one should be Luuk''s Deity of Theft. What do you think the last one would be?" he said analytically while his eyes were scanning the pages. The next page also had information that garnered his attention.


    ''Things to note about Contractbounds.''


    ''Do not enter into a contract with another Deity unless one has pleased his. The body will not be ready and the mind will shatter in an instant. Pleasing the Deity will grant one His blessing, consolidating one''s power.''


    ''There are numerous Deities existing in this world. Some had higher ranks than the others. Some would require great sacrifices while others would not. Be careful which deity you choose to form a contract with.''


    There was nothing else written under that note. Graham turned to the next page and it was also blank. He kept turning until the last page, which only had a single line.


    ''Beware of Pravitatem!''


    Next to that warning, there was the symbol that he was very familiar with. It was the four interlocking rings with countless eyes. Some of the eyes were closed and some were open. The eyes that were open were looking directly at the reader, Graham. In the middle of the ring, there was a silhouette of a small figure.


    "We found it!" he said firmly.


    He finally found the clue he was looking for, but there was only the name and nothing else. He would divine it later, along with the dolls and the house itself. Graham closed the book and tried to pick it up to study the content more at the hotel, but when he tried to lift the book off the table, it suddenly became very heavy. It was as if he was lifting the whole house itself.


    "Urrrgh!" he grunted while lifting the heavy object in order to gain more strength.


    No matter how much strength he put into it, he couldn''t pick up the book. He was confused.


    "Is this another one of Contractbound trickeries? No wonder the book is still here after years," he said accusingly.


    Since he couldn''t take the book with him, he reopened the pages and memorized all the content as best as he could. Owing to his remarkable memory, it didn''t take too much effort for Graham to do so. Once he made sure that he had the content of the book memorized, he left it on the table and went around the room again to search for more possible clues.


    In the dark room, the atmosphere felt suffocating. Graham walked carefully from one corner to the other, with the sounds of his footsteps and breathing accompanying him. Aside from the book and the skulls for the ritual, there was nothing else in the room. It was just an empty dark basement.


    Graham went back upstairs and stayed in the kitchen, in the farthest spot from the main hall, where the wailing ghost was. Since he didn''t really know how to kill it, he had to leave it just like that. He had sent the anonymous tip to the Police, so they would be coming any time and Graham was sure the Police could deal with the ghost. For now, he needed Valentine''s anti-divination to mask his activity there.


    Graham lied down in the quiet spot of the kitchen against the wall. It was still in the afternoon, and he was not really in a comfortable position, so he had to take a sleeping pill to fall asleep. After double-checking that he was safe, he took out one from his pocket and quickly swallowed it. Time passed, and finally, he fell asleep.


    Valentine woke up not long after and swiftly went into the main hall. The ghost sealed inside the bed sheet was still squirming about, shrieking occasionally. By this point, it didn''t affect him much because he had gotten used to it alongside Graham.


    Valentine stood beside the sealed ghost and took out his knife. He slit his palm and let the blood pool on it.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium"


    The blood on his palm emitted a mysterious mist that gathered around it.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the blood onto the sheet and the floor and for a second everything was obliviously silent.


    Once he was done with his anti-divination ritual, Valentine made sure that everything was secured and that he had left no trace. Once he had finished, he left the house through the broken window, the same one that Graham had used to enter. He was back out in the overgrown field and tried to remember his way back to the hotel.

 28 Fulfilling the Quota

    In a field in Zuideinde, Valentine Hymes was struggling to find his way back to the hotel. Everything looked the same to him. He was standing in one spot a distance away from the Bauwens'' house and looked around. Around his was overgrown grass as tall as his knee. He watched the direction of his shadow cast by the afternoon sun and approximated the direction, which was to the right from where he was standing.


    Since the field where the old house was was north of the hotel, he had to go south. He strode in the direction, cutting through the tall grass and possibly stepping on unfortunate critters along the way. He came back to the small path which led to the street. From there, the hotel was only a close distance away.


    Valentine opened the hotel door and was greeted by the teenage receptionist, Stefan. He smiled at his guest and asked curiously,


    "Was there really a ghost there?"


    "Yes, there was," Valentine said shortly while nodding.


    Stefan was surprised and worried after hearing the response, but after looking at his guest''s intact clothes and neat overall appearance, his worry disappeared in an instant.


    "Did you take care of it?"


    Valentine gave a strong thumbs-up gesture while nodding, "It''s still there, but It won''t be able to roam around freely anymore."


    Stefan felt awe towards his guest. In such a short period of time, he had managed to deal with the ghost. Although he had never seen the ghost himself, he believed the witnesses'' words truly.


    Valentine walked up the stairs, leaving the teenage receptionist who was looking at him admiringly. He went into his hotel room which was dark inside because the sunlight couldn''t penetrate through the heavy blinds. He prepared a ritual for anti-divination after putting down his briefcase in the dark room. Valentine slit his palm quickly with his knife and let the blood pool.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    A mysterious mist came out of his blood, quickly spreading around his hand.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the mist-emitting blood to the back of the hotel wardrobe. Once the blood made contact with it, the area became obliviously quiet for a second. After finishing his ritual, Valentine lied down in bed and closed his eyes. He fell asleep soon after.


    Only a short time had passed after Valentine fell asleep, and Graham woke up. He got up from the bed and took the votive candles from his briefcase and set them up according to the formation on the table. He then lit the candles one by one and concentrated. He repeated the question he needed answering in his mind.


    ''What is Pravitatem?''


    The room gradually became darker and darker, until it was pitch black. The flames danced and burned more brightly than usual, but it still failed to illuminate the room as if they were separated by a spiritual veil. From within the flames, an image started to appear. It was even blurrier than usual and looked like it was covered in fog. Graham felt like he was staring at television static. He needed to focus hard to make out what was shown to him.


    The image showed something that looked like people gathering. No face could be seen because of the fog, not even the gender could be guessed. He could only make out the number of figures in the image, which was seven. The ever-moving fog made it really difficult to see anything else other than the silhouette of those people. After a while, the image slowly disappeared, leaving Graham with a headache.


    "So Pravitatem is a gathering of some kind... a hidden organization? They seem to be able to interfere with divination to some extent," he said analytically while rubbing his chin.


    Graham had used a lot of divination attempts today, but he still needed to divine some more things. The headache he felt was rather mild, unlike days ago when he first got his power. He ignored the headache and continued with his next attempt. Graham concentrated on the flames again, repeating a question in his mind.


    ''What caused the death of the Bauwens?''


    Little by little, he could see an image form in the dancing flames. It was of a family of six, just like the number he had deduced. The faces were blurry, but Graham could still somewhat see the expressions. They look terrified and were running away from something. He couldn''t see what they were running away from because the vision didn''t show that. The image then changed to that of six dolls in different rooms of the house. After that, it slowly disappeared.


    "Were they turned into dolls? A Contractbound is capable of doing that? That seems like a very dangerous power, Val" he said while massaging his temples. The headache was getting stronger, but still bearable.


    He concentrated again and repeated a question in his mind. It should be his tenth divination attempt of the day.


    ''What is the nail that is stabbed through the girl doll in the Bauwens'' house?''


    The room suddenly became darker and more silent than usual. The flames flickered violently and a blurry image started to appear. It was an indescribable substance emitting a powerful dark aura. Once he saw it, Graham suddenly got an excruciating headache and was pushed back in his chair. The flames went out by themselves and the room returned to its normal darkness, with the sunlight trying to penetrate through the blinds unsuccessfully. After overcoming his pain, Graham realized that there was knowledge transferred to his brain.


    "The nail was the power of a Sinner," he said while breathing heavily, "Those who are in-contract with the Deity of Necromancy and Sin."


    Once he was done with his divination rituals, Graham cleaned everything up and took a quick rest. It was already five in the afternoon when he was done. He then packed up and went down to the receptionist.


    "Already checking out?" asked Stefan confusedly. His guest hadn''t even stay half a day at the hotel.


    "Yes. I have something to do in central." he said while approaching the young receptionist.


    Stefan nodded while smiling, without realizing that his guest''s eyes were glowing red. He could not see the glow because of Graham''s contact lenses.


    "Anyway, I need you to change my name in your guestbook, and also, forget that I ever come here. We totally didn''t go to the Bauwens'' house today. It''s important that you do so, because I need to keep my identity a secret, and you are a kind boy, so you''ll help me out." he said without breaking eye contact with Stefan the whole time.


    Stefan looked confused and slowly nodded. After a while, his smile came back. He was still young and rather naive, so it was easier to persuade him. Stefan took out the guest book and was visibly doing something to it. Graham left the hotel after making sure his persuasion worked and waited for a public motor carriage by the big street.


    ...


    On Thursday morning, in Zuideinde, a Police motor carriage pulled over by the street. Two officers wearing blue coats with the Police logo on it came out of the carriage. One officer had a scar on his rough-looking face while the other was a female officer with bob hair. The male officer was much taller than his partner and was carrying a briefcase.


    "Oranje, you ask people in the street, I''ll ask those people in the restaurant," he said with a hoarse voice.


    "Got it. The house shouldn''t be far from here." said the officer called Oranje with a sunny voice.


    The two officers split up. The male officer entered a restaurant that was not very busy but still had quite a few people in it, while Oranje walked up to someone walking in the street.


    "Good morning, sir. I''m from the Police," she said with a friendly voice while showing her badge.


    The man looked worried and nervous, even if the officer in front of him didn''t look threatening.


    "Y-yes?" he said cautiously.


    "Do you know if there is an abandoned house near here? It is in the middle of a field," she asked with a warm smile, trying to diffuse the man''s nervousness.


    The man suddenly became calm once he heard the question. He was relieved that he wasn''t actually in trouble.


    "There are a lot of abandoned houses here, but if it''s in the middle of a field, it should be the Bauwens'' house." the man said calmly.


    "Can you show me where it is?" she asked.


    "I''m sorry I cannot. I don''t remember the way. It''s rather complicated. And I''d rather not. I heard there is a ghost there." the man said apologetically.


    "A ghost?" Oranje asked seriously.


    "Yes. A ghost. I heard it''s really scary." he said nonchalantly. He didn''t seem to believe in the ghost story, but he still would rather not find out.


    "Where did you hear it from?"


    "A lot of people are saying that. News travel fast around here, you see." he shrugged.


    Feeling that she would not get anything useful out of the man in front of her, Oranje thanked him and walked in the direction of the restaurant. As she approached it, her partner came out.


    "Rood, the house is somewhere here, and apparently there is a wraith there," she shared the information with his partner. Although she was speaking in a serious tone, her voice was still warm like the morning sunlight.


    "So I''ve heard. I''ve found someone who''ll take us there." the officer called Rood nodded at his partner.


    The two officers followed the man on foot towards the next street where the man then led them through a path. After walking and turning for some distance, they arrived at the house, but the man didn''t dare approach it.


    "I can only take you this far. Good luck, officers!" said the man while starting heading back.


    Rood and Oranje looked at the man whose back slowly disappeared from sight. They then approached the big, abandoned house and observed it.


    "It''s much bigger than in my divination," said Oranje.


    Rood walked up to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.


    "We have to get in through one of the broken windows," he said with his hoarse voice while pointing at the many broken windows.


    The two officers carefully climbed up the window frame and entered the house. The entered the main hall with the broken chandelier.


    "Be careful. The wraith should be around," Rood reminded his partner who can sometimes be clumsy.


    At that moment, they saw a white bed sheet near the chandelier that started to squirm about. The thing inside it seemed to have noticed their presence and was desperately trying to get away from its current seal.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaa!!!" it shrieked loudly.


    "Aargh!" Oranje shouted while covering her ears.


    The two officers were stunned by the shriek. Once they recovered, Rood gestured to his partner and the two got ready. Oranje stood next to he bed sheet while Rood stayed in his spot. He threw the briefcase to his partner. Oranje took out a charm from the briefcase and activated it.


    "Silence!"


    The area around her became mysteriously quiet. Not even the sound of her breathing was audible.


    Rood, who was standing a distance away from Oranje and the wraith, took out a pocket knife, which he used to slit his wrist and let the blood flow out.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Wit and Blood, let my blood cover the Earth,"


    The surrounding area became warmer and the atmosphere became tense. The wraith inside the bed sheet sensed the great danger and tried to let out a wail, but the effect of the charm prevented it from making any noise.


    "May it burn wicked beings that are not welcome in this world!"


    The blood on the floor started boiling, and it rapidly flowed towards the blood-stained bed sheet that was wriggling about. The boiling blood touched the bed sheet and it set it on fire. The wraith, seeing a tiny opening in his seal, tried to get out through it. The boiling blood didn''t stop; it kept flowing rapidly like lava and covered the wraith. The wraith''s whole body was set on fire by the boiling blood and it writhed in pain. Its wail was still inaudible because of the effect of the charm. Moments later, the wraith was consumed entirely by the bloody flame in silence.


    The two officers watched the aftermath of their quick battle. The charm''s short-lasting effect had disappeared, so they could talk freely again. The bed sheet had turned into ashes, while the wraith had left behind something that resembled a rotting eyeball. Oranje took the round object and put it inside the briefcase.


    "The wraith was already sealed. Can you use divination to find out who did it?" Rood asked his partner while looking intently at the bed sheet. He had seen the bloodstain on it before it turned into ashes. "Whoever did it couldn''t kill the wraith directly, but knew well that their blood could injure it. They must be an experienced Contractbound, or a divinator" he added.


    Oranje took out a small crystal ball from the briefcase and sat down with her knees on the ground and put the ball on her lap. She then borrowed Rood''s pocket knife and slit her palm and smeared her blood all over the crystal ball. Once it was done, she put both hands on the ball and concentrated. She repeated a question in her mind.


    ''Who sealed the wraith?''


    After a while, her blood that was smeared on the surface of the ball slowly moved inside it and tried to form an image. However, the blood suddenly turned into fog and disappeared.


    "I cannot use my divination." Oranje turned to Rood and said seriously.


    Rood had seen the whole process and came to a conclusion,


    "I guess we''re dealing with a Shroud."

 29 The Morning Before the Show

    In Zuideinde, near the main street, a tall man and a woman were walking while looking around. They were wearing blue coats with the Police logo on them, and the man was carrying a briefcase. The man''s rough-looking face had a scar running across his nose, making him look very intimidating. His brown eyes looked like they could see through lies. Meanwhile, the woman was short, and from the way she was ambling, people could get the idea that she was an easy-going person. Her hazel eyes were wide open, as if trying to absorb as much information as she could. They were Rood and Oranje from Contractbound Division.


    They had finished searching the Bauwens'' house and had found the journal containing the information regarding Contractbounds. However, that was of little importance to them because it was more or less the same as what the Police knew. The only important piece of information was the name Pravitatem. Oranje had used divination to find out what it was, and they saw a very obscure image of seven people gathering. Now, they were looking for the person who went to the house before them.


    "The guy who sealed the wraith was probably the same person who sent the anonymous tip to us." Rood spoke while looking around, "In which case, that bed sheeter is probably staying at a hotel around here."


    Oranje looked at her partner with intrigue, "Is that the best nickname you came up with?"


    Rood looked at his partner and smiled proudly; however, it didn''t go well with his rough face and only made him look like a kidnapper trying to lure in children.


    "Anyway, there are so many hotels around, how are we supposed to find him? We can''t use my divination to track him after all." Oranje tried to speak normally without mocking his partner''s smile.


    "Then we use divination in a round-about way," he said thoughtfully. He then led his partner to a secluded alley. Even though they are the Police, they still needed to hide the existence of Contractbounds from the public.


    Oranje followed Rood and once they were in the alley, she asked him, "What question do you think I should ask?"


    "Ask your crystal ball to show which hotels have visitors very recently-- I say within a day. It''s not peak tourist season, so there shouldn''t be many."


    Oranje felt stupid for not thinking of that idea. She then took out a small crystal ball only a little bigger than the size of her two palms from the briefcase. It was her travel crystal ball because it was easy to carry around. Although the image shown in it would be small as a result, it was better than carrying a giant crystal ball on a mission.


    She sat kneelingly on the ground with the crystal ball on her lap. She then slit her palm and smeared her blood around the ball. Once it was covered in blood, she put both hands on it and concentrated on the question she wanted to divine.


    ''Which hotels got a new customer in the last twenty-four hours?''


    After a while, the blood around the ball got sucked into it and slowly formed an image. There were three hotels shown by the crystal ball, and their names were ''Welterusten'', ''Zuideinde Bungalow'', and ''The Hotel''. Oranje was looking intently at the tiny image, making sure that she read the names correctly. The image gradually disappeared into nothingness after that, along with the blood that formed it.


    "Did you see the hotel names? Should I use divination to find their locations?" she asked while still sitting with her knees on the ground.


    "I did. No need; don''t waste your divination for something trivial. We can just ask around." Rood said casually.


    Oranje stood up and cleaned herself. She then put back the crystal ball in the briefcase and said, "If only Groen was here. Going anywhere would be much faster."


    "True. He is following another lead right now, however." Rood said matter-of-factly. He walked out of the alley, followed by Oranje, who had to walk faster because she was shorter.


    "Do you think that Shroud knows the murderer?"


    The two of them asked around and found the location of the three hotels and decided to pay a visit to the closest one first, which was Zuideinde Bungalow. They arrived at the front of the hotel after walking no more than five minutes. The hotel had six floors and the design looked modern. Rood and Oranje entered the hotel and walked up to the female receptionist who was greeting them with a corporate smile. The receptionist saw the logo on their coats as they got closer to her.


    "Good morning, officers. How can I help you?"


    "We''re here to ask some questions. Has anyone come and booked a room in the last twenty-four hours?" Oranje asked with a friendly tone.


    "There are many. Are you looking for any particular person?" the receptionist''s tone was that of a rehearsed friendliness.


    "What are their names? Did any of them ask about an abandoned house or talk about ghosts?" asked Rood straightforwardly.


    The receptionist hesitated for a while, but since she couldn''t question the authority of the Police, she complied. After she finished giving them the names of nine different people, she said, "None of them asked about any house or ghosts."


    "Hmm..." Rood was thinking. "Alright. Thank you for your time," he then said and then left the big hotel with Oranje.


    Rood and Oranje walked down the street heading to the next closest hotel, which was called ''The Hotel''. It took them no longer than three minutes to reach the front of the small hotel with only two floors. They entered and were greeted by a teenage receptionist who was smiling clumsily. He quickly put away the crossword puzzle that he had been doing after seeing the guests'' coats.


    "G-good morning, officers." the receptionist said nervously. He was not used to dealing with the Police.


    "Hi there. Relax, you''re not in trouble. We''re only to ask questions." said Oranje warmly.


    "O-okay. What questions would officers like to ask?" he said very formally, trying to be polite.


    "Tell me the names of the guests who rented a room in the last twenty-four hours." Rood said in a straightforward manner.


    "Uhm..." he was thinking hard, "there is only one. His name is Henry Niemann."


    "Did he ask about any abandoned houses or ghosts?" Oranje asked warmly, while Rood was observing the receptionist''s expression closely.


    The receptionist was thinking hard again, trying to remember it. He then said, "No. He only rented a room and didn''t leave."


    "He isn''t lying," Rood nodded at Oranje.


    "Alright then. Thank you for your time," Oranje smiled warmly at the teenage receptionist who looked like he was being asked by a teacher but not ready with an answer.


    The two officers walked out of the small hotel and headed to the last hotel on their list, Welterusten. It took them almost seven minutes of walking to arrive at the front of the four-story hotel painted in all dark blue. They entered it and in the lobby, a faint lullaby could be heard. There was a male receptionist wearing a pajama who looked sleepy waving at them slowly.


    "Good night." he yawned. "Can I help you?"


    "We are from the Police," Oranje said with a sunny voice, but the sleepy atmosphere drowned her warmth, "Can you tell me how many people rented rooms in the last twenty-four hours and if they asked about any abandoned houses?"


    "Wait a minute..." he said lazily and opened the guest book.


    Looking at the receptionist made someone want to go to bed.


    "There is only one woman. And no, she didn''t ask about anything weird," he spoke with a low voice.


    "What''s her name?" asked Rood with a hoarse voice.


    "Marieke Odekirk," said the sleepy receptionist lazily.


    Rood and Oranje didn''t react for a while. They seemed to be thinking about something, and then they looked at each other and nodded in agreement.


    "That''s the name of the second victim''s friend, right? The one who found her." Oranje whispered to her partner.


    "Yes. I don''t think it''s a coincidence that she''s here," he whispered back, then turned to the receptionist, "Is she still here?"


    "She left last night..." he said, dragging his words.


    After thanking the sleepy receptionist, they left the hotel that made them feel drowsy and walked back to their parked motor carriage.


    "Our next lead would be Pravitatem and Marieke Odekirk. We''re done here. Let''s go back to central." Rood spoke decisively.


    ...


    It was a fine Thursday morning on Tuinstraat. Graham Hymes was sitting at his small dining table in the kitchen enjoying his breakfast. He had asked his carriage driver to stop by the famous restaurant in Zuideinde called ''Oma''s Kitchen'' and ordered an apple pie takeaway. He had eaten some slices in the carriage and was surprised by how good it was.


    When he first ate it, it was still warm and the aroma of the baked apple and cinnamon wrapped around his nose and gently massaged it pleasantly. The first bite was the best, as the warm pie filling melted in his mouth. The crunchy crust being crushed between his teeth and the soft cinnamony apple on touching his palate worked in harmony to create an exquisite experience.


    The pie slices he was having for breakfast didn''t taste quite the same as when they were fresh but still amazingly good. He had kept the remaining pie slices in the fridge last night and reheated this morning. He had a cup of hot chocolate as accompaniment. It was an instant hot chocolate that came in small packages; not quite as good as caf¨¦-made ones, but it would suffice.


    He took the last bite of his apple pie and sip his hot chocolate slowly. He then spoke in contentment,


    "With this, I''m ready for tonight."

 30 The Grand Thef

    The sun was setting on Tuinstraat. Graham Hymes walked casually out of his room wearing a dark brown trench coat with a black shirt underneath and a pair of dark-colored pants. He wasn''t carrying his briefcase for the sake of agility, so he had stuffed everything he needed inside his coat pockets. He looked at his watch and it showed exactly six o''clock. He walked up to his next-door neighbor''s room and rang the bell. Luuk van der Meer came out not long after wearing a similarly dark-colored outfit.


    "Are you ready?" Graham asked Luuk. He already knew the answer; he just wanted to know Luuk''s state of mind from the response.


    "I am," Luuk answered shortly.


    Graham observed his partner''s expression and determined that Luuk was calm enough, despite this probably being his first big mission. He commended the young man''s resolve. Graham himself was calm because he had divined everything he needed about the mission, almost using up all his attempts today.


    The two men walked downstairs and out in the street. They were supposed to meet up with Jacco van Wert and his men on Kruisstraat. He had divined that it was the street that his target''s motor carriage would take. Graham hailed a public motor carriage and the two men got in. The driver started driving right away after his passengers told him their destination.


    They arrived at Kruisstraat more than ten minutes later and got out of the carriage as soon as they paid. The street still looked busy because it was the main crossroad leading to a lot of other big streets. Many people were still out and about at that hour too, visiting the many stores in that four-lane street.


    Graham and Luuk walked into a secluded alley, the place they had planned to meet up. In the alley, there were a lot of men and some women dressed in colorful clothing. Many of them were carrying various musical makeshift musical instruments like trash can lids and bottle cap tambourine.


    "I''m amazed," Graham said in approval.


    "Haha, leave it up to us to bring in total chaos!" Jacco said proudly with his bassy voice that resounded in the alley.


    "Are you sure this will work?" Luuk asked while observing the people around him. He felt like he was in a circus.


    "Yes. I''ve double-checked with divination." Graham spoke in a very assuring manner.


    "You know can do divination?" Luuk asked in surprise.


    "You didn''t know?" Graham didn''t respond to the question.


    In fact, it was the first time Luuk had heard that his partner could do divination. Luuk had only seen him use the power of secrets and persuasion. He decided to just go with his partner''s words and focused on his own part.


    "Anyway, you can''t steal through walls or doors, can you?" Graham asked Luuk, making sure.


    "No. I need to be able to have an unobstructed line of sight of my target and I can''t see through walls." Luuk explained.


    Graham briefed everyone about the plan again because there were some updates from his latest divination. They waited in the alley until exactly seven twenty-four and Graham gave a signal for everyone to make their move.


    At seven twenty-six, an expensive-looking motor carriage was driving on the road in Kruisstraat. Inside, there was a man with eyes that looked like they could kill by just staring at someone. The man was dressed neatly in a suit and dress pants. The dapper-looking man was Zeger de Witt, the target of tonight''s operation. Next to the target, there was an intimidating looking man with a tattoo on his face. He was the bodyguard of Zeger de Witt. The motor carriage that they were in suddenly stopped because of a commotion in the street.


    "Why did you stop?" Zeger asked his driver annoyedly.


    "I''m sorry, Sir. There seems to be a group of people in the street." the driver said apologetically.


    In the middle of the street, a lot of people in colorful clothing were singing and dancing and playing music. They were Jacco''s men. They laughed and jumped around, causing the traffic to halt. The commotion attracted passersby, who were curious about what was happening, and as a result, a lot more people had been gathered in that busy street.


    "Is this the circus?" asked a curious man carrying a small dog.


    "I don''t know. Their music is pretty bad." said a woman with a baby stroller.


    Clang...


    Cling...


    Rustle...


    Badum... badum...


    The sounds of metal objects hitting each other were loud and unpleasant, but the listener felt strangely invigorated by them.


    "Woohoo! Keep going, man!" shouted a young man with spiky hair excitedly.


    "This is not too bad!" said a woman loudly amidst the clanking noises.


    The music, the dancing, the singing, and the cheering continued on for some time. Zeger de Witt started to lose his patience and said angrily to the driver, "Turn around. We go another way."


    The driver and his passenger didn''t notice that a man was standing very close behind their motor carriage. It was Luuk who was there to do his part. He was already wearing a facemask to hide his face.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the air of the left rear tire of this motor carriage mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and he felt a breeze that quickly dissipated. The left rear tire of the motor carriage went flat as a result. Luuk quickly fled before he was discovered while still excitedly processing the whole thing; it was his first time trying something like that and he was surprised that it actually worked. He had only done so under Graham''s instruction with complete trust in the man.


    The driver tried to drive the motor carriage but he heard a clank from his rear and it felt heavy. He didn''t dare look at his passenger''s eyes and only apologized before going out of the motor carriage. The left rear tire had gone totally flat and would be impossible to drive without damaging it.


    Graham, already wearing a facemask, approached the driver who was checking his tire from the passenger''s blind spot. He looked at the driver and spoke in a low but convincing voice,


    "You should look for a mechanic right now. Don''t go back in first to tell your passenger because he will be very angry."


    The driver looked visibly confused for a second but then thought that Graham''s words made perfect sense. He darted right away in a direction and was gone from sight. Graham left the carriage and went into hiding.


    Chime...


    Tinkle...


    Chink...


    Badum... badum...


    The sound of music was still playing, and more and more people had gathered to watch and dance vigorously. They were entranced by the sound of the drumming of the metal lid.


    Zeger de Witt was enraged because of all the commotion, and his emotion was also strangely enhanced. After waiting for the driver who had yet to come back for a while, he gestured to his bodyguard and they got out of the motor carriage. He had lost his patience and would deal with the people himself.


    They walked quickly towards the crowd which was a distance away from them. A lot of people were walking in the same direction, but he just brushed past them. Because of his rage, he didn''t realize that a man was walking closely behind him among the other people who were still approaching the commotion. He started chanting quietly under his breath.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Zeger de Witt''s cube-shaped artifact mine!"


    Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand and a cube the size of his hand appeared there. He quickly stuffed the artifact with an open eye on it under his shirt and retreated from the spot.


    Zeger de Witt''s spiritual intuition told him something was wrong. He stopped in his track and tapped his body to make sure everything was still in place. He was infuriated when he found out that his artifact had been missing. He looked around frantically with eyes as cold as the peak of winter and saw Luuk who was moving away from him very quickly.


    "Catch that bastard!" he yelled at his bodyguard while pointing at Luuk. He darted towards Luuk''s direction but was stopped by three men.


    "Mister, can we ask you to fill in this survey?" said the muscular man who was carrying a piece of survey paper.


    Graham had persuaded the three men who happened to be handing out survey papers to approach his target. With the time that Graham bought him, Luuk managed to slip farther away from Zeger de Witt.


    Zeger was angry, but he couldn''t attack people in public because of his position. He was a Government official, after all, so he had to maintain his image. He looked at the muscular man in the eye and his own eyes glowed orange. He said seriously,


    "This man spread a terrible rumor about your mother."


    The man''s expression became twisted with anger.


    He then turned to the third man while pointing at the first man and said, "This man fucked your grandmother,"


    "My grandmother is already dead! How dare you fuck her!" the third man was enraged and started mauling the muscular first man, who had started punching the confused second man.


    Bam!


    Smack!


    "Fuck you!" said the muscular man while hitting the third man back.


    With the three men fighting each other, Zeger and his bodyguard could pass through and continued chasing the thief. He moved very quickly, leaving his burly bodyguard behind.


    Graham and Luuk were running away while the former kept looking at his watch. He was counting down the seconds while keeping up with Luuk''s pace.


    "Three... two... one... now!" he shouted.


    Shake...


    Shake...


    Boom!!


    Suddenly, there was a strong earthquake. The people inside buildings were all running out in panic even though the earthquake had stopped. The already crowded street had descended into total chaos. Graham and Luuk slipped away in the crowd and disappeared from Zeger de Witt''s sight. The circus had also gone away before the earthquake stroke as if they already knew that it would happen.


    "Curse them!!" Zeger de Witt was very angry. He was still trying to catch them, but was stopped by the crowd of people running for safety. He couldn''t make all of them fight each other or it would turn into a riot. He could only plan for his next step.


    In an empty house far away from the chaos, Graham and Luuk were resting. They had taken a public motor carriage to get there but were still tired after all that happened. It was a house that he had prepared beforehand, with the lock picked by Valentine. He had also placed anti-divination in the house.


    Graham took out the artifact wrapped in cloth with a tiny blood-stain on it. Luuk had handed it over to Graham and he had wrapped it in cloth that Valentine had turned into an anti-divination shroud using his blood. He observed the artifact closely, trying to remember every single one of its features for later use in divination. Once he was done, he spoke calmly to Luuk,


    "Now we only need to turn this in to get our reward."

 31 Mission Complete

    Late night on Oosteindestraat, inside a Favaran restaurant called La Padella, Graham Hymes and Luuk van der Meer were walking behind a tall, muscular man called Beppe who acted as the gatekeeper to the secret hideout behind the restaurant''s kitchen. They were going to see Mastro Gianni to turn in their mission and get the rewards. Graham decided it was okay for him to reveal his identity as Luuk''s helper because the mafia should have known anyway. After all, they managed to get the intel of a high-ranking government official.


    They arrived at the office at the end of the dark corridor and entered after being given permission from the man inside. Mastro Gianni was sitting leisurely in his office while reading a book. After seeing his guests, he put down his book and greeted them with a smile. Graham took a seat and relaxed, which was followed by Luuk who felt rather awkward. He was the youngest in the room.


    Graham smiled back at the friendly man who was much older than him and was emitting a dangerous aura the whole time. He took out an object covered in cloth from his coat and handed it over to the man, without the cloth. He was cautious.


    "You''re a stingy one, aren''t you?" Mastro Gianni shot a joke at Graham.


    "You would be the first person to say that," Graham answered casually while stuffing the cloth with Valentine''s blood inside his coat.


    The old man took the cube-shaped artifact and observed it closely. He was checking the artifact for its authenticity. After a while, he smiled and called Beppe who was standing by the door over. Mastro Gianni handed the artifact to him without saying anything. Beppe, who seemed to have understood what he needed to do, left the room with the cube.


    "So, what was that thing?" asked Graham curiously as Beppe closed the door from outside.


    "That''s a dead person''s remain, that''s what-- a dangerous one at that," he answered seriously. From his tone, he didn''t seem to be lying.


    "That artifact should have a name, right? Can you tell me at least that?" Graham asked. He needed the name for divination purposes.


    "It''s called the Eye of Amada." Mastro Gianni answered shortly. His eyes were observing Graham.


    Graham didn''t ask about the detail because he knew he wouldn''t get any definite answer. "How come it came to the possession of Zeger de Witt?" he asked instead.


    "We don''t know the reason, but we do know that it will be too dangerous to let it stay in his hand. That man is wicked," answered Mastro Gianni only as needed.


    Graham was analyzing the man''s stance from his answers. It was clear that they both hadn''t trusted each other yet so they didn''t fully show their cards. Luuk was only watching from the side. He was feeling like a student in a parent-teacher meeting.


    "So, what about the commission money?" Graham asked straightforwardly.


    "Wow, you''re so direct, young man." Mastro Gianni smiled again, "Aren''t you enjoying our little chat?"


    "What chat? It was only me asking questions and you answering vaguely." Graham shrugged.


    "Alright, alright, you got me. In this time and age, you cannot trust anyone you just met fully, especially for someone as old as me," he said nonchalantly.


    Mastro Gianni unlocked his desk drawer and took out a big brown envelope from it. He slid it across the desk and it landed on Graham''s hand.


    "Your money is here, and since you and our young thief here completed the mission satisfactorily, I''ve put it a little bonus there," he said while shooting a smile at Luuk.


    Graham picked up the envelope and gave it to Luuk. Since Luuk was the one who received the mission, he should be the one in charge of the money. Luuk opened the envelope and checked the money inside. There were seventy guilders in there, so the total of their commission fee was a hundred and twenty guilders.


    "Then if there is nothing else, we''ll take our leave," said Graham while getting up from his seat.


    "Good evening," said Luuk while following Graham walking out of the room.


    "I''m looking forward to our next cooperation," said Mastro Gianni loud enough so the two men who were exiting the room could hear him. "Hmm... a Thief and a Fire Divinator. What an interesting combo," he muttered once his guests were gone.


    Graham and Luuk walked back down the dim-lit corridor towards the exit of the secret base. Near the exit, a man came out of a room and after he saw the two men walking, he spoke.


    "Hey, Luuk! How was the mission?" he asked with familiarity. He saw Graham by Luuk''s side and smiled.


    "It went well. We just turned it in." Luuk answered with a friendly tone.


    "Great! Anyway, sorry I can''t stay and chat. I need to be somewhere else. See ya!" he said and went away as quickly as he arrived.


    "Was that the someone who introduced you to this organization?" Graham asked for confirmation.


    "Yes. That''s Pietro, my campus mate." Luuk answered, his tone had a hint of self-pity in it.


    "Your campus mate is a mafia member? Interesting." Graham said nonchalantly.


    The two men exited the restaurant and walked home in the moonless night. It was already pretty late, so Oosteindestraat had become busy, but the dangerous-looking people who usually lurked in the street seemed to have known them and didn''t even take a glance at them. It was probably the order from the Mastro not to cause trouble for them.


    "So, do you feel anything different after stealing the artifact? How do you know if you''ve pleased your Deity?" Graham asked Luuk inquisitively.


    "I genuinely can''t feel any difference." Luuk said honestly, "Maybe the messenger will come to deliver a letter through my pleasant dream again," he then said sarcastically.


    Graham and Luuk walked towards Oosteindestraat South, where Jacco usually hung out. They wanted to give him and his men their share while they were still in the area. Although Graham was pacing, he was still left behind by Luuk who walked as though his feet didn''t touch the ground. It was definitely not a normal person''s speed.


    In the quieter street of Oosteindestraat South, there were dangerous-looking men hanging around, and a muscular man sitting at the top of a ledge, overlooking everything. It was Jacco van Wert, their leader. The men saw Graham and Luuk approaching and didn''t bother them. Jacco got down from his high seat and nodded at his guests.


    "So you kept your promise," he said smilingly.


    "I''m a detective, not a liar," Graham said casually while shrugging.


    He gestured at Luuk who then took out a smaller envelope. He had previously split the money into two, Jacco''s and his men''s share and his and Graham''s. He had put thirty guilders in the envelope and how Jacco split it with his men is none of his business. Luuk was being generous because without Jacco and his men, the mission wouldn''t have been successful. Zeger de Witt wouldn''t have been too angry to notice him approaching and would have definitely attacked him before he could do anything.


    Jacco took the envelope and saw the money inside. His green eyes lit up with excitement and started counting the money.


    "Wow! Is this fucking real?! So you were not lying when you said the money was good." he said amusedly while holding the money in his hands.


    Thirty guilders was a lot of money in the Republic. It was equal to 9600 pennings and could buy someone a lot of things.


    Once his excitement had died down, Jacco put the money back in the envelope and stuffed it inside his pocket. He would split the money with his men once his two guests were gone. He turned to look at Graham and asked,


    "How did you know there would be a damned earthquake?"


    Graham explained with honesty, "I didn''t. I only knew there would be a big thing that would help us escape."


    "Are you a fucking prophet?" Jacco asked in disbelief.


    Graham didn''t know how to respond, so he just smiled and shrugged.


    "How are your men? Are they all safe?" Luuk asked.


    "Yeah yeah, they are all safe and sound. Thanks to the warning, we got out of there before the shit hit the fan. It was fucking chaotic back there. The earthquake wasn''t even that big but people were running around like headless chickens."


    They went quiet for a while. Earthquakes happened very rarely in the Republic of Tulp, so when there was one, people would most likely panic. Especially if the earthquake was big like what had happened earlier, although it only lasted for a couple of seconds.


    "Anyway, how did you become a War Marcher?" asked Graham curiously.


    "A what??" Jacco said confusedly. He turned to Luuk but the latter also didn''t seem to know.


    "Contractbounds of your Deity. They are called War Marchers." Graham explained.


    Suddenly Jacco''s expression showed like everything just made sense, "Ah!"


    He then went quiet. After some time, he answered, "We''re not friends or anything, so I don''t have to tell you."


    His expression was that of nostalgia and sadness. It seemed to be a sensitive topic for him.


    Since there was nothing else they needed to do there, they decided to go home.


    "You guys aren''t so bad. Hit me up again if you need help!" said Jacco loudly as the two men were walking away.


    Luuk was walking fast ahead of Graham. They were two grown men so he didn''t need to wait for his partner. Luuk arrived home much sooner than Graham. Graham opened his apartment door and hanged his coat on the hanger without taking out anything. He went straight to the shower and once he was done, he lied down in the bed.


    He was going to review what he had experienced. It was one way for him to keep track of his life and not lose the sense of self. It also helped him decide the next course of action.


    "Let''s start from this morning, Val. I did a lot of divination to make sure the mission would be successful, and now I know divination can be a very powerful tool if used correctly. It showed us the street our target would take, and the exact time he would arrive there. It also showed us our way of escaping, including the time something big would happen. The empty house that we found was also thanks to divination."


    He paused and then continued speaking in a low and calm voice, "Although the image shown was blurry and sometimes vague, if we interpret it right it can be scarily accurate. And I can always do paper burning divination to double-check. But because of all the different questions I have to ask and all the double-checking, I''ve used up all my attempts for today."


    "My divination worked well probably because I had all that information about the target and the mission. It was just like when I tried to use divination to see the bizarre picture but failed, but when I divined the name Pravitatem, it worked."


    He paused again and went into thinking. He was sorting out his jumbled thoughts while listening to the silence of the night. Only the sound of the clock ticking was present. "Tomorrow, I have to divine what the Eye of Amada is. Since we now know the name, the divination should work."


    "Now about Luuk''s power. So he could also steal air from a tire. I wonder what else he can steal. We should definitely ask him to go and experiment with us. It''s too bad that he is a busy medical student. If only he was a literature student."


    "Jacco''s War Marcher power wasn''t so bad either. He works best with a group of people instead of alone. No wonder he naturally seeks out people to form a gang," he remembered the information given about each Contractbound and their characteristics.


    "That Zeger de Witt''s power is dangerous. I didn''t hear what he was saying, but in such a short time he made three people fight against each other. We are lucky he''s a government official and can''t use flashy power in public, otherwise, he would have used his shapeshifting power to chase us. I wonder what he can turn into. The intel didn''t tell us anything about that."


    He stopped speaking and closed his eyes. The ticking sound of the clock was a pleasant white noise in the dark room. He fell asleep not long after.

 32 The Concrete

    ''What is the Eye of Amada?''


    The room suddenly became pitch black. The flames from the candled burned violently and they emitted a dark blue glow. There were murmurs all around whispering right into Graham''s ears in a language that he didn''t understand, but the tone was full of depravity and perversion. The image shown in the flames was not blurry at all, in fact, it was as clear as crystal. It was of a rotting, bloodshot eyeball that stared right into Graham''s soul. The eyeball reflected hatred and jealousy of the living.


    Whoosh!


    At that moment, the flames went out and the room gradually became normal.


    Pant... pant...


    Graham was gasping for air. His head felt like it almost exploded and his heart almost stopped. The pain had receded for now but his nose was still bleeding. He took his time to recover. He had woken up late today and went straight to doing divination on the important matters before starting his day. He was sitting in his dark office breathing heavily with the now unlit candles in front of him.


    He processed what he was just shown through divination. It seemed the artifact used to be the eye of someone-- or something, and whatever it was, it was already dead. The divination showed the jealousy of the eye towards the living, probably indicating its effect when in use. He took out a piece of paper and wrote a statement on it to confirm his guess.


    ''The Eye of Amada''s power involves life and death.''


    He used his lighter to set the paper on fire and a strange dark blue flame consumed the whole paper very quickly. It either indicated an absolute positive or failure in divination. Graham went with the former because the rate at which the whole paper burned was slightly slower than it had when his divination was interfered with by the dead Romancer Cornelia.


    After fully recovering, he relit the candles in the usual order and concentrated his spirituality on a question he needed to ask. He repeated it enough times in his mind and intently watched the candle lights.


    ''Who is Amada?''


    The same absolute darkness crept into the room and the flames burned violently while slowly turning dark blue. Although they were burning brightly, the flames still couldn''t illuminate the room. Slowly, an image formed in the flames. It was indiscernible, but Graham could see albeit with difficulty something that looked like chopped up body pieces lying on top of a sigil.


    Roar!


    Once he saw the image, the body pieces brutally burst into dark blue flames that also burned everything nearby into ashes, and Graham felt his eyes on fire!


    "Arggh!!"


    He could feel the pain of the blood inside his eyeballs boiling and the vein bursting. The nerves felt like they were ripped apart one by one by a hot iron knife.


    He closed his eyes and covered them with his hands to stop looking at the image and to protect his burning eyes, but there was no actual flame burning him. He kept his eyes closed while grunting in pain. It lasted a whole minute but felt like days to him. He then slowly opened his eyes and the pain was still there, but slowly going away. He was panting and his heart was beating fast. The pain was many times worse than the pain he felt during his contract ritual


    He sat there in silence while controlling his breathing. He noticed that the candles he had used for the divination had burned themselves out, but the flames had been extinguished. He then tried to recall what he had just seen and analyzed it.


    "Amada is dead, but even in death, it could still do that to people trying to use divination on him. He must have been very powerful in life. But my question wasn''t answered. Who is Amada?" he said with a solemn voice while still breathing heavily.


    Graham concluded that he needed to be stronger in order to bypass the spiritual security of the divination. He took out fresh votive candles that he had brought before and set them up in the formation. He then lit them one by one and concentrated on a question.


    ''How can I get stronger?''


    The room became dark and mysteriously quiet. Little by little, a blurry image appeared within the flames. It was of a place with walls of apartment buildings and flats, not the same spacious kind as those in central, but the small cramped ones. Graham recognized the area at once; it was in Noordeinde. The area was infamous for its badly planned residential buildings. Because the rent was very cheap, and the condition was better than the slum, a lot of people moved there, but at one point they couldn''t accommodate people anymore. Starting from there, they kept adding more and more buildings until it became the mess that it was. People nicknamed the area ''The Concrete'' because all they could see was concrete buildings.


    Trying to find a clue there would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There were just too many people living in the gigantic block of buildings. However, Graham had the power of divination, so it would help him to some extent, although he still had to also use his detective instinct.


    He finished his ritual and cleaned up the office desk. Once everything was clean, he got dressed and wore his favorite coat over his shirt and went out to grab a quick breakfast on the way. He would go to The Concrete right away because it was already eleven in the morning.


    Graham bought a sandwich to go from a food stand near his apartment building and hailed a public motor carriage to take him to the destination. It should take him no longer than an hour to reach Nooreinde if the traffic was not bad. He got into a carriage that had pulled over for him and told the driver to take him to his destination. The driver looked at his passenger and recognized him right away.


    "Ah! It''s the stingy mister. Long time no see!" he said excitedly.


    Graham also recognized the driver and smiled, "Good morning. So, since I''m a regular, does it mean I get a discount?"


    The driver frowned right away and said shortly, "No," and then after pausing for some time, he asked, "Do you have any business in Noordeinde?"


    "Yes. I''m going to The Concrete. Why did you ask?" Graham replied in a friendly tone.


    "What a coincidence! I live there." the driver said loudly. "Are you there to visit someone, mister? Do you know the exact address? It''s easy to get lost there."


    "No, I''m just there to look around. I don''t have any particular destination in mind," Graham said honestly.


    "Do you need a guide? I happen to need to get something from home, so I can guide you for a while if you want to," the driver offered kindly.


    "That would be great. I''ll be in your care," said Graham happily.


    He then observed the nametag that was hanging by the rearview mirror. The driver''s name was Egon Barben. It was a pretty common name in the Republic, along with Stefan and Egbert.


    "What should I call you, mister?" the driver asked while looking at Graham through the rearview mirror.


    "Call me Graham. And I can call you Egon, I presume?" he asked politely.


    "Yes, Egon is fine. Or Egg is also okay. That''s what my colleagues call me."


    Graham and Egon arrived at the destination around fifty minutes later. It was a three-lane street with walls of buildings on both sides. They were respectively called The Concrete North and The Concrete South. The Concrete South looked relatively newer. It was added much later than the northern counterpart, so it was not as messy as the latter. The Concrete North, however, was a real concrete jungle. It would be easy to get lost if someone was a first-timer. That was why there were people hanging around the main street who would offer guide services to guests or family members visiting from other areas or cities. There would also be the occasional tourist wanting to see the infamous concrete jungle.


    "Val, this is massive," Graham muttered under his breath once he saw the towering flats around him.


    The Concrete reached very high up, and inside, the sunlight couldn''t penetrate the small alleys. The walls were painted in boring grey, adding to its already depressive atmosphere. There were power cords entangled everywhere, which would be a nightmare to electricians every time they had to come and fix something. The area was relatively clean since it was not a slum. It was just a nightmare for a claustrophobic. Graham felt like he was in another world.


    "I''m going home first to get something and I''ll guide you after that. Follow me closely or you''ll get lost," he said confidently.


    The two men entered through a narrow alley between two giant apartment buildings. It seemed that Egon''s home was not on the outer part but deeper in. The alley was dark even though it was bright and sunny outside. Even the breeze that he had been feeling before entering was gone now. The alley was only enough for two adults to walk side by side, so Graham followed Egon from behind. There were a lot of doors on each side of the alley, which were probably the entrance to the buildings on the back.


    At the end of the alley, they came to a fork. Egon turned right and kept walking until he saw a ramp. He walked up the ramp and they arrived on the second floor. However, they hadn''t arrived at Egon''s home yet. The second floor also had alleyways for people to walk through buildings, and even bridges to cross over. It was very easy to get lost there. The atmosphere there felt suffocating, on top of that. Graham was sure he wouldn''t want to live there unless he could walk through walls.


    He noticed that there were a lot of restaurants and shops open, and people were cramping those places even if the alley was already narrow, to begin with. They kept walking what Graham felt like forever and turning and crossing until they arrived at a flat. It was Egon''s.


    "This is where I live. Please wait here. I''ll be back quickly." he said and unlocked the door. Not long after, he came back out with nothing in his hand.


    "That was quick. What did you get anyway?" Graham asked curiously.


    "My identity card. I forgot it at home, haha." Egon looked embarrassed.


    In the Republic, not being able to show an identity card is a misdemeanor, and one could be fined for it, so citizens always carried theirs at all times. Graham also carried his identity card wherever he went, and also some fake identity cards that he hid somewhere for disguise purposes.


    "Now, where do you want to go?" asked Egon.


    Graham had no idea where he needed to go. His divination only showed him the general area, not a specific spot, so he decided to just walk around until fate came to him.


    "Just take me around. And show me the most infamous spots if possible," he said in a laid-back manner.


    "Aaaaaaaaa!!!!"


    Just as he said that he heard a loud scream that belonged to a woman. He quickly ran towards the source of the scream followed closely behind by Egon who was just as curious.

 33 The Third Victim

    Graham ran as fast as he could towards the source of the scream, followed by Egon who was slowly being left behind. It was apparent that he was slower than Graham at running. It took them long enough to reach the scene because of the windy route and confusing alleyways, even though it was not actually very far away.


    There were already a lot of people gathering at the source of the scream. It was a woman who was sobbing uncontrollably at a doorway of a house. Graham activated Supersight, which was a name he invented because he was tired of calling it eye power, to see the inside of the house better. From his angle, he could only see some part of the house, but it was enough to know what was going on.


    There was a dead body of a man inside a house, and its condition was already very familiar to Graham. The man''s mouth was wide open and his hands were scratching the area near his eyes. The expression of shock and horror was preserved to his death. The man must have worked out a lot while alive because his body looked muscular.


    Graham turned from the man and observed the room and the crying woman. Judging from her reaction, it was highly likely that the woman was in a close relationship with the man-- probably the wife or girlfriend because there was a key inserted into the keyhole from the outer part of the door. She had got up from the doorway and was now crying on the shoulder of another woman, probably her neighbor.


    The bystanders looked shocked by the dead man''s condition. Although they must have read the news about the first and the second victim, it was still horrifying to see something like that happen in real life. Egon had gone and talked to the people he knew there. After all, he lived close to the scene. Graham was trying to listen in to the people''s conversation to get any bits and pieces of information.


    "Isn''t that her husband?!" said Egon in disbelief.


    "It''s happened before, right? I don''t feel safe now. What if we''re next?!" said a woman who looked panicked.


    "How did someone scare Levi like that? He was supposed to be a tough guy..." said a scary-looking man.


    Graham couldn''t see the thing he was looking for from outside the house but he bet there would be the same death threat from Pravitatem somewhere inside. He would check with divination later to make sure. For now, he needed to find clues about the crime somehow. Just as he was about to walk closer to the house to see better, he saw a familiar face: it was the friend of the second victim who had found the body!


    Graham looked at her closely and he was sure it was the same person. The woman also saw him and in that instant, she went away from the crowd and started running. Graham darted towards the direction she went by politely pushing people aside and started chasing her.


    "Sorry, excuse me," said Graham while making his way through.


    The woman was wearing a pair of sneakers, so her movement was not hindered at all, and she ran very fast as if she didn''t need to even touch the ground. She could nimbly avoid the people walking in the narrow alley without slowing down.


    "Stop running!" yelled Graham at her, but of course she wouldn''t stop just because of that. She ran even faster.


    Graham had a really hard time keeping up with her, so he slowly lost sight of his target. He stopped running immediately when he was sure that he wouldn''t be able to catch her like that. He had another method of catching her, one that he knew very well how to use, so he wasn''t very worried. He could divine her purpose of going there and her whereabouts later, but for now, he needed to go back to the death scene to find more clues.


    By the time Graham came back, there were even more people gathered there to watch. Someone had closed the door out of respect to the deceased, but the bystanders didn''t go away. They were talking and chattering about the event because it was not every day that something that big happened in their lives. Graham was observing everyone present and listening in to their conversations.


    A few minutes later, the Police came and sealed off the house with a police line. Graham recognized the officer who seemed to be in charge; it was the officer who had come with his partner to interrogate him about Naomi Bakker. The scar across his nose was very distinctive, and his unfriendly face was difficult to forget. He was also present in the first and second victims'' crime scenes along with his partner. However, Graham didn''t see the officer''s male partner today, but a female with a bob haircut instead.


    "Val, that officer seems to have to be partnered with someone friendly-looking to balance out his gloominess," Graham muttered jokingly.


    The officer saw Graham and was slightly surprised. He then approached Graham and said accusingly, "What are you doing here? Why are you in every crime scene?"


    Graham knew he would ask that. The first and the second were a pure coincidence, but this time it was by divination that he went there. Of course, he couldn''t just tell the officer that, however, as it was the same as announcing that he was a Contractbound.


    "What if I told you it was really a coincidence," he said innocently and started looking for Egon. When he found Egon, he said, "I was getting a tour from my driver right there and we heard a scream."


    The two officers both looked at where Graham pointed at and Egon nodded in approval when they looked at him, confirming Graham''s words.


    "We will still have to get your alibi later. Don''t go anywhere," said the tall officer coldly and then went into the house by walking under the police line.


    "He just had a rough morning," said the shorter officer with bob hair. Her voice was much warmer than her partner''s. She then followed her partner inside the house.


    With the Police there, Graham''s chance of sneaking in had gone down the drain, so he had to think of another way. He observed the remaining Police officers inside the house who seemed to be lower in rank and once he had found a target, he leaned back against the wall and waited. He kept trying to listen in to people''s conversation in the meantime. There were two men and a woman who were talking whisperingly close to him.


    "Crazy, huh? Something like this happening here."


    "Yes. I would have never imagined my neighbor would get murdered."


    "Do you think the news will come here? Maybe it will be my chance to get famous!"


    "You''re fishing in troubled waters."


    The conversation stopped there because they saw some blue-coated men exiting the room. Graham noticed that his target was among them, so he approached the target with the excuse of asking a question. He whispered in a very low voice to avoid anyone eavesdropping and stepped back at once after he was done. He then went over to Egon.


    "Do you know the victim?"


    "His name is Levi, I think-- I don''t actually know him. You know there are so many people here so it''s not rare to not know a lot of them," he said in a slightly regretful tone.


    "That''s okay. What were you talking about with the others?"


    "We were just talking about how scary it is. Now I''m worried about my wife and son," he said with genuine worry in his voice.


    Most people there were mainly gossiping without any actual useful information, so Graham didn''t bother to ask them one by one. We would ask the wife directly after she had calmed down, but he would need to do so without the Police noticing, so he waited for some time.


    It didn''t take that long for her to stop sobbing, because she had been on it for quite some time now. He walked over to the three gossiping people from before spoke in a very persuasive manner while his eyes glowed red under his contacts.


    "Can you guys form a wall to block me from the Police''s view? I need to ask important questions."


    The three people looked confused for a second and thought that the request wasn''t hard to do, so they walked over to where the wife was and pretended to chat while covering Graham.


    "Ma''am, I need you to answer my questions calmly without breaking into tears. I know you can do that because you''re a strong woman." Graham said persuasively while looking directly at the woman''s now red eyes.


    The wife nodded slowly in confusion. The other woman whose shoulder she had cried on was only looking at Graham without saying anything. Graham looked at her in the eye and said,


    "It''s best if you join their conversation because it will be very interesting. Trust me."


    The woman confusedly walked to the three people covering for Graham while thinking that the man''s advice made sense and joined in on their conversation.


    Graham turned back to the wife and asked in a gentle but deep voice, "What can you tell me about your husband?"


    Her expression looked pained but she seemed to be trying hard to hold back her tears, her voice was full of sadness, "He was a kind man. Very kind. We lived happily together. He didn''t leave me although he knew I can''t give him children. Why did he have to die? Why couldn''t it be me instead?"


    "What''s your husband''s name? Where does he work?" Graham asked softly.


    "His name is Levi Brouwer. He is--," she paused, "was a teacher at a private school."


    "Hmm... there was nothing in common among the victims," he muttered, and then asked, "Do you know if your husband was involved with any shady characters?"


    "No. He doesn''t even drink," she said strongly.


    "I''m sorry for your loss. Stay strong," Graham said while walking away from the wife when he noticed that the Police officers were walking out of the room.


    Everyone there was allowed to leave after they gave their contacts to the Police, including Graham although they had taken his before. He left the scene and The Concrete by following the Police crews who were also leaving. Egon decided to stay with his wife and son because he was worried about them, so he couldn''t guide Graham out.


    In the street, he hailed a public motor carriage to take him home because he should have something waiting for him soon and needed to do a lot of divination. Since his divination directed him there, his power up should be related to solving the murder case; that was what he thought.

 34 House Inspection

    Graham arrived at Tuinstraat more than one hour after he left The Concrete because the traffic was bad at that hour. He paid the driver and entered his apartment building, but he didn''t go to his apartment yet. He was going to find the second victim''s friend, who should be living in the same building. Graham walked past the dead woman''s room, which still had police lines sealing it, and went to her neighbor''s room.


    Graham rang the bell and after waiting for some time the sound of footsteps got closer. Someone opened the door a little and looked at Graham who was outside. The woman inside the house seemed to recognize him.


    "Aren''t you the detective from upstairs? Can I help you?" she asked politely.


    "Do you know the friend who found the body of the dead woman next door?" he asked straightforwardly.


    The woman went silent. She seemed to remember the fact that someone next door had been killed after forgetting it. "Her name is Marieke Odekirk. Her room is number 38," she said shortly and quickly, trying to end the conversation as soon as possible.


    "Thank you very much," said Graham, and the woman nodded and closed her door.


    "Val, if everyone answered questions like her, we could avoid so much hassle," muttered Graham while walking upstairs to the third floor.


    Creak...


    The floorboard made a loud noise as he stepped on them. The old apartment building was due for a renovation, but the landlord hadn''t done anything about it yet. The landlord was a very old man and he was adamant about preserving the building as it was. At least Graham''s room had been renovated, so he didn''t really care about the creaking corridor, although it could be very annoying when he needed to be stealthy.


    He reached the third floor soon after and headed straight to room number 38. He rang the bell and waited for an answer.


    ...


    There was no answer. He rang the bell again and waited.


    ...


    Still no answer. It was either Marieke was not home or she was avoiding any guests. Graham rang the bell one more time and when there was still no answer, he tried to open the door to the apartment. It was unlocked!


    Graham didn''t enter the apartment right away. He tore a piece of paper from his notebook and wrote a divination question.


    ''Someone is inside this apartment.''


    He burned the paper and the flame very slowly consumed only a part of the paper before going out by itself, indicating a negative response. There was no one hiding inside waiting to ambush him. Graham cleaned the ashes from the floor and threw them away in the nearest bin. After that, he opened the door carefully and entered the room. He closed the door behind him and locked it from the inside using the latch for safety measures.


    The apartment room of Marieke looked very neat and minimalistically decorated. The living room where Graham was had a TV, a sofa, a chair, and a coffee table, and it was decorated with a vase of flowers placed on an end table. The right side of the sofa seat looked slightly sunken, indicating frequent use, while the other was not. It was highly likely that she lived alone there. Just like Graham''s room, the sunlight couldn''t penetrate all the way to the living room so he had to turn on the light to see. He was wearing gloves so he wouldn''t leave fingerprints behind.


    Graham had turned on his Supersight to look around better, but there was nothing noteworthy in the living room, except the newspaper on the table near opposite the sofa, so he moved along to the bedroom. The apartment layout was seemingly similar to his, so he knew which door led to the bedroom right away. The bedroom was as neatly arranged as the living room, and the size was similar to his own. He went straight to the bed to look under the bedsheet but found nothing. He then went to the drawers near the bed and opened them one by one. Inside the topmost drawer, there was a book that looked to be a diary.


    It was extremely rude to read someone''s diary, especially if the person was still alive. However, he needed to find clues about the murder, and the fact that she ran away from him made him suspect her. He opened the diary from the last page forward to find the most recent entry quickly because he didn''t want to read everything that she had written. It didn''t take long before he stopped on a page that only had a single line on it. After that page, the pages were blank.


    ''They killed the one I love, so I must find them and kill the ones they love.''


    Graham read that one line that was full of hatred and vengeance and understood her relationship with Nora, the second victim. What he couldn''t understand, however, was why or how she was in the third crime scene. He found out about the place through divination, so it was either she already knew beforehand or she was just coincidentally there. There was also the third option: she heard about the murder and somehow got there very quickly from wherever she had been before. The third option was unlikely, but not impossible since Graham didn''t understand the full extent of Contractbounds'' powers.


    Judging from the diary entry, it seemed that she was not the killer, but until definite evidence was found, it couldn''t be ruled out entirely. She could even have found a clue to the real killer, so either way, Graham had to find her. He turned the diary page over to the earlier pages, but they were all blank; there was no other entry besides that one line. He closed it and put it back in the drawer before returning the drawer to its initial state.


    He approached the big wardrobe opposite the bed and opened it. There was a gap in the clothes hanging inside. There were not many clothes in there either as if she had taken them out. Graham hadn''t seen any suitcases either both in the living room and in the bedroom. It was unlikely that she had put it in the kitchen or the bathroom.


    "No suitcase, possibly missing clothes. It seems our woman is away, Val. And judging from the state of this apartment, probably she doesn''t plan to go back. She probably knew someone would come here, so she left behind the one-line diary." Graham made a judgment.


    He closed the wardrobe giant wardrobe and the wooden doors made a creaking sound. There was nothing else to check in the bedroom, so he made his way to the bathroom first because it was closer. He opened the door to the small bathroom and observed the inside. The layout was pretty similar to his; there was a shower, a bathtub, a toilet, and a washbasin. Strangely, however, there were no toiletries inside. It reinforced Graham''s initial judgment that she had gone away. Graham exited the bathroom and entered the kitchen.


    Whoosh!


    A cold breeze brushed past him as he opened the kitchen door, but it was gone in an instant. He looked around the kitchen after turning on the light and something on the table attracted his attention right away. It was a ouija board with four extinguished candles on each corner. The planchette was left on the word yes. She seemed to have communicated with something before leaving. Graham had an initial guess of the situation, but he needed to do divination to confirm it, so he put it aside for now. He checked the kitchen thoroughly, even opening the fridge which was oddly empty. Besides the ouija board, there was nothing else of importance, so he left.


    After making sure he had left no trace and had returned everything to its initial state, Graham left Marieke''s apartment and went downstairs. He opened his own apartment door and once inside, he saw an envelope lying by the door. Someone had slid it in through the mail slot. He picked it up and sat in his office chair. It was as he had guessed: the mail was about the murder and the sender was unknown. He opened it and read the content.


    ''Victim''s name/age: Levi Brouwer/32''


    ''Occupation: teacher''


    ''Height/weight: 1.82m/80kg''


    ''Eye/hair color: brown/brown''


    ''Time/cause of death: judged to be around two hours prior to being found/waiting for autopsy report''


    ''There is no injury on the victim''s body except the area around his eyes, most likely self-caused. Inside the victim''s house, an image of four interlocking rings with numerous eyes was found. No other suspicious things were found.''


    The letter ended there.


    "It seems the officer I asked to report to me doesn''t know about Pravitatem. It''s probably kept a secret by the higher-ups. So with this, it is evident that Levi Brouwer is the third victim of Pravitatem."


    Graham burned the letter and prepared candles for his divination ritual. He had used up five of his attempts today, so he could only ask the important questions next. Once ready, he lit the candles one by one in the usual order and concentrated. He repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Which Contractbound power was used to kill Levi Brouwer?''


    The room got very dark and the flames burned brightly. Within the dancing flames, a blurry image surfaced and he could see with difficulty the shape of a serpent coiling around a heart. The image then shifted abruptly to that of a very horrible figure that brought deep fear to anyone who saw it.


    Thump...thump...


    Graham''s heart rate increased significantly. He felt like covering his face to stop seeing the figure, but he could still control himself. Thanks to his blurry divination, the effect was not severe. Because of his loss of focus, the image disappeared in an instant, leaving only the burning flames. He then noticed that there was a piece of knowledge that got transferred to his brain as he saw the horrific image.


    "The Deity of Serpents and Death..." he muttered.


    After calming himself down, he continued with his divination. He needed to confirm something before he would be able to divine his next question, so he took a piece of paper and wrote a statement on it.


    ''Marieke Odekirk is a Contractbound.''


    He lit the paper on fire using the candle flames and they burned it completely, which meant the answer was a yes. Since he got his confirmation, he could use divination to ask his next question. He concentrated and repeated it in his mind.


    ''Which of Marieke Odekirk''s power allows her to communicate with the dead?''


    The room became tranquil little by little, which was different from the usual darkness and silence. It felt strangely peaceful. Gradually, a blurry image appeared in the flames. It was of an illusory tongue that seemed to emit the aura of domination. Graham''s focus broke because he was dominated by the tongue and the divination ended there. Another piece of knowledge was transferred to his brain.


    Pant...pant...


    "The Deity of the Tongue''s power," he said while breathing heavily.

 35 Encountering Danger

    Graham was still sitting in his chair in the dark office with nine lit candlesticks on the desk in front of him. He had done some divination, but he still had to divine one last thing before he cleaned things up. He cleared his mind of any thoughts and concentrated on the burning flames in front of him. The candles that were placed in a formation resembling a sigil burned calmly, making it easier to concentrate. Graham repeated a question in his mind and watched the flames intently.


    ''Where is the location of Marieke Odekirk?''


    The usual darkness swept over the room and slowly, a blurry image appeared within the flames. It showed a large empty building, but the surrounding area was dark like it was night time. In the middle of the empty space, there was a woman standing motionless. Graham recognized the figure as Marieke''s, although he couldn''t see the face clearly because of the blurry image. Moments later, the image shifted to that of the color red; there was nothing else but that. After that, the image gradually disappeared and the room turned normal again, except for his head which was pounding; the headache that came with the overuse of divination had arrived.


    Graham had a bad feeling about what his divination had shown him so he had to use his last attempt of the day to ensure his safety. He wrote a statement on a piece of paper.


    ''Chasing Marieke Odekirk is dangerous.''


    He wrote a broader statement on purpose so that he could judge the degree of danger by the rate of the paper being turned into ashes. He placed the bottom right corner of the paper over the candle flame and watched the flame consume it. It burned the whole paper relatively quickly, leaving nothing but ashes, indicating a positive response.


    "It means it is very dangerous, but it won''t kill me." he deduced while massaging his temples, and then the back of his head. The throbbing pain was bearable but it was still very unpleasant to get each time he had used up all his attempts.


    Graham started cleaning up the desk and put away the candles in his drawer and once he was done, he muttered in regret, "If only divination attempts could carry over to the next day."


    ...


    On Friday afternoon in a building complex with windy and narrow alleyways and a busy crowd of people bustling about, a slender, hoodie-wearing woman with medium height was scurrying down the alley with hands in her pockets. Her expression was that of anger and hatred, her eyes reflected hints of sorrow. She looked extremely jealous of the people around her, especially those who had any kind of company around them. She kept walking rapidly towards a direction without carrying about bumping into other people because she could nimbly avoid them no matter how fast she was.


    The woman stopped at a flat with the number 478 on it and rang the bell. Not long after, the door was opened and she entered it without taking off her hood.


    "You look like a mess," said the male homeowner gently, without any ill-intent. He was a tall man with blonde hair neatly combed back and a pair of glasses. He had a medium build and a good-looking face. His overall appearance made him exude a scholarly vibe.


    "How can I not be?! The killer already claimed another victim and I haven''t found them!" said the woman rashly.


    "I know you love Nora deeply, but you have to stay calm. You might lose yourself like this." said the man again.


    "You don''t know how I feel, Henry!" said the woman angrily and then went quiet.


    "No, I don''t, but you and Nora are my friends, Marieke. I don''t want to lose both of you." said the man whose name was Henry very patiently.


    Marieke didn''t say anything for a while. They were both sitting across each other without saying anything for sometime before finally, Henry spoke.


    "You have been very hot-headed since we were little. Nora was the exact opposite of you. She would cry when the sisters at the orphanage punished you because of your own mischief." Henry said nostalgically, his voice carried a tone of sadness.


    Marieke still stayed quiet, but she was listening to Henry''s words. Memories of her childhood came to her and drowned her anger with sadness. Tears welled from the bottom of her eyes and started running down her freckled cheeks. Henry saw his childhood friend''s expression and walked over to her side to offer her his shoulder. Marieke cried uncontrollably, letting all the sorrow that had built up in her heart out. The pain of losing someone dearest was unbearable for her.


    "There... there..." said Henry while patting Marieke''s hair like he had done to Nora many times before when they were children.


    The three of them had lived in an orphanage since they were very young, and had naturally become very close, even dependent, on each other, since they had no one else in this world to depend on. The orphanage that they lived in was not an ideal one either. It was a privately-owned orphanage with bad management, so a lot of the children there were mistreated, but since they didn''t know where else to go, they stayed in the orphanage until either they got adopted or they became too old to stay there.


    "Thank you. You''ve always been the most level-headed out of the three of us," said Marieke finally after she had stopped crying. Her cheeks were still wet with tears.


    "You and Nora were both emotional, in a very different way. You would always get angry easily while Nora would cry easily. Remember when some bigger kids were bullying Nora but you saw them and beat them up?" said Henry who was trying to console her with beautiful memories.


    "Of course I do. You told me to pretend to look hurt and then called the sisters. Those kids got in trouble because of that. The sisters didn''t believe that I could beat them up." she said while smiling nostalgically.


    After seeing that his childhood friend had calmed down, Henry changed the topic and spoke seriously, "I have found the location of the killer."


    Marieke''s eyes opened wide in surprise. "Really?! Tell me now! Do you also know their identity?!" she said loudly in both excitement and impatience.


    "I couldn''t divine their identity. I''ll take you to the location since it is also my revenge. We''ll deal with the killer together." Henry said with determination.


    "Nora refused to be a Contractbound because she said she wouldn''t be able to handle the pain. Probably it was for the best, so she could die as a human." Marieke said pitifully, and then her tone turned resolved, "Now it''s our job to make sure she rests in peace."


    Marieke and Henry got ready and then left the house. They went out to the street after traversing the windy alleyways of the Concrete to hail a public motor carriage. Henry told the driver where to go and the driver started driving right away. The two of them arrived at their destination much later, because of the distance.


    They were in Oosteinde, the area where the slums were and there were a lot of abandoned factories. Henry''s crystal ball divination had pointed him out towards this area and now they just needed to find the right building where the killer was hiding.


    It was a sunny afternoon, but the surrounding area felt strangely gloomy and chilly. There was nobody around in the area because normally people wouldn''t go there in the first place. There were only the occasional motor carriages driving by and some pedestrians passing by. The abandoned factories looked manacing like they were hiding dark secrets inside them. Many people had asked the government to repurpose the area, but nothing had been done up until now.


    Henry and Marieke went behind a big factory far from the street and he sat down cross-legged on the concrete ground. He took out a big crystal ball from his backpack and smeared his own blood all over it. He then concentrated to start his divination.


    ''Show us the building where the Pravitatem killer is hiding in.''


    His blood got sucked by the ball and it formed an image within the crystal ball. It showed a big, abandoned building with broken windows. The image then zoomed out and showed the building from afar, with him sitting on the ground and Marieke standing near him not really far from the spot. The image then disappeared and Henry stood up and stuffed the crystal ball back in his backpack.


    "It''s that building over there, isn''t it?" Marieke said with fiery eyes.


    "Yes. Stay vigilant. We are dealing with a very dangerous individual." said Henry with caution.


    Henry took out a small metal plate and a short iron stick from his backpack and the two of them marched carefully towards the place shown in his divination. It was a big factory building, with a lot of empty space on the first floor which was visible from the doorless doorway. There were iron stairs leading to the open second floor that looked dark.


    "Please, don''t!!"


    They heard the sound of a man begging for mercy. They darted towards the source of the voice cautiously. It came from the second floor, from an empty office room. When they reached the place, there was a man with a giant illusory snake coiled around him, preventing him from moving. The man''s eyes were full of fear and horror. He wriggled about, trying to free himself but it was no use; the snake''s constriction was too tight and impossible to shake off, even though it was not real.


    "Noooo!!!!"


    Stab!


    A giant dagger was pierced through the poor man''s heart from behind. He died quickly and his body burst into ashes, leaving three Contract scrolls behind and a small lump of flesh that was slowly forming from the ashes. The object looked clear like a crystal even though it was made of flesh. The illusory snake disappeared and a figure who had been standing behind the man gathered the scrolls and the object that the man left behind. The figure then looked at the two guests and spoke in a muffled voice which couldn''t be determined if it belonged to a man or a woman.


    "So you two are the next ones who managed to pinpoint my location? And you are smart enough to come together unlike this man."


    Marieke took out a dagger from under her hoodie and got ready in battle position. Her eyes were full of hatred and vengeance towards the cloaked figure before her. Henry beat the iron plate using the short stick and the sound echoed in the spacious building.


    Badum... badum...


    "No chanting? So you''ve made a contract with a President?" said the figure mysteriously.


    Marieke felt invigorated, like the blood in her body was boiling. She dashed towards the figure with a speed faster than her usual''s and tried to stab it.


    Whoosh!


    Hiss!


    The dagger stabbed thin air. The figure had turned into countless snakes that went in every direction. Marieke stabbed the snake nearest her and it turned into ashes which disappeared slowly after.


    Marieke then heard a murmur of someone chanting, but she couldn''t make out what they were saying.


    "I order you to be careful, Marieke!" said Henry loudly while still beating the drum, and then shouted towards the source of the murmur, "I demand that you stop chanting!"


    However, it was too late. The chanting had been finished, and suddenly the room was shrouded in a thick mist that made people confused. The sound of the drum beating was muffled by the mist, so Marieke kept her guard up. Then, from the mist, she saw the cloaked figure slowly approaching, but something was strange. The figure was carrying a metal plate and a short stick, which made Marieke''s heart skip a beat. The figure then lifted the hood and revealed the face. It was Henry''s!


    "!!" she couldn''t say anything in her shock. She felt betrayed and lost. The only other person she trusted in her life was actually the one who had killed her lover.


    "Now, Marieke, come here and join me. The two of us can take revenge on the people who had made our childhood hell." Henry said gently but convincingly.


    "Go to hell!" she said angrily, then started chanting very quickly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare all of Henry Halback''s weapons mine!"


    She made a swiping motion with her right hand and a lot of items appeared there. There was a metal plate, a short stick, a pocket knife, and a crystal ball, all of which could be used as a weapon by the person in front of her.


    "So it was really you!" Marieke said in a rage after seeing the items that the cloaked figure before her possessed. Her emotion took over because of the feeling of extreme betrayal and anger. She followed her instinct to deal with the man who had taken her lover away.


    She then threw Henry''s items far behind her and darted at him with her dagger ready to stab.


    "Argh!!"


    Without his weapons, Henry was defenseless, but his hard skin prevented him from being stabbed right through. Marieke then jumped on him and pinned him to the ground, which he tried to avoid but failed. After all, she was much faster than him although he was stronger. Marieke looked at Henry in the eyes with ever-increasing hatred, especially since Henry''s eyes only reflected malice but no regret.


    Stab!


    "!!"


    She looked stabbed the defenseless Henry right in the neck and the blood in his throat prevented him from letting out a scream. His body then burst into flames and from the ashes, three contract scrolls were left behind. Among the ashes, an object started to form slowly. It was an object similar to the one that the previous man had left behind.

 36 A Night Slaughter

    Ding... dong...


    The bell to apartment number 24 was rung. Valentine was waiting at the door for Luuk van der Meer patiently. He was looking at his clock. Ten p.m., still early, he thought. The sound of footsteps getting closer could be heard and shortly after, Luuk opened the door and looked at his guest, which he had kind of guessed because he wasn''t expecting anyone, and only the detective next door had always visited him at this hour.


    "Yes?" asked Luuk shortly, but expectantly.


    "I have a mission. I''ll pay you and Jacco," said Valentine straightforwardly.


    A mission? What could it be? He sounds serious. In fact, he always looks and sounds very serious at night, he thought to himself.


    "What mission? And why do you also need Jacco?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "There might be some fighting involved. I''ll pay you each ten guilders but I''ll keep the battle loot." Valentine said matter-of-factly.


    Another fight? Why does this man like fighting so much? Ten guilders is not bad, and I have nothing to do anyway. As long as it is not too dangerous, it should be fine. I can also use it as a battle practice.


    "Are we fighting another Contractbound again?" Luuk asked.


    "Most likely," said Valentine vaguely. He didn''t know if there would be more there, and Graham had used up all his attempts, so he couldn''t divine it. "If you''re in, get ready and we''ll go right away."


    "Okay, give me a minute," Luuk closed his door and came back into his apartment to get ready. He got changed to dark-colored clothes and wore a pair of gloves. He brought his newly bought commando knife that was inspired by Valentine''s, but his was shorter, only 24 cm in overall length. Once he was ready, he came back out to the waiting Valentine.


    "Nice knife," Valentine said when he saw the knife that Luuk was carrying before he hid it under his black sweater.


    "Thanks," he said proudly. Luuk had carried it out in the open on purpose for his partner to notice his new knife. He liked to show off from time to time, after all.


    Valentine had also brought his own knife. He was thinking of bringing the gun with him, but in the end, he decided against it. He knew how to use a gun and could use it well because of his past life, but Graham was the better shooter. He was more proficient in hand-to-hand combat with sharp weapons, or anything he could find.


    The two men went out of the building and strode down the street towards Oosteinde South, where Jacco van Wert usually hung around with his gang members. He had told them that his gang was called ''Fiery Skull'', just like the logo on their jackets. It was a very clich¨¦d name, to say the least.


    Since they were both fast, they arrived less than forty-five minutes later. Jacco and the gang were hanging around the quiet street, making it not so empty anymore. They were really there just to cause trouble to passersby, but since the gang didn''t bother him anymore, he didn''t care about what they were doing.


    "Yo! Are you two here looking for me?" Jacco asked with his usual loud voice. The title of War Marcher seemed very fitting for him.


    "I have a job for you," said Valentine straight to the point, "But this time, don''t bring your men. They''ll only be a hindrance."


    Jacco''s expression turned sour. Although he understood that his men were just normal people, it still didn''t sit right with him for his men to be called a hindrance. However, he controlled his emotion and asked with a slightly higher voice, "What job? Why can''t I take them?"


    "Contractbound related. Might involve a battle. I can only tell you that it is dangerous." Valentine stated the fact. Even he didn''t know how dangerous it would be. He only knew that at least he wouldn''t die from it based on Graham''s earlier divination.


    "What''s in it for me?" asked Jacco without hesitation.


    "Ten guilders. Your role is to provide support with your power. I''ll keep the battle loot." said Valentine with his deep voice without batting an eye.


    This guy is very straightforward, Luuk thought.


    Jacco went into thinking. Ten guilders was a decent amount of money, and he only had to provide support. It seemed like a good chance to make easy money, especially since he had seen Valentine and Luuk fight before. The two of them made a good team. With him in the rear, their power would be formidable.


    "Okay. I''m in!" he said in full spirit.


    "Then let''s go," said Valentine shortly.


    "Guys, I''m heading out! You motherfuckers can do whatever you want, but don''t cause me trouble!" said Jacco to his men loudly.


    Valentine, Luuk, and Jacco started heading towards the part of Oosteinde where there were a lot of abandoned factories, which wasn''t that far from where they were. They just needed to go to the Amstel River and head north-east from there. The three men walked quickly in the cold windy night, with Jacco at the back because he was the slowest of the bunch. Valentine used this chance to brief his team members about the operation, telling them who the target was and why he was looking for her. However, he didn''t tell them about the name Pravitatem, only about the involvement of a hidden organization in the murder.


    There were not a lot of people in that area that night, except for the slums and Oosteindestraat which will be busier the later it got. The unlikely trio arrived at their destination twenty minutes later. It took longer than it should have because they had to wait for Jacco who was not blessed with speed, to begin with. Valentine was physically fast because of his past training, while Luuk got his agility from his slender build and his Deity''s contract.


    The three men walked carefully in the dark street between abandoned buildings. If there was any passerby, they would certainly stay away because the trio looked dangerous. Valentine''s cold eyes pierced through the dark night, with its yellow glow hidden under his contact lenses, while Luuk''s eyes were glowing red in the moonless street. And behind them, there was Jacco, a big, muscular man whose appearance screamed that he was a gang leader.


    Valentine couldn''t use divination to pinpoint the exact location of Marieke, so he could only rely on his memory of the image from the divination. She was standing in a large, empty space, so the building must be a big one. There were a lot of big, abandoned buildings, however, so it didn''t narrow it down by much. The area around her was dark, so there should be no lights in the building, but considering the area was full of unused buildings, their lights wouldn''t be switched on.


    "G, you need to improve your divination," Valentine complained inwardly.


    "Where do we go now?" asked Luuk while looking around.


    "Our target should be in one of these buildings, but I have no idea which. We should search carefully for any signs of activity like footprints and such." Valentine explained.


    "Should we split?" asked Jacco eagerly.


    "No. Although it would be faster, there is unknown danger lurking here. Stick together," Valentine commanded.


    Valentine and Luuk could see well in the dark thanks to their night visions, while Jacco had difficulty because of the lack of both moonlight and streetlight. He had to use a flashlight to see. It was a small flashlight that he strapped around his head, so both his hands could be freely used for battle.


    "Come here," said Valentine with a hand beckoning his members, and once they were there, he said, "These footprints look fresh. We''ll follow them," he said decisively.


    They walked quietly following the footprints, except for Jacco who was wearing heavy boots with thick soles which made loud stepping noises, especially in the quiet night. They gave up being sneaky and just rushed quickly to the building where the footprints led them and stopped in front of a doorless abandoned factory. There was a woman standing motionless in the middle of the dark, empty space. It was Marieke Odekirk!


    "Is that our target?" asked Luuk whisperingly.


    Valentine nodded without saying anything. The condition of Marieke looked abnormal, which made him suspicious. She was just standing there like a statue without moving an inch. He would have probably guessed that she had been petrified if not for the slight movement in her chest because of breathing. She was holding a dagger in her right hand and there was dried blood all over it, and all over her clothes, in fact. Her face was covered by her messy, curly long red hair.


    The trio entered the building cautiously while looking around, being on guard for a possible trap or ambush. There didn''t seem to be anyone else besides the woman standing in the middle, but there were a lot of things scattered around on the concrete floor: a crystal ball, an iron plate with a short stick nearby, and a backpack. There were also traces of ashes around the floor, but the find had probably blown them all over the place.


    "You''re Marieke Odekirk, right?" said Valentine gently while gesturing at Luuk secretly.


    Luuk understood the meaning of Valentine''s gesture; he had to get close enough to steal the dagger from the woman''s hand, so he approached the target slowly and cautiously while Valentine was speaking to her.


    "..." Marieke didn''t respond.


    "We''re not going to hurt you. We''re only here to ask questions about Nora," Valentine spoke as gently as he could, although his deep voice still made his speech sounded rather cold.


    The moment she heard the name, she raised her head and looked at the person speaking. Her eyes were fully red, not just the pupils, but the whole eyes. They emitted strong hatred and regret. The moment they made eye contact, she darted at Valentine with her dagger ready to stab him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Marieke Odekirk''s dagger mine!"


    Whoosh!


    She failed to hit Valentine because he had narrowly dodged, but her speed was very fast. She would have hit her if she still had the range of her dagger.


    "Jacco!" shouted Valentine.


    Jacco, who had previously picked up two iron trashcan lids, started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Bang! Bang!


    The loud sound of metals hitting each other resounded in the quiet building. Valentine and Luuk felt magically invigorated. They felt their body much lighter and their stamina replenished. They launched an attack from two directions.


    Thump!


    She guarded against their attack with both arms. Their daggers hit her skin, but it only caused a scratch; her skin was as hard as iron.


    "Your weapons are mine!" she roared loudly with a broken voice and made a swiping motion with both hands. Valentine''s and Luuk''s daggers disappeared from their hands and reappeared in her hands.


    "No chanting?!" Luuk was surprised. He kept a close distance with her in order to steal the knife back.


    "I order you to stay back!" she said with a monstrous voice while pointing at Luuk.


    Luuk felt restrained and his feet moved against his will away from the woman with a gruesome expression. He was now out of range to steal his weapon back. It took him a while to regain control of his feet, but she had already launched an attack against Valentine.


    Clank!


    The sound of daggers making contact with iron echoed in the empty building. Valentine had picked up the iron plate and quickly used it as a shield. However, because of her attack, the iron plate was dented beyond recognition and Valentine was thrown back several meters. He wasn''t badly injured because of the effect of Jacco''s war drum.


    "What kind of bullshit monster is she?!" Jacco exclaimed.

 37 A Night Slaughter 2

    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Marieke Odekirk''s dagger mine!"


    Whoosh!


    One of the daggers in the monstrous Marieke disappeared from her hand and appeared in Luuk''s hand. He had got close enough to steal his own dagger.


    Bang! Bang!


    The sound of metal banging against each other still resounded in the building. Jacco didn''t let up playing his War Drum to empower his team.


    Luuk was still dangerously close to Marieke. He was well within her attack range, so he quickly made a move to retreat into a safer distance. Marieke started opening her mouth while pointing at Luuk, most likely to order him to stay there with her power.


    Shit! If I fail to move away now, I''ll be dead meat, Luuk thought.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word order a secret!"


    Valentine chanted very quickly before Marieke could even let out a sound.


    "I ----- you to come here!" shouted Marieke with a voice that was painful to the ears.


    ...


    There was no effect. Luuk''s retreat was not interrupted!


    WIth Marieke being startled by her failed chant, Valentine closed in on her and kick her in the stomach.


    Crash!


    She got pushed back and fell on the ground by Valentine''s empowered kick. However, Valentine''s right foot was overcome by pain because of contact with Marieke''s hard body. It felt like kicking a concrete wall.


    "Shit! Careful, her body is so hard!" Valentine warned loudly.


    Bang! Bang!


    Jacco was busy keeping the beat of the War Drum reverberate, so he couldn''t do anything.


    Luuk had sneaked in behind the crazed woman while she was on the ground.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Marieke Odekirk''s dagger mine!"


    Whoosh!


    Valentine''s dagger disappeared from her hand and Luuk quickly tossed it to him.


    "Catch!" he gave Valentine a heads up.


    Valentine caught the dagger and then quickly chanted in quick succession.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word order no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word mine a secret!"


    With his restriction, both Marieke and Luuk shouldn''t be able to steal. Valentine darted towards her who was already standing and readied his dagger for an attack.


    Slash!


    He managed to create a wound in her right arm that she used to guard against his attack.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    The horribly hoarse voice penetrated his ears and his feet refused to move from his spot. Marieke threw a punch right at his face.


    Bam!


    Luuk managed to kick Marieke''s punching hand and made it miss her target. They retreated right away. The effect of the War Drum played a big role in Luuk''s increased power. His normal kick wouldn''t have been able to redirect her punch like that, not to mention being fast enough to even land it.


    "Thank you," said Valentine.


    Fwoosh!


    Marieke moved very quickly past them towards Jacco who stayed far in the back. She seemed to have realized the importance of the supporting man.


    "Shit! I thought she was supposed to be fucking rampaging! How can she still use her brain?!" exclaimed Jacco from the back. He got rid of the metal lids and guarded against her quickly incoming attack with both arms.


    Crash!


    Jacco''s had his own hard skin, so it protected him to some extent. However, he still got thrown back and fell on his back. With the War Drum gone, Valentine and Luuk became visibly slower and weren''t fast enough to save him.


    Jacco got up and spitted blood on the ground. The power of the attack was stronger than he had thought.


    This is bad. We need to give Jacco a chance to play his War Drum again, but how? Luuk was thinking hard.


    Luuk then got an idea. He gestured at Valentine who understood right away what he meant.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word mine no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word order a secret!"


    Valentine didn''t know what Luuk was planning, but he knew that Luuk was planning to steal something. They both got close enough to their target, who was moving quickly towards Jacco. Whatever Luuk was planning, he had to do it fast before she got out of range again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Marieke Odekirk''s pants mine!"


    Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand and a pair of woman''s pants appeared. The keys that were inside the pocket fell on the ground beneath Marieke because the pants that were used for containing them had disappeared. Luuk then quickly discarded them and ran away.


    Marieke, who was now only in her underwear, was enraged. She changed direction towards Luuk without caring about her pants at all. In fact, she wasn''t able to care about being naked; she was provoked by Luuk''s act of stealing her clothes.


    "Now!" shouted Luuk.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Bang! Bang!


    Jacco had grabbed his metal lids back and resumed his banging. Valentine and Luuk became empowered again, the former launched a backstab against Marieke who was chasing the running away Luuk; with Jacco''s support, he managed to keep a distance from her.


    Stab!


    Valentine stabbed her back twice in quick succession, which managed to cause a deep wound on her back. Thick, black blood flowed from her wound. She looked like she was in deep pain, and it made her even more furious. She quickly turned around and kicked him with a strong force.


    Crash!


    Valentine got thrown back several meters and hit the ground. She quickly marched towards him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Marieke Odekirk''s hoodie mine!"


    With that, her hoodie magically moved to Luuk''s hand. She was slowly undressed by Luuk, who kept stealing her articles of clothing. The monstrous Marieke was now only wearing a t-shirt and underwear with her pair of shoes still intact. Her blind rage made her chase the quickly running away Luuk.


    "I ----- you to stop running!" she shouted loudly, but her order failed to take effect because of Valentine''s restriction.


    "Your clothes are mine!"


    Luuk''s clothes disappeared from his body, leaving him only in underwear. He felt the cold night rubbing against his skin and the embarrassment of being naked in front of his team was painful, but his sense of danger made him want to keep running, and thanks to Valentine''s restriction, he could retreat to a safe distance.


    Valentine was sneaking with his dagger ready behind Marieke who was busy discarding Luuk''s clothes. He lunged at her, aiming for her neck.


    Stab... stab!


    "Aaaaarghh!!"


    "Cuuuuurse you!!!!" she shouted with a broken voice.


    He had to stab her twice in the neck to cause a wound. His dagger was stuck deep into her neck with thick black blood flowing with difficulty around the uncovered wound.


    With that last stab, she fell on the ground with eyes full of fury, which then turned blank, because her life had been snuffed out of her body. Soon after, her whole body burst into flames, burning her t-shirt, underwear, and shoes, but Valentine was fast enough to recover his dagger.


    Once the danger had passed, Luuk went over to his discarded clothes and put them on quickly. Jacco stopped playing the drum and came closer to see the aftermath of the battle.


    From the ashes that used to be Marieke Odekirk, there were two contract scrolls lying on the ground and a slowly forming round object. Valentine picked up the two scrolls and opened them while waiting for the object to fully formed.


    Valentine opened the first scroll and saw the sigil. It looked like a right-facing concrete caterpillar with complicated lines and circles on its body. There was an inverted cross below the ''neck'' of the caterpillar. Once he saw the sigil, knowledge transferred to his brain, including the summoning chant and the sacrificial materials.


    He then tucked the slightly heavy scroll under his leather jacket and opened the second one. The sigil looked like a left-facing trumpet with extended lines and circles. It was the least obscure sigil that Valentine had seen so far. Knowledge of the whole ritual and materials transferred to his brain once he saw it. He also stuffed the scroll under his jacket.


    "What Deities are those?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "Deity of Theft and Deity of the Tongue," said Valentine shortly.


    Luuk had figured out that Marieke had contracted the same Deity as him, but he didn''t know about her other power.


    The round object had fully formed from the ashes by the time he finished looking at the scrolls. It looked like a hand and a tongue that were compressed into a small sphere. The object also had a fleshy feeling when touched. Valentine picked it up and put it inside his jacket''s pocket.


    Luuk and Jacco were watching Valentine from the side. The former had no interest in any of the scrolls. Jacco, however, looked very interested in the Deity of Theft. He came up to Valentine and asked,


    "Are you selling those scrolls?"


    "Which one do you want?" asked Valentine.


    "The Deity of Theft," Jacco answered honestly, "I can''t use it for myself since it doesn''t complement my power, but I can give it to my trusted man."


    "Probably. But not now. I need to study them. Come to my office tomorrow if you''re still interested," he said convincingly. Actually, he also planned to sell the Deity of Theft''s scroll, but he didn''t know the market price for scrolls, so he would have Graham divine it tomorrow.


    He then took out two small brown envelopes from his jacket and handed them to Luuk and Jacco.


    "Your commission money," he said shortly.


    "Thanks, man!" said Jacco excitedly. He opened the envelope right away and saw ten guilder bills inside.


    Luuk also looked excited but he didn''t open the envelope right away. He put it inside his pocked without caring about crumpling it.


    Valentine only watched the two men and didn''t say anything. He looked around the empty factory building for something inconspicuous and not easily removable. He could use his blood, but it would be easily noticed and removed. He then got an idea and turned to Luuk.


    "Can you steal a tiny bit of this part of the floor?"


    Luuk looked confused, but then said, "If it''s just a tiny bit, I probably can?"


    He decided to trust the man and got ready to use his power, although he doubted it would work.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare this concrete floor''s tiny part mine!"


    He made a swiping motion and a very small chunk of the floor appeared in his hand. It was half the size of his palm. He was very surprised that his power actually worked. On the floor, now there was a hole the same size as the tiny chunk in Luuk''s hand.


    Valentine placed his hand on top of the hole and slit his palm. He let the blood pool and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium"


    The blood on his palm emitted a mysterious mist.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the misty blood right into the hole and the area became strangely silent for a second. After that, he turned to Luuk,


    "Put it back carefully,"


    Luuk placed the part of the floor in the hole carefully, and since it was not broken, the part fit in perfectly, looking like it had never been taken out in the first place. Luuk then swept the top with his hand to make it even more even. Valentine''s blood was now hidden under the concrete floor, so although the hole was discovered, it would still be hard to remove it.


    "With this, we''re done here," said Valentine triumphantly.

 38 Revelation

    On Saturday morning, Graham had been sitting in his office chair in the dark as usual. It had become like a routine for him to start his day with divination.


    "Sigh..., I might as well change profession to a fortune-teller," he mumbled.


    He had placed the candles in the usual formation and lit them in order. Now he needed to concentrate and ask the question through his fire scrying ritual.


    ''What had happened to Marieke Odekirk before she turned rampage?''


    The room turned darker and the flames burned brighter. Within the flames, an image slowly appeared in its usual blurry form. It showed a scene where Marieke was staring at ashes that looked like there had been a body there before. Her expression couldn''t be seen clearly but she seemed petrified. Then, a snake came out from the shadow to grab the three contract scrolls that were lying on the ashes, as well as a small round object resembling a crystal ball. The snake quickly merged back to the shadow along with its battle loot, leaving Marieke alone in the large empty space.


    The image gradually disappeared and the room turned normal again. Graham sat there and tried to analyze what he had just seen.


    "The snake must have belonged to the Pravitatem killer. So, whose ashes were those? She looked in a daze. Did she come with someone and somehow they started killing each other?"


    He wrote something on a piece of paper to confirm his suspicion.


    ''The Deity of Serpents and Death can cause allies to kill each other.''


    He set the paper on fire and it quickly burned into ashes, indicating a positive answer.


    "So it was indeed the case," he paused and thought. "It means dealing with the killer is much more complicated than we thought, Val."


    Graham then stared at the flames again and concentrated. He needed to ask the next question which was related to his power-up.


    ''What would happen if I formed a contract with the Deity of the Tongue?''


    The room turned dark with a shade of red. Graham felt something different was happening. The contract of the Deity of the Tongue that he had placed on the desk in front of him was emitting a mysterious violet mist, which quickly consumed the remains of Marieke Odekirk that he had placed next to it. It seemed this divination needed a cost to pay.


    Within the flames, he saw an open book that looked ancient. It was placed on a dusty desk in a dark room. He tried to carefully read what was written in it through the somewhat clear image. It was not as blurry as usual, but it was still kind of difficult to read it perfectly.


    ''When forming a contract with another Deity, if the two Deities'' powers were compatible, one could become much stronger. Here are the ones for Earl ranks that I''ve found out through experiments and observation.''


    ''Deity of Secrets and Deity of Uncovering. They are known as Shrouded Denuders. No secrets can be kept hidden from them; no secrets can be uncovered in their presence.''


    ''Deity of Lies and Attraction and Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter. They are known as Bloodshed Romancer. Before one could realize they were being controlled, they would already be dead.''


    ''Deity of Fire Divination and Deity of the Tongue. They are called Divinators of the Tongue. No kinds of information will slide past them. Be it in life or in death, anyone can be their informants.''


    ''Deity of Theft and Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones. They are known as Jewelry Thieves. Those who have valuable belongings must be wary of them since they know where to find all kinds of precious materials.''


    ''I haven''t found out about the remaining Earls'' combination. Is it War and Sleep? Or War and Reconciliation? I need to do more experiments.''


    The entry ended there, and with it, the image also disappeared. However, the room hadn''t turned normal. It was still dark with a reddish hue and the flames were still burning brightly. Then, within the flames, a line made of black fire appeared. Graham tried to read it but he didn''t understand the language.


    "Secore on ca Furcas remie"


    Graham said the words out loud, but nothing happened.


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, his whole office was set on fire, and it felt searing. Graham tried to move and get to safety but he couldn''t! In fact, he couldn''t even get up from his chair. The heat from the flames scratched his skin down to the bone. The smoke had no mercy either; it penetrated painfully through his lungs and destroyed it from inside. The fire ate his whole body alive, with each passing second, his blood became more and more boiling, bursting through his tiny vessels.


    But he was not dead. He was very alive, and in great pain. A great shadow descended onto the raging flames, making them burn even more violently. Graham couldn''t make out what the figure looked like since his eyeballs had long melted into his eye sockets. He felt like a very long time had passed, and his whole body became numb to the pain, if he still had any body at all. He had lost all sensation.


    Suddenly, everything became normal again. His pain was gone, his eyeballs, still there and working. He could breathe normally, albeit heavily because of the trauma. He looked at his watch and it showed that only a very short time had passed.


    Pant... pant...


    He controlled his breathing and once he had calmed down, he noticed that something had been transferred to his brain.


    "So much has happened in very little time. I need to process them one by one," said Graham tiredly.


    He concentrated on the new piece of knowledge and exclaimed in surprise.


    "Ah!!"


    "So that was the result of pleasing my Deity. I have done enough divination of great secrets."


    He then went into thinking. There were indeed some divination attempts that felt different from usual, divining Pravitatem being one of them. With his Deity of Fire Divination pleased, his power had been consolidated, making him more powerful. He began analyzing his new power.


    "Now I can do fire scrying ritual with any kind of flames, including a lighter flame. It is very useful to do field divination. Now my fire divination can also bypass equal or weaker level anti-divination, and the quality of the image shown should be better as well. My divination attempt limits have also increased to twenty-five."


    "My palmistry wasn''t touched. It stays as one of my least used abilities. My eyes now can turn permanently red or stay the same even if I''m using its power. It won''t be as draining anymore as well, so I can keep it activated longer."


    "My persuasion power wasn''t touched either. But according to the journal, I should be able to make it more powerful with the power of the Deity of the Tongue. I just need to gather the materials now since the remains of Marieke has been sacrificed against my will."


    "So my next move should be gathering the materials for the contract ritual and probably finding the book from my divination. It might contain more useful information. I think it was written by the same person who wrote the unliftable book, Val."


    "Speaking of which, since I''ve successfully divined great secrets, you just need to uncover them to please your Deity. But I don''t know how you can do it. Do you just publish it or something?" Graham thought while rubbing his chin.


    "While we''re at it, I should also try to find the scroll of the Deity of Uncovering for you. I can try to divine it. Ah! I almost forgot to divine the market price for scrolls. Sigh... There is so much to do," he complained inwardly.


    He put out the fire from all candles but one, since now he only needed one to do divination. He then concentrated and repeated the question in his mind.


    ''Where is that book from the earlier divination located?''


    The surrounding area became dim and an image appeared within the small flame. However, Graham could see it clearly as if he was looking at a big cinema screen. It was not blurry either. The image showed a very old looking house in the middle of the woods. The house looked very dilapidated, but its strong building materials managed to make it last. The image then zoomed out to a bird''s eye view. From up above, Graham could roughly see the location of the woods in relation to Sloten.


    "So it is somewhere in Oostelijk Bos, east of Sloten," he concluded.


    Sloten was surrounded by woodlands except for its northern border which was a mountain range called De Vaalserberg. The southern woodland had been mostly turned into farmlands, however, leaving only the eastern and western woodlands. There were safe roads built connecting Sloten to other cities through the woods, so people didn''t have to worry about wild animals, but occasionally such attacks were still reported.


    To get to Oostelijk Bos, Graham would have to go to the station and take a coach to another city and get off midway. Or he could hire a public motor carriage to take him there, which would be much more expensive than the coach. He would think about it more later. For now, he had more divination to do. He needed to find the materials for the contract, which were the tongue of a preacher and the whole mouth without the tongue of a grave keeper.


    ''Where can I gather the materials for the contract with the Deity of the Tongue?''


    The flame burned brighter and showed an image to him. It was of a large cemetery with a lot of tombstones. He recognized it right away. It was Sloten Public Cemetery that was located in Westeinde. However, it is heavily guarded by the cemetery security assigned by the city''s mayor.


    The image then shifted to that of a marketplace. However, a lot of people there were covering their identities. It was most likely the black market, and he would need someone to grant him access to the market. He saw one of the items he needed with an outrageous price tag. It was set at six guilders apiece.


    "Grave robbing, it is then. Why pay for something I can get for free. Now I understand why the cemetery is always heavily guarded; it is to prevent people from becoming stray Contractbounds left and right."


    He then got ready for his next question.


    ''How much can I sell these contract scrolls for?''


    Graham concentrated on the flames and it quickly showed him a number. It was a range of fifteen to twenty guilders. That should be the market price of Earl rank contract scrolls. The image didn''t show anything else after that, even though he had an allegedly higher rank scroll. Probably because he couldn''t even see the information in it.


    "We can sell it for fifteen guilders to Jacco then. He was very helpful in the battle against the rampaging Marieke, after all."


    He came back to the burning candle flame and moved on to his next question.


    ''Where can I get the contract scroll for the Deity of Uncovering?''


    The room became dim and an image formed within the flame. There, he saw the police officer that he had met many times before, the tall one with a scar across his nose. He could get the contract from him, most likely by killing him. The image then shifted to that of a man in office attire. He looked like someone in a high position within his company. Again, Graham could probably get the contract by killing the person.


    "Assassinating people for their contract scrolls. I guess that''s the life of a Contractbound," he paused and thought about his past experiences.


    "We have killed many people before, but it was for a totally different reason. In the end, we just have to get used to it, and always stay on guard in case someone is after our scrolls," he muttered in self-pity.


    "Among the two targets, the office worker looks more realistic. I don''t think we can afford to make an enemy of the whole police force as we are now," he said coldly.

 39 A Slow Day

    Graham had decided his next course of action; that was to rob the cemetery for ritual ingredients tonight, and for that, he would need Luuk''s help. For now, he just needed to wait for night to come, so he could do whatever he wanted. He had had no client in a while, but he still had a lot of money from his last commission, so he wasn''t really worried.


    "Let''s go to Don''s, Val. I miss their pancakes," he said hungrily. It was already ten o''clock and he hadn''t had breakfast.


    Graham left his office in his favorite trench coat. Sloten was getting colder by the day, so a lot of people were wearing similarly warm clothing. Only those with high cold resistance would dare to wear only shirts outdoors, which made Graham wonder if they were Contractbounds.


    It didn''t take him long to reach Don''s Pancake House, the small, homey diner that specialized in pancakes. Graham entered the busy diner and was greeted by the usual smile by the waitress, Mirjam. She came over to where Graham was sitting, which was not his usual spot, but still near the doot nonetheless.


    "Hi, Graham! You haven''t come in a while," she said with a warm voice.


    "I''ve been very busy lately. Could only grab ready-to-eat meals," he shrugged nonchalantly.


    "Such is the life of a famous detective," she said teasingly. Her smile always brought comfort to the customers there.


    "What else can I say? Anyway, I want a big portion of banana pancakes with syrup and blueberry toppings. And a cup of hot chocolate," he ordered decisively.


    "Okay. Anything else?"


    "No. That would be all. Thank you, Mirjam." said Graham with a friendly smile.


    She smiled back at Graham and went to the back to tell the chef Graham''s order, and when she was done, she went over to another customer''s table to serve them.


    Graham, who was sitting alone far from everyone, took out a lighter. Since he got his upgraded power, he needed to try out its effectiveness on the field. His question was actually pretty simple, and it would be better to do paper burning divination, but it would be too eye-catching, so he used fire scrying instead.


    He triggered the lighter and stared at its tiny flame while concentrating. He repeated the question he wanted to ask in his mind.


    ''Are there any Contractbounds near me?''


    Graham''s surroundings became dim, but it seemed that he was the only one who could see it. From the flame, he could see an image of the small area around him from a bird''s eye point of view. He saw himself glowing blue in the image, while everybody else didn''t emit any color. The image then disappeared and his surroundings became normal.


    "So there are no other Contractbounds around. I guess if there were, they would have glowed blue in the image," he made a theory.


    His divination power has really been boosted. Now he could experiment more as well since his limit has also been raised. Since this morning, he had used eight divination attempts, including the one just now. If he hadn''t gotten the power upgrade, he would only have been able to do two more. But now, he still had seventeen more attempts. But he still needed to save some for tonight''s graverobbing mission.


    Mirjam came with his food some minutes later. She stayed by his table to chat, just like she always did with other customers. It was one of the reasons she liked working there.


    "So what''s your current mission?" she asked him full of curiosity. Her blue eyes glimmered in expectation.


    "To be honest, nothing. I''ve been busy with something else," he said half honestly. He obviously wouldn''t tell her about his mission to rob a grave or to assassinate an office worker.


    "Are you doing anything illegal?" she asked teasingly but in a serious tone.


    "Yeah. I''m actually harvesting organs from unsuspecting diner waitress. That''s why I haven''t come in a while; I was busy visiting other diners," Graham said with a low voice with eyes looking straight at Mirjam''s.


    "Fine, if you don''t want to tell me," she shrugged.


    "Val, one of these days I could totally talk about our illegal activities, and people would think I was joking," he muttered whisperingly while looking over his shoulder.


    "What did you say?" asked Mirjam who couldn''t hear what Graham was saying.


    "Nope, nothing. Just taking a mental note," he said.


    "You will have no girlfriend if you always take ''mental notes'' like that," she lectured him.


    "With my good-looking face, I''m sure any woman can tolerate my ''taking mental notes''," said Graham confidently, emphasizing each word.


    "You''re hopeless," said Mirjam while shaking her head. She then left Graham alone because he had got new customers.


    Graham finished his food and went to the cashier to pay. With his breakfast done, he went back home. He needed to be home when Jacco came to buy the scroll of Theft, and without even divining it, he had a feeling that the gang leader would be there soon. He arrived home not long after.


    While waiting for Jacco, he sat in his office chair in the dark while doing divination in preparation for tonight. He lit a single candlestick and focused on the flame.


    ''What is the safest method to enter Sloten Public Cemetery undetected?''


    Graham, who was staring at the burning flame, could slowly see an image. It showed a dark cramped space with running water. It was the underground sewer system. Graham was not surprised that the sewer was connected to the cemetery, but he was surprised that it was unguarded. The image then shifted to illusory figures wandering about the sewer. He now understood why it was left unguarded; the guardians were something else.


    "Hmm... more ghosts. We would need a lot of bed sheets to deal with all of them," he said bitterly.


    He then turned back to the candle flame that was now burning normally. He concentrated again and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''What are those ghosts?''


    The room gradually turned dim and an image formed from within the flame. He could see there was another book entry that he could read. The book looked newer than the one from his previous divination, so it was most likely a different book.


    ''Wraiths. They are a stronger form of lingering spirits, basically the souls of those who died with very strong emotion and attachment to the living world. Unlike lingering spirits, most wraiths are malicious. The stronger the wraith is, the more visible it is to the normal human''s eyes. Their main form of attack is their wail that can stun their unsuspecting victims. They are weak to a Contractbound''s blood and can be destroyed with blood-related abilities.''


    The image of the book then disappeared, leaving Graham in deep thought.


    "We don''t have any blood-related abilities. I don''t think Luuk or Jacco has any either. Hmm... This will be problematic."


    "Anyway, this divination power-up is really convenient. It can just show me book entries that I need, provided I have the correct information to even start the divination, Val."


    Ding... dong...


    The bell of his apartment was rung.


    "It must be Jacco," he guessed.


    He opened the door and the big, muscular man was standing there. He wasn''t wearing his usual gang leather jacket, but a shirt that was messily untucked. He must have come right from work at the restaurant.


    "Come sit down," he offered professionally.


    "So have you done studying the scroll? Can I buy it now?" he said with his usual loud voice. He could probably even play the War Drum with his voice alone if it worked like that.


    "Yes, yes. But before that, can I read your palm?" said Graham seriously. He needed to make use of that power more and now was the best chance. If he had asked him back then, he would have definitely refused.


    "Uhm... sure? What for?" he asked confusedly while offering his right hand. Since he had fought together with the man in front of him and had seen his power, he could trust him to some extent.


    "To read your fortune," Graham said casually, "I need both hands."


    Jacco extended both hands to Graham, who started to read his palms right away. He looked at the lines across both his palms and all the intersections and entanglements.


    Normally, he wouldn''t even know what they meant, but since he had got the power, he spiritually got some information through reading the palm. He got a glimpse of some of Jacco''s personality traits. He was a hot-headed man, but extremely loyal to his companions. He had someone he held very dear, even more than his own life. Graham could ask about this when the man had trusted him more. It also showed that his life would intersect with Graham''s a lot in the future.


    "What does it say?" asked Jacco curiously, his eyes reflected expectation.


    "We''ll have a lot more co-operations in the future," Graham said honestly but vaguely. Even he couldn''t see what it meant.


    "Did you make it up?" he asked with suspicion.


    Graham only shrugged. He then changed the topic, "So, the scroll. It is twenty guilders if you want to buy it."


    Jacco''s eyes opened wide in surprise, "Fucking hell! That''s expensive! Can''t you give me a discount?"


    "Okay, okay, fifteen guilders. That''s the lowest I can go," said Graham with a serious tone. He had actually planned to sell it at that price anyway.


    Jacco looked like he was thinking. He then said, "I only have ten guilders right now. What about I pay ten guilders in cash and offer you one free co-operation?"


    Graham had expected this to be one of the outcomes, so he gladly welcomed the opportunity since he needed support for tonight to deal with the wraiths. He pretended to be thinking hard to not appear too eager to accept the deal.


    "Hmm... that could be acceptable."


    Jacco sighed in relief after hearing the answer. He really didn''t have enough money right now, but he also needed the scroll soon. He had promised his friend, and he never broke his promise. He could just ask his friend to give him the rest of the money later.


    Graham handed him the scroll that he had prepared before. The others had been kept inside his safe along with his valuables. He then received ten guilder bills from Jacco.


    "Thank you very much!" he said excitedly.


    "Anytime. By the way, since you''ve offered your co-operation, I actually need you for tonight''s mission..." Graham said, seizing his opportunity.


    Jacco somewhat felt like he had been conned.

 40 Sewer Runner

    Late at night near Westeinde, Valentine, Luuk, and Jacco had been ready to do tonight''s mission. The street where they were was very quiet and a bit foggy. The night was moonless because it was cloudy, so the streetlights were their only source of illumination.


    Valentine had promised Luuk to pay him with essential information regarding Contractbounds in exchange for his help. He would naturally share the information with Jacco as well since his goal was to disclose the secrets to them, but he didn''t tell Luuk that Jacco was actually helping for free.


    This would be the best time to tell them the secrets since they hadn''t got into the danger yet.


    "What I''m about to tell you is something that not a lot of people know about. It''s a valuable piece of information, so don''t go around telling people for free," he said sternly.


    Luuk and Jacco were listening intently while keeping their pace, the latter especially since he was the slowest.


    "First, the Deities are divided into ranks. The ones we are currently in contracts with are Earls," he said with a low voice, not to cause a lot of noise in the silent night.


    "There is another rank called Marquis. I don''t know if it is directly above Earl or not, and right now I don''t know the title of the other ranks," he said honestly. Those words were very unfamiliar to him, and probably to Luuk and Jacco as well.


    Earl? Marquis? What language is that? Thought Luuk.


    Jacco only nodded. It wasn''t clear if he even understood anything.


    "Next, the Deity you''re in-contract with will determine your title. Luuk is a Thief and Jacco is a War Marcher. I think you probably already knew of this."


    "No, I didn''t. War Marcher sounds fucking cool!" said Jacco loudly, breaking the silence in the peaceful night.


    "You should consider carefully which Deity you want to form a contract with next because if the powers are compatible, you will become much more powerful. For a Thief, it is suggested to form a contract with the Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones. Your title will then change to a Jewelry Thief. For a War Marcher, unfortunately, I don''t have enough information," he explained lengthly.


    "That sounds very complicated," complained Jacco.


    "Where can I get the scroll for the Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones?" asked Luuk with full interest. The information that Valentine had just shared was very valuable.


    "I can help divine it for a price," he said shortly.


    Luuk went silent. He seemed to be thinking.


    What a stingy man, he thought.


    Valentine then stopped next to a manhole. The other two stopped and looked at what he was looking at. They seemed to understand what it meant.


    "We''re going in. As I''ve briefed you, there will be wraiths inside. They''re weak against our blood, so you can just splash some on them to make them stay away,"


    Luuk and Jacco nodded.


    "Our goal is to reach the exit, not to deal with them. This is where your power will come into play," he looked at Jacco, "But once we reached the cemetery, we have to be stealthy,"


    Valentine had briefed them the same before and especially asked Jacco to wear shoes that wouldn''t make a lot of noise. Tonight Jacco was wearing a pair of running shoes as a result.


    Valentine turned the manhole cover and opened it with slight difficulty; it was a very heavy metal cover and made that way so that no one could ''accidentally'' open it. He climbed down the rusty ladder and descended into the darkness; his night vision had been activated, so he could clearly see the wall that slowly turned mossy and slippery.


    It smelled gunky inside the sewer and it reminded him of the smell inside the university toilets. The stink penetrated his nostrils and went down his lung, but he was not affected; it was not the worst thing he had smelled in the world.


    The air felt sticky on his facial skin, the only part of his body that was not covered. He took out his facemask and wore it, which caused the smell to diminish. He watched as his companions climbed down the ladders one by one.


    Clank!


    The sound of the manhole cover being covered back signaled that they were good to go. They started walking down the dark and wet tunnel carefully with the aid of their night visions, while Jacco was carrying a flashlight.


    The water running in the sewer was greenish, but since Valentine''s night vision gave his vision a yellow hue, he saw the water in a strange yellow-green color. The current was somewhat strong, so falling into it would be dangerous for non-swimmers. Valentine was confident in his swimming ability, so he was not worried in the least.


    Splash... splash...


    The sounds of their footsteps on water puddle resounded in the dark space but were completely drowned by the sound of the stream.


    When they reached a fork, Valentine went to the right, which was the direction of where the cemetery was. He had confidence in his navigation ability, so being lost was not something he was worried about.


    They walked without talking in the dark, for they were always on guard. The wraiths could appear anytime and from anywhere since according to Valentine, they could go through walls. Luuk was carrying his dagger that he had coated in his blood, while Jacco had readied a piece of metal plate and a stick, both of which were covered in his blood.


    They came to another fork and this time Valentine turned left. They walked deeper into the dark when suddenly,


    "Aaaaaaaaaa!!!!"


    "Aaaaaaaa!!!!"


    "Aaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"


    A lot of simultaneous shrieking that was louder than the water came from the dark tunnel before them. They all covered their ears and couldn''t move for some seconds. The wraiths had shown up!


    Those transparent figures with ghastly expressions were looking at the intruders with hatred and jealousy in their eyes. There were more than five of them in the dark tunnel, and being stunned and attacked by them all could be fatal. They were floating around, ready to charge at the trio.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word aaaaaaaaa a secret!"


    Valentine placed a restriction in the area. Although he couldn''t ban the action of shrieking itself, he could try restricting the sound it made, but he didn''t know if it would work or not.


    "Now!" he quickly signaled to Jacco.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Badum... badum...!


    Badum... badum...!


    The sound of the makeshift War Drum echoed in their ears, empowering them. They felt lighter and could run long without feeling exhausted. To the allies, the sound of the drum was like a sweet heavenly melody; to the enemies, it was just an obnoxiously loud noise. The wraiths felt infuriated by the drumming.


    "--------------!!!"


    "------------!!!"


    "---------------!!!!!"


    The wraiths tried to shriek again, but no words came out of their ghostly mouth. Valentine''s restrictions worked!


    "Ignore them! Push through!" commanded Valentine while starting to run.


    "--------!!"


    The wraiths still tried to wail while attacking the intruders. Valentine slashed any that came too close with his blood-covered knife, which injured them, but not seriously since they were technically already dead.


    Luuk did the same with his knife, moving nimbly around any who blocked his path and slashing any that came to attack him. He almost looked like he was dancing; his feet stepped lightly on the wet sewer floor.


    Jacco, with his two hands busy drumming, didn''t have the liberty to attack the wraiths with them. However, he had sprayed blood all over his jacket, so if any wraiths came close to him, he would just ram them with his shoulders.


    "------------!!!"


    "---------------!!"


    The soundless wailing was still happening, and naturally, it had no effect on the trio who were getting farther and farther away from the group of wraiths. They ran with speed higher than the wraiths as a result of the War Drum.


    "Don''t get left behind! Follow me!" commanded Valentine.


    The trio turned left on the next fork and ran as fast as they could; the wraiths slowly got left behind. Once the wraiths disappeared completely from their sight, the trio slowed down their pace but was still on high alert.


    "Those things are fucking gone!" said Jacco in relief and stopped beating the iron plate. It was his first time facing wraiths. Although Valentine had briefed him in detail, it still shocked him to actually see one with his own eyes.


    "Thanks to your power-up we could outrun them, I guess," said Luuk while breathing calmly. Although they had run for a long distance, he didn''t feel tired at all.


    "Hah!" Jacco exclaimed proudly.


    "Let''s move on," said Valentine decisively.


    They kept walking until they reached a dead end. The water could still flow through the barred hole in the waterway, but there was a concrete wall will a rusty ladder in front of them.


    "This should lead to the cemetery," said Valentine confidently.


    Jacco stopped beating his drum right away. From that point on, they needed to be stealthy.


    Valentine climbed up the tall ladder first and opened the heavy manhole cover with slight difficulty. He slid it to the side very carefully not to create a lot of noise.


    "You know what to do now," he said almost whisperingly.


    Valentine and Luuk walked into the cemetery while Jacco stayed behind, guarding their exit. He was the biggest of them, and his tendency to be loud was not best suited for stealth, so his job was to make sure no one compromised their escape route.


    "Do you think there will be more wraiths here?" asked Luuk in a very low voice while sneaking behind a tombstone.


    "I don''t think so. The Police Contractbounds must have destroyed them for public safety," he said in an equally low voice.


    The cemetery that night was dark and foggy. There were only occasional lanterns scattered around the whole big cemetery, giving it a more mysterious atmosphere. There were tombstones of various sized with different engravings on them, but Valentine was not interested in reading them.


    They made their way to the main big building in the middle of the cemetery carefully, while watching their surroundings. Their goal was not to dig up graves, because anything inside it would not be intact anymore. They were going to the central morgue, which also functioned as a crematorium where they stored the body before being buried or cremated.


    There were a lot of unidentified dead bodies uncovered every day in Sloten. They would then be transferred to the Police for an autopsy. After the Police were done with the investigation, they had to store the body in the cemetery morgue to make space for the new one. It was indeed a grim time, and now Valentine could slowly guess the reason.


    "Careful," he whispered to Luuk.


    There were two cemetery guards approaching with flashlights. They seemed to be only normal people. If the authority had wanted to place a Contractbound to guard the place, they would have sent someone with a night vision.


    Valentine and Luuk hid behind a large tombstone motionlessly. One of the bright flashlights shone upon the empty cemetery composedly as though it was thoroughly searching for intruders, while the other only jumped around occasionally in laziness.


    "Yaaawn... I''m sleepy," said one of the cemetery guards.


    "Stop being lazy," said the other cemetery guard sternly.


    "There haven''t been any thefts in months, and if there was any, I''m sure those two could handle it," he said casually.


    "You might be right. But we still need to do our job properly," said the other guard with full conviction.


    The duo waited a whole minute before the cemetery guards moved along to other spots.


    Valentine gestured at Luuk and they resumed their move. They walked on the grass carefully, avoiding the soft soil so they wouldn''t leave any footprints. It took them a whole five minutes of carefully traversing the dark cemetery to reach the big main building.


    They looked at the giant building before them in awe. The morgue was a building with a classic architectural style, much like the library and the town hall. They seemed to have been built around the same period. The walls looked aged but still didn''t show any sign of decay. The pillars supporting the roof looked as tough as new. It evoked a feeling of majesty on the onlookers.


    "Now, we just need to enter this place," said Valentine.

 41 Field Divinator in Action

    Valentine asked Luuk to keep watch while he went behind a dumpster next to the morgue building and lied down. Since he had done his job of getting the team safely past the wraiths, it was now Graham''s turn to show his expertise in finding things; what he lacked in speed, he made up in the ability to do divination. Valentine didn''t need to take sleeping pills to fall asleep quickly in that dark cemetery.


    Graham woke up not long after and called Luuk over quietly using gestures. Luuk stood there in silence while watching what his partner was about to do without questions. Graham took out his lighter from Valentine''s leather jacket pocket and got ready to divine the safest entrance to the morgue. He purposefully wanted to do the divination in front of Luuk because he was also curious about what others saw during the process.


    He triggered the lighter easily with one swift movement of his thumb and sparks were sent flying in the air around it. Shortly after, the flame shone brightly in the dark night; the wind was unable to disturb it because of the blockade of the two men''s bodies. Graham concentrated on the burning flame and controlled his breathing with the rhythm of the blaze while repeating a question in his mind.


    ''How to safely enter this morgue unnoticed?''


    The surrounding area became darker and the fog covering the cemetery mysteriously disappeared. Luuk seemed to have noticed it as well with his curious gaze around. Slowly after that, a somewhat clear image appeared in the flame, and there was a grave shown there. It was one of those graves with an above-ground burial vault, one among many that existed in the cemetery. The one shown in the image, however, looked somewhat much older than the other ones.


    The image then zoomed out to a bird''s eye view far up high in the night sky. The location of the target grave wasn''t marked, but Graham had memorized its point in the image. From above, it could be seen that there was a small, faint light shining in the dark, which Graham recognized as his lighter. Using his own position and the grave''s, he could approximate the distance and direction he needed to go.


    Luuk was fascinated by what he saw; it was his first time seeing real-life divination after all. When he stared at the flame, he felt like he was seeing a cinema-screen-sized image, but when he looked away, the image disappeared completely. It was truly curious.


    Slowly, the flame consumed the image until it disappeared completely. The surrounding area became normal, although it was still dark and foggy. Graham put the lighter back in his pocket and raised an eyebrow at Luuk, asking for confirmation since he couldn''t see Luuk''s reaction during the divination because he had to concentrate on the flame. Luuk knew what Graham meant right away and nodded firmly. With that, the two men went towards the direction Graham had calculated.


    They went northeast from the morgue sneakily, stepping on the grass as much as possible instead of the soil. Graham went behind Luuk because he had no night vision while giving directions from time to time. Although his eyesight was superior to a normal human''s, it was still useless if there was no light to help him see.


    The more east they went, the older the tombstones looked. The grass also got taller and several vines were growing around some tombstones. They stopped and hid behind a tall tombstone when they saw flashlights shining around. They breathed very quietly and stayed motionless.


    The bright lights got closer and closer and they could hear the sounds of two people''s footsteps. They could also hear the two people''s conversation as they got near.


    "I hate this area of the cemetery more the most," said a high-pitched male voice.


    "Why?" asked a deeper male voice.


    "These old graves just give me the creep. And those things always come out from this area as well," said the high-pitched voice scaredly.


    "If those things appear again, we can just run and report it to those Police people," said the deeper voice indifferently.


    By now, Luuk could see the two people with flashlights. There were cemetery guards, but different from the previous two that he and Valentine had hidden from. Seeing how many people they sent to patrol it, it seemed to be true that the cemetery was guarded rather tightly.


    The lights were moving away from Graham and Luuk''s hiding spot, and after a while, they disappeared completely. The duo continued heading towards the grave that was shown in the divination.


    It took them some time to reach an area with mostly above-ground burial vaults. And on them were various engravings that looked very old. Among the graves, there was one that caught Luuk''s attention. It was an ancient-looking grave with an above-ground burial vault without any engravings or decoration; it was just plain-looking.


    Graham followed Luuk heading towards the ancient grave. Its paint had completely peeled off, leaving only the original stone slab that was used to build the vault. It was the size of an adult, and the tombstone was rather tall. Since there was no engraving, it couldn''t be determined whose grave it was.


    The two men inspected the ancient grave carefully. Since it came up as the entrance to the morgue, there must be a hidden door or mechanism somewhere. Graham was touching every part of the grave searching for a button of some sort, the cold hard stone rubbing against his gloves. He then thought that the whole grave could probably be moved since he hadn''t found any hidden switch or button. He asked Luuk to help him push the grave to the side.


    Slide...


    It moved!


    Graham and Luuk used all of their strength to push the grave further, and slowly, it revealed a hidden staircase underneath. They didn''t push it the whole way through, just enough for them to fit in the gap. Before going in, they searched for some plants to cover the gap in the ground so the cemetery guards wouldn''t notice


    Once they were done disguised the secret entrance, Graham and Luuk walked down the dark staircase and entered a tunnel. It was pitch black inside, so Graham had to use his lighter to see, while Luuk had no difficulty at all.


    According to Graham''s acute sense of direction, the tunnel should lead back to the morgue, so they were definitely going the right direction. They walked down the dark space in silence, for they didn''t want to potentially alert anyone keeping guard.


    The sounds of their quiet footsteps faintly echoed in the small, cramped space. The ancient stone walls felt cold to touch and rough on the surface. The hard stone floor was uneven; they could easily trip and fall if they were not careful.


    It took them shorter to reach the end of the tunnel than the amount of time they took to find the ancient grave. There was a rusty metal ladder at the end, leading up to a trap door. However, since they didn''t know what was waiting on the other side, they had to be extra careful. They both stopped and Luuk was waiting for a command. He saw Graham concentrating on his lighter flame and knew right away what his partner was doing.


    ''Is it safe to exit through the trap door right now?''


    Since his divination power had been upgraded, it was simpler to use fire scrying than paper burning divination for a yes or no question, and on top of that, he wouldn''t leave any trace behind. He could even get a broader answer sometimes.


    The flame slowly formed an image that Luuk could also see, while the surrounding area turned from dimly lit to pitch black once more. It was the other side of the stone trap door in a room that looked like storage. There were a lot of earthen jars and shelves with a bunch of different things on them. There was no one in the storage room, so it should be safe to exit right now. The image disappeared gradually after that.


    Before they exited through the trap door, Graham did one more divination. He stayed on his spot and concentrated once more.


    ''Who are the Contractbounds that are guarding the morgue tonight?''


    The flame burned brightly and an image formed in it. It was two people, a man, and a woman, who were sitting in a room with a lot of mirrors. The two people were occasionally looking at the mirrors as if looking at something through them. It seemed that they were somehow using the mirrors as monitoring devices via Contractbound power. Graham didn''t recognize neither the man nor the woman, but he recognized the blue coats they were wearing; those were the Police coats.


    The image disappeared little by little after that. With his new revelation, he was sure that the tunnel was safe; otherwise, the two Police Contractbounds would have found out about them by now. He turned to Luuk and asked almost whisperingly,


    "What did you see in the flame?"


    "Two Police people watching mirrors; probably monitoring the building," he explained shortly in a low voice.


    It was indeed the same image as the one Graham saw, so it meant that other people could see his divination without problems, as long as they were within the vicinity. He would like to do more experiments later.


    "Those mirrors must be connected to something. Most likely other mirrors, so we have to avoid them," Graham said almost surely.


    He then went back to staring at the lighter flame and concentrated again. Since his divination limits had been raised as well, it would be a waste not to abuse them. He always kept count of how many divination attempts he had done for the day, and for today, he should still have a lot more chances.


    ''Where are the locations of all the mirrors in the morgue?''


    The flame flickered and after a while, it showed the image of the whole morgue building with red dots dispersed all around it. The red dots were the mirrors inside the morgue, with a room having a concentration of red dots inside it. It should be the security room that they had seen through the previous divination. Graham memorized all the locations of the mirrors as well as the security room. The image then disappeared.


    I can only see the divination image, but cannot hear the question he asked. What do those red dots mean? Judging from his previous guess, they must be mirrors. There were so many of them, I couldn''t remember them all... thought Luuk.


    Once he was done with his divination, Graham gestured at Luuk to be ready to exit through the trap door. The storage room didn''t have a mirror in it, so they should be able to enter the building safely. Those Police Contractbounds didn''t seem to know of the existence of the hidden exit.


    Graham climbed up first and carefully opened the trap door. It was rather heavy because it was made of hardwood, just like the material of the storage room floor. The storage room had no lighting in it, probably because it was no longer in use. Graham still had to rely on his lighter to see and through the dim light, he could see the many cobwebs decorating the room. There was only one door leading to the other part of the building, and it should be safe to exit since the two Police Contractbounds were in the mirror room.


    Graham went closer and noticed that the door looked rather modern. The place''s interior most likely had undergone renovation. The metal door handle didn''t look shiny anymore and some spots of rust had appeared, however, so the renovation should have happened a while ago.


    He twisted the handle to open the door but it wouldn''t budge. The door was locked. Graham could probably try to pick the lock but since Luuk was there, he gave the honor to Luuk instead. He looked at his partner with an expression that was saying ''Can you?''


    Luuk nodded and got closer to the door. He inspected carefully for a while, making sure he knew what he needed to steal in order to open it and started chanting quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the lock''s deadbolt mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and a small rectangular metal object appeared there. It was the lock''s deadbolt that he had removed. He discarded it safely and tried opening the door again. Now it was unlocked.


    "Shall we?" he looked at Graham and asked him politely with a proud smile.

 42 The Morgue

    "No, not yet," said Graham, refusing Luuk''s invitation. There was one more thing that he needed to divine.


    He looked at his lighter flame and concentrated while repeating a question in his head.


    ''Where are the ritual sacrificial materials that I need?''


    The flame showed an image in a similar manner to before; it was the morgue building but the walls were transparent. There was a red dot glowing inside one of the rooms, indicating the location of what he was looking for. The image then shifted closer and showed thirty-six mortuary cabinet freezers that they used for storing dead bodies with numbers on them. The cabinet drawer with the number thirteen and twenty-seven glowed red. That was where Graham could find his needed materials.


    Luuk saw the divination and when it ended, he made a gesture with his hands allowing Graham to take the lead. He then followed behind.


    Graham and Luuk carefully exited the storage room while making as little noise as possible. Their sneakers stepped on the hardwood floor lightly, creating a quiet tapping sounds. In the brightly lit morgue, the two men were prowling down the big corridor.


    The inside of the morgue was very cold and had neon lights, giving a strong contrast with its classic architecture. There were high windows on one side of the corridor, the opposite side of the room they came out of, but there was nothing outside since the sky that night was dark and gloomy. It felt much livelier inside with the bright light, but Graham knew it was not the case; there was a danger watching every corner of the building.


    The corridor was decorated with a lot of different things like posters and even cabinets. It didn''t feel like they were in a morgue, but rather, inside a university dormitory. The placement of the random objects made it easier for the cemetery guards to hide the mirrors behind them.


    Graham signaled Luuk to stop. He remembered there was a red dot around that part of the corridor, so he started scanning the area with his Supersight. Luuk understood right away what his partner was doing and waited for a further signal.


    "There is a mirror at our one o''clock about thirty meters from here hidden behind a poster," whispered Graham to Luuk.


    Ahead of them, there was a big poster with a slightly torn part located at the height of a tall child. From that angle, it was difficult for Luuk to see the mirror, but Graham''s Supersight enabled him to spot it.


    "Do you think the mirror can also transfer sounds?" asked Luuk cautiously.


    "I have no idea, but we should act as if it was the case," answered Graham quietly.


    The two men sneaked closer to where the mirror was hidden and from up close, Luuk could see that there was indeed a mirror hidden behind the poster. He couldn''t just steal the mirror because it would alert the watchers. Any object passing in front of the mirror would probably also alert them, so their only choice was not to be seen at all by the mirrors.


    Graham and Luuk crawled on the floor quietly right under the poster, where the blind spot of the mirror should be. They only got back up after passing a distance away from the hidden mirror. People who didn''t know about the mirrors would surely be caught easily by the cemetery guards, but luckily Graham could divine it beforehand.


    The duo sneaked down the corridor and passed three more mirrors on the way, all of which they crawled under. However, they were stopped by the fourth mirror which was placed on the ground level. It was a long horizontal one on top of that, so jumping over it would be problematic unless they could glide in the air.


    "Can you jump across?" asked Graham to Luuk.


    Luuk shook his head, "This mirror is too long. I can''t leap that far."


    Graham and Luuk thought hard of a solution before Graham finally looked up and spoke.


    "How many more times can you steal today?"


    "Should be nine times. I haven''t used any except for the deadbolt. What''s your plan?" he asked curiously.


    "Can you steal parts of the wall to create holes for our hands and feet? We can then scale the wall," Graham said imperatively, hoping Luuk would be able to do that.


    "Uhmm... let me try," he answered with uncertainty. He kind of understood Graham''s plan but was not sure how to go about actually doing it.


    Luuk walked up to the wall above the mirror and started chanting while concentrating on a certain part of the wall while imagining the shape of the object he wanted to steal.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare this part of the wall mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and a block of stone appeared in his hand, while the same rectangular shape was now missing from the wall, forming a hole wide enough for two hands to hold on simultaneously. He discarded the block safely.


    Luuk repeated the process but now concentrating on a lower part, where his feet would be if he were standing there.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare this part of the wall mine!"


    His swiping motion caused a part of the wall to disappear. Now, there was another hole under the first one that was wide enough for two feet to step on at the same time. He discarded the stone block again and tried to climb on to the wall by inserting his hands and his feet in the whole. Luuk could hold on there without much difficulty, but both his hands and feet couldn''t be spread too far because of the lack of space.


    Graham saw what Luuk was doing and was amazed by his ability. He wondered what else his partner could steal.


    Luuk repeated the process two more times until there were two sets of holes with some distance between them, but still possible for a person to reach. Judging from the distance, he would need to make only one more set of holes to be able to reach the other side of the mirror. However, the distance was too far for him to steal, so he had to climb on until the second set of holes and used his power from there.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare this part of the wall mine!"


    His right hand made a swiping motion and a block of stone appeared there. He then passed it on to Graham who was already climbing on the first set of holes. Graham then discarded the block safely without making a lot of noise.


    Luuk did it one more time, making a total of six holes in the wall, and passed the block again to Graham who put it down safely. He then reached over to the last sets of holes and jumped down to the other side of the corridor successfully without much difficulty.


    It was now Graham''s turn to cross. He climbed on to the wall, with his hands holding the edge tightly. The cold stone wall rubbed against his gloves while his shoes were trying to find even footing in the tight hole. He held on with all the power of his right hand and let go of the left. His left hand reached out to the next hole and once he had grabbed it, his left foot moved carefully there as well.


    He was now holding on to two sets of holes that were not really far away from each other, so he was in no danger of falling. He stretched his body some more so that his left limbs were holding on to the far end of the holes to make room for his right ones. He held on tightly with his left hand and let go of the hole with his right. He then pulled in his right limbs and placed them in the second set of holes. He was halfway across.


    Graham did the same thing one more time and safely made it across the wall to the other side of the mirror, albeit much more slowly than Luuk. Luuk was slightly confused by Graham''s lack of acrobatic skills because he was used to fighting alongside the agile Valentine.


    It''s like this guy has a button to switch his mode. Right now he is on the clumsy brainiac mode, thought Luuk.


    Once both of them managed to get past the horizontal mirror safely, they continued walking down the corridor. Up to this point, they had passed several rooms, but they didn''t enter any of those, because those were not the rooms that Graham''s divination showed him, and they didn''t know what awaited behind the doors.


    "What if there was a room with all mirrors?" asked Luuk out of nowhere to the man in front of him without slowing down his pace.


    Graham thought about it for a while and then answered, "There must be a limit to how many mirrors they can control."


    "Anyway, why do you think there is no guard at all in the building except those two watchers?" asked Luuk again in a quiet voice.


    "Hmm... It''s probably because of these mirrors. I guess they need to eliminate any human activities, so if intruders came, they could know right away from the abnormality in the mirrors. If there were guards, it would make it more difficult for them." Graham made some theory that sounded plausible.


    They kept walking for a while until Graham stopped in front of a metal door, highly contrasted with the stone wall. It was the room where his ritual materials were kept in. He took out his lighter, lit it up, and concentrated on the warm flame.


    ''Is there any danger waiting for us inside this room?''


    He saw an image slowly formed in the flame. It was a big room behind the door with a lot of mortuary cabinets. Graham remembered the location of the red dot indicating the position of his required materials. He also remembered that there was a red dot for a mirror in this room. Inside the room, there was only one big mirror placed on the wall that glowed red in the image, but it was directly facing the cabinets, so stealing from them would be problematic. After that, the image slowly dissipated into nothingness.


    Based on the divination image, the only danger in the room was the giant mirror that basically could reflect the whole room. Besides that, there seemed to be nothing else like a trap or an alarm.


    Luuk also saw the image, and he got a headache trying to think of a way to steal from the dead body inside the freezer without being caught. He needed a line of sight with his target, so stealing it from outside was out of the question.


    Graham thought about switching with Valentine and having him place anti-divination there, but then he would have no way of confirming whether it worked or not unless Valentine had his divination power; that was why he must think of another solution. Any alteration done to the mirror would garner the attention of the two Police Contractbounds, so he couldn''t do that either.


    "Do you have any idea how to do it?" asked Luuk in confusion. He couldn''t think of any other way.


    Graham shook his head, still thinking. His chin was rested in his right hand.


    "Should we just risk it? We can cover the mirror. It would give us some time before the watchers come here to check," he suggested in doubt.


    "That should be our last resort. We really can''t afford to be noticed by the Police right now, let alone be caught, so stealth should still be our priority. I''ll try to do some divination." Graham finally said.


    Graham triggered his lighter again and the warm flame comforted him slightly in that cold corridor. He concentrated on the flame and asked his question in his mind.


    ''How to safely steal the ritual materials without being noticed by the Police Contractbounds?''

 43 The Unseen

    The cold corridor became dimmer and the lighter flame shone brighter. An image slowly emerged from within the flame, which exhibited a drop of blood that emitted a mysterious yellowish mist. The mist made anyone who looked at it feel like they forgot what they were looking at. Inside the blood, there was a sigil that Graham recognized as the Deity of Secrets'' sigil. The image then slowly vanished.


    "So it really has to be you, Val," muttered Graham.


    Luuk saw the divination image but he didn''t recognize the sigil, so he didn''t know what it meant. He only felt that the feeling he got while looking at the mysterious mist was familiar.


    Graham didn''t stop his divination there. He didn''t like not knowing all the variables before jumping into action. He focused his mind on the flame again and asked another question.


    ''What effect does Shroud of Secrecy have on the Contractbound powered mirror?''


    The lighter flame burned brightly and it gradually formed an image. It was the room with the mortuary cabinets, but something was different. There was a figure standing in the middle of the room and it was covered in the same mysterious yellowish mist. In the mirror, the figure was not reflected and the mist was nonexistent. The image disappeared little by little after that as if consumed by the flame.


    ''So the mirror power is some kind of real-time divination, that is why anti-divination is effective," Graham concluded. "I should have done it earlier. That shows how important it is to ask the right questions during divination..." he then said in regret.


    "Should I unlock the door now?" asked Luuk. He had tried to open the door before but it was naturally unlocked.


    "Wait a minute. Please keep watch," said Graham urgingly. He wasn''t worried that Luuk would see what he tried to do because he probably could persuade him to forget it later.


    Graham then sat on the floor with his back against the stone wall. He took out a sleeping pill from his pocket and swallowed it quickly. The hardwood floor and the stone wall felt cold in his body, although he was wearing multiple layers of clothing. Moments later, he started feeling sleepy and his mind began to drift away. He had fallen asleep.


    Luuk saw his partner falling asleep and felt baffled. He really didn''t think it was the right time to be sleeping.


    Just within seconds after Graham fell asleep, Valentine woke up in his body and got up from the floor. He got to work right away, leaving Luuk perplexed.


    Valentine took out a lock pick from his pocket and started picking the lock of the door. It didn''t take him long to unlock the door with his skills. He opened the door and felt a cold breeze escaping the room.


    The room was exactly the same as what he had seen through Graham''s divination, with the difference being only the lighting because the image appeared from fire. Right next to the door, there was a giant mirror that could reflex the whole mortuary cabinets opposite it. The mirror was actually a pretty common one that could be found easily in public toilets, but the Contractbound behind it made the mirror special.


    There were thirty-six individual body freezers stacked into four rows at the other end of the big room. The numbers started from the top left and went in order to the right, with number ten starting from the far left side again. What he needed was inside drawers number thirteen in the second row and twenty-seven in the far right of the third row, according to divination.


    Valentine didn''t move a step from the doorway to avoid being spotted by the mirror. He stood there, took out his knife, and slit his palm. He let the blood pool and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    A mysterious yellowish mist slowly came out of the blood on his hand.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the blood under the giant mirror just outside the doorway and for a second everything in the room felt forgotten. The feeling quickly went away and the blood dried up on the floor.


    "It''s done." he turned to face Luuk and said shortly.


    Luuk understood what the divination image meant now after seeing Valentine doing the ritual. The mist was the one he had seen before when Valentine did the same ritual after defeating Marieke Odekirk.


    The two men entered the room carefully, still on guard in case something happened, and Luuk closed the door behind him. They approached the cabinets and Valentine opened number thirteen first. The metal drawer handle felt freezing to touch and it was rather heavy. He had to put in some power to pull it without making a lot of noise.


    Slide...


    A quiet sound of sliding metal resounded in the room. In front of them was now a dead body covered in a mort cloth. Valentine lifted the white sheet and saw the dead body under it. It was a man that looked rather old. His deathly pale skin had frost on it. Valentine couldn''t identify whether the man was the preacher or the grave keeper, and he really didn''t have the time to search for the man''s identity.


    "Can you steal the man''s whole mouth including the tongue?" he asked Luuk seriously. It would be easier if Luuk could do it, otherwise, he had to saw the man''s mouth off.


    "I should be able to since he''s already dead," said Luuk rather confidently.


    Luuk got closer to the corpse and imagined the part that he wanted to steal in his mind. He then started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the dead man''s whole mouth mine!"


    His right hand made a swiping motion and a mouth appeared there. The dead body, on the other hand, now had a big hole in his face where the mouth had been. Valentine took out a paper bag from his pocket and Luuk put the mouth in the bag. He then covered the dead body with the white sheet again and pushed the drawer shut.


    Click...


    The drawer made a sound once it was completely closed.


    They then walked over to the other end of the cabinets and Valentine pulled open drawer number twenty-seven with all his strength very carefully.


    Slide...


    It still made a quiet noise despite Valentine''s best effort at being stealthy.


    There was also a body covered with a mort cloth. He lifted it and saw the dead man under it. This man was much older than the previous one, with his hair completely grey, but either one could still be the preacher or the grave keeper. He gestured at Luuk and the latter nodded.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the dead man''s whole mouth mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and a wrinkled pale mouth appeared there. He then put the mouth inside Valentine''s paper bag together with the previous one. Valentine was not worried about getting them mixed up because he could always have Graham divine which was which later. He stuffed the paper bag with two mouths inside under his leather jacket.


    He covered the man''s body, whose mouth was now missing, with the white sheet and closed the drawer carefully.


    Click...


    The drawer made a sound when it was completely shut.


    "Are we done here?" asked Luuk to Valentine looking for confirmation.


    "Yes. Let''s leave now."


    The duo left the room without forgetting to close the door behind them. Back in the corridor, they heightened their senses to the max in case someone was secretly approaching them. Although Graham''s divination had indicated that it was safe, as long as they couldn''t see direct results, they wouldn''t completely lower their guard.


    They walked down the corridor heading back to the storage room whence they came while avoiding being reflected by any of the mirrors there. It was easier for Valentine to crawl under those magical mirrors because of his athleticism.


    Once they arrived at the location of the long horizontal mirror, Valentine crossed over easily using the holes that Luuk had made in the wall. It dumbfounded Luuk since just before, it had taken the same man forever to scale the wall.


    They arrived back at the storage room without any obstacle. They entered the dark, messy room and closed the door behind them. The trap door was still in the same condition as when they left it, and there were no other footprints except theirs, so no one had followed them there. Valentine and Luuk climbed down the rusty metal ladder back to the dark tunnel, but this time it was not a problem because they both had night vision. The tunnel felt much warmer than the freezing morgue, and more comfortable despite the darkness. And on top of that, there were no mirrors there.


    "You don''t need your lighter anymore?" asked Luuk while they were walking in the dark ancient tunnel. His tone hid no suspicion at all, only curiosity.


    "Not anymore. I''m used to the dark now," answered Valentine unconcernedly.


    Luuk didn''t buy the answer right away, but he didn''t press the topic any further. The two men walked down the rest of the tunnel in silence, with only the sounds of their footsteps accompanying them.


    They walked up the stairs carefully at the end of the stone tunnel and saw the dark night sky once more. They waited for a while before exiting to make sure that there were no cemetery guards waiting outside to ambush them.


    Valentine and Luuk got out of the grave and watched their surroundings intently. There seemed to be no cemetery guards nearby, so they quickly went to the other side of the grave and pushed it with all their strength.


    Shriieeek...


    The grave being pushed made a noise in the quiet night, but it wasn''t too loud. It shouldn''t be enough to attract the cemetery guards who should be far away judging from the lack of dancing flashlights around them.


    Valentine and Luuk proceeded to walk back to the sewer entrance to meet up with Jacco.


    ...


    Inside a bright room with a lot of mirrors, a man and a woman were sitting and chatting while occasionally looked into the mirrors. The man had blonde hair and a youthful face. His blue eyes shone like mirrors. The woman had her hair dyed in purple and her green eyes looked ferocious like those of a wild beast. The man was sitting leisurely on a sofa while the woman was leaning back in a chair.


    The room was not large, but it was not small either. There were a total of twenty mirrors on one side of the wall with different sizes and shapes. There was even a mirror that was very big placed at the bottom. Yet, they strangely didn''t reflect what was happening in the room but rather, they were like windows peeking at other parts of the building.


    "This is my first graveyard shift with you, Wit. How does your power actually work?" asked the woman with a strong voice.


    "Which power? I have a lot," said the man who was called Wit braggingly.


    "The power you''ll use to protect yourself from me if you don''t stop messing around," said the woman with a straight face, but her tone showed a hint of joking.


    "You''re not serious, right, Paars? Because if you were, I still have my way of escaping," he winked at her.


    "Well, try me," she said shortly, then added, "Seriously. Tell me about these mirrors."


    "These are my babies. I can see anything the mirrors see. Not even a mouse can escape from my sight!" he said proudly.


    "I know that. Explain to me how they work!" asked the woman called Paars impatiently.


    "Okay okay. Each mirror is connected to me through blood. I can basically turn a pair of mirrors into a one-way mirror. There are a distance limit and a number limit, though. Right now I can only make twenty of them."


    "So you can monitor the whole building just from this room? No wonder you''re basically on a permanent graveyard shift," she said with slight amazement.


    "That''s the curse of power, isn''t it? But thanks to this power, I''ve caught some thieves stupid enough to break in," he said casually while observing the mirrors.


    "Yeah, but it is also a blessing. I don''t have to walk the corridor of this freezing place to patrol," she said gladly.


    "Have you seen anything out of the ordinary through these mirrors with those beastly eyes of yours?" he asked in a serious tone.


    "No, nothing. It will be a slow night tonight," she said shortly.


    There hadn''t been any movement captured by the mirrors, and there was no abnormality either. The morgue that night was safe.

 44 Preparation for a Ritual

    On Sunday morning, Graham woke up late, at twenty past ten. The previous night he, or rather, Valentine and the others had successfully escaped from the public cemetery unscathed. However, when the three of them returned to the sewer, the wraiths had been able to shriek again so Valentine had had to place another restriction for them to pass safely through those ghastly things.


    Graham got up from the bed to wash his face. His stubble had almost grown into a full beard, so he had to trim it short. He didn''t like having a full beard. His amber hair had also grown a bit too long and wavy for his liking, but he didn''t know how to cut his own hair, so he let it be for the time being.


    He looked at himself in the clear mirror; his light green eyes that were not covered by the brown contact lenses made his gaze look very sharp, like looking at shattered glass. He then concentrated and his eyes turned red, which didn''t look natural at all, but it made him seem to emit an aura of intimidation. He decided not to wear the contact lenses today since he could make his eyes stay green even while using his power.


    Graham left his bathroom and went to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took a look at his freezer. There, two whole mouths were lying around in the freezing temperature, safe from rot for the time being. He left them there, and would only take them out later when he was ready for the ritual. For now, he needed to buy more ingredients.


    Since he had to be at his best both physical and mental states to undergo the ritual, he decided to stop by Don''s Pancake House to have breakfast first. He put on a t-shirt and a warm sweater over it, wore a pair of striped pants. But before he went out, he took out his lighter and lit it. He stared at the flame intently.


    ''Is it safe to do divination where there are people watching?''


    An image bit by bit formed in the flame. There was a man observing a bonfire closely, and Graham, who was looking from another person''s view, could see a blurry image inside the bonfire, but he couldn''t make out what it was. Then he moved back several steps and the blurry image disappeared, leaving only a normal bonfire and a man observing it. After that, his own divination image slowly vanished.


    He let go of the trigger mechanism and the flame went out. He thought about what he had just seen and muttered, "It was divination within divination. I wonder if I can recreate that..."


    Graham put the lighter back inside his pocket and left the house. He didn''t leave the building right away, but went to his neighbor''s door and rang the bell.


    Ding... dong...


    The sound of the bell resounding inside the room could be faintly heard from outside. There was no answer.


    Ding... dong...


    He rang the bell for the second time, and after a while, there was the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Luuk opened the door still in his pajamas, with his signature dark circles around his eyes. His hair was messy. He seemed to have just woken up.


    "Yes?" he said sleepily and then yawned.


    "I''m going to Don''s to get breakfast. Do you want to come?" asked Graham in a casual manner.


    Luuk seemed to be thinking, and shortly after he spoke, "Give me a minute. I need to get changed."


    He went back into his apartment and Graham waited patiently with his back against the wall. He looked at his apartment building corridor and thought that it really needed a renovation.


    After waiting for some time, Luuk came out. He was wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of denim pants. His brown hair had been neatly combed to the back.


    Graham and Luuk left immediately and headed to Don''s Pancake House, which was not far away from their apartment. It took them only four minutes of walking to reach the small but homey diner.


    The diner that morning was not as busy as usual. They entered it and were greeted by Mirjam''s friendly smile as usual. Luuk followed Graham who was heading to his favorite spot at the corner of the diner near to the exit. From there, through the glass wall, he could see the outside easily.


    "Hey, Graham! Hey, Luuk!" she said cheerfully as she was approaching the spot where the two customers were sitting, "It''s unusual to see you two come together."


    "Yeah. It won''t hurt to socialize normally from time to time," said Graham meaningfully. Most of the time when he was with Luuk was during missions.


    "But it''s disappointing to see you bring a guy instead of a girl," said Mirjam jokingly.


    "We''re not like that!" said Luuk flustered.


    "Relax. She''s joking," Graham said to him, and then turned to her, "Stop teasing me, will you? I''ll bring the most beautiful girl one day and you''ll be speechless,"


    "I''ll wait for the day," she smiled, "But if you can''t find any, there are customers who have been asking about ''the handsome man sitting in the corner''. Maybe I can be the middlewoman,"


    Graham''s curiosity was piqued, but knowing Mirjam, it can''t be anything good. He then asked inquisitively, "How old are those ''customers'' you''re talking about?"


    "Fifty or sixty, probably eighty, who knows?" she said while sticking her tongue out.


    Luuk was only watching from the side as usual. He wasn''t really good at group conversations. He was not that close with the waiter either. Most of the time when he ate there, he sat in silence without being bothered by anyone.


    "Anyway, we''re ready to order. Give me my usual," said Graham, changing the topic.


    "Okay. What about you, Luuk?" asked Mirjam while writing on her note. She scribbled very fast, showing her long experience.


    "Bacon pancakes and cappuccino, please," he said politely.


    "Alright. Please wait patiently for your orders," said Mirjam professionally and left their table.


    After Mirjam left, Graham asked Luuk quietly, avoiding being heard by anyone although there were not a lot of people there, "If you pay for my meal, I''ll divine the location of your needed scroll for you."


    When he heard that, without thinking twice, Luuk said, "Okay."


    He had wanted to get his hands on the new scroll since he felt that his Deity was just a little further away from being pleased. However, Graham and Jacco were the only two Contractbounds he knew personally, so he could only rely on either one of them. And it just so happened that Graham could do divination, so Luuk could consider himself lucky.


    Graham looked around to make sure that no one was watching their table or listening in to their conversation. Everybody in the diner was busy chatting with their own companions, and no one was looking suspicious, so it was relatively safe. Moreover, there was no one at the tables around them. However, Graham didn''t start divining right away; he waited until Mirjam came to bring their orders and left to prevent her from accidentally seeing his divination.


    She came not long after with a tray full of food.


    "Your orders. Bacon pancakes with bananas and peanut butter toppings and a cup of hot chocolate with mint. And for Luuk, bacon pancakes and a cappuccino. Enjoy!" she said with a warm smile, and then left their table. She had to serve another customer who called for her.


    Their food looked very good, and they were salivating. Graham only took a sip of his hot chocolate but didn''t eat his food right away. He needed to do divination while no one was bothering them.


    Once the coast is clear, Graham took out his lighter and lit it. He looked at the flames intently, while Luuk sat closer to him so their backs would cover the view of anyone watching.


    ''Where is the location of the scroll for the Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones?''


    The flame burned brighter and the surrounding area turned dimmer. Other than him, only Luuk seemed to notice this as the other few people in the diner kept on doing what they were doing. Little by little, and image appeared and it showed a young woman who was taking care of plants. Since his power got upgraded, the image shown was no longer very blurry, so Graham could see the woman''s face. She looked to be in her early twenties with a soft feature and blue eyes. Graham didn''t recognize her, however.


    Shortly after that, the image shifted to that of a slender man prowling in a back street while looking around suspiciously. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood covering his head. The man kept both his hands inside his pockets and his steps were light. Although he could see the suspicious man''s face, Graham didn''t recognize him either.


    The image then shifted again to a boy who looked to be in his late teenage years. He was carrying thick books and there was a bag on his back. He seemed to be a university student. Graham still didn''t know who any of those people were. After that, the flame consumed the image.


    Luuk, who saw the three people, asked Graham questioningly, "What does it mean? Do I have to kill either of them to get the scroll?"


    Graham solemnly answered, "Yes. That''s the harsh truth of being a Contractbound. We hunt each other just to get stronger."


    He had never personally killed a human being in his life, and although he was there when Marieke died, it was Valentine who killed her. Even with just that, he still got nightmares about the incident, although he kept telling himself that she had lost her sanity and they were only defending themselves.


    "Is there no other way?" asked Luuk wistfully.


    "I don''t think so," said Graham shortly. If there was another way, his divination would have shown him so.


    Luuk didn''t say anything else after that. Since Graham had done what he needed to do, he started eating his pancakes and he devoured them ravenously. The pancakes were gone in an instant, and now he sipped his hot chocolate peacefully.


    Luuk ate his food at a normal speed, but he seemed to be in deep thought. He was weighing his options, and if he, in the end, decided to go through with the assassination, which of the three people would he choose?


    "If you want to commission me to help you get the scroll, you can tell me," said Graham after he finished his meal.


    Luuk only nodded and didn''t say anything.


    "Well, then. I need to be somewhere else. Please kindly pay for my meal," he said while smiling nonchalantly.


    Luuk sat there while finishing his meal. He didn''t really mind being left alone since they were both adults and had their own business to take care of. With him being alone there, he could also think more clearly about his next course of action.


    Graham got up and after telling Mirjam that Luuk was going to pay, he left the diner. He felt happier after getting a free breakfast meal, so he walked with leisurely towards his next destination. He needed to buy the correct colored candles and essential oil for the ritual.


    He walked towards Grotemarktstraat. His destination was the hardware store called Oscar, where he had bought the previous ritual materials. For the Deity of the Tongue, he needed four Violet candles and jasmine essential oil. It took him long to reach the street because he was not as fast as Valentine.


    It was almost midday when he arrived at Grotemarktstraat. The street was very busy with people because it was Sunday. They were visiting the numerous commercial facilities there, like restaurants and clothes stores. Graham ignored all the other places and went straight to Oscar.


    He entered the big hardware store that was unsurprisingly packed with many people. Since he had been there for the same business, he could easily find what he was looking for. He bought the candles and the oil that he needed. He was actually thinking of buying other colored candles and oils that were available there, for future ritual purposes, but since they were expensive, he only bought what he needed. In the future, he could just come back here and bought more.


    Graham went to the cashier and paid forty stuivers for all his items, which was two stuivers more expensive than last time. He was still baffled by how expensive essential oils were. He still had some Frankincense oil leftover from Valentine''s ritual and he had no idea what to do with it.


    After paying and saying thank you to the cashier, he walked home. He needed to get ready for his second ritual.

 45 A Ritual of the Tongue

    It was past midnight on Tuinstraat. Graham was sitting in his office chair with two frozen mutilated mouths on the desk in front of him. There were also four violet candles, a vial of essential oil, and an ancient-looking brown scroll. On the far end of the desk, there was a rolled-up copper wire that looked to have been cut before. He had got everything he needed for the ritual, however, he still needed to separate the tongues from the mouths.


    He used his lighter to create a flame and then concentrated on the small burning flame in his hand. He repeated the question he wanted to ask in his mind.


    ''Which of these mouths belonged to a preacher?''


    The flame from the lighter showed an image that seemed to appear right in someone''s mind. It was the desk that Graham recognized as his own office desk and there were two severed mouths on it. The mouth on the right, which looked to have belonged to someone old and was closer to the candles, glowed red. That was the mouth that had belonged to a preacher. The image then disappeared.


    Graham put away his lighter and picked up Valentine''s knife. He needed only the tongue of the preacher, so he had to chop it off the mouth. He had to do the same with the grave keeper''s mouth, only the difference was he needed the mouth, not the tongue.


    He moved the frozen mouth closer to him and forced it open with some difficulty. It made a cracking sound as if something just broke open. The flesh felt cold on his skin and the teeth even colder. Graham made a sawing motion with his knife instead of chopping it because of the shape of the mouth. After some back and forth movement with his sharp knife, the tongue got severed from the mouth and he set them aside.


    Graham did the same action one more time with the other mouth that looked younger than the previous one. He cracked it open and the frost got broken. He then started sawing off the tongue and one done, set them aside. Now he had the tongue of a preacher and the tongueless mouth of a grave keeper.


    Once everything was ready, he looked at the time. The watch on his wrist showed fifty-three past midnight. The ritual could only be started at one o''clock after midnight, so he had to wait patiently for seven minutes.


    "Val, I can''t believe this is already my second ritual. I became a Contractbound just a little over a week ago," he spoke calmly.


    "A lot of things have happened in just one week. Our lives have definitely changed. This power brings great opportunities, but also great dangers."


    "But we need to keep powering up to survive once we made a decision to step on this road. Our next move would be getting your second scroll and then getting the book that appeared in my divination. Only by getting strong enough do we have a chance to defend ourselves against that Pravitatem killer."


    Graham went quiet and his mind wandered. He was thinking about many things. And then, he looked at his watch and it was one minute to one o''clock. He got ready to do the ritual right away.


    Graham got up from his chair and picked up the vial of Jasmine oil. He opened the lid and sprinkled it around the room and on the desk where he would put the ritual scroll. The pleasant floral smell penetrated his nose and made him somewhat yearn for love. His mood was elevated and his mind was clear.


    Next, The scroll on the desk was unrolled, and on it, he could see the complicated sigil resembling a trumpet. He put it flat on the desk and set the four violet candles on each corner. The big votive candles needed no candle holder to stand, so it was quite convenient for him. The candles also served as a holder to prevent the scroll from rolling up by itself.


    The next step was to redraw the sigil using his blood. It was a very annoying step, and can even be dangerous because a lot of blood is needed to completely redraw the sigil. The blood would always magically seep into the scroll, leaving no trace, so new drops must be applied right away to draw a small section of the sigil. That was also why to conduct the ritual, someone must be physically healthy because losing that much blood could potentially threaten a physically-weak person''s life.


    Graham slit his wrist and his blood dripped on the sigil. He drew the outline of the left-facing trumpet first, which took him much blood. After that, he drew the four circles adorning the inside of the trumpet and the line that looked like the ''handle'' of it. Once he was done, his wound magically healed, but he felt weak because he had lost a lot of his blood. As soon as he had finished redrawing the blood sigil, he placed the tongue and the mouth on it.


    The step after that was lighting the four candles. Graham weakly brought his lighter over the wick and lit the candles one by one starting from the one pointing the cardinal direction north, followed by east, and then south, and lastly west. Once all the candles were lit, the electric light in the room suddenly went out, leaving the candle lights as the only source of lighting.


    In the dark, Graham started chanting the summoning incantation.


    "Thee I invoke, the One born from Fire,"


    "Thou art the master of Conveyance,"


    "Thou art the master of Oratory,"


    "Thee, that didst speak to the Dead,"


    "Thee, that didst bring Eloquence"


    "Come thou forth, and accept my offering,"


    "And grant me your power, worthy of thy name!"


    Right at the moment he finished the chant, everything turned pitch black, and the candle lights seemed to have been hidden by a curtain of darkness. Graham had experienced that before, so he stayed calm.


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, fire came out of the sigil and consumed the sacrificial materials that he had prepared. The flame quickly spread around him but it still failed to illuminate his surroundings. Graham, who was somehow not sitting anymore, braced himself for what was to come next.


    He suddenly felt an agonizing pain in his mouth. It felt like his mouth was melting! His teeth fell off one by one from his gum that was no longer solid, and the nerves all burst one by one. Pieces by pieces, his flesh fell on the ground beneath him and vanished into bubbles; his blood boiled right in his mouth. He instinctively held his mouth back and felt that it was still there intact, but the pain didn''t go away. It got worse with every passing second. He couldn''t even let out a scream through the pain of his mouth melting away.


    Once he felt the last drop of flesh from his mouth touched the floor and bubbled away, he felt a piercing cold around the area that felt melted away, and then there was a lot of cracking. It was like something solid forcefully grew back from his flesh and formed a new mouth. His skull was broken and reshaped with torturous pain accompanying it. He touched his face in agony wishing it would stop.


    Then the next round of pain came. His mouth was pried open by something hot and its burning hand held him in place. His tongue was pulled violently until it reached the limit. It kept being stretched and Graham could feel the root of his tongue slowly breaking apart. It was an unbearable kind of pain that he had never felt before. The pulling continued until the last muscle tore off.


    Snap!


    His tongue was gone just like that. He writhed in pain on the ground with blood flowing from where his tongue had been. It felt like hours for him before finally, the blood that was flowing from his mouth solidified and formed a new tongue. The pain went away just like that as it had never happened in the first place.


    The room gradually turned normal; the electric light was shining again and Graham was sitting in his office chair. His body was full of cold sweat, however, which meant that what he had been through was real.


    He quickly collected his mind; he still needed to end the ritual properly. Graham put out the candles one by one in reverse order, and when done, he rolled the scroll back and sealed it with the copper wire. Once it was sealed, the scroll burst into flames and the ashes entered Graham''s body through his nose.


    Graham had finished his second ritual successfully.


    "No matter how many times I experience it, I don''t think I will ever get used to that kind of pain," he said while breathing heavily.


    With his ritual being finished, he got the knowledge of his new powers. Graham concentrated on the new piece of knowledge that he got and found out that The Deity of the Tongue had given him two new abilities.


    The first ability was to speak to the dead, but not all creatures of the underworld. Graham could use a medium to talk to a lingering spirit for a duration of time if there was any in the area. He remembered that Mirjam had used a Ouija board as her medium, but since he was a Fire Divinator, he could use fire as his medium to talk to the dead, which would result in much better communication than by using the board. Now he understood what the book writer meant by the Deity''s powers would complement each other.


    His second ability was to issue commands using the Deity''s power. Unlike his persuasion power, this was more direct and could make the target do more complex actions. He could chant his Deity''s name and issued the command. Anyone spiritually equal or weaker would obey it, as long as the command didn''t directly cause them to harm themselves. And different from his persuasion power, the target would notice that they were doing something against their will if the command seemed forceful. However, he could combine the command with his persuasion to make it more subtle.


    Besides his two new abilities, he also got a passive one that enabled him to learn languages more easily. With his already good memory, it would make it even easier for him to learn a foreign language.


    He analyzed his new abilities thoroughly.


    "I''ll call the ability to speak with the lingering spirits S¨¦ance. It sounds very useful, especially for gathering information. The problem for other people might be finding out if there are any lingering spirits in the vicinity. For me, I can just use divination to determine it."


    "The second ability is to command people. I''ll call it Command for ease. Does it have to be humans? I should experiment with this power. Perhaps it was like Luuk''s, where it also works on inanimate objects. The limit is ten times for S¨¦ance and Command for now, but I bet it will increase once I please the Deity of the Tongue."


    "The third one is a passive ability. It makes it easier for me to learn new languages? It should be very useful should I need to travel abroad, although most people in the world should speak at least basic Tulpan."


    "Val, with this, I''ve gotten stronger. We can now try to get your second scroll. Since it''s an assassination mission, we need to gather intelligence on the target. It''s convenient though that Contractbounds don''t leave behind dead bodies when they die. I think it''s precisely because of that fact they don''t feel as remorseful killing each other."


    "Our next mission after getting the scroll will be obtaining the ancient book in Oostelijk Bos. The book can probably help us determine our next step," he said thoughtfully.


    Graham then cleaned up his desk. He also needed to get rid of the severed tongue and mouth safely. Valentine had placed anti divination on them, so he didn''t have to rush.

 46 An Errand

    Graham woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. The ritual from the previous night had drained him both physically and mentally, but after getting a good night''s sleep, he felt more vigorous.


    He finished his morning routines quickly and then sat in his office chair. He needed to do some divination to test out his new abilities. His lighter almost ran empty, so he lit a candlestick instead. He made a mental note to buy lighter fluid later. For now, he focused on the small flame in front of him and asked a question in his mind.


    ''Where is the location of the nearest lingering spirit?''


    An image gradually appeared in the flame. It showed an apartment bedroom similar to his own, but with different furniture. The room looked deserted and messy like no one had lived there for some time. On the bed, there was a transparent figure of a woman sitting, but she was not actually touching the bed. She was floating centimeters above the bed in a sitting position. The figure was not wearing any clothes, but her whole body was featureless, like that of a mannequin. Her face couldn''t be seen because it was covered by her ghostly hands.


    The image then changed to a scene outside the apartment. It showed a corridor that he was familiar with. It was the building he lived in. The number on the door showed number 48. That was exactly one floor above the dead Marieke Odekirk''s apartment. After that, the image disappeared.


    "Room number 48. Speaking of which, two people have died so far in this apartment building, and now there is a haunted room. Maybe this place is cursed, Val?" he ridiculed.


    Graham put out the candle flame and grabbed the candlestick. He went outside his apartment and walked up the stairs to the fourth floor of the building. It didn''t take long for him to reach the correct room. He reached the door handle and twisted it to open the door.


    Thud...


    "... of course..."


    The door was locked. Graham could take his time trying to pick the lock, but since the opportunity presented itself before him, he took it.


    "I guess I''ll try out if my new power works on objects," he said curiously.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to unlock yourself!"


    Click!


    There was a faint mechanical sound coming from the door. Graham tried twisting the handle again and the door opened. His power had worked!


    "Now that''s a pleasant surprise," he said contently, then added, "Only nine more chances today."


    Graham entered the apartment carefully and closed the door behind him. It was dark, but he didn''t turn on the lights, because based on the stories he used to read as a child, ghosts didn''t like bright places. He lit the candlestick that he was carrying to help him see, and the room was messier, in reality, not to mention the accumulated dust everywhere.


    He left the living room and entered the bedroom through the door on the left, following his judgment. Since the apartment was similar to his and Marieke''s, the door to the right should lead to the kitchen. He entered the room and a dark and musty bedroom welcomed him. There was a king-sized bed there, totally unmade. The sheet was no longer white because of the dirt. There was a table next to the bed and on it, there was a noose that must have been taken down after the tenant died. It made him wonder why the landlord hadn''t cleaned up the place for a new tenant.


    Although his divination had shown him that there was a lingering spirit there, he couldn''t actually see it with his own eyes, even though he had activated his Supersight. However, he had an idea. Since his power worked on a door lock, he wondered if it would also work on lingering spirits.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to show yourself!"


    ...


    ...


    Nothing happened. Graham then analyzed the situation.


    "Hmm... my power failed. It might be because it doesn''t work on spirits in the first place or because I couldn''t see the target. I''ll need to do more experiments. Eight more chances today." he spoke with an investigative tone.


    Since Command didn''t work, he could only do S¨¦ance now. He walked closer to the table near the bed and placed his candle firmly there. He had never done one before, but he instinctively knew how to do it, because the knowledge had been transferred to his brain via the ritual. Graham concentrated on the flame, but this time he didn''t repeat any question in his mind, but instead, started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, request communication with a friendly spirit that inhabits this place."


    "If you can hear me, please use this flame as a medium and talk to me," he spoke solemnly and gently.


    Graham had to add the word friendly because he didn''t want to communicate with a malicious spirit on his first try. He waited patiently for the other party to take his initiative and stood there next to the table motionlessly.


    Whoosh!


    There was a gust of cold wind that brought a chill down his spine. The flame also flickered, which meant the breeze was not imaginary. A moment later, the flame showed a phenomenon that he was already very familiar with: he could see an image the size of a cinema screen while looking at it. However, it didn''t show an answer to his question, but rather, a female figure that was standing there.


    The female figure was the same as the one he had seen in his divination; it was the lingering spirit haunting the apartment. She was still naked, but her mannequin-like transparent body would not make him interested. Her face showed an expression of sorrow and regret.


    Graham had never spoken to a ghost before, so he was at a loss on how to begin.


    "Hey..." he said awkwardly.


    ...


    The female lingering spirit didn''t answer.


    "How... did you die?" he asked with hesitation.


    ...


    She didn''t answer again.


    Since there was a noose there, Graham could already guess how she had died, and the lingering spirit probably thought the answer was obvious so she didn''t say anything. Graham needed to ask a better question before the S¨¦ance duration ran out.


    "Why did you choose to end your life?"


    Her expression became doleful. She then started speaking in a high-pitched voice that sounded like a nail rubbing the surface of some porcelain. It was very unpleasant to listen to.


    "Help me..."


    "How can I help you?" asked Graham seriously.


    "Please find my daughter and tell her I love her," she said, and then started sobbing.


    "How can I find your daughter?"


    The female lingering spirit remained quiet for a while, and then suddenly the scene in front of him changed. It showed a young girl with long curly hair sitting in a classroom. Graham memorized her face carefully: small nose, freckles, rosy cheeks, thin lips, light blue eyes. The image then shifted to the front of the school. He also memorized the name: Western Sloten Basisschool. After that, the image disappeared, including the female ghost.


    Graham thought about what had just happened, but he didn''t say it out loud because the female lingering spirit was still in the vicinity. He picked up his candles and left the apartment. He walked downstairs and back to his room.


    He sat in his office chair and started analyzing his experience.


    "The S¨¦ance was interesting... but unfruitful. It felt like I was doing divination with a real-time person answering my questions. But she didn''t really answer my question, did she? She even asked me to do an errand..." he facepalmed.


    "I guess it won''t hurt to help a ghost once in a while. I''m curious about what she''ll do once I''ve fulfilled her request."


    "Now, about my command power. Since it also works with inanimate objects, I can already think about the endless possibilities of exploiting it," he said meaningfully.


    After that, he put on his coat and left his apartment once more. He was heading to West Sloten to find the elementary school where the ghost''s daughter studies. He waved at a public motor carriage that was passing by and once it pulled over, he got in.


    "Where are we going today, Sir?" asked the driver politely.


    "Do you know where Western Sloten Bassischool is?" Graham asked the driver back. It was easier than doing divination because usually public drivers knew a lot of schools.


    "Yes. That''s on Schoolstraat North. Do you want me to take you there?" the driver asked again in a friendly tone.


    "Yes, please."


    The public motor carriage drove away, leaving Tuinstraat behind and heading west to Schoolstraat North. It took him more than thirty minutes to reach his destination because of the distance and the traffic. He paid the driver fifteen pennings halfheartedly after a failed attempt at haggling and got out of the motor carriage.


    It was already eleven in the morning when he arrived at Schoolstraat North. Since it was located in West Sloten, it showed a different atmosphere from the peaceful Central. There were a lot of people walking by wearing warm clothes. The sky today was cloudy, and the breeze was rather strong. It blew away the leaves that had fallen from the tree.


    Besides passersby, the street was also packed with people selling food and snack by the side of it in their carts or stalls. It was a good business spot since there were a lot of schools there, and a lot of school children loved snacks. The practice was totally legal in that the sellers must first obtain a permit from the local authority before being allowed to open their business there.


    Graham went to a small convenience store first to buy a temporary lighter. The lighter fluid that he needed for his usual lighter was only available at big stores. After that, he walked over to the gate of Western Sloten Basisschool which was still closed because it was still school hour. He went to the security guard post to speak to the man inside.


    "Good morning. Would you please kindly open the gate for me? I need to meet my daughter. It''s an urgent family matter." he said in a very convincing tone without breaking eye contact with the guard.


    The school security guard looked confused but then opened the gate for Graham. He then hid behind a tree and took out his lighter. He concentrated on the flame and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Where is the classroom of the lingering spirit''s daughter?''


    An image then appeared and it showed the school from a bird''s eye perspective. There was a room that had a red glow in it, indicating the location of his target. It seemed her classroom was on the east wing of the school building. The image then slowly disappeared.


    Graham walked to the school''s east wing and entered the school corridor. It was all colorful and full of cheerful messages. There was no one walking in the corridor because the students and the teachers all should be in class right now, which made Graham''s job easier. He just needed to avoid drawing too much attention when walking past classrooms because the door had a giant window on it, which made the corridor visible from inside.


    He walked down the corridor and without much difficulty, although he noticed some teachers and students were staring at him. He didn''t pay attention, however, since he thought of himself as a non-suspicious person. It didn''t take long for him to find the classroom based on his memory, and he could see the girl he was looking for sitting in the middle row nearest to the windows on the opposite side of the door.


    Graham stood there and the children inside were staring at him. Seeing the students looking outside, the female teacher got curious and looked at where her students were staring. Then she noticed Graham who was standing by the door. The teacher then came closer and opened the classroom door.


    "Yes?" she spoke with slight annoyance in her tone because her class had been disrupted by the man in the trench coat in front of her.


    "Hello. I would like you to call give this to the girl with curly hair and freckles who sat in the fourth row right by the window. Tell her that it''s from a friend of her mother''s" he said without looking away from the teacher. He couldn''t even point at the girl because then she would break eye contact with him, rendering his power a failure.


    The female teacher looked confused, and then nodded. She came back to her classroom with a letter in her hand. It was something Graham had prepared while in the motor carriage. Inside it was just the sentence ''Your mother loves you.''


    He was watching the teacher walk up to the girl and gently handed the letter over. She also said something to the girl, but he couldn''t hear it. Once he made sure that the girl had gotten his letter, he left the classroom and walked out of the corridor.


    "Now let''s go back to that female ghost and see what happens next," he spoke quietly.

 47 A Spirits Gratitude

    Graham arrived back at his apartment building at two in the afternoon. Previously, he had stopped by a hardware store to buy lighter fluid and also got some lunch. He had gone to a pizza restaurant near the hardware store and eaten a whole pizza since he hadn''t had breakfast today.


    Inside the apartment building, he didn''t go home yet but rather, went to the fourth floor to meet with the female lingering spirit again. He walked slowly because the floorboards creaked with every step, even though he was wearing light loafers with soft soles. One step, two steps. It took him many steps to reach the fourth floor of that old apartment building, whose wall paints had begun to peel, and whose floor smelled strongly of old wood.


    The fourth floor of that building was similar to the others in terms of decoration and condition, but it felt strangely quiet. The corridor that was wide enough for three people to walk side by side felt suffocating, although it was daytime. The cloud blocking the warm sun wasn''t helping either.


    Creak...


    The sound of the floor resounded in the whole long corridor. The doors on each side felt like they were peeking at the person walking outside. However, it didn''t bother Graham at all, since he had seen actual ghosts. He kept on walking until he reached the thick wooden door with the number 48 on it. The door had signs of recent use, which were caused by him when he entered it earlier that day.


    He reached out to the handle and it felt cold even though he was wearing gloves. He twisted it and pushed the door open, and the door swung open to the inside with slight resistance, most likely caused by the hinges. He closed it behind him and there was the click sound that came from the latch bolt being released back to its slot.


    The living room was still in the same condition as before: messy and dusty. He ignored the room and made his way to the bedroom where he had made contact with the ghost earlier. In the dark apartment, he would have some trouble seeing, but since he had refilled his lighter fluid, he could use it leisurely now. The bedroom still gave off a stench of old stuff and the musty smell of stagnant air when he entered it.


    Graham sat on the bed with his right hand holding his lighter, since he didn''t need the table to hold a candle now. The bed sank when the weight of his body fell on it. The springs were all worn out and had lost their bounce. The dust on the sheet flew away when his bottom touched the sheet. Someone with dust allergy would have been coughing violently in that room.


    He stared at the flame, watching the soothing blaze intently. The blue base, along with the orange flame seemed to be dancing gently before his eyes in that dark room. He then started chanting the name of his Deity to start communication with the female lingering spirit that resided there.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, request communication with the spirit that inhabits this place."


    "If you can hear me, please use this flame as a medium and talk to me," he spoke in a calm manner, his voice sounded somewhat ethereal as if it had been carried over to another realm.


    Whoosh!


    A gentle breeze swept over the room. From the flame, the pitiful image of a transparent figure appeared. It was the same ghost that had asked Graham a favor before. Her expression was still that of great sorrow, but it was somewhat strange because of her transparent face. Her eyes showed a look of expectation and hope, but at the same time of regret and gloom. She opened her mouth to speak.


    "Did you... find my daughter...?" she spoke gently, but her voice was excruciatingly painful, like that of two ceramic pieces being rubbed against each other.


    Graham''s corner of the eyes twitched when he heard her voice, but he quickly controlled her expression. "Yes. I''ve passed on your message to her." Graham said kindly.


    Her doleful expression slowly became that of relief and salvation. Her eyes no longer projected sadness, but solace and ease. It felt like a very heavy weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.


    "Thank you..." she said with a smile. Her voice sounded otherworldly, but still unpleasant to the ears.


    Shortly after saying that, her ghostly body burst into flames, consuming her whole being. However, she didn''t look like she was in pain, but rather, welcomed the flames as if they were her Messiah. She looked at Graham and smiled warmly in gratitude in her last moment, and after that, her whole body disappeared without leaving any ashes.


    Once she had disappeared completely, the image in Graham''s flame also disappeared. He stood up from the bed and noticed that there was something on the floor that hadn''t been there before. It was a round, clear object that looked like a small crystal ball, only the size of a big marble. It made him wonder why all supernatural objects were round.


    Graham picked up the sphere that could have been left behind by the lingering spirit that no longer had any reason to linger around since her worldly affair had been resolved. The small object felt cold to touch through his gloves like he was touching a piece of ice. It was very light, almost weightless. He brought it closer to his face to inspect and looked at it intently. Looking straight into the crystal ball made him feel lightheaded and cold. He then put the thing inside his pocket and analyzed the situation.


    "I think I can kind of theorized how lingering spirits come into existence. They most likely are souls who still have a strong tie with the material world. In that female ghost''s case, the regret of not being able to say her love to her daughter. Once the tie is severed, the spirits can then pass on to the next world, leaving this object behind," he spoke with an analytical tone.


    Graham then stared back at his lighter flame that was still burning. He concentrated on the orange blaze and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''What is the round thing that the lingering spirit left behind?''


    With that question, the room became darker than it already was. The flame before his eyes burned brighter and he could see an image being projected from it. It showed a book that looked like an official guidebook. The words were neatly typed with a typewriter and were arranged carefully for ease of reading. Graham read the entry scrupulously.


    ''Wraiths and lingering spirits will leave behind something when they are either banished or purified, which is called an Essence. The Essences they leave behind are highly valued ritual materials that are required as a sacrifice by certain Deities. They can also be fitted into a piece of jewelry with the help of a Transmuter to give it an effect depending on the wraiths or spirits that leave them behind.''


    Suddenly, a hand closed the book and Graham senses a great danger from the other side, so he stopped his divination and put out the fire. He then quickly lied down in bed. He hadn''t tried it before, but he knew he had to risk it and had no time to think it through. He chanted rapidly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order myself to fall asleep right away!"


    He then felt inexplicably sleepy and lost consciousness within seconds. Valentine woke up not long after, and knowing the danger, he got into action right away. He took out his knife and slit his palm and without waiting, started chanting his own Deity''s name.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped his blood to the floor and the surrounding area became silent for a split second. It felt like an invisible yellowish mist had spread to the surrounding area and shrouded it in mystery. Only after he was done could he assess the situation calmly.


    "I think your divination was directed at the wrong target this time. Someone was trying to backtrack the divination to the source here. We''re lucky I''m fast enough to place anti-divination."


    Valentine then thought about the book that he had seen through Graham''s eyes. "The book looked official. Probably it belongs to the Police or another official body that deals with Contractbounds. The person who closed the book must be very dangerous if even I felt it while you were active."


    Valentine then got up from the bed, the part where his body had been stayed sunken without bouncing back up. He cleaned the dust from his clothes and went out of the bedroom. Since he didn''t have anything to do at home, he decided to look for either Luuk or Jacco to divulge some more secrets in order to please his Deity.


    He walked past the dirty furniture in the living room without any interest in them. Valentine grabbed the door handle and twisted it swiftly and got out of the apartment, and didn''t forget to close the door behind him. He then walked down the old-looking corridor and arrived at the staircase not long after. The floorboards creaked much less when Valentine was walking on them, somehow.


    He walked down all the way to the first floor, skipping the second-floor corridor. Since it was Monday, Luuk should be at university at this hour, so Valentine didn''t bother checking at all. His best bet would be Jacco who should still be working at the restaurant right now. He went out to the street and stopped a public motor carriage.


    He opened the passenger door and got into the back seat of the black motor carriage. The interior was big enough for two people, or even three if one was willing to share. Valentine sat comfortably on the red seat and spoke to the driver that was separated by a glass panel.


    "Take me to Moeders on Grotemarktstraat."


    "Roger that," said the bald driver in full spirit.


    The trip from Tuinstraat to Grotemarktstraat didn''t take long, so Valentine didn''t have too much chance to sightsee. The trip was smooth because the road condition in the republic was always great. It was one of the things that made people like living there. There was very rarely any pothole, and even if there was one, it would be patched immediately by the government.


    The motor carriage that he took arrived at the restaurant called ''Moeders'' soon after. Valentine paid the driver and entered the medium-sized restaurant. Its concept was homecooked meals, so they sold various dishes that could be found at home, such as beef curry, omelet, roast chicken, and more. The moment he entered the restaurant, the pleasant aroma of braised beef entered his nose and made him hungry, so he sat at a table and waited for a waiter to come and serve him.


    Valentine looked around the restaurant and on the wall, there were photos of various people, most likely their patrons who were famous. He recognized one of them; he was a famous comedian in Tulp who often appeared on TV, Charlie Wehn. Besides the photo, there were different kinds of wall decoration there too, which gave the restaurant a feeling of being in someone''s grandmother''s living room.


    The restaurant at that time didn''t have many customers, so the waiter could come and serve him quickly. Valentine ordered a portion of beef curry and bread and a cup of green tea. Before the young waiter left, he asked,


    "Is Jacco van Wert here?"


    "Uhm... Chef Jacco? Yes, he is," said the waiter unsurely. He seemed not to know Jacco''s full name.


    "Yes, it should be the same Jacco. Can you tell him his detective friend is here to see him?"


    "Okay," said the waiter while nodding and then left his table.


    Valentine waited there patiently while drinking the glass of water that the waiter had brought him. It was nice and warm inside the restaurant, unlike the cold and breeze outside. On top of that, pleasant smells kept coming from the kitchen.


    After waiting for some time, Jacco came out with his food personally. He was wearing a relatively clean apron, considering the fact that he was the Chef. He must be a very careful cook.


    "You looking for me?" asked Jacco curiously while serving the food on the table.


    Valentine looked at the food on his table without answering him. The brown curry was still hot, and it looked very appetizing. He took a piece of bread and dipped it in the curry sauce, making sure he got some meat along with the sauce. He put it in his mouth and the beautiful mix of spices in the sauce massaged his palate gently. The bread mellowed down the strong taste of the sauce and the beef melted in his mouth. He was impressed by the food.


    "Did you cook this?" asked Valentine seriously.


    "Yes, why is that?" Jacco answered with his loud bassy voice.


    "This is very good. I''m amazed,"


    Valentine''s words put a smile on his face. He laughed proudly and said, "That''s Chef Jacco for you!"


    "Anyway, I''m not here just for the food. Do you want to know more information related to Contractbounds?" he looked at Jacco in the eyes and spoke in an enticing manner.


    Jacco thought about it for a while. He was indeed interested in the new information, but knowing the person in front of him, it couldn''t just be free.


    "What''s the price?" he then asked carefully.


    "Just my meal," Valentine said shortly.


    Jacco''s eyes opened wide. It was a very cheap price considering the importance of the information he might be getting, so without thinking twice, he said, "Deal!"


    With Jacco agreeing, Valentine then started telling him about the wraiths and lingering spirits and the Essence they left behind, especially about the lingering spirits. He also told him his theory of how they came to be and how to make them leave this world, based on his recent encounter. He made sure to speak quietly to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, although there were not a lot of people there at the time. Valentine also gave only the essential information, without divulging more than what Jacco needed to know.


    Jacco was listening intently the whole time, while occasionally nodding. He had encountered wraiths before during their last mission, so he could understand easily. However, it was still felt unreal to him that ghosts actually existed. He had thought of the wraiths as some kind of monster, so it was easier to believe in. The lingering spirits, on the other hand, sounded too close to ghost stories he used to hear when he was a child.


    "So that''s that," said Valentine at the end of his speech.


    "Wow. I don''t know what to say," said Jacco. His expression was that of someone whose world view had been changed.


    "Do what you like with the information I just gave you. Now if you''ll excuse me, I have a curry to finish," Valentine spoke politely and then started eating his delicious curry again.

 48 Uncovering a Secre

    It was already late in the afternoon, close to sunset. Valentine was walking down the busy street at Grotemarktstraat. After he had finished eating at Moeders, he had decided to have a little walk to enjoy the lovely fall afternoon. The chill breeze felt refreshing on his face.


    After he had told Jacco about the information related to wraiths and spirits, he felt like he was very close to pleasing his Deity. It was an abstract feeling; something that he couldn''t really put into an explanation. He just knew it on a spiritual level. He was sure that after uncovering one more big secret he would have pleased his Deity.


    He didn''t know where he could find a big secret to uncover, so he was just walking around looking for some inspiration, while people watching. There were many people in the street at that time, wearing various kinds of warm clothing because at that time it was already getting colder. They were all looking content with their lives, but at the same time minding their own businesses. It was rare to see people coming up to a stranger just to chat. However, when in need, strangers were willing to help each other. Life in the Republic was mostly good on the surface.


    While he was observing the people in the street, Valentine suddenly felt a nagging feeling in his heart. He had the urge to take a public motor carriage to the Concrete. It was another inexplicable feeling he got, like the warm voice of someone dear to him calling out to Valentine. He chose to trust his instinct since it had never betrayed him before. He stopped a passing motor carriage and got into it swiftly. He told the driver his destination and the driver started driving away.


    To drive from Grotemarktstraat to the Concrete in Noordeinde, it would normally take them around one hour; however, since it was the time that workers finished work, the traffic was abnormally bad. They couldn''t drive fast even if they wanted to because all the lanes were packed with vehicles. They waited for a very long time at the traffic intersection whose green light lasted for only twenty seconds because of the number of vehicles in front of them.


    From the first intersection at Grotemarktstraat, the driver turned right to the east. He crossed the Vecht River bridge and made a left at the intersection near Tuinstraat, heading northward. From there, they only needed to drive straight, but since there were many people driving the same direction, most likely also going to the biggest residential area in Sloten, the Concrete, they had to drive slowly.


    Valentine reached his destination in two hours; twice the usual time because of all that traffic. He got out and paid the driver. Noordeinde at that hour was overflowing with people and motor carriages and bicycles. They were mostly people coming home from work, who were also trapped in the same traffic as Valentine. It was already seven in the evening, and those people looked very tired. Still, they needed to traverse the manmade jungle to reach their home.


    He followed his gut feeling and entered the Concrete north. It was also the place where the third victim of Pravitatem was found, so he was sure there would be something he could find. The lights were already on in the buildings, illuminating the narrow alley that he needed to walk in. He welcomed the street light because it meant he didn''t have to activate his night vision. He was wearing his contact lenses that Graham had prepared, which he put on while still in the motor carriage. Although Graham had decided not to wear them initially, he still carried the lenses just in case.


    Valentine walked down the windy and narrow alley that was crowded with people of different smells, not to mention the smell and stench coming from the various establishments there. It could feel suffocating for someone not used to being in a cramped space like that. However, it didn''t bother him at all. He walked nimbly, swiftly avoiding bumping into other people, while still following his intuition. He kept on walking deeper into the Concrete, ignoring all the doors and shops that were open all around him. He felt like he had walked for hours, but he was still surrounded by buildings all around him.


    The deeper he went into the manmade jungle, the more deserted it became. The people who were walking down the alley just now were suddenly no more. Only a couple of humans were seen in that part of the Concrete, and they didn''t look sober or normal. One person was definitely drunk while the other seemed to be a homeless person. The building around him also seemed different; it looked older than the ones he had passed. The walls were moldy and the paint had peeled off. All the windows to the apartments there were closed with no exception as if they didn''t want anything to come into their homes.


    There were fewer streetlights around Valentine, so he had to activate his night vision to see better. The alley was getting wider, but with no one there, it served no purpose whatsoever. His surroundings were definitely darker because of the few streetlights, and strangely silent. There was the sound of a baby crying, but there was no sound of family chattering or even the sound of a television in the background. It was definitely not normal.


    "G, I think we might have entered the part that people avoid," he concluded, seeing that there was now no one around but himself.


    Valentine slowed down his pace and readied his knife. Where he was walking now couldn''t be called an alley anymore; it was more like a small street, wide enough for two motor carriages to drive side by side. His spiritual intuition had led him there, so there must be something he needed to find. He paid close attention to his surroundings, observing every small detail with his night vision.


    It was an empty street with tall residential blocks surrounding it. There were black trash bags scattered about, and fliers on the ground. The buildings all had their outdoor lights turned off, and the apartments'' heavy blinds blocked the inside lights from getting out. It was impossible to see inside from there. The residents seemed to be avoiding being seen from where Valentine was in.


    Another strange thing was the fact that he had not seen any single animal around there. He saw a lot of stray cats at the more crowded area of the Concrete, but none here; there weren''t even any rats or insects. They seemed to have all disappeared, or avoided the area in the first place. Valentine walked deeper cautiously with his knife in his hand when he heard a very faint sound in the distance.


    Munch... munch...


    He walked towards the source of the sound very quietly, without making any sudden movements. He could see a figure in the distance, but he couldn''t make out what it was doing. The figure looked dark, most likely because of the lack of lighting in the area. It was taller than a normal adult male and had a slender body, or even thin. He could only see the figure''s back because it was facing the other direction. It seemed to be standing near a giant trash bag.


    Munch... munch...


    The sound was getting louder the closer he got to the figure. It was clear enough for him to deduce that it was the sound of the figure eating. Valentine was on high alert because anyone who was eating in the dark in a place where not even stray animals could be seen could not be normal. The closer he got, the cleared the figure''s body was to him.


    It was a very skinny humanlike figure, whose spines were highly visible on his back. Its skin, however, was all black and rotten, with wounds here and there and blood patches all over. It was definitely not a human, especially with its two hooves that should belong to a donkey, instead of feet. Valentine could also see what it was eating; it was a chopped up corpse of a human! The thing was devouring the body parts esuriently.


    Suddenly, the thing started sniffing around and turned back. It seemed to have smelled Valentine who was still standing some more than twenty meters away from it. He could clearly see its face at that moment. It was like a dead human that had rotted away, but with an elongated mouth instead of a normal one. Its teeth were extremely long and sharp, much like its claws. Its jaws looked very strong despite the weird shape of its mouth. The eyes that were staring at Valentine was devoid of all lights; they were only reflecting malicious desires.


    "Aaaooooooouu!!"


    The thing howled. It sounded like a dying cow and bear hybrid that had pieces of glass stuck in its throat. It bore its fangs at Valentine, who had got into a position to attack.


    Bam!


    Suddenly, it lunged at him from its spot which was still some distance away. Its speed was terrifying! Valentine deflected its claw attack with his knife. The thing then tried to bite him with its elongated jaws, but he easily dodged its subsequent attack. He didn''t dare to even let the thing injure him for fear of an unknown curse that the creature might bring. He now understood why the people had all their windows closed; they were trying not to get the attention of this creature.


    Valentine backed away while observing the movement of the humanoid thing in front of him. Despite its slender body, its attack packed some power, and its sharp claws weren''t just for show. It launched another attack at him but he managed to narrowly dodge it.


    Slash! Slash!


    Valentine used the split-second moment after it failed to attack him to counter-attack. He managed to slash the creature on its back twice, creating a deep wound that would surely be able to kill a normal human, if not for the blood loss. Strange black goo flowed from the wound that he had inflicted, but it quickly flowed back in and healed the wound. Valentine retreated but not stupefied. He had seen a wraith with similar characteristics to this new creature.


    Although he had injured it, the creature didn''t show any change in expression or movement. Unlike a wraith, this one didn''t seem to be able to get angry. It only acted solely based on instinct. Valentine slit his palm and smeared the blood all over his blade. He then stood on guard, waiting for the thing to charge at him again.


    Clash!


    Valentine blocked its claw attack. Although it looked sluggish, the thing was actually very fast. It was lucky for him that he could keep up with the thing''s speed; otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to block its attacks.


    Stab!


    Valentine''s dagger penetrated the thing''s head. He quickly pulled back his knife and the same black goo poured from the creature''s wound. However, Valentine''s blood appeared to have been mixed in and it couldn''t heal as fast as before because of it. Yet, the creature was still alive; it only healed its wound at a slower rate.


    Since he had no more tricks he could try to kill the horrific thing in front of him, Valentine planned his escape right away. His goal there was only to uncover a secret, after all, not to exterminate an unknown monster. And he felt that after knowing more about that thing from his previous attacks, he had accomplished his goal. There was no point in staying now.


    He kept his eyes on the creature while slowly backed away. The thing slowly approached him, so he got ready to block an attack anytime. He kept backing away, slowly increasing his pace until he reached a safe distance. He took out the cheap lighter that Graham had bought and threw it with all his strength to the back of the creature. While the creature was distracted by the object flying past him, Valentine turned around and ran as fast as he could.


    "Aaaooooooouuuu!!"


    The creature let out a horrible howl again and started chasing after Valentine with all its speed. However, after some distance, it stopped chasing. Valentine kept running without looking back because it would only impede his speed, so he didn''t know that the creature stopped chasing him. He only found out when he realized shortly later that there were no sounds of the creature''s footsteps behind him.


    Valentine turned around carefully but swiftly to see behind him. There was nothing chasing after him there. It was as if the creature had vanished into thin air; there were not even the traces of its hoofprints on the ground. It appeared that the thing couldn''t go farther than some distance from its original spot.


    "G, can you divine what that creature was later?" he muttered under his breath while still carefully observing his surroundings.


    It was still the quiet part of the Concrete without anyone around, but there were more streetlights there, so it was brighter than where he had met the creature. The surrounding buildings still had their lights off, and the apartments were still heavily covered by blinds, not allowing anyone or anything to see the inside of them. But the sense of danger had gone away.


    He had his own guesses of what creature that was, but Graham''s divination would give a more definite answer. He thought the thing looked like some zombie that he used to read about in fiction books, but the one he had just fought was definitely scarier than the depiction in the book.


    He had entered the part of the Concrete that had a lot of people again, so he felt safe. The crowd didn''t seem to be aware at all of what had just happened in the other area of their residences. They were still doing about their own businesses. Some were chattering by the alley side, some were eating in the small restaurants available there; most were walking towards their own destinations with tired looks in their faces.


    Suddenly, something inside Valentine was telling him to go home. It was the same spiritual feeling that had led him there. There must be someone or something waiting for him at home.

 49 The Thick Yellowish Fog

    At around nine in the evening, Valentine arrived at his apartment building. He walked upstairs swiftly and came to his door not long after. The closer he got to his apartment, the stronger the attraction he felt. It was a similar sensation to a weight tied to a rope, with him being the weight and someone was pulling the rope.


    Valentine was standing in front of the door with the sign ''Hymes Detective Agency'' on it. He realized that there hadn''t been any clients lately, but that was something to think another day. He grabbed the door handle and twisted it, but it was closed, which made him feel slightly relieved. It was how he had left the apartment. He unlocked the door and entered the dark office with his night vision already activated. There didn''t seem to be anyone waiting for him there, but there was something off about the room.


    There was a mysterious yellowish mist covering the room, but he couldn''t tell that it was that color because everything was yellow in his night vision. It was floating weightlessly above his desk and between the shelves, but touching it didn''t make him feel anything. The mist seemed to be coming from the drop of blood in the corner that he had used as an anti-divination medium. Valentine approached the source of the mist and observed it.


    The bloodstain was still dry, and there didn''t appear to be anything strange with it. However, the strange mist kept coming out of the dark-colored stain on the wooden floor. Valentine touched the stain and it felt normal. He then had an idea. He pulled out his knife and slit his palm, which strangely had no scar even though it had been purposefully injured many times. The cold feeling of the knife cut open his flesh and fresh blood came pouring out of the wound. He dropped some fresh blood on the dried bloodstain on the floor.


    Drip...


    The fresh blood touched the floor and it spread flat on it, creating a wide stain of crimson liquid. Then the mist in the room slowly moved and gathered on top of the fresh bloodstain. The mist floated on top of it for a while before finally, it solidified and fell on top of the blood. The congealed mist formed words that Valentine didn''t recognize. However, remembering Graham''s experience, that must be the message from his Deity. Valentine braced himself and said the words out loud.


    "Eyesta nas Vine ca laris!"


    The room went tranquil.


    Swoosh...


    A thick yellowish fog came out of the bloodstain on the floor and gradually enveloped the whole room. It was similar to the color of a foggy forest during sunset, and Valentine now could see the color clearly because his night vision got deactivated against his will. He looked around but there was nothing but thick fog around him. Not even the wall or the furniture in his apartment was present. He touched the fog and it felt cold in his skin and was strangely somewhat solid because of how thick it was; he could almost touch the fog, which felt like touching a very soft silk sheet.


    Valentine tried to move from the spot where he was standing. He took a step forward and it was as if he was walking on a cloud; the floor had also turned into yellowish fog! He trod very carefully forward with his hands in front of him. The wall that was supposed to be preventing him from moving any further was gone and there was only a cold, thick fog around him. He lost his sense of direction and stopped right in his spot; it was too dangerous to move around blindly.


    Tremble!


    Suddenly, the surroundings shook violently. It was a much stronger tremor than the earthquake that had recently struck Sloten, but strangely, the thick fog was unmoved; it even became almost solid. Valentine fell to his knees amidst the brutal shaking. Then, in front of him, the fog became much denser and darker. It appeared to be solidifying into a mysterious entity that was completely shrouded in the fog. Valentine couldn''t stand up even if he wanted to because of the shaking and the cotton-like footing beneath him. He was in pain; his brain felt like it had turned into a slushy inside his skull because of all the banging. The headache was almost unbearable.


    The tremor lasted for which Valentine felt like forever and the whole time, the shrouded entity, whose size appeared to be much, much bigger than him, was just standing there behind the thick fog. It didn''t seem to be affected by the horrible shaking. Perhaps, the entity was even the cause of it. Valentine held his head tightly with both hands while writhing on the ground. His body was in pain all over, especially his head. On the bright side, however, the ground was soft.


    Then it suddenly stopped. The thick, yellowish fog vanished into thin air, and he was lying on the floor panting. The bloodstain went back to normal, like before Valentine poured fresh blood on it. It was as if nothing had even happened. However, he knew it was real because there was now a new piece of knowledge in his head.


    Valentine quickly controlled his breathing and got up from the floor. He sat in his soft office chair and concentrated on the new knowledge. His guess was indeed correct; it was a message from his Deity, who had been pleased by Valentine''s progress.


    "Hmm..." Valentine was analyzing his evolved abilities.


    His night vision could now be used without his eyes turning yellow, but the yellowish hue wouldn''t disappear from his vision. Much like Graham''s, Valentine''s eyes could now stay permanently yellow or his natural light blue color with just a command from him. As a result, he didn''t need his contact lenses any more to hide the activation of his power, although he still needed it when switching back and forth with Graham because changing eye colors were still abnormal.


    His Shroud of Secrecy, which was his anti-divination ability, had become more powerful. It would take a very strong divinator to get through his interference. The area of effect was also increased significantly, which was fully adjustable depending on his needs. That meant, when he wanted to place anti-divination in an area, he had to specify which part of the area he wanted it to be in effect; otherwise, it would cover the whole zone which was a radius of 50 meters. The shroud would hide any trace he might have left completely, while also preventing the area from appearing in divination. In the case of an item, the radius stayed the same; it only affected the thing that he placed the shroud on. The only difference was that it was stronger now.


    His Secret Restriction had also evolved. If previously he had only been able to declare a word a secret, now he could declare an object a secret. The object would then be shrouded in Mist of Secrecy and couldn''t be discerned by the onlookers. Different from anti-divination, the restriction actually worked in the physical world. The area of the restriction had been increased significantly too, similar to the anti-divination area, which was a radius of 50 meters from the spot where he cast it. Once he went out of the radius, the restriction will be lifted. He was still limited by one restriction active at a time, however. Another thing was, Valentine still didn''t really understand how the ability would work, so he had to do some experiments first.


    The limits of the times he could use his abilities had been increased as well, from ten to twenty. He had actually never had the need to use up all the limits for the day, unlike Graham with his divination, but the increase was a very welcome change.


    Valentine was still analyzing his ability, and then there was a question that he couldn''t answer. He thought it out loud so Graham could hear it, along with his evolution of power, as well.


    "My abilities have also evolved. Now I can make an object a secret. I have no idea how it works, so I need to do some experiments. The limit of my abilities has been increased to twenty."


    "If the limit of my anti-divination is twenty times a day, and the duration is basically permanent, or until the medium is removed, does that mean technically I can put anti-divination over the whole city, given enough time?"


    "There should be a limit of how many I can have active at the same time. I will need to experiment as well. But it will be a long-term project since it is the most troublesome to check. For now, let me see how my Secret Restriction works. That''s the name I decided to give it, by the way, G."


    Valentine got up from his office chair and left his apartment. He needed someone to help him experiment, and his neighbor was the best person for it. He walked up to the door with the number 24 on it and rang the bell.


    Ding... dong...


    Since it was night time, Luuk was still wide awake, so it didn''t take long for him to answer the door. Valentine saw Luuk from the gap in the doorway and spoke his business.


    "I need your help with something. Can I come in?" he said straightforwardly.


    "Sure..." said Luuk with a mostly indifferent tone, but there was a hint of curiosity there.


    He opened the door wider to allow his guest to enter, and Valentine went in without hesitation. He sat on the sofa in the living room that could be said tidy to some extent. He looked at his partner-in-crime who was sitting on the chair opposite him.


    "I want to experiment with something. I need your co-operation," he explained.


    "Sure. What''s in it for me?" asked Luuk. They had fought side by side a lot and did a lot of missions together, but their relationship was still a partnership.


    "One free divination," said Valentine quickly as if he had expected the question.


    Luuk pretended to think about it for a while. He actually would gladly accept the offer without a second thought because he had seen how useful divination was, but he didn''t want to look too eager.


    "Hmm... that sounds good enough," he said, hiding the eagerness in his tone, then added, "So, what do I need to do?"


    "You just need to watch and answer my questions," Valentine said shortly.


    He then looked around the room. There were so many books in that room, and most of them were very thick. They were books on medicine, the major that he was studying at university. Valentine then grabbed a book that was closest to him without even checking what it was and placed it firmly on his lap. What the book was about didn''t matter; what mattered was its existence. He made sure that Luuk could see the book clearly. After that, he started chanting his Deity''s name, following his instinct.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of this book a secret!"


    A thick yellowish mist appeared out of thin air and started enveloping the whole book. The mist didn''t take the form of the book it enveloped, but just a random gathering fog. Valentine then turned to Luuk.


    "What object is here?" asked Valentine while casting a glance at the gathering mist. He still remembered what it was hiding, but he couldn''t see the book at all, and he didn''t know how others perceived his power.


    "What object?" asked Luuk in confusion. His eyes didn''t seem to be lying.


    "This object on my lap," he said while observing Luuk closely.


    Luuk seemed to be trying hard to look for the thing that Valentine was talking about, but it felt like something was actively trying to make him neglect the thing''s existence. Only when he concentrated hard could he see a strange yellowish mist gathering on Valentine''s lap. Although he had seen Valentine grabbing the object from the shelf, he had no recollection at all about what it was; it was as if the object''s existence had been kept a secret from him.


    "I don''t know. I only see a yellow mist there. And that is only if I focus hard on that spot. Otherwise, I will keep ignoring that spot for some reason." he explained honestly.


    Valentine now could somehow understand how his ability worked. With how the book''s existence was kept a secret from others, he could think of other applications of his evolved Secret Restriction. He then removed the restriction.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of this book no longer a secret!"


    With that, the yellowish mist dissipated and Luuk could clearly see the book again. He felt like he had always known that it was a book that Valentine had on his lap.


    "Move on to the next one," he said firmly.


    He had another idea that needed experimenting, which he got from seeing Graham''s and Luuk''s abilities. Their abilities were very versatile in their application, so he thought that his own should work in a similar manner.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my face a secret!"


    Valentine could see a thin mist quickly gathering in front of his face, but it didn''t impede his vision; the mist was too thin to affect anything. He touched his face with both hands and it didn''t feel any different. However, Luuk in front of him looked stupefied.


    "Tell me, what do you see?" he asked seriously.


    "Your face is gone!" Luuk said in surprise and intrigue.


    From his point of view, the spot where Valentine''s face had been was now completely covered in a thick yellowish mist. If Luuk didn''t focus hard on his face, he would just see a man with a completely common face without any distinguishable characteristics, which made him not even bother remembering it. However, when he focused on it, the mist was there, shrouding the whole face. Luuk knew it was Valentine because he remembered the person sitting in front of him, but he had completely forgotten what his face looked like.


    "That is good enough," Valentine said. That ability would prove to be very useful when he needed to gather intelligence from his future target.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my face no longer a secret!"


    Valentine then moved on to the next trial. He needed to see for himself how others perceived his power.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of Luuk van der Meer''s face a secret!"


    When he finished chanting, he saw a yellowish mist that was much thicker than what he saw when it covered his face quickly gathering in front of Luuk''s face. He then understood that for the target, the mist would look thin not to block their vision, but to the others, it was so thick that the whole face couldn''t be seen through it. The next thing he noticed was that although he knew the person before him was Luuk, he had forgotten Luuk''s facial features.


    "How do you feel?" asked Valentine inquisitively.


    "Nothing different except now there is this thin mist around me," explained Luuk. He kind of understood how Valentine''s power worked now.


    "Okay. That was very useful," Valentine said, satisfied.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of Luuk van der Meer''s face no longer a secret!"


    "What''s next?" asked Luuk curiously.


    The power display by Valentine was indeed very interesting to him, especially since he was new to the world of Contractbounds. Although he had faced more than one other Contractbounds, he couldn''t see their power being displayed in detail like this. He really admired the person in front of him for his brilliant ideas. It was also because of him that Luuk found out that his Theft power was more flexible than he initially thought.


    "Just wait and see," said Valentine meaningfully.

 50 Gathering Intelligence

    On a sunny but chilly Tuesday, Valentine woke up at nine in the morning. He got up from his position and sat on the bed for some time, absorbing his surroundings. It was a rather cold morning, and the street was already bustling with people. He could hear the noisy street from his second-story bedroom whose heavy curtains were still closed, and through which the morning sunlight failed to penetrate. The noise from vehicles driving by, the ringing of bicycle bells, and the chattering of people were all mixed together and created a bizarre melody at that moment in time.


    He stood up and went to the kitchen with the intention of making a cup of tea, still in his pajama pants and no top. He plugged in the boiler to the socket and waited until the water came to a boil while preparing his cup and the teabag. Unlike Graham, he preferred tea to hot chocolate and had collected a massive assortment of teas, in the form of both tea bags and loose leaves. For this morning, he chose to drink Earl Grey tea. He poured the boiling water into his cup and placed the tea bag and let it seep for some minutes while he was leaning on the kitchen counter patiently.


    His tea was brewed and ready not long after. Valentine took a sip and let the rich tea entered his mouth gently. The floral aroma massaged his nostril pleasantly and the exotic taste of the malty tea nudged his tongue. There was a tinge of sweet, sour, and citrusy high note that softly hit his palate, enriching the whole experience. He finished his tea sip by sip, enjoying every moment of the hot earthy liquid entering his mouth and warming up his throat.


    Valentine finished his tea almost ten minutes later. He washed the cup right away and went back to his bedroom to get dressed. Today, his mission was to gather intelligence from the owner of the Denuder contract scroll that had shown up in Graham''s divination. Valentine had experimented with his power with the help of Luuk the previous night and he had also had Graham divine some information for him to start from, so he was all set.


    The target was often seen on Kerkstraat, where the biggest Cathedral in Sloten was located. It was probably where he lived because there were mostly residential areas around that street. Besides Kerkstraat, he was also often seen on Voorstraat, where a lot of offices were located. Graham couldn''t divine anything else because of the lack of information, which was why Valentine had to go in person and gather some intelligence, which then could be used in further divination attempts.


    If possible, he would like to assassinate his target today, but for that, he had to be well-prepared because the Police would surely investigate once people realized his target was missing. Although dead Contractbounds left no bodies, a missing person would still be noticeable after some time.


    Valentine put on a brown leather jacket and a pair of denim pants. He hid his knife under his jacket safely but easily to be taken out anytime. He also carried everything else that he might need during this mission, including Graham''s lighter.


    He got out of his apartment and hailed a public motor carriage to take him to Voorstraat. At that hour, the target would most likely still be working, so it would make more sense for Valentine to go there.


    It took him forty minutes to reach his destination because the street was located on West Sloten while his apartment was at the edge of Central Sloten, closer to the east. He got out after paying the driver, who drove away immediately in search of a new customer.


    Valentine looked at his surroundings carefully, observing everything that caught his attention. The street was similar to Bloemstraat in that there were a lot of commercial buildings located there, but since it was near the edge of the city, the target audience was people visiting from another city to Sloten. There was a big shopping mall there call the Epicenter, with its ten floors full of attractions. Most people walking in the street there looked more fashionable than people walking in his area.


    Since the street was big, he didn''t know exactly where to find his target, especially since he had never actually seen him in real life. But as he was already close enough, Graham''s divination should work better now. Valentine walked quickly in search of a secluded alley and walked into it when he found one.


    The alley still had a few people walking by. There were big dumpsters there and it was big enough for the garbage truck to drive through. Valentine hid behind a giant green dumpster that emitted a rotting smell and sat on the ground with his back against the wall. He let go of any distracting thoughts and tried to fall asleep in that position. Although it was not comfortable, he had developed the ability to fall asleep quickly anywhere thanks to his past life.


    Valentine fell asleep only within minutes. His breathing became regular and rhythmical. Not long after, he opened his eyes again slowly; Graham had woken up. He got up from his position and cleaned his clothes thoroughly.


    "Couldn''t you choose a better location than this?" he complained inwardly while looking around, making sure no one had seen anything.


    Graham then took out his lighter and triggered the flame. He concentrated on it and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Where is the one who has the Deity of Uncovering''s contract currently located?''


    His surrounding became dim and an image was projected from the flame. It showed his target, who seemed to be working in his office. He was wearing a white shirt and a tie. On the desk which he was working at, there was a nametag that read ''Daan Holsten''. It appeared to be the target''s name. The image then zoomed out and showed the building where he was currently in. It was a six-story building with the name at the front which read ''Unilife Insurance''.


    The image then disappeared, but since now he knew the target''s name, Graham could divine more about him. He concentrated back on the flame and repeated a different question.


    ''Where does Daan Holsten live?''


    The flame burned calmly and then an image gradually formed. It showed from high up above a street with a giant Cathedral where Graham had recognized earlier to be Kerkstraat. The image then zoomed in and showed a big house gated house with the number 58 on the gate. His target lived on Kerkstraat number 58. Once he got the address, the image vanished slowly.


    He then focused again and asked his third question.


    ''Where is Unilife Insurance''s company building located?''


    Little by little, an image showing the bird''s eye view of the street appeared. There was a building marked with a red dot about five hundred meters away from Graham''s location, which was also marked with a red dot. After that, the image disappeared.


    He focused again and asked his fourth question.


    ''Is it safe to assassinate Daan Holsten in his office?''


    Since it was a very simple yes or no question, the image only showed a piece of paper with a giant ''X'' on it, indicating that it was not safe to assassinate his target in his office. And since the ''X'' was very big, the degree of danger should also be high.


    "So, for now, we can only observe Mr. Holsten. We can take action once he has left his office," he concluded.


    Graham walked out of the alley and started searching for the company building belonging to Unilife Insurance where his target was currently in. He walked down the busy street with a very wide sidewalk while observing his surrounding with his Supersight. There were so many people there it felt cramped although there was a lot of space on the sidewalk.


    The closer he got to the shopping mall, the more crowded it became. There were also a lot of people who looked like foreigners there at that time, who must be tourists wanting to check out the entertainment centers offered by the big city. Their style of clothes was totally different from that of Slotenians, including the fashionable Western Slotenians.


    Graham quickly walk past the crowd and resumed the search of his target building. He remembered where it was marked on the illusory map, but since there were numerous similar-looking buildings there, he still had to have his eyes perked up. On top of that, the street was long and huge, making walking around somewhat tiring.


    He then saw a name in front of a building, which was exactly the same as he had seen in his divination. It was the building he was looking for, which belonged to Unilife Insurance. Graham observed the six-story building carefully. It looked modern with a modern architectural style, which was mostly defined by its use of giant glass panels and pure white walls.


    The office used sliding doors and there was a security officer at the door, who was currently checking the identity of someone trying to get in. The security also did a body search in case the person was concealing a weapon. Once deemed safe, the person was allowed entry.


    Graham was observing the building intently when he suddenly got a slight feeling of danger coming from somewhere inside the building. It made his neck hair stand.

 51 A Likable Person

    In the late afternoon at Voorstraat, people came out in big groups from the numerous commercial buildings and offices. It was the time where most people finish working, so they were all rushing to go home to their families or just to get away from their offices as soon as possible. Their faces looked tired; their shirts that were tucked had gone messy, but they didn''t care. All they cared about was getting home.


    In one of the buildings where many people were hurrying out, inside an office that was separated from the other sections by a glass wall, there was a man who was still sitting in front of a typewriter. His fingers were dancing around the keys in a swift movement, showing his expertise in doing his job. His eyes were following the new letters that appeared on the piece of white paper, while the machine was constantly making a tapping noise. Every once in a while, when he heard a ding sound, he would push the carriage back to return it to its original position when typing a new line.


    The man looked to be in his early thirties with sharp brown eyes and brown hair. He wasn''t good looking, but he wasn''t ugly either. His clean-shaven face was just plain looking, but it exuded warmth and friendliness, which made people talking to him tend to like him better. His overall appearance was very neat and clean, even though he had been in the office for hours, he still looked fresh, except for his eyes, which looked tired.


    Much like the owner, the desk was also clean and tidy. The neatly organized desk didn''t have a lot of stuff on it. Besides the typewriter, there was a tidy stack of paper and a small pot of plant for decoration. There was a black landline phone and also a black, square pencil holder placed next to the potted plant. At one corner of the desk, there was a name tag that read ''Daan Holsten''.


    Tap... tap...


    The sound of typing resounded in the now almost empty office building, coming out from the open door that connected Daan Holsten''s office to the common workspace. In the cubicles, there were only two other people who were still working, while the others had been left empty. One of them, a man in his thirties, finished writing something on a piece of paper and cleaned up his desk. He got up and walked up to Daan Holsten''s office with his tired face.


    "Hey, boss. I''m going home now. Are you not going?" he asked in a friendly manner, but still showing respect.


    Daan looked at the man standing just by the door without stopping what he was doing. "I''m not finished writing this yet. You go on ahead," he said with a slight smile then returned to his work.


    "Okay. Finn is still here." he pointed at the shared office behind him with his head.


    Daan took a glance and nodded.


    "So, what about the thing I asked earlier?" the man asked in a hopeful tone.


    Daan remembered right away what the man was talking about; he had asked Daan to take a week off because his wife was going to give birth anytime soon, and he wanted to be there for her.


    Daan said in a reassuring and friendly voice, "Don''t worry about it. You can still have your week off. I''ll make sure your work is covered."


    "Thank you! You really are the best!" said the man with a bright, relieved smile.


    "Haha," he laughed, and then added, "Anyway, send my regards to Emma."


    "Okay! I''ll be going then. Have a good one." the man waved at Daan and walked towards the exit with light steps.


    "You too!" shouted Daan from his office as he watched the man exiting through a door.


    The tapping sound continued in that quiet office building. Daan Holsten seemed to need to finish whatever he was doing today; that was why he couldn''t leave his office yet. His brown eyes looked reddish from staring at writing the whole day. His fingers were still able to move fast even though he was tired.


    The other man, who was called Finn, finally stood up from his desk and grabbed his backpack. He walked towards Daan''s office and leaned at the door frame.


    "I''m done. Going home now," he said with an easy-going tone.


    Something inside Daan got triggered. He just detected a lie being told in front of him and it somehow made him want to burst out in anger. However, he was good at controlling himself, so he quickly suppressed the split-second rage. He looked at Finn without any change of expression. His eyes still exuded friendliness which was accompanied by his warm smile.


    "You just lied, didn''t you?" he said with a very assured tone while smiling meaningfully. It sounded like he was teasing the other person instead of accusing him.


    "Dang! How could you always tell?" asked Finn in disbelief.


    "Trade secret," he said vaguely, then added, "Now, tell me, which one was a lie? Be honest, you know you can''t lie to me," Daan said matter-of-factly.


    "The going home part. I''m actually going out with friends to a bar," he scratched the back of his head like a child who had been caught red-handed.


    "Have fun then. I''m your boss, not your mom. Just don''t get too drunk, you still need to come to work tomorrow," said Daan with a tone that wasn''t judgmental or condescending at all. It was as if he was speaking to a friend instead of a subordinate.


    "Thanks, Daan. You''re the best!" he said happily. "Are you going to stay here until late again?" asked Finn curiously.


    "Yes. I need to finish these reports," said Daan shortly.


    "You should get a girlfriend. That way, you wouldn''t be too much of a workaholic," Finn spoke casually.


    "I don''t have time for one. You know I''m a busy man, don''t you?" he said jokingly.


    "I can introduce you to some of my friends. They will definitely be interested in you," Finn shot a meaningful smile at Daan.


    "No need, no need. Don''t you need to get going?" Daan changed the topic. He didn''t mind the company, but he really needed to get back to finishing the documents.


    "Haha, yes, you''re right. I won''t be bothering you then. Have a good one!" said Fin while waving his hand. He then walked away and exited through the same door that the previous man had used.


    Daan Holsten''s smiled and waved at Finn. His smile then slowly turned into seriousness after his subordinate had left and he got back to working mode. The report that he was writing needed to be filed today, so he had to finish it soon because there were several others that needed doing. He had often stayed in the office the latest, so he didn''t mind the lack of company. The tapping sound was the only thing that proved that there was still human activity inside that fourth-floor office.


    He kept typing and writing documents until nine in the evening. The building should already be closed by that time, and the doors locked. He only had the keys to the floor where his office was located, but not to the whole building. However, there were security guards stationed twenty-four hours, so Daan could just ask one of them to open the main door and gate for him.


    After he had finished, he used the landline on his desk and dialed a number. He waited until his call got through and then spoke to the person on the other side.


    "Hello. This is Daan. The reports are done. I''ll leave them with the security. Come get them quickly and send them. Uhuh... alright. Thank you very much."


    His tone was domineering but warm. The person on the other side seemed to be another one of his subordinates, most likely his secretary. Once he had finished conveying his message, he hung up the phone and put on the black coat that was hung near the door. He also picked a brown envelope containing the documents that he had put safely inside. He closed his office door and locked it with one of the keys in his keychain. He also locked the door to the shared office space and went down to the first floor where the main door was located.


    The security guard outside saw him walking closer and quickly unlocked the side exit because the automatic sliding door''s power had been turned off, so it couldn''t be opened. Daan walked through the door and smiled warmly at the old security guard with a beer belly.


    "Mr. Drott, can you keep this safe? My secretary should come soon to pick it up," he requested politely while handling the brown envelope to the man with the last name Drott.


    "Sure, Mr. Holsten! I''ll keep it safe," said the security guard excitedly. It appeared that he was happy he could be of service to his higher up, especially the person before him, who had a very good reputation around the company.


    After safely putting down the envelope in his post, he unlocked the gate for his superior to pass through. Daan Holsten went to the parking lot and got in to his motor carriage. It was an expensive model with a comfortable seat and an elegant interior. The passenger''s seat was more spacious than the public type. He always took care of his motor carriage well, so it was very clean and well-maintained. His bright headlight illuminated his path ahead.


    He drove past the now open gate and started heading home. The street that night was already quiet, with only a few other motor carriages driving by. There were almost no bicycles left on the road, so he could drive fast without fear of hitting anyone. He went almost seventy kilometers per hour, which was much faster than the regulated speed limit, which was only fifty kilometers per hour. However, since it was night time, there would be no traffic police stopping him.


    He drove past a big Cathedral in Kerkstraat; the street where he lived. The Cathedral, which was simply called Sloten Cathedral, was mostly just a tourist attraction now. It was famous for its classic architectural design and the stained windows. In the morning, when the time was right, a ray of sunbeam would shine through the inside, giving tourists a magnificent view. Although it would still hold masses at times, most people in Sloten were not religious, so there wouldn''t be many attendees anyway.


    He kept driving until he stopped at house number 58. He got out of his motor carriage and opened the black iron gate to his big house. He then drove the motor carriage in and closed the gate before locking it secure again.


    After parking the motor carriage, Daan Holsten entered his house carefully. Since arriving home, he seemed to have turned into a completely different person. His friendly and calm demeanor became cold and careful. He checked everything thoroughly to make sure his house was still in the same condition as when he left it.


    Daan Holsten didn''t turn on the lights in his house; his eyes glowed red in the dark, enabling him to see clearly as if it was daytime. However, everything in his vision had a red hue due to his eyes. He took off his coat and hung it on the coathanger by the door. The neat, dark corridor in front of him felt strangely lifeless.


    He walked down the corridor and used one of his keys to unlock the closet under the stairs. Inside it, there were unused objects that had been arranged neatly, so it would be easy to take them out anytime he needed. He went to the corner and lifted a carpet to reveal a wooden trapdoor hidden underneath it. Before opening the trapdoor, he checked his surroundings to make sure everything was in place. He would notice if something was moved even just by one centimeter.


    He unlocked the padlock keeping the trapdoor secure and lifted it open. In the quiet night, it created an audible creaking. He entered through the trapdoor and closed it behind him, to make sure no sound could escape from the basement. His expression became extremely twisted as he walked down the stairs to the hidden basement of the house. Muffled crying could faintly be heard from the stairs, and it got louder the closer he got to the room in his basement.


    Daan Holsten revealed a depraved, perverted smile.

 52 A Murder in the Dark

    In the dark basement, Daan Holsten, with his eyes that glowed red, walked slowly and calmly to the source of the muffled crying, with each step creating an audible thump. The crying started the moment the trapdoor was opened, and had gradually become quieter as if the person crying was trying hard to hold it back, especially since the sound of Daan''s footsteps little by little got closer. It was now only a faint sound of intermittent sobbing.


    There was a door at the end of the narrow basement corridor where he was walking. He used yet another key from his collection of keys and pushed the wooden door open. The door made a creaking sound, which announced his arrival at the room-- if the sound of the door being unlocked hadn''t done so. He closed the door behind him very slowly, enjoying every moment of taking away the hope of exiting the room with each time the gap got closer.


    Thud...


    The door was completely closed. He then inserted the same key and locked it from the inside. With that, now whatever or whoever was inside that room would have no chance of escaping unless they got the key from Daan, who stuffed it away under his shirt. The expression on his face showed wickedness.


    Although it was pitch black, he could clearly see what was there because of his night vision. His red glowing eyes were scanning the room, making sure everything was still the same as when he had left it. It was a big room, almost five meters in length and four meters in width. The spacious room had no furniture at all, and there was only one air vent for fresh air to flow in. In the corner of the room, there was something that looked like a small toilet cubicle without a door. Although it was in the basement, the room was relatively clean.


    There were two poles in the center of the room, and to each pole, a naked woman was handcuffed. The two women looked weak and beaten. Their mouths were muffled with black tapes, preventing them from speaking or screaming for help, although there would be no one to hear them in the first place. and their legs were tied with ropes. One of the women had dry tear mark across her cheek and was now sitting hopelessly on the ground with both hands behind her back, while the other hadn''t moved an inch ever since Daan entered the room.


    Daan observed his two captives with eyes full of malice. The women''s bodies were slender, and although their mouths were covered, they still looked beautiful despite their weak and unkempt state. One had long, brown hair while the other''s was long and black, and both had straight hair. There were injury marks all over their bodies from mistreatment, with the highest concentration being on their necks, which looked like hand marks.


    Daan Holster approached the woman with dry tear marks on her cheeks and looked at her face closely. She looked pale and her lips were dry and chapped. Her expression was that of someone really terrified of what was before her, although she couldn''t see his face because of the darkness; she could only see two red glows floating in the air. He touched her angular chin with his gloved hand and raised her head, so she would look at him in the eyes. The woman wanted to close her eyes to avoid staring at the cold red eyes that were staring at her with a knife-like sharpness, but she couldn''t do so for some reason.


    Daan licked her chin and then spoke to the woman.


    "Now tell me how much you cannot live without me," his voice was cold and full of mockery and then opened the tape covering her mouth gently.


    She opened her mouth, which was now free, right away, abiding by his request. "I-I cannot live without you! I... want to be with you f-forever," said the woman weakly, but she forced the words out of her mouth while trembling in fear.


    Daan Holsten''s expression turned twisted in anger. He grabbed the woman by the neck and strangled her hard.


    "That was a lie! You lying bitch!" he said in rage. His grip got tighter and tighter; his nails sunk into the woman''s skin, making it bleed.


    "I''ukhg skghk...!" the woman tried to speak but the air flowing from her throat was obstructed by Daan''s strong grip, creating a pitiful gibberish.


    She kicked about, trying to hit Daan but her tied legs failed to do so. She was gasping for air, and tears started running down her face that slowly turned purple.


    "Don''t you worry. I won''t kill you that easily," he said cold-heartedly and then loosened his grip on her neck.


    She fell back to the floor and was panting heavily, but she knew she wasn''t off the hook yet, so she started begging for mercy.


    "Please, I''m sorry... please don''t do this... please... I beg you..." she said with much difficulty; her voice was wavering and her body shaking.


    "Please... no! No...! Mphmmm... mphmmm...!"


    Daan put the tape back on her mouth, preventing her from speaking any further. He then took out a knife that he was hiding under his sock and crouched down. He touched the skin on her feet lightly with his fingers and felt the softness of the touch. His fingers ran across her feet and then stopped on her left toe. The woman seemed to be too scared to make a move; she was just frozen there.


    "You won''t be needing this anymore," he said heartlessly; his voice was devoid of any empathy.


    Stab!


    His knife sunk deep into her feet on the section where his toe started and made an incision there. He cut open her flesh little by little, revealing her muscles and white bone. Red blood flowed from the wound, along with her muffled scream of pain. He kept cutting until her left toe was completely separated from her foot. The woman''s cheeks were full of her tears; her eyes expressed the pain she felt.


    Daan Holsten was admiring his handiwork; he held the mutilated toe with his bloody hand close to his eyes and smiled triumphantly. He kissed the toe and licked the blood clean off it.


    He then turned to look at the woman''s expression. She hadn''t stopped crying, and her face had turned deathly pale. It seemed the pain had been unbearable to her. He enjoyed every second of that moment. Her terrified and pained face, and her slender weak body that was defenseless, satisfied the devilish urge inside him.


    He suddenly heard a faint voice from behind the locked door. He put the woman''s toe inside his pocket and stood up with his knife ready to attack.


    Click!


    The sound of the door being unlocked could be heard. Daan Holsten waited for the creaking sound of the door and the moment he heard it, he would launch a surprise attack on the intruder. He didn''t care who it was, because they had found out about this place where he kept his darkest secret.


    His danger sense was warning him. He hadn''t felt the other party''s presence at all until he heard the faint chanting, so they must be someone capable of hiding it. However, in front of a Denuder, as long as they were within his immediate surroundings, any kind of concealment wouldn''t work.


    Creak...


    He heard another faint chanting before the sound of the wooden door was pushed open slowly came. He waited very patiently to see the person behind the door because the moment he saw the person, he could strip them bare of their weapons. The gap slowly got bigger, and Daan was waiting in anticipation.


    ...


    There was no one behind the door!


    And then, came a voice of chanting that was no longer muffled by the closed door from deep inside the dark corridor.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you shoot straight into Daan Holsten''s head!"


    Bang!


    There was a loud sound of a gun being fired and a bullet came very quickly from the corridor and buried itself inside Daan Holsten''s head, sending him flying backward and creating a round hole from which fresh blood spurted. His expression was of disbelief and confusion. In the last moment of his life, he still didn''t understand how the other person could have killed him so easily like that, especially shooting him in a dark corridor from that distance.


    A short moment later, the life in his eyes was snuffed out. His whole body burst into flames, burning his entire being, including everything currently on his person. His body turned into ashes with his death. There was a brown ancient-looking scroll that lied on top of his ashes and a strange round object that resembled an all-red eyeball slowly formed there.


    The woman who had lost her toe couldn''t see in the dark, but she could hear the sound of the bang and the moment his captor''s body was enveloped in bright red flames. She didn''t understand anything that was happening, but a slight hint of hope rose from her heart. She waited in anticipation for what was going to happen next, but there was still fear in her heart. The other woman, on the other hand, still sat motionless on the ground. Nothing seemed to bother her anymore, her eyes looked lifeless, although she was clearly still breathing.


    From the dark corridor, suddenly there was a small blaze chasing away the surrounding darkness. However, she couldn''t see anyone creating the small flame. It seemed to be floating around, getting closer to her, which caused her to be struck with fear. She observed carefully the flame, which now she could see came from a lighter, and if she focused hard, she could see a man wearing a dark brown trench coat holding the lighter. He was wearing a facemask and a hat, so she couldn''t see his face clearly.


    Something felt strange to her. She couldn''t hear the sound of the man''s footsteps at all, and if she wasn''t concentrating on him, she couldn''t feel his presence, as if the man was not there at all. The only thing proving his existence was the lighter flame that he was carrying.


    She was too weak and tired to keep concentrating to see the other person in that room, so she gave up; she was losing blood from the wound in her foot. The woman could only see the flame floating and moving closer to where her captor''s body had burst into flames. The flame then moved near the floor. The holder seemed to be squatting in that spot. She could see something like a scroll and something round being taken by the holder of the lighter.


    The flame then got back up higher and came approaching her location. She then heard the sound of a man saying something that sounded like a chant.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop bleeding!"


    She felt a sharp pain in her left foot, which was comparable to when her toe was being cut off. She let out a cry of pain, but it was muffled by the tape covering her mouth. The pain lasted several seconds, and when it finally stopped, she could feel that her foot was no longer bleeding.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to unlock yourself!"


    She heard the sound of the man chanting again. His voice was deep and gentle, but full of assertiveness.


    Click!


    The handcuffs binding her hands to the pole behind her back had been unlocked just like that. She didn''t understand how it happened, but she felt very relieved and deep gratitude toward her savior. She took off the handcuffs and the tape covering her mouth very slowly. It was very painful, and she was already weak, so she didn''t want to bear the pain anymore.


    The lighter flame then approached the other woman who had been sitting without moving on the floor. The sound of chanting came from the man''s mouth again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to unlock yourself!"


    Click!


    The handcuffs binding her had been unlocked, so now it was up to her to free herself; however, she still stayed there without moving. The lighter flame came closer to her as if the man was observing her closely. Then, a faint sound of muttering could be heard.


    "This one has been broken."


    His voice was full of pity. The woman losing her toe was now completely free of her bindings, including the rope tied around her legs. She stood up carefully while holding on to the pole. She looked straight at what she thought was the position of the man''s head and spoke.


    "T-thank you very much for saving us..."


    The man didn''t reply. After unlocking the handcuffs of both women, the lighter flame moved away from them and exited the room until it could no longer be seen. The woman watched as her savior disappeared from sight. She was grateful and glad that she finally got back her freedom.

 53 A Police Call

    Late at night, in front of a big house with an iron black gate on Kerkstraat, several police motor carriages were parked. Their blue and red lights were flaring in the moonless night, attracting nearby curious people, who have gathered there to see what the commotion was about.


    Several officers in blue coat were standing at the gate, securing the parameter. There was a logo on the Police on each of their coats, which looked very warm in that cold night. They were serving as a blockade as well as a backup in case it was needed; however, the officers who had gone inside hadn''t fully determined the severity of the situation yet, so they had to be on standby, ready for action any time. The curious people were asking those officers many questions, but they could not give a definite answer to them.


    The Police were there because they had received an anonymous call saying that they had heard the sound of a gunshot from inside the house. The caller''s identity couldn''t be determined, but they only rarely got prank calls, so the Police took the matter seriously. They came within five minutes from the moment the call was made in full force.


    Amidst the flashing siren lights, two officers, a tall man with a scarred face and a short woman who exuded friendliness, walked into the house. They were Rood and Oranje. Rood approached another officer who was standing near the main door.


    "How''s the situation inside?" he asked in a deep, hoarse voice.


    "Sergeant Rood, we found to naked women who are suspected to be captives. They are now resting in that room because of their weak condition," the officer pointed at a room that looked like the living room behind him.


    "How are they?"


    "They are extremely weak. One of them has a missing toe, but she can still speak. The other''s condition is much worse. She doesn''t respond to any questions... or anything at all," he explained.


    "We''ll see them now. Thank you," Rood responded shortly.


    He went to the room where the two women were resting. It was indeed the living room, and inside, there were two women covered in blankets lying down on the sofas. One of them had a lifeless expression on her face; she didn''t even look at the two people entering the room. She only stared blankly at the ceiling, which was directly in front of her from her lying down position. The other woman looked exhausted, but she showed more signs of life. Rood and Oranje approached the latter.


    "Hi. How are you feeling?" asked Oranje with a warm smile. Her voice was gentle, which seemed to be able to soothe the minds of the listeners.


    The woman looked at the two people from the Police in front of her. The warm voice of the female officer made her calmer. "I''m fine now."


    "I''m glad to hear that. Can you tell us your name?" Oranje asked kindly.


    "My name is Sabine van Aalsburg..." she answered weakly.


    "Nice to meet you, Sabine, can I call you that? I''m Oranje, and that is Rood. Do you mind telling us what happened?" Oranje spoke softly, reassuring Sabine that everything was alright now.


    Sabine showed a pained expression the moment she remembered what had happened to her. She had been held captive there for days, and the other woman, even longer. Her captor had made her do things she didn''t want to remember anymore, and would often abuse them. She was given very little food and water during those past days, which felt like forever to her, and could only go to the toilet when her captor was around, otherwise, she had to hold it back. She told everything to the female officer in front of her with difficulty.


    Oranje showed concern and empathy in her expression after listening to the story. She then asked tenderly, "How did you escape?"


    "I thought I had lost any chance of seeing the sun again, but there was a strange man who came and shot that person. After that, he freed us and disappeared just like that," explained Sabine.


    "How strange?" asked Rood straightforwardly.


    Sabine looked at him and felt something similar to when she was looking at her captor; she couldn''t lie around them. "He was too mysterious. I couldn''t even hear his footsteps. And after he shot my captor, the body burst into flames. And he unlocked our handcuffs by just saying some words,"


    Oranje looked at Rood and they appeared to have agreed on the same thing. This matter involved Contractbounds, and most likely a Shroud. It was not the first time that they encountered a Shroud during their recent investigations, and all divination attempts would yield no result.


    "Do you think it''s the same person as last time?" asked Oranje with a serious tone to Rood.


    "There is a high chance that it is. A Shroud is not something you see every day, after all," guessed Rood.


    Oranje then turned back to Sabine who didn''t understand what the officers were talking about. "Do you remember anything about the man who saved you? Any small detail will do,"


    Sabine wanted to lie as to not put her savior in trouble, but with the presence of the male officer, she knew she couldn''t. "I really couldn''t see him. He was wearing a mask and a hat, and I only saw his appearance for a split second because I needed to concentrate hard to see him. I was still weak," she said honestly but withheld some information that she could omit.


    Oranje looked at Rood and he nodded, which meant that the woman in front of her was telling the truth. She then asked again, "Is there anything else?"


    Sabine was cornered. If she said no, it would mean she was lying. She needed to tell the officers something that could not indirectly reveal her savior''s identity. She knew how good the Police were at tracking people.


    "He was very kind. He stopped my bleeding with his words," she said. It was something she deeply believed in, so it shouldn''t count as a lie.


    Oranje turned back to Rood and he nodded again. Then she asked him, "Do you know what power that is?"


    "I have some guesses, but I''ll need to check our register again," Rood said with doubt.


    Oranje looked back at Sabine with kind eyes and said, "Thank you very much, Sabine. The ambulance should be here very soon to take you to the hospital. An office will be taking your statement too. You have to get well again."


    Sabine breathed in relief. She had managed to repay her savior even by just a drop in the ocean. "Thank you," she smiled genuinely at the two officers.


    ...


    At one after midnight, Valentine was busy walking around his dark office room, sprinkling Dragon''s Blood oil around on every corner. The sweet and spicy fragrant with clove-ish middle note penetrated his nose and made him strangely positive, as if the negative energy had been cleansed from the room. After that, he opened a brown ancient scroll and laid it flat on the table. He placed four red candles on each of the four corners, with each candle facing a cardinal direction.


    Next came the hard part: drawing the sigil. He slit his palm deeply with his knife to let the blood out easily. He dropped the fresh, red blood on the top of the sigil with the complicated design, starting from the top left; a left-facing cross with a circle on top. He then drew a line to the top center where a big ''S'' was and continued to the right, which was a mirrored image of the left side. Valentine drew the middle part next, which were two ''S''s placed at the far end, facing each other and connected with a contour line. The bottom part was last: it was the same two crosses as the top, but without the big ''S'' in the middle. Drawing the complicated design took a lot of his blood because the scroll kept absorbing it.


    Once the sigil was complete, Valentine placed the remains of Daans Holsten in the middle. The soft round object resembling an all-red eyeball stood firmly on top of blood sigil.


    He breathed heavily, trying to regain his energy after losing much blood before continuing with the next step because it would be a very painful one.


    Once he was ready, he lit the red candlesticks one by one, starting from the one pointing north and moved in a clockwise direction, the west being the last. The flames from the candles burned gently, and combined with the scent of the Dragon''s Blood oil, soothed his mind and made it easier to focus. They illuminated the dark room with an orangish hue, and cast shadows around them.


    After all the candles were lit, he started the summoning chant.


    "Thee I invoke, the One born from Fire,"


    "Thou art the master of All Things Hidden,"


    "Thou art the master of Past Reconstruction,"


    "Thee, that unveilst Evil and the Wicked,"


    "Thee, that uncoverst Lies and bringst forth Truth,"


    "Come thou forth, and accept my offering,"


    "And grant me your power, worthy of thy name!"


    Swoosh!


    The room became pitch black and a violent blaze came out of the scroll, setting the blood sigil on fire and consumed the offering material on it. It then spread quickly and encircled Valentine in the middle.


    He knew what would come next: pain-- a lot of pain. He braced himself and watched his dark surrounding which was strangely not brightened up although there was a raging fire.


    A short moment later, he felt a sharp pain in his eyes. It was a similar pain to what he felt during his first ritual, but no matter how many times he had done it, he would never get used to that. The pain felt like his eyes were being melted slowly. He closed his eyes and covered them with his hands trying to minimize the pain, but without success. He felt that his eyes were becoming less and less solid until they completely turned to mush. Then, from his now empty eye-sockets, something grew rapidly until. They were two new eyeballs that looked all-red. After several seconds, the eyeballs became normal, with Valentine''s original light blue irises.


    The next round of pain came not long after. This time, it was his ears. He felt something slowly cutting his ears with a boiling hot knife, causing agonizing pain. The wound got cauterized right away, and the smell of burnt flesh entered his nose. He knew it was not his physical body that was being burned, but the smell was too real. He gritted his teeth and tried to bear with the torture. It lasted what felt like forever to Valentine. When the last piece of tissue connecting his ears to his head was cut off, he screamed in agony.


    What came next wasn''t pleasant either. He felt that from his cauterized wounds, something was trying to break free. It forcefully pushed around the wounds until it finally pierced through. Those were new ears that quickly grew into normal sizes. The feeling was indescribable. It was like a small piece of his skin suddenly became bloated and formed a new organ.


    Once his ''new'' ears completely formed, Valentine, who was lying on the ground panting, could see light again. At some point, he had fallen off his office chair. With the pain gone, he knew that he had successfully completed the ritual. The last step was to seal the scroll with the copper wire that he had prepared.


    Valentine put out the flames from the candles, which had burned quite a lot despite only the short time that had passed. and put them aside to enable him to roll the scroll. He rolled the scroll back and wrapped the wire around it, and then tied if firmly. The moment the scroll was sealed, in burst into flames and entered Valentine through his nostrils.


    After finishing his second ritual, Valentine had become a Shrouded Denuder.

 54 Denuder

    Valentine sat in the dark; his sharp eyes stared at the space in front of him. He had just finished his second ritual, making him a double Contractbound. He felt that something deep and subtle about himself had changed, besides the new abilities he got, but he couldn''t quite put where the change was.


    "G, do you also feel that the more powerful we become, something becomes different? I don''t know what, I just feel it," Valentine spoke quietly and slowly in that lightless room.


    After getting that out of his mind, he began to analyze his new power.


    "I would have got night vision from the Deity of Uncovering, but since already have one, it improves my eyesight instead. Now I can see almost as well as you can, and it also works in the dark."


    "Besides that, now I have the power to make my target fall under my control to answer all my questions truthfully, but that''s it. I cannot make my target do anything else like your power can, although your target doesn''t fall unconscious, G. The maximum duration of the control is five minutes, or until I end it. During this time, the target''s sense of danger will be tremendously boosted, so if I plan to harm them, they will be jolted awake. This must be the power that the police officer used on us during that interrogation," he remembered the first encounter with the two Police Contractbounds.


    "I''ll call that power Interrogation. It''s easier to remember that way. The limit is, as usual, ten times a day, but I''m sure it will increase after I''ve pleased the Deity. And also, I cannot control anyone stronger than me."


    "The next ability is to reconstruct a past event. I''ll call that Reconstruction for short. I am able to use my blood to recreate what has happened previously in a specific spot. The quality of the reconstructed event will depend on the amount of blood used, and how much time has passed since it happened. I wonder why a lot of Contractbound powers require blood..."


    "Since I''m also in contract with Secrets, my Reconstruction can bypass anti-divination of a weaker or similar level to myself. That is a very powerful upgrade to this power. No wonder it is highly suggested to form a contract with certain combinations of Deities."


    "I also have a passive lie detection ability. Whenever someone tells a lie, my spirituality will be warned. It should be very useful in investigations. And the last one is my boosted sense of hearing. No wonder our target could hear your quiet chant from behind a heavy door."


    Valentine then stayed quiet. He focused on the sounds of his surroundings in that silent night. He could perfectly hear the ticking of the clock in his bedroom through the closed doors. He could faintly hear the chirping of insects outside, which was usually audible from his bedroom, he couldn''t hear it before from his office.


    "It''s time to test my new abilities," he said with a meaningful smile and got up from his chair.


    Valentine exited his apartment and stopped in front of his neighbor''s door. He squatted and looked at the wooden floor very carefully. With his improved eyesight, he could see very faint footprints that looked recent, but they were almost invisible, showing how light the steps of the owner were. The footprints were leading away from the door.


    He got up and used his knife to make an incision in his palm, which strangely had no deep scar even though he had slit it numerous times to use his power. The cold knife caused a sharp pain on his skin and cut it open, allowing the blood to come gushing out. He gathered enough blood on his palm and once he thought it was enough, he concentrated on the spot in front of him while thinking of an imaginary clock showing one hour ago to set the duration to one hour. He then asked a question.


    "What has happened in this exact spot in the past hour?"


    He sprayed the blood that had pooled on his palm over the small spot in front of the door. The blood got splattered on the floor, then it magically moved to form a figure that was shorter than Valentine. The figure was incomplete, however, since the amount of blood was limited. It only formed the parts of the face and some outlines of the body. The face, although only partially complete, could be recognized as Luuk van der Meer''s.


    Once the scene was completed, it started to move like it was a movie, to show the exact event that had transpired in that spot. It was Luuk walking away from the door carefully, not to cause the floor to creak. The blood figure kept walking several steps away before it vanished completely because it got out of the specified area. The blood, however, didn''t return to becoming a pool of crimson liquid on the floor; it evaporated into thin air as if taken away as a tribute by the power that had answered Valentine''s question.


    "So, he got out within the past hour. However, with my power, there is no way to know the exact time he got out unless there was a clock there. And the amount of blood required to reconstruct just that one event is insane. This ability is useful but it''s very situational," he came to a conclusion.


    "The fact that the blood evaporates, though, is convenient. It means I won''t be leaving bloodstain everywhere I go."


    He put his knife back under his jacket and went outside the apartment building. Out in the street, he stopped and crouched down. He observed the sidewalk right in front of the building intently, trying to spot shoeprints that were left there. There were several recent ones, although it was already two in the evening. It made it difficult for Valentine to see which ones belonged to Luuk.


    He took out his knife for the second time and created another wound on his left palm. He had a feeling he would need a lot more blood this time, but cutting open his wrist was inconvenient since he couldn''t gather the blood then; it would all just start dripping to the ground. The previous wound had almost completely healed, only within the span of minutes, thanks to his status as a Contractbound.


    This time, he let the blood gather longer because he needed more. He formed a cup with his hand to gather all the blood and made another cut to let it gather faster. He waited patiently and the pool of liquid started to overflow; some dripped to the ground below. He then imagined the duration of one hour and asked the same question.


    "What happened here in this exact spot in the past hour?"


    He sprayed the blood all over the spot that he imagined and after all falling on the paved ground, the blood started moving, including the blood beneath him that he had accidentally let drop. It gave him a new insight that he didn''t actually have to have all the blood with him, as long as he had some left to splatter.


    With that amount of blood, if it had been only one person, Valentine could have seen the figure better than his previous attempt, but now there were several figures being formed. It was totally not enough, so Valentine slit his wrist and supplied more blood to the scene in front of him. The fresh blood got sucked into the figures, making them slightly more complete. When he thought that it was enough, he quickly covered the wound on his wrist with a handkerchief that he had prepared because he didn''t want to die of blood loss.


    The scene in front of him now looked more clear, albeit was still only partially formed. At least now he could see which figure belonged to Luuk. There were a total of four people there, and only parts of the faces and some outlines of the body were formed with the amount of blood available. Two people whose faces he recognized as his neighbors were facing the direction of the door, while Luuk and the last figure whose face he didn''t recognize were facing the east. There was also a small floating part of a cat''s head facing the opposite direction from Luuk chasing something that might have been a rat; the thing it was chasing was only reconstructed as a floating bloodstain.


    Once the scene was completed, the figures of blood started moving. The two neighbors were walking into Vakbond Apartment and then disappeared once they got out of the zone. Luuk and the other person started walking towards the direction they were facing and also disappeared. The cat moved very quickly chasing the blot of floating blood. He found out the direction where Luuk was going; however, since it showed everything that had happened within an hour, Valentine wasn''t able to tell if Luuk and the other figure were traveling together or not.


    After all the figures disappeared, the blood vanished into thin air, leaving no stain whatsoever on the pavement. Since the used blood was taken as an offering, Valentine''s idea of using red paint instead of blood was shattered.


    "Maybe we can steal some blood bags from the blood bank," he ridiculed while regaining his stamina.


    Since becoming a Contractbound, his body''s ability to regenerate had greatly improved. Losing that amount of blood wasn''t a big deal to him, although it still made him somewhat lightheaded, because his body would produce it back quickly.


    Valentine followed the direction where Luuk was going after he recovered from his weakened state. He walked lightly and quickly in that cold, moonless night. The barren night street was not so quiet in his ears. He could clearly hear the sound of insects chirping and owls hooting, which after some time started to annoy him. He needed to concentrate hard to block those noises from his brain. He could also hear the faint sound of footsteps walking the same direction as him, but the person was walking slower.


    He kept walking and after some distance, he could finally see the owner of the stepping sounds. It was a slender man with all black clothes who was walking slowly and carefully in the shadow of the trees, avoiding the streetlight. The man was still about twenty meters away ahead of him, so he shouldn''t have noticed Valentine. Before getting closer to the man, Valentine chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence a secret!"


    He then felt a thin layer of yellowish fog surrounding his whole body, which made people instinctively neglect his existence. The sounds of his footsteps, that were light to begin with, had now been erased completely. It was the same ability he had used on Graham when he was about to assassinate Daan Holsten. The effect radius was fifty meters, so he had to approach his target before the man got out of it.


    Valentine walked quickly with absolute silence. However, he couldn''t run because loud noises would still be noticeable by the people around him. He also couldn''t talk if he wanted to remain stealthy because his ability also didn''t conceal his voice.


    The distance between him and the man was quickly reduced until Valentine was only several steps behind him. The man didn''t seem to notice anyone walking behind him because there was no presence at all. He kept moving slowly and carefully while looking around. From that spot, Valentine could see that the man was wearing a facemask to conceal his identity. Valentine then swiftly got in front of the man to allow him to see his target''s eyes and very quickly chanted a spell.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    The man was very surprised by the person who suddenly appeared in front of him out of nowhere, but had no time to react at all. He felt his consciousness quickly faded away. The man was now standing in the spot motionless; his breathing became regular and steady. He had fallen under Valentine''s control.


    "Tell me what you are planning to do," asked Valentine suspiciously.


    "I''m just looking for a house that looks profitable to steal from," answered the man in a monotonous voice honestly. Under Valentine''s control, the answer came directly from the man''s subconscious.


    "Are you acting alone?"


    "No. I''m only the scout. The whole team will operate once I''ve told them the target house," the man''s voice remained monotonous.


    "Has your team ever killed anyone during your action?"


    "No. We only steal. We''ve never killed anyone," said the man again honestly, but his eyes seemed blank.


    "How do you avoid confrontation with the house owner?"


    "There is someone in our group who can make people fall asleep. So, whenever we are in action, the owners are guaranteed to be sleeping, no matter how much noise we make," he explained.


    "Another Contractbound; the same power as the guy chasing Fabien Arnaud," Valentine muttered, then asked his next question, "Where are your accomplices hiding right now?"


    "They are in Oosteindestraat, inside an empty house number 57."


    Valentine had obtained everything that wanted to know, so he quickly moved away from the man''s field of vision and stood under a tree, watching his target. The moment he moved too far away from the target, he broke free from Valentine''s control and let out a short scream while hid hands moved in front of his face, guarding it.


    "Aah!"


    He then looked around in confusion and quickly controlled himself. He seemed to only remember the last moment before he fell under control, which was Valentine suddenly appearing in front of him. Since there was no one there, he thought that he had only imagined it, so he brushed that thought away. After he made sure that he was safe, the man continued walking while trying to find a suitable house to rob.


    Valentine left the man behind and continued to walk towards the east. However, he had gotten a new destination now.

 55 More Criminals to Teach a Lesson to

    Valentine arrived at Oosteindestraat in less than thirty minutes because of his fast walking pace. His concealment had worn off because he moved outside of the fifty-meter radius from the spot where he cast it, but it didn''t matter to him. He could always recast it. He had worn the facemask that he had prepared before and walked down the pretty busy street since it was already two-thirty and all the shady characters were out and about.


    Oosteindestraat was quite long, so he wouldn''t recast his Concealment, which was the name he gave to the new branch of Secret Restriction ability before he got close to the building where the band of criminals was hiding. The building he was looking for was an empty house with the number 57.


    Valentine strutted leisurely down the street while observing his surroundings. It was also a good chance for him to test his lie detector. However, it was very noisy for someone like him with improved hearing, so he had to concentrate hard to filter out the unnecessary noises. There were various different characters standing by the street side, in front of the diverse establishments. The dim streetlight made them look especially questionable, standing around like that. He overheard a conversation between two rugged men in front of a karaoke bar.


    "You hid the change, didn''t you?" asked one of the men who was wearing a shirt that didn''t match his face. His tone was full of accusations.


    "No. I swear they didn''t give me any change at all!" said the other man with a beard and mustache. His tone was defensive.


    "But I gave you three stuivers! It said it was only twenty duits on the receipt, so there should be four duit change!" the shirt-wearing man''s voice got higher.


    "Then the cashier must have forgotten to give it to me!" said the bearded man in self-defense.


    Valentine was listening to their conversation from afar while rapidly walking closer. The whole time the bearded man was speaking, he felt like listening to the sound of a metal fork scratching a ceramic plate, which made him very irritated. It was his lie detector in action. He needed to have good self-control not to jump on the bearded man and start beating him to a pulp just out of spite. When he got close enough to the two men arguing, he opened his mouth.


    "He is lying. I saw him hiding the money," said Valentine in a very convincing way without breaking eye-contact with the man in a shirt.


    He made up the part about him seeing the bearded man hide the money, just to sound more convincing. The whole time he was telling the lie, his own voice also sounded like broken glass shards stabbing his eardrums. He needed to get used to himself lying without losing control.


    "You whoreson!" shouted the man with the shirt angrily.


    Hearing the stranger''s compelling remarks, the shirt man punched the bearded man in the face, which caused the bearded man to retaliate. A fight ensued between the two of them. They kept throwing punches and kicks at each other, pushing their bodies around. The fight quickly dragged other people in because they were victims of stray impacts. The situation became rather chaotic quickly, but Valentine had long moved away from the scene. He kept walking as if he hadn''t had any part in the chaos.


    Valentine ignored the loud noises coming from the fight behind him and also from the chattering around him. He only focused on the more subtle sounds like the sounds of footsteps or the sounds of whispering; however, nothing was relevant to him. He increased his pace and arrived near the empty house with the number 57 on the wall.


    While he was still a short distance away from the house, he wanted to place the Concealment on himself. He had the option of concealing his face, which would make it almost impossible for anyone to see it, or to conceal his presence, which would make him stealthier, but people could still see his face if they concentrated enough. Since he was already wearing a facemask, his face being seen was not a big deal, so he decided to conceal his whole presence. He had tried to conceal his whole body, but it didn''t work.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence a secret!"


    A thin yellow mist then enveloped his own body. He moved swiftly towards the house, but still trying to avoid being seen. His presence had been erased, but it didn''t make him invisible. He skipped the front door and just went to the side of the house, looking for a window where he could enter from. The medium-sized house only had one floor, so entering through the balcony, like his usual style, was out of the question.


    The empty house was still in good condition, so there was no missing part of the wall where he could sneak in from. The windows were also still intact, and breaking the glass would create too much noise. He didn''t have Graham''s power either, where he could just order the windows to open themselves. Valentine tried to find his way to the back of the house from the side. There was a fence that he had to climb over, but he did it with ease thanks to his good agility.


    Just as he had thought, there was a back door, which most likely led to the kitchen. Valentine stood in front of the door while perking up his ears. He was listening to the activity inside the house to make sure it was safe to open the door. He could hear the voices of several people from somewhere inside.


    "Clemens hasn''t come back yet. You think he''s in trouble?" asked a man whose voice sounded annoying because he dragged the ends of his words.


    "He probably dead or somethin''. Just wait a lil longer and if he don''t show up, we go," said a woman with a thick accent.


    "Shut up you two! I''m trying to meditate here," said another man whose voice was calm but showed irritation at the same time.


    "Why don''t ya go meditate in the grave? It''s more quieter there," said the accented woman again, sarcastically.


    Then there was no more reply. Judging from the sound of their voices, the people were not near the back door, so it should be safe for Valentine to pick the lock. He took out his lock picking set and let his fingers do their magic.


    Click!


    A short moment later, the door had been unlocked. It wasn''t terribly hard for him with his mastery, especially since the lock was a standard model. It would be a different story if it had been a cutting-edge lock or an extremely ancient one. He put back his lock picking set and waited for a while before opening the door. He listened to the sound from inside the house and the footsteps didn''t seem to be approaching the back door.


    He grabbed the door handle decisively and twisted. He then carefully opened the door, avoiding making a lot of noise. Even though his presence was concealed, the noise the door could make wasn''t. He entered through the gap and walked with very light steps to avoid the floor creaking for the same reason. The wooden floorboards in the house seemed pretty sturdy, however, so no creaking sounds were made while he was walking on them.


    In the dark house, Valentine sneaked around with his enhanced night vision activated, trying to find the band of burglars hiding in that house. Since it was not a large house, he found them not long after. They were sitting leisurely on the sofas in the living room as if it was their own houses. They must be thinking that they were completely safe in their little hideout. In the dark house, their only source of lighting was a lantern that they had placed on the table, which was enough to somewhat illuminate their immediate surroundings.


    He observed them and noticed that there were four of them, instead of just three. One of them was just not moving nor talking at all. Also, they might be hiding weapons, judging from the unnatural bulge in their clothes. Although the scout, who was apparently called Clemens, claimed that they had never killed, that didn''t mean they wouldn''t. They just had been lucky no one had put up any resistance up to now.


    At that point, he remembered the book-entry that Graham had seen during his divination which showed a lot of information about Contractbounds. One of them was about Denuders and It said there that Denuders would get the power to strip their opponents off their weapons, but he didn''t get such ability. He felt cheated, and then realized that it would probably be given once he had pleased the Deity.


    "I guess I''ll have to do it the old fashioned way," he muttered regretfully.


    With his presence still concealed, Valentine sneaked closer to the living room and looked at one of the burglars, who had been sitting calmly without doing anything. With his target within line of sight, he chanted in a low voice.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    The target''s eyes then looked blank. He had fallen under Valentine''s control, but he wouldn''t do anything to his target. His goal was to knock the others unconscious first.


    "What was that?!" asked the man with an annoying voice in surprise.


    "Someone is here. Find them!" said the calm voiced man.


    The sound of Valentine''s chanting was audible to the burglars, and they started frantically looking around for the source of it. However, with Valentine''s concealed presence, and his hiding ability, it was very difficult for them to find him.


    Valentine moved very fast to one of the burglars. He was like a black shadow moving in that badly lit house, hunting for prey. He put enough force into his right fist and punched the man with the annoying voice right in his chin, which sent him flying backward and knocked him unconscious.


    Bam!


    The sound of the man''s body hitting the floor alerted the others of Valentine''s location, but he had quickly moved away from the spot. He was crouching behind the wall, hiding from the other two''s eyes, and with his Concealment, the burglars wouldn''t be able to feel or hear his presence.


    "Someone knocked Jopp out! Be careful!" said the meditating man.


    "I didn''t see no one!"


    "They must be hiding behind something. Let''s go check together. Don''t separate!" said the man cautiously. He took out a pocket knife that he was hiding inside the pocket of his black jacket.


    "Why Tino just standin'' stupidly there?" asked the woman with an accent in confusion. She also took out a pocket knife from under her sock. "Yo! Norm!" she shouted at the man under Valentine''s control but got no response.


    "I don''t know. We should let him be for now. He cannot fight anyway. If we try to wake him up the enemy will get us by surprise."


    Valentine was listening intently to their conversation and also the sound of their footsteps to determine their distance from his hiding spot. The two burglars walked very carefully towards a sofa where the enemy might be hiding. When they were close enough, Valentine chanted in quick succession quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of the man with the black jacket''s FACE a secret!"


    He emphasized the word face so it would be heard clearly enough by the two goons, who should be familiar with spell chanting to some extent. When they heard the word, they instinctively looked at each other''s faces to make sure they were alright.


    "Ah!" screamed the woman when she looked closely at the man''s face.


    "What''s wrong?! Why is it foggy??" asked the man in confusion.


    "Your face is GONE!!" yelled the woman. The face of her partner was now completely covered with a thick yellowish fog.


    Within that split-second moment of distraction, Valentine very quickly got out of his hiding spot and leaped at the two burglars. He punched the man right in his chin and sent him flying backward, and then chopped the woman''s neck from behind, making her fall unconscious to the ground.


    Thud!


    Wham!


    The sounds of bodies hitting the floor broke the silence in that house. However, it didn''t seem to have any effect on the man who was staring blankly at the space in front of him. Everything happened so quickly that the duration of the control hadn''t run out yet. Valentine approached the man who looked to be in his mid-twenties and started interrogating him.


    "Tell me, which one of you has the power to put people to sleep?"


    "It''s me..." answered the man who was called Tino by the female burglar.


    "Jackpot!" Valentine muttered, then added, "Tell me your full name and your address."


    "My name is Constantino Granucci. I live on Tuinstraat South, Tyone Apartment number 44," he answered monotonously.


    "Hmm... So he is Favaran," muttered Valentine.


    The name of the person in front of him didn''t sound native to the Republic of Tulp, but rather, to Favara, a country south of Rodin, in the Western Continent. A lot of people from the Western Continent had moved to Tulp, which was located in the Central Continent, a long time ago, making it a culturally diverse country. That was why finding someone with a foreign name wasn''t something new there. Their parents must have migrated here and although they retained the name from their origin countries, they were still a legitimate citizen of the Republic.


    "What time will you usually be home?" he asked another question.


    "Usually after five until midnight,"


    "Okay. I''ll pay you a visit soon," said Valentine, but since it wasn''t a question, the target didn''t respond.


    He had asked everything he wanted to know, so now it was time to leave the scene. He wasn''t planning on killing anyone tonight; he just wanted to get the information about the Slumberer and see if he could recruit him for a future mission. But for that, he had to pay the man a personal visit first, where he wouldn''t be disturbed by his burglar friends.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of the man with the black jacket''s face no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist enveloped his body, concealing his presence. The duration of his Interrogation should run out soon, so he had to move out before it happened. Valentine left the house through the back door and closed it behind him politely.


    Once Valentine had moved too far away, his control over Tino got canceled, and he regained his consciousness. He looked in confusion at his partners who were lying unconscious on the floor.

 56 Preparing to Go Out of Town

    Graham was already up on that cloudy Wednesday morning. It was still eight. The sky outside was cloudy and gloomy, with the breeze blowing stronger than usual. He was sipping the hot chocolate that he had prepared earlier while sitting leisurely in his office chair. The sweet aroma of the chocolate and the rich flavor brushed away the gloom that the morning brought.


    "Val, since we''ve both powered up, I think it''s time we go to Oostelijk Bos to get our hands on that ancient book," he said thoughtfully.


    His right hand, which was holding the cup, moved closer to his face to allow him to take another sip on his beverage.


    "But before that, I need to do more divination. And there is also one thing that I''ve completely forgotten to divine about."


    Graham put down the cup of hot chocolate on the saucer that he was holding with his left hand and placed them gently on his desk. After that, he took out a lighter that looked classy and started the fire.


    ''What is the dangerous creature that Valentine encountered deep in the Concrete?''


    The flame burned brighter and slowly, an image appeared from the center. It showed him another page of an ancient-looking book that looked very similar to the one appearing in his previous divination. There was a picture of a hideous creature that looked just like the one Valentine had encountered and there was also the explanation.


    ''Ghouls are monstrous undead creatures that are extremely dangerous. They eat corpses of both humans and animals alike. Although somewhat humanoid, they are easily recognizable by their donkey hooves instead of feet. Ghouls can be classified into two genders: the males, which are called Ghul, and the females, which are called Ghulah. Both genders of Ghouls possess sharp teeth and claws, and extreme speed. The difference is that Ghulahs can sometimes evolve into Umm Ghulahs, or Mother Ghouls, when the conditions are met. The only way to kill a Ghoul permanently is by a strong blood attack or purification, otherwise, it will just come back to life. If you encounter an Umm Ghulah, however, just run and pray for your dear life.''


    The entry ended there, and not long after, the image also disappeared little by little.


    "So, besides Lingering Spirits and Wraiths, Undeads also exist in this world. No wonder it counted as a big secret," he rubbed his chin in revelation, "We were lucky we could escape from that ghoul. As we are now, we don''t have any means to destroy any of those creatures."


    "Now I''m more convinced that we should get our hands on that book. The information in there is just simply too valuable," he spoke with conviction.


    Graham got ready for his next question. He concentrated on the flame that was still burning from the lighter in his hand.


    ''How dangerous is it to get the ancient book from the previous divination?''


    The room then became pitch black, and the flame burned brightly and shook violently. Graham''s spirituality told him that the danger was extreme and it could kill him, but it should still be doable as long as he took the utmost precautions. Then, from the convulsing blaze, an image gradually formed. It showed a very blurry ornamental mask with giant eyes and an elongated tongue. The mask gave him a great sense of doom when looking at it. Since the image was not clear, it meant that the danger was strong enough to interfere with his divination to some extent.


    The image slowly disappeared, leaving Graham in deep thought. The danger exceeded his expectation. That mask he had just seen made him very uncomfortable, and it was only through divination. Seeing one in real life would have a much more devastating effect.


    He needed to ask another question in divination. He stared at the now calmly burning flame and repeated the question in his heart.


    ''Where can I get talismans to protect me from evil spirits?''


    The flame created an image looking down from a bird''s eye point of view. It showed the forest east of Sloten, Oostelijk Bos. It then zoomed in to a small town located at the edge of the forest, right next to the highway. The image ended there and vanished into the flame.


    The house where the ancient book was located should also be somewhere in the forest near that small town. Graham had initially expected to see the black market in his divination, but apparently it showed the easiest path toward his goal since he was going that way anyway. He also could somehow see how the town would have protection talismans since it was located near the vast woods.


    "Out of town we go, I guess," he let go of the trigger mechanism and the flame went out.


    Graham got up from his chair and went back to his bedroom. He was still shirtless, only wearing his pajama pants. He put on a shirt and changed his pajama pants into something more action-ready. He also took another spare shirt and pants and stuffed them inside his briefcase. Since the location was out of town, he might have to stay the night there in the worst-case scenario. Besides spare clothes, he also brought all the leftover essential oil vials that he still had and candles, not forgetting spare lighters and matchsticks.


    Graham really wanted to take the gun with him, but as of now, it was useless. There had only been one bullet remaining, and he had used it to finish of Daan Holsten, so now there was none at all. However, he still took it, hiding it under his spare clothes, although he didn''t know how effective the gun would be during his mission. He then stopped what he was doing and lit his lighter to ask a question to confirm his guesses.


    ''Can I buy bullets at the small town near Oostelijk Bos?''


    The flame burned brighter and then showed a building in a small town. His spirituality told him it was the same town that he had seen before. He memorized the detail of the building carefully in his mind. Since his divination showed him that, it meant that he could probably buy bullets there. The image then disappeared.


    Now Graham was more convinced to bring the gun with him. If there was a bullet seller in that small town, they must be there for a reason. Probably guns were effective to protect themselves from wild beast roaming the forest, and he would always welcome the extra protection.


    He continued stuffing his briefcase with things he might need, including Valentine''s leather jacket. Once he was done, he got up and put on his favorite dark brown trench coat that was hanging from the coat hanger in his office. He went out and locked his apartment door firmly.


    In the street, Graham stopped a public motor carriage that was driving by. It pulled over closer to the side next to parked carriages that were lining down the streetside. He walked over to the driver''s seat and saw the middle-aged man behind the wheel.


    "Good morning," the driver greeted him politely.


    "Good morning. Say, would you mind if I rent you and your motor carriage for a whole day, maybe two, to take me to Oostelijk Bos?" asked Graham, stating his business.


    The driver appeared to be thinking. The forest was out of town, right on the east of Sloten, but the driver knew that Graham wasn''t just going to the forest since he said it would take the whole day. He must be going to the small town near the forest which would take at least four hours of driving.


    "I don''t think I can, Sir. That is too far away. I''m really sorry," said the driver apologetically.


    "It''s fine. I can understand that. Good day," Graham replied, without any anger in his tone. He knew it would not be easy to find someone willing to take him there.


    The driver switched to the first gear and drove away from his spot, leaving Graham alone on the side of the street. He was already busy waving at the next public motor carriage that was driving by, and when he asked the driver the same question, his request was rejected again. He was rejected two more times before finally another public motor carriage drove by. With his Supersight, he could see the driver''s familiar face.


    "Good morning, mister detective," said Egon the driver with a friendly smile.


    "Good morning, Egon." Graham smiled back.


    "Where do you want to go today?"


    "Actually, I have a request," Graham said seriously and then stated what he needed.


    "Hmm..." Egon was thinking for a while, and then finally said, "Alright. I can do it."


    Graham''s lips curled into a smile. He was glad he didn''t have to resort to using his power to make people take him there.


    "I''ll pay you one guilder and ten stuivers for the whole trip and also for your hotel stay so you can rest while I finish my business there," he said. He was being generous because he didn''t want the driver to change his mind. Besides, he still had a lot of money from his past missions.


    Egon''s eyes opened wide. That was much more money than what he usually made after driving the whole day.


    "Thank you! But I need to go home first to get ready. I also need to tell my wife and kid where I''m going, or they''ll be worried, you see? And lastly, I need a refuel first." Egon said enthusiastically.


    "I understand. You can go first. I''ll be at Don''s Pancake House nearby. Come pick me up there once you''re ready,"


    "Roger that. I''ll be going now," said Egon as he started driving away.


    Finally getting his transport, Graham walked leisurely to the small diner for breakfast. The street that morning was very chilly and windy. His coat was blown away by the wind, making it rather difficult to walk. He saw that other people also had the same problem as him. He reached the diner not long after.


    "Morning, Graham!" greeted a friendly voice that was very familiar to him.


    "Hello, Mirjam," he greeted back and went to sit at his favorite spot.


    Mirjam walked closer to his table with a tray and a note in her hands. Her face radiated cheerfulness in that gloomy morning. Her freckles and her flaxen hair complemented her beautiful face, and her blue eyes were glimmering with enthusiasm.


    "Where are you going?" she asked curiously after seeing Graham''s full briefcase.


    "Out of town for some business,"


    "What business? Are you meeting with a woman?" she said with a playful tone.


    "Of course not. It''s just the usual detective business," he said vaguely.


    "Are you going to be gone for long? We will miss you here," she started her usual teasing.


    "No, you won''t. You have a lot of other customers to tease. And I will be gone for two days max," he said nonchalantly.


    "Don''t put it like I like teasing customers," she pouted.


    "Well, at least you like teasing me, and I''m a customer, so you like teasing a customer," he shrugged.


    "It''s because you are always single," she said jokingly.


    "What does that have to do with anything? And I''m not always single. You are always single." Graham said in self-defense.


    "Because I''m still waiting for the man that you said would come to my life. When is he coming anyway? I''ll grow old and wrinkled if he doesn''t appear soon."


    Graham shrugged. He could probably divine it, but he would just rather let her wait in anticipation. It would be more interesting that way.


    Then, in that moment, he felt something strange. It wasn''t like him at all to let things remain unknown. He usually wanted to know everything that might be related to him, and since the vision came from his palmistry, it must have something to do with himself as well. He would try to divine it when he had the time later.


    "So, what do you want to have today?" asked Mirjam suddenly after seeing Graham in deep thought.


    "I feel like eating something sweet. Give me your fruit and chocolate waffle. And a cup of hazelnut hot chocolate."


    Mirjam wrote his order on her note slip very quickly, and then turned to him, "Anything else?"


    "That should be all," he said shortly.


    After that, Mirjam smiled again at Graham and left his table to pass his order to the chef in the kitchen. She then went to another table to chat with other customers.


    Graham waited for his food to come while doing his favorite activity there: people-watching. There were a lot of customers at that time in that small diner, and most of them were older men and women. They looked genuinely happy, chatting and eating there, which in turn made Graham''s heart warm. He then looked at the people walking out in the street. Unlike the warm diner, the street outside was cold, so the people also showed a cold expression on their faces. Most of them walked quickly to reach their destination sooner, because it was windy out there; not a nice place to be.


    Not long after, Mirjam came back with his order. She placed his plate of food and his cup of hot chocolate gently on the table and smiled warmly.


    "Enjoy!" she said.


    "Thanks."


    Graham nodded and smiled back at her. Mirjam then left his table again because another customer called for her. It gave him time to savor every bite of his delicious-looking food. On the plate in front of him, there was a warm waffle with strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and chocolate toppings. He took a bite and the combination of the warm waffle and the cold fruit tasted heavenly. The sweet chocolate balanced out the slight tanginess of the strawberries, and the warm, soft waffle melted in his mouth. With the food still inside his mouth, he sipped his hot chocolate and the rich, nutty hot liquid combined with the food inside and created an entirely new, delicious flavor.


    He finished his food quickly while enjoying every bite of it. However, he didn''t finish his drink right away because he still needed it while waiting for Egon to come pick him up.

 57 Oostelijk Bos

    Graham was picked up by Egon the driver from the diner one and a half hours after he finished his breakfast. Egon had driven as quickly as he could to the Concrete and back because he didn''t want to make his customer wait for too long, but it still took him long to drive there because of the distance. Now they were driving towards their destination: the woods east of Sloten.


    Egon drove the motor carriage to Oosteinde first, because the eastern exit of the city was there. Once past Oosteinde, they came to the last intersection where the streets leading to the north and the south were parts of the giant ring road called the Sloten Ring which encircled the whole city. People could take the Sloten Ring to go around Sloten faster than taking the inner city streets because of the lack of traffic there.


    At the intersection, after the light turned green, Egon went straight ahead and exited the big city. The farther he drove, the fewer manmade structures they saw. Surrounding them were now tall trees on the left and flatlands on the right. The trees were almost as tall as a six-story building, and their leaves were still green despite the approaching winter. Those were evergreen trees, but Graham lacked the knowledge of botany to know what kind of trees they were or why they stayed green.


    He activated his Supersight and started observing the woods as the motor carriage was driving along the wide, quiet highway. The tall trees were densely packed together, making it difficult for the sunlight to penetrate through and shone upon the soil below. He could see a lot of rabbits with thick fur hopping about, looking for food in preparation for winter. There were also a lot of deer hidden among the trees. The forest looked peaceful on that cloudy morning, although the wind was blowing rather strongly.


    Graham was curious about what kind of predator lived in that forest. There had been a lot of wild animal attack reports, and mostly those were done by bears, but there were also a lot of other unexplained ones. The victims told the reported who interviewed them that they were attacked by a black tiger-like animal. Their stories were consistent with each other, so they were probably telling the truth. Although there were also a lot of other wacky stories that just sounded too unbelievable to be true. However, since encountering unbelievable creatures himself, Graham had kept an open mind to more new discoveries.


    The highway seemed never-ending. It was just a straight line which would eventually lead to another city. The closest city to Sloten on the eastern side was Rijssen, which was a coastal city famous for its sea products, such as pearls and seafood, and its beaches. It would take them twelve hours of nonstop driving to reach it. However, Graham''s destination was not Rijssen, but a small town closer to Sloten which he didn''t know the name of, and neither did Egon.


    "If I may ask, what are you going to do in the middle of nowhere like this?" ask Egon curiously, breaking the silence.


    "I need to investigate something in the forest. That''s why I need to go to that town to ask around and to have a base of operation," Graham explained.


    "I''ve never been around here before, so I''m sorry I cannot be much help," he said apologetically, then asked, "Have you? You seem to know where you''re going."


    "Not really. I''ve never been to this part either. I''ve been to Rijssen, but I''ve never stopped at that town." said Graham.


    "Ah, Rijssen! I''ve never been there either. Born and raised in Sloten, you see? I heard they have the best seafood in the Republic. Is that true?" Egon''s tone was full of expectations.


    "It''s definitely true. Their seafood is very fresh. It''s a nice city."


    The driver and his passenger went quiet again, and after some time, Egon spoke.


    "Anyway, are you going to the woods?"


    "Uhm... yes. Why?" answered Graham with a question.


    "Isn''t Oostelijk Bos a dangerous place? I heard people are avoiding going in there now," Egon said with a serious tone.


    "It''s a forest, so I''m sure there are wild animals. And the people avoiding it must be the tourists because locals surely still enter to hunt for food," said Graham with confidence.


    He saw all the fat rabbits on the way and thought that if he were a local, he would surely still go into the forest to hunt them for their fur and fat meat.


    "You''re probably right, Sir. But I still wouldn''t risk going in if I were a local. The rumors about the animal attacks are crazy," Egon added, his voice showed a tinge of fear.


    "What have you heard?" asked Graham. Usually, drivers like Egon would talk to different people and hear different kinds of stories.


    "A lot. They say there is a monster tiger in that forest. It''s black and very fast. Tigers are not black, are they? And they don''t live here on this continent. And I''m sure pumas don''t exist here anymore either-- unless my education is wrong.


    "It could have been a black puma. We thought they became extinct around these areas because of hunting, but maybe that is not the case at all. Maybe there are some who still live deep in the forest. It''s a massive one, after all, so we can''t explore every centimeter of it," said Graham analytically.


    "That''s a good point, Sir."


    They kept chatting for a while about different topics, which also served to help Egon not turn sleepy. They had been on the road for almost four hours when they saw a bridge ahead and a sign of civilization. They were getting closer to the town where they were heading. Egon drove the motor carriage across the bridge and kept going until they arrived at the town, but they didn''t stop yet. Ahead of them, there was a fork in the road. Going straight would lead them to Rijssen while turning left would take them deeper into the town, so Graham told Egon to turn left.


    Graham and Egon hadn''t seen any signs or arches that showed the town name so far, although right now they were driving in its street. There were not many people either there. The three-lane street only had three or four other motor carriages driving there. Graham saw a hotel near them and told Egon to pull over. It looked promising from so he chose the place as his base of operation.


    The hotel was called ''Forester'', shown by the sign at the front. It had six stories and looked good from the outside. Egon parked his motor carriage and carried his own luggage inside. He had offered to carry Graham''s as well but got rejected politely.


    They entered the hotel and looked around. The inside was not bad-looking at all. The lobby was spacious with wooden walls around them, which made them feel like they were in a cabin. There was a fireplace and comfortable sofas placed around it. The brown wooden floor was covered by a thick carpet under the sofa. It was a surprisingly decent place to be found in such a small town.


    "Good morning," greeted he male receptionist with a smile from behind the desk.


    "Good morning. We would like two rooms, please." requested Graham straight to the point.


    "Can I borrow your identity card?" asked the receptionist politely.


    Both Egon and Graham offered their cards to the receptionist. It was the standard procedure to stay in a hotel; all the guests must be able to show identification before being allowed to stay.


    The receptionist who looked to be in his late twenties wrote down the names of his guests in the guestbook with neat handwriting, which looked pleasant to read.


    "Here you go, thank you, and here are your room keys. Your rooms are on the third floor," said the receptionist in a friendly manner. He handed the keys with room numbers on them to his guests.


    "Thanks," "Thank you," said Graham and Egon at the same time.


    The two men walked up the main staircase in the middle of the lobby to the second floor. There, they went to the stairs at the side and went up to the third floor, where their rooms were.


    Graham took the room closer to the stairs, which was number 32. Egon''s room was next to his, deeper into the corridor.


    "I''ll be in my room for now. When I need you, I''ll knock on your door. For the time being, you can rest," he said to Egon who was unlocking hir room door.


    "Okay, Sir."


    Both men entered their respective rooms and locked the door behind them.


    Graham looked around his hotel room and was pleased by its interior. There was a king-sized bed in the middle of the room with wooden walls around. There was a thick, soft carpet underneath the bed and extended to the area around it. The brown room had paintings as decoration, as well as wall ornaments. Not only the wall and the floor, the table and the chair were also made of wood there, although the sofa was not.


    "Val, this room is astonishing considering we''re in a small town. Remember when we had to sleep on the hard bed in that barrack? That is all in the past; this is the real life," Graham said in contentment.


    He went and sit on the chair and placed a candlestick on the table firmly. For divination while in his room, he would use the candle to save up fuel in his lighters. Once he entered the forest, he didn''t know how long he would have to stay there, so he didn''t want to risk not being able to start a fire there. He had also carried a lot of matchsticks just in case. After all, he was a Fire Divinator, so he had to always have a fire ready.


    He lit the cheap, white candlestick and began his fire scrying ritual. Since he was already in the town, he should be able to divine the location of the bullet seller.


    ''Where is the location of the bullet seller in this town?''


    An image appeared in the flame and he saw an aerial view of the town. He saw two red dots there; one belonged to himself inside the hotel and the other one should be the bullet seller. It was a small building with a rooftop. The place didn''t look too far away, so he should be able to get there on foot quickly enough.


    The image then disappeared gradually. Graham kept staring at the flame and asked his second question.


    "What is the danger existing in Oostelijk Bos?''


    The hotel room became darker, although the lights were switched on. The flame burned brighter and bigger and little by little an image formed. Graham saw a big, brown bear mauling a deer. And then it shifted to a brown cougar stalking its prey. After that, the image shifted again to a black, four-legged creature that was much bigger than the cougar, but the image was not clear. He couldn''t see in detail what the creature was. The image was then slowly consumed by the fire.


    "I definitely need the gun," Graham muttered.


    He put out the fire and tore off a page from his notebook. He wrote on it ''I''m heading out'' for Egon to see so he wouldn''t be waiting for him. He would stick it on his door, but he didn''t have glue or tape, so he used the melted wax from the candle and smeared some at the back of the paper. Graham then got up and brought his briefcase with him, and after turning off the light and sticking the note to his door, he locked it.


    He went downstairs back to the lobby to find the receptionist. Usually, hotel receptionists were well-informed about the place around them, so he would ask the guy some questions. The receptionist was sitting at his desk reading a book when Graham got there.


    "Hello," greeted Graham.


    The receptionist looked up and put down his book. He then smiled at his guest and said, "Yes, sir?"


    "What can you tell me about the forest around this town-- what is the name of this town anyway? Why haven''t I seen any signs with the name yet?


    "This town has no name, Sir. The reason is a very long story, so if you are interested, you can go to the local library. There is a book about the history of this town," he said informatively.


    "As for the forest, it''s a very dangerous place. Locals usually only dare to go to the periphery to hunt rabbits or deer. They never dare to go deeper because of the forest dwellers," said the receptionist seriously.


    "What dwellers?"


    "There is a forest monster that we locals call Zwart. If you''ve heard rumors about its attack, it''s mostly outsiders who have been attacked. We, locals, know not to get close to its territory," the receptionist''s tone was serious.


    Graham nodded while listening intently.


    "There are also evil spirits deep inside the forest. They are one of the reasons why this town cannot be named. We are safe in this town; they don''t usually dare to come out, especially since the Police from Sloten exterminated most of them," he said with a relieved tone.


    "There are also protection talisman sellers around town. It''s one of our attractions here. You should be able to find them easily," he added.


    "Thank you very much for your information. Anyway, if Egon comes down, tell him to enjoy his vacation," said Graham.


    He then walked out of the hotel and headed towards the bullet seller. After hearing the story of the receptionist, he was more convinced that he needed all the protection he could get.

 58 A Nameless Trinket Store

    The afternoon was cold and windy. The forest stood tall next to that small town, casting its shadow over the buildings on its periphery. The street was quiet; only a few bunches of people could be seen walking or driving out in the cloudy daylight. Occasionally the sounds of the forest were audible to the town residents near it.


    Graham was heading towards the building where bullets were sold, which was already within his field of vision. He carefully crossed the street and arrived at an antique store without a name. From the outside, the store looked just like a normal antique store that sold vases and china and other peculiar objects. People would never think that they sold ammunition there.


    He pushed the door open and was greeted by the smell of old stuff and wood. The store had a lot of big ceramic vases with ornaments on them and books whose pages had turned brown. It was not as cramped as Paim''s antique store, but the collection was still commendable. There was a tall man wearing a turtleneck sweater sitting behind the counter. He has red hair and a freckled face. His expression seemed to show his fearlessness hidden behind his friendliness. The man looked at his customer and greeted him.


    "Hello, good sir. How can I help?" he said with a thick accent.


    Graham was sure that they didn''t sell the ammunition out in the open because guns were heavily regulated in the republic, so he got closer to the man and revealed his pocket gun a little. For a layman, it should not be clear what the object was because it could be anything, but for someone in the know, they would recognize it right away.


    "Do you have what I need?" he asked vaguely.


    The shopkeeper looked a bit surprised and asked back, his blue eyes opened wide, "Who told you about us?"


    Graham had expected the question, so he didn''t show any surprise. He calmly looked at the man in the eyes and spoke, "I need you to sell me what I need without asking questions. I''m on an important mission and trust me, you don''t want to be the reason for its failure." his tone was very serious and sounded very convincing.


    The tall shopkeeper looked confused and after a second passed he nodded. "Follow me," he said.


    Graham followed the man to go through the door to the back part of the store. It was a spacious room that looked like a fortune-teller''s room. In fact, it was probably one because there was a hooded woman sitting behind a table with a crystal ball at the end of the room whose walls were full of strange writings and talismans. The room gave off a strange spiritual sensation. The tall man walked closer towards the woman whose face couldn''t be seen clearly and whispered something to her.


    Graham''s first thought when he saw the woman was whether or not she was a Contractbound, but currently he had no way of checking because he couldn''t just do divination in front of strangers.


    "So you''re here to buy bullets?" asked the woman suddenly. Her voice was soft and mature.


    "Yes," Graham nodded while still standing on his spot. He had his guards up.


    "No need to be so tense. May I know why you need those?" she spoke in a somewhat soothing voice. Only her moving lips and a part of her pointy nose were visible from where Graham was standing.


    He thought that it would be better just to tell her the reason because trust was the basis of cooperation, but he wouldn''t tell her everything.


    "I''m going to go deep into the woods," he said monotonously.


    "Then you will need more than regular bullets," she said mysteriously.


    "Are they more expensive?" Graham asked the first question that came to his mind.


    "Yes, they are. They are specially made by my sister here," the man interjected. He had accidentally revealed an important piece of information to Graham.


    "Tell me more, and also the reason why I need the special bullets," he said. He already had guesses about the reason.


    "Before I tell you, you need to answer my question first. When did you become a Contractbound?" the hooded woman asked a question seemed to have another meaning.


    Graham wasn''t surprised by the fact that she knew he was a Contractbound because he had so easily got past the man who was apparently her brother. He was just curious about what the meaning behind her question was. He had to be careful with his answer because it contained crucial information that might reveal his battle powers.


    "Sometime between four months ago and yesterday," he answered vaguely.


    The hooded woman seemed to be looking at Graham from under the hood, observing him carefully from the distance.


    "You are a very cautious person," complimented the woman. Her lips curled into a smile. "At least now I know you are from the Police,"


    After saying that, she took off her hood and revealed her mature beautiful face and wavy red hair. Her skin was pale with orangish freckles adorning it. Her eyes were violet, which he wasn''t sure if they were natural or not. Violet eyes were extremely rare, but not impossible to naturally occur. Her nose was thin and pointy, complementing her thin, red lips.


    "Welcome to my magical trinkets store. My name is Cadhla, and this is my older brother, Rafferty. Pleased to be your acquaintance," she said softly and gracefully.


    "You can call me Raff," said the tall man casually.


    "Hello there. So, tell me about the bullets," asked Graham straight to the point.


    "Do you know about the monster or the evil spirits in the forest?" asked Cadhla.


    "Yes, I do. What about them?"


    "Normal bullets won''t hurt them. Only bullets imbued with a special property through a ritual have a real chance of injuring them," she explained vaguely. She seemed not willing to reveal all her cards either.


    "How much are you selling them for?" asked Graham.


    He then opened his coat a little, and reached into one of the pockets with his left hand, revealing the small revolver gun hidden inside. He did so because he knew she needed to know what kind of bullets he needed.


    She observed the weapon in Graham''s hand and spoke, ".31 calibers. That would be 2 guilders per bullet... but if you buy bulk, I''ll give you a special discount."


    Her voice sounded graceful yet professional. She seemed to have done similar things many times.


    "Dang. Why are they so expensive?" asked Graham in disbelief.


    Graham still had over sixty guilders currently from his previous commissions, but if everything would cost him so much money, that amount would not last long at all.


    "Because bullets are difficult to get in the first place, and my sister has to bestow them with power through a difficult ritual," interjected Raff.


    "Val, he seemed to be very protective of his sister," muttered Graham quietly.


    Cadhla only smiled gracefully from the other end of the room.


    "Can I see the bullets first?" asked Graham.


    Cadhla nodded at Raff, who went to get a box from the shelves. He approached Graham and opened the lid of the wooden box. Inside, there were bullets that didn''t seem to be different from normal ones.


    "Thank you. I''ll need time to think first," he then said after seeing them.


    He wanted to do divination to determine the effectiveness of the bullets before deciding to spend money on them, but he couldn''t do it there, so he excused himself to go outside. Since he had now seen the bullets, he should be able to get useful information through divination.


    Graham left the pair of brother and sister and went outside the antique store. He stood under a tree by the street and took out his lighter. In that quiet street, there was not a lot of people passing by, so he didn''t have to hide in an alley as usual. After making sure that there was no one around him, he started the fire and concentrated on it.


    ''How effective are the special bullets against the enemy I will face in the forest?''


    After repeating that question three times, he saw an image in the flame on his hand. It was someone shooting something very blurry, but Graham took it as the enemy from the forest. The bullet penetrated what might be the thing''s head and it burst into flames, leaving a small crystal fragment behind. The image then disappeared.


    "So they are indeed effective," he said while rubbing his chin.


    He stared at the flame again and concentrated. He repeated his next question in his mind.


    ''How much are the special bullets in Sloten?''


    The flame slowly formed an image that Graham had seen before. The surrounding area looked like the black market that he had divined once when he was looking for his sacrificial ingredients. The image then zoomed in to a store that displayed armaments and ammunition. There was a red dot inside a glass case, which he understood as the same bullet that he was asking about. The price tag on the bullet read two and a half guilders. The flame then consumed the image slowly.


    "It''s even more expensive in Sloten. Val, we should buy enough here, then,"


    After deciding that, he stared back at the flame and focused on the calmy burning fire. He had one more question that he wanted to ask.


    ''What is Cadhla''s Contractbound power?''


    The flame burned brightly, and his surrounding area became dark. He waited expectantly for the image to show in his flame. Then, there was only one blurry word that appeared.


    Whoosh!


    The flame went out by itself while Graham was reading the blurry word with difficulty. However, he had managed to see what it was.


    "She is a Transmuter? So she is either much stronger than me or she has a way to somewhat interfere with divination," he concluded.


    Graham stuffed the black lighter back inside his pocket and went back to the store. Rafferty had been waiting for him, so when he saw his customer coming back, he opened the back door and let Graham enter. Cadhla was still sitting in her original spot.


    "So, have you made up your mind?" she asked softly.


    "Yes. Besides the bullets, do you have other protective items that might be useful?" he took the initiative to ask.


    Graham looked around the room and observed the talismans on the wall carefully. They were many different kinds there; there was those that are made of paper with foreign characters on them, there were also those made out of sticks tied together to form a star, with a black feather at the end and those that were made of metal with mysterious engravings on them. All of them were bigger than the size of his palm.


    "In fact, we do. I also provide these talismans to the locals who are going into the forest, so the effect is trustworthy," answered Cadhla like a commercial salesperson.


    "What do they do?"


    "They are not as effective as the bullets, in that they can''t actually kill the evil spirits. But they offer you temporary protection to give you time to run away safely," she explained.


    Graham went into thinking. Since the bullets were expensive, he should save them as much as he could, so if he didn''t really need to, the talismans should be used instead.


    "Are they reusable?" he asked.


    "... you are very sharp. Each talisman is one-time use only," she chuckled and explained.


    Graham felt a pain in his heart. Since they were single-use, it meant he had to buy several of the talismans, which meant more money to burn.


    "How much are they?" he asked heavily.


    "Since you''re going to the forest, you will need this kind of talisman," she placed an object on the table in front of her.


    It was a small trident, a little bigger than the size of his hand, made of brass with complicated patterns on it. In the middle of the trident, there was a carving of a face of something that looked like an evil spirit itself. Its eyes were big and bulging out of their sockets, and its mouth was full of sharp teeth, forming an eerie grin. There was a golden ribbon tied around the trident carefully, making sure the face was not blocked.


    "They are cheap. Only five stuivers each," she smiled meaningfully.


    "I can bet you won''t find any other stores here that sell these useful talismans," Rafferty added.


    "That''s a quarter of a guilder. They are indeed cheaper than the bullet, but that''s still a lot of money. Why is everything Contractbound related so expensive?" he muttered in ridicule.


    Since he had divined the effectiveness of the bullet and the power of Cadhla, he didn''t question the authenticity of those talismans. He could also faintly feel some power coming out of them, which convinced him even more. However, they were bigger than the bullets and took more room, so it would be impossible to carry so many at once, even with his numerous coat pocket and briefcase space.


    "I''ll take twenty bullets and the same number of talismans then. Make sure to give me a big discount," he finally decided.


    His whole total should be forty-five guilders for the bullets and talismans, but he didn''t know how much discount the Transmuter was willing to give him, and he didn''t think his persuasion power would work on her, so he waited in anticipation.


    "Hmm... since you''re buying a lot, I''ll give you the talismans free of charge, so you only have to pay for the bullets," she smiled.


    "In that case, can I get more talismans?" asked Graham, taking his chance.


    "Yes, but they won''t be free," said Cadhla.


    "Nevermind then. Forty guilders it is," he changed his mind, and then added, "Can I get them now?"


    "I need to prepare them first because it is a lot that you are buying. I will need half a day. Is that alright? You can pay once your order is ready" she said matter-of-factly.


    Graham couldn''t do anything about it since he knew rituals needed preparation. However, he had to postpone going into the forest today since, by the time she finished his orders, it would have been nighttime, and he didn''t want to risk entering the forest at night.


    "Alright. You can take your time. I''ll come back tomorrow morning," he said.

 59 In the Periphery of the Woods

    At three in the afternoon of the same day, Graham Hymes was walking down the quiet street of the nameless town with his left hand carrying a briefcase. There were a couple of other people walking leisurely in that chilly afternoon. They didn''t appear to be in a hurry, enjoying their every step and savoring the cool breeze blowing in their faces. It was highly contrasted with people from the city who always seemed to be rushing somewhere.


    Graham was heading towards Oostelijk Bos, the tall forest overlooking the edge of the town. Although he couldn''t go deep into the forest because of the lack of offensive and defensive means, he could still go to the outer area of it, which should be safer. He wanted to familiarize himself with the forest, as well as experiment with how his abilities worked on wild animals.


    From his current position, the forest could already be seen in the distance. It was probably only two kilometers away to the outer boundary of the forest. Graham increased his pace in order to reach the forest sooner. The closer he got to it, the more people he saw walking towards the various directions unhurriedly.


    "Good afternoon," greeted a middle-aged man as he was walking closer to Graham. He smiled and nodded in a friendly manner while walking in the opposite direction.


    "Good afternoon," replied Graham while nodding and smiling back. He would have raised his trilby as well if he had worn one, but it was far too windy to do so.


    He kept walking and every time he walked past a person, they would greet him warmly. It was a completely different feeling from walking down the busy street of Sloten where people minded their own businesses most of the time. It didn''t make Graham uncomfortable at all; in fact, it made his mood better.


    "Good afternoon young man," greeted a kind-looking elderly lady with mostly grey hair. She was walking with the company of a female caretaker, who also smiled and nodded at him.


    "Good afternoon, Ma''am," he replied politely.


    The elderly lady and her caretaker walked past Graham slowly. They were not in a hurry to reach their destination, but rather, were out there to enjoy the afternoon, although cloudy and windy. Graham kept walking towards his destination with the same pace and found out why there were more people the closer he got to the forest.


    At the entrance of Oostelijk Bos, there was a park build for recreational purposes. Both locals and tourists went there to visit, either to relax or to see nature from up close. The forest was rich in its flora and fauna, so it wasn''t rare to see people going there to study them. However, it was also not a safe place for common people to wander alone in, thus the park was built.


    In that breezy afternoon, there were quite a few people gathered at the park. It was easy for Graham to distinguish who were the locals and who were the tourists from the way they moved and the way they dressed up. The locals tended to enjoy life more, hence the relaxed walking pace. On the other hand, the tourists were more inclined to move around faster because they were used to the quick-paced life of the busy big cities. They also dressed up differently; the locals were wearing more pastel-colored warm clothes with a plain design, whereas the tourists were wearing brighter warm clothes with a more complicated design.


    The park itself looked very clean and well-maintained. It had a sign at the entrance welcoming visitors there. There were also information boards showing the animals that people might encounter in the forest, as well as warnings about things they shouldn''t do, which include walking out of the boundary of the safety lines the park management had put up. Graham couldn''t see the safety lines from the entrance, which meant that the area of the forest park was probably large.


    "This is a nice place to relax, Val. We should definitely come back here again," he said quietly while observing his surroundings.


    Since he wasn''t there to chat or to relax while enjoying nature, he walked quickly deeper into the park. He would go and do his business outside of the safe area but not too deep into the forest. The pavement that he was walking on until a while ago started to disappear and was replaced by the natural brown soil of the forest. The trees surrounding him looked even more massive from up close, and the sounds of birds and insects were much louder there, although he was sure it was as loud as it would be in summer.


    It took him quite some time to reach the safety line marking the end of the safe area of the park. There was a bright yellow line tied around trees forming a barrier, which only served as a reminder for the people, but would most likely be useless to deter wild animals. However, so far he had only seen harmless creatures like rabbits, hedgehogs, and squirrels, so the people in the park could safely enjoy their time. He walked to a secluded area still within the safe zone and made sure that there was no one or dangerous animals around. Once it was safe, sat down with his back leaning against a tree and placed his briefcase safely next to him. He then chanted a spell targeting himself.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order myself to fall asleep!"


    Shortly after, he had fallen asleep, and Valentine woke up. The first thing he noticed was the loud noise of the forest, which was caused by his boosted hearing. He concentrated hard to ignore those sounds. Once the sounds were muffled by his own mind, he started chanting, still not moving from his original position.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist that made people instinctively neglect his presence enveloped his whole body and then turned transparent. He had concealed his presence in order to sneak in better in the forest. His opponents would be wild animals with an amazing sense of hearing and smell, so he needed to use his own ace card.


    Once his Concealment was in effect, he spoke rather loudly.


    "G, wake up!"


    After saying that, he closed his eyes and went to sleep. He could fall asleep anywhere easier than Graham could, so he needed no help even though his position was not really comfortable. Shortly after Valentine fell asleep, Graham woke up. He felt a slight headache because he was woken up during the wrong phase of sleep, but it was nothing compared to the usual painful headache he got from overusing his power, so he brushed it aside.


    Graham got up without forgetting to pick up his briefcase and walked under the waist-high line to cross to the other side. He activated his Supersight and trod carefully. Although the forest was fast, as a divinator, he wasn''t scared of getting lost, but he needed to be careful nonetheless. There was always the possibility of someone or something interfering with his divination.


    The ground beneath him was dry, and there were a lot of withered leaves scattered about. He avoided stepping on them to not make too much noise. Although his presence had been concealed, loud noises could still be heard by the target. His aim today was to get close to a deer and used it for his experiment, but deer are known to have very sensitive ears, so he had to be extra careful.


    The dense tall trees blocked the sunlight, making it much darker in there. However, there was still enough light for Graham to see, so he didn''t need to use his lighter or the flashlight that he had also brought. After walking for a while, he saw something that looked like a set of hoofprints that seemed to be consistent with the size of a deer''s hooves. He crouched down to get a better view of it and determined the direction where the owner of the hoofprints was heading.


    Graham followed the direction and saw more hoofprints along the way, and tree branches that showed evidence of having been stepped on. The hoofprints slowly became clearer, which meant that he was getting closer to his target.


    A short distance later, Graham could see a lone deer grazing on the brushes. It had two majestic-looking antlers and brown spots on its fur. It seemed to have been separated from its herd, which gave him a good opportunity. He silently sneaked closer to where the deer was standing, closely watching it and his steps to avoid making noises. The deer didn''t seem to notice his presence at all, which meant Valentine''s concealment was also effective against its sensitive ears.


    Once he was close enough, without looking away from the deer, he chanted,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stand still!"


    The moment his first word was spoken, the deer had detected Graham''s presence, but it wasn''t fast enough to get out of his spell range, so after moving only a couple meters, it stopped in its track. The deer seemed to be trying to get away from its attacker but couldn''t get its legs to move. Graham''s Order had effectively been issued.


    He quickly moved in closer to the frozen deer because he felt that his Order was slowly losing effect. He probably only had several seconds left before the deer would be able to move freely again. He swiftly opened his briefcase and took out his spare pants. With a fast movement of the mouth, he chanted,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to tie yourself tightly around the deer''s hind legs!"


    The pants darted like a bullet and wrapped around the deer''s legs. They then coiled around the legs tighter and tighter until it was impossible for it to stand up. The deer fell on its side and the pants tied themselves into a knot, securely immobilizing the unsuspecting animal.


    A second later, Graham''s Order wore off and the deer regained its ability to control its own body, but it still couldn''t get away because its hind legs were tied tightly. It could only struggle in vain on the ground. With the deer not being to run away, he could begin the next step of his experiment.


    He observed the deer closely and focused on its right front leg. He pitied the animal, but he needed it in order to understand his power better. He started chanting one more time, using his next counter of the day''s quota.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to break yourself!"


    He suddenly got a throbbing headache while the deer''s leg remained unchanged. His power had failed.


    "So I really can''t use Order to cause anything to inflict harm on itself, even if it''s just a leg," he said, making a mental note.


    Graham opened his mouth again to issue his next Order.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to eat the grass next to you!"


    The deer moved involuntarily closer to the grass with much difficulty because of its tied hind legs. It then started munching on the grass hungrily. His Order had been successfully carried.


    "Ordering it to eat something safe works normally. Now let''s try something else," he spoke with a voice full of curiosity.


    He had noticed some mushrooms growing near a tree, and without knowing its kind, it''s always a dangerous move to eat wild mushrooms in the forest. However, as a dweller here, the deer should know if it was safe to eat or not.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to eat that mushroom!"


    The deer didn''t move, but instead, he got the same throbbing headache which he quickly disregarded. His spell had failed again.


    "The deer knew that the mushroom is poisonous, therefore invalidating the Order because it would have caused it to harm itself? That is an interesting find," he rubbed his chin in thought.


    He watched the deer that was still struggling to break free. Its body was wriggling on the ground, trying to shake loose the things binding its legs.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to remain motionless!"


    The deer then stopped moving all of sudden against its will. Graham looked at his watch and counted the seconds. Although he would get a spiritual feeling when his spell was about to wear off, he still needed concrete information on the exact duration.


    One second, two seconds, five seconds passed, and the deer quickly regained control over its body and started flailing its legs again.


    "Five seconds is the limit. That is a very important piece of information. Mr. Deer, I have to thank you kindly for that," said Graham with genuine gratitude.


    Then he repeated his last order.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to remain motionless!"


    Again, the deer lost control of its ability to move and just lied there on the ground without moving like it was dead. Only its eyes showed its life. Graham counted the seconds again and after five seconds, just like last time, the deer could move once more.


    "Repeated Orders do not diminish its duration. It''s good to know," he made a mental note.


    He started to get a slight headache that usually came when he was almost at his limit. He had used his Order eight times today, so he could only use it two more times, but he didn''t plan to meet his quota of the day, because the could always be an emergency situation where he would need the power.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to fall asleep!"


    The deer still moved about, trying to break free, but slowly, its movement slowed down. It seemed to be feeling sleepier and sleepier. Graham looked at his watch and counted the seconds that it took for the animal to completely fall asleep. After three whole minutes, the deer finally stopped moving.


    "It takes too long for my Order to make something else to fall asleep than it does for me. This is not really applicable in combat unless I can prepare it in advance. But, the sleep duration should be longer, except if something wakes it up," he concluded while moving closer to the sleeping animal.


    He grabbed the pants that were tightly wrapped around its hind legs and untied the knot with difficulty; it was too securely tied. Once he retrieved the pants safely, he nudged the deer gently to wake it up.


    "Mr. Deer, thank you for your cooperation," he said while moving away after seeing the deer slowly opening its eyes.


    The deer ran away from the man as fast as it could and quickly disappeared from sight. Graham walked away from the spot. He had achieved his goal of coming here.

 60 A Good Deal

    On Thursday morning, Graham had woken up with all his powers charged up. It was sunny outside, and he had just finished having breakfast at the hotel with Egon and was currently walking back to the nameless antique store to get his orders: twenty special bullets and twenty protective talismans.


    He checked his watch; it was still seven in the morning. He had got up early on purpose so that he would have a lot of time to find the ancient book hidden in a mansion in the forest. Graham was wearing the same clothes that he had worn yesterday. He had ordered his shirt to clean itself using the last Order he could use. His brown trench coat, which had numerous pockets, held the different items he needed to be able to take out at a moment''s notice, while the rest of his items were kept inside the briefcase in his left hand. He walked quickly and arrived at the front of the store not long after.


    "Welcome back," greeted Rafferty who was standing behind the counter as usual as Graham opened the door.


    The tall older sibling looked energized, standing relaxedly in his spot with his arms crossed. His red hair was neatly combed to the back and the orangish freckles on his face emphasized his pale complexion. He was wearing a different shirt from yesterday, and also a different pair of pants. Graham concluded that Rafferty wasn''t the kind of person who would wear the same outfit twice in a row.


    "Your store opens very early," said Graham, slightly surprised. He had expected to have to knock on the door to be allowed in.


    The store looked ready for business, even very early in the morning like that. Everything was neatly arranged and thoroughly cleaned. Even with his Supersight, he didn''t notice any speck of dust on the collection of items there. The siblings were surely meticulous people.


    "It''s because we basically live here. And very late at night is the time when most of our customers come," Rafferty spoke casually, but his words seemed to contain a hidden meaning.


    "What kind of customers come late at night?" he asked in curiosity.


    "A lot of kinds, actually, if you know what I mean," he said vaguely.


    Graham didn''t press the topic any further, but he kind of got what the man was implying. Since they were an antique store, most likely they also dealt with stolen items. He could also be referring to their ammunition trade in the back room.


    "Are my orders ready?" asked Graham again.


    "Yes. Come in," said Rafferty as he opened the wooden door to the room at the back of their antique store.


    Graham followed him and entered the room with strange writings and talismans on the wall, which gave off a spiritual sense. Cadhla was already sitting there with the items ready as if she knew the time of Graham coming to the store.


    "Good morning. You came very early," said Cadhla with her maturely graceful voice. There was not a trace of sleepiness at all in it, although it was still early in the morning.


    "You said that as if you weren''t already expecting my arrival," he replied.


    "Well, I''m just good at predictions, that''s all," she said nonchalantly.


    Graham observed the woman across the room. Her wavy red hair appeared beautiful, which meant she had the time to neatly brush it. Her pale face looked fresh, and there was not a trace of black circles around her eyes. The same could be said for Rafferty. Since he had claimed that their customers came at night, which meant that they had a different sleep schedule from normal people.


    Graham then looked at the items on the table in front of her. There were twenty normal-looking bullets and the same number of palm-sized trident talismans with horrible faces on them. Graham took out a brown envelope from his briefcase and handed it over to Rafferty, who was standing closer to him than Cadhla was. Rafferty opened it and counted the money inside; there was a total of forty guilders as agreed upon.


    "How do I differentiate the special bullets from normal ones? And anywho, is there a name for the bullets? Calling it special bullet is just not convenient," asked Graham as he approached the table where the items were placed.


    "Try to inject spirituality into it; the tip should glow depending on the effect. These ones should glow red. Normal bullets won''t have that reaction. As for the name, these ones are called blood bullets," explained Cadhla softly.


    Graham picked up one of the bullets from the table and concentrated. He focused on his fingertips that were holding it and tried to imagine injecting the bullet with an energy that came from inside him. Little by little, the tip of the bullet glowed red, just as Cadhla said. The glow seemed surreal; it was not like a lightbulb glowing, but more like faint candle light. It was a strange sensation; he felt like he was a battery powering up a small light bulb that was very energy efficient, which didn''t drain him at all.


    "You said the glow color depended on the effect. Does it mean there are different kinds of bullets besides these blood ones?" asked Graham while still holding the small object in his hand.


    "Yes. Blood bullets can destroy lesser evil spirits, but they work just like a normal bullet against anything else. There are others besides them like the demolition bullets that are effective against barriers, and curse bullets which, as the name suggests, puts a curse on the target," explained Cadhla; she spoke with a professional tone, which seemed to come from experience.


    "Can you create those bullets as well?" he asked while making a mental note about the different kinds of special bullets.


    "Currently, I can only make blood bullets and demolition bullets. The type of bullets also depends on the Contractbound''s power, so I don''t think I''ll ever be able to make a curse bullet,"


    "How do we make these bullets?" asked Graham.


    "It''s a trade secret," said Cadhla shortly.


    Since he wouldn''t get any more information regarding that, Graham changed the topic.


    "What about the talisman?" asked Graham again, seizing his chance to gain free knowledge.


    "These ones are called Barong''s Tridents. They are effective against the evil spirits residing deep in the forest which are called Leyak, but won''t work against anything else, except if they are evil spirits of the same origin. Different talismans work for different spirits. There is no universal-talisman, unfortunately, so we need to always be prepared," Cadhla explained with a patient voice.


    "What is a Leyak?" asked Graham curiously.


    "They are evil spirits that have resided deep there since no one knows when. They look like floating terrible masks with giant eyes and unnaturally long tongues. They are resistant to physical attacks, and will kill their victims in the most painful way," explained Rafferty. His tone was slightly colder than when he greeted Graham before, probably because Graham was asking so many questions to his sister.


    Graham thought about the creature he had seen through his divination; it matched Rafferty''s description. He now knew the name of the evil spirit, so he could probably try to divine more information about it later. He then opened his mouth again to ask a different question.


    "Are there any bullets or talismans that are effective against a ghoul?" asked Graham seriously.


    Cadhla didn''t respond for a while. She looked to be observing Graham and thinking about something. Rafferty had a slight surprise in his face.


    "Did you encounter a ghoul?" asked Rafferty suddenly.


    "Uhmm... yes," said Graham. He didn''t understand the meaning behind Rafferty''s question.


    "You are lucky to be alive. They are very vicious and can''t be killed easily, even by beheading. It would take a very strong Contractbound to deal with just one ghoul," said Rafferty grimly.


    "Unfortunately, my power is not strong enough to create a bullet that can kill a ghoul. However, there is a talisman that can stunt them for a moment," added Cadhla.


    "Val, the ghoul you encounter didn''t seem that strong. Maybe it was wounded?" Graham muttered under his breath, and then turned to the pair of siblings, "The ghoul I encountered was weaker than what you described."


    Rafferty thought for a moment and then said, "It was probably wounded, or the ghoul was a summoned creature. If it was, then it makes sense; the strength of a summoned creature is limited by its summoner''s own strength,"


    Graham''s interest was piqued in an instant. He had just heard two new terms; summoned creature and summoner. He had never encountered any information regarding either of them, so he became very curious.


    "People can summon ghouls?"


    "Not just ghouls. But I heard it requires a very dark ritual and terrible sacrifices. Even I don''t know the detail of the ritual," said Cadhla with a cold voice.


    "Someone who summons any kind of evil spirit cannot have good intention," added Rafferty.


    Graham memorized all the new information he had just received for free. He now had a lot of new materials for divination, which he would try once he got the time. For now, he needed to get going.


    "Thank you very much for telling me all this," he said with genuine gratitude, especially since they hadn''t charged him.


    Graham picked up the bullets and stuffed them in groups of five inside his coat pockets. He then loaded the other five bullets into his revolver cylinder and put the gun back, tucked in his waist with its safety pin in place. The talismans were bigger and heavier, so he couldn''t stuff them all in his pockets. He put them inside the outer compartment of his briefcase unzipped, so he could reach and take them out easily. His briefcase was now noticeably heavier than before.


    "I will get going then," he said while walking towards the door.


    "Good luck out there," said Cadhla while Rafferty only nodded.


    The two siblings watched as their customer left their store and went back to doing their usual business.


    Outside the store, Graham stood under a tree where no one was around and took out his lighter. He started it and focused on the flame. He wanted to do divination regarding his enemy first before going into the battlefield. He believed that if he understood Leyaks better, he could deal with them more effectively.


    ''What is the origin of Leyak?''


    The flame burned brighter and the surrounding area became dark. He saw an image showing a place that he didn''t recognize. It was a village with a totally different kind of architectural style from what he was familiar with. The image then zoomed in to one of the houses whose walls were made of woven bamboo and showed a parchment stuck to the wall. It was written in a foreign language that he didn''t understand, and there were words that were concealed by a blur. When he concentrated on the text, it was translated into Tulpan, but the blurred out words remained blurry.


    "Leyaks are ----- who have offered their ------- to ------. They are then given the ability to turn into ----- ------ ------, which makes them invulnerable to physical harms. They can suck out the souls of humans, preferably babies, to lengthen their own lifespans, and in return, giving some of the victim''s lifespan to -------, ---- ----- ------ ------- -------. Leyaks can only be truly destroyed by --------- --------. Destroying ----- ------ ------ will ------ ----- ------, but they can ------ ------ ------ ----- -----.''


    The image of the text then disappeared.


    Graham analyzed what he had just seen. It seemed that he was not strong enough to get all the information through that divination, but it gave him some insight.


    "They can suck out our soul. We should note that" he said thoughtfully, then added, "The village didn''t look like somewhere from near here, so what are those Leyaks doing here?"


    The place he saw was definitely not from anywhere in the Republic, but the fact was that the Leyaks were there in the forest. There must be an explanation and Graham would love to be able to find it while looking for the book. If it was too dangerous, he could just put it aside and just try to snatch the ancient book from them.


    He put his lighter back inside his pocket and then headed towards the park from yesterday. He would then enter the forest through the park while divining the safest route to the mansion where the ancient book was kept. He had got everything he needed, so now he was ready.

 61 Into the Woods

    Chirp... chirp...


    Squeak...


    Bleat...


    The forest was bustling with activities in that cold autumn morning. Sounds of animals could be heard from every direction; some were distant and some were close. The animals were busy preparing for winter, collecting food and building nests. A pair of squirrels were seen collecting nuts from the ground and then quickly retreated back to a tree branch. A gust of wind rustled the leaves up high in the tree canopy, causing leaves to blow away, while at the bottom, only a gentle breeze was felt. In the dark forest floor, mushrooms of various kinds grew in abundance. Some of them looked bizarre, like those depicted in alien movies.


    Graham walked cautiously on the forest soil, remembering the distinguishable features of his surroundings. There were tall trees everywhere he looked, but with his Supersight, he could see that the trees were somewhat unique. The markings on their trunks were distinctive, like fingerprints were to humans. Some of the trees had dried sap on the outer layer of their barks, which served as food for beetles. Those features made it easier for him to memorize his location.


    He kept pressing forward, heading to the direction of the mansion where the book that he was looking for was kept. He had previously divined its location in the forest and was shown an aerial view of the forest with two red dots marking the target and him respectively. Judging from the distance between him and the mansion, it would take him two hours of walking in the same direction to reach it. In a city, walking for two hours in a direction would most likely take someone to another street, but in Oostelijk Bos, where there were only trees in every direction, walking that deep into it would very easily get someone lost. Fortunately, Graham was a Divinator of the Tongue.


    "Doesn''t this remind you of something, Val? Us walking in a forest like this," he said quietly. His tone was full of irony. It seemed that the memory that he remembered was not a pleasant one.


    Graham vaulted over a mossy overgrown root and continued walking on the dry soil. There was no visible path leading to the mansion from where he entered the forest, so he had to sometimes create his own by pushing fallen branches aside and jumping over obstacles. When he wasn''t sure of the direction to go, he stopped and did another divination, which then showed him the way.


    After walking for about an hour, he arrived at a small spring with fallen leaves floating on top. He stopped there to recover his stamina while leaning against a tree. Although it was probably safe, he didn''t want to take the chance and drink the spring water right away. Instead, he took out his lighter to do divination to determine if there was a danger with the water.


    ''Is the spring water completely safe for me to drink?''


    Graham asked the question that he repeated in his heart while staring at his lighter flame. The flame showed an image of a piece of paper being burned entirely, which was similar to paper burning divination; if the whole paper burned, the answer was yes.


    Since the water posed no danger to him, he took a big scoop with both hands and gulp it down. The water felt cold and refreshing, with a very slight grassy taste to it. Graham wasn''t worried, however. Since he became a Contractbound, his body had become more resistant to common illnesses. Unless the water was poisoned, which clearly wasn''t the case since his divination showed so, he would be okay.


    He then took out an almost empty bottle of water from his briefcase. He had been drinking the content on the way to the spring, and now that he had the chance, he refilled it and put it back inside his briefcase next to another bottle of water. He had bought three bottles at a store near the park before coming into the forest.


    Chirp chirp...


    The sound of nature was prominent there. After drinking and resupplying, he went back to the tree which he had leaned against and sat under it. Graham sat relaxedly there, enjoying the sounds of animals coming from his surroundings. A herd of deer came not long after, aiming to drink the spring water. Graham''s brown trench coat blended well with the soil beneath him, so the deer weren''t scared of the motionless man. He watched them from a distance, enjoying the peaceful moment. He knew that after this, there might not be any more moments like that for a while.


    There were a total of six deer in the herd, which were mostly does. The buck from yesterday wasn''t there, but there was another male deer instead, which still looked quite young. They were taking turns to drink because the spring wasn''t wide enough for them to do it at the same time. Watching the animals drinking gave Graham a sense of tranquility. He kept sitting there until the herd was finished with their business and walked away.


    Once his stamina had completely recovered, Graham stood up and continued his journey to the abandoned mansion. He kept walking towards the direction from his divination, which he had etched in his memory. Unless something was deliberately misdirecting him, he should be walking the right way.


    The green tall trees were slowly replaced by withered ones the closer he got to his mansion. The previously noisy forest also became noticeably more silent. There were no animals around that part of the forest, which meant they didn''t dare approach because of the dangerous evil residing there. Animals had a better sense of such things than humans, after all. Although the surrounding areas had changed, the mansion was still not in sight, so Graham kept pressing forward cautiously. His presence wasn''t concealed yet because Valentine''s ability worked only within a limited radius. He would use it when he was closer to the mansion.


    In the dead silence, he suddenly felt a strong presence approaching from his right side at a fast pace. Judging by its speed, Graham could probably outrun the presence just barely. However, he wanted to test the water first while it was still safe to do. He turned to the right and saw a floating terrifying head wearing a mask quickly getting closer and closer to him; it was a Leyak that he had seen indirectly and heard about.


    The mask that it was wearing looked wooden and ornamental. The design was not something native to the Republic. From under the mask, the thing''s giant eyeballs were bulging out and staring right into him. It bared its sharp fangs that could totally crush a human to bits menacingly. Under its head, where its body should have been, there were only entrails with blood still dripping from them. The blood, however, disappeared once it touched the ground, leaving no trace entirely.


    Graham stood his ground and waited patiently for the Leyak to get close enough. He could feel a dangerous aura emitted by the evil spirit as it approached him, which made him feel weak and gloomy. Once it was within range, he quickly chanted,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop in your track!"


    The Leyak stopped moving once Graham issued his Order. His power worked on the evil spirit! It was a gamble that he took, and if his power had failed, he would quickly use one of the talismans that he had brought.


    Since he knew that his Order would only last five seconds, or probably less since a Leyak was stronger than a deer, he quickly drew his gun and shot it in the head.


    Bang!


    The loud sound of the gun broke the silence in the forest. The blood bullet drilled itself inside the head of the frozen evil spirit. The Leyak didn''t die right away; instead, it wriggled about, looking like it was in great pain. A second later, blood veins came gushing out from the hole that the bullet had made and quickly enveloped its whole being.


    Growl!!


    The Leyak let out an animal-like scream. Blood burst out of the veins and started to melt every part of its being. It kept growling until it completely melted into nothingness. In only a matter of seconds, the Leyak had been destroyed.


    "The way the bullet killed it was different from what I saw in my divination. I wonder why?" he muttered, and then added, "Nine Orders remaining, nineteen bullets, and twenty talismans. We should be able to do this," he said as he approached the spot where the Leyak had been killed.


    On the ground, there was a small crystal fragment that was purple in color. Graham picked it up and stuffed it inside his briefcase and quickly left the area. The sound of his gunshot might have alerted the other Leyaks.


    Graham quickened his pace while keeping his alert high. The dry soil that he had been walking on just a moment ago was now replaced by parched ground. There were no brushes or grass, only dead trees, and fallen tree branches around. The area gave off a sense of dread and death.


    It wasn''t long until he finally could see the big mansion in the distance. It was even bigger in person than when he saw it through his divination, and was surrounded by tall fences. He couldn''t see the main gate to the mansion from where he was standing, which meant that it was not the front of it. Graham approached it very carefully while observing his surroundings. Around the mansion, in the area inside the fences, there were trees that somehow were still alive, standing tall with their green leaves, and the ground was a healthy brown color without any signs of parching. It was a very strange contrast with the area outside.


    Graham got closer to the mansion but stayed outside the green area. He took out his lighter and started his divination.


    ''Is the green area surrounding the mansion safe?''


    The flame flickered and formed an image. In the image, there was a man whom he didn''t recognize running from a Leyak that was just some centimeters away from him. He then climbed over the fence quickly to get to the area where the green trees were and the Leyak stopped just outside the perimeter before it finally left. The image then disappeared.


    Graham put out the fire and spoke in a low voice, "That area seems to be a safe spot. Since my divination didn''t show anything else, there shouldn''t be any hidden dangers there."


    After putting his lighter back inside his pocket, he climbed over the fence carefully and jumped down into the safe area. Being inside the greeny area gave him a sense of safety and tranquility, which was very different from just a moment ago where he felt the atmosphere of gloom. It felt similar to when he was sitting near the spring watching the herd of deer drinking from it. He then sat under the tree with his back against it and issued an order for himself.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order myself to fall asleep!"


    He suddenly felt unbearable sleepiness overcoming him and fell asleep not long after. Once his consciousness faded, Valentine took over and woke up. It only took less than ten seconds for the whole process to finish.


    He got up and chanted quietly,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist descended and enveloped him before disappearing. After he finished with his preparation, Valentine moved from his spot. He would enter the mansion in Graham''s stead for the time being, but should the need arise, he would switch right away.


    From where he was standing, there were windows with broken glass, but they were barred, so he couldn''t enter through them. The mansion''s stone walls looked very strong, so he couldn''t just break through them either. He had to find an unbarred window or a door. If the door was locked, he could probably try to pick it open, or if he couldn''t, he could switch with Graham and issue an Order.


    He circled the mansion and stopped when he reached the front. The gate looked like it had been broken open a long time ago. What was left now was the rusty remains of it lying on the ground. There was a fountain that had dried up with a statue of a woman wearing foreign clothing at the top. Parts of her body were missing either because of age or vandalism. Grass grew wildly on some parts of the ground while the rest had broken pavement on it.


    Valentine approached the main double-doors that still looked intact. He grabbed the handle and pulled it open. The door was very heavy, so he had to put in extra power to open it.


    Drag...


    The heavy door brushed against the floor and created a loud noise. Valentine waited for some time in case something heard the sound he created. After some seconds of complete silence, he decided it was safe and stepped into the mansion without closing the heavy door so that he could escape easily.


    The moment he was inside the mansion, the sense of peace and tranquility was quickly replaced by the sense of death and hatred. He heightened all his senses and trod very carefully.

 62 The Mansion of Horror

    Valentine was standing in the main hall of the big mansion. The interior was in shambles and covered in a thick layer of dust. There was a staircase to his right which led to the second floor, but some steps were missing and now there was a big gap in the middle. Going up would be a little problematic, although with his agility it would still be doable. There was a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling up above that looked like it might fall down any moment now. Valentine steered clear from that area.


    Because of the tall trees outside the mansion, sunlight couldn''t fully penetrate into the house. The dark and gloomy inside intensified the sense of dread that the house gave off. His boosted hearing didn''t pick up any sound from inside the house; there was only deathly silence. Valentine hadn''t activated his night vision because it was still possible to see for now.


    He knew exactly where to go because Graham had divined the spot where the book was the night before. Valentine walked straight to the doors ahead of him. He didn''t actually know the layout of the house, only the location of the book, which was in the room on the furthest right corner of the mansion, so he chose the right door. He grabbed the door handle and twisted it, but it wouldn''t open.


    "Locked..." he muttered.


    He crouched to pick the lock but was surprised to see that there was no keyhole in the door.


    "Bolted from the other side?"


    He tried opening the door again and pushing it with his shoulder, but it still wouldn''t open. He tried the door on the left and it was the same; the door was bolted shut from the other side. He didn''t think even Graham would be able to open it because he couldn''t see the latch from this side.


    Since he couldn''t use the doors to the room across the main door, Valentine walked to the door on his right, by the staircase. He grabbed the handle and twisted it, and felt that he now could push open the door. He carefully opened it and entered the room on the right.


    The room looked like a living room, with broken sofas and chairs. There was a fireplace at the other end of the big room. There was a damaged deer mount on the wall above a giant cupboard with a broken glass door. There was nothing left inside the cupboard for him to take. The two barred windows, that were on the wall on his right, only barely got enough sunshine to make the room at least not pitch black. There were two other doors in the room besides the one he had just come from; one opposite him and one more near the fireplace.


    Valentine went to the door ahead of him and when he got close to it, there was a yellow marking that glowed on the door. He tried to touch the door handle but his hand was stopped midair; something was preventing him from doing so.


    "Is this some kind of seal? G, If I cannot find out what it is, I''ll need you to use your divination," he said.


    He then walked away from the sealed door and came to the other one at the other end of the big room. He walked nimbly across the room, past the floorboards that were missing some panels without creating any noise at all. When he tried to open the door, the same thing happened; his hand stopped midair because of some force field, and now a red marking glowed on the door.


    "A different kind of seal. Let me just memorize them,"


    Since all the doors were sealed in that room, Valentine came back to where he entered and returned to the main hall. There were still two doors on his left that he hadn''t tried, and the whole upper floor as well, although going up would take some skill.


    Valentine approached the doors ahead of him, on the other side of the door that led to the living room. He opened the door on the left first and it was not locked or sealed, so he could finally enter. It was a very dark toilet, so he had to activate his night vision.


    The toilet room was big, probably almost half the size of the living room. There were only a washbasin and a toilet in that big room, and the mirror above the sink was cracked. Valentine came closer to the sink and noticed a black liquid pooled in there. He didn''t want to touch it because it triggered his sense of danger. He moved away and looked at the toilet. He put up the lid and saw inside the dried toilet bowl. It was stained brown and smelled very bad, so he closed the lid back and exited the room since there was nothing else there.


    After getting out of the toilet room, he went to the door next to it. He grabbed the door handle and twisted the cold metal to open it. It was also not locked, so Valentine entered the room that turned out to be a bathroom. There was a bathtub adjacent to the wall across from him with a torn curtain and another washbasin. The mirror above it was also cracked, and there was a faint red stain on it.


    Valentine got closer to the mirror and noticed that the stain was forming words. He read it carefully and with some difficulty, he finally could make out what it was saying.


    "Blood seal... is that the name of the seal?" he thought out loud, then added, "Maybe I can use my blood to open it."


    He then walked over to the bathtub to check if there was something in it. The bathtub was empty, and there was indeed something there. It was a very old-looking piece of paper with some writing on it. Valentine picked it up carefully and read what was written there.


    ''It''s been five hours since I''m locked up in this damn house. Those creatures can appear from anywhere. I don''t think I can last until tomorrow.''


    He finished reading what seemed to be a part of a journal. The handwriting was messy; it seemed to have been written in a hurry.


    "Why is there a journal page here. Is someone scattering them around the house?" asked Valentine. The more he explored the mansion, the more questions he got.


    Valentine checked the back of the paper, but there was nothing written there, so he put it back down.


    Drip drip...


    Suddenly, with his boosted hearing, he could hear the sound of water dripping from outside the room. He remembered Graham''s encounter with a Leyak and it had blood dripping from its body. Valentine dropped his briefcase and readied his gun while chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of the sound of this gunshot a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist descended and enveloped his .31 caliber revolver. He had four more bullets inside the cylinder and a lot of spares inside his coat. He waited in anticipation while controlling his heartbeat. One second, two seconds. Time seemed to pass very slowly.


    Drip drip...


    The sound of liquid dripping got closer and closer until he could feel its presence from behind the door. He saw the door handle being twisted and the door being opened slowly.


    Creak...


    The gap between the door and the wall got bigger and bigger, and at that moment, a pair of bulging, bloodshot eyeballs stared right into his eyes. It was another Leyak! Once it saw Valentine inside the bathroom, it quickly opened the door and charged at him like a bullet.


    Growl!


    Valentine had shot his gun, but the sound of his gunshot was concealed. The Leyak stood frozen in its track with a bullet hole in its head. From the hole, blood veins quickly enveloped its whole body and blood burst out, melting the Leyak completely. On its spot, there was now a small crystal fragment lying on the ceramic floor.


    He came closer and picked up the purple fragment and stuffed it inside his briefcase, along with the other one that Graham had picked up earlier when he was attacked in the forest.


    "I wonder what these are. G, don''t forget to do divination. In fact, you have a lot of homework to do,"


    Valentine didn''t reconceal his presence. For now, he felt safer with the sound of his gunshot kept a secret because that way, he wouldn''t attract the attention of anything in the mansion even if he shot his gun. He would just walk with lighter steps to avoid detection.


    He exited the bathroom and went back to the living room, walking carefully across the main hall. According to the journal page, those Leyaks could show up from anywhere, and he didn''t fancy being caught by surprise.


    "At least they still need to open doors, so I know they won''t come from behind those sealed ones," he muttered under his breath.


    Inside the living room, we approached the door with the yellow marking, which was closer to him. He took out his knife and slit his palm to let the blood out. He then splashed the blood on the door.


    "What the fuck!" he cursed.


    His blood stopped midair, just like his hand was, and then got splashed back at him, right at his face. He took a piece of cloth from his briefcase and wiped his face clean.


    After failing with the yellow seal, he walked across the room to the door with the red seal. He slit his palm again and splashed the blood at the door while getting ready to move out of the way should it be splattered back at him.


    His blood stopped midair, and strangely, it slowly spread to its surrounding, forming the same pattern as the marking on the door. The blood marking them combined with the one on the door and disappeared.


    "That did the trick?" he asked in doubt while trying to reach the door handle.


    His hand successfully touched the door handle, which meant his blood trick had worked. He twisted it and pulled it open, but failed. He then pushed it open and the door moved. He entered the next room which seemed to be a kind of display room that was as big as the living room.


    In the display room, there were a lot of paintings that had seen better days, and some broken statuettes on pedestals. There were three doors there including the one he had just opened. There was no window at all, and no source of light. His night vision really helped him in this situation.


    Valentine walked to the door that was on the same side as the one leading to the living room and saw the latch bolt locking it. He unlatched it and opened the door; it was right-side the door in the main hall that he couldn''t open before. He kept it open and tried the other door that was directly opposite it.


    "Another blood seal..."


    His hand was stopped midair again by the red marking on the door. Valentine slit his wrist and splashed it on the door, unsealing it. Once the seal was broken he reach the door handle and tried to open it, but pushing or pulling didn''t work.


    "And locked. Of course..." he said in annoyance.


    Drip... drip...


    Click!


    Suddenly, the door was unlocked from the other side and a pair of bloodshot eyes were staring at him. Those eyes were full of greed and gluttony, as if eyeing for his very soul. Valentine suddenly felt very weak. His spirituality told him to get away as soon as he could, so he mustered his power and stepped back some distance.


    The Leyak opened the door and quickly darted at him.


    "Die!" said Valentine as he shot the thing right in its head.


    The thing died just centimeters from Valentine and its body was melted by the blood bullet. Valentine picked up the purple fragment that it dropped and put it inside his briefcase.


    "At least I should thank you kindly for unlocking the door for me," he said politely while cleaning the dust on his coat.

 63 The Mansion of Horror 2

    Valentine entered a dark corridor without any sunlight. Right in front of him was another door while on his right there seemed to be another door at the end of the corridor. On his left, a blockade made of cupboards and wardrobes and other heavy things was preventing him from getting through. The blockade looked tough and impenetrable, and he wasn''t blessed with superstrength, so he didn''t think he could move them aside.


    He moved closer to the door right in front of him and as he had thought, it wouldn''t be that easy. His hand once again was stopped midway by a seal, but this time the color was blue.


    "If red is a blood seal, what are the yellow and blue ones?" he asked somewhat annoyedly, "I doubt it is urine for yellow."


    Since there was no other choice, he could only go to his right, towards the end of the corridor. Valentine walked down the corridor swiftly with light steps and reached the other door quickly. He reached out to the door and much to his surprise, it was not locked. He opened the door and entered the room with some sunlight coming through the small high windows.


    The room appeared to be a bathroom with a toilet in it, that looked very dirty. There was a bathtub with strange white goo in it, but the goo didn''t trigger his sense of danger this time. However, he was still not going to touch that. There was a washbasin with a mirror that was cracked, just like the other mirrors in the mansion that he had found so far. Other than the usual bathroom things, there was nothing ordinary about the room.


    Valentine walked closer to the mirror because that was where he found the last clue. However, the mirror in this bathroom had no writing on it, so he was left with nothing. He seemed to have encountered a dead end, so his only option was to go upstairs.


    He exited the bathroom but stopped right in his track. He heard the sound of a door being opened and heavy footsteps followed. It was not a Leyak since they didn''t have feet. Valentine listened intently to the sound and it seemed to come from the other side of the blockade. He couldn''t see anything, however, so he could only perk up his hears.


    The sound of a bolt being unlatched then was heard. Whatever it was that unlocked the door was now going towards the main hall, and probably where Valentine currently was. He ran quickly to the door on the left at the other end of the corridor and went back to the display room. He didn''t want to be caught in such a dead-end like that corridor or the display room, so he moved swiftly back to the living room.


    Just as he was about to reach the door to the living room, something opened a door behind him. He quickly turned back to see what it was. It was a humanoid creature that was much taller than the door. It had long curly black hair and completely black skin all over its body. Its giant body emitted an aura of darkness. Its both hands had sharp nails that looked like it could rip Valentine to shred with ease. Its face had two bulging, bloodshot eyes that were terrifying, and its mouth was full of sharp teeth. The creature moved much more slowly than the Leyak, but it was much more menacing.


    "Die!" Valentine said coldly while shooting at the thing.


    Growl!


    His shot was ineffective! The bullet just bounced back as it tried to penetrate the thing''s tough skin, and only served to make it angry. It charged at Valentine who quickly took out a talisman and held it against the thing. A gloomy red light burst out from the talisman, stunning the creature and turning itself into a pile of ash. Valentine quickly opened the door to the living room and closed it behind him. He ran as quickly as he could and exited to the main hall.


    Creak...


    The sound of a door being opened could be heard. It was the creature entering the living room to search for Valentine, who was now not there anymore. In the main hall, Valentine was confused because the main entrance door was now closed. He approached it and was repelled by a black marking on the door.


    "Another seal? This must be a sick joke," he said while moving towards the door on the left that now should be open.


    Thump... thump...


    The sounds of heavy footsteps were approaching slowly, bringing with it a sense of great dread. Valentine opened the door and closed it behind him, which lead him to a similar display room to the next room. He very quickly observed his surroundings for something that might be useful, but aside from the display items, there was nothing of use there. He quickly opened the only other door there which took him to the other side of the blockade.


    Thump... thump...


    The footsteps kept getting closer and closer. Valentine couldn''t use the door in front of him because it was sealed by a purple marking. His only choice was to walk down the corridor to his left. Time was pressing, so he had to move quickly. At the corner of the corridor, there was a door that didn''t have a seal, but it was locked. He didn''t have the time to pick the lock so he ignored it for now. He turned left again and saw two more doors on his right. He tried to open the door closest to him but again, it was locked, so he moved on. The door near the end of the corridor had a red seal, so he quickly slit his wrist and broke the seal. He opened the door and entered it. After closing the door carefully, Valentine chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of the sound of this gunshot no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence a secret!"


    The usual yellowish mist enveloped him and disappeared. Valentine, who was now in a bedroom, had had his presence concealed, so he felt slightly at ease. There was little sunlight in that room that came from the barred window, and a giant wardrobe near the door, which looked to be taller than the monster. He thought about hiding inside the wardrobe, but there was no reason the monster couldn''t open the wardrobe to check, so instead, he agilely climbed up to the top while holding his briefcase and hid there. That way, even if he was found, he still could use another talisman and made an escape.


    Thump... thump...


    The sound of footsteps was still approaching, but it was now walking slower. The monster seemed to have lost its target, so now it didn''t know where to go. It checked the doors one by one, and since they were still locked, its target couldn''t have hidden inside.


    Thump... thump...


    The thing was now standing at the door to the room where Valentine was hiding. He controlled his heartbeat and breathing not to create a noise, although his presence was concealed.


    Creak...


    The door was opened slowly. A great atmosphere of danger then befell the room, which made Valentine''s heart beat faster. The heavy footsteps entered the room very slowly, creating a loud thump that could paralyze people with fear. He remained motionless on top of the tall wardrobe and breathed as quietly as he could. Since his presence was concealed, the monster should not feel him there unless it looked. Its head was scanning around the room carefully for a sight of his target, when suddenly,


    Growl!!


    The monster let out a loud scream, which hurt Valentine''s ears, especially since he was really close to the source. The little sunlight that managed to penetrate into the room seemed to hurt the monster. It left the room and the sound of footsteps could be heard moving farther and farther until suddenly it disappeared completely. Valentine, who was still stunned by the growl, remained on top of the wardrobe for some time to recover.


    "I guess that wasn''t a Leyak," he said deprecatingly.


    With the monster gone, he now had time to see closely a piece of paper that was left on top of the bed, which he couldn''t check before. He jumped down gracefully from the wardrobe and landed safely on the floor. Before checking the paper, however, he opened the wardrobe to see what was inside, but as he had expected, there was nothing. Valentine then grabbed the piece of paper and read the content.


    ''These seals are very annoying, and I heard from another survivor that they would refresh after a day unless we break all of them within a day. I don''t think that''s possible. With my power, I can only barely run away from that black thing. Anyway, the seals correspond to a spiritual material of the same color. The problem is, there is nothing in this mansion that is both spiritual and purple!''


    Valentine memorized the content and left the paper there since he had no need for it. The information he got was very useful, however, so he kept it in his memory. So far, he had encountered red seals, which he could break with his blood, and a yellow, blue, and purple seals which he still couldn''t do anything about. Since the note said it was about the color, not the material itself, he could probably dye his blood if he found paints in the mansion.


    He then remembered seeing strange white slime inside a bathtub on the other side of the blockade. He could try to mix it with his blood to create a pinkish spiritual material, but he hadn''t seen any pink seal so far. As for the black seal on the main door, he was sure he could use the dangerous black liquid in the first toilet that he entered. However, he couldn''t touch it with his hands since his intuition told him not to do so. He needed to find a container or switch with Graham to have him issue an Order, the latter being more dangerous since the things in the house could spawn anytime from anywhere.


    With the black giant gone, Valentine could check the locked rooms in peace. He went out of the bedroom and went next door. He squatted to get on the lock level and started unlocking it with his toolset.


    Click!


    It didn''t take long for him to do so. The door was unlocked shortly, and now he could enter. It was another bedroom, much like the previous room. The bedroom seemed to have belonged to a child, seeing from the broken toys in there. There was no journal page left on the bed this time. There was the same giant wardrobe, so Valentine opened it, and inside, he found strange light green liquid placed in a small container. He could mix it with his blood to create yellow, but it would probably create a strange shade of yellow. He would try it anyway, though, so he took the whole container and placed it inside his briefcase.


    He was done with the child''s bedroom, so he went next door to the next locked room. He picked the lock and opened it. The room was really messy. It looked like some kind of storage room with a lot of furniture and what looked like statues covered in white sheets. The whole room looked unsettling because any of those white sheets appeared like they could start moving at any time. Valentine entered the room carefully, ready to shoot anything that jumped at him.


    Inside the room, he took off the white sheets one by one to unveil the things they were covering. There was a sofa with a torn seat cover, and mostly chairs and tables. The statues were all babies with two horns and a pair of bat wings, and their expressions were that of happiness. And then there was a white sheet covering a statue that was placed at the other end of the room. He couldn''t see through the sheet, and the lack of sunlight didn''t help either. It was as tall as Valentine was, and judging from the outline of the sheet, it might be a statue of a woman. The object was placed a distance away from other stuff inside the storage room, which made him a little wary of it.


    He approached the lone standing statue at the end and slowly took the sheet covering it off. In the dead silence of the mansion, the shape of the object inside was revealed little by little.

 64 The Mansion of Horror 3

    "Should we just call demolition experts to level this mansion to the ground?" said Valentine coldly as he was looking at the abominable object in front of him.


    He had taken the sheet of the lone statue at the end of the storage room and was surprised by what he saw. It was not a statue of a woman underneath the white sheet, but rather, a genderless human. The strangest thing about the statue was not its androgynous body, but its face. There were countless squirming maggots there, which were surprisingly alive, instead of facial features. The maggots, each one was the size of a palm, were reaching out from the face, trying to make contact with whoever lifted their cover. His sense of danger was frantically telling him not to come into contact with the maggots at all costs, and Valentine wasn''t that curious to find out what the consequences were if he touched them.


    Watching the statue closely, its skin looked very humanlike, although he couldn''t touch it because of the maggots. Its hands were missing, as well as its lower body. There was only the torso that wasn''t clear if it belonged to a man or a woman. The statue had no hair either. Staring at it for too long gave Valentine a feeling of dread that made him somehow wanted to just embraced the statue and let the maggots get out of the face and cover his whole body. He was about to shoot it to stop the feeling but remembered that the blood bullet only worked on lesser evil spirits.


    "Who even made this statue? What is it for?"


    The more he looked at it, the more questions arose in his mind. It was just bizarre.


    "More homework for you, G," he said while covering the statue back with the white sheet. He didn''t want to leave it out in the open for fear it would turn into yet another enemy he had to be wary of inside that big mansion.


    Valentine backed away from the maggot statue and proceeded to walk out of the room. He had found something useful at least in the previous room, with which he could probably create a yellow spiritual mixture for the yellow seal. He wasn''t an art expert, however, so he didn''t know if the combination of his blood and the light green liquid would create the correct yellow.


    From the storage room where he was, he had to walk down the corridor and exited through two doors until he was back at the main hall. Then he had to take the door by the staircase before finally, he reached the living room. The door with the yellow seal was the one right ahead of him.


    He didn''t approach the sealed door right away. He needed to find some kind contained where he could mix his blood with the liquid. He remembered that there was a shelf there, and there might have been some broken tableware inside. His memory had served him right; inside, there were indeed some broken dishes which he could use for mixing the solution. However, he didn''t think he could use any of those ceramic dishes to carry the black liquid without it touching his skin, so for that purpose, he would need another container.


    Valentine picked up the dish that was in the best condition among the others and placed it on the table. He then took out the light green liquid from his briefcase and opened the lid of its bottle container. He poured just enough and kept the rest because he knew he would need it to mix for the other seals. He then slit his palm and let a little drop of blood mix into the liquid.


    The green liquid was surprisingly able to mix well with his blood. He used a long piece of a broken dish as a whisk and stirred the solution. The light green liquid got a little bit of deep red blood and slowly turned into a shade of yellow. It wasn''t exactly the same shade as the door, but he didn''t have any other choice.


    He could see the color perfectly because he had deactivated his night vision. Since the house required good color vision, he would activate it only when it was too dark to see with his normal vision, or when he needed its boosted eyesight.


    Carrying the plate carefully on his right hand and his briefcase on his left, he walked closer to the sealed door and splashed the yellow mixture all over it. The mixture stopped midair and gradually spread around, forming the same pattern as the marking of the seal. They then combined and disappeared, breaking the seal on the door.


    "Another seal undone. Whoever designed this whole thing deserved a pat in the back, with a dagger,"


    With the seal broken, he now could reach into the door handle without his hand being stopped midair. Valentine twisted it and pushed the door open, and he was pleasantly surprised to find it unlocked.


    The place behind the door was the other side of the corridor that had a blockade near the bathroom. On this side, there was a window with little sunlight, unlike the other side, so he didn''t have to worry about the black monster coming for him. In that short corridor, there were only two doors on the wall opposite him. Valentine tried the door closest to him first and entered yet another bedroom.


    The bedroom on this side of the mansion looked similar to the ones on the other side. Valentine, who had been keeping track of the positions of the rooms in the mansion, started to see a pattern. It seemed that the mansion was built symmetrically, with the two sides mirroring each other, safe for the staircase.


    Inside the bedroom, there was the usual wardrobe. He came closer to it and checked the inside space, but found nothing. On the broken bed, there was no journal page that he could read. However, there was something of interest in that room; there was a large glass container without a lid. He could use it to carry either the black liquid or the white goo. He stuffed the container inside his briefcase and moved along.


    He approached the other door, which was closer to the blockade, and opened it. Contrary to his expectation, it was not a bedroom this time, but a completely empty room. There wasn''t any giant wardrobe, bed, or any broken remains of an object. There was only dust there. Since he wasn''t interested in dust, he quickly left the room. However, he suddenly stopped in his track.


    Valentine remembered something important that he had completely overlooked when seeing the dust. The Leyaks had been dropping purple crystal fragments. If he could somehow grind them, he could spread them on the purple seal to break it.


    Still inside the empty room, he reached into his briefcase and took out a small purple crystal fragment. He pressed hard against it with his finger to gauge its hardness and found out that it was harder than he thought. He would need something very strong to shatter it, but currently, nothing came to mind since he didn''t know what was available and what was not in the mansion. Graham''s Order wouldn''t work either because asking the crystal to break itself would count as asking it to inflict self-harm.


    He put the crystal inside his pocket and exited the room. As he was doing so, his sense of danger was triggered. Something was approaching him rapidly from the left side of the corridor. It was a Leyak!


    Valentine quickly went back into the room and stayed away from the door so he wouldn''t be too close to it. The thing can suck up his lifeforce just by being in the proximity. He readied his gun, which still had two bullets left inside the cylinder and aimed at the door. The moment the thing entered the room, he would shoot it right away.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of my presence no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the existence of the sound of this gunshot a secret!"


    Drip drip...


    The distinct sound it made was heard quickly getting closer to the door.


    Click...


    He heard the door being opened and waited intently. One second, two seconds... Nothing came out of the gap.


    Suddenly Valentine felt weak; His lifeforce was getting sucked out of him from behind!


    He quickly rolled to get away and saw the Leyak had somehow got behind him. He quickly drew his gun and shot it.


    Bang!


    That would have been the sound of his gun being shot, but since it was concealed, there was no sound coming out of it. The Leyak in the room melted quickly because of the bullet and left a small crystal fragment. Meanwhile, Valentine was reloading his gun because he had only one bullet left in the chamber.


    "That thing can teleport now? Is it getting stronger somehow?" asked Valentine rhetorically,


    "Is it related to the seal, perhaps? The only thing I can think of now is that they get stronger the more seals I break. That will be problematic since there are over a thousand in this house, G" he made a guess.


    He didn''t want to find out how the Leyaks would turn out if he had broken all the seals in the house. A teleporting one was already many times more dangerous than a regular one because they can suck the lifeforce of their victims by just being in their proximity. At least for now, they still couldn''t phase through walls or doors.


    He picked up the purple fragment and put it in his pocket. He quickly went out of that empty room and went towards the toilet near the main hall where the black liquid was. He needed to test something.


    The faint sounds of doors being opened and then closed again could be heard repeatedly in that empty mansion. Valentine quickly got back to the room with dangerous black liquid in the sink. It still looked the same as when he first saw it, and still gave off a very dangerous feeling.


    Valentine came closer to the sink and took out the glass container he had just found. With his gloved hand, he very carefully scooped a lot of the black liquid without letting it touch his hand. Before confirming his theory, he wanted to do something else first, so he exited from the toilet and stood in front of the door in the main hall that somehow had a black marking on it.


    He splashed some of the black liquid, leaving a little for his experiment, and it stopped midair; the same reaction as the previous actions with the seals. The black liquid seemed to indeed be spiritual in nature because it quickly formed the same pattern as the mark and then broke the seal. The main entrance seal was now broken, so he pushed open the heavy door and slowly he the gap got bigger and bigger until it was enough for him to slip through at any time. His escape route was now cleared.


    Valentine looked at the remaining liquid in the container and saw that it was more than enough. He took out one crystal fragment from his pocket and dropped it to the container, letting it came into contact with the dangerous substance inside.


    Hiss!


    A sound that was similar to when a drop of water touched the surface of a very hot pan was made by the purple fragment. The black liquid quickly enveloped it and melted the crystal fragment, which created a small amount of very dark purple solution inside the glass container.


    Valentine dropped another crystal fragment into the solution and the same sound was heard again. The fragment quickly melted and combined with the liquid inside. Now, he had enough amount of liquid to spray all over the door with the purple seal, where he was heading to at the moment without wasting too much time.


    Although the sun outside was still shining, he felt like he had spent too much time inside the mansion. It would be very dangerous for him to be there when the night fell, so he had to quickly grab the ancient book and made a run for it, and if possible, not break all of the seals in the mansion because the outcome was unknown.


    He walked through the left display room and arrived at the corridor that was on the left side of the obstacle. That was where the purple sealed door was. His right hand moved upward quickly and the dark purple liquid inside got splattered all over the space centimeters away in front of the door. It then created a complicated pattern that was similar to the one on the door and combined with the door marking, effectively breaking the seal. Valentine grabbed the door handle and twisted the cold, metal object. He was pleased to find out that it was not locked, which mean less work for him, and entered the large room ahead.

 65 The Mansion of Horror 4

    The sky outside started getting cloudy. The once sunshiny day had now turned into a dark and gloomy morning, with the wind blowing strongly. Besides the whistle of the wind, no other sound was present in that large mansion that stood tall in the middle of a forest. It was almost midday but it felt like dusk to Valentine, who was now standing in the kitchen of that very mansion.


    Valentine closed the door to the corridor carefully behind him and observed the new room which he was in. The kitchen hadn''t been in use for ages, but most of the cooking utensils there were still intact. He could come back here and grabbed an iron pan if he needed another container to use. On the kitchen counter, there was a piece of paper. To his right, there was a door that had a blue marking on it when he approached. To his left, on the other end of the room, there was a staircase leading down, probably to the basement. In front of him was another door that led to the courtyard, which he could see clearly from the barred windows there. The courtyard was just a plain open area without any kind of decoration. The ground had no grass or other plants, and the soil was parched; it was just like the area around the outer fence of the mansion.


    Based on his memory of the aerial view of the mansion, he should be very close to the center of it, so his goal would be a room across the courtyard, around the corner. Because of that, he wasn''t interested in the blue seal door on his right. It was also not a good idea to keep breaking the seals because the Leyaks would only get empowered. It was the same case for the basement; he wouldn''t go and check unless necessary.


    Valentine went over to the kitchen counter first to read what was written on the piece of paper. There was only one line written there and the handwriting was very messy; it was probably written in a hurry.


    ''If you''re reading this, do not, I repeat, DO NOT go to the basement!!''


    After reading the note, he instinctively looked at the staircase in front of him and looked down to where it was leading. There was a door blocking his view, but he got a bad feeling about whatever was behind the door.


    "Whoever is leaving these journal pages, you have my sincere gratitude," said Valentine politely. "This gives even more reason not to check the basement,"


    He put the note back down on the kitchen counter for whoever would come next to the mansion for whatever reason and said, "G, the basement will be another homework for you."


    If Graham could speak right now, he would probably complain endlessly about the countless things he had to remember and divine later.


    Valentine didn''t stay still long. He quickly moved to the door to the courtyard and reached out to the door handle. He managed to reach it without his hand being stopped midair; however, he couldn''t open it as it was locked.


    "Of course..." he complained inwardly.


    He crouched down and took out the lock picking tools from his coat, but as he was just about to insert the pin to the keyhole, he heard the sounds of liquid dripping-- a lot of them.


    Drip drip...


    Drip drip...


    Drip drip...


    And then a door was opened.


    Creak...


    He didn''t bother to check first, but rather, he increased his pace to pick open the lock of the door. He concentrated hard while the sound of dripping was quickly getting closer and closer.


    Click!


    The door was unlocked! He quickly turned the door handle and pulled it open to escape to the big courtyard outside. As he was closing the door behind him to obstruct the Leyak, he saw three of them floating fast toward him.


    Slam!


    He pulled the door closed as quickly as he could and moved away from it. If he had to fight three of them at the same time, the courtyard was a huge space, so he had the advantage; he had a lot of room to move about to avoid being too close to the evil spirits.


    The door was opened and he could clearly see the three ugly beings floating past it. Each of the Leyaks was wearing an ornamental mask with a lot of space for their building eyeballs. Their teeth were sharp and they had two protruding fangs at the corner of their mouths. Their elongated tongues were hanging almost as low as the bloody entrails swinging from their heads.


    "I''ve broken one more seal since I last saw one of these things. Let''s see now what power they have evolved," he said while getting ready to shoot.


    Whoosh!


    The bullet that was shot by the silent revolver moved quickly through the air. Valentine didn''t wait for all of the Leyaks to pass through the door before attacking them.


    The Leyak that he aimed at teleported away, but the one behind it didn''t manage to dodge the bullet. It drilled a hole in its head, which created a lot of blood veins that enveloped its whole body. From the vein, blood burst and melted the Leyak in a very painful process.


    Growl!


    The Leyak let out an animal-like cry as it died.


    Valentine didn''t wait for the whole process to finish. He quickly shot another bullet at the Leyak behind the dying one.


    Crash!


    The Leyak teleported away and his bullet hit the wall in the kitchen.


    "They seem to be able to teleport faster now. This will be problematic," he said analytically, "and I just wasted a bullet,"


    He quickly scanned his surroundings and found the location of the other two Leyaks. They were not far from their initial locations, but they were quickly closing in on him.


    "They didn''t directly teleport near me. Probably their teleportation distance is limited," judged Valentine calmly.


    He reached out to his briefcase in his left hand to take out a Barong talisman. He needed to make them stop in their track before shooting them to make sure it hit.


    The moment the Leyaks got close enough, he held out the talisman to the one closest to him with his right hand, which had the revolver hanging from his pinky, and the trident-like object in his hand created a gloomy red light before turning into ashes. The red light stunned the Leyak, which gave him a window of opportunity. He skillfully moved the gun to its correct position and aimed at the thing. But when he was about to shoot...


    Bump!


    The other Leyak had somehow managed to hurl a small rock at Valentine''s hand, ruining his aim. He quickly adjusted his aim and shot.


    Whoosh!


    The bullet moved quickly through the air but it missed! The Leyak had managed to buy enough time for its partner to recover from its state.


    "They''ve also gotten smarter? What is this? Evil spirit development institution?" he mocked inwardly.


    He moved quickly from his position because he was now almost too close to the Leyaks, and it would be bad if he was cornered by the two evil spirits. He darted to the other side of the courtyard and held out a talisman while turning around. He had felt a Leyak following close behind him, so he seized the opportunity.


    The talisman turned into ashes after stunning the Leyak. However, Valentine didn''t shoot right away; he dashed to the other Leyak and held a talisman to stun it.


    Swoosh!


    It teleported away before he could get close enough. Without wasting time to chase it because it should now be too far away, he aimed at the still stunned Leyak and shot it.


    Bump!


    Again, the other one that was not stunned hurled a small rock that perfectly hit his aiming hand. The pain was nothing, but the impact was strong enough to move his hand several centimeters to the side, making his gun shoot nothing. The timing was too perfect-- it was as if the Leyak wanted to make sure that he would waste his bullets.


    "Even from that distance? That Casper needs to behave," he said in annoyance while moving away quickly from his spot.


    "Let me try this then," he moved closer to the Leyak that was still recovering from the talisman''s effect.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    As soon as he had finished chanting, he got a throbbing headache. His power had failed to take effect. He couldn''t control the Leyak with his Interrogation.


    "Shit. It would be much easier for you to control those two things at the same time," he muttered, "but you''re much slower than they are now."


    Valentine ran back towards the door to the kitchen while the two things moved quickly toward him. His next plan was to enter the kitchen and waited for them to open the door, which would give him the chance to stun and shoot one of them.


    He swiftly entered the kitchen and slammed the door behind him. The sounds of blood dripping were right behind the door, and not long after, it got violently pushed open.


    Flash!


    Valentine held out another talisman and managed to stun the one opening the door with its gloomy red light. He could see that the other Leyak had readied another rock to throw at him, but the position made it more difficult to aim for his hand. Without even giving it a chance to react, he triggered his gun and shot the stunned evil spirit.


    Growl!


    With its animalistic cry of pain, the stunned Leyak melted into a pool of blood which vanished into thin air as soon as it touched the ground. In its spot, there was now a purple crystal fragment lying.


    Clank!


    The other Leyak hurled the rock that it had prepared and aimed for Valentine''s head, but he managed to dodge in time. The rock hit a pan behind him and made a loud noise.


    In the spot where he dodged to, suddenly the Leyak appeared!


    He felt very weak in an instant. His whole body seemed to just want to give up and lied down on the floor, accepting its fate. He was now within the evil spirit''s range and it was sucking the lifeforce out of him; on top of that, its life-sucking power was now much more powerful than when he first encountered it. Its bloodshot eyes looked menacing, and its elongated tongue was reaching out, trying to lick him.


    With much difficulty, he put his left hand up and held the talisman that he had prepared before against the thing. A red light came out of it and stunned the Leyak before it turned to ashes in his hand. However, the suction force didn''t disappear even though the thing was stunned.


    He forced his weakened body to move out of its range, crawling heavily on the floor. He didn''t have much time before it recovered from its state, so once he felt his power returning, he quickly shot the motionless Leyak between its eyes.


    "Die!"


    The bullet drilled a hole in its head, from which countless blood veins came gushing out, entangling the evil spirit. From the veins, blood spurted and melted the Leyak, which let out a very loud, beastly cry.


    Growl!!


    Valentine lied down on the floor for another second, recovering from his weakened state. After that, he got up and picked up the purple crystal fragment that the Leyak had dropped, as well as the ones by the door that the first and the second Leyaks had dropped. He also picked up the briefcase that he had quickly discarded in order to hold the talisman and the gun at the same time in each hand.


    "I hope we can use it for other purposes than just breaking seals," he looked at the small translucent object between his fingers and then stuffed it inside his briefcase together with the other fragments.


    "That last growl might have attracted the other Leyak, or worse, that black thing. We''d better hurry," he concluded and made his way across the courtyard.


    He ran quickly across the huge open space and stopped at a door in the corner, where the book he was looking for should be. The clouds were getting thicker and thicker, and as a result, the morning became darker and darker. He needed to grab the book as fast as he could and escape from the mansion before the black thing appeared. With the sunlight gone, it would be much more difficult to face the thing.

 66 A Hard Days Work

    Valentine was standing in front of a double door at the corner of the big courtyard. He thick wooded door was carved with abstract ornaments that, when he looked carefully at them, resembled babies with bat wings and horns carrying something to a person who was lying down on the ground. He didn''t know what it represented, but he etched the carving in his memory nonetheless; it might be an important piece of information.


    He was about to touch the door handle when his hand couldn''t move farther. Something invisible was preventing him from doing so. On the doors, there was a glowing red marking, but it was a different one from the usual blood seal that he had seen in the mansion. This marking had a complicated pattern that resembled a gate of some sort with two inverted crosses at the bottom. It was the sigil of the Deity of Fire Divination!


    Valentine slit his palm and splattered his blood on the doors to try to break the seal. However, it stopped midair and got splashed back to the space in front of it. None of the blood hit Valentine because he had expected the result and moved aside in time.


    "I guess it''s time to switch," he said shortly.


    He then sat down next to the door with his back against the wall. He concentrated on his breathing to help him fall asleep faster. With his much field experience, falling asleep anywhere was not a problem at all, and only within seconds, his consciousness had faded. Graham woke up not long after.


    He observed the red marking on the double door and it was indeed the seal of his first Deity. It probably meant that only the blood of His Contractbounds could undo the seal on the double door. He took a step closer and slit his wrist while forming a cup with his left hand to contain the crimson liquid.


    There was now quite some blood on his left hand, so he made a quick slapping motion with it and jerked midair to let the blood get all over the seal''s invisible barrier. He waited for the blood to slowly form a pattern following the seal, but what he expected didn''t happen.


    "Urgh!" he groaned.


    His blood got splattered back at him, and he wasn''t fast enough to dodge in time. He now had blood on his face and some on his coat.


    "Not my coat! This will be difficult to remove..." he regretted.


    He took a piece of already bloody cloth from his briefcase and rubbed the stain on his coat diligently to prevent it from spreading. He had to do it very quickly because he wasn''t actually in a safe place.


    "So, blood doesn''t work. What about divination?" he finally said after wiping his face clean.


    Graham took out his black lighter from the right outer pocket of his coat and lit a flame. It burned calmly, while occasionally danced in its place. He stared at the bright flame and concentrated while repeating a question in his mind.


    ''How do I break this seal with the Deity of Fire Divination sigil?''


    He waited patiently for an image to appear from the flame. It was still burning calmly and the surrounding area didn''t become darker than usual like what always happened. It seemed his divination had failed.


    "No result?" he asked in confusion.


    Graham went into deep thought about what had just happened. When his divination was interfered with or if he wasn''t powerful enough to divine it, it would usually show abnormality like a violent blaze. Since nothing happened in the first place, that meant what he had tried to divine didn''t exist or he simply didn''t have enough information to go with it. He was clearly standing in front of the sealed door, so the latter could be crossed out.


    "I am confident I have enough information to divine about this seal, but it failed just like that. Maybe it''s because the question of how to break this seal doesn''t exist from the very beginning," he paused; his eyes were glimmering with revelation. "Which leaves me with two options: the seal doesn''t exist or I already know how to undo it. The former is clearly not the case since it stopped us from interacting with the door."


    With that revelation, he concentrated on the still burning flame from his lighter and repeated something in his mind.


    ''I order you to break this seal and open the door.''


    Instead of a question, he uttered a command through his divination. An image then gradually appeared in the flames. There, he could see the exact same double door with a complicated red marking on them. The seal in his divination came undone and the doors were both pushed open by an invisible force. In front of him, the same thing was also happening. The double door was now unsealed and open.


    It was a big, dusty room in front of him with a lot of shelves that had empty glass vials on them. On the floor in the middle of the room, there were candlesticks arranged into a formation, but the pattern was not familiar to him. Most of the candles had burned midway, which meant whatever they were intended for had been carried out. The room had no windows, so it was somewhat difficult for him to see inside, especially with the thick clouds blocking the sun.


    Graham took a step into the room with his lighter still emitting fire in his right hand, while his left was carrying his briefcase. He scanned the empty glass vials on the shelves and took some that were still in good condition, stuffing them neatly inside his briefcase. Most of them were broken, so he ignored the containers and moved along. The candles on the floor were just normal colored candles, so he didn''t take them either. His attention was attracted by something in the corner of the room, farthest from the door.


    There was a thick ancient book lying on an end table that looked like it hadn''t been opened in ages. A heavy layer of dust covered the whole thing, along with the table. The cover looked like it was made of leather, but there was no title on it. The thick book was only the size of a normal textbook, unlike what he had expected. He approached the book and opened a page to check if it was what he had come for, and the first few sentences he read proved his belief. He had finally got the book containing important knowledge regarding the world of the supernatural. He didn''t know the extent of the knowledge that the book had; for that, he needed to read all the contents first. For now, his goal was to escape from the mansion as soon as he could.


    Graham picked up the book and was relieved to find that it wasn''t enchanted to be unliftable. He put the book securely inside his briefcase and put on the strap around it. After that, he sat next to the table where the book was and leaned against the wall.


    "Val, it''s time to bail. You take over," he said, then his mouth started moving.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order myself to fall asleep immediately!"


    Graham then felt the heavy drowsiness that he had expected and fell asleep not long after. Valentine woke up just some seconds later and got up from his position. He walked out of the room quickly while cleaning the dust off his coat. The plan was not to exit through the main entrance but through an unconventional mean, He would take a shortcut by climbing up the mansion and going over the roof. It was the shortest and safest route he could think of, although more difficult. However, with his agility and nimbleness, it shouldn''t be too difficult.


    He avoided going back into the mansion in order to avoid meeting the black monster again, and more Leyaks. Although they were initially weak, they were getting stronger by time, and smarter too. However, they shouldn''t be able to obstruct his escape if he climber over the wall because based on Valentine''s observation, although technically they were floating above the grounds, they couldn''t actually fly, at least for now. They couldn''t go through walls either, at least for now.


    Valentine went over to the unsheltered part of the courtyard and took out the blood-stained cloth from his briefcase. He tied it around the handle and around the belt loop near his back, freeing both of his hands, although it added some weight to his back. He climbed the pillar skillfully and reached out to the iron bars on the second-floor window. The barred windows, although previously had been an annoyance, now provided him with something to grip and step on. He carefully and nimbly made his way all the way up to the roof and stood there for a moment. He needed to plan his way down mindfully because the gable roof was slippery and didn''t provide enough stable footing. It was definitely easier to climb up than to go down.


    From his sport high up there, he could see the green area below and the withering forest outside it. There were Leyaks there as well and he was sure that they had also evolved. The journal page said that the seals would refresh after a day, so those Leyaks should get back to their weak state if he ever needed to come back to the mansion.


    The outer wall of the mansion was basically unclimbable, unlike the inner one, where there were barred windows facing the courtyard placed near each other. On the wall outside, there were only very view windows. The shape of the outer part of the mansion also made it very difficult to climb, unlike the courtyard side which was basically a straight surface; that was why he hadn''t climbed over the first time he arrived at the mansion.


    "Now, how do we get down?" he pondered.


    He scanned the wall below and saw a barred window somewhat far from the roof, but most likely still on the second floor, and it was the only one over there. The roof was hanging over farther than the bars, making dropping down difficult. However, with his skills, it should still be doable. From the barred window, he could then just drop down to the ground, which was probably still more or less eight meters above the ground.


    Valentine moved over to the edge and crouched facing in, his hands were in position. He then let his body drop down while his hands grabbed tightly on the roof edge. He swung his body gently towards the wall and let go of the roof. The moment his hands stopped grabbing the roof edge, his body fell very quickly several meters towards the ground; however, he managed to reach out to the window bars and held on tightly, which stopped his fall. His hands were in pain from the sudden, violent contact with the hard iron bars.


    He was almost midway to the ground below, so falling down the rest of the way shouldn''t break any bones. He climbed down to the lowest part of the window bars and got into position, spotting the location he wanted to land on. He then let go of the bars and let his body drop down. Gravity quickly pulled his body down and Valentine got ready for a safe landing. He bent his body and knees so that he would land with both feet and his arm would act as a balance. The moment he felt contact with the ground, he used all the power from his legs to bounce his body back up, rolling backward to spread the impact of the fall. His briefcase bounced back, hitting his back hard, although it didn''t hurt because of the soft material.


    "That wasn''t too bad," he said, satisfied with his own performance. "Remember, G, when we had to jump down from a much higher place? Even we broke our leg back then. But to be fair, we weren''t a Contractbound at that moment."


    He got up and untied the cloth from the briefcase on his back and quickly left the spot. He circled the mansion to find the way where he came from. The mansion felt much bigger from the outside, so it took him some time to find it because he had gone down from the opposite side.


    Although he really wanted to read the ancient book that he had just found, he held back the urge because it was not safe to do so, even if the green area around the mansion had shown no danger so far. His priority right now would be to quickly make his way back to the town and to his hotel room, where he could let Graham safely analyze the content of the book.

 67 An Unexpected Encounter

    "Lure it this way!"


    "Quickly! Move!"


    "Watch out! It''s gonna attack!"


    "Argh! My hand!"


    Valentine was running in the forest carrying his spoil of war when he heard the voices of several people fighting. Judging from their voices, there were three men and at least one woman. The source of the voices was still far away, but he could pick up the sound thanks to his boosted hearing.


    He was curious about the fight, so he approached the source quickly and carefully, walking past trees while avoiding shrubberies as not to make a noise. He quickly closed in and hid behind a tree when he finally could see what was happening with the aid of his boosted sight.


    In the clearing far from his hiding spot, there were four people dressed in Favaran style clothes, with their signature black coats and fedoras, fighting a tiger-like monster. Just as he had judged, three of them were men and there was one woman. The woman was dressed similarly to the men, and also carrying a gun, just like the men.


    Valentine recognized one of the men fighting; it was Luuk''s friend, Pietro, who was a member of the hidden organization called Fratello Maggiore. They seemed to be on a mission to slay the black beast before them but were having a difficult time. One of them was sustaining a heavy injury on his right arm, which was strangely not bleeding anymore despite the wound still being open. The others were standing their ground. They seemed to have lured the monster out there to the clearing to make defeating it easier.


    The beast that they were fighting matched the description of the monster from the rumor that had been attacking people in Oostelijk Bos, which the locals called Zwart. It looked like a tiger but much bigger; it was the size of an adolescent elephant, with all black fur without any spots. Around its neck, there was a dark grey mane, which was one of the only parts of its body with a slightly different color; even its sharp claws, that could easily rip humans into pieces just because of their size, were black. From its mouth, two long sharp black fangs were sticking out, and its yellow eyes were cautiously looking at its attackers. It knew it had the size and power advantage, although it was outnumbered.


    Valentine stayed hidden. He wanted to watch how the fight unveiled before deciding what he would do. He climbed up a tree to get a better view and to avoid the other dangers in the forest.


    "Pier, now!" commanded the woman who seemed to be the leader.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    The man with the injured arm chanted while striking his stomach with an iron stick using his left hand. From Valentine''s spot, he couldn''t see the man''s front, but from the sound, he could conclude that the man called Lucio had placed something like an iron plate on his stomach.


    Clank! Clank!


    The sound of the drum echoed in the ears of his teammates, empowering them and also himself. The pain on his arm receded and the injury slowly began to heal. Although Valentine could also hear the sound of the War Drum, he didn''t get strengthened because the caster didn''t consider him an ally.


    "Pietro, Lucio, buy me some time!" commanded the woman again. Her voice was decisive and her tone was authoritative.


    Bang!


    Lucio shot at the beast, but it wasn''t injured. The bullet only grazed it, creating a flesh wound that healed quickly. Pietro dashed towards the black beast with a dagger in his right hand, which was a weapon he was better at. The War Drum boosted his speed significantly, which helped him reach the beast in seconds while avoiding its attack.


    Slash!


    He struck a critical spot and red blood spurted from the injury that Pietro had created. However, the wound quickly closed up and healed.


    "Roar!"


    The beast was about to pounce at Pietro.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Reconciliation, declare fighting forbidden in this area!"


    Blood splattered around, creating a circle around Pietro and the beast. The beast stopped his attack, and Pietro couldn''t attack either. They both lost their will to fight, and also the sense of danger, so they just stood there for seconds. It was the effect of Lucio''s Neutral Zone; no fighting could happen while inside the zone, although it only lasted for a few seconds and required a lot of blood to set up.


    The beast, which was stronger than its opponent, recovered earlier than the human in front of it. It was about to maul Pietro, who was still under the effect of the neutral zone when it sensed danger and quickly moved away from the spot.


    Stab!


    There was a crimson spear that was launched quickly from the direction of the woman and stabbed the ground. Unfortunately, the beast''s instinct told it in time to dodge, so she missed. The spear then liquified into a pool of blood and gathered around her again. It was the weapon that she was preparing using her blood. Normally, she could only create a sword at most because of the amount of blood required, but with the effect of the War Drum, she could afford to lose more blood because she could recover more quickly.


    "Lucio, be careful with your neutral zone!" she shouted.


    "I''m sorry, Boss!" said Lucio apologetically.


    Clank! Clank!


    The sound was still reverberating in the clearing, which irritated the beast. It quickly darted at Pier whose right arm was still healing.


    "Pier, step back!" yelled the female mafia boss.


    She moved the spear with her mind and it shot through the air towards the beast, which sensed it and quickly dodged to its right. The blood spear managed to cut a wound on the beast''s front left leg.


    "Roar!!" the beast let out a loud noise in anger, which was much louder than its previous roar.


    Valentine, who was still hiding on top of a tree some distance away from the fight, was dividing his attention, so the roar caused pain in his ears although he wasn''t close to the source. On his hand was the ancient book that he had taken out from his briefcase. He had also placed anti-divination on it. After recovering from the shock, he continued flipping the pages of the book, scanning the content for information regarding the beast.


    "Argh!" the mafia members screamed in pain. The War Drum stopped because of it.


    The beast then pounced at Lucio, who was closest to him. Luckily, the woman had recovered, so she had time to shield her teammate with her blood spear which could move around much quicker than the people there. However, the beast''s long claws still managed to injure him slightly, ripping his black coat and creating a wound on his chest. He quickly moved back to a safe distance.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order my wound to stop bleeding!"


    Lucio finished chanting and blood stop pouring from the wound on his chest, but it remained open. He readied his gun to shoot at any time, although he knew his attack power was the weakest in the group, even compared to Pier who was currently unable to attack because of his injury.


    Valentine heard someone using the same power as Graham and his interest was suddenly piqued. He observed the user carefully, etching his characteristics in his memory.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Pier started hitting the iron plate on his stomach again without being told to. His support was essential to his teammates, and he knew well his role.


    Pietro slit his palm and let the pool collect there. After he had collected enough blood, he took a small vial from his coat which had clear liquid inside it. He carefully dropped a very tiny amount of the liquid on his blood and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, imbue this blood with the power to melt my enemy!"


    Pietro put the vial back in his pocket and ran towards the beast.


    "Die you bastard!" shouted Pietro while splashing his blood on the beast.


    The part of the beast''s fur that came in contact with Pietro''s blood melted a little, creating a sizzling noise. It got angrier and turned around to attack him. However, the blood spear once again was in its way, so it had to sidestep to avoid the spear''s attack.


    "Growl!" the beast let out an animalistic cry and then it turned invisible.


    "Shit! Everyone, be careful!" shouted Pietro.


    "Die, you monster!" yelled the female boss.


    The crimson spear started spinning quickly and moved across the area, cutting everything in its path. Although the beast had gone invisible, it was still tangible and could be cut through by her blood spear.


    "Argh!" shouted someone.


    It was Pier, who had gotten attacked from behind. The spear quickly moved towards his location and prevented him from being attacked further. Blood dripped from his back, and his wound could be clearly seen through his ripped coat. The War Drum was stopped once again.


    Lucio quickly approached Pier, looked at his wound, and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop bleeding!"


    Blood stopped dripping from Pier''s wound, but the wound didn''t close. However, it was enough to save his life. Lucio felt the headache that came with his spell chant.


    "I only have one more chance to use Order!" he said loudly so his group could hear.


    "Got it. Everyone, be careful!" shouted the woman, "Its invisibility should cost the beast a lot, otherwise it would have used it sooner. We need to buy time until it wears off," she said analytically.


    "Pier, can you still play your War Drum?" asked Pietro.


    "Yes, barely," he said.


    "Save it for later. For now, don''t draw the attention of the beast until we''re sure we can keep it away from you," added Pietro in concern of his wounded teammate.


    "Pietro, can you use your Romancer power to control it?" asked Lucio while staying on guard, watching his surroundings cautiously.


    "No. The beast won''t get attracted to me no matter what," he answered with regret.


    Pietro slit open his wrist again, whose previous wound had already healed. He made a deeper wound this time, to allow more blood to come gushing out. He listened intently to all the sounds in his surroundings, and could faintly hear a very light footstep coming closer to the woman.


    "Boss, it''s coming for you!" he shouted.


    "I know!"


    She redirected her spinning spear towards her location when she felt something dangerous behind her. The woman dodged to the side while her spear was spinning quickly to the direction behind her, to meet her attacker.


    Clang!


    The spear made contact with the beast claw, and a part of the spear was chipped and the tiny part turned back to liquid blood and evaporated.


    Pietro, who now had a lot of blood pooling on his palm, took out another vial from his pocket and poured the gooey clear content onto the blood.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, imbue this blood with the power to stick to my enemy!"


    He dashed towards where the beast was and sprayed some blood over the surrounding area. Most of his blood splattered to the ground below, but some hit the invisible enemy and stuck to its fur. The beast now had a red patch of blood on its body which could be used by the group to track it.


    "Good job, Pietro!" complimented the woman, and then she quickly directed the spinning spear towards the beast.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!" shouted Pier while hitting the plate on his stomach with difficulty.


    Clang! Clang!


    The spear, that was already moving quickly, got even quicker with the boost of the war drum.


    Whoosh!


    The spear darted with bullet-like speed through the air and aimed for the floating blood patch that kept moving about. It was about to make a cut on the beast''s body when it was suddenly thrown back several meters with a loud clanking noise. The beast seemed to have defended itself with its strong claws.


    The beast, following its animal instinct, knew that it could not win the battle easily anymore. It decided to retreat back to the forest and recover. Its attackers had the advantage of the number, and also teamwork, while it was all alone. Even if it eventually won, it would take too much energy and being weakened in that forest was less than ideal. The floating blood patch moved quickly away from the group and into the forest behind it.


    "It''s retreating! What should we do, boss?" asked Lucio.


    Pier didn''t stop his War Drum just in case the beast was just fake retreating.


    "Don''t chase! We clearly are on the losing side here. Let''s head back to the town and recover. I''ll tell the Mastro that we failed," said the woman decisively.


    Pier, who had now stopped playing the War Drum, collapsed to the ground from exhaustion and injury. Lucio and Pietro came to his aid.


    She valued the life of her allies more than mission completion, and she knew the Mastro would also prefer living members to dead ones.


    Valentine, who was watching the whole fight, closed the book on his lap and put it back inside his briefcase. He had seen the difference in power between him and the beast, and also the woman. He got down from the tree quietly and started moving.

 68 The Ancient Book

    Graham was sitting on the chair in the dim-lit hotel room. The curtains were drawn, blocking the already limited afternoon sunlight from the cloudy sky. On the table in front of him was an ancient-looking book and a lit candle beside it, providing him with light. On the cover of the book, there was a tiny bloodstain in the corner, which looked almost natural like it was part of the cover''s design. It was the medium Valentine had used to place anti-divination on the book.


    Valentine had arrived back at the hotel and switched with Graham, who was better at analysis and memorizing. He touched the book cover and felt the rough leather surface on his skin. It felt hard to touch, but there was a slight feeling of elasticity from it. Graham opened it to the first page, which was left blank. There was nothing written on it at all, even when he put the candle close to it to reveal any heat-sensitive ink that might be there. He then flipped to the next page, which had bad handwriting all over it, like that of someone whose mind worked much faster than their hand.


    ''If you are reading this, then congratulations on being one of the rarest Contractbounds. There are not many like you, so use your power wisely. In my lifetime alone, I''ve met probably only two Contractbounds with this power. That''s how rare they are.


    He stopped at that line and thought about it. Although the book didn''t mention it explicitly, since the seal on the door required Fire Divination, it would mean that it was Fire Divinators that the book was referring to. It also said one of the rarest, which meant there were other rare ones.


    ''It can be argued that Fire Divinators are one of, if not the strongest divinators in the world of Contractbounds. Their divination doesn''t require any sacrifice or offering, and fire is a natural element that can easily be created. Astrologers, admittedly, have stronger spiritual power, and thus can get better divination results, but it''s because their Deity is of the President rank, unlike the Deity of Fire Divination, which is the only Knight rank Deity in existence. However, the moment a Fire Divinator forms a Contract with a President rank Deity, their divination power will surpass Astrologers of the same level.''


    This next paragraph confirmed Graham''s initial guess about it being about Fire Divinators. It also surprised him that his divination power was considered among the strongest. He continued reading.


    ''Some of the contents in this book have been sealed by me for your own protection. Once you''re strong enough, you can use your power to unseal them.''


    He was reading the last few sentences on that page when his attention was drawn by the word ''sealed''. Graham got curious and quickly flipped through the pages to look for those sealed passages. There seemed to be a lot of sealed information, but he stopped on a page that was completely blank. It was apparent that what the seal did was conceal the information completely from the readers. It would be troublesome to notice that a certain part was sealed unless he made sure that some information was missing.


    Graham went back to the page that he was reading and after confirming there was nothing else written under that paragraph, he moved over to the next page.


    ''Some rules that I have drawn about Contractbounds. Read these carefully if you don''t want to die a horrible death.''


    He read that line and the tone suddenly became serious.


    ''First, always maintain your humanity! This is probably the most important of all. We gain power by losing something in return, and sometimes we lose what makes us humans. Our contracts will often make us act a certain way. Do not resist this, but don''t lose your true self either. If you don''t want to turn into a monster (literally and figuratively), you must remember this.''


    ''Second, never form a contract with more than two Deities of the same rank. Doing so will deprive you of your sanity and turning you into a monster. Two is the maximum number, trust me. I have done experiments with willing subjects.''


    ''Someone who has turned into a monster can no longer be saved. Their sense of self is forever gone and they only act on instinct that their contract provides them. They also become much more powerful, and their castings require no chant anymore. Death is their only salvation, so don''t hesitate to kill them even if they are your loved ones.''


    ''Third, our blood is protected by our Deity, because it is what links us to Him. That''s why blood curses and the like won''t work on us unless the caster has another part of our body.''


    ''Fourth, scrolls cannot be destroyed. They only move from one host to another. They cannot be created either. There is a limited number of contract scrolls in this world. That is also the reason why we are nothing but walking stepping stones for some.''


    ''Fifth, the foreign line that comes to your brain after pleasing your Deity contains His true name. Just don''t say it out loud because terrible, terrible things will happen.''


    ''Sixth, after forming a contract with a higher-ranked Deity, the abilities from the lower ones will require no chanting anymore. It''s probably because you are not supposed to chant a Deity whose name is lower than your current one''s.''


    ''Seventh,''


    ''Eight,''


    ''Ninth,''


    ''Tenth,''


    The rules after the sixth were all just blank sections. They seemed to be yet another sealed piece of information that Graham could unlock after getting stronger. He analyzed the rules he had read so far.


    "For an ancient-looking book, the author''s tone is strangely casual," he said amusedly, "There is probably the author''s name somewhere, but it is sealed. I''m curious about what kind of person he or she is."


    "Anyway, I think we have felt the effect of what the first rule mentioned. Remember when you said you felt like something was missing from you after forming your second contract, Val? I bet that was that. I''m glad I have you, so we can help each other remember who we are," Graham spoke with his deep, serious voice.


    He flipped to the next page and continued reading the content of the ancient book whose pages had turned brown because of age.


    ''Current known ranks and the respective Deities''


    ''Knight: Fire Divination''


    ''Earls: Lies and Attraction, Secrets, Theft, Uncovering, Reconciliation, Herbs and Precious Stones, Bloodshed and Manslaughter, the Tongue, War, Sleep.''


    ''Presidents: Illnesses and Shape-shifting, Potions and Medicines, Invisibility and Treasures, Stupidity and Hatred, Deception and Hidden Thoughts, Wisdom and Transmutation, Dispute and Animal Languages, Cunningness and Transformation, Astrology and Familiars, Wit and Blood, Serpents and Death.''


    ''Marquises:''


    The part for Marquises was blank, which meant the information was sealed. The rest of the page was also blank. Graham highly suspected that the information was not available to him at the moment, not that there was nothing there.


    "So mine is indeed the only one with the rank of Knight. Why do you think is that? And why is His rank only a knight if his divination power is one of the most powerful? I wonder what ranks are above Marquis," the more he read, the more questions he had. Graham then pondered, "With this information, we should be able to plan which Deity we want to form a contract with next carefully. According to the rule, we can choose two Deities from each rank."


    He analyzed the Deity''s names carefully and tried to think if he had seen abilities belonging to them.


    "The Deity of Serpents and Death''s power is definitely the one used to kill Levi Brouwer. I got that one through divination. The next one is the Deity of Illnesses and Shape-shifting. Do you remember Zeger de Witt, Val? The government official whose artifact we stole? The description of his power matches this Deity," he paused.


    "As for Cadhla, her title is a Transmuter, and there is this Deity of Wisdom and Transmutation. I''m positive He is the one she''s in contract with. Speaking of which, I don''t actually know Raff''s Contractbound power. He is most certainly one. Maybe I can do divination later just out of curiosity."


    "And then there is that Zwarte beast that used invisibility. How is its power related to the Deity of Invisibility and Treasures? I hope this book has the answer as well. The part that you were reading only told us about its description and weaknesses."


    "The Deity of Potions and Medicines probably grants their Contractbounds the ability to concoct potions of different effects, while the Deity of Wit and Blood''s Contractbounds are probably the ones with the strong blood attack as mention in the past divination. The Deity of Stupidity and Hatred and the Deity of Dispute and Animal Languages have peculiar names. What kind of power do you think they grant? Is it the ability to make people stupid and hate each other?" he amused himself.


    "I can probably use divination to get the detail of each Deity''s power later, but personally I think the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts would suit you best because your specialty seems to be stealth and secrets. As for me, since manipulation and information gathering is my forte, I think I should go with Cunningness and Transformation or Astrology and Familiars, although the latter was said to have subpar divination power compared to mine."


    Graham flipped the page over to the next one and read the content. It was about the details of Earl rank Contractbound that he had read before from another journal, with the addition of the missing seventh, eight, and tenth Deities that were missing from the previous journal. Although the information was similar, the style of writing was different. It was likely that the authors of the unliftable journal and the ancient book were two different people.


    ''Thieves are Contractbounds of the Deity of Theft. They are very agile and granted night vision to help them commit to their life''s calling of stealing. They can take away your belongings without even touching you, so be careful when they are around, although they can''t do it if you are too far away from them, or if they can''t see you. Stronger thieves can even steal more than tangible objects, which makes them a formidable foe in battle.''


    ''Mouths are Contractbounds of the Deity of the Tongue. They are powerful speakers, who are able to influence people using words and, to some extent, speak to the Dead. They can chant their Deity''s name if their words are not enough to make people do their bidding. Powerful Mouths can order a whole group to do what they commanded. Their calling is to stay behind the scene and manipulate people into doing what they wish. They will turn cold gradually from being detached for too long.''


    ''Shrouds are mysterious Contractbounds of the Deity of Secrets. Just like their name, their very existence is questionable. They are very agile, which makes it even harder to spot one in real life. Their anti-divination ability is able to interfere with most divination, and their ability to shroud a word in secret will make fighting them a nightmare, especially if they are able to restrict the word you use in a spell chant. Stronger shrouds can even conceal their faces, which makes you unable to recognize them, or even their very presence. Without you knowing it, they are already behind you with their weapon.''


    He finished reading the information regarding the Earl rank Deities.


    "With this, I have a complete repertoire of the Earls. I can probably sell this information for some profit whether to those guys or to the black market," he concluded. His eyes were glimmering with the thoughts of having money flowing into his wallet.


    "Speaking of the black market, we need to find a way to get in. I can''t just keep coming here to find Cadhla and Raff for my spiritual item needs. But the stuff there is outrageously pricy. We definitely need more money. Just when I thought I had become a rich man..."


    He moved on to the next page, and it was about the Contractbound power combination that he had read before through his divination, so he skipped it. Graham grabbed the magically sturdy old paper and gently flipped it to the next page. In the room illuminated with only candlelight, the title of the page, that was full of the messy handwriting until to the very bottom, caught his attention instantly.


    ''Known information regarding President rank Contractbounds''

 69 The Abilities of a Higher Rank

    "Known information regarding President rank Contractbounds? Now that''s an interesting title," said Graham excitedly. He continued reading the page with the utmost focus with the light from the candle.


    ''President-rank Contractbounds are significantly stronger than Earl-rank ones. Their spirituality and vitality are boosted a lot, and their body is already stronger than the average adult males even without their power. They are also now able to cast the abilities from the lower-ranked Deities without chanting, although mediums are still required if the ability asks for one. The abilities that they are granted can achieve amazing results-- even law-defying, that is why the sacrificial materials for their contract rituals are much harder to get.''


    ''There are eleven Deities with the rank of Presidents, with their corresponding titles and abilities. The titles that are given to the Contractbounds are strictly human convention, to make it easier to identify them. I didn''t come up with the names, however, as they have been known by those names since forever.''


    ''A Malady is someone in contract with the Deity of Illnesses and Shape-shifting. They are dangerous individuals well-versed in diseases that seek to spread malice to their surroundings. Maladies have the ability to afflict someone with a difficult to detect seed of a disease that will grow into something lethal with time. Because of that ability, Maladies are perfect assassins. However, they need a ritual to accomplish the Plague Curse, which is the name of their ability. If detected early, it can still be treated, but when it''s too late, the disease can spread to anyone the target is close to. Besides that ability, they are also able to spread a mild illness to their surroundings, which serves as their means to control the battlefield. Maladies have a shape-shifting ability which makes them even more dangerous assassins, but it requires a lot of preparation, and they cannot turn into another human being; they can only turn into animals of similar sizes to their own body.''


    ''A Tincture is someone in contract with the Deity of Potions and Medicines. They are the opposite of Malady, in that they seek to heal the injured and cure illnesses. They have a broad knowledge of both medicines and poisons. They can create concoctions with various effects depending on their expertise and power, which can aid their allies, or weaken their opponents in battles. Because of the title of their Deity, their body naturally becomes healthier and it is more difficult for them to get sick. A tincture doesn''t have any offensive or defensive abilities, but by using their concoctions, they are able to do both of them effectively. They are usually one of the richest or poorest Contractbounds, depending on their sales ability, because of the need for concoction materials.''


    Graham turned to the next page after reaching the end of that one.


    ''An Unseen is someone in contract with the Deity of Invisibility and Treasures. Just like their name, they are the unperceived, whose ultimate goal is to discover treasures without being noticed. They are granted the ability to become permanently invisible, although by doing so they are unable to interact with any humans or objects, including clothes and ground, so they float several centimeters above it. The moment they try to come into contact with something or cast certain other abilities, their invisibility will go away. A Contractbound with a strong perception can still detect them even if they have gone invisible, however. Unseens are usually good at martial arts since they cannot carry weapons while being invisible; their bodies are their only weapons. Besides invisibility, they also have a strong spiritual sense of valuable items, especially while being invisible, where they could see an imaginary line leading them to their targets.''


    Graham stopped reading for a while and thought about the last Contractbound mentioned. An Unseen was basically walking naked the whole time. It was a peculiar Contractbound since it didn''t say that they got another ability besides being invisible, so the person had to either become a nudist or get no benefit from the Deity at all. The thought of it amused him.


    ''An Ignoramus is someone in contract with the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred. Contrary to their name, they do not lose intelligence by forming a contract with this Deity. Their abilities, however, are curious. They have the ability to lower their target''s IQ for their next action, increasing the likelihood of them making a mistake. They can also ask their opponents ''a quiz'', with every wrong answer taking away their intelligence a little for a duration, which is why an Ignoramus must be knowledgable in the first place. They can prepare a ritual and use a medium to create a Zone of Hatred, where people in the area will be more inclined to act based on emotion rather than logic, and be made more irritable. The effect of this zone is very subtle and the targets won''t notice the abnormality.''


    ''A Deceit is someone who is in contract with the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts. I couldn''t gather information regarding this Contractbound because every time I did so, they tempered with the information I have. That is most likely their bread and butter ability.''


    Graham stopped reading again. It was the Deity that he thought would suit Valentine, but unfortunately, there was not enough information.


    "Val, it is unfortunate that the author doesn''t have anything else on a Deceit, but the description itself is a clue. Judging by the name of the Deity, I think the power is related to concealment but much stronger than yours. It reminds me of Luuk''s professor who got him to become a Contractbound and then strangely disappeared without anyone having any detailed memory of him at all," he said ruminatively, then flipped the page to continue reading.


    ''A Transmuter is someone in contract with the Deity of Wisdom and Transmutation. They are granted a vast knowledge of magical trinkets and the ability to transmute materials into an item of their desire. Their wisdom enables them to understand how an item works very quickly and how to recreate it using the appropriate materials. However, Transmutation requires a lot of preparation and spirituality, so they are not really suitable for combat. However, the items they create can aid their allies tremendously in battles. They are one of the few Contractbounds able to create talismans and other spiritual items that are effective against certain supernatural creatures.''


    "This is definitely Cadhla''s Deity," said Graham while nodding in self-confirmation, "This means she is a strong Transmuter since she could create twenty bullets and talismans in less than a day," he concluded.


    ''A Contention is someone who is in contract with the Deity of Dispute and Animal Languages. They are another peculiar one, in that their allies are usually animals instead of humans. Their power grants them the ability to communicate with more intelligent animals to some extent, although they cannot have a conversation with them. This enables them to ask their animal allies to accomplish incredible tasks like scouting and infiltration. They are also able to sow discontent with just their words in their enemies'' hearts, making them distrust their allies. Contentions are dangerous in a group fight because they can make allies turn against each other in a short time, turning the tide of the battle quickly.''


    ''A Guile is someone who is in contract with the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation. They are sly foxes who use their intelligence to manipulate their enemies. Guiles have the ability to plant a thought inside their enemies'' brains which will manifest slowly with time. Once the thought has manifested, their enemies will think that it is what they believe in. They are also able to read their enemies'' memory to some extent, and using said memory, transform into someone they are familiar with to further misguide them. A Guile''s transformation ability only works after they have extracted a memory of a person from their target. Once they have the memory, they can keep transforming into that person in the future unless they choose to forget the memory to make room for another one. While transformed, their voice and smell also change to match the memory of the person whose identity they are using.''


    After reading that information regarding Guiles, Graham became more convinced to take that part. The powers were very compatible with what he specialized in. He turned to the next page again. It was no wonder the book was thick; the messy handwriting took up so much space.


    ''An Astrologer is someone who is in contract with the Deity of Astrology and Familiars. They are another Contractbound with a divination ability, and their medium is a crystal ball. They need blood to perform divination and depending on the amount of blood they sacrifice, they can get an incredible result. Astrologers are not very suited for combat because of the lack of offensive abilities, but they can summon a familiar when in need, and aid their allies by divining their enemies'' weaknesses. They must first find a willing familiar and form a contract with it before they can summon it in battle, which is not an easy process either, but their divination ability helps them find the most suitable one for them.''


    ''A Gore is someone who is in contract with the Deity of Wit and Blood. They are the bloodiest among all Contractbounds of President rank. Their Deity grants them the ability to manipulate their blood to their will. They can create a blood weapon and control it remotely using their spirituality or use their blood to shackle their enemies, both of which require a large amount of their own blood. Stronger Gores can even create a cursed blood weapon that can draw their enemies'' blood to replenish their own. They also have the ability to use Blood Purification to destroy evil spirits. Gores can consume blood to replace theirs that they use for spells, which makes them a formidable opponent, especially if you start bleeding. It makes it very easy for them to turn into cold-blooded murderers.''


    ''A Demise is someone who is in contract with the Deity of Serpents and Death. They are the masters of curses and snakes. They can perform various curses with ritual and appropriate materials, which will create incredible effects on their enemies. One of their well-known curse if the Death Curse, which will instantly kill the target, except if the target is much stronger than them, and the Nightmare Curse which will give their targets horrible nightmares every time they sleep, slowly depriving them of their sanity. They are also able to conjure an illusory snake to immobilize their enemies and turn into countless snakes to avoid attacks.''


    Graham turned to the next page but it was blank. All the President rank Contractbounds had been listed there and the next page seemed to contain sealed information. He analyzed all the descriptions that he had just read and spoke in that dim hotel room.


    "This is a whole new level of supernatural. Just one rank higher and their powers are already very dangerous. It''s a good thing we decided not to fight with that Pravitatem killer just yet; otherwise, we might have been dead right now. Not that we have any clue to their identity anyway. We have to be very careful when we see a Demise or a Malady. In fact, we have to be careful when we see any of them, Val." Graham concluded.


    He didn''t continue reading the book because it was getting late in the afternoon. He had to get back to Sloten as not to spend any more time in that nameless town. Although he alone had no problem with that, he was there with Egon, who had a wife and a child waiting for him at home. He also needed to double his payment because they had stayed longer than expected. Graham put the ancient book back in his briefcase and put out the candle flame.

 70 A Message

    It was already dark when Graham and Egon arrived back at Sloten. The left at around four in the afternoon and the whole trip took them almost five hours because Egon didn''t dare to speed while driving in the dark. It was already nine when he dropped his passenger on Tuinstraat. Graham had already paid Egon back at the hotel, totaling to three whole guilders because they had stayed one day longer than planned.


    There were a lot of people walking by the apartment, much more than usual even though it was already late. They were either walking by or chatting, but they created quite some noise in that dark Thursday night. The moment he stepped out of the motor carriage, his spiritual intuition was triggered; something told him to listen in carefully to the people''s conversation. It was an explicable feeling, but the urge was real, so he did it anyway.


    "What are you going to do about YOUR daughter?" said a woman to another woman, the word ''your'' was strangely emphasized.


    Graham had a feeling that he needed to listen to all the emphasized words, which was why his spiritual intuition was triggered.


    "THE man over there keeps looking at us," said a woman dressed in sexy attire.


    "How dare you COMMAND me like that?!" said a man in an angry tone.


    "Do you believe in a hidden DEITY?" asked a teenage girl to her friend.


    "PEOPLE should really stop congregating here and go home," said an elderly lady.


    "YOU are one to talk, old woman. You should go home and watch your soap opera," said a man rather rudely to the old woman.


    "I will say once again I will not just DO your BIDDING without fighting back!" said the angry man again. He was talking to someone on the phone.


    "I cannot MAKE you understand, so I don''t care anymore. I still have A LOT of other guys chasing me," said a beautifully dressed woman.


    After that, there were no more words that were emphasized, and people started to leave one by one, leaving only a handful that were still congregating in the street near his apartment building.


    "Your the command Deity people you do bidding make a lot?" he repeated the emphasized words in order that he heard them and then rearranged them, "Your Deity commands you to make a lot of people do your bidding? I think that''s the one,"


    Graham thought about it one more time and he was sure that it was the right answer.


    "It was different from the Deity of Fire Divination. I''m not complaining, though. At least there is no sleep paralysis this time," he said in relief, "Just as I''ve begun to wonder when the messenger would come,"


    His duty now was to make a lot of people fall under his control to do his bidding, but currently, he didn''t know how to do it. He was too tired to think about it too much, and he could always use divination to help him, so he wasn''t worried. Graham entered his apartment and lied down in bed after taking a shower.


    ...


    In the street of Hoogstraat South, the sound of police sirens was blaring, and their blue and red were flashing in the dark night. It was almost midnight, but the street was packed with curious bystanders who wanted to know what was happening in their neighborhood. Three Police Sergeants wearing dark blue coats with the Police logo on them came out of a motor carriage and crossed the police line that had been set up in front of a house. They entered the crime scene and were greeted by an officer who had already been there.


    "Sergeant Rood, Sergeant Oranje, Sergeant Groen!" said the officer ceremoniously. His right hand was forming a salute.


    "What do we have here?" asked the man with a friendly face who was called Groen.


    "A woman was found dead in her house. The circumstances match the other victims of the recent serial murder case," said the officer firmly.


    "Thank you. We''ll take over from here," said Rood.


    "Yes, Sir!" said the officer and then left.


    "I know it will be useless, but can you use divination to get any clue?" said Rood to Oranje.


    "Okay, I''ll try," she said.


    While Oranje was preparing to do divination, Rood and Groen walked over to where the corpse was. The victim was lying in her bed with a pajama on. Her expression was that of extreme horror, and her hands were trying to cover her eyes. There was no other visible wound on her body.


    "I''m positive she is another victim of the Pravitatem killer. That makes it four now within this month alone," said Groen with a very serious tone. His friendly face showed a solemn expression.


    "Yes. We have to catch the bastard as soon as we can, no matter the cost," said Rood calmly, but there was rage burning in his eyes.


    Oranje came in from the other room to where the two men were standing. She was carrying a crystal ball that still had some blood inside it which was slowly vanishing.


    "I couldn''t get anything as usual. The killer is much stronger than me still," she said with regret.


    "It''s fine. We''ve established at least that much information," said Groen.


    The three Police Sergeants stood there in silence, staring at the lifeless body of the woman in front of them. If they couldn''t catch the killer soon, more people would end up like her.


    "When will Lieutenant Roze come back to Sloten?" asked Oranje, "We definitely need her help,"


    "She won''t be back any time soon, and we should try to solve this case without that woman''s help. What will she say to us if she finds out we cannot do anything without her," said Rood.


    Oranje nodded. She also knew how scary the lieutenant was.


    "What about our old friend? Have they given you any news?" asked Rood to Groen.


    "They haven''t got any substantial clues either, and currently they are preoccupied with a beast hunt somewhere," said Groen with a tinge of regret in his voice.


    Suddenly, a Police officer in a blue coat came running to them and spoke hastily.


    "Sergeants, one of our men said that a suspicious group of people was seen in an alley nearby!"


    "Oranje, Groen, let''s go!" Rood commanded and the three sergeants left their spot quickly.


    They left the one story-house that belonged to the victim and rushed to the street, where an officer had been waiting for them.


    "Which way?" asked Rood with urgency in his tone.


    "This way!" said the officer and then led them to the place where he had seen the people by pure chance.


    The four people ran quickly and arrived at the scene soon after. It was a secluded alley with no one around. There were only stray cats and rats there. The alley didn''t have any entrances to any buildings, so the people couldn''t have entered one of the houses nearby.


    "Where did you see them?" asked Groen.


    "They were here. I saw five of them. They were wearing hoodies and facemasks, so I couldn''t see their faces. I came back without them noticing me to report it," said the officer.


    "You did well. You can go back now. Leave it to us," said Oranje with he sunny voice.


    Once the officer had left, Oranje turned to Rood and said, "I don''t have enough information, so you should do it,"


    Rood nodded. He had seen some shoeprints that looked recent in that alley. Among the three of them, he had the best sight because of his Contractbound power. They followed the prints out of the alley and when they arrived at the intersection, it became mixed with other people''s shoeprints. Rood took out two pouches containing red liquid from his coat and opened the lid; they were pouches containing his own blood. He then concentrated on the area in front of him.


    "Show me what happened here within the past thirty minutes," he said calmly, his voice sounded ethereal.


    Rood splattered the red liquid from the pouches all over the place and it stopped midair, forming eight bloody figures. Once the pouches were empty, he put them back in his coat pocket. The amount of blood still wasn''t enough to form complete human figures, so there were still gaps in them. Rood controlled the blood to move from the unimportant spots like the thighs to their faces and other distinctive features to help him identify them better. The figures now had complete faces, and only five of them were wearing facemasks. Rood moved the blood again from the unmasked figures to complete the five masked ones.


    "It''s really convenient to have the power of Gore combined with Denuder," complimented Groen.


    Rood was still concentrating, so he didn''t reply. The five masked figures were now complete, and he could see that they were three men and one woman, although he could see their faces. He couldn''t see their eye color either since everything was the color of blood, but at least he could see the way they stared. One man had a ferocious stare; another had a cautious stare, while the third man had a calm one. The last man''s stare was energized but indifferent and the woman''s was proud. The five masked figures were facing right from the alley. Oranje observed the bloody figures carefully and memorized their characteristics.


    Rood let go of his control and the figures started moving. They quickly turned right from the alley and the figures disappeared once they were out of the area that Rood had designated. The blood evaporated quickly to thin air as a tribute to the Deity of Uncovering.


    "This way," said Rood and started to move quickly, following the faint shoeprints on the pavement.


    The three sergeants kept following the lead until they stopped in front of a two-story house. The shoeprints stopped there. Rood looked at Oranje and she nodded. She took out a crystal ball from her bag and sat cross-legged on the ground. She then slit her palm and smeared her blood all over the ball while concentrating. She now knew how the mysterious people looked like, so she should be able to use her divination.


    ''Are the five suspicious people still inside the house?''


    Her blood got sucked in by the crystal ball and then it formed an image of five people sneakily walking in the house. It confirmed their suspicion that the suspicious people were still there.


    Oranje looked up to her two partners and nodded.


    "Do you think they are the killers?" asked Groen to Rood.


    "I don''t think so, but we still have to be careful," he said shortly


    Rood took out two more full blood pouches from his coat and chanted quietly,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Wit and Blood, offer this blood of mine as an offering,"


    He took off the lid and poured the blood to the ground. It started boiling once it touched the pavement below. He then imagined the weapon he wanted to form with his blood in detail.


    "Grant me a sword that will cut down evils and the wicked!"


    Very slowly, the boiling blood started to float up and gathered. In the air, a crimson red curved sword started to form. The blood on the ground little by little got sucked up by the sword and hardened. Some moments later, the blood sword was completed, and it was as hard as and as sharp as the real thing, if not stronger.


    After that, once more, he took out a pouch of blood from his coat.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Wit and Blood, offer this blood of mine as an offering,"


    He poured the blood to the ground and it started boiling like before. Rood imagined the shape of the thing he wanted to create. His limit was two and he couldn''t create anything half the size of the first one with the second weapon. The second one would take much longer to prepare as well.


    "Grant me a plate and a stick that can empower my allies!"


    Very slowly, drops of blood floated and coagulated mid-air, gradually forming a small plate and a stick that Rood could control freely with his spirituality. It took much longer than creating his sword, but it was still an acceptable amount of time, seeing as there was no movement yet from the house. He then beat the small blood plate that was as hard as an iron with the stick and the sound it made strengthened his allies. He had played the War Drum!


    While Rood was preparing his blood sword and drum, Oranje also made her preparation; she was busy summoning the familiar that she had finally got. It took her as much time as it took Rood to create his two blood weapons. It was a medium-sized lizardlike creature whose skin was all dark yellow. There were numerous thorns covering its skin that looked sharp enough to impale an unsuspecting victim. From its mouth, hot smoke was coming out. The familiar was semi-transparent because it was only there in its familiar form, not its physical one, but it could still be touched and killed, although doing so wouldn''t kill its main body.


    Groen was doing nothing while his two partners were making a preparation. He had no power that he could prepare before a battle without a target.


    "Let''s go in quickly," said Rood with the curved crimson sword floating on his right and the drum beating steadily on his left.

 71 The Police Versus the Intruder

    The three Police Sergeants walked into the house through the main door that had been picked open before. The inside of the house was dark, and the sound of Police sirens in the distance could still be heard faintly from there. Rood listened carefully to any sounds coming from inside the house. He had made the sound of his War Drum as faint as possible so it could only be heard by his allies, which was possible to do since he could completely control his blood weapons.


    He looked at Groen and Oranje and signaled that he heard a sound coming from upstairs. They swiftly climbed up the stairs to the second floor of the house to find the source of the sound. In a room on the second floor, even Groen and Oranje could hear the human activity coming from inside.


    "This is the Police! Stop whatever you are doing and get on the floor. Now!" commanded Rood with a domineering voice.


    The five people inside the room, who were busy searching for valuables, were shocked to find out that the Police were there. They were even more shocked to see the floating crimson sword and the yellow lizard that looked like it could breathe fire.


    "All of that preparation just for a bunch of burglars?" said Oranje annoyedly.


    She looked at the five people who were now on the ground from fear. She felt like lecturing them right there on the spot. A murder had just happened nearby and they had the audacity to commit a petty burglary. She didn''t do so, however, because of her personality.


    "It''s better safe than sorry," said Groen casually.


    "Let''s quickly detain them and go back to the crime scene," said Rood coldly with his rough voice. It was clear that he was also annoyed.


    Groen and Oranje approached the four men and one woman and handcuffed them while Rood was overseeing the whole process. The moment they made a sudden move, his sword would cut them without hesitation.


    "Why are we so unlucky. First, that guy, now the Police!" said the man with the ferocious stare with an annoying sounding voice.


    "Shut up!" said the woman.


    "I told you guys to call off the operation tonight, but hey, we''re already here, it''s too late to go back now, eh?" jeered the cautious man.


    "Well someone here said the Police would be too busy with whatever is happening over there," said the annoying man mockingly.


    While the five intruders were busy fighting among themselves, Oranje and Groen swiftly handcuffed one of their hands to the window bar, effectively detaining them. Rood was about to call for someone to bring them back to the station when suddenly his danger sense was triggered. He looked at the other two and they felt the same way. Something very dangerous had just entered the house and as the Police, it was their job to make sure whatever it was wouldn''t hurt the homeowners-- wherever they were currently. Even through that noise, they didn''t wake up.


    "Something''s here!" said Oranje with a very serious tone.


    "Their back up?" guessed Groen.


    The three Sergeants left the handcuffed burglars in that room and went outside to see who or what had come. Their intuition told them that the danger was coming from the main hall on the first floor.


    "Be careful. My intuition is telling me it is not something normal," said Rood.


    They went downstairs carefully and saw something standing there in the main hall. It was a humanoid creature that had an elongated mouth with sharp teeth. Its skin, which was covered in bloody wounds, was all black and its red eyes reflected hunger and ferocity. Instead of feet, it had a pair of hooves that should belong to a goat or a donkey and on its back, its spines were clearly visible.


    "What is that?" asked Oranje.


    "That looks like a ghoul. What is that thing doing here?" answered Groen, puzzled.


    "A ghoul?! Isn''t that a powerful supernatural creature?" exclaimed Oranje. She had never encountered ghouls before because they were rare to be seen in a city.


    "Whatever it is, we cannot fight it inside the house. Let''s lure it outside!" said Rood decisively.


    The house was too small for the three of them to fight against such a dangerous monster effectively. It was already past midnight, so the street outside shouldn''t be as busy now. Rood shot his sword to the ghoul and managed to stab its chest. The ghoul got angry focused its attention on him while the other two safely ran past it and got out of the house. When it was about to charge at Rood, something hit it.


    Bang!


    Groen fired his gun at the monster and hit it in the head. However, the gun didn''t seem to do any damage to the monster. His intention was not to damage it in the first place, so it was not a problem for him. He just wanted to attract the ghoul''s attention so Rood could get out of the house safely.


    "Growl!" the ghoul roared loudly and charged at Groen who was outside in the street.


    A flying crimson sword protected him from the charging monster, giving him the time to step back to a safe distance. The ghoul was now outside the house and Rood used the chance to swiftly slip past.


    Upstairs, in a room, the band of burglars heard the terrifying roar and became very scared. It sounded nothing like they had heard before.


    "What the heck was that?" asked the man with the calm stare who was now clearly panicking.


    "I don''t fucking know. We need to get out of here or we are dead meat," said the man with the annoying voice.


    They then started to get busy trying to open the handcuffs binding them.


    Meanwhile, in the quiet street outside, the three sergeants had regrouped successfully and were now facing the lone dangerous ghoul.


    "Tomio!" shouted Oranje at her lizard familiar.


    The lizard opened its mouth and breathed fire at the ghoul; the latter protected its slender body with its two arms. Hot flame came out of the lizard''s mouth and engulfed the ghoul, burning the blood on its wounds and hurt it. Its covered skin, however, was not hurt by the fire.


    "Growl!"


    It roared again and charged at Tomio the familiar, lunging forward with its sharp claws.


    Clang!


    Rood deflected the ghoul''s attack with his blood sword. The War Drum made him able to move his sword around faster, so he was in time to save the familiar.


    "That thing has no thinking capability, so I think my Contention abilities will be useless in this fight," said Groen casually.


    He reloaded his gun and shot at the ghoul again just to have the same effect as before. His bullets didn''t hurt the creature. He then took something out of his coat and inserted it into his gun chamber, and then shot again for the third time.


    Bang!


    His bullet pierced through the air and hit the ghoul in the head, which caused it to be pushed several meters backward. The ghoul seemed to be paralyzed as it didn''t move from its spot.


    "At least I still have these expensive bullets," he said.


    What he had shot was a gemstone embedded bullet that had a paralyzing effect on its target. As a Jeweller, he had a vast knowledge of valuable gems, including those which had special effects. However, they were very expensive to buy, and as a Police Sergeant, he didn''t have the time to go into the wild to mine them.


    The effect of the paralyzing bullet only lasted for two seconds, so they had to take action fast.


    Rood, seizing the opportunity given by his partner, directed his blood sword, and tried to behead the ghoul.


    Clang!


    The ghoul had recovered from the paralyzing effect in less than two seconds and managed to defend against the sword. However, its right hand was heavily injured in the process. Rood''s blood sword was effective against it!


    "It is weak against your blood, Rood!" said Oranje after seeing it being injured twice by the sword.


    The ghoul now looked agitated. Its wound was healing rapidly, but it was still injured badly. It looked at the three humans and one lizard in front of it and picked the one controlling the flying sword. The ghoul raised its two hands.


    Bang!


    Groen shot another paralyzing bullet at the ghoul. He didn''t give it a chance to do whatever it was planning to do because it looked dangerous.


    "I don''t think so!" he jeered, and then turned to his partners, "It''s paralyzed. Now!"


    The effect of his bullet was shorter against the ghoul, so they had to move very quickly. Without even waiting for Groen to say anything, Rood''s sword had moved in for the attack and Oranje''s familiar had opened its mouth and red hot flame came out of it.


    Whoosh!


    The flame enveloped the paralyzed ghoul and the red blood moved in for the kill.


    Slash!


    It pierced through the ghoul''s neck, separating its head from its body. The blood that came out of the wound boiled instantly because of the familiar''s fire.


    The ghoul quickly stood up headless and moved away from the fire, which stopped a second later. It was still not dead even though it had been decapitated. The ghoul raised its two hands quickly and a dark aura came out of it, quickly spreading to the surrounding area.


    "Don''t breathe it in!" shouted Rood, but it was too late. Even he himself couldn''t react in time and breathed in some of the aurae.


    "What is this? I don''t feel anything..." asked Oranje, puzzled, then turned to her familiar, "Tomio, burn the aura away,"


    The lizard familiar quickly breathed out fire from its mouth and aimed it at the area around them. The flame seemed to be effective because the dark aura became thinner and thinner.


    "Achoo!" Groen sneezed loudly, snot coming out of his nose.


    "Cough! Cough!" Rood started getting a coughing fit, but he tried hard to keep focused because his war drum and flying sword were vital in the battle.


    Oranje felt her body becoming hotter and hotter, so she commanded her familiar to stop, but once it stopped breathing fire, she suddenly felt cold.


    "It''s a Malady''s disease spreading!" said Groen with difficulty while wiping his nose.


    The group had caught common illnesses that hindered their performance, although the effect was greatly mitigated by Rood''s War Drum, so they only caught mild illnesses; otherwise, they might have contracted something even more troublesome.


    Clang!


    Bang!


    The headless ghoul tried to attack the group while they were weakened, but Rood was still able to deflect its attack with his flying sword, thanks to his War Drum strengthening him, and Groen had managed to shoot another paralyzing bullet at the creature.


    Groen had taken out some folded papers containing blue powder inside from his coat. He quickly threw them at his companions and inhaled one that was in his hand. It was a herb mixture that he had created in case of something like that. As a Jeweller, it was one of his specialties.


    "Thanks, Groen!" said Oranje as she inhaled the blue powder. Her body temperature gradually lowered and she was no longer shivering from the cold.


    Rood also took the powder and his coughing fit stopped little by little. He could now focus again to destroy the headless supernatural creature in front of them.


    "Buy me some time. I need to prepare something," shouted Rood.


    Groen and Oranje moved in front of him while the latter grabbed Rood''s blood sword. Since he needed to concentrate, he couldn''t control both the sword and the drum at the same time. Oranje charged at the ghoul with the sword in her right hand while Groen was ready to provide support at any time.


    The ghoul now moved purely based on instinct since its eyes were no longer attached to its body. It still moved agilely, however, and was able to defend itself against Oranje''s sword attack. It moved its right leg and launched a powerful kick at her.


    Bang!


    Groen shot a normal bullet and hit the ghoul''s chest. It prevented him from doing a follow-up attack on Oranje, who was recovering from the damage.


    "Thanks," she said without moving her eyes from the headless creature.


    They kept exchanging blows for a while, and Groen was always ready to cover for her when things were looking bad for her. With each passing moment, Oranje became more and more wounded and her stamina had almost depleted. She was not used to hand-to-hand combat, after all, and all the while, she was too preoccupied that she couldn''t issue a command to her familiar.


    At the back, Rood, who had slit his wrist previously, had collected quite a lot of blood. He quickly applied a green powder that Groen had also made on the wound and the bleeding stopped instantly. Now there was a pool of fresh blood underneath him, which was needed for purification. He concentrated and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Wit and Blood, let my blood cover the Earth,"


    The blood on the ground started boiling and the surrounding area''s temperature gradually rose. The atmosphere became very tense and a suffocating feeling descended upon the creatures there. It was as if a very strong entity was about to come down from the sky.


    "May it burn wicked beings that are not welcome in this world!"


    The blood continued boiling violently and it rapidly flowed towards the headless ghoul, enveloping its whole body, including the severed head. The blood exuded an aura of purification, and it quickly burned the ghoul with its boiling heat. The ghoul was writhing and howling in pain; however, it stayed ferocious.


    Clang!


    The ghoul charged at the wounded Oranje with its sharp claws ready to shred her to pieces, but Rood had taken control of the sword again and deflected its attack. Slowly, its body melted into nothingness, and from where it was standing, a peculiar object began to form little by little.


    Rood, who had been weakened by losing too much blood, quickly took out the last blood pouch from his pocket and gulped the content down.

 72 A Commission

    Ding... dong...


    Graham was in the kitchen making a cup of hot chocolate when the bell to his apartment was rung. He turned on his gas burner and did quick divination before opening the door. He wanted to see who his guest was because he wasn''t expecting anyone. The flame from the stove burned calmly and then showed an image of a woman standing at the door while ringing the bell; she was someone he didn''t recognize. He then put out the flame.


    He quickly went to his office and turned on the light. He put on his coat that was hanging from the stand to cover his bare chest; he was only wearing his pajama pants at the moment. After making sure he looked presentable, he unlatched the bolt and grabbed the door handle, and opened it to greet his guest.


    "Good morning. Come in and have a seat," he smiled warmly and gestured at his guest to come in.


    "Thank you," said the woman shortly with a heavy voice.


    Graham went to sit in his chair while the woman took the seat across from him at the desk. She was a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, and was wearing office attire while carrying a large purse in her left hand. It was a Friday morning, so at that hour she should be at work, which made it strange that she was there. Her hair was brown, as were her eyes that reflected anxiety. She seemed to be worried about something. Her left leg, that was resting elegantly on her right one, kept bouncing up and down lightly.


    "How can I help you?" asked Graham gently but firmly. He showed an expression of genuine concern so that it would be easier for her to open up to him.


    Hearing the detective''s gentle voice, the woman seemed to be calming down slightly. Her restless eyes were hopeful.


    "I heard from Mr. Visser that you are a great detective. I need your help with something..." she paused. It appeared that she still hesitated to tell him what she needed. The woman hugged the purse on her lap tightly.


    Mr. Visser? Egbert Visser whose wallet was stolen by Luuk? he thought.


    "Anything you tell me will be kept a secret. We have client confidentiality here, so you don''t have to worry," he said assuringly. His hands were held together in front of him to show sincerity.


    The woman, who was rather good-looking, was still hesitating. She looked down while her right hand was massaging her stomach, hidden behind her purse. Graham could guess right away what her problem probably was. A beautiful young woman coming to his detective agency at work hour. She probably just found out about something and went directly to his office.


    "... I need you to find the father of my baby," she finally said.


    Spot on! Thought Graham. He had wanted to say it out loud so Valentine could hear it as well, but he didn''t want to discourage the woman from talking more about it. He didn''t say anything; he waited for the woman to continue her request without interruption.


    "I don''t know who the father is..." she added hesitantly while looking down.


    "Can you please tell me the detail?" he asked softly.


    The woman in front of him seemed rather embarrassed to tell a stranger the whole story, but she braced herself because otherwise the father would never be found.


    "... alright," she said, making up her mind, and then looked at Graham right in the eyes, but it only lasted for two seconds because his green eyes seemed to be staring right into her soul.


    "I found out I am pregnant just this morning. I''ve missed my period for two days and then I decided to check," she spoke softly while avoiding eye-contact with him, "The problem is, I don''t know who the father is,"


    "Who did you do it with last?" asked Graham while trying his best not to have any judgment in his tone.


    "I-I always do it with a different man every night..." she said embarrassedly.


    It surprised Graham that such a timid woman had sex with a different partner every night, although it was strange that someone who could easily find different men to have sex with like that was timid in the first place.


    "Do you always do it without condoms or is there anyone in particular that you did something like that with?" asked Graham again still trying to sound neutral.


    "I always do it without and it hasn''t been a problem before because I''m always on the pill..." she paused again, "But it turns out they are not really effective, are they?" her tone was mocking and regretful.


    Graham couldn''t say anything. He wouldn''t judge her lifestyle, but it was an extremely reckless thing to do it without protection. He could only facepalm inwardly and proceeded to maintain a professional face.


    "Do you still remember the names of the men you had sex with in the last two to three weeks? Anyway, how can I address you?" asked Graham with a professional tone.


    "Just call me Anne," she said. It was an extremely common name in the republic. Even Rube''s wife was called Anne.


    Anne looked around the desk to find something, and then she saw a stack of paper lying on the other side. She looked at Graham as if asking for permission, so he nodded. She took a piece of paper and borrowed his pen to write something.


    "These are all of them," she said softly after she finished writing. She slid the paper across the desk to his side.


    On the paper, there was now neat handwriting of fourteen different male names. She had had sex with that many men only in three weeks, which was much more than him in a year probably. What was more amazing was the fact that she remembered all of them. Graham could only applaud her for her endeavor.


    "What else can you tell me about these men? The more detailed, the better," he said.


    The woman took the paper back from Graham and started writing again next to each name. From where he was sitting, he could see the piece of paper slowly being filled up with the beautiful handwriting, and he was looking forward to what kind of detail the woman in front of him would write about her sex partners.


    Once she was finished, she gave the paper back to him, and he read out loud the content to double-check with her as well,


    "Josef: tall, green eyes, blonde, facial haired, Gerwin: short, well-built, brown hair, a mole on the right chin, Arthur: tall, brown hair, handsome, Bernhard: medium-height, baby-faced, blue eyes, Gerwin: tall, mid-thirties, a scar on face, black hair"


    Graham continued reading the list of all the fourteen men, one of whom was named Luuk. However, from the description, it was unlikely to be the Luuk from next door. He was again amazed by her good memory; she could remember the detail of all the fourteen men who had slept with her.


    "Is everything correct?" he looked at her and watched her reaction intently; if anything wasn''t as it was supposed to be, he would notice right away from her change of expression.


    "Yes. Can you find who the father is from the list?" she asked hopefully.


    It should be almost impossible for a normal detective to do so with just a list like that, but Graham was a divinator, so such a thing was not impossible for him.


    "Yes, but for that, I will also need your full name and address," he said seriously; his tone was very convincing.


    She hesitated again and then after making up her mind, she finally spoke, "My name is Anne Smit. I live in an apartment on Oostparkstraat,"


    Graham looked at her expression the whole time she was speaking and judged that she was not lying.


    "That should suffice. Come back later in the evening and I should already have the answer," he said.


    "Really?" her eyes opened wide in disbelief and anticipation.


    "Yes. And I can guarantee that the result is accurate," he said assuringly.


    "O-okay," she replied with relief in her tone, "In that case, I''ll get going now,"


    Anne and Graham both stood up and he took his guest to the door. Once she had left, Graham took off his coat and sat bare-chested in his office chair with a lighter in his right hand. He could actually get the result within five minutes with divination, but he needed to make it seem like he had to work hard for it.


    Graham sat quietly while staring at the lighter flame that he had just lit. He began to get to work right away. He repeated a question in his mind and concentrated.


    ''Who is the father of the baby inside Anne Smit?''


    The flame kept burning, but after waiting for some time, no image came up. He waited longer and concentrated harder in case it had something to do with himself rather than the question, but there was still nothing.


    "There is no result. Did she give me the wrong information?"


    He concentrated again but changed the question.


    ''What is the name of the woman who just came here?''


    The flame burned brightly and an image gradually appeared. It showed an image of the client who had just come to his office sitting across from him. Above her head, a name was floating, which read Anne Smit, just as she had claimed. The image then disappeared.


    "So her name is really Anne Smit. Where did I go wrong with the question? Is she actually not pregnant?" he thought hard.


    Graham needed to check it, so he concentrated on the flame again.


    ''Is Anne Smith pregnant?''


    The flame in front of him showed an image of a paper that was set on fire. The fire consumed the whole paper, indicating a positive result.


    "She is indeed pregnant. Then don''t tell me..." he suddenly got a bad feeling.


    Graham concentrated on the flame and asked a different question to confirm his suspicion.


    ''What is the thing inside Anne Smit''s womb?''


    The flame in his hand burned brighter while the room grew darker. Gradually, an image formed. In the image, he could see a space that looked like a womb and a tiny thing resting in it peacefully. However, for something that had just recently been conceived, it was too big. He wondered why he hadn''t seen any difference in Anne''s belly when she came in. The thing inside didn''t look like a human fetus either. It had rotten skin and a pair of sharp fangs that were sticking out of its mouth. It was definitely not human!


    The image disappeared and left Graham in speechless. He had encountered unimaginable things, but this one took the cake.


    "A supernatural creature pretending to be a human fetus. How did it get inside anyway? Is the father also one of its kinds?" he made guesses.


    Graham put out the fire and left the lighter on his desk. He crouched down to the safe and opened it with his secret combination. Inside the safe, there were contract scrolls that he had obtained before, some round objects which were the remains of Contractbounds, purple crystal fragments, and an ancient-looking book. He took out the book and locked the safe.


    He opened it and scanned through the content, looking for the keyword baby or fetus. It didn''t take long for him to reach the page that he was looking for. It was an entry for a creature called Tiyanak. He read the content carefully.


    ''Tinayaks are vampiric supernatural creatures that are active mostly at night. Their main source of sustenance is human and animal blood, but they prefer the former. Different from Vampires, Tiyanaks cannot create more of their kinds through bestowment rituals, and they do not have a long lifespan. The males have to breed with a human female, who will then carry the youngling until it is big enough to suck the blood dry from its host. Once the human host dies, the young Tiyanak will then dig its way out and quickly grow into an adult Tiyanak in the span of one week. There is currently only one known safe way to save the human host, which is by a strong blood purification to kill it without harming the human.''


    ''Tiyanaks are dangerous creatures because they can perfectly alter their appearance to blend within human society. They are also very cautious creatures, which made it even more difficult to distinguish them from a real human. The only way to tell them apart from a normal human is by waiting for them to show their true appearance, usually when they are in extreme danger or when hunting, which they always do at night when they are at their strongest. The way to kill them is by making them bleed out, which in itself is difficult because they have fast regeneration. Beheading them seems to work, although, with their speed, it will not be an easy task to do.''


    Graham finished reading the entry about the supernatural creature and closed the book. He then sat there in his office chair silently.


    "What kind of case have I gotten into?"

 73 An Evolved Thief

    Graham was now at a loss about what to do. He definitely couldn''t perform purification on his client, but he could divine someone who might be able to do it. He also remembered the female mafia member who was definitely a Gore judging from her abilities, so if he had no other option, he could just give an anonymous tip to them so he didn''t have to pay to commission them.


    He sat quietly in his chair in deep thought.


    "Val, what do you think I should do? If we were stronger, we would be able to solve these problems easily."


    He had to admit that he was no saint that would just help other people out of goodwill, but if he could, he would try to help people related to him, and in this case, it was his client. He would prioritize himself first, however, so if things were getting too dangerous, he would definitely save himself first and foremost. After some thinking, he had made a decision. Graham took his lighter and concentrated on the flame.


    ''Is there a Contractbound in the Police with a strong purification ability?''


    The flame in his hand burned brighter and then an image gradually appeared. It was of a person that he had met several times before, the tall Police officer with a scar on his face. He had also appeared when he divined the location of a Denuder contract scroll. The image then slowly disappeared.


    "This guy again?" he said in a slight surprise, "Is there no one else in the police force besides this guy?"


    His first meeting with that man from the Police was less than pleasant; he had put him under control for interrogation. Luckily, he had Valentine to switch with so he hadn''t fallen under the man''s control.


    "But at least now we know we have someone there that can help our client," he added.


    Graham''s plan was to persuade his client, using his power, to go and seek the help of the Police to have the thing inside her purified after she came back and paid his commission fee. He would also persuade her to forget about their meeting, so his identity could remain safe. He had done something similar before and as long as the person''s spirituality was weaker than his, it should work. It the meantime, he would deal with the adult Tiyanak if it was possible, to stop him from creating more victims.


    Once he was done with that divination, he concentrated on the flame again to find out which of the fourteen men was the adult Tiyanak that had impregnated her.


    ''Who is the father of the Tiyanak fetus inside Anne Smit''s womb?''


    The room got darker and gradually he could see an image of a man from the calmly burning flame in front of him. It was a man with brown hair wearing a pair of glasses which emphasized the sharp gaze from his green eyes. There was an easily recognized mole on his right chin; he was the man named Gerwin. After that, the image disappeared.


    "Alright. Now I can make preparation. But first, let''s divine the danger and the location of that human pretender,"


    ...


    In the second-floor apartment next door, Luuk van der Meer was lying on the floor in his bedroom with sweat all over his body. His shirt was wet and his face was pale. He had just pleased his Deity and been granted improvement with his abilities, but right now he was still too weak to analyze check how they had changed.


    He panted while regaining his strength. The experience had been very painful; even more painful than his contract before because back then, his professor had been there to help him. Luuk, who had initially been sitting on his bed, had moved around, writhing in pain, and ended up in that spot. He lied there motionlessly for more than five minutes before finally started concentrating on the knowledge that had just entered his brain.


    My abilities have evolved! It says here that now I can steal up to five tangible objects at once, granted they are from the same target and are not placed too far away from each other. That will be quite useful against people who wield multiple weapons or if I want to strip someone completely naked.


    Besides that, now I can also steal one intangible object from a target at a time. What does it mean by intangible objects? Can I steal someone''s shadow? Mr. Hymes would certainly know what it means and he will give me a way to experiment with it. I''ll try to visit him after this. From now on the limit to my Theft is fifteen per day. But does it count as one count or multiple if I steal more than one thing from my target? I guess I have to find out as well.


    I''ve just realized that I''ve been having this mental monologue more and more. Has something about me changed? Well, who knows. It''s not like it''s a bad thing anyway. My friends say I don''t really talk much, but can they blame me? After all, talking to myself is much more interesting.


    Luuk got up from his position and put on some clothes. He wore his favorite maroon sweater and a pair of denim pants. After that, he left his apartment to visit his next-door neighbor, who was also his partner in crime.


    Ding dong...


    He rang the doorbell. He stood there casually. He was not in a hurry at all since he had nothing else to do today. The detective seemed to be in the middle of something since he didn''t answer the door for a while. After waiting for some time, the sound of the man''s footsteps could be heard and the door was opened. The detective was only wearing his pajama pants with no shirt on.


    "Are you busy?" he asked. He had just realized that the detective had actually got a toned body.


    "Yes, but I know why you come and I also have a job for you," said Graham while beckoning him to follow the detective to enter his apartment.


    Being able to do divination sure is nice, he thought.


    When Graham turned his back to Luuk to walk into the apartment, Luuk could see the big scar on his back. He had the urge to ask about the scar, but he didn''t want to make it awkward if it turned out to be a sensitive topic, so he worded his question carefully.


    "I think the scar on your back looks badass. How did you get it?" he asked while entering the apartment.


    Graham didn''t answer for some time. He approached his office chair and sat comfortably in it, while Luuk took the seat across from him and sat leisurely.


    "I got it as a souvenir from somewhere. Don''t ask where," answered Graham very seriously, but his tone was rather comical instead of mysterious.


    Luuk didn''t press the topic any further because Graham had stated that he shouldn''t ask more about it, so he let it slide.


    "So I am he--" Luuk was speaking when Graham interrupted him.


    "Why didn''t you ask why?" he asked seriously.


    "What?" Luuk was confused.


    "Why didn''t you ask why you shouldn''t ask where?" he explained his question.


    Luuk looked perplexed, but then asked anyway since he was curious in the first place, "Why can''t I ask where?"


    "Because it''s private," said Graham shortly and mysteriously.


    This detective must be wrong in the head. Maybe he ate something bad this morning, thought Luuk.


    "Anyway, I''m here to test out my new powers," he said, changing the topic.


    "What are your new powers?" asked Graham.


    Luuk explained to Graham in detail about the evolution of his abilities and the new limit of how many times he could use it per day. It was a crucial piece of information to be known by his teammate in they were to work together in the future. The man in front of him was listening attentively while nodding from time to time.


    "Interesting. I think I have some idea on how your power works," said Graham while reaching out to a drawer on his desk.


    Graham took out a candlestick and placed it firmly on the desk. After that, he lit it with his lighter. The candle burned brightly in that room which was already illuminated by the electric light in the ceiling. Graham then turned to Luuk.


    "Can you try to steal the light from that lightbulb?" he said while pointing up with his finger.


    Luuk looked up and gauged the distance between him and the lightbulb. Since the ceiling wasn''t that high, it should still be within his range. He then concentrated and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the lightbulb''s light mine!"


    Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand and suddenly, the room became darker. The lightbulb had stopped lighting up the room and was replaced by the candle whose red flame illuminated its surrounding. Luuk''s right hand was still folded into a fist and something under his fingers was shining brightly. It was the light from the electric bulb that he had stolen.


    The object in his hand was not tangible, so he couldn''t feel it in his skin at all, except for the warmth that it was radiating. He couldn''t see its form either, just the fact that something was shining in his hand. He spread open his fingers to see better but as soon as he did that, the object disappeared and the lightbulb in the ceiling was on again.


    "I guess that means you cannot let go of the stolen object or it will return to its owner," Graham concluded.


    Luuk nodded. He felt like he understood his ability better now.


    "Now, can you steal the flame from this candle?" asked Graham.


    Luuk observed the candle carefully and then shook his head, "I''m sure I can, but I think it will burn my hand. The light before felt warm in my hand, so the fire will definitely feel hot."


    "Fair enough," said Graham and then got up. He walked over to the light switch and turned off the light. Now, the only source of light in the room was the candle flame, which cast shadows to the objects around it.


    "Then steal the shadow from this pen," said Graham while balancing a pen to make it stand on the desk, "And now, try to hold on longer to see how long the object can remain stolen," asked Graham again expectantly.


    Luuk concentrated on the long shadow cast by the standing pen and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the shadow of this pen mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and the pen had now been rendered shadowless. In his hand, he couldn''t see any extra shadow because of the way the candle illuminated the room, and he couldn''t feel any sensation in his hand either. However, he understood that he had successfully stolen the shadow because he could feel it at a spiritual level. Although he couldn''t feel it, he knew he was holding on to the stolen item because of the pen''s state. This time, he wouldn''t open his hand.


    They waited patiently in the dark without speaking. The two men were observing the pen closely to see when its shadow would return while Graham looked at his watch that was lying on the desk from time to time to keep track of the time.


    Tick tock...


    The very faint ticking coming from the watch reminded them that time was still moving forward. The pen''s shadow still hadn''t returned and Luuk was still holding something invisible in his right hand. It was not until minutes later that he felt that something had slipped away from his hand, without actually feeling it on his skin. He looked up at Graham and the latter understood. He checked the watch the moment the pen''s shadow came back.


    "Five minutes. That''s the longest you can keep it stolen,"


    "That''s long enough, but while doing that my right hand cannot do anything else," Luuk added to the conclusion.


    "Except maybe punching," Graham added quickly.


    Their experiment with objects had given them new insights into how Luuk''s power worked. Now they needed to do a human experiment.


    "Now try to steal my presence,"


    Luuk nodded and chanted,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Mr. Hymes'' presence mine!"


    His right hand made the usual swiping motion and his spirituality told him that he had got something; it was Graham''s presence. The man in front of him didn''t look any different, and Luuk could still clearly see him even from the corner of his eyes. Graham then stood up quietly and walked behind Luuk, where he couldn''t be seen.


    Luuk couldn''t hear the man''s footsteps at all, and when he couldn''t see him, it was as if Graham was not in the room in the first place. Graham went back to sit in his chair and spoke,


    "How is it?"


    "I can''t hear your footsteps, and I couldn''t feel you behind me," he explained and then opened his hand to return the stolen presence.


    "That is like your Concealment, Val," he muttered under his breath and then turned to Luuk, "When you stole it, I could feel that something was being taken away,"


    "So my enemies will know that I have stolen something from them?" he asked to confirm.


    "Yes, but not what you have stolen," he looked at Luuk seriously, "Now let''s move on to the next experiment,"


    "What should I steal next?"

 74 A Thief and a Divinator

    "Steal my consciousness,"


    Graham said shortly while looking seriously at Luuk.


    "Okay,"


    I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the consciousness of Mr.Hymes mine!"


    He swiped with his right hand but felt nothing. His spirituality didn''t tell him that he had successfully stolen something either, unlike before. Graham, who was sitting across from him, didn''t look like he had been affected in the slightest.


    "It failed," said Luuk.


    "Yes, I can see that," answered Graham shortly, then asked, "Do you have a theory why?"


    Luuk went into thinking for some time. He was racking his brain for any information that might help him give an explanation of why his ability had failed.


    "I think it''s related to my limitation. I cannot steal body parts from a living human either because it will affect their bodily function. I guess it''s the same for consciousness," he explained.


    "That makes sense," answered Graham after listening to Luuk''s explanation. It aligned with what he had theorized as well.


    Graham was finished with the experiment, so now he needed to turn on the light to allow him to see better. However, he was too lazy to get up from his chair, and it would also be a good opportunity for him to take his turn to display his power to Luuk, so he just looked at the light switch near the door and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to switch yourself on!"


    Click!


    The switch moved by itself and the light bulb in the ceiling was turned on. With the light from the electric bulb, he didn''t need his candle anymore, so he blew out the flame and it vanished into a thin line of smoke.


    "Why are you not at university?" he suddenly asked his guest.


    "Uhm, I''ve asked my friend to sign my attendance for me," he said guiltily.


    "So that means you''re free, right?" asked Graham, sounding persuasive rather than inquisitive.


    Shit. I have a bad feeling about this and I have actually planned to just lie down all day at home today. Should I lie?


    Luuk looked at Graham and just as he was about to open his mouth, Graham took out a lighter from his pocket at lit it up.


    "..."


    Luuk definitely couldn''t lie because the man in front of him was both a detective and a divinator.


    "Yes, I am free..." said Luuk finally. He sounded rather dispirited.


    "Great!" he put out his lighter fire and then added, "I need your help dealing with a supernatural creature. I''ll pay you five guilders, with increment based on the overall difficulty of the mission,"


    Luuk actually liked going on missions with the detective because although it was often dangerous, in the end, they never suffered a lot of damage. On top of that, the money was good and most importantly, he could experience real combat and the chance to use his abilities in sync with his teammates. However, today he was just feeling very lazy, especially since he had skipped classes with the sole intention of lazing around all day; he didn''t really like changing plans.


    "Uhm... sure. Do we need Jacco as well?" he said reluctantly.


    "Yes. Even if he is busy at his restaurant, I will deal with it. But knowing him, he will jump head first at the chance to fight," Graham said nonchalantly.


    "Yeah but he never actually fought. He was always just playing with his drum," Luuk said jokingly.


    "True. But that drum is exactly why we need him. If we could strap a drum on a pig, I would also take the pig with us," he jested, then said seriously, "There actually is one more person, but I don''t know if he is even still alive right now, so we''ll just go with the three of us."


    "As long as it is not too dangerous. What''s the mission?" asked Luuk.


    "I''ll tell you once we meet up with Jacco, so I don''t have to explain twice. Now I believe you and I need to get ready first. We''ll leave right after we''re all set," he said while getting up from his chair.


    Graham walked to the door and let Luuk return to his own room to prepare. Meanwhile, he also needed to get ready. He had done divination regarding the mission and was going to prepare when Luuk interrupted him earlier. He had also planned to take Luuk with him to deal with the Tiyanak, but he had come to him first, which made his job easier. On top of that, his abilities had evolved, so he would be much more useful.


    "Tiyanaks need to be bled out to be completely dead, so definitely no gun today. And besides, it is too loud to be fired in the city and I don''t have normal bullets," he muttered while putting on a shirt and a pair of pants.


    "The talismans are unlikely to work, but we''ll bring them just in case," he put on his coat and stuffed some talismans and split them into two pockets.


    "Val, it will be our first mission involving killing that we do in the morning, I think. Tiyanaks are active at night, which means they will be stronger as well, so this is the best time to do it," he spoke quietly.


    Graham was now ready, so he turned off his office light and left his apartment without forgetting to lock the door. Luuk hadn''t come out yes, so he was still getting ready inside his own apartment, although Graham didn''t know what Luuk had to prepare because in their previous missions he had never brought anything but his knife.


    He stood patiently at the door as he had always done before. It took the medical student some time to get ready. Graham had waited for more than five minutes before finally, he heard the sound of the door being unlocked and opened. It was Luuk, who was now wearing a different outfit from what he had before: a dark sweater and a pair of denim pants. His sweaty shirt had probably been replaced by something underneath his sweater.


    "Ready, young master?" asked Graham sarcastically.


    "Yes, sorry. I had to take care of a lot of stuff first," answered Luuk with a tone that wasn''t any less sarcastic than Graham''s.


    He wasn''t actually doing anything the first few minutes after they separated. He lied down on his bed and let his mind wander while gathering the will to get going. Once he had touched the bed, it was even more difficult to get up, so he ended up lying down for a while.


    "Let''s go to Jacco''s now," urged Graham.


    The two men walked downstairs and out of the apartment building. The restaurant where Jacco was working was located on Grotemarktstraat, and they didn''t feel like walking that day, so they stopped a public motor carriage and got on. It didn''t take them long to arrive at their destination.


    "He will pay," said Graham while quickly got out of the carriage, leaving Luuk no chance to react.


    Luuk reluctantly took out some pennings from his wallet and paid the driver. After paying, he got out of the carriage and looked at Graham in disdain, the latter pretended not to notice anything.


    It was very busy that morning on the commercial street. It was only ten in the morning, not even close to the lunch break, but people were bustling about. They were packing many of the stores and restaurants on that street. Graham and Luuk weren''t interested in stopping by another place; they went directly to their destination; the medium-sized restaurant called Moeders. It was a pretty famous restaurant around the area apparently, because every time they went there, it was always busy.


    The two men entered the restaurant and sat at a table. Graham hadn''t had breakfast, so he planned to eat there as well while Luuk was just following him. He apparently hadn''t eaten either, so he would also eat while they were there.


    A waiter approached them with the menu and offered it to each of the customers.


    "Give me onion soup and a cup of hot chocolate," said Graham confidently.


    "I want porridge and black coffee, please," said Luuk after browsing through the menu,


    "And also tell Jacco, Graham is looking for him," added Graham before the waiter left.


    The waiter wrote down their orders quickly and left their table to pass it on to the chef, who was apparently Jacco himself.


    The two men waited patiently for their food while occasionally chatting about random stuff. Their food arrived not long after, and they started eating right away because they were already hungry. Some moments after that, Jacco came out of the kitchen still wearing his dirty apron.


    "You''re looking for me, detective? he asked loudly not on purpose; it was just his voice.


    "Yes. I have a job for you, and we need to leave immediately," said Graham.


    "What job? And I can''t just leave the restaurant like this. The other chef will only come much later," he said honestly.


    Graham had expected Jacco''s circumstances, so he had also thought of a solution.


    "Leave it to me. Where is the manager?" he asked seriously.


    Jacco pointed at a door next to the kitchen door and Graham got up from his chair and walked up to the door leisurely, his hands were in his pockets. He knocked on the door and was let in by someone from inside. The other two, who were still sitting at the table, was watching intently.


    "What do you think he''s gonna do?" asked Jacco curiously.


    "Probably threaten your manager to let you go," Luuk shrugged.


    Jacco''s eyes opened wide and small droplets of sweat began forming on his forehead. He wasn''t scared of many things in life, but his female manager was one of the exceptions. He was waiting anxiously for Graham to come out.


    Thud...


    The door was opened all the way through and it hit the wall lightly. Graham walked out of the manager''s office back to the table where the other two were sitting.


    "What did you do?" asked Jacco worriedly.


    "Don''t worry. She has agreed to call your substitute to come in right away. We just need to wait," he said casually.


    "For real?! How did you do that?" Jacco asked in disbelief. His manager had always been a difficult person to deal with because of her stubbornness. However, Jacco didn''t know about Graham''s persuasion power.


    "Trade secret. Now about the job. I need your support to eliminate a supernatural creature. I will pay you five guilders with an increment if it turns out to be more difficult than I judge,"


    "Another supernatural creature? Is it a wraith?" asked Jacco.


    Luuk, who didn''t know a lot about supernatural creatures, was also listening with interest.


    "No, This time, it is called a Tiyanak. They are like vampires that are common in literature but should be weaker. We need to behead it and let it bleed out to kill it. It also had the form of a human, so don''t be fooled."


    "Such a thing exists?" asked Jacco in surprise. Ghosts were easier to believe than blood-sucking human-like monsters.


    "Yes, but they are active at night. During the day they are usually hiding. I''ve done my homework so just follow my lead," he said confidently.


    "Why don''t you just tip the Police and let them deal with the thing?" asked Luuk.


    Graham shook his head in disapproval and said, "I cannot just do that, can I? As an outstanding citizen of Sloten, I have to make sure I eliminate anything that might threaten the safety of the citizens."


    He spoke with a straight face without flinching, although what he said was a blatant lie. His actual reason for dealing with the thing himself was because he was curious about what a Tiyanak was like and especially about what it would drop upon its death. If it turned out to be too difficult, he would then give an anonymous tip to the Police.


    Thud!


    Suddenly, the kitchen door was opened and a man in his early thirties came out. He walked straight towards Jacco and spoke.


    "Jacco, I heard from Mrs. Gurman that you have to go to the hospital for your hip correction surgery. What even is that?" asked the man to Jacco.


    The man appeared to be the substitute chef for him and he had just arrived at the restaurant and entered through the back door. He was still carrying his backpack and hadn''t changed to his chef''s attire.


    "Uhm... yes, that''s right. My hip was dislocated, so I need to have it corrected as soon as possible," said Jacco uncomfortably.


    "I heard from her that it happened during your dance practice. I didn''t know you liked dancing," asked the man in disbelief.


    "..."


    Graham pretended not to hear anything. He continued to finish his food with a straight face and drank his hot chocolate until the last drop.


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 75 An Ugly Baby

    Graham, Luuk, and Jacco were inside a public motor carriage heading for Oosteindestraat South, where Gerwin, the adult Tiyanak, was hiding, according to Graham''s divination. The target was staying in an apartment in a six-story building on that street.


    "If they can pretend to be a human, do they have identity cards like us?" asked Luuk suddenly as the motor carriage was driving across a bridge.


    "I guess they do, or they can''t use public services, right?" said Jacco.


    "You''re right. According to my divination, their number is not overwhelming, but they have a solid society. They also have someone provide them with fake identity cards, which I''m guessing is from the black market," analyzed Graham.


    "Do you know where the black market is, Jacco?" asked Luuk.


    "Nope. Who do you think I am?" he raised his voice.


    The driver at the front seemed surprised and looked through his rearview mirror to see what happened. His three passengers, who were sitting very close to each other due to the limited space, seemed to be alright, so he focused back on the road.


    "A gang leader?" said Luuk nonchalantly.


    "What does it fucking have to do with it? I just beat people up! I don''t deal with organized crimes!" Jacco said defensively.


    The driver looked at them again through the mirror and his expression was worried. He quickly retracted his gaze before the passengers realized he was looking at them.


    Graham could see the truth in Jacco''s words. Although he and his gang members could be violent, they had never actually murdered anyone, which Graham had confirmed with his divination. The most that they did was beat people up and steal their belongings. It made Graham realize that both his partners were criminals: Luuk, a thief, and Jacco, a violent gang leader. If he could get the Slumberer to help him out, he would have a burglar in addition.


    "Val, I guess we are the only ones without a shady identity," he muttered and shrugged.


    "What was that?" asked Jacco.


    "Nothing. Just talking to myself," he answered casually.


    "How did you get to know about this creature?" asked Jacco curiously.


    "I''m a detective. I stumble upon many weird cases every day," boasted Graham.


    Jacco didn''t ask any further because it wasn''t really his business. His relationship with the two men was only at a professional level. He was paid to provide support, and that was all. Although after fighting some battles together, he felt that he could trust them to some extent.


    The rest of the trip went by quickly in silence. The motor carriage pulled over and Graham got out the first since he sat by the door. Luuk, who sat by the other door, also got out as soon as he could, leaving Jacco alone inside. The driver looked at his remaining passenger hesitantly and then asked for the transport fee.


    "Those two!" he exclaimed in anger and then paid the driver before getting out of the motor carriage.


    Graham and Luuk had gone ahead to a secluded alley. The street at that hour was quiet, especially since they were in East Sloten, but there were still some people passing by. There were some apartment buildings there with rent much cheaper than Graham''s, but their condition was much worse and there were more shady characters living in the building. East Sloten was infamous for a reason, after all.


    Jacco quickly ran after his two companions to the secluded alley and saw Graham staring undisturbedly at the flame from the lighter in his hand. He walked closer to check and suddenly an image appeared in front of him when he looked at the fire. It felt like he was watching something on a big cinema screen, but when he looked away, the image disappeared. The sensation was weird and magical at the same time: it was his first time seeing real divination at work, after all.


    He looked closely at the image presented before him. It was of a baby-like creature that was sleeping upside down, hanging from the ceiling. Its body was that of a very fat baby, naked without any clothes, but its face was very ugly, with two sharp fangs protruding from its mouth. Its head was completely bald, and the skin covering its body looked pale purple instead of healthy human color. It was the most bizarre creature that Jacco had seen in his life; even wraiths were better than that. At least a wraith was a simple angry ghost, whereas the creature in the image was too complicated for him to digest. The image then disappeared from his sight slowly as if it was being returned to the flame.


    "Was that our target?" he asked inquisitively.


    "Yes," answered Graham shortly.


    "I thought you said our target was a man?" asked Luuk. He also seemed to be surprised to see the appearance of the Tiyanak.


    "It can pretend to be a man, but that is its true form: a monstrous baby," he explained and concentrated on the flame again.


    The purpose of his previous divination was to find out whether the target was home or not, and the answer was yes. Now, he needed to find out if there would be more dangers waiting for them in the apartment building. He had previously divined the degree of danger of the mission, and the results told him it was manageable, so if there were indeed other sources of dangers in the building, as long as they avoided them, they should be alright.


    ''What dangers exist in the apartment building where the Tiyanak called Gerwin is hiding?''


    The same thing happened again. In front of Jacco, an image would appear as long as he stared at the flame. This time, the image showed an aerial view of the apartment and there were several red dots glowing in different spots. There was a red dot with a different hue from others which indicated their targets. Luuk and Jacco also knew of this fact because their spirituality was somehow told by the divination. There was also another dot in the room next door, so they had to be stealthy if they wanted to avoid that one. There was a group of five red dots gathering together in a room upstairs. The sizes of the dots were roughly the same, so there shouldn''t any extremely dangerous individuals there currently. After that, the image gradually disappeared.


    "Whoa, divination is fucking useful!" exclaimed Jacco.


    Luuk also felt amazed every time, and a little envious, but he had chosen his own path and could only move forward. On top of that, the divinator was someone he knew, so if he needed some divination, he could always come over.


    "You two go ahead to the target''s location. I need to do something else first. Don''t enter until I come," instructed Graham.


    Luuk and Jacco nodded and got going immediately, leaving Graham alone in that secluded alley. They didn''t know what he needed to prepare, but they trusted him.


    The apartment building was not really far from the alley. Luuk and Jacco arrived in under three minutes even with Jacco''s slow pace of walking. They entered and went to the third floor, where they had seen the red dot indicating their target''s location. The apartment building was older than Luuk''s and it smelled funny. It was a mixture of the smell of disinfectant and old wood. The two men arrived at the door of the room where the target was and not long after a man came after them silently.


    "Are you done with your preparation?" asked Jacco quietly.


    "Yes,"


    Jacco felt that the man had changed. The aura that he was giving off was colder and straightforwardly dangerous, unlike before where it was really subtle. Jacco thought it was just his combat mode, so the detective''s mood also changed.


    Graham had switched with Valentine for the fight because his Concealment would be very important if they wanted to avoid the attention of the other sources of dangers in the building. He stood in front of the door and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the sound coming from this room a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist descended and enveloped the wall around the door, and seemingly the whole room. The mist made people subconsciously neglected anything it covered, even sound.


    Although his spell had been successfully cast, Valentine felt like it wouldn''t last long because the coverage was not just one thing, but a whole room. They had to hurry before the effect ran out and outsiders could hear what was happening in the room again. He gestured at Luuk and Luuk focused on the door in front of him and chanted his own spell.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the lock of this door mine!"


    His hand made a swiping motion and the whole lock magically appeared in his hand, while the spot where it had originally been was now empty. Jacco saw both his partners doing their stealthy moves and was slightly embarrassed because he was the loudest of the bunch; even his ability was loud.


    Valentine opened the door and entered the room, followed by Luuk. Jacco, who was the last to enter, closed the door behind him slowly. The Tiyanak should be in the bedroom, so they quietly walked past the living room towards the bedroom. As he opened the door to the bedroom, suddenly something lunged at him.


    Clash!


    Valentine dodged in time and the thing hit the wall behind him, creating a dent in the concrete wall.


    "It''s the Tiyanak. Jacco!" shouted Valentine.


    The Tiyanak had sensed their presence and decided to seize the opportunity to attack, although it missed. It was still in its naked baby form with a bloated belly and sharp fangs, which it bared against the intruders. Its hands, full of sharp claws, were holding on to the wall that it had just hit. Its eyes were red with very narrow pupils, like those of a cat. From closer, it was much uglier than when they saw it through divination. It had a face only a Tiyanak mother could love.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Badum! Badum!


    He beat the metal plate strapped on his stomach with an iron stick. It was an idea proposed by Graham before they left who got inspiration from the mafia members. It freed up Jacco''s right hand, so he could also help with the fight if needed.


    Jacco''s War Drum empowered his allies and agitated the enemy. The Tiyanak moved with non-human agility and quickly aimed for Jacco''s head with its sharp claws, but Valentine was fast enough to deflect its attack with his knife.


    Clang!


    The metal knife rubbed against the sharp claws and created a loud noise. From outside the room, however, nothing was heard because of Valentine''s concealment.


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind pushing the trio back. The Tiyanak had used its supernatural power against them!


    Badum! Badum!


    Jacco still managed to keep the beat of his drum steady despite the impact. His right hand reached out to the nearest object to throw at the quickly approaching monster baby.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your momentum mine!"


    His right hand made a swiping motion and the Tiyanak slowed down suddenly, which gave Valentine the chance to jump in for the attack.


    Slash!


    His knife slashed the belly of the creature and from the wound, purple blood spewed out. The Tiyanak took a step back quickly, and at the same time, Luuk opened his fist. It then suddenly dashed behind, farther than it intended to, and with stronger force until it hit the wall hard. More blood gushed out from the impact.


    "Great work!" complimented Jacco without understanding what had happened. He didn''t know that Luuk''s abilities had evolved.


    The Tiyanak stood still for a second and the wound on its belly started to heal very quickly until it was nothing but a scar. Valentine, who wasn''t just watching and standing around while it happened, had dashed towards the creature with his knife ready for an attack. Luuk watched the creature carefully and then chanted very quickly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention of defending against the attack with your hands mine!"


    He made a swiping motion and kept his right hand clenched in a fist. The Tiyanak, who was about to defend itself, suddenly stopped its action midway because the intention had been stolen. It then tried to evade instead but was too late because the one-second delay between its actions was enough for Valentine.


    Slash!


    He beheaded the creature with his knife and purple blood spurted from its neck. Its headless body then fell down on the ground, motionless, while its head was lying nearby with eyes open wide. Blood kept coming out from its neck and the floor was soon covered with strange purple liquid. Once the blood stopped flowing, they knew that the creature had died.


    The Tiyanak rapidly aged and rotted following its death, and from its corpse, a spherical red object appeared. It looked like a shell-less egg with a dead fetus inside. Valentine approached the object and stuffed it in his coat.


    "That was an easy fight," said Jacco from the back.


    It was the easiest fight so far for the group. It was also due to the fact that Luuk had gotten more powerful so his support was more versatile now.


    Valentine didn''t respond. He had to quickly finish the job before anything bad happened. He slit his palm and poured his blood on the ground while chanting to place anti-divination in the area, while Luuk and Jacco were watching. Once he was done, he looked at his two companions and said,


    "We have to leave quickly. The thing next door has heard the vibration coming from this room,"


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 76 Escape

    The trio had just exited the room when suddenly they felt a very dangerous atmosphere descended slowly. Their chest felt heavy from the strong pressure, and it was suffocating. It was as if around them, the air had become very dense and sharp, so every breath was painful. Even the walls started to look distorted from the pressure.


    The thing next door didn''t give off such a dangerous aura before, otherwise they should have noticed much sooner. The heavy atmosphere seemed to have been created by something else that was now approaching them slowly.


    "Quickly, move! Upstairs!" urged Valentine.


    They couldn''t walk back to the stairs because the source of danger was coming from there. There was no window on that floor that they could use to escape from. Going back to the room was a big no because they might get trapped if the bedroom had no windows, so going upstairs was the only option. If there was no window there either, they could just keep going up to the rooftop.


    The trio moved quickly to the fourth floor while the source of danger was coming slowly from the floor below. On the fourth floor, there was a big fixed window at the end of the corridor, so they quickly ran down the narrow way. The light coming through the fourth-floor window couldn''t disperse the smothering atmosphere befalling the trio even though it was sunny outside.


    "Will normal people be alright with this kind of heavy atmosphere?" asked Luuk curiously while running as fast as he could.


    It was difficult for him to breathe normally, and his heart was beating fast, which made it more difficult to control his breathing.


    "Normal people don''t have a spiritual perception, so they should be okay," said Valentine who was running ahead of Luuk.


    They arrived at the window shortly after. It was a big one that only had one panel, but the glass was very thick; trying to break it would attract too much attention. Valentine gestured at Luuk who understood what he needed to do right away.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the glass of this window mine!"


    Previously, he wouldn''t have been able to steal something that big, but now that his abilities had evolved, doing so was possible. Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand and suddenly, a giant glass panel appeared there, almost crushing his slender body. Valentine and Jacco lent a hand immediately and they put down the glass safely on the floor.


    After helping Luuk, Jacco looked out of the window, down to the street below, and froze immediately. The window led to a backstreet that didn''t have a lot of people at that time. They were on the fourth floor, so there was a lot of height that they needed to climb if they wanted to get down, and they needed to do it fast. The source of danger was getting closer and closer, although they couldn''t see its figure yet.


    "I cannot climb!" said Jacco with sweat on his forehead.


    Luuk noticed the abnormally pale color on Jacco''s face and understood what the man was feeling.


    "You''re acrophobic, aren''t you?" said Luuk.


    Jacco nodded embarrassedly.


    Valentine had moved ahead of them and was already hanging on to the water pipes, quickly making his way down. It didn''t take long for him to reach a safe distance and then jumped the rest of the height off. He landed gracefully on the concrete ground below, and then agilely rolled to the front to disperse the impact. Valentine only had several seconds until the danger arrived on the fourth floor where his two teammates were, so he didn''t waste time and quickly went to sleep.


    Luuk looked at Jacco and said seriously, "You either jump off or you die,"


    After saying that, he nimbly climbed down the building, using water pipes as a pole. With his agile body, it didn''t take long for him to scale the old apartment wall. However, he didn''t go all the way down to the ground. He stayed somewhere in the middle, holding tightly on to the water pipe while looking up.


    "Jump now!" shouted Luuk.


    Jacco, who was still upstairs, felt that the source of danger was getting closer and closer. He could even hear the faint footsteps on the stairs far behind. More droplets of sweat ran down his face and neck. He was deathly scared of height, but he was also absolutely not wanting to face whatever it was, especially alone.


    Stomp... stomp...


    The sound of footsteps was getting very close. Jacco looked back and he could see the head of a man wearing a top hat in the distance, climbing up the stairs one step at a time. However, he couldn''t see the man''s face. He quickly turned around to prevent the man from seeing his face and gathered up the courage. He absolutely couldn''t climb, so he could only trust his companions and jump.


    "Fuck me!!!" he shouted and jumped off the ledge.


    His burly body fell very quickly towards the street below; if he hit the ground like that, he would surely break a lot of bones. He closed his eyes and felt like all his organs hit the roof of his body.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Jacco''s momentum mine!"


    Luuk held on tightly to the pipe with his left hand and his legs locked on to it while his right hand made a swiping motion. He felt that he had managed to steal something and kept his right hand in a fist firmly. From his position, he was close enough to Jacco and far enough from the ground, so he had time to finish his chanting before Jacco hit the pavement below.


    Jacco, who was previously falling down very fast, was suddenly slowing down as if he had just started his jump from that location. However, there was still some distance from the ground, and he quickly regained momentum.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to land safely!"


    Suddenly, Jacco made a maneuver that he didn''t know he could against his will; his body magically moved on its own. He bent his knees to get ready for the impact and once he felt the ground under his feet, he straightened his knees and rolled to the front to spread the impact of the fall evenly around. He had landed safely on the ground with the help of his two teammates.


    Luuk quickly climbed down the rest of the height and followed his two companions who had started to run away from the spot as soon as Jacco finished the order from Graham.


    "You two fucking rock! Thanks!" said Jacco gratefully while running closely behind Graham. The two of them had similar running speed.


    Luuk, who could quickly catch up with his two slower companions, opened his mouth and spoke, "Do you think that thing will chase us?"


    The trio didn''t look back and kept running ahead. They needed to get to the main street where people were.


    "They shouldn''t. This area is still within the jurisdiction of the Police, so they won''t dare to be reckless. Besides, Contractbound related accidents are really fast to be noticed by them," said Graham with slight difficulty; he was running as fast as he could while explaining all that.


    "It''s a he," said Jacco suddenly while breathing heavily.


    "You saw him?" asked Luuk curiously.


    He didn''t answer but just kept running. The trio arrived at the main street not long after and quickly turned from running to walking normally as if nothing was wrong. Only after they were safe did Jacco answer Luuk''s question.


    "Not really. I only saw his top hat, nothing else,"


    "Did he see you?" asked Luuk.


    "Not my face. He saw my back, probably."


    "Well, it''s good then that you''re not wearing your skull jacket. It would be easy to track you otherwise," said Luuk in relief.


    The three of them stopped in front of a supermarket where a lot of people were. Just like everything else in Oosteinde, even the busy supermarket was not as crowded as the one in Central Sloten, but that number of people should be enough to make them feel safe.


    "He won''t chase us. If he wanted to kill us, we would have been dead now," said Graham quietly.


    "Why do you think so?" asked Jacco, confused.


    "With his power, he should have been able to climb up the stairs quickly and confront us, but he chose to walk slowly," said Luuk and looked at Graham for confirmation.


    "Yes. He was most likely just warning us not to mess in his turf anymore. It was a display of power," added Graham.


    The man must have been very powerful since he didn''t appear in Graham''s divination at all. It was the right choice not to risk fighting him even though there were the three of them.


    Jacco nodded and finally understood what the other two were saying.


    "Although, if we had been caught, I don''t think he would ever let us live," said Graham seriously.


    The mood became sour. They had just barely got away from certain death and got reminded of how weak they were. They had been proud previously because they could kill the supernatural creature relatively easily, just to be pushed back to the ground by reality.


    "So what are you two going to do now?" asked Graham, breaking the silence.


    "I''ve been excused from work, so I''m free the whole day," said Jacco.


    "I took a day off from campus, so I''m also free..." said Luuk.


    He was thinking of going back home to relax, but he thought that he wouldn''t be able to do so peacefully after what had just happened.


    "Let''s go back to the sewer and kill off some wraiths then. We''ll split the loot equally," proposed Graham.


    Jacco liked the idea very much, not because of the prospect of money, but because he could fight more and felt powerful. It was not a pleasant feeling for him to be made to feel helpless like that.


    "I''m in!!" he said right away excitedly.


    "How are we going to kill them though?" asked Luuk.


    None of them had any blood attack, and Graham wouldn''t want to waste a two-guilder blood bullet only to kill wraiths without knowing how much money he could make from selling their remains. He quickly decided what to do and spoke.


    "Come with me," said Graham, beckoning his partners.


    They followed him to a more secluded part of the street where only a handful of people were around. Luuk understood what he wanted to do so he blocked the people''s view with his back and asked Jacco to do the same.


    Graham took out his lighter and lit it. He concentrated on the flame and then repeated a question in his mind.


    ''How much can we sell a wraith''s remains for?''


    The flame in his hand began forming an image slowly. The three men could see a place that looked like a shady market with several objects placed inside a big glass display. One of them, which looked like a rotting eyeball, glowed red. It was most likely the remains of a wraith. Above the eyeball, a number floated: six guilders. Graham''s eyes opened wide in surprise and the image disappeared suddenly.


    "Val, I didn''t know it''s that much. I should have hunted more of them then," he muttered.


    "Who is Val?" asked Jacco who heard Graham''s muttering.


    "It''s a private matter," he brushed aside the topic, and then put out the fire.


    The cost of a blood bullet is Sloten was two and a half guilders, so with one remains, he could gain a net profit of three and a half guilders. However, he wouldn''t be able to deal with that many wraiths all at once alone, so he needed the other two and had to split the profit.


    "I have a way of killing them," he said.


    Graham took out a bullet from a bullet pouch that he had bought before. It was strapped around his waist to make it easier to take out the bullets.


    "This is a blood bullet, and it costs three guilders to buy. Because this is the only thing that we can use to kill wraiths, I''d like to get the three guilders from selling the remains for the bullets and we split the rest equally," he proposed with a jacked-up price.


    Luuk and Jacco didn''t seem to object with the proposal. After all, they could only provide support and not kill the wraiths themselves.


    "That''s not a problem for me," said Luuk.


    "Fine by me," said Jacco.


    "Good. I only have thirteen of these left, so we must be careful there," added Graham.


    He showed Luuk and Jacco his concealed revolver that had a tiny bloodstain on the handle under his coat. Valentine had put anti-divination on it, so it should be untraceable, although if there was a random check-point he could still get busted.


    "One more thing. The wraiths'' remains can fetch such a high price but they are still safely roaming the sewers. There must be something else there. We have to make sure our escape route is always clear," he said seriously.


    "That''s true. Although Contractbounds are rare, there should be some who are able to kill them, but there are still many wraiths there. I hope it''s not because of something like earlier," said Luuk thoughtfully.


    "Well, let''s just head over there and see for ourselves then!" said Jacco.


    The three men moved walked away from their spot and headed to their destination: Westeinde Sewer.


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 77 In the Sewer

    Graham, Luuk, and Jacco arrived at Westeinde in the afternoon. The area was busy with people, which was a sharp contrast with Oosteinde which was quiet. They were currently on Grafstraat, where the manhole closest to the wraiths'' location was, and the street was packed with people and tall buildings.


    "How are we gonna enter like this?" asked Jacco while looking around.


    No matter which direction he looked, there were people walking or standing around on the sidewalk. Normally, only designated workers would ever enter a sewer, so the three of them would quickly attract the attention of passersby if they tried. They would need to find a more secluded sewer entrance if they wanted to avoid suspicion.


    "There is no other way. Let''s go over to that alley first," said Graham.


    Luuk and Jacco followed Graham, who already took out his lighter to do divination. He had wanted to do it inside the motor carriage that they had taken to get there, but it was just impossible; the driver would surely notice it.


    ''How can we enter the sewer without being noticed by anyone?''


    The flame that was surrounded by the three men grew brighter and slowly, an image appeared. It was an aerial view of the area and there was a red dot glowing a distance away from their location. The dot seemed to be located in another alley, several hundred meters away from the one they were in. The image then disappeared gradually and the flame returned to normal.


    "We have to walk over there," concluded Graham.


    "Why didn''t they just build an entrance in this alley?" complained Jacco.


    "Beats me," Graham only shrugged.


    He put back his lighter inside the pocket of the brown trench coat that he was wearing and started walking. It was a chilly afternoon, so a little exercise shouldn''t make him too sweaty. Luuk and Jacco walked by his side with their equally warm clothing.


    "How are we going to sell the loot later?" asked Jacco again.


    This guy really knows nothing. I wonder how he even became a Contractbound in the first place... Luuk thought.


    "We''ll sell them on the black market," explained Graham shortly.


    "Where is the black market?" he asked yet another question.


    "I don''t know, but I''ll find out later. Unless you can help me find out how to get in..." said Graham.


    Jacco shook his head. He had only heard of the existence of the black market in passing and never paid attention to it. When he wanted to sell the stolen valuables from his victims, he would usually ask his right-hand man to do it. Then it dawned on him.


    "Wait, maybe I can find out! Ivo surely knows!" he shouted suddenly.


    People around them were startled and turned their heads to find the source of the loud noise. Jacco stared back at them with a challenging glare, and coupled with his big muscular body, made the people turned around awkwardly.


    "Who is Ivo? One of your men?" asked Graham.


    "Yes. He is the one who bought the Thief scroll from you. He deals with selling our ''reclaimed'' items," answered Jacco more quietly than before.


    "You mean stolen?" mocked Luuk.


    "At least we steal right in their faces, not from behind their back," responded Jacco.


    "After you beat them up half-dead, that is. Right, Val?" muttered Graham.


    Jacco didn''t hear it perfectly, so he turned to Graham and asked, "What was that?"


    "Nothing. It was just the wind," he said shortly.


    The continued walking past the tall buildings and busy stores. The occasional breeze would blow and bring fallen leaves with it, but the people were not affected much because most of them were wearing warm clothing.


    "This place is totally different from Oosteinde," said Luuk, breaking the silence.


    "Yeah. There aren''t any homeless people either. I wonder how they do it?" replied Jacco in astonishment, looking at his surroundings.


    He didn''t travel often, so the sight was fascinating to him. He spent most of his time either working at the restaurant or hanging out with his men, harassing people unfortunate enough to walk into his territory.


    "They probably put them in shelters. There''s a lot of them around the city, and I always see those homeless shelters bustling with activity," answered Graham.


    "Why can''t they do the same for the slum residents?" asked Jacco curiously.


    "I don''t know, and I don''t care enough," said Graham.


    He really didn''t care about things that did not concern him, including how other people lived. He only cared about people he knew and people with ties to him. Although, he would probably still help a stranger if they needed it as long as it didn''t inconvenience him.


    "I''m a hypocrite, aren''t I, Val?" he said in ridicule.


    The trio kept walking until they finally arrived at the alley where the sewer entrance was. There was currently no one in the alley, but they could still see a lot of people walking past in the street ahead of them. The three of them worked together to lift the manhole cover carefully as not to make too much noise and after some effort, it was finally removed, revealing the dark sewer underneath.


    Graham stood there looking at the ladder leading down to the pitch-black space under the street. He was wondering if he should switch with Valentine for the upcoming battle. He could use divination to determine their locations and Order to control the enemies. If there was a lingering spirit, he could also talk to them while he was down there, but his eyes couldn''t see in the dark, so he would need one hand to hold on to the source of light. On the other hand, Valentine could see in the dark and he could use Restriction to prevent the wraiths from wailing, but he couldn''t control them because his Interrogation wouldn''t work on spirits.


    "You two go on ahead. I''ll take care of something first," said Graham decisively.


    "Okay," said Luuk and Jacco.


    "Before you go, take this," Graham stopped Jacco just before he climbed down the rusty ladder.


    He took out a candle and lit it for Jacco. He knew that Jacco didn''t have night vision either, so he would need something to help him see.


    "Thanks!" he said gratefully and then climbed down the ladder with his left hand holding the candle.


    With his two teammates gone, he went to a spot behind a pile of boxes to hide from the view of people in the street. After making sure there was no danger, he started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order myself to fall asleep!"


    Just as he finished chanting, he felt a heavy wave of sleepiness swept over him, and not long after, he had fallen asleep. Valentine woke up only seconds later and quickly stood up. Graham had decided to switch because Valentine''s eyes were too valuable to pass in that situation. Regarding control, Luuk could do it to some extent so they could safely fight the wraiths without being overwhelmed by their number.


    Valentine climbed down the rusty ladder and dragged the manhole cover over the entrance a little, so that people wouldn''t be attracted right away by the wide-open sewer entrance, but still provided them enough space to exit quickly. The heavy metal moved slowly with his power and after he felt it was enough, he quickly got down to where his companions had been waiting.


    "You''re finally here," said Jacco while looking up.


    The candle in his hand was the brightest source of light now that the light from the street above was covered a little.


    "I wish I had brought a flashlight," he said in regret.


    Luuk, whose eyes didn''t glow anymore even if he activated his night vision, had no problem seeing, so he never needed a flashlight. Valentine was the same. He could perfectly see in the dark, even more so with his enhanced vision; any small movement wouldn''t get unnoticed by him.


    They walked down the dark tunnel towards where the sound of the underground stream came from. Once they reached the stream they headed west, in the direction of the cemetery. That was where the wraiths were. Suddenly, the trio was overwhelmed by a strong stench.


    "Urgh! This sewer smells really bad!" complained Jacco.


    Luuk, who was a medical student, understood right away what kind of smell it was. He looked at Valentine who also knew what they might find soon.


    "That is not the sewer; it''s a dead body!" said Luuk.


    They quickly walked towards the source of the smell, while Jacco was following closely behind. His candlelight flickered in the dark, so he protected it with his left hand. The thin metal plate strapped to his stomach made a rustling noise as he walked.


    The smell of a decomposing corpse got stronger and stronger as they approached the source. It became suffocating, and Jacco vomited several times. Luuk, who was more used to it, was also starting to get nauseated while Valentine was breathing very heavily. Once they got close enough, he chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the smell of the corpse a secret!"


    Although he hadn''t canceled his previous Concealment back when fighting against the Tiyanak, his spell still worked because he had gone out of the range of the previous one, automatically canceling it. Once he finished his chant, a thin yellowish mist descended and enveloped the whole area, masking the rotten stench.


    "Thanks, man!" Jacco said with much gratitude; now he could breathe normally.


    They kept walking for several more meters before finally, they saw the source of the rotting smell.


    "Holy shitness!" exclaimed Jacco as he shone his light over the area in front of him.


    Sitting against the wall, there was the dead body of a man that was half-eaten by probably the creatures of the sewer. Only half his face remained, while the other half seemed to have been chewed on by rats. The man''s remaining eye was closed and his expression didn''t show any horror, which meant he was not another victim of Pravitatem. His shirt and jacket were tattered and had bloodstains in some parts, and his pants were mostly gone, just like the man''s lower half. Judging from what remained of him, the man was very thin when he was alive.


    "How long ago do you think he died?" asked Valentine to Luuk.


    "I''m not a forensic pathologist..." he answered in regret.


    "But you''re a medical student. Just a guestimate is fine," said Valentine again.


    "Doesn''t mean I know everything about dead people. And I''m not the best in class either," he said weakly.


    Valentine shrugged.


    "Judging from the decomposition rate, I guess he''s been dead for at least two days?" said Luuk in doubt.


    That was a huge time span, but Valentine couldn''t get anything better at the moment. He had to work with what was available. He slit his palm and poured as much blood as he could on the ground, and asked Luuk and Jacco to do the same.


    "What is this for?" asked Jacco while cutting open his palm.


    The pain didn''t bother him, but he was curious about what the blood was for. Was it a bait for something that was interested in it?


    "You''ll see soon," said Valentine while pouring in more blood on the ground. He felt slightly lightheaded after losing much.


    Now that there was a huge pool of blood on the sewer floor from the three of them, they stopped pouring their blood and the wound started healing right away slowly. Valentine focused on the area in front of him and projected his spirituality to the blood below him while thinking of the duration that he wanted to cover.


    "Show me what has happened here in the last two days."


    Valentine''s voice sounded ethereal, and with his chant, the blood beneath him started to move. The crimson liquid rapidly formed a figure of a man who looked similar to the dead person. There were also the blood figures of big rats overlapping with the man''s, which meant it happened at a different time. On a different spot, there was a floating bloodstain, which meant there was not enough blood to complete the figure. Once all the blood was used up, everything started to move.


    "Whoa!" Jacco exclaimed in fascination.


    He and Luuk had never seen this ability before, so they were amazed. They were watching the figure of the man walking weakly towards the spot of his death and then sat down in the exact same position and remained motionless except for his faint breathing. Meanwhile, the blood rats were moving about. After some time, the blood rat gathered around the man, who seemed to have died, and started eating his flesh. The floating bloodstain also went closer to the man and then suddenly the blood that formed the man''s right face disappeared. The blood rats and the floating bloodstain then moved away and left the dead man''s body in shambles. After that, all the blood evaporated; taken by the Deity as a tribute.


    "I guess that means the man died of natural cause, not murder," concluded Valentine, and then added, "Anyway, it seems that is the answer to your question about homeless people,"


    "What kind of ability is that?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "A glimpse of the past," answered Valentine shortly, then added, "What do you think the floating bloodstain was?"


    "I don''t know, but I think it was the one that ate half the man''s face," said Jacco.


    "Which means the sewer has something other than wraiths," Valentine said seriously.


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 78 A Gold Mine

    The trio left the corpse alone and continued making their way towards the location of the wraiths. It was only several meters ahead, as they could start to see several almost transparent figures floating in the air ahead of them. There were about eleven of them, in the area, and probably more further deeper into the sewer. The loud sound of the sewer stream masked the sounds of their footsteps, but the wraiths could detect them anyway. Seeing the living humans in their territory, their eyes glowed red in the dark and their ghastly figures quickly charged at them.


    "Aaaaaaaaaa!!"


    The wraiths shrieked and stunned the group. It took them only two seconds to recover, but it was enough for the wraiths to close in on them.


    "Here they come!" shouted Valentine.


    After recovering, Jacco immediately started beating the iron plate on his stomach with the stick that he took out of his pocket while his right hand was still holding on tightly to the candle that Graham had given him previously.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Badum! Badum!


    Valentine and Luuk immediately felt that their power and speed had been enhanced, as well as their stamina. The sound of the War Drum, however, irritated the wraith so they changed their target and angrily charged at Jacco, who was standing at the back of the group. Some of them were just about to open their mouths when he quickly chanted a spell.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the smell of the corpse no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the sound of the wraiths'' wail a secret!"


    "...!!"


    Several of them tried to shriek but the sound was blocked by the thin yellowish mist that enveloped their mouths.


    Bang!


    He fired his gun and hit the wraith closest to him in the head. The bullet then created blood veins that quickly spread all over its body, engulfing it before rupturing into the blood that melted the wraith. From its spot, a small round object that resembled a rotting eyeball was left.


    "Got one!" shouted Valentine proudly.


    "I need help here!" said Jacco from behind urgently.


    More wraiths were charging at him, and he couldn''t even hold a knife to defend himself because both of his hands were occupied. The flame from the candle flickered and he could see a ghastly face just several centimeters away from him. It was like a corpse that had turned transparent, but keeping everything ugly about itself.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the wraith''s intention of attacking mine!"


    Bang!


    Valentine shot a wraith that got too close to Jacco, while the other one suddenly stopped because of Luuk''s theft. The wraith that was shot burst into nothing because of the bullet and left another rotting eyeball on the ground.


    Bang!


    He fired another shot and killed another wraith who was still moving quickly towards their back liner. It then left another rotting eyeball.


    "That''s three, eight to go," said Valentine.


    Luuk was still holding on to the stolen intention in his right hand, but the wraith had started to move again. It had moved towards him, who was closest, but as it was about to attack Luuk, he opened his fist and suddenly he felt something slipped through his hand and returned to the wraith that was in front of him.


    Just as he was about to get attacked, the wraith stopped moving and changed direction suddenly. The intention of attacking Jacco had been returned, so it was now charging at its original target.


    Bang!


    Valentine shot the wraith and it stopped dead in its track, bursting into flames and leaving behind another rotting eyeball.


    Badum! Badum!


    The War Drum was still beating steadily, rivaling the loud sound of the stream nearby. The wraiths, with their stun shrieking ability being disabled, were not a match for the three of them, even if they outnumbered their attackers.


    Bang! Bang!


    Valentine quickly shot two more wraiths, leaving only five of the wraiths left.


    "Half of them are dead! How many bullets left do you have?" asked Luuk to Valentine.


    He had brought all the remaining bullets that he had bought at the small town, and after firing six shots, he had seven more. It was enough to finish off all the wraiths in the area, but if they encountered more, he wouldn''t be able to kill all of them.


    "I have seven bullets left. Try not to overextend! We can''t afford to have more wraiths coming," he warned his teammates.


    Luuk nodded and sprayed some of his blood all over one that was charging at him, stunning it with a sizzling sound. He then quickly chanted to activate his ability.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the wraith''s momentum mine!"


    One of the wraiths that were quickly rushing at Jacco suddenly slowed down, which gave Valentine some time to shoot the other one.


    Bang!


    Another wraith died and turned into a rotting eyeball. Jacco quickly moved out of the way and Luuk released the stolen item in his right hand. The wraith that had slowed down suddenly moved uncontrollably forward. When it was about to hit the sewer wall, it became more transparent and moved through it like there was nothing there.


    With one wraith disappearing through the wall, there were only three more in the area.


    "...!!"


    They still tried to wail and stun their enemies, but Valentine''s restriction was blocking the sound they made.


    Bang! Bang!


    The sound of gunshots reverberated in the dark sewer. Valentine had fired two shots in rapid succession and two more wraiths burst into flames and left small round objects on the ground.


    "Two more to go!" shouted Jacco.


    With the help of his War Drum, his teammates'' reaction and chanting speed was greatly enhanced, which made the battle much easier.


    Splash!


    Sizzle!


    Luuk splashed his blood on the wraith that had just come out of the wall, stunning it in place. The blood that touched its body made a sizzling noise and then bubbled away.


    Bang!


    Valentine shot the other wraith that was just one centimeter away from Luuk, rooting it in place and killing it. Now, there was one last wraith and it was slowly recovering from its state. Wraiths, unlike beasts, didn''t have a wild instinct of survival. All they knew was to kill the living; they didn''t even think about running away even when in danger.


    Bang!


    He shot the last wraith right in the head and the bullet got lodged in its transparent forehead. The bullet than became numerous blood veins that enveloped the wraith before suddenly blood burst out of the veins, melting the wraith and turning it into nothingness. Once the wraith had completely vanished, a small rotting eyeball was left on the ground where it had been.


    "We did it!" shouted Jacco excitedly. Although he had barely done anything but beat the drum on his stomach, he was a crucial part of the fight.


    "We need to gather those eyeballs quickly. Don''t miss any; they are literal gold!" said Luuk while picking up the rotting eyeballs with his gloved hands.


    The eyeball felt soft to touch, but when he pressed hard with his fingers, it hardened, which prevented him from crushing it further. He collected some more and then gave all the eyeballs to Valentine, who stuffed them safely in his coat pockets. He was the only one among them with a lot of container space, thanks to Graham''s unlimited pocket coats.


    "Let''s get out of here quickly now," said Valentine.


    The three of them went back to where they came from hurriedly before more wraiths came. Valentine had only got two more of the blood bullets, so he wouldn''t be able to kill more than two wraiths.


    The loud sound of the stream of sewer water covered up the sounds of their footsteps and the surroundings, but with Valentine''s enhanced hearing, he could still faintly hear the sounds coming from the area around them. There were rats squeaking and the sounds of crawlies moving about. Suddenly, his attention was drawn by the sound of something slithering on the sewer floor. Judging from the sound, whatever made it was much bigger than a regular snake.


    "Be careful, there is something else here," said Valentine quietly.


    "What do you mean?" asked Jacco without any hint of fear in his voice.


    "Is that the thing that ate the dead man''s face?" asked Luuk.


    "Probably," said Valentine, then added, "But I don''t know what it is,"


    The trio kept on walking in the dark tunnel with Valentine as the head. Jacco was at the back, following closely with the candle in his hand. He had stopped beating his War Drum because it took a lot of stamina. The sound of munching then could be heard as they got closer to where the corpse was, and after making a turn, they could clearly see the source of all that noise, and smell the rotting stench from the corpse, although not as strong as before somehow.


    Munch... munch...


    There was a bizarre creature eating what remained of the corpse alone, while the rats all stayed away from it, occasionally hissing to scare the creature. The creature, that was much bigger than the rats, ignored them and kept on munching. The trio stopped right away and observed the creature carefully.


    From where they were standing, the thing looked like a black rat with feathers instead of fur because of its ears, but it had no limbs. Its body looked like that of a giant snake all the way to its tail, with a height similar to a brown bear and the length of an adult crocodile. Its feather looked shiny in the candlelight.


    Detecting the presence of living humans behind it, the giant rat turned around and showed its rat-like face that matched its ears to the trio. Now they could see the bizarre creature perfectly: a snake-bodied black rat with feathers. It hissed at them, baring its sharp fangs and mouth full of saliva. It was blocking their way, so they had to defeat it or chase it away if they wanted to get out.


    "The fuck is that?" asked Jacco in confusion.


    A baby-shaped supernatural creature was strange, but the creature in front of him was even stranger. They got ready for combat right away and spread into position.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Badum! Badum!


    Jacco''s war drum resounded in the dark tunnel again, enhancing the powers of his teammates. Valentine had his knife ready because he knew the gun wouldn''t do anything against the thing.


    Clash!


    The creature was irritated by the sound of the drum and charged at Jacco, but Valentine was in its way. It headbutted Valentine hard, sending him flying into the sewer wall behind him. Despite its shape, it could move very quickly and its attack power was also high. Thanks to Jacco''s empowerment, Valentine was not fatally injured by the attack, although his whole body was in pain.


    "Are you alright?" asked Jacco without stopping his drum beating.


    "I''m fine. Luuk, watch out!"


    The creature was now charging at Luuk who stood between it and Jacco, but he had finished his chanting first.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack me mine!"


    The creature suddenly stopped in its track in confusion. It had lost its intention to attack the man in front of him and was now wondering why it was there. The one-second confusion of the creature was enough for Luuk to quickly stab it with his knife that he was holding in his left hand.


    Clang!


    His knife made contact with the creature''s feather which felt like steel. He couldn''t even make a scratch on the creature. Seeing his attack fail, he quickly retreated to a safe distance because the creature was enraged by Luuk''s attack.


    Clang!


    Valentine very quickly dashed at the thing at attack him with his own knife, only to be met with the same result. Its hard feather protected its skin, rendering his attack useless. The creature then changed its target and dashed at Valentine instead, which gave Luuk the opportunity to move even farther from the thing.


    "Watch out!" shouted Jacco from the back.


    Luuk opened his right hand and released the stolen intention and the creature suddenly changed target again. It quickly darted towards Luuk who was now standing far away. The distance gave him the opportunity to chant again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack me mine!"


    The creature stopped in its track yet again, and Valentine seized the opportunity to strike. Now, he aimed for its eye. He had to make a jump because its head was taller than him.


    Stab!


    He buried his knife deep in the creature''s right eye, causing red blood to spurt and covered his whole body. The creature shook its head violently in agony, trying to send its attacker flying, Valentine held on his knife tightly and was sent flying, along with his knife. He hit a wall for the second time, sending pain all over his body.


    "Urgh... fuck me," he groaned in pain.


    Badum! Badum!


    The sound of the War Drum slowly relieved his pain, and he quickly got up. The creature was now charging at Jacco with who was playing the irritating noise. Its movement was slightly slower than before because of the pain in its eye.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack Jacco mine!"


    Luuk quickly chanted and made a swiping motion with his right hand. He kept his hand in a fist form while the creature was again confused for a second.


    "I only have two more thefts, do you think we can beat it?" said Luuk to Valentine.


    After saying that, Luuk felt something strange. His mouth was oddly dry as if he was dehydrated. He looked at Valentine and the latter shook his head while looking very serious.


    "I don''t think so. My mouth feels strangely dry and I feel weaker than before now,"


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 79 Running for Dear Life

    Valentine felt strangely weaker despite the fact that Jacco''s War Drum was still beating with a steady rhythm. He also felt oddly thirsty and his lips were parched. He felt like drinking the sewer water at that moment to quench his thirst but held back because it was an extremely bad idea. He looked at Luuk and saw that his lips were in a similar condition to his and his face was getting paler.


    "Guys, I feel very thirsty all of sudden!" shouted Jacco from the back.


    "I think it''s the creature''s power," concluded Valentine.


    The creature seemed to have the ability to suck up their power, similar to a Leyak. However, unlike a Leyak, it didn''t suck up his lifeforce, only his power, and probably body moisture as well since he felt parched right now. It would be disastrous for them to prolong the fight in that condition.


    The rat-snake creature had already recovered its confusion and continued charging at Jacco. Valentine could only barely got his attention by attacking its side, but as before, he didn''t manage to injure the creature because of its hard feathers.


    "Hiss!!"


    Its attention was drawn by Valentine and it quickly headbutted the man.


    Thump!


    The creature''s attack sent Valentine flying several meters, hitting the ground hard. It then slithered quickly with its large body towards Valentine who was lying on the ground in pain.


    Luuk opened his fist and returned the intention to attack Jacco back to the creature, and after pausing for half a second, it suddenly changed direction towards the man who was beating the iron plate strapped on his stomach.


    Badum! Badum!


    Valentine got up from the ground with difficulty and breathed heavily. He was in much more pain now while gradually becoming weaker and weaker. Without the War Drum''s effect, it would have taken him much longer than that to get back on his feet.


    "We need to run!" he shouted at his teammates.


    "But how? This thing is faster than us!" replied Luuk.


    The more they spoke, the drier their mouths became. It made it more difficult to focus, but letting their minds wander right now would mean death. Valentine thought hard of a way out of this perilous situation.


    Right now, the creature was blocking their exit. They would need to get past it to get out, and even if they managed to do so, it would still be fast enough to give a chase. They had to attract the creature''s attention somehow.


    Clang!


    Luuk attacked the creature to get its attention so it wouldn''t attack Jacco. If the War Drum stopped, their chance of getting out safely would be gone as well. It was a good thing that the giant snake-rat was easily irritable.


    "Hiss!!" it hissed at Luuk and lunged at him.


    Luuk tried to evade its attack but the thing was faster than him. It headbutted him and sent him flying back, hitting a wall hard. Luuk''s whole body was overcome with pain, but he had to quickly get up to avoid the thing''s subsequent attack.


    Valentine quickly darted at the creature that was about to bite Luuk with its sharp fangs. Its attention was solely placed on its prey right in front of it without noticing the other man who was quickly getting close to it. Seizing his chance, Valentine swiftly jumped and stabbed its left eye that still remained intact.


    "Squeak!!


    The creature let out a cry of pain. Blood came gushing out of its left eye, splashing the man that was still holding on to the dagger that was stuck in its eye that was now blinded. Now, it had no more eyes to see with and was writhing on the ground in agony. Valentine pulled out his dagger and jumped to safety.


    "Now! Run!" shouted Valentine.


    Luuk and Jacco quickly seized the chance and got away from the battlefield, but Valentine stayed behind. If the three of them ran now, the creature would catch up quickly, so he had to distract it first to give his teammates a chance to widen the distance between them.


    "What''s his plan?" asked Jacco while running. His left hand was still beating the drum to give them more stamina while his right hand was busy keeping the candlelight burning.


    "I don''t know, but we can trust him," answered Luuk. He was still in pain, so he couldn''t run as fast as usual.


    The sound of the drum beating was getting fainter and fainter until it was completely drowned by the sound of the sewer stream. The creature didn''t have any intention of chasing the two who were running away because, in front of him, there was now a single prey, which was much easier to handle than two.


    Valentine, who was now alone with the creature, observed it carefully. Without its eyes, the snake-rat how had to rely on its acute sense of smell and hearing. Valentine had got an idea to fool its sense of smell; he just needed to buy time for his companions.


    "Come here you little shit!" he said while spitting at the creature, provoking it.


    The creature was enraged, especially since it knew Valentine was the one blinding it. It quickly got up and lunged at him with its sharp fangs, but Valentine was ready to dodge. Without its eyes, it still could move very accurately towards his standing spot, so he only barely dodged the attack. His left shoulder was still grazed and he got a flesh wound. The rat-snake creature quickly turned around, ready for a follow-up attack.


    "Fuck!" he groaned and took a step back.


    Without the War Drum, Valentine was getting weaker very quickly. He couldn''t hold on for much longer, so he quickly ran over to the corpse near him and pulled its tattered jacket by force and put it on quickly around his right shoulder to mask his own smell. He avoided his left shoulder to avoid infection but tried to cover as much of his body as possible. He was lucky that the creature only ate the man''s flesh, not the clothes. He then chanted quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist enveloped his whole body before quickly vanishing. The rat-snake creature now couldn''t distinguish Valentine from the corpse either by smell and he made no sound at all for it to pinpoint his location. It got confused and slithered carefully towards where the corpse was, sniffing around it.


    Seizing his chance, Valentine stealthily moved away from the corpse towards the sewer exit, still wearing the dead man''s jacket. Although already greatly reduced because the man''s corpse was almost all eaten, the rotting smell still filled the whole area, so him moving away shouldn''t be detected by the creature as long as he didn''t make too much noise. There was something inside the jacket that was rather heavy, so he had to move carefully not to cause a rattle.


    He kept moving cautiously and stealthily, slowly widening the distance between him and the thing. The rat-snake creature was still standing around the corpse, trying to look for its living prey, but couldn''t find it anywhere. It didn''t want to continue eating the rest of the corpse at the moment because doing so would make it vulnerable to attacks. The creature stayed on guard while sniffing about and listening intently for any source of sounds.


    Once he felt that the distance was enough, Valentine quickly ran with light steps while still covered by the corpse''s jacket. His Concealment covered the sounds of his footsteps, while the smell of the corpse masked his own. The creature never realized that its prey had managed to slip away.


    He kept running and the farther he was from the thing, the more his condition recovered. However, he was still extremely thirsty and needed to drink water as soon as possible. He made a turn to the left and entered the narrow tunnel with a rusty iron ladder at the end. Before climbing up the ladder, he reached into the tattered jacket''s pocket to find the thing that had been making it heavier, and as he had guessed, there was a wallet there. He stuffed the wallet inside his coat and got rid of the jacket. He was wearing gloves, so he wasn''t worried about his fingerprints being there.


    Valentine climbed up the ladder and met up with his companions who had been waiting for him. Luuk looked beat up, while Jacco''s appearance was still the same as before entering the tunnel. He had been the only one safe from any attack so far. Once Valentine was out of the sewer, both Luuk and Jacco covered their noses at the same time.


    "You stink!" said Luuk in disapproval.


    Valentine shrugged without saying anything.


    "Did you lose it?" asked Jacco worriedly; he didn''t want to have to fight the creature again.


    "Yes, hence, the smell," answered Valentine shortly.


    Valentine''s clothes and face were covered in the creature''s blood, so he definitely couldn''t be seen in public in that condition. He went behind the dumpster and sat down with his back against the wall.


    "Make sure no one approaches," he said to the other two.


    Luuk and Jacco were curious about what he was going to do, but they did what he requested. Luuk watched the surrounding intently while Jacco dragged the manhole cover back to its original position, closing the sewer entrance securely.


    Valentine took out his knife and slit his palm. He let the blood pool in his hand and then started chanting,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    The blood on his hand emitted a strange yellowish mist that quickly spread out to his surrounding.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped his blood on the ground next to him and for a second there was a wave of spiritual energy that made people feel like they had forgotten something. Valentine''s anti-divination had been put in effect. Now, divination about anything involving him or his teammates should be impossible.


    With his anti-divination ritual done, Valentine closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. It didn''t take him long to completely fall asleep, and not long after, Graham woke up. He pinched his nose in disgust because of the smell and quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the rotting smell sticking to me to go away!"


    His sudden spell chant drew the attention of the other two, who turned around and looked at him. They could see something that looked like a concentration of stench floating away slowly from Graham, and after that, they couldn''t smell the stench of a dead body anymore from the man. Although the disgusting stench had now gone, he was not done yet. He also had to get rid of the monster''s blood from his body.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the blood that stuck on my clothes and face to go away!"


    The blood that had hardened on his clothes and face suddenly became liquid again and quickly dripped to the ground beneath him, masking Valentine''s blood that had been there earlier. He was now clean, except for the dirt caused by hitting the wall and floor of the sewer and the ripped part on his left shoulder caused by the creature''s attack. He chanted one more time.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the trench coat that I''m wearing to mend itself!"


    The threads around his left shoulder moved by itself and covered the torn part, making it look like new. However, the area around the fixed part was now slightly thinner because the threads had been used to create the patch. After three successful spell chants, Graham was now done. He got up and dusted off the dirt from his clothes and walked over to his companions.


    "Let''s get back now," he said.


    "What about the loot?" asked Jacco.


    "They are all with me. I''ll need you to tell Ivo that I need him to take me to the black market tomorrow. After selling everything and deducting the money for the bullets, I''ll give you guys your share." he explained.


    Jacco nodded and said, "Sure. Tomorrow is Saturday, so he should be free."


    The detective had never gone back on his words so far, and he needed the assistance of his man, so Jacco could trust him to some extent. Luuk literally lived next door to Graham, so he could come over any time to get his share, so he had no objection either. However, he was curious about the black market, and tomorrow was Saturday, so he was free,


    "Can I come with you tomorrow?" he requested.


    "Sure," Graham replied shortly, and then added, "Now, let''s get out of here,"


    The three men walked out to the street and stopped public motor carriages to take them home. Since Jacco lived in a different direction, he took a separate one from Graham and Luuk. They parted ways and went their own ways.


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 80 Welcome to the Bazaar

    Graham arrived at his apartment building late in the afternoon, just before the sun completely set. He quickly got up to the second floor where his apartment was and got into the shower. He cleaned his body of the dirt and any smell that might remain with the warm water, and enjoy the relaxing feeling that the water brought. It was nice to let go of tension after being put in a life or death situation.


    Once he was done showering, he dried himself with a towel and put on a pair of pajama pants and a plain t-shirt. He would like to be bare-chested but he was expecting a client that evening, so he couldn''t show indecencies. Once he was dressed, he went to his office and sat at the chair after taking his coat that was hanging on the rack.


    On the desk in front of him were now lying all the battle loots that he had taken out of his coat. There were eleven round objects that resembled rotting eyeballs placed neatly on the wooden surface. The eyeballs looked very disgusting and felt soft when he touched them. Aside from its appearance, it also had the consistency of a rotting eyeball without the smell. However, the object would oddly harden when under pressure and wouldn''t break no matter how hard he tried to squeeze it. Graham put back the eyeball that he had picked up carefully; it was an object worth six guilders apiece, so he had to handle it with care.


    Next to the eyeballs, there was a thick leather wallet that probably had belonged to the dead man. Graham had previously used Order to get rid of the decomposition smell sticking to it, so he could touch it without being disgusted. However, he was still careful; he wore a pair of gloves first and then picked up the wallet to check the content.


    Inside the wallet, there were a lot of penning and duit coins, with some of the bigger stuiver mixed in; that was why it was thick and heavy. The coins'' total value altogether was two hundred and ninety pennings, which was almost a guilder; one guilder equaled three hundred and twenty pennings. Besides coins, there were also two guilder bills, making the wallet an official gold mine to Graham. He took all the money and then checked the remaining contents of the wallet.


    There was an identity card inside the wallet, kept securely inside the cardholder. The wallet seemed to have belonged to a man named Gerwin van Beek. Graham stared at the name on the identity card and he racked his brain hard. He seemed to have seen that name somewhere, either last week or two weeks ago, but he couldn''t seem to recall any face. He retraced his steps in his memory to find out who that man was.


    "Val, help me with this one," he said while concentrating hard.


    He sat there, staring intently at the small identity card that he was holding with his right hand. His mind was revisiting all the spots in his brain from the last two weeks. After thinking hard, he finally remembered where he had seen that name; it was the name of the man whose wallet Luuk had stolen when he was demonstrating his ability for the first time. Graham hadn''t seen the man''s face back then; that was why the photo on the card didn''t trigger any memory in him.


    "So it''s that man. Poor guy is dead now-- unless this wallet is a stolen item. Well, the money is now mine, so thank you," he said solemnly.


    He didn''t plan to return the wallet to the Police because it could be easily traced back to him. Even if Valentine placed anti-divination on it, any medium he could think of could be removed easily by the Police, rendering his ability ineffective. He would just burn everything else and let the death of the man be solely the Police''s problem.


    Ding... dong...


    Suddenly the bell rang. Graham quickly put everything inside the safe and locked it securely. Once everything was well hidden, he went to the door to answer. He already had a feeling about who his guest was.


    Graham opened the door and standing behind it was the woman from earlier this morning. It was Anne Smit, his client that got impregnated by the adult Tiyanak. He let her in and as they were walking inside, he noticed that her belly had gotten noticeably bigger than this morning. The Tiyanak baby inside her had grown that much in such a short time.


    "Good evening, Mr. Hymes. How was the investigation?" she asked worriedly. She seemed more restless than she was this morning.


    Anne Smit had commissioned Graham to find out who the father of her baby was, and he had found and killed him.


    "Actually, I have found the father of your baby," said Graham heavily.


    Her eyes opened wide in anticipation, but she quickly controlled herself. Her restlessness gradually decreased and she seemed a little bit calmer. She took out a brown envelope from her purse and handed it over to Graham.


    "This is the money for your work. Now tell me, who is it?" she asked inquisitively.


    She hadn''t even asked him how much she should pay, but she had already given him money. Graham received the envelope and quickly checked the content. There were ten guilder bills inside, which was a very pleasant surprise to him. For a case like that, disregarding the dangerous element that wasn''t supposed to be present in the first place, he was lucky if he could charge the client five guilders.


    "It''s Gerwin with a mole. He lives in an apartment on Oosteindestraat South," he answered, withholding the whole truth.


    He watched her expression carefully, and she looked visibly relieved. It was as if a heavy burden had just been lifted off her shoulders.


    "Thank you very much, Mr. Hymes," said Anne with genuine gratitude.


    She was about to open her mouth again, possibly to take her leave and visit the man, when Graham spoke while looking straight into her eyes.


    "I highly suggest you go to the Police right now, and tell them you have a Tiyanak baby inside you. If you don''t go now, your life will be in danger," Graham''s voice was very convincing and somewhat ethereal. His green eyes didn''t break eye contact with his target for even a second.


    "And also, you will forget about our meeting, which means I''m not the one who told you to see the Police. You just suddenly get the urge to do so," he added.


    Anne Smit was in a daze. Her thought seemed to have lost because of Graham''s persuasion, and after a while, she nodded. She had received his order and was now burying the memory of ever meeting the detective deep inside her mind. After that, she got up slowly and left his office like someone who was spirited away. Only after she had been outside did she come back to her usual self.


    Graham wasn''t worried about her as long as there was nothing interfering with his persuasion. The Police would be able to purify the Tiyanak baby inside her and probably even altered her memory to make her forget ever getting pregnant in the first place. Meanwhile, he could enjoy the money that he got from her. She would probably notice later that she had mysteriously spent ten guilders, but it was none of his business.


    ...


    The next morning, Graham woke up feeling refreshed. He had slept earlier the previous night because the fight had drained a lot of his energy. He woke up at eight and quickly went to the kitchen to have a cup of hot chocolate for breakfast. Once he had finished his hot chocolate, he got dressed; wearing a black trench coat and hat, and stuffed everything he wanted to sell at the black market inside his briefcase and locked it securely.


    He left his apartment and went next door to fetch Luuk. He had said he wanted to come with Graham to the black market.


    Ding dong...


    He pressed the doorbell and the sound reverberated inside the apartment, which could only be heard faintly from outside. Not long after, Luuk opened the door and came out. He seemed to have gotten ready long before.


    "You didn''t take as long as yesterday," said Graham in a slight surprise.


    Luuk was wearing a sweater and a pair of denim pants. There was a pair of sunglasses hanging on his sweater.


    "Yes. I slept right away yesterday and woke up early this morning because of that," he explained casually.


    Luuk saw the briefcase that Graham was carrying and got curious. He wondered what else the detective would be selling today.


    "You look stuffed," he said shortly.


    "You mean loaded?" replied Graham.


    "Whatever. What''s inside the case?" he asked curiously.


    "The eyeballs we got from the wraiths and some other battle loot that I have obtained so far," explained Graham.


    The two of them left their apartment buildings and went to a bridge in Oosteinde, where they would meet up with Ivo. Graham had used a lot of divination the previous night and found out about many kinds of information, including Ivo''s face. Although he had supposedly met him twice, once when he beat up all of Jacco''s men and another one when they helped them with the theft, he didn''t know which one he was.


    They took a public motor carriage and arrived not long after; it was not very far from where he lived. The whole trip took less than seven minutes. Luuk asked to split the bill to prevent Graham from running away again, and after paying for the ride, they got out of the motor carriage.


    On the bridge crossing Amstel River, a man was already standing with his back against the concrete railing. Graham and Luuk approached the man cautiously and he greeted them.


    "Good morning, Mr. Hymes, Mr. van der Meer," the man smiled in a respectful manner.


    Graham observed the man in front of him carefully. He was wearing a denim jacket without the usual skull logo on the back, a cap to hide his blonde hair, and a pair of denim pants. He had a pair of sunglasses hanging on his shirt under his jacket, ready to be worn at any time.


    "You must be Ivo. Are you ready?" replied Graham.


    "Yes. I''d suggest you two cover your faces. It''s safer that way. They don''t care about faces anyway as long as you have stuff to trade," he explained while putting on a facemask and the pair of sunglasses.


    Graham took out a black facemask from his pocket and put it on, and after that, he also put on his own sunglasses that he had taken out from his coat pocket and combined with the hat that he was already wearing, he was now unrecognizable. Luuk had done the same, except he wasn''t wearing a hat, but a beanie that he always wore during his thefts. Now the three suspicious men were ready to tread into the black market.


    They followed Ivo across the bridge and down the street. There a lot of people out there at the moment, and when they saw the three men, the people stared at them and kept a distance. The street that they were in had a lot of factories, and it was work hour, so people were busy going to work.


    Ivo take a turn and went into an alley, followed by Graham and Luuk. There were much fewer people in the alley than in the street. Ivo then stood in front of a brick wall next to a big dumpster, which Graham understood should be the entrance to the black market.


    "This is the entrance," he then said, confirming Graham''s belief, "The wall will ask you for a password if you ask to enter,"


    "What is the password?" asked Graham.


    "Wij Zijn Arm," Ivo said shortly.


    "What a peculiar password," responded Graham.


    Ivo then looked at the wall in front of him. With a loud enough voice, he spoke, "We want to enter,"


    The wall suddenly changed color to a darker shade of grey. After that, some of the bricks started to stick out of the wall very slowly with a dragging noise like when two rocks were rubbed against each other. It was truly mesmerizing to watch. After some time, the bricks that stuck out former the word ''password''.


    "Wij Zijn Arm," said Ivo again loudly enough.


    Now all the grey bricks in the wall started to move in unison very slowly. Some folded to the back, some to the front, creating more layers of walls around the sides. In the middle, there was now a gap big enough for two people to enter at the same time.


    "Is this a Contractbound power?" asked Luuk curiously.


    He was amazed by the show, although it was literally just a bunch of bricks moving around. However, it was more flashy than any Contractbound abilities that he had seen so far.


    Graham turned to Luuk and nodded, "Yes, but I don''t know which one. Must be a high ranked one since I couldn''t find anything about it,"


    Ivo went ahead of them and entered through the gap in the wall. Graham and Luuk followed him closely behind and they were surprised by the sight they saw in front of them. It was a total contrast with the alley behind them. Ivo, who was in front of them, turned around and looked at his two guests with a proud smile.


    "Welcome to Erbarmelijk Bazaar!" he said to Graham and Luuk.


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 81 Erbarmelijk Bazaar

    Graham and Luuk were standing in front of a wall whose bricks slowly moved together to close the gap in the middle. The bricks rubbed against each other, creating a dragging noise that came one after another. Once the last brick moved to its position, it made an audible click, completely sealing the wall.


    In front of them was the black market bustling with activity, even though the alley behind them had been very quiet. It was as busy as Grotemarktstraat during rush hours, and also almost as noisy; the only difference was that there were only people there, not motor carriages. Another peculiar thing to note in that place was that people were all wearing masks, including the vendors. It was true what Ivo said: they didn''t care who everyone was, as long as they had money or items to trade. The masked people were busy going around the stalls, stores, and street vendors there.


    Graham and Luuk observed the people there and noticed that some of them were wearing different kinds of masks from the others. Most people there were wearing simple cloth masks that were usually worn to protect against dust, whereas those distinctive people were wearing full-faced decorative masks. It attracted Graham''s interest because he liked those kinds of masks better; they felt more mysterious and nuanced.


    "Where can I buy those masks?" asked Graham to Ivo who was standing in front of them waiting.


    "Those fancy looking ones? You can buy them at the mask store over there," replied Ivo while pointing at a store not far from them, "But they are expensive; that''s why I don''t buy one."


    "That''s fine. Please take us there," requested Graham.


    Ivo led the two men over to the mask store that was only about thirty meters from where they were standing. It seemed that the store was placed there on purpose so that people could buy their masks easily before entering deeper into the black market.


    "This place doesn''t feel like a black market at all. More like a bazaar," said Luuk while looking around.


    They walked past several stalls selling various things, including food. The sellers were not noisily trying to attract customers, however. They were either standing or sitting quietly until someone approached their stalls.


    "It''s because this place is basically allowed by the government, in that they never try to close down this place. It''s just called a black market because supernatural items are sold here, and the public is not supposed to know of their existence," explained Ivo.


    "What about stolen and illegal items?" asked Luuk.


    "Those too. You can sell pretty much anything here and there will always seem to be a buyer," added Ivo.


    "Are there normal people too here, or are they all Contractbounds?" asked Luuk again curiously.


    "Most of them are actually normal people who are interested in the supernatural or those who seek the chance to be a Contractbound. The actual Contractbounds are fewer because they are rare," explained Ivo based on his own knowledge and experience.


    "Who is in charge around here?" asked Graham.


    He had tried to divine the answer but couldn''t get any result, which meant that the person or organization that controlled the black market was powerful.


    "I''m not sure myself, but I''ve never seen anyone cause problems since I first came here," said Ivo.


    The three men arrived at the mask store with an eerie looking mask as a logo at the front. It looked like it was made of carved stone. The mask had no eyeholes, only a single smiling mouth hole with uneven teeth. Under the mask, there was the store name: Cousin.


    "What a weird name for a store," commented Luuk.


    They entered the store and was greeted by numerous masks hung on the walls of the store. It felt like they were being watched by countless eyes. The masks varied in designs and colors, but most of them were intricate-looking. Graham felt a very faint supernatural energy coming from those masks, which piqued his interest even more.


    "Welcome to my humble store," said an old man from behind the counter.


    He was wearing a white featureless mask, but his voice and posture gave away his age. The thin old man was wearing a white shirt with suspenders to keep his pants in place. His voice sounded mysterious but wavering.


    He couldn''t see the customer''s gaze because of his sunglasses, but he felt that he was being observed, so he quickly said, "What kind of mask are you looking for?"


    "Are these masks enchanted?" asked Graham to the point.


    Graham felt that the old man was observing him back from under his mask.


    "So you are a Contractbound, young man. Yes, they are, but only slightly," answered the store owner.


    "What kind of power do they possess?" asked Graham.


    "They have no power, but they have an effect of slightly making people feel like they are naturally part of you," he paused and took a breath, and then added, "Do you get what I''m saying?"


    "Yes, yes. How much are they?" replied Graham.


    "It depends on which one you want. The price ranges from four to ten guilders,"


    Graham was slightly taken aback. Ivo wasn''t lying; those masks were indeed expensive. He paused and thought about it well.


    "I want this one," said Graham after making up his mind. He walked closer to one of the masks on the wall.


    Ever since he entered the store, he had noticed that one mask and had been strangely drawn to it. It was a mask with two parts of the same face: the joyful right side and the sorrowful left side. The joyful half of the face was red while the sorrowful one was yellow. Its design was very simple; there were two eyeholes and a drawing of a mouth that either smiled or frowned depending on which half it was on.


    "Good choice! That Gemini mask is only six guilders!" said the old man enthusiastically, to make the buyer feel good about his choice.


    "Why so expensive? Is there no student discount?" asked Graham in surprise. Six guilders was rather expensive for a simple-looking mask.


    "The mask was made using the best quality material. I assure you that it will last probably longer than yourself," said the store owner, trying to convince him, then asked, "Are you a student?"


    "No, but he is," Graham pointed at Luuk.


    "I''m sorry but we don''t have student discounts," replied the old man, "But I''ll give you a twenty percent discount if you buy two,"


    Graham heard the word twenty percent and started calculating right away. He then looked at Luuk and asked, "Which one do you want?"


    Luuk had also been strangely drawn by one particular mask in the store. It was a brown mask that looked like the face of a goat with two medium-length horns and goat ears. The mask was also designed simply; there was no intricate carving on it. However, something made the mask feel different, which was why Luuk was interested in it.


    "I want this one. How much is it?" he asked.


    "That Capricorn mask is only five guilders," replied the store owner enthusiastically.


    "I''ll take this one," replied Luuk.


    "The two masks are eleven guilders, minus the twenty percent discount, your total altogether is eight guilders and sixteen stuivers,"


    Graham turned to Luuk and said, "I''ll pay now and will take yours out of your share. Sounds good?"


    Luuk nodded. Although he had brought cash, it would be much easier that way.


    "Here you go,"


    Graham handed nine guilder bills to the store owner and received four stuivers as the change. He put the money inside his pocket and took off his sunglasses while facing the wall. After that, he put on the Gemini mask over the facemask that he was still wearing. putting the strap over the back of his head. The wooded mask felt strangely comfortable on his face, and he had no difficulty breathing at all even though he was wearing two layers of masks. His vision wasn''t impaired either even though the wood should be thick enough to do so; the enchantment on the mask was much more convenient than he had thought.


    He turned around and saw that Luuk had also put on his Capricorn mask. He looked very natural in it like he had always worn the mask every time they were together. The shape of the mask also complemented his slender build nicely.


    Graham turned to Ivo who was standing near the entrance and asked, "What do you think?"


    "You two look menacing," he complimented.


    Graham smiled proudly under his mask, but he knew Ivo couldn''t see it.


    Once they were done with their business there, the three men walked out of the store and continued their walking deeper into the black market. Their goal was still to sell their battle loot, and Graham had divined the way to do so; there was a common hall where people would gather and sell whatever they had without setting up a stall.


    "Selling a dead thief''s hand!"


    "I have several protective talismans. Come here and see!"


    Graham, Luuk, and Ivo arrived in front of a big hall with several people in it deep in the black market alley. They were shouting the things they were selling, which attracted buyers who were interested in those specific items or those who were just looking around. On the far end of the hall, there was a man sitting in a comfortable chair with an expressionless mask. He seemed to be overwatching the affairs in the hall to make sure people wouldn''t just use their powers to take away the items by force.


    Graham stood in one spot and did the same as the others.


    "I''m selling wraiths remains!" he shouted audibly.


    Several people heard him and a few of them came and approached him. There were four people in total: three men and one woman, judging from the posture and hairstyle. They were all wearing decorative masks, which meant they at least had money.


    "Are you really selling wraiths remains? Can I see it?" asked a man with a blue sorrowful mask.


    "Yes," replied Graham as he reached into his briefcase through the small gap and took out a round object resembling a rotting eyeball.


    The four people were observing the object in Graham''s hand closely to make sure of its authenticity. One of them even started sniffing because the real thing wouldn''t have a putrid smell, unlike an actual rotting eyeball.


    "Yes, that is real," judged the woman, and then asked, "How much are you selling that for?"


    "Only seven guilders," he replied decisively.


    He had divined the previously that currently, there was no one else selling wraith remains, which made him think that the other divination must have shown him a past image when he asked about the price. That was also why he sold it one guilder more than the price he was shown.


    The four people stayed silent as if they were thinking. Graham had also divined that wraith remains were materials needed for some rituals, and they could also be made into strong charms or talismans, so he seized his chance.


    "I have eleven of them. You won''t regret buying them now because I might not be here again tomorrow,"


    He took out some more wraith remains to convince his potential buyers. Although he couldn''t see their faces, they appeared to be very interested, judging from their body language.


    "I''ll buy them all!" said a man with an angry orange mask. He was wearing a suit, which made Graham think the man was rich.


    "All of them? That will be seventy-seven guilders," replied Graham happily.


    Just as the man with an angry mask was about to reach into his wallet, the woman, who was wearing a peach happy mask with a complicated pattern and an elegant sweater, interjected.


    "I''ll buy all of them for seventy-eight guilders,"


    Graham was surprised. He didn''t understand why someone would buy all eleven remains at once, but he welcomed the increased price with open arms.


    "In that case, I''ll offer eighty guilders for all of them!" said the angry masked man, not wanting to lose.


    The other two men were just standing and watching. They didn''t seem interested in buying all eleven wraith remains, so they couldn''t compete with the two people.


    "Eighty-five guilders!" said the woman.


    It appeared that money was not an issue at all for her.


    The man with the angry face stayed quiet. It seemed that he didn''t want to continue raising the price because the woman didn''t seem to want to back off.


    "Alright. These are yours, Ma''am," said Graham.


    The woman, with a swift movement, handed four twenty-guilder and five one-guilder bills to Graham, who then gave her all the eleven rotting eyeball objects. He then saw the woman put all of the wraiths remains inside the purse that she was carrying very quickly. She appeared to be a Contractbound who excelled in speed.


    Graham was smiling happily under his mask; he had unexpectedly sold them for a much higher price than he had planned for. After stuffing his money safely inside his wallet, Graham shouted again,


    "I''m selling contract scrolls!"


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 82 Spending Some Money

    "What contract scrolls are you selling?" asked a man with a confused mask who was previously not interested in fighting for the wraiths remains.


    Graham had packed both his remaining scrolls today. One belonged to the Deity of Lies and Attraction that he had got from Mevrouw Cornelia''s death and the other one was the unknown scroll that he had found in her house.


    "From the Deity of Lies and Attraction," replied Graham audibly, so everyone there could hear him.


    The man with the confused mask seemed to have lost interest in an instant. The same was true for the other three people who had originally gathered there. They appeared to be a Contractbound of a higher rank since they needed the wraiths remains. The scroll he was selling was only an Earl rank one after all.


    Graham didn''t know what Deity the other scroll was for, and he couldn''t divine it. To get the information from it, he needed to have pleased three Deities, which would take him a long time to accomplish. He could try to show it to these people in front of him, but if it turned out to be a very valuable one even for himself, he was afraid that he would be targeted by bad people once he was out of the safe zone, so he held back from selling it for the time being.


    "I''m selling the scroll of the Deity of Lies and Attraction!" shouted Graham again to get the attention of people walking by.


    The four that were originally there had moved somewhere else to continue their shopping trip, leaving Graham with his two companions. He kept repeating the same line to get a buyer.


    "I''m selling the scroll of the Deity of Lies and Attraction!"


    Luuk was watching from the side, looking at people walking by. When they heard Graham''s shouting, they paused for a second and then continued to walk away from that spot.


    "I thought contract scrolls were rare. Why is no one buying yours?" he asked Graham curiously.


    Ivo, who had just become a Contractbound recently, was also curious about the answer.


    "They are indeed rare, but this particular Deity is rather infamous," he explained while remembering his encounter with Mevrouw Cornelia and what she had done to the Bakkers'' family.


    "Why?" Luuk''s curiosity grew bigger.


    Graham took a deep breath.


    "Do you remember the family massacre case?" he asked while looking at both his companions.


    Luuk and Ivo seemed to be thinking for a while before finally the former nodded.


    "The Bakkers were the victims, right?" asked Luuk in confirmation.


    Graham nodded, and before he was able to speak, Luuk interjected.


    "The actual culprit was a Contractbound of this Deity?"


    "Yes. You''re sharp, I must give you that," complimented Graham, and then added, "That''s why. People who know about this place should have some knowledge about Contractbounds, unlike us who became one by chance,"


    "That is true. Even when I was still a normal person, I knew some about some Deities because of my exchange with people here," added Ivo, confirming Graham''s conjecture.


    "Selling the scroll of the Deity of Lies and Attraction!" Graham went back to shouting.


    His deep voice wasn''t muffled by the mask at all, even though there was no mouth hole. There was someone who was still some distance away from the common hall who heard his voice and came closer quickly. It was a man wearing a beautiful peach mask with floral patterns and flower petals under the chin part, covering his neck. His manner of walking matched the mask he was wearing; it was graceful and effeminate. The man was wearing


    "Are you selling the scroll of the Deity of Lies and Attraction for real?" asked the man with a manly but strangely gentle voice.


    "Yes. Twenty guilders and it is yours," replied Graham to the point.


    "Deal," he said shortly.


    Graham was taken aback. He hadn''t expected the man would accept just like that, especially since he had jacked-up the price more than normal. If he had known, he would have asked for an even higher price.


    "This is the contract. You can check for its authenticity," said Graham weakly.


    He opened the scroll in front of the man and let him see the sigil. It didn''t matter to him if passersby could also get the knowledge of the ritual materials and procedure because, in the end, they needed the scroll to perform the ritual.


    The soft man took out twenty guilder bills from the pocket of his loose pants and gave them to Graham. Graham received the money and handed the scroll over to the man, marking the end of their successful transaction.


    "It''s been a pleasure dealing with you, Mr. ...? asked the man with a soft tone.


    "Gemini. Just call me Gemini," replied Graham with a made-up name.


    He had thought of that pseudonym ever since he bought that mask. It felt very fitting for the current situation where he didn''t want people to know his identity. The name sounded simple but had a mysterious charm to it.


    "It''s been a pleasure dealing with you, Mr. Gemini. You can call me Virgo," said the soft-spoken man.


    "The pleasure is all mine," replied Graham politely.


    After exchanging pleasantries, Virgo left the hall with a scroll tucked to his pocket. Contract scrolls couldn''t be destroyed, so it didn''t matter how one stored it. Graham then turned to Luuk.


    "You two shall also address me as Gemini while we are in the bazaar," he demanded.


    "In that case, call me Capricorn," replied Luuk with a name taken from the mask''s name.


    Ivo only nodded. He didn''t seem to have a pseudonym he wanted to go by, and people there usually address him as the gang member there, so he didn''t feel the need to change it.


    "Now I''m done here. There is nothing I need to buy currently," said Graham.


    "Same here, but I want to go around to take a look," said Luuk.


    "Then we will do just that," Graham accepted the idea.


    He picked up his briefcase and followed Luuk who had gone ahead. They walked leisurely while looking around the alley filled with various stalls and stores. It was not a very big alley, so when someone stopped to look at an item on sale, the others had to move around them with difficulty because there were a lot of people there. Another bad thing that a big number of people gathering in a small space caused was the smell of sweat. Although it was getting colder and colder as they were approaching winter, the smell was still present and lingered.


    "Can''t you guys just use your ability to steal from someone here?" asked Graham jokingly to the two Thieves accompanying him.


    "I wouldn''t suggest doing that. I saw someone attempting to use his power for whatever reason and a lot of the guys like the one in the common hall, the one who was watching over the place, jumped at him and took him somewhere," replied Ivo with a very serious tone.


    "So they are like the security here. How do they detect abilities being activated I wonder?" said Graham quietly while thinking.


    He could try to use divination later, but he needed more information, otherwise, it would just fail because those people were most likely much more powerful than him.


    They continued walking relaxedly and went past a stall selling street food. Graham was rather hungry so he bought a portion of waffle with chocolate and ate it while walking.


    There were indeed a lot of stores and stalls there selling various stuff. There were preserved remains of dead people being displayed inside a glass case that was visible from outside through the store window. Various body parts were there, and there were multiple ones of the same body parts. They most likely belonged to people with different jobs and titles when they were alive.


    On their left, there was a store selling bullets of various diameters and probably effect too. Graham then remembered that he had used up all his bullets, so he could always buy some more, although he was rather reluctant to buy them there. The bullets sold in that black market were more expensive than those sold at Cadhla''s store. He stopped and entered the store and the seller, who was wearing a deer mask, stood up right away.


    "Do you have blood bullets for a .31 calibers revolver?" asked Graham.


    He observed the seller and felt rather ironic that an animal that was commonly hunted was selling ammunition.


    "Yes, and we also have other kinds, like paralysis bullets and demolition bullets," said the deer-masked storekeeper.


    "How effective is a paralysis bullet?" asked Graham curiously.


    He had never heard of that bullet before but he could guess the effect based on the name.


    "If the enemy is weak, it can paralyze them for up to three seconds, but if they are strong, probably only one second or even less," explained the storekeeper.


    It was an extremely useful bullet for controlling his enemies in a battle, especially if fighting beasts that he couldn''t control with his abilities.


    "How much are those? And how much is the blood bullet?" asked Graham.


    Luuk, who was not interested in bullets because he had no gun, walked out of the store to find another interesting thing to look at, followed by Ivo.


    "Blood bullets are two and a half guilders apiece, paralysis bullets five guilders apiece," replied the storekeeper.


    Graham''s face showed dissatisfaction under his mask, which couldn''t be seen by the storekeeper thankfully. He didn''t expect the paralysis bullet to be double the price of the blood one.


    "Why is the paralysis bullet so expensive?" he complained.


    "They work on all kinds of enemies, and they are very difficult to make. In fact, I only have three here in my store,"


    Graham didn''t buy the bullets right away. He wanted to check the price in other ammunition stores there first before buying the cheapest one. He couldn''t use divination because he was afraid that the black market watchers would jump on him.


    "Alright, I''ll think about it first," he said as he left the store.


    He went out and saw Luuk and Ivo in front of a gemstone seller. He didn''t bother them and went his own way to find another ammunition store. It was located only about ten meters away from the one he had just left from. He walked towards the store hurriedly while avoiding some people who were flocking a stall.


    Graham entered a store that was much smaller than the previous one and reeked of gunpowder. The store owner, who was sitting behind the counter, was a short, thin man wearing an upside-down mask. He approached the counter to ask the owner.


    "Do you have paralysis bullets?"


    The short man looked up at Graham who was much taller than him. If they stood next to each other, the man would look somewhat like a dwarf.


    "Sorry, but we are all out of that one," answered the store owner.


    Only then did Graham realize that the person in front of him wasn''t a short man, but a boy. Although the boy''s body was a big give away, somehow he subconsciously thought that it was a man when looking at the mask.


    "Kid, how much do you sell blood bullets here?" asked Graham with a completely different manner of speaking.


    "They are two and a half guilders apiece," answered the store owner shortly, seemingly annoyed.


    The price was the same as the ''deer''s'' store, so he wasn''t interested in buying here.


    "Thanks for your time," replied Graham, and then walked out of the store.


    He walked back towards the first store and noticed Luuk was still standing in front of the gemstone stall while Ivo was looking at something else not far from there. He left them alone and quickly entered the bigger ammunition store with a deer masked man standing behind the counter.


    "I''ll take all three paralysis bullets and six blood bullets," said Graham straightforwardly.


    The deer masked man took out the bullets that matched Graham''s gun requirement and placed them on top of the counters. Graham came closer and picked up one bullet and sent his spirituality to it. The bullets glowed red on the tip, which meant it was the blood one. He then picked up the one on the other end and did the same. This time, it glowed yellow.


    "This is the paralysis bullet?" asked Graham.


    The store owner nodded.


    "How much is the total?" he already knew but he asked anyway for formality.


    "Fifteen guilders for three paralysis bullets, fifteen guilders for six blood bullets, so the total is thirty guilders," replied the store owner quickly.


    He gave the deer masked man his money and took all the bullets and stuffed them inside his briefcase, dividing them into two separate containers neatly. He had to part with the money that he had just earned and felt bitter about it. He could still sell the purple crystal fragments that Leyaks left behind if he needed to, but he wanted to keep hold of them for now.


    Graham left the store quickly after organizing the content of his briefcase to see what Luuk was up to. Outside the ammunition store, not far away from there, Luuk was still talking to the gemstone seller and in the end, he bought a red square gemstone that Graham didn''t know.


    "What did you buy?" he asked curiously as he approached Luuk.


    Ivo saw the two men standing together and quickly came back.


    "This one can give my weapon a minor burning effect on attacks for ten attacks max. But I need to find a Jeweller to embed it on my knife-- or I can become a Jeweller myself," he explained.


    The effect was interesting, but it only worked for ten attacks and they needed a Jeweller''s help to make it work, so Graham was not convinced. He wasn''t interested in asking about the price either because he was still bitter about spending so much money at once.


    "Is there somewhere we can buy enchanted equipment here?" asked Graham to Ivo who was now standing next to Luuk.


    "Yes, but they are very expensive if you buy them at a store. And the effect is minor as well. It''s better to wait for someone in the common hall to sell one of those," he explained.


    "How expensive do you mean?" asked Luuk curiously.


    Graham stayed quiet and braced himself to be shocked.


    "The cheapest is forty guilders and the most expensive can go as high as seven hundred guilders, from what I''ve seen," he said casually.


    Graham and Luuk were baffled after hearing the price.


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 83 A Way of Making Money

    Graham arrived home in the afternoon, at around two. He entered his bedroom and lied in bed after taking off his coat and putting every valuable inside the secure safe. He felt a little tired after walking around the black market and interacting with a lot of people.


    He had previously given Luuk his share and asked Ivo to give Jacco his. The total profit of selling the wraiths remains was eighty-five guilders, which he then subtracted by thirty-three guilders for the eleven blood bullets that he had used to kill the wraiths. After dividing it evenly, each of them got a share of seventeen guilders and six stuivers.


    "Val, we are really poor if we think about it. Everything is just getting more expensive as we go. We need to find a new way of making money," he paused and stared at his ceiling.


    "If only we were stronger, we could kill more supernatural creatures and sell their remains..."


    He was thinking about a lot of different things, including why he wanted to keep getting stronger.


    "Why don''t we just stop here and live like this until we die? It''s good enough, isn''t it, Val?" he muttered.


    "But I guess we can''t. I won''t be satisfied to just live like this. And besides, we became living goldmines the moment we formed a contract with our Deities. It''s either kill or be killed as a Contractbound, and I''m sure as hell don''t want the latter,"


    Graham stayed quiet again and let his mind wander. He remembered a lot of things, including his bitter past. He used to be weak, and he didn''t want to go back to that state. At least now, he had the power to defend himself and the people he cared about, although currently, he had none.


    He also thought about various random things, including his desire to leave the country and travel the world. He would need a lot of money to do so because traveling abroad was not cheap. And now that he was a Contractbound, he would need to be powerful as well because he would be exposed to dangers that normal people wouldn''t normally be.


    "Speaking of normal people, why don''t we do what I''ve always wanted to do? It can make us money while allowing me to please my Deity," he said, suddenly having a brilliant idea.


    Graham got up and sat on his bed. He took out his lighter from his pants pocket and lit it. And then, he concentrated on the flame that was burning brightly in front of him and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Where can I find a secure place near here that I can use?''


    The flame in front of him burned brighter and his surrounding area became dimmer. Slowly, an image appeared from the flame and he could see a building that looked abandoned but was still in a decent condition. It appeared to be a small chapel in the middle of a field, with no other visible buildings nearby. The image then zoomed out and showed an aerial view of the area; the chapel was located on the small hill near Dorpstraat, south of Hoogstraat. It was not really close, but not too far either. It would take him probably less than ten minutes to get there by motor carriage. After that, the image slowly disappeared.


    Once he found a place, Graham put out the fire and got up from the bed. He quickly put on his favorite brown trench coat and took everything he might need, stuffing them neatly inside his briefcase. After that, we went out to the street to find a public motor carriage, which didn''t take him long. He told the driver and they drove away.


    From Tuinstraat, he had to go south towards Hoogstraat and kept going ahead until they reached Hoogstraat South. The street that afternoon was rather quiet because it was Saturday and people preferred to stay at home. At the intersection after Hoogstraat South, the driver turned left towards the east and stopped in front of a huge gate on Dorpstraat. Graham paid the driver and got out immediately.


    Dorpstraat was devoid of people at that hour. Besides him, there were only a couple of other people in the street and a few motor carriages driving by. It was understandable because there was nothing there except some houses and small corner stores. There wasn''t even a minimarket in sight nearby. However, there were a lot of trees, much more than the number on Tuinstraat, so the street felt much cooler to walk in.


    Graham looked at the giant gate on his right. Behind the gate, he could see the small hill but not the chapel. It was probably farther in so he couldn''t see it from the street. He approached the rusty iron gate to see if it was locked, and lucky him, it wasn''t. It was only latched shut but it could easily be opened. He unlatched the gate and walked into the hill behind. After closing the gate behind him, Graham marched quickly uphill, which took a lot of stamina, and found the chapel not long after. It wasn''t that far from the entrance, probably only three minutes of walking.


    The chapel was in worse condition in person than in his divination, most likely because the lighting was distorted by the flame. It was a gloomy and old building that gave off a slight atmosphere of horror and oblivion. He didn''t mind it, however, because it would be perfect for what he wanted to do there. As long as the ceiling didn''t start collapsing on him, he wouldn''t complain.


    Graham walked around the small chapel to find any other building that might be the place where the caretaker stayed, but there was none; it was really the only building around. There weren''t any tombstones either, which were usually present behind churches. Since there was no caretaker, he took the liberty to make himself at home. He reached into the handle of the double door in front of him to open it.


    "Locked..." he said as he was trying to push and pull the door without any success.


    It wasn''t a problem for Graham, however. He concentrated on the tall wooden door in front of him, opened his mouth, and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to unlock yourself!"


    His ethereal voice reached into the door and it made a faint click. Graham pushed the door again and now he successfully got it open. He entered the chapel cautiously and observed his surrounding. The moment he stepped into the building, a heavy dusty smell entered his nose, making him sneeze several times.


    The inside of the chapel was as gloomy as the outside, with the sunlight unable to penetrate through because of the boarded-up windows. The rows of seats were still neatly arranged, but there was a heavy layer of dust on each of them. In fact, everything inside the chapel was still in good condition. He just needed to clean the dust off everything and the chapel would be ready to use.


    Graham walked deeper into the building and found what he was looking for: a confessional. It was crucial in his plan, so he couldn''t afford not to have one. Besides the confessional, he was also looking for something else: a broom or anything that could be used for cleaning. He walked behind the altar and found the broom closet where he found a broken broom inside. Graham concentrated on the broom and chanted,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to clean this whole place!"


    Once his strangely ethereal voice reached the broken broom, it stood up by itself and started cleaning the surrounding area. Graham knew that his Order wasn''t strong enough to make the broom clean the whole area at once, so he would repeat it every time the effect ran out.


    The broken broom worked quickly and cleaned the area around the altar, while Graham was busy throwing out any religious symbols remaining in the gloomy chapel. He was carrying a balanced cross and got out of the chapel through the side door and left the cross behind the building. He then came back and found that the broom had stopped working after cleaning a quarter of the total area of the chapel. He concentrated on it again and repeated his chant.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to clean this whole place!"


    Once he finished his spell chant, the broom started to work again and cleaned the rest of the area, while Graham observed the chapel closely to make sure he didn''t miss anything. Besides the cross, there wasn''t anything else that could serve as a religious symbol. There was probably tainted glass, but all the windows were boarded up so it wasn''t a problem.


    The broom stopped working again some minutes later and Graham repeated his Order to make it work. It took him a total of five Orders for the broken broom to sweep the dust off the floor and the seats in the chapel, and the dust was cleanly swept out of the building. Now, the chapel was all clean, although it was still shadowy and somber, which was perfect for Graham.


    "Val, look at this. This place is just perfect for our plan. Now we just need to find people to complete it," he muttered proudly.


    Graham went out of the chapel and back to the street below the hill. He walked past the gate and stopped a public motor carriage that was driving by and asked the driver to take him to Grotemarktstraat. It should be the street with the most number of people at that hour, and it was not really far from where he was either. He arrived at his destination not long after.


    The busy Grotemarktstraat was a total contrast with the barren Dorpstraat. Graham quickly went to a secluded alley and took out his lighter. He needed to do divination first to find the perfect target. In the alley with only a few people around, Graham triggered his lighter with his back covering the flame. He concentrated and repeated a question.


    "Show me the people who are most suitable to be my targets,"


    The flame in front of him burned brighter and created an aerial view image that he could clearly see. In the image, there were seven people in total who had a red glow among the others. There were four women and three men, all of whom looked rather restless. Graham memorized their facial features and every other distinctive characteristic that the people had and after that, the image gradually disappeared.


    "Let''s get started, Val," he said meaningfully.


    Graham put on a simple facemask to cover his face and pretended to be sick, so people wouldn''t question it. He then left the alley and approached the location of the nearest target from divination. The targets this time were not stationary, so he might not be able to get all of them. He walked fast and saw a man sitting on a bench on the sidewalk while smoking. He looked to be in his late thirties and had black circles around his eyes. Graham walked closer to the man and started a conversation.


    "May I sit here?" he asked.


    "Sure," replied the man shortly, and then moved over to make room.


    "Are you okay, Sir?" asked Graham, trying his best to show genuine concern in his tone.


    The man looked at him and was about to say something, but Graham quickly interrupted him.


    "You should go to the abandoned chapel on a hill on Dorpstraat tonight at eight because all your problems can be solved if you do. Don''t tell anyone about it and don''t forget to bring some money. You will also forget about this encounter," he spoke convincingly while looking at the man right in the eye.


    The man appeared to be in a daze for a second and then nodded. After that, Graham left him alone and went to the location of his second target. It didn''t take him long to find a woman whose face he saw in his divination. She was walking in the opposite direction from him quickly, and much like the man, she looked rather stressed. When she was close enough, he pretended to be lost and spoke to her.


    "Excuse me, can you help me? Cough! Cough! I''m lost," he said with a helpless voice with added coughing for effect.


    The woman looked at him in the eye and when she was about to speak, Graham interrupted again,


    "If you want all your problems to be solved, you should go to the abandoned chapel on a hill on Dorpstraat tonight at eight. Also, bring some money and don''t tell anyone about it. You will forget this encounter as well," he spoke gently but convincingly without breaking eye-contact.


    She looked confused at first and then slowly nodded. After that, Graham left her and she resumed her walking as nothing had happened and slowly disappeared in the crowd.


    "Two down, five to go," he said quietly.


    Graham then went around the street and stores to find all the targets. In the end, he could only manage to persuade five of them to go to the chapel tonight. It was not a problem for him because he was still at the initial stage of his plan. He could always get more people later.


    "Now we can get our little cult going," he said meaningfully as he left Grotemarktstraat.


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 84 The Emergence of a New Organization

    It was a night with a full moon and a clear sky. There were several bright stars twinkling up high, while down below, the night breeze was blowing gently. When the breeze touched the trees casting its shadow on the grass underneath, it carried with it the leaves that were almost weightless.


    Graham was standing solemnly on the remains of an altar inside the abandoned chapel. He was wearing a long, black coat with a black top hat. On his face, the Gemini mask that he had bought at Erbarmelijk Bazaar was resting naturally as if it was part of his face. The contrast that the color of his mask and his attire brought enhanced the mysterious aura around his person.


    It was almost eight in the evening; the appointed time for the people to come to the chapel. They shouldn''t be late, since it was a direct persuasion using his spiritual power. He stood there motionlessly in order to give a great first impression to the future followers of the cult that he was going to establish; it was his way of pleasing his Deity and making money at the same time.


    The night was very quiet...


    ...


    Five people were standing in front of a giant gate after getting off motor carriages one after another. They looked at each other in confusion but then realized that they were probably in the same situation. There were three men and two women there, and all of them looked restless like they were shouldering heavy burdens.


    One of the women, who was wearing a blue sweater and a pair of denim pants, went ahead of the group and then turned around so that everyone could see her. Her curly long hair blew gently in the breeze and her brown eyes, although restless, looked straight at the others. She opened her mouth and spoke.


    "I guess you''re all here because of the chapel?" her voice was energetic but slightly lacking in confidence.


    "That''s the case for me. I don''t know about the others. You too?" said a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, probably Luuk''s age. He wore a pair of glasses and his curly hair was messy. He was crossing his arm and held his chest tightly because of the cold, although he was wearing a jacket.


    "It''s the same for me," replied the other woman with long straight hair. She was wearing a knee-length skirt with a floral pattern despite the cold night. Her thick sweater seemed to make up for it.


    "It''s the same for us," said another man wearing a black sweatshirt. He seemed to know the last man who was wearing a white shirt with a vest on top.


    "Let''s get in then. It''s almost eight," said the curly-haired woman again.


    Creak...


    The rusty gate was being opened slowly while the five people entered one by one cautiously. They looked around to make sure it was safe; the place was unfamiliar to them, after all. The man with the black sweatshirt took the lead and walked ahead of the group with the vested man close to him. They walked uphill slowly so nobody would be left behind.


    "What is everyone''s name? Mine is Yvette," said the girl with the curly hair.


    "I''m Diedrik, and this is my friend, Calvin," replied the man in the black sweatshirt who was walking ahead of the group.


    "My name is Helga. Nice to meet all of you," answered the woman with the long hair. She was walking behind the group, trying her best not to be left behind.


    "I''m Eduard. Nice to meet you," said the man with messy hair and glasses. He walked not far from Helga so that he could watch over her.


    The kept walking and shortly after, they could see the abandoned chapel, where they strangely felt the strong need to go tonight. It was standing tall under the moonlight, looking both eerie and majestic at the same time.


    "Why do you think we are here?" asked Eduard. He looked to be the youngest of the group, and probably had the most curiosity.


    "I don''t know. I just have the urge to come here," replied Yvette. She had shown the most friendliness so far among the group.


    "I guess it''s the same for all of us," replied Calvin. It was the first time he had spoken since they all met.


    "But why?" asked Eduard again.


    "I guess we''ll find out soon," replied Diedrik. He looked to be the oldest of the group, probably in his mid-thirties, while Calvin''s age shouldn''t be far from his.


    They arrived at the chapel and stood in front of the tall wooden door. Eduard checked his watch and it was almost eight, so they were not late. Diedrik and Calvin pushed the chapel door carefully.


    Creak...


    The wooden door made a loud creaking sound that broke the silence of the night. Once the door was open, they looked inside the chapel that was illuminated dimly with several candles placed in several spots. The breeze from outside made the flames flicker, but they quickly returned to normal again. Around the altar, more candles were lit. The candles emphasized the gloomy and mysterious atmosphere of the chapel that night.


    The group stood in silence while looking straight ahead of them. There was a man wearing all black standing motionlessly on the dark altar, giving off an intimidating and gloomy aura. A ray of moonlight shone upon the man''s face from the hole in the ceiling above, granting him a feeling of majesty and illuminating the thing that was hiding his face; it was a strange mask whose half side was smiling while the other half was frowning. Through the mask, they could see that the man was watching them carefully, observing their every move. They felt that nothing would go unnoticed by the mysterious man''s sharp gaze.


    "You must be wondering why you have been summoned here," said the man suddenly, bringing back the group from their daze.


    The man''s voice was deep and mysterious, with every word carrying the ability to make them swayed. Combined with the darkness of the chapel and the flickering candlelights, it made them feel captivated. They listened intently to the man without any thought to even try to interrupt.


    "I will bring you salvation from your problems, as long as you are willing to pay a small price," said the man again with a very promising tone.


    Silence crept in the chapel. The five people were just staring at Graham. Only after some moments had passed, Diedrik finally gathered his will and spoke.


    "What price? And what do you mean by salvation?"


    "Only a little bit of money and I can grant you the solution to all your worldly problems," replied the mysterious man without moving from his spot. He raised his hands as if beckoning them to come closer or to display his authority.


    Diedrik and Calvin walked closer to the altar to be able to see the man better. The rest of the group was hesitant at first, but they chose to follow the two men in the end.


    "Don''t be afraid. Come closer," welcomed the man.


    They approached the altar carefully while observing the man intently. He still didn''t move from his spot. From up close, they could see that the mysterious man was a tall person and he gave off a dangerous aura. Helga was especially affected by the man''s aura. She didn''t dare to look at the man in the eyes.


    "The bravest among you, follow me to this confession chamber," said the mysterious man while pointing at the confessional on the left of the altar. His voice was authoritative and very persuasive.


    After saying that, the man finally moved from his spot and went towards the confessional. The five people were standing there watching as the man entered the chamber through one door. Now, the other person had to enter through the other door. Once the man was out of sight, the pressure they had been feeling was lifted.


    "What should we do?" asked Helga anxiously.


    "We''re already here, so let''s just do as the man said," replied Eduard, and then he paused and looked down. "Besides, if the man decided to kill me in the end, it''s not a bad thing either," his voice was low.


    "I''ll go in first and check. You guys get ready to help me if something goes wrong," said Diedrik.


    The others stayed quiet but nodded slowly. They seemed to be thinking about the situation and if they would even be any help in case of danger.


    Diedrik walked up to the confessional and entered through the opposite door. Once he took a step in, he felt the pressure in his chest again. Inside, he could see something was shining on the other side through the gap in the separator.


    "Tell me all about your problems, and you will get the solution to them," said a mysterious voice from the other side.


    Diedrik stayed quiet and thought about his life. He was at the lowest point yet, so he felt that there was nothing to lose. He would just tell the masked man about the problems in his life. He took a deep, heavy breath and started speaking.


    "My wife and son died in a traffic accident last week. It was a hit and run case," he spoke with a heavy voice, and then sighed.


    "If only I know who did it, I would at least make them happy in the afterlife,"


    He stopped talking after that and his face was full of regret. He spoke of taking revenge but he didn''t seem to have any hint of hatred in his voice. He seemed to be blaming himself more than the person committing a hit and run.


    "Tell me your full name and the time and place of the accident," asked the masked man suddenly, bringing him back to reality.


    "My name is Diedrik Hebert," he paused again. It appeared that he was trying to recall a painful memory. His expression became sorrowful when he spoke again, "It happened on Thursday 5th, on Kerkstraat."


    A short while after saying that, the space behind the separator became brighter, although Diedrik couldn''t see anything else. He could only wait and hope that the masked man could tell him what he wanted to know. He waited for some minutes patiently in the silence of the confessional.


    When the room became dimmer again, the mysterious man spoke, "The one who hit your wife is a man named Bram Wilford. He lives on Tuinstraat North number 43. You can prove this by looking at his motor carriage that has a dent on the front left. Do what you must with this information,"


    Diedrik memorized the information in his brain carefully and then waited for further instruction.


    "Now we are done here. Don''t forget to put some money into the donation box next to the altar. The amount is up to your own judgment," said the mysterious man slowly but with a rather demanding tone.


    Diedrik nodded and got up. He exited the confessional with a mixed feeling. On the one hand, he now knew the killer of his family. On the other hand, he didn''t know if he really wanted revenge. At least a very tiny burden had been lifted off his shoulders now. He approached the donation box by the altar and put some money inside it.


    "What happened inside?" asked Eduard curiously.


    The two men and women were sitting on the chapel seat when Eduard came out. They saw the mixed expression in his face and became disheartened to enter the confessional.


    "The man with the mask can answer all of your questions," replied Diedrik shortly.


    He took a seat and hid his face behind his hands, thinking. He didn''t pay attention to the other people there.


    "I''ll go up next, then," said Yvette, the friendly woman with long curly hair. Her dark brown hair looked even darker in that dim lighting.


    She got up and entered the confessional through the same door that Diedrik had taken. She stepped into the small chamber and felt the pressure from the mysterious man returning.


    "Is it true that you can answer any question?" she said after mustering the strength.


    The mysterious man let a second of silence pass and then spoke with a deep voice, "Yes. Tell me your problem and you will be granted the solution."


    "What is the safest way to kill my father without being caught?" she asked with anger in her tone.


    Silence crept in the room again, enhancing the mysteriousness of the atmosphere.


    "Tell me the full name of your father and his address. And also the crime he had committed to deserve death," said the man monotonously.


    Yvette answered without hesitation, "His name is Bram Wilford. We live on Tuinstraat North number 43. As for his crime..." she paused and then spoke weakly, "He abuses and rapes me on a daily basis,"


    Time seemed to freeze after she said that. She was waiting for an answer from the mysterious man patiently. She was really hoping that she could put an end to her suffering.


    "We can arrange an assassination for your father for a price. You don''t have to pay today. We can also arrange it that you can torture him before he dies if you so wish," said the mysterious man finally. His tone sounded casual although he was talking about a planned murder.


    It didn''t take long for her to make up her mind. She decisively nodded and said, "I''ll go with the torture option. I want to see his face begging for his pathetic life,"


    "Then it has been decided. You might want to talk to the man called Diedrik first. He seems to share your hatred towards your father,"


    Yvette was taken aback. She hadn''t guessed that they were actually connected in that way.


    "After you have made your decisions, come back here tomorrow night at eight. Judgment will be delivered then,"


    Yvette nodded and got up feeling satisfied. She could almost see her future without suffering from the filthy hands of her father.


    "Don''t forget to put some money into the donation box by the altar. The amount is up to your discretion." said the masked man again.


    Yvette left the confessional and approached the small wooden box by the altar. She put in some money there and then went back to the group. Her expression was much brighter than before. Seeing her like that, the rest of the group became convinced and entered the confession chamber one by one with various different problems.


    Helga, the woman with long straight hair, had all her life saving swindled by a fraudster. She was desperately looking for the culprit and her money back. After telling the man her problem, she got a name and an offer to assassinate the culprit, which she refused. She only needed her money back, not to commit a murder.


    Calvin, the one who was friends with Diedrik, was wrongfully accused of embezzling his company''s money. He needed to find the real culprit to clear his name and avoid having to pay a hefty sum to replace the missing amount. After telling the mysterious man, he got the name of the real culprit and the proof, so he just needed to show it to everyone in his company.


    Eduard, the youngest of the group, got a death threat from an unknown person, and it had been weighing heavily on him. He just wanted to know who did it and why, and after telling the man, he got the answer that he was looking for. He just needed to confront the person tomorrow.


    After all five of them finished with their confession, the mysterious man finally came out of the confessional. He walked domineeringly towards the altar and looked at the group of people below.


    "I hope you have found the answers you were looking for," he said meaningfully.


    The five people''s expressions were definitely different from when they first came. And although the atmosphere was still heavy and there was pressure in their chest because of the man, they felt much more at ease now.


    "Thank you for helping us. But if I may ask, who are you?" asked Yvette.


    The mysterious man didn''t reply right away. The silence and gloom descended upon the room once more. Only after some moments had passed, the masked man said with a mysterious voice.


    "You can call me Gemini of the Zodiac Syndicate."


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 85 Zodiac Syndicates First Assassination

    On Sunday night, one day after the group of people first came to the abandoned chapel, Valentine was sitting on the chapel seat with Luuk next to him. Both of them were wearing masks to cover their faces and their clothes were all dark in color to blend better with the night. There was no candle illuminating the dark chapel now, but it wasn''t a problem for them who had night visions. The watch on Valentine''s wrist showed seven fifty; almost time for the appointed time.


    Valentine had asked Luuk to come by only giving little explanation, and they had rushed there at once. There was not really time to talk during the trip, so Luuk was pretty curious about the whole situation. He looked at his partner and spoke with a low voice.


    "What are we exactly doing here?"


    Valentine didn''t explain right away, but rather, looked back at the young medical student.


    "Why do you always just follow along?"


    Luuk seemed to have been personally attacked. He didn''t expect Valentine to be so straightforward.


    "I-it''s because I don''t know anything about this supernatural world. And you seem to know a lot, so it''s not a bad idea to follow you, right? Besides, I always get compensated, so..." he replied defensively.


    "In that case, welcome to Zodiac Syndicate. From now on, call me Gemini, and you will be Capricorn," said Valentine while pointing at his two-faced mask.


    "That''s the name of the organization that you''ve created? What do I get as a member?" Luuk asked.


    Valentine didn''t respond. He didn''t know either because the organization was founded by Graham. He was just following along, and for tonight, he was there to complete the assassination of one of the members'' father.


    "You get my free help of getting the Jeweller contract scroll," said Valentine, coming up with things on the spot.


    Luuk''s expression was shocked with delight under his mask. Valentine''s offer was something he had been wanting to ask, although he wouldn''t mind paying some price. But now, he got it free of charge.


    "Deal!" he said happily.


    "Tonight two of the associates will come here. You will do most of the talking, alright? You should also introduce yourself as Capricorn of the Zodiac Syndicate," explained Valentine inadequately.


    Luuk was about to complain when suddenly, Valentine put his index finger in front of his mask as a gesture to be quiet. His hearing had picked up the sounds of footsteps approaching the abandoned chapel.


    "Are they the associates you mentioned before?" asked Luuk almost whisperingly.


    Valentine nodded.


    Creak...


    Shortly after, the chapel door was opened and two people were standing in front of the abandoned building, so Valentine and Luuk stood up to welcome them. Their eyes glowed yellow and red respectively in the dark and gloomy room, making them look menacing.


    "Welcome!" said Luuk with his usual voice, but he had intentionally sent spirituality to his mask to deactivate its enchantment, so his voice was slightly distorted by it.


    It was Diedrik and Yvette, who had come as predicted. Graham had offered them his assistance to kill Yvette''s father, who happened to be the one who killed Diedrik''s wife and son in an accident. He had given them the chance to think about it and asked them to come back if they agreed. Graham had also done divination, so he was sure that they would come.


    Diedrik and Yvette, greeted by two people with eyes glowing in the dark, felt intimidated, but they had come the night before and were assured that the people meant no harm to them. They also recognized the man with the two-faced mask as Gemini, whom they had met previously, but not the man with the goat mask.


    "I''m Capricorn of the Zodiac Syndicate. Please come in," said Luuk warmly with a distorted voice.


    The two associates entered the chapel cautiously and then sat next to each other in the middle row. Yvette gathered courage and spoke.


    "So you will help me kill my father, right?"


    "If that''s what you wish for, then yes," said Valentine coldly.


    Yvette and Diedrik looked at each other and nodded.


    "Have you prepared the money?" asked Valentine.


    Yvette took a thick brown envelope from her backpack and stood up to come closer to them. When she was close enough, suddenly the brown envelope disappeared from her hand and appeared in Luuk''s hand. He had stolen it from her to display his power.


    Yvette gasped in disbelief while Diedrik couldn''t see clearly what had happened, so he didn''t react. Her confidence in succeeding in the assassination grew in an instant.


    Luuk gave the envelope to Valentine who checked the content. There was a total of thirty guilders inside, which was a price that he deemed worth the risk. They were going to kill a normal human, after all, not a Contractbound who would turn into ashes once dead. A normal human would leave a corpse that they have to deal with, and there would be no loot as compensation.


    Once he received the money, Valentine turned to Yvette who was now already sitting next to Diedrik again and spoke.


    "You two need to go to a caf¨¦ called Ranch on Raadhuislan and make sure you sit separately. If you can, have the waiters take note of your identity cards so you can use it as an alibi later. When you hear a loud noise, you can come out and see the last face that your father will be making," explained Valentine slowly so they wouldn''t miss any point.


    "If you have no question, then you can go now, while we will also start our preparation here," added Luuk.


    He didn''t actually know the plan, so he would have Valentine brief him after the two associates left.


    Yvette and Diedrik got up and left the abandoned chapel in anticipation. Although they wouldn''t be the one taking away the life of a person directly, they were the ones who enabled it, so they didn''t know what to feel.


    Once the two of them had left, Luuk turned to Valentine and asked, "I take it we have to kill someone tonight? What''s the plan?"


    Valentine told Luuk the whole assassination plan to make it look like an accident. Graham had divined everything they needed to know about the target and the mission tonight, so Valentine was pretty confident in his plan.


    "That''s simple enough," said Luuk after Valentine had finished explaining.


    The two of them took off their zodiac masks and switched to regular surgery masks and left the chapel swiftly. They were going to walk all the way to Raadhuislan to prevent leaving traces with the public motor carriage. It would normally take someone more than one hour to walk from Dorpstraat there, but with their speed, they could do it faster.


    Valentine and Luuk didn''t talk during the whole trip. They were only focusing on getting to their destination as soon as possible because they had to be precise with timing. The moon that shone brightly in the sky above illuminated their path and the gentle breeze cooled down their bodies.


    It took them a little over fifty minutes to reach their destination by walking fast and occasionally semi running. It was almost nine-thirty when they arrived, but the street was still rather busy with people walking and flocking the establishments. There were only a few motor carriages, however, so most of them had enough room on the road to drive fast. It was the perfect condition for Valentine''s plan.


    Once they were on Raadhuislaan, Valentine went to a quiet spot near where he would initiate his plan and slit his palm, while Luuk was standing behind him as a cover. He let the blood pool there for a while and after it was enough, he started chanting quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    The blood on his hand let out a mysterious yellowish mist that quickly spread thinly to the surrounding area before disappearing.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the blood on to the soil below, under a tree, and as it made contact with the ground, for a split second, the people around felt like they had forgotten something. His anti-divination was in place, so now he could get things in motion.


    He looked at Luuk and gestured at him to follow. They went to a secluded alley near the street and Valentine sat down with his back leaning against the wall. Luuk, who had seen him do that several times now, was not clueless. He kept watch of the surroundings to keep it secure.


    Valentine closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. Not long after, he had fallen asleep and Graham opened his eyes. He got up from his position and cleaned the dust off his coat.


    "Are you ready?" he asked Luuk.


    "Yes. But why do you always do that sleeping thing randomly?" replied Luuk with a curious question.


    "I''ll tell you the detail some other time maybe," said Graham casually.


    They walked back to the street and avoided the street lights. Their target should be around soon, so they got into position. Graham stood near the crosswalk pretending to wait for the traffic to stop while Luuk was standing near the next curve in the road.


    Soon after, they saw a dark brown motor carriage driving closer to them fast. It was the motor carriage that their target, Bram Wilford, or Yvette''s father, was driving. Graham had found out through divination that he had a habit of speeding; that was why he chose this plan because it would be the most natural.


    Graham stood very close to the road and when the brown motor carriage was within range, he quickly chanted under his breath.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order this dark brown motor carriage to accelerate rapidly!"


    Just as he finished saying that, the motor carriage that Bram Wilford was driving suddenly sped up and reached a dangerous speed. People on the street were startled and moved far away from the road in fear of being hit. The driver seemed to panic because he didn''t know what had happened. Bram Wilford''s face looked pale as he was steering to avoid hitting other motor carriages on the road. He tried to floor the brake but the motor carriage was still getting faster.


    Near the road curve, Luuk saw the brown motor carriage rapidly approaching and got into position. Even when driving that fast, if the driver could control the carriage to turn left safely, he would be able to get out unscathed, so Luuk''s job was to make sure he wouldn''t be able to. Graham couldn''t use Order to do it because it would mean the motor carriage had to harm itself and thus making the Order ineffective.


    Luuk stood near the road hiding behind a lamp post. When he was close enough to the target, he quickly chanted quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare brown motor carriage''s front left tire mine!"


    He swiftly made a swiping motion with his right hand, but before the object fully materialized in his hand, he quickly retracted his right hand and moved away from the spot. The thing he was trying to steal was still spinning at a high speed, so if it touched him, he would be seriously injured. Suddenly, as he had expected, the tire appeared out of thin air and quickly bounced and rolled away to a distance at a high speed.


    Crash!!


    There was a loud noise suddenly. It was Bram Wilford, who had failed to make the turn, crashing into the lamp post on the side of the road, knocking it down in the process. The motor carriage that he was driving was almost split in two and the area around the driver''s seat was completely destroyed. He was sitting on the driver''s seat with the steering wheel pressed hard against his body and blood all over his head. His body was all mangled because of the impact and the hard steel parts crushing him. After some moments of agonizing pain, he drew his last breath and died on the spot soon after.


    A lot of people had gathered near the site of the accident, including Yvette and Diedrik, who saw Bram Wilford''s face when he died. Yvette felt a deep sense of delight while Diedrik felt nothing at all. Their cases were different, after all. Yvette wanted her father to die so that she could escape from the torture once and for all while Diedrik was blaming himself for his family''s death.


    Graham and Luuk had long escaped on their own from the area without even checking the results of their plan. Graham had divined the outcome of tonight''s mission and got a positive result, so he wasn''t worried unless someone more powerful than him decided to interfere. He met up with Luuk far from the scene.


    "How was it?" asked Graham.


    Luuk, who was closer to the accident scene, could still see the crash although he couldn''t check the driver''s condition.


    "I''m pretty sure he died. The crash was really bad," he replied with a heavy tone.


    Graham, who sensed Luuk''s uneasiness, told him the reason why they assassinated Bram Wilford that night.


    "Still, it left a bitter taste in my mouth," replied Luuk.


    It was his first time directly causing the death of someone, and that someone was not a Contractbound whose body would turn into ashes. It was a person who left a dead body. Luuk was sure he would get nightmares about the incident.


    "You''ll get used to it. You will have to if you want to survive in this kind of world," said Graham with a cold tone. What he said was just the harsh reality.


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 86 Getting Attacked

    Graham and Luuk were on their way home and the street around them was very quiet. There were currently on Tuinstraat North and it was already past ten and most people had gone home. The only ones left in the street were rushing to get to the comfort and warmth of their houses, away from the cold night outside.


    There were walking quickly with Luuk at the front past rows of houses and trees. The street lights illuminated their paths ahead, and coupled with the bright moonlight and the lights from the houses, it made the street bright enough for Luuk not to activate his night vision.


    "Help!!! Somebody please!!"


    Suddenly there was a distress call from a distance, about two hundred meters ahead of them. It was the voice of a man, and judging by the desperation in the tone, the situation was quite dangerous. Graham and Luuk hurried to the source of the voice, but since Luuk was much faster, he arrived ahead of Graham.


    "Aarghh!!"


    Luuk stayed at a safe distance from the source of the voice but in a position where he could clearly observe what was happening. In front of him, there was a man being mauled by a black and skinny humanoid creature with an elongated jaw. Near the man, there was the body of a woman lying motionlessly on the pavement. Her left half had been torn badly and there was blood everywhere.


    "It hurts! Get away from me!! Aaargh!!!"


    He didn''t dare to do anything because he didn''t know what the creature was. He could only wait for Graham and saw the man being killed right in front of him. He desperately wanted to help but his survival is still the most important; he couldn''t play hero right now.


    The man died quickly after and the creature started eating his dead body, munching loudly with its sharp teeth. Graham arrived not long after and quickly regrouped with Luuk, who was hiding behind a parked motor carriage.


    "What the hell is that?" asked Luuk whisperingly.


    The creature was eating under the street light, so Graham had enough lighting to see its full appearance. He knew what it was right away.


    "That''s a ghoul. It''s a good thing you didn''t charge ahead," he whispered to Luuk.


    Graham took the revolver out of the holster that he concealed under his coat. He had also brought all the bullets that he had in case of something like this. He didn''t bring the Barong talismans, however, because according to Cadhla, they were only effective against Leyak or creatures of the same origin.


    Graham gestured at Luuk and they both approached the ghoul cautiously. Their plan was to take control of the ghoul and shoot it with the blood bullet, which should be effective because, according to the ancient book, it had a weakness against blood attacks.


    Luuk went ahead of Graham to act as a decoy. Just as he stepped closer to the creature, it raised its head and looked straight at Luuk with bloodshot eyes.


    "Growl!!"


    The ghoul let out an intimidating cry and charged at Luuk with frightening speed.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop moving!"


    The ghoul stopped in its track while its eyes were still staring ravenously at Luuk. Had Graham been a millisecond slower, the creature would have been chewing on Luuk right now. He needed to act quickly because the ghoul could start moving at any moment.


    Bang!


    Graham shot the ghoul right in the head and sent it flying back with the impact. The blood bullet was lodged in its head and numerous veins quickly came gushing out of it, enveloping the ghoul. Shortly after, blood burst out of the vein and engulfed the ghoul''s whole body with a loud sizzle. Thin lines of smoke could be seen rising from its skin.


    "Growl!!"


    The ghoul was not dead yet. It became enraged and quickly stood back up.


    "One bullet is not enough. Crap!" Graham cursed under his breath.


    Graham looked at Luuk and the latter nodded. He understood that Graham wanted to use the same tactic that they used the last time when they were fighting against the rat-snake creature which turned out to be called Colocolo according to the ancient book. In terms of strength, a ghoul should be weaker than a Colocolo, and they had something it was weak against, so they had a chance of winning.


    Just as the ghoul was charging at Graham, Luuk quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack Graham Hymes mine!"


    The ghoul stopped for a second as if it forgot what it was doing. Luuk quickly dashed towards it and stabbed it with his knife that he was holding in his left hand while his right hand clenched tightly in a fist.


    His knife only managed to lightly injure the ghoul''s abdomen and he quickly pulled it out and retreated. The wound that he created secreted blood that quickly covered it and the wound rapidly healed. Without Jacco''s War Drum, his attack power was not as strong. The ghoul looked at Luuk and opened its mouth to attack him.


    "Growl!!"


    Suddenly, the ghoul felt a strong intention to attack Graham instead just as he was centimeters in front of Luuk, so he changed the target and darted with a terrifying speed at Graham, who was standing farther behind from Luuk''s position.


    Bang!


    Graham quickly pulled the trigger and hit the ghoul again, sending it flying back several meters. Had Luuk not attracted its attention before, Graham wouldn''t have been able to shoot it in time because it was much faster than before. The same thing happened again where the blood engulfed the creature and made a loud sizzle, but it was still not enough to kill it.


    "Growl!!!"


    The ghoul raised both of its hands and a dark haze came out of its body, quickly spreading to the surrounding area. Graham and Luuk felt a sense of foreboding from the aura, so tried to get away from it quickly, but they weren''t fast enough. The haze had spread far and wide.


    Suddenly, Graham felt that his throat was very itchy and his nose became full of mucus.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    He started coughing violently.


    "This haze makes you sick!" he shouted, but it was too late. Luuk had already started sneezing.


    Chomp!


    The common illness that had affected them made it harder to focus, so neither Graham nor Luuk had the chance to control the ghoul. It had successfully injured Graham''s left shoulder with its sharp teeth, creating a deep wound on it. His coat was torn and blood dripped from the wound.


    "Crap!" he cursed, and then started chanting, while Luuk distracted the ghoul with his knife.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order my wound to heal quickly!"


    His voice was carried by the night breeze and the wound on his left shoulder healed rapidly. He had expended a lot of stamina to force heal his wound, so he felt a little weaker now, especially because Jacco''s War Drum wasn''t available, so his stamina got no boost.


    The ghoul seized its chance and tried to attack Graham again, but this time Luuk had enough time to steal its attacking intention.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack Graham Hymes mine!"


    He kept his right hand in a fist while watching the ghoul stopped in confusion. He really wanted to sneeze but he held it back as best as he could.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Graham kept coughing violently, which made it difficult for him to aim. The ghoul had now developed a new intention of attacking and quickly ran towards his direction with its hooves.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop moving!"


    Graham made it in time. The ghoul was standing only several centimeters in front of him and stopped moving involuntarily. However, he knew that his Order would only last a couple of seconds against this strong enemy, so he quickly aimed and shot it in the head.


    Bang!


    The bullet made yet another hole in its head and sent it flying back. It was lying on the ground and blood veins quickly entangled the ghoul''s body. From the blood veins, dark red blood burst out and covered the ghoul and slowly melted it. This time, the ghoul didn''t come back standing up but slowly melted into a pool of blood. It was totally dead.


    Pant... pant...


    Graham was out of breath. He rested for a while watching the haze getting thinner before completely disappearing with the ghoul''s death. On the spot where the ghoul''s body had been, there was now a peculiar round object that looked like flesh compressed into a sphere.


    He noticed the visible bloodstain on his coat, so he had to remove it to avoid attracting unwanted attention.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the blood on my coat to go away!"


    With that, the blood that had coagulated and stuck to his coat became liquid again and dripped to the ground, but he quickly put a cloth in the way to prevent that much blood from splattering all over the pavement; it would arouse suspicion if there was that much blood rather far from where the bodies were. After that, he gestured at Luuk to pick up the object while he quickly sat on the ground with his back leaning against a tree. He quickly ordered himself to sleep.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order myself to fall asleep!"


    With his chanting done, he suddenly felt very sleepy and fell asleep only within seconds. Not long after, Valentine woke up and stood up. He took out his knife and made a little incision on his palm to collect a little bit of blood.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    The blood in his hand emitted a mysterious yellowish mist just as he finished saying the first part of the chant.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the blood to the soil under the tree close to where the man and woman had died. His anti-divination was in place now, so anything related to his and his ally''s activities there shouldn''t be divinable.


    Luuk, who had picked up the compressed flesh that felt soft and wet to touch, approached Valentine and handed the object to him. He knew he would get his share, so he wasn''t worried. Valentine received the round object the size of his palm and stuffed it inside his pocket.


    Suddenly, the two of them felt a heavy sense of danger, similar to the one they felt from the mysterious man after they had killed a Tiyanak. It was a very suffocating feeling and they knew they wouldn''t be able to survive if they stayed around longer, so they quickly ran away from the place.


    They didn''t run towards their home because if the source of danger gave chase, they would know where Valentine and Luuk lived, and it would be very dangerous for them, so they went west, towards the busier street where there should still be a lot of people at that hour.


    "Who dared killed my master''s creation?!"


    There was a faint angry shout coming from behind them, but because they were both fast, they had managed to make some distance between them and the scene. It should give them a headstart in case the dangerous person somehow knew where they were going.


    They were heading towards Grotemarkstraat where it should still be busy at that hour. The dangerous person shouldn''t be able to act freely with a lot of people as a witness. They avoided Raadhuislaan although it was closer and should also be busy because that was where the accident happened. The Police would be there and with their current appearance, they would be suspected of being criminals by the Police.


    "They''re chasing us!" said Luuk to Valentine who was running next to him.


    They both suddenly felt the same dangerous pressure approaching them rapidly from behind. They didn''t dare look back; they could only focus on running up ahead to safety. Grotemarkstraat was already within their sight, and there were more and more people in the street.


    The dangerous presence kept getting closer and closer and then it suddenly disappeared. It seemed that they had realized that there were too many people around. Valentine and Luuk managed to escape from yet another unknown danger.


    Pant... pant...


    They both felt tired after running for their lives, but they couldn''t stop and rest. They might not be completely safe yet, so they kept on walking.


    "Who do you think it was?" asked Luuk after regulating his breathing.


    "I don''t know, but I don''t think it''s the same as the recent serial murder case," replied Valentine, "Their MOs are too different."


    Valentine then remembered another ghoul that he had encountered and ran away from. According to Rafferty, the ghoul might be a summoned creature, and coupled with the angry shout just now, the facts now lined up.


    "I think there is someone or even an organization that summons ghouls to kill people," said Valentine.


    It was Luuk''s first time encountering a ghoul, so he didn''t know how his partner could come to that conclusion, but he trusted Valentine''s words nonetheless.


    "Should we report it to the Police?" suggested Luuk.


    "We should. This is beyond our capabilities," said Valentine gravely, "We should trust in our law enforcement to deal with this,"


    And then he stayed quiet for a while. They continued walking west and stayed with the crowd of people.


    "Meanwhile, we need to get stronger so we can deal with something like this in the future," Valentine finally added.


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 87 Another Threa

    "Paars, it''s nice to see you here. I guess there is no one on graveyard duty tonight?" asked a man wearing a blue coat with a Police logo on it while offering his hand. He was short and had a friendly face.


    "Groen, it feels weird to see you outside the station," said Paars while shaking Groen''s hand, and then he added, "Wit and Rose are there doing the graveyard duty tonight. They should be enough to stop any stupid thieves,"


    Groen then looked at the two mangled bodies on the ground and shook his head. It must have been a massacre.


    "We''re sure busy tonight," he said tiredly.


    "So Rood and Oranje are dealing with the traffic accident case?" asked Paars curiously.


    "Yes. For two things like this to happen on the same night. At least the crash was probably a pure accident. But we cannot be sure, that''s why Oranje is over there," replied Groen.


    Paars observed the bodies lying motionlessly on the ground carefully. It was a man and a woman, and both were not complete. The woman''s left half showed signs of being chewed on by something with sharp teeth and there was a deep claw wound on her chest. The man''s body cut into several pieces with blood all over the pieces.


    "Didn''t your group encounter a ghoul recently?" asked Paars meaningfully.


    Groen also saw the teeth mark and knew why Paars asked the question.


    "Yes. You also think it''s the work of a ghoul?" replied Groen.


    "It''s highly possible, and I don''t think the ghoul naturally appeared here. There must be a summoner, otherwise, it would have been much stronger and your group would have been in bigger trouble," said Paars analytically.


    "You know more about supernatural creatures than me, so I''ll trust your judgment. My expertise is controlling people," said Groen casually.


    Paars crouched to see the blood splatters on the ground more closely and went into deep thought. There was bloodstain a distance from the dead bodies that didn''t seem to belong to the victims. After a moment, he spoke.


    "Someone took care of the ghoul, but he was injured in the process. He managed to kill the ghoul before running fleeing the scene. If the ghoul had won, there wouldn''t have been any bodies left here," analyzed Paars.


    "Can you use divination to find out who it was?" asked Groen.


    "I''ll try. Give me a minute," replied Paars shortly.


    He reached into the briefcase that he was carrying and took out a medium-sized round mirror. The clean mirror reflected his image, showing a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. His youthful face sometimes made people misjudge his capabilities.


    Paars slit his palm and smeared blood all over the mirror, making sure there was no gap left. With the blood on the mirror, he then concentrated and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Who killed the ghoul here earlier tonight?''


    The blood on the surface of the mirror slowly got absorbed into it and tried to form an image of what had happened. However, instead of an image, the blood turned into a red mist and evaporated.


    "Didn''t Rood say that he was also chasing after a Shroud?" he turned to Groen and asked.


    Groen, who saw the failed attempt at divination, understood what happened.


    "Yes. It means it''s the same Shroud again that dealt with the ghoul..." concluded Groen, "unless there are several Shrouds hanging around here in Sloten,"


    Paars shook his head and said, "The latter is very unlikely. I''m more inclined towards the first option."


    "Can''t we do a blood test? The Shroud left some of his blood here. Or can we find the medium they used and get rid of it?" asked Groen.


    "Blood tests are useless against Contractbounds. Their blood is not the same as that of a normal human. As for the medium, unless you''re the Shroud or their allies, you will not be able to see it," explained Paars.


    Following the lead through that angle seemed fruitless, so Groen gave up and approached the cut-up body of the man.


    "I don''t think the ghoul did this or the Shroud. What do you think?" asked Groen.


    "I''m sure you are right. Ghouls don''t have the ability to make such clean cuts. Their sharp claws will leave a distinctive mark if used that way, while their teeth will just tear the flesh apart. But why do you think it wasn''t the Shroud?" asked Paars curiously.


    "This cut looks like it was made in anger, and unless the Shroud was really powerful that he could control the ghoul easily, he wouldn''t have had the time to do it. And besides, we knew that he was wounded, so that scenario can be dismissed," said Groen analytically.


    Paars looked at the man''s body again and could see why Groen would think that way. He was cut into several pieces, something that only a maniac or an extremely angry person would do. Or both.


    "So what do you think happened?" asked Paars as he turned to Groen.


    "I think it is as you said, the ghoul appeared and attacked these two victims, and then the Shroud appeared and took care of it, but was injured in the process. He fleed the scene right away because he sensed something dangerous: the mastermind. They must have been angry that their summoned creature got killed," explained Groen. "But that''s just my guesswork. We can''t know for sure unless we find evidence,"


    Paars was amazed by his partner''s analytic ability.


    "I think your theory is the most likely to be the case," he then paused and looked at the chopped up man''s body again and added, "Since the mastermind is not related to the Shroud, I think I might be able to use divination on them,"


    Groen nodded in agreement and then Paars slit his palm again and smeared some blood all over the round mirror that he was still holding. Once the surface of the mirror was covered, he concentrated and repeated a question in his mind after wording carefully the question he wanted to ask.


    "Who chopped this man''s body into pieces?"


    His blood got absorbed by the mirror and it formed a clear image that was just like a mirror reflection, unlike Oranje''s crystal ball divination which formed blood images. In the mirror, the scene of the event was recreated and there was a figure wearing a plain black robe with a hood that covered all of the figure''s face. The figure swung something that looked like a whip in anger and chopped up the man''s body with clean cuts, and after venting their anger, the figure went away from the scene. After that, the image turned red like the color of blood and evaporated, returning the mirror to its original state.


    "That''s the power of an Unseen Astrologer? That divination is more powerful than Oranje''s," complimented Groen after the process was done.


    "Thanks. What do you think about what it showed us?" asked Paars.


    "The mastermind is a very careful person as we can see from how he or she hid the face. He or she is also easily provoked, I''m sure," said Groen, giving his opinion.


    "That thing that the mastermind was holding, I''m positive it is enchanted equipment-- or an enchanted weapon, to be precise. We are dealing with an organization, most likely, because summoning a ghoul isn''t cheap, and an enchanted weapon on top of that," added Paars.


    Hearing his partner''s explanation, Groen got into thinking.


    "Can you divine which organization the mastermind belongs to?" he asked Paars.


    Paars shook his head and then said with regret, "I don''t think so. I don''t have enough information to go with it,"


    "In that case, we need to check our registry of any organization in history that has something to do with supernatural creature summoning," said Groen decisively.


    Paars nodded in agreement and then asked, "So what should we do about our Shroud friend?"


    Groen looked at his partner in the eyes and smiled meaningfully, "We should let them be for now. After all, they have been helping us so far, no?"


    ...


    Valentine arrived home pretty late that night. He had to take a detour far enough so that in case the dangerous person was still following them, they had a lot of chance to shake them off or mislead them. It was already one after midnight, but Valentine wouldn''t be able to rest well without knowing what had threatened his and Luuk''s lives.


    "G, let''s switch and you do divination now," he said demandingly and then lied in the bed with his eyes closed.


    Not long after that, Valentine fell asleep and Graham woke up. He quickly got up to a sitting position and took out his lighter from the left front pocket of his pants.


    He lit the lighter and focused on the gently burning flame in front of him while repeating a question in his mind.


    ''Who is the person that created such a dangerous presence before?''


    He had no confidence that he would get an answer to that question because the person must be much stronger than him, but he had to check anyway. The flame in his hand started to burn brighter, but after waiting for several seconds, no image appeared within. His divination had failed, as he had predicted.


    He had found out that he had to be creative with divination questions to bypass certain limitations, so he modified his question and concentrated on the flame.


    "What happened in the scene where the man and woman were killed after Valentine and Luuk left?"


    The flame in front of him burned brighter and slowly, an image appeared little by little. It was a cloaked figure with a hood that completely covered the face swinging around a whip-like object and cutting the man''s body into pieces. After that, the figure dashed away from the scene and the image disappeared there.


    "So that''s the person who was chasing us. He or she is not the summoner, but at least part of the same organization," he said analytically.


    Since he couldn''t divine directly anything about the cloaked person, he had to go the roundabout way and asked another question to get the information he needed. He stared at the flame intently again and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Which organizations in history have anything to do with summoned supernatural creatures?''


    The flame in his hand formed an image within it that gradually became clearer. It was a page of an official-looking book that he had seen before. There were blurry paragraphs, which Graham assumed to be unrelated information, so he focused on the paragraph that he could read.


    ''Pale Society is a branch of ----- that worships the Deity of ----- --- ------. They were active fifty years ago and then suddenly vanished from the stage. They are infamous for their summonings of supernatural creatures because their members mostly consist of ---------. Although they mostly do things from behind the scene, their most renowned act of terrorism was when they swarmed Tilburg with a horde of ghouls, which caused significant damage to the city.''


    Once he finished reading the whole paragraph, the image disappeared, returning the flame to its initial state.


    "Val, if this is the same organization, why does the organization that disappeared from Tilburg suddenly appear here in Sloten?"


    Graham was curious about the divination result, so he prepared another question.


    ''What effect will the Pale Society bring to Sloten?''


    The flame suddenly burned very brightly and the surrounding area became dark. From the flame, an image slowly formed. It showed Sloten that was overrun with ghouls and wraiths. There were mangled bodies everywhere and blood was covering the ground. There were people in blue coats fighting the creatures back, but they were outnumbered. After that, the image disappeared abruptly.


    "It seems I cannot see the full version of the divination as of now. We need to get stronger to see what will happen entirely and at the same time, try to stop it from happening," he decided with conviction.


    "Running away is easy, Val, but once Sloten is down, other cities will follow. It''s better to prevent it before they become a big problem."


    Graham put out the fire and stuffed the lighter back inside his pocket. He then lied down in bed and started going through the things that he needed to do in the near future while looking at the ceiling above him.


    "We''re still waiting for the message from your Deity. When do you think it will come, Val?"


    "For me, with the establishment of Zodiac Syndicate, I can use the associates to do my bidding while slowly gaining money and more members. Right now there are only Luuk and us. We can use this organization for information gathering through the associates. Maybe we can also consider making them Contractbounds."


    "Once the Deity of the Tongue is pleased, I can quickly form a contract with a President rank Deity. That should increase our chance of fighting against Pale Society."


    "You also need to be stronger soon because right now, you''re the strongest offensive force we have. And your anti-divination is crucial in covering our tracks,"


    "Tomorrow-- I mean today, let''s help Luuk get his Jeweller contract. He is also crucial in our team. We also need to monitor Jacco''s progress. It''s more difficult to communicate with him because he lives far from here, and he is not often home so we can''t call him on the landline,"


    "For now, let us sleep, Val. Today will be a busy day,"


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 88 A Swift Assassination

    Graham had just gone out to the street stall to buy a newspaper for today. He bought De Telegraaf, as usual, and was now on the way to Don''s Pancake House to get his breakfast. He had also asked Luuk to meet him there because he had just woken up when Graham visited. His plan today was to help Luuk to get the contract scroll for a Jeweller.


    He entered the small homey diner with the newspaper held under his armpit. His brown trench coat was concealing his revolver that was securely placed in the holster. Valentine had placed Concealment on it on top of the anti-divination, so its presence shouldn''t be detected as long as he was in the area of effect.


    "Morning, Graham!" greeted Mirjam warmly as he walked into the diner.


    "Morning, Mirjam. Happy as usual, eh?" he replied.


    Mirjam kept smiling warmly at her customer, and it looked really genuine; not the fake corporate smile people in service usually had.


    "Is Luuk not with you today? You''re usually together nowadays,"


    "No, but he''ll come over later. He just woke up," replied Graham casually.


    "I see. I''m jealous of you two. I wish I had someone who is close to me like Luuk is close to you," said Mirjam which Graham was not sure if serious or just joking.


    "Our relationship is strictly business only, so we''re not that close," replied Graham matter-of-factly.


    "But still. I''m too busy working that all my friends left me," she shrugged, "I''m still waiting for the man you said would come to my life. I hope he is a rich man so I don''t have to work anymore and can have time to socialize," she said wistfully.


    "At least you have the customers here. They all love you," said Graham.


    "True. Who wouldn''t?" said Mirjam jokingly.


    "Are you going to take my order or not?" said Graham, changing the topic.


    Mirjam''s proud smile disappeared and turned into a frown.


    "You''re no fun. What are you getting today?" she said sulkily.


    "Give me the usual, thank you very much," Graham smiled wide to cheer up Mirjam.


    Mirjam wrote down his usual order quickly and then left his table to relay the order to the chef. Left alone, Graham picked up the newspaper to read about what happened last night. He was curious about what the press would say about both the accident that he incited and the ghoul attack.


    ''A deadly accident claimed one victim. A traffic accident happened on Sunday, 15 September 1968 EH on Raadhuislaan. The private motor carriage, driven by the victim, Bram Wilford, lost control and hit a light pole, killing the driver instantly. There was no collateral damage and the Police are still investigating the cause of the accident. Witnesses said that Mr. Wilford suddenly sped and lost control near the curve. One of the tires of the motor carriage that he was driving was found several meters from the crash. It was believed that the loose tire was the cause of the loss of control, but the Police haven''t stated the possibility of a foul play yet.''


    "So that''s reassuring since it means they cannot get a definite proof about our involvement," said Graham with interest.


    ''Brutal murder took the lives of two people. A brutal murder happened on Sunday, 15 September 1968 EH on Tuinstraat North late at night. The bodies of a man and a woman were found by a local resident who directly called the Police. The conditions of the bodies were different from the recent serial murder case, which led the Police to believe it was done by a different perpetrator. The Police haven''t decided on a suspect yet, since they said a more thorough investigation will need to be conducted. The bodies are now in the Police morgue awaiting identification.''


    "Hmm... that''s what they come up with. I''m sure they already know a ghoul did it, and probably even the person behind it,"


    Graham had always held the Police in high regard, especially since becoming a Contractbound. He realized that before becoming one, he had never encountered any supernatural incidents, which was most likely thanks to the Police. Although now he had to be wary of them as well because of what Pain said they would do to stray Contractbounds.


    ''Federal Republic to take a drastic measure if still met with silence. The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Krefeld said on Sunday morning that they would take a drastic measure if the Unions of Labinsk Socialist Republics remains silent over the shooting down of their passenger flight. It had been more than two weeks since the incident happened, yet the officials of the Unions still didn''t want to say anything on the topic.''


    Graham paused after reading the paragraph and took a deep breath before sighing.


    "I hope there won''t be another war. Why do you think they even shot down a passenger flight, Val? Now I don''t feel safe to travel abroad," he complained and then added, "Maybe I can try to divine the reason for the shooting down, although I''m not sure it will work since it happened too far away from here,"


    He put off the divination attempt for now and continued reading the newspaper in his hands.


    ''Unknown disease emerged in Long Empire. On Saturday, a hospital in the empire received tens of patients with a disease that has yet to be identified. The patients said they started getting sick after eating traditional food containing raw meat, but experts still cannot identify which meat was the cause because the dish contains various different kinds of meat. The patients show symptoms like coughing, sneezing, high fever, and mild to severe breathing impediments, and right now are quarantined in a separate zone in the hospital for fear of contagion.''


    Graham put down the newspaper and got slightly depressed. All of the news that he had read was bad. He didn''t realize that Mirjam at some point had delivered him the food he ordered because he was too engrossed in reading the news. She must have decided not to bother him because he looked very serious.


    "So a threat of war and the possibility of a new global pandemic? I''m highly positive that Contractbounds are behind them. If we can, let''s find an ally with abilities related to medicines," he said while bringing a spoonful of a pancake to his mouth.


    Not long after he started eating, Luuk came and quickly sat at Graham''s table, and called for Mirjam to order his own food.


    "Hey, Luuk. You''re finally here," greeted Mirjam warmly.


    "Yeah. Can I get bacon pancakes please and an espresso," requested Luuk.


    "Anything else?" asked Mirjam still smiling.


    "No, that''s all, thanks," replied Luuk also with a smile. It was hard to resist smiling when looking at Mirjam''s friendly smile.


    She left the table to process his order and Luuk quickly looked at the newspaper on the table and then turned to Graham.


    "What does it say?"


    "Read it yourself," replied Graham shortly.


    "I''ve read too many books and now can''t read anymore. Just tell me the main points," said Luuk insistingly.


    "The main point is, you need to read it yourself," responded Graham, still not budging.


    Luuk gave up and picked up the newspaper lying on the table. He held it with both hands and started reading the news one by one quickly. His expression got worse with every piece of news that he was reading and put down the newspaper right away once he was done.


    "This world is getting more dangerous," said Luuk with a heavy tone.


    Graham looked at him in the eyes and put on a serious expression.


    "But wait, there''s more. Remember the ghoul from last night? There will be more of them and this city will be overrun by them unless we do something," he said with a serious tone that matched his expression.


    "For real??!" he exclaimed in disbelief and attracted the attention of nearby customers. He then lowered his voice and asked, "Does it have to be us?"


    "Well, of course not. We''re not some kind of heroes. We just need to prepare so we can help prevent it from happening. I''ll somehow let the Police know about this," replied Graham casually and then added, "That is also why I''m helping you get your second contract scroll. We need to get stronger as soon as possible,"


    "What about Jacco? Should we help him get stronger too?" asked Luuk. His voice was still anxious from hearing the shocking news. He knew Graham wouldn''t lie about it and if they failed to prevent it, the city they knew of would be gone.


    "I will also help him, but not for free. I still need money. But contacting him is very inconvenient," said Graham.


    He continued eating and said again, "Anyhow, let''s quickly finish our breakfast and get going,"


    Luuk waited not long for his food to come and he quickly finished it while discussing the plan for the assassination with Graham. Luuk had chosen the suspicious-looking man as his target because it would be the easiest for him to tell his conscience that he was only doing what he had to do. Graham finished his food before Luuk, so he did divination about the target while the other was eating and watching.


    "It seems that our target is in the outskirt of the city," said Graham.


    "Is he foraging?" asked Luuk.


    "Probably. Let''s go,"


    Graham and Luuk got up, and after paying, the left the diner to stop a public motor carriage. Luuk''s target was currently on the outside of the Sloten ring, in the periphery of the forest just outside the city. Unlike the dangerous Oostelijk Bos, this one was relatively safe and people often went there to gather mushrooms or hunt rabbits, with a permit.


    The two of them got into a public motor carriage and went towards the direction of Oosteinde, where they then went to the eastern Sloten ring and stopped there. After paying the driver, Graham looked around to find any sign of the target.


    The eastern Sloten ring was rather busy at that hour, with a lot of motor carriages driving by. The forest on the outer side of the ring road looked peaceful, but he couldn''t see any animals. If they wanted to find their target, they probably had to go deeper. Graham took out his lighter and started concentrating.


    ''Where is the location of the Jeweller near here?''


    After he asked the question, an image appeared in the flame which showed an aerial view of his surroundings. There was a red dot coming from the forest which indicated the target. The red dot was moving slowly deeper into it. After that, the image disappeared and Graham put out the fire.


    "Let''s go," said Graham.


    With the location of their target known, they started moving right away. Graham and Luuk crossed the street below on the pedestrian overpass and quickly entered the forest once they were on the other side. They walked swiftly but cautiously in order not to alert their target.


    There was no one else in the forest at that moment besides the two of them and the target. They couldn''t see a lot of animals either besides the occasional squirrels. There were still birds chirping, but their sounds came from a distance. It reminded Graham of his encounter with Leyaks, where the surrounding area was dead, except, this time was not as bad.


    It didn''t take long for them to see their target strolling casually into the forest while looking around his feet for something. Since the target was a Jeweller, Graham and Luuk came to the conclusion that he was currently gathering herbs. The man was still far ahead of them and didn''t seem to have noticed the two stalkers. He kept both of his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie and kept on exploring.


    Graham gestured at Luuk and both of them quickly dashed towards the unsuspecting man. Luuk, the faster of the two, got to close to the man first. The man noticed the two''s presence and quickly turned around and took out a hunting knife from under his hoodie. The knife had a small red gemstone embedded and emitted a strange aura. Before the man could attack him, Luuk quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack me mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and the man stopped in his track in confusion. He seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to do. Before he had the chance to realize what was going on, Graham, who was now in range, put control over him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stay still!"


    Graham''s voice pierced the wind and sounded ethereal to the man''s ears. Once the Order was issued, the man was now unable to move even though he tried very hard to lift his foot. Every part of his body seemed to have frozen in place. Luuk let go of the stolen intention in his hand and the man appeared to suddenly have the strong urge to attack him, but he still couldn''t move.


    Graham looked at Luuk and said seriously, "Do it as planned,"


    "I''m sorry," Luuk whispered.


    Luuk went closer to the man and took out his own knife. He gathered the courage and stabbed the frozen man in the heart without daring to look at him. He didn''t want to see the man''s expression when the life was snuffed out from him, especially since it was he who caused it. He held the knife with both hands and it sank deep into the man''s chest, piercing his heart. Before the man''s blood had any chance of splashing into Luuk, he had moved away very quickly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare all of the man''s valuable items mine!"


    As the man was dying, five objects in his possession disappeared and appeared in Luuk''s right hand. After that, the man quickly burst into flames and turned into ashes with his death. On the ground below, a brown contract scroll was left lying down and from the ashes, a small round object began to form. It looked like a gemstone of the color of blood. The assassination had been completed quickly without any difficulty.


    Luuk gave the man''s belongings to Graham and picked up the contract scroll and the small gemstone. He now had the scroll and the sacrificial material, so he just needed to wait for the right time tonight to conduct the ritual. As for the man''s belongings, they would split them equally after assessing the value.


    "How do you feel?" asked Graham with concern while holding on the five items Luuk had given him.


    "Not great," he answered shortly with a heavy tone. His expression didn''t look too good.


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 89 An Unexpected Find

    "What''s this?" asked Luuk suddenly.


    Luuk, who was still in the forest with Graham, suddenly felt a faint, strange presence coming from the distance. He looked at Graham and the latter seemed to have felt it as well.


    "I don''t know. Let''s check it out. It''s coming from that way." replied Graham.


    Both of them went deeper into the forest cautiously, avoiding dried branches to prevent a lot of noise. They walked on the forest ground while carefully observing their surroundings to try to spot the source of the presence.


    "Can you use your divination?" asked Luuk whisperingly to Graham who was walking close to him.


    "I can if the presence stays long enough, otherwise it will be gone by the time I''m finished," he replied matter-of-factly.


    The two of them kept moving forward and the presence got stronger little by little the deeper they went into the forest. It was not a dangerous presence that they were feeling, but rather, one that was trying to conceal itself but failed. That was why the two of them were curious.


    They walked past a big tree and arrived at a small creek with a small waterfall. The presence seemed to be coming from somewhere across the river so they had to cross it. However, neither Graham nor Luuk wanted to get into the creek because it was cold, and getting wet would be unpleasant. They both stood beside it.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the water to stop flowing!"


    He finished chanting and his voice was carried by the wind, and with it, the water in the creek froze in place, slowly creating a dry path for them to cross. Since it was a small creek and the current was not strong, Graham''s Order could stop it for several seconds, giving them enough time to get to the other side safely.


    "What a convenient ability," complimented Luuk.


    "Thanks. It''s really about how creative we are with its application. You could probably steal the water''s property of making us wet," replied Graham.


    Luuk didn''t think about it, but he didn''t know if it would work. Graham''s suggestion, however, made him rethink the way he used his abilities. He should think outside the box more.


    The two men continued making their way towards the source of the presence, which had gotten fainter instead of stronger now. It made them confused because it should be the other way around because they were sure they were going the right direction.


    The forest became lusher around them, with leaves both on the trees and covering the soil below. There were shrubberies and mushrooms growing wild in their surroundings, with a lot more animal activities than before. Rabbits, squirrels, and deer were busy eating as much as they could in preparation for the coming winter, also in the Republic of Tulp, winter had never been harsh.


    They had been following the trail leading to the presence for about thirty minutes now and had been pretty deep inside the forest than normal people would usually dare to go. They weren''t worried about getting lost, however, because of Graham''s ability to do divination. They didn''t feel any danger either so far, although they still kept their guard up the whole time.


    After walking and almost running for so long, they finally arrived at a cave that was covered entirely by vines. They wouldn''t have known that there was a cave there if not for the presence that was now completely gone. The last time they felt it, it came from inside the cave, which was how they found out about it in the first place.


    "It''s coming from inside, isn''t it?" Luuk tried to confirm.


    Graham nodded and stayed still on his spot. He took out his lighter and lit a fire to do divination before venturing farther. He concentrated on the flame and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''What is inside this cave?''


    Once he repeated the question enough times, the flame in his hand burned brighter and formed an image that slowly grew bigger until in his eye it was as big as a cinema screen. It showed the inside of the cave, which appeared to be very dark but the fact that the image was formed by fire made it look brighter. The cave floor was rocky and there were a lot of both stalactites and stalagmites protruding from the floor and the ceiling. However, they couldn''t see the source of the strange presence anywhere in the image. After that, it slowly disappeared and the flame turned normal.


    Luuk stared at Graham in confusion, but the latter also didn''t seem to understand.


    "So there is nothing inside?" asked Luuk in disbelief.


    The presence he had felt was real, and Graham had also felt it, so it couldn''t have been just his imagination.


    Graham looked back at the flame in front of him and focused on it. He asked a question for the second time and repeated it.


    ''Is it dangerous to go inside the cave?''


    The flame from his lighter showed a paper being burned until it slowly turned into ash. The fact that the paper burned entirely meant that going into the cave was dangerous, but judging from the rate at which the paper burned, the danger was not mortal. After that, the image disappeared.


    "Val, what do you think? It''s dangerous inside but I couldn''t see anything through the previous divination. Does it mean whatever is inside is stronger than us? But the danger level is manageable. I don''t understand..." he muttered quietly.


    Luuk, who saw the divination but couldn''t hear the question being asked, didn''t understand what he saw this time. Previously, he could judge from context but now it only showed paper burning. He turned to Graham and asked.


    "What did you ask? What does it mean?"


    "I asked if it is dangerous to get in, and the answer is yes, although we won''t be killed if we still do it," he replied patiently. He realized that Luuk wasn''t familiar with paper burning divination.


    Graham put the lighter back inside his pocket took a comfortable position on the ground, under a tree. He sat down with his back leaning against the tree and closed his eyes. Since the forest was peaceful and the situation was not urgent, he didn''t need the feel to use Order on himself; he would just try to sleep naturally. It took him almost five minutes to completely fall asleep with Luuk watching the whole process, but Graham didn''t mind. It was already time for his partner to know about his switching with Valentine, although he would tell him nothing else.


    Not long after Graham fell asleep, Valentine woke up and got up from his position while cleaning the dirt off his coat. Luuk, who felt that the person''s aura had changed, got curious and asked.


    "You''re not the same person, are you?"


    Valentine stared at Luuk coldly and shrugged.


    "I''m the same person. What do you mean?" he said casually.


    Luuk had always noticed the subtle differences, but seeing the whole process from one to the other made them more apparent. Luuk had noticed that Graham''s tone of voice was gentler than Valentine''s coarse tone. The way they walked was also different. Graham walked more confidently, while Valentine''s way of walking could be described as stealthy and secretive. However, since the other party didn''t want to answer, Luuk didn''t press the topic further.


    Valentine readied his gun with the paralysis bullets inside the chamber while Luuk got his pocket knife out. After that, the two men carefully moved the vines aside and entered the dark cave. Both of them had their night vision activated, so the darkness didn''t bother them at all.


    The floor of the cave was wet and slippery, so they had to walk carefully not to slip. It was even more difficult since they were not wearing the proper shoes for cave exploration; both of them had sneakers on, which were enough but not the best option.


    Valentine moved at the front although he was the one with a gun. Luuk stayed at the back so that he would have time to control the enemy. It had been their usual battle formation since Luuk learned how to use his ability to steal the enemy''s intentions.


    Besides stalactites and stalagmites and the occasional water drops, there was nothing of importance in that part of the cave, so they had to go deeper. Every step they took consumed a lot of energy and concentration because of the terrain. In that kind of situation, a fight would be disadvantageous.


    "What do you think we''ll find here?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "I really have no idea, but stay alert; there is danger in here," replied Valentine.


    They walked deeper and deeper into the cave and the temperature continued to drop and while the moisture in the air rose. The cave became wider and wider as they went and the cave ceiling got higher. It evoked a feeling of insignificance in Luuk''s heart, and also slight fear for being in such a large and endless space.


    "I feel uncomfortable here," he said whisperingly, but his voice was loud enough to create an echo in the dark chamber.


    "That''s understandable. I also feel slightly the same," replied Valentine honestly.


    In the deathly silent cave, the sound of water dripping in the distance and their own breathing relieved them, reminding them that they were still alive. Although the chamber was large, even too large, it felt suffocating. The deeper they went, the walls and ceiling began to disappear even though they had the help of night vision to see. Without concentrating hard, it would be easy to get lost in that place, and if panic struck, it could even be impossible to find a way out. They kept walking in the same direction, trying carefully not to accidentally make a turn; it was difficult to walk in a straight line without any visual aid to help.


    "I guess that means there is a limit to our night vision," said Valentine rationally. It was a way for him not to get lost in his own thought and forgetting which way to go.


    "I also think so. In the city, there is always something to obstruct our vision. But here, there is nothing at all, so we can see the maximum distance the vision allows us," replied Luuk analytically.


    Their voice reverberated in the dark before disappearing.


    They kept on walking which felt like forever, although it was in fact only less than thirty minutes. Finally, the walls became visible and the ceiling was above them again. They felt relieved right away. However, the discomfort they felt was replaced by curiosity in an instant because of what they saw in front of them.


    "I''m sure this is manmade," said Luuk with slight disbelief.


    Valentine nodded, but Luuk didn''t see it because his eyes were fixated to the sight before him.


    The two men were standing in front of ancient pillars with carvings of unfamiliar faces, which appeared to be the guardian of the place. There were a total of nine pillars, each with a different face carved into it.


    "I think this might be a ruin of some sort," said Valentine.


    "Should we go in?" asked Luuk. He was very eager to know what was inside.


    "We should, but be very careful. This place didn''t appear in divination, which means it''s protected," replied Valentine with a serious tone.


    Valentine and Luuk walked past the nine pillars and into the space beyond. Slowly, the cave walls were replaced by manmade walls that looked really old and were in bad condition. They walked deeper into the ruin and saw a corridor with unlit candles on the floor. The corridor itself was rather spacious, enough for five people to walk side by side, and at the end of the corridor, there looked to be a chamber.


    The two men cautiously went into the chamber and carefully observed their surroundings. It appeared to be the main room of the ruin, with an altar in the middle and numerous unlit candles scattered around on the floor. On the altar, there was a stain that might have been blood, but they were not sure since the color had faded because of age. Their attention was then drawn by a skeleton sitting against the wall on the right side of the chamber.


    The skeleton was still wearing what remained of its clothes, which appeared to be some kind of robe. The skull of the skeleton was crushed on one side, which probably had been the cause of death. There was no weapon on the skeleton''s hands, nor on the ground nearby. Either the skeleton had none in the first place, or it had been stolen. The skeleton must have been a normal human in life, since a Contractbound''s death would turn their bodies into ashes, leaving nothing behind but a scroll and a sacrificial material.


    Valentine walked closer to the skeleton to inspect it, with Luuk following closely behind him. Then, something caught his eye. It was the belt that the skeleton was wearing, which gave off the same strange presence that had led them there, but quickly faded. Valentine took it off the skeleton and picked it up, inspecting it closely. The belt appeared to be made of leather, but which kind, he didn''t know; it was a pale color, similar to a human skin tone. The buckle was white and seemed to be made of bones. Valentine felt spiritual energy coming from the belt, which meant that it was most likely an enchanted piece of equipment.


    "Is that the thing giving off the presence?" asked Luuk while looking at the belt carefully.


    "Yes. I will use divination later to appraise it," replied Valentine, and then rolled the belt into a circle. He didn''t want to risk wearing it without knowing its effect.


    "Let''s see around some more. Maybe we''ll find other valuable things," suggested Luuk.


    Valentine nodded in agreement with the suggestion. He got up from his crouching position and stuffed the rolled belt inside his coat pocket securely. His coat was now getting heavier for all the stuff he had inside, including the dead Jeweller''s valuables. He followed Luuk who had gone up ahead. They didn''t walk for long before they stopped in their tracks and stared at the peculiar sight in front of them.


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 90 Forbidden Knowledge

    Valentine and Luuk were standing stupefied in front of the back wall of the ruin. The enormous wall before them had a relief sculpted onto it depicting a scene that they didn''t quite understand, but deep down they had a feeling that they shouldn''t be learning about it.


    In the relief, there was a figure that looked menacing standing sideways on the right side. It looked like an old man with long hair and a beard, and a bony body riding on a small horse that was almost the same size as the old man. The man was carrying a pitchfork that he raised high in the air as if charging into a battle. On his left hand, there was a flame burning and there was something that looked like an image in the fire. The horse it was riding looked intimidating, with its eyes hungry for fresh blood. The sculpted image looked very vivid although it was made of stone.


    On the opposite side of the man, there was a figure that was not any less bizarre. It was a figure with four heads that shouldn''t belong together. The front-facing head was that of a human while the left and right facing heads were a lion''s and an ox''s respectively. The head facing back wasn''t clear, but there was a visible beak, so it was most likely that of a kind of bird. All of the visible heads showed a fierce expression. The figure had four pairs of wings, one of which was covering its body, but leaving the figure''s hooves, instead of feet, uncovered. The other wings were stretched far, which made it appear more threatening.


    There were several other smaller figures behind the main two sides that were fighting, but they were not very clear. The ones on the old man''s side mostly had horns as their defining features, whereas the ones on the four-headed figure''s side had wings placed in uncommon positions. It was clear that the two sides were at war, and from the relief, it looked like the old man''s side had the advantage of number.


    The winged figures came from the top left of the relief with clouds around them, making them look like they descended from the sky, while the horned figures appeared to be crawling from the depth of the Earth. It was difficult to judge which side was good and which one was bad because both of the main figures looked fearsome, especially their expressions which were full of bloodlust. Whoever sculpted the relief had an amazing ability to capture the emotions of their sculpture.


    Valentine looked at the bottom of the relief and saw that there was a carving of probably the title of it. It was written in a language he didn''t understand, so he tried his best to keep it in his memory. Graham could use divination to find out about it later as long as he could write it down.


    "What do you think this means?" asked Luuk in confusion. He was also trying to read the carving at the bottom to no avail.


    "I don''t know, but I can try to divine it later. More importantly, who do you think these two are?" asked Valentine back.


    "I''m not confident, but I think this might be related to the Deities? I have this feeling that we shouldn''t be looking at this," he replied seriously.


    "Me too, and I think you might be right. But still, it feels like this is an important piece of information related to the supernatural world," Valentine replied thoughtfully, and then looked over his shoulder and muttered, "G, don''t you think the winged figure looks somewhat similar to the one on Pravitatem''s death threat?"


    Luuk didn''t hear Valentine''s muttering clearly, but knowing his habit, he didn''t ask about it. He studied the relief one more time and the feeling deep inside his heart only grew stronger. The silence of the ruin only served to fan his anxiety.


    Valentine and Luuk were just looking at the relief when suddenly, the eyes of all the figures in it moved and stared at them sinisterly. The eyes that were supposed to be made of stone all of sudden had turned to be real eyes!


    Luuk jumped back in fright while Valentine quickly got into a battle position.


    "BEGONE!!!"


    There was a voice that came from a distance but at the same time felt like it was spoken right in their ears. The voice seemed to belong to numerous people speaking all at once, but it also sounded like it belonged to only one individual. It reverberated in the large ruin chamber and then suddenly there was a strong gust of wind pushing Valentine and Luuk back. They covered protected with their hands and closed their eyes.


    Whoosh!!


    The strong gust blew for several seconds before stopping, and when they came to, Valentine and Luuk realized they had been sent to the outside of the ruin. They looked around in confusion to find out where exactly they were.


    "Are we at the entrance of the ruin?" asked Luuk for confirmation; his tone was doubtful.


    "I think so, but where are the pillars?" replied Valentine in confusion.


    They recognized the shape of the cave wall near the entrance where the pillars should have been. However, in front of them was now nothing, and at the space where there should have been the ruin''s corridor, another cave wall was standing tall instead. It didn''t look unnatural, which made them even more confused. It was as if there had been no ruin in the first place.


    "Something has made the ruin vanish. I guess the knowledge we learned was forbidden," said Valentine while still analyzing the new cave wall in front of him.


    "But why not kill us as well? It should have been very easy," said Luuk.


    Valentine really didn''t know the answer to the question, so he shrugged. Luuk made a good point. If they weren''t supposed to learn about the relief, it would have been much better for whoever made the ruin vanish to kill them along with it. Instead, they just chased Valentine and Luuk away unscathed.


    "Whatever it is their intention, we''re lucky to be alive. Let''s get out of here while we can," proposed Valentine.


    Luuk nodded and the two of them started going back where they came from, once again traversing the huge chamber of the cave that made Luuk feel suffocated. Since some time had passed, they had to concentrate harder not to get lost. They needed to make sure that they walked in a straight line. It took them longer than it did when they first came to the chamber to find the way out, and once out, they started walking faster.


    Although there was no real danger following them, they just felt uncomfortable staying around the place where something had just made a whole ruin disappear. The cave floor was still as slippery as when they came, so although they wanted to get out quickly, they still had to be careful. They didn''t want to slip and get impaled by a stalagmite.


    Valentine and Luuk got out of the cave safely some moments later. They sat on the ground and panted while resting. They felt much more tired than when they fought a ghoul for some reason. However, in the forest, they were not completely safe yet, so they had to get going right after they recovered some energy.


    Once feeling rested, the two men got up and went back to the entrance of the forest, following the same path that they had taken to get there. After walking for some time, they arrived at the creek again, but this time there was no Graham to stop the flow of the water. Valentine looked at Luuk and the latter shrugged. He really didn''t think he could steal the water''s ability to make clothes wet because it didn''t work that way.


    The two men put their feet in the water and the cold sensation quickly spread throughout their bodies. They put their other feet down and tried to quickly cross the stream. Their shoes had all gone wet and the water seeped into their pants. It was a very unpleasant feeling.


    Once they were across, Luuk quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the water on my pants and shoes mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and suddenly water started dripping from his palm. His pants and shoes were now magically dry. He repeated the same thing with Valentine''s clothes and shoes as the targets, and once more, water appeared on his hand and he let it drop to the ground below. Both of them were now dry and continued their way out of the forest.


    They arrived at the periphery of the forest not too long after and quickly walked to the side of the street to stop a public motor carriage that drove by. It didn''t take long for them to find one because the street was still busy at that hour. They got into the motor carriage and told the driver to take them home to Tuinstraat.


    The ride home took them longer than the ride there because the traffic was worse. They paid the driver and went into the apartment building where they lived.


    "Do you want to watch the divination?" asked Valentine to Luuk as they were walking up the stairs.


    "Why not?" he accepted the invitation eagerly.


    The two men went to apartment number 23 with the sign ''Hymes Detective Agency'' on the door. Valentine unlocked the door and entered his apartment, followed by Luuk behind.


    "Wait here," said Valentine to his guest.


    Luuk took a seat on the sofa comfortably, slouching on it. Valentine went to his bedroom and lied down in the bed still with his coat on. Once he closed his eyes, he fell asleep only seconds later and Graham woke up in his place. He quickly got up and went back to his office where Luuk was waiting.


    "Come here," beckoned Graham as he sat in his office chair.


    Luuk got up lazily from the sofa and sat on the chair opposite Graham. The latter reached into his pockets and took out all the items that they had got from today. On the desk in front of them, there was a pale leather belt, an expensive-looking brown wallet, a hunting knife with a red gemstone embedded on it, and three small gemstones of different colors. There was a red one, a green one and an orange one, each the size of his thumb tip. The wallet, hunting knife, and gemstones were the five valuables that look had stolen from their target while the belt was what they got from the skeleton in the ruin.


    Graham took out his lighter and lit it. After that, he concentrated and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''What are these gemstones?''


    Slowly an image appeared in the flame and the two men looked at it closely. It showed a handwritten note with the drawings of gemstones with different colors and only the texts next to the red, green, and orange gemstones were not blurred out.


    ''The red agate has the power of adding a burning effect to weapons, and the potency of the burning effect depends on the size of the gemstone and the power of the Jeweller embedding it.''


    ''The verdelite had the effect of boosting the wearer''s recovery speed and elevating the mood, making the wearer more resistant to negative effects. The potency depends on the size and the power of the Jeweller.''


    ''The Spessartite garnet is a very rare gemstone that has the ability to boost the wearer''s strength, speed, and stamina, similar to that of a War Marcher''s War Drum, but weaker. The potency depends on the size of the stone and the power of the Jeweller embedding it.''


    After reading the note, the image disappeared slowly.


    Graham looked at Luuk and said, "You should become a Jeweller faster so we can make use of these gemstones ourselves,"


    "I''ll do the ritual tonight, don''t worry," replied Luuk shortly.


    Graham then put the pale leather belt in front of him and concentrated on the flame again.


    ''What is the effect of this belt?''


    The flame burned brighter and formed an image gradually. It showed a person wearing the belt fighting an enemy, and after the enemy had used their ability, the wearer of the belt was somehow able to use the exact same ability that the enemy had shown. After that, the image disappeared and strangely, knowledge got transferred into Graham''s and Luuk''s brain who had seen the image.


    Graham focused on the new piece of knowledge in his brain and it turned out to be the detail of the effect of the pale belt in front of him.


    "Did you also get it?" asked Graham to Luuk.


    "Yes. Apparently this belt is called Purloin," replied Luuk.


    "It allows the wearer to use a weaker copy of someone''s ability. It''s limited to two copied abilities and two uses per day per copy. That means in total the wearer can use four copied abilities per day. This is interesting. However, any mediums or rituals required in the original ability will still be needed, so it can be useless if we copy the wrong ability," added Graham, "However, the belt also has negative effects. First, will announce the wearer''s presence occasionally to enemies, just like how it got our attention back then. And the second, using copied abilities takes much more power than the original does, and the method to copy an ability is only by seeing the ability being used first, so it can be dangerous sometimes,"


    The belt was so far the most powerful item he had found despite its negative effects, and he wanted it for himself because it would complement his abilities well if he could copy Luuk''s theft power and perhaps someone else''s. However, he didn''t know how to convince Luuk to let him have it without using his persuasion power.


    "You can keep the belt if you allow me to keep the rest of the loot," Luuk said suddenly, and then added, "And help divine the next contract scroll for me,"


    "Deal!" replied Graham immediately.


    With the battle loot out of the way, now he only had to divine the main dish: the mysterious text under the relief.


    Graham picked up a pen paper and wrote on it the text carved at the bottom of the relief from memory. He couldn''t divine the carving directly because the ruin blocked his divination last time. Once the text that looked almost exactly the same as the carving was written on the paper, he picked up his lighter again and lit a fire once more. He was concentrating on the flame in front of him while Luuk watched closely as an image started to appear from the flame not long after.


    In the image, there was the same text that Graham had written on paper that was in a language they didn''t understand. Soon after, another text appeared and floated above the original one, and the new text was in modern Tulpan, which they could understand right away. Graham and Luuk read it carefully.


    ''Knight Furcas valiantly leading twenty legions of spirits against a damned Cherub with his degenerate army of angels''


    After they had finished reading it, the image slowly disappeared and strangely, the ink on the paper also burned, leaving just a blank piece of paper on the desk.


    Luuk looked up and saw Graham, who was still holding a lit lighter in his hand, in deep thought, and the latter''s expression showed a slight shock.


    "What did you find out?" asked Luuk inquisitively.


    Graham slowly looked up and made a serious expression.


    "Did you get a line in an unknown language when you have pleased your Deity?" he asked weightily.


    "Yes. Is it related to the text just now?" replied Luuk.


    Graham nodded, and his face was like someone who had just gotten an important revelation.


    "Furcas seems to be the true name of my first Deity. It''s a depiction of the Deity of Fire Divination!"

 91 Making a Move

    It was almost eight on Monday night. Graham was sitting alone in the chapel dimly lit by numerous candles scattered around the place. There was a single tall candle placed on the altar, right in the center. The peaceful night and the gently burning candles put his mind at peace. He put his gloved, pressed hands in front of his covered face, solemnly thinking.


    It wasn''t long before the tall wooden doors of the abandoned chapel made a loud creak that broke the silence. Five people, three men and two women, entered the chapel with an expression that could be said much better than when they first came. As they stepped into the abandoned place of worship, they noticed Graham who was sitting ceremoniously on the front-most row seat.


    Graham stood up from his spot and let the dark overcoat hang down. His Gemini mask covered his face, and his clothes accentuate his aura of mystery and solemnity. He looked at the five people that he had summoned earlier this afternoon secretly, persuading them to forget the instance afterward. To the five people, they just felt like they had a strong urge to return to the chapel that night.


    "You must be wondering why I have summoned you all here tonight," said Graham with a deep, bassy voice that echoed in the chapel.


    The five people shook their heads slowly.


    "First of all, I want to initiate all of you chosen ones officially as the associates of Zodiac Syndicate,"


    They listened intently, but there was a slight puzzlement in their expression.


    "Our immediate goal as a new organization is to prevent the destruction of Sloten," added Graham staidly.


    The five people looked bewildered. They couldn''t digest right away what they had just heard. After all, just until two days ago, they were living their lives normally.


    "What do you mean by destruction?" asked Eduard.


    Graham nodded slowly and dignifiedly, acknowledging the question that had just been asked. He then waved his right hand to gesture at the five people to look at the candle on the altar. They came closer as asked to see better. Around the altar, there were several candles that were burning peaceably, but the tall red candle in the center was burning the brightest. The five people were captivated by the flame and stared at it for a good couple of seconds before suddenly, an image appeared before their eyes.


    Countless bodies lying around the street, blood painting the walls and roads, and hideous creatures roaming about were in the heart of the image. They couldn''t believe their eyes, since what they saw seemed very unreal, but at the same time very real. They recognized the street that they walked every day, but it looked unfamiliar because of all the blood and death. The saw the lifeless bodies of the citizens of their city; their friends or families might be among those corpses.


    "Now you should understand what I mean," said Graham seriously.


    His emotion was also slightly affected, although he had seen the same image before.


    The five people didn''t respond. They were still processing the whole thing.


    "We don''t know when the destruction will happen, but if we don''t try to stop it, it will be too late before we know it," he added.


    Diedrik looked up.


    "But we are just normal people. What can we do? And what are those monsters?" he asked.


    Although Graham had given them a second chance to make their lives better, they were still only normal humans who didn''t even know the supernatural existed.


    "They are supernatural creatures, and yes, they exist," answered Graham convincingly.


    Seeing the puzzled look in the faces of the associates, he gently gestured at them to look at the center candle again and then chanted audibly and imposingly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, request communication with a friendly spirit that inhabits this place."


    As he said that, the surrounding area became colder and dimmer. Chill ran down the spine of the five spectators as a gentle gust of wind brushed past them.


    "Come forth and use this fire as a medium and talk to me!"


    The gentle gust of wind carried his voice that sounded ethereal and it reverberated in the dim abandoned chapel. The temperature kept dropping and before long, they could see their own breathing. The flames on the candles around the chapel flickered one by one as if something just went past them. Not long after, a figure appeared in the flame, which seemed to be as wide as their visions to the onlookers.


    The associates again were stupefied. Before them now floated a figure of a naked old man with a featureless body. His transparent figure was still able to show them his aged, wrinkled skin and pained expression on his face. His eyes were sorrowful and full of regrets.


    "Why have you called me?" the spirit of the old man spoke slowly with a voice that sounded like the scratching of porcelain. The tone of his voice was heavy and doubtful.


    "We have questions to ask you," replied Graham softly.


    "Go ahead and ask me..." said the spirit again.


    "How did you die?" asked Graham gently.


    The spirit of the old man looked down and let the silence take over before finally answering.


    "I was the last priest and caretaker of this chapel. Fewer and fewer people came to visit as believers decreased, so donation money also ran out. I, who was already old and frail, couldn''t do anything to save the chapel, so I chose to draw my last breath here, in this place..." the spirit paused, "my only wish is to see this chapel being taken care of again," he said slowly and difficultly. His scratching voice resounded in their ears.


    "We promise we will take care of this place," replied Yvette suddenly. She looked genuinely concerned about the old man''s spirit.


    "Thank you..." replied the old man.


    After that, the image disappeared and a gentle gust of wind brushed past them again before the surrounding area turned normal. Graham now stood on the altar looked at the five people from above.


    "What you have just seen is a lingering spirit, another supernatural creature. As you can see, I''m not a normal human, and you can be like us as well," said Graham convincingly.


    Their interest was piqued.


    "If you finish tasks given by us, you will be rewarded accordingly, and when we think that you are ready, we will grant you this power," he added.


    "What tasks do we have to finish?" asked Eduard and Calvin almost at the same time.


    "Your first and most important task right now is to find any information related to a hidden organization called ''Pale Society''. You must make sure that you do it in secret as it is very dangerous, and do not leak out information about Zodiac Syndicate," Graham responded immediately with an imposing tone.


    "How do we report our findings?" asked Diedrik.


    "You can leave a note and put it inside the donation box," he replied, "We will conduct another gathering on Thursday night, so you don''t have to come back here tomorrow,"


    With that, the first task for Zodiac Syndicate''s associates has been given and Graham felt a little bit closer to pleasing the Deity of the Tongue.


    ...


    "Old man, you know how grave the situation is, don''t you?"


    Two men were sitting in a classic-looking office with a grand piano in one corner. The man sitting on the guest''s chair was a friendly-looking man wearing a black coat.


    "Henk, or should I call you Groen? I''m currently short on men. You''re asking something difficult from me without giving me a good enough reason," replied the other old man who looked dignified.


    "Just Henk is okay, for old times'' sake. As I''ve said earlier, we are currently facing a new, emerging threat. We want to cooperate with you under the desk. All I ask of you is to focus your men on finding any information about Pale Society," said Groen.


    "Did you say Pale Society?"


    "Yes. You, of all people, Gianni, should know how dangerous they are," added Groen with a grave tone.


    Mastro Gianny put pressed his hands in front of his face, seemingly thinking about something seriously.


    "I really don''t have a lot of men right now, but I will send the remaining ones on the search of any information about them," he then said.


    Groen put a smile on his face and then spoke again.


    "Thank you. I know I can count on you, Gianni. We, the Police and Kleurs, will be looking for them on the surface while you and your men do it from the dark. We must stop them before they turn Sloten into another Tilburg,"


    After their business was concluded, Groen got up and bid his farewell to Mastro Gianni, who called for Beppe to escort his guest outside. After the guest had left, a woman entered the Mastro''s office and stood by the door. She wore a black coat that covered her knees and a braid on her light brown hair.


    "You called?"


    "Yes, Bianca. Have a seat," offered Mastro Gianni.


    She took the seat opposite the Mastro and sat comfortably.


    "Is this a job?" asked Bianca. Her voice sounded confident and somewhat authoritative, a direct contrast with Mastro Gianni''s gentle and friendly voice.


    "Something like that," he replied.


    Mastro Gianni then explained to her about his meeting with the Police Sergeant Groen just now. She listened attentively the whole time, nodding in understanding.


    "Can you bring some men tonight and patrol the city for any suspicious activities," he said, "Meanwhile, I''ll contact all of our channels to see if they know anything,"


    She nodded, and said, "Anything else?"


    "No. You may go now,"


    Bianca got up from the chair and left the room, greeting Beppe who was standing outside the door as usual. She then went to one of the rooms in that mafia lair where some people were gathering and playing card games. They all stopped with their activities and looked at the woman who had just entered the room.


    "Lucio, Pietro, we''ll be heading out now," she commanded.


    The two men whose names were called got up and took their coats and guns before following Bianca who had gone ahead.


    "Where are we going?" asked Pietro.


    "We''re going on a manhunt tonight. Our target is an organization called Pale Society," she replied.


    "So are we just going around the city?" asked Lucio.


    "Dionigi is not here now, so we don''t have another choice. Let''s just go to Raadhuislaan. That''s where the last accident happened,"


    "When will our main force come back?" asked Pietro curiously.


    "I don''t know, but it''s practically war over there, so I don''t think it''s anytime soon,"


    The three people entered the Favaran restaurant that was front for their mafia lair through the back door and then exited through the front door. The street in front of the store was still quiet at that hour but would get busier as is got later through the night. They went towards a parked motor carriage by the street side and were about to get in before something caught their attention. They looked at each other and nodded in confirmation.


    The three mafia members had felt a slight presence coming from a distance and were now dashing towards the source of the presence. The ran quickly and took a right on the intersection, going in the direction of the bridge crossing Amstel river. The presence was gone for a second before appearing again, but faintly.


    They then turned to a big alleyway and saw a person that looked to be a man with a black overcoat and a creepy mask standing at the center of it. The man was tall, but besides that, the couldn''t see anything else. They couldn''t even see the hair of the man because it was covered by his hood. The mask he was wearing was a yellow mask with a sinister frown.


    "Who are you?" asked Bianca loudly. She took out two blood bags from her pockets and got ready for a fight.


    "No one dangerous, and I can assure you, I''m not from Pale Society," replied the man with a voice that was muffled by the mask.


    The man then suddenly darted forward with a knife in his hand. Pietro and Lucio got in front of Bianca, who needed time to prepare her ability. Lucio quickly slit his palm and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Reconciliation, declare fighting forbidden in this area!"


    He splashed the blood around him, which then strangely turned into a circle. Once the man entered the circle, he suddenly lost all thought of attacking, no matter how strongly he wanted to break free.


    "This one won''t do," said the man and then muttered something under his breath, which was muffled by the mask again.


    Suddenly, Lucio''s eyes became blank and his face was expressionless. He had fallen under the control of the enemy!


    The blood circle around them vanished and the man quickly charged at Pietro, who had already had a pool of blood underneath him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, order my blood that covers the earth to attack my enemy!"


    The blood underneath him boiled and created small pellets that shot at an incredible speed at the enemy. The man quickly dodged and retreated to a distance but was still struck by some pellets, which created holes in his overcoat and injured him.


    "Now that one is useful," said the man while standing back up.


    Suddenly, several blood daggers shot at him from the back of the group. It was Bianca who had finished creating her blood weapons. With the amount of blood she had used, she had managed to create four blood daggers.


    The man deflected the blood daggers that aimed for his vital spots while letting the others hit him because he couldn''t dodge all of them. He was now in a very disadvantageous position. They heard the man''s quick muttering and then strangely felt that the man wasn''t there anymore, although they were still looking at him.


    "I''ve got what I needed. Thank you," said the man politely and then dashed towards the other end o the alley.


    The four blood daggers tried to chase the man, but the farther they went from the caster, the slower they became. With the man gone, Lucio came back to his senses and looked around in confusion. Pietro was ready to run after the man, but Bianca stopped him.


    "No need to chase. He is not our target," said Bianca.


    She didn''t know what the man''s goal was, but she had some guesses. Her teammates were not injured anyway, so they could just let it slide. They needed to preserve their energy in case they had to fight the real members of Pale Society.

 92 One on One

    Valentine sat down on the ground next to a dumpster with holes in his overcoat and some injuries on his bodies. There were broken bottles littered around him and some cigarette butts. The streetlight that was supposed to illuminate the alley wasn''t bright enough to do so, creating a lot of shaded spaces around. The dumpster itself strangely didn''t smell, so he didn''t really mind his surroundings. He controlled his breathing and took a rest there for some moments. Although he wasn''t gravely injured, he was still in pain.


    "I couldn''t copy that blood dagger ability," he muttered to himself, "It''s most likely because the rank is higher than ours,"


    The pale leather belt that he was wearing had now had some patterns on it, resembling an upside-down domed building. It happened right after Purloin successfully copied the blood pellet ability. Besides the pattern, Valentine also got the knowledge of the ability he had copied.


    "It seems I can only copy the exact ability that I saw, not the whole blood manipulation ability that a Murderer has," he concluded.


    He sat there for some more minutes, giving the injury on his body time to heal. As a Contractbound, his natural healing was enhanced, but it still took time for wounds to close completely.


    "G, you need to use your ability to mend this coat later. And don''t forget to change the mask''s appearance back," he muttered again, his voice was muffled by the yellow sorrowful mask he was wearing.


    Valentine stood up after some time. Although his injuries hadn''t healed completely, he had recovered enough. He moved away from the dumpster and walked out to the street beyond the alley. His presence was still concealed, so his footsteps didn''t make any sound.


    Once he was in the street, he started heading towards the apartment where he lived. However, after only taking several steps, his spirituality was triggered. He looked around to find the source of it. The street was already very quiet at that hour, which was eleven in the evening. There were only a handful of people still left there, and most of them were already leaving quickly. They didn''t seem to notice Valentine with his creepy mask except if they somehow looked directly at him.


    After concentrating harder, he could faintly feel that the feeling came from a drunk man lying on the ground in the distance. The man didn''t look homeless, but his appearance was as messy as one. Valentine quickly approached him and once he was close to the man, he had an inexplicable urge to put the man under Interrogation.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    Once he had finished chanting, all of sudden his surroundings became deathly quiet. The already hardly noticeable sounds of footsteps from everyone else just vanished completely now. He felt like he had entered a different dimension, although everything around him stayed the same.


    "THE DEITY OF UNCOVERING DECREED THAT YOU EXPOSE A TRAGEDY BEFALLING SOMEONE SERVING A PRESIDENT TO A LARGE AUDIENCE!"


    The voice was too loud and it sounded like it was spoken directly into his ears. Blood dripped from his ear canals and he was panting in pain that was growing with every passing second although the person was no longer speaking.


    He couldn''t maintain the interrogation anymore because of the pain and everything returned to normal. The man was still lying down on the ground as if nothing had happened and when he touched his ears, there was no blood dripping from them.


    Valentine quickly continued making his way home. He walked swiftly and when he felt that he was about to exit the fifty-meter radius of his Concealment, he recast it to hide his presence.


    He was walking through a park on Herenstraat, which was still near the slum in Oosteinde when suddenly his danger sense was triggered.


    "What now?" he sighed and complained.


    He readied his gun and got into a battle position while observing his surroundings carefully, searching for the source of danger. Not long after, from the opposite direction, a man walked leisurely towards him. He was wearing a simple red sweater with striped pants and a facemask was covering his face. Valentine could see the man''s eyes looking hungrily at him, although he couldn''t judge the color correctly because of his night vision. The man''s neatly combed back hair gave him an atmosphere of intelligence if combined with his overall appearance.


    "So this is where the presence is coming from," said the man. His voice was cold but elegant.


    Valentine then realized what the man was talking about. Although his presence had been concealed, Purloin, the belt that he was wearing, was still giving off a presence that attracted people occasionally.


    "It''s a mistake from my part. I wasn''t actually expecting a guest, so if you''ll excuse me," said Valentine politely although he had no intention of running away. The man didn''t look like the type that would let him anyway.


    "It''s fine. I''m in the mood to play tonight," said the man while fixing the gloves that he was wearing.


    "If you would kindly tell me who you are, then I''ll play with you," replied Valentine while observing the man closely.


    Judging from the man''s built, he didn''t seem to be the brawn type, but a brainy one. Valentine had to be very careful against that kind of enemy, and he needed to gather as much information as he could in that short time that he hadn''t attacked yet.


    "Since you asked politely, I shall answer. You can call me Gloom. Now tell me who you are, so I can remember you after your death," replied the man called Gloom gentlemanly.


    "You can call me Sorrowful Gemini. Remember that when your Deity asked you why you died," replied Valentine courteously.


    Gloom was still standing on his spot without moving, which made Valentine slightly uneasy. He had no idea what kind of attack his enemy would launch at him, so it was a disadvantageous situation for him. Suddenly, the man muttered under his breath, but Valentine''s boosted hearing could still hear what he was saying.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    Bang!


    Valentine didn''t let Gloom proceed with whatever he was trying to do. He shot a paralyzing bullet at him, but somehow he forgot that it was still the blood bullet inside the chamber. The bullet flew through the air and only grazed Gloom''s shoulder. Gloom could dodge it easily because Valentine somehow forgot to aim properly as well since he thought as long as the bullet hit the target, he would be paralyzed. The blood bullet had no effect on the enemy, who had quickly finished another chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, declare the start of a quiz!"


    Valentine quickly put away his revolver and took out his dagger. He darted at Gloom with a high speed, aiming for his neck.


    "Which organization do I belong to?" asked Gloom suddenly.


    Valentine felt like he froze in place and in front of him, there was an illusory timer with only five seconds left. Gloom looked like he couldn''t move either until the timer ran out or Valentine gave an answer. The surrounding areas seemed to have frozen as well.


    Valentine quickly racked his brain to find the answer. Being asked suddenly like that made it difficult to think of the correct answer. He thought of an organization shortly after, and although he wasn''t sure, he had to give it a shot anyway.


    "Pale Society," he answered quickly with only one second left on the timer.


    Once he gave his answer, the illusory timer disappeared and everything went back to normal. although there was no indicator, Valentine received the feeling that his answer was correct. Both of them could move freely again and Valentine''s attack was resumed.


    Clank!


    Gloom deflected Valentine''s attack with his own knife rather easily. He seemed to have used the frozen time to analyze the trajectory of his attack. He quickly took a step back to a safe distance.


    "I''m surprised you know the answer," said Gloom calmly.


    "I also know you''re an Ignoramus," replied Valentine.


    Gloom didn''t react to it.


    Valentine quickly closed into his enemy and once in range, before Gloom had any time to retreat, he finished chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    Suddenly, Gloom''s eyes became blank. He had fallen under Valentine''s control, but he couldn''t attack right away because of the heightened sense of danger that the target now possessed. His attack would just be dodged easily.


    Valentine felt that his control wouldn''t last very long. He felt a strong force trying to break out, so using his limited time, he slit his palm and drop his blood to the ground below. While waiting for the blood to pool, he chanted in rapid succession.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare my presence no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word stupidity a secret!"


    Valentine got a strong headache all of sudden, which meant that his ability had failed. He quickly changed the word in his chant and tried again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the word grant a secret!"


    After that, there was a second of silence quickly went away. The silence made people feel like they had forgotten something, but they couldn''t exactly pinpoint what.


    There was now enough blood underneath his feet, so he chanted one more time.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, order my blood that covers the earth to attack my enemy!"


    The blood underneath Valentine boiled and became tiny droplets of blood that quickly shot at Gloom. His heightened sense of danger quickly woke him up from Valentine''s control and enabled him to avoid the first view shots. However, there were still many pellets of blood remained, and he failed to avoid them all.


    Pow! Pow! Pow!


    The blood pellets created a lot of holes on Gloom''s sweater and injured him. He tried to deflect the attacks using his knife but there were too many small blood pellets for him to deflect. However, although he was injured, it didn''t seem to affect him that badly. To Gloom, the blood pellets felt like strong paintball bullets, painful, but not enough to kill him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, ----- stupidity upon you!"


    Gloom tried to chant an ability amidst the barrage of blood pellets but it failed because of Valentine''s restriction. The smile on his face faded and turned into a scary frown.


    "How large is the whole area of Sloten?"


    Suddenly, time froze again and the two of them couldn''t move. The blood pellets all stopped in their track while an illusory timer appeared again in front of Valentine.


    "874.8 km2," answered Valentine quickly.


    The timer went away and he knew he had answered correctly again.


    "I learned Geography at school," said Valentine shortly to Gloom with a mocking tone.


    "What''s the true name of the Deity of War?" asked Gloom once again. Time froze for both of them.


    This time, Valentine didn''t know the answer. And even if he did, saying a random Deity''s true name out loud might bring calamity upon him. The illusory timer in front of him quickly reached zero and time flowed again. Although there was no direct indicator, Valentine felt that his thinking had become slightly slower than before.


    Valentine took out his gun again and loaded it with the paralyzing bullets in that short time. However, it took him a split-second longer to aim properly. Before he had the chance to shoot, suddenly he heard the sound of a drum beating coming from his enemy and Gloom had quickly closed in to him with his knife.


    Badum! Badum!


    Clank!


    Valentine tried to deflect the attack with the knife in his left hand but Gloom was suddenly much more powerful.


    Stab!


    He managed to prevent his vital part from being pierced by the knife, but his right shoulder was impaled badly. Blood dripped from the deep wound along his arm to the ground below. He dropped his gun in the process and Gloom quickly kicked it away from him.


    Seizing his chance, Valentine quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, order my blood that covers the earth to attack my enemy!"


    The blood quickly boiled and shot at Gloom, who quickly retreated to a safe distance, leaving Valentine panting. His blood kept dripping, so the blood pellets didn''t stop. His stamina had been drained a lot by using the copied ability, and he had reached the limit of two uses of the day.


    Pow! Pow! Pow!


    More light injuries appeared on Gloom''s body because of Valentine''s attack.


    "From the beginning, you''re just a prey. Stop making things difficult for yourself," he said arrogantly with annoyance. Although Valentine couldn''t see it, he could hear from Gloom''s voice that he was smiling sinisterly under his mask.


    His left hand stopped making a beating motion and the sound of the drum stopped. He slit his wrist and let a lot of blood pour to the ground. Valentine didn''t know what he was planning to do, but he didn''t want to give the enemy a chance to finish the ritual. However, he was too injured to make a sudden movement and his gun was not around, so he couldn''t react in time. He was only about to get close enough for Gloom to be in range when the latter finished chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, using this blood of mine as a sacrifice, hereby declare that people around me forget how to stay conscious!"


    A sense of brooding descended into the park. The pool of blood underneath Gloom vaporized and quickly spread to the surrounding area, leaving no crevices safe. Valentine''s sense of danger was triggered right away. He stopped breathing and counted on his mask to block the small particle but it had no effect; he suddenly felt dazed and tumbled down to the ground.


    "Now, let''s end this," said Gloom coldly. He seemed to be smiling under his mask. He walked closer to Valentine who was now lying unconscious on the pavement.


    Gloom got on top of him and was ready to stab the man in the heart to kill him. However, he didn''t seem to notice that the wound on the enemy''s shoulder had suddenly closed. Just as he was about to sink the knife into the man''s heart, suddenly he heard a faint chanting and his body couldn''t move.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to freeze!"


    Suddenly, instead of his enemy''s heart that was pierced by his knife, it was his heart that got stabbed by the enemy. His eyes showed bewilderment and before he collapsed, his body was pushed aside by the enemy. It was Graham who had woken up because Valentine had lost consciousness.


    "Just how many Deities are you in contract with..." he asked with his last breath.


    Graham didn''t respond to him. He was busy searching Gloom''s body for anything valuable.


    "But it doesn''t matter. Soon, the Pale Lord will descend..."


    As he said that, his eyes became lifeless, and soon, his whole body burst into flames. Graham watched the whole process without regret because in his hands, now he had a hunting knife that Gloom had used, an expensive-looking wallet, and two wraiths remain. Gloom didn''t have any enchanted equipment, which made Graham rather regretful.


    Once his body had turned completely into ashes, three contract scrolls were left there and a round object began to form. It looked like a tiny, pale brain. Graham picked up all the scrolls and the brain and quickly switched with Valentine again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    The blood that was on Valentine''s palm that he had slit emitted a strange yellowish mist.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the blood to the soil underneath a tree and successfully placed anti-divination in the area. He then quickly picked up his gun that had been kicked by Gloom and got away from the park before anyone noticed him, after making sure that he concealed Purloin''s presence this time.

 93 A Lazy Day

    On Tuesday morning, Graham woke up at ten. He had been very tired the night before from using the copied ability twice and coupled with the injuries from both the mafia members and the Pale Society member. Even now, he still felt kind of tired, and although his injuries had all completely healed, his shoulder was still somewhat in pain.


    Graham got up from his bed lazily after stretching his body and went to the bathroom to wash his face. After that, he went to his office and sat in his chair.


    Ding... dong...


    Just as his body touched the soft surface of the chair, the doorbell was rung. He grunted quietly and got up to get the door. He put on his coat quickly to cover his bare chest and reached the door handle before twisting it.


    As he opened the door, he could see the person who had rung the bell. It was a middle-aged woman that looked like she came from a rich family. She was wearing an expensive-looking necklace and both of her wrists were donned with gold bracelets. However, her eyes didn''t show peace despite her wealth, but rather, restlessness.


    "Good morning," greeted the woman with a lovely voice, but it was wavering a little.


    "Good morning. Please, come in," replied Graham politely.


    The two of them entered the tidy detective office and took the spot opposite each other. The woman quickly sat down without fixing her dress first. Her hands were holding each other.


    "Mr. Detective, I need your help," said the woman anxiously.


    Graham looked at the panicking woman in the eyes and spoke gently, "I suggest that you calm down. Everything will be alright. Now, may I know who I''m speaking to?"


    "Oh, I''m so sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Cornelia van Orden. My husband is Mr. Arnaud''s colleague," she replied. She seemed to have calmed down a little.


    "Ruben again. He seems to be a good promoter for us. We should pay him a visit one of these days, Val," muttered Graham quietly, end then turned to the woman in front of him, "What can I help you with, Mrs. van Orden?"


    "I lost my wedding ring, and tomorrow is the anniversary of my wedding. I need your help to find it," she explained.


    It was an easy job for Graham, and he was still feeling slightly tired from yesterday, so he wanted to finish the case quickly.


    "Sure. Wait here," he said and then got up.


    Graham opened the door to his bedroom and closed it behind him. He reached into the pocket of his coat and took out the lighter that was still kept there. He lit it and concentrated on the flame.


    "Where is Cornelia van Orden''s wedding ring?"


    An image appeared from the flame and showed a spacious living room. Under the cabinet near a huge shelf, something glowed red. It was most likely the right which he couldn''t see from that angle, but he knew where it was. After that, the image gradually disappeared.


    "Your ring is under the cabinet in the living room, next to the shelf," he said with a very convincing tone.


    Mrs. van Orden looked confused. She didn''t know how the man could know the interior of her living room without having visited her house, but his reputation was good, so she could probably trust him.


    "How did you find out so fast?" she asked.


    "That''s a trade secret. If you don''t believe me, you can go home first and check. You can pay me later if you find your ring there. If it''s not there, then it''s free," explained Graham without breaking eye contact with her, and then added, "Oh, the amount is up to your discretion,"


    "I understand," she nodded, "In that case, I''ll take my leave now. Thank you, Detective Hymes."


    Mrs. van Orden seemed to be very eager to retrieve her wedding ring. She got up and Graham quickly got in front of her to open the door for his guest. She left quickly and once she was out of his sight, he closed the door and got back to his seat.


    "Now we can resume..." he said.


    He opened the safe where he kept his valuables and took out the battle loots from the previous night, and the contract scroll that had been lying around there. He laid everything on the table and reached the contract scrolls that he had got from Gloom.


    Graham opened one of the scrolls and once he saw the sigil, knowledge transferred to his brain. It was the scroll for the Deity of War. He rolled it back and put it down. He then opened another scroll, but although he was looking at the sigil that looked like mirrored crosses on a sideways shield. There was an illusory line under the sigil that said, ''You must have pleased two Deities.''


    Graham knew right away that it was the Ignoramus contract scroll. He then looked at the scroll that he had found in Mevrouw Cornelia''s room and compared them. The scroll he got from the Romancer required him to have pleased three Deities instead of only two, so it could be for a more powerful Deity. He put down the higher rank scrolls and picked up the last one.


    "This one is for the Deity of Reconciliation," he said as he saw the sigil on the scroll.


    He now had two contract scrolls that he didn''t need, so he could sell them or use them as rewards for his organization''s associates. He would need to be stronger first, however, so he wouldn''t be outranked by them in the future.


    He put the scrolls aside and picked up the thick leather wallet that looked expensive. He opened it and was surprised by the content. There was a lot of money inside! He carefully took out the money bills and counted them. There was a total of twenty-six guilders inside, which made him extremely happy.


    "This befits a member of an evil organization. If they were all rich like that, I wouldn''t mind changing my job to a bounty hunter,"


    Graham put all the money inside his own wallet and set Gloom''s wallet on fire, including all of the other contents that he didn''t need. The flame quickly spread around it and consumed the leather wallet, turning it into ashes. Since he was too lazy to clean it, he started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the ashes on my desk to go to the trash can!"


    The ashes magically floated and quickly shot towards the trash can, entering it and ending Graham''s cleaning problem.


    He then set his eyes on the hunting knife that the late Pale Society member had used. It looked ordinary, and there was no embedded jewel at all. Graham put it down without much interest.


    "It seems our man was only an ordinary member of the organization, Val. Besides money, he had nothing else. No enchanted equipment, no talismans, no guns. He was even only in contract with one President," complained Graham.


    Once he was done inspecting the battle loots, he put them all back in the safe and securely locked it. He had had Valentine put anti-divination on the safe for extra measure, but he still wasn''t sure it was completely safe from theft-specialized Contractbounds. However, there was nothing more he could do at the moment.


    He sat back in his chair and remembered that Valentine had told him the way to please his Deity the night before. He couldn''t hear the message given to Valentine by the messenger directly; that was why Valentine had to tell him.


    Graham lit his lighter and concentrated on the flame. He then repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Does the death of Gloom count as a tragedy befalling someone serving a President?''


    The flame in his hand created an image of a paper on a table. The paper then was lit on fire and was burned completely, indicating a positive response. It meant that the fight from last night was enough for Valentine to please his Deity.


    "So that''s it? Why is it so easy for you? Mine is too vague and I''m still far from completing it," he said with jealousy, and then added, "I guess it counts as a tragedy because he was confident that he would win, only to end up being the one who is dead."


    Graham remembered the fight from last night. He had been able to win only by sheer luck. It was the same as when he fought with Mevrouw Cornelia. If he weren''t someone who was able to switch consciousness when he was under the enemy''s control, he would have been dead. It was also the reason he had won; his enemies didn''t expect he was not actually under their control and were overflowed with the confidence of victory.


    "I''m lucky to have you, Val," he said with genuine gratefulness, and then added, "Anyway, the way to expose his death would be by using your Reconstruction. You''ll need a lot of blood for that. As for the large audience part, let''s think about that more. We don''t want to be exposed while we''re doing it,"


    Graham then stayed quiet, thinking.


    "If we think about it, Val, it''s not actually that simple. If we make a wrong move, our identity as his killer will be known by his organization, and we will be dead for sure. We have to somehow do it in secret, but at the same time, making sure a lot of people are watching... but how?" he mumbled.


    "If things get too difficult, we can just try to hunt another target. But if they are the destructive type, not the control type, we''ll definitely lose," he then said again thoughtfully.


    Graham still had one more thing to divine, so he quickly relit his lighter, concentrated, and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Is it dangerous to divine who Pale Lord is?''


    The flame in front of him suddenly burned violently. Inside it, there was an image of himself sitting at his desk with his head blown off. His blood splattered around the room along with pieces of his head. From his neck, blood was still gushing out and quickly boiled away. Even without experiencing it, Graham could somehow feel the pain. After that, the image gradually disappeared and the flame became normal again.


    "Okay, that means it''s a bad idea to try to find out who Pale Lord is through divination. I guess it''s not even His true name since I''ve been saying it and nothing happened. But why was I safe after saying the Deity of Fire Divination''s true name out loud to Luuk?" he rubbed his chin in deep thought, "There are just so many things that I don''t understand. The ancient book doesn''t have the answer either, or I''m just still too weak to know,"


    After saying all that, Graham stared at the flame in his hand again and tried to divine something else. As he had concluded, he had to be creative with divination questions if he wanted to get the most out of it.


    ''Where can I find more information about the Pale Lord?''


    An image slowly appeared from the flame in front of him. It was too blurry, which meant something was interfering with his divination, but he could somewhat make out what it was showing. It looked like an underground temple, but the image didn''t zoom out to an aerial view to show him the exact location. There wasn''t anything that he could use as a guide either. After that, the image became like TV static and disappeared.


    "Val, I think we might have accidentally seen the hideout of Pale Society..." he paused, "We should tip the Police."


    He put down the lighter back inside his coat and went to his bedroom to get dressed. He now wanted to have breakfast first and after that make a random person tell the Police the information he had just found. He put on a sweater and striped pants, with Purloin wrapped around his waist. Valentine''s Concealment was still in effect as long as he didn''t go out of the area of effect or cancel it.


    Once ready, he headed out right away. His destination was Don''s Pancake House as usual.

 94 A Pleasant Morning

    "Excuse me," said Graham to a man walking the opposite direction from him.


    "Yes?" the man looked at Graham curiously.


    Graham made eye contact with the man and stared at him intently. He then started speaking with a persuasive tone. The man didn''t blink or nodded the whole time Graham was speaking to him; he was only staring blankly at the person in front of him. After speaking for more than a minute, Graham finally stopped and the man nodded slowly. After that, his blank stare was gone and he looked confused for a second before continuing his way.


    Graham continued walking towards the small diner and arrived not long after. There, he was greeted by the usual friendly smile from Mirjam the waitress.


    "Good morning, Graham!"


    "Morning. I''d like the usual, please," he said right away and then sat at his usual spot.


    Mirjam gave a shout to the kitchen to tell them about Graham''s order and then proceeded to serve another customer who called for her. Meanwhile, Graham was people watching from his sport, where he could see the street outside clearly.


    It was a Tuesday morning, almost midday. The sun was shining bright, but the temperature had gone slightly lower. There was the occasional breeze blowing away brown fallen leaves. There were not very many people in the street, but those that were there seemed to be enjoying the sun. There was a group of people that looked like they were from another country, excitedly taking pictures of everything they saw.


    Mirjam came bringing his food not long after. He got bacon pancakes with bananas and peanut butter toppings and a cup of hot chocolate with mint. He had a lot of usual orders so Mirjam just took the liberty to pick one up for him.


    "Are these alright?" asked Mirjam.


    "Yes. These are actually what I want. You always know best!" complimented Graham.


    He started eating right away while Mirjam took the seat near him.


    "So, who is detective work?" she asked curiously; her friendly smile adorned her beautiful face.


    "I just helped a client find her wedding ring. That''s basically that. What about you? Anything interesting happening around here?"


    She seemed to be thinking for a while, recalling her memory.


    "Now that you mention it, there was actually something. Yesterday, there was someone asking me about suspicious people. But he himself was pretty suspicious to me,"


    "Why do you think so?"


    "Well, at first, he came in here and ordered food like a normal person. Then, when I brought him his food, he started whispering to me these things about if I have seen people that seem out of place lately. When I asked him why, he didn''t want to answer. Isn''t that pretty suspicious?" explained her.


    "So what did you tell him? Have you seen anything out of place lately?" asked Graham curiously.


    "That was indeed suspicious. What does he look like?" he asked while taking a bite out of his pancake.


    "I don''t really remember. He was not bad-looking, but there was nothing memorable about him. But I''m sure I can recognize him if I see the man again," replied Mirjam with doubt.


    "Anyway, I''ve been curious. Do you live alone?" asked Graham. His tone was genuinely curious without any hidden intention.


    "No. I live with my sister. She''s still at university. Why? Do you want to move in with me?" she replied with a teasing smile.


    "No. I don''t want you to go talking with my clients and taking away my business," he replied casually, and then his tone became serious, "Maybe you should consider moving to another city with your sister. Sloten hasn''t been safe lately,"


    Graham put down the fork and knife that he was using on the plate and looked seriously at Mirjam.


    Mirjam looked at Graham with confusion. She didn''t know why the detective would suddenly suggest something like that.


    "You know I can''t just suddenly move. There would be a lot to take care of, and my sister can''t leave uni anyway," she replied matter-of-factly.


    "True. But at least don''t go out wandering at night. The recent murder case is worrying," he replied.


    "Are you worried about me? That''s so sweet of you," she said with a genuine smile.


    "Well, you can take it however you want," he replied casually.


    "Mirjam!" shouted a customer from the back while waving his hand.


    Mirjam excused herself and went over to the customer''s table. Graham continued eating his breakfast and finished it not long after. He then got up and paid before saying goodbye to Mirjam and left the diner.


    He had only one plan today. He couldn''t go around looking for Pale Society members since he would never know who he would encounter. He also couldn''t search for the temple from his divination because he didn''t know where to start. Even if he did, it would still be dangerous. He was going to leave the temple to the Police and helped out with taking care of the weaker members for now. Since he had no better idea, he decided to follow his initial plan to go to Erbarmelijk Bazaar to look do some window-shopping and to sell the remains from the ghoul.


    He went back home first to get ready. He had left the mask there, so he would need to pick it up, along with his gun, and the ghoul''s remain that he would try to sell. He arrived home not long after and quickly picked up the mask that he had left inside one of the drawers in his desk.


    The mask was still a yellow sorrowful one, so he had to alter its appearance first. He found out that it could do so only because of his experimenting, but besides switching among the sorrowful, joyful, or the dual emotion, it couldn''t change into anything else.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to change your appearance back to normal!"


    As his voice resounded in his room, the mask strangely underwent a transformation. The paint on its right side was slowly overcome with red like a molting skin of a snake. It stopped in the middle and the mask''s original appearance had been restored.


    Once the mask was ready, he opened his safe and picked up the gun along with its holster and hung it on the pale leather belt.


    "Val, now let''s switch. I need your power to conceal this belt later once we get out of range."


    After that, he lied down on his bed and closed his eyes. It didn''t take Graham long to fall asleep, and Valentine woke up right after. He got up from the bed and then went to his office and put on his coat to cover the revolver on his waist. Both the gun and the belt had been placed anti-divination on, but he could only use Concealment on one at a time, so he had to be ready to switch at any time.


    He got out of his apartment and quickly made his way down to the street outside. The entrance to the black market was in Oosteinde, so he headed east. The street got quieter the farther he went east. He crossed the intersection easily because there weren''t many motor vehicles on the road either.


    He kept walking and entered an industrial area with a lot of factories around. The smoke from those giant buildings rose up high to the sky, coloring it grey. He went towards a secluded alley several meters away from there and turned left to it. In the alley, he quickly placed Concealment again on the belt to prevent it from sending out a presence that could be detected by dangerous individuals. Once done, he then stood in front of the wall that Ivo had shown him previously and spoke to it.


    "I want to enter,"


    The bricks moved around and formed the word ''password''.


    "Wij Zijn Arm,"


    Once the password was said, the bricks started moving around again uniformly. It created dragging noises and not long after, a gap appeared in the wall. He quickly put on his Gemini mask and entered the black market.


    "Can I get a discount for this?"


    "I''ll just go check at another stall. I''m sure they are cheaper there."


    "Selling handmade talismans!"


    "These fingers are the real deal! I got them from the graveyard myself."


    The bazaar was still busy like last time, if not busier, and with his boosted hearing, he could somehow hear clearly what the people near him were saying.. There were people with various different masks, as usual, walking about. Nobody knew anyone''s identity there, and strangely, even though a powerful individual might be there mixed in with the crowd, there was no dangerous presence that Valentine usually felt. It must be the work of a Contractbound''s ability or an enchanted item.


    He made his way past the masked people towards the common hall, where he could sell the ghoul remains to the highest bidder. Graham had had the chance to divine the use of the remains, and apparently it was used for a powerful dark ritual that he had no access to at the moment. Graham had also divined the normal price for one, and it could fetch the high price of fifteen guilders each, much more than the wraiths remains and even more expensive than an Earl contract scroll.


    Once he arrived, he took a spot near the alley so that more people could hear him.


    "Selling a ghoul''s remain!"


    People''s attention was drawn by his words. It seemed a lot more people were interested, unlike when Graham tried to sell the wraiths remains last time.


    "Are you for real?" asked a woman with an expressionless mask.


    "Can we see the thing?" asked a man wearing a creepy mask.


    It seemed that a ghoul''s remain was a very rare item for that many people to be interested in it. Valentine took it out from his pocket and showed the round compressed flesh to the potential buyers.


    "Is that real?" asked the woman with an expressionless mask again.


    "I can tell from its appearance that it''s real," replied another woman wearing a rabbit mask complete with rabbit ears.


    "I''ll sell this for twenty-five guilders," said Valentine shortly. He had learned from Graham''s experience to sell at a high initial price.


    The people went quiet. They seemed to be thinking if it was worth it to spend so much on an item that would usually cost less. However, there didn''t seem to be another seller besides him.


    "I''ll buy it," said the man with the creepy mask.


    "I''ll buy it for twenty-six guilders!" interjected the woman with the rabbit mask.


    "Twenty-seven guilders from me!" shouted a man from the back. He was wearing a child-faced mask.


    If they kept going at that pace, it would just be a back and forth shouting fest.


    "Thirty guilders and it''s yours," said Valentine loudly but confidently.


    Usually, during a bidding process, the seller wouldn''t increase the price suddenly. However, Valentien just wanted to get the money quickly. He had already jacked up the price so much anyway that it was double its original value.


    "Deal!" said the man with the creepy mask quickly.


    The others didn''t seem to want to increase the price any further, so they just stood there watching. The man gave Valentine thirty guilders total and in return, Valentine gave him the round soft object. Valentine didn''t feel bad at all for setting the price himself instead of waiting for it to get higher because soon enough, there would be more ghouls to hunt. Of course, the people there didn''t know; otherwise, they wouldn''t have accepted such an outrageous price.


    After selling the ghoul''s remains, he had become twenty guilders richer. He would have to give ten guilders to Luuk as his share, which to him was a fair price because if he had sold it at the original price, Luuk would have got only seven and a half guilders.


    Valentine then left the common hall together with the people who dispersed after the auction was done. The whole time, he had a feeling that someone was watching him, but he pretended not to notice. He walked around the bazaar looking for items that interested him. He wanted to see what kinds of enchanted equipment were sold there, so he went into a store that seemed to sell them.


    The store had the sign that read ''Warwick''s Armament''. He entered the store and saw the storekeeper standing in the corner quietly, staring at him. It was a man wearing a wolf mask with bloodstains. Inside the store, there were various items on display, both inside glass cases or on the wall. However, he only felt spirituality coming from a few items, so not all of the items in that store are enchanted pieces of equipment.


    "Are you looking for anything in particular?" asked the shopkeeper disinterestedly.


    "Not really. I want to know what enchanted equipment you sell here," replied Valentine casually.


    The shopkeeper moved from his original spot and stood next to a glass case with a gun inside.


    "This gun is called the Sharpshooter. It can boost the shooter''s accuracy slightly. Five hundred and thirty guilders and it''s yours," he said, still with an indifferent tone. It seemed that he was used to people only asking and not buying.


    "G, for something with only a slight boost, the price is so high," he muttered and then turned to the wolf mask, "What else do you have?"


    The wolf masked shopkeeper moved to the other end of the store and gestured at him to look at the wall behind him.


    "That''s a vest that can block two blood attacks," said the shopkeeper.


    "And what will happen after two attacks?" asked Valentine with suspicions.


    "It will get destroyed. Only seven hundred guilders," he replied.


    Valentine gasped in disbelief inwardly. Blocking two blood attacks might be useful, but it was too situational. And that much for something that would break after only two attacks was too much.


    "G, these are basically rich people''s toys. I guess the useful ones won''t get sold so easily. If we want anything, we just have to wait at the common hall. Now I wonder how much this belt would fetch if we were to sell it," he muttered again.


    Valentine thanked the shopkeeper and quickly left the store. There was nothing else in that store that could pique his interest, and he didn''t have that much money anyway.


    Since he was done with the bazaar, he decided to go out. The feeling of someone following him was still as strong as before, so he still pretended not to notice and casually got out of the bazaar. Once outside, he saw someone with a robber mask standing at the end of the alley, blocking his way out. Judging from the outfit, the person was a woman.


    "I''ve been waiting for you," said the voice that seemed to belong to a beautiful woman.


    "Are you a member of Pale Society?" asked Valentine coldly while observing the person in front of him.


    She was wearing a beautiful dress that was totally not suitable for battle, but the fact that she was wearing it meant that she was strong enough to make in a non-issue. Besides the dress, she was also wearing high heels, which made her mask even more ridiculous if combined with her overall outfit.


    "How did you know?" she asked, slightly taken aback.


    "I guess you''re not the smart type. I was followed the moment I sold the ghoul''s remain. If not Pale Society, who else?"


    Valentine kept talking to stall for time. He felt a very dangerous aura coming from her, more than what he felt from Gloom. On top of that, there was still the one following him in the bazaar, so she should have reinforcement in case things went bad for her.


    "How dare you call me stupid!!"


    She shouted angrily and suddenly charged at Valentine while carrying a heavy club that materialized out of thin air.


    "Well, shit..."

 95 In a Pinch

    Bang!


    Valentine shot the woman wearing a robber''s mask with the paralyzing bullet, however, she easily deflected the bullet with her club. Instead of making a hole in the club, the bullet bounced away without even making a dent. It was either the club she was using was enchanted, or it was her ability or both. She kept on running towards Valentine without being affected by the shot just now.


    "That''s bullshit..." complained Valentine.


    He quickly moved away from his spot before the woman reached him.


    "Not so fast, asshole!" shouted the woman.


    She suddenly changed direction and went towards Valentine''s new position at a frightening speed. Valentine, who couldn''t dodge in time nor chant his Interrogation, could only block the attack with his dagger with the hope of lessening the damage.


    Smash!


    The impact sent him flying back several meters and his body hit the wall behind him hard. He felt that some of his bones might be broken from her attack. Pain coursed through his whole body, leaving him weakened and lying down on the ground.


    "Your mouth doesn''t suit your appearance at all," he complained loudly.


    "Shut yer trap!" she replied angrily.


    She came charging rapidly at Valentine again, but he had already finished his chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    The woman stopped in her track and looked at Valentine with blank eyes. Valentine quickly got away from there with difficulty because of the pain, but not even two seconds later she had broken free from his control.


    "Not gonna work, jerk!" she shouted dirtily.


    She chased Valentine, who had managed to make some distance between them. However, the woman was faster than him, so she could catch up very quickly. She swung her club with full force and aimed at his back which was turned against her.


    Crash!


    She bludgeoned Valentine with her club and sent him flying to another wall. Her attack made him hit the wall face first, and the impact hurt so bad. Blood came out of his mouth and he lied down on the ground writhing in great pain. He quickly turned around to see his enemy and watched as she was coming closer slowly towards him. She seemed to want to enjoy the moment a bit longer because the next attack was sure to kill her target.


    "You shouldn''t have jinxed it, G. Now I really met an enemy that is the destructive type..." he muttered painfully and then coughed blood.


    Gun didn''t work on her, and his control only lasted for a second. He had run out of options, and switching with Graham was out of the question unless it was the enemy who did it. He couldn''t get up suddenly and run away either, because the woman would just catch him as easily as last time.


    "Who the fuck do you think I am? A child show''s villain?" she replied loudly while still getting closer and closer to Valentine.


    She dragged her giant blunt club for a full threatening effect. The sound of metal dragged across the concrete ground was intimidating, but seeing the woman in a dress and high heels doing that was even more unsettling.


    "Why are you doing this? Why are you killing me?" asked Valentine with a fake begging tone.


    "None of your goddamn business! Just die quietly. You are annoying!" she replied angrily.


    Her eyes looked down on Valentine through her robber mask.


    "Wait, wait! At least can you tell me how the guy following me told you about my location? I thought abilities couldn''t be used inside the bazaar?"


    The woman stopped for a second, seemingly thinking if she should tell him the answer. But then she just shook her head and continued walking towards him.


    "You don''t need to know. You can die curious for all I care!"


    Valentine''s stalling seemed to work. In the distance, he could hear the sound that he had been waiting for with the help of his boosted hearing.


    "You know what? At least give me a chance to say my last words," he said with a tone that belonged to someone who had given up.


    Hearing him say that, her eyes looked satisfied. She must be smiling mockingly under her mask, but Valentine couldn''t see it.


    "Sure. At least I can give you that," she said.


    Valentine took a very deep breath, but it hurt. After that, he made sure that the sound he was waiting for was close enough that he was sure even the woman in front of him could hear it. He then opened his mouth wide and shouted as hard as he could.


    "HEEEEELP!! HEEEEELP!!"


    She looked startled and then became angry. Suddenly, the sounds of Police sirens came approaching very quickly before stopping at the entrance of the alley. Several men in blue coats came out and pointed their guns at her while a four people who seemed to rank higher than the others came to the front.


    "You motherfucker!" she said with a voice that didn''t match what she was saying.


    She looked away for a second because of the Police and when she turned back to Valentine, he had already run away in the opposite direction. She wanted to give chase but her feet couldn''t move. Shortly after, her consciousness faded; She was already under the control of the Police Contractbound.


    Valentine kept on running and didn''t even look back. First, because it would slow him down and second, he didn''t want the Police to see the mask he was wearing. It was difficult to run with that much pain, but he couldn''t afford to stop now or he would be caught as well, at least for interrogation. He didn''t want to reveal his identity as a Contractbound for now, however, so he couldn''t afford that either.


    He quickly got farther and farther from the scene and didn''t stop. He only stopped when he was about to reach the fifty-meter distance from where the Police were. After making sure he wasn''t being followed, he quickly slit his palm and let the blood pool there.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    He chanted with difficulty because he was out of breath and in pain. The blood in his hand emitted a strange mist that quickly spread around.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped his blood on the ground near a wall where it wouldn''t be too eye-catching. Once the blood touched the ground, he quickly started running again. His anti-divination had a radius of fifty meters, so the scene where he had fought with the Pale Society member should still be covered, keeping his identity safe.


    Before entering a more crowded street, Valentine took off his mask and his coat and turned it into a kind of fashion bag, so people wouldn''t be suspicious. Lucky for him, there was no bloodstain on his sweater. He stopped running but kept the pace of his walk to get as far away as he could. Once he deemed that it was safe, he stopped a public motor carriage and got in. His destination was a street near his apartment instead of Tuinstraat, to avoid being traced just in case.


    ...


    "Secure the area! And chase the man that ran away!" said a man with a friendly face.


    "Are you a member of Pale Society?" asked a Police member with a scar on his face to the woman who wasn''t moving. It was Rood with his Interrogation that had successfully locked her in place.


    "Yes," she answered honestly with a monotonous tone; her eyes stared blankly at him.


    Suddenly, she started shaking and the control over her was broken. It only lasted a whole seven seconds. She quickly took a step back to get away from Rood''s range of control. However, Rood was prepared. He had brought along Groen, Paars, and Wit, and more reinforcement was on their way.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Illnesses and Shape-shifting, declare this whole area a zone of sickness!"


    Wit, who was standing near Rood, finished chanting quickly and a green haze spread from her quickly to the surrounding area, covering a large radius. All the Police members quickly inhaled a blue powder from a small paper pouch that each of them had brought.


    "Cough! Cough! Fuck you! Cough!" the Pale Society member started coughing continuously because of Wit''s ability while her allies were fine because of Groen''s herbal mix powder.


    The woman''s face became twisted, and not long after, it was not only her face but her whole body. The iron club that she was holding was dropped to the ground because her hands rapidly shortened and her legs became elongated. She had quickly turned into a giant snake the size of an adult human.


    "She''s a Malady as well!" shouted Wit.


    "Shoot!" commanded Rood.


    With her new beastly body, the woman swiftly climbed the alley wall to the top of the building while carrying the heavy iron club with her snake tail without much difficulty. The Police fired numerous shots at her but her hard snake scales deflected all the bullets. She quickly reached the top of the building where the others couldn''t reach her.


    "Can you turn into something and catch up to her?" asked Paars to Wit, who apparently possessed the same power as the enemy.


    "No. She must be of a higher rank to be able to shape-shift that fast," replied Wit with regret.


    Rood, who wasn''t just standing around doing nothing the whole time, had already created three blood swords using almost all the blood bags that he carried. The swords weren''t as long as normal swords, but their sizes should be sufficient.


    Rood gestured at Groen who understood right away. He moved his swords and created makeshift steps with them, which Groen and himself had jumped on to. He kept moving the swords one by one to create a new step which took them higher each time. It didn''t take them long to reach the top of the building because of their excellent coordination.


    On top of the building, the woman had turned back into her human form and was busy preparing a ritual. She hadn''t expected that the Police would be able to catch up to her so quickly.


    Swoosh!


    Rood''s swords glided through the air quickly, but she could deflect all of them with her iron club.


    Bang!


    Groen fired a shot at her and she couldn''t react in time to block it because she was still busy with Rood''s swords. The gem embedded bullet grazed her left shoulder, leaving a light flesh wound that started healing rapidly. However, it seemed to have been enough for the bullet to take effect.


    "I can''t move. What did you fuckers do to me?" she said angrily as she tried to move her body without success. She had been paralyzed!


    The Police Contractbounds didn''t answer. Groen just reloaded his gun and fired another shot, this time hitting her abdomen. Although it didn''t inflict too much damage on her, the effect of the bullet was what he sought; it was another paralyzing bullet to extend the duration.


    Rood had also made a move. He controlled the three swords and shot them at her. The blood swords pierced through the air and hit her chest, neck, and forehead. However, her skin was very hard; the sword couldn''t stab her completely.


    "It fucking hurts, you jerk!" she yelled.


    Her dress and mask were ruined, and blood came out from the wounds she had suffered. None one the wounds were fatal, however, and they started healing rapidly.


    Just as the paralysis effect of the bullet was about to wear out, another shot was fired by Groen.


    Bang!


    She couldn''t move again. With each paralyzing effect applied in succession, their duration also decreased significantly. Rood wasted no time and used his swords again to attack her in the same spots.


    Stab!


    The swords now created deeper wounds and more blood came out of them. Yet, she was still alive and her eyes showed extreme anger.


    "Just you fuckers wait!"


    The bullet''s effect only lasted less than e second left, and Groen quickly fired another shot.


    Bang!


    The effect was extended again.


    "The next one won''t have any effect on her. That was the last one," he said to Rood, who already moved his swords towards her again.


    Tootle-too...


    Suddenly, the sinister sound of a flute being played could be heard. The injury on her body rapidly healed, making the swords'' attack ineffective again. A man came flying up from another part of the alley with wings made of countless severed bird wings stitched together. The wings looked like they could barely hold the man''s weight and could fall apart at any time.


    "Finally you decided to show up. You were enjoying yourself, didn''t you, shithead?"


    The winged man was wearing a mask that looked like it was made of a bird''s skull. The mouth part was open for him to play his flute with, but the upper half was completely covered, except for the eye holes.


    "Let''s scram..." he said with a gentle voice.


    She looked like she wanted to complain, but after judging her situation, it was better to run away now and swallowed her defeat.


    Swoosh!


    Rood''s sword shot through the air quickly, aiming for the man''s wings.


    Tootle-too...


    The flute was being played again and this time, the two Police Contractbounds were stunned and couldn''t move their bodies. Rood also lost control of his blood swords and they fell to the rooftop below. The woman quickly turned into a giant snake and left with the winged man.


    "Paars!" Rood shouted loudly from the top of the building to the man below. He still couldn''t move, but he could at least speak.


    Paars nodded and quickly took off his clothes and became invisible. The others couldn''t see where he was going, but they knew he was following the escaping enemies.


    "Don''t engage! Just follow them. We''ll be right behind you!" shouted Rood again.

 96 Giving Chase

    Paars was floating invisibly far behind the runaway members of Pale Society who hadn''t seemed to notice him. The stitched wings of one of them were flapping heavily in the air while the snake woman was agilely making her way from one building to the others. Paars, who couldn''t fly nor maneuver around buildings, were just floating a little above the ground with a speed much faster than that of someone running.


    They came to a wide street where the woman in the snake form couldn''t easily jump to the next building. She had to come down and cross the street on the ground, which gave Paars some time to catch up with her. The man with the bird skull mask, however, was just flying over the street without much difficulty, so he was far ahead. He turned around to wait for his partner while observing her surroundings to make sure the Police weren''t on their tails. He couldn''t see Paars who was in his invisible mode, so the bird man judged that the situation was safe.


    Tootle-too...


    He played his flute from across the street, high up above, and its melodious sound was carried by the wind to the area below him. The people who were panicking from seeing a giant peach-colored snake crossing the street suddenly calmed down and acted like they didn''t see anything.


    Paars, who was also affected, felt the effect of the man''s ability. He suddenly couldn''t see the snake woman and felt inexplicably calm like nothing could go wrong in his life ever. He slowed down his pace because of the calming tune and had a sudden desire to stay there and enjoy the melody.


    Once the snake woman crossed the street and disappeared into another rooftop, the bird man stopped playing the flute and Paars came back to his senses. He increased his pace to make up for the lost distance between him and the enemies.


    The two enemies went over the tall building in front of him, so he went to an alley nearby to get to the other side, and arrived at the backstreet soon after. However, once he was there, there was no more sight of the enemies. He looked around once more to make sure they were actually gone before hiding behind a tree. He went out of his invisibility and stood naked there, covered by the tree, although lucky for him, there was no one around in that back street at that hour.


    The other Police members didn''t know where he had gone, so he needed to give the signal to them. Paars bit his fingers hard and controlled his blood to flow more than it naturally would. He gathered some blood on his palm and then concentrated on the crimson liquid. Once ready, he shot his blood up to the sky and it pierced through the air quickly like a bullet. After reaching its maximum height, which was visible from afar, the blood magically spread and created a circle in the sky before quickly evaporating.


    "Your clothes," said Groen while handing Paars clothes to him.


    "I take it we lost them?" asked Rood to confirm.


    Paars quickly put on only his coat which was enough to cover his body and nodded at Rood.


    "Yes. The man with the bird mask used his ability to control the people in the street and it affected me as well," he explained honestly, and then asked, "Did you bring my mirror?"


    Groen gave the briefcase that he was carrying back to its owner. Paars quickly unzipped the case and took out a medium-sized mirror with a plain design. He controlled more blood to come flowing from the previous wound that hadn''t completely healed and smeared the blood all over the surface of the mirror.


    He concentrated on the mirror in his hand and asked a question in his mind.


    ''Where are the snake woman and the bird man heading?''


    The blood on the mirror''s surface got sucked into the center and slowly spread around, forming an image. However, it was not something that he had asked, but instead, was an image of a sinister-looking face that belonged to a corpse. Paars got a dangerous foreboding and instinctively threw the mirror as far away as he could.


    Crack!


    Suddenly the mirror broke and shattered into small shards that exploded violently, stabbing anything in its path. Luckily, the mirror was far from them, which gave the Police time to protect themselves.


    "What the hell was that?!" exclaimed Wit.


    "I think they managed to put a curse on the divination," replied Paars.


    "Such a thing is possible?" asked Groen.


    It seemed that among the members present there, only Paars was well-versed in divination. The other Contractbounds were just as clueless as the normal members.


    "It is, but it must be done in real-time. Meaning, if I want to stop someone from divining our whereabouts and want to curse the divinator, I must do it at the time when the divinator is doing the divination," he explained lengthly.


    "That sounds complicated. How did they know when you were going to use divination?" asked Rood.


    "They didn''t. They must have felt it right then and quickly prepared the curse. It means we''re dealing with a powerful Contractbound if they can prepare a curse that quickly, although it was a relatively weak one,"


    "What about the man that she was beating to death?" asked Wit.


    Paars took out another smaller mirror from his briefcase and repeated the procedure and concentrated on the bloody surface while repeating a question in his head. However, instead of showing an image, the blood got sucked dry by the mirror and nothing else happened. Paars looked up to his team members.


    "Do you want to make a bet that the guy was our mysterious Shroud?" said Groen to Rood.


    "No need. I''m sure he is. Why is he always involved in these kinds of matters?" replied Rood with interest, "Did anyone get a clear look at him?"


    Everybody shook their heads. The man had started running away the moment they got out of their motor carriages, or even way before. They only saw his back, which didn''t look any different from other people''s, and besides, they had been focused on the woman with the dangerous aura at that time.


    "He should be awarded the master of running away," said Groen sarcastically.


    ...


    Valentine had managed to run away from the enemy and the Police while suffering a heavy injury. He had arrived home in a motor carriage and was now lying in bed in pain. His body hurt really bad and he felt strangely tired although he hadn''t used a lot of his abilities.. He hadn''t thought that his condition was that bad because of the adrenaline, but now that he was safe and resting, the sensation all came to him at once.


    "What did we learn today, G?" he muttered, "Never jinx something."


    He panted and then opened his mouth again.


    "We need to find a way to fight against brute strength enemies. But right now, you have to take care of our body,"


    Valentine closed his eyes and tried to sleep amidst the suffering. It took him longer than usual, but he still managed to fall asleep nonetheless. Graham woke up not long after and felt the full course of pain suddenly. He didn''t want to waste time, so he chanted quickly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the pain that I''m feeling to go away!"


    With that said, the pain that he had been feeling just until a moment ago suddenly disappeared, giving him some moment of respite. However, since the source was still there, it came back not long after, still as intense as before. Graham quickly opened his mouth and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order my body to heal more quickly!"


    He felt that his body was healing a little bit more quickly than before. His ability''s effect wasn''t significant because the injury was greater and there was a lot to heal.


    Ding... dong...


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Graham wasn''t expecting any guests, so he lit his lighter and divined who it was, still lying down.


    ''Who''s at the door right now?''


    The flame in his hand showed an image of a man in his early twenties. It was Luuk who had rung the bell.


    Graham was still too in pain to get up and get the door, so he just abused his ability.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order my next sentence to reach Luuk''s ears,"


    As he finished chanting, he spoke.


    "Unlock the door yourself and get in,"


    His voice wouldn''t usually reach the outside even though he yelled from inside the bedroom. However, his previous line mysteriously reached Luuk, who was standing at the door, ringing right in his ears like a whisper.


    Luuk was confused at first, but then he did as requested. He stole the whole lock mechanism from the door and let himself in. He didn''t know how to pick a lock manually, and he was sure Graham could fix the door with his own ability, so he didn''t hold back.


    He closed the door, which now had a gaping hole near the handle, behind him, and put the stolen lock on the desk. Graham, who heard the sound of his footsteps, shouted from the open bedroom.


    "I''m in here. Do you need anything?"


    "Where were you? I came earlier but you weren''t home," asked Luuk from the office.


    "I was in the black market," he replied.


    "Uhm, anyway, I broke your door, so you need to fix it later. I put the part on your desk," he said casually, "I''m here to get my share for the ghoul''s thing. I''m low in cash right now,"


    "I''ll need to charge you for the door then," he said with a serious tone.


    "Come on. You can get it fixed easily with just a sentence," Luuk replied as he entered Graham''s bedroom.


    It was the first time he had been there, and everything looked neatly organized, unlike his own which was very messy.


    "What happened to you?" he asked curiously while looking at Graham, who was lying on the bed powerlessly.


    "Got beat up by a vulgar woman. Probably a stalker," he replied nonchalantly.


    "Seriously now,"


    "One of the bad guys from Pale Society. I was almost dead. Good thing I had called the Police beforehand," replied Graham as he got up and sat on the bed with difficulty.


    "You had called the Police? How? And how did you know you were going to be attacked?" asked Luuk in confusion.


    "Remember angry person after we killed the ghoul?" replied Graham shortly.


    Then it dawned on Luuk what the sequence of events might be. His expression showed revelation.


    "So they were watching the black market to find anyone who was selling ghoul''s remains. If someone turns up, it means they killed their ghoul. And since you already knew about that, you called the Police initiatively," Luuk said after that.


    "It''s exactly like that. What I didn''t expect was that they sent someone I''m weak against. There was literally nothing I could use on her," added Graham.


    Luuk wasn''t that worried about his partner because he seemed to always have a way to get out of dangerous situations, and also, a way to get himself in those dangerous situations in the first place. He then suddenly remembered the other reason why he had come.


    "By the way, I''m a Jeweller now."


    Graham wasn''t surprised. He then became curious about Luuk''s new abilities. Although the ancient book had a description of Jewellers, sometimes there were abilities that were unrecorded, like Gloom''s blood ritual that he had used to make Valentine lose consciousness.


    "Tell me about your abilities,"


    "Sure. I got this instinctive detection for the location of gemstones near me. It''s just something I feel at a spiritual level. I can probably also pinpoint the spot where they are located,"


    Graham nodded.


    "Besides that, I can also embed gemstones to weapons now. I''ve tried doing that with my knife right here," he said as he showed Graham the knife in his hand that has a tiny red gemstone embedded to its hilt.


    "Is that the gemstone that can add a burning element to your attacks?" asked Graham.


    "Yes. It works for ten attacks only. I can also embed stones to bullets, but I don''t have any right now," he replied.


    Graham''s eyes opened wide. It was something that would work well with his fighting style. He could just go hunting for gemstones and have Luuk embed them to his bullets.


    "Next, I also got extensive knowledge of gemstones and herbs. I can mix herbs for various effects-- I mean, I''m sure normal people can do so too, but with my ability, the effect of my mixture will be stronger than what normal people can do,"


    Graham was very interested in this ability as well. He opened his mouth and spoke.


    "Can you create something to speed up my natural healing right now?"


    "It''s impossible right now. Although I got the knowledge, I didn''t magically get the required herbs. I need to either go to the supermarket or go foraging in the forest like our target," he responded casually.


    "Well, what are you waiting for? Here''s your money, and a little extra for you to buy the ingredients. I''m dying here," said Graham dramatically as he handed Luuk his share and the money for shopping.


    "Don''t you want to hear about my evolved Thief abilities?" asked Luuk in disbelief.


    "Yes, but later," replied Graham insistingly.


    Luuk shook his head and made a repeated ''tsk'' noise before leaving Graham''s apartment for the supermarket.

 97 Making a Plan

    Luuk was in the kitchen of Graham''s apartment, standing in front of the counter with some herbs on it. He would grind them into a powder using the mortar and pestle that was lying around unused in the cabinet. He had found all the ingredients, which were extremely common, at the supermarket, and had bought a lot at once. There were rosemary, green canary leaves, and some bentgrass; all of which were easily found in any household.


    The herbs needed to dried first before they were able to be turned into a powder. However, for a Thief, it was an easy matter.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the moisture of these herbs mine!"


    With his spell chant, the ingredients before him magically shriveled and dried up. Luuk put them all into the mortal and started crushing them with the pestle. It took some strength to completely grind that many herbs into a fine mixture, but he completed the job in an acceptable amount of time. Once the powder was ready, he chanted again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones, grant this mixture of rosemary, green canary leaves, and bentgrass the power of healing!"


    The green powder inside the mortar magically turned blue. Luuk took some and put it on a small saucer before carrying it to the bedroom where Graham was still lying down in the bed.


    "Here, inhale this," said Luuk.


    Graham got up and received the saucer from Luuk and looked at the blue powder on it.


    "What is this?" he asked inquisitively.


    "That''s health powder," replied Luuk with a convincing tone.


    Graham was curious about the powder, and also it was in his nature, so he took out a lighter from his pocket and started divination. The flame showed an image of someone sick inhaling the same blue powder like the one he was holding right now and gradually became better. Although the recovery wasn''t instant, it was faster than a Contractbound''s natural healing. After that, the flame returned normal and he put away the lighter.


    Luuk didn''t make any comment on Graham''s action. He was already used to the detective''s cautiousness.


    Knowing it was safe to do so, Graham inhaled the blue powder and as it entered his nose, he felt a cooling sensation like he had just breathed in some mint. The sensation then turned into a warmth that spread all around his body, accelerating the healing of his injury. The pain that he had suffered just a moment ago was gradually decreasing and his strength came back little by little.


    "This stuff is pretty useful. Do you have more?" asked Graham and then stretched his body.


    "Yes. I made quite a lot. Just need to figure out how to contain it," replied Luuk.


    "Is there any side effect?"


    Graham tried to concentrate on his body to feel any abnormalities, but he couldn''t find any.


    Graham understood the limitation of this ability. If there weren''t any, people would just consume the powder every time and they could practically become immortal. Besides this ability, in fact, almost all of the abilities that he had encountered had some limitation of some sort.


    "You said it''s called health powder. Does it mean there are other kinds of powder?" he asked curiously.


    "Yes, but right now I only know three of them. Health powder being one, the others are stamina powder and strength powder. Stamina powder restores stamina while strength powder grants a small increase in strength,"


    "I can help you research more mixtures. They can be very useful in battles, or for sale to make some money," Graham responded casually.


    He would check the ancient book later because he was sure there was a section on a Jeweller''s mixture when he was skim reading it last time. He didn''t want to expose the existence of the book yet for now, even to Luuk.


    "I was hoping you would say that," Luuk replied with a smile.


    "Now tell me about your evolved Thief abilities again," asked Graham, changing the topic.


    "It''s not really an evolution-- more like a merge of the two Deities'' abilities. I can ''steal'' knowledge regarding herbs or gemstones from anyone. It''s not really stealing, since the person I steal from will still retain the knowledge," he explained.


    "If it could evolve into stealing any knowledge, it would be much more powerful," said Graham nonchalantly, and then added, "Since you''re a Jeweller now, can you embed gemstones into bullets?"


    "Yes, but as usual, the limit is ten times per day for now. I call this ability Embedding, by the way," he said proudly.


    "Do you need a full-sized gemstone for one bullet or crushed pieces can also work?" asked Graham curiously.


    "Since bullets are generally small, a tiny piece will work. However, the smaller it is, the more diminished its effect will be."


    Graham nodded at Luuk''s explanation. It made sense because a tiny piece of a bigger gemstone should only contain a fraction of its effect.


    "Do you have anything else to do today? If not, do you want to go mining for some gemstones?" proposed Graham.


    "I''m actually free today, that''s why I''m home, so we can do that," Luuk nodded in approval.


    "But, since I''ll be showing the way and act as your bodyguard, I want the embedding cost to be free. And the gemstones too, as long as I participate in its acquiring. Don''t worry, I will buy my own bullets," he said seriously.


    Luuk didn''t mind the suggestion since he knew nowhere was truly safe. He remembered the Jeweller whom he got the contract from; he was just minding his own business gathering some herbs and suddenly he was dead. Luuk still had nightmares about him, but he slowly got used to it.


    "I''m okay with that," he replied.


    Money shouldn''t be a problem for him from now on because he could sell gemstone embedded weapons in the black market if he was in need of money.


    Graham, who had now fully recovered, lit the lighter again and concentrated on the flame. He repeated a question in his mind and slowly, an image appeared in the flame. Luuk could also see it, which was of a red dot located in the far north of Sloten, at the foot of De Vaalserberg, the mountain range bordering Sloten. The location of the red dot was pretty far from them, so it would probably take hours to get there. After that, the image gradually disappeared.


    Luuk looked at Graham with a slight expression of disbelief.


    "Do we really have to go that far?" he asked.


    "That, or go to the black market and spend more money," said Graham casually, and then his tone became serious, "but I''m not spending any money if there''s a cheaper option,"


    "Then it''s a deal then. Should we go now?" asked Luuk.


    "Wait," replied Graham shortly.


    He relit the lighter and concentrated on the flame again. This time, he was going to divine the dangers that they might encounter in the place where the gemstones were. The flame burned brighter and then an image slowly formed. It was a cave that looked different from where they had found the ruin. This cave had very little stalagmites and looked more like a large natural tunnel. There were beasts in the cave that they didn''t recognize and a supernatural creature that looked like a man-bat hybrid with little hair. After that, the image disappeared as slowly as it appeared.


    Graham put out the fire and looked at Luuk.


    "We definitely need to prepare first. I don''t think it''s a good idea to go today because we''ll get only a little daylight before it gets dark. We should go tomorrow instead," he proposed.


    Luuk seemed to be thinking. He knew Graham was right; it would be too dangerous to be there at night, especially since they had no transport home in that case unless they found a motor carriage driver who was willing to take them there and stayed. His only option was to skip classes again tomorrow.


    "I guess we have no other options," he replied.


    Since it had been decided that they would go tomorrow, they didn''t need to prepare right away now.


    "Let''s pay Jacco a visit now that we have no other things to do. Maybe he can even join us tomorrow," suggested Graham.


    Luuk agreed to the suggestion and the two of them left their apartment building. They took the public motor carriage to the restaurant where Jacco was working. It was still three in the afternoon, so the man should still be at work.


    The motor carriage that they took arrived on Goetemarktstraat not long after. They got out after paying the driver and started walking towards a restaurant called ''Moeders''. There were quite a lot of people at the restaurant at that time. The two men took the seat at the corner that was rather quiet.


    "Good afternoon, sir. May I take your order?" asked a male waiter wearing a uniform.


    "I''ll go with chicken curry and bread. Make it not spicy. And a hot chocolate, thank you." replied Graham.


    "I want the onion soup with bread. And black coffee please," said Luuk.


    "Oh and can you tell Jacco that Graham and Luuk are here?" added Graham.


    The waiter, who was writing their orders, nodded and then went to the back where the kitchen was. While waiting, Graham looked around the restaurant to see if there was any interesting individual there.


    In the busy restaurant, there was a group of youngsters sitting on the opposite end from them. They looked like university students who had just finished classes and were having a nice little hangout. There were four men and three women, all busy eating and chatting. Graham tried to listen in to their conversation, and with difficulty, he could make out what they were saying. It was nothing important to him, so he didn''t pay more attention to the group.


    Sitting near the students, there was an elderly couple enjoying their meal slowly in silence. There was nothing striking about them, so Graham didn''t pay them too much attention. His attention was drawn by a man sitting alone near the door.


    The moment Graham looked at him, the man looked back at the former. He was a man with fair skin and slender build. He had a handsome face that looked like it would be easy for him to be a celebrity if he wanted to. His jet black hair was combed neatly to the back, complementing his overall looks. Not long after, the man smiled meaningfully at Graham and stood up before leaving the restaurant.


    "Do you know him?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "No, but I think that might be the Virgo from the black market who bought my Romancer scroll," said Graham with doubt.


    "Romancer? What are their abilities?"


    "They are seducers. They''ll make you attracted to them and then kill you. That''s basically it," he explained shortly.


    Their food came soon after that, along with Jacco who was carrying the food himself. He was still wearing his chef uniform with his usual slightly dirty apron.


    "You two are looking for me?" he asked while setting the food on the table, and then sat near them once he was finished.


    "Yes. How''s your progress in pleasing your Deity?" asked Graham quietly.


    Jacco smiled proudly and answered, "It''s been done! So now I can make a contract with another one, right?"


    Graham and Luuk nodded.


    "Tell us, how did your abilities evolve?" asked Luuk.


    "My War Drum should be more powerful now. And my body has become super strong!" he said proudly.


    The two were just looking at Jacco without responding. The evolution seemed a bit lackluster if compared to theirs.


    "That''s it?" asked Graham.


    Feeling judged, Jacco quickly thought hard.


    "Uhm... I can make people angry at each other more easily now. And not just anger, but blind rage," he paused, "Oh, and I can cast other abilities while still playing the War Drum!" he said excitedly.


    Graham went into thinking, and after some moments, he spoke.


    "That ability can be really useful when we''re fighting a group of Contractbounds. But I don''t know if it will be effective against supernatural creatures. I need to use divination later," he said finally.


    Jacco felt proud that his ability was complimented and a wide smile surfaced on his face.


    "Anyway, are you free tomorrow? We''re going to be making money," asked Luuk.


    Hearing the word money being mentioned, Jacco''s eyes opened wide with expectation.

 98 Mining Dangers

    Graham, Luuk, and Jacco got off the bus at a bus stop near a small town north of Sloten. They hadn''t been able to hire a private driver for themselves; that was why they took the other alternative. The view in front of them were trees and hills, with the mountain range not far behind them. The tiny town was located a few meters to their right, with little sign of human activity.


    The morning sun hit their faces with its warmth; it was a pleasant sensation that relieved them from the cold morning. Graham put both of his gloved hands inside the pockets of his coat and tried to soak up as much sunlight as possible with his stubbled face; his amber hair glistened under the morning light while his green eyes shone like a clear mirror.


    The three men were ready to go into the cave to get some gemstones. Graham was wearing a black overcoat and hiking boots, emphasizing his mysterious and intelligent aura, while Luuk was wearing a thick sweater and also a pair of hiking boots. He looked like someone who could move about agilely. The boots were something that they learned from their experience in the last cave. Jacco, who had always worn boots in the first place, didn''t need to go out of his way to change. He was wearing a zipped leather jacket that covered his muscular body. Although he looked like the brute strength type, he was actually the support of the group.


    "Which way do we go?" asked Luuk suddenly while folding his arms on his chest to keep warm.


    Graham had already lit a fire with his lighter and an image was slowly appearing there. It was an aerial view of their surroundings with three red dots that marked their current location, and somewhere in the distance, there was another one that glowed brightly. It had to be the cave where the gemstones were. Judging from the distance, it looked like it would take them at least one hour to reach the cave.


    "So, that way, yeah?" asked Jacco while pointing towards where the red dot should be in reality.


    The image gradually disappeared and Graham put the lighter back inside his pocket.


    "Yes. Shall we?" he said.


    He walked towards the destination with his briefcase in his left hand. Luuk was carrying a backpack while Jacco had a fanny pack strapped around his shoulder and chest. They didn''t plan to stay the night, so they didn''t pack any clothes, but they might stay long enough, so food and drink supplies were a must. Besides, there will be a lot of fighting involved based on his divination.


    They walked fast through the plains full of grass and moisture. Their destination was somewhere at the foot of the mountain, so they most likely had to climb a hill or two to get there. The woods on their left looked serene in the morning light while the path ahead of them was clear.


    "Here, each of you inhale this," Luuk handed his teammates a pouch each.


    Graham did so without asking. He knew already what it was.


    Inside the paper pouch, there was some yellow powder that didn''t look special; it just looked like a ground dried ginger.


    "That''s stamina powder. As the name suggests, it will restore your stamina. We should be able to cover a lot of distance by running and inhaling that along the way," Luuk explained and then inhaled the powder.


    Jacco complied with Luuk''s instruction and inhaled the yellow powder in his hand. The moment the powder entered his nostrils, it spread all around his body and made it feel warm. He also felt strangely energized, and the fatigue from the long travel time was gone just like that.


    With their stamina being restored, the three men started running quickly. Jacco didn''t play his War Drum to boost the team''s stamina further because it had the downside of attracting enemies. They didn''t want to waste time and energy fighting unnecessarily, especially if they didn''t know what kind of enemy might get attracted.


    Pant... Pant...


    "Val, I don''t have your stamina after all..."


    After running for a while, Graham started to get tired first and then followed by Jacco some moments later, while Luuk was still fine. He handed them more stamina powder and the two quickly inhaled it. Since it was their second time, the stamina recovery wasn''t as great as the first time, but it was still pretty good.


    After running and restoring stamina a few more times, the view around them slowly changed into a rocky terrain that went uphill. It made running difficult, so they had to slow down and hiked the rest of the way towards the cave. The farther they went, the steeper the way became until it completely turned into a cliff that they had to climb. It wasn''t completely vertical, so amateurs like them should still be able to do it, especially since they were Contractbounds.


    "I didn''t expect this," complained Jacco.


    He was the heaviest among them. Although he was probably the one with the most physical strength, maneuvering past rocks while climbing was not something he could do easily. Luuk, on the other hand, was nimbly jumping from one to another rock. Although Graham wasn''t performing as bad as Jacco, he was also having slight difficulty climbing up because of his long coat. They climbed bit by bit and got higher and higher.


    "We''re finally here," said Graham, panting.


    "I can''t fucking do it anymore..." said Jacco as he collapsed to the ground.


    Once they made it all the way up, they could finally see the entrance of the cave where the gemstones they were looking for were located. They took a quick rest without consuming Luuk''s stamina powder; they had taken much within a short time so its effect had diminished greatly. They were saving it for an emergency later if there was any.


    Luuk, who had reached the top way ahead of the two, had restored enough stamina and was now scouting the area for possible dangers. According to Graham''s divination, the beasts were located inside the cave, not outside, but it wouldn''t hurt to be on guard.


    "Have you two rested enough?" asked Luuk.


    "Can''t you just steal my fatigue?" responded Graham with another question.


    "Sure I can, but when I release it you''ll just become tired again," he said matter-of-factly.


    After resting for a couple of minutes more, they finally got up and were ready to enter the cave. It was bright and sunshiny, and the inside of the cave wasn''t dark either, so Graham and Jacco didn''t need any artificial lighting for now. There seemed to be a lot of holes as well, allowing the sunlight in to illuminate the interior.


    They had only walked several steps into the cave when suddenly they felt something dangerous approaching them from inside. The three of them stopped and got into battle formation right away.


    "Here it comes," said Graham to his teammates. He was ready to cast Order at any time.


    In front of them, there was a giant creature, a little bigger than the size of an adult male standing straight, that looked very strange. It was like a snake with the length of a caterpillar and a bloated belly, but its tail was thin, which gave a funny contrast to its upper body. Its brown scales looked shiny in the limited sunlight and its tongue was sticking out repeatedly, detecting its prey. Although it looked ridiculous, it was still a supernatural creature that emitted a dangerous aura.


    "Hiss!!" the thing hissed loudly at them.


    Suddenly, it opened its giant mouth and green liquid dripped from its fangs. It seemed to want to spray the green liquid on to the three men.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to freeze!"


    The snake-like creature stopped moving and the projectile it was preparing failed to be launched and just overflowed to the ground. Smoke came out from the location surface that the green liquid touched, along with an audible sizzle.


    "Cover me!" shouted Graham and then retreated to the back.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Jacco had taken out an iron stick from his fanny pack and unzipped his leather jacket, revealing the iron plate strapped around his stomach. He started beating it loudly.


    Badum! Badum!


    The sound of the War Drum energized his teammates, and now the effect was considerably more powerful than before.


    Luuk had taken Graham''s spot as the spear, protecting the other two from the frozen creature. It looked like Graham''s Order will wear off soon. Graham, who was now standing at the back, had lit his lighter and was now staring at it intently. He was using divination to find out more about the creature and its weakness.


    "Hiss!!"


    The creature had broken out of Graham''s control and was now lunging at Jacco who was playing an irritating beat, ignoring Luuk who was closest to it.


    "It''s a Tsuchinoko. Its weakness is under its stomach!" shouted Graham. He put the lighter back and readied his knife.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack Jacco mine!"


    Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand and the Tsuchinoko stopped moving in confusion. It then got irritated again by Jacco''s War Drum and restarted its attack sequence.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to roll over!"


    As Graham finished chanting, the creature mysteriously started to roll over with visible struggling against the Order. With the effect of the evolved War Drum, however, the creature''s struggle was in vain; the Order was much stronger. Once its belly was exposed, they could see a black spot that looked different from its other body parts; there were no hard scales covering it and it was pulsating like there was a heart right underneath it.


    Stab!


    Stab!


    Graham and Luuk seized the opportunity and simultaneously stabbed the creature''s weak point. Luuk''s knife glowed red and it seemed to be burning the wound it created, preventing the blood from spurting. The stab wound that Graham created had red blood gushing out of it, dirtying his coat. The creature was struggling the whole time, but being hit in its weakness seemed to have hurt it gravely.


    "Hiss!!"


    The Tsuchinoko hissed loudly with its dying breath. Its eyes became lifeless soon after and its body stopped moving completely. However, this time the body didn''t completely burst into flames.


    "Val, it appears not all creatures turn into ashes when they die. We need to take this into consideration as well," he muttered.


    Graham, Luuk, and Jacco watched as something slowly formed from its weak spot. It was a round object that looked like an egg with a brown shell. Graham gestured at Luuk to pick up and carry the object because he had the most space among all of them.


    "This thing is soft..." Luuk said as he touched the egg lying on the dead Tsuchinoko''s open belly.


    "That looks like an egg. Shouldn''t it be hard?" asked Jacco in disbelief.


    He approached Luuk and tried to touch the snake egg. The moment his skin made contact with it, he could feel the softness of the object. It was like holding a hard-boiled egg. He tried to squeeze it hard and the object elastically changed form, preventing itself from being destroyed.


    "This shit is crazy!" he said while excitedly squeezing the egg in his hand. The object was like a slime that would only feel the gap between Jacco''s fingers as he pressed it with his hand.


    Luuk took the object from Jacco and put it inside his bag, leaving the man disappointed.


    "We should try to see if we can harvest anything else from this corpse later. For now, help me move this thing to the side," said Graham.


    The three men got into position and pushed the Tsuchinoko''s corpse to the side of the cave next to the wall. That way, it wouldn''t be too conspicuous, although it was still pretty much visible.


    "Let''s get going," said Luuk after that.


    The three men continued going deeper into the cave, and the whole time, Luuk had been sensing the presence of gemstones nearby. He walked ahead of the group and headed towards the closest presence.


    The cave that they were in this time had normal soil ground, so it wasn''t difficult for them to navigate around. They quickly reached a portion of it that had a bulging part with faint purple spots on it. Luuk knew right away that there were raw gemstones inside.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Theft, declare the gemstones inside this wall mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and magically, the purple spots on the wall disappeared. In his hand were now tiny pieces of purple crystals whose colors were murky.


    "We''re lucky you''re a Thief, so we don''t have to dig," said Graham.


    "Convenient, isn''t it?" replied Luuk as he put the purple gemstones inside his backpack.


    "What are those?" asked Jacco curiously.


    "I don''t know yet. I''ll identify them later. Something is coming here," he said casually.


    The Purloin that Graham was wearing had been sending out a presence that drew the creatures inside to cave towards them. He didn''t conceal it on purpose so that they didn''t have to go around the caves for hunting.


    "Hiss!"


    The creature with a snake-like appearance came darting towards them quickly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Badum! Badum!


    Graham managed to avoid the creature''s charge that was targeted at him thanks to the boost from Jacco''s drum.


    "It''s another Tsuchinoko," he said, and then added, "Same strategy as before,"


    "Uhm... there is another one over there," said Luuk while pointing at a direction.


    From another direction, there was another Tsuchinoko that was observing them. Its tongue was sticking out repeatedly to sense its surrounding.


    "That''s just more extra money. Be more careful and we should be able to pull this. Watch out for its venom spray attack!" reminded Graham.


    "Guys, there are three of them!" shouted Jacco while still beating the metal plate on his stomach ceremoniously.


    There was one more Tsuchinoko approaching rapidly from the front and now it was standing tall next to the one observing them.


    "Okay, now things are getting dangerous," said Graham.


    "Don''t forget that our abilities are limited," reminded Luuk.


    They were now facing three Tsuchinokos at the same time. The creatures'' yellow eyes were looking at them ravenously.

 99 A Fight in the Cave

    "Hiss!"


    One of the Tsuchinokos let out a loud hiss before opening its giant mouth. Green liquid shot out from the hole in its fangs towards where Graham and Luuk were standing. They quickly avoided the projectile and managed to get out of its area of damage. The ground that it touched made a sizzling noise and smoke came rising up.


    "Do we run for it?" asked Luuk.


    The Tsuchinokos were not really strong as a supernatural creature, but they were very troublesome. Their weak spots were under their bellies that were covered most of the time. Because of their size and weight, it was almost impossible to topple Tsuchinokos unless the person possessed super strength.


    "We fight. Buy me some time," replied Graham as he retreated to a safe distance.


    Graham slit his palm and drop his blood to the ground. Luuk, who was now left to face three Tsuchinokos on his own, had to concentrate very hard not to get killed. Jacco kept beating the War Drum, which boosted Luuk''s overall power.


    Badum! Badum!


    "Hiss!"


    The Tsuchinoko hissed again and Luuk swiftly ran towards the direction of another one. The Tsuchinoko that Luuk was running forward suddenly lunged at him, but he had expected that. Luuk nimbly dodged to the side.


    Splash!


    The first Tsuchinoko sprayed the other one with its venom. However, it didn''t seem to do any significant damage to it besides creating some stains on its hard scales.


    "Jacco, can you make them fight each other?" asked Luuk.


    Jacco looked to the back where Graham was to ask for confirmation. The latter said that he would divine it but he hadn''t told him the result.


    "It will work, right, detective?"


    "Yes! Do it!" shouted Graham from the back without stopping what he was doing.


    Jacco kept beating his drum and amidst that, he started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, grant the words I say the ability to provoke my enemies!"


    A red mist of war spread out from his mouth and quickly dispersed.


    "Hey, ugly bastard, that thing over there stole your food yesterday!" he shouted at one of the creatures while pointing at the other with his free right hand.


    Luuk could see a very thin, barely noticeable, red mist entering the snake-like creature that Jacco just shouted at. It then changed direction and lunged at the one that Jacco pointed at.


    "That stupid lie worked?" said Luuk in disbelief.


    Jacco was also surprised. He didn''t think his ability would really work. It was his least frequently used ability because there were just not a lot of chances for him to use it. Who knew it would be a lifesaver in that situation.


    "Hiss!!"


    Blood came dripping from its left eye that had been pierced by the other''s fang. The other eye remained intact because the creature''s fangs couldn''t reach both eyes at the same time.


    "My ability won''t last much longer!" exclaimed Jacco.


    "How much longer?" asked Luuk.


    The remaining Tsuchinoko had tried to spray him with its venom, but Luuk managed to dodge. He was now running away from its attack.


    "A moment!" shouted Graham from the back.


    Underneath him was now a pool of blood that kept getting wider by the second. His blood kept dripping on it, increasing the pool''s size slowly.


    Clank!


    Luuk defended against the creature''s attack with his knife, but he was still sent flying back several meters.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, grant the words I say the ability to provoke my enemies!"


    Jacco finished chanting again and now he was targeting the creature that was attacking Luuk.


    "Hey, shithead! That thing over there will eat us and leave you starving. You need to kill it now!" Jacco shouted at it while pointing at one of the fighting Tsuchinokos.


    The same faint red mist entered the creature and it became strangely irritated by the other one. Meanwhile, the previously attacking Tsuchinoko suddenly stopped as if it had come back to its senses. It turned around and looked at Jacco in anger. It quickly jumped at him with full speed and its mouth was open wide, ready to devour the man in one bite.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack Jacco mine!"


    Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand and the Tsuchinoko stopped in its track in confusion. It then saw Luuk who was closer to it and opened its mouth to use its venom spray.


    "Bring it here!" said Graham finally.


    There was now significantly more blood on the ground that it started to spread around. Graham looked weak, but with the effect of Jacco''s War Drum, he was rapidly recovering. Luuk let go of the stolen intention in his hand and the creature suddenly had the urge to attack Jacco again. It closed its mouth and started charging at him with its huge body.


    Jacco ran towards the pool of blood near Graham to lure the Tsuchinoko. The other two, who by now had stopped fighting, also lunged at the human enemies. Luuk had dodged all of their attacks swiftly while Jacco was jumping over the blood puddle. The Tsuchinoko that was chasing him quickly got on the red pool and Graham quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, order my blood that covers the earth to attack my enemy!"


    The blood boiled and it quickly formed tiny pellets that started shooting at the Tsuchinoko above it. Its hard scales protected it from most of the attacks, but its weak spot, which was right on top of the blood puddle, was not spared. The blood pellets shot right at the weakness and injured the creature greatly. The snake-like thing tried to move away from it but the barrage of attacks made it difficult to do so. With that amount of blood, the attack kept on coming and not long after, the Tsuchinoko lost its life shortly after that, and the blood pellets stopped shooting.


    "One down. Two to go!" exclaimed Jacco excitedly.


    "Bright that one here as well!" commanded Graham.


    Luuk quickly ran away from his spot, bringing the two creatures with him. The dead body of the previous Tsuchinoko was blocking the blood puddle that had now reduced in size significantly. There would only be enough blood to kill one of them. Luuk agilely jumped over the puddle and when one of the creatures was on top of it, Graham chanted again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, order my blood that covers the earth to attack my enemy!"


    "Hiss!"


    Blood pellets started forming again and attack one of the Tsuchinokos, leaving the other the freedom to attack Luuk. Luckily, he hadn''t let his guard down and managed to dodge the attack safely. He then tried to stab its intact right eye with his knife. Luuk jumped high in the air and aimed for the yellow eye of the creature, and quickly sank his knife deep inside its eye.


    "Hisss!!!"


    It hissed loudly in pain with blood running down its destroyed eyeball. Meanwhile, the other Tsuchinoko had completely died because of Graham''s blood attack, and the pool of blood on the ground was no more.


    "This is the last one!" shouted Luuk.


    Badum! Badum!


    The War Drum kept on beating, strengthening the three men considerably. Luuk dodged the creature''s blind tail swipe with ease, and it struck a wall, destroying a little part of it. If he had been hit by the tail, things would be ugly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to roll over!"


    As Graham finished his chanting, the last Tsuchinoko stopped in its track and involuntarily rolled over, exposing the weak spot on its belly. Graham and Luuk didn''t waste time and quickly stabbed it. The creature let out a loud hiss that was full of pain and then died not long after.


    "What was that blood ability just now?" asked Luuk.


    Graham cleaned the dust off his coat and then answered, "It''s something I copied from a Murderer. I''ve used up all of it for today, though,"


    "But you still have Order, right?" he asked again.


    "Yes. I''m saving it in case something more powerful shows up," replied Graham.


    Jacco, who had stopped beating the iron plate on his stomach, approached the group and looked around at the aftermath of the battle. There are three corpses of snake-like creatures with bulging stomachs, one of which was lying upside down. From the upside-down corpse, an egg-like object had completely formed and lied on top of the wounded belly. Luuk picked up the object and put it inside his backpack.


    "What about these two?" asked Jacco and pointed at the other two corpses lying next to each other.


    "We might have to turn them upside down," replied Luuk.


    The three men stood next to the corpse, in the gap between the two that was big enough for them to slip in. They lifted the Tsuchinoko''s dead body and put all of their strength into it.


    "Hnggh!!"


    It was heavier than they thought. It was definitely easier to push the corpse aside than to flip it. It took them a while but they managed to roll the creature''s body over and exposed its injured belly. There, stuck inside the wound, the egg-like object that they were looking for was found. They did the same thing with the other corpse and after working hard to turn it upside down, they could retrieve the egg object, which Luuk kept safe inside his backpack.


    "Phew. I''m glad it ended without a problem," said Jacco in relief.


    "Yes. It could have ended badly for us. We should avoid fighting many at the same time again," replied Graham.


    The three men then pushed the corpses to the side with less difficulty than when they flipped them and after the job was done, they continued their way. Luuk led the team because he was the one who could feel where the gemstones were located. On the way, he also collected some plants that grew on the cave floor.


    The deeper they walked, the darker the cave became. The holes that let the sunbeams to come through became more scarce, but it was still enough for Graham and Jacco to see. If it became any darker, they would have to use another source of lighting.


    "Here," said Luuk.


    He stopped in front of a cave wall with a low hanging ceiling that had green spots on it.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the gemstones inside this spot mine!"


    His right hand made a swiping motion and the green spots inside the cave ceiling disappeared and reappeared in his hand. There were small pieces of green gemstones with murky color. He put all of them inside his backpack and then continued deeper into the cave.


    "Wait up!" said Jacco.


    He took out a small flashlight with a strap and then wrapped it around his forehead. With his flashlight, Jacco and Graham now could see well while Luuk had had his night vision activated.


    "Stop!" interjected Graham quietly.


    The others also felt what Graham was feeling, so they stopped right away. Jacco turned off his flashlight and the cave became dark. Luuk, who was still able to see perfectly, could see something in the distance, unmoving. The thing emitted an aura more dangerous than the Tsuchinokos.


    "What can you see?" asked Graham whisperingly.


    "It''s a giant bat hanging from the ceiling. It has human hair," he replied quietly, "It seems to be sleeping,"


    "Describe it to me in detail," requested Graham.


    "It''s probably around one and a half meters tall. Its wings are red, and it''s covering its body. The hair grows from the head to toe, including the wings," answered Luuk with a low voice.

 100 A Stronger Enemy

    "That''s an Olitiau," said Graham quietly, and then paused.


    He was holding a lighter whose flame gradually dimmed until it was normal size again. The area around him was illuminated by the fire, casting his and the other two''s shadows to the cave walls. The dark ceiling up above was out of the reach of Graham''s lighter, and the supernatural creature that was sleeping upside down was even farther. They breathed quietly, trying not to wake up the Olitiau.


    "It has no significant weakness, so we just have to kill it the old-fashioned way."


    Jacco looked up to the dark ceiling ahead of him and tried to imagine the creature''s location based on his teammates'' descriptions.


    "How the hell do we reach it?" he asked in confusion.


    "It''s out of my ability range," replied Luuk.


    "I can shoot it but it will be ugly. Be careful of its wing attack. Jacco, get your drum ready," commanded Graham.


    In the dark cave, Graham walked closer slowly towards the creature and readied his gun. The chamber of his revolver was still loaded with the paralysis bullet that he hadn''t used at all up until now. There were still three bullets just like when he bought them.


    "It''s too dark for me to see, Val. My lighter can''t reach the ceiling. I don''t want to startle it with Jacco''s flashlight either. The first shot is very important," he muttered.


    When he was close enough, Graham stood in place and aimed at the dark ceiling where he thought the creature was. As he was about to pull the trigger, he started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order this paralysis bullet to strike the Olitiau right in the head!"


    Bang!


    The paralysis bullet pierced through the air and entered the darkness before hitting something. Graham felt something was about to fall on him so he quickly evaded.


    Slam!


    Hearing the gunshot, Jacco and Luuk quickly did their part. The former quickly turned on his flashlight and readied a short iron stick.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    He beat the iron plate strapped on his stomach with the stick. The beating sound resonated in the dark cave chamber, empowering his allies.


    Badum! Badum!


    Graham managed to get away from the spot where the creature fell. It had been paralyzed by the bullet and thanks to Jacco''s light, he could see the wound on the creature''s forehead. There was a shallow hole there with red blood flowing out of it.


    "Aim for its wings!" shouted Graham while quickly swapping his gun for his dagger.


    "Screeech!!"


    The creature was angry. It stretched its wings and flapped them to start flying. However, it couldn''t do so smoothly because apparently Luuk had managed to injure its left wing membrane, making it difficult to fly.


    The paralysis bullet was effective, but between the bullet or his Order, he preferred to use the latter because it was free. While the creature was still only several meters above the ground, he quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop moving!"


    The Olitiau''s wings stopped flapping and it fell back to the ground. It lied there motionlessly although it was apparent that the creature was trying hard to break free from the control.


    "You deal with the wing, I''ll stab its neck," said Graham quickly.


    Badum! Badum!


    Both men dashed towards the frozen bat-like creature and Graham swiftly got near its neck with the help of Jacco''s flashlight. He used both hands now and thrust his dagger towards its hairy neck. Looking from up close, it was a bizarre creature because its skin resembled a human''s so much, especially with the hair instead of fur. Graham''s dagger made contact with the hard skin and he put all of his strength into it. He then raised his dagger and stabbed it for the second time, cutting the flesh open. His knife sank into the creature''s neck, tearing apart its veins.


    "Screeech!!"


    The effect of his Order had worn out and the Olitiau quickly stood up and flapped its wings rapidly, creating a strong gust of wind that pushed them back hard. Graham and Jacco were thrown several meters into the ground while Jacco, who was far from the impact, was only pushed back a little.


    "It''s not dead yet?!" exclaimed Jacco.


    His flashlight was illuminating the giant bat in front of him. From its neck, blood was gushing out while its left wing membrane was completely torn. In that condition, there was no way the creature could still fly.


    Seeing that Jacco was still standing and the other two had got back up, the Olitiau quickly flapped its wings again with a stronger intensity.


    Whoosh!!


    A strong gust of wind swept Jacco, stopping the War Drum that he was playing. Graham and Luuk were pushed back yet again by it.


    "How can it create strong wind like that with that wing?!" exclaimed Luuk in disbelief.


    The Olitiau dashed closer to them with the intention of attacking, but Graham had quickly opened his mouth ready to chant the moment it got into range. The creature saw his suspicious behavior and stopped in its track and flapped its wings again.


    Whooosh!!


    "Fucker!!" yelled Jacco as he was thrown back several meters.


    The three of them had had no chance to recover from the previous attack but they had been blown away for the third time. Although the wind itself didn''t hurt them so much, the impact with the hard cave ground sent pain all over their bodies. The creature was both fast and strong; the moment they almost got back up, it was already in range for its own wing attack but still too far for Graham''s Order.


    "Screech!!"


    "This thing seems much smarter than those Snakinokos!" shouted Luuk.


    He quickly moved to the side the moment he could to avoid being blown away any further. Because of his agility, he barely managed to avoid its next wing attack.


    Whoosh!


    Graham and Jacco, who were not as fast as Luuk, weren''t so lucky. They got thrown back again by the creature''s gust of wind without being able to do anything while Luuk was slightly pushed back to another direction, separating him from the group.


    "How many fucking times now?" said Jacco in frustration.


    He decided to stay lying down on the ground because the moment he got back up, he would be blown away by the wind anyway. He trusted his fate to his two teammates instead.


    The Olitiau saw Luuk that had gone out of its attack range, so it turned to him and flapped its wings hard.


    Whoosh!!


    Luuk got pushed back and hit a wall hard; his whole body was in pain.


    The Olitiau saw that Graham had almost recovered and sent another strong gust of wind to push him back.


    Whoosh!!


    Graham and Jacco got blown away again. The Olitiau couldn''t pay attention to both Luuk and Graham at the same time, so it decided to focus on the one that had restricted its movement last time.


    As Graham got back up, the Olitiau was about to flap its wings again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to flap your wings mine!"


    Luuk finished chanting and made a swiping motion with his right hand. He had sneaked closer to it while its attention was still on Graham whom it deemed the most dangerous. The creature stood there in confusion as if it forgot what it was about to do. Graham seized the opportunity and got closer to it, and once in range, he quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop moving!"


    The Olitiau was now frozen in place again and the two men quickly dashed to it. Luuk had let go of the stolen intention, and the Olitiau was visibly trying to flap its wings but without success.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Jacco had quickly got back up and started beating his drum again to strengthen his teammates'' attack.


    Luuk went and continued to damage the creature''s left wing while Graham aimed for its neck again. The wound that he had created before was still open, so the creature definitely didn''t have a super healing ability.


    "This is for the annoying attacks just now!" shouted Graham as he thrust his knife to the wound on the creature''s neck.


    Stab!


    The dagger sank deeper, causing more blood to spurt out from the wound. The creature looked like it was in great pain, but it still couldn''t move because of Graham''s Order. Meanwhile, Luuk had completely severed its left wing. Sensing that the creature was about to move, Graham quickly pulled his knife and retreated, followed by Luuk.


    "Scfhhffgg!!"


    The creature tried to screech but its throat had been cut open by Graham. It was a wonder that it was even alive right now.


    "Why is it not fucking dead yet?" shouted Jacco from the back without stopping his beats.


    It flapped its right wing, but without its left one, the gust of wind it created was significantly weaker than before. Graham and Luuk could even block it with just their arms.


    "You cannot send us flying anymore now. What are you going to do, eh?" provoked Graham.


    The creature, which didn''t understand Graham''s words, ignored him and quickly picked up its severed wing with its mouth. Its speed was still terrifying despite its injury, and the severed wing suddenly was hurled towards the two men who couldn''t get away fast enough.


    Slam!


    The left wing of the creature hit both Graham and Luuk because of its size. The impact was very hard, causing them so much pain. Besides that, the wing that was now on top of them was quite heavy, making it even more difficult for them to quickly get away.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop moving!"


    Graham chanted his Order as the creature was rapidly closing in for an attack. The creature was now frozen in place, so they had time to move the wing aside. Jacco had run to their size and helped the two injured men get out of the severed wing without stopping his drum beat.


    Once they got out, the Olitiau also broke free from Graham''s control. Apparently, the more he used the same Order on the same target, the less effective it became. It was now quickly charging at Graham again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack Graham mine!"


    His right hand made a swift swiping motion and the creature stopped in its track in confusion. Graham then took the opportunity to take out his gun and aimed at the creature.


    Bang!


    It was another paralysis bullet that he had shot. The Olitiau was now unable to move again, which gave the two of them the opportunity to attack.


    Graham and Luuk both aimed for its neck and the creature fell down to the ground because of their weight. Their two daggers were stabbing hard and cutting everything as quickly as they could before it regained control over its body, which would happen very soon. After being stabbed by Graham twice, it was now easier to cut open its hairy flesh.


    "Schhffhgg!!"


    The Olitiau was squirming in pain, trying to screech without success. The injury it suffered was too heavy, so it had no strength to push aside the two assailants. Graham and Luuk kept stabbing its neck until its head was completely severed, killing the creature. Blood had spurt all over them and everywhere near the thing, and kept flowing from the cut open neck.


    "Is it really dead now?" asked Jacco as he came closer. His beating didn''t stop in case the creature was still alive.


    Graham and Luuk watched the headless body carefully for any signs of movement. After several seconds of nothing, they deemed that it was dead.


    "That was the hardest one so far-- not counting the rat thing because we ran away," said Luuk.


    "Agreed. It took me two paralysis bullets and four Orders just for one enemy. I can only use it three more times today, so we''d better avoid any more fighting," replied Graham.


    Both he and Luuk took out a paper pouch from their pockets and inhaled the blue powder inside. Their injuries started healing rapidly after that.


    "Why did it completely ignore Jacco? Usually, they aim for him first because of his drum," asked Luuk curiously.


    "I have no idea. Maybe because bats are used to noise all the time," replied Graham unconcernedly.


    "What noise? This cave is so quiet..." responded Luuk.


    Graham shrugged.


    "I know why! It''s because you guys are BATter than me, so you''re more dangerous," said Jacco. He smiled proudly at his own joke, "Get it? BATter! Hahaha!"


    The other two just shrugged. They had the urge to facepalm but they held back.


    "Let''s see what we''ve got here," said Graham, changing the topic.


    From the Olitiau''s neck, something had formed. It was a brown round object that looked like compressed bat droppings. Graham picked it up and felt the object''s bounciness when he touched it. It also smelled rather unpleasant. He threw it at Luuk who then put it inside his backpack along with the other loots from today.


    "Is there any more gemstone near here?" asked Graham.


    "The closest one is too far from here. Should we risk it or should we go back?" replied Luuk.


    Graham thought about the options. He had almost exhausted all of his resources, so he was more inclined towards the second option.


    "I vote for risking it!" replied Jacco obliviously.


    "You''ve been the safest among us so far," replied Luuk, shrugging, "I vote for going back,"


    "It''s been decided then. We''ll go back. I don''t think we''ll win a fight against another one of these things," said Graham decisively, "But before that, let me do some divination to see if we can harvest the creatures'' organs."


    He took out his lighter and concentrated on it. Luuk, who was the only one with night vision, stayed on guard. Jacco with his flashlight also helped out, although his vision was not as good as Luuk''s. The two men observed their surroundings intently and perked up their ears for any sounds coming towards them. The silence of the dark cave indicated that they were safe for the time being.


    "We can take its heart and eyes. They can be sold for a high price or be used for rituals. Or if we can find a Transmuter, they can be parts of the materials for enchanted equipment," he paused, "As for the Tsuchinokos, we can take out their venom glands-- and their scales as well,"


    The three men got to work right away. Luuk and Jacco were busy cutting open the Olitiau''s body while Graham gouged out the eyes from the severed head. When they were done, Luuk stored everything inside his backpack and headed back to where the Tsuchinokos'' bodies were.


    There were a total of four dead snake-like creatures, so they should be able to get a lot from them. The corpses of the Tsuchinokos were still in the same condition as when they left them. They started working right away, cutting open their bodies through the weak point in their bellies. They took out the venom glands and also tore apart their hard scales. By the end of the day, Luuk''s backpack was overflowing with stuff, mainly scales, so Graham and Jacco had to carry some in their limited space as well.


    "We''re rich men now!" said Jacco excitedly as they safely exited the cave.

 101 A Siege

    A woman wearing a blue coat with the logo of the Police was standing in front of a six-story apartment that was bustling with activity. Under her coat, her soft-pink dress with floral patterns complemented the innocent beauty in her face, although her eyes belonged to someone who was battle-hardened. Her brown hair was loose and glistened under the afternoon sun. On her back, there was a short bow that looked like it was tailor-made for her, just like the heavy-looking boots that she was wearing.


    "Lieutenant Roze, Sergeant Rood and Geel are here," said a Police officer while saluting her.


    She nodded and continued staring at the apartment building in front of her, while the officer left and joined the others. Around her, people with similar attire were busy going around and preparing something. Not long after, a tall man with a scar on his face came approaching her; his manner of walking was calm and domineering. Behind the man, there was a woman with light blond hair with freckles on her face. Her light blue eyes looked very calm and staring at them would make someone feel soothed. She walked graciously towards the Lieutenant.


    "You''re finally back, Roze," said scarred man coldly.


    "Don''t be so cold to me, Rood. It''s nearing the conclusion on the other side, so they can spare me being here," replied Roze with a mature voice, which contrasted with her appearance, "Anyway, congratulations on your second contract with a President. You''re only one step away to becoming a Lieutenant,"


    Rood stayed quiet and looked at the apartment building in front of him. The blonde woman was now standing beside the two of them.


    "Geel, you can start now," said Roze.


    She nodded and then started kneeling in front of the building while opening a briefcase that she was carrying. She took out a stack of black incense sticks, some blue grass, and a tiny black crystal. Geel slit her wrist and drew a sigil on the ground carefully until a blood sigil resembling a compass made out of crosses was formed. She then placed the incense, blue grass, and crystal on top of the sigil and smeared more of her blood on the items before taking out a matchstick.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Serpents and Death, hereby place the curse of deep slumber upon all the living beings inside this building,"


    Her voice sounded very calm and tranquil. As she finished chanting, she set all the offerings on fire with the matchstick and the items burned slowly. The blood sigil created a wall of fire that gradually emitted a mysterious dark blue mist that started to envelop the apartment building. It took more than two minutes for the mist to finish enveloping the entirety of the building, and once it was done, deep silence came from the apartments that were busy just a minute ago. Geel zipped her briefcase and stood back up gracefully.


    "It''s done. Not even an explosion will wake them up," she said.


    Two Police officers came carrying an all-black box half their size. There was a constant thud coming from inside the box, like whatever was in it was agitated and wanted to get out. They put the box near the Lieutenant and she opened it after muttering something inaudible under her breath.


    Once the box was open, an eerie-looking puppet jumped out and lied motionlessly on the ground next to the box. Its wooden body looked very stiff, but the eyes that were supposed to be lifeless were rolling around in their sockets, watching its surroundings. After that, the puppet suspended itself in the air like someone was pulling its strings and floated into the apartment building.


    "Follow it and detain everyone it points at! We can just interrogate them later and release the innocent ones," commanded Roze decisively, and then turned to the calm woman, "Geel, be ready to seal the puppet later once it''s done its job,"


    "Okay," replied Geel.


    Roze, Rood, and Geel quickly entered the now quiet apartment building, following the many officers who had headed in before them. The officers were following the puppet around the first floor. Whenever the puppet stopped at a door, they would pry open the door and took the person inside to their motor carriage and handcuffed them there. The person remained asleep through the whole process because of Geel''s curse.


    After the puppet was finished with the first floor, it went upstairs, followed by the officers behind it.


    "Geel, follow the puppet. Rood and I will look for the basement," said Roze.


    Geel nodded and went upstairs with the other officers while Roze and Rood stayed behind. The two of them then went towards the manager''s office that was not far from where they were standing. They stopped in front of the door with the sign saying ''Manager''s Office'' and Rood tried to open the door.


    "Locked," he said shortly.


    It wasn''t a problem for him, however. He slit his palm and let the blood gather on it. Once there was enough, he started chanting while pressing his bloody palm to the keyhole.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Wit and Blood, order the blood that covers my palm to take the form of this door''s key!"


    The blood then hardened and filled the keyhole perfectly, forming a key that was a match with the lock. He turned the key and there was a click coming from the door.


    Creak...


    The thick wooden door made a loud noise as he opened it. Roze and Rood entered the manager''s office carefully. There was no one currently there in the well-organized office. They were there to look for the building''s blueprint to find the entrance to the basement and were quickly able to do so. The blueprint was placed inside the desk drawer and it was not locked. Rood took it out and spread in on the manager''s desk.


    "According to this, the basement''s entrance is inside room six. That''s not normal," said Rood while holding the blueprint paper down to prevent it from rolling back up.


    "The more reason we should be suspicious. After all, both Paars and Oranje did divination and this place came up," responded Roze.


    The two of them quickly left the room and headed towards room six on the first floor. They arrived shortly after and found out that the door was again locked. When Rood was about to slit his palm again, Roze stopped him.


    "Let me," she said shortly, and then focused her attention on the door in front of her, "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    Click!


    The door was now unlocked, so they entered the apartment room where the basement entrance should be. The apartment looked uninhabited, judging from the furniture that was covered in sheets to prevent dust from piling up on them. They walked past the living room and went straight to the bedroom, which was indicated on the blueprint.


    There was a kingsized bed in the middle of the bedroom, and the floor underneath it had a sign of dragging. It was likely that the basement entrance was hidden under the bed. Roze focused on the bed in front of her and spoke.


    "I order you to move aside!"


    With her words, the bed magically started to drag itself to the size, slowly revealing a trapdoor underneath. It was a metal trapdoor and there was no handle for them to hold onto, so the only choice was to use Roze''s order again.


    "I order you to open yourself!" she said while focusing on the metal trapdoor.


    Clank!


    Instead of opening, there was a weird noise coming from the trapdoor, like pieces of metal hitting each other. Roze''s Order had failed.


    "There is protection placed on this door," she concluded.


    "I don''t suppose we can open it, can we?" asked Rood.


    "We can''t, so let me just make a new entrance," she said nonchalantly, "Move aside!"


    Rood did as he was told Roze took several steps back away from the trapdoor. She then picked up the short bow from her back and got into position. On the handle, there was a sharp piece of metal attached, so she could quickly make an incision on her right finger. The blood that flowed from her wound took the form of an arrow. In a shooting position, she started to chant.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Great Battles and Decay, imbue this arrow with the power to create a small explosion!"


    Whoosh!


    The blood arrow pierced through the air and hit the wooden floor near the trapdoor.


    Kaboom!


    The arrow suddenly exploded. Both Rood and Roze had taken cover behind the wall of the living room, and after the explosion ended, they came back to check. The metal trapdoor was unaffected by the blast because of the protection, but on the floor next to it there was now a hole big enough for one adult to get through. The hole led to the space behind the trapdoor, which was a dark staircase leading down.


    Roze and Rood entered through the hole one by one and they activated their night vision to help them see better in the dark. They also got ready for combat because the explosion should have alerted whoever was in the basement if they weren''t affected by Geel''s deep slumber curse.


    Although she was wearing heavy leather boots, Roze was strangely silent. The two of them kept descending down deeper and deeper under the building until they arrived at a very large chamber that wasn''t the same size as the one in the blueprint. The one in front of them was much bigger. In the dark chamber, they could see numerous human corpses being hung upside down with metal hooks. In fact, the room was full of sharp hooks hanging from the ceiling.


    Swoosh!


    Without warning, Roze suddenly shot towards the space in front of them. Rood, who had also felt the presence of an enemy, took out blood bags from his coat and started to make weapons right away.


    "How rude of you..." said a male voice from afar.


    They couldn''t see the person who said that, but they knew that the person was dangerous. And judging from how the voice sounded, it appeared that Roze''s arrow was successfully deflected or dodged.


    Ding ding ding...


    There was the sound of the piano being played in the distance and suddenly, the two of them got a splitting headache. Roze bared with it and created another blood arrow while chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Great Battles and Decay, imbue this arrow with the power of explosion and sickness!"


    Swoosh!


    Her arrow pierced through the air and a second after the sound of it hitting something was heard, a loud kaboom overcame their ears. There was an explosion ahead of them but the smoke from the fire was dark green instead of grey. The sound of the piano playing stopped as well because of the explosion.


    Cough! Cough!


    "How did you even find this place? Cough!" asked a voice that sounded calm despite the violent coughing.


    The two of them didn''t respond. Roze signaled at Rood and they entered the chamber carefully, walking slowly towards the source of the voice from two different directions. They had to maneuver over the hanging bodies, which looked much worse from up close. It appeared that some of their organs and limbs were missing, most likely used in a ritual. Despite the large room, the numerous bodies obstructed their views and made dodging sudden attacks difficult, so they had to be extra cautious.


    That woman must have crazy aim if she could hit the target in this condition, thought Rood.


    As they got closer to where the explosion was, the green smoke also started to affect them, so they quickly took out paper pouches and inhaled the blue powder inside.


    Cough! Cough!


    The sound of coughing got closer and they finally could see the person making it. There was a man busy preparing a ritual at the other end of the chamber with a ruined piano next to him. The wood was still burning because of Roze''s explosion and green smoke kept rising from the fire.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Great Battles and Decay, imbue this arrow with the power of paralysis!"


    Woosh!


    Roze suddenly shot at the man without giving him the chance to finish his ritual. Judging from all the blood and the sinister materials used in it, the effect wouldn''t be good at all for them. The impact threw him to the back and he lied motionlessly on the concrete ground. He seemed to be unable to move, but there was a smile on his face.


    Growl!


    Suddenly, the dead bodies hanging from the ceiling started moving and roaring violently. They tried to break free from the hook attached to them by shaking and squirming about. As their attention was drawn by the moving dead bodies, the man in front of them suddenly turned into numerous tiny birds and flew all over the place.

 102 Trying to Subdue an Enemy

    "Not a chance!"


    Rood controlled six blood daggers that he had created and sliced through the tiny flying birds, completely ignoring the dead bodies that had managed to break free. The birds were very quick, so some of them managed to dodge the floating daggers.


    Roze wasn''t losing out either. She very quickly shot the birds with frightening accuracy using blood arrows, killing them instantly. With every passing second, more and more tiny birds fell down lifelessly on the ground.


    "Growl!"


    The dead bodies that had broken free started charging at them. Those corpses, although badly mangled, could strangely walk straight with a speed like that of a healthy adult.


    "Rood, take care of them! I''ll chase down the man," commanded Roze.


    Rood nodded and controlled the blood daggers to come to his side. Then, he scattered them around, cutting open the corpses'' legs to incapacitate them. The blood daggers danced in the air with agility, easily slicing through flesh and muscles like they were paper.


    The birds that managed to escape from the bombardment gathered and quickly formed the shape of a man on the staircase. It was a man with a crooked nose and a cleft chin and there were injuries all over his body because a lot of the birds were killed. He couldn''t move fast in that condition, so his only option was to fight back.


    The man with the blood weapons should be busy dealing with the corpses, and the woman is quickly approaching my position. I have to act quickly now or my life is over.


    The man stood on the staircase took out a flute from the robe that he was wearing. He then blew it and played a sinister melody.


    Trill!


    The sound attracted the corpses and they quickly dashed towards the entrance of the chamber. The corpses piled their mangled bodies on top of each other and completely blocked the entrance.


    This should hinder her a little. She seems strong, so I don''t think the barricade will last long.


    Tootle Too!


    He played the flute again and this time, a soothing melody came out of it. Parts of the dead bodies that were on his side of the door came falling off and started squirming towards his location. The rotten flesh wiggled about and not long after, they were within the range of the man. The pieces of flesh jumped and attached themselves to the man''s wound, slowly integrating into the man''s body and healing his injuries.


    It always feels unpleasant, but I have no other choice. Now it''s time to bail.


    Kaboom!


    The wall of corpses was completely destroyed by an explosion and Roze came through the gap that she made.


    Shit. A Sagitarr indeed is difficult to deal with. I guess running away is not an option now.


    The man started chanting quickly.


    Roze froze in place. The ability seemed to have affected her.


    No need to see what desire got amplified. Now it''s time for me to run.


    The man quickly climbed up the stairs and exited through the hole that Roze had made. Roze, who was still standing at the end of the dark corridor, suddenly got up and returned to the room where Rood was. The latter had almost finished destroying all the corpses, so they shouldn''t be able to come back to life.


    "Rood, I''ve always wanted you!" said Roze while jumping at Rood.


    She tried to embrace him but Rood could quickly dodge her arms. Roze was definitely not herself. Her eyes looked like someone who was infatuated, and her action was like a dog in heat.


    "Is this the enemy''s doing?" said Rood while taking out a paper pouch from his pocket.


    Inside the pouch, there was a purple powder that emitted a strange aura. Rood quickly pinned Roze down to the ground and forced her to inhale the powder. Once the fine dust entered her nose, she gradually came back to her senses and the lust in her eyes disappeared.


    "Thinking straight now? I''m your cousin you sick fuck!" said Rood in anger.


    What the fuck did I try to do? This was too embarrassing. There is no way I can look at him the same way again.


    Roze was flustered, but she quickly got back on her feet and shot an angry look at Rood.


    "Don''t you dare let a word about what happened out," she replied, also in anger.


    The two of them quickly exited the room to chase the escaping enemy.


    "What did the enemy do to you?" asked Rood.


    "He''s a Sinner. That''s all you need to know," replied Roze shortly.


    The enemy had managed to get out of their sight, so they quickly climbed up the stairs and got out of the basement through the hole that she had made earlier.


    Shit. They recovered that quickly. There is something really dangerous as well coming here from the second floor.


    The man with the chiseled face played another tune on his flute, and the calming melody resounded in the room. The sound seemed to be coming from all over the place instead of one source, While playing the melody, he exited the apartment with the number six on the door, walking quietly to avoid making noise. He was lucky that the door was already open so he didn''t have to do it.


    As I expected, the Police are all over the place. As long as I don''t make a lot of noise, they shouldn''t be able to see me.


    "Who''s playing that song?" asked a Police officer with a confused look on his face.


    The Police officers tasked to guard the first-floor corridor looked around in confusion. They were trying hard to concentrate and pinpoint the source of the melody, but it seemed to come from every direction and at the same time, from their own ears.


    Roze and Rood arrived at the corridor not long after. They saw the confused look on the officers'' faces and heard the melody too. They looked around to find the source but were also unable to do so.


    "This is a Balladeer''s ability. Our enemy is a dual Marquis Contractbound!" said Roze.


    The man was still walking quietly while playing the flute, heading towards the exit. He was surrounded, so he couldn''t afford to make a mistake right now.


    Roze whispered something to Rood, and then the latter nodded. She then shouted suddenly.


    "Duck!"


    All the Police Officers quickly ducked as commanded and Rood controlled his blood daggers to sweep indiscriminately across the corridor, leaving no safe room for anyone to hide. However, none of the blood daggers hit anything besides the air, and the melody kept on playing.


    If I hadn''t seen the suspicious movement of those people, I would have become mincemeat now.


    The man kept playing the melody while crawling slowly towards the exit. However, suddenly he couldn''t move, although he could still play the tune to make himself invisible.


    "Daddy let''s play!"


    There was an eerie sound coming from the stairs, approaching him quickly. It sounded like the voice of a young boy with a cut-open throat. On the staircase, there was a wooden puppet that was made in the image of a young boy, complete with the clothes, floating in the air like someone was pulling its strings. Its expression was twisted, however, unlike that of an innocent boy. The puppet''s eyes were fixated on a spot in the corridor, where no one was supposed to be.


    Shit! It''s a Ghost Puppet.


    The man was trying very hard to break free from the puppet''s control, but he was still unable to move no matter how hard he tried.


    "He''s there!" shouted Roze as she aimed at the spot with her bow.


    Whoosh!


    Her blood arrow pierced through the air and stopped midway. It had hit something and was stuck in the person''s flesh. The man soon couldn''t maintain his flute playing and his figure was revealed to everyone there. There was an arrow lodged in his right shoulder with blood flowing from the wound.


    "It seems that you found me. But I''m afraid I have to say goodbye," said the man with a confident smirk.


    Suddenly, they felt a very dangerous presence and the whole apartment building shook violently.


    Rumble!!


    The shaking continued for several seconds and it got even stronger as time passed.


    "Everyone, watch out!" shouted Roze.


    The whole building kept shaking and then the ceilings started collapsing. Rood destroyed a piece of the ceiling that was about to fall on top of his men with his blood dagger and quickly ran towards where the enemy was lying down. However, there was now no one there, and on top of that, the Ghost Puppet was lying on the floor motionlessly.


    "Our target is gone!" he shouted.


    "It doesn''t matter! Right now we have to evacuate the residents first. Everyone, go and save as many people as you can! I''ll provide support!" commanded Roze.


    The Police officers spread out and went into each room that still had their residents sleeping inside. Despite the strong shaking, the residents were still sleeping because of Geel''s curse. Roze and Rood provided support by destroying any falling concrete that would hit their men, while also help carry the sleeping citizens when they could.


    It was very risky to try to save all the residents because the building could collapse anytime soon. However, as the protector of the citizens, they had to try their best. It was a long and difficult effort, especially with the violent shaking. After saving several people, they felt that the building wouldn''t last any longer, so Roze commanded her men to retreat at once.


    Crash!


    The whole building finally collapsed. The residents, who had woken up as soon as they took a step outside, looked very confused. They didn''t know what was happening and suddenly their houses were gone.


    "Geel, how many people are still in there?" asked Roze.


    Geel looked at Roze seriously. Her calm gaze was replaced by a despairing look.


    "I think more than half the residents are still inside," she answered with a weak voice.


    All the people present heard her and looked at the remains of a six-story apartment in front of them. Under the pieces of concrete, there must be a lot of dead bodies of the unfortunate residents who failed to be evacuated in time. They had died in their sleep, without knowing what had happened.


    "My child! My child is still in there!"


    "What happened?! This isn''t real!"


    "Mama, where are you?"


    Dust and smoke rose to the air, along with the people''s last bit of calmness. The people outside the building were struck by panic and desperation. The sound of crying and screaming mixed together. The cloudy afternoon was painted dark by the people''s sorrowful expression. Some of them, in lack of better options, ran towards the rubble and started frantically searching for their family members or belongings without caring about the risk.


    "Everyone stop! It''s dangerous over there!" shouted Roze.


    "What is this?! Why is this happening!? You are the Police, right?! Give us an explanation!" a man yelled at one of the Police officers there with tears running down his cheeks.


    Geel collapsed to the ground and screamed in guilt.


    ...


    A public motor carriage was driving on Noordparkstraat slowly. There was a commotion that caused traffic to slow down and there were the sounds of both the Police and the Fire Department''s sirens blaring ahead.


    "What the hell is happening?" asked Jacco while looking out of the window.


    There was a collapsed building and people were busy moving the rubbles out of the way to try to rescue any survivors. There was even heavy machinery to help move the bigger pieces of concrete that were too heavy for normal people.


    "An earthquake? By why is it only that one building that collapsed?" replied Luuk.


    A Contractbound? But why did they have to destroy the entire building? Well, whatever. I''m sure Graham will be able to use his divination to find out.


    They didn''t continue talking after that and only focused on watching the evacuation process by the two government bodies. The motor carriage they were driving was held up by the traffic, so it took them very long to pass that street. The number of curious bystanders wasn''t helping either.


    Pieces by pieces, the rubbles were removed and more and more dead bodies were recovered. The expressions of the residents who survived the incident were pained when they saw the dead bodies that belonged to their family members.


    "This is really bad. If it was really a Contractbound, they have provoked the government now," said Graham quietly.


    The motor carriage they were riding kept on driving until it finally left the street.

 103 Business as Usual

    Graham woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. It was still eight o''clock, so he had a lot of time before his meeting time. The previous day, they had agreed to meet up today at midday and go to Erbarmelijk Bazaar to sell the stuff they didn''t need.


    He was curious about the event yesterday, so he quickly grabbed his coat and went out. He wanted to buy today''s newspaper because surely it would be reported there. He had tried using divination but all he got was a fuzzy image that he could barely discern.


    "Val, I''m highly positive it was the Pale Society again, and they must have someone powerful who can interfere with divination within their ranks. I wonder what the official version of this event is," he muttered.


    Graham arrived at the small street stall that sold all sorts of stuff at the side of the street, around the corner. There were numerous newspapers and magazines being displayed there, as well as other stuff like books and keychains. The owner, who was of Khartoum descent, was always friendly as usual. His youthful smile hid his actual age, although his balding head couldn''t lie. He saw Graham and although he didn''t buy newspapers every day, he still recognized the detective.


    "Good morning, Mr. Detective," greeted the middle-aged man with a heavy accent.


    "Good morning. I''ll take De Telegraaf," responded Graham.


    The newspaper seller reached out to one of the newspapers on display and picked it up. He then carefully handed it to his customer.


    "Are you also curious about the collapsed building from yesterday? It made the headline news!" said the stall owner.


    "Yes. It looked like it was a big deal yesterday when I passed that street," responded Graham as he paid one penning to the seller.


    "Crazy, isn''t it? Many things are happening nowadays. I shouldn''t be glad about it, but it actually boosts my sales. I just hope we all stay safe," he said.


    "I hope so too. Have a good day," replied Graham as he left the stall.


    He walked quickly back to his apartment with the newspaper in his hand. There were other people that came to the stall to buy newspapers after he left.


    "Val, it seems a lot of people are curious about the incident," he muttered.


    He arrived at his apartment shortly after and sat in his office chair with the light on. The newspaper that he had just bought was laid on the table. He read the headline news, which was exactly about the collapsed building on Noordparkstraat.


    "And I''m guessing this ''terrorist organization'' is in fact the Pale Society. I wonder how the Police will deal with them now that they''ve carried out their attack in public."


    Graham put down the newspaper and went to the kitchen to make a cup of hot chocolate for breakfast. He was feeling lazy today so he didn''t want to go out for one.


    Ding dong...


    Just as he was taking out the milk from the fridge, someone rang the door. He put the milk back and scratched the back of his head lightly.


    "Val, we''re a professional. We shouldn''t ignore a potential customer," he said, making up his mind.


    Graham went to the door to answer and opened the wooden door. Behind the door, there was a couple, probably a husband and a wife, with a distressed look on their faces.


    "Good morning. Please come in," he greeted them warmly.


    The couple entered the detective''s office and took a seat; the wife on the sofa and the husband on the chair opposite the host''s. Graham closed the door and tightened his coat to cover his bare chest, and then sat down in his own spot with eyes observing the couple closely.


    The man and the woman were both wearing a ring on their left hands, further strengthening his belief that they were married. They looked to be in their early thirties, their worried look made them appear older.


    "Mr. Hymes, we need your help," said the man. His voice was wavering.


    "Val, why does almost everyone just jump the gun around here. Don''t they know I need to know who they are first...," he muttered quietly.


    Graham put on a smile and looked at the man in front of him.


    "I will listen, but you two need to tell me your identities first," replied Graham.


    "Oh, we''re sorry. I''m Levi Baenen and that is my wife, Anne," replied the man.


    Graham looked over his shoulder again.


    "Another Levi and another Anne. Those names sure are common, eh Val?"


    The man saw the detective speaking quietly to himself but he didn''t hear exactly what he was saying. Levi Baenen decided to ignore it and went straight to business.


    "We are desperately in need of your help. Our daughter has been kidnapped, and we cannot go to the Police or they will kill her," said Mr. Baenen.


    Graham''s eyebrow rose. It wouldn''t be his first kidnapping case, but it was the first one since he had become a Contractbound, so it should be easier.


    "Tell me the detail," he said.


    The man looked at his wife who was sitting with hands pressed together and the latter nodded.


    "This morning we got a call from someone saying they had got our daughter with them. They even let her speak to us. They then said that we have to pay them one hundred guilders for them to release our daughter and that we can''t call the Police or they''ll kill her. Their voice sounds threatening, and I don''t want to risk them harming my beloved..." explained the man hastily.


    "Why don''t you just pay?" asked Graham curiously.


    "We will, but we also need reassurance. I want to make sure our daughter is safe even after they take the money," replied Mr. Baenen.


    "Val, we should salute the man for still thinking rationally despite the stress,"


    Graham wanted to tell the couple that he would rescue their daughter and to give him the ransom money instead, but he held back. He didn''t want to sound like a shameless person. Besides, one hundred guilders is a very large sum, enough to buy a small house in the outskirt of the city.


    "You don''t have to give them a single penning. I''ll make sure your daughter will come home safely before midday today. Just show me a photo of her and tell me her full name," said Graham.


    The wife heard Graham''s words and stood up suddenly from the sofa. Her face was full of hope with tears just hanging from the corners of her eyes.


    "Really? Can you do that??" she asked in expectation.


    "Yes. You can trust me, and I''m sure the person who told you to come here also said so," he said confidently.


    "Please, find our daughter..." begged Mrs. Baenen.


    Mr. Baenen was quickly searching for something from inside his pockets and wallet before finally taking out a piece of photograph. There was a young girl with braided hair and blond hair, just like the couple in front of him.


    "This is our daughter. Her name is Sophie. She is seven years old now," said the husband while sliding the photo across the desk.


    Graham studied the photograph carefully and remembered the girl''s features and name. He had now all the information he needed to divine her location, and unless someone was interfering, he should be able to find her quickly. He wanted to finish before noon because that was his meeting time with Luuk and Jacco.


    "Thank you. I''ll start working right away, so you two should go home and wait for her return. Oh, and please write down your address on the back of this photograph," he said.


    Levi Baenen borrowed the pen on his desk and wrote what Graham had asked for. He then looked at the detective in front of him with expecting eyes.


    "Please, make sure our daughter is safe. I don''t care how much I have to pay you," Mr. Baenen said.


    Graham''s eyes became green with greed.


    "Then, in that case, you can pay me with a third of the total ransom,"


    It was a reasonable amount. Even the amount of money he got from Ruben for finding his son was less than that, although he got something else much more valuable from that commission.


    The husband and the wife looked at each other and then back at Graham.


    "We will give you half of the money as long as our daughter is safe," said the wife.


    Graham''s mood was suddenly very good. The prospect of getting fifty guilders easily already made his day better.


    "Then now, please leave me alone. I need to get to work right away," he replied.


    Graham got up from his chair and showed his two restless guests the door. If he hadn''t done so, he was afraid the two of them would stay in his office until their daughter was found. Those parents with young children were sometimes too protective of their offsprings.


    With his two clients gone, he now could start working. Graham sat in his chair and took out his trusted lighter and lit it. He concentrated on the flame in front of him while repeating a question.


    ''Where is Sophie Baenen being held captive?''


    The flame slowly created an image showing an aerial view of Sloten and then zoomed in a little over the Oosteinde area, where there was now a red dot glowing from one of the buildings on Oostparkstraat. Graham memorized the location of the dot before the image disappeared.


    "Speaking of which, my divination is now definitely more powerful. It used to only show the buildings and we had to manually look for it," he said in satisfaction.


    The next thing he needed to divine was the danger level of the mission and if it involved any Contractbounds. The response to both of his questions was negative, meaning it was not dangerous and there was no Contractbound involved. After that, he also used divination to determine the condition of the place where the target was being held, and it showed there were a total of six people in an empty house, each armed with a knife.


    Neither Graham nor Valentine had any group control ability, so to ensure their target''s safety, he should not be detected by them.


    "Val, stealth is your specialty. Let''s switch,"


    Graham went to his bedroom and lied down on the bed with his eyes closed. He focused on his breathing to help him fall asleep faster, and not even three minutes later he had already been asleep. Valentine woke up just a couple of seconds later.


    Since the mission required stealth, Valentine put on tight stretchy clothes that would make moving around easier. He also packed only the necessary stuff because he didn''t have a lot of pockets currently.


    Once he was ready, Valentine left the apartment and took a public motor carriage heading to Oostparkstraat. Since the street was rather busy that morning, it took the driver longer than usual to reach the destination. When they finally arrived, he paid the driver and got out of the motor carriage.


    "G, we''re here. Based on your divination, there should be a small street leading to the back part of this street, right?"


    Valentine walked several meters and finally found a smaller street. He turned to the street and kept walking carefully while searching for the empty house where the target was in. The street was very quiet at that time, so Valentine had to be cautious because he didn''t want to alert the kidnappers. Once he felt that he was near the location, he started chanting quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist began to envelop his whole body before disappearing. His smell and sound of footsteps had been concealed, and people would have the instinctive reaction to ignore him if he was nearby.


    Valentine put on a facemask and approached the house. It was a dilapidated two-story house without much front-lawn area. From the windows, it would be easy to spot him if he were to pass by, however, since his presence had been concealed, he wasn''t worried about lookouts.


    Valentine took a piece of rock from the street and threw it at the second-floor window.


    Smash!


    The glass broke with a loud noise. He could then hear the footsteps of people inside the house going to the second floor to check. Valentine quickly used the opportunity to get to the door and quickly picked the lock before entering the house silently.


    "They appear to be amateurs..." he muttered quietly.


    There were sounds of footsteps coming from the second floor, so Valentine quickly hid behind the wall.


    "Must have been the brats. That''s why I hate kids!"


    Judging from the footsteps, there were two men approaching Valentine''s position. The moment he could see them, Valentine chanted quickly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    One of the men suddenly froze in place with a blank expression on his face. The other one saw the abnormality of his partner but suddenly he felt pain from his neck before losing consciousness. After that, Valentine quickly punched the frozen guy on his chin, which he tried to dodge because of his boosted sense of danger but failed.


    Valentine gently put the two men''s bodies down on the floor to avoid alerting the others. He then quietly went upstairs where four more kidnappers were sitting around on the mezzanine. Although he was walking their way, they didn''t seem to notice Valentine and kept on chatting loudly.


    "I told you, we''ll be rich tomorrow! No need to care about some brats breaking windows!"


    "Hahaha! Yes! Let''s drink some more now!"


    "But don''t you think those two downstairs are too quiet?"


    Suddenly, the man who had just spoken had a blank expression on his face, and then a loud whack was heard. One of the men who were drinking was now lying unconscious on the sofa he was sitting on.


    "What the?!"


    Whack!


    The other man was also knocked unconscious. Valentine now got behind the man that was put under his Interrogation and choked him with his arms until he passed out.


    "That''s five down. The last one must be watching the girl,"


    Valentine went to the room where the red dot was, based on his memory. He then knocked on the door. From inside, someone approached the door and unlocked it. It was a chubby man with a stupid look on his face looking through the gap.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under Interrogation."


    The man''s expression suddenly turned blank. Valentine opened the door wide and went to the sleeping girl on the bed. Her hands were untied, but with the man in the room, she couldn''t have escaped. After making sure the girl was safe and sound, Valentine knocked the last man unconscious.


    "Hey, wake up," said Valentine while shaking the sleeping girl.


    She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Valentine in surprise and confusion.


    "Sshh... it''s alright. We''ll go see your mom and dad now,"


    The girl nodded, but she still looked confused. She had just woken up, so she didn''t understand what was going on.


    "Wait here, I''ll need to tie up those kidnappers first. You wait here,"


    After tying the kidnappers with a rope he found in the house, he left with the girl. He also asked a passerby to call the Police to get the kidnappers arrested.

 104 All in a Days Work

    Valentine had gone home to meet with the clients again and received a commission reward of fifty guilders for saving the little girl. It turned out that the Baenens were a rich family that owned one of the local banks, that was why their daughter was targeted. It was also the reason why they agreed to give him half of the ransom money without hesitation.


    He had switched with Graham again and he was now with Luuk van der Meer and Jacco van Wert. The three of them were already standing in front of the wall which was the entrance to the black market.


    Graham said the password and the wall started moving on its own with a lot of dragging noises. In front of them was now a path that had been revealed. They walked through the gap and entered Erbarmelijk Bazaar.


    "Is it always this busy?" asked Jacco.


    It was his first time coming to the bazaar. He was also the only one among the three who was wearing a normal facemask.


    "The only two times I was here it was this busy, so I guess that''s a yes," replied Graham, who already had his Gemini mask on.


    Luuk, with his Capricorn mask, nodded.


    "Where did you two buy those masks? I want one too," said Jacco enviously.


    "It''s over there at that mask store," replied Luuk.


    The three men walked towards the mask store near the entrance and got in. The wall was still full of various different masks with distinctive features. The smell of wood penetrated their noses once they took a step inside the store, and countless eyes were staring at them from every direction.


    "This place gives me the creep," said Jacco.


    There was a thin man standing behind the counter wearing a white featureless mask. Graham and Luuk recognized him as the same storekeeper as before. The thin man approached the customers and greeted them.


    "Welcome. Ah, I remember you two. How do you like the masks?"


    "I like mine. It feels unique. In fact, I''ve never seen anyone wearing the same mask," replied Graham.


    "Of course they are. Those masks are one of a kind," said the storekeeper. His voice sounded very proud.


    "Is that also true for all the other masks?" asked Graham.


    He looked around the store and his belief was confirmed. When he looked closely, none of the masks were actually the same. They all had something different about them, although not all of the masks emitted a spiritual aura.


    "Every mask in this store is unique. You won''t find a copy anywhere else,"


    Won''t find a copy anywhere else?... Luuk also observed each of the masks carefully. ...Did he make all of these?


    "I want this one! How much is it?" asked Jacco suddenly.


    "That Aries mask is very suitable for you! Only five guilders and it''s yours!" replied the storekeeper enthusiastically.


    Graham observed the mask carefully. There was certainly a spiritual aura coming from the mask, which meant it was similar to his and Luuk''s.


    "Aries mask? That''s another zodiac sign, Val. I''m sure it''s not a coincidence that Jacco chose it. I''m positive that he was drawn to it just like I was to mine,"


    After paying, Jacco wore the mask right away and now he looked menacing. A tall muscular man wearing a ram''s skull mask that was unnerving, to say the least. With the correct attire, he could look like a tribal person during a brutal sacrificial ritual.


    Graham went to the corner of the store and called for the other two.


    "You two, come here for a moment,"


    Now the three masked men were standing in the corner of the mask store, each wearing a different zodiac mask with its own unique vibe.


    "Tell me your birthdays," asked Graham.


    Jacco looked confused, but Look knew what Graham was thinking. He also had his suspicion.


    "Mine is January 8th," replied Luuk.


    Seeing Luuk replying so easily, Jacco did the same.


    "My birthday is on March 27th. Why?"


    "So it is indeed the case. Your masks are the same as your zodiac signs. I think it''s not a coincidence now that there are the three of us-- four if we assume that Virgo guy is the same," concluded Graham.


    "What Virgo guy?" asked Jacco curiously.


    "Just someone who bought my wares. I don''t know him either," replied Graham, shrugging.


    "Should we ask the shopkeeper?" suggested Luuk.


    Graham was also thinking about doing the same, so he agreed right away. The three masked men now approached the shopkeeper who had returned to his initial spot. He seemed to have been watching the three''s congregation in the corner of his store.


    "Anything else I can help you gentlemen with?" he said with a friendly voice and smile that could not be seen through his mask. They just had a strong feeling that he was smiling.


    "I''ve been wondering. Who made these zodiac masks?"


    The shopkeeper didn''t answer right away. It was impossible to see his reaction through the featureless mask. The most they could see was his eyes whose pupils had dilated.


    "It''s about time you asked," he replied vaguely.


    They didn''t respond but just waited for the storekeeper to continue.


    "..."


    The storekeeper stayed quiet.


    "Val, it seems this guy likes attention so much," Graham muttered and then spoke to the old man, "Please elaborate. We''re listening,"


    "Those zodiac masks were made by someone else that I can''t say the name of. I was lucky to get a hold of several of them. They are truly one of a kind," he finally answered.


    "Does that mean we won''t find a copy even in other cities?" asked Luuk.


    "No. But you might find the rest of them in other cities if they haven''t been bought yet. The ones I have in my store here are the ones you are wearing right now. I had the Virgo mask but someone has bought it,"


    "Are these masks special?" asked Graham.


    The storekeeper shrugged.


    "I don''t know. I just know they are unique and have a minor enchantment like what I''ve told you," he replied.


    "Alright. Thank you for your answers. That''s all we need to know," said Graham.


    "Val, we need to find out more about these masks later. Now that we know about the four of them, I think divination should work,"


    The three men then left the mask store. With Jacco''s Aries mask having been bought, they now only needed to sell some of the spoils of battle from the cave that they didn''t need. Graham had divined each of the items'' price and function and decided that he would keep the Olitiau''s remains and heart as well as the Tsuchinoko''s venom glands. They would sell the rest and split the money equally among them.


    Graham, Luuk, and Jacco arrived at the common hall and Graham quickly stood in his usual spot. As usual, there was a watcher watching all that was happening in the hall.


    "Selling hair of a famous corpse!"


    "I have a lot of weapons embedded with gemstones! Come here if you''re interested!"


    There were already some people selling their stuff there, shouting to get the attention of potential buyers. There were many people surrounding them, especially the weapon seller. The three weren''t interested, however, because they had their own Jeweller and a source of raw gemstones.


    "Selling Tsuchinokos'' remains and scales!"


    Graham shouted not any less loud than the people before him and repeated it several times. After a while, customers started coming to where he was standing. When there were enough potential buyers, Graham took out the sample of each item and told them the price.


    "The scales are three guilders each. I have eighty of them. The remains are twenty guilders each and there are only four of them,"


    He had divined the market price for each of the items beforehand and put a higher price than shown, as usual. His only regret was that he couldn''t carry more Tsuchinoko''s scales from the cave because of the lack of container space. At that time, all their bags were already at their limits.


    "I want to buy ten of the scales and one remain," said one of the people gathered there who was wearing an eagle mask.


    "I''ll take twenty scales," said a man wearing a brown mask with a giant question mark on it.


    Graham served the two customers and after he received their money, more people wanted to buy the things he was selling. They sold out all of their stuff after a while, and in total, they made three hundred and twenty guilders, which meant each person got around one hundred and six guilders. Combined with the fifty guilders that he had made earlier from his detective work, he got a total of over one hundred and fifty guilders just in one day; it was the most that he had got at once.


    "Wow, this fucking much money was only a dream for me just a month ago!" said Jacco in excitement.


    "I wonder why people always buy everything so easily although you jacked up the price like crazy," said Luuk in genuine curiosity.


    "Maybe they''re just too rich and can''t be bothered to gather those materials themselves," replied Graham nonchalantly. He didn''t care about the reason as long as he got the money.


    "So, are we done here?" asked Luuk again.


    "Yes. You''re free to look around and buy whatever you need. It''s your money after all. But I have a request. Can you two come to the abandoned chapel tonight?" replied Graham.


    "What abandoned chapel?" asked Jacco.


    ...


    At eight in the evening, in an abandoned chapel on a hill, eight people were gathering in the dimly lit room. There were candles scattered on the floor all around.


    Among the eight people, three were wearing masks while the other five weren''t.


    "Welcome back. Let''s now get down to business. What have you found out about Pale Society?" asked Graham who was wearing his Gemini mask. His voice was muffled.


    Eduard, the youngest and most curious of the group, looked at Jacco who was wearing his eerie Aries mask.


    "Mr. Gemini, who is that one? Another member?"


    "Oh. Yes. I almost forgot. This is another member of the Zodiac Syndicate. Please welcome Aries,"


    The five associates looked at the new member and nodded in respect. To their knowledge, the members should have supernatural abilities, unlike them who were only associates. Besides, Jacco looked the scariest among the three masked men in front of them. especially with his big muscular body.


    "I heard something from my friend who is in the mafia," said Calvin suddenly.


    "And what is that?"


    "He said to me several people have been reported missing from the Concrete. They are currently investigating it,"


    Jacco, although he had been briefed, didn''t understand what was going on so he went to sit on the altar, watching the others relaxedly.


    Eduard noticed Jacco''s action and became curious.


    Is that man the watcher? Is he making sure we don''t cause trouble? He must be very strong.


    "That is useful. As a reward, I''ll grant you one answer. You can go to the confessional later," replied Graham, and then muttered, "Val, does it remind you of something? That''s the place where we first encountered a ghoul. There must be a connection there. We must investigate,"


    After that, the rest didn''t say anything else. They seemed to not have been able to find out about the Pale Society.


    "As expected. I guess after all normal people''s resources are limited, Val,"


    "That is fine. The piece of information Calvin gave us is already a lead. Now, your task is to find out more about the missing people. Find out if there is anything in common among them, as well as the other important details,"


    After that, Graham gestured at Calvin to follow him to the confession chamber. He didn''t want to do his fire divination in front of them because he couldn''t trust them yet.


    The two men entered from different entrances and now their view was blocked by a separator that had a tiny gap in the middle.


    "What question do you need an answer to?" said with a tone of a fortune-teller from behind the separator.


    Calvin stayed quiet, thinking.


    After a while, he finally said, "Where is the best place to get the mutilated body of a murder victim?"


    Graham was shocked by the question.


    "Val, are you thinking what I''m thinking? That must be a contract ritual sacrifice! Where did he get the scroll from?"


    Graham muttered quietly and then lit the lighter in his hand. The confession chamber was now illuminated by the fire, only so slightly. He concentrated on the flame in front of him and repeated a question.


    ''How did Calvin Vinke get his hands on a contract scroll?''


    An image slowly formed within the fire. It was of the man on the other side of the confession chamber being approached by a robed man. Judging from the surroundings, it seemed to be nighttime when it happened and they were in a quiet street. They appeared to be talking, or more precisely, the robed man was enticing Calvin. It seemed that he didn''t have the scroll yet. After that, the image disappeared.


    "Hmm. Val, is this the same case as Luuk where his professor made him a Contractbound for some reason or something else? Whichever the case is, it''s not good."


    "What did the robed man promise you?" asked Graham before answering Calvin''s question.


    Calvin was taken aback by the question, but then he quickly calmed down. He remembered that the man with the Gemini mask could see things normal people couldn''t.


    "I- I really cannot say it," he answered shortly.


    Under his breath, Graham chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to answer my question truthfully!"


    Suddenly, Calvin had the urge to spill everything against his will. He didn''t understand what was happening, but he started to open his mouth and spoke.


    "I really cannot say it," he said in a monotonous voice like someone in a trance.


    "..."


    "Val, I think he is under a spell. This is definitely something we have to investigate,"


    Graham then used divination one more time to get the answer to Calvin''s question and then told him the answer. Once they were done, both men exited the confessional, and Graham stood in front of him, blocking his way. He maintained eye contact and spoke in a domineering tone.


    "You will forget that I asked about where you get your scroll. You only got the answer to your question and that''s it. Everything else didn''t happen,"


    Calvin looked confused and then after that slowly nodded. A second later, he regained his senses and walked back to the group as if nothing had happened.

 105 A Performance

    "Val, I think I''m getting closer to pleasing my Deity. Making them work for me definitely helps a lot. We should please your Deity as well. I might have a good idea just how to do it, but we need preparation,"


    It was Friday morning. Graham had woken up early, so the sun was still not that high up in the sky. The street outside his apartment was bustling with activities; the noise of vehicles driving by was loud enough to be heard from his second-floor bedroom.


    "We have a lot of things to do. First is the investigation of the missing people in the Concrete. We can leave that to our associates. We will have another meeting on Saturday night, so they have two days to gather information,"


    He looked at his plain ceiling.


    "Next, we need to investigate the man who promised Calvin a contract scroll. I don''t know where to begin since his memory seemed to have been tampered with. Divination doesn''t seem to work either. I think our only option is to follow him, Val. I''ll use divination to see when he''s going to go and get the ritual sacrifice."


    "The last thing on the list is to check on Luuk''s progress with the gemstones that we have collected. That one is not urgent since his apartment is just next door. For now, let me do some divination."


    Graham got up from the bed and picked up the lighter that was lying on his wooden table next to the bed. He pulled the trigger and a small flame started burning.


    His first divination was regarding the time Calvin would make a move. His divination showed him that the man would make a move tonight at eleven, to the morgue in the graveyard. Graham didn''t know if we would succeed, since the last time he did it Luuk was there to help him. Even with Luuk''s help, it was still very dangerous because of tight security and all. It didn''t concern Graham, however, since he only wanted to follow him once he had succeeded to meet up with the man again.


    The second divination he did was about the destruction of Sloten by the Pale Society. He wanted to get the exact date, but his divination only showed him the same image of Sloten overrun by hordes of supernatural creatures. Even the dead bodies lying on the ground were still the same. In the image, there was nothing that could be used to deduce the date of the event.


    "That''s really a shame. I wish I could determine our remaining days, Val. We need to get stronger as soon as possible while actively trying to bring those people to the light of day,"


    Graham then put out the fire and got up from the bed. He got dressed in his favorite shirt and coat and left the apartment.


    ...


    "Why do you think the enemy knew about our operation?" asked Roze.


    She was holding a bottle of whiskey with an ice cube in the form of a human skull.


    "The only way I can think of is there is a mole within our ranks. I don''t want to think that way but it''s the most possible explanation," replied Rood.


    "It''s also what I''ve been thinking about, but I cannot pinpoint who it is. If there was one, the person sure was very meticulous. Don''t tell anyone about your suspicion; we don''t want to alert the mole,"


    Roze and Rood sat there in silence. The drinks they ordered were almost completely finished, but it still didn''t brighten up their mood. The clean up after the collapsed building incident was a nightmare, and although they had managed to detain several suspicious people, none of them were a core member of the organization. They were only people associated with them who did the organization''s biddings.


    "Those people stealing corpses. They must be gathering materials for summoning. We need to stop them before it''s too late," said Roze. She held the glass of whiskey tightly; her expression could be described as frightening.


    "You should act more ladylike if you want to find a boyfriend. Your appearance and the way you act really don''t match" commented Rood casually.


    "Shut up. You''re also a single 36-year-old man. We''re on the same boat,"


    Suddenly, there was a static noise coming from her waist. She reached out to the source of the noise.


    It was a round mirror with a plain design. The mirror''s surface was hazy, like television static. After a while, the blur slowly faded, revealing a man with blonde hair and blue eyes that shone like a mirror.


    "What is it, Paars?" asked Roze.


    "Lieutenant, are you nearby?" he asked. The tone of his voice was not urgent, but it sounded like he wanted to say something important.


    "Yes. I''m with Rood. We''re at a bar on Grotemarktstraat. Did something happen?"


    "A got a report from a patrolling officer. There''s a group of people gathering in the park on Herenstraat. There were also people dressed like circus members. Should we check it out?"


    Roze looked at Rood. The latter seemed to be thinking about something.


    After a while, Rood finally spoke, "I think I remember something similar happening. There was a circus suddenly appearing in the middle of the street on Kruisstraat. It was right before the earthquake hit the area,"


    "Something like that happened? What did the circus do?" asked Roze.


    "The circus only blocked the traffic, nothing else. There was no one reporting anything either, so we didn''t investigate. But the fact that it''s happening again, there must be something going on. I think we should check it out," Rood concluded.


    The circus back then must have been a distraction. There must have been something happening back then, but why did no one make a report? Was it something the Police should not know? We definitely have to look into it.


    Rood borrowed the mirror that Roze was using and spoke to Paars.


    "Paars, come to The Tipsy Man. Our motor carriage is parked outside. We''ll go to investigate right away."


    "Got it, Rood!"


    After that, the connection with the man in the mirror was cut off and it returned to being just an ordinary mirror. Roze and Rood finished their drinks and left money on the table. After that, they left the bar and waited by the side of the street for Paars, who should be nearby since his ability could reach them.


    They didn''t wait long until Paars showed up. He was wearing a brown coat that he tied tightly around him. He might only be wearing a t-shirt and shorts under the coat, which would be easy to take off if he needed to get invisible.


    "What are you doing here, anyway? And why are you alone?" asked Roze.


    Paars scratched the back of his head.


    "This is my day off, and I was just going shopping when suddenly I got notified through my walkie talkie,"


    "You don''t have to come with us to investigate. Just enjoy your day off," said Roze.


    "Thanks, Lieutenant, but I''m also curious."


    The three of them got into one of the motor carriages parked there. Roze and Rood put on their Police coats and they drove away to the location, with Rood behind the wheel. He was driving very fast that it didn''t take them long to arrive. He parked the motor carriage parallel to the street and the three people got out.


    In the park ahead of them, a lot of people had gathered. In the middle of the crowd, there was a group of people dressed up in circus costumes. The people in costumes were actually doing circus attractions like juggling and acrobats. There was also a man playing the drum to make the atmosphere more alive.


    "See if there is someone doing something suspicious," commanded Roze.


    The three of them split up and searched the area. Besides the crowd, there was nothing else happening there. Most of the people had come closer to watch, leaving the other parts of the park empty. They saw one circus member walking around the crowd, seemingly whispering something at them. Rood wanted to come closer, but he quickly walked into the crowd, and strangely, the people didn''t let Rood through. The wall of people was becoming tighter.


    "I can''t get through!" said Paars.


    The other two seemed to be in the same situation as Rood. They could only watch from the periphery without being able to get closer to the center now.


    "Now, on to our final and most amazing performance!" said a man from the circus team.


    One of them brought in a bucket of red liquid and put it in the center. The liquid smelled like iron, but people''s curiosity and the beat of the drum strangely made them even more excited. They were all watching intently to see what would happen next.


    Suddenly, the red liquid started moving by itself out of the bucket. It floated in the air and slowly formed a figure of a man wearing a sweater and facemask. The red liquid recreated the figure of the man perfectly without leaving any blank spots, including the sinister look in his eyes. However, the man was all red.


    "Rood!" said Roze in surprise.


    Rood nodded.


    "It''s different from mine, but I think it''s a Denuder trying to please their Deity!" she said again.


    The crowd was amazed by the sight. They didn''t feel fear at all although the phenomenon in front of them couldn''t be explained by common sense.


    The blood man started to move. It seemed to be talking with someone, but they couldn''t see it. Suddenly, the blood man dodged slightly to his left and there was something that grazed his shoulder. After that, the blood man seemed to be talking again and suddenly defended himself with a knife. It was clear that he was fighting an invisible enemy.


    The audience couldn''t see what or who attacked the blood man but seeing the impact, it must be something powerful. They cheered on the blood man for successfully deflecting the attack. They seemed to be enjoying the show so much.


    Suddenly, the blood man stopped in his track, his eyes looked blank. The audience was worried. They shouted at him to wake up because the invisible enemy might attack soon. Shortly after that, countless small holes started appearing on his clothes and he used his knife to defend against the barrage of attacks. The audience gritted their teeth in anticipation. They wanted to see how the blood man would get out of that situation.


    "Go! Blood man! Don''t lose!" shouted someone from the crowd.


    The blood man started beating his stomach with a short iron stick that he had taken out of his pocket.


    Badum! Badum!


    The sound of the drum was synchronized with the beating of the blood man. With each drum beat, the crowd''s hearts were filled with excitement.


    After that, the blood man quickly darted at a spot and attacked using his knife. It seemed that he was able to injure the invisible enemy, which made the crowd relieved. However, suddenly countless invisible bullets attacked him again, causing more injuries and holes in his clothes.


    The blood man took a step back and slit his wrist. The part that made up his wrist slowly dripped to the ground, creating a pool of blood there. After a while, the pool of blood vaporized and quickly spread to the surrounding area. Some of the people in the crowd who inhaled the vapor suddenly became unconscious. They were all surprised, including the three Police members that had been trying to get to the center without success, even after they announced they were the Police.


    "What in the world was that?! I''ve never seen Reconstruction do that!" exclaimed Roze.


    After that, the blood man jumped on top of the invisible enemy that was, judging by the blood man''s position, lying on the ground unconscious just like some of the people there. As the blood man was about to thrust his knife into the enemy, the crowd was overcome with anticipation. It was the climax that they had been waiting for. However, the blood man froze; he didn''t move at all. His eyes were full of surprise and hatred.


    All of a sudden, the blood man''s heart was pierced by something, leaving a gap there. The blood that made up the part flowed down to the ground. The man''s expression was that of someone who couldn''t believe that he had been defeated.


    After that, the blood man burst into flames and the performance was finished.


    The crowd couldn''t believe that the blood man had lost. They were there, watching the now empty space. They had been sure the blood man would win since his expression was very confident from the very beginning. They couldn''t understand how he could be defeated so quickly and suddenly like that.


    "Thank you, thank you!!" said someone from the circus member, returning the crowd to reality, "Until we meet again next time!"


    Biff!


    Suddenly there was a cloud of smoke rising quickly, covering everyone.


    "Everyone, don''t panic! We''re the Police!" shouted Rood, trying to calm down the panicking crowd of people.


    They were now able to get to the center where the circus team was. However, the smoke made it difficult for them to see.


    The crowd of people was running in every direction, and among them, there were people in circus costumes mixed in.


    "They''re running away!" shouted Paars.

 106 Reveal

    Valentine had come back home after successfully losing his chasers. It was not really difficult because he had his presence concealed. He was more worried about the others because the Police members chasing them were Contractbounds.


    "I hope they don''t get caught. At least Luuk and Jacco should be able to get away. As for the others, they don''t know anything crucial,"


    Valentine sat in his chair and gulped down a glass of water quickly.


    "Anyway, what was that with the ability that got activated during Reconstruction? Do you think it''s because of the belt, G? If that''s the case, it''ll be useful, albeit very situational. Someone must use their ability first and only then can I use Reconstruction to reactivate the same ability. Not to mention the amount of blood needed and the fact that the ability is weaker..."


    Valentine took off the pale leather belt that he was wearing and put it on top of his desk.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, declare my presence no longer a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, declare the presence of this belt a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist enveloped the bone-buckled belt completely and then disappeared. He put it aside for now and then went back to his thoughts.


    "The Deity of Uncovering should have been pleased now. I wonder how I will get to see His true name,"


    Just as Valentine finished saying that, his spirituality was triggered. He had a sudden urge to use Reconstruction in this very room. He got up and used the space in front of his desk to do the ritual. He used his knife to create a cut on his palm and let the blood flow down to the wooden floor below. The red liquid kept coming out and collected on the floor, creating a puddle of blood. Once he felt that it was enough, Valentine covered his wound and concentrated on the blood.


    "Show me what is needed to be shown!"


    He followed his spiritual instinct and said the words. Shortly after he finished his sentence, the blood on the ground rose, floating in the air in the form of words that he didn''t recognize. However, since it wasn''t his first time, he knew what it was and what kind of pain was waiting for him. He braced himself and read the line out loud.


    "Tasa Fubin Andromalius On Ca!"


    Suddenly, the blood thickened and enveloped the whole room, blocking Valentine''s surroundings. The wall of blood started spinning violently, preventing anything from going in or out. He instinctively closed his eyes because he knew what would happen next. Being in the presence of a Deity was an extremely painful experience; he didn''t want to find out what looking straight at one would feel like.


    Rumble!


    Valentine couldn''t see it, but he was sure there was something above him, looking at him from up high. He couldn''t hold on any longer, so he fell flat on the ground. The heavy suppression from above was even stronger now, crushing his body very slowly and painfully. He could feel his bone being squashed one by one and his organs were macerated. He kept telling himself that the pain wasn''t real to make himself feel better, but it felt as real as it could be.


    The brutally spinning wall of blood abruptly stopped along with everything else. Time seemed to have frozen, but the pain that he felt didn''t go away. His crushed organs and bones were still agonizingly painful. Just when he thought it couldn''t get any worse, the blood around him suddenly shot towards him and entered his body through his orifices. A large amount of blood filled his whole body until he could feel it bloated. The blood kept coming and when he was sure he was about to explode into piles of flesh everywhere in his room, everything went back to normal.


    Pant... Pant...


    Valentine was lying down on the floor face down. He got up with difficulty and checked his body to make sure he was still in one piece while breathing heavily. His limbs were all still there, and there was not a trace of blood anywhere on his body. In fact, the blood on the floor was also gone. He wiped the sweat on his forehead and sat back in his chair.


    "Why is literally nothing about Deities pleasant?" he complained.


    Valentine then concentrated on his abilities. After being graced with the Deity''s presence, his abilities should evolve.


    "Let''s see now. The limits to all my Denuder abilities have been raised to fifteen per day. Interrogation and Reconstruction don''t evolve; they only work better. It''s a bummer,"


    He paused and looked at the space in front of him.


    "However, I get this spiritual intuition if there are secrets that I can uncover around me and I can reveal secrets about my target by chanting my Deity''s name. Let''s call this ability Reveal. This ability wasn''t mentioned anywhere in the ancient book. I wonder how it works..."


    He grabbed a pen and put it on the desk in front of him. Valentine concentrated on the pen and then started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    As he finished chanting, an illusory text appeared above the pen, floating in the air.


    ''A normal pen. It was stolen by Graham Hymes from the Bank of the Republic three months ago. Its ink is almost completely all used up,"


    Once he had finished reading, the text disappeared gradually. Valentine was surprised by how the ability worked.


    "G, this is similar to your divination. Did I get this ability because I have you, or because I''m in contract with Secrets? In any case, this is very useful. I can only use this fifteen times per day, however,"


    Reveal was the most useful upgrade he got to his Denuder abilities. He wasn''t sure if other Denuders also had that ability since the ancient book didn''t mention it at all.


    "Anyway, if this ability works like how I think it does, it can reveal the enemies'' weaknesses to us, can''t it? If other Denuders have this as well, they will be a danger to us."


    Valentine, who was still curious about his newly-found ability, wanted to experiment with it some more. He took out the ancient book from his safe and laid it down on the desk. He concentrated on the thick book with a plain leather cover.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Slowly, an illusory text formed above the book. However, there were several parts that were blurred. Valentine was already not surprised by it.


    ''The Supernatural Encyclopedia, written by --------. The book was the only one of its kind since the author decided not to publish any copies of it. It contains many secrets of the supernatural world, but only the strong can read them. If someone --------- the book, they''ll be able to ---------.''


    The text then disappeared. Instead of quenching his curiosity, it instead made him more curious.


    "The blurred words from the text must be some kind of ritual to do something involving the book. But as we are right now, we are not qualified to know, I guess, G."


    Next, he concentrated on the leather belt with the bone buckle on the desk and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Illusory letters started forming above the belt, slowly forming a whole text.


    ''Purloin: a belt made from a brutal sacrificial ritual. It has the ability to copy two other abilities and use them up to twice a day. However, the extent to its full potential has yet to be known''


    "Just as we guessed. There are still some secrets involving this belt. Your divination nor my Reveal can uncover it, so this one must be strong enchanted equipment,"


    Valentine wore the belt around his waist and put the book back inside the safe, but before he locked it, his attention was drawn by the scroll lying there. He picked it up and placed it on the desk in front of him. It was the scroll that he had stolen from Mevrouw Cornelia; the one that he couldn''t get anything out of until he had pleased three Deities.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Nothing happened. He waited for some more seconds, but no text came up. Valentine concluded that he wasn''t strong enough to know anything about the scroll. He put it back inside the safe and locked it with a combination. He then got up and went to his bedroom, where he stood in front of the vanity mirror to look at his own reflection. He focused on the ''he'' in the mirror and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Slowly, a text was trying to form in the air above the Valentine in the reflection. However, the text became very blurry and it disappeared quickly. Valentine understood right away what might have happened.


    "I think it means anti-divination works against this ability. It''s good to know. But I''m really curious about what my Reveal will say about me,"


    He got back to the office and stood next to the corner of the room, where there was a bloodstain on the floor. After making sure it was still there, he went to the kitchen to grab cleaning supplies. Valentine sprayed some cleaning agent that he always used to clean bloodstain from scenes and rubbed the floor really hard with a piece of cloth. Slowly, the stain disappeared, leaving only a clean wooden floor.


    "Now it should work,"


    After returning the cleaning supplies back to the kitchen, he stood in front of the mirror again and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Slowly, an imaginary text started to float above the ''Valentine'' in the mirror. However, most of it was still blurred.


    ''Valentine Hymes. A cold-blooded killer who is ---------------------------------------. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Secrets and the Deity of Uncovering, --------------------------------------------------------------------. --------------------------------------------------------------------------.''


    "...." Valentine stood there quietly. "Why can''t I know things about myself? It doesn''t make sense that I''m more powerful than my own ability? This is bullshit..."


    Valentine was not satisfied, but he quickly brushed it aside.


    The text disappeared and Valentine quickly went back to his office. He stood in the corner and slit his palm and placed a new anti-divination in the house. Once he finished chanting, he dropped his blood to the floor and it emitted a wave of thin yellowish mist that spread around the whole apartment.


    "G, if there was no limit to the use, I would spend the whole day using Reveal on everything," he said in amusement. "Since I have some more uses, let''s get the best out of it,"


    Valentine put on his leather jacket and left his apartment. He went to his next-door neighbor''s door and rang the bell.


    Ding... dong...


    He stood by the door patiently with hands inside his pockets and shoulder leaning against the wall.


    Step... step...


    Valentine could clearly hear Luuk''s footsteps and his movement of opening the door. Luuk saw his guest and wasn''t surprised. Nowadays, if there was an unexpected guest, it would always turn out to be the detective. He wasn''t surprised either that the detective could get away from the Police safely.


    "What is it?" asked Luuk curiously.


    Valentine didn''t respond. Instead, he started chanting right away.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Luuk was taken aback. He wanted to close the door but Valentine quickly prevented it. Slowly, a text floated above his head.


    "Relax. Can you see the text floating above your head?"


    Luuk looked up and saw only the ceiling. He shook his head in confusion.


    "It seems it''s only visible to us, G," Valentine muttered. "I''ll read it out for you then,"


    "Luuk van der Meer, the youngest son of the rich van der Meer family. Currently studying medicine at the University of Sloten. His grades are falling and his family has stopped all financial support. His hobbies include stealing and collecting various items, which he does mostly at night. His birthday is 8 January 1948 EH and he is currently in a contract with the Deity of Theft and the Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones."


    Luuk was flustered. His cheeks had turned red from embarrassment. He felt like he was stripped naked and shown to the whole world to see.


    "What kind of ability is that??" he asked.


    Instead of responding, Valentine just shrugged.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be in class soon? You told me that this morning,"


    Luuk felt personally judged. He took a deep breath and then spoke, "The city is going to be destroyed anyway, so why does it matter? And I heard if the University is destroyed, everyone will automatically graduate,"


    "We can''t argue with that, can we, G?" muttered Valentine.

 107 Tailing

    It was some minutes before eleven in the evening. Valentine, wearing a tight black jacket and pants, was hiding in the dark outside the entrance of Sloten Public Cemetery. He was standing behind a tree with his presence concealed, carefully listening to his surroundings for any suspicious sounds.


    He was waiting for Calvin, who was supposed to make a move soon to get the mangled corpse that he needed. Valentine''s plan was to tail Calvin to see the person who had promised him a contract scroll. He needed to be very careful not to be detected by the man since he was powerful enough to make Calvin resist Graham''s order. Valentine wasn''t wearing Purloin for that exact reason.


    The cemetery that night was quiet, with only the sounds of the security guards'' occasional footsteps and chatters creating a noise. Suddenly, there was the sound of another pair of footsteps approaching from outside the area. Valentine concentrated on the sound that was getting closer and closer. However, although the person was supposed to be within sight, there was no one standing nearby.


    Step... Step...


    The footsteps kept on walking and when it reached the wall, Valentine could hear the sound of someone jumping and climbing. Although he couldn''t see the person, he quickly followed. His own presence was revealed, so he wasn''t worried about making a sound, as long as it was not too loud.


    Tup...


    Valentine easily climbed the tall brick wall surrounding the cemetery and landed safely. He listened to his surroundings and determined the direction the owner of the footsteps had gone in. He went in the same direction while staying hidden behind trees or tombstones. They went deeper into the cemetery until they arrived at the morgue; a classical building with a magnificent design.


    The owner of the footsteps went into the morgue through the main door, which he easily opened. Valentine stayed outside without following the person. He couldn''t hide easily from the mirrors, and his goal was to see the other person anyway, whom Calvin would meet after getting the corpse. It was a safer option for Valentine.


    "G, you need to use divination later to find out how he can be invisible. Also how he can open the door easily," Valentine spoke as quietly as he could while looking around for a spot to hide.


    There were trees and tombstones, but they were too out in the open. Valentine looked up and got an idea.


    "Easy does it,"


    He started climbing to the top of the morgue, getting up nimbly a distance at a time. There were a lot of gripping and footing spots, which made his ascent much easier. Before long, he had already skillfully made his way all the way to the top. Valentine could observe the surrounding area safely from there without being interrupted by the cemetery guards.


    "Now we should be safe here, G,"


    "Anyway, I cannot use Reveal on Calvin, who is currently invisible. I guess that means I must be able to see my target somehow, be it through mirrors or similar methods," he concluded.


    He waited on the roof of the morgue for quite a while. Calvin seemed to be taking his time although he shouldn''t have any difficulty in getting what he was looking for, especially since he was invisible. The mirror surveillance wouldn''t be able to detect him at all.


    "How is he going to find out which one he would need anyway? I guess a mutilated body of a murder victim should be easy enough to find as long as they were not separated. But what about carrying it later?"


    After waiting for almost thirty minutes, finally, someone came out of the main entrance. However, there was no physical figure of the person. Valentine knew right away it was his target, so he listened closely to any sounds Calvin made.


    The man seemed to be heading out of the cemetery, but the speed at which he was walking was slower than before.


    "He must be carrying the mutilated body parts somehow. But we can''t see it. Is it a high-level item he is wearing? Isn''t it stupid of the mastermind to lend him something like that unattended?" Valentine paused.


    He climbed down from the roof with agility and landed softly on the ground.


    "Or probably it''s a Contractbound''s ability? There is the Deity of Invisibility, but the description of His power didn''t mention granting invisibility to others,"


    Valentine continued following Calvin out of the cemetery. It seemed that the duration of whatever item or ability he was using started to run out, so he became visible again. The man was carrying a big backpack, most likely with human body parts inside. There didn''t seem to be any items on his person that could grant invisibility.


    Calvin stopped in front of a manhole. He looked around and then opened it slowly and climbed down. Valentine quickly followed after waiting for him to make some distance between them.


    The rusty iron ladder felt cold to touch, although he was wearing gloves. The sewer was very cold that night and the usual acrid smell penetrated his nose. The sound of the underground stream was loud, making it more difficult for him to hear Calvin''s footsteps. He had to concentrate hard to locate his target.


    Step... Step...


    The faint sound of footsteps was coming from his ten o''clock direction, so Valentine turned left at the intersection and increased his pace. He saw the figure of the man soon after, still carrying a big backpack and walking cautiously. He looked around from time to time, but couldn''t see Valentine.


    Calvin turned right to a narrow tunnel and at the end of it, there was a figure cloaked figure that was taller than him. His face was covered by the hood completely. Valentine hid behind the wall and tried to listen in to their conversation.


    "You''re finally back," said the cloaked person. His voice was distorted, but it sounded like it belonged to a man.


    "Yes. Here are the things you asked for,"


    Calvin handed the backpack to the man.


    "So, can I get what you promised me?"


    The man didn''t respond to Calvin''s question. He seemed to be taking out something from his cloak.


    "I promised you a swift death, didn''t I?" the man suddenly charged at Calvin with a short sword.


    Clank!


    Valentine had jumped in and deflected the man''s sword with his dagger. He had worn his Gemini and got ready to interfere the moment the cloaked man tried to take something out.


    "Hide somewhere!" ordered Valentine.


    Calvin, who was taken by surprise, quickly ran away, leaving Valentine alone with the cloaked figure.


    Behind the man, there was a ladder and a wall, so Valentine''s position should be advantageous for him. He had much more room to retreat in case something went wrong, whereas the man''s option to escape was the ladder, which would take time to climb.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    He quickly chanted and the man suddenly stopped moving. Valentine didn''t plan to ask the man questions because it would take too long and his control over the man would be broken soon. He just needed to buy some time.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Slowly, an illusory text formed above the man''s head. Valentine quickly read it.


    ''Andreas Peters, nicknamed Shade. He is a member of the secret organization called Pale Society. His mission is to gather ingredients for the organization that will be used in supernatural creature summonings. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, and his forte is in manipulation.''


    "What a coincidence. G, isn''t that the scroll that you want? He should not be difficult to deal with, in that case, as long as we don''t give him a chance to use his abilities. I guess that''s how he manipulated Calvin."


    The cloaked man who was called shade suddenly took a step back. He seemed to have broken free from Valentine''s control. Under the hood, Valentine could feel the man''s eyes staring at him with surprise.


    "Who are you? How did I not detect your presence??" asked the man in disbelief.


    Valentine smirked.


    "Maybe because you suck."


    Shade was visibly provoked. His grip around the handle of his sword tightened. However, he didn''t charge ahead at Valentine.


    "I don''t have time for this..." he suddenly said.


    The man grabbed the backpack that he had dropped, but Valentine was fast enough to attack him with his dagger.


    "Not so fast!"


    Clank!


    He parried using his sword, but Valentine''s attack was stronger. His sword was dropped to the ground. He took a step back quickly and watched as the masked man was about to attack him again. Just as Valentine was about to launch his attack, Shade shouted.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    Suddenly, Valentine''s whole body felt stiff. He couldn''t even move a muscle nor lift a finger. He tried very hard to break free from the man''s control and felt that with his current power, he would soon be able to do it.


    Shade didn''t waste his time. He quickly grabbed the sword that he had dropped and the backpack. He didn''t even try to attack Valentine because he knew the control effect would fade soon. He just approached Valentine and muttered something under his breath and quickly climbed the ladder behind him and exited the sewer.


    Valentine broke free from Shade''s control soon after. However, strangely, he didn''t chase the man right away. He had a strong urge to check up on Calvin instead.


    "G, Calvin should be okay, so why do I really want to check his condition?" he said.


    His memory was in contradiction, but he couldn''t point out what was wrong. It just felt so natural to him that he wanted to make sure the man was alright.


    He found Calvin not long after. The latter was hiding just behind the wall where Valentine was before and had been watching the fight all along. His respect for the man with the Gemini mask had grown because of the fight.


    Calvin wasn''t injured at all. He was definitely alright. However, even after knowing that, Valentine still didn''t chase the running man. He instead felt the urge to converse with Calvin.


    "Are you okay?" asked Valentine.


    "Yes. Thank you for saving me," he said.


    "Now, can you explain to me how you got in contact with that person?"


    Calvin went into deep thought. He appeared to be trying to remember the details, but his memory was in a jumble when it came to Shade.


    "I really cannot say it. I don''t know," he said finally. His voice sounded confused.


    "G, it''s evident that Guiles are dangerous. It seems that he had also messed with our memory, although it was probably only on the surface." he muttered, and then turned back to Calvin, "What did you use to become invisible back then?"


    Calvin looked surprised that the masked man knew about it. However, he quickly regained his composure. The man in front of him was the founder of the organization, and he himself was someone with supernatural abilities, so he must have his own way of seeing invisible people.


    "I used this," he said as he took out an empty vial from his pocket. "There was liquid in it and the man said it could turn me invisible for some time,"


    Valentine received the vial from Calvin and concentrated on it.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Slowly, an illusory text formed above the vial.


    ''Empty vial. Just a normal empty vial without anything special. It can be bought at the nearest hardware store or pharmacy.''


    The text then disappeared.


    "This is useless..." said Valentine in annoyance.


    He gave the vial back to Calvin, who then put it back inside his pocket.


    "Let''s just get out of here now," said Valentine.


    The two men walked towards the ladder and exited the sewer. The night breeze hit their faces, and fresh air entered their lungs. The air outside didn''t stink, unlike the air in the sewer. They were currently in a quiet street with a lot of establishments that already closed due to the night.


    Shade, who had exited way before them, was nowhere to be seen. He had successfully escaped. However, Valentine was not worried.


    "G, we have his full name. You can use divination to track him, can''t you?" he muttered.

 108 A Morning Preparation

    At around one o''clock after midnight, Valentine arrived on Tuinstraat. Although it was a cold and breezy night, his forehead was sweaty. He seemed to have walked hurriedly home. The street was currently very quiet. The street lights illuminated his way, but there were still shadows cast by them, providing places for dangers to lurk in.


    The belt that he was wearing was covered by an invisible yellowish mist. Valentine stepped very lightly but swiftly. Not long after, he arrived in front of an old-looking apartment building with the name ''Vakbond Apartment'' written in woods above the double door. Most of the lights inside the apartment had been turned off because the inhabitants were asleep.


    Valentine unlocked the main door with one of the keys in his keychain and slowly opened the door; it created a slight creaking sound. He closed the door behind him and locked it again to avoid normal thieves and burglars. Supernatural criminals wouldn''t be stopped by a mere locked door, so there was nothing else to be done anyway.


    The old wooden floors would normally creak if people stepped on them, but he walked upstairs stepping only on safe spots on the floorboards based on memory. He managed to avoid creating a loud noise and reached his apartment shortly after. Just as he was about to unlock his door, the apartment door next-door with the number 24 on it was opened.


    "Where are you going?" asked Valentine.


    Luuk, who thought there was no one there, was slightly surprised. He regained his composure quickly and answered calmly.


    "Just the usual night routine,"


    Valentine looked at the man who was closing the door to his own apartment. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and black gloves. His hair was covered by a black beanie and his face, a facemask. He already looked like a seasoned thief. Valentine then remembered the information he got this morning about the young man''s hobby.


    "Why are you still stealing? You''ve pleased your Deity," responded Valentine just to confirm.


    "At this point, it''s become a habit of mine," answered Luuk honestly.


    "Well, good luck," said Valentine shortly.


    Luuk nodded and then left. His steps were very light and almost inaudible. It was only thanks to Valentine''s boosted hearing that he could still hear them. He opened his own apartment door and entered the dark office. After locking the door, he went to his bedroom and lied in bed.


    "G, time to switch," he said.


    ''Where can I find Andreas Peters'' aka Shade'' house?''


    A tiny image appeared from within the flame and gradually got bigger until, in Graham''s eyes, it was as big as a cinema screen. It was an aerial view of Sloten, the usual kind of image that he got whenever he asked about locations. There were two red dots, one coming from his own location and the other was coming from his target''s house, which was on Kruisstraat. The image then zoomed in and showed a two-story house with the number 56 on the gate. After showing that, the flame gradually consumed the image and everything went back to normal.


    "I found you..."


    Graham put the lighter back inside his pocket and got up from the bed.


    "We''ll deal with him tomorrow, Val. We need to prepare and also pay Luuk to help us. Our enemy is a President rank, after all,"


    He undressed and put on his pajama pants. After that, he lied in the bed shirtless under the blanket. The night was cold, so he didn''t want to shower first. The soft bed and the warm blanket provided him with comfort, so it didn''t take long for him to fall asleep. He started snoring not long after.


    The night went by quickly. The sun slowly rose and cast away the darkness. People started flocking the street and the sounds of motor carriages filled the air. The Saturday morning in Sloten was bustling with activity, although the later it got, the quieter it usually became on Saturdays. The early morning was just the time for people to set up their stores and buy perishable groceries for the day.


    Graham woke up feeling refreshed at nine, when the street was already not as busy as earlier. He quickly took a shower and went to the kitchen to brew a cup of hot chocolate.


    "Val, you must be awake already. You don''t need a lot of sleep, after all," he said while waiting for his milk and sugar mixture to get to a scalding temperature in the saucepan.


    Once the milk started simmering, he turned off the heat and added chopped chocolate pieces into it and stirred thoroughly. The liquid inside the saucepan gradually turned brown and showed a smooth, silky texture. Graham poured it all into a cup and enjoyed his morning drink.


    "Luuk should already be home today, and it''s Saturday, so he shouldn''t have any classes at Uni. I''d feel bad if he actually failed because of us."


    Graham sipped his hot chocolate and let the warm liquid fill his whole mouth. The soft sweet mixture entered his throat and warmed up his whole body in that cold morning, especially after a shower.


    "But then again, as a Contractbound, he should be able to support himself even if he failed. Or he could just somehow steal the Dean''s intention of failing him. But it only works temporarily, so maybe he could steal it and then make the Dean graduate him, and then return the intention. Then, it would be too late for the Dean to change the decision."


    Graham took another sip.


    "Why do I even bother thinking about stuff like this. It''s not even my business."


    Graham picked up a slice of white bread from the kitchen counter that he was sitting on and dipped it into his hot chocolate. He then put the soaked bread quickly into his mouth without letting any liquid drop to his pajama pants.


    "Right now we need to think about how to deal with Adreas Peters. Or let''s just call him Shade to make it easier. It seems that members of Pale Society have a theme to their nicknames. Gloom and Shade..." he said while chewing, "Anyway, to deal with Shade. He is a Guile, so prolonged fights with him should be avoided at all cost because he can implant a false memory in our brain. If the fight goes on too long, the false thought will manifest and that will be the end of us,"


    Graham dipped another piece of white bread in his hot chocolate.


    "He also has the abilities of a Mouth. Orders are extremely powerful for controlling someone, and the worst part is, it doesn''t make us lose consciousness, so we can''t secretly switch. Our only chance of winning is by taking him by surprise, which is difficult, or to bring Luuk with his Theft ability. We should also copy that ability using Purloin so we''ll have more cards to play with,"


    He quickly put the now sweet and soggy bread in his mouth and chewed quickly. The bread became very soft because of the hot chocolate, and their flavors combined to create a new, delectable taste.


    "Now I wonder what Shade''s other abilities are. He can''t be a Fire Divinator because otherwise, he would have known that Calvin was tailed. Why didn''t your Reveal tell us more information, Val?" he scratched his itchy right chest with his free left hand, "If we can kill Shade, I''ll already have the contract scroll for my next ritual. I just need to please the Deity of the Tongue. Why is it much more complicated than your Deity? Although, I feel that it shouldn''t be long before He is pleased with my action. Perhaps, tonight after I make the associates do another thing, my Deity will be pleased,"


    Graham finished his hot chocolate that had been mostly soaked up by the bread pieces. The last gulp was not as delicious as the first because it had gone colder, but it was still very good nonetheless. He put the empty cup in the sink and washed it right away, and after that, cleaned the countertop from tiny breadcrumbs that had fallen there.


    Once he was done with breakfast, Graham went to his bedroom to get dressed. He would go and see Luuk and went ahead with his first step of the plan: copying his Theft ability. Graham put on a simple dark-colored shirt that he hadn''t worn in a long time and also a pair of pants that he wouldn''t mind discarding. When assassinating people, he always wore something he normally didn''t, so getting rid of them would be easy, although, in the end, his overall style still looked similar.


    Outside his apartment, he reached out to the small while button placed next to the door with the number 24 on it. The button gave little resistance and he easily pressed it.


    Ding... dong...


    The ringing sound resounded inside the apartment, but could only be faintly heard from outside. Silence came after the bell sound was gone.


    Ding... dong...


    Graham pressed the button for the second time.


    After waiting for more than a minute, finally, the sound of someone''s footsteps approaching the door could be heard.


    Click!


    The door was opened, and through the gap, there was a man in his early twenties with black circles around his eyes. He was wearing a wrinkled t-shirt and a pair of elastic shorts.


    "What is it?" said Luuk van der Meer while yawning.


    He seemed to have not completely been awaken yet. His eyes were still dirty and his brown hair was messy.


    "Val, if I didn''t plan on fighting anyone today, I would use my Order to jolt him awake,"


    "Are you busy today? Do you have any plans?" asked Graham.


    Luuk yawned again and then shook his head sleepily.


    "Good. Then can you help me with a mission?" he requested nicely.


    The sleepy man suddenly looked to be thinking. He knew that a mission to Graham meant either killing a supernatural creature or killing someone, both of which could be dangerous.


    "I just remembered that--" he spoke but was interrupted.


    "Let me see," Graham took out a lighter from his pocket and lit a fire.


    Luuk, knowing that he couldn''t lie, accepted defeat, "Alright. I''ll help you. Not for free, though."


    "Of course. I always pay my partners reasonably. For this mission, I''ll pay you twenty guilders," he replied convincingly.


    Luuk''s eyes opened wide in an instant.


    "Deal! I need the cash anyway," he said quickly.


    Graham curled raised his eyebrows.


    "What happened to the money you just got?"


    Luuk scratched the back of his head like a kid caught guilty being naughty and said, "I, Uhm, bought some stuff with it,"


    Graham didn''t care what the man had bought, so he didn''t press the topic any further. He asked about something else, "What about the gemstones we got from the cave?"


    A proud smile surfaced on Luuk''s face. He then beckoned Graham to enter his apartment.


    "Come here. I''ve finished identifying them and even embedded them into some bullets," he said while entering the room.


    Graham followed Luuk inside his apartment. The room was still as messy as he remembered it. Books and clothes were littering the floor, and it was only the living room. His bedroom must be even messier.


    On a desk on one side of the room, there were several bullets, two knives, and a lot of gemstone pieces of different colors and sizes. The bullets'' tips were embedded with tiny pieces of stones while the knives had bigger pieces on their hilts. The man seemed to have been working hard these past view days.


    "What are those?" asked Graham curiously.


    "Remember that we got purple and green gemstones? The purple ones have the effect of slightly increasing our speed if embedded on a knife or slowing the enemies if on bullets. I''ll call them slow bullets. The green ones have poison properties on both knives and bullets," he explained.


    Graham wanted to know the detail better, so he sat on Luuk''s sofa after moving some stuff aside to make room for himself. Luuk only watched as the man did whatever he pleased.


    Not long after, Graham had fallen asleep and Valentine woke up. Luuk was observing the man intently.


    So he indeed changes after sleeping. Even his eye color changes. His aura is more straightforwardly dangerous now. I guess this is his persona for fighting while the other one is for investigation? What a weirdo.


    Valentine approached the bullet and picked up one of the purple ones.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me,"


    An illusory text started to form above the bullet. Valentine took a glance at Luuk who was looking at the bullet instead of the text. It was apparent that he really couldn''t see anything.


    ''Slow bullet, created by a beginner Jeweller. It has the effect of slightly slowing the target for about three seconds. The victim''s actions and reaction speeds will be lowered slightly, making them an easier target to hit. Only a graze is enough for the bullet to take effect, but a full hit will make its duration last a second longer.''


    After the text disappeared, Valentine put the purple bullet down and picked up the green one.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me,"


    The same text that was invisible to other people began floating above the bullet with a piece of a green gemstone on its tip. Valentine read it carefully.


    ''Poison bullet, created by a beginner Jeweller. It has the ability to inflict poison on the target. The poisoned target will experience slight abdominal pain and muscle soreness. If left untreated, nausea will start to take effect and followed by vomiting. Successive hits by this bullet will make the symptoms stronger. However, the target cannot die of the poison from this bullet alone. A full hit is required for the poison to take effect.''


    Once he finished reading, he put down the bullet and then turned to Luuk, who was watching him with curiosity. Before he was able to say something, the latter had spoken first.


    "What ability is that?" Luuk asked curiously.


    Since he didn''t feel that it would harm him if Luuk knew, he answered, "It''s basically just an identifying ability. Anyway, how many uses do the knives have?"


    Luuk nodded, and then replied, "Ten uses and the gemstones will break. Another one can be embedded after that, but the knife''s durability decreases after every embedding process. That''s why I used cheap knives."


    Valentine looked carefully at the knives. They did look cheap, but still sturdy enough to use in a fight. He would like to have his dagger embedded with a gemstone, but after hearing that the durability would decrease, he ceased his intention. The dagger was too important to him.


    "Anyway, I''m going to start a business of selling embedded items," said Luuk suddenly.


    Valentine was not shocked, but he was still curious.


    "Does it mean I have to pay for the bullets if I want them?"


    Luuk smiled meaningfully and then replied, "Of course. Although, you just need to pay for the bullets for these ones since the gemstones are partially yours. Only half a guilder for each bullet. That''s how much I bought them for," he said, and then added, "Oh, and one more thing. I can only embed ten items per day."


    "That''s fair enough. I''ll take all you have right now. And let me brief you about the mission," replied Valentine. He took a seat on the sofa comfortably.

 109 Following the Trail

    "Alright. I understand the plan. So where can we find him?" asked Luuk.


    Graham, who had taken over from Valentine, readied his lighter and lit a fire, which burned gently.


    Luuk was watching the flame with anticipation. At this point, he had already memorized the proceedings for the man''s divination: he had to concentrate on a fire-- any kind would do-- and then asked a question in his heart. Other people couldn''t hear the question so without context, the divination might not make sense.


    An image gradually formed from the core of the flame and got bigger and bigger. Luuk felt like he was looking at a cinema screen. It was an image of Sloten from a bird''s eyes. There was a red dot that should indicate the divinator''s location because Luuk recognized the building. There was another one located far away and it kept on moving. The target was currently on the move, seemingly heading towards the slum area in Oosteinde. After that, the image looked like it was consumed by the flame before finally disappearing.


    "That place is very close. Let''s go," urged Look.


    "Val, why is he suddenly so eager. Does he just want to see his bullets in action?" muttered Graham, and then said to Luuk, "You go get ready first. I need to do some more divination,"


    Graham pointed at Luuk''s crusty eyes. The flame from his lighter was still burning tenderly.


    Luuk rubbed his eyes with both hands and got some of the gunk off. After that, he went to his bathroom to wash his face. He was too lazy to shower and it was cold anyway, so he thought he wouldn''t sweat a lot. He splashed some water onto his face and the cold liquid get rid of the last bit of sleepiness he had. It felt very refreshing, yet he wouldn''t want to keep doing it because the water got colder and colder with every passing second.


    Once he felt refreshed, Luuk went back to his bedroom and got dressed. He put on a pair of old denim pants and a plain black jacket over a black t-shirt. He also put on gloves and a beanie, and the last thing he needed would be a facemask.


    Luuk returned to the living room where the detective was still sitting on a sofa.


    His aura has changed again? He changes a lot today...


    Graham had finished his divination and switched with Valentine.


    "We need to adjust the plan a little. Our target is with someone. Assume that he is as powerful, if not more, than the target," he said.


    "So what do we do then?" asked Luuk calmly but curiously.


    "We still prioritize our target and kill the other one only if it''s not dangerous," he replied, "Now, before we leave, can you try to steal this belt that I''m wearing?"


    Luuk observed the pale leather belt that Valentien was wearing. He recognized it as the belt that they had taken from a corpse in the ruin. He understood what the man was trying to do.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your belt mine!"


    "It''s been copied," Luuk said.


    He handed the belt back to its owner and Valentine put it on right away. After that, he started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the presence of Purloin a secret!"


    Once he finished chanting, a thin yellowish mist descended from above and enveloped the belt. Luuk somehow now felt that the man in front of him wasn''t wearing any, but if he concentrated hard enough, he could still see the leather object still wrapped around Valentine''s waist.


    "Now, let''s go," said Valentine.


    He went out ahead while Luuk was checking if everything was alright at home. He needed to make sure all the electrical appliances were turned off and there was no fire burning. Once he was sure, he went out and locked his apartment and stuffed the key inside his left front pocket.


    Both of them walked lightly on the creaky wooden floor and made their way downstairs without creating a lot of noise.


    "Are we walking or taking the carriage?" asked Luuk.


    "It''s close by. Let''s just walk. I''m sure our target won''t leave the area soon," replied Valentine, "Maybe we should invest in a motor carriage of our own. Can''t you ask your parents for support?"


    Luuk stared at Valentine as if the man had just offended his ancestors.


    "Of course not! They wouldn''t even give me money even if I was starving to death,"


    "Sounds like loving parents..." said Valentine shortly. He opened the main door of the building gently.


    "Loving indeed, just not to me," replied Look casually. There was no hint of regret in his tone.


    "G, this parent-child relationship sure is peculiar,"


    The two men were now outside and the street was quieter than earlier. Valentine and Luuk turned left from the entrance and walked eastward at a fast pace. The gentle autumn breeze hit their faces and blew away fallen leaves. Valentine''s hands were inside the pockets of his coat, safe from the cold.


    They walked past several people and most of them, mostly women, were staring. The two men were good-looking after all, in their own ways. Valentine wasn''t bothered by the attention, but he didn''t pay it any mind either. Luuk, on the other hand, was just oblivious.


    The arrived at the bridge hanging over the slum area less than ten minutes later. From above, they could see the busy slum bustling with activities even though it was Saturday, the day when most people preferred to stay at home. People in this area were different; if they wanted to put food on the table, they couldn''t afford to rest.


    Trying to find the target in that condition was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. Luckily, before switching, Graham had used divination to determine whom the target made contact with in the surrounding area.


    "We need to find a woman named Old Benthe," said Valentine while looking at a direction.


    He wasn''t actually looking at anything in particular. He was just concentrating on listening to the sounds of the crowds. Most people there were working, so if there was someone whose footsteps sounded relaxed, he could also use that as a clue. However, there was nothing like that.


    The two men got down from the bridge to the slum below. They were greeted by curious gazes from the people around them.


    "Excuse me, can you help us?" asked Graham as he approached a man who was busy skinning a squirrel.


    The man didn''t stop what he was doing. He just took a glance at the two men approaching him and kept on working his knife around the dead rodent.


    "Yes?" he replied.


    "Can you direct us to where Old Benthe lives?" asked Valentine politely. His tone was not urging, but it was assertive.


    "There," said the man shortly. He was pointing at the seven o''clock direction from him without even looking.


    "Thank you," replied Valentine.


    He walked towards the direction that the man pointed and muttered, "That man sure is busy, G,"


    Luuk followed him closely behind. In a crowded place like that, his urge to steal was at its highest. However, he knew that the people were poor, so he held back.


    They walked on damp soil with mud patches around. The river was so close and people there must have taken the water and spilled some on the ground in the process. There were already several shoe and footprints on the ground.


    After walking for a while, they arrived in front of a house made of metal sheets put together covered with rags. It couldn''t really be called a house, but it looked sturdy enough to protect the residents from the elements, at least. Through the small opening that worked as a window, they couldn''t see anyone inside the ''house'', but they tried anyway. Valentine knocked on the part that looked to be the door.


    Knock! Knock!


    "Yes?" said a voice that belonged to an old woman from inside the house.


    Shortly after, the ''door'' was opened and there was a woman in her sixties standing in the doorway. She was wearing a plain dress to cover her plump body. Her wrinkled skin had age spots, especially on her face. However, despite her age, the lights in her eyes hadn''t faded. They were as strong as someone who was still in their twenties.


    "Did you see where she came from?" whispered Valentine to Luuk.


    "No. I''m sure there was no one at home," he replied quietly.


    "I can hear you two, y''know. Why are you looking for me?" said Old Benthe. Her voice wasn''t annoyed.


    The old woman was observing the two young men in front of her, waiting for their reply.


    "Did someone come here earlier to ask you questions?" asked Valentine.


    "Five Stuivers," she replied shortly.


    Both Valentine and Luuk raised their eyebrows. They didn''t expect to have to pay for the information.


    "Here you are..." said Valentine while handing over five coins to the old woman.


    "I like you, young man. You''re not like the two before. They were stingy," she put the coins inside her dress somewhere.


    I don''t want to think where she just put the money... Luuk was watching the old woman with both curiosity and appallment.


    "What do you want to know about the two who came here before?" she said. Her tone was much friendlier now.


    "What did they ask you about? Where did they go?" Valentine''s eyes were observing the woman; there was something about her that was amiss, but he couldn''t feel any malice coming from her.


    "They were asking about where the old mass burial is. Of course, I didn''t tell them. I knew that they were going to something bad with the burial. They should be searching around the empty field right now; the one by the river," she replied casually.


    "What mass burial?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "The 1920 massacre. I guess you are too young to know that," answered Valentine.


    "And how did you know exactly? You are not that much older than me," responded Luuk.


    Valentine shrugged.


    "Where is the mass burial?" he then asked Old Benthe.


    "Seven Stuivers," she replied shortly.


    Valentine gave her more coins and she put them all somewhere under her dress again.


    "It is now gone. The location has been turned into those factories that are now empty. It''s really not good for business to be built upon graves, don''t you agree?" she said with a hint of regret in her tone.


    Valentine then whispered to Luuk, "Can you ask her something? Just distract her,"


    "But I will have to pay then..." he whispered back.


    Valentine gave him some Stuiver coins and felt something inside him screaming. Graham would be really mad at him for spending money so carelessly.


    "Can you describe the two men to us?" asked Luuk.


    "Eight Stuivers," she replied with a meaningful smile.


    Why is it getting more and more expensive? Luuk wanted to complain and ask her that, but he knew it would just make the next question more expensive. He just handed her the money and again she stuffed it away.


    "They were wearing masks. I knew right away they were up to no good. One is as tall as your friend here. I couldn''t see their faces, y''know, and they were wearing robes,"


    Her answer was really unsatisfactory, but Luuk couldn''t do anything about it. While she was speaking, Valentien was muttering something under his breath and was now seemingly reading something above Old Benthe''s head with a confused expression.


    ''Benthima Goossen aka Old Benthe. She ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------''


    "Young man, it''s impolite to be reading about people''s personal information like that, y''know?" she said. Her tone wasn''t angry, but rather, mischievous.


    "Just what are you...?" asked Valentine.


    Luuk watched the two without understanding what happened. He made some guesses. Mr. Hymes can read people''s secrets, so he must have read something unbelievable about her. And she noticed what he was doing. Does it mean she is someone powerful? Even I didn''t feel anything when he was reading my secrets.


    "Ten Stuivers," she smiled meaningfully.


    Valentine didn''t want to give her any more money, but he was also very curious. He did as she requested and handed her the money.


    "Thank you, young man. You''re too kind. This old woman has problems supporting herself like this, y''see? And to answer your question, I''m only an ordinary old woman," she laughed.


    Valentine felt cheated. He couldn''t do anything, however.


    "..."


    He then walked away and Luuk followed him.


    "What did you see?" asked Luuk curiously once they were away.


    "Nothing. That''s exactly the problem. She is powerful enough for me not to be able to see anything," replied Valentine seriously.


    Luuk instinctively looked behind at the old woman and she had already disappeared.


    "Let''s not worry about her for now. We can''t lose our targets,"


    They left the slum area quickly and headed towards the empty field that was about one kilometer away from there.

 110 A Shady and Faded Afternoon

    Valentine and Luuk, who had now put on their Zodiac masks, arrived at the field with overgrown grass. The cloudy sky blocked the sun from shining and warming up their cold bodies. The temperature was getting lower and lower each day, which meant that winter was just around the corner. The yellowy grass was swayed and danced in the breeze.


    They were walking quietly, cautiously looking around for any signs of their target. According to Old Benthe, the two people from Pale Society should be here in this field. However, it was such a vast plain with a lot of wooden shacks around, so there were a lot of blind spots for them.


    "Shouldn''t they be around here?" asked Luuk.


    "Yes. We should be very careful not to let them see us first. Catching them by surprise is our only chance of winning," replied Valentine, and then lied down on the ground.


    The grass tickled his body slightly, but it created a soft cushion. Luuk understood what Valentine was trying to do, so he kept watch of his surroundings. Valentine closed his eyes and fell asleep soon after. After that, Graham opened his eyes and quickly got up.


    "Was there anything?" he asked Luuk to make sure while also looking around.


    Graham''s boosted eyesight was still better than Valentine''s and there was sufficient lighting, so he could see far ahead. There was no movement at all in that large field.


    "There was nothing. You''re only asleep for less than ten seconds anyway..." replied Luuk.


    "Really? It always felt like a long time," he said.


    Graham took out his lighter and carefully lit a fire, placing it away from the grass not to burn them. He concentrated on the flame and repeated a question in his mind.


    "Where is the current location of Andreas Peters?"


    A bird''s eye view of the area surfaced on the flame. There were two red dots indicating his position and one other in the distance showing the location of the target. Judging from the map, Shade should still be more than one kilometer away from him.


    Luuk was also watching the image and he memorized the location of the target. The red dot indicating our target keeps on moving further, albeit at a slow pace. It seems that they are in search for something. Didn''t the old woman say they are looking for the burial site? Are they planning to collect bones or are they going to hold a ritual on it?


    After that, the image gradually disappeared and Graham put back his lighter inside his pocket.


    "Why do you think they''re searching for the mass burial site?" asked Luuk.


    "I don''t know. Why don''t we ask them later?" he replied.


    After that, he lied down on the grass again. It didn''t feel very comfortable for him because the grass was pricking him slightly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order myself to fall asleep,"


    "G, we really need to find another way. Switching all the time like this is really impractical,"


    Valentine turned to Luuk and said decisively, "Let''s go,"


    The two men walked in the direction that was shown in Graham''s divination. The tall, yellowish grass was split as they got past them, leaving behind a path. Sounds of rustling were heard in that cloudy morning, although they had tried to be as quiet as they could. The farther they went, the taller the grass became, and the more trees appeared around them. There were also the occasional wooden shacks for some reason, providing them with a lot of covers.


    From time to time, Luuk could feel a presence coming from the belt that Valentine was wearing. It seemed that they had long got out of the area of effect of his Concealment. However, since there was no one around, and the members of Pale Society were still far away, Valentine didn''t bother to recast it.


    When they felt like they were close enough but not enough to feel the others'' presence, Valentine stopped and hid behind a tall tree whose leaves had all turned yellow. He signalled at Luuk and the latter understood what he needed to do. He also hid behind the tree and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare Luuk''s presence a secret!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Mr Hymes'' presence mine!"


    A thin yellowish mist enveloped Luuk as he made a swiping motion with his right hand. He kept his hand clenched without releasing it.


    "My theft will only last for five minutes maximum," reminded Luuk.


    "That''s more than enough. Let''s go," replied Valentine calmly.


    The two men started running lightly with weapons ready. Valentine had taken his gun out while Luuk was holding a knife with a small piece of green gemstone embedded on the hilt using his left hand while his right one was still clenched in a fist.


    Valentine and Luuk could start to feel the dangerous presence of the two members of Pale Society ahead of them, and slowly, their figures also became visible. They stopped and approached carefully, stalking them with the cover of the tall grass.


    In the distance, there were two men wearing black robes carefully looking around, searching for something. One of them was taller than the other, and Valentine could see them wearing facemasks when they turned around for a brief moment. The taller one should be Shade while the other one was unknown to him. Graham couldn''t use his divination since he didn''t have enough information to go with it, so Valentine had to get close enough and use Reveal to know his abilities.


    "I think that old hag was lying to us," said the other man, which was very clear to Valentine thanks to his boosted hearing.


    "Let''s keep searching. This is such a large field, so maybe we just missed some areas," replied Shade.


    "When we meet her again, make sure to torture her until she''d rather die," the man spoke in a cold and hateful tone.


    "Don''t worry, I''ve planted a Bug in her mind. She should be killing herself tonight. After all, she has seen us," said Shade heartlessly.


    Valentine and Luuk were still creeping behind them and got closer. Luuk made sure his right hand was still clenched to keep Valentine''s presence. The two men hadn''t noticed them so far because of that; even the rustling sound that they made before was no longer heard now, although the grass was still moved. The strong breeze also helped them mask their movement by blowing the grass.


    "Will we really be able to use the burial site for the ritual?" asked Fade.


    "We should. It should hold an enormous amount of negative energy, so the ritual will be a success. The descent of the Pale Lord is coming near. I can feel it," Shade spoke in a sinister manner.


    Once they were close enough but still within a safe distance, the two stalkers stopped. Valentine watched the two men intently and waited patiently. The moment another breeze blew, he quickly chanted very quietly; the rustling sound made by the wind masked his chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Slowly, an illusory text formed above the man who was walking slowly next to Shade.


    ''Gerard Birenbaum aka Fade. A member of the secret organization called Pale Society with the task of gathering materials for summoning. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Wit and Blood and is skilled at frontal assault as well as assassination.''


    Once the information was revealed, Valentine could start his ambush plan. He crept a little bit closer because the two men had walked farther away, exiting the range of his ability. Once he was in range, he quickly chanted without waiting for the breeze this time.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    Fade suddenly stopped in his track. His eyes were blankly staring at the space ahead of him. Shade, who noticed his partner''s abnormality, quickly readied his short sword and looked around carefully, trying to locate the attackers. However, he couldn''t feel anyone''s presence nor see anything out of the ordinary. The grass was blowing gently in the wind without any signs of movements beneath it.


    Bang!


    Suddenly, there was the sound of a gunshot coming from behind and he quickly dodged to the side. He wasn''t fast enough, however, so his arm was grazed by the bullet. His robe was torn and blood came out of the wound. He wasn''t worried about the blood, but rather, the fact that he was now feeling rather sluggish. His movement and reaction speed had been reduced!


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby state that I will forget about the bad status effect affecting me!"


    Once he finished chanting that, his movement speed gradually returned to normal. He wanted to get down to avoid being shot at.


    Bang!


    Another shot hit him before he could completely get down. The bullet this time hit his right shoulder, lodging itself inside.


    "Fuck!"


    Shade screamed in pain and quickly got down. A lot more blood flowed from his injury and dropped to the ground below, painting the grass red. He couldn''t react carelessly because the unknown attacker had a gun, but he couldn''t just stay still and do nothing either.


    "I order my wound to heal!"


    While Shade was busy taking care of his wound that was now rapidly closing, Luuk had crept slowly closer to him. Once he was in range, Luuk quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of theft, declare the Shade''s short sword mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and suddenly, a metal sword appeared there. Luuk then swiftly got up and got away from his spot to avoid Shade, who had seen him.


    "What happened?"


    Suddenly, Fade spoke. He had managed to break free from Valentine''s control and was now confusedly looking at his partner who was lying on the ground. He looked around but saw no one else there.


    "Get down quickly!" shouted Shade.


    Bang!


    Another shot was fired and Fade wasn''t fast enough to dodge it. His left thigh was hit and he fell down from the impact.


    "Shit! What''s happening!" he shouted in confusion.


    "We''re under attack!"


    The blood that poured out of Fade''s wound suddenly started floating as he was chanting something. The crimson liquid gathered in one spot and hardened gradually.


    Shade, who had lost his weapon, now needed to give his partner a chance to finish creating his blood weapons. He had seen Luuk, so at least now he had one target. He carefully moved towards him and once he was visible, Shade quickly spoke.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    Luuk''s body started to move by itself against his will. He stood up and stayed there motionlessly, making him an easy target. Shade was about to start chanting while hiding under the grass, but then...


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    Valentine had finished chanting first.


    Look saw as the man''s eyes became blank. I can''t believe the trap actually works. Although I''m still a sitting duck, standing here out in the open. I need to break away fast.


    He struggled really hard to regain control over his body. Although the caster had been placed under someone else''s control, his Order was still as strong as before.


    "Get a hold of yourself! You''re a manipulator, why are you being manipulated like that?!" shouted Fade.


    He seemed to have finished creating blood weapons in that short time. Floating next to him was a pair of blood daggers that he had quickly made. They were as long as Valentine''s dagger and looked just as sharp. Fade raised his right hand and waved it in front of him to control the floating weapons.


    Swoosh!


    The blood daggers pierced through the air at a frightening speed. One of them was cutting all the tall grass around, spinning very quickly and tearing apart everything it came in contact with. The other dagger quickly moved towards where Luuk was standing without any means to protect himself.


    Bang!


    Valentine shot at the dagger that was about to pierce his partner''s heart without revealing himself. The blood dagger quickly rebounded and Fade controlled it again to continue its attack on Luuk.


    "Shit shit shit!"


    The effect of the Order had worn out, enabling Luuk to move again. He picked up the short sword that he had dropped quickly and briskly defended himself with it.


    Clank!


    Luuk managed to parry the attack launched by Fade. He then dashed towards the injured man and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack me mine!"


    He made a swiping motion with his right hand and kept it clenched. Fade looked confused, but the moment he saw Luuk charging at him, he knew what he needed to do; he needed to defend himself against the attack. However, the split-second delay was enough for Luuk. He released his fist and returned Fade''s intention of attacking him.


    Stab!


    Because of his conflicted intention, Fade didn''t manage to defend himself properly. It gave Luuk the opportunity to stab him in the chest with the short sword, although he failed to strike the vital spot.


    "I order your wound to heal quickly!"


    Shade had regained control over himself and quickly issued another Order after seeing his partner in a pinch. The wound on his chest quickly closed around the sword that was still there. Luuk had no other option but to leave the sword and quickly retreated.


    Bang!


    Valentine, who was watching and waiting patiently for an opportunity, shot Shade and hit his abdomen. The man was pushed back by the impact and groaned in pain. The grass that cushioned his fall became red and his robe was all torn.


    "I order my wound to heal quickly!"


    The wound started closing and the bullet that was lodged in his chest got spit out by the flesh. His body was overcome by pain, but suddenly, he started feeling something else. His stomach was in pain and his muscles became sore. He realized right away what was happening and shouted at his partner urgently.


    "Those bullets are poison bullets!"

 111 A Tough Battle

    Whoosh!


    Two blood daggers moved swiftly in the air, cutting all the tall grass short. The dry, yellowish grass dropped down one by one, clearing the surrounding areas. Fade kept cutting more and more grass to get rid of hiding spots for his enemies.


    Shade, who was kneeling near him, was in great pain. Although his wounds had been healed forcibly, the pain was still there, and coupled with the muscle soreness from the poison, he wasn''t in a good condition. While panting, he spoke with difficulty.


    "I order the poison in my blood to get out!"


    He bit his finger and created a small wound. Slowly, blood came out, followed by a green liquid that was thinner than the blood. More and more green liquid came out and he felt better with each passing second.


    "G, take note. Your ability can be used that way," Valentine muttered in amusement, and then signaled at Luuk.


    Clank!


    Luuk hit one of the flying daggers and then quickly retreated. There was no hiding spot around, so he went out of the range of the blood weapons.


    "Don''t pay attention to him! Be careful of the shooter!" shouted Shade, reminding his partner.


    Bang!


    Valentine shot Fade, but because of Shade''s reminder, he had expected it. However, he was still slower than a bullet. His left leg was grazed a little, sending a sharp stinging pain throughout his body. Suddenly, the floating daggers became slower. He had been hit by a slow bullet!


    Shade, who had recovered from the poison, quickly opened his mouth to start chanting.


    "Not so fast!"


    Bang!


    Valentine had fired another shot, but since Shade was expecting it, he had quickly issued an Order right after the trigger was pulled.


    "I order you to hit the ground instead!"


    The bullet missed him completely and hit the ground a centimeter away from his face. He was actually gambling if he would manage to do it or not, and it turned out he was successful. He was out of harm''s way for now and continued moving swiftly to where his partner was.


    Stab!


    Luuk, who took the chance that Valentine had created, managed to get close to Fade before Shade did and stabbed him in the chest. Fade was still affected by the slow bullet so he couldn''t dodge in time. On the spot near where the short sword was still lodged, there was a new deep wound that almost pierced his heart.


    Shit! If only I was more accurate! I almost hit his right atrium...


    Luuk pulled his knife and retreated quickly because Shade was already too close. The other man''s eyes were looking at Luuk with a gaze full of hatred.


    "I order your wound to heal!"


    Bang!


    Fade, who had lost too much blood, was very weak. The effect of the poison bullet had also started to show. His stomach was in pain and all his muscles were sore. He could barely control his blood weapons to protect himself.


    "Cover me!" he shouted.


    Shade quickly got in front of him while Fade took out some blood bags from under his robe. He had used some to create the blood dagger, but the amount was still enough. He sank his teeth into the bags and drank the blood ravenously.


    I can''t get close enough to use my theft on those blood bags. What should I do?


    Bang!


    Valentine fired another shot.


    "I order you to hit the ground instead!"


    Shade was prepared. He managed to redirect the trajectory of yet another bullet. He felt satisfied with himself but still kept his guard up.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    The shot was actually only a distraction. Valentine had gotten in range and successfully put Shade under control. However, since it was the second time for him, the effect would be considerably weaker.


    Dash!


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Thefts, declare all the blood bags that Fade has mine!"


    Luuk had quickly closed in on the target and successfully stole the blood bags that were in Fade''s possession. Blood from the one that he was drinking was leaking through the whole and wet Luuk''s right hand, which was now holding a total of four plastic bags containing a red liquid. He threw the bags as strongly as he could in the other direction.


    "Fuck you!" shouted Fade angrily. "The blood shall explode!"


    Kaboom!!


    Luuk was pushed back by the explosion although he managed to dodge the main impact. There were some charred spots on his skin.


    Using the little stamina that he had recovered, he suddenly controlled the blood daggers to shoot at Luuk. The slow effect from the bullet had also been removed. Luuk, who had been affected by the previous explosion, wasn''t fast enough to avoid two flying weapons, so one of them struck him in his side. Both his jacket and his t-shirt were torn, and his flesh was injured badly. Blood dripped to the ground beneath him.


    "Argh!" he groaned in pain while retreating with difficulty. He pressed his hand hard on his wound to slow down the bleeding.


    "Your blood shall be mine!" shouted Fade.


    Luuk''s blood that was forming a puddle on the ground mysteriously floated and went towards Fade, who opened his mouth to consume it.


    Bang!


    Valentine shot another slow bullet at Fade, but it only grazed him because he didn''t have the time to aim properly. Luuk, who had gotten out of range, took out a paper pouch with a blue powder inside and quickly inhaled it. After that, his wound magically started to close and the charred spots began healing. He felt much better right away.


    Shit! I''m slowed again... But at least... I''ve recovered a little more...


    Fade gritted his teeth and ignored the pain. He tried his best to move the blood daggers quickly to his side so he could defend against subsequent attacks.


    Luuk, who had now recovered, observed the two targets intently. Although they had managed to push the enemies, they were not actually winning. The enemies had ways to recover from whatever they were throwing at them. However, the moment they let the enemies took the initiative, they knew it would be very dangerous for them. It was a tough battle of attrition.


    "Shade should be freed from my control soon. We need to finish off one of them quickly and avoid bleeding at all costs."


    Valentine, who had been hiding the whole time, finally showed himself. He and Luuk were both dashing towards Fade who was still affected by the slow bullet. Shade looked like he was to break free any moment soon, so they didn''t have time to waste.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare Fade''s blood weapons mine!"


    The floating blood weapon disappeared from Fade''s sides and reappeared on Luuk''s right hand, who had quickly let go. Otherwise, his hand would be torn apart by the blade.


    Dash!


    Valentine jumped at Shade with his dagger in hand. Shade quickly controlled the blood daggers to defend against the attack, but Luuk''s theft had made them too far from him and coupled with his slowness, he didn''t manage to block. His slowed reaction speed and his injured state made it more difficult for him to switch his intention to dodge instead.


    "Argh!!"


    Fade yelled in pain as Valentine''s dagger stabbed him right in his neck. Blood spurted out from the wound and splashed all over Valentine''s mask and clothes.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    Valentine was frozen. He couldn''t move nor pull his dagger out. Shade didn''t have any weapon, so he couldn''t attack the man. Instead, he focused his attention on Luuk who was now coming for him to buy Valentine some time.


    Suddenly, Valentine felt a dangerous foreboding. He knew he had to get away right then or something bad would happen, but he couldn''t even lift a muscle because of Shade''s Order.


    Fade''s dying expression looked twisted. His eyes were full of hatred. Using his last breath and his broken vocal chord, he spoke quickly.


    "My blood shall explode!"


    His voice was almost inaudible and his words were like gibberish, but the spell had been chanted. The blood that splattered around started boiling rapidly.


    Kaboom!


    Valentine was thrown back several meters. His clothes were tattered and his skin was burned badly. There was a missing chunk of flesh from his chest and blood flowed everywhere. The Gemini mask he was wearing, however, was still intact, protecting his face from the core of the explosion. The tall grass around them caught fire and started burning wildly.


    Luuk and Shade were not affected by the explosion because they managed to duck in time. They couldn''t afford to take their eyes off each other.


    Fade''s dead body burst into flames leaving only ashes behind and three contract scrolls. A small round object began to slowly form there.


    "Shit it hurts..." Valentine groaned in pain.


    His condition was really bad. He quickly took out the paper pouch that he had prepared with difficulty and inhaled the blue powder from under the mask. Soon after, his wound began slowly healing, but he was still unable to get up. He needed Luuk to buy him some more time. Meanwhile, he crawled quickly to avoid the burning grass. He had no option but to go to where the grass had been cut.


    Dash!


    Luuk took the initiative and darted towards Shade, who currently had no weapon to defend himself with.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    Bang!


    Valentine had aimed with difficulty and shot Shade right after he used his Order, so he couldn''t redirect the bullet. The green-tipped bullet pierced through the air and hit him in the leg. That was as high as Valentine could aim with his current condition.


    "Fuck... it still hurts..." he groaned.


    Shade, whose leg was hit, tumbled to the ground in pain.


    "I order my wound to heal quickly!"


    The bullet hole in his leg began closing and spit out the tiny piece of metal with a green gemstone on its tip.


    Shit. If I get the poison out now he will shoot me again. If I don''t, the pain later will make me vulnerable.


    Shade chose to bare with the poison and retreated quickly. There was no hiding spot around because the grass had been all cut by Fade''s blood daggers, and the area beyond that was still burning.


    Luuk had been freed from Shade''s control and quickly gave chase.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention of retreating mine!"


    His right hand made a swift swiping motion and suddenly, Shade stopped running. He was confused for a split-second and then suddenly turned around.


    Bang!


    Valentine had been busy reloading his gun. It was the last paralysis bullet that he had saved up for this very moment and he managed to hit Shade''s thigh. He fell down to the ground and remained motionless.


    With difficulty, Valentine stood up. His wound had almost fully healed thanks to Luuk''s herbal mixture and the bleeding had completely stopped. As he was running towards the paralyzed Shade, he noticed Luuk was doing something strange.


    "Luuk! What are you doing?!"


    Luuk was holding his knife with both hands and was about to stab himself in the chest. Valentine couldn''t see the expression he made under his mask, but he knew it was Shade''s ability manifested. He must have planted the command some time ago because Luuk had been exposed to him many times.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    Valentine quickly chanted and Luuk stopped moving. He dropped his knife and just stood there like he was in a trance.


    Valentine didn''t waste time and quickly approached Shade who had started moving again. He didn''t want to use his knife this time in case the man decided to blow himself up again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention of retreating mine!"


    Valentine quickly made a swiping motion with his right hand, depriving Shade of any chance of running away. He had used the copied ability from Luuk to make sure that his enemy would stay still. He aimed his gun at his head. From this distance, he shouldn''t miss the shot.


    Shade was looking at the masked man with fear in his eyes. He couldn''t understand how the two of them could be defeated by him and his partner.


    Bang!


    Valentine had used a poison bullet just for good measure. The bullet with a green tip pierced his head and drilled a hole, from which blood spurted. Before he completely died, Valentine quickly searched his body for anything valuable. He only managed to get his wallet and nothing else because Shade''s body burst into flames shortly after, burning everything he had on him.


    He left behind three contract scrolls, one of which was the one Graham needed. A round object also began forming from the ashes. While waiting for the object to fully form, Valentine walked towards where Fade had died and picked up all the contract scrolls and a round object resembling a compressed blood ball wrapped in something grey. He focused on the object and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    An illusory text started to appear above the object.


    ''The remains of someone in Contract with the Deity of Wit and Blood. It can be used as a main sacrificial material during a ritual or can be made into a piece of enchanted equipment. It is safe to touch, despite being coated in mercury.''


    "It''s coated in mercury? How is that safe to touch?"


    Valentine decided to wrap the object with a piece of his shirt that he tore off and put it inside his pocket. After that, he went back to Shade''s death spot and looked for the round object that had fully formed. It looked like a compressed brain that was all black in color. It was also coated in something grey, so he tore off another piece of his shirt and wrapped it around the object before picking it up.


    "Now, G, how to deal with Luuk?" he muttered tiredly.

 112 The Aftermath of the Figh

    The sky was getting clearer. The dark clouds started to dissipate little by little. In the open field in Oosteinde near the outskirt of the city, the grass was burning. Luckily, the wind had stopped so the fire couldn''t spread violently. There were ashes on the grass in the form of humans.


    Valentine approached Luuk who was still under his control. The man''s eyes were staring blankly at the space in front of him under the horned mask that he was wearing. There was a knife under him lying on the grass that had been cut short. He picked up the knife before Luuk regained consciousness and put it away. He then waited for the latter to break free from his control, which didn''t take that much longer.


    The duration of his Interrogation ran out shortly after and Luuk''s eyes became full of life again. He looked confused for a second and then looked around. He seemed to be searching for something.


    "Where is my knife?" he said. His tone was cold and unfriendly.


    He was searching his own body for the knife or any other weapon.


    "Shit, G, the implanted thought is still active. How do we get rid of it?"


    Valentine observed Luuk carefully. There was nothing abnormal about his physique, but his mind was definitely affected. He thought that killing Shade would invalidate the ability, but it was definitely not the case. The man appeared to be still trying to kill himself.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"


    With that, Luuk''s eyes became blank again.


    "Let''s leave him like that for a while. We need to deal with this place first."


    Valentine crouched and dug some of the soil to create a small hole. After that, he used his knife to make an incision on his palm. Red blood came out of the cut flesh and gathered on his hand. Then, he put the knife away and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    The blood on his palm emitted a mysterious yellowish mist that quickly spread to the surrounding area.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped his blood on the hole that he had dug earlier. The thick red blood created a small puddle inside the hole and the thin mist was still coming out of it. After that, Valentine covered the hole with soil to hide the blood. With that, his anti-divination ritual had been finished.


    "Okay, now, G, let''s switch,"


    Valentine lied down on the short-cut grass. It was more uncomfortable because of its sharp edge, but he was fine with sleeping anywhere. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. Meanwhile, Luuk was still standing motionlessly near him. Not long after, Valentine fell asleep and Graham woke up.


    Graham approached Luuk who was still under the effect of Interrogation and started asking him questions.


    "Why do you want to kill yourself?"


    Look looked up at Graham with his still blank stare.


    "I''m a failure. My family hates me. I need to kill myself so I won''t be a burden to anyone else," he spoke monotonously.


    After that one question, the duration of the Interrogation ran out and Luuk once again regained his consciousness. He looked around again frantically looking for a weapon, but Graham quickly held him and pinned him to the ground.


    Thud!


    Luuk''s body hit the grass below. His eyes showed confusion. Graham didn''t let go of him and looked at him right in the eyes from under his mask. With a very convincing tone, he started speaking gently.


    "You should not kill yourself. The city will be destroyed if we don''t do anything and you are the one who can help prevent it. Your family might be in danger if we don''t put an end to the enemies'' plan. You''re not worthless,"


    While still pinning Luuk, who appeared to be calming down, down to the ground, Graham quickly chanted.


    I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the false thought in Luuk''s memory to disappear!"


    Luuk seemed to be in pain. He got a splitting headache and was violently shaking, trying to break free from the man. Graham didn''t let go, however. He put all his weight on the hand that was holding Luuk.


    The pain lasted only for several seconds and after that, Luuk''s eyes became clear again. He stared confusedly at Graham.


    "What are you doing?"


    The man didn''t let go of him just yet.


    "Are you still thinking about killing yourself?" he asked, making sure his effort was successful.


    Luuk became even more confused.


    "Killing myself? Why would I? I can''t collect shiny stuff if I''m dead!" he answered with his eyebrow raised.


    "It seems to have worked, Val," Graham muttered and then let go of his hold on the man.


    Both of them stood up and Graham cleaned the dirt off his pants that had got there while pinning Luuk down.


    "What was that for?" asked Luuk, demanding an explanation.


    Graham looked at him and casually said, "You were under Shade''s control. You were trying to kill yourself,"


    His eyes opened wide in surprise.


    Kill myself? Why don''t I remember anything? That was a scary ability. I don''t think I want to meet another one like that guy.


    "I''ve managed to remove the effect, so you should not worry. Although, you should still check if you have any abnormal thoughts," added Graham.


    With Luuk''s problem taken care of, now he could focus on the other matters. He looked at his tattered clothes.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to mend yourself!"


    The black shirt that he was wearing slowly started to unravel and the thread moved to cover the numerous holes in itself. After a while, the shirt looked whole again, although it was much thinner than before. Now, there were only the bloodstains that he needed to take care of.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the bloodstains on my clothes to move inside them!"


    The hardened red spots on his clothes magically liquified and then started crawling towards the inner part of his shirt. The same also happened to his pants. Now Graham looked like a normal person again.


    Luuk was watching the whole process.


    Dang, that ability is really versatile. I''m jealous now...


    "Can you do the same to mine?" he asked.


    Graham looked at the young man with a horned mask. He wasn''t badly injured, but there were still many holes in his jacket and shirt with burned edges. Graham focused on the man''s jacket and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to mend yourself!"


    Luuk''s jacket did the same thing as his shirt before. Parts of it moved to patch the holes and became a little thinner as a result. He used his ability once again to get rid of Luuk''s bloodstains on his clothes. Once both of them didn''t look like suspicious individuals anymore, they quickly scanned the area one more time.


    Seeing the grass that was still burning, Graham was worried that it might engulf the whole field. He approached the fire and then chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the fire to stop burning!"


    The fire in front of him became smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely, leaving a big patch of burned grass on the field. He did it one more time to completely extinguish the grass fire and once done, he turned to Luuk.


    "It''s all good. Let''s get out of here," said Graham.


    Luuk nodded and the two of them quickly left the field, going the same direction that they came from. Since they were still recovering, they got tired more easily. Luckily Luuk also brought the stamina powder, so they could recover their stamina as they went.


    The trip back went smoothly. There was no hurdle that delayed them, so they came back to the slum area soon after and made their way up to the street above. They then stopped a public motor carriage that was driving by and asked the driver to take them home, to Tuinstraat.


    Once they reached their apartment building, Graham made Luuk pay, and then they both went up to Graham''s office.


    "Here''s your twenty guilders," said Graham.


    He handed Luuk a paper bill with the number twenty on it.


    "Shouldn''t I get more? It was more dangerous than we had expected," complained Luuk.


    Graham scratched his head. What Luuk said was correct, so he indeed had to pay more, otherwise, their future partnership might be damaged.


    "Okay, here, fifteen guilders more," said Graham reluctantly.


    "That''s better!" he said happily.


    Graham then took out all of the contract scrolls that he got and laid them on the desk. There were a total of six ancient-looking scrolls, two of which were for President Rank Deities.


    "What are you going to do with these? Sell them?" asked Luuk curiously while looking at the scrolls.


    "One is for me. That''s the whole reason we hunt them in the first place. The Earl Rank ones will be rewards for our associates. We need stronger helpers after all," he replied.


    "Which one are you going to make a contract with?"


    "The Deity of Cunningness and Transformation. That was Shade''s Deity," replied Graham shortly.


    Damn. He will be even scarier than now in that case. Good thing we are on the same side. I also need to power up soon to keep up. But what Deity is suitable for me? I don''t even know what the options are.


    Luuk looked at Graham and asked, "What Deity do you think I should form a contract with for my next one?"


    Graham put his hand under his chin like what he usually did when thinking.


    "I think you should choose either Invisibility and Treasures because it has the word treasure in His name or Wisdom and Transmutation. The latter should allow you to create more magical trinkets."


    Luuk became interested, but he knew it was still a long way for him.


    I still need to please my Deity of Herbs and Precious Stones, but even until now, I haven''t received a revelation on how to. When the time comes, I can ask him to help me find the scroll. For now, be patient and enjoy the process.


    "Thank you," said Luuk with gratitude.


    Graham nodded and then took out a brown leather wallet from his pocket. Luuk knew it wasn''t his because he had seen Graham''s when he first stole it.


    "Is that the enemy''s?" he asked curiously.


    "This was Shade''s," Graham replied.


    He opened the wallet and checked the content. Inside, there was cash with the total amount of only five guilders, which Graham took out and put inside his own wallet. With the additional cash, it meant that he only spent ten guilders to pay Luuk.


    "But why are they so poor. Val, the members of Zodiac Syndicate must be rich so they wouldn''t embarrass me if they died and their wallets fell to the enemies'' hands," he muttered.


    Luuk raised his eyebrow.


    "Is there anything else besides the cash?" he asked curiously.


    Graham was also checking the wallet for other contents, but there was nothing else noteworthy. There was an identity card belonging to Andreas Peters aka Shade with his address on it, but he was sure there wouldn''t be anything important there. Graham would check anyway, but he wouldn''t be expecting much.


    "Do you want to go to his house?" asked Luuk, noticing Graham''s expression while reading the ID card.


    "Yes. It won''t hurt to check. But they are very careful; they won''t leave any clues in their houses. Although they are not that careful since I''ve managed to kill three of them so far..."


    "Do you think they will find out about us and seek revenge?"


    "They would seek revenge for sure if they were able to find out about us, but it''s unlikely. My anti-divination is top-notch, you see?" said Graham proudly, although in his heart he was actually not sure; the enemy might have an even stronger divinator than the Police.


    Luuk shrugged. He believed the detective but he didn''t want to boost the man''s ego further.


    "Anyway, we need to lay low for now just to be safe. Focus on pleasing our Deities so we can advance soon," said Graham.

 113 A Side Mission

    Ding... dong...


    In the detective''s office, the bell suddenly rang. The two men who were sitting opposite each other simultaneously looked at the door. Their clothes, although had been mended magically, were still not presentable to guests.


    "I guess that''s my cue to leave," said Luuk van der Meer.


    "Then open the door for me," replied Valentine, who had taken over from Graham because he needed to place anti-divination on all the battle loots that they had got from the fight earlier.


    He got up from the chair with a horned mask in one hand and went for the door. Luuk opened it and was stunned by the visitor. Standing at the door now was a beautiful woman wearing a black dress that was knee-long with elbow-length sleeves. Covering her slender hands were two elegant thin gloves. Her dark brown hair was tied in an updo style and there was an ornament beautifying her hairdo. She was wearing dangle earrings as her only piece of accessories besides the hair ornament. With her stunning appearance, if she were to attend a funeral, the deceased would surely rise and greet her personally.


    "You may come in," said Valentine, sitting in his chair leisurely.


    It was also a wake-up call for Luuk, who realized he had been standing in the doorway. He quickly left and went back to his own apartment.


    "Pardon my intrusion," she said as she entered the office.


    The woman elegantly closed the door behind her and walked inside on her stilettos. Her posture was perfect, emphasizing her slender body and its curves. Her chin was held up the whole time she was walking, creating an atmosphere of confidence around her. She took a seat opposite Valentine, who was observing her intently. The fragrant yet subtle smell of her perfume entered his nose; it was a mixture of jasmine and rose with a soft hint of cananga.


    From up close, she was even more beautiful with her perfectly imperfect face. Her small and pointed nose gave her soft face sharpness, while her blue eyes were deep like the ocean. Unlike Valentine''s cold blue eyes, hers were warm and soft yet profound. Her thin lips were curled in a smile that was both shy and charming at the same time. She was like a swan that was swimming gracefully across the calm pond.


    "Damn, G, she is a total ten..." he muttered, and then looked at the woman in front of him again, "Is there anything I can help you with, Ms...? asked Valentine politely.


    "You can me Agatha. I''m an acquaintance of Cadhla''s," she said. Her voice was soft and warm but full of confidence.


    The woman''s voice was pleasant to listen to. It was similar to Mirjam''s sunny and warm voice, but hers was calmer and gentler. Her manner of speaking also showed that she was an educated person.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me,"


    Slowly, an illusory text started forming above her head. Valentine began reading the floating text right away.


    ''Agatha van Nostrand, the daughter of the famous businesswoman Theresia van Nostrand. Her personality is both ruthless and kind, brutal and elegant. She is currently in a contract with the Deity of Sleep and the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter.''


    After that, the text disappeared and Valentine turned his attention back to the beautiful woman in front of him.


    "So you''re a Contractbound, just like Cadhla," said Valentine.


    Agatha didn''t look surprised that the detective could find out about that just in seconds.


    "Yes. So it is true that no secrets can get past you," she replied honestly.


    "So what can I help you with?" asked Valentine.


    "Mr. Hymes, I need your divination ability to help me gather the sacrificial materials for my contract ritual," she said without wavering, "And also most likely your assistance in procuring them,"


    Valentine put pressed both hands together and rested his chin on them.


    "Hmm... you''ll need to tell me what they are," he said, and then turned over his shoulder, "G, I didn''t expect this beautiful woman to be closer than us to advancing..."


    "It also seems true when she said you like talking to yourself," she said straightforwardly.


    Valentine only shrugged.


    "Please wait here. I need to make preparation for divination," he said.


    He got up from his chair and went to his bedroom. After locking the door from inside, he lied down on his bed and closed his eyes. Focusing on his breathing helped him fall asleep faster, and once he did so, Graham opened his eyes and got up from the bed. The man''s aura was now completely different from before. He was now emitting an aura of warmth and trustworthiness, unlike Valentine''s subtlety and mysteriousness.


    Graham went back to the office and sat across from Agatha, who had been waiting for him patiently. She didn''t move an inch from her seat, still sitting elegantly with a perfect posture.


    "Now, tell me what you need to find," he said.


    She took a deep breath.


    "I need a ghoul''s brain; it must be intact, and ten scales of a Nhang, as well as its blood. Twenty milliliters of it," she said.


    Graham put his hand under his chin and raised his eyebrows.


    "But a ghoul will burst into flames once killed. Does it mean we have to take its brain while alive, Val?" he muttered. "I know where we can find a ghoul. As for a Nhang, let me use divination,"


    Since Valentine''s Reveal didn''t show him that the woman has any bad intentions, Graham wasn''t worried about revealing his status as a rare Fire Divinator. He opened the top drawer and picked up a candle. He placed the candle on the desk and lit it. The fire burned with an orange light calmly. After that, he concentrated on the flame and repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Where can I find a Nhang?''


    From Agatha''s point of view, Graham was concentrating hard on the flame without saying anything. And then, the flame flickered for a second before an image started to form, getting bigger and bigger slowly. She could see a lake located inside a cave with hard cave walls surrounding it. In the lake, a large, dark shadow was swimming about. It appeared to be the Nhang. After that, the image shifted to an aerial view of Sloten and its surrounding areas. There were two red dots indicating their location and the target''s location, which was to the north at the foot of De Vaalserberg. Soon after, the image slowly disappeared.


    Graham raised his head and looked at Agatha.


    "I know where the place is. Do you still need my assistance to hunt the creature?"


    She nodded, "Yes. I will pay you forty guilders per creature plus all the expense during the mission."


    "Okay, but I will keep the remains of the creatures that we kill," said Graham.


    He knew that those creatures'' remains would fetch a lot of money, and also there were other supernatural creatures along the way.


    "That is fine by me. I only need the materials," she replied softly.


    "For hunting the Nhang, I will also bring other helpers. The cave where it resides is full of dangerous creatures; just the two of us won''t make it," he said.


    "In that case, I''ll pay the helpers the same amount," she said shortly. It was apparent that money wasn''t a problem for her.


    "Then we have a deal. I will need a day to prepare. We will depart tomorrow morning at nine to hunt the Nhang. As for the ghoul, we will need to hunt it tomorrow night. Is that alright with you?"


    She smiled. Her blue eyes were staring at Graham meaningfully.


    "That''s fine. Then, I''ll take my leave,"


    She stood up and fixed her dress gently. Graham also stood up and got ahead of her. He opened the door for her and she walked out of the office. The smell of her perfume entered his nostril again as she walked past him.


    "Thank you, Mr. Hymes. I''ll see you tomorrow," she said.


    Graham nodded and then closed the door from outside. He went to his neighbor''s apartment right away to tell him about the mission.


    Ding... dong...


    He rang the bell and unlike usual, Luuk answered the door quickly. It was as if he had been expecting Graham.


    "Who is that woman? Is there a mission?" he asked curiously from the gap in the door.


    Graham gestured at him to let him in, and Luuk opened the door wider. The two men entered the messy living room and Luuk closed the door behind him. There were books and random objects lying on the floor, so Graham carefully walked towards the sofa while avoiding them. The brown sofa still looked the same; the spot where he had sat previously was still there, and the stuff he moved aside hadn''t been moved back. He sat comfortably there.


    "That was Agatha van Nostrand," said Graham, answering Luuk''s first question.


    Luuk''s expression showed surprise.


    "van Nostrand? That rich woman?" he exclaimed.


    "Yes. Are they richer than your parents?" asked Graham curiously.


    Luuk looked up and seemed to be thinking.


    "Yes, most likely."


    He then grabbed a chair and sat on it backwards, hugging the chair''s backrest.


    "She gave us a mission. It involves the cave in the north again; that''s why I need your help. Our target this time is deeper into the cave, so we will need to bring Jacco along as well," he paused, and then added, "That woman is also a Contractbound, and a strong one, so this time it should be smoother,"


    Luuk wasn''t surprised that she was like them. Rich people must have their means to obtain contract scrolls somehow.


    "Okay. How much is she going to pay us?" asked Luuk.


    "Forty guilders each. And she is not interested in any other remains besides the ones she needs, so we can sell them and split the money," replied Graham.


    "Alright. I''m in. I''m sure Jacco will say yes as well. As long as there is a fight, he''ll be there,"


    Graham crossed his legs casually.


    "That''s what I think too. Now I need you to create bullets for tomorrow. Make as many slow bullets as you can, don''t worry about the poison ones. She will reimburse all our expenses, so we shouldn''t hold back," he said.


    "Rich people sure are different," he said with a hint of regret in his tone.


    "You are one too..." replied Graham.


    "My parents are. I''m just a poor sod," he replied casually.


    Graham didn''t respond. He got up from the sofa and stretched his body a little.


    "I''m going to the bazaar. You coming?"


    He shook his head.


    "Nah. I''m too lazy. I''ll take a nap first," he said lazily. "What are you buying? Enchanted equipment?"


    "No. I don''t think she''ll reimburse that. Even if she would, I still need the money to buy one in the first place," he replied, "I''m just looking for some extra bullets,"


    "Have fun, then," said Luuk casually.


    He then walked away and exited the messy apartment. Graham closed the door behind him and returned to his own room. He needed to get changed first to something less bloody, although the stains were invisible from outside. He put on a maroon shirt and a pair of striped pants. Over the shirt, he wore a long overcoat and a trilby on his head. He also brought his mask and gun but left Purloin at home. It still had Valentine''s concealment so it should be safe.


    Graham left his apartment and walked downstairs. The creaking wooden floor of the building always irritated him, and his steps were heavier than Valentine''s, so he couldn''t avoid making the noise perfectly. Once he was downstairs, he exited the building through the main door and hailed a public motor carriage to take him to his destination.

 114 A Day Before Departing

    Saturday afternoon on Herenstraat, inside a big hospital, a muscular man was walking down the busy corridor. He was wearing a brown leather jacket over his black t-shirt, and a pair of ripped denim pants. His hair was covered by a cap that he was wearing. His brown eyes were looking straight ahead, ignoring the stare of people around him. His manner of walking was confident and somewhat arrogant, showing that he was a man who was the head of a group.


    Jacco van Wert stopped in front of a hospital room with the number 5-624 on the door. He reached out to the doorknob and twisted it gently. He opened the door softly without making a lot of noise and then closed it behind him.


    The strong scent of disinfectant penetrated his nose. The white hospital room was very clean, indicating that it had been recently cleaned. There were chairs, sofas, and a table there, on which some fruit and snacks were placed. Those were not meant for the patient, as they were not allowed to eat food from outside, but rather, for visitors. The fact that they were still uneaten meant that the patient in that room didn''t get a lot of visitors. Even the television on the wall opposite the patient was left off, although the patient was alone in the room.


    "Acco you''ve come!"


    There was a voice coming from the other end of the room near the window. There, there was a girl with a shaved head about sixteen or seventeen years old sitting on the white bed. Covering her body was the fluffy white sheet that she hugged closely. Her expression was joyful the moment she saw who the person visiting was.


    "Dada, you shouldn''t be sitting like that," said Jacco with a concerned voice.


    The teenage girl looked at the man with playful eyes. Although her face was pale, her smile radiated happiness and strength. She didn''t budge from her position and kept on sitting on the bed with her back leaning against the wall with a pillow between.


    "I''m strong enough now, you don''t need to worry," she said with a wide smile. Her voice, although sounded faint, was still showing the little strength she had. "Besides, I can see you better like this..."


    Jacco dragged a chair and placed it next to the bed. He didn''t try to argue anymore with the teenage girl, but instead, changed the topic.


    "How are you feeling right now?" he asked.


    The girl''s pale blue eyes were glimmering dimly.


    "I''m feeling much better now. This room is also much nicer than the one before. I can rest in silence here because I''m all alone," she explained enthusiastically, and then her expression became concerned, "But is it really okay? This room must be very expensive. Not to mention my treatment that must cost hundreds,"


    Jacco held the girl''s left hand tightly.


    "Dada, I''ve found a side job, so you don''t have to worry about money anymore," he said convincingly.


    "I wish I was healthy so I wouldn''t burden you, Acco. I wish Mama and Papa were still here as well," the brightness in her tone disappeared and was replaced by wistfulness.


    Jacco''s grip on her hand grew tighter but still gentle. He waited for her to turn her face back to him and spoke kindly.


    "You don''t have to worry about your big brother. Just focus on getting better. When you''re healthy again, I promise to take you to other cities," Jacco''s deep voice sounded much gentler than usual. Gone was the Jacco that was vulgar and always cursed.


    "You''ve promised, so you have to keep it!" she replied. The smile came back to her pale and tired face.


    Jacco took off the cap that he was wearing and put it on the girl''s hairless head. His hair, which had been covered by the cap, was now weirdly pressed down.


    "Here, I bought this for you. Now you don''t have to worry about looking like an alien," he said jokingly.


    The girl laughed a little and took off the cap slowly. She ran her fingers on the cap and observed the black object. Although it was just a common cap, it meant a lot to her because it was given by her only remaining family member.


    "Thanks, big brother!" she smiled widely.


    "It''s just a cap," replied Jacco. "Since I''m making more money now, do you have anything you want?" he said.


    The girl tilted her head a little, thinking.


    "I want more books, please. It''s boring here. And if I get out, I don''t want to be stupid," she said honestly.


    "Okay. I''ll get you so many books that you will not be able to read them all," he smiled.


    "Thanks, Acco. You are the best brother that I have,"


    Jacco smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.


    The late afternoon sun penetrated the window and landed on the girl''s pale skin. She turned her face to the sun and felt the pleasant warmth with all her being. A happy smile surfaced on her face once again. She was reminded that being alive felt good. After a while, she turned around and looked at her brother.


    "Acco, I will get better and after that, I will get out of here and we can travel to all places!" she spoke in a determined voice. Her eyes looked resolute.


    "Yes. Once you are discharged, we will start our journey!" replied Jacco.


    The two people were smiling inside the white hospital room. The warm sun was still shining into the room through the windows. Suddenly, he heard the sound of knocking at the door. The knocking was uniform without sounds of urgency. There was a glass panel from which they should be able to see the person outside but from that angle, they couldn''t see anyone.


    "Who is that?" asked the girl.


    "I don''t know. That can''t be the nurse or doctor; they don''t need to knock. I''ll go check." he said.


    Jacco got up from the chair and approached the door. He now could see the figure of the person knocking and he knew right away who it was. He pushed the door and greeted the person that he wasn''t expecting to see there in the hospital.


    It was a man wearing a long overcoat and a trilby on his head. When he moved, his coat rattled a little. There must be a lot of stuff inside the man''s pockets.


    "Hymes? How did you find me here?"


    Graham took out a lighter and showed it to Jacco.


    "With this," he said meaningfully.


    The girl who was sitting on the bed stuck out her head so she could see the guest from there. She could only see the man''s hat but not his face because Jacco was blocking her view.


    "Who is that, Acco? Your friend?" she asked curiously.


    "Just a business partner. I''ll be back quickly. Be good, okay!" he said from the door.


    The girl nodded and Jacco gestured at Graham to follow him to the corridor. He closed the door gently behind him and sat on one of the rows of chairs there.


    "Who was that?" asked Graham.


    Jacco hesitated for a moment. He looked down, thinking.


    "That''s my sister, Ada," he said finally, and then asked back, "So why the hell have you come all the way here?"


    "I have a job for you. The pay is forty guilders per person, but it''s going to be dangerous," he said.


    Jacco''s eyes widened at the mention of the amount of money. Although that amount wasn''t much for Graham whose needs for enchanted items kept increasing, it was a lot for Jacco, who was only concerned about paying his sister''s medical bills and his basic needs. The fact that the mission might be dangerous went past him.


    "What do I have to do?" he asked eagerly.


    "We need to go back to the cave in the north. This time, our target is somewhere much deeper there, so I''m sure there will be more creatures that we will encounter. There will be the four of us; our employer will come along," he explained.


    Jacco knew that his role was as a support, so he was technically the safest among them. However, remembering how it went last time, he couldn''t consider that a walk in the park either.


    "I''ll do it. What about the loots?" he asked curiously.


    "The employer is not interested in them, so we can sell them and split the money among us three. The money we get in total will be more than forty guilders," said Graham.


    "That sounds good. When are we going? It''s not today, I presume?"


    Graham crossed his leg and fixed his coat. The things that he was carrying in his pockets were dangling down uncomfortable under his coat.


    "No. We''ll go tomorrow morning, so get ready. We''ll meet in front of my apartment building because Luuk and I are already there," he explained.


    Jacco nodded, and then remembered something.


    "Speaking of Luuk, do you think his magic powder can cure my sister''s condition?" he asked solemnly.


    Graham looked at Jacco. The latter''s eyes were hopeful.


    "I... don''t think so. Otherwise, there wouldn''t be any sick people, would there?" he said with regret.


    Jacco''s expression sunk. Although he had expected the answer, it was still disappointing to know that such a thing was impossible, even with supernatural powers. He put his hands on his face.


    "She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six months ago. We were lucky she could get treatment early," he said with a sad tone.


    Graham put his hand on Jacco''s shoulder.


    "Maybe when we get stronger, curing the sick won''t be impossible anymore," he said, giving Jacco hope.


    Although he didn''t know for sure, seeing how the stronger someone was, the more rule-bending their abilities were, surely there would be something that could cure severe illnesses.


    Hearing Graham''s words, Jacco''s mind went racing. He had been wondering if he should stay as he was since he could still earn money by providing his support. Advancing was something not on his priority list. He would just take it as it went and advance if the chance presented itself in front of him. However, now he had a change of mind. Graham was probably correct, so he needed to get stronger.


    "So I should advance, shouldn''t I? I guess that''s the only option. Or I could just leave it to the doctors, but they said her chance of survival is under sixty percent," he said finally.


    "Then I can help you find the location of the scroll," he said.


    "But which Deity should I choose for my next one?" asked Jacco, unsure.


    Graham put his hand under his chin and stroked it. He recalled the ancient book-entry regarding Earl Rank Deities and scanned the information in his brain. There were eleven of Them, and there are several ones that were suitable for Jacco. However, he also had to think of the team''s composition so their abilities wouldn''t overlap.


    "I think it would be best for us if you chose the Deity of Reconciliation. I know it''s a total contrast with your current Deity, but usually contrasted abilities provide great synchronization," he said.


    Jacco didn''t know what the Deity of Reconciliation''s power was, so he could only ask Graham.


    "What abilities will I get if I form a contract with Him? And why is it suitable for me?"


    "Since your role is already a support, this Deity will provide you with even more options. The main ability is, from what I''ve seen, to create a zone where nobody can attack," he said, recalling the fight between the mafia members and the black beast.


    "With your War Drum attracting enemies'' attention all the time, I think this ability will be very useful for your survival. This Deity should also help make you friendlier, so you don''t swear all the time,"


    "Fuck you," replied Jacco shortly.


    "You''ve pleased the Deity of War, haven''t you? So it''s best if you advance tonight, before our mission tomorrow," said Graham.


    "But I don''t know where to get the scroll..." the muscular man replied.


    Graham smiled meaningfully.


    "Didn''t I say I''d help you locate the scroll? But if we need to kill someone for that, you need to deal the killing blow yourself. Have you ever killed anyone?" asked Graham seriously.


    Jacco went quiet for a second. He then looked up to the ceiling and spoke with conviction.


    "I''ve never killed anyone, but if it''s for my sister''s sake, I don''t care who I have to kill,"


    "Then it is settled. Come to the abandoned chapel tonight at eight. After that, we''ll go hunt the owner of the scroll," said Graham, and then he muttered quietly, "Val, why do I feel like a criminal mastermind..."


    "Okay. Is there anything else? If not, I''ll go back to my sister. I''ve been gone for too long, she must be worried," said Jacco.


    "Then we shall meet again tonight. Send my regards to your sister," said Graham.


    The two men got up from the chair and went their separate ways.

 115 The Syndicates Meeting

    The sun had already set and the dark, starless sky had settled up above. It was not cloudy that night, but the stars were just invisible because their lights were overshadowed by the bright full moon. The moon''s bluish light shone upon the land below like a mini sun, illuminating the streets and buildings alike.


    There was a dilapidated chapel on a small hill near a quiet street. The gate that separated the hill from the street was closed, but it showed signs of being opened recently. Around the chapel, the trees and tombstones cast their shadows because of the light from the moon, and the chapel itself looked majestic under the moonlight. Its walls, whose paint had started peeling off, stood tall and strong and the main wooden door, which was taller than a normal human, looked unwelcoming.


    Inside the chapel, a few people had gathered. There were three people wearing masks with different designs and five other people whose faces were not covered. The unmasked people were sitting on the front-most row of seats while the three masked people were taking their position on the altar because they had just arrived. The seating position made it look as if the five were praying to three occult members, especially since the moonlight shone upon them through the hole in the roof.


    Among the five unmasked people, three were men and two were women. They were all dressed up in warm, casual clothing. The woman with curly hair was wearing an oversized orange sweater while the one with straight hair was wearing an elegant coat with a scarf around her neck. The youngest of the men had a sweater on as well while the other two were wearing dark-colored coats. Some of them were chatting occasionally among themselves.


    "Now, shall we begin?" said Graham Hymes, who was wearing the Gemini mask.


    He was sitting in the middle with legs crossed like a gentleman. His black overcoat added to his mysteriousness. It didn''t look like a very thick one but was very comfortable to wear. Since forming a contract with the Deity of Fire Divination, Graham hadn''t felt too cold even though he wasn''t wearing thick clothes. It wasn''t the case for Valentine, however, so he still needed to dress up appropriately.


    With Graham''s words, the chattering stopped immediately. The atmosphere in the room became serious.


    "Before you report your findings, I have something to say. You need to be careful with people offering you power," said Graham solemnly with a deep voice that resonated in the large chamber.


    "One of us was fooled and almost killed by someone like that."


    Calvin''s expression sunk. He knew it was about him.


    "However, We''ve taken care of the culprit and his companion, so you don''t have to worry about those particular ones. But you must still be careful of other similar people," he added persuasively.


    Calvin looked at Graham with both fear and respect. He knew for a fact that Shade was a powerful person, so the fact that he had been killed only within a day left him in awe.


    The others were looking around curiously to find out who Graham was talking about. They didn''t know the detail, so they just took it for granted that the masked people in front of them would be able to kill someone off easily.


    "Now, is there anyone who would like to report anything regarding the missing people case?" asked Graham slowly to maintain his persona.


    This time, Helga raised her hand. Graham gave her permission and she stood up elegantly, coming closer and looking at the three masked men in front of her.


    "I heard from my friend that most of the missing people are people who live alone, those who, when they go missing, people will not notice right away. My friend only knew this because one of her friends has gone missing,"


    Graham nodded and stroked his chin.


    "I''m investigating it with my friend now, but I would like to ask some questions to Mr. Gemini to help us if that is alright," she said timidly.


    "That can be done. Come to the confession later after we are done," he replied.


    "That''s all from me," said Helga again.


    Graham nodded at her and she went back to her seat, fixing her coat in place before laying her bottom on the chair.


    "Anyone else?" asked Graham.


    Only one piece of information was actually enough for him because he could start his divination from there. Besides, the limitation of normal humans prevented them from safely gathering the more crucial information that would surely be protected by the perpetrators.


    Unexpectedly, Eduard raised his hand. After getting permission from Graham, he stood up and walked closer towards the altar.


    "I did some stakeout and... I saw some people wearing robes that covered their whole faces. I tried to follow them but they disappeared as quickly as they appeared," he spoke enthusiastically.


    "Can you describe their physical appearance?" asked Graham.


    Luuk and Jacco were listening intently because they knew what was at stake. The missing people case had a high chance of being linked to Pale Society, and if they failed to ruin their plan, the whole city might be destroyed.


    "I think one of them was a woman, judging from the way the person walks, and the other is someone with a hunchback? He is tall but his back was abnormally stuffed," explained Eduard.


    Graham stroked his chin some more.


    "Val, does it remind you of something? Wasn''t the one who ambushed you a female member of the organization? But I don''t think we''ve met the man," he muttered quietly and then turned to Eduard.


    "Be very careful of them. They are more powerful than the two we''ve just dealt with," he said with a serious tone.


    The atmosphere became even heavier.


    Stronger than the man who tricked me? So they must be very dangerous, and that means Gemini is even stronger than I thought!


    Calvin was once again reminded how feeble normal humans were. His admiration for Graham also grew. The fact that he knew they were stronger meant that he had fought with them and came out alive.


    How strong are they really? But if Mr. Gemini said so, I must be very careful.


    Eduard nodded. He still valued his life for the time being, especially since Graham had helped him with his personal problem. He would heed the organization founder''s words and tried not to put himself in dangerous situations.


    "Is there anything else?" asked Graham while running his eyes over the five people sitting in the front row.


    Silence crept in the room that was illuminated by numerous candle lights and the moonlight from above. They didn''t have anything else to say but they didn''t want to be the first one to say no. They just shook their heads slightly in response to Graham''s question.


    "Then I''ll take it as a no. Now, for your task tonight," he deliberately made a mysterious pause for suspense.


    The five people were waiting in anticipation. The tasks given to them so far had been doable, but they had hidden dangers if they were not careful. The ones who successfully did what was asked would be rewarded by the syndicate''s members, mainly Gemini, so they were eager to do the tasks.


    "Keep investigating the missing people case for now. The future of Sloten lies in your hands," said Graham finally.


    They were relieved because the task was just a continuation of the previous one. Although some of them had not found anything that night, they were still in the middle of investigating, so sooner or later something would come up.


    After that, Graham gestured at Helga and Eduard to follow him to the confession chamber. Graham got up and walked swiftly but authoritatively towards the tall wooden box with an intricate design that could fit two people at once. He entered through one entrance while Helga did through the other one. Eduard waited outside patiently, sitting on the seat closest to him.


    Inside the confessional, Helga couldn''t see the man behind the separator. There was a small gap from which she could try to peek, but she didn''t want to. From the other side of the chamber, orange light started shining and came through the small gap towards her side.


    "Now, you have two chances. One as a help towards your investigation and the other as a reward," said Graham solemnly from behind the separator.


    This was her second time, so she understood the proceedings. She only needed to ask a question and provided details if asked and the man would give an accurate answer shortly after.


    "I need to know the whereabouts of Mila de Haan. She is the friend of my friend who has gone missing,"


    Graham didn''t give any response and the usual bright light didn''t come from his side.


    "It is impossible to determine her location. If she is the direct victim, her whereabouts are concealed by the perpetrators. Please change your question," replied Graham finally.


    Even Mr. Gemini is unable to find out? How strong are those people that kidnapped her?


    Helga tried hard to recall her memory for any other things she wanted to ask. Initially, she had prepared a lot of questions regarding Mila, but since Graham said it was impossible to answer questions directly about her, she had to come up with something else on the spot.


    "Hmm... in that case, who is Ezio Alma?" she asked finally.


    Silence crept in the small chamber one more time. Now, the orange light from the other side of the chamber was shining more brightly. Helga waited patiently for Graham to find the answer. She didn''t know how the man did it, but last time, when the light returned to normal, she would get the answer.


    Finally, the mysterious and deep voice of the man behind the separator came.


    "That is a fake name. Where did you get this man''s name?" asked Graham.


    Helga felt somewhat proud for giving information that made Graham curious.


    "That is the name of someone who suddenly got close to Mila, according to my friend. We''ve never seen him, but my friend said Mila once talked about him to her."


    "What did she tell your friend?"


    "About this handsome man who mistook her for someone else and they got close from then. That is all," replied Helga.


    The man went quiet again. She couldn''t see what he was doing and was tempted to peek through the gap. However, she held back.


    "He is most likely the culprit or at least one of them. Find out more about him, but be very careful."


    Helga nodded. Her mind was made up. To be useful to her helper, she would try her best to find out more about the man in question.


    "Now, what question do you wish to ask as your reward?" said Graham mysteriously.


    Finally, the chance that Helga had been waiting for came.


    "I want to know if this man is truly into me or he is just trying to use me. His name is Fabien Arnaud,"


    Graham''s eyebrows rose. It wasn''t the name that he would expect to hear in this kind of situation. He hadn''t had the chance to visit the Arnauds'' household in a while so he didn''t know how they were doing.


    After she asked the question, the orange light shone brighter and the man on the other side went silent again. She waited patiently for the answer to come.


    Shortly after, the bright light disappeared and the man''s voice came.


    "Fabien Arnaud is really into you, so you shouldn''t have anything to worry about," he said convincingly, but still maintaining his mysterious persona.


    Helga''s expression became relieved. She was glad because she also had a feeling for Fabien, especially since her fraud problem was resolved. She was thankful to Graham because there was no other way to know about someone''s real feelings except through him.


    "Thank you very much, Mr. Gemini," she said with gratitude.


    "You''re welcome. Now please call Eduard in here," said Graham.


    Helga gently opened the door to the confessional and told Eduard to come in. Eduard got up and entered through the door that Helga hadn''t closed. He got into the dark chamber with a dim orange light shining through the gap in the separator and his heart was beating fast.


    "Eduard Willems, as a reward for your contribution, I shall allow you to ask one question," said Graham with a formal tone.


    Eduard had been waiting for this chance. He had worked hard to gather information so he could ask this question to the mysterious masked man with the power to see what was impossible for normal humans. He really wanted to know the answer, but he was also afraid that he would get turned down because what he was about to do wasn''t something legal.


    "I... I want to know the safest method to kill someone,"

 116 A Busy Nigh

    "I... I want to know the safest method to kill someone,"


    That was the request that Eduard brought forth. Although slightly wavering, his voice was full of conviction. He seemed to have made his mind before coming up with the request. The dimly lit confession chamber was silent, and the orange light was gently coming from the other side through the small gap.


    "Who is your target and what have they done? Tell me the name and we can eliminate them for you, or if you''d prefer, you could do the killing yourself and we only provide the cleaning afterward. There would be a cost that you have to pay, however," replied Graham seriously.


    "Val, I''m not a fan of killing random people, but if the one he wants to kill has done terrible things then I wouldn''t mind lending a hand," he muttered quietly.


    Graham''s goal in establishing the syndicate was to please his Deity and to earn money on the side, after all. Although the latter had been rather slow in progress, as the organization grew, there should be more channels to make money from.


    Eduard hadn''t expected to get such a straightforward answer. He even got another option for the job.


    "His name is Lucas Meijer..." he said.


    Graham raised his eyebrow.


    "Meijer... Isn''t that Eduard''s last name? How are they related?" he muttered.


    "What has he done?" he asked the man on the other side.


    Eduard swallowed his saliva.


    "He... is a good-for-nothing drug addict who always steals money from us. He is a manipulative, abusive bastard who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. My mother has been blinded by him; she refused to turn him in to the Police even though he beats her up. He is also the reason I was getting those death threats... He needs to disappear for us to be able to be a happy family again," explained Eduard lengthly and then paused.


    Eduard clenched his fist tightly.


    "I don''t have the money to hire you, so just knowing the method is enough for me," he said with regret.


    "We can help you nonetheless. You can pay by doing more tasks," replied Graham.


    That''s... not too bad. The tasks that we have been told to do so far are not that difficult. Maybe I should agree. I''ve never killed anyone after all. I don''t know if I''ll be able to do it when the time comes...


    "I''ll do that, then," he replied a little bit unsurely.


    "Then, tell me the details of the target," replied Graham from the other side.


    Eduard gulped down his saliva again.


    "He is... my brother. We live together but he only comes home for money. We live on Oostparkstraat, but at this hour he should be out there somewhere, getting drugs or some other bullshit." he explained. His tone was heavy and there was a hint of hatred.


    "I''ve located him. I can make him disappear tonight if that''s what you wish," Graham spoke ominously.


    Without hesitation, Eduard replied, "Please!"


    The orange light coming through the gap disappeared, and with that, the warmth also dissipated. The confession chamber turned cold and eerie.


    "Then you won''t ever see him again," replied Graham mysteriously. "As for your extra tasks, you will be let know soon,"


    Eduard nodded, but of course, the person on the other side couldn''t see it because of the separator unless he was peeking through the gap. After that, he opened the chamber door and exited. His heart was filled with anticipation and anxiety. He was really looking forwards to the day his brother would never come back home because all he brought was pain and suffering for him and his mother.


    The other four, who were sitting, looked at Eduard with curiosity, but they didn''t ask anything. Everything that happened inside the confessional was something private.


    Graham walked out of the chamber shortly after. He returned to the altar and sat there ceremoniously. He cleared his throat and spoke.


    "This concluded today''s gathering. You are free to leave,"


    The five people remembered their tasks and got up from their seats. They walked towards the tall double door and opened it gently, but it still created a loud creaking noise that broke the silence of the night. Once the associates left, he turned to Luuk and Jacco, who had been sitting leisurely on the altar watching the whole proceeding.


    "What were you two doing while I was inside the confession chamber?" asked Graham curiously. His tone had returned to his normal, casual self.


    "We were just chatting between the two of us. The other four were talking among themselves and we didn''t really know them, so," replied Luuk.


    "So what are we doing next?" asked Jacco, "Are we going to get my contract scroll now?"


    Graham picked up one of the candles surrounding the altar.


    "Yes. I''ve used divination earlier, but it''s better for you to see it yourself. You need to choose your own target," he replied.


    The flame of the candle was burning gently in the cold night. As Graham was concentrating, the light became brighter and brighter until there was an image created in the core of the fire, just around the wick. The image got bigger and bigger until they felt like watching a cinema that was projected right into their minds.


    The first image shown was that of a fat woman that was doing dishes in a place that looked like a restaurant''s kitchen. She looked to be in her early thirties and was washing the dirty plates vigorously. After that, the image shifted to that of a young man wearing a mafia hat and a trench coat. He kept one hand under his coat all the time, most likely to be able to draw his weapon at a moment''s notice. After that, the image changed again to show a young woman who was together with a group of people. They seemed to be hiding inside an empty house.


    The image gradually disappeared after that. After seeing the three potential targets, Jacco had to make up his mind.


    "The second one is a no go. He is a member of Fratello Maggiore and we can''t afford to make them an enemy right now," said Graham, and then added, "And I know the third one. She is a member of a band of burglars. She wasn''t a Contractbound before, so it''s surprising that she is one now,"


    "Then I''ll go with the third one," he said, "The first one seems too innocent and I can''t bring myself to do that,"


    "Then it is settled. I also happen to know where they are currently hiding," he said.


    What doesn''t he know...


    Luuk looked at Graham with admiration but also slight fear. He felt that he couldn''t keep any secrets from the man with the peculiar mask.


    "I must warn you that they have another Contractbound within their rank. He''s a Slumberer, with the ability to make people fall into a deep sleep. We should avoid a frontal fight because I''ve almost exhausted most of my abilities today," explained Graham.


    He also needed to use his ability to deal with Eduard''s brother, so he couldn''t afford to use up all of them for this mission.


    "Got it. Luuk, are you going to help as well?" asked Jacco to the man sitting next to him.


    Luuk stretched his hands and was yawning under his mask.


    "Sure, but you have to help me as well in the future," he said casually.


    "Okay!" he raised his right thumb.


    "Now, before we depart. There are some things you need to know," he spoke in a serious tone.


    The two of them looked at Graham and became curious. Usually, when he spoke in that tone, it would be about something in need of attention.


    "I used divination again to see the future of Sloten..." he paused.


    Luuk raised his eyebrows, but the other two couldn''t see it because of his mask. Jacco had got briefed a little before, so he knew how dire the situation was.


    "The result is still the same. Sloten will be destroyed by a horde of supernatural creatures. We need to foil Pale Society''s plan or our homes will be destroyed," Graham added.


    The atmosphere became heavy. The three men sat in silence thinking about the future of their city. Graham was the one with the least attachment to Sloten, so he could always escape, but Luuk''s family was there and Jacco had a sister who couldn''t leave the hospital. They knew what they needed to do and they had to do it quickly.


    "What about the Police? Aren''t they supposed to be able to do something?" asked Luuk.


    "I don''t know..." replied Graham, "My guess is something similar is happening in another city and their main force has been dispatched there, leaving Sloten undermanned. The only possibility is the capital, otherwise, they wouldn''t leave such a big city like this undefended."


    "It''s plausible. I also heard from Pietro that the mafia''s main force has also been sent on an expedition somewhere. He wouldn''t tell me the detail though," added Luuk.


    Jacco was only listening. Although he was the leader of a gang, he seldom came across crucial secrets like those. All he ever heard from his men was street gossip and the like.


    Silence crept in the abandoned chapel once more. The candles that were placed all over the place burned gently, illuminating the room with their mysterious orange light. The moonlight penetrated through the hole in the roof, giving a contrasting silver light that soothed the mind.


    "How long do you think we have?" asked Luuk.


    "I''d say less than a month. My divination has never shown me the future before, so I assume it''s not actually that far ahead," he replied.


    "So we have to be stronger, right?" asked Jacco.


    "Yes. That''s also why I''m helping you," replied Graham, and then turned to face look, "Has your Deity''s messenger come to you?"


    "No, not yet," replied Luuk shortly.


    "For now, focus on getting the approval of your Deities as soon as you can, so you can advance. I''m very close to pleasing mine," said Graham.


    Luuk and Jacco weren''t surprised. In their eyes, the man with the Gemini mask had always been able to do things quickly, especially with the help of his divination power. They, however, still didn''t understand the actual extent of Graham''s power. They knew that he was in a contract with a lot of Deities currently, seeing from the range of abilities that he often used.


    "What Deity should I form a contract with next? After Reconciliation?" asked Jacco curiously.


    Graham put his hand under his chin and recalled the information he got from the ancient book. It also reminded him to check the book again once he had successfully formed a contract with a President Rank Deity.


    "First, let me ask you. Do you still remember what I told you about the ranks of the Deities?" said Graham.


    Luuk and Jacco nodded.


    "We are currently in a contract with Earl Rank Deities, and the next one is President Rank. From what I''ve gathered, there are eleven Deities of the President Rank. I''m not sure which one is suitable for you, but I know which one is suitable for Luuk," explained Graham.


    He gave Luuk a glance and the latter nodded. Graham had told Luuk about it before.


    "Unless you want to compensate me for telling you the names of all the eleven Deities," added Graham.


    Jacco''s expression sunk under his mask. He couldn''t afford to be wasteful with money.


    "I''m just kidding. I''ll tell you their names. Remember them and decide which one you think is the most suitable for you,"


    Graham then proceeded to tell Jacco and Luuk the eleven Deities that were of President Rank. He didn''t mind doing so for free since getting the other two stronger was also one of his goals. Although for all missions they always got compensated with money or something else, trust was still an important factor that he wouldn''t mind losing money for.


    "I''ve decided that I''ll go with Cunningness and Transformation, so we should plan ahead so our abilities won''t overlap," he added.


    Luuk and Jacco seemed to be in deep thought. The amount of information they received was plenty, and they needed to digest it first.


    "I think the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred would complement my role as a support more," he said, and then added with a heavy tone, "I''ve accepted that as my fate,"


    "You are very lucky because I''m in possession of the scroll. You just need to compensate me appropriately when the time comes," said Graham meaningfully.


    Dang, Jacco is very lucky. I wonder where I can get my scroll for Invisibility and Treasures. Or should I just wait idly? I''m sure Mr. Hymes will stumble upon the owner and kill him...


    Luuk looked slightly enviously at Jacco and then longingly at Graham.


    "Then I''ll work hard for it!" replied Jacco enthusiastically. He felt like someone whose path had been paved by their parents.


    Graham nodded in approval and then got up. He tapped his clothes to shake the dust off.


    "Now with that out of the way, let''s get you your scroll,"

 117 Two Jobs in One Nigh

    "Are they here?" whispered Jacco.


    The three men were now standing in front of an empty house on Oosteindestraat. According to Graham''s divination, the target should be hiding there in the same manner as last time; four of them there and there was one person scouting the area for a target house.


    "They are. Now let''s do as planned," said Valentine, who had switched with Graham just before they left the chapel.


    The three masked men got into position; Luuk, with his Capricorn mask, went to the circuit breaker while Jacco, wearing his Aries mask, went to the back street of the house. He was not very suitable for a stealth mission, so his role came into play after the other two finished their job. Valentine approached the door and stood there. There was a thin yellowish mist covering his whole body and looking at it made people instinctively ignore the person. He was wearing a belt with an intricate pattern whose buckle was made of bones.


    As Valentine crouched down to get on the level of the keyhole, he could hear the voice of the people inside the house.


    "Clemens not back yet?" asked a man whose voice was annoying. Valentine remembered him being referred to as Jopp.


    "Nu''uh. He ain''t usually back ''till later. He said it''s ''too difficult'' to find a target now," replied a woman with a thick accent. Her voice was distinctive, so there would be no mistake; she was tonight''s target.


    "You sure we should be doing this? Last time we were almost busted by the rainbows," asked Jopp.


    "It should be fine, ain''t it? I have a superpower now. If things go bad, I can just use it and bust our asses outa there," replied the woman.


    "This time we will be successful, yeah? I hope the money this time will be enough for me to come home," said Jopp again.


    "Right? I even endured that painful ritual so I can get this power. I wanna leave this city soon," said the woman with a longing tone.


    "You''re not going anywhere until you repaid that man, are you?" asked Jopp. He was always dragging the last word of his sentence, making it sound irritating.


    "Yea, don''t know what he wants, though. He just gave me the scroll and told me to repay him. What a weirdo..."


    Behind the door, Valentine started picking the lock, and not long after, a low click was heard. The door had now been unlocked. He then gestured at Luuk and the latter opened the circuit box.


    Bzzz!


    "What the fuck happened?"


    Once the electricity was cut off, almost all of them started shouting at the same time.


    "Maybe we''re usin'' too many appliances," said the woman.


    "Go out there and turn it back on!" shouted a man from the second floor that Valentine recognized as the man called Norm by the woman. His voice sounded irritated.


    "You go check!" shouted Jopp back from the first floor.


    Valentine had quietly entered the house, closing the door behind him. His night vision allowed him to see well in the dark, although the bright moonlight also helped to some extent. He sneaked carefully and quickly into the living room where the voice of the woman had come from before they got the chance to turn the electricity back on.


    In the living room, the woman with a thick accent had seemingly calmed down and was now sitting leisurely in the dark. She didn''t seem to notice the man with the duality mask, who was creeping closer and closer from behind the sofa that she was sitting on. His Concealment had prevented his presence to be detected, so he could walk silently to her spot, and when he was right behind her, he whispered to her ear.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to go to the middle of the back street quietly,"


    Once he had finished issuing his Order, Valentine quickly went ahead of her and headed towards the door leading to the back. The door that was located in the kitchen was locked with a latch, so he unlatched it and exited the house.


    The woman stood up involuntarily after getting Valentine''s Order. Her body moved by itself and she walked carefully towards the door that Valentine had just opened, avoiding making a noise. She tiptoed silently while inside, her mind was screaming at her body to stop doing what it was doing. She couldn''t stop, however, and reached the back street of the house, where three men had been waiting.


    As she walked past the doorway, Valentine, who had been standing right next to it, closed the door carefully. The woman was still under the Order because she hadn''t reached the middle of the narrow street. Valentine signaled at Jacco and without wasting time, he took out a knife from his pocket.


    I''ve beat a lot of people up and sent many to the hospital. How hard can killing one more be?


    He approached the woman who still hadn''t regained control of her body and quickly stabbed her in the chest, making sure he hit her heart. The sharp knife sank into her flesh and warm blood spurted, bathing Jacco with its crimson color. The sensation of stabbing a vital organ with a knife was new to Jacco, so his both hands, that were holding the weapon tightly, were shaking.


    The woman''s eyes were twitching and her expression was horrified. She couldn''t believe what had just happened. Just a moment ago, she was sitting in the comfort of her hideout with the companions that she trusted, and now she was suddenly stabbed in the heart. Blood kept coming out and with every second passing, her death was getting closer. However, she couldn''t do anything and that fact made her even more terrified. Her life flashed before her eyes and tears came running down her cheeks as her dying body collapsed to the ground.


    "I... don- wa-- t-- die..."


    She said with her last breath. The words couldn''t completely get out of her dying mouth. The hopes and dreams that she had just built had now all vanished. She had become a Contractbound just recently and was expecting great changes to happen in her life. However, it was all gone now. Her body slowly turned lifeless and the expression of regret and terror on her face would be immortalized.


    Luuk, who was supposed to be stealing her belongings, was stupefied and didn''t do anything. Jacco quickly pulled out his knife and stepped back with a heavy expression under his mask. It was much worse than he had expected. Taking away someone''s life with his own hands was totally different from beating people up half-dead, because the latter, even if the person died, they wouldn''t die right in front of him. The woman''s last expression and words in life would forever be etched in his memory.


    Shortly after, her whole body burst into flames and turned into ashes. There was a brown scroll lying among the ashes and also an object that began to form slowly.


    "Where is Jaina?" asked Jopp from inside the house.


    The electricity had come back up, and now they realized the woman had gone missing.


    "I don''t know. Maybe she''s in the toilet," replied another man whose voice he recognized. It was Constantino, the Slumberer.


    "It''s a pity that I pay him a visit in this manner, G," muttered Valentine.


    He had promised Constantino that he would visit him to try to recruit the man, but he had been very busy lately and had had no time to do so.


    Meanwhile, the object had completely formed. It was a round, white stuff that looked like rice pudding sealed in copper stips. Jacco quickly picked up the object, along with the scroll, and got away from the area. Luuk had already gone ahead and Jacco was trying to catch up.


    Valentine, whose hand was now bleeding because he had made a cut with his knife, walked to a tree and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    The blood on his palm emitted a mysterious yellowish mist.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the blood to the soil underneath the tree. Once he was done, he walked to where the ashes of the woman were and stood there.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order these ashes to scatter in the wind!"


    The grey ashes started coming up one by one in a mysterious fashion like they were attracted by a magnet above. After that, they quickly scattered to every direction, removing the last piece of evidence of the woman''s whereabouts. The blood around her had burned away along with her body, and only her blood that was on Jacco''s face and clothes remained.


    Once he had finished removing the evidence, Valentine quickly got away from the area. He had told Luuk and Jacco that he didn''t plan to meet up with them again after this mission, so the other two didn''t wait for him.


    Instead of going home, Valentine quickly went towards the location of his next target as he was last seen through Graham''s divination: the park on Herenstraat. It wasn''t far from Oosteindestraat. In fact, by just turning right on the junction ahead, he already arrived at Herenstraat, where the bridge crossing Amstel River was. The park was on the other side of the river, so Valentine quickly made his way across.


    Before reaching the park, which was just up ahead on the left side of the road, he went behind a tree and lied down in the bushes, away from people''s prying eyes. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. Not long after, his mind started to drift and he fell asleep. Graham woke up just seconds later and he quickly got up. The bushes made his body itchy.


    "How can you sleep in this kind of place," he muttered as he cleaned the dirt off his clothes.


    Before entering the park, Graham took out his lighter to make sure the target was still in the area. They had only spent less thirty minutes to deal with the female burglar, so there was a high chance that Lucas Meijer was still there.


    The flame from his lighter got bigger and there was an image of a man sitting lazily on the park bench. It confirmed Graham''s belief and he quickly put out the fire and put the lighter back inside his pocket. After that, he left his spot and walked into the big quiet park.


    There were currently only a handful of people hanging around at the park that was brightly illuminated by the streetlights. However, there were spots where the lights didn''t reach, and those spots were usually where sketchy people gathered. Graham went deeper into the park and quickly found the bench where Lucas Meijer was sitting. He looked exactly like he did in Graham''s divination; sitting lazily like there was no concern in this world.


    He quietly approached the man who didn''t even notice there was someone else there. His Gemini mask and the dark attire that he was wearing made him look mysterious and intimidating. Graham sneaked in front of Lucas and once he was within the man''s sight, he put his face very close to the surprised man and held him down with both hands, his glowing red eyes stared right at the man. Graham spoke in a very intimidating tone; he made his voice as hoarse as he could, and his mask helped him achieved the intended effect.


    "You! From now on you''re banished from your home! You are not allowed to set foot even anywhere near your house or approach your family member!" he paused.


    Lucas Meijer showed a terrified expression and he couldn''t say anything. He was still processing what was happening, and the state that he was currently in didn''t help either.


    "If you dared to go against my words, you will suffer a fate worse than death!" said Graham with a threatening tone. His voice sounded like thunder in the cold night.


    The man still didn''t say anything.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to obey the command I''ve just given you!"


    Once he finished chanting, Lucas''s expression became twisted, like something was force-entering his brain. After that, he nodded blankly and the terrified expression on his face was gone. He now just looked like someone who was very confused.


    Graham quickly let go of his grip and got away from Lucas and the latter stood up purposelessly and left the park. He walked robotically towards the north and disappeared from Graham''s sight.


    "He should be gone from his family''s sight now. This way, we don''t have to deal with getting rid of a dead body,"


    After finishing his job, Graham left the park and headed home. There had been so much happening just in one day and he felt very tired.

 118 Leaving Town Again

    On Sunday morning, the sky was clear and the sun was casting its warm light upon the land. The temperature was getting colder, so there were a lot of people out in the street bathing in the sunlight. The noisy motor vehicles driving by and the chattering of people were a signature to a typical Sunday morning in Sloten. The smoke rising from the many factories and the steel buildings was a mark of a progressive city.


    Graham had woken up from his good night''s sleep and his abilities had been refreshed. He was currently boiling milk for his hot chocolate that he would enjoy with bread for breakfast. Once the milk came to a boil, he turned off the heat and added his favorite chocolate pieces little by little and stirred it until all the chocolate had melted completely. He then poured it into a cup and let it cool down a little before sipping it.


    "We have one hour until our client comes. Let''s enjoy the breakfast slowly, shall we, Val?"


    Graham picked up a piece of brown bread and dipped it in the hot chocolate. He put the soaked bread in his mouth and savored the taste.


    "I can''t believe we''re already going back to that dangerous cave," he spoke while chewing. Since there was nobody around, he didn''t have any image to maintain. "It hasn''t even been a week since we last went there..."


    He swallowed the bread and dipped the remaining piece into the hot liquid.


    "Speaking of which, it hasn''t even been a month since I first became a Contractbound. A lot of things sure have happened..."


    "Until now we still haven''t found a concrete reason for us to keep getting stronger besides to protect Sloten currently. But even then, we don''t really have to. We''re not like Luuk whose family is here or Jacco who is fighting for his sister. What are we fighting for, Val?"


    A slight sense of dread filled his heart, but Graham quickly brushed it aside.


    "Maybe if we found someone worth fighting for, we would have more reasons for existing..." he paused and sipped his drink, "But such a person doesn''t exist right now."


    "Let''s just keep moving forward and see where life will take us, eh, Val?"


    He dipped another piece of bread into his hot chocolate and ate it quickly. He finished his breakfast and washed the cup right away so his sink wouldn''t be piled up with dirty dishes. After that, he went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.


    Graham checked himself in the mirror. His stubble had grown thicker and his hair was long enough for it to be a curly mess. His green eyes looked like they could suck people into them with their gaze. He picked up a pair of scissors and quickly trimmed his stubble, making his chiseled jawline more prominent. The trim also made him look more presentable instead of like a homeless man.


    "My Order ability that we copied to Purloin should be good for two uses, so I''ll let you use it in case of emergency. We also have Luuk''s Theft, although we lost the Blood Pellets one,"


    Graham walked back to his bedroom and opened the big wardrobe across from the bed. Today, he decided to put on a t-shirt with a coat over it so he would have a lot of storage space. He also put on a pair of well-fitting elastic pants so he could move with ease.


    "Sorry, Val, no denim pants today. You know I hate wearing those,"


    He moved around a little in his brown pants and felt very comfortable. After that, he went to his office to pick up the trench coat with numerous pockets inside that was hanging on the coat rack. Graham put it on and also grabbed his briefcase.


    "We are ready for a big haul today," he said while smiling in satisfaction.


    Graham walked over the safe and crouched down to open it. He entered the combination and it was unlocked, revealing the contents, all of which had a bloodstain on them for anti-divination. He picked up the gun and dagger, and also all the bullets he had.


    He had bought ten paralysis bullets for fifty guilders when we went to the bazaar yesterday and had almost cried when he handed the money to the seller. Since Agatha promised to reimburse the expenses, Graham counted as an expense, so he felt a little better.


    Besides the paralysis bullets, he also had two leftovers for the slow bullet, one poison bullet, and a total of eight blood bullets because he had bought some more as well. He also considered that as an expense, along with the slow bullets that he was going to buy from Luuk, and would ask Agatha for reimbursement later.


    He put all the bullets inside the leather bullet pouch that he wore on his waist on top of Purloin. The bullets were all separated into different sections, so it would be easy for him to grab the correct one.


    The last thing he needed to pack was his mask, both the Gemini mask and a common facemask. Once he was ready, he left his apartment and went to his neighbor''s.


    Ding... dong...


    He rang the bell and waited for the owner to open the door for him. There was a click that came from unlocking the door and after that, Luuk opened the door and let Graham in. He had been expecting the man.


    "You''ve already got dressed. Impressive," said Graham teasingly. Usually, when he came over, the young man was always in his sleepwear.


    Today, Luuk was wearing a black tight sweater that emphasized his slender youthful body and a pair of elastic pants that looked similar to Graham''s, only his were black in color. His usually messy hair was covered by a black beanie that he always wore on his night shenanigans. The backpack that he brought last time was lying on the floor near the door, ready to be grabbed at any time.


    "I always wake up early, mind you," he said in self-defense.


    "Yeah, right, and pigs can fly," replied Graham.


    The two men walked over to the desk inside the messy living room. There were a total of ten bullets with purple tips and six bullets with green tips lying messily on the table.


    "I could only make six poison bullets yesterday because I had used some of my abilities. I also made ten slow bullets this morning and now I''m completely out of bullet making orders," said Luuk with a tired tone.


    "So how much would these be?" asked Graham.


    "Since it''s going to be used in a mission for your client, I''ll charge the full price. Three guilders for poison bullet and four for slow bullets,"


    Graham''s eyes opened wide after hearing the price.


    "A total of fifty-eight guilders! She will think we''re scamming her at this rate,"


    "Isn''t she rich? I think she''ll be fine with it," said Luuk casually.


    Graham wanted to facepalm, but he held back. He just hoped that Agatha was extravagant and didn''t mind spending so much money to get what she wanted. The expenses alone already surpassed the commission fee that she promised them, totaling more than one hundred guilders.


    "Let''s hope so,"


    Graham put all the bullets carefully inside the holder in their correct sections. After that, he gestured at Luuk and the latter nodded. Luuk grabbed the backpack that he had prepared and followed his guest outside.


    The two men left the messy apartment and went to the corridor. From the other end, a beautiful woman wearing a red coat walked elegantly towards them. Her tight-fitting coat that covered a little of her knees emphasized her feminine figure and her stilettos improved her posture. Her wavy, dark brown hair fell to her back and her exposed legs added to her overall captivating appearance.


    Luuk took a deep breath and the fragrant scent of her floral perfume penetrated his nose. He was staring at the woman like a child staring at ice cream.


    "Morning, Agatha. You''re already here," greeted Graham.


    Luuk controlled himself and returned to reality with Graham''s words.


    "Good morning, Mr. Hymes. Is he one of the helpers you mentioned?" replied Agatha with her warm voice. She shot a friendly smile at Luuk.


    "Yes. I think you saw him yesterday when you first came to my office. He lives next door," explained Graham.


    "Nice to meet you. My name is Agatha van Nostrand. Just call me Agatha," she offered her right hand after moving the purse that she was holding to her left hand.


    "Luuk van der Meer. Nice to meet you too," he replied and shook her hand. Her grip was firm despite her pretty appearance.


    "That van der Meer? I didn''t expect to see one here," she said after the handshake was over.


    Graham could only raise his eyebrow. For two rich families meeting in an old apartment building was indeed something highly unlikely, but here they were.


    "It''s a bit complicated to explain. Anyhow, shouldn''t we get going now?" replied Luuk, changing the topic.


    Agatha seemed to not want to press the topic further. She looked at Graham instead.


    "Is everything ready?" she asked.


    "Yes. And I''ve spent quite a lot of money to buy the necessary stuff," Graham replied.


    "You can send me the bill later," responded Agatha casually.


    Rich people sure are different...


    Luuk could only look at Agatha with slight jealousy. Although his family was also rich, he had to support himself and his education. His financial situation had now gotten better, especially since he met Graham, but before, he was in some harsh condition that he had to survive mainly from the money he stole from people.


    "Then shall we go now?" said Graham.


    Agatha and Luuk nodded and they followed Graham, who had gone ahead, downstairs. Agatha seemed to be stealing glances at Luuk for some reason.


    They reached the first floor without managing to avoid the creaking noises made by the old wooden floor, except for Luuk whose steps were the lightest. Graham opened the main door and held it down until the other two had exited the building and then closed it behind him.


    "Yo, man! I''ve been waiting," shouted Jacco from the side of the road.


    He was wearing a zipped leather jacket that concealed a thin metal plate strapped around his stomach. On his chest, there was a small fanny pack that contained his belongings. His ripped denim pants added to his already menacing looks. As the three people approached him, Jacco''s attention was fixated on Agatha.


    "*whistle* Who is this beauty?" he said as his eyes were looking up and down at the beautiful woman.


    "Is he another one of the helpers?" asked Agatha to Graham who was standing next to her.


    "Yes. His name is Jacco. He is our support today," replied Graham, shattering Jacco''s intentions of showing off before he could even do so.


    Agatha walked closer to Jacco and offered a handshake.


    "I''m Agatha van Nostrand. You can just call me Agatha," she said with a friendly smile.


    Jacco smiled confidently and accepted the handshake. He planned to show her his strength through the handshake to impress her. However, contrary to his expectation, the woman''s grip was stronger than his. He could only keep smiling and pretended not to feel the pain that got stronger and stronger.


    "N-nice to meet you too. My name is Jacco van Wert," he said. His face turned slightly red and his veins were bulging.


    She let go of Jacco''s hand and then smiled innocently.


    Graham and Luuk, who could clearly see what was happening, held their urges to laugh out loud.


    "Did you finish your ritual?" asked Graham finally to Jacco after the urge went away.


    Jacco scratched the back of his head and smiled proudly.


    "Yes! Now I can provide support in more ways," he replied.


    "Tell me the detail later. Now, how do we get there?" asked Graham to Agatha.


    Agatha smiled proudly. She walked closer to the street and stood next to a parked motor carriage.


    "We''re going by motor carriage, of course."


    Graham and the others didn''t expect her to drive on her own, especially Graham. He thought she would have a driver taking her everywhere, especially with her status and appearance.


    "You drive?" asked Graham curiously while observing the vehicle next to her.


    The motor carriage that she showed them looked like new and was very clean. It was evident that it was well-maintained. There weren''t even any scratches or dented parts. It gave Graham more peace of mind.


    "Yes. I''m a good driver despite my looks," she replied confidently.


    Agatha opened the driver''s seat door and sat behind the wheel. Graham sat at the front seat while Luuk and Jacco sat at the back. Once all the passengers were inside, she hit the gas and got out of the parking area right away. The speed at which she was driving was much faster than the other drivers on the road.


    Honk! Honk!


    "Hey!"


    People were yelling at her as she skillfully overtook them one by one in a dangerous manner. However, whenever she nearly hit someone, she always managed to avoid collision somehow.


    "You''re going to get us killed!" shouted Jacco from the back. The blood seemed to have been drained from his face and judging from his voice, he was genuinely terrified.


    "Just trust me and enjoy the ride. And you might want to hold on to something," replied Agatha from the front.


    Screech!!


    She hit the brake suddenly and managed to avoid hitting the motor carriage in front of her. She then veered right and overtook the slow vehicle.


    "Val, for once I agree with Jacco. She''s going to get us killed," muttered Graham.


    Agatha heard him murmuring and turned her face towards him.


    "Did you say something?" she asked curiously.


    "Eyes on the road! Eyes on the road, goddamit woman!" shouted Jacco frantically from the back.


    She suddenly steered steep to the left and Jacco hit the window with his head. He grunted in pain and pressed his hand against his head.


    "Val, note to self, never offend her while she''s driving," said Graham who only barely managed to avoid hitting the window as well.


    "Yes?" asked Agatha again curiously.


    "No, nothing," replied Graham quickly.


    Agatha turned her attention back to the road and she was now driving behind a big logging truck that was loaded to the brim. The logs were securely tied with large chains but it still looked scary to drive behind it. She quickly switched lane without caring for the angry driver behind her and floored the gas to overtake the speeding truck.


    Jacco didn''t dare to look at the road ahead while Graham was holding tightly on to whatever he could reach. Luuk was the only one who looked calm and seemed unaffected by the reckless driving.

 119 A Group Hun

    The group arrived on the street with a bus stop on the side. The trip took them less than two hours because of Agatha''s speeding. It wasn''t even eleven o''clock when they got to the location with trees and as the view. The tall mountain range was also visible in the distance.


    Agatha pulled over near the bus stop and parked her motor carriage there. The four people got out and Jacco quickly ran to the bushes.


    Bleeergh!!


    He vomited violently; the liquid projectile hit the plants underneath him. His half-digested breakfast and the coffee he had had earlier was now all out. Once he was done vomiting, he took out a small bottle of water from his fanny pack and gulped it down quickly to get rid of the disgusting taste from his mouth.


    "I take it as you''re ready to go now?" asked Graham.


    He nodded weakly.


    Graham then turned to Agatha and looked at the stilettos that she was wearing in concern.


    "Are you really going to wear those the whole time? There will be some trekking needed,"


    She looked at Graham and smiled meaningfully.


    "Of course not,"


    After saying that, she went to her motor carriage and opened the passenger door. She bent over and picked up a pair of red hiking boots that matched her coat from under the driver''s seat. Sitting on the motor carriage, she took off the stilettos and put on the boots. Despite all that, she still managed to do everything elegantly, which confused Graham to some extent.


    "Val, women are sometimes more mysterious than secret organizations..."


    Agatha closed the passenger door and locked it with her key and after making sure all the doors were locked, she returned to the group.


    "I''m all set. Now shall we go?" she asked with her soft and warm voice.


    "Luuk, you stay guard at the back. You''re the fastest, if you go first, we''ll be left behind," commanded Graham.


    "Sure," replied Luuk shortly.


    Graham went first because he had the best memory. He still remembered the way to the cave perfectly. Jacco and Agatha followed him closely behind and Luuk went last. It also gave him the chance to watch over the group.


    They walked quickly towards the direction that Graham designated and when they were all tired, Luuk would take out his stamina powder and let the group inhaled it. Agatha, despite her appearance, was surprisingly strong. She wasn''t the first to get tired in the group.


    They reached the part where they had to do some climbing not long after. Graham went first and then followed by Jacco and Agatha. Luuk went last in case someone needed help from below. The climbing part wasn''t as difficult for them because they had done it before. As for Agatha, she got the help of Graham so she could do it smoothly.


    "Finally!" exclaimed Jacco while panting.


    "Thank you," said Agatha as she also received the powder.


    She was also sitting on the ground with her purse on her lap. Once she inhaled the yellow powder that looked like ground turmeric, some of her stamina was recovered in an instant.


    Agatha then looked at the cave in front of her. The entrance of the cave was big and there was a lot of sunshine coming through, so even without night vision, they should still be able to see.


    "Is this the place? Are there that many supernatural creatures inside?" she asked.


    Graham was also watching the entrance closely, in case something came out and attacked them. Last time, they encountered a Tsuchinoko right after entering the place.


    "Yes. We killed some last time, so there should be fewer now. Although, we haven''t been that deep into the cave,"


    After saying that, Graham took out his lighter and lit a fire. He was planning to see what kinds of creatures resided deep within the cave in front of them. He concentrated on the flame and repeated the question in his mind.


    The other three saw the man with his lighter and understood what he was trying to do. They quickly focused on the flame so they could see the image as well.


    Little by little, something was formed in the core of the flame. It was an image of a creature that looked like a snake with a short body and a bloated belly. They knew that it was a Tsuchinoko. After that, the image shifted to a bat-like monster with human hair, which was known as an Olitiau. The image changed again and showed a part of the cave that was covered in webs. Hiding behind the webs was a giant spider half the height of the cave. It shifted one more time and showed a lake with a dark shadow swimming in it. It was the Nhang that he had divined last time. After that, the image gradually disappeared and the flame returned to normal.


    "What the fuck is that giant spider? And the thing swimming?" asked Jacco in surprise.


    "The thing in the lake is our target. As for the spider, I don''t know. I can only find out about it once we''ve faced it," replied Graham.


    "Is there a chance that there are other creatures that don''t show up in your divination?" asked Luuk cautiously.


    Graham rested his chin on his hand and thought about it.


    "There is a chance, especially if there is a creature that is good at anti-divination. Remember, my divination is not almighty," he replied.


    "I''m ready now. Shall we go?" Agatha interjected.


    Graham nodded. He got up and cleaned the dirt off his clothes. The other three had also gotten up and now the group was ready. They walked towards the entrance but before entering, Agatha stopped them.


    "Let me do something first," she said.


    She opened her purse and took out a small piece of paper and a lighter. She then kneeled in front of the cave and put the purse beside her. The lighter in her hand made a tiny spark when she pulled the trigger and a flame was created.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Sleep, burn this paper,"


    The surrounding area became dimmer and tranquil. She set the paper on fire and it started burning gently.


    "I wish upon thee for the creatures inside this cave to be granted peaceful sleep."


    The fire consumed the paper very slowly and the ashes mysteriously spread to the inside of the cave. It took more than a minute for her to finish her ritual. Once it was done, Agatha stood back up.


    Graham had seen this ability before, back when he wasn''t even a Contractbound. It was a Slumberer''s ability that could make the people in the whole building fall asleep instantly. It was very powerful but needed to be used in advance because of the long preparation time.


    "Can your ability make all the creatures inside sleep?" asked Graham curiously.


    "No, but the weaker ones and the ones closest to the entrance should," she answered confidently.


    The group then entered the cave and the first thing they saw was the bones of a snake-like creature. Its flesh and organs were completely gone, and even the bones were not completely intact. The skull was broken and some of the ''ribcages'' that formed its belly were missing. It was the Tsuchinoko that they had defeated last time.


    "Isn''t that?" asked Luuk to confirm.


    Graham nodded.


    "Who could have eaten it?" asked Luuk again.


    "Probably another Tsuchinoko or even an Olitiau. If it''s not one of those two, then even I can''t use divination to find out," replied Graham.


    They ignored the creature and went deeper into the cave. Unlike last time, it was easier now since they were not faced with danger right away.


    There were still sunbeams illuminating the cave from the holes in the ceiling. They could still see where they were going without the help of artificial lighting or night vision.


    They should arrive at the spot where they killed three Tsuchinokos soon. They walked carefully with their guard up and ahead of them, the white bones started to become visible. However, instead of only bones, this time they saw some of the rotting flesh was there. The putrid smell penetrated their noses and making them nauseated. They wanted to just walk quickly pass the dead creatures'' carcass, but suddenly a presence came from the opposite direction.


    "Something is here!" reminded Graham.


    "Fuck! I can''t fight like this!" shouted Jacco. He felt very nauseated and his face was also pale.


    Besides Jacco, Luuk and Agatha were also not in very good condition. It took a very strong stomach and a lot of getting used to to be able to ignore the rancid smell of rot. Even Graham was starting to feel the effect.


    The thing in front of them slowly revealed itself. It was a giant bat-like creature with human hair all over its body. Its ugly face was full of blood and pieces of flesh. It was an Olitiau that was probably eating the carcasses and for some reason had to leave for a while. They were now standing in its feeding area.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the smell filling this room to go away!"


    With that, the putrid stench that was in the room slowly dissipated. Now the group could fight without worrying about vomiting suddenly.


    They quickly got in formation, with Luuk as the vanguard and Graham and Agatha behind him. Jacco stayed at the back.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this war drum!"


    Badum! Badum!


    The group felt energized. Their speed, strength, and stamina had been boosted greatly.


    "Screech!"


    The Olitiau let out a threatening screech and spread its wings far to appear bigger and more intimidating.


    Bang!


    Graham shot a slow bullet and hit the creature right in the abdomen. Blood came out of the hole that the bullet with the purple tip made and the Olitiau was visible angered.


    Whoosh!


    It flapped its wings and created a strong gust of wind with the intention to push the group back. However, because of the effect of the slow bullet, its flapping was slowed down, so the power of the wind was not at its maximum. Jacco, who was standing the farthest behind, felt the least impact, so his drum beating was not interrupted. Graham and Luuk had already expected the attack, so they had quickly got down. Agatha, although not familiar with the creature, saw the other two ducking, had quickly ducked herself, avoiding the attack.


    "Why is this thing not sleeping?" asked Luuk curiously at Agatha who was lying near him.


    "This thing is stronger than me, that''s why," she replied shortly.


    Once the wind attack subsided, the three of them quickly got up. Luuk charged at the creature but was met with a wing slap.


    Clank!


    Luuk parried the attack with his dagger. The creature was still slowed, so its attack was very easy to read.


    Stab!


    Luuk thrust his knife into the right wing of the creature, tearing its flesh. Blood came gushing out of the wound and the creature''s expression was twisted. He quickly pulled out his knife before the Olitiau could bite him with its sharp fangs.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, imbue my blood with explosive power!"


    Agatha had taken out a pouch full of gunpowder and sprinkled some on her palm that had her blood pooling on it. The blood then created tiny sparks and she quickly charged at the creature and splashed the crimson liquid all over its body.


    Kaboom!


    The creature protected itself with its wings, but the explosion was strong enough. The membrane on both of its wings was completely torn apart. Now it couldn''t fly or create gusts of wind anymore.


    Luuk and Jacco were amazed by her ability. It was their first time seeing a Murderer in action. As for Graham, he had seen something similar during the mafia''s fight with the black creature and also when they tried to attack Valentine.


    Graham didn''t waste time. He quickly approached the still weakened creature and took out his dagger. When the creature was about to react against the attack, Luuk, who had also come close, quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to defend yourself mine!"


    The Olitiau''s expression became confused as if it had just forgotten what it was about to do. However, seeing the two men about to attack it, the creature quickly tried to defend itself. The split-second delay between its actions was what the two attackers aimed for. It was long enough for them to quickly thrust their daggers into the creature''s flesh, aiming for vital spots.


    Badum! Badum!


    The sound of the drum beating empowered their attack. Although Luuk was using his left hand, his dagger still sunk with ease into the Olitiau''s chest, where the heart should be. Graham''s own dagger had penetrated the creature''s neck, and he was moving it to completely decapitate the Olitiau.


    "Screech!"


    It let out a cry of agony before its head was completely severed. Blood came gushing out of its neck and its body fell down to the ground lifelessly. Graham and Luuk quickly stood up and with their weapons in hand.


    "It''s... that easy?" said Jacco from the back in doubt.


    He stopped beating his drum once he was sure that the creature was completely dead. The last time they fought something similar, it took them very long and a lot of resources to defeat it. But now, it seemed very easy.


    Jacco looked at the bat-like creature that was lying on the ground with its head separated. Some of the human hair covering its body was burned in the explosion that Agatha caused and its wings were mangled. The wound on its chest was still leaking blood and the neck where the head should be was also still bleeding. It looked more like a massacre than a fight.


    Graham cleaned some dirt off his coat and walked away from the dead creature.


    "We have Agatha this time and we already know its attack pattern," he replied, and then observed the carcass carefully, "Let''s move the body aside. We''ll harvest its valuable organs later so we won''t be burdened,"

 120 Into the Cave

    The four people walked deeper into the cave and encountered the bones of an Olitiau that they had killed last time. That part of the cave was much darker because there were no holes for the sunlight to penetrate from. Graham relied on Jacco''s headlight as the source of light while Luuk and Agatha seemed to be able to see just fine. As a Thief and a Slumberer, they both had night visions. Graham signaled at Jacco to focus the flashlight that was strapped around his forehead on the white things in front of him.


    The state of the Olitiau''s bones was like the first Tsuchinoko''s; they were no longer intact. Something had munched on the white material and left the pile lying on the ground in a mess. There were no traces of flesh left, unlike what they encountered before with the Tsuchinokos'' carcasses, so at least this time, there was no rotting smell.


    "I''m guessing the Olitiau we just encountered was the one eating this one and probably the Tsuchinoko near the entrance, and the three corpses we just found," analyzed Graham while stroking his chin.


    "But why eat the one in the entrance before the three? Isn''t that the farthest where it lived?" asked Luuk.


    Graham kept rubbing his chin with his hand and looked at the pile of bones in front of him closely. He remembered that he and Luuk had severed its head, so the skull should be lying around somewhere. However, there was no such thing.


    "Here''s what I think happened. The Olitiau we just killed lived near here and was drawn by the smell of blood from this one. That''s when it came here and ate it. After that, it was probably drawn by the smell of the three carcasses, but there was too much so it couldn''t finish them. The location of the three corpses and the one near the entrance weren''t too far, so it must have been drawn there as well, and seeing there was only one, it finished it quickly," he said.


    Luuk made an approving expression with his face.


    "It sounds plausible,"


    "Of course. It''s my theory," replied Graham proudly.


    Agatha approached the pile of bones but completely ignored it. She was looking ahead at the pitch-black space. It was getting even darker up ahead.


    "Shall we proceed?" she said. Her calm blue eyes looked glimmering in the dark.


    Graham nodded. He let Luuk take the lead again and the group followed. Jacco, who was standing at the rear, provided Graham with lighting so he didn''t need to use his lighter for now. However, he was ready to take it out at any time for illumination or for quick divination.


    "They are in a bigger group than last time," said Graham, and then turned to face Agatha and said quietly, "They are called Tsuchinokos. Their weakness is under their bellies, so we have to flip them over or somehow plant a trap that will attack them from below. I think the latter is not a problem for you,"


    Agatha nodded and then walked around to find the perfect spot.


    "I think here should be good," she said softly.


    She used a small decorative knife to slit her wrist and blood came gushing out quickly, pouring down to the ground. She let the blood gather until there was a tiny puddle there, the width of an adult''s head. Once there was enough blood, she covered her wound and moved aside several meters and created more blood puddle roughly the same size as the previous one. She then looked at Graham and spoke quietly.


    "I can only create this much for now, or otherwise, I''ll be out of the fight,"


    After saying that, she covered her wound with her hand and waited several seconds. Graham wanted to use Order to close her wound instantly but it seemed to be unnecessary. The moment she let go of the wound, it had started to heal.


    Agatha unzipped her purse and took out the same pouch containing gunpowder that she had used before and sprinkled some on the pools of blood. Now, her preparation was ready and she gestured at Graham.


    "Let''s begin," said Graham, signaling at everyone to start.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Badum! Badum!


    The loud sound of Jacco''s drum woke up the Tsuchinokos. Their tongues stuck out to locate the target and the irritated short snakes with bloated bellies quickly charged at Jacco. However, the three people in front of him were ready to intercept with the attack.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention to attack Jacco mine!"


    He made a quick swiping motion with his right hand and one of the Tsuchinokos stopped in its track. Its snake face couldn''t show expression, but if it could, it would have shown a confused look. Luuk didn''t attack the snake because its hard scales would only render his attack ineffective, so he just let it stand there.


    As the other three Tsuchinokos got closer to Jacco, two of them were about to slither right on top of the blood puddles that Agatha had prepared. Seizing her chance, she quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, imbue my blood with explosive power!"


    The gunpowder reacted with the blood and created tiny sparks. The moment the blood made contact with the enemies'' bodies, it exploded violently.


    Kaboom!


    The two Tsuchinokos were thrown to the air several meters and fell down on the ground not far from the explosion. There were gaping holes where their bellies had been with blood flowing and destroyed organs spewing. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere around the explosion, creating a view that was usually only seen in horror films. The yellow eyes of the creatures slowly became lifeless as death came to take their souls.


    "Watch out!" shouted Luuk.


    The last Tsuchinoko was unaffected by the explosion and had gotten close enough to Jacco to attack him. It raised its head and showed its fangs, ready to spray venom onto the enemy.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Reconciliation, declare fighting forbidden in this area!"


    While Agatha was preparing her blood traps, Jacco was also busy creating a circle around him with his own blood. With his chanting, the designated area was now a safe zone where attacking intentions couldn''t manifest. The Tsuchinoko, who was inside the zone, lost all aggression and the desire to fight. It stood there motionlessly like nothing was happening.


    Badum! Badum!


    Jacco''s War Drum was still beating since it didn''t count as fighting. With one Tsuchinoko stuck in Jacco''s Safe Zone, the group could focus their attention on the last one. It had regained its intention of attacking the man playing that irritating noise and was now slithering cautiously towards Jacco.


    Luuk released the stolen intention and suddenly the Tsuchinoko got a very strong urge to attack Jacco. It slithered quickly towards him, completely ignoring the other three people there.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to roll around!"


    Suddenly, the Tsuchinoko stopped in its track and involuntarily rolled around, exposing its weak spot that was on its belly. It tried to break free from Graham''s control but couldn''t do so. Its body was visibly jerking in its struggle.


    Luuk, who was the fastest, had quickly got to its position with his knife ready.


    Stab!


    His knife sank deep into the creature''s weak spot and blood spurt out from the wound that he created. Luuk kept stabbing until the creature was really dead, and only then did he pull out his knife.


    "Now just that last one," said Graham.


    The Tsuchinoko that was inside Jacco''s Safe Zone was standing there without any intention of attacking. Jacco''s headlight shone upon it and its dark scales were glittering. Graham was curious about the muscular man''s new ability, so while the duration was still up, he walked over the blood boundary and entered the zone.


    "Hmm..." he hummed while stroking his chin.


    Inside the zone, he completely lost all fighting intents, be it attacking or defending. He couldn''t even bring himself to lift his weapon. He felt strangely at peace like he was just walking in a park with birds chirping in the back and gentle breeze touching his face. Jacco''s drum beats, which were already pleasant to his ears, sounded like chill background music to the area. After satisfied with the experiment, he walked out of the zone.


    Once he was out, everything became normal again; his desire to kill the Tsuchinoko returned. He then turned to Agatha.


    "Can you make it fall asleep?"


    He was saving his Order for the upcoming fight, so it would be better to use abilities that would be difficult to use during a battle first.


    Agatha nodded. She unzipped her purse and took out another piece of paper. After that, she kneeled on the ground and started the ritual.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Sleep, burn this paper,"


    She used her lighter and lit the paper on fire. The orange flame burned gently, illuminating the small area around her with a tranquil light.


    "I wish upon thee for the Tsuchinoko in front of me to be granted peaceful sleep."


    The flame consumed the paper very slowly and as it turned to ash, the smoke rose to the air and blew towards the Tsuchinoko. It enveloped the creature little by little. The paper burned completely more than one minute later and the Tsuchinoko fell asleep right away, although its yellow eyes were still open.


    Badum! Badum!


    Jacco''s War Drum was still beating, but the snake didn''t wake up, which made Graham curious.


    "Why doesn''t the drum wake it up now?" he asked to the caster.


    Agatha stood up elegantly and cleaned the dirt off her knees and coat.


    "It''s because there is only one target, so the effect is concentrated," she explained shortly.


    Luuk approached the group with hands and knife completely covered in blood. There were also some bloodstains on his clothes. He looked like a murderer walking around in that dark cave.


    "Are we going to push the thing over?" he asked.


    "Yes. Don''t stop the drum. We need the strength boost," replied Graham.


    Jacco''s Safe Zone was deactivated. He kept on beating the drum for the other. Graham and Luuk walked towards one side of the sleeping creature.


    "Are you forgetting me?" said Agatha.


    She also took a position next to them and the three people put all their power into lifting the sleeping snake. Jacco''s War Drum helped them tremendously because not long after, the creature''s body started to move and they turned it upside down, exposing its weak spot.


    Graham looked at the blood-soaked Luuk made a gesture with his expression.


    "You''re already covered in blood, so might as well take the honor..." he said.


    Luuk shrugged and took out the knife that he tucked under his pants. He stood next to the black spot on the creature''s belly and readied his bloody knife.


    Stab! Stab! Stab!


    He repeatedly attacked the creature right on its weak spot, which woke the thing up. However, it was in immense pain the moment it woke up and died not long after because of the grave injury. Now, all four Tsuchinokos had been taken care of.


    "What happened to your fiery knife? There should still be some uses left, right?" asked Graham curiously.


    "Yes, but I''ve almost used up all of the charges, so I''m saving it for an emergency," he answered.


    The four people then observed the aftermath of their fight with the help of Jacco''s headlight. The part of the cave that was previously peaceful now looked like a war zone. There were dead bodies of four giant snakes, two of which were badly destroyed. Blood splattered everywhere and pieces of flesh were lying on different spots. There was also a mysterious blood circle on the cave ground. If a stranger were to walk into that area, they would think that a sinister ritual had taken place there.


    "Anyway, let''s move the bodies to the side for now," said Graham.


    Jacco didn''t stop playing his War Drum and shone his light upon the bodies of the snakes. The other three quickly got busy pushing the dead bodies of the Tsuchinokos to one of the cave walls. The Tsuchinokos that died due to the explosion had its innards shaking and spilling as they pushed them, splashing them with the disgusting liquidy stuff.


    "I''ll need a shower after this," said Graham.


    He was holding back the urge to use Order to clean himself because he was saving it for the upcoming fights.


    Agatha opened her purse and took out a handkerchief that she used to wipe the tiny pieces of organs off her red coat.


    Luuk didn''t really care about being covered in blood while Jacco, who had stopped his drum beating, was the only one free of any stains. He looked exactly just like when he first entered the cave. Graham looked enviously at him and he quickly turned his face to the ceiling, pretending not to notice.


    "Shall we go now?" said Agatha.


    Graham nodded and gestured at Luuk to take the lead again. Jacco shone his headlight to the area in front of them to help Graham see.

 121 A Friend of Fire

    The cave had become pitch dark where they were now, and the path was separated into a fork with three options ahead of them. They were standing in the fork, looking at Graham who had taken out his lighter. The flame of his lighter tried to illuminate the surrounding area but was overpowered by Jacco''s stronger headlight. The man with the trench coat concentrated on the flame in his hand and it burned brighter and brighter.


    An image appeared from within the flame. It showed them the cave from above with two red dots visible. One indicated the divinator''s location and the other one showed the target. It was not a clear aerial view of the cave, but rather, just a rough outline. According to the image, they had to take the left path to reach the lake where the Nhang resided. After that, the image disappeared slowly and the flame returned to normal.


    "So what''s at the end of the other paths?" asked Luuk curiously. His voice echoed in the dark.


    Jacco shone his headlight into the middle path but the light hit nothing. It was just an endless corridor of pitch blackness. There was the occasional quiet screeching in the distance which could come from anywhere ahead of them and the sounds of water dripping that accompanied them.


    "Maybe something dangerous?" replied Jacco.


    "I''ll use divination to find out," Graham said quietly, but the echo was still there.


    Graham concentrated on the flame again. Slowly, another image appeared and got bigger and bigger. It showed a large chamber full of supernatural creatures. It was as large as a vast grassland where cows usually grazed, but it was inside a cave. There were unknown plants growing on the cave ground and there were also some kinds of trees. It seemed to be a kind of common hunting area for the denizens of the cave. The plain looked endless, so they couldn''t see what was beyond it. The image then slowly disappeared.


    "Yeah, we''re not going there," said Jacco.


    "How can plants grow in the dark?" asked Luuk in confusion.


    Graham looked at Luuk with a clueless expression.


    "Beats me," he replied shortly and then turned his attention to the path on the right.


    The other three followed his gaze and looked at the rightmost path. The distance between the middle and the right path was big. It was also the only path that was constantly giving off an ominous feeling, so they were standing closer to the left part of the wall.


    Graham focused on his lighter and repeated a question in his mind. The flame that was burning gently suddenly flickered and flared violently. There was no image formed in the core of the flame as usual. After that, the flame died and Graham held his head. He had got a splitting headache from a failed divination attempt.


    "Are you alright?" asked Agatha in concern.


    "Don''t worry about me. It just means whatever in on the right path doesn''t want us to find out about them," he rubbed his temple gently with his right hand, "Let''s just hope that they stay there and don''t come out,"


    Agatha looked relieved and then turned her attention to the right path again curiously. After that, Graham gestured at the group to proceed to their goal.


    "Let''s go," he said.


    The others nodded and Jacco shone his headlight to the path on the left with Luuk as the spearhead. They walked carefully because that part of the cave was damp and the cave floor had become slippery. Their noses were penetrated by the earthy and moldy smell of the area and their exposed skin could feel the moisture in the air. The sounds of screeching were still coming from somewhere, making them more alert.


    The uneven cave ground made it difficult for them to walk, let alone fight. It was a very disadvantageous spot for them. Luckily, there was no enemy in sight so far. In fact, there hadn''t been any kinds of lifeforms during the whole ten minutes they were walking there. They had to slow down their pace because of the difficult terrain, but the corridor still hadn''t ended.


    "I''m glad I''m wearing boots," said Jacco. He could step safely on the slippery rocks thanks to those.


    Graham helped Agatha who had slight difficulty traversing the ground at times.


    "So she''s a rich person after all. Although she''s good at fighting, this kind of thing must still be alien to her," muttered Graham when he was away from her.


    Luuk''s light steps made it very easy for him to jump around, and his night vision helped him see in the dark. He was ahead of the group and was scouting the area.


    "I can see the end of this corridor," said Luuk.


    If he said he could see it, it meant the next part of the cave was close by because Look''s eyesight was not boosted like Graham''s. The group slowly made their way to the end of the corridor and caught up with Luuk, who was standing still. Once the others saw what was ahead of them, they also stood still.


    "Hiss!"


    The area in front of them was a large chamber with a lot of webs entangling the whole place. There were cocoons hanging down from the webs and some of them were open, revealing dried corpses of various creatures. There were sounds of hissing in the distance but they could see the source because it was too far. Jacco tried to shine his headlight into the space ahead of them but still couldn''t see anything but webs.


    Graham signaled at the group not to go anywhere. Since he had got enough information, he could use divination to get a glimpse of the creature creating all these webs. He took out his lighter and concentrated on the flame. He repeated a question in his mind.


    ''What is the name of the creature that created these webs?''


    The flame in his hand burned brighter and slowly, an image appeared. It showed a giant spider with eight glowing red eyes. After that, the image shifted to an ancient book page that Graham was familiar with. It was the book in his possession. New words slowly burned into existence on the blank page, revealing information regarding the supernatural creature in question.


    ''J''ba Fofi is a spider-like supernatural creature that can grow up to 2.5 meters in leg span. Its carapace is very tough, making most attacks ineffective. Its bite is extremely venomous; it can kill a strong Contractbound in less than an hour if untreated. Its webs are very sturdy and sticky, serving as both detection and offensive tools. Despite its size, it can move very fast and can scale cave walls, where it''s usually found, with ease even without the help of its webs. It''s only weakness is fire.''


    After that, the image disappeared. The loud hissing in the distance was still coming strong the whole time.


    "You guys saw that, didn''t you?" asked Graham.


    Luuk''s expression was rather pale. He had known that they had to fight a spider, but now that reality was right in front of him, he couldn''t hide his fear anymore. Graham noticed it and asked.


    "Arachnophobic?"


    "Only a little," answered Luuk shortly.


    Agatha was watching the dark space ahead closely.


    "What is our strategy?" she asked. Her voice was still calm and bright, "I don''t have any fire attack,"


    Graham looked at the group, observing each member one by one. None of Jacco''s abilities would be effective to kill the spider. His Safe Zone, however, was extremely powerful if they were in a grief danger. Agatha''s Sleep Ritual was ineffective against the spider, seeing that it wasn''t even effective against the weaker Olitiau. Her blood explosion was the most powerful offense, but it was just blood, not like Fade''s ability that could create a real fiery explosion. Luuk still had his Fiery Knife that still had some uses left, so it was best used wisely.


    The group was waiting expectantly for Graham to speak. Among them, Graham was the one who knew everyone''s capabilities in detail, so he was the one who usually came up with strategies. Finally, the man smiled meaningfully and then lit his lighter again.


    "If we don''t have fire attacks, why don''t we create our own?" he said.


    Graham walked closer to a spider web that seemed interconnected. He held his lighter close to the web and it caught on fire. The web burned slowly and brightly and the flame crawlingly spread to the surrounding web, unlike a normal spider web that would instantly be consumed by fire.


    "Now, soak your masks in water and wear them," commanded Graham.


    He handed his mask to Luuk who had taken out the big bottle of water from his backpack and dropped some of the liquid on it. Graham then wore the damp mask to cover his nose and mouth and watched as the others did the same. They seemed to have understood what he was about to do.


    The burning web still hadn''t burned completely and the fire was still spreading at a very slow rate. He focused on the fire and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the fire to spread to the whole area quickly!"


    With his order, the fire quickly spread to all the spider webs connected to it and quickly engulfed the room in flames. The originally pitch-black chamber was now lit by an orange light, enabling them to see even without their night vision. There were the sounds of screeching and hissing coming from all over the large chamber, most likely from the living creatures encased in cocoons that were being burned alive. Smoke rose to the air and started choking them. However, their soaked mask reduced the effect to some extent.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order all the smoke in this room to blow to the area ahead!"


    Once he issued his next order, the smoke mysteriously blew to the direction in front of them, like there was wind taking them there, although there wasn''t even a breeze in that cave. They were now at least safe from the smoke as long as they didn''t stand where it was blowing.


    "Screech!!"


    The tough spider webs didn''t burn easily, so they allow the fire to burn longer. They served as wicks for the flame. Graham, with his boosted vision, could now see the giant spider monster in the distance screaming in pain. It three times bigger than an Olitiau and was currently fighting three Tsuchinokos, although the latter was basically being massacred by the spider. However, the sudden flame turned the table around. The spider was now completely scared and didn''t dare to move to avoid touching the fire, so the two remaining Tsuchinokos could corner it.


    "Two Tsuchinokos are fighting the spider. Let''s just wait until one side wins," said Graham.


    The others could only see silhouettes, so they just trusted Graham''s words. They stood near the entrance where the smoke didn''t reach. The chamber was still burning and the fight continued.


    One Tsuchinoko sprayed the spider with its venom and it melted some of the spider''s tough skin, which made it scream in pain. One of its eight legs was now missing its hard outer skin and was exposed. The spider retaliated by biting the Tsuchinoko with its sharp chelicerae and completely pierced the snake''s hard scales. The J''ba Fofi''s venom entered the snake''s bloodstream and it got paralyzed in an instant. However, it was not dead yet. The other Tsuchinoko sprayed the spider with its venom and the spider took a step back to dodge. It touched the fiery spider web by accident and the flame quickly spread to its body through its hairs.


    "Screech!!!"


    The spider was burned and it was screaming in agony. The Tsuchinoko used the chance to spray more venom and now it hit the spider''s face, melting its outer skin and some of its eyes. The spider flung its front legs in anger and hit the snake, launching it backward. The Tsuchinoko hit a burning sticky web and couldn''t get away from it.


    "Hiss!"


    It squirmed and shook violently to try to get away but the web was too sticky. The fire couldn''t engulf the snake because it didn''t have any inflammable body part, but now its weak spot was exposed to the angry spider. The spider used its remaining eyes to locate the snake because it had lost connection with its webs. It quickly stabbed the Tsuchinoko right on its weakness with its sharp front leg repeatedly. The other Tsuchinoko, which was still paralyzed, slowly died as well. The J''ba Fofi came out victorious from the fight.


    "What''s happening?" asked Luuk who could only hear the screeching and hissing of the creatures and their silhouettes.


    The fire was still burning violently in the large chamber, taking down webs little by little. The part of the web that he burned first had completely gone now, but the others still served as fuel for the flames.


    "The spider won. Now it''s our turn," he said, "It''s the creature''s own fault for making webs out of highly inflammable material,"

 122 Capitalizing on the Situation

    The huge spider''s whole body was still covered in flames, and it was in extreme pain. Almost all the hair on its body had burned off and its skin was charred. The smell of burned flesh pervaded the room, along with the smoke from the burning spider webs, although the latter was magically blowing away in the opposite direction. Crackling noises and screeches of pain filled the spacious chamber.


    "Why does it smell like fried chicken?" asked Jacco as the group approached the J''ba Fofi carefully.


    They all had their weapons ready, and with the help of the burning webs, Graham and Jacco could see their target perfectly. The spider got into a defensive position but it couldn''t retreat anywhere because it was surrounded by flames in every direction.


    "Screech!!"


    It let out an intimidating cry and raised its four front legs in the air to appear bigger while bearing the pain of the fire. Right now, it couldn''t do anything to put out the hot flames on its body because there wasn''t even enough space to roll around.


    Luuk was still the one at the front-most position. He readied his knife in case of a sudden attack from the creature.


    "Careful, it still gives off a very dangerous vibe," reminded Luuk to the others.


    Although it was wounded badly, the spider was still able to pressure them with its intimidating aura.


    Agatha took a position that was far from the spider but was still close enough to the group. She then slit her wrist and let some blood drip to the ground below, creating a small puddle.


    Graham signaled at Jacco and the latter nodded.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    He beat the iron plate on his stomach and created beautiful beats that pumped their hearts. They felt more powerful thanks to his drum.


    Once the drum was sounded, the J''ba Fofi was instantly enraged. However, it stayed cautious and didn''t attack blindly. It''s remaining four eyes seemed to be observing the group carefully.


    Suddenly, it moved its right front leg as if it was about to swipe the group with the giant limb.


    "Watch out!" Luuk shouted.


    Sploosh!


    The swipe was just a feint! It had actually shot a web from its spinneret and hit Jacco accurately, effectively stopping his drum beating.


    "Argh! It''s sticky! I can''t move!" he shouted from the back, trying to shake away the webs sticking around his arms and torso.


    "Don''t get near the fire or you''ll be burned!" said Luuk.


    Bang!


    Graham shot a paralysis bullet at the spider and hit its underbelly. The bullet only grazed it because of its thick skin, but that much was enough for the paralysis to take effect.


    Luuk had quickly approached Jacco and used his knife to cut through the sticky webs. It was much more difficult than he had thought, so he had to slice them many times before they were finally severed.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of War, play this War Drum!"


    Badum! Badum!


    Once freed, Jacco quickly beat his drum again to strengthen his companions.


    Agatha, who had finished creating a blood puddle, ran to the closest burning web and use used her knife to cut a piece of it. She used her knife to hold the still-burning white material and dropped it on top of the puddle of blood. Before the blood could extinguish the fire, she quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, imbue my blood with the power to stick to and burn my enemies!"


    The web and flame mysteriously fused with the blood puddle and created a burning pool of blood that was much thicker than normal. Agatha gestured at Graham and the latter quickly went into position. She couldn''t control her blood to move on its own, so she needed Graham''s assistance.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the burning blood on the ground to shoot at the J''ba Fofi!"


    Whoosh!


    The burning blood shot at the spider and hit it in the face. The sticky crimson liquid started burning the spider violently and stuck to it without dripping to the ground. The giant spider was shaking and trashing viciously to get the blood off but to no avail.


    "Screech!!"


    An ear-piercing cry was blared by the J''ba Fofi because it was in a lot of pain. Its front legs were swiping aggressively to ward off any attackers from getting closer.


    Graham didn''t waste his chance to kill the spider once and for all. He got closer but still away from the legs.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the flaming blood to spread to the spider''s whole body!"


    The sticky blood mysteriously started spreading all over the spider, burning the already charred carapace of the creature. The smell of burned flesh became stronger in the chamber and the sound of the spider''s cry of pain was reverberating in the burning cave interior. It was shaking and moving around mindlessly, trying to shake off the blood, but the liquid stuck to it persistently. The more it moved, the more burning sticky web it came in contact with, and the faster its body burned.


    "It should be dead soon, right?" asked Jacco from the back, still beating his drum. He didn''t know for sure, but he felt that the flame on the spider was also affected by his beating.


    Luuk, who was standing close to Jacco, was also observing the creature closely.


    "I think so. Those two''s attack is very effective," he said and then looked at both Graham and Agatha in admiration.


    It''s the first time they fight together but their synergy is amazing. I can''t be complacent if I don''t want to be overshadowed by her.


    After trashing and squirming for a while, the spider finally stopped moving while lying on its back with its legs in the air.


    "It''s dead now," judged Graham.


    Agatha looked around the large chamber that was still burning. The spider webs had reduced a lot, but there were still so many entangling the whole chambers. The cocoons hanging from the ceiling had been burned off and the creatures inside were now only charred corpses.


    "What do we do about this?" asked Agatha while gesturing at the flame with her head.


    "We don''t. Let''s wait at a safer spot for now," replied Graham.


    He walked towards the direction where they came from and exited the burning room. The other three followed him and they all sat on the cave floor while watching the fire ate away everything in the chamber. The smoke still magically blew in the other direction instead of filling the room with its toxic fumes.


    "Is anyone injured?" asked Agatha warmly.


    Luuk shook his head and looked at Jacco. He was really the only one who had been attacked by the J''ba Fofi.


    "Nah, I''m all good. That much isn''t gonna hurt me," replied Jacco proudly while sticking his chest out.


    "Can''t you extinguish the fire with your ability?" asked Luuk to Graham.


    He shook his head without hesitating.


    "No. I can put out a section, but for the whole room, I don''t think so. I''ll need to exhaust my uses first before I can extinguish the fire in the room,"


    "So why does all the smoke in the room obey your Order?" Luuk asked again curiously.


    Graham shrugged and then stroked his chin.


    "Beats me. Maybe instead of making the smoke blow in that direction, my Order created a suction somewhere over there and attracted the smoke," he explained, but he was not sure about the answer either.


    "So after this, we should fight with the Nhang, right?" asked Agatha.


    Graham looked meaningfully at her and replied, "We might not even have to fight,"


    "Why?" interjected Jacco.


    Luuk and Agatha showed an expression of sudden realization while Jacco was still looking confused. However, nobody explained anything to him.


    "Come on, tell me!" he said.


    "You''ll see later," replied Graham mysteriously, and then looked at the chamber ahead.


    The fire had slowly subsided, leaving only embers of burned webs on the ground. Graham got up and cleaned the dirt from his coat.


    "We''ll have a big haul after this," he said while looking at the corpses of burned creatures that hadn''t been sucked dry by the giant spider.


    There were more than ten corpses of supernatural creatures in the large space ahead of them, including the J''ba Fofi''s but not all of them were intact. Only about four of them still looked like their organs hadn''t been eaten while the rest was basically just burned husk.


    Luuk''s and Jacco''s eyes were full of anticipation in the face of the potential wealth while Agatha remained indifferent.


    "Shall we go now?" she asked.


    Seeing that it was safe now, Graham nodded and the group proceeded to continue their mission. Luuk still took the spearhead and Jacco walked at the back, illuminating the way with his headlight. With the fire gone, the cave had gone back to its initial darkness.


    They made their way quickly across the large chamber and walked into a narrow pathway ahead. There was still some smoke in the air, but they had soaked their masks again in some water to mitigate the effect.


    "Is that...?" said Luuk suddenly.


    In the dark, in front of him, there was a bat-like creature that was lying motionlessly on the ground. Its size was a little smaller than the one they had fought previously; only a little bigger than an adult male. It seemed to have fallen dead from the ceiling where it was sleeping.


    "A dead Olitiau. Must have suffocated to death because of the smoke," replied Graham.


    They ignored the creature''s carcass for now and went past it.


    "How do supernatural creatures reproduce? If we keep killing them like this, won''t they go extinct, Val?" muttered Graham in curiosity.


    They kept walking with the help of Jacco''s headlight. The cave floor was not as rough as the one in the corridor before the spider''s room, so they didn''t have any difficulty navigating quickly. They reached another fork not long after with two paths ahead of them. They stopped and observed the two paths available.


    They were both very dark, but the paths didn''t give off any special intimidating presence like what they felt in the previous one. The whole area was still covered in a very thin layer of residual smoke, but they felt that most of the smoke had blown to the left path for some reason.


    "Is it the left one again?" asked Agatha.


    Graham nodded.


    "According to my divination earlier, the red dot was located on our ten o''clock direction, so it should be that one,"


    They walked into the path on the left and followed the trail of smoke. They could feel the moisture in the air rising. They must have gotten very close to the underground lake where the crocodile-like creature resided. The four of them walked carefully and slowly Luuk could see another large space ahead of them.


    Graham signaled at him to stop. They all stood right outside the large chamber and looked at Graham curiously. He took out his lighter to make sure that his earlier conjecture was correct. Among the creatures they had fought so far, the Nhang should be the most dangerous, and the fact that it was aquatic would make fighting it much more difficult. He lit his lighter and focused on the flame.


    ''Is the Nhang dead?''


    After repeating the question enough times, an image started to form in the flame. It showed a large chamber with a big lake in the middle that might be the one ahead of them. Beside the lake, there was a giant crocodile lying motionlessly on the ground. After several seconds, it still hadn''t moved at all. The image slowly disappeared after that. Graham put the lighter back in his pocket and looked at his companions.


    "It''s dead. Let''s go in,"


    "Cough! Cough!"


    The four of them walked into the large space and was welcomed with a smoky atmosphere that made them start coughing. Their masks helped but the amount of smoke was still more than the pieces of cloth could handle.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the smoke in this room to go away!"


    Once he had finished chanting, the grey smoke magically rose in the air and escaped through the small opening in the ceiling where a tiny beam of sunlight came through. If they had waited longer, the smoke surely would blow to that hole on its own, but it would take far too long. Now that they could breathe normally again, they could focus on the sight.


    There was a big lake with dark blue water in that area. They didn''t know how deep the lake was or what other creatures lived in it. The Nhang died because it needed to come up to breathe, but if there was a creature that could breathe underwater, it should still be alive. There was a dead giant crocodile that was identical to the one they saw in Graham''s divination but seeing it from up close felt very different. Its size was enormous; it was as big as, if not bigger, than an intercity bus that was available in Sloten. Fighting it normally would have been very difficult.


    "This thing is crazy huge!" exclaimed Jacco.


    "Yes. We''re lucky we don''t have to actually fight it," added Luuk.


    Both of them showed an expression of awe, looking at the magnificent beast in front of them. Its sharp teeth looked like it could tear the cave wall apart if it so wished. Its tail, which was still submerged in water, looked stronger than steel and heavier than a motor carriage. Getting hit by it would cause a lot of broken bones and probably death for those weaker.


    "You need its scale and blood, right?" asked Graham to Agatha.


    "Yes," she answered shortly. Her deep blue eyes were glimmering with expectation at the sight of her goal laid down in front of her.


    "How do we even cut it open? Will our knife work?" asked Luuk.


    Graham shrugged and got closer to the dead Nhang.


    "I don''t know, but it''s time for harvest. Let''s get to work,"

 123 A Big Harves

    Badum! Badum!


    Jacco was busy beating his drum to empower his companions. They were having difficulty cutting open the flesh of the dead giant crocodile lying on the ground. Its skin was very thick and strong, so they needed to put in extra effort to even make a cut on it. The weird scales attached to the rear part of its back were also very difficult to detach. Graham was drenched in sweat from all the hard work.


    "This thing is very tough..." he complained while wiping the sweat off his forehead. His dagger had finally made a small cut on the creature''s hard skin.


    "Why does a crocodile have scales anyway?" asked Luuk.


    He was pulling a grey scale the size of both his palms combined together with all his strength. He grit his teeth and his face turned red from the force he exerted.


    Snap!


    The scale finally got detached. He put away the giant scale for now and repeated the process. Agatha approached Luuk and helped him with collecting the scale. Surprisingly, she could remove a scale from the creature''s body more easily than Luuk could.


    "How strong are you??" asked Luuk in surprise.


    Agatha smiled meaningfully and then answered, "My strength is boosted by my Deity''s power,"


    "Finally!" exclaimed Graham when blood started dripping from the cut he made.


    He took out a small empty vial from one of his pockets and let the red blood flow in. Agatha needed twenty milliliters of it but right now he couldn''t be bothered to measure. He just gathered as much blood as the vial could hold, and when it was too full, he took out another empty one. The wound on the creature''s neck kept leaking blood and in the end, Graham managed to collet eight vials of its blood. He put all the blood in the briefcase that he had been strapping to his back the whole time.


    When he got up, he could see that both Luuk and Agatha had finished descaling the dead creature and managed to get a total of twenty-three intact scales. There were some that were still growing on the creature''s lower back, but it was impossible to take them out.


    "We have everything you need. Now let''s go back," said Graham.


    Luuk put all the scales that he could fit inside his backpack and the rest of them were tied around with a rope and he let Jacco carry them. Those scales were much heavier than Tsuchinoko''s scale, and judging from its hardness, much sturdier as well.


    Before the group left the underground lake area, Luuk suddenly stopped. He noticed something in the distance hiding behind a pillar of rock. His spiritual intuition told him it was something useful.


    "Wait. There is something I need to check," he said.


    "What was that?" asked Graham.


    "It''s a kind of pink flower. I don''t know what kind. I''ll appraise it later," he replied.


    The group then left the area and quickly returned to the fork, where they took the path where they had come from. The reached the area where the spider was and stopped there. It was the room with the most dead creatures, so they should be able to gather a lot of materials.


    "No need for War Drum this time. Just help us," said Luuk to Jacco and the latter nodded.


    Graham lit his lighter to help him see in the dark chamber. He and Agatha went to the spider and observed its dead body carefully while Luuk and Jacco were going around the spacious chamber to collect materials from the spider''s prey. The spider was lying upside down with the whole outer skin was burned to crisp, but the inside should be intact except for its head. Graham focused on the lighter flame in his hand. While concentrating, he repeated a question in his mind.


    ''Which part of the J''ba Fofi is valuable?''


    The flame burned brighter and slowly formed an image that got bigger and bigger. There was an image of the dead spider in front of him but the organs were visible from outside. There was a gland that was connected to its fangs. Graham took it as the venom gland. There was also another kind of glands connected to its spinneret which he understood as the silk glands. Both types of glands were glowing red, so they were both valuable.


    "Let me a hand, will you?" he requested his employer while approaching the creature''s carcass.


    "Why don''t you use your ability? It will make it much easier," asked Agatha.


    "I''m saving it in case we need to fight another unexpected creature," he explained.


    Agatha nodded in understanding and then approached the creature as well.


    Both of them held knives in their hands and started cutting open the spider''s underbelly. That part wasn''t as hard as the carapace on its back, so their knives went smoothly into the spider''s flesh. Graham cut around the silk glands and separated them from the other organs, and once he did it, he picked it up. It was as big as a human newborn and smelled of iron.


    He put it aside and with Agatha''s help, cut open the spider''s underhead. There was only one venom gland intact, so they quickly cut it off and took it out of the spider''s head.


    Graham then opened his briefcase and took out some cloth and wrapped it around all the glands. After that, he put them securely inside his briefcase, squeezing them a little bit.


    "Luuk, we''re done here. What about over there?" he shouted at his companion.


    He couldn''t see them clearly but he could see Jacco''s headlight going around. His shout echoed in the spacious cave interior.


    "Yes! Let''s meet up!" shouted Luuk in reply.


    Graham and Agatha went over to where the other two were and saw that Luuk''s backpack had gotten even bulkier and Jacco''s small bag was also filled to the brim. Luuk must have stuffed smaller materials there between the giant scales. There were supernatural creature carcasses that had been cut open by them; mostly Tsuchinokos, including the ones fighting the spider before.


    "Let''s go. We still have two dead Olitiaus and four Tsuchinokos waiting for us," he said.


    Luuk hauled his backpack and the scales that were tied with a rope with difficulty. He seemed to be over-encumbered.


    "I don''t think we have enough storage space for that," he replied.


    "Doesn''t matter. We''ll just carry them by hand if we have to. I''m not going to leave those valuable things behind," said Graham.


    Jacco also nodded passionately.


    The four people then walked towards the exit and stopped on the way to harvest the organs of Olitiaus and Tsuchinokos that they had killed previously. Graham stuffed a lot of materials inside his numerous coat pockets and tied a rope around Tsuchinokos'' scales. In the end, they were carrying so many items that it was impossible for them to run back. Even Agatha was not spared; she had to carry some bundles of items as well.


    They made it to the exit without much problem except the heavy burden they were carrying.


    "Let''s take a rest first I''m not looking forwards to the walk back..." said Jacco while panting.


    Luuk handed everyone a pouch containing stamina powder, but since it was already their many times taking it, it wouldn''t be as effective anymore. They quickly inhaled the powder and a little bit of their stamina was recovered.


    "!!"


    Suddenly, their sense of danger was triggered. All of the four people looked at the cave simultaneously. There was something extremely powerful coming to their location slowly.


    "Let''s get out of here quickly!" urged Graham.


    They all stood up and with the little stamina that they had recovered, they quickly ran back until they arrived at the cliff. They dropped all the items that they were carrying down to the bottom and climbed down quickly but carefully. The source of danger was still approaching and they could feel it getting very close.


    Jacco was the last one to make it down the cliff and when he looked up, he saw the thing that was triggering their source of danger.


    "What the fuck!!"


    Up on the cliff where they were before, there was someone-- or something looking down at them. It was a human with a fiery body! Its whole skin was charred and its face was almost completely melted. The fire burning its body was still burning strong, but it wasn''t dying. Instead, it was giving off a very dangerous aura that could probably burn anything near it. Its melted eyes were staring right at the group with malice.


    "Quickly, grab everything and run!"


    Graham knew that they had no chance of winning against whatever it was. The feeling it gave off was similar to the danger they felt from the right path in the fork inside the cave but much stronger.


    All of them grabbed the items that they had dropped and didn''t waste time. They all ran as fast as they could towards the street where they parked the motor vehicle. However, it would still take them long because of the distance. They didn''t even dare to look back because it would only slow them down.


    They made it back to the motor carriage and only then did they feel that their sense of danger had calmed down. The burning creature didn''t seem to follow them, so they could relax a little.


    Pant... pant...


    They were sitting on the pavement while breathing heavily. They felt very tired from running while carrying heavy things at the same time.


    "What the fuck was that?! That was scary!" exclaimed Jacco.


    "I don''t know. *pant* But I''m glad we got away," replied Luuk. He looked the most tired out of them all because he was carrying the most items.


    "Anyway, let''s put all of these inside Agatha''s motor carriage and get out of here before the thing changes its mind and comes here," said Graham.


    They all stood up and Agatha opened the trunk of her motor carriage. They put all their loots there and got into it. Once everyone was ready, Agatha drove off right away.

 124 Hunting a Ghoul

    "What time is it now?" asked Jacco. His voice didn''t sound like someone who was okay.


    The sky outside was already dark and the street was busy with people coming home from work or arriving from another city. There were intercity buses driving by as well, carrying passengers in and out of Sloten. Trucks carrying various materials were also seen on the road with their exhaust pipes emitting black smoke that rose to the air.


    Graham, who was sitting at the front seat, looked at his watch. The street lights outside shone their yellowish light upon the interior of the motor carriage and helped him see.


    "It''s almost eight now," he replied.


    They had reached the city after driving for more than two hours, slower than when they went. The traffic into the city was worse than traffic out, so it took them longer to actually enter the city, although Agatha was still driving like a maniac the whole time.


    Jacco rested his pale face on the carriage window with his hand as a cushion. It was to dampen the impact of Agatha''s rough steering.


    "Luuk, I''ll leave the stuff to you. Tomorrow I''ll go to the bazaar to sell them but for tonight can you keep them?" he looked at the back seat at the man who was sitting leisurely.


    "Sure. You''re not going home?" he asked.


    "No. I still have one more mission," Graham replied shortly.


    Another mission? Where might they be going? It should be something easy seeing as they don''t need extra help.


    They were close to Tuinstraat already and Agatha was still driving at a high speed, taking over vehicles one at a time. Even at the traffic lights, her reaction speed was top-notch; within milliseconds of the light turning green, she had already gone ahead.


    "Where should I drop you off, Mr. van Wert?" asked Agatha while keeping her eyes on the road.


    Jacco''s other free hand was holding his stomach tight, probably to keep it warm or to prevent something from coming out.


    "Just drop me off with this guy. I can''t stay here any longer,"


    They arrived on Tuinstraat not long after and Agatha pulled over right in front of the apartment building with the sign ''Vakbond'' above the main door. Jacco didn''t waste his time and the second the motor carriage stopped, he opened the door and got out. Agatha also got out to open the trunk door for Luuk.


    Click!


    She got the door open and exposed the many things inside: scales, backpack, bundles of odd-looking objects. Luuk put on his backpack and picked up the scales that were tied up with a rope. Graham also helped out by carrying the rest of the stuff up to the second floor, including his own briefcase that was bulging. The two men walked carefully not to drop anything while still keeping up the pace so people couldn''t have a chance to look at the items that they were carrying.


    Thud!


    "What do you think about Agatha?" asked Graham as he was sitting down on the sofa.


    "What are you doing? Aren''t you supposed to be going?" asked Luuk instead, looking at the man who was now closing his eyes.


    "Just a second. I''m sure she won''t mind," he replied shortly


    Luuk shrugged and then answered his previous question while sitting on the edge of the table, "I think she''s extremely powerful despite her looks. She is also highly intelligent. It''s also surprising that she is willing to do hard-work despite her being our employer."


    Graham nodded sleepily and not long after, he had fallen asleep. Valentine opened his eyes after a moment and he stretched his body. His cold blue eyes were now able to see how messy the room really was.


    "So what''s your next mission?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "Just gathering more stuff for our employer," answered Valentine shortly. His voice had gone deeper and colder.


    Luuk was watching the man on the sofa. He noticed the change in eye color and voice.


    The man has changed again. If I''m correct, when he is like this, his specialty also changes. I think this persona is like a secret assassin or something.


    Luuk kept watching the man with interest. Valentine had stood up and slit his palm to allow blood to pool there. Luuk knew that the man was going to place anti-divination on their battle loot. That many body parts and organs of supernatural creatures were bound to leak out spiritual energy. Valentine dropped some of his blood on the stuff next to the sofa and then did the same with the backpack and the scales that Luuk had dropped on the floor. His briefcase didn''t need special attention because it had been placed under the Shroud of Secrecy long before.


    "It''s done. I''ll leave now. Don''t get these stolen. I''ll also leave my briefcase in your care," said Valentine.


    "Leave it to me," replied Luuk convincingly.


    Valentine walked out of the door and made his way down back to the front of the apartment. There, Agatha was waiting by her motor carriage but Jacco was nowhere to be seen. He must have gone home somehow.


    "Let''s go," said Valentine.


    Agatha entered the motor carriage and sat on the driver''s seat while Valentine sat next to her.


    "So where can we find the ghoul?" she asked. Her right foot was on the gas pedal, ready to take off at any time.


    "The concrete. We''ll go there,"


    She nodded and drove off right away. They went back north but this time, they were headed to the part of Noordeinde with the massive building blocks. With Agatha''s driving speed, it didn''t take them long to reach their destination, and unlike Graham, Valentine was completely fine inside the bumpy carriage.


    "We''re here. Where do we go now?" asked Agatha politely. She parked her carriage in the parking area where a lot of other motor carriages were parked.


    The two people got out and headed towards the entrance of the concrete. Despite having spent her whole day outside in the wild, Agatha still looked dazzling. Her red coat was somehow not dirty. Only her hiking boots showed evidence of being outside. She was still holding the purse that she had been carrying all day while Valentine was carrying only his gun and dagger. The leather belt on his waist had a complicated pattern on it, ready to use as a secret weapon.


    "Follow me," said Valentine as he walked into the biggest alley between two tall building blocks.


    "How can a ghoul be in this kind of place?" asked Agatha curiously as she was observing her surroundings.


    The Concrete at that hour was still extremely busy. Agatha stood out in the crowd because of her appearance and also her pretty face, causing people to look at her in curiosity. Valentine didn''t pay attention to any of them and kept walking ahead with Agatha not far behind. She was also looking ahead, ignoring all the hungry eyes of the men staring at her. She seemed to be used to something like that.


    "There is a part of this area that is different from the others. You will notice once we get there. As for the reason, I don''t know why," replied Valentine.


    The two of them walked down the crowded windy alleyways, avoiding people as they went. The smell of food cooking mixed with the sweat of the people penetrated their noses, and the noise of people chattering filled the place. Despite the moonless night, the street lights provided enough lighting in the alleys, although they didn''t really need any. They walked fast following the route that Valentine remembered.


    The farther they went, the quieter the alleys became. The two of them finally reached the part of The Concrete where there was only a handful of people around. The number of street lights had dwindled greatly and they were flickering, making that area darker than it should be. The lights in the buildings were mostly turned off and all the windows were blocked off by curtains.


    "Where... is this?" asked Agatha.


    She couldn''t believe that they were still in the Concrete. It was completely different from before. The pleasant smell of cooking had been replaced by the smell of vomit and another kind of putrid smell that she couldn''t quite put. A thin layer of fog was floating above the ground and it felt much colder there.


    "I''m not sure myself, but this is where we''ll find your ghoul," replied Valentine.


    Suddenly, a man came approaching Agatha. He seemed to be drunk and the sight of a beautiful woman aroused his interest. He was probably in his thirties and his clothes were actually decent, so he should not be homeless. He stumbled in his walk and slowly came closer to her.


    "Hey, beautiful. Wanna leave your boyfriend and come with me?" he said.


    She ignored his words and kept walking ahead. The man became more daring and quickly walked in front of her and came very close.


    "Hey, don''t ignore me!" said the man, raising his voice.


    The man raised his hand and tried to grab Agatha.


    "Poor guy," muttered Valentine.


    Before the man could grab her, she grabbed the man''s hand first and looked straight at him with murderous intent. Her eyes glowed red in the dark and a dangerous aura emanated from her whole being. The man''s face turned pale instantly and pain came from the hand that she was grabbing. Sweat came running down his forehead.


    "I''m sorry I''m sorry please let me go I''m sorry!" begged the man in quick succession. He sounded truly scared, judging from his voice.


    "Come on. We have no time to waste on someone like that," said Valentine.


    He had continued walking and ignored what was happening behind him. Agatha finally let go of the man and caught up with Valentine, while the man collapsed to the ground with sweat all over his clothes.


    Valentine and Agatha went deeper into the strangely quiet part of The Concrete and the number of people they saw kept dropping until they were the only ones left. The putrid stench that they had been smelling was getting stronger and the area got even darker. The layer of fog also got thicker.


    Their sense of danger was triggered suddenly. They looked at each other and nodded. The ghoul that they were looking for should be close. The walked carefully past a broken iron gate and reached an opening that looked like a small square for the residents. All the windows were covered by curtains and the building lights were turned off.


    In the distance, Valentine and Agatha could see a thin humanoid creature squatting on the ground on its hooves, seemingly eating something. It was a view that Valentine was very familiar with because it was the same as last time. Although, last time his spiritual sense had been triggered far in the distance for some reason, unlike this time.


    "Is it eating a dead body?" asked Agatha quietly.


    "I think so. The last time I saw it, it was also eating someone dead. There must be someone intentionally feeding the thing," replied Valentine.


    They slowly approached the ghoul and suddenly, it turned around!


    Its face was covered in the blood of its prey and it was baring its sharp fangs at them. The ghoul looked slightly different from the one he had seen there before and even different from the one he and Luuk had fought.


    "Something is not right..." said Valentine. He readied his gun on the right hand and dagger on the left.


    "What is it? And how do we defeat it?" asked Agatha. She had also readied her knife.


    "It''s weak against blood attack," replied Valentine shortly.


    The ghoul was still observing their movement. It then stood up and revealed its front body to the two people there.


    "It has breasts! What the fuck!" Valentine lost control of his own thought. The sight in front of him was just bizarre.


    The ghoul''s chest, that was only flesh on the bone before, now was covered in weird, sagging breasts that were leaking a reddish liquid that was thinner than blood. Besides the breasts, everything else about the ghoul still looked the same; its body was still covered in wounds that were leaking pus and blood and its claws looked very sharp.


    "Does it mean it''s a female ghoul?" asked Agatha cluelessly. She had never seen a ghoul before so she didn''t understand Valentine''s surprise.


    Valentine nodded and slowly approached the female ghoul that was observing the two of them. Meanwhile, Agatha had slit her wrist and collected blood on the ground. The ghoul noticed it and suddenly dashed at her at a frightening speed.


    "Your opponent is me!"


    Clank!


    Valentine charged at the ghoul with his dagger and it deflected his attack with its sharp and hard claws.


    Bang!


    He shot a paralysis bullet at the ghoul but it managed to dodge it completely. Its speed seemed to be higher than the one he had fought with Luuk before.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop moving!"


    Valentine quickly used one of the two charges of Order he had on Purloin and stopped the ghoul from moving. While he still had the chance, he quickly chanted again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Slowly, an illusory text started to appear above the immobilized ghoul.


    ''A Ghulah that has evolved unnaturally from a Ghul. It possesses very high speed and agility, and its attacking power is also not to be underestimated. Its main form of attack is by using its sharp claws and fangs, but it can also emit a cloud of disease that will weaken its enemies. With the evolution, its bodily fluid has become highly toxic, being able to kill enemies in mere minutes after exposure. This female ghoul is on its way of evolving further into an Umm Ghulah.''


    "What a troublesome one, aren''t you?" muttered Valentine as the text disappeared.


    The Ghulah was almost free from his control, so he quickly shot another paralysis bullet at it.


    Bang!

 125 The End of the Mission

    Bang!


    With the sound of Valentine''s gunshot, the Ghulah once again was immobilized. The ugly creature was standing in front of him, motionless. Blood and other disgusting liquid kept oozing from the wounds all over its body, as well as from the nipples on its sagging breast. Its rotting skin secreted a rotting kind of smell.


    "How is your preparation?" asked Valentine to Agatha who was standing in a distance.


    There was a puddle of blood underneath the woman who was covering her left wrist with her right hand. A moment later, she removed her hand and revealed the rapidly healing cut across the soft skin and quickly took out a black powder from her purse. She sprinkled some of the powder on the pool of blood and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Bloodshed and Manslaughter, imbue this blood with explosive power!"


    The blood on the ground began creating tiny sparks.


    The Ghulah had almost broken free from the effect of the paralysis bullet, so Valentine quickly fired another shot at it.


    Bang!


    The bullet with the yellow tip darted through the air and drilled a hole in the Ghulah''s right thigh. Valentine had deliberately avoided shooting its head because Agatha needed the creature''s intact brain.


    "G, that''s the second consecutive paralysis bullet, so the effect should be tremendously reduced," he muttered.


    Valentine then quickly ran closer to where the blood puddle was and used up the last use of Order from Purloin.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order Agatha''s explosive blood to envelop the Ghulah!"


    As he finished chanting that, the pattern on his belt became dim and the blood on the ground rose to the air. The crimson liquid then flooded quickly towards the Ghulah which had begun moving again.


    Kaboom!


    The moment the blood came in contact with the creature, it exploded right away with a loud bang. However, since Agatha only used a little bit of gunpowder, the power of the explosion itself was not great. Valentine didn''t waste time and hastily approached the location of the explosion.


    "It''s not dead yet!" said Valentine and gestured at Agatha to come to his side.


    Lying on the ground, the Ghulah''s body was badly maimed. The blood explosion was indeed a powerful attack, but also a messy one; there was blood everywhere, both from Agatha and the creature, and some pieces of flesh added to the gruesome sight. The creature''s left hand had been severed by the explosion and there was a big gaping hole on its upper torso, exposing the creature''s rotting organs inside. Its right leg had also been cut off by the explosion. However, it was still trying to move with much difficulty, and the wound on its body began healing quickly shortly after.


    "Growl!" the Ghulah screamed at them menacingly, exposing its bloody fangs and rotten tongue.


    "The thing will burst into flames if we completely kill it. To get its brain, we must do it while it''s alive... however, all of its bodily fluid is highly toxic," said Valentine.


    Agatha seemed surprised by the information.


    "But how are we going to do it if its blood is toxic?" she asked.


    Valentine raised both his hands and showed her the gloves that he had just quickly put on. His coat''s sleeves also covered most of his arms. He said to Agatha confidently, "I think I can avoid it with this."


    He aimed once more at the recovering Ghulah with a paralysis bullet to give him an extra second or two.


    Bang!


    The bullet hit the creature''s chest and he quickly got to work. He crouched down near the Ghulah''s head with his dagger in hand. Agatha observed the female ghoul carefully to prevent it from attacking Valentine suddenly. Valentine also lent her his revolver so she could shoot the ghoul at any time.


    With his sharp dagger, Valentine made an incision around the Ghulah''s rotting forehead and cut it open without a problem. However, the wound began healing rapidly, so he had to work fast.


    Bang!


    The ghoul had started to move again so Agatha shot it. With every paralysis bullet shot at the enemy, the effect reduced by a lot, so it could only buy him an extra second. He put some more power and managed to cut open the head of the creature, revealing its brain, all in less than five seconds.


    "Easy does it," he said while pulling the object the size of his right hand by force.


    The soft organ''s nerves snapped as the took it out of the head and blood covered his gloves.


    "Get away! It''s still alive!" shouted Agatha.


    Valentine quickly jumped back from the creature who had begun thrashing wildly. Although its brain was gone, strangely, the Ghulah was still alive.


    Valentine quickly covered the brain with a cloth that he took from his pocket and safely stuffed it inside his other pocket. He then gestured at Agatha to return the revolver to him.


    Grab!


    She threw the gun and he skillfully caught it. He then reloaded the chamber with blood bullets and quickly shot at the rabid creature.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The last time he killed one, it took him three shots to finish the ghoul, so he didn''t want to take his chances. He shot twice at the creature''s chest where the heart should be and once at its neck.


    From the whole where the bullets were, numerous blood veins came spurting out and enveloped the creature. Blood began bursting out of the veins and burned the Ghulah completely until there was nothing left of its whole body but ashes. There was something that slowly took form from the ashes of the creature.


    "This one is for us, G," said Valentine while approaching the ghoul''s remain.


    Valentine couldn''t touch the object with his gloves because the Ghulah''s blood would stick to it. He took off his gloves carefully without touching the bloody part and threw them on the ground. After that, he set the bloody gloves on fire and picked up the ghoul''s remain.


    Crackle...


    The sound of the flame consuming the fabric was soothing, but he was not done yet. Valentine quickly put the remain inside his pocket and walked to one corner of the open area where there was an electric pole. He used his dagger to cut a small wound on his palm and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    The blood on his hand began emitting a mysterious yellowish mist.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped the blood under the pole and a wave of yellowish mist swept the area for a second before disappearing completely. He then turned to Agatha who was waiting for him.


    "We''re done here," he said, and then revealed the inner part of his pocket and took out a bundle of the brain covered in cloth, "Here''s what you''re looking for. Careful, don''t touch the organ directly with your bare skin,"


    Valentine handed the object to Agatha and she carefully put it inside her purse.


    "Now we need to get out of here quickly," added Valentine.


    The two people left the area right away without looking back. The eerily quiet area slowly got behind them and they entered the normal busy part of The Concrete.


    ...


    In a dark and foggy square surrounded by buildings, two cloaked figures walked out of the shadow and observed the area. Their faces were completely hidden by their hoods and their clothes were covered. There was no way of knowing their identity just by observing them. The two cloaked figures seemed to be looking for something.


    "We''re too late. Another ghoul has been killed," said one of them. The voice belonged to a man.


    The other cloaked figure approached the ashes that were lying in the middle of the square and crouched down. Near the ashes, there were severed hand and leg with rotten skin.


    "Is it the Police or that Shroud again?" asked the cloaked man.


    The figure who was crouching down looked up to the other and said in a low manly voice, "I''m sure it''s the Shroud, which means divination will be useless,"


    "Why do you think so?" asked the man who was standing.


    The crouching figure stood up and showed the severed ghoul''s hand with a gesture.


    "The Police have a Gore, so if they had done it, the hand would have been cut cleanly. But this looks more like the result of an explosion," he said. His voice was hoarse.


    The other one nodded.


    "It''s a shame that it''s this one that died. It has almost evolved,"


    "It''s fine. We still have many others that are feeding well. They should be evolving to Ghulahs any time soon, and before we know it, an Umm Ghulah should be born,"


    "So what are we going to do about the Shroud?"


    The cloaked figure who was crouching before stroked his chin.


    "We''ll kill him of course, if we have the chance. But to do that, we need to find him first. That''s the hard part," he said finally.


    The other cloaked figure also went into deep thought.


    "Three of our members have been killed. Although they are the weakest among us, they are still powerful. We need to be more careful as well,"


    "Do you think the killer is also this Shroud?" asked the other figure with a hoarse voice.


    "It''s not impossible. Ghastly said she has seen him and she said he was wearing a sorrowful mask. We should pay attention to someone like that selling ghoul remains in the black market,"


    "That should be Horror''s job with his weird birds," replied the hoarse-voiced figure.


    "So what do we do now?" asked the other figure while looking around.


    The windows of the nearby buildings were still covered with curtains and no one dared to look out to the square below. It seemed to be something the residents there had agreed upon in order to preserve their own lives.


    "These people will do anything as long as it benefits themselves, eh? But now that Shade is dead, we need to find another way to control them,"


    "You are right. Right now, I''ll summon another ghoul in this area. This place is just the perfect breeding ground for them. We just need to make sure meddling people will be taken care of swiftly," the hoarse man replied; his voice sounded sinister.


    "Then I''ll provide you with the materials," replied the other ominously.


    The cloaked figure with the hoarse voice sat on the ground and took out objects from inside his cloak pocket while the other one went into one of the buildings. Once everything he needed was out of his pockets, he stood up and moved to the dead center of the square.


    The man slit his wrist and let his blood pour down to the ground. He then started moving around and drew a big sigil that covered almost a quarter of the total area of the square. The blood sigil resembled an altar with three crosses at the top.


    Not long after, the other man came back, carrying two unconscious men on his shoulders. He dropped the people, who were still breathing, outside the sigil.


    "I''ll be back with more," he said and then went away again.


    The hoarse-voiced man approached the unconscious people and took out a knife. He then stabbed one of the men right in his neck and beheaded him. The whole time, the man didn''t even open his eyes; he just died without even knowing. He did the same with the other man and once the heads were severed, he removed the people''s clothes and cut off their limbs one by one. The victim''s blood sprayed on to the cloaked figure and the rest flowed to the sigil, combining with the blood that was already there.


    The cloaked man used the severed limbs to create an altar in the middle of the sigil and placed their heads on top. There was now a gory altar standing, ready for the ritual that he was about to perform. He then took out six black candles and lit them up. After that, he sprinkled some oil around the area and the musty, earthy smell penetrated his nose.


    The other man came back with two more unconscious people and after dropping them down, he went away and came back not long after with more people. He repeated it one more time until there were a total of six unconscious people lying on the ground beside the blood sigil.


    "I think this should be enough, no?" asked the man who had been going around kidnapping the victims.


    "Yes. Let''s start now. Wake them up," replied the hoarse man.


    The man snapped his fingers and the six people woke up simultaneously. They were looking around in confusion and once they saw the altar created from human limbs, their expression showed fear right away.


    "Who are you? Where am I?"


    "Please don''t hurt us!"


    They started begging once they found out that they could run away. Their bodies refused to listen to them.


    The cloaked figure who had kidnapped them did something and the six people involuntarily walked into the sigil, standing separately and forming a circle. Although they couldn''t run, they were still conscious and blood seemed to have been drained from their faces. They were feeling extreme fear.


    "Don''t worry. It will only hurt a lot," said the man with a hoarse voice.


    With all the people in position, he walked to the front of the human altar and kneeled before it. He then started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Necromancy and Sin, have prepared these six human sacrifices,"


    His eerie voice reverberated in the dark night.


    "I hereby wish upon thee to accept my offering,"


    The candles suddenly burned violently and the earthy smell of the oil became the smell of rot and decay. The blood beneath the six human sacrifices started to change form, resembling hands that began grabbing them. The hands with sharp claws tore down the victims'' clothes and flesh little by little, making them bleed. With the victims'' blood flowing to the ground, more bloody hands were formed.


    "Argh!"


    "It hurts!"


    The victims were crying in pain without being able to move. Their flesh was torn off and the bloody hands started to reach their torsos and heads. The six victims were being torn apart alive without mercy. Their eyes were reflecting the agony and horror that they were feeling, but the stronger the emotion they felt, the more vicious the bloody hands became. Sharp claws sank into the soft flesh. Blood came gushing out from the wound and white bones were exposed.


    Not long after, they were reduced only to their heads that were strangely still alive although their bodies had become piles of flesh. Their eyes were wide open and tears were running down their cheeks, mixed with blood. They should have been dead by they weren''t. They saw as what used to be their bodies were slowly being sucked by something from the altar. The two heads placed on the altar had at some point opened their eyes.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Necromancy and Sin, call forth a Ghoul upon this land!"


    The piles of flesh slowly gathered in the altar and it rose higher and higher until it formed a complete ghoul. The two severed heads also merged with the pile of flesh, disappearing completely after that. Standing in the middle of the sigil was now a male ghoul that looked ravenous. The black candles had stopped burning and the rotten smell of the oil had returned to normal.


    "My child, eat these heads to replenish your energy," said the man who had summoned the creature.


    The ghoul quickly approached the six decapitated heads that were still alive and started munching on them one by one. The horror expressed by the heads'' faces was indescribable.

 126 A Festive Day

    Graham was woken up by the noise from the street below. He lazily opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the wall in front of him; it was still eight in the morning. The sunshine tried to penetrate into his room but his thick curtain blocked the light.


    He unwillingly got up from the bed and stood next to the window, lifting the thick brown curtain a little to see what was going on outside. In the street below, there was a parade going on with people dressed in costumes. Most of them were wearing masks and some only had their faces painted. The theme seemed to be horror since most of the costumes were death-related.


    Graham noticed a woman who was dancing in front of a group of people who followed her rhythm. The woman was wearing a headdress made of black roses with several pointy spikes protruding from the flowers. Her face was covered with a white faceless mask with its tiny lips painted red. Her slender body was covered with bandages like a mummy, emphasizing her curves while the bottom half featured a brown dress skirt with more black roses adorning it. She was moving elegantly and mysteriously to the beat of the drum accompanying the group.


    "Val, I completely forgot that today is Dodenherdenking," he muttered.


    It was the Remembrance Day of the Dead in the Republic of Tulp, celebrated on the 23rd of September every year. People would go out to the street dressed up as dead people and ghosts in solidarity with those who had passed away before them. They would play music and dance in a parade that went around the main streets in each city with the hope to invite the dead to come and dance with them.


    "There have been several stories where a dead person returns on this day and celebrate with the living as if they were alive. I didn''t use to believe in those stories but now I think they are not completely impossible..." he stroked his chin and then covered the window again.


    The loud sound of music still came strong from below but it didn''t bother him. It was only one day in a year so he didn''t mind it.


    Graham walked towards the bathroom and washed his face in the sink. He also brushed his teeth while he was there. After drying his face, he went back to the bedroom and stood in front of his massive wardrobe.


    "What should we dress up as this year, Val?"


    He opened the wardrobe and looked at his options.


    "Last year we were a vampire. This year we should have more options since I can use Order to make our costume,"


    He stroked his chin again. His eyes were lit up with excitement.


    "Being a real faceless man with your Concealment ability sounds interesting, but that way, other Contractbounds will recognize us right away. And I think Pale Society should be looking for a Shroud right now since we killed their ghoul again last night."


    Graham crouched down and started rummaging through his pile of clothes.


    Graham took out a skull mask from the back of his wardrobe and also a long brown robe that could cover his whole body. He also picked up a very long piece of red cloth and laid it down on the floor. He then placed a bottle of golden fabric ink next to the cloth.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the ink to create a mysterious pattern on the cloth!"


    The ink magically moved on its own and splashed on the cloth, slowly turning into the pattern that Graham had in mind. The gold-on-red pattern looked both beautiful and mysterious. Once it was done, he put on the dark brown robe and placed the red cloth in front of his chest before chanting again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order this piece of cloth to merge with the brown robe!"


    The very long piece of red cloth started to become one with the plain dark brown robe, making it look majestic. There was now a straight section in the middle and also at the bottom of the robe with the golden pattern on them. After that, Graham took another darker colored robe from his wardrobe and made it look tattered with a pair of scissors. He put on the second layer of robe on top of the first one. Now he looked like a priest who had just emerged from an underground church somewhere.


    "This turns out better than expected. Now I really want to use your Concealment to cover my face with a mist, but..." he shrugged.


    He looked at the skull mask and took out some more bottles of fabric paint from the bottom drawer of his wardrobe.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order paints to turn the appearance of the skull mask into something horrifying!"


    The liquid paints rose from their bottles and sat on top of the skull mask, changing its color. Slowly, the white skull mask turned into the color of a realistic-looking rotting skull; reddish-brown in shade with black patches on some spots.


    Graham put on the tight-fitting mask carefully and stood in front of the mirror.


    "Wow. Now I really look horrifying. Maybe I should show up like this to the meeting," he said, admiring his work.


    Graham indeed looked terrifying in that getup. The majestic robe he was wearing gave off a feeling of powerfulness while the tattered thick robe on top of it made him look mysterious and dangerous. The menacing mask looked very realistic and to enhance the effect, he let his eyes glow red under the mask.


    "Let''s head out to the black market now," he said.


    Graham picked up everything he needed and put them inside the pockets of his under robe and left his apartment. He took a few steps and rang the bell to his neighbor''s apartment.


    Ding... dong...


    There was no response. He pressed the button again.


    Ding... dong...


    There was still no response, so he waited patiently. After several minutes had passed, he rang the bell again.


    Ding... dong...


    And then he knocked on the door loudly.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    After that, he waited patiently again. Finally, after waiting for almost three minutes, Luuk opened the door.


    "Yes-- what the fuck?" he was startled by Graham''s costume.


    "It''s just me," said Graham calmly while sticking his foot in the door gap to prevent Luuk from closing it.


    Luuk hesitated for a second and then opened the door for Graham after his mind fully booted. He still looked sleepy and there was dried rheum on the corner of his eyes.


    "You look ready for Dodenherdenking," said Luuk, indirectly complimenting his costume.


    "I''m here for my briefcase and we''ll go sell some of the stuff today," he said.


    Luuk left the man in the living room after turning on the light and went to the bathroom to wash his face. Once he was done, he took off his sleepwear and shouted from the bedroom.


    "I''m going to get ready first! Wait there!"


    Graham carefully sat on the sofa not to ruin his robes. He then sat leisurely while waiting for Luuk to come out. The living room was even messier than when he had come over the night before with stuff littering the floor and the table. Luuk came out not long after that, already dressed up in his own costume.


    He was wearing bandages over his naked torso and a pair of tattered pants that looked dirty. The bandages were tightly wrapped so that they wouldn''t come undone, but still loose enough for him to move around without constrain. His face was also covered with bandages and there was a kind of ornamental necklace that covered his collar area. On his head, he was wearing a headdress with crow feathers decoration and his hands were covered with gloves with similar feathers.


    "So what are you supposed to be?" asked Graham.


    "I''m a tribal death shaman. What are YOU?" asked Luuk back.


    "I''m a death deacon," he replied, "How long did it take you to prepare the costume?"


    "To be honest, I''ve been preparing for a whole month," he said embarrassedly.


    Graham only made an approving expression with his face but Luuk couldn''t see it because of his mask. He then stood up and picked up the stuffed briefcase from the floor. His hands were hidden under the robe even when he was holding the briefcase.


    "You made sure to leave exactly ten scales inside Agatha''s trunk, didn''t you?"


    Luuk nodded.


    "We''ll sell the things inside my briefcase first and also the scales of Tsuchinokos. We shouldn''t sell all at once to avoid unwanted attention,"


    Luuk opened his backpack and took out most of the stuff there. There were venom glands of Tsuchinokos and some organs of Olitiau as well as the scales of Nhang. He then put back in the smaller scales that belonged to Tsuchinokos and zipped it back. It was now not as bulky as before. Meanwhile, Graham''s briefcase was also full of hard scales that belonged to the snake-like creatures.


    After they were both ready, they left the apartment and made their way down. There were other people in the apartment who were also going down and they were all in costumes.


    Once they were out in the street, the sound of music and chattering became louder. It was very crowded today because of the celebration. The group of people led by the faceless woman had gone away but there were still other groups of people on the road. Motor vehicles rarely drove by that street because they already knew it would be impossible to get past, so most of them would take another route.


    "Should we enjoy the parade first?" asked Luuk. His voice sounded genuinely excited.


    "Why not?" replied Graham.


    They stood by the street watching the parade that was still going on. The music and the dancing people kept the atmosphere cheerful but their horrifying costumes made it gloomy at the same time. There were a man and a woman dressed up as a couple of ghost bride and groom. Their faces were painted pale color and the suit and wedding dress that they were wearing had bloodstains all over them. They were dancing gracefully in the street following the flow of the parade.


    "Papa, can I talk to that man?" suddenly Graham heard the voice of a young boy pointing at him.


    The boy was wearing a little skeleton costume while nudging his father''s hand, who dressed up as a bigger skeleton. The father nodded and took the boy closer to Graham, who looked menacing even under the sunlight.


    "Sir, what costume are you wearing? It looks so cool!" asked the boy politely but his voice couldn''t hide his enthusiasm.


    Graham raised both his hands in a T position with his briefcase still hidden underneath the robe.


    "I am the Deacon of Death. My job is to condemn naughty children to eternal hell, so make sure you behave," he replied slightly intimidatingly. His red eyes were still glowing under his rotten skull mask.


    The boy was not scared, but rather, felt even more excited.


    "It seems my son really likes your costume," said the father.


    After admiring Graham''s costume for several more minutes, the young boy finally went away with his father.


    "He''s a precious boy, isn''t he, Val?" muttered Graham.


    Luuk was still busy watching the parade that he didn''t pay attention to Graham''s encounter with the child. Graham then looked at what he was looking at and could kind of understand why he was so engrossed.


    There was someone in the street that was carrying a torch in one hand and a bottle of hard liquor on the other hand. He was doing a fire show and it had gathered the attention of the people in the street. The man himself was barechested. He had his chest painted with an image of a terrifying skull while his face was covered with a mask that looked like a person''s face cut off and stuck to his own. At first, he was only breathing fire with the help of alcohol, but then he started manipulating the fire to make it look like a dancing dragon.


    "Is that a Contractbound?" asked Luuk quietly.


    "It''s possible," Graham replied.


    They continued watching as the man spewed out some more fire from his mouth and the fire took the shape of a bird this time. The bird quickly rose to the air and disappeared, leaving the audience in awe. The parade kept moving, so the man slowly disappeared from their sight, but his performance was still remembered by the people there.


    "Shall we now?" said Graham.


    He and Luuk then moved away from the crowd of people and walked towards the east. Their destination was Erbarmelijk Bazaar.

 127 The Day of Return

    Graham and Luuk were on their way to Oosteinde when suddenly their spiritual intuition was triggered. They looked around only to see crowds of people watching the parade that was still going on in the street.


    "Did you feel it as well?" asked Graham.


    He used his Supersight to try to find something out of place among the crowd.


    "Yes. What do you think that was?" Luuk nodded and also watched his surroundings carefully.


    Around them, everything was still the same. The people around them were all wearing death-themed costumes and were enjoying the parade. There was music coming from the marching band and people were dancing in the street following a predestined route around the city.


    Then, Graham once again saw the woman wearing a faceless mask with a black rose headdress with spikes. She wasn''t dancing anymore and was only spectating from the side of the street. Next to her was a man with a tuxedo and face paint that made his face look really pale. Besides the face painting, his overall outfit looked more like a ball occasion rather than a remembrance day. The man was standing really close to the woman like he was trying to embrace her, but she didn''t seem to notice the man''s presence.


    "You see him?" he asked Luuk, who was still looking around.


    "Where?"


    Graham pointed at the man with a motion of his head and Luuk saw what he meant. The fact that the woman didn''t notice someone standing that close to her was unsettling.


    "Do you think the man is a ghost?" asked Luuk.


    "I think so. Not a lingering spirit, but an actual ghost," he replied quietly as not to let other people hear him.


    "So the story about the dead returning on this day is true?" Luuk said in slight disbelief.


    "I guess it is... Now, what in the world is that man trying to do?"


    "Should we warn her? Tell her that a ghost is trying to molest her?"


    "No need. It might be the ghost of her husband or something. Let''s see if we can spot other ghosts besides the man," suggested Graham.


    The two of them started their little ghost hunt and concentrated really hard to spot them. It was a difficult task because everyone was dressed up like ghosts too. There was a woman wearing an all-white dress with her long black hair covering her entire face. She was standing in the entrance of an alley across the street motionlessly. However, the people around her could see her and showed a reaction when they saw her, so it was unlikely that she was a ghost.


    "What do you think about that one?"


    "Should we try to talk to a ghost?" Luuk''s voice showed the great curiosity he had.


    Graham nodded and the two of them walked towards the skull-faced old woman. They approached the woman carefully and then stood in a formation where if people noticed them, they would think the two of them were just talking to each other.


    "Excuse me, Ma''am," said Graham politely.


    The old lady looked up and was startled by Graham''s rotten skull mask. She was holding her chest as if she would get a heart attack because of him.


    "Y-yes?" she said. Her voice was old and lovely.


    Graham was about to open his mouth but Luuk spoke first.


    "Are you... perhaps... a ghost?" asked Luuk straightforwardly.


    Graham wanted to facepalm but the shot had been fired; there was nothing he could do.


    "Don''t be silly, young man... I''m dressed up as a funeral attendee, not a ghost," she replied with a light laugh.


    Graham raised his eyebrows and looked at Luuk. His expression under his bandages was also that of confusion.


    "So you are alive?" asked Graham to make sure.


    "Ohoho of course I am. Is my make up that amazing to be able to fool the two of you?" she asked proudly.


    The two men looked at each other again and then Graham nodded.


    "Yes, that is the case. Well, then, we''re sorry for bothering you. Enjoy the parade, Ma''am," said Graham and then walked away.


    The old woman went back to watching the parade while Graham and Luuk walked to a distance where she wouldn''t be able to hear them. The sound of music was still playing loudly in the street, so they really had nothing to worry about unless she had super hearing.


    "I am positive that she is a ghost," said Graham.


    "You think so too? Her skull mask is way too realistic to be just a mask. And the inside seems to be hollow," said Luuk.


    "Yes. But it is weird that she thinks she is alive. There is only one way to be sure. Please watch out for me," replied Graham.


    He walked to a tree on the sidewalk and sat on the ground with his back against it. The people there were watching but he had Luuk to keep him safe. He closed his eyes and started chanting quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order myself to fall asleep!"


    A heavy wave of sleepiness swept over him suddenly and he fell asleep not long after. Just within seconds, Valentine opened his eyes and got up before cleaning the dirt off his robe. He stood up next to the tree, watching his surroundings.


    If Graham before looked menacing with his getup, Valentine now looked even more intimidating. He was exuding an aura of cold and mystery.


    "What are you going to do? You''re not going to attack her, are you?" asked Luuk, observing the scary man in front of him.


    "Of course not," he answered shortly and then walked closer to the old woman.


    The skull-faced woman was still watching the parade and there hadn''t been anyone who had interacted with her at all. When she was in range, Valentine quickly chanted under his breath.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    An illusory text began forming above the old woman''s head. Once it was fully formed, Valentine read the floating text carefully out loud so Luuk could also hear it, but quietly enough to prevent other people from listening in.


    "The ghost of Abigail Janssen who died of a heart attack in 1956. She has returned to the world of living because of the effect of Dodenherdenking and will return once the sun sets. While alive, she used to be a nurse in the Hospital of the People before retiring at the age of sixty."


    Luuk''s eyes opened wide while looking at the skull-faced old woman who turned out to be an actual ghost.


    "She has been dead for more than ten years! But why is she not realizing that she''s dead? And she will be gone at sunset?" he had more questions now than before.


    Valentine shrugged. He knew as much as Luuk did.


    "I guess it means this day is not just a mere celebration day. I wonder if a Contractbound-- or even a Deity is involved?" he said while crossing his arms.


    "Should we investigate? The bazaar is not going anywhere anyway," he said.


    "Why not?" replied Valentine.


    The two of them then walked towards the first ghost that they saw while still carrying their baggage; Luuk being the one with the most burden because of his backpack. Valentine''s briefcase was concealed under his robe so from outside, he looked just like a normal man with a costume.


    The ghost of the man in a tuxedo was still standing very intimately close to the woman with the black rose headdress. Valentine approached him from behind and stood in a distance but still within the range of his ability. He focused on the man and chanted again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    The same thing that happened with the old woman took place again. Above the man, there were illusory letters that floated in the air, slowly forming a complete text that only Valentine could read. He read out loud again for Luuk.


    "The ghost of Willem de Vries who died saving his wife from a robber in1966. He has returned to the world of the living because of the effect of Dodenherdenking and will return at sunset. When he was alive, he was an assistant manager at the eastern branch of the Bank of Sloten."


    "That means that woman is, or was, indeed his wife? And he still thinks he is alive? How does that work?" Luuk barraged Valentine with questions.


    "I really have no clue. He should have realized that he is dead when she doesn''t respond at all to him. But then again I''ve never been dead so I don''t know how it works," replied Valentine.


    "Is everyone dead returning on this day or only certain people. Do dead Contractbounds also return?"


    Valentine shrugged.


    "Let''s try to find out about the day itself," he suggested.


    "Where?"


    "Just follow me. I''m going to follow my spiritual intuition," replied Valentine.


    The two men walked away from that part of the street towards the north. The parade was still going on and there were now people dressed in uniform skeleton costumes who were performing a kind of dance that looked both cool and unsettling. The music also changed to match the dance; there were violins, glockenspiels, and piccolos creating a macabre melody.


    As the two of them walked, there were more ''people'' that they suspected to be ghosts. There was even a couple that was standing so close together without other people noticing them. The man was wearing a sailor outfit with a deep rope mark around his neck while the woman was wearing a simple dress with a similar rope mark around her neck.


    "I think they committed a suicide pact," said Luuk quietly looking at the couple who were watching the parade with a blank stare.


    "It''s likely. There sure are all sorts of ghosts returning today," replied Valentine shortly.


    They were still going north, following Valentine''s intuition, and at the intersection, they headed west towards Raadhuislaan. In the big avenue with a cobblestone road, Valentine stopped and observed the area carefully.


    There was also a parade going on in that avenue, and there were even more people gathered there. There were temporary food stalls that had been set up just for the day and people were crowding the place to buy snacks that were usually hard to get. The busiest one was the stall selling Tompouce, which was a kind of pastry with cream filling. It had orange glazing, which was the national color of the Republic of Tulp.


    "Make sure we buy some of those later," said Valentine. Although he was not as addicted as Graham to sweets, especially chocolate, he still enjoyed eating desserts a lot.


    They then resumed their journey and Valentine turned to a small alley. Luuk followed the man and the two of them turned left at the end of the alley and after turning right, they arrived at a dead end. That part of the alley was very narrow, only allowing two people maximum to walk side by side. At the end of it, there was a man wearing an old Koninklijke Marine uniform who looked to be in his early forties. His body was well built and his eyes looked sharp. If not for the now outdated uniform, they wouldn''t have guessed that the man was a ghost.


    "You two there! You can see me?" asked the man in uniform excitedly while pointing at Valentine and Luuk. He sounded like someone who had finally found a friend to talk to.


    The way he looked made the two of them feel like they were looking at a very old photograph.


    Valentine and Luuk nodded.


    "So you are aware that you are a ghost?" asked Valentine.


    The man nodded decisively.


    "When you have been dead for more than a century, you will start realizing that you are dead," said the man.


    "Why have you returned here?" asked Luuk.


    The man seemed to be thinking hard for an answer.


    "I don''t know if I can tell you why or how. It''s just like this every year. One moment you don''t even know you exist, and then suddenly you are here,"


    "So there is no life after death?" asked Luuk again curiously.


    The man in uniform shrugged. His eyebrows were raised and his expression said ''I have no clue''.


    "Is that all there is to it? The dead just returned to the living world until sunset once a year. Is there anything else happening on this day?" asked Valentine.


    "At least that''s for me. I don''t know about anything else. At least, on this day, I am free to roam the city, although I can''t interact with the living. But that''s enough for me; I can see my great-great-grandchildren this way,"


    The man is very honest in answering our questions. Is it because he is a ghost and therefore he cannot lie? I guess a ghost doesn''t need to lie anyway since they are already dead.


    Luuk was digesting what the man was saying.


    "Since you were alive more than a hundred years ago, does it mean you know about history well?" asked Valentine suddenly.


    The man''s eyes looked intrigued all of a sudden. He looked like a grandfather who was ready to tell his grandchildren stories from his time.


    "What do you want to know?" he asked eagerly.


    Valentine had always been curious about the topic because the information available on it was very limited for some reason.


    "Can you tell us about the World War?"

 128 Sensitive Information

    "The World War?" asked Luuk curiously.


    He had never heard anything in detail about it before. He only knew there was a war that swept the whole Western Continent and left some impact on the Central Continent as well.


    "Most of the information related to the war has been erased for some reason. We only know about the existence but nothing else," added Valentine.


    For a ghost of a man who had lived more than a hundred years ago, his knowledge of the war should be better than that of modern people. The ghost of the man scratched the side of his head.


    "The World War... I seem to remember a war happening but I can''t recall anything concrete..." said the man.


    The two men were stupefied. If even someone from that era couldn''t remember it, there must be something that needed to be hidden.


    "Can you try again? For instance, which country exactly started the war?"


    "..."


    The man''s expression showed visible confusion and the looked to be thinking hard.


    "This is really strange. I should have lived not too long after the war ended. Why can''t I remember anything? I don''t even remember if the Republic participated in the war or not..."


    Luuk looked at Valentine with an expression of suspicion.


    "This is definitely the work of a Contractbound or a Deity directly," he said quietly.


    The ghost of the man heard what he was saying and his expression showed understanding.


    "You two don''t have to whisper like that. I know about Contractbounds," said the man with the old navy uniform.


    Valentine and Luuk raised their eyebrows.


    "How did you get to know about them?" asked Luuk directly.


    The man looked unsure about the question.


    "It was common knowledge back in my day. Is it not anymore?"


    The more the man spoke, the more the two of them realized that their knowledge was limited. There sure was a gap between what modern people knew and what people in the past did.


    "It is not. So did people just accept their existence like that?" asked Luuk in curiosity.


    "Yes. Some of them were very helpful to us, although most of them were crazy and they committed numerous heinous crimes," said the man with a heavy tone, and then added, "but the Police were always ready to put a stop on their crimes,"


    "That''s interesting. A hundred years is not that long. How did they manage to conceal the existence of Contractbounds from the public in that short time?" asked Valentine with his arms crossed.


    The man in Koninklijke Marine uniform shrugged. It seemed that although he knew about Contractbounds, he didn''t know the detail still.


    "So how was life back then?"


    "Tell us more," requested Valentine.


    "In the marine, we had our own Contractbound division full of people with supernatural powers. They were busy defending our trade routes from an invading nation or even pirates. I hope life is better now,"


    "We only hear occasional news about pirates, but never another nation attacking. I think it''s relatively peaceful nowadays. Or they are just better at hiding information," replied Valentine.


    "Anyway, I am so sorry but I have to get going now," said the ghost of the man suddenly.


    Luuk wrinkled his nose at the man.


    "You''re a ghost. Where do you have to be?"


    "I want to see my great-great-grandchildren. They are usually watching the parade at around this time," said the man casually.


    "How are you able to tell the time?" asked Valentine curiously.


    That''s true. This ghost isn''t wearing any watches, and if he is, a ghost watch shouldn''t work, right?


    Luuk observed the ghost closely to see his actions. The man wasn''t even looking around or at anything in particular. He was only looking straight at his conversation partner.


    "When you''re a ghost, you''ll understand," said the man, and then added with a heavy tone, "But Contractbounds cannot become ghosts..."


    His statement raised more questions in the two men.


    "Why?" asked Valentine and Luuk simultaneously.


    "I don''t know. I only know that," replied the man. The speed at which he spoke became faster; he seemed to be in a hurry.


    "I''ll talk to you again maybe next year. Good day, gentlemen," he said and bid them goodbye.


    The man in the outdated uniform ran quickly towards the end of the alley and turned left before disappearing from their sight. Valentine and Luuk stayed there longer and thought about what the man was saying.


    "Why do you think we can''t turn into ghosts after we die?" asked Luuk seriously.


    "This is also the first time I''ve heard of it. It must have something to do with our contracts, but I cannot say anything for sure yet," replied Valentine, and then looked over his shoulder and muttered, "G, you''re better at coming up with theories, so do this one for me, will you?"


    "So your spiritual intuition led us here but we haven''t even answered our initial question," said Luuk again.


    Valentine shrugged.


    "I can only feel that there will be a secret. I cannot know what it is," he explained shortly.


    "Let''s just get out of here," he said commandingly.


    The two men walked out of the alley back to the crowded street. They then walked over to the stall that sold Tompouce. It was still crowded with people waiting to get their turn to buy the sweet dessert. Because he didn''t want to wait too long, Valentine let out some of his supernatural aura to intimidate the people there.


    The people around the stall suddenly felt a chill running down their spine and turned around to look. There, they saw a majestic robed figure with a rotten skull as the head. The eyes in the skull''s sockets were glowing yellow and he was emitting a threatening aura that weighed heavily on them. The robed man walked imposingly towards the stall and people made way for him out of fear.


    "Give me one Tompouce, and one more for this man," Valentine said coldly to the stall owner.


    The man behind the stall nodded frightenedly and opened the icebox to get a beautiful pastry with cream filling and orange icing. He then put it in a box and handed it to Valentine and repeated the action and gave the box to Luuk, who was standing next to Valentine.


    "How much?" asked Valentine.


    "N-no need," said the man with trembling voice. He just wanted the scary person to go away quickly.


    Valentine looked at the banner where the price was displayed and gave his box of pastry to Luuk to free up his right hand. He then fished out his wallet from one of the pockets and took out fourteen pennings to pay for two portions of Tompouce. He did all of that skillfully all the while he was holding his briefcase with his left hand.


    "T-thank you," said the man as he received the money without daring to look at his customers in the eyes.


    Valentine walked away from the stall and stopped his supernatural aura from leaking further. Once he was gone, the people began flocking the stall again waiting to get their own sweet pastry dessert.


    "Give me mine," he said to Luuk.


    Luuk gave one of the small boxes to Valentine and then opened his. Luuk didn''t even bring up the fact that he hadn''t paid him back for it. Valentine held the briefcase between his legs and then used both hands to open the box. After that, he began enjoying the cold pastry.


    The Tompouce entered his mouth and the orange-flavored cream topping welcomed him. The crunchy outer layers of pastry made contact with his teeth and gave it a nice bite. The softer inner layer of the pastry slowly disintegrated together with the cold and smooth cream filling with fresh citrusy flavor and a vanilla aftertaste.


    Valentine and Luuk finished their snack quickly and then discarded the box in the closest trash bin, which was already almost full with boxes of other kinds of food and drink bottles. They then continued their way.


    "Are we going to the bazaar now or are we still pursuing information?" asked Luuk.


    Valentine stopped for a second and concentrated. He closed his eyes and tried to feel his spirituality and see if something was nagging on it. It didn''t take him long to finish what he was doing and then turned to Luuk.


    "There is somewhere else we need to check,"


    Luuk followed Valentine and the two men kept walking in the big avenue towards the center where a square was located. Across from the square, there was a caf¨¦ that was flocked with people who wanted to watch the parade in comfort. However, only those sitting on the second floor could actually see anything because of the wall of people blocking their view.


    Valentine crossed the square and stopped in front of a building with a classic architectural style. There were humongous marble pillars supporting the three-story building, making it look haughty.


    "The library?" asked Luuk.


    "Yes. My intuition told me there is something in there. Let''s go," said Valentine with his deep, cold voice.


    The two men entered the library and showed their identity cards to the security. They were also asked to remove their masks while in the library. It was part of the rule in the Republic to always show face in public except when sick. The Dodenherdenking was an exception, but when inside government buildings, the rule still applied.


    Valentine took off his mask with ease, revealing his sharp features and chiseled jawlines. Luuk, on the other hand, took longer to take off the bandages covering his head. He stuffed the used bandage inside his huge backpack for later use and the two of them went inside the library with towering bookshelves.


    The unmasked Valentine still looked exalted in his two layers of robes. He walked towards the corner of the first floor of the library, following his spiritual intuition. They then stopped in front of a massive bookshelf with countless books on it.


    "What are we looking for here?" asked Luuk curiously.


    No matter how he looked at it, the bookshelf looked ordinary. There was no one around either, so they couldn''t be looking for a ghost there. The bookshelf was placed in the corner and the wall next to it had nothing special on it either.


    Valentine stood there solemnly and then began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets!"


    The part of the bookshelf touching the corner wall began to move very slowly, little by little revealing a small gap where one person could squeeze through. The bookshelf itself became smaller and the books on it got squeezed. Luuk became worried that the books would get ruined and people would notice, but when he touched one of the compressed books, it still had its normal size despite looking flattened.


    "What is this..." he asked in confusion.


    Valentine also did the same as Luuk and he came to a conclusion.


    "This gap might be illusory but real enough. I guess. Let''s just get through,"


    Valentine hugged the wall and started walking through the gap that wasn''t that long. He came to a small chamber that was only enough for three adults to be there at the same time not long after. Luuk came closer behind him and the two of them stood very close to each other because of the lack of space.


    Inside the cramped chamber, there was a piece of paper nailed to the wall that looked very old.


    "Congratulations on finding this place. It means you are in contract with both Secrets and Uncovering. This place can only be opened once a day for five minutes maximum, so make sure you get out before it is closed again. Enjoy my collection, but you cannot take any books out of this place."


    Luuk read the messy handwriting out loud while Valentine was looking around. There were several ancient-looking books placed on the shelves that were carved out from the stone wall, but there was no lighting. Since the room was intended for Shrouded Denuders, no lights were necessary there since they had night vision. He then noticed something out of place.


    "Someone was here before," concluded Valentine.


    "How did you know?" asked Luuk. He also began looking around.


    "The dust here is thinner than the other parts. There must have been a book or books there and someone managed to take them out. Or destroy them right here," he explained.


    Luuk looked at the spot that Valentine was showing and noticed that the man was right. On the books and the empty part of the shelf, the dust was very thick, but there was a spot at the other end where the dust was slightly thinner. He wouldn''t have noticed it if he hadn''t paid attention.


    "Then I''m guessing whatever is left here is not crucial secrets that need to be hidden," said Luuk.


    Valentine nodded and then picked up one of the books following his intuition.


    "The history of Dodenherdenking. Isn''t this exactly what we are looking for?"

 129 Disappointmen

    The book in his hand was dusty. The pages had turned brown from age. Valentine didn''t bother blowing the dust off it and just opened the book right away, skimming over the information. He didn''t have much time left to read in detail. Besides, Graham could also see what he was seeing and his memory was enhanced by his Deity.


    Luuk also used their limited time there wisely. He started looking through the books available there and picked up one with the title ''Fantastic Supernatural Creatures and Where to Find Them''. He also began skimming the content of the book to try to remember as much as he could.


    Valentine finished skimming through the whole book less than three minutes later and put it back quickly without caring about tidiness. He quickly picked up another book next to it with the title ''Some Secret Abilities''. He very quickly went through all the pages and put it down before their five minutes was up.


    "Let''s get out of here now," said Valentine urgently.


    Luuk put down the book and swiftly went to the small gap to exit the tiny chamber, followed by Valentine closely behind. Just within seconds after they got out, the gap suddenly closed on its own and disappeared completely. In its place was now the tall bookshelf that had returned to its normal size; the compressed books also returned to normal.


    "Did you get anything important from the book?" asked Luuk, "I got some pretty interesting information," he added proudly.


    "Yes. Let''s go upstairs first," suggested Valentine.


    He walked towards the big staircase and the two of them went upstairs all the way to the third floor, where it was the quietest. There were sofas and chairs placed in one corner that was designated as a reading spot. Currently, there was no one else besides them on that floor because most of the people stayed on the first floor.


    Valentine fixed his robe and then sat on a soft brown sofa in the corner while Luuk took the one opposite it, separated by a small table. He put his briefcase down on the floor while Luuk put his backpack next to him; it acted as a kind of armrest for Luuk. Before starting their discussion, Valentine chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare the sounds coming from this spot a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist began descending upon the area that Valentine had designated. The thin mist floated in the air before slowly dissipating. From outside, the sounds of their conversation wouldn''t be heard now.


    "What did you find out?" asked Valentine. He hadn''t paid attention to the book that the young man was reading.


    "I only managed to get so much from the book. It''s about super-secret supernatural creatures and their locations," replied Luuk.


    Valentine''s interest was piqued.


    Valentine leaned back on the sofa and crossed his arms. The earthy and subtle floral smell of the library''s perfume made it easier to concentrate.


    "North Anuyi Sea... that''s the one separating us in the Central Continent with the Western Continent. That means the ocean is more dangerous than we thought, G," muttered Valentine.


    Luuk heard Valentine''s muttering but didn''t pay it any mind; he just continued reporting his findings.


    "It is said the Kraken is ginormous. It can sink a cruise ship in mere seconds, and a naval ship under five minutes. Besides that, every dead thing near the Kraken will be resurrected as ''Spawns''. They are like the original body-coral hybrid."


    "That sounds very dangerous. Remind me not to travel by ship," responded Valentine. Since he couldn''t swim, he was not a fan of sea trips in the first place.


    "There is also a creature called Lamia. It is a woman and snake hybrid that lives near the coast of Rijssen according to the book. Lamias are very strong and they have the ability to control the wind and water. Their upper torso is also that of a very beautiful woman, so a Lamia can charm men easily with their supernatural power as well,"


    "Besides those two, there is also one near Sloten called N¨ªeh?ggr that lives under a giant tree on top of the mountains. However, nothing else is known about it. How the writer got to know about its existence is beyond me," said Luuk.


    "A giant tree on top of the mountains? I''ve never heard anything about it," replied Valentine, and then looked over his shoulder, "G, maybe you can try to divine it,"


    "The next and last creatures that I managed to read about is called Moon Rabbits. It is believed that they live on the moon. The author said that Moon Rabbits have all sorts of herbs that are usually consumed by the Deities. I''m guessing the herbs have extraordinary effects unlike those found on Earth. But how do we get to the moon in the first place?"


    "Beats me. Maybe when technology has advanced enough. Or a stronger Contractbound might be able to do it," replied Valentine.


    Luuk had finished with reporting his findings and now it was Valentine''s turn. Since his memory was not as good as Graham''s, he could only remember the most important parts of the books.


    "I''ll tell you about Dodenherdenking first. It turns out it''s really a part of a Deity''s power, and it''s only happening in the Republic because that Deity has left an artifact somewhere in the country. There is no mention of the Deity''s name in the book but the artifact is called the Heart of Adramelech. Although it''s called a heart, it''s not an actual heart. Its location is kept a secret, so I''m assuming the government has a hold of it,"


    "The artifact has the ability to bring back the dead for a duration, that we already know it''s until the sun sets. The number of the dead it can call forth is limited and the dead cannot interact with the living under any circumstances. That means the artifact is not that useful actually. After being used, it will take a whole year for it to recharge before being available again," explained Valentine.


    "So that''s why it only happens once a year. That means the government created this holiday on purpose and unleashed the artifact''s power for a reason. Is it just so that the dead can be reunited with their families on this day?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "There must be another reason that we don''t know about. No governments love their people that much," said Valentine skeptically.


    "True. What might it be? Does the book mention anything else about the artifact?" asked Luuk.


    "Not really. Since its existence is also kept a secret, there is not much known about it. Even the writer could only get limited information about the artifact. There must be another effect that the people behind today desire. It''s not our place to know for now," replied Valentine.


    Luuk rested his arm on his backpack and leaned to the side leisurely.


    "What about the other book you read?"


    "It''s only a vague description of secret abilities. If Contractbounds fulfill a certain condition, their Deity might grant them an ability that others with the same Deity do not have. It doesn''t give more detailed information, however." explained Valentine shortly, and then added,


    "All the books that we read didn''t actually give us a great deal of information. I''m guessing the actual crucial books were the ones taken out or destroyed by someone."


    "So are we done here then?" asked Luuk.


    "Yes. We can''t open the chamber again until tomorrow anyway. Let''s go to the bazaar now," replied Valentine.


    The two men picked up their own belongings and swiftly left the library. They put on their masks again once they were out, and then continued their way towards Oosteinde.


    ...


    "Why today of all days?" complained a short woman with a sunny voice.


    In the crowded street of Kerkstraat, there were several Police motor carriages parked near a small one-story house. There was also a curious crowd of people gathering outside the house to see what was happening but was stopped by the on-site officers.


    "No entry beyond this point!" said the officer sternly at the people gathering outside.


    Inside the house, there were three officers that looked like they were in charge of the current scene. One of them was tall and there was a scar running across his face standing quietly, observing the space in front of him. Next to him was a shorter woman with hazel eyes that exuded friendliness. The last one was an older man who also looked very friendly.


    "Stop complaining, Oranje. Criminals don''t care what day it is," said Groen.


    "Just when I thought the serial killing has stopped. We have to deal with the Pale Society and the serial killer. This is frustrating!" complained Oranje some more.


    "That''s just our duty," replied Groen.


    Rood was still observing the crime scene in front of him. There was a body of a woman with a horrified expression on her face. Her hands tried to cover her eyes but stopped midair. She seemed to have died feeling an inexplicable horror. There was no visible wound on her body nor were there any bloodstains.


    "This is the fifth and we haven''t caught any suspect," said Rood. He clenched his fist in anger and his voice hid his contained rage.


    "But we are one step closer to finding the killer," said Groen, calming his partner down.


    Rood didn''t reply right away. He took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles.


    "You''re right. Let''s focus on this victim first," said Rood finally.


    The two of them walked closer to the dead body that was lying on the sofa in the living room and observed her closer. There was nothing out of ordinary regarding the body besides the horrified expression, so they didn''t get anything new out of it.


    "Oranje, can you ask the people around about this person?" said Groen to her.


    "Alright," she replied.


    Oranje then went out of the house and disappeared from their sight.


    "Does she have no family members?" said Groen while looking around.


    The victim seemed to be a single woman living alone in the house. There was no photo of her being with someone and there was no sign of another person living there.


    "Most of all the other victims also live alone. They must be easier targets to kill..." replied Rood.


    "Does this place match the one in your theory," asked Groen.


    Rood looked at him in the eye and replied.


    "Yes. This confirms my theory further. We should be able to predict where the next killing might happen if we know more about our killer."


    "But we still don''t know what kind of sigil the killer is trying to create, though. It will be hard to predict where they will kill next," responded Groen.


    "Yes. But we are closer nonetheless. Just keep my theory between us. I''m still unsure who the mole is in our rank, so trust no one for now." said Rood.


    Shortly after, Oranje came back with a small notebook in her hand. She walked quickly towards the other two Sergeants and panted. She seemed to have run around the place.


    "I''m ready to report my findings," she said while breathing heavily.


    "Go ahead," said Groen.


    "Our victim is Mila de Jong, 24 years old. She is an employee at Geld Bank and lives here alone. She comes from Rijssen, so her family members are all there. She rarely brings guests home according to the neighbors. The last time they saw her with someone was when her family came to visit last month."


    "So another loner type. Besides Levi Baenen, all of our victims are single and live alone," concluded Groen.


    "Thanks, Oranje. Let''s wrap things up here and continue our investigation," said Rood.


    The three Police Sergeants continued working despite the noises of chattering coming from outside.

 130 A Storm Brewing

    It was night time, but the day and night cycle had no influence on the place that had never seen daylight. In the place made of brown rocks, torches were hung on the wall to light up the room, although darkness still find spots to hide in. In the middle of the somber chamber, there was a long stone table with fifteen chairs waiting for people to sit at it. At the end of the table was a hooded figure sitting solemnly while the other seven seats on each of his sides were all empty.


    Rasp...


    Suddenly, six holes appeared on the floor right behind six chairs that were closest to where the cloaked figure was sitting. The holes looked to have been dug out from underground and each of them was the size of a manhole cover. The holes were leaking a baleful purple miasma that quickly evaporated when it came in contact with the air.


    Little by little, the heads of the creatures responsible for the holes became visible, starting from the sharp fangs around their round mouths all the way to their segmented bodies without limbs. Their gaping mouths looked like an endless abyss, able to swallow anything they desired. Those creatures resembled oversized worms that only showed a portion of their bodies while the rest remained burrowed.


    Blergh!!


    The worms simultaneously vomited and six cloaked figures covered in saliva emerged from them. Once the humans inside their stomach had been let out, the worms returned underground and the hole they created disappeared magically as if they were never there in the first place.


    "I will never get used to that kind of method for entering," complained a hooded figure who looked to be a man with a slender body.


    All of the figures that just came through the worms took the seat right next to their spawning points and sat down.


    "You should be grateful you are even allowed to enter, thanks to Mister Tenebrosity," scolded another cloaked figure who sat opposite the man who just complained.


    "I''m sorry, Master. I will not complain again," said the man while looking at the hooded figure sitting at the end of the table near him.


    The man called Tenebrosity just nodded without saying anything.


    "Hiss!"


    Suddenly, countless snakes came entering from the tiny holes in the stone walls and floor. The green snakes all slithered towards a spot and gathered there in an inexplicable manner. The bizarre sight didn''t fail to catch the attention of some of the people gathered there, although some others didn''t seem interested at all in it. The snakes slowly got entangled with each other and formed a tower that was as tall as a human before finally merging together into a human figure with a hood covering their head.


    The figure that had just arrived nodded at Tenebrosity and then sat on the fourth seat on the right side of the man. With the addition of him, there were now eight people gathered in the dark chamber.


    "Dread,"


    The man who complained before nodded.


    "Fright,"


    The person who scolded Dread nodded.


    "Fear, Wane, Ghastly, Horror,"


    The other four nodded simultaneously.


    "Obscurity,"


    The man who came the last nodded.


    "Morbid and Macabre are not here. Don''t tell me they have been done in by the Police," said Tenebrosity.


    "No. They are just late. They should be here soon," replied Obscurity. His voice was full of mischief and trickery.


    "And besides, the Police haven''t managed to find any of us. It''s the Shroud who has killed three of our members," added Fear. The voice belonged to a woman with a naturally intimidating timbre.


    "It''s true. The Police are useless, so there is no chance they will actually catch us," mocked Ghastly. She had a voice that was soft but her tone was vulgar.


    "Never underestimate the enemy. I was almost caught by them once. It was only thanks to Mr. Tenebrosity that I managed to escape," said Horror.


    "He is right. We should never underestimate the enemy no matter how weak we think they are. Especially the Police. We only managed to elude them so far because their main force is still busy in the capital," replied Fright. His voice sounded like it belonged to a young man who was very calculating in his actions.


    Nobody could see anyone''s expressions under their hoods, but they knew that Ghastly was annoyed because nobody was picking her side.


    Suddenly, a strong stench of rot and death filled the room, but the people there didn''t seem affected. Shortly after, a corpse came walking from the doorway slowly; its mangled right leg made it limp all the way from the corridor to the seat next to Obscurity. The corpse then collapsed to the ground, staining the floor with its decomposition fluid.


    Glub... Glub...


    From the wound on the corpse''s stomach, a figure made of blood slowly formed and got bigger and bigger until it became an entire human shrouded in robe and hood. The figure looked at the corpse for several seconds and the corpse turned into a pool of blood before disappearing completely along with the rotten stench and the stain on the stone floor.


    "You are indeed Macabre," said Wane, whose voice was very hoarse.


    "Well excuse me for having only one method of entering the Sanctuary," replied Macabre in self-defense. It was a voice that belonged to a young woman, probably in her early twenties. She then nodded at Tenebrosity before sitting down.


    "Welcome, Macabre. Is Morbid going to be late?" asked Tenebrosity calmly.


    "He should be here soon. He was still busy with his government duty earlier," replied Macabre.


    Just as they finished saying that, drops of blood seeped from the ceiling and created a puddle on the seat opposite Obscurity. A strong smell of iron penetrated the noses of the people present and they waited patiently for the process to finish. The blood on the chair coagulated quickly and slowly, it turned into the form of another human with a hood covering their face.


    "You''re finally here, Morbid. Now everyone is here, Master Tenebrosity," said Dread. The way he sat was very formal like he was attending a job interview.


    "I''m sorry. It''s hard being a government official nowadays. The deskwork is neverending," replied Morbid. He sounded like someone who always chose his words carefully, but would be easily provoked at the same time.


    "Good. Then we shall start," replied the man at the end of the table. "The preparation for the Pale Lord''s descent hasn''t been going as smoothly as we hoped."


    "It''s all thanks to the pesky Police and the meddling Shroud. I say we take care of them once and for all," said Ghastly. She then shot a glance at each of the participants there, waiting for their response.


    "I agree about taking care of them, but we can''t afford to openly confront the Police. They are secretly working with Fratello Maggiore, not to mention the army that will be dispatched once a conflict arises," said Fright. He was leaning against the back of the chair with his arms crossed.


    "Then we deal with the Shroud. I''ve fought with him and he is not that strong. He is just full of tricks and deception," replied Ghastly.


    "Sounds like a fun guy," responded Obscurity. He was sitting leisurely while leaning back with his heavy stone chair, balancing it with his feet.


    "But we still haven''t been able to find him, and now he''s killed three of us. He is really elusive," added Dread.


    Tenebrosity was only watching the others'' discussion while crossing his arms on his chest. Once it settled down, he finally spoke.


    "We will devote manpower to root out our obstacle. We will find the Shroud while still gathering ingredients to summon more ghouls. Is any of our children close to becoming an Umm Ghulah?"


    "There was one, but again it was killed by the Shroud. I''ve summoned another one in its place, but it was made in a hurry, so it would take longer for it to evolve," replied Dread.


    "It''s good enough. We need to let the Pale Lord descent unto this world no matter what cost we have to pay. Only His grace can protect this world from the apocalypse," said Tenebrosity seriously.


    The mood in the already dark room became heavier. The participants in the meeting were reminded once again about their purpose of working so hard so far.


    "We failed once in the past, despite having paid the price with the corpses from a whole city. We need to approach things more carefully this time," added Tenebrosity.


    All the members present there nodded although most of them didn''t participate in the event.


    "How is your progress in recovering the Eye?" asked Fright to Morbid, who was crossing his legs in front of him.


    "It''s currently being protected by Mastro Gianni of Fratello Maggiore. Taking it back is just a matter of time," replied Morbid matter-of-factly.


    Obscurity turned his face to Morbid and spoke in a mocking manner. Under the hood, his expression must also have been that of mockery.


    "How did you get it stolen in the first place? You are a true politician after all--incompetent..."


    Morbid stood up in anger and raised his voice.


    "Say that again?!"


    Horror, who was sitting next to Morbid, quickly placed his hand in front of the man to stop him from moving from his chair. He rubbed the man''s shoulder gently to calm him down.


    "Don''t start a fight in front of Master!" said Dread sternly.


    Morbid sat back down and took a deep breath. After a while, he finally spoke.


    "Please forgive me, Mr. Tenebrosity," he said with a calmer voice, "But don''t worry. Everything is going according to my plan. The Eye will be retrieved soon,"


    "Then do what you must. Morbid and Macabre, keep doing what you have been doing," replied Tenebrosity, then turned to the man sitting next to Morbid, "Horror, keep watch over the bazaar. Take note of anyone selling ghoul''s remains."


    Horror nodded.


    "My babies will watch over the area, but it won''t be as easy as last time. Our enemy is a smart and elusive one," he replied solemnly with his hands pressed against his chin.


    "Why can''t we just storm the black market?" asked Dread.


    Someone from the other side of the table chuckled.


    "You are new here, so it''s normal for you not to know. Most abilities don''t work in there, and the subtler ones will be detected right away by the Watchers. We are no match for them," explained Macabre, sho seemed to be sitting cross-legged on the chair.


    "Is it true, Master?" Dread turned to Tenebrosity.


    The man tapped the stone table with his index finger several times while his left hand was supporting his head.


    "It is unfortunately true. Erbarmelijk Bazaar is a much older entity than our organization. We cannot afford to offend them," he said calmly.


    "I volunteer to help track the Shroud. We need to root out the weed before it gets too late," said Ghastly with her soft voice.


    "I''ll assign four people for this task. We cannot look down on this man although he is only a Shroud. The fact that he managed to kill three of us is proof enough of his abilities," replied Tenebrosity.


    He then sat straight and looked over all the members present there.


    "Horror, Ghastly, Fright, and Fear, you four are in charge of eliminating the Shroud, and members of Kleurs, if you can. Dread and Wane will keep gathering ingredients for summoning. Obscurity will help Morbid and Macabre in their task,"


    Everyone nodded at the same time, some solemnly, some vigorously.


    "That concludes today''s meeting," said Tenebrosity.


    Four holes appeared behind four different chairs and the same worms came out of them, showing their horrifying mouths. The four people tasked with tracking the Shroud jumped into the worms'' mouths and the creatures quickly burrowed back underground. The holes that they had made slowly closed down, leaving no trace.


    Meanwhile, Morbid turned into a pool of blood and seeped into the floor before disappearing completely while Obscurity turned into countless green snakes that quickly slithered out through the tiny gaps in the walls and floor.


    "There go the troublemakers," said Macabre.


    Tenebrosity stood up from his chair and left the room, followed by the other three who remained there. The four of them walked into the dark corridor and then turned to a pitch-black room on the right.


    The room was spacious, and inside, there were countless corpses hanging upside down from the ceiling with metal hooks. Among all the corpses there, some of them were not human, but the thing in common that they had was the missing body parts or organs.


    Macabre approached a human corpse that was closest to her.


    "I''ll be taking this one then," she said meaningfully.


    She started mumbling and slowly, her body turned into red gunk that floated into the hanging corpse. Once she was completely integrated with the corpse, it began to rot rapidly, spreading the putrid stench all over the room. After that, the corpse turned into a pool of blood and disappeared completely.


    "I really can''t get used to her way of getting around either," said Dread, then quickly followed Tenebrosity who had gone up ahead.


    "Mr. Tenebrosity, what are you going to summon today?" asked Wane with his hoarse voice.


    "Our ghouls will need something stronger to protect them, won''t they?" interjected Dread.


    Tenebrosity kept walking forward until he reached a stone altar with bloodstains all over it. He stood in front of it and said with a solemn voice.


    "I will summon a Dullahan."

 131 Mass Control

    It was already past nine in the evening. Graham was out in the street going towards the still busy Koningsstraat, where the peak of the Dodenherdenking celebration would take place in about an hour. He was walking as quickly as he could with his face covered by an intimidating skull mask; his dark brown robes were blown by the night breeze.


    "Val, the premonition I just got was truly concerning. I need to advance tonight in order for us to protect ourselves. Good thing my Deity is almost pleased. I just need to make a few more people do my bidding. The problem is, the order must have a purpose, so I can''t just randomly order strangers to do pointless tasks," he said seriously.


    He increased his pace and arrived at the intersection between Raadhuislaan and Kruistraat. Graham turned left and crossed the street safely to the opposite side.


    "According to my divination, the members of the Pale Society have begun actively searching for us. Although we always make sure not to leave any clues, we still can''t be careless. Not to mention the fact that they are stronger than us. Thus, I need to advance tonight if I can," he muttered some more.


    Graham arrived at another intersection and this time, he took the street on his right side. He was now already in Koningsstraat, and there were more and more people gathered there despite the late hour. Almost all of the people were still in costumes, including himself.


    "We might even need to hire someone strong to protect us, Val. I can only think of Agatha. She should already be in a contract with a President Rank Deity by now,"


    The people he passed by were looking at him with mixed looks in their faces, although most of them were covered by their masks. It was a strange sight to see a person wearing a scary-looking costume darting in a hurry while talking to himself.


    The further in he walked in the street, the more crowded it became. In the center of Koningsstraat, there was a square similar to the one on Raadhuislaan but smaller. In the middle of the square, there was a tall orange monument with numerous tulips on top of it made out of gold. In the center of the monument was a giant bell made of brass that would ring only when the bell ringer wished so. Because of its appearance, people called it the Gouden Tulp.


    "There are more people than I expected," he muttered, "I wonder if our beloved neighbor is also here,"


    Graham hadn''t been able to get ahold of his neighbor earlier despite ringing the bell countless times. Only after using divination did he find out that the man was currently outside on Grotemarktstraat. He didn''t know his current whereabouts, however.


    "He must be out stealing again," he said and then chuckled.


    "According to divination, our target tonight should also be here. His house is just two streets away from this place, so there is no way he won''t show up," he muttered quietly and then went back to enjoying the sight.


    The flames from the candles were burning gently. The orange glow that they were emitting was like fireflies dancing in a dark forest. The white paper lantern played the role of keeping the flames protected, like cages that prevented them from going wild.


    The expressions of the people holding the lanterns were solemn. There was a longing in their eyes that was visible despite the masks and face paintings covering their faces. The warmth of the lantern gave them hope in the cold night.


    The tradition in the Republic was for the people to release the sky lanterns exactly at ten o''clock. It was believed that that exact hour was when the boundary between the physical world and the afterworld was the thinnest, so their messages would be conveyed to the other side.


    Graham walked closer to the center of the square and sat on a vacant bench that was only available because the previous person had to leave in a hurry. He watched his surroundings carefully, looking for suitable people for the plan that he had in mind, while also trying to locate his target. He also looked at his watch from time to time to keep track of the time. In just a few seconds, the clock would strike ten.


    Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!


    Exactly at ten o''clock in the evening, the bell ringer pulled the rope and made the giant brass bell ring. The loud chime resounded in the area and struck the heart of all the people present there. At the same time, they raised their hands and released the lanterns to the sky while saying their messages for the deceased.


    "I hope papa knows that I am living happily now,"


    "I wish to see you again, my dearest Aerith..."


    "Milou, please be happy in dog heaven..."


    "I hope this lantern will find you and guide you home..."


    Wished upon wished were chanted in unison and the lanterns flew higher and higher. The countless lanterns floating in the sky looked like hundreds of stars twinkling and dancing, and the flames painted the night sky orange. The people below bathed in the orange light and the glow was reflected in their eyes.


    "Val, this is a magnificent view. I don''t remember when the last time we saw something this beautiful was," muttered Graham admiringly.


    The lanterns flew even higher up above until they looked like tiny stars embellishing the dark sky. When they reached a certain height, suddenly all the lanterns burst simultaneously in a pretty explosion. Orange flames were burning in the sky for a second before disappearing completely, thus marking the end of the Dodenherdenking.


    Once the sky returned to normal, some of the people directly left the square while many others stayed and hung around. The sounds of chattering and laughter filled the area.


    Graham, who had seen the man that was his target, quickly got up and initiated his plan.


    ...


    In a busy square, a man was walking with two bodyguards behind him. The man''s eyes looked sharp and intimidating. He was walking proudly as if he had nothing to fear in this world. The man was wearing a white suit while his black hair was neatly combed to the back. He was Zeger de Witt, who had just attended a dinner at one of the government officials there and was enjoying the show afterward.


    "There are more people this year than last year. That is very good," he said to one of his bodyguards with a tattoo on his face.


    "Yes, sir," replied the bodyguard shortly.


    The three men then proceeded to leave the square towards the parking lot. However, as he was just about to take a step away, a group of people suddenly came towards him with admiring eyes.


    "Mr. de Witt! I am a huge fan!" said a woman who was smiling from cheek to cheek.


    "Mr. de Witt, can I get an autograph?" asked a man wearing a mummy costume.


    "Sir, can I work for you?" asked another woman with a witch costume.


    The two bodyguards took initiative and stood in front of Zeger de Witt, actively shielding him from the people.


    "Don''t get physical with them," he ordered calmly.


    Shit! I am using my public identity so I can''t use my ability rashly. Who the fuck are these people?


    More and more people gathered around him, preventing his leave. They were asking him all sorts of questions and saying things that made no sense to him.


    "Alright. Who ordered you to come and see me?" Zeger de Witt finally asked once the crowd had calmed down. He had had no chance of speaking because of the barrage of questions from them.


    "No one. We want to see you because we are your huge fan!" said the woman who was wearing the witch costume.


    That''s bullshit... There must be someone behind this.


    Zeger de Witt started looking around to spot any abnormal movements, but the wall of people was blocking his view.


    With this many people watching, I cannot just turn into a puddle of blood and get away with it. Dammit. If I don''t get out of here soon my plan will be ruined!


    He gestured at his bodyguard to try to create a path for him to slip out. The two big men then starting shoving people to the side, but there were just more people to take their place, rendering their effort futile.


    "Mr. de Witt, please don''t go anywhere. We''re all you need," said a man wearing a black dog mask and costume. There was a dog collar around his neck.


    Zeger''s expression almost showed disgust, but he quickly controlled himself. He was a politician, so he absolutely had to mind his appearance in public.


    "Mr. de Witt, sir, can I get an autograph?" asked a man wearing a ghost groom costume.


    Zeger wanted to yell at the man but he held back. Instead, he just took out a pen and his small notebook and quickly signed it. He tore off the page with his signature and gave it to the man.


    "Thank you, sir! We love you!" said the man after getting the signature. After that, the man left through the gap that the crowd made just for him.


    So that''s how I can get rid of them!


    Zeger de Witt smiled and readied his pen and paper. However, after waiting for a while, nobody else asked for a signature. They were all just staring at him with admiring eyes like a group of fangirls meeting their idol.


    "Mr. de Witt, let me have your baby!" shouted a woman from the back. He couldn''t see her face because of the hair blocking it.


    Zeger de Witt showed a disgusted expression for a split second before he quickly got rid of it.


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, there was a wave of sleepiness that swept over the whole area. Everyone fell asleep just in mere seconds. Zeger de Witt was also feeling very sleepy, but he quickly made his blood boil so he could stay awake, although now he was feeling extreme anger. He quickly calmed down and watched the square that was full of people lying down on the pavement.


    "Just when I was thinking about why you hadn''t shown up, you are here holding a little meet and greet with your fans," said a mocking voice that came from a hooded figure of a man in the distance. He was walking towards Zeger who was the only one standing in the square.


    "Shut up! Let''s get out of here," he said irritatedly and then hurriedly left the square. He didn''t care about stepping on sleeping people now that no one was watching.


    "Who did this and for what reason?" asked the hooded man, but his voice didn''t contain concern. It was full of curiosity and intrigue instead.


    "I don''t fucking know, but if I find out, they are dead," he replied in anger.


    ...


    Valentine was running away as quickly as he could while remaining concealed. There was a cut on his wrist that was slowly healing. He had very quickly placed anti-divination in the area when he felt the dangerous presence of the man coming in the distance.


    "G, your Deity should have been please by now, right?" he muttered while running. He didn''t even look back.


    The thin yellowish mist enveloping his body concealed his presence. His figure was moving fast in the dark night, wearing the intimidating rotten skull mask and majestic robes. Once he got far enough, the Concealment lost its effect so he quickly reapplied it.


    Valentine ran very quickly and arrived at his apartment building not long after. He climbed up the stairs and swiftly unlocked the door to his home.


    "*panting* We''re finally home. It feels like we always end up running like that every time," he complained and then sat on his comfortable sofa without even turning on the light.


    Valentine closed his eyes and focused on controlling his breathing. After a while, he fell asleep and Graham woke up. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling in the dark.


    "Thanks, Val. I didn''t expect Zeger de Witt to be meeting up with someone that dangerous. I wonder if Zeger himself is actually as powerful as the man but he is hiding his aura. It must be the case since he is a public figure,"


    Graham lied down in a star position with his two hands stretched far to the sides.


    "At least I finally managed to please my Deity. I can perform my ritual tonight, so we will have more chance of staying alive under the watch of the Pale Society," he said in relief.


    "But it was exhausting to persuade that many people at once. I even exhausted my Order to spread the influence to the nearest person so I didn''t have to do it one by one."


    He felt both physically and spiritually exhausted and let his body rest for a bid. He kept staring at the ceiling while letting his mind wander. After a while, he had finally recovered a little and proceeded with what needed to be done.


    Graham sat straight in a meditating position. He got rid of all the distracting thoughts and focused only on his spirituality. He controlled his breathing and quickly got it in a steady pattern. Slowly, he felt something coming from the tip of his tongue and he let it out without constrains.


    "Kaymen vefa Ronove!"

 132 A New Ability

    The moment Graham uttered those words, his whole body froze. He couldn''t lift even a single muscle, let alone blink; it was as if he was under the effect of Order, but much stronger. Everything around him also froze, along with his body. There was absolute silence creeping in the room.


    Graham knew what was coming next, but he quite literally couldn''t do anything. The least he wanted to do was close his eyes so that he didn''t have to stare directly at the ''Deity'' that was about to descend. He didn''t know if it was the Deity Himself or His avatar, but his intuition told him not to look under any circumstances.


    He tried as hard as he could to move his eyelids down to cover his eyes, but the Order was much stronger than him; he couldn''t rebel against it. His eyes were wide open to see the event that was unraveling next.


    The furniture in the room suddenly started moving away one by one as if they were alive. The sofa that he was sitting on was no exception; he was now sitting on thin air without falling down. It was a ridiculous sensation for Graham, but the living furniture wasn''t any less absurd. They were crawling as if they were dogs obeying their master''s command with fright.


    Once the living room was empty except for Graham who was frozen in a seating position, slowly blood seeped out from the ceiling. The thick red liquid moved slowly and formed a sigil that he was very familiar with; it was the sigil of the Deity of the Tongue! Once the sigil fully formed, the suddenly felt a very heavy pressure on his body. It felt like a mountain was suddenly dropped right on top of him.


    "!!!!"


    Graham wanted to scream from the pain but he couldn''t open his mouth. His eyes had gotten dry from failing to close, but he didn''t even feel them because of the pressure. He stayed frozen midair without being able to lie down on the ground to minimize the force pressing down on him.


    Suddenly, he saw something coming out of the sigil and the moment he laid his eyes upon the descending figure, his eyeballs burst. Blood spurted out from the now empty sockets and Graham was overcome with great pain. He couldn''t even scream nor cover the wound; the only thing he could do was accept his fate.


    Chuckle...


    "Talmedunur..."


    There was a loud voice that sounded like thousands of war drums beating simultaneously. Graham''s ears drums burst right away as the vibration caused by the voice entered his ears. The pain was unbearable, but something was preventing him from fainting. He didn''t even know how he was still alive in that condition.


    Every inch of Graham''s body was in agony and he was screaming internally. It felt like forever and he was on the brink of losing his mind.


    "Grraaaaahhh!!!!"


    He jolted from the sofa and screamed as loud as he could to relieve the build-up pain. When he regained his senses, however, the pain was actually nowhere to be felt. His eyes and ears were also working normally and there was no blood coming out of them. Even the furniture in the room had returned to normal and he was sitting normally on the sofa.


    Pant... pant... pant...


    He was breathing heavily and tried to control his racing mind. Although the pain had gone, he was still in shock.


    "Val, was yours also this painful?" he muttered weakly.


    Graham let his body drop fully on the sofa and relaxed all the muscles in his body. He controlled his breathing and slowly regained the stamina while letting the drops of sweat on his forehead run down.


    His office still had a slight smell of essential oil from all the rituals he had performed. The hint of earthy and floral fragrance entered his nose and helped him concentrate better. The aroma also soothed his mind that was in a mess.


    Once he had calmed down fully, Graham began focusing on the new piece of knowledge that had entered his brain.


    "Finally, my abilities have evolved, Val. The limit to Order is fifteen times per day. If we count the two we have on Purloin, I can use it a total of seventeen times a day. It''s very useful. Its potency has also increased. I have to experiment later to see how much stronger it is now,"


    "My ability to talk to lingering spirits has not changed, but I will know if they are around without using divination now. It should be less troublesome to use this ability because of that."


    Graham then concentrated more.


    "Besides those two evolved abilities, just like you, Val, I''ve also got a brand new ability. I can manipulate fire now just with my words and it''s a separate ability from Order, so I don''t have to use up the limit of the latter. I guess this one is granted to me because I am also in contract with Fire Divination," he said while rubbing his chin.


    "I''ll call this ability Fire Manipulation. The limit is fifteen times per day as well,"


    He stopped stroking his chin and took out a lighter from his pocket. Graham hit the spark wheel and a gentle orange flame was created.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, ask that this flame float in the air!"


    The orange flame from the lighter slowly rose in the air and magically kept burning there. Graham put down his unlit lighter and stared at the floating fire in front of him. He touched it with his right index finger and it still burned him.


    "This is great. Let me try something else,"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, ask that this flame become bigger!"


    The tiny orange fire grew in size little by little until it matched the size that Graham had in mind; as big as a football. It burned brighter than before and illuminated the dark office room with its orange light.


    "With this ability, we should have more diverse options of attack. If the enemy is weak against fire, we''ll just use this, Val."


    Graham looked at his watch. It was only barely eleven at night, so he still had two more hours before one o''clock, the time when he could begin his ritual. He had bought all the necessary materials at the bazaar earlier, so now he only had to wait.


    "Let''s go out and test our new abilities some more. It will be reset after I sleep tonight anyway," he said.


    He focused on the football-sized flame in front of him and concentrated. Graham wanted to do divination first before actually leaving the house.


    ''Is it dangerous for me to go out tonight?''


    After he repeated the question enough times, an image slowly appeared in the center of the flame and became bigger and bigger. It showed an image of a piece of paper being burned. The paper very slowly turned entirely into ashes, which meant going out was dangerous. However, the rate at which it burned was slow, so the level of danger was still manageable.


    "It should be safe enough then. Let''s head out, Val. But we need to go far enough so if I encountered danger, they wouldn''t know I live nearby,"


    He then concentrated once more on the floating ball and repeated another question in his mind. He didn''t like to go out unprepared, so he would like to know the specific danger that he would meet.


    ''What kind of danger am I going to encounter tonight?''


    Another image began appearing in the floating ball of fire. It showed his figure standing alone in a dark and secluded alley with a ball fire floating over his shoulder. However, its size was comparably bigger than the football-sized one he was using right now. Suddenly, there were six people approaching him from one side of the alley. After that, the image disappeared slowly.


    Graham leaned back on the sofa and rested his chin on his right hand. His eyes were staring straight into the space before him, thinking.


    "I don''t think they are members of the Pale Society. They are usually clad in robes from head to toe. Maybe thugs? But why would they approach me even after seeing the floating fireball above me?"


    Graham didn''t have the answer, for now, so he could only let things flow.


    He finally sat straight and focused on the floating ball of fire in front of him and once again issued an order to it.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, ask that you follow me!"


    The floating ball got closer and hovered above his right shoulder. Graham could feel the warmth emitted by the flame and it also became a source of lighting for him. He was a bit worried that the fire would burn his hair or sofa, but it seemed to be safe so far, as long as they didn''t come in contact with the fireball.


    "Val, I wonder what this fireball uses as its fuel. If it burns magically, I''m guessing it uses up my stamina as its sustenance," he said thoughtfully and then got up. The ball of fire also adjusted its height so it was always floating at a certain distance.


    Graham Hymes put his rotten skull mask back on and left his apartment. He walked down to the street below that was already quiet and went towards Oosteinde. He wanted to test out his new abilities with actual targets, so he would use the pile of boxes that were usually present near dumpsters in the alleys. The six people that were going to approach him could also become his practice targets.


    His figure looked terrifying in the dark night, and people in the street quickly got away when they saw him. His costume alone was already intimidating, but now there was a floating mini sun above him, so they didn''t dare approach Graham who was walking quickly towards his destination.


    He reached a quiet and barren alley that fit his need not long after. There was no one there at all, and there were piles of boxes lying around near the many dumpsters. Graham walked to the center of the dark alley and stood there while focusing on his surroundings. The fireball floating above him gave enough lighting for him to see things well.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, ask that the ball of fire become bigger!"


    He used his fourth Fire Manipulation and the floating flame grew rapidly in size until it was the size of an exercise ball that had recently become popular. It couldn''t get any bigger than that, though. Graham felt slightly tired after that, which confirmed his theory that the fireball was using his stamina as its fuel.


    "It seems that''s the biggest that I can create, for the time being, Val," he muttered.


    Graham looked at the piles of cardboard boxes scattered around and then issued another order at his giant fireball.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, ask that you shoot those cardboard boxes!"


    Whoosh!


    Small fire bullets shot out from the big fireball and pierced through the air. There were a total of five fire bullets and they hit the boxes that Graham had designated as targets. The boxes caught on fire and it quickly spread to the adjacent boxes, creating a big flame. The floating fireball above his shoulder had become significantly smaller after shooting out five bullets, but still bigger than a football.


    To prevent the flames from spreading further and burning the nearby buildings, Graham quickly used Fire Manipulation on them.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, ask that the flames stop burning!"


    The raging fire suddenly became gentler and gradually shrunk in size until they disappeared completely. Smoke rose from where they had been and the burned cardboard boxes turned into ashes.


    Graham analyzed what had just happened.


    "Do you think I can put out a fire the size of a building, Val? I don''t think so, but if I could, I could just become a firefighter..." he said in amusement and smiled satisfiedly.


    "There must be a limit to what I can manipulate," he added thoughtfully.


    Suddenly, his spiritual intuition was triggered and he looked at the entrance of the alley where he came from. The things he had been expecting was happening.


    There were six people walking towards him arrogantly like they owned the place. Graham observed them carefully and decided that they were drunk. That was why they still approached him although he had a ball of fire floating above him.


    "Hey! Clown! The circus is over!" said the man who was walking at the spear of the group.


    Sounds of mocking laughter accompanied the man''s words.


    The man who had just spoken reminded him of Jacco but he looked even rougher. His muscular body covered only with a vest despite the cold night.


    "Man, he must be a dakloos. He must have found that costume in the dumpster over there, hahaha!" said another man who was very short for an adult.


    "Let''s have some fun then, boys!" said another man whose hair was spiky and whose ears were full of piercings.


    The six men looked arrogantly at Graham with their red alcohol-induced faces. They approached Graham slowly as if enjoying every second of it.


    "Val, they are hopeless..." muttered Graham.


    "Look, he is scared shitless! He starts talking to himself! What a loser!!" said another one from the group.


    "Do you always beat people up when you are drunk?" asked Graham loudly, then looked over his shoulder, "Val, alcoholism is a serious problem."


    "What did you say, punk? Who told you you could talk to us?" said the tallest man in the group.


    They were only several meters away from Graham now and was smiling sinisterly. They readied their fists to start beating him up the moment he was close enough.


    "It seems that it''s not their first time doing this. Let''s teach them a lesson then, Val," muttered Graham.


    His muttering to himself seemed to irritate the group of drunk men. They increased their pace and their faces looked like a tiger that was about to pounce at its prey.


    "Just shut up and enjoy our ''treatment''!" said the man with a vest, followed by laughter from the others.


    Graham shook his head in disapproval and then raised his head and focused on them.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, ask that the fireball burn these men''s clothes!"


    Whoosh!


    Five fire bullets shot from the fireball and hit five of the six-person group. The looked very surprised and when they realized what was happening, they quickly rolled on the ground while screaming frantically.


    "Fuck! I''m on fire! Fuck! Help!" said the tall man.


    "What the fuck is this! It''s not coming off!" shouted the man with the vest.


    The flame didn''t disappear although they were rolling wildly on the ground. It slowly burned off the clothes they were wearing.


    The only person who wasn''t on fire quickly charged at Graham with a fist ready to punch him.


    Graham focused on the man and quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop in your track!"


    He also wanted to test out how long his order would last against weaker targets, so it was the perfect opportunity for him. The man that was about to attack him was now frozen in place. He couldn''t move a muscle and stayed in that position without being able to do anything.


    Meanwhile, the five people rolling on the ground were now naked because their clothes had been burned to ashes. Strangely, their skin wasn''t burned. It was as if the fire was obeying Graham''s order and burned only what it was asked to. When they realized that the fire was no more, they quickly got up and covered their exposed private areas.


    "Fuck! What did you do?! Fuck!" shouted the men who had been wearing the vest. His expression was that of confusion and fear, the same as the other five. The arrogance that they were showing was now completely gone.


    Before they could do anything, Graham had quickly finished chanting again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to stop moving!"


    He chanted in quick succession four more times and all the six people there were now frozen. There were five naked people and one fully-clothed person who were not able to move at all.


    "Let that be your lesson," he said.


    The six people could only hear him without responding.


    "Now, Val, let''s do some cleaning up before we leave," said Graham meaningfully.

 133 Ranking Up

    The clock struck one after midnight. The fragrant smell of lilac and balsamic aroma of Storax oil filled the dark office room that was lightened up only by a single votive candle. There were also four unlit orange candles placed in the form of a square, situated on each corner of a parchment that was laid on the wooden desk. Besides the parchment was a glass container with silver liquid in it. Graham Hymes was sitting down with his focus on the sigil in front of him.


    The man wore a serious face that was illuminated by the gentle flame. There was no nervousness in his eyes; only conviction and a hint of excitement. He was breathing calmly, taking in as much air as he could with each inhalation. The detective''s lips were curled slightly in a frown as he cut his wrist with the sharp dagger.


    The cold metal made contact with his skin and with ease, the flesh was cut open. Pain came surging from the wound and red blood started pouring out to the ancient parchment below. Graham moved his hand systematically in order to redraw the sigil using his fresh blood. The floral scent of the oil helped him forget the pain from his wrist.


    The sigil of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation that he had to draw was rather complicated. Graham started from the outermost part, which was a square with two sides full of tiny twirls instead of straight lines. He gently and skillfully moved his hands over the scroll and let his blood rain down on it. The crimson liquid kept seeping into the sigil, however, making redrawing it more difficult.


    After he finished drawing the outer part of the sigil with difficulty, he needed to draw the ankhs on the left and right side of the ''square''. Graham again moved the cut part of his wrist over the section of the sigil he wanted to draw. Each flow of blood drained his energy, but he had been prepared for it; he had done a similar ritual twice already. The only difference this time was the parchment seemed to be absorbing much more of his blood.


    Graham was done with the crosses so now he had to draw the upside-down cross and a pole at the top, before closing the sigil with two outer circles. He did it slowly, bearing with the loss of blood all the while. He gritted his teeth and once the sigil was complete, he covered the wound on his wrist. Only in a matter of seconds, the wound had closed and the scar began disappearing.


    The sigil drawn in fresh blood emitted a sinister aura that Graham couldn''t explain. Although he didn''t feel any evil from it, there was still the ominous feeling that seemed to be drawing everything towards it. He carefully picked up the object that the member of the Pale Society left behind in his death and placed it in the center of the sigil.


    Orange flames began burning from the wicks of the candles. Staring at them gave off a feeling of peace and tranquility. Graham''s green eyes reflected the gentle flames as he was concentrating on them. He took a deep breath before continuing, for the next step of the ritual was the most painful.


    The night was silent. The only sounds Graham could hear was the clock ticking and his heart beating. Slowly, he began the summoning chant.


    "Thee I invoke, the One born from Fire,"


    "Thou art the master of Memories,"


    "Thou art the master of Transformation,"


    "Thee, that teachest Falsity and Trickery,"


    "Thee, that bringst Chaos and promotest Deceit,"


    "Come thou forth, and accept my offering,"


    "And grant me your power, worthy of thy name!"


    The moment he finished the chant, the fresh blood on the scroll turned black and the sinister aura became much stronger and thicker. It quickly enveloped the whole area in its pitch-blackness that swallowed everything, including the lights from the candles.


    Graham heightened all his senses but he felt no sensation. Even the chair he was sitting on seemed to have gone.


    It felt suffocating.


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, flames went out of the sigil and quickly spread around the darkness, creating a wall around him. With the flame, an intense feeling of pressure pushed him down to the ground. He couldn''t fight back, but he knew what was coming.


    Pain!


    His head was suddenly pounding. It felt like something was shaking it very hard, causing the brain to disintegrate little by little. It felt a thousand times worse than the headache he usually got from overusing his abilities.


    "Aaaaarrrghhh!!!!"


    He shouted as hard as he could to help him bare with the agony. His two hands held his head as hard as he could.


    Then, he smelled it. The calming aroma of the Storax oil penetrated the darkness and entered his nose. The balsamic scent helped him calm down, although it didn''t nullify the pain.


    Not long after, he felt that his brain had completely turned into mush, but strangely, he still had the ability to think and perceive pain. He knew it wasn''t over.


    What Graham had anticipated came after that. He felt two burning hands pinning his head to the ground while a burning iron was sawing it open.


    Creak... creak... creak... creak...


    He felt his skull being cut open slowly and his blood came pouring out.


    Plop!


    The cap of his skull finally came off, but the burning hands didn''t let go of his head. It kept pressing him down to the ground, preventing Graham, who was in great pain, from moving around.


    The brain juice came out of his skull along with the blood. After that, he felt something being placed there in place of his old brain. After the object was securely set, the cap of his skull was placed back and it magically healed.


    He panted and gritted his teeth. Graham knew that the agony was not finished.


    Suddenly, burning sharp knives sank into various parts of his body, including his face. The hot metal made an incision that was not deep, but it extended through the first layer of his skin. He felt the knife cutting the muscles and nerves on his face, which sent horrifying pain to his brain.


    Slowly, burning hands ripped the skin on his face violently, which gave him an indescribable amount of agony. He could feel his skin slowly being peeled off starting from his face all the way to his body. The numerous cuts all over him made the skin come off easily.


    He was being skinned alive!


    His nerve endings were being ripped apart one by one. His blood began pouring from every part of his body. The pain was unbearable, but Graham had to remain conscious through all of that.


    "Aaaarghh!!!!"


    He could only scream as loud as he could. Section by section of his skin was being peeled like an orange. The nerves that were torn to shreds sent a train of agony throughout his being.


    Once his body was completely skinless, he felt cold. He had completely gone numb to any sensation except the cold.


    It felt like forever to him before suddenly a warm layer of fresh skin was placed on his exposed body. The skin came in contact with his nerves and sent a stinging pain to his brain for a second before it subsided. The process was repeated for his whole body until he got a completely new layer of skin.


    Pant... pant...


    Graham knew that what he was experiencing was on a spiritual level, not physical. However, everything was as real as they could be. Although no scar would be left behind, the memory of what he had gone through would linger forever.


    Once the process was done, slowly, the wall of fire receded, and the darkness got sucked by the contract scroll on the desk. Graham, who was originally sitting in the armchair, was now lying on the floor. The shirt he was wearing was full of sweat, but there was no bloodstain.


    Graham tried to control his breathing and got up from the floor right away. The ritual had not been finished, so he had to end it properly. He blew out the candles one by one in reverse order from when he lit them. After that, rolled the parchment and he focused on the silver liquid on the desk.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order the mercury to seal the scroll!"


    The liquid inside the glass container flowed to the air and then wrapped itself around the rolled parchment on the desk, sealing it. Once it was sealed, the scroll burst into flames and the ashes entered Graham through his nostrils. There was a weak smile on his face despite the strange sensation.


    His contract ritual with a President was successful!


    Finally, he could relax. Graham sat in his chair and leaned back to rest. The pain that he had just experienced was greater than anything he had ever felt. It was even more pain888ful than his first two rituals.


    "Val, I did it!" he said. There was relief in his tone and a hint of pride.


    "This way, we can find the president scroll for you and we can protect ourselves better."


    Graham stared at the ceiling in the dark office that was illuminated by the light of a single candle. His mind was focused on the abilities he had just received from the Deity, as well as the way his body now felt.


    "Val, I feel slightly more powerful now and my body feels lighter. And as usual, after every ritual, I feel that a part of me is missing, but I cannot pinpoint what exactly," he paused. "I just hope it is not my humanity," he said jokingly.


    He then focused back on his new abilities and analyzed them.


    "I''m a Guile now, Val. As a Guile, I have the ability to plant thoughts in someone''s mind. But it will take time before the thoughts fully manifest. It''s not suitable in direct combat unless I am sure I can survive that long,"


    "I''ve seen this ability being used before when Luuk suddenly tried to commit suicide while fighting the members of the Pale Society. However, this ability can easily be removed if it''s detected soon enough," he said while stroking his chin.


    "It seems that I can use this ability on myself to remove negative effects, as was shown by that man. It''s a pretty fascinating ability I must say, Val. I am sure I can find many more ways to utilize it," he said with eyes full of excitement.


    "Let''s call this ability Implant, because I implant thoughts into the mind. Now, besides Implant, I can also read memories. It will make Implant even scarier because the false memory or thought I put into my enemy''s brain will be very subtle,"


    "However, Val, the main use of memory reading is for the Transformation ability that I have also received. We''ll call it just that. After reading someone''s memory, I can transform into a person in their memory with matching characteristics including the smell. The rest will be up to my acting ability, though. Right now, I can only store the appearance of a maximum of three people and I will need to make room if I want a new one. I''m sure the limit will be increased once I''ve pleased the Deity,"


    "The limit to my Guile abilities is ten per day as usual. But hear me out, Val. I''ve now become much stronger in terms of my previous abilities! My Fire Divinator abilities can be used for up to fifty times per day! That''s just like unlimited unless I truly become a fortune teller. Not to mention my divination is now much more powerful. My Supersight also enables me to see farther in the distance."


    "Besides that, my Mouth abilities can be used for up to twenty-five times a day now, and without chanting! I feel like a whole new person now, Val. Now I don''t have to think twice if I need to clean the house using Order. I can just do it easily. It''s also the same for my Fire Manipulation. I can probably call myself the master of fire now!" he said proudly.


    "Not to mention my S¨¦ance ability has now also improved as well as my ghost perception. I should probably use it more often now. Who knows what those lingering spirits might bring us, Val,"


    "Let''s do experiment tonight, Val. I can''t wait to use my new and improved abilities. Since the condition for reset is sleeping at night, not waiting for midnight, I can use up all of the abilities and have them reset once we wake up tomorrow morning," he said excitedly.


    Graham got up from the chair and looked at his coat that was hanging from the coat rack.


    "I order you to come here!"


    He issued an Order without chanting the Deity''s name and the coat magically shot at him. Graham skillfully caught it and put the coat on. He wore a meaningful smile on his face.

 134 A Powerful Pretender

    With his coat and the Gemini mask on, Graham left his apartment for the second time that night. The second-floor corridor of the building was lit only by three lightbulbs and one of them was flickering. The wooden floor beneath him looked old and frail and they would notoriously creak whenever someone walked on it.


    "I order you to stop creaking!"


    Graham said shortly and after that, he walked leisurely on the wooden floor panels. Somehow, they had stopped making the noise as if something was dampening them. Graham quickly made his way downstairs and left the building.


    The street that night was just like other nights; quiet. However, the difference this time was it was littered with food wrappings and other rubbish from the parade earlier in the day. The city''s cleaning service would usually get to work at around four in the morning before the rest of the population got up. That was why it was still very dirty.


    Graham felt like doing some good deeds today, so he walked up to a nearby trash bin and focused on it.


    "I order you to clean the trash nearby!"


    As he finished saying that, the orange trash bin started moving as if it was a robot and started gathering the litters with its body. However, it didn''t have any ability to suck the trash into its body, so it just pushed the trash to one spot, creating a pile of trash that would be easier to clean.


    "Well, that''s the best that I can do. It''s a shame there is no broom around, Val," muttered Graham.


    A section of the street was now relatively cleaner. However, his Order only affected a small area, not the whole street, and he didn''t want to spend his time doing the cleaning on his own.


    Graham walked to a spot behind a tree and took out his lighter. He quickly lit a fire and then focused on it.


    "I ask you to float," he said.


    The flame on the lighter magically rose up to the air and then he put the lighter back inside his pocket. He did so to save fuel because the fire was now burning his stamina instead. He focused on the floating tiny blaze and asked thought of a question in his mind. He didn''t need to repeat the question now because the moment he decided on a question, an image already began to form.


    Graham was trying to divine where he could get a transformation target that would be useful to him. In the flame in front of him, an image was showing a woman who was walking all alone wearing a thick black coat. Graham didn''t know who that woman was, but he knew where she was currently at. Judging from the buildings nearby, it was the way to Tuinstraat North, not far from there. After that, the image disappeared as slowly as it formed.


    "Val, I don''t know who that is, but let''s trust my divination. It''s never failed us until now after all,"


    He then concentrated on the tiny floating flame in front of him.


    "I ask that you follow me!"


    Not even five minutes later, Graham was already in the street that was shown in his divination. There were several people there, mostly walking north towards the residential street of Tuinstraat North. He observed the people carefully and located his target not long after. It was a woman with long, curly hair wearing a thick coat. Her face was not very beautiful, but she wasn''t ugly either.


    He hid in the shadows and approached his target carefully, without alerting the other people there. Once he was close enough, he quickly issued an Order.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    The woman wearing a thick coat suddenly stopped moving. She wanted to move her body but she couldn''t go against the Order; she couldn''t even look back. Fear struck her heart and cold sweat ran her forehead down to her cheeks.


    Staying in the target''s blind sport, Graham began chanting his Deity''s name quietly while concentrating on the kind of information he wished to get.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of this woman!"


    The woman heard Graham''s voice and became even more scared. However, anything she did to break free was futile. She couldn''t even scream for help.


    Meanwhile, Graham was now looking at a scene through the girl''s point of view. Everything was hazy and only a man''s figure in front of her was clearly visible. He could somehow make out that he was in the Police headquarters and the man he was looking at was the Police officer with a scar on his face. He was the man that had interrogated him for Naomi Bakker''s case and one of the Denuder targets that showed up in his divination!


    He felt like being underwater in that condition and was looking through a glass window at the scene outside without being able to interact with the objects. Through the woman''s eyes, he was watching scenes after scenes of her interaction with the scarred Police officer. They didn''t seem to be very close, but she knew the man enough to remember a lot about him.


    Graham observed the Police officer''s mannerisms and physical appearance carefully, remembering every single detail about him. His boosted memory from being a Fire Divinator helped him tremendously for this task. Besides that, the information about the man all according to the woman''s own knowledge had also entered his brain.


    Once he got the information that he needed, Graham severed his connection with the woman''s memory and the sight in front of him became normal. The woman was still unable to move and the other people in the street didn''t seem to notice anything. Before the effect of his first Order wear out, he quickly issued another one.


    "I order you to forget what has just happened!"


    The woman''s expression became blank. She still couldn''t move but her fear had disappeared. She just looked confused and lost. Graham quickly canceled his first Order and with that, the woman was free to move again. She continued what she was doing as nothing had happened at all.


    Meanwhile, Graham Hymes had retreated to a safe location and was now analyzing the information he just got about the Police officer with a scar. The tiny flame was floating by his side all this time.


    "Hmm, Val. That guy is apparently a Sergeant. The woman from before doesn''t seem to know about his Contractbound status, but she knows quite a lot about him. I think she has a crush on the guy."


    "Now let''s see. He goes by the name public name Rood, and his real name is Cornelis Haring. That''s a powerful name right there, Val. I wonder if his real name if public knowledge within the Police or our woman here is a stalker," he said while resting his chin on his right hand, rubbing it gently.


    "Anyway, let''s try to transform into him. His identity could come in handy for our missions in the future, so I''d better brush up my acting as the man,"


    Graham began concentrating on the image of the man in his mind and all the related information about him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Cornelis Haring!"


    Once he finished chanting, his skin suddenly felt itchi. He didn''t mind the itch because it was nothing compared to the pain of being skinned alive that he had felt earlier. His skin streched here and shrunk there to match that of his target. His body also streched to match his target''s height. His original height of 182 cm had gone up to about 185 cm.


    The whole transformation process took less than thirty seconds, and once it was finished, he analyzed the differences between the man and himself. Besides his height, a lot of other things were also different. The loafers that he was wearing were originally one size bigger, but now they felt too small. His ankle was also showing now because his pants had become too short.


    Besides the physical differences, he also noticed that the man''s smell was different from his own. He only noticed that because it was a kind of new smell for him. He was sure that it wouldn''t take long for him to start being desensitized to the new smell.


    "Val, this is a very strange sensation. It feels awkward to be wearing someone else''s skin. Now I wonder how I look," he said curiously and then took off the Gemini mask that he was wearing.


    There was no mirror around and Graham wasn''t carrying one in his pocket. However, for him that was not a problem at all. He focused on the tiny flame that was still floating beside him and ask a question in his mind.


    ''How do I look?''


    An image slowly formed from within the flame and got bigger and bigger with each passing moment. It was an image of him standing in a secluded alley. In the image, he could see now that he was taller than before and his hair color was now darker. His green eyes had turned the color deep brown and his gaze became more intimidating. On his face, there was a scar running from his cheek across his nose, emphasizing the man''s rough look. After that, the image gradually disappeared and the tiny flame returned to normal.


    "I look exactly just like him. I just hope the information that she had about him is accurate, given how distorted someone''s memory of people sometimes is. I think the memory is also supernaturally corrected by my ability, seeing as I look perfectly the same as the guy from my own memory," said Graham. His voice had also changed to match that of the owner of the appearance.


    "This disguise is almost perfect, Val. The rest is just up to my acting ability. Now let''s see," said Graham. He tried to mimic the way Rood would think; by crossing his arms in front of him.


    "The duration of the Transformation is two hours, but I can return to my original appearance at any time by using Order. Now, I wonder if we will retain this looks if we switch over," said Graham.


    He then walked over to the wall and sat there with his back against it. Graham closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.


    "I order myself to fall asleep!"


    Once he finished saying that, he suddenly felt very sleepy and went to sleep not long after. Valentine woke up just within seconds and got up from the spot. He looked at himself carefully and felt the difference in sensation from his usual self. He tried to jump and move around to feel how it would be.


    "G, I wake up!" he said.


    Once he felt something inside him waking up, he started muttering.


    "G, I am still in the appearance of this ugly man. I have your Order ability stored in Purloin, so I can also return to our original handsome self, but I''m sure you still want to do more experiment, don''t you?" he said thoughtfully.


    After that Valentine sat back down and quickly went back to sleep. It was something only Valentine could do without even using any ability. Graham woke up not long after and stood up on the spot. All the while, the tiny flame was still burning. It used so little stamina that he barely noticed it.


    "The result of the experiment is satisfactory, Val. We can make use of this loophole in my ability to our advantage," he said meaningfully.


    "Now, we don''t know what abilities that this man has, but we at least know he is a Denuder. I wonder if I can use divination to find out since I am basically this guy right now. And I know his full name on top of that," he said, crossing his arms.


    Graham focused on the tiny flame again and asked another question.


    ''What are Cornelis Haring''s Contractbound abilities?''


    The tiny flame burned brighter and an image gradually appeared in it. There, he saw the man with a floating text made out of fire above him. Graham read the text carefully.


    ''Cornelis Haring aka Rood. Currently in a contract with the Deity of Wit and Blood and the Deity of Illnesses and Shape-shifting. He was previously in a contract with the Deity of War and the Deity of Uncovering.''


    Once Graham finished reading the text, it slowly disappeared and the flame returned to normal.


    "Hmm... this guy is stronger than us. If we want to make our disguise even more belieable, we''ll need to copy a Gore''s ability, Val. But for now it isn''t a concern unless we need to infiltrate the Police. We''ll just be borrowing this appearance when we need a disguise," Graham said casually in the man''s voice.


    Graham tried to walk and jump around to get used to his new height. It felt clanky at first, but he got used to it in no time. Now he was also able to mimic Rood''s manner of walking according to the woman''s memory.


    "Val, since I already look like this, what do you say we do some Police work?" he said mischievously.

 135 A Night Journey of Fighting Evil

    "I ask that the flame disappear!"


    The tiny blaze that had been following him got dimmer and dimmer until it was completely gone. Graham then looked at his loafers that were now too small and focused on them.


    "I order you to match the size of my feet!"


    The loafers that he was wearing magically stretched and the material unraveled. They rapidly became bigger and longer to match his new shoe size, while at the same time became thinner to compensate for the lack of material. After all, Graham''s ability couldn''t produce things out of thin air.


    "This is very convenient, Val. I wish you could feel it as well. It reminds me of the time when we were in ''that place'' and we had to manually do everything. If I had been a Contractbound back then, I wouldn''t have got this big scar on my back either," he muttered in amusement.


    He then fixed his coat and pants so that they would look natural on his new appearance. He hid his Gemini mask under his coat, inside one of the biggest pockets that it had. After that, Graham quickly left the area and went to Grotemarktstraat. Although most establishments were already closed at that hour, there were some stores that are still open. His destination was one of the convenience stores there.


    The trip to the commercial street didn''t take him too long. The body that he was disguising as had a better build than his original, so moving fast was not a problem. He was now in Grotemarkstraat and currently, there were more people there despite the late hour. Wearing the Police Sergeant''s identity, he walked confidently and entered a convenience store called Tulpwinkel.


    "A good Police officer needs snacks before going into action, Val. What should we have today?" he said that, but he was already going to the bonbon section near the entrance, where various different brands of chocolate were on display.


    Graham decisively grabbed two bars of Dolcebambini with different variants. One was milk chocolate that had fruit jellies in it while the other one was the white chocolate one. He went to the cashier to pay and put the big-sized chocolate bars on the counter.


    "Oh, officer Rood! Long time no see!" said the cashier.


    There was no one else waiting in line to pay so Graham felt it wouldn''t hurt to engage in small talk with the young man in front of him. The cashier looked to be Luuk''s age and was probably working the night shift there to help pay for university. That was what Graham concluded after seeing the black circles around his eyes.


    "Yes, long time no see," he said shortly, mimicking Rood''s way of speaking based on the woman''s memory.


    "Wow, I didn''t know you like chocolate, Sir. Usually, you would only buy coffee here," said the cashier.


    "Yes. This is for the Mrs. She is pregnant and craving some chocolate right now," he answered decisively.


    Graham knew for a fact that the man was single. At least according to the woman''s memory of him. He just had the urge to play a little prank in revenge for interrogating him back then. It was all made up but as long as he looked confident, people would just believe him.


    "Congratulations, sir! When is the baby due?" asked the young cashier excitedly.


    "The doctor said in four months, perhaps," replied Graham shortly, and then asked, "How much?"


    The cashier checked the price in the register and then replied, "Thirteen pennings for two, Sir,"


    Graham had the urge to bargain, but it would be out of character, so he held back as best as he could. He took out some coins from his pants pocket and handed out the exact amount to the young cashier before leaving the store.


    "Val, remind me later to ask you to use anti-divination. Don''t want to get traced back because of that, do we?" he muttered quietly.


    He walked several meters from the store when he heard a faint scream in the distance. He concentrated on the scream to make out what it was saying.


    "Help!! Thief!!"


    It sounded like a woman had had her things stolen some meters away. Graham quickly ran in the direction of the voice and then he saw someone else wearing a hoodie running far ahead of him in the same direction. The hooded person was carrying a purse that obviously belonged to a woman. Graham increased his pace and tried to catch up with the hooded person.


    "This is the Police! Stop right there!" he shouted.


    The man heard him and ran even faster not to get caught. He seemed panicked because a Police officer was chasing him. He arrived at a junction and his options were to turn left or right, but instead, he chose to vault over a short fence without thinking twice. He did it smoothly but not fast enough.


    "That guy is not bad. It''s a good thing this body is fast," muttered Graham.


    He vaulted over the fence with ease and was able to catch up with the guy. When he was in the range of his ability, Graham quickly issued an order.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    The man suddenly froze in place without being able to do anything. Graham approached the immobilized man and took the stolen purse from him. After that, he left the man alone without doing anything to him.


    "Justice wins again, Val," said Graham proudly as he was jumping over the short fence.


    He landed safely on the ground and cleaned the dirt off his coat.


    "Although it feels weird that I''m stopping a thief since my very own partner is a supernatural thief. But right now I''m Sergeant Rood, so catching bad guys is my job,"


    Graham walked back to where he heard the scream and saw a middle-aged woman with a worried look on her face. He raised his hand that was holding her purse and she looked relieved right away. Her expression looked as if she just escaped death.


    "Here you go, Ma''am. Don''t get this stolen again," he said.


    "Thank you, thank you! May I know your name, kind man?" she said with gratitude. The face that was pale gradually got its color back.


    "It''s Rood. I''m with the Police," replied Graham.


    The woman then smiled and thanked him again. However, Graham saw a slight change in her expression for a split second when she heard him say he was from the Police.


    "Thank you again, sir Police. I''ll be taking my leave then," she said.


    The woman walked away from him calmly. Graham watched her back as she got farther and farther away from him and then muttered.


    "Did you see that as well, Val? She looked rather displeased for a second there. And anyway, why would a middle-aged woman like her be walking alone at this hour. I smell crime, Val."


    Graham walked in the same direction as the woman while maintaining his distance. He didn''t want her to know that she was being tailed.


    The woman turned left at the intersection so Graham quickly did the same not to lose sight of her. She then turned left again to a small street behind the buildings and hid in the shadow. Graham hid behind the corner and observed the suspicious activity happening in front of him intently.


    About five minutes later, a young man wearing a hood came from the opposite direction and approached the woman. His appearance was similar to the thief, but he was taller, so Graham knew it was a different person. They were whispering to each other and Graham couldn''t hear it because he didn''t have Valentine''s boosted hearing. He couldn''t really see clearly either because there was no light shining upon the two people.


    He had his suspicion, but his only option right now was to approach them. He didn''t bother using divination because it was not really necessary. Graham came running at them at a high speed and once in range, he quickly issued orders in quick succession.


    "I order you to freeze!" he said to the woman.


    "I order you to freeze!" he said to the man.


    The two people were caught by surprise and now they couldn''t do anything. The two people wore an expression of confusion and disbelief in their faces.


    Graham took the liberty to open the woman''s purse and saw small plastic containers with white powders inside. He knew right away that those were drugs. If those weren''t drugs, the two people wouldn''t be doing the transaction in such a suspicious spot.


    "A drug dealer? No wonder you were scared to death when your purse was stolen," he said condescendingly.


    "Now, Val, what should we do? We can''t call the Police from this place, and my Order won''t last until they come," he said while crossing his arms.


    Graham looked around the small street and saw a dumpster near there. He walked towards it and began dumpster diving to search for something usable. The putrid stench of rotten food penetrated his nose and stuck to his clothes but he didn''t mind it; he could use Order later to get rid of it.


    It took him quite some time to finally find what he was looking for. He found an unused coat there that had vomit stains all over it. Graham put the coat on the ground and quietly said.


    "I order you to tear apart!"


    Rip!


    The fabric that made up the coat started unraveling and it became the form that Graham had in mind. Now the coat looked like long pieces of cloth that he could use as ropes. Before using them, he tied them up first to make them longer. There were a total of four pieces of cloth in front of him that looked sturdy enough.


    "Val, I wonder why the Order worked. Maybe because the coat is not a living being, so ordering it to harm itself works. We know for a fact that ordering someone to directly cause harm to himself will not work..." he muttered.


    Graham picked up the makeshift ropes and walked back to the two immobilized people. He then manually tied them with the ropes he just made with their hands behind their backs. He also tied their legs tightly to make sure they couldn''t run away. Graham left the woman''s purse open on the ground next to them as evidence for the Police later.


    "You two stay put. My people will be here soon," he said threateningly.


    After making sure everything was alright, he walked away from the two people and exited the back alley. He then looked at his coat that smelled like trash and issued an Order.


    "I order the stench sticking to my clothes to go away!"


    As he said that, the smell seemed to get unstuck and rose in the air before disappearing. He now smelled like normal Rood instead of homeless Rood.


    Graham went back to the main street and stopped the first person that he saw.


    "Sir, excuse me," he said politely.


    The man stopped and looked at Graham in confusion. There was a slight fear in his expression which Graham understood. It was late at night and a tall man with a scar on his face suddenly stopped him. If he were the man, he would also have his guard up.


    "Y-yes?" said the man hesitantly. He seemed to want to get away but Graham''s tall body was blocking him.


    Graham looked at the confused man right in the eyes and then started speaking in a coercive manner.


    "I need you to report to the Police right now that there are two people caught in action dealing drugs. It''s important that you do it without telling them about me,"


    The man looked lost but then nodded slowly. After that, Graham left as the man ran in the opposite direction.


    "Val, it feels nice to be on the side of justice once in a while. I think I have it in me to fight evil," he said, "But it feels ironic since evil is our own partners."


    "I wonder what Luuk and Jacco are doing right now. I think Luuk is stealing from people as usual while Jacco is busy beating up people. It is weird that I am the only one among us three who is catching bad guys right now," he said in self-mockery.


    Graham quickly walked to another secluded spot and sat down on the ground with his back against the wall. There was currently no one around so it was the perfect place for him.


    "Val, it is your turn now. Make sure everything can''t be traced back to us, will you?"

 136 Encroaching Danger

    "Sergeant Rood! Congratulations on busting the drug dealing case!"


    Rood was walking in the Headquarters towards his office when suddenly another officer stopped him and congratulated him.


    "What?" Rood replied but didn''t pay more attention to it.


    He kept walking in the orange corridor past several glass windows where he could see activities inside. Normal people wouldn''t be able to hear anything that was happening inside each room, but he, with his boosted hearing, was able to, to some extent. He went past them and entered the office on the farthest right that was painted in all red.


    Rood sat down in his armchair and looked at the document in front of him for a second before putting them down again. He didn''t seem to be in the mood to be doing paperwork right now. His eyes looked tired and there were black circles around them from the lack of sleep. His hair looked like it was combed back in a hurry.


    Knock! Knock!


    A man with a friendly face was knocking on his office door. Rood gestured and the man let himself into the red office. He then sat on the chair opposite Rood, leaning back against the backrest.


    "Morning, Rood. Didn''t sleep enough last night?" asked the man with a voice that was full of genuine concern.


    "No. I cannot really sleep while we haven''t caught a single criminal like this. What about you, Groen?" Rood said with a tired voice.


    "I could sleep peacefully enough," he smiled, "I think the Deity I''m in contract with makes me unable to worry too much,"


    Rood leaned back on his chair.


    "Must be nice. How''s the Mrs and youngling?" asked Rood.


    "They are doing fine. Evie''s birthday is coming up next month and I''ve book the day off work. I just hope the investigation won''t make me have to go to work that day..." replied Groen jokingly.


    "Then let''s work hard and solve this case before next month. Her birthday is the end of October, isn''t it?"


    "Yes. She''s been wanting to go to a water park and I''ve always promised her. But you know, I always had to cancel my promises. This time, I''ll have to make sure I go or she will hate me forever, haha" he smiled widely. "When are you going to find yourself a partner?"


    Rood looked surprised by the question. He frowned.


    "Why did you suddenly ask that? I''m not into romantic relationships... and besides, I''m not like you who can manage time to be with family," answered Rood defensively.


    Groen smiled meaningfully.


    "Anyway, let''s head out for a minute. I need coffee. The coffee in this building is just horrible," said Rood, changing the topic.


    Groen smiled and nodded.


    The two men got up from their chairs and left the office. They walked down the corridor to the main lobby of the Police Headquarters leisurely.


    "You''re welcome..." answered Rood shortly and then walked away.


    "No wonder you didn''t sleep enough. You were busy catching a drug dealer, eh?" asked Groen jokingly. He knew his partner didn''t know what was happening from his expression.


    "Shut up. I really don''t know what is going on. I''ll have to ask Oranje or Paars later for divination," replied Rood with annoyance. He didn''t seem to like being in the dark.


    "Why don''t you just ask that guy just now?" asked Groen.


    Rood raised his eyebrows without stopping his pace.


    "I can already deduce it to some extent. Last night I somehow caught a drug dealer. That''s what he will most likely tell me. I don''t need to know that. I need to know who is behind this," he replied sternly.


    The two Police Sergeants left the Headquarters through the main glass doors that looked thicker than walls. The entrance was made that way so people inside could see who was coming. It was a precaution against suspicious individuals trying to slip into the building, although nothing like that had ever happened yet.


    Rood and Groen walked to the parking lot where the former parked his motor carriage. They both got into the black metal vehicle and Rood drove away.


    "Where are we going to get coffee? The usual place?" asked Groen.


    "Yes, the usual. I don''t need anything fancy. Just the canned one is good enough-- as long as it is better than the Joe Dirt that they are serving here."


    The trip from the Police Headquarters on Openbarestraat to the closest convenience store in Grotemarktstraat didn''t take long. It was just one street away. Rood and Groen arrived at their destination less than three minutes later and parked the motor carriage on the side of the street where other people''s motor carriages were.


    It was still six in the morning, but the street was already busy. Rood and Groen, who were wearing their blue Police coats, caught the attention of the passersby, especially since the former had a giant scar running across his face. He looked intimidating in the eye of commoners.


    The two men walked to the convenience store called Tulpwinkel and went directly to the canned drink sections at the end of the aisle. Rood chose the coffee brand ''Meneer''s Liking'' while Groen just picked up a can of cold orange juice. They both went to the cashier to pay and the young male cashier looked at him in surprise.


    "Back again so soon, officer Rood!" said the cashier in a friendly tone.


    Rood raised his eyebrows while Groen observed the two of them carefully.


    "I haven''t come here in a while. What are you talking about?" asked Rood inquisitively.


    The cashier now looked confused.


    "But you came here last night. You even bought chocolate for your pregnant wife!" said the young man.


    Groen looked at Rood''s confused expression and couldn''t hold back his laughter.


    ...


    In a house without any furniture except a single sofa, a chair and a table, two people, a man and a woman, were sitting in the dimly lit room. The sun had just risen and some of its sunlight was starting to penetrate into the house through the windows. There were piles of newspapers on the table near the sofa that looked like they were stacked from the most recent to the older ones.


    The man was wearing glasses and his red hair was tied in a bun. There were freckles on his face whose skin was fairer than snow. He was sitting leisurely with his legs crossed. His light blue eyes were staring at the scenery outside.


    The woman who was sitting on the sofa next to him looked indescribably scary despite her modest outfit. Her long black hair was let loose and fell all the way to her back. The woman''s plain white dress that fitted her body tightly emphasized her curves, but with her frightening aura, no men would dare approach her. Her sharp nails looked like they could easily tear flesh into shreds.


    "How should we go about finding our target, eh, Fright?" asked the woman. Her voice sounded like there was a nail stuck in her throat.


    "We need to investigate first where he got his contract scroll from. As a former shroud myself, I can say that we are extremely rare. With some investigation, I am sure we can find out. But it will still be extremely difficult," replied Fright.


    "How are we even sure that the Shroud exists? It might have been the Police that killed those guys," asked the woman.


    "Because divination didn''t work. And also, if it were the Police, it should have been reported in the news. Remember when Mr. Tenebrosity made a whole building collapse? The Police would be more than glad to announce they have caught the perpetrators," explained Fright.


    "That makes sense," replied the woman, "Then why is the Shroud killing our members?"


    "I believe the Shroud killed our members to get their scrolls, so it is safe to assume he was still an Earl rank at the time. Since they could find Fade and Shade''s whereabouts, his other Deity must be Fire Divination or he knows someone like that. That''s the only Deity of that rank with divination ability," explained Fright.


    The woman nodded but then looked confused.


    "How are you so sure? They might have got the help of an Astrologer," replied the woman.


    "It doesn''t matter what the title of the divinator is, but as long as we can be sure that our Shroud got the help of a divinator or is a divinator himself, we can find him," replied Fright.


    "I get what you''re saying, but how is knowing that helps us?" she asked curiously.


    "Fear, think about it. If we can''t find the Shroud directly, why don''t we just find the Fire Divinator instead? Or the Astrologer if you would," said Fright with a meaningful smile.


    Fear''s expression looked like something inside her had just turned on the light and now she could see clearly.


    "You are right! A Shroud''s activities are almost impossible to trace, but a Divinator is easier to find. We can just ask around to see if there is anyone who suddenly has the ability to solve problems easily. Or we can just find private detectives. That''s usually the favorite job of Divinators, right?" said Fear almost proudly.


    "Yes, that''s exactly it. Although it will still be tricky. We don''t know where they died or where they were last seen. And Sloten is a big city. There must be many private detectives around. We should start with the ones who recently got famous first. And also, we should investigate mysterious deaths within the last six months. One of them must be the former Shroud where our target got our scrolls from," said Fright. He then turned his attention to the pile of newspapers near Fear.


    Fear looked at where Fright was looking at and then looked disappointed.


    "You want me to read these newspapers, don''t you?" she asked with suspicion.


    Fright''s lips curled widely into a creepy smile.


    "Of course. Meanwhile, I''ll be asking people around to find our detective. Can''t have you do that; you''ll just scare those people away. And besides, the detective''s name might have even been featured on one of the news articles," answered Fright meaningfully.


    Fright then stood up and stretched his body a little before leaving Fear who had already begun reading the newspaper from the one on the very top.

 137 A Strange Landscape

    In a foggy grassland where there was a single dead tree standing tall in the middle, the was no sign of life except for one man. He was sitting on the ground that was because of the morning dew and his back was leaning against the ashen grey tree. He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of blue denim pants that looked like they had seen a lot of fieldwork. His eyes were closed and the expression on his face was peaceful and tranquil.


    Slowly, the man opened his eyes and his tranquil expression was replaced by that of confusion. The man slowly got up and wiped his now went denim pants and began to look around. He tried to touch the fog surrounding him but felt nothing; not even the usual cold sensation.


    The man couldn''t see far because of the fog, and there didn''t seem to be anything in the distance either. There was no shadow hiding behind the thick layer of fog. The only thing he could see was grasses with water from condensation on them and a tall leafless tree standing mysteriously in the middle.


    Looking at the tree, the man''s expression showed a slight hint of nostalgia but was quickly replaced by the look of fear for a split second and then calm. The tree with numerous branches gave off an aura of mystery and gloom. It''s ashen grey trunk looked to be a diameter of more than two meters and it was standing probably about twenty-five meters tall. There were a total of thirteen biggest branches that split into countless smaller ones. He concentrated on the tree but what he was expecting didn''t happen.


    "Huh?"


    Suddenly, there was a voice coming from behind the wall of fog. The man looked at the shadow that was approaching and slowly, a figure of a man revealed itself. It was someone with amber-colored hair and green eyes. His chiseled face and his prominent features looked exactly like the man who had just woken up from under the tree. Even the white shirt he was wearing was the exact same as the man; only the pants were different. The man from the fog was wearing a pair of cotton pants instead of denim.


    "Val, is that you?" said the man who walked from behind the fog. His voice was deep but there was a slight charm in it. It was the voice of someone who would often choose his words carefully.


    The man who was standing under the dead tree became even more confused, but his expression didn''t show any changes this time.


    "G?" he said. His voice was deep and cold, but it showed familiarity nonetheless.


    "Yes, it''s me. Where are we?" asked the man from the fog who turned out to be Graham.


    Valentine shrugged.


    The two identical men were standing under the giant tree side by side. Except for their pants and eye color, everything about their physique was the exact same.


    "This has never happened before. We''ve never met eye to eye like this," said Graham.


    "We have... actually," replied Valentine, "But I don''t remember when..."


    "Yes! You are right!" Graham snapped his fingers in revelation, "How could I forget something so important!"


    "Do you remember it?" asked Valentine. He only vaguely remembered meeting Graham directly but everything about the event eluded him.


    "Yes, but strangely, only parts of it. It was when we were little-- I say, probably eight? It was at night when we first met and you were crying your eyeballs out for some reason. I think it was the last time I''ve seen you cry, in fact," replied Graham. He was stroking his chin gently.


    "I cried? Why can''t I remember?" said Valentine.


    Suddenly, his expression became that of someone in pain. He pressed his right hand against his temple gruntled.


    "Are you alright, Val?" asked Graham in concern. He had quickly come to Valentine''s side to help him.


    "*panting* I''m okay now..." he said while breathing heavily, "I... remember that I was very sad that night-- devastated. That''s why I was crying. But I can''t remember the reason... Why was I crying again?" he looked at Graham with expectation.


    "I... don''t know, Val. I can''t remember anything else about it except the fact that it was our first meeting and you were crying. We''ve been inseparable since then, but that''s all I know,"


    Valentine''s expression had returned to his cold and calm self. He looked at Graham with familiarity and gratitude.


    "Why do you think we''re here? This place feels nostalgic... and sad at the same time. I don''t recognize it, though," said Valentine.


    Graham stood up straight and put both hands behind his back. He observed the dead tree once more.


    "Same here, to be honest. I don''t know this place at all, but I know deep down it''s related to us. This has never happened before. I think it might be related to the fact that I am a President rank now," concluded Graham.


    "You''re right. I think if I''ve become a President rank as well, we might learn something else about this place," said Valentine.


    Graham then looked at Valentine''s cold blue eyes.


    "Do your abilities work, Val? I''ve been trying to use my Supersight but it won''t activate," asked Graham curiously.


    Valentine shook his head.


    "No. I''ve also tried to use Reveal on this tree but nothing came up. This place seems to lock away our Contractbound abilities," replied Valentine.


    "It indeed seems to be the case, Val," said Graham thoughtfully, "Anyway. it feels nice to be able to talk to you face to face like this. Normally, I cannot hear your replies, so I just have to assume what you would say. I cannot read your minds either," he added with a smile.


    Valentine smiled a little.


    "That is true," he replied shortly, but his tone was full of closeness.


    "So what do you think about Luuk and Jacco, Val?" asked Graham. He put his hands inside the pockets of his pants and leaned back against the tree.


    "They''re alright. It''s easy to work with them. They do what they''re told without questions," replied Valentine.


    Graham let out a chuckle.


    "You sounded like a mafia boss," he said jokingly.


    After that, his expression turned serious.


    "Val, do you think it is alright involving them in all this? I know they became Contractbounds not because of us, but sometimes I feel bad making them kill others for their scroll," said Graham with a slight regret in his voice.


    "G, we just do what we must. If they want to be stronger, that''s what they must do," replied Valentine coldly.


    "You''re right... I guess," said Graham shortly.


    "What do you say we go exploring a little bit?" suggested Valentine.


    Graham nodded.


    "Sure. Let''s go," he replied eagerly.


    The two identical men then walked away from the tree in a random direction. They couldn''t really tell which way was which since everything was covered in thick fog. Even the sun wasn''t visible in that place. They could only see the sunlight but not the burning star itself.


    "Let''s go this way," said Valentine.


    Graham nodded and followed him close behind. They walked slowly and carefully in case the terrain changed. So far, they had been walking on wet grass that had fresh morning dew on it. The gentle crunching sound was the only sound they heard. Although they were only wearing thin shirts, they didn''t feel cold, being surrounded by fog like that.


    "Where do you think we''d end up in if we could even go anywhere in this foggy place?"


    "I have no idea, honestly, Val, but if this place is really connected to us, probably somewhere we know?" replied Graham.


    They kept walking and walking until they saw a shadow of something hidden behind the thick layer of white fog.


    "That looks like a house, Val," said Graham.


    "It does," replied Valentine.


    The two men increased their pace and slowly, the house in the distance came into their view. It was a two-story house in the middle of a field with trimmed grass. The surrounding area looked like it was farmland, but there were no crops planted. The house itself was made of bricks and was painted white with a black roof. The house in front of them was big in comparison with houses in the city. It seemed that a family of seven could live there comfortably without fighting for space.


    Graham was observing the house and also Valentine''s expression.


    "Doesn''t this house look familiar, Val?" he asked.


    Valentine was standing there motionlessly. The sight of the house seemed to have evoked something within him, but looking at his expression, it appeared that he couldn''t really figure out what it was.


    "It does look familiar. I cannot remember why, though. Could this be our childhood house, G?" said Valentine in doubt.


    "It might be, but judging from your expression, you seem to be more familiar with this house than me. I only vaguely feel familiarity coming from this building and nothing else," replied Graham.


    "That is odd..." replied Valentine.


    "Let''s try entering the house then. I''m sure we''ll remember more things if we see the inside," said Graham.


    Valentine nodded slowly and the two of them started walking towards the house. They walked across the big field of grass quickly.


    "Huh?"


    No matter how quickly they walked, the house didn''t get any closer. It stayed the same size and distance. They couldn''t get near it even after walking for several minutes.


    "This is weird, G," said Valentine.


    He began running as quickly as he could, but the house stayed far. He didn''t get anywhere near it despite his effort. It didn''t feel like he wasn''t moving, but it felt like the house just stayed the same distance away from him the whole time.


    Graham quickly caught up to Valentine after a while once the latter had stopped running.


    "It seems we cannot enter this house right now," concluded Graham.


    "Do we have to get more powerful first for us to proceed?" said Valentine. He was now standing and watching the house from the same distance as when they first came.


    "It appears to be the case," replied Graham.


    "Then let''s go somewhere else. There is nothing we can do here," said Valentine decisively.


    Graham nodded and the two of them continued their journey. They went to the right from the house and kept walking through the thick fog covering the whole area. Slowly, a shadow of a tall tree appeared in front of them and they recognized the tree right away. They kept walking until they could see the tree behind the fog.


    "We''re back here. How peculiar," said Graham as he was observing the massive dead tree in front of them. He was positive that it was the very same tree with thirteen big branches.


    "Maybe we should have walked to the left," said Valentine.


    They walked in the same direction where the house was and arrived there not long after. The big white house was still there and they still couldn''t get near it. This time, they walked towards the left side of the house.


    "Do you think we''ll end up near the tree again this time?" asked Graham.


    "I don''t know, but we can only try," replied Valentine.


    They kept walking and walking and then disappointment came upon them. The shadow of the tall tree had once again made its appearance before them. They walked farther and ended up under the ashen grey tree one more time.


    "That concludes it, Val. We can only access the tree and the house for now. Although, we can''t actually enter the house," said Graham.


    "That indeed seems to be the case," replied Valentine shortly. He was now leaning back against the tree.


    Graham took a spot beside Valentine and sat on the ground with his back against the tree as well.


    "I wonder what kind of places we''ll find here if we''ve gotten stronger," he said.


    Valentine crossed his arms.


    "What kind of place is even this? How did we end up here in the first place?" asked Valentine.


    Suddenly, the fog around them became much thicker and began to move. It blocked their vision completely and now they felt lost in the sea of fog.


    "Val! Where are you?!" shouted Graham.


    His voice was swallowed by the white fog and disappeared. There was no reply either from the other person. He felt alone for the first time and he felt suffocated. His body couldn''t feel any sensation either from the fog surrounding him, and the absolute silence was nerve-racking.


    "!!!"


    Suddenly, Graham felt like falling and opened his eyes. He got up from the bed and sat there while breathing heavily. After calming down, he looked around and found that he was in his bedroom and the sun had risen; the clock on the wall showed nine o''clock in the morning. The street below was busy as usual with the sounds of vehicles driving by and people chattering.


    Graham looked at himself curiously. He was still wearing the same clothes that he had put on the night before; a simple brown t-shirt and his pajama pants instead of a white shirt and cotton pants like before. There were drops of sweat on his forehead, so he wiped them with the back of his hand.


    "So, Val, that world takes place in our dream," he muttered, but there was no answer. He had come back to the real world.


    "I wonder how we can enter that foggy world again," he said.

 138 Wearing a Disguise

    Ding... dong...


    The bell to the Hymes Detective Agency was rung. Graham Hymes quickly picked up the black lighter that was lying on the table next to the bed and lit a fire. He wasn''t expecting any guests today, so he would like to see first who was at the door before answering it.


    In the flame small flame before him, there was an image of an old gentleman in a suit. He looked to be in his late fifties but his figure still emanated vigor. The elegantly dressed man was waiting patiently behind the door for the owner of the place to open it for him. On his right hand was a brown briefcase that looked expensive. Judging from the gestures of the man, he wasn''t in any way impatient.


    "Who might that be, Val?"


    Graham didn''t recognize the old man. He might be a client, but Graham still wanted to be safe. He concentrated one more time on the flame that was still burning.


    ''Is it dangerous for me to meet the old man at the door?''


    The flame once again formed an image that gradually became bigger and bigger. Instead of showing the scene, as usual, it just showed a piece of paper being burned. The fire consumed the paper slowly and stopped halfway, which indicated a negative response; it wasn''t dangerous to see the old man.


    Graham quickly went to his office and put a coat on. He didn''t want to look like a savage in front of the well-dressed client that was about to enter his office. He unlocked the door and greeted the person behind it.


    "Good morning," said Graham in a polite manner.


    "Good morning. Mr. Hymes?" replied the gentleman. His voice showed his experience and dignity. He seemed to be a person from a good upbringing.


    "Yes, I am Graham Hymes. Please, do come in,"


    Graham made a gesture with his hand to let the guest in and then closed the door once the man entered his office. He then showed the man where to sit while he himself sat in his comfortable office chair.


    "Excuse me," said the old man as he entered the office.


    He hung the top hat that he was wearing on the coat rack and sat on the chair that Graham had provided. He then placed the briefcase carefully next to him on the wooden floor.


    Graham observed his guest carefully without staring. His Supersight allowed him to catch the man''s characteristics quickly without having to look at him for too long, so he wouldn''t appear impolite. The old man in front of him was sitting straight but relaxed. His chin was raised without looking arrogant. It was apparent that he had had a lot of practice in manners and etiquette.


    In front of the refined gentleman, Graham felt like a child who was just learning how to conduct himself.


    "Is there anything I can help you with?" asked Graham, trying to sound as confident as he could in that situation.


    "Yes indeed. But first, it is only basic manner to introduce myself. I am Frits Melchers, a good friend of Ruben Arnaud. I have heard of your prowess from him, in fact,"


    Graham raised one eyebrow, not because of what Frits Melchers had said, but because of his manner of speaking. He looked over his shoulder and muttered.


    "Val, he puts the stresses in weird places. That''s how a real gentleman should be!"


    Frits Melchers didn''t show a change of expression. He kept maintaining his polite smile.


    "I have also heard of your... peculiar habit from dear Ruben. I find it rather... ''intriguing'', Mr. Hymes," he said without any mockery in his tone.


    Graham let out a genuine smile.


    "Then I''ll take that as a compliment," he said, trying to mimic the way the man in front of him spoke.


    Frits Melchers'' smile became wider. He seemed to be truly amused. He crossed his left leg on his right leg and then replied.


    "Mr. Hymes, I must say that you are a pleasant company even though we have only chatted for less than five minutes," he said.


    "I don''t deserve such praise, Mr. Melchers," replied Graham.


    He then looked over his shoulder again.


    "Val, I think it is ungentlemanly to jump straight to business. Should we engage in small talk more?"


    "No need, Mr. Hymes," Frits Melchers smiled meaningfully.


    Graham then leaned back in his chair to get more comfortable; he was ready to hear the man''s request.


    "Then let us get down to business in that case, Mr. Melchers," suggested Graham.


    "Just call me Frits, please. It is just between us, so there is no need for formality. Besides, you helped our Ruben a lot, so that makes you my friend as well," he replied.


    "Then in that case just call me Graham," he smiled.


    Frits Melchers put his left down and crossed his right leg on it. It seemed that his left leg had gone tired.


    "It would be my pleasure. So, Graham, I have come here to ask for your assistance, if it is possible."


    "Tell me about it," said Graham, encouraging.


    "Well then. Please hear out my story. I have a company, you see, Graham, that I built with my sweat and blood. It is my pride and joy and I have worked hard for it. However, just like any other company, there will be people who do not want us as a competition. Someone was spreading nasty rumors about my company and it threatens our integrity," explained Frits Melchers. His tone had become serious.


    Graham rested his chin on his hand.


    "So you want me to find this ''person'' who''s been tarnishing your name?" he asked.


    The man in front of him shook his head gently.


    "No, not at all. We have already determined who is behind all of that. What we lack, however, is conclusive evidence. If you can find it for us, we can bring the culprit to court,"


    Graham nodded in understanding.


    "Then in that case, can you tell me the name of the culprit behind the rumors,"


    Frits Melchers picked up his briefcase and opened it gently. He took out a brown envelope and placed it on the desk.


    "Everything is inside. If you manage to find a piece of evidence that we can use in court, I will make sure to pay you handsomely," he smiled, and then said heavily, "This whole drama is too much for my old body. I just want to resolve this quickly and move on with my life, you see?"


    Graham nodded passionately.


    "I understand, Frits. I will find that evidence for you," he said as he was opening the envelope.


    Inside the brown envelope, there was a photo of a man and a document with the detail regarding the person. The name of the person in question was Konrad Dykman. He was apparently an ex-employee and was now working at a rival company as a manager. The document listed detailed information about Konrad, including his current address.


    Graham turned to Frits Melchers and asked,


    "How did you know it was this man who spread the rumors about your company?"


    "I knew you were going to ask that," he smiled, "The man himself came and declared that to us. However, no matter what we did, we could not find evidence of his action," explained Frits.


    "I understand," responded Graham, then muttered quietly, "But Frits, I will need your help first to solve this case,"


    Graham looked at the man right in the eye and said whisperingly.


    "I order you to fall asleep..."


    Frits Melchers let out a big yawn that he covered with his right hand. He suddenly felt very sleepy and then fell asleep not long after. His desk was resting on the office desk with his hands as a cushion.


    Graham looked at the sleeping old gentleman whose hair had mostly turned grey.


    "He fell asleep pretty quickly, Val. Is it my ability that has gotten much stronger or he is just very tired," he muttered.


    He then concentrated and focused on the specific information that he needed.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of Frits Melchers!"


    Graham suddenly felt like he was underwater and was watching through a glass window a scene that was unfamiliar to him. There was a man whose face was in the photo that Frits had given him. The scene seemed to be the termination day of Konrad Dykman from Frits'' company. The expression of the fired man was twisted and full of vengeance.


    The scene changed to many others when Frits had interacted with Konrad. Graham memorized the details of the man''s characteristics and also mannerisms. Besides the scenes, there was also information transferred to his brain about Konrad based on what Frits himself knew. Once he was done, Graham returned to reality.


    "So he was fired for embezzlement of the company''s money. How is someone like that appointed a manager?" muttered Graham, "And besides, why didn''t Frits just get him arrested for his crime. Or is it because he couldn''t get any evidence for that either?"


    He had gotten what he needed from Frits, so he issued another command to wake him up; he wasn''t sure if just shaking the man would have any effect since he was sleeping because of his Order.


    "I order you to wake up!"


    The sleeping Frits slowly got up and rubbed his eyes. He looked surprised and confused at the same time.


    "Oh my, I apologize, Graham. Where are my manners? I promise I did not mean to fall asleep like that," he said apologetically.


    "It is fine. I''m sure you were just tired. Maybe you should get some sleep once you are home," suggested Graham innocently.


    "That might be what I need. Well then, I will let you work in peace. Just call my number when you have any update; it is on my business card inside the envelope," said Frits.


    "Will do,"


    The two men got up from their chairs and Graham showed his guest the door. Frits Melchers picked up his top hat from the rack and put it on before stepping out of the office.


    "I will be looking forward to hearing from you, Mr. Detective. Good morning," said Frits as he left.


    Once his guest was gone, Graham closed the door and locked it. He hung his coat on the rack before walking to his bedroom to stand in front of a mirror.


    "I''ve been curious about what I look like during the Transformation process. Let''s see it for ourselves, Val," he said.


    He concentrated on the image of Konrad Dykman that he got from the old gentleman''s memory and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Konrad Dykman!"


    Graham''s whole body became itchy and he shrunk a little to match the target''s height. The fat around his belly increased slowly and his skin tone turned paler. His nose became a little longer and his green eyes turned bright brown. His already thick eyebrows became bushier and the color became blonde, just like his new hair. A small mole grew under his lower lip just right on the right side of his chin. Just in under thirty seconds, Graham''s appearance had completely changed.


    Out of curiosity, he took off his t-shirt and looked at his new body. Konrad''s skin was even paler under his clothes and his body was typical of a white-collar worker; his belly was big and his chest was flabby. Graham had done the same the night before while he was still wearing Rood''s appearance and noticed that the man''s body was ripped. It was a total contrast to the body that he was wearing right now.


    "I know I''m also curious about it, Val, but let''s respect Konrad''s privacy just this once," he muttered in amusement.


    Graham sniffed his own body and noticed that the man''s natural scent wasn''t as strong as Cornelis Haring aka Rood. However, he still could notice the difference from his own body smell. Once he had finished ''analyzing'' his new appearance, he opened his wardrobe to get dressed.


    "Now, what does this man usually wear?" he said and then concentrated on the memory he got from Frits.


    Graham picked up a pink shirt that was buried deep underneath a pile of clothes and a pair of black pants. After putting the clothes on, combed his blonde hair neatly to the back and just like that, he had become a perfect copy of Konrad Dykman.

 139 Infiltration Mission

    "I order myself to return to my original appearance!"


    Graham''s body quickly became taller and his skin pale skin shed, exposing a darker tone. The shed skin layer evaporated and disappeared into thin air. In just mere seconds, he had returned to his original self.


    "Don''t want the man to be seen near here, do we, Val?" he muttered.


    Graham kept the pink shirt that he was wearing and then went to his office. He sat in the chair leisurely and lit a fire with his lighter.


    "I ask that you float"


    The flame rose in the air and he put down the lighter back on his desk, near his pencils and pens.


    Concentrating on the tiny floating flame in front of him, he began asking the questions he wanted to get answers to before starting his mission.


    ''Where can I get evidence of Konrad Dykman''s wrongdoing?''


    The tiny flame burned brighter and slowly, an image began to form in it. It showed a house that was probably half the size of Ruben Arnaud''s house but was still considered big. It had two floors and a big front yard with a garden. After that, the image shifted to that of a white office room with documents littering the desk. Behind the chair were giant glass windows that provided the view of the city from above. The office seemed to be on a high floor.


    "His house or his office. Hmm... Since this is still office hours, it would make more sense to try his house first. But to be safe, let''s divine our target''s location before anything else, Val," Graham said while stroking his chin.


    ''Where is the current location of Konrad Dykman?''


    The flame burned brighter while Graham was concentrated on it. Slowly, an image appeared and it was of a street with a lot of stores that he recognized as Grotemarktsraat. The image didn''t show the man he was looking for, however. After that, it disappeared.


    Graham raised his right eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. He showed a slight confusion in his face.


    "What is the man doing there? Neither his office nor his house is located on Grotemarktstraat. And why does my divination only show the street? It would usually show the person I''m looking for,"


    He became suspicious, so he thought of another question about the man in his mind.


    ''What''s the current condition of Konrad Dykman?''


    The tiny floating flame in front of him burned brighter again. However, the was no image shown even after waiting for several seconds. His divination had failed!


    Graham wore an expression of slight surprise. He rested his chin on his right hand.


    "What does it mean... This case doesn''t seem to be just a simple evidence gathering case, Val. Something suspicious is going on here," he said.


    Graham then decided to investigate the company first.


    "Konrad Dykman was appointed a manager despite the reason for his termination was embezzlement of the company''s fund. The new employer should have this kind of information, right, Val? So their decision must hide an ulterior motive,"


    Graham concentrated on the flame again and asked a different question in his mind.


    ''Who was the person giving the manager position to Konrad Dykman?''


    An image appeared in the floating fire in front of him and it was a man that he recognized. It was Zeger de Witt, the politician who was the target of theft designated by Fratello Maggiore!


    "That guy is the one we stole the artifact from! So he is involved in this, Val! But what is actually happening?"


    The more Graham knew, the more confused he became. He leaned back farther in his chair and began forming his theory.


    "I think it goes like this, Val. Our guy is currently missing and his last known location was Grotemarktstraat. Or he is currently there but we cannot divine the specific spot. Since Zeger de Witt, a powerful Contractbound, gave him the position of manager, it is safe to assume that he has a hand in the disappearance of Konrad," he paused. "I need some chocolate,"


    He got up from the chair and went to the kitchen where his fridge was. He opened the door gently and the light inside lit up with its orange glow. There were various snacks, mostly chocolate flavored, and drinks in the fridge. Graham''s hand reached out to the back where he had kept the chocolate bars that he had bought the night before and took out one bar of Dolcebambini.


    "Nothing beats this brand of chocolate, Val, especially the one with these jelly bits inside," he said while letting the piece of chocolate melt in his mouth.


    Graham ate some more pieces of chocolate before putting the remaining bar back in the fridge and went back to his office. The floating tiny flame was still there.


    Sitting in his chair, he muttered, "So infiltrating the company using Konrad''s appearance is a big no. If Zeger or anyone involved saw us, they would know right away that we are an impostor. His house is our only option for now."


    He focused on the flame in front of him and asked a question in his mind.


    ''Is it dangerous for me to go investigate Konrad Dykman''s house?''


    The flame formed an image that gradually got bigger and bigger. In the image, he saw a piece of paper being burned. The flame slowly consumed the whole paper, turning it into ashes. After that, the image disappeared.


    "So it is dangerous, but the level of danger is something I still can handle. However, we must still be careful, Val. There is someone who can conceal Konrad''s condition, so maybe my divination couldn''t detect the actual level of danger because of that person."


    After that, Graham stood up and grabbed his briefcase that was empty. He had to change his plan a little because of the unexpected circumstances, but the basic was still the same. He would enter the house using Konrad''s identity to avoid suspicion by neighbors. It would also act as a bait to someone who might know the man''s actual circumstance and was watching his house.


    "We need to be very careful, Val," he said while grabbing spare clothes from the wardrobe. He stuffed the clothes inside his briefcase and closed it firm.


    Graham went back to the office and crouched down near his safe to open it. He took his beloved revolver along with its holster and the bullet pouch that he wore around his waist. He then took a black coat from the rack and put it on before buttoning it to cover the pink shirt that he was wearing.


    "I ask that you disappear!" he said to the still floating tiny flame over his desk.


    The flame vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind. After that, unlocked his door before opening it.


    "Let''s go, Val," he said decisively.


    He left his apartment and then locked the door securely. After that, he went down to the street and hailed a public motor carriage that was driving by.


    "Please take me to Kerkstraat," he said to the driver. That was where Konrad Dykman lived.


    The driver nodded and drove away at once. The traffic at that hour was not bad, so they arrived not long after.


    "It will be seven pennings, Sir," said the driver politely.


    "Can I get a discount? This is Tuesday after all. I heard there is such a thing called Tuesday Free Rides," said Graham.


    "I''m sorry, Sir, but there is no such thing. Now please pay up," replied the driver without any annoyance in his tone. He seemed to have met a lot of similar customers asking for discounts and had lost the ability to react emotionally.


    Graham took out seven penning coins from his pocket and gave it to the driver through the gap in the glass separator.


    He had arrived at Kerkstraat and was welcomed by the busy street where people were just casually walking by. He quickly went somewhere quiet where no one was watching and unbuttoned his coat. After that, he quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Konrad Dykman"


    His whole skin itched and he quickly assumed the appearance of his target. He became shorter and a little fatter, just like the real Konrad Dykman. With his new face, Graham got out of the secluded alley and walked towards house number 74 where the man lived.


    Graham''s current body felt heavier to walk in and he got tired a little bit more easily. However, thanks to his boosted stamina from becoming a President, the downside was negated to some extent.


    "This man needs to do more exercise," he muttered quietly so that the other people in the street couldn''t hear him.


    He arrived at the house around three minutes later and stopped in front of the black gate. Graham concentrated and tried to sense if there was someone watching him currently. When he felt nothing, he approached the gate and pretended to unlock it while muttering.


    "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    The padlock locking the gate made a low click and it opened on its own. He then unlatched the heavy bolt and opened the gate carefully. He did so in the manner that the real Konrad would have done based on the memory he got from Frits Melcher.


    "This man should have a wife and a daughter, but the house looks empty," said Graham. The pitch of his voice was now higher and there was a hint of shadiness in the tone.


    He walked past the garden that looked well-maintained until probably a couple of days ago, seeing as the grass had just started growing. He stopped by the door and reached out to the handle. As he expected, the door was locked.


    "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    The door made a low click sound and Graham opened it with ease. He closed it behind him carefully and entered the big house. The first room that welcomed him was the living room, where everything looked neatly arranged and tidily cleaned. Suddenly, Graham stopped in his track as he felt the presence of someone else inside the house.


    "Oh, Meneer Dykman! You are finally back! I thought you would come back with the Mevrouw and little Ami next week," said the person who seemed to be a maid. Her voice showed surprise and slight fear.


    Frits memory didn''t include this information since he didn''t know about Konrad''s private life-- besides him having a wife and a daughter. Graham only knew she was a maid from the way she addressed him and the way she dressed up; a black long dress and an apron.


    "Yes. There is a change of plan," he said shortly.


    Graham walked closer to the maid who was carrying a feather duster in one hand. He then looked at her right in the eye while the maid was flustered.


    "I order you to fall asleep!"


    The maid was slowly overcome with sleepiness and fell asleep right there. Graham dropped his briefcase and caught her collapsing unconscious body. He then dragged her to the sofa before laying her down carefully.


    "It''s easier to get information like this than to ask her questions directly, Val," muttered Graham.


    He then focused on the sleeping middle-aged woman in front of him and chanted while thinking of the information he wanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of this woman!"


    He once again felt like he was underwater without being able to move. In front of him was a glass window that showed scene by scene of her interactions with her employees, but mostly with Mevrouw Dykman. He was also focusing on getting information about their current whereabouts and some other things about Konrad that he could use. Since his power was limited, he couldn''t use that ability to get everything he needed. Graham could only scrape what he could and then broke the connection.


    "Val, no wonder she seemed a bit scared when she saw us. The bastard is a scum when he is angry. And a smart one. He never used physical punishment so the maid could not actually report him for abuse. The lady of the house is no better," he muttered while resting his chin on his hand.


    "So the wife, Astrid, and the daughter, Ami, are currently away in their villa in Rijssen. How much money has this bastard taken from the company to be able to afford a villa there?"


    "Anyway, Val, I have stored Astrid''s appearance, so I can transform into her. However, I am now at my storage limit of three people, so if I want to transform into someone else, I have to erase one of them from my ''storage'',"


    Graham then left the sleeping maid alone and went to the study room of Konrad. He got the location of every room in the house from the maid''s memory, so he easily found the one he was looking for. The room was locked, as he had expected, but it wasn''t a problem for Graham.


    "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    Click!


    The door was now unlocked so Graham let himself in. After all, he was currently the owner of the house.


    "Let''s search the desk. I''m sure we can find proof of his slandering Frits Melchers'' company. While we''re at it, we might also get a clue of his whereabouts,"


    Graham approached the desk and started going through the documents there. Those documents were mostly work-related, but nothing was what he wanted. He then tried to open the drawers, and luckily, it was unlocked. There were several more pieces of white paper there and he read them one by one carefully.


    "Val, this is what we need!" he exclaimed while holding a piece of a handwritten document, "And maybe even the clue to his current location... and also de Witt''s involvement in this!" he added seriously.

 140 Playing Both Sides

    It was a dark chamber with no source of illumination and an atmosphere of dread lingering. The stench of blood and the disgusting of what seemed to be the mix of human urine and feces filled the air while a faint crying was heard in the distance. The suffocating aura in the room was enough to make a strong man feel weak in his knees.


    "Master, what are you going to do with the man that Morbid brought you?"


    A man clad in a robe that covered his whole body asked curiously. His black robe blended very well with the pitch-blackness of the room. His voice sounded passionate despite his mysterious appearance.


    There was another hooded man sitting at the desk near the entrance to the room. He seemed to be reading a book that looked ancient in complete darkness. The man didn''t respond to the question right away, but instead, continued reading some more until he finished the part that he was on. Once he was done, he turned to the other figure who was standing next to the desk and spoke.


    "I am going to turn him into a useful servant for us," he said in a calm and wise voice, "However, I can''t seem to find the appropriate ritual," he added with a slight disappointment in his tone.


    The hood that covered the standing man''s head concealed his expression, but it seemed that was concerned about his master.


    "Master Tenebrosity, I''m sure you will find it soon!" he said encouragingly.


    Tenebrosity''s let out a slight chuckle. He appeared to have been amused by the other person''s remark.


    "Your enthusiasm is amusing. I am also sure that I will find it soon, but we''re in no hurry. The Dullahan should be strong enough by now and it will be sufficient for the time being," he replied. Although his expression couldn''t be seen, he seemed to be smiling, judging from his voice.


    Suddenly, there was a sound coming from another room. It was like holes being dug out and things came crawling out of them. There was also the sound of liquid dripping slowly and then solidifying in a squirming blob.


    "That must be Morbid, Fright, and Fear. Go see them; I''ll continue with my research here," commanded Tenebrosity.


    "Yes, master," replied the other person with a firm nod.


    He left the pitch-black chamber and walked down the corridor to another room that had a long stone table in the middle. The room was illuminated by torches hung on the wall that seemed to have been burning eternally. There were a total of fifteen chairs and currently, there were three figures sitting on three of them.


    The three people who just came were all wearing black robes that covered their faces entirely. The loose-fitting robe also made it difficult to judge their genders and build based on their figures


    "Dread, where is Mister Tenebrosity?" asked one of the three people. The voice belonged to a woman and there it sounded somewhat frightening to listen to.


    "Master is still busy with his research. He wants to turn the guy Morbid brought into a servant," he explained.


    "He can do something like that?" asked the person sitting across from Dread.


    "Yes, but he needs to find the appropriate ritual first. So why have you three come back here?" asked Dread.


    "We''re discussing Morbid''s plan to trap the Shroud, or at least his divinator friend," replied the woman.


    "What plan, Morbid? And What divinator?" asked Dread curiously.


    He leaned back in his chair and turned his head to Morbid, who was sitting the farthest from him on the opposite side.


    "Ahem,"


    Morbid cleared his throat and then started speaking.


    "It''s better if you hear out from Fear and Fright first how they came to the reasoning about the existence of the divinator," he said shortly.


    After saying that, Fright began explaining how he came to the conclusion that the Shroud they were looking for was possibly also a Fire Divinator. If he was not, then he must have a divinator partner. The two of them then discussed the finding with Morbid, who came up with the plan to trap the divinator.


    "That is clever of you," said Dread in admiration.


    Fright nodded.


    "So, what is the plan?" asked Dread to Morbid.


    Morbid crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.


    "It''s actually a plan I''ve been preparing for something else, but I modified it a little to catch our enemy. The guy has been spreading rumors about a rival company in the dark since last month, but now I''m using him as bait by making him come out to the light. The owner of the rival company would surely want to find the truth by hiring an investigator," he explained lengthly.


    "How did you know the owner wouldn''t go to the Police right away?" asked Dread.


    "Because the guy still holds his old company''s secrets. They will be brought to light if the Police were to investigate directly," answered Morbid.


    Now, the woman became curious and asked a question.


    "But how are you sure that the person he hired would be our divinator?"


    Morbid let out a chuckle.


    "I am not sure; it''s a gamble. If the investigator he hired knows that the target has gone missing, then he is most likely a divinator. I had him apply for a one-week off from work, so to normal people, he is just on a vacation with his family," he paused.


    "And besides, I have planted another trap inside the guy''s house. If he is a divinator, he will understand the content. But if he is just a normal person, then the letter will make no sense."


    The other three were left speechless.


    "Wow. Are all politicians good at plotting like you?" said Dread in awe.


    "Not all of them, but most are snakes wearing human skins. That''s why we need to cleanse this place and allow the Pale Lord to descend," replied Morbid solemnly.


    The other three went quiet as if praying.


    "So, where will our divinator show up?" asked Fright finally.


    "At my company. And if our conjecture is right, he will show up as the target''s wife," replied Morbid, "And he should have the excuse of searching ''her husband''s'' desk for something important that he left behind," he added.


    Dread seemed to be confused for a second by the statement, then he remembered that one of their members who had got killed was Shade who was in contract with Cunningness and Transformation. He then changed the question that he was about to ask.


    "Why not as the target himself?" asked Dread curiously.


    "Because he knows that the target is missing and whoever is responsible is in the company. If he shows up as him, he will be walking right into the tiger''s den. Isn''t that right?" replied Fright.


    "That would be correct," replied Morbid.


    "What did you write in the letter anyway?" asked Fright.


    Morbid let out yet another chuckle.


    "I wrote this: ''Mr. de Witt movement has become more suspicious lately. I''m sending my wife and daughter away for their safety. I''ve also left a detailed recount of our interaction locked away in my desk at the office. In case I go missing, please use it to bring the man to justice and to protect my family, and search for me on Grotemarktstraat," he said meaningfully.


    Fright crossed his arms.


    "That sounds like what someone cornered would write. You are scary," he said.


    Morbid laughed.


    "Of course there is no such thing as evidence against me. The man has been dancing in my palm the whole time. Although, him sending his wife and daughter away is out of my expectation," he replied proudly.


    "Then let''s go to your company right now and wait for our friend," said Fear sinisterly.


    "You guys go. I need to stay here to help Master with his research," said Dread.


    All four of them stood up and two holes were dug in the ground behind Fear''s and Fright''s chairs. Two giant worms with mouths full of sharp teeth surfaced and swallowed both of them whole. Meanwhile, Morbid turned into a puddle of blood and seeped through the floor before disappearing completely.


    ...


    At four in the afternoon, the sounds of a Police siren were blaring in the big street of Bloemstraat. There were many curious passersby who stopped to see what was happening despite the noise. Two Police Sergeants wearing blue coats got out of the motor carriage and looked at the company building in front of them with the name ''De Adviseur''.


    "Brief me about this case again, please Paars," said the female sergeant with purple hair. Her green eyes were looking curiously at the building.


    "We''re here to find a missing person," replied the man with blonde hair and blue eyes. His coat was buttoned to cover what he was wearing-- or not wearing underneath.


    "I get that much, but why does it involve us Kleurs? If it''s only a missing person, the normal Police can handle it," responded the woman.


    "Alright, I''ll tell you from the very beginning. Earlier this afternoon, Frits Melchers, the owner of a rival company, came to the Police station with a man named Konrad Dykman; the latter works here in this company in front of us. Frits said Konrad had been slandering his company, causing him a huge loss. Konrad himself pleaded guilty to the accusation at the station. We have an officer as a witness," he paused.


    "And then?"


    "And then, he asked to go to the toilet first and... he just disappeared! Even Rood, who happened to be in the toilet at that time, didn''t see the man escaping. Rood told the officer to go find me and then asked me to use divination. That''s when I found out that divination targeting Konrad is being interfered with. There must be a Contractbound involved in all of this," explained Paars.


    "Why didn''t Rood take over the case himself? And why did he ask to specifically find you and not Oranje?" asked the woman.


    "He is on another case, so he can''t handle this one, and I was the only one with divination at the office at that time," replied Paars, "Why do you sound annoyed, Wit?"


    Wit frowned and crossed her arms.


    "Because this is just a missing person case. There won''t be any fighting and it''s boring," she said.


    Paars raised his eyebrows.


    "I''m sure there will be a fight once we find the mastermind behind the missing guy," he said shortly.


    "So why are we here at his workplace instead of his house? Shouldn''t we try his house first to find him?" asked Wit curiously.


    "Geel and Bruin are going there now, so we''re in charge of the company. It might also be related to the missing people cases; that''s why they are sending four members of Kleurs to investigate," explained Paars.


    "That brute will just destroy the house instead of finding clues," said Wit mockingly.


    Paars didn''t respond.


    "Let''s go now. We have wasted too much time," he said finally.


    The two Police Sergeants entered the company through the rotating glass door at the entrance. They showed their badges to the receptionist and were shown the location of Konrad Dykman''s office, which was on the fifth floor. The two of them took the elevator and arrived on the fifth floor not long after.


    Once the door was open, they took a step out and found themselves in a white corridor with a lot of rooms on both sides. According to the receptionist, the man''s office should be on the left side at the end of the corridor.


    "Wait. That''s..." said Paars as he stopped. He also gestured at Wit to stop.


    "Isn''t that Zeger de Witt? The politician? Why is he here?" said Wit.


    Paars squinted his eyes to see better.


    "Yes, that''s definitely him. He is the owner of this company, but there should be no reason for him to be here personally; not to mention he is standing near the missing person''s office," said Paars.


    "Do you know who the other two people are?" asked Wit.


    She was looking at the man and woman standing next to Zeger de Witt. The man''s red hair was tied in a bun and his face was full of freckles. The woman''s long black hair was let loose and the plain white dress she was wearing made it apparent that she wasn''t a worker there.


    The three people at the end of the corridor seemed surprised to see two Police Sergeants coming here.


    Paars and Wit continued walking and when they were close enough, he greeted the man with intimidating eyes.


    "Good afternoon, Mr. de Witt. it''s unexpected to see you here," said Paars.


    "Why are the Police here?" asked Zeger condescendingly.


    "We''re here for one of your employees that has gone missing. He is currently a wanted man," replied Paars with an authoritative tone.


    "Then it is not our business. Let''s go," said Zeger to the other two.


    Zeger de Witt and the other two people started walking away from the spot without even paying the officers a glance.


    "Please don''t leave the building. We might have questions we need to ask you!" shouted Paars.


    The man didn''t respond and just kept walking away. They took the elevator and quickly disappeared from their sight.


    "Who does he think he is?" said Wit in annoyance.


    "He is the owner of this place, that''s who," said Paars, "Let''s just investigate the office first. I have a feeling that man is involved in all this."

 141 Running Away

    "Val, do you feel bad about using the Police to deal with the Konrad Dykman case?" asked Graham. He paused for a second and then added with a cheeky smile, "Me neither. It''s too dangerous for us to continue the investigation on our own. Besides, we''ve technically finished our commission from Frits Melchers. We''ll just wait for him to come back and pay our remuneration,"


    Graham was sitting in his office desk still wearing Rood''s appearance. The dark brown trench coat was the only thing giving away his real identity. He wanted to give the area a sense of security with the disguise. Since a Police officer was seen there, whoever would be investigating him should be more careful in their action. However, he was also inviting unwanted troubles at the same time from the Police force if he was not careful.


    "Anyway, Val, I think I can already get almost everything I need to know about my Transformation ability after using it several times now," he said while leaning back against the backrest. His right hand was stroking his chin.


    "First, I get the physical ability of the body I am currently using. In this case; Rood''s agility and stamina. This body feels lighter than ours and also stronger, I think. Not to mention the fact that this man is well built. However, I am sure it is purely based on what the person whose memory I''m reading remembers about the target. It''s also a flaw in this ability," he paused.


    "After all, everyone appears differently to different people. In my own memory, Luuk is an agile man and is also reliable, but if I read his family member''s memory of him, we might get something slightly different. Now, I wonder if we read a memory about someone who is thought to be a superhero. Will we get a superhero body?" he said analytically. His tone was full of curiosity and enthusiasm; however, he was still speaking in Rood''s intimidating voice, which made it sound creepy.


    "So to sum it up, Val, this Transformation ability doesn''t transform me into someone himself but someone based on the memory of the person I''m reading. Currently, I''ve already reached my limit of three people that I can change into. The wife of Konrad doesn''t seem to be very useful, so we''ll erase that one first if we need a new slot,"


    "I also wonder, Val, if I can read my own memory. I would like to be able to transform into one of the people we''ve met in the past. Although, I don''t think that''s possible. Otherwise, I would have got the ability to transform right away since it is my own memory,"


    Graham then paused for a while. His expression seemed to be that of someone thinking hard and because of the deep scar on the face he was currently wearing, he looked intimidating. He rested his chin on his right hand and his shoulders were tensed up.


    His expression then relaxed a little. The clenched left fist was loosened up.


    "At least I can still remember our university years. Those were truly unforgettable years, Val. I was forced to eat pears that I really hated because I lost a bet. I vomited after that, do you remember? Haha!" Graham laughed nostalgically.


    "Speaking of which, please remind me Val to check the ancient book again. I''ve been meaning to do it, but with everything that''s going on, I just don''t have the time to do so. I''ve ranked up, so there should be more pages that have been unsealed," he added.


    Ding... dong...


    The door to his office was rung once.


    "That must be Frits. Let''s change back, Val," he said as he looked up to the door.


    "I order myself to change back to my original appearance!"


    Once he finished the command, his skin began itching and he quickly turned into his usual self. He became a little shorter and his ripped body was again covered in thin layers of fat. His own body was not actually out of shape, but compared to Rood''s daily-trained body, his was more like someone who had stopped training for months.


    Graham stood up with his now oversized shoes, but he didn''t mind the fact. It was better to wear oversized than undersized shoes; at least the former didn''t hurt his feet. He walked with a confident gait towards the door and opened it. Behind the door was the man that he had been expecting; none other than Frits Melchers.


    "Good afternoon, Detective Graham Hymes," said the man politely.


    "Good afternoon, Frits. Please do come in," beckoned Graham.


    The man in front of him had changed the suit he was wearing, but he still looked gentlemanly nonetheless. Frits Melchers hung his top hat on the coat rack and then followed Graham to his desk where took the seat opposite the host.


    Frits'' expression looked much lighter than before; a burden he was carrying seemed to have been lifted off his shoulders. His manner of sitting was still elegant and dignified, however.


    "I cannot believe that you could solve this case so quickly. How did you make Konrad want to confess?" asked Frits.


    Graham leaned back in his chair and smiled meaningfully.


    "I just used the power of common sense-- and a little persuasion. I found a piece of incriminating evidence for his crime and told him his sentence would be less severe if he confessed to the crime on his own," said Graham with a lie that he had prepared. He couldn''t just tell Frits that the ''Konrad'' that went to the Police station was no one but himself.


    "Although in the end the man still managed to run away..." Frits responded with slight regret, "But with him gone, the rumor should also stop in a timely manner," he then smiled.


    Frits opened the briefcase that he was carrying and took out a brown envelope from it. He slid the envelope across the desk with both hands to get it closer to the detective.


    "Here is your payment, as we agreed upon earlier," he said. He had received Graham''s call about Konrad''s confession and the commission fee he needed to pay.


    Graham took the envelope and opened it carefully. There were several guilder bills inside it, with the total amount of fifteen guilders. Graham''s eyes were lit in the face of money. Although it was not as much as selling materials, it was still a big amount for a normal commission like that.


    "!!!"


    Suddenly, Graham''s sense of danger was triggered. His eyes opened wide and he felt a big slap of wake up call.


    "Val, how can I be so stupid! They must have investigated who Frits hired and followed him here," he muttered with urgency in his tone.


    He felt like something dangerous was about to happen to him soon enough. He must have been able to feel it far ahead of time because of his status as a President rank Contractbound now. He needed to get ready to leave the apartment as soon as he could.


    Seeing the abnormal behavior of the man in front of him, Frits Melchers couldn''t help but ask.


    "Is everything alright, Graham?" his posture had become more rigid because of the tense expression of the detective.


    Graham quickly turned to him and said.


    "It''s fine. Please wait here. Don''t go anywhere," he got up from the chair and grabbed his briefcase.


    "Val, I''m sure they will strike once Frits is gone. We must stall for time for as long as we can!" he muttered quietly while crouching down.


    Frits Melchers'' expression was calm and he did as he was told. However, he was still wary because he knew something was not right.


    Graham''s sense of danger was still telling him something was about to happen, but its intensity didn''t increase, which meant his conjecture was correct. The source of danger was most likely waiting for Frits Melchers to leave for some reason.


    He opened his safe and packed everything he could and stuffed them inside his briefcase. There was the thick ancient book, all the scrolls that he had earned as well as materials that he had got. The unsold materials from the cave exploration were still with Luuk, so he didn''t have a lot to carry. He still had his gun holster and ammunition pouch on, concealed under his coat, so after taking everything from the safe, he stood up and stuffed the brown envelope inside his briefcase.


    "One more thing, Val," he muttered and then turned to Frits, "I''ll be back,"


    He got up and went to the kitchen and opened his fridge. He stuffed the remaining chocolate bars inside his pocket and then went to his bedroom quickly. He took everything that would lead to his identity being leaked and stuffed them either inside the briefcase or the coat that he was wearing. He just regretted that he couldn''t pack his favorite clothes because of the lack of space. He only made sure he brought the Gemini mask along with him although it was rather big.


    Graham did everything quickly and meticulously although he was pressed with time. After making sure everything was alright and nothing could lead to his identity being exposed, he stood in front of the mirror and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Cornelis Haring!"


    His skin all itched and he grew three centimeters taller. His skin also became less loose and his muscles became more defined. He had quickly returned to the appearance of the Police Sergeant Rood.


    "I hope I can come back here soon," he said as he left the bedroom that he had been sleeping in for a long time, "I''ve paid the rent for the whole year and the year hasn''t even ended yet," he added with regret.


    "Why don''t we fight, Val? It''s because we don''t know who the enemies are and we don''t have enough preparation. We won last time because we ambushed the enemies," he muttered again.


    Graham returned to the office where Frits Melchers had been waiting. The latter looked surprised to see the sudden appearance of a Police Sergeant from the host''s bedroom. What was even stranger was that the man was wearing the exact same clothes as the detective.


    "Good afternoon, officer. It is... unexpected to see you here," he said politely.


    Graham nodded and then spoke with urgency in his tone.


    "We need to leave now. Detective Hymes is currently locked up in his room for some reason, and he asked me to escort you to safety."


    Frits Melchers nodded and then got up from his chair with his own briefcase in his right hand. He followed the Police Sergeant out of the apartment closely. Graham, wearing Rood''s appearance, locked his apartment from outside just to be safe. However, he knew that in the face of a Contractbound, a mere lock wouldn''t mean anything.


    "Let''s go," he said to Frits.


    He walked confidently, making sure his face was visible. The scar on his face emphasized the intimidating but cautious posture he was aiming for. He couldn''t see anyone suspicious, but his sense of danger was screaming for him to get away from the area as soon as he could.


    "Officer Rood, why are you here anyway, if I may ask?" asked Frits curiously.


    Graham had expected the question and also the answer. He responded loudly enough so whoever was watching could hear him.


    "We, the Police, had received the mission of protecting this area since suspicious individuals have been sighter here. Not to mention one of the victims of the serial killing was found in this building," he said using Rood''s manner of speaking. His tone was cold and matter-of-factly but showed confidence.


    "Is that so? Then it is fortunate that you are here right now. I hope Detective Graham stays safe," replied Frits.


    The two men walked downstairs without any problem except for creaking floors. Once they were outside, Frits thanked the ''Police Sergeant'' and walked to his parked motor carriage where his driver had been waiting. As for Graham, he also quickly left the area without looking back.


    "Val, we need to stay in the crowd just to be safe. I''m sure they won''t attack with this many people. I haven''t felt the danger either since we escaped from the building, so I believe they are not following us," he muttered while walking as quickly as he could while carrying the heavy briefcase.


    "It is safe to assume that it is the Pale Society that is attacking us, and it means their whole organization might have found out where we live. We must steer clear of the area for now for our own safety. We must find a safe hotel to stay in for the time being, and we must also warn Luuk somehow. He still has most of our precious loots," he added.


    "I think my disguise as this man works to deter them from attacking right away. But we can''t keep using this face in public or another kind of problem will come knocking at our door," said Graham with a slight regret in his tone. He really liked using Rood''s appearance because his physical ability was much better than Graham''s.


    Graham then walked to a secluded alley after making sure he was far from the apartment. He also sensed his surrounding for any danger and once he deemed it was safe, he quickly changed back to his original appearance using Order.


    "Now we need a new appearance. Konrad or his wife is a big no-no since the enemies know of them. Let''s find a random person and borrow someone from their memory," he said.


    The street was still quite busy at that hour, so Graham could blend in safely with the crowd. However, if someone was looking for him, it would be easy to spot him since he was taller than most people there. Graham walked back to the busy street and came closer to the first stranger that he saw.


    "I order you to follow me," he whispered in the male stranger''s ear.


    The man seemed to lose control of his body and was now following Graham back to the secluded alley. They were currently standing next to a big dumpster that blocked the view from the main street. Once they were out of people''s prying eyes, Graham issued another order.


    "I order you to fall asleep!"


    The man suddenly collapsed, but Graham quickly caught him. He laid the man down on the paved ground and then focused on his own mind. He erased the transformation appearance of Konrad''s wife from his memory to make room for another one. He then concentrated on the sleeping man while crouching, focusing on the information that he needed.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of this man!"


    Graham then felt like he was underwater again and he was looking through the glass window at the scenes of interaction between the stranger and another man. The man was the stranger''s brother. Graham memorized the appearance of the brother as well as his mannerisms. Besides that, he had also received information about the brother from the stranger''s memory. Once he was done, he severe the connection and returned to reality.


    "That should be good enough, Val," he muttered.


    Graham then got up and started chanting after making sure there was no one watching.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Christian Barnhart!"


    His whole skin began itching and he quickly transformed into a different human being. His hair became blonde just like the sleeping stranger beside him and his nose became thinner. His skin grew paler and his eyes turned to the color of dark brown. His height also changed to match the real person, which was 175 cm tall and his body became thinner. In less than thirty seconds, he had become someone who looked like an average factory worker.


    Once he had finished his transformation, he focused on the sleeping man on the ground and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, state that this man will forget our encounter once he wakes up!"


    With that, Graham''s preparation was almost finished. He picked up his briefcase and walked away from the alley in the manner of the real Christian Barnhart; his posture was a bit hunched and his gait was rather lazy.


    "So, Val, this is our current identity. We are Christian Barnhart and we work in a tobacco factory. We just need to do one more thing, Val; forge an identity card. Without it, we won''t be able to use most public facilities, including renting a hotel room. And also, don''t forget that the transformation only lasts for two hours, so we must keep that in mind," he said thoughtfully.

 142 A Temporary New Life

    Graham, who now looked like the average factory worker, was walking steadily in the street that was getting dark. The brown watch that he was wearing showed six in the evening, and the orange sky was gradually becoming pink and blue. People were rushing out of their offices to get home after working the whole day.


    "Val, for tonight I''ll just use my ability to make the hotel receptionist allow me to stay without an identity card. But we need to move to a different one tomorrow and get our new identity card as soon as we can," he muttered.


    He kept walking towards the west, farther away from Tuinstraat. He was currently on Grotemarktstraat and was just walking to a hotel in the distance called ''Tom''s Hotel''. It was a three-story hotel that looked quite old. The architectural style was a testament of the old days and the paint on the wall had begun peeling. It was not the best there was, but it was enough for him to stay the night in.


    Graham pushed open the wooden double doors at the entrance and heard the chime of a bell placed at the top. In the small hotel lobby that was painted in the color of lime, there was a reception desk on the other end with an old woman standing behind it, smiling at him. Graham walked past the old wooden furniture in the lobby to the receptionist; the sound of ceiling fan spinning added to the classic atmosphere of the hotel.


    "Hello, can I book a room for one night?" he asked. His voice had turned into that of Christian Barnhart''s high-pitched voice that had a slight crisp.


    The old woman that looked to be in her sixties didn''t respond.


    "Excuse me!" said Graham louder.


    The old woman was still smiling without saying anything back.


    "Hello! Can you hear me?" said Graham even louder. He waved his hand in front of the smiling lady, but she still didn''t respond.


    Graham then stayed quiet and perked up his ears. Only then, he could hear the faint snoring coming from the smiling old lady in front of him. She was sleeping in her chairs with her eyes open and a smile on her face!


    "Val, what should we do? We can just go up to a random room, use Order to unlock the door, and stay the night without anyone knowing. But it will leave a bad taste in my mouth," he muttered.


    Graham then leaned closer to the old woman and stretched his hands far away from each other. He then brought his both hands closer to each other in a swift motion and created the loudest clap that he could make.


    Clap!!


    "Fucking shit who woke me up!!" shouted the old lady suddenly. The smile on her face was replaced by a frown and her eyes were blinking rapidly.


    She then saw Graham who was standing in front of her and quickly regained her composure.


    "Ah, I''m sorry dear customer. I was talking to myself, ohoho..." she said with a warm voice.


    Graham raised his eyebrows and then looked over his shoulder.


    The old woman looked at him from head to toe.


    "Of course, of course. Can I borrow your identity card, dear?" she said sweetly.


    Graham then leaned closer to her and looked at the old woman in the eye.


    "I am sorry but I lost my identity card. You will allow me to stay one night without it, won''t you? I really need a favor here and I know I can count on you, Ma''am." he said with a very convincing tone.


    The old woman felt like there was something about the man''s eyes that made her want to do what he just asked. She nodded slowly in confusion and then returned to normal. It was apparent that Graham''s persuasion had worked on her and in her mind, it was just something very acceptable to do.


    "Sure, sure. The rate per night is two stuivers, dear customer," said the old woman.


    Graham nodded.


    "I''ll pay up front and tomorrow I''ll just leave the key here when I check out," he said while taking out his wallet.


    He took out two one-stuiver bills from his wallet and handed it to the old woman.


    "Sure, sure, it''s fine. Here is the key. Your room is on the third floor, number 313. Enjoy your stay, dear customer," said the old woman with a friendly smile.


    Looking at the old receptionist, Graham wouldn''t have believed that she could curse like that if he hadn''t seen it first hand. She just looked like a sweet old lady who was very kind to young people. He took the key from her wrinkled hand and walked up the stairs that were right next to the reception desk.


    The steps in the hotel were just like how it was in his apartment building; the wooden panels creaked whenever he put his weight on them. He tried to walk up as lightly as he could; however, it was difficult using his current body because the fitness level of Christian was too low, despite him being thinner than Graham.


    He reached the third floor not long after and went directly to room number 313 as said on the key chain. Graham inserted the key to the keyhole and twisted it gently to unlock the door. There was a click and the door was unlocked for him to open.


    "This will be where we''re staying for the night, Val," he muttered.


    In front of him was an old room that smelled like it was freshly moped. The wooden furniture looked like it came from the 40s and even the bedsheet had the pattern that was typical of an old household. The room, which was painted in the same lime color as the rest of the hotel, gave off a strange feeling of nostalgia.


    "This hotel is actually not bad, Val. It feels like we''re at Grandma''s house, although we never met ours. It''s too bad we''re technically staying here illegally, so if there was an inspection, we would be busted," he said as he hung his coat on the rack.


    Graham sat in the rocking chair by the window while looking outside through the glass. He started rocking back and forth lazily in the chair.


    "We''ll warn Luuk tonight when he is out to steal. But first, let''s divine who our enemies are,"


    He took out a black lighter from his pocket and lit a fire.


    "I ask that the flame float in the air," he commanded and the small flame began rising to the air away from the lighter. It was now burning with Graham''s stamina as the fuel, so he could save up on lighter fluid.


    Looking at the tiny floating flame, he began concentrating and asked a question in his mind.


    ''Who are the enemies who ambushed me at my apartment?''


    The flame in front of him grew brighter but instead of showing him an image, he instead got a splitting headache. Graham held his head in pain and started massaging his temples with both hands. The floating flame in front of him gradually became normal afterward.


    "Someone is interfering with my divination? Does the enemy have a Shroud? That''s likely the case and that means divination directed at them will be useless," he said while massaging the back of his head now with his right hand.


    "I can try to divine the condition of the apartment, but the target just won''t show in my divination. This is tricky, Val. We need to gather intelligence another way."


    "Maybe we should just report it to the Police, but that way, we''re also giving away our identity as a Contractbound, Val. There is no way members of the Place Society would just stalk a normal person''s apartment, is there?"


    Graham then looked at his briefcase that was lying on the floor near the queen-sized and issued an order.


    "I order you to come here!"


    The heavy briefcase flew towards him like there was a piece of string tied to it being pulled strongly. Graham caught the briefcase skillfully and then unzipped it to see the content. He took out the thick ancient book and put the briefcase back down next to him.


    "For now, this is what we can do," he said.


    Graham leaned back in the rocking chair comfortably and then looked at the tiny floating flame near him. The room had gotten a little colder for his taste.


    "I ask that the flame burn brighter!"


    Once he issued the order, the flame became bigger and it emanated warmth to its surrounding. Feeling much more comfortable, he began to open the thick ancient book in his hands. He had read most of the contents that were unsealed, so he quickly went to the part where the pages were blank.


    "The author mentioned we could use our own power to unseal these pages. I think he meant using divination, just like how we unsealed the door to the room where the book was kept,"


    Graham looked at the burning fireball in front of him and concentrated. He also asked a question in his mind.


    ''How do I break the seal on these pages?''


    Slowly, an image began to form in the core of the fireball and it showed him the very same book that he was holding. Words began to be burned on to the pages and when he looked at the real book in his hands, the words also began forming there. Once the pages in the divination were filled, the image disappeared and the content of the pages in his hand was now readable.


    "That was easy enough," he said proudly with a cheeky smile.


    Graham began reading the pages before him.


    ''Being a Contractbound is both a blessing and a curse. On one side, you are granted abilities that normal humans could only dream to obtain; on the other side, you are bound by blood with all the Deities you have been in a contract with. This bond is eternal and there is no way of breaking it, even if you lose all your power.''


    ''Some truths regarding Contractbounds that I have managed to gather. The Deities are currently at war with another entity and by granting us power, they are also empowering themselves. How, you ask? Once a Contractbound dies, their soul goes to the Deities they are bound to and split equally among them. The soul then becomes part of the Deities and that''s how they get stronger.''


    ''That is also why dead Contractbounds don''t leave any bodies behind. They all go to their respective Deities. Contractbounds also cannot become lingering spirits or other undead beings for the sole reason that their souls no longer exist. They forever become part of the Deities and will become their fuel in their war.''


    ''I don''t know more about the war of the Deities and even the information above is a highly guarded secret. I only managed to learn of it by chance and have never told anyone about it except the reader(s) of this book. I believe that once I get stronger, I can learn more about the truth.''


    ''Knowing this, now you know why I call being a Contractbound a curse. The promise of a beautiful afterlife that our parents and grandparents kept telling us about is nothing but a fleeting dream for us. Only eternal darkness is waiting for us once we die. That''s why try your best to live as long as you can. Our natural lifespan is increased naturally as well, so at least we have that going for us.''


    Graham stopped reading and processed the information he had just read. He then combined the information he had just got with the mural he once saw with Luuk inside the cave.


    "It says the Deities are at war. Do you think they are at war against the beings called ''Cherub'', Val? Just like the mural that we saw; it depicted the Deity of Fire Divination with legions of spirit fighting against a Cherub with his army of angels. It was also described that the angels were ''degenerate''. I wonder what they are and why they are at war," he said analytically. The voice of Christian Barnhart being used to analyze a situation didn''t sound right in his ears.


    "Now about the fate that awaits us upon death. It does sound bad that our souls will simply become a part of the Deities. We should also research some ways to prevent that from happening if it is possible. Although I doubt with our current power we can do anything. We can''t even defend our home, Va," said Graham with a heavy tone.


    He then looked up at the wooden ceiling and let his mind wander. He was thinking of the innocent life he had been living just until a month ago before he became a Contractbound. He was just a normal detective who solved mostly missing pet cases and in some rare occasions, affair cases. He had never thought that he would get entangled in something this dangerous.


    "We just do what we must, Val. Let''s continue reading for now," he said solemnly.


    Graham turned to the next page and read the heading that caught his attention right away. His eyes opened wide and his heart beat faster from excitement.


    ''Known Information Regarding Marquis Rank Contractbounds.''

 143 The Marquises

    ''Known Information Regarding Marquis Rank Contractbounds.''


    "Now that''s something we definitely need to know. This way, we can be more prepared in fighting against unknown enemies and also prepare for our future advancement. Although, it''s still in the distant future, Val. I''ve just barely entered the rank of President recently," said Graham with a tone of self-ridicule. He was using Christian Barnhart''s high-pitched voice, which made it even more ridiculous.


    Graham began reading the text on the page that seemed to have been written very long ago. The ink had begun to wear off and the messy handwriting made it even more difficult to read. He had to read the passage very carefully not to miss anything while leaning back against the rocking chair. The warm ball of fire was still floating beside him.


    ''A Marquis Rank Contractbound is much more powerful than their President counterpart. Besides an upgrade in all physical abilities, the Contractbound''s lifespan is also lengthened, making them able to live a little longer than normal humans. Their abilities also start to affect a large area instead of a small group or individuals. If they so wish, the could destroy a small town on their own-- granted there was no one to stop them.''


    ''However, one thing that someone must notice before entering a Marquis rank. The contract ritual no longer only requires sacrificial materials that can be substituted with a Contractbound''s remain, but also a living sacrifice. Each Deity will ask for a different sacrifice that will be revealed to the person reading their respective scroll,"


    Graham stopped at that passage. He wrinkled his forehead.


    "Living sacrifices? I hope they don''t mean human, Val. If that were the case, it would certainly make things more complicated. If not, then I''m sure the living sacrifice would be something difficult to find," he said with a deep, thinking voice. However, the deepest voice that Christian Barnhart could speak in was still rather higher-pitched than his original voice. He then continued reading the next paragraph.


    ''So far, there have been fourteen Deities of Marquis rank recorded in history, and each Contractbound can only form a contract with a maximum of two of them if they want to retain their sanity. The Deities are as follow:''


    ''The Deity of Necromancy and Sin; the Deity of Foresight and Propitiation; the Deity of Great Battles and Decay; the Deity of Lost Dignity and Honors; the Deity of Allure and Distortion; the Deity of Domination and Order; the Deity of Poetry and Rebirth; the Deity of Conflict and Putrefaction; the Deity of Deceit and Purloin; the Deity of the Stars and Virtue; the Deity of Discord and Mistrust; the Deity of Geometry and Alteration; the Deity of Retrieval and Prosperity; and lastly, the Deity of Melody and the Skies.''


    ''The first known one is Sinners. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Necromancy and Sin. Most Sinners have the ability to summon supernatural creatures using rituals that mostly require human sacrifice. They are also more adept at curses than a Demise, in that their curses are more potent and have more varying and horrifying effects. There are more abilities belonging to a Sinner, but the details remain a mystery, but one thing I know for sure is that the method of pleasing this Deity is usually by summoning powerful supernatural creatures-- with great sacrifices.''


    Graham paused for a second and thought about the information he had just read.


    "The style of writing has gotten more casual, Val, instead of just listing facts. It seems the writer of this book also had a change in style the more he wrote. Now about the Sinners, these Contractbounds are the ones we have happened to learn about one way or another. The first one was the cursed dolls in the Bauwens'' House where we saw our first wraith," Graham spoke analytically.


    "Now, judging from the description, it seems that the one summoning all those ghouls is a Sinner-- or was. It means we must be very careful since they can do curses. Until now I still don''t understand how curses work, Val, but if we remember the dolls, I don''t really want to experience it first hand," he said with a slight hesitation in his tone, "Now if we look at the last piece of information there, do you think those Pale Society members are just trying to please this Deity, Val? And the ''Pale Lord'' is but a facade?"


    Graham then turned his attention back to the book that was resting on his lap and continued reading.


    ''The second one is Sagitarrs. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Great Battles and Decay. They are bestowed with great precision and are very proficient with ranged weapons, no matter what it is. The wound they cause can also be lethal even though it''s just a graze. The way to please their Deity seems to be related to a large scale battle or a war, so it is difficult to please this Deity in times of peace. I''m sure there are more to know about these Contractbounds, but so far that''s all I managed to gather.''


    ''The third one is Plague Cavalries. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Conflict and Putrefaction. Plague Cavalries have the grotesque ability to move from one corpse to another as long as they are still within the range of their abilities, which makes fighting them in a place where there are many deaths difficult. The extent of their abilities is unknown, but their abilities seem to be related to corpses and diseases. The way to please their Deity appears to have something to do with human sacrifices.''


    Graham stopped again at the passage and recalled his memory of the past.


    "Val, we''ve seen the ritual of a Plague Cavalry in the basement of the Bauwens'' House! One of them, at least. We are still not sure until now if all the rituals of pleasing the same Deity for different people are the same or not," he said thoughtfully.


    "Now, the writer of the previous journal, the one that can''t be picked up, was a Plague Cavalry. Since this one doesn''t know a great deal about it, it''s safe to assume that the writers are different people-- or he is just toying with the readers," he concluded.


    Graham flipped the page and read the paragraph on the next page.


    ''The last one I''ve managed to get information about is Balladeers. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Melody and the Skies. They are Contractbounds with strange abilities related to music. Instead of chanting, they can just play a musical instrument to achieve a wide range of effects. They are also able to fly, at least from what I''ve seen. Their ritual for pleasing this Deity seems to be about grand performances.''


    ''The next two are Deities I was in a contract with, so I could write in more detail about the abilities they grant.''


    ''The first one is Defalcators. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Deceit and Purloin. Their main ability is to use ''Deceit'' to trick the enemy into thinking something is real although it is actually not. The moment the enemy believes in the fraud, it will become as real as it can be, for a duration. The downside is that unless the enemy is truly stupid or is under manipulation, it is difficult to get them to believe in the fraud. They are also able to ''Copy'' the enemy''s ability to use as their own, for a limited number of uses. The number of abilities they can Copy is also limited. The way to please this Deity is to commit a ''grand fraud''.


    Graham stopped again and touched the pale leather belt that he was wearing.


    "Val, this belt''s effect seems similar to this Contractbound''s abilty. I think it must have been made using the remain of said Contractbound," he muttered, and then continued reading.


    ''The second one is Burghers. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Retrieval and Prosperity. They are among the richest of Contractbounds since their abilities allow them to detect and ''Retrieve'' valuables even from a distance, as long as they know what it looks like. It is a very useful ability but also difficult to use since it requires real gold coins for every use depending on the value of items that are to be ''retrieved''. However, Burghers have an insane amount of luck when it comes to money making, so most Burghers become either gamblers or investors. Although, after a while, they will be struck by the same amount of bad luck to ''recharge'' their luck. This Deity will be pleased by a huge amount of gold coins as offering.''


    ''That''s all I managed to gather about Marquis rank Contractbound. Please notice that there is a lot more information that I might have not included since it will take too long to write and I am not in the mood right now. Discover the rest yourself. After all, I am sure you got this book for free.''


    Graham scratched the back of his head.


    "This author has become too comfortable in writing it seems, Val. Since we have to discover the rest on our own, let''s just do some guessing then. The ones we don''t know yet are the Deities of Foresight and Propitiation; Lost Dignity and Honors; Allure and Distortion; Domination and Order; Poetry and Rebirth; the Stars and Virtue; Discord and Mistrust; Geometry and Alteration. That''s a lot," he said weakly and then started rubbing his chin.


    "Now let''s see. Foresight and Propitiation sound divination related. Maybe seeing the future? Lost Dignity and Honors sound like a criminal. I can''t think of any ability related to it. Allure and Distortion is most likely another manipulation path, but is it related to sex just like a Romancer? Domination and Order sound like something a Police officer would become. Maybe the abilities are related to maintaining order," he paused and took a deep breath.


    "Next is Poetry and Rebirth. It sounds like the Contractbound will be a poet and will be immortal. Would be nice if it were true. The Stars and Virtue sound like a direct advancement of an Astrologer, but I don''t get the Virtue part. Discord and Mistrust is surely a direct advancement of a Contention. Now, Geometry and Alteration sound different. Do the Deities also teach Maths? Are the abilities related to space manipulation?"


    Graham finished his analysis and then turned to the next page, but it was still blank. He turned to the page after that and it was also blank.


    "It seems I am not qualified enough to read the rest. Well, now let''s check the supernatural creatures section. I hope there will be new things there," he said with expectation.


    He flipped the pages over and went to the second half of the book where it was about supernatural creatures. He skipped the parts about the things he already knew and tried to find texts that just appeared.


    "This one is about Umm Ghulah, Val. It was mentioned before in the ghoul section and also when we were fighting with one that was close to evolving into one. Let''s read about it since I have a feeling we might encounter one in the future,"


    ''Umm Ghulah is the final evolution of a ghoul. Her main characteristic is her bloated, bloody belly with teeth protruding from it. Her body is usually twice the size of a normal human but she possesses a terrifying speed despite her size. Her elongated arms with sharp claws are riddled with deadly bacteria. She possesses some of human intelligence and is able to ''give birth'' to more ghouls. Her bite is also fatal, in that the victim will turn into a zombie if they are not strong enough to resist the viral infection that she causes. She is very resilient to both physical and mental attacks and the only way to hurt her is by using blood-related attacks.''


    Graham raised his eyebrows.


    "Val, that sounds like an enemy we don''t want to fight. And letting it loose in the city with a lot of people is also a very bad idea. No wonder the Pale Society summoned a ghoul in the concrete. Once it evolves into an Umm Ghulah, she will create a zombie army easily," he spoke with a heavy tone.

 144 Denizens of the Nigh

    Graham looked at his watch and was surprised to find out that it was already nine o''clock. He had lost track of time while reading and analyzing the information he got. The comfortable rocking chair also made it easier for him to get engrossed in his activity.


    "Val, I didn''t even realize that we''ve turned back into our original appearance," said Graham.


    Graham closed the book and put it back inside the briefcase that was lying on the floor near him. After making sure it was securely zipped, he put it away and focused on his connection with the belt that he was wearing. The complicated pattern shone a little as felt the spirituality that the Purloin emitted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Christian Barnhart!"


    As he said that, his whole body transformed into that of the appearance of the thin worker. The pattern on Purloin also changed into something more complicated, which resembled interlocking ankhs and crosses.


    "Val, I''ve successfully recorded Transformation in Purloin. The other ability is Order, so you can use both if you need to," he muttered thoughtfully.


    Graham then looked at the floating fireball that was still burning in the air near him. It had kept him warm for more than two hours and he had started to feel his stamina being drained by the fireball. He would put it out once he finished with the divination he needed to do. He focused on it and asked a question in his mind.


    ''Where is Luuk van der Meer''s current location?''


    The floating fireball burned brighter and an image began to form from the core of the flame. It showed a relatively busy street with a lot of young people around. Luuk was among the people walking in the street leisurely although it was already somewhat late into the night. Graham recognized the street as Schoolstraat South where his university was located. After that, the image disappeared.


    "It seems that he has just finished his classes. Let''s go over there before he goes home. Val, you take over; you''re much faster than me,"


    Graham looked at the burning fireball floating next to him and chanted again.


    "I ask that the flame disappear!"


    Once he said that, the fireball became smaller and smaller as if someone was snuffing it out. It disappeared into thin air just seconds later.


    Graham then leaned back in the soft and warm backrest of the rocking chair and closed his eyes. He didn''t need to use Order on himself because he was in a comfortable position. It took him only less than three minutes to completely fall asleep and Valentine woke up not long after, still in the appearance of Christian Barnhart.


    "I guess there is no helping it," he said in disappointment and then took the coat from the rack, "Anyway, this body reeks of cigarette," he said as he smelled his new body odor.


    He put the coat on without buttoning it so he could still move freely. After that, Valentine checked his gun and the bullets just in case. He then took his dagger that was hidden under his pants and slit his wrist to let the blood gather there.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood as a medium,"


    The blood emitted a faint yellowish mist that spread quickly to the surrounding area before dissipating.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    There was a wave of silence for a split second and then everything returned to normal. The area was now within Valentine''s anti-divination, so as long as he remained within a fifty-meter radius from the spot, divination shouldn''t work on him. After that, Valentine chanted something else.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    A similar thin yellowish mist covered his entire body for a split second and then disappeared into thin air. Valentine''s presence had now been concealed.


    Once his preparation was done, he exited his hotel room. In the corridor outside, there was another person, a woman, who was also going out of her room. She quickly locked her door and walked downstairs without even looking at Valentine who was just a couple of rooms away from her. The creaking sounds of the stairs could be heard loudly as she stepped downward.


    Valentine locked his own door and walked downstairs. He stepped very lightly to avoid the creaks but since he wasn''t familiar with the place, he couldn''t completely avoid the hot spots on the steps. He still created low creaking noises, although they were somehow muffled by something.


    "This body''s fitness level is terrible, G. I don''t think I can fight my best using this. Maybe I''ll just transform into that guy from the Police when we need to fight," he complained quietly.


    Valentine arrived on the first floor soon after and noticed that the grandma receptionist was still smiling blankly. She must be sleeping again with her eyes open. The woman that had gone down earlier than him was still at the main door just about to exit.


    It was still busy in the street so Valentine didn''t have to worry about being ambushed. Although, them being there shouldn''t be easily traceable in the first place. He walked quickly towards the location where Luuk should still be while skillfully avoiding bumping into people.


    "That guy walks fast, so if we don''t hurry, we might miss him. If he goes straight home, it will be troublesome," he muttered quietly while increasing his pace.


    The thin body of Christian Barnhart was not suitable for traversing a long distance quickly like that. If it wasn''t for Valentine''s originally high stamina, he would have been out of breath now.


    "This guy must be a heavy smoker. His stamina is really bad," he complained again.


    After walking for more than five minutes, he finally arrived at Schoolstraat South. There were a lot of people gathered there, especially at the spot where the entrance to the University of Sloten''s Medical Faculty was. The giant white building was towering high and cast its artificial lights to the surrounding area, illuminating it in the dark night.


    Valentine quickly looked around to find his neighbor who should still not be too far from there. Luuk wouldn''t recognize his current appearance, so he had to find him first. He then found the man not long after; he was sitting at a caf¨¦ with two other people, a man and a woman, who seemed to be his classmates. They were sitting in the outside area of the place, where they were allowed to smoke.


    Valentine walked closer to where the three of them were sitting. The three people, seeing a stranger approaching them, got suspicious. They were squinting their eyes and were scanning Valentine from head to toe. He didn''t pay attention to the other two and just stood right next to Luuk and looked at him right in the eye.


    "Come with me for a second," he said coldly with Christian''s high-pitched voice. His eyes glowed yellow for a second that was only visible to Luuk because of his position.


    Luuk''s expression showed confusion.


    This man is a Contractbound! But who is he? He seems to know me. There are still a lot of people here so he wouldn''t dare attack me in the open. I''ll just follow him for now.


    He nodded and stood up, following the man in the trench coat to the other side of the caf¨¦ that was less crowded. Valentine stood close to Luuk and spoke quietly.


    "It''s me, Hymes. I''m wearing a disguise right now,"


    Hearing his words, Luuk showed an expression of someone who had got a revelation.


    No wonder his coat looks very familiar. But how did he completely change like that? His new ability?


    "Why are you wearing a disguise?" he asked curiously.


    "I''ll tell you later. Have you come home since this afternoon?" asked Valentine straight to the point.


    Luuk felt that something was out of place about the person in front of him. That voice and that manner of speaking just didn''t go well together. However, he didn''t say anything about it. He just nodded.


    "No, I haven''t. Been at uni the whole day. Why?"


    Valentine lowered his voice even more, almost whispering.


    "Good. Don''t come home tonight. My place has been compromised. They are watching the area. You should stay at a hotel or go to your friend''s place for tonight,"


    The look on Luuk''s face showed disbelief and slight fear.


    Compromised? By who? The Pale Society? How? I don''t want to go home in that case; it will be too dangerous. And I can''t sneak out late at night if I stay with my friend.


    "I''ll stay at a hotel then," he said finally.


    "Good. Do you have the money? Stay somewhere near here. We can''t be seen together either, so you shouldn''t stay in Grotemarktstraat; that''s where I''m staying," said Valentine matter-of-factly.


    Cannot be seen together? Why?


    Luuk began racking his brain.


    Is it because they know that I live next door to the detective''s office? Or do they already know about me? That''s bad then.


    "Okay. I''ll stay somewhere here. I have the money, don''t worry. What about our loots? They are in my apartment still. And won''t it be suspicious if I don''t come home tonight?" asked Luuk.


    Valentine crossed his arms.


    "They shouldn''t know about you yet, so they won''t be searching your room. As for you not coming home, it should be completely normal if it''s just for one night. I''ll think of something tonight," replied Valentine.


    "If you say so," said Luuk. He still looked slightly worried.


    Valentine looked over his shoulder and muttered quietly.


    "G, that must be his first time experiencing something like this. I can somehow understand how he feels. Remember when a bunch of bullies told us they would wait for us in the street we usually took to get home? It must feel that way, but worse-- although in the end we beat up all the bullies,"


    He then turned back to Luuk, who was watching him.


    "I''m leaving now. Go back to your friends. Don''t worry, I have a way to locate you, so I''ll come to you if something comes up,"


    "Okay. Thank you for the warning," said Luuk.


    Valentine then left while Luuk returned to his table. His friends had been watching the two of them talking and were very curious. They couldn''t hear anything nor see Luuk''s expression because he was standing with his back agaisnt them, so they couldn''t guess the context. The other man''s expression was just flat, so it was not helping either.


    "Who was that? What were you talking about?" asked the woman.


    Luuk, who had controlled his emotion, was now showing a normal expression. Although his heart was still beating faster because of anxiety, he still could manage it to some extent.


    "It''s my neighbor. He told me something was up at the apartment building I''m staying at, so I shouldn''t go home unless I can bear with the noise," he said, coming up with a lie.


    "So where are you going to stay tonight, then? You can stay at my place if you want," offered the man. His tone was genuine.


    Luuk smiled and shook his head.


    "No need. I''ll just stay at a hotel. I''m rich, remember?" he said jokingly.


    "Whatever you say, Young Master van der Meer," replied the woman.


    The three of them let out a burst of laughter, which helped a bit with Luuk''s uneasiness.


    ...


    Inside an old apartment building, two cloaked figures were sitting on the second floor ''lobby'' that was actually just a small corner space between the staircase and the corridor. There was only a single old sofa that looked worn already. Despite their suspicious getup, the people walking by didn''t seem to notice them at all.


    "It is definite that he is not returning tonight," said one of the cloaked figures with a calculating voice.


    "Yes. That Police officer must have been him. Sometimes being too careful can be a flaw," replied the cloaked figure who seemed to be a woman with an intimidating voice.


    "You are right, Fear. It is entirely my fault. We still cannot afford to be reckless, though. We don''t want a frontal fight against the Police force," replied the man.


    "That is also true. I hope Morbid doesn''t get any trouble from the Police,"


    "He is Morbid. You shouldn''t worry about him," replied the man matter-of-factly.


    The woman nodded.


    "So what''s our plan now? We''ve checked his apartment and there is nothing useful. If we had a Barghest, we could have used his clothes to track him by smell," she said.


    "It wouldn''t really work. Once he transforms into someone else, his smell will also change. Except if he doesn''t change his clothes," explained the man, "We''ll just have to wait here patiently. We''ve told Ghastly and Horror, so leave the tracking to those two maniacs. We must stick here together in case our Shroud friend decided to ambush us."


    The two cloaked figures sat down in the dimlit space in silence, watching both the staircase and the corridor. They were waiting patiently on high alert for their prey to show up.

 145 Planning a Counter Attack

    On Wednesday morning, inside a hotel room with old-fashioned furniture and a rocking chair by the bed, Graham opened his eyes and stretched his body. The sunlight penetrated through the thin green curtains with floral patterns and brightened up the room. Although the warmth couldn''t completely dispel the cold morning air, it was still enough to lighten up the atmosphere a little.


    "Morning, Val," said Graham.


    "*Yawn*... !!" He then yawned widely and almost got a cramp in his jaws because of that.


    "Val, it''s a sign that I need more exercise," he muttered with a tone of relief. He seemed thankful that the cramp didn''t happen.


    He got up from the bed and quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth to get rid of his morning breath. He didn''t shower that morning because he had already done so the night before, just like usual. It was just too cold in the morning for a shower.


    The bathroom of that hotel was decorated in the same fashion as the rest of the room; almost everything was lime green in color and the decoration was old fashioned. He looked at himself in the mirror whose wooden frame had an intricate pattern carved on it while splashing water from the brass tap.


    Graham''s appearance had returned to his original self sometime during the night. He admired the sharp features of his face some more because he knew he wouldn''t be able to see them for a while. Whenever he was in public, he had to wear a disguise now for his own safety.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Christian Barnhart!"


    He chanted his Deity''s name and his whole body began transforming. He became shorter and his skin got paler. His overall build became thinner but there were some layers of fat here and there that served as proof of the lack of exercise. In less than thirty seconds, Graham had completely transformed into the working man Christian Barnhart.


    He sniffed his own shirtless body that looked like it hadn''t seen the sun in ages and muttered.


    "Val, you''re right. This man does reek of cigarettes. That is funny, though. we showered last night as him so our body shouldn''t smell. If we want to get rid of this man''s cigarette stench, do we have to shower again?"


    Graham rested his chin on his right hand.


    "Does it mean the body''s condition is reset whenever we transform? It makes some kind of sense because, in that stranger''s memory, Christian Barnhart smells like cigarettes. Now I wonder if it works the same with wounds and injuries," he said analytically.


    Graham became curious and then he walked back to the hotel bedroom to pick up his dagger. He pressed the cold metal against the flesh of his palm and made an incision with the sharp blade. Blood began coming out but he didn''t care.


    "I order myself to return to my original appearance!"


    "So, the injuries we get while transformed carry over to our original body. Now let''s transform back,"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Christian Barnhart!"


    Once again, Graham''s appearance turned into that of Christian Barnhart. He looked at his palm and was pleasantly surprised to find that the wound was no longer there. He tried pressing the flesh where the injury should be to check.


    "Hmm... this is a great find, Val! So the body does reset to the condition according to our target''s memory. In that man''s memory, this guy has no such a wound on his palm. However, the pain is still there, so the wound still exists actually. Just the blood has stopped flowing and we cannot see it physically," he analyzed.


    "That made me curious, Val. Does it mean when we transform into someone without an arm, we''ll also lose our arm while being transformed? That would be interesting. And if we ever lost a limb, we could just transform into someone else to enjoy the limb back. Although it has a duration of only two hours, with the limit of ten uses per day, we can technically keep the transformation the whole day anyway," said Graham in amusement.


    Once he was done with his experiments, he quickly got dressed. He only had the clothes that he wore yesterday so he didn''t have a lot of options. Even the pants that he was wearing were from yesterday. He noticed the slight smell of cigarettes on his clothes because he had been wearing it as Christian Barnhart. He focused on the shirt and then said an Order.


    "I order the bad smell on my shirt to go away!"


    He then focused on his pants.


    "I order the bad smell on my pants to go away!"


    With that, the clothes he was wearing now smelled just like something that hadn''t been worn in a long time; it wasn''t fresh, but it wasn''t reeking either. He then put on Purloin, which had a thin yellowish mist enveloping it, around his waist, and placed his bullet pouch on its side. He also wrapped his gun holster around his waist just on top of the belt. There was a tiny bloodstain on both the gun and the holster. After that, he also put on his beloved brown watch on his left wrist.


    Graham looked around to make sure that there were none of his belongings left in the hotel room. He had only brought his briefcase, the content of which was still inside, and the clothes he was wearing including the trench coat. He put on the coat and picked up the heavy briefcase, ready to leave. After making sure that his revolver was safely concealed, he exited the room and took out the key.


    He walked down quickly and reached the first floor soon after. The receptionist was no longer the old woman who always slept with her eyes open, but rather, a thin man in his forties. The man was watching Graham walk closer to the reception desk closely with his eyes squinted.


    "I''m checking out now," said Graham as he put the key on the desk.


    The man took the key and looked at the number on it. He then opened the register book and looked up the information about the guest.


    "Room 313, you''ve already paid. Thank you," said the man shortly.


    Graham then left the hotel with the old-fashioned furniture and went out to the street. He looked over his shoulder and muttered quietly.


    "Now, Val, let''s give Agatha a call. We need to secure the things that we left in Luuk''s apartment, and also the place that we have paid until the end of this year."


    Graham looked at his watch and it showed seven-fifteen in the morning. He didn''t feel very hungry; that was why he didn''t have breakfast at the hotel. He just wanted to get things done as quickly as he could.


    There was a payphone right in front of the hotel, so Graham quickly entered the phone booth that was painted orange and stood there looking at the black public phone in front of him. He recalled the number that Agatha had given him and dialed it after inserting one penning coin into the coin hole.


    Beep... beep...


    Graham heard the beeping sounds that came when the phone was being connected to the other side and after a while, someone picked it up.


    "Good morning, this is van Nostrands household. How can I help you?" said the voice from the other side. It seemed to belong to a woman in her fifties.


    "Good morning. Can you connect me to Agatha van Nostrand please. Tell her Graham Hymes is looking for her," replied Graham straight to the point.


    "Miss Agatha? Alright. Please wait a minute," replied the voice politely.


    After that, Graham only heard the faint static from the other side. He waited patiently and not long after, the sound of the landline phone being picked up was heard again.


    "Hello. This is me, Agatha. Is that you Mr. Hymes?" said a woman whose voice was very familiar to Graham. It was Agatha''s soft and warm voice that was a little distorted by the phone.


    "Hi, Agatha. Yes, it''s me. Can we meet up soon? I need your help," replied Graham.


    The other person didn''t reply right away. After seveal seconds, finally she responded.


    "Is that really you, Mr. Hymes? Why does your voice sound different?" she said with a hint of suspicion in her tone.


    "I''m wearing a disguise because of something. The sooner we can meat, the earlier I can explain the situation to you. I will compensate you for your help," he replied.


    Agatha seemed to be thinking for a while.


    "Okay. Let''s meet up at the caf¨¦ across from the Town Hall. It''s called ''Het Huis''. Do you know where it is?" said Agatha finally.


    Graham recalled his memory and then remembered the place that she mentioned. It was the place where he did stakeout accompanied by Mirjam.


    "Yes, I do. I''m going now. Meet you there soon," he said.


    "See you soon," replied Agatha.


    Graham hung up the phone and exited the booth. From Grotemarktstraat where he currently was to Raadhuislaan where the caf¨¦ was located, it would take too long to walk. Graham walked to the side of the street and waved his arm to stop a public motor carriage that was driving by. Not long after, one pulled over and Graham got in the black vehicle.


    "Where to go, Sir?" asked the driver.


    Graham recognized him right away. It was Egon Barben, his most trustworthy public driver. However, Egon didn''t recognize his passenger who was wearing a disguise.


    "Take me to a caf¨¦ called ''Het Huis''. It''s across the street from the Town Hall," replied Graham.


    Egon nodded.


    "So, Raadhuislaan. That will be six pennings, Sir," said Egon.


    "What? I am sure it was only five pennings last night," argued Graham.


    Egon suddenly got a familiar feeling, but he couldn''t put it exactly.


    "No, Sir. It has always been six pennings," he replied, not backing down.


    "Alright alright. Just take me there," said Graham with Christian''s high-pitched voice.


    Egon drove away at once, leaving the busy Grotemarktstraat. The traffic that morning was rather bad. There were still a lot of people on the road going to work, so the number of vehicles was quite high. It was even busier on Raadhuislaan because that was where the center of the government was located. It took Egon more than eight minutes to take his passenger to his destination.


    "Here you go, thanks," said Graham as he slid the money through the gap in the glass separator.


    "Thank you, Sir," replied Egon politely.


    Graham got out and then went directly to the caf¨¦ that Agatha had designated as their meeting spot. He took a seat in the corner where there was no one nearby and sat there. Since he wasn''t really hungry, he didn''t want to order any food since it was too expensive there. He just ordered a cup of hot chocolate not to seem like a freeloader.


    Not long after, a black motor carriage drove by quickly and parked abruptly on the side of the street. A beautiful woman with dark brown hair tied up and decorated with a hair ornament got out and slammed the door shut. She was wearing a tight black coat and a pair of black high heels while her hands were covered in black net gloves with a floral pattern. It was Agatha van Nostrand, who was currently walking towards the caf¨¦ where Graham was sitting.


    "Miss Agatha, welcome," said the waiter politely as she approached the establishment.


    "Morning, Dan," she replied warmly.


    Agatha was looking around in search of someone, and then her attention was drawn by a man in the corner waving his hand. She observed the man for a while before finally approached him.


    "Is that you, Mr. Hymes?" she asked cautiously.


    The smell of her fragrant perfume entered Graham''s nose. It was the smell of citrus and a base note of spice.


    "Yes, it''s me. This is my current disguise. You should call me Christian for now," replied Graham quietly.


    He beckoned Agatha to sit down and the latter took the seat opposite him. She sat down elegantly with a perfect posture and looked at Graham''s new appearance in amazement.


    "How did you completely change like that? Is that your new ability?" asked Agatha quietly.


    "Yes. Let''s go straight to the point. I need your help," said Graham.


    He then proceeded to tell Agatha about the Pale Society and what had happened in his apartment building. Agatha was listening intently while nodding occasionally. Her expression showed genuine concern especially when he told her about the Pale Society''s plan and about the Umm Ghulah.


    "So that''s what the ghoul that we killed would have become," she said with worry in her tone.


    "Yes. So I need your help to secure my place back. You are now also a President rank, aren''t you?" asked Graham.


    Agatha nodded with a proud smile.


    "Are you a Gore?" guessed Graham.


    "Yes. How did you know?" she asked, slightly surprised.


    "Just a guess. I will also ask Luuk for help. He is currently hiding in another hotel," said Graham, and then added, "Sorry if this is out of topic, but why are the staff here so friendly towards you?"


    Agatha let out a chuckle.


    "It''s because this caf¨¦ belongs to my older brother," she said, with a smile.


    Graham looked over his shoulder and muttered, "So that''s the reason, Val. No wonder she chose this place. She must have not trusted us fully back during the call; that''s why she picked a familiar place with people she knew,"


    "So what is the plan, Mr. Hymes?" asked Agatha.


    "First, I need a new disguise," replied Graham mysteriously.

 146 Preparation to Strike Back

    "What do you mean?" asked Agatha confusedly. She didn''t seem to understand what Graham''s ulterior motive was behind his words.


    "I''m just being cautious about this identity''s security. Besides, this body cannot be used for fighting," explained Graham shortly.


    Agatha once again looked at the man who was sitting in front of her. He indeed looked thin but not the kind that was malnourished. It was just the body of someone who never did any exercise or did manual labor, despite his face resembling a typical factory worker.


    "So how can I help you with that?" she asked kindly.


    Graham''s lips curled in a smile while maintaining eye-contact with Agatha.


    "I need to read your memory to get a new identity. Is that okay? I won''t be reading everything; it''s just something related to someone that I might find useful," said Graham again. His tone was like a door-to-door salesperson trying to sell his wares.


    Agatha rested her right cheek on her right hand and appeared to be thinking. Although they had just known each other for less than two weeks, she trusted the detective to some extent. Her spirituality also hadn''t warned her about any malicious intents coming from the man, so she wasn''t alarmed.


    "That is fine by me, but I will take you up on your offer. I want free divination and also your assistance in something else. That will also be the compensation for my assistance in helping you," she replied finally. Her tone was like a true businesswoman but there was still kindness in it.


    Graham nodded in approval and then smiled.


    "I need the identities of two people, so I will have to read your memory twice. I don''t know how it would feel when I''m doing it, but you might feel slight discomfort, so bear with it," he explained with his high-pitched voice.


    "Okay. I am sure it will not be a problem," she said. Her deep blue eyes that looked like the ocean didn''t show any sign of worry nor fear.


    "Or I can make you fall asleep and wake you up once it''s done," offered Graham.


    Agatha shook her head slowly with her cheek still on her right hand.


    "It is okay. I would rather know how it feels in case something like that happens to me in the future," she said.


    "Alright then," replied Graham shortly. His hands were pressed in front of him and he placed his chin on them.


    Graham looked down and began focusing on his own memory. He then singled out the identity of Konrad Dykman. He needed to make space for a new identity, so he had to get rid of that one from his memory. He didn''t want to remove Cornelis Haring because of the fact that he was a Police Sergeant. Once the space was ready, he looked at Agatha again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of Agatha van Nostrand!"


    Graham once again felt the familiar sensation of being underwater without being able to move a limb. All the sounds around him were muffled and he could only observe the scenes in front of him through the ''glass window''. There was Agatha in a martial arts class sparring with her instructor, an athletic man in his early forties. His hair was jet black and his skin showed proof that he was in the sun a lot. The man looked taller than Agatha, who was already tall herself even without her heels.


    The scenes in front of Graham kept changing to reinforce the identity of the martial arts instructor. Graham paid attention well to his behavior and mannerisms, and information from Agatha''s brain about the man was also transferred to his own. Once he had got enough, he severed the connection and returned to reality.


    Graham directly observed Agatha''s change of expression once he was out.


    "How did it feel?" he asked curiously.


    "Oh, so it is done? It just felt like my mind was a lake and someone was disturbing it, looking for something under the water. It was not painful in any way; it only felt inexplicably strange," she explained with a tone that was both serious and curious.


    "Yes, it''s done. I''ll show you. Can you please cover me?" asked Graham.


    Agatha nodded.


    "No problem,"


    She got up from her chair and stood up in the way so that other people couldn''t see Graham. Meanwhile, the latter was chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Hansen M¨¹ller!"


    His skin began itching again like they were shedding, and then it grew much darker than his current pale skin. His muscles also grow and he became taller. His facial features became much more defined and there was a scar on his chin. Graham''s hair also turned the color jet black, to match the appearance of the martial arts instructor based on Agatha''s memory.


    Agatha was watching the whole process while standing up and she was amazed at how the man had become someone else in mere seconds. What was more was that he had turned into the perfect copy of the martial arts instructor that she knew well. Even his smell was similar to that of the man.


    "It is unbelievable!" she exclaimed, and then went back to her seat.


    "That''s my new ability," replied Graham. His voice was now much heavier and deeper. It felt like if he didn''t control it, he would speak too loudly.


    Graham then looked over his shoulder and muttered, "Val, no wonder she is so naturally strong. She can spar with this kind of person. Another interesting thing, Val, although I don''t suddenly master the martial arts that this guy knows, I get some information about it. My body should be able to perform it naturally enough."


    "You are exactly like my teacher now. If not for your clothes, I would think that you were him," she said.


    Graham''s shirt indeed felt too tight right now; it was clear that it was not the man''s size. The buttons were holding it together only by sheer willpower.


    "That''s exactly the point. Now, I''ll tell you about the plan. I don''t know for sure how many people are watching my home because they have anti-divination, but I''m sure there will be more than one. And we can''t fight there either unless I want the Police to investigate later. So we need to lure them somewhere and ambush them," he explained.


    "That is the plan? That sounds rather simplistic," responded Agatha, "And how are you going to lure them? If they see you, I am sure they will kill you on sight."


    Graham rubbed his chin and crossed his legs. However, since it didn''t match the image of Hansen, he changed his mind.


    "That''s where I need another identity from you. We''ll also need Luuk''s support to finish off the enemy," he explained.


    Agatha nodded and then prepared herself for the coming uncomfortable sensation. Graham concentrated on his memory first and erased the identity of Christian Barnhart from his ''slot''.


    Once he had freed up a slot for a new identity, Graham focused on the woman in front of him again and thought about the next memory he wanted to read. He had already decided on the person, so it was easier for him to concentrate.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of Agatha van Nostrand!"


    Graham became ''submerged'' in water one more time. He was looking at the short interaction between Agatha and his neighbor, Luuk van der Meer. He knew Luuk better than Agatha, so without her knowledge, he would be able to act as him already. However, he still needed Agatha''s memory to transform into the man, otherwise, his ability wouldn''t work. Once he got all the information he needed, he cut the connection and returned to reality.


    Agatha wore a frown on her face; the process must have been unpleasant for her.


    "Val, so she thinks Luuk is a cool and brave person. At least that''s what her memory told me," he muttered in amusement quietly, making sure the woman in front of him couldn''t hear him.


    "I am sorry, did you mention my name?" she asked.


    Graham quickly shook his head.


    "No, nothing," he said shortly.


    She let it slide and then put her cheek on her hand again.


    "So, what is the plan?"


    "I''ll tell you after this. Can you please cover me again?" he requested.


    Agatha nodded and then stood up in the way again so that people couldn''t see Graham''s appearance changing. The man muttered an Order and then he quickly turned back to his original detective appearance, which Agatha was familiar with.


    "This look fits your personality the best," she commented.


    Graham didn''t respond. He just chanted one more time.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Luuk van der Meer!"


    With that, he became shorter and thinner. His hair became curly and brown. There were black circles around his brown eyes, just like when she first met him. His face could be said as handsome, but there was something mysterious about the whole person that made people think twice before approaching him. In less than thirty seconds, Graham had turned into his Thief neighbor, Luuk.


    "It''s always amazing to see you transform like that," said Agatha with a higher pitch than usual. She sounded like someone who had just seen a magic show.


    She went back to her seat and sat down elegantly.


    "Thanks. Now, the plan. I''m going to lure them using this appearance while you and the real Luuk wait in a nearby alley to ambush the enemy. Simple enough?" he explained.


    "It does sound simple, but why not let Luuk lure them while we wait in ambush?" she asked curiously.


    Graham shook his head slowly.


    "If I go personally, I can also observe the enemies," he replied.


    Agatha nodded in understanding.


    "Now, I just need to locate that neighbor of mine," said Graham.


    He took out his lighter and then lit a fire. He focused on the tiny flame and asked a question in his mind.


    ''What is Luuk van der Meer''s current location?''


    The flame in front of him burned brighter and slowly, an image appeared. It showed him a hotel room where a man was still sleeping on the bed with a thick blanket covering his body. It was Luuk. The image then zoomed out and showed the exterior of the hotel, which was called ''Slotenian'' and the street where it was on. After that, instead of disappearing, the image shifted to that of a caf¨¦ and there was a man and a woman sitting in the corner. It was Graham and Agatha, the former wearing the target''s appearance. Then, the image disappeared gradually.


    Graham raised his eyebrows and looked over his shoulder.


    "Val, what does that mean? Does it mean when I use someone''s identity, divination directed at that person will also include me? That means divination directed at Graham Hymes will yield no result. That''s a great find, Val!" he muttered excitedly.


    Agatha, who had also seen the divination, also looked confused. However, since she didn''t know how divination worked in detail, she just brushed it aside.


    "Let''s go fetch that guy. We have a lot to prepare," said Graham as he got up from the chair.


    The two of them went to the cashier to pay and then headed towards Agatha''s motor carriage. She got into the driver''s seat while Graham sat next to her. He held on tight and she drove away right away at a terrifying speed. Although the road was busy, she didn''t slow down. She just skillfully took over everyone else on the street.


    They arrived at Bloemstraat, where the hotel Luuk was staying was located, and Agatha parked her motor carriage on the side of the street. The two of them got out quickly, especially Graham who was more than eager to leave the metal death cage. They entered the hotel with the name ''Slotenian'' written in a neon box at the top.


    They entered big the nine-story hotel and walked up to the receptionist who was smiling at them, but there was a slight confusion in her face. Graham got closer to the female receptionist and smiled awkwardly.


    "Uhm, hello. I forgot which one my room is. Can you please remind me?" he asked with a confused tone.


    "Mr. van der Meer, I didn''t see you go out. Your room is on the fifth floor, number 24. Did you lose your key? Do you need a spare key?" asked the female receptionist in concern.


    Graham shook his head.


    "No need. Thank you," he said shortly.


    Graham and Agatha took the elevator and reacher the fifth floor shortly after. They walked down the corridor that was adorned with a red carpet and stood in front of room 24. Since the real Luuk was still sleeping, Graham didn''t bother to knock on the door.


    "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    Click!


    The hotel room was now unlocked. Graham opened the door and let Agatha go in first. He then closed the door behind him slowly and walked straight to the bed where a man was snoring quietly. Graham looked at the sleeping Luuk shook him violently.


    Being disturbed, Luuk abruptly opened his eyes and was shocked to see the sight in front of him.


    "What the fuck!!" he exclaimed loudly.


    He had been woken up by himself!


    Agatha was standing near Graham with her hand covering her mouth; she was holding back her laughter.

 147 A Bai

    "Who the fuck are you?!" Luuk, who had not fully woken up yet, jumped out of bed away from his doppelg?nger. His expression was that of shock and fear.


    He then saw Agatha giggling near his perfect twin and slowly came to the realization. The man looking exactly like him who was staring motionlessly at him was probably the detective.


    "Mr. Hymes, is that you?" he asked, still in doubt.


    No matter what, seeing the exact copy of himself was not something he could get used to quickly.


    "Yes, it''s me. Sorry for borrowing your appearance without your permission," said Graham just out of formality.


    Luuk nodded.


    "So why are you here today? Is it about our place?" he asked curiously.


    "Yes. So please go get ready. Meanwhile, it would be weird to have two Luuk van der Meers walking together, so I''ll change into someone else," said Graham.


    He issued another Order and his appearance became his original self one more time. After that, he chanted his Deity''s name and he once again turned into the martial arts instructor Hansen M¨¹ller. Agatha was still watching the process with amazement in her eyes.


    "Val, just like that, I''ve used five Transformations just within two hours," he muttered while looking over his shoulder.


    By the time Graham finished transforming, Luuk had also finished getting ready. He had put on the shirt that he had worn the night before and a black sweater. The pants that he was wearing were also the same as the previous night. After he packed his belongings, the three people left the now messy hotel room.


    "Where is your stuff, Mr. Hymes?" asked Luuk in curiosity. His bag was rather heavy from all the course books he ha had to bring to classes the day before.


    "I left it in Agatha''s motor carriage. Just leave yours there too later," he replied.


    They took the elevator back to the first floor and Luuk went to the receptionist to check out and pay.


    "Good morning again, Mr. van der Meer. You just came back and you''re already leaving?" asked the receptionist. There was genuine confusion in her tone.


    Luuk''s face also showed puzzlement and then he quickly realized what had happened.


    "Yes, yes. Something just came up, so I need to leave," he explained vaguely.


    After paying for the cost of one night''s stay, Luuk came back to the other two who were waiting by the door. The three of them exited the hotel and went to the motor carriage that was parked by the side of the road and got in; Graham at the front and Luuk at the back. There was Graham''s briefcase placed neatly under the back seat on the left, so Luuk sat on the right, behind the driver.


    The three people stood in the clean deserted alley. The city''s cleaning service usually worked very early in the morning and the fact that the place was still clean meant no one had done any suspicious activities there.


    Graham looked at Luuk and said, "We need to switch clothes."


    Luuk nodded and took off the shirt and sweater that he was wearing, exposing his slender and pale body. There were clear tan lines around his arms and neck. Meanwhile, Graham had turned back into himself and had quickly transformed into a perfect copy of Luuk. He took off his shirt and exposed his body that was a uniform color as his arms and face. It was clear that Agatha had never seen Luuk shirtless, so her brain made up what his body looked like.


    "I wish my body was also that tanned," said the original Luuk while looking at Graham''s exposed torso that technically belonged to himself.


    Graham shrugged and gave him his shirt and coat. The two identical men then put on the clothes at the same time. Graham then moved his gun holster to his chest and covered it with Luuk''s black sweater. Although it was now more difficult to reach, it would be concealed at least. The sweater was long enough to cover his belt and bullet pouch, so he didn''t do anything to them. Agatha was watching the process without feeling even slightly uncomfortable.


    "Wear the Gemini mask. It''s in one of the pockets," said Graham to Luuk.


    The young medical student reached into the heaviest part of the trench coat and took out the mask that had two sides to it. He put it on and now he almost looked like Graham, only shorter and a bit thinner.


    Graham took out a lighter from his pants pocket and lit a fire.


    "I ask that the flame float,"


    As he said that, the tiny flame rose in the air and suspended itself there. It was burning gently but the sunlight outshone its brightness. Graham put the lighter back in his pocket and looked at the tiny flame.


    "I ask that you become bigger!"


    The flame suddenly grew in size to that of a football. It kept growing until it stopped once it reached the size of an exercise ball. Now, the was a huge floating ball of fire in the alley and it dispelled the cold that the morning brought to some extent. Next, he issued another command at the flame.


    "I ask that you hide inside this dumpster!"


    Graham opened the lid of the empty metal dumpster and the ball of fire entered it. From afar, it shouldn''t be visible. He didn''t close the lid so that it would be easily accessible.


    Luuk was watching from the side patiently with his hands inside the pockets of his pants. Meanwhile, Agatha had slit her wrist and let the blood pool on the ground beneath her. Once there was enough, she also took out a blood bag from under her coat and pour the content onto the pool of blood.


    Graham then sat next to the now warm dumpster with his back against the wall. He closed his eyes and issued an Order to himself.


    "I order myself to fall asleep!"


    Within seconds, he felt very sleepy and then fell asleep not long after. Valentine then opened his eyes and got up from the spot. He understood Graham''s intention, so he quickly chanted while focusing on Luuk who was wearing the Gemini mask.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare that the presence of the man in front of me a secret!"


    Instantly, a thin yellowish mist descended and enveloped the original Luuk''s body. His presence had been erased and unless someone focused, they wouldn''t be able to see him. Luuk then understood what he needed to do and looked at Agatha who was still doing her own preparation.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare the presence of Agatha van Nostrand mine!"


    He made a swift swiping motion with his right hand and now the woman''s presence had also been erased.


    "I can only keep it stolen for five minutes," reminded Luuk.


    Valentine nodded and then went back to the sleeping spot and switched with Graham again. Graham got up and cleaned the dirt off his clothes approached Luuk, or what he thought was Luuk''s spot. He couldn''t feel him now nor see him unless he knew where to look.


    "I''ll lure the enemies here now. Please get ready. Luuk, give me your apartment key," said Graham. He reached his hand out and Luuk took a key ring from his right pocket difficultly using his left hand and handed it to Graham.


    "Here," he said shortly.


    Graham took the keys and walked out of the alley quickly. He was lucky that Agatha had seen the way Luuk walk, so the body that he got right now was as light as the original. He arrived at the apartment not long after and entered through the main entrance. There was a kind of nostalgic feeling even though he had only been away for a day.


    The moment he stepped into the building, his sense of danger was triggered again. However, it was not because of the enemies'' presence. In fact, he couldn''t feel their presence at all. It was something akin to his divination telling him there was danger nearby.


    He walked upstairs normally in the way that the real Luuk would and reached the third floor not long after. He refrained from looking around to avoid suspicion and just went straight to Luuk''s apartment while only looking straight ahead. He fished out the keys from his pocket and inserted the biggest one to the keyhole and gave it a twist. With a click, the door was unlocked and he entered the apartment before closing the door back behind him.


    "Val, I think the enemies are hiding in the corner of the corridor. They must be sitting on that old sofa while watching us the whole time while we can''t even see them," muttered Graham quietly.


    Graham walked across the messy apartment and approached the stuffed backpack lying near the table. He unzipped it and took out some of its contents to make it a bit lighter and then carried it behind his back. There was a tiny bloodstain at the top and he made sure not to cover it. He also packed the pouches of powder on the desk and stuffed them all inside his pocket. He trusted Luuk''s packaging ability in the hope they wouldn''t burst inside the pocket.


    Once he was set, he went out of the apartment and locked the door again behind him. Graham walked down the corridor confidently and made his way downstairs.


    ...


    "Fear, did you see that?" whispered a hooded man.


    "See what? The man just now? What about him, Fright?" asked Fear with her intimidating voice.


    "There is a tiny bloodstain on his backpack. It''s a Shroud''s medium for anti-divination," replied Fright seriously.


    Fear stretched her body and seemed to feel relieved.


    "Is it finally time for action? I''m sick of just sitting around and watching this old dilapidated building," she said excitedly.


    "Yes. It seems that that guy is connected to the Shroud somehow. But we must also be careful in case it''s a trap," replied Fright analytically.


    "Well, even if it''s a trap, I''m sure we can run away just easily. It''s not only that Shroud who is a master of escaping," said Fear proudly.


    "Sure whatever. Just be careful. Let''s go before he''s gone,"


    The two hooded figures stood up from the sofa and followed the man with the black sweater from behind while maintaining their distance. They walked downstairs and exited the old apartment building while keeping an eye on their target.


    The street outside was busy, but despite their suspicious getup, nobody seemed to notice the two people wearing cloaks that completely covered their faces. They were following the man in a black sweater who hadn''t seemed to notice that he was being followed. The man just kept on walking quickly while carrying the backpack with a tiny, barely noticeable bloodstain at the top.


    "Where do you think he''s going?" asked Fear curiously.


    "Probably meeting up with the Shroud. His backpack looks like it has valuables inside. He must be his informant or something. If I hadn''t noticed the tiny bloodstain, he would have slipped past us just like that," explained Fright.


    The man then turned right to the entrance of a back alley and the two cloaked figures waited for a while before entering. The man then started becoming suspicious and looked around him. Fright, who was leaning a little to watch the man, became more convinced that he was related to their target.


    "He was watching his surroundings. It seems that he is meeting up with our target somewhere here," explained Fright quietly.


    "Then let''s go and ruin their party," replied Fear with excitement.

 148 A Back Alley Figh

    Fright and Fear, the two cloaked members of the Pale Society, followed the man in a black sweater into the quiet back alley. They were cautious, carefully watching their surroundings for signs of traps. The man they were following was also keeping his guard up, looking around to make sure he wasn''t followed. However, with Fright''s ability, he wouldn''t even know they were there.


    "I haven''t seen our target," whispered Fear quietly; her eyes were carefully scanning her surroundings.


    "This is suspicious. Don''t let your guard down," urged Fright.


    There was something strange about the back alley, but they couldn''t exactly put it. There was an open giant dumpster that looked empty far ahead of them and there was only the other side of the back alley. The person they were following walked closer to the dumpster and looked around once more. Once he was sure there was no one, he appeared to have started speaking to someone hiding behind the giant trash bin.


    Fright gestured at Fear and the latter nodded. They would strike right away before the enemy had any chance to retaliate. Fear stood in her spot and began chanting.


    "Pests and Vermins..."


    She lifted her left sleeve and began cutting her wrist with a curved dagger that she had taken out from under her cloak. The dagger''s hilt had a carving of a snake on it and there were two tiny green gemstones that served as the snake''s eyes.


    "Blood and Contagion..."


    The blood that came out of her wound turned dark green and it emitted an aura of death and decay.


    Whoosh!


    Fear''s spell chanting had been interrupted!


    She had managed to jump out and avoid the sudden attack, but her spell had failed. She looked at what had just attacked her and it was a giant spinning chakram made of blood. The chakram had quickly changed its trajectory and was aiming for Fear''s head.


    "We''re under attack!" she shouted.


    Clank!


    She deflected the attack with the curved dagger with a snake carving. Although the weapon attacking her was made of blood, it was as hard as steel and was very heavy. On top of that, its circular shape made it hard to properly defend against. Fear''s right hand felt rather numb after defending against the attack and she was pushed back several centimeters.


    Fear quickly looked around to find her assailant and noticed a woman wearing a tight black coat that had come out from behind a pile of boxes. She was controlling the flying weapon elegantly with her right hand while her left hand was raised in front of her. There was another giant spinning blood chakram by her side which seemed to be used as a defense.


    "We have a Gore here," shouted Fear at Fright who was approaching the man they were following. The man had somehow managed to get out of his sight and was now in hiding.


    Bang!


    "Shit!"


    Fear was pushed back by the heavy weapon although she was not injured.


    Fright, on the other hand, was standing in his spot motionlessly. He had been hit by the sudden bullet and there was a hole in his head, right through the hood he was wearing. However, there was no blood pouring out and not long after, his body became distorted. It was like a drop of ink on water that quickly washed away into nothingness.


    It was only an illusion!


    "Good thing I''m always prepared," he said, signaling at his partner that he was safe. He was standing in a lowered position to avoid subsequent bullets while watching the spot where the man had disappeared carefully.


    Fright looked for the hidden shooter carefully but wasn''t able to see them because of the cover. He backed away to get closer to Fear, who was still busy defending herself against the giant blood weapon.


    "This is an ambush! Do we fight or escape?" asked Fear calmly, "I''d choose fight, but you make the call."


    "Then we fight. If things get dangerous, we''ll run without hesitation," replied Fright.


    "Great. Those chakrams are very heavy, be careful!" reminded Fear.


    Just as she said that, the heavy spinning weapon approached them at a frightening speed. They could even feel the air being blown away by the chakram and the irony smell of blood being spread around in the process.


    Whoosh!


    The blood chakram aimed at Fright this time, but the moment it made contact with his skin, he once again turned distorted and then disappeared. He reappeared behind a few centimeters away, right behind Fear, who deflected the blood weapon with her curved dagger. It had gone straight through Fright''s illusory body and went at her instead.


    "We can''t just allow the enemies to keep attacking us like this, can we?" asked Fear. Despite being hit by a barrage of attacks, her tone didn''t seem distressed. Instead, it sounded like she was smiling. She seemed to have been waiting for the fight after the boring Nightwatch duty.


    "Of course not, but we have to stay on our guard," replied Fright calmly. He was observing all the enemies in front of him carefully.


    Fear stood straight and made a deep cut on both of her palms with her sharp dagger. Blood began coming out of the wound right away and she put both hands in front of her with her palms facing down.


    Drip... drip...


    Fear let her blood flow down to the ground; drop by drop of the crimson liquid created a puddle of fresh blood that became bigger and bigger.


    Clank!


    A blood chakram was coming at Fear from the side but it was deflected by a long commando knife that was embellished by a purple gemstone on the hilt.


    Fright had taken out his own dagger and was protecting his partner from the attack, giving her the time to finish her preparations. He was pushed back by the impact but it gave his partner the time she needed.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Serpents and Death, offer this blood of mine!"


    The wide pool of blood on the ground and started squirming and bubbling slowly as if it was alive. It looked like several things were trapped under the blood and were trying to get out. There was an ominous feeling coming from it.


    "For I summon in thy name the serpents that will bring forth death!"


    The squirming blood on the ground started twitching violently and the bubbles became bigger. After a while, it solidified and turned into countless tiny snakes that were probably only about ten centimeters in length. However, the number of snakes was the biggest problem since there seemed to be no end to them. They also emitted a green aura that reeked of death.


    The countless small snakes that started slithering in every direction, moving towards Fear''s enemies. Most of them moved quickly towards the woman with the blood chakram. She controlled her defensive chakram with her left hand and sweep the floor with decapitated snake bodies. Her right hand controlled the other chakram to keep the enemies busy.


    Hiss!!


    The hissing of snakes filled the area and they were provoked by the woman''s act of killing their brethren. They quickly slithered towards her in a larger number.


    The woman then recalled her offensive chakram and get inside both of them. One of the chakrams was placed right at her foot level while the other was a little higher. Both blood weapons then started spinning fast with her in the middle, effectively protecting her from the snakes trying to approach.


    Mutilated bodies of snakes were thrown around because of her defensive maneuver. The dead snakes then turned back into blood and gathered in one spot, creating another puddle of squirming liquid. After a while, the blood solidified into more snakes.


    Some other snakes had slithered to another direction, effectively searching for the hidden gunman. Fright followed closely with his eyes where the snakes were going.


    "Let''s see if you can hide from these snakes," he said finally, looking at the spot behind the very same dumpster where the man they were following was last seen. Since the blood chakrams were now both protecting the owner, he was free to move.


    Fright readied his weapon quickly dashed towards the location, but suddenly he heard a quiet whisper.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Theft, declare your intention of approaching your target mine!"


    He stopped in his track as if forgetting what he was about to do. He then quickly refocused and then backed away from the spot.


    "There is also a Thief!" he shouted at Fear, who was still concentrating on her spell.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    Suddenly, there was a deep, commanding voice coming from behind the dumpster, and Fright''s whole body was immobilized against his will. He couldn''t even lift a muscle, let alone get away from the spot. However, he wasn''t worried, because the moment he got attacked, his illusion ability would trigger.


    He focused on all of his senses to track the enemies'' movement, but there was none since they seemed to be busy defending against the snakes. They were just immobilizing him to give them time to kill off the slitherers. Bodies of snakes were thrown back from behind the dumpster and once again, they turned into blood and from the blood, more snakes were created. As long as Fear maintained her ability or until her stamina was depleted, the snakes would be reborn continuously.


    Suddenly, Fright heard a quiet murmur that got him alerted. Since it was not a physical attack, he couldn''t use his illusion ability to redirect the spell targeted at him. Fear, who sensed that his partner was in trouble, stopped her spellcasting by retracting her arms. The blood stopped flowing right away and the wounds closed down quickly.


    She quickly dashed to her partner''s side and slit her palm left palm with her curved dagger to create a new wound. After that, she took some kind of powder from under her cloak and mixed it with her blood. She then splashed the blood mixture to where the enemies were hiding and shouted.


    "Explode!"


    Kaboom!


    The blood created a violent explosion that covered a small area. There were two figures who were trying to get away from the center of the explosion but they were still thrown back several meters because of the impact. It was the man they were following and another person wearing a mask. Fright noticed that the masked man was wearing the same trench coat as the Police Sergeant who had got away from them. It was their target!


    Hiss!!


    The snakes that were still alive quickly slithered towards the two people who were still trying to recover from the explosion.


    Whoosh!


    The woman in the black coat had quickly used one of her chakrams to kill some of the snakes that were approaching them. It gave the two figures a chance to recover and protect themselves with their melee weapons.


    Fright, who had recovered from the enemy''s ability, was now standing near Fear with his weapon ready. He signaled at Fear and the latter nodded. Fear began preparing her ability while Fright would keep the enemies busy.


    Bang!


    The man without the mask shot at him and hit him in the shoulder. Fright''s body quickly became distorted and disappeared.


    Whoosh!


    One of the heavy blood chakrams was still busy killing off the small snakes that were approaching them. Since the ability hadn''t been maintained, once the snakes were killed, they just turned into blood and evaporated away.


    Fear stood up straight and started chanting solemnly. Her voice echoed in the deserted alley.


    "Pests and Vermins..."


    She slit her wrist left wrist with her curved dagger and poured her blood on the ground. The wound was wide open without any sign of closing.


    "Blood and Contagion..."


    The blood that had left her body slowly turned the color of dark green that resembled death. It also emitted a rotten aura that quickly spread to the surrounding area and dissipated into thin air.


    "O'' Deity of Serpents and Death, thee, that didst govern over curses..."


    Her voice was dignified and sounded ceremonial. However, to her enemies, her voice sounded sinister and it carried an ominous foreboding.


    The green blood on the ground slowly started squirming like they were tiny worms. They moved in different directions and painted the ground green.


    Bang!


    There was a gunshot that was aimed at Fear who was preparing a ritual, but Fright took it head-on and there was whole in his chest. Suddenly, his whole body became distorted and disappeared into thin air. He then reappeared several centimeters away totally unscathed.


    "I don''t have many more illusory substitutes, so you''d better be faster," he said to Fear, who was still busy concentrating on her ritual.


    The green blood had squirmed all the way around, creating a perfect circle. It then started moving inwards very slowly.


    There was a blood chakram shooting at her very quickly, but Fright was fast enough to deflect it. The countless snakes, whose number had been greatly reduced, help keep the enemies busy to some extent.


    The green blood worms were now painting the inside of the circle in the shape of four staves pointing at the four cardinal directions with four crosses between them.


    It was the sigil of the Deity of Serpents and Death!


    Although it was still incomplete, the green blood sigil already emitted a thick green mist that rose in the air. The green mist brought about the feeling of dread and decay, and was slowly spreading to the surrounding area with a speed that increased as the sigil was nearing completion.

 149 Mind Corruption

    The green sigil that was drawn on the ground was almost completed and the area was filled with a dreadful aura that brought about gloom and dread. Very slowly, the green blood squirmed like a bunch of carnivorous worms moving onto their prey. They crawled and slithered in unison towards the center of the sigil to connect the last line required.


    Fright was still standing in front of Fear to protect her from the enemies'' attacks. He stood there in a defensive stance, ready to deflect anything the enemy threw at them.


    The two men in front of him were still occupied by the tiny snakes whose number had gone down tremendously. It was just a matter of time before they were all completely decimated. The blood chakram that the woman in a black coat was controlling was spinning wildly on the ground, shredding apart any creatures approaching it.


    "The enemies are still busy. How much longer will your curse be ready?" asked Fright without taking his eyes off his enemies. He held his commando knife tightly with his right hand.


    Whoosh!!


    Suddenly, there was a giant fireball shooting at the spot where the sigil was being drawn. It came from the dumpster ahead of Fright and moved at such terrifying speed that he had no time to do anything about it. His clothes caught on fire because of the massive fireball and suddenly, he became distorted and disappeared into thin air.


    "Shit! The sigil!" he shouted as he reappeared several centimeters from his original spot.


    The fireball had hit the ground where the sigil was being drawn and the moment the green blood came into contact with it, it caught on fire and violently burned.


    Crackle!


    The green ''worms'' were twitching and writhing as they burned and they seemed to be screaming. There was a faint cry of pain coming from the blood as it burned dry and evaporated. Just in a matter of seconds, the blood sigil had been erased from existence and in its place, the fire was blazing fiercely.


    "Arghhh!!" shouted Fear.


    She stumbled back and held her head tightly with both hands. She seemed to be suffering because of the interruption of her ability just a moment before its activation. The backlash caused her great pain; Her body was hunched and she was banging her head in the air frantically.


    Fright had quickly rushed to her side and placed both of his hands on her head, right on top of her two hands.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, hereby hide the pain that you are feeling from your memory!"


    Fear slowly stopped banging her head and she started regaining her composure. It was still painful, but she wasn''t as affected as before. Fear quickly got back into a battle stance and looked at the enemies in front of her while paying her partner a glance.


    "Thanks, Fright," she said shortly.


    Bang!


    The man in the black sweater fired a shot at Fear. The bullet pierced quickly through the air but the moment it was about to hit the target, Fright had managed to protect her with his own body. The bullet drilled a hole on his right shoulder but he suddenly turned twisted and disappeared.


    "I''ll be really out of illusory substitute at this point," he said as he reappeared next to Fear like a spot of ink that emerged to the surface of the water.


    Bang!


    Another shot was fired while Fright was still in the process reappearing. Fear couldn''t move faster than a bullet, so she was hit in the shoulder. There was a hole there from the bullet and blood came gushing out.


    "Fuck!" she shouted while pressing the wound with her left hand to stop the bleeding.


    Suddenly, Fear realized the situation she had been put it.


    "I can''t move! It''s a paralysis bullet!" she shouted.


    Fright looked at his immobilized partner and then at the enemies. The blood chakram was flying in the air in her direction so he quickly got in front of her and deflected it. The impact made his right hand a little numb for a second.


    "The situation is not looking so good. We need to retreat," said Fear. She was slightly surprised that Fright hadn''t said it first because usually, he would be the level-headed one. Fright should have said the order to retreat much earlier when he noticed the situation was only getting worse for them.


    "You escape. I''ll hold them back," replied Fright seriously.


    The man in the black sweater had rushed towards them with a sharp dagger in his hand. The moment he got close enough, he uttered an Order.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    Fright once again fell under the enemy''s control. He couldn''t move his body at all despite all his effort. He was a sitting duck there. However, he could feel that the control that the man had over him was slightly weaker than before.


    The man with the sweater was coming closer and closer while the man with the mask was following closely behind. Meanwhile, the woman with the tight black coat was controlling the blood chakram with her slender right hand and shot it towards Fright.


    Fear hastily slit her wrist with her curved dagger that was already full of bloodstain at that point. Before letting her blood drop to the ground, she sprinkled a black powder on her wound. The moment the black powder touched her open flesh, a stinging pain coursed through her body.


    After getting in front of her partner, she quickly splattered her blood on the flame that was still burning and shouted.


    "Explode!"


    Kaboom!


    The blood that she splattered created a violent bloody explosion the moment it touched the fire. The fire then spread and burned everything it touched, including Fear''s blood. The two enemies stopped in their track because of that, which gave Fright some time to recover. The heavy blood chakram was also thrown back by the impact and got stuck on a wall.


    "Shit! I''ve used too much blood!" she cursed.


    Fear took out a pouch containing a blue powder and quickly inhaled it. The moment the fine grains entered her body through her nose, she felt revitalized at once, and the blood that she had lost was also gradually replaced by the fresh one.


    "Let''s escape now while we have the chance!" shouted Fear.


    Fright, who had recovered from the enemy''s control, looked at her and shook his head.


    "As I said, you escape. I''ll buy you some time!" he replied without any hesitation.


    The tone of Fright''s voice sounded very serious, but Fear could feel the abnormality in it. The normal Fright wouldn''t have chosen to sacrifice himself like that, especially since it was still possible for the two of them to escape together.


    The man with the black sweater had stood up and he muttered something that the two of them couldn''t hear.


    Whoosh!


    The flame that had been spread by the blood explosion suddenly shot tiny fireballs at them.


    Fright and Fear only managed to avoid some of the balls of flame, but since there were too many of them, they still got burned by some. The flame that came in contact with their cloak started burning it and they quickly took the cloak off to avoid being burned alive. They used their already burning cloaks as a shield against the incoming barrage of fireballs.


    "How many tricks does this fucker have up his sleeve?!" exclaimed Fear in frustration.


    Her now exposed face showed an expression of anger and hatred. The two of them were in a precarious situation and if they didn''t get away soon, their life would be in danger. However, her partner strangely kept refusing to escape.


    "If you still refuse to escape, I will!" she said finally while blocking the barrage of fireballs.


    "Please make it to safety!" said Fright, whose expression showed genuine concern.


    "Then good luck!" she said shortly.


    Fear backed off and began running quickly towards the entrance of the back alley, leaving her partner all alone against the assault of three people. They had not expected the enemy to ambush them with a greater number nor did they think the enemy had a gun. It wasn''t something anyone could easily get a hand on, although bullets were readily available. Even among the members of the Pale Society, only a couple of them had guns.


    Their other miscalculation was how their abilities were too incompatible to be used against the enemies. Fear''s Curses were potent but they took to long to prepare. The enemy had a Gore who could disrupt her preparation any time, and she couldn''t have prepared them long before the fight because she needed a target for her Curses to work. She also didn''t expect the enemy to be able to control fire to completely erase the ritual sigil.


    She could only hope that Fright could buy her time to escape although she knew his abilities were not suitable for fighting those kinds of enemies either. He was a Deceit and his strength was information manipulation, not direct combat. If he had only fought two enemies and they had taken the enemies by surprise as they had initially planned, the fight would have gone very differently from now.


    Fear thought about all those while running away from the fight without even looking back.


    "Don''t let her escape! She has seen our faces!" said the man in the black sweater while gesturing at the woman with the blood chakrams.


    The woman quickly gave chase but her path was blocked by Fright. There was a smile in his face despite being outnumbered.


    "Not so fast, Ma''am. Now that she''s gone, I can freely use all of my abilities," he said meaningfully. The glasses that he was wearing reflected the raging flame in front of him.


    Fright slit his wrist and splattered his blood all around him. The woman tried to find an opening to slip past but he didn''t give her any. Fright then quickly chanted while letting his blood keep flowing to the ground.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth an illusion that covers this whole area!"


    The blood that he had splattered and the blood underneath him rose in the air and dispersed. The smell of iron penetrated their noses as the blood was carried by air. There was suddenly a translucent orange curtain descending from the sky above them. It covered a small area around them and there was an aura of confusion and distortion coming from the translucent curtains.


    Once the curtain was set, it swayed gently in the air, covering everything beneath it. The enemies suddenly started behaving in a strange way. It was as if they were seeing things that were not there. Their whole senses were covered and controlled by the illusory curtain.


    "This ability will create an illusion to everyone in the area except the caster, be it friend or foe. That''s why I couldn''t use it before when Fear was still here," said Fright. His freckled face showed a distorted expression.


    Fright kept the blood flowing from his wrist because that was the only way to maintain the illusion. The moment he stopped supplying his ability with it, it would stop and the illusion would disappear. He quickly took out a pouch from his left pocket with his right hand and inhaled the blue powder inside to recover his health.


    The man with a mask looked like he was fighting against something. He stabbed the air and then looked around until his attention was locked at the woman with the tight black coat. He carefully approached her with his dagger in hand, ready to attack.


    "Die, you monster!" shouted the masked man, pouncing at the woman. His voice was full of anger and arrogance. It seemed that the curtain also had the power to control emotion.


    The woman saw the masked man approaching and controlled her chakram with her right hand and shot at him.


    Swoosh!


    Clank!


    The chakram glided through the air quickly and aimed at the masked man''s neck. The man was fast enough to protect his neck, but he wasn''t strong enough to completely parry against the attack. He was thrown back and his right hand was badly injured by the blood weapon.


    "Fuck!"


    The woman then raised her right arm, ready for a subsequent attack.


    Bang!


    Suddenly, there was a gunshot that broke the silence that the curtains brought. The bullet had pierced through the air and hit Fright, who was watching the fight between his two enemies, right in the head. His body then quickly became distorted and he reappeared several centimeters behind his original spot. His expression showed disbelief and confusion.


    Because of the attack, the curtains had been dispelled and it quickly rose back to the air before vanishing completely. The effect of the illusion had also been canceled and now the man with the mask returned to his original self. The woman also regained her senses and stopped her attack at once.


    "How is that possible?!" asked Fright in frustration. His strongest ability had been foiled by the enemy so easily.


    He looked at the source of the gunshot and there was the man with the black sweater. Although his appearance was still the same, the aura that he gave off was completely different. He seemed colder and more dangerous.


    "Attacks that target my consciousness won''t work on me," replied the man coldly.


    Bang!


    He shot another bullet right at Fright''s forehead and the man with the red hair became distorted and disappeared again.


    Bang!


    The man with the black sweater once again shot at Fright who had just reappeared and he disappeared once again.


    "You cannot keep disappearing and reappearing like that, can you?" asked the man with the gun with a sinister smile.


    Fright''s expression suddenly showed a hint of fear. All this time, he had never been cornered by his enemies like that. He had always been careful and would always choose to escape even if it meant failing his mission. Although he was not the strongest in the organization, he was one of the most careful and calculating. He couldn''t understand why he chose to play hero and make Fear escape on her own despite her several disapproval.


    "I''ll let you in on a secret. Your mind has been corrupted by our ability. That''s why you suddenly chose to be a little ''hero''," said the man coldly. He was walking closer and closer towards Fright, who was holding his dagger tightly with his right hand.


    Fright now understood why he had chosen to stay back despite the odds being against them. If he had escaped together with Fear, they would have had a better chance of survival. However, despite knowing that, he still thought that his choice was the right one. It seemed that the enemy''s ability had taken root in his brain. He knew there was no escape from the situation now; he was greatly outnumbered and he was still weak from losing much blood from his earlier ability.


    "I''m sorry Mr. Tenebrosity, I cannot fulfill my duty. I hope you and the rest can successfully bring back the Pale Lord," he said weakly. His blue eyes had lost its light and he was standing there motionlessly. The grip on his dagger became loose and he was accepting defeat.


    "I wish I could be with you guys longer to see the descent of the Pale Lord, but I don''t think it''s possible now. I''ll be together with our Lord and will be watching over you,"


    Bang!


    Another bullet was shot and it hit Fright right on his forehead, pushing him back to the ground with the impact. There was a hole drilled by the bullet and this time, he didn''t become distorted. Fresh blood came pouring out of the wound and his blue eyes became lifeless soon after. However, there was a smile of happiness on his face.

 150 Deciding the Next Course of Action

    "Why is he smiling?" asked Luuk van der Meer, who had just inhaled a blue powder that he had taken out of his pocket. His wound began to heal more quickly once the powder was in his system.


    "Who knows?" replied Valentine shortly while shrugging.


    Graham had planted a thought inside Fright''s mind at the beginning of the fight to make him believe that he would do a ''heroic'' deed for the sake of his partner. It had manifested and interfered with his decision making, causing him to be left behind. It also happened to complement his willingness to use his trump ability in the absence of his partner, so in Fright''s mind, everything made sense.


    Valentine just didn''t understand why in the end the man with the red hair just accepted defeat so easily like that. Maybe it was something related to being ''heroic'' again just as the thought that Graham had planted stated, but he was not sure. In the end, the enemy was dead and they were victorious; that was what mattered.


    "The other one escaped, and she had seen our faces. Agatha will most likely be safe since she is from a powerful family, but we cannot stay in our apartment anymore until this matter is resolved," said Valentine seriously.


    "So that means we need to move?" asked Luuk.


    "Yes. And also, the next time we fight them, it will be much harder since they''ve already known about our abilities. They also know I have a gun. So far, our advantages lie in the fact that the enemies don''t know anything about us," explained Valentine.


    Luuk and Agatha nodded.


    Valentine then approached the dead Fright who had completely burst into flames, leaving only ashes behind. There were a total of three contract scrolls on the ashes, all of which looked ancient. They were brown in color and emitted a strong spiritual aura which as he could feel as he approached them.


    Besides the scrolls, there was also a round object that had fully formed. It resembled a compressed brain that was only the size of an adult''s palm. Valentine picked up the compressed brain and a cold sensation coursed through his veins, with the source being the tip of his fingers that came in contact with the object. It was like touching a block of ice that was still frozen solid.


    Valentine put some strength into his right hand and pressed the ''brain'' with his fingers. Just as he expected, it didn''t get squished, but instead, hardened as his grip became tighter. He then put the object inside the tight pocket of his pants and picked up the three scrolls.


    "Do you need any scrolls?" asked Valentine to Luuk and Agatha, who were standing near the ashes of the enemy.


    Agatha shook her head and refused politely, "I do not need any right now, and money is not a problem for me. Just promise me that you will compensate me in another way."


    Valentine then turned to Luuk and said, "Then you can have these two. I need this one and the remains,"


    "We''ll check later. For now, we need to get out of here," he replied and then gave Luuk all the scrolls. Luuk was still wearing his coat that had numerous pockets in it while his sweater had none at all.


    Valentine looked at the ashes on the ground that was still in the shape of a human. The grey material was proof of a fight that had taken place in that back alley, along with the burned patches caused by the flame. The fire itself had disappeared because Graham had stopped supplying it with his stamina the moment he fell under the enemy''s illusion.


    "I order you to disperse!"


    He issued an Order and the pattern on the belt that he was wearing under his sweater glowed. The ashes then rose in the air and spread to every direction, leaving nothing behind.


    After that, Valentine walked to the spot next to the dumpster and used his dagger to make a small cut on his palm. The slight pain from the metal cutting his flesh open was by now something he had gotten used to, so he showed no reaction whatsoever. He let the blood pool on his palm and then started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, offer this blood of mine,"


    The blood on his hand emitted a mysterious yellowish mist that quickly spread to the area near his hand.


    "For I declare this place under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He dropped his blood to the tiny gap between the big dumpster and the wall and once it made contact with a surface, the blood stuck to it and there was a wave of warm air spreading for a split second.


    "Let''s go," urged Valentine.


    The three people left the back alley in a hurry and came out to the main street which was much busier. On the way, Valentine had used the Transformation ability stored inside Purloin to change into the appearance of Agatha''s martial arts instructor, Hansen M¨¹ller. Luuk had also taken off his mask so they wouldn''t look suspicious. Among them, only Luuk had sustained a real injury, which was shown by his torn coat.


    "What should we do now?" asked Luuk. He knew he would need to move to a safer place now.


    "We''ll pack our stuff and find a temporary place to stay in. That woman might have reported about us already to the other members of her organization, so we need to be quick," he replied.


    "Do you still need my help?" asked Agatha warmly.


    "No, thank you. We can take care of things on our own from here. Maybe Luuk needs your help?" replied Valentine and then turned to the young man walking next to him.


    Luuk shook his head awkwardly and said, "No, nothing I need help with either, but thanks for the offer."


    "In that case, I''ll get going now. Don''t worry about me. Don''t forget your promise to me, okay, Mr. Hymes?" said Agatha with a warm smile.


    Valentine nodded and then waved goodbye to her. Agatha then walked a separate way from them and headed towards her parked motor carriage by the side of the street.


    Once she was gone, Luuk turned to Valentine and said, "Our bags!"


    The two men then came into the realization and quickly ran towards Agatha, who had just got into her motor carriage.


    "Ms. van Nostrand! Wait!!" shouted Luuk while waving his hand wildly in the air.


    They managed to get to her vehicle before she managed to drive away. Valentine then knocked on the tinted glass window of the black carriage and Agatha rolled it down. She had a cheeky smile on her face and was holding Valentine''s briefcase with her left hand.


    "Forgetting these?" she said teasingly.


    "Yes. Thank you," replied Valentine as he received the briefcase from her.


    Luuk opened the passenger door and picked up his own bag that was full of course books. He put on the bag and thanked Agatha. After that, she drove away quickly.


    "Let''s quickly get home and pack our stuff. We should stay together for the time being because you might be in danger," said Valentine to Luuk, "I''m sorry for getting you involved in this mess," he added.


    "Something like this is bound to happen sooner or later, right?" he said nonchalantly.


    Luuk then became quiet and his expression became serious.


    "Now I''m even more convinced that I have to get stronger soon so I can protect myself," he said with conviction. "But, are we really doing the right thing? Is the Pale Society really going to bring ruin to this city?" he asked with a sliver of doubt in his heart.


    Valentine didn''t reply right away. He kept on walking towards his home at a quick pace. They arrived soon after and entered the old apartment building through the main door.


    "You saw the divination, didn''t you? That''s what I believe will happen, so it''s better to stop them then do nothing. Besides, you''ve also seen what they are capable of and how dangerous the creatures they summon are," said Valentine finally. His tone was grim and cold.


    Luuk remembered the first time he encountered a ghoul. It was a bloody massacre involving innocent people, and he was lucky he had been warned beforehand by the man next to him. Not everyone had the ability to protect themselves against dangerous creatures like that, and he was one of the lucky few.


    Luuk didn''t say anything after that. The two men walked up the apartment building to the third floor where their rooms were located. Valentine felt nostalgic despite only being away for a day.


    "I''ll wait for you outside once you''re ready. Just pack the essentials," he said as he handed the apartment keys back to the original owner.


    Luuk nodded and then opened his apartment with the keys that he got back from Valentine. He entered the place and closed the door behind him, disappearing from Valentine''s sight. Valentine walked up to the door with the number 23 and the words ''Hymes Detective Agency'' on it. He fished out a set of keys from his briefcase and tried to unlock the door. However, as he had expected, his door was unlocked so he opened it and entered his apartment.


    Once inside, he looked around at the messy place that looked like he had been robbed. The enemies must have come in and searched the place for any clues of him. He felt pained to see the messy office, but there was nothing he could do at that time. He didn''t really have the luxury to do some cleaning up.


    "G, how long has it been since we came home?" muttered Valentine with nostalgia, "I know it''s been just a day, but since we know we won''t be back here soon, it feels like a long time already."


    "And look at how they''ve massacred our place. The least they could do was place everything back in their original spot, but no, it''s too much work," he said in annoyance. With his current appearance of the muscular and tall martial arts instructor, his expression could scare even an adult male into running away.


    Valentine only needed to pack his clothes since his valuables were all inside his briefcase. He walked right past his office to his bedroom and found that it was in the same state as the office. A lot of his clothes had been taken out of the wardrobe like someone was looking for something underneath them.


    He walked to the side of the giant wardrobe and took a large suitcase that he always used for traveling.


    "G, since we are always technically packing clothes for two, our suitcase is always this big one. Sometimes I wish we could just have a magical pocket of some sort to carry all our clothes," he muttered.


    Valentine opened the large suitcase and started packing the clothes they would need, carefully folding them so he could fit in more. He also made sure there was nothing attached to each piece of clothes and there was no bloodstain anywhere to avoid being traced by the enemy somehow. After packing his clothes, he also packed all the necessary ritual materials that he still had.


    Once he was done, Valentine placed anti-divination on the suitcase itself and left his apartment with a heavy feeling. Although he was colder and more detached to people, he was someone who held dear the concept of home, so leaving the place that he had lived in for so long was rather difficult for him.


    "We''ll be sure to come back here, G. And besides, we''ve paid the rent for the full year, so it would piss you off if we didn''t wouldn''t it?" he said as he looked inside one more time.


    Valentine closed the door and locked it before going to Luuk''s apartment next door.


    Ding... dong...


    He rang the bell and waited patiently for the young man to come and answer the door. Not long after, the young man came out and let Valentine in. Luuk had already got changed and was now wearing a maroon sweater and a pair of elastic cotton pants. Valentine entered Luuk''s apartment that was in a similar condition to his; the only difference was that the owner brought it upon himself.


    Valentine noticed that the table was now empty and there was a giant suitcase placed next to it. It was a little bigger than his and it was bulking, which meant it was filled to the brim.


    "Is this everything you need?" asked Valentine while observing the rest of the room. There didn''t seem to be any other valuable things; even the thick books were gone. There were only random objects like candles and plates littering the floor.


    "Yes. Your trench coat is already inside, and also the scrolls that we just got," replied Luuk.


    "I''ll carry your suitcase with me and we should go separately for now. Although I doubt the enemy could act that quickly and put us under watch, we still need to be careful," said Valentine quietly.


    "Okay. In that case, I''ll be going to a friend''s house and wait for your instruction there," said Luuk.


    "Good. Write the address here because I won''t be able to find you later through divination," said Valentine. He took out the notebook that he hadn''t used in a while from the briefcase and gave it to Luuk.


    While Luuk was busy writing something on the notebook, Valentine had slit his palm and let some blood pool on it. He then placed an anti-divination on Luuk''s suitcase and also splashed some of the blood on the clothes that the man was wearing. Now, Luuk should be untraceable through divination.


    Once he had finished writing the address, Valentine, who was still using Hansen M¨¹ller''s appearance, told Luuk to wait several minutes until he was gone so that they wouldn''t be seen leaving together. Valentine then left the apartment building with two large suitcases and a briefcase and stopped a public motor carriage that was driving by.

 151 A New Base

    "Please wait here," said Valentine to the driver of the motor carriage.


    They had stopped near Oosteinde where the bridge crossing Amstel River was. The motor carriage had pulled over and was waiting near the bridge with the two large suitcases still inside. Valentine wasn''t worried that the driver would drive away with his belongings because all public motor carriages were registered. If he did run away, it would really be easy to find him again.


    Valentine walked up to a small quiet alley and stood in front of a brick wall between two big dumpsters. The light grey bricks looked normal at a glance, but it was actually the secret entrance to the black market.


    "I want to enter," said Valentine.


    The bricks became darker and they started dragging themselves, some moved forward while some others moved backward. The sound of two stone bricks rubbing against each other filled the area but strangely, nobody in the main street noticed it. After a while, there was the word ''password'' on the wall.


    "Wij Zijn Arm," Valentine said loudly enough.


    All the bricks on the wall suddenly started moving, brushing against each other, and created a screeching noise. After several mesmerizing minutes, the wall revealed a gap that was wide enough for three people to enter. On the other side was an alley bustling with activities, which was a total contrast to the sight in behind Valentine.


    Before entering Erbarmelijk Bazaar, Valentine put on a normal facemask to cover his face. Although he was already wearing a disguise, it was just another precaution that he had to take.


    He took a step in carefully and once he was inside, he looked at his body.


    "G, it seems that your Transformation is not dispelled by this place''s power. Maybe because it''s not just a mere illusion and the transformation is on a physical level?" analyzed Valentine.


    He walked into the busy alley where people were selling numerous different items, most of which looked nothing like anything normal people usually saw. There were organs that looked to belong to nonhuman creatures on display as well as body parts of supernatural creatures. He walked past all the sellers and got deeper into the bazaar.


    Valentine''s goal that day was to have an identity card forged. Graham had divined the location the previous night and it showed a place somewhere in the bazaar. In the divination, the place had a white piece of paper logo on its roof.


    It didn''t take Valentine long to find the place that Graham''s divination showed him. There was a white building with the logo of a piece of paper on it. He entered the store through the wooden door and was greeted by a woman in a brown hoodie. There was a smiley mask covering her face.


    "Welcome to Aretha''s book store. Feel free to take a look around," said the woman warmly.


    "I need to make a new identity card," he said straightforwardly.


    The woman then stood there while looking at the customer from head to toe.


    "How did you know about that side of our store?" she said. Her pitch had become lower.


    Valentine crossed his arms.


    "I have my own way of getting information," he explained shortly.


    The woman then nodded and gestured at Valentine to follow her. He followed the store clerk to the back room and she closed the door behind him.


    In the small room, there was another person wearing big and round spectacles working at a desk. It was a man with a mask covering his mouth and nose. His hair was all white and he looked to be younger than fifty, judging from his skin and posture. He seemed to be so busy that he didn''t even notice the two people entering the room. There was a pile of paper on one corner of the desk that looked endless.


    "Ben, this guy needs a new identity card," said the woman in the hoodie.


    Only after she spoke did the man look up. He observed Valentine for a while and then turned to the woman.


    "Get him to fill in the form. And take the money in advance," said the man quickly and then returned to his work.


    The hooded woman took a piece of paper from the desk and gave it to Valentine. It was a form that he had to fill in.


    "The price is ten guilders. Please pay in advance. We will also take your photograph once you have finished filling in the form," said the woman in a professional tone.


    Valentine was shocked by the price. It was more expensive than a mask and almost as much as a contract scroll! However, since he needed the identity card, he gave the money to the woman after getting it out of his wallet. He also didn''t like haggling, so he didn''t say anything about the price.


    "Thank you," said the woman then left.


    Valentine sat on another, smaller empty desk and used the pen there to fill in the form. He relied on Agatha''s memory of the man to write the information down.


    ''Surname: M¨¹ller''


    ''Given Name: Hansen''


    ''Date of Birth: 14 March 1934 EH''


    ''Place of Birth: Rijssen''


    ''Gender: M''


    ''Height: 1.88 m''


    There was a signature part at the bottom, but since Agatha''s memory didn''t give him any information about the man''s signature, he just created a new one. It shouldn''t really matter since he was just going to use the card for hotels mostly.


    After he finished filling in the form, he stood up and gave it back to the hooded woman, who in turn gave it to the man called Ben. After that, the woman beckoned at Valentine to follow her to another corner of the room where there was a white background and some lighting installed.


    "I''m going to take your photograph now. Please take off your mask and sit there. Don''t move until I say it''s okay, otherwise, the photograph will be blurry," instructed the hooded woman. Her voice sounded very professional like she had done something similar many times.


    Valentine did as instructed and sat straight on the black stool. He looked directly at the modern-looking camera in front of him with a straight face. The woman turned on the light that shone directly at his face and then made a signal with her finger to let him know that his photo was being taken. Valentine maintain his posture and sat motionlessly until the woman signaled that it was done.


    "Please wait outside. Your identity card will be done soon," she said.


    Valentine nodded put the facemask back. He then exited the backroom to the main part of the store with various books. He was not in the mood to be reading so he just sat on the bench that was available and waited patiently for his expensive identity card.


    "G, making an identity card at the government''s office is free, why is this one so expensive?" he muttered. Valentine leaned back on the bench and sat leisurely.


    "Although, I must commend their work ethics. They didn''t even ask us any questions. It makes things easier. However, I am also worried about the amount of information they have on various individuals who came here to forge an identity card," he added while crossing his arms.


    After waiting for a while, the woman finally came out with a piece of white card with orange marking on the side. It was the national color of the Republic, so it was a must to put it as the background of the identity card.


    Valentine received the card and put it safely inside his brown wallet, along with the other cards that he had. After saying thank you shortly to the hooded woman with the smiley mask, he left the store and walked all the way back to the entrance of the bazaar. His driver should still be waiting, so he hurried back.


    He walked closer to the public motor carriage that was still stopping near the bridge. He got in and checked all his belongings. After making sure everything was still there, Valentine told the driver to take him to his next destination. It was a hotel that Graham had also divined to be a safe place for them.


    The driver drove away at once towards the west. The traffic at that hour was not really bad, so they arrived at the destination quickly enough.


    The black motor carriage stopped in front of a three-story hotel with the name ''The Hotel'' written in wooden planks displayed on it. It was located on Bloemstraat, next to a big park with a lot of brown trees and shrubberies. The hotel itself was painted in all dark brown like the color of the wood. There was a giant wooden double door at the entrance with glass panes to see through to the other side.


    Valentine opened the wooden door and wind chimes tinkled above him. He walked straight to the reception desk carrying the two heavy suitcases and rang the small bell on the desk.


    Ting!


    There currently was no one standing behind the reception desk. He looked over to see if someone was hiding behind it but there was no one either. Valentine waited patiently while looking at the interior of the brown hotel. All the furniture in the lobby was wooden and they looked well-maintained. There was a big painting of a foggy forest on the wall and above the fireplace, there was a deer mount hung on the wall.


    Creak...


    The door to the back was opened and a teenager came out of it. He was smiling awkwardly with an apologetic look on his face.


    "I''m sorry, sir, I''m sorry. I was in the toilet," he said with a lot of guilt in his tone.


    The teenager then looked at his tall and muscular guess with an intimidating face and became a little scared. Valentine, on the other hand, was raising his eyebrows because he recognized the boy. It was Stefan!


    "Sir, is there something wrong?" asked Stefan politely and cautiously.


    Valentine shook his head slightly.


    "Nothing. Aren''t you supposed to be working in Zuideinde?" he asked out of curiosity.


    Stefan looked rather surprised his guest knew about him. He had never seen the man before, so it was strange to him. He was someone who would never forget a person''s face, so if he had seen him, he would certainly remember.


    "Uhm.., since the sick receptionist is back, I''ve been doing nothing at home, so I dad-- Uhm, the manager, tasked me to look after the branch in West Sloten. He said it''s to enrich my experience," explained Stefan seriously.


    Valentine nodded.


    "Give me two rooms, next to each other. On the third floor if you can," he requested straightforwardly.


    "How long will you be staying, Sir?" asked Stefan in a made-up professional tone while flipping over the pages of the register on the desk.


    "At least two days, but we don''t know yet. Can I just pay you a deposit of one week and then just give me back the money if we stay shorter than that?" asked Valentine.


    Stefan had a confused look on his face and then smiled awkwardly at Valentine.


    "Wait a minute, sir, let me ask my dad-- the manager first," he said apologetically.


    Stefan picked up the landline phone and dialed a number. Once the call was connected, he blocked his mouth so that his guest couldn''t hear what he was saying, although, to Valentine with his boosted hearing, their conversation was as clear as crystal.


    "Yes, sir, the manager said it is okay. May I see your identity card?" said Stefan after hanging up the call.


    Valentine took out a piece of card with his new identity on it from his wallet and gave it to the young receptionist, who then wrote the information on the register.


    "Sir, since you are booking two rooms, I assume there will be one more person staying here, is that right?" he asked.


    "Yes," Valentine answered shortly, and then added, "He''ll come here later. If you need his identity card, he can give it to you once he is here."


    Stefan nodded and continued to finish the administration work. He also calculated the amount that Valentine had to pay for two rooms for two weeks. After he was finished, he turned back to his customer.


    "The total will be two guilders and two stuivers, or forty-two stuivers for two rooms for a week," explained Stevan with a professional tone that sounded funny.


    Valentine took out money from his wallet and gave it to the young receptionist.


    "Thank you," he said and then wrote some more things on the register.


    After that, he went to the wall behind him and took two sets of keys and handed them to Valentine along with his identity card back.


    "Here you go, Mr. M¨¹ller. Your rooms are on the third floor, number 13 and 14, right next to each other. Is there anything else?" asked Stevan with a wide smile.


    "Nothing for now. Thank you," replied Valentine.


    He received the keys and put back the identity card inside his wallet safely. It was something very expensive, so he didn''t dare to lose it. After that, Valentine carried the two large suitcases up to where his room was.


    Stevan was just watching the customer when suddenly his face showed that he just came into a realization.


    "Uhm, Mr. M¨¹ller, do you need help with your things?" he asked awkwardly.


    Valentine let out a slight chuckle and shook his head, "No need. Thanks for the offer, though,"


    Stefan then watched as his guest disappeared into the next floor. After that, he went back to the backroom to finish the video game that he had been playing before his customer came.

 152 First Phase of the Plan

    "Is Fright really dead?" asked an emotional voice that belonged to a young man.


    In a dark chamber illuminated by torch lights on the wall, nine cloaked people were sitting at a long stone table with stone chairs surrounding it. It was only a simple table without any carvings or decorations, but it emitted a gloomy aura nonetheless.


    "Yes, and it is our own fault for being overconfident," said a woman who was hiding anger in her tone.


    "Tell us about what happened, Fear." asked a man whose voice sounded charismatic.


    The other six people turned quiet and were preparing to listen. Only a few of them were sitting rather tensely.


    "We found our target after our investigation and we did a stakeout at his apartment. His name is Graham Hymes and he is a private detective," said Fear.


    The others nodded and memorized the information.


    "Today, his neighbor came home to get something and Fright noticed a tiny bloodstain on the backpack that he was carrying. It is the bloodstain that Shrouds usually use for their anti-divination, that was why he saw it right away,"


    "Because he was a Shroud, yeah?" asked a man with a mischievous voice.


    Fear nodded.


    "So we decided to follow him since we thought he didn''t know about us. We had our presence concealed and all. However, the man led us to a trap and we were ambushed and outnumbered,. On top of that, the enemy had a gun," she explained with a heavy tone. Her hands were clenched in fists.


    "After that, when we should have retreated, Fright instead chose to keep fighting. He even refused to fall back and told me to leave him there,"


    "But that''s not how Fright usually is," interrupted a man who has a rather beautiful voice.


    "Indeed. The enemy must have planted a false thought inside his head at some point. He killed Shade after all," added the man with the charismatic voice.


    Fear nodded slowly as if she had come to the realization.


    "Who were the other people there?" asked a woman whose beautiful voice sounded vulgar.


    "There was another woman, a Gore, but I don''t know who she is. She seemed rich judging from her clothes," replied Fear.


    "Do you remember her appearance? Master Tenebrosity can help you show it to us, right master?" said the young man.


    The person sitting at the end of the stone table nodded slightly.


    "I won''t forget any of them! What should I do, Mr. Tenebrosity?" asked Fear.


    "Draw a blood circle in front of you first," replied Tenebrosity calmly. His voice sounded wise but there was a hint of bitterness in it, like someone who had experienced too many things in life.


    "Now focus on the people who have ambushed the two of you. This will feel slightly uncomfortable, so bear with it," instructed Tenebrosity coldly.


    Fear nodded and began concentrating on the painful scene in her memory. Meanwhile, Tenebrosity put his hands on the table palms down and began chanting something inaudible. Suddenly, Fear felt like someone was sucking her brain out using a straw and transferring it to the blood circle in front of her. She bore with the pain and slowly, something appeared in the circle.


    Something pale pink and gooey began squirming about in the circle. It looked like brain matter that had been chopped up and was now piled up to form something. The pink substance crawled on top of each other and slowly began forming the figures of three people. After a while, it solidified and showed even the color of the clothes the people were wearing.


    There were two men and a woman inside the circle. One of the men was wearing a Gemini mask while the other one looked young and sleepless. The woman, who was wearing a tight black coat looked very beautiful and dignified like she was from an upstanding family.


    The other eight people were observing the tiny people on the table while Fear looked to be in a trance.


    "That''s Agatha van Nostrand!" exclaimed the man with the charismatic voice.


    "Are you sure, Morbid? If that''s really that van Nostrand, then we can''t do anything about her," replied the woman with the vulgar voice.


    Morbid nodded confidently.


    "I am sure it''s her. Ghastly is right. We cannot do any frontal attack against her because her family is too strong,"


    "Who is the one in the black sweater? He is the one with the gun..." asked a woman who sounded like she was in her early twenties.


    The man sitting closest to Tenebrosity then looked at her.


    "That''s Luuk van der Meer!" he exclaimed.


    "Van der Meer? That''s another rich and powerful family! Why is our target associated with people from powerful families?" replied the young woman.


    "But there is a rumor going around in my university that he has been disowned by his family. That means he shouldn''t be that big of a threat," replied the young man.


    "So the Shroud is the one with the mask. What should we do about him, Mr. Tenebrosity?" asked the man with the beautiful voice.


    "Since according to Dread that van der Meer boy has been disowned, he must be with the Shroud, Hymes, wasn''t it, to protect each other. We will still try to eliminate them, but do not be careless. Our target is smart and dangerous," said Tenebrosity solemnly.


    After that, the tiny figures disappeared along with the blood circle and Fear regained her consciousness. She was breathing heavily like she was in great pain.


    "The first phase of our plan is now ready. We will release those creatures tonight," added Tenebrosity. There was a hint of excitement in his tone.


    "I''m sorry for asking this question so late, but I just want to confirm. Every soul killed by the creatures will go to the Pale Lord, while the people we kill we''ll just be a waste. Is that right?" asked the young woman.


    "That is correct, Macabre," replied the young man sitting next to Tenebrosity.


    "So, for now, we need to focus on our plan. I am sure those two will show up as well, so keep your guard up. We must not let anyone foil out plan. The Pale Lord is the only one who can prevent the apocalypse," said Tenebrosity solemnly.


    Everyone sitting at the stone table nodded.


    ...


    "Did you see her reaction just now? It was so funny," said a woman who was wearing a pink sweater and a pair of denim pants.


    "Hahaha. Yes, totally. I bet she''ll be too embarrassed to show up tomorrow," said another woman with long blond hair wearing a yellow coat. She was laughing at something.


    "It''s already ten now. We''d better hurry home," interjected a woman wearing a hoodie to cover her hair.


    "It''s that late already? Crap. My dad''s gonna kill me," said the woman with the pink sweater.


    The three women increased their pace and walked down the quiet street near Raadhuislaan. The moon was shining brightly tonight and the wind was blowing rather strongly. They tightened their clothes and crossed their arms to warm up their bodies in the cold night.


    "Huh?"


    Suddenly, the wind brought the smell of iron that penetrated the noses of the three women.


    "Did you guys smell that?" asked the hooded woman.


    "Yes. What is that? It smells like rusted metal," replied the blonde woman.


    The other two shrugged and they kept on walking. The farther they walked, the stronger the smell of iron in the air. The few other people in the street had also noticed the strange scent in the air and were curious to find out.


    "Aaaaaaahh!!!"


    Then, there was a sudden scream coming from far ahead of them.


    "What do you think that is?" asked the woman in the pink sweater curiously.


    "Maybe we should check it out? Maybe someone needs help?" replied the blonde woman.


    "Or maybe we should just go another way. It might be dangerous there," suggested the woman in a hoodie.


    The three of them stopped for a while. The smell of iron became stronger and unsettling.


    "Okay. That smell is giving me the creep. Let''s go another way," said the woman in the pink sweater.


    They then turned around and walked back to where they came from without looking back. They really had a bad feeling about what they might find in the other direction. If someone did need help, there were other people who had gone there to check, so they didn''t feel too guilty about that.


    "Aaaaa!! Help!!"


    Suddenly, there was another sound of screaming coming from far behind them, in the direction that they were originally going. The three women became alarmed and increased their pace.


    "What was that??!" said the woman with the pink sweater. Her voice sounded scared.


    "Quick! Let''s run away from here!" urged the blonde woman.


    They started running in the other direction without looking back. The night breeze brought an even stronger smell of iron, which made them even more frightened.


    "Help me!!"


    There was another scream coming far from behind them. The other people in the street were also scared and had started running in the same direction as the three women. They were all avoiding the place where the screamings were coming from.


    In the distance, they then saw a figure of a thin man standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He was just standing there motionlessly with his back against them, so they couldn''t see his face. However, the man looked to be naked and his hands were abnormally long.


    "Wait! That doesn''t look like a human! Let''s go another way!" said the woman with the hood. Her tone sounded alarmed.


    The other two also noticed the man''s abnormality and agreed. They decided to cross the street and went to the left. Some other people also decided to follow them while the rest still went straight ahead, seemingly not worried about the boney man.


    Suddenly, the boney figure jumped at the nearest person to it and started biting his neck.


    "Arrghh!! What the fuck!! It hurts!!" the man shouted as loudly as he could while trying to push the boney figure away.


    Stab!!


    The thin naked ''man'' clawed the man and his blood spurted on it. It then started munching on the man on the dying man on the ground. Pieces of flesh were torn apart by the figure''s sharp teeth and blood and organs were cut into shred. The other people in the street used that chance to run away as far away from the thin figure as they could.


    "Growl!!"


    All of a sudden there was another, identical thin bloody figure that jumped out of the dark and mauled another person who was running. Just in a matter of seconds, the quiet street had descended int chaos.


    "Shit shit shit!! Did you see that? It is eating the man!" shouted the blonde woman frantically. They were running in another direction as fast as they could.


    "Don''t look back! Keep running!" replied the woman with the hood. She tried to sound calm but her voice couldn''t hide her fear.


    The woman with the pink sweater hand taken off her high heels and was now running barefoot. Her feet hurt but she could run faster that way.


    "What in the world is that thing??!" she exclaimed.


    "Growl!!"


    There was another thin figure covered in blood appearing in the way the three women were going. The became paralyzed with fear instantly and stopped running. They couldn''t even move a muscle because of the extreme emotional distress.


    The figure then jumped at a nearby woman, clawing her into shreds and eating her flesh.


    "N-now! R-run!" said the woman in the hoodie.


    It took them everything they had to start running away from the spot. The fact that the creature was busy eating someone else gave them the release they needed to start controlling their bodies again.


    They ran more frantically now that the creature was so close to them. Everyone seemed to be scared for their own lives and didn''t care about other people. Although the street was not very busy, they still managed to push other people aside to make way for themselves.


    After running for a while, the group of people escaping from the man-eating creature suddenly stopped again. Their faces were all pale and there were drops of sweat on their foreheads. Ahead of them, there were three boney figures with wounds all over their bodies, and behind them, there was a giant headless man carrying an axe.


    The headless man looked to be at least two meters tall and its body was covered only with a tattered piece of cloth with bloodstains all over it. Its skin was ashen grey and there were veins bulking on the surface. The headless man emitted a grey aura that made the people there want to vomit and collapsed on their knees.


    The three women were very pale and were struck by paralyzing fear again.


    "What do we do now..." asked the woman in the pink sweater weakly. Her voice was wavering and her body was shaking.


    "I... don''t know..." replied the woman wearing a hoodie. She had peed herself because of fear.

 153 A Ritual Amidst the Chaos

    Bang bang bang!!


    "Groen, help heal the injured!" shouted the Police Lieutenant Roze. She quickly drew the attention of the skinny humanoid creatures with blood all over their bodies away from the victims.


    The Police had received news of the sudden invasion of a lot of ''bloody thin creatures'' near Raadhuislaan that had taken a lot of civilian casualties. They had quickly dispatched all the available members to take care of the creatures and protect the people.


    When the Police arrived, the situation had descended into chaos. People were running about and ghouls were eating and dismembering all they could reach. There were a total of five ghouls in that part of the street and there were many bodies lying on the ground. Most of them were badly dismembered and dead, although some still managed to survive and were in dire need of help.


    The Police had decided to surround the street where the supernatural creatures had been sighted and would press forward slowly. Their plan would effectively bring the supernatural creatures to the center, cornering them from every direction.


    As Roze shouted that command, Groen quickly dragged a man whose right arm had been half eaten away from the fight. The man''s upper arm now had a gaping wound and his bone was protruding, with a clear bite mark cutting it off. Blood still came gushing out of his wound and the man had fallen unconscious. Groen took out a pouch of blue powder and placed it right under the man''s nose, forcing him to inhale it. Slowly, the blood stopped flowing and his wound was gradually closing, also his arm couldn''t grow back. The man also regained consciousness not long after.


    Bang! Bang!


    Several normal Police officers were providing support to their Contractbound counterparts with guns embedded with gemstones. There were a total of five ghouls there and only two Contractbounds present, so their support was necessary.


    Roze, the Police Lieutenant with long brown hair, was using a short bow and blood arrows to shoot at the supernatural creatures. Her hands moved very quickly and each of her shots hit the ghouls right in the head. However, the attack was not enough to kill them, and the shots from the other officers only served to paralyze them.


    "Groen, do I really have to use blood ritual to kill them off? I cannot do that to kill them one by one; it will take too much time!" shouted Roze.


    Groen, who was busy treating another injured person, looked up and turned to her.


    "Just keep shooting at them. I''m sure they will die eventually!" he replied, and then switched his attention back to the injured woman in his arms.


    The woman''s legs had been completely chopped off and there was a bite wound on her stomach. She seemed to have lost so much blood and was also unconscious. Groen let her inhale the blue powder and her wounds began closing gradually. However, her condition didn''t seem to get better.


    Two of the Police officers quickly ran towards the row of parked motor carriages and approached the one at the end. They took out a stretcher and ran back towards the woman''s location and quickly put her on it and took her back to the motor carriage. Once the woman was inside, they drove off right away.


    Swoosh!


    The blood arrows kept on shooting the ghouls but they kept returning to life. However, Roze noticed that they were getting weaker each time she shot them.


    "I think I''ve got this! Keep on paralyzing them! Don''t worry about using up the bullets; Groen can make you guys new ones!" shouted Roze confidently.


    Groen could already imagine the pain he had to go through in making more bullets, but he could only smile at those Police officers. He then went on to help more injured people.


    ...


    "G, I''ve got everything. Now it''s just the ritual," said Valentine.


    He was sitting in his hotel room at the table in the dark. The room was filled with the fragrant balsamic aroma of Storax essential oil that he had sprinkled in every corner. On the table, there were still droplets of oil that emitted the strongest floral and leathery smell that penetrated his nose, calming him down and helping him concentrate. It was the same essential oil as the one Graham had used for his ritual, so he didn''t need to go out to buy any.


    Valentine looked at the watch that he was wearing. The clock hands struck exactly one after midnight. It was time for him to do the ritual. He looked at the table in front of him and the objects lying on it. There was the contract scroll, candles, an object that resembled a compressed brain matter, a lighter, and a vial with silver liquid inside.


    The bright moonlight outside tried to shine into the room, but the thick curtains were blocking its light. Valentine opened the contract scroll that he had got from killing the enemy that morning; it was for the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, exactly the one he needed. He laid the scroll bare on the table and placed four orange votive candles in each corner; each one facing a cardinal direction.


    Valentine wore a calm but solemn expression on his face. His breathing was calm and steady and his movements were not without a purpose.


    He took out his trusted commando knife that was 29cm in length and had a carving of his initials on the handle. He held the sharp blade against his left palm and sank the metal into his flesh, creating a wound deep enough for blood to flow through.


    The crimson liquid came out of the wound in his palm and dropped down to the parchment below. Valentine used his blood to redraw the sigil of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts that was on the scroll. He began by drawing the sideway ''shield'' facing the left and a staff going through it at the ''bottom''. He then drew the two ''pendulums'' inside the shield before drawing the crosses at the bottom and on the right side.


    The moment his blood touched the scroll, it got absorbed right away, making that part of the sigil slightly red. However, it was not enough, so he had to use a lot of blood to finish redrawing just a section of it. By the time he managed to redraw the whole sigil, he had lost a lot of blood and was feeling rather weak.


    That point of the contract ritual was the most critical. Some people failed because they had become too weak and couldn''t bear with the pain that came with the next stage of it. If they were not strong enough, they would just die without the ritual being finished.


    Valentine looked at the blood sigil that he had finished on the table in front of him. It somehow emitted an inexplicable aura that triggered his supernatural sense. He then carefully placed the remains of the enemy, which was a compressed brain that was cold to touch. With the remains lying in the middle of the sigil, he could now proceed to the next step of the ritual.


    He picked up a black lighter that had been prepared on the table. Valentine lit the four orange candles one by one, starting from the one facing north, followed by east, south, and lastly, west. The orange flames burned brightly and illuminated the dark room, revealing Valentine''s cold gaze. The warmth that the flames brought gave him a slight feeling of comfort, preparing him for what was to come.


    Everything was now ready, so he could go to the most important step of the ritual: the summoning. He recalled the summoning chant that he had got the moment he laid his eyes on the sigil and said it out loud in a ceremonious tone.


    "Thee I invoke, the One born from Fire,"


    "Thou art the master of Deception,"


    "Thou art the master of Illusion,"


    "Thee, that didst Conceal Thoughts,"


    "Thee, that didst bring Silence,"


    "Come thou forth, and accept my offering,"


    "And grant me your power, worthy of thy name!"


    Silence descended into the dim hotel room at once. Not even the sound of his breathing nor his heartbeat could be heard. Valentine sat in the chair with anticipation and conviction. He knew he would have to undergo extreme pain, but he was prepared for it.


    In the strange silent world, the flames of the candles went out on their own quietly. The smoke rose to the air without making any sound. After that, the compressed brain on the blood sigil slowly sank into it and once it was completely gone, flames came gushing out and surrounded Valentine. Despite all that was happening, there was still no sound that could be heard.


    With the flames burning silently around him, Valentine suddenly found himself standing in the dark. Although there was fire surrounding him, it didn''t dispel the darkness in the slightest.


    Suddenly, he felt an agonizing pain in his heart. It felt like something was holding it tight and the grip became stronger and stronger with each passing second. It became difficult for him to breathe, and each breath became very painful. It felt like he was inhaling sharp nails instead of air, and the nails stabbed every part of his inside.


    His chest became more and more painful until Valentine collapsed to the dark ground. His right hand was gripping his left chest to lessen the pain without any success. He gritted his teeth and bore with the worsening pain.


    In a matter of seconds, he felt that his heart had been crushed and all his bodily functions should cease soon. However, he was still alive to feel the sensation of his organs shutting down one by one.


    "...!!!!"


    Valentine let out a loud scream but there was no sound coming from his mouth. The silent world was absolute.


    After that, he felt a strange sensation in his chest where his heart should have been. It was like a tiny piece of flesh was growing bigger and bigger slowly. The new ''organ'' then took the role of his heart and began pumping blood to all parts of his body.


    Once his ''heart'' was renewed, he now felt pain in his tongue. An invisible hand was pulling it out!


    The burning hand kept on pulling his tongue and stretched it beyond what was humanly possible. Valentine felt that the nerves inside snapping one by one, sending a painful signal to his brain. He couldn''t fight back for the invisible hand had no body. He could only lie down in agony while bearing with the process. His face had gone pale and there were droplets of sweat on his forehead.


    Not long after, his tongue had become completely severed and blood came flowing from it. His mouth was in unimaginable pain.


    The burning hand came back shortly after that, and it felt like it was carrying a new ''tongue'' for Valentine. It placed the new tongue violently in the spot where his original one was cut off and burned it with its heat. The new tongue melted and after a while, completely merged with the cut section. The whole time, he could only clench his fists as tight as he could to lessen the sensation.


    After the process was done, slowly, the flames surrounding him receded, and the absolute darkness dissipated. Valentine found himself lying on the hotel floor next to the chair with a drenched shirt that was wet with his own sweat. He slowly got up and looked at the scroll on the table. The four candles had been blown out and the blood sigil on it was glowing red.


    Valentine rolled the scroll back and placed it on the table. He then concentrated on the silver liquid inside the vial and issued an Order.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of the Tongue, order you to seal this scroll!"


    He chanted the Deity''s name and the pattern on his belt glowed violet. The silver liquid then rose to the air and wrapped itself around the contract scroll, effectively sealing it. After that, the scroll burst into flames along with the seal and the ashes entered Valentine through his nostrils.


    Valentine took a deep breath to calm himself down and sat down in the wooden armchair. He was still wearing his solemn expression and his eyes were gazing coldly into the dark space in front of him. He then leaned back on the chair and crossed his arm.


    "G, with this, I''ve become a Deceit: a President rank Contractbound,"

 154 A Long Nigh

    "A lot of our ghouls have been killed, Master Tenebrosity," said a man in a cloak that covered his entire face.


    The man was standing on top of a nine-story building watching the street that had gone quiet below him. There had been a fight there several hours ago and now everything in that part of the street had settled down. The bodies of the victims had been transported away by the hospital carriages including those who were in need of immediate medical attention.


    "It is no problem, Dread. As long as they managed to kill, the descent of the Pale Lord will be brought slightly closer," replied Tenebrosity. He was standing next to the shorter and younger dread with a cloak covering his whole face. Neither his identity nor his expression could be seen.


    "Should we send some of our members to defend the remaining ghouls and also the Dullahan? The Police should be reaching their place soon," suggested Dread. He put both of his hands inside the pocket of his cloak.


    Tenebrosity didn''t reply right away and just kept observing the night street. The night breeze carried a faint smell of iron from a distance and there were still the sounds of gunshots breaking the night''s silence somewhere far away. The Police were still busy fighting with the supernatural creatures that they had summoned there.


    "It''s not a wise decision. We can always summon more supernatural creatures, but we cannot replace our dead members. We shouldn''t be in a frontal confrontation with the Police yet for now," he replied calmly.


    Dread nodded.


    "You are right, Master," replied Dread in agreement.


    Tenebrosity then looked at the direction where the fight was still going and then turned to Dread.


    "Let''s watch the fight from up close, shall we?"


    After that, two holes were drilled out of the building''s rooftop and two giant worms came out of them. The worms'' round mounts that were full of teeth were open wide as if waiting to be fed. Tenebrosity and Dread came closer and the worms lunged at them, swallowing the two cloaked men whole. Once they were inside the worms, the segmented creatures burrowed back into the holes, which then closed on their own, leaving nothing behind.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    In another part of the wide street near Raadhuislaan, there were loud sounds of gunshots and the smell of both blood and gunpowder filling the air. The fight was still going on in this part of the street, and the Police had been advancing slowly, circling around the summoned creatures.


    On top of a six-story hotel, two holes appeared and the same worms came out of them. The worms spat out two cloaked figures, Dread and Tenebrosity, and then returned to their holes before disappearing.


    "It seems that the creatures we summoned have done a number on the people. The souls should be enough to bring us closer to our goal, Master," said Dread as he was observing the situation.


    On the street below, there were mangled bodies of innocent people that had been killed by the creatures. There were clear claw and teeth marks on their wounds, and some of them had been cut into pieces cleanly by the Dullahan''s giant ax.


    Swoosh!


    Three ghouls were struck by blood arrows simultaneously. There was a female Police member carrying a short bow who always accurately shot blood arrows at her enemies. She looked to be the leader of the subjugation force tonight seeing how she gave commands to everyone else.


    "That one is Roze, a Police Lieutenant. We must be careful with that one," said Tenebrosity.


    "Should we do something, Master? It should be safe from here as long as they don''t notice," replied Dread.


    "It can be done," replied Tenebrosity meaningfully and then gestured at Dread.


    The two cloaked figures took a step back from the edge of the building and then Tenebrosity started concentrating. In the street below, behind the enemy lines, four holes appeared on the ground like something had been digging from underground and had just reached the surface. There was an insidious purple miasma emitted by the holes that disappeared right away the moment it came in contact with the air.


    "Huh?"


    A member of the Police force whose task was to save the injured noticed the sudden appearance of the holes on the ground and nudged his partner on the arm. The other person turned around to see what his partner was pointing at.


    "What are those holes?" he asked curiously.


    "I don''t know, but they look dangerous. We need to report it to Sergeant Groen!" replied his partner and then quickly got away from the area.


    The other officer was watching the holes closely in case any changes happened to them. Suddenly, from the four holes, four giant worms with sharp teeth around their round mouths appeared. The worms'' segmented bodies were mostly burrowed, but they emitted a disgusting smell like that of a rotting corpse.


    "Bleeerghh!!"


    The officer vomited because of the putrid smell. The worms then opened their mouths even wider and swallowed one corpse each. Once their bellies were full, they quickly burrowed back to the holes and disappeared, leaving the officer baffled.


    "What happened to you?" asked his partner who had just come back with someone else. It was Sergeant Groen who had quickly come because of the report.


    "Don''t you smell it?" he said.


    His partner and Groen then focused on their noses to try to smell what the officer was talking about. There were still traces of the rotting smell that the worms left.


    "What is this?" asked Groen, "Tell me what happened,"


    The officer who had just vomited stood up straight because his superior had just asked him a question.


    "Sergeant Groen, four holes just appeared on the ground earlier. From the holes, four giant worms came out and ate a dead body before disappearing. The rotting smell came from those worms," he explained.


    Groen listened intently to the explanation and got a bad feeling in his heart.


    "You two stay watch here. I need to report it to Roze and Rood," he commanded.


    "Yes, Sir!" the two officers said at the same time.


    Meanwhile, on top of the hotel, the giant worms had reappeared and spat out the mangled dead bodies and disappeared right away.


    "This many should be enough, Master?" asked Dread.


    Tenebrosity nodded solemnly.


    "You do the ritual," he said shortly.


    Dread started walking around the four dead bodies and then took out a thin dagger from under his cloak and pressed the blade against his wrist. The dagger with the skull engraving easily cut open his flesh and blood vessels, causing blood to flow out. Dread used his blood to draw a sigil that resembled a candle holder with three crosses on top.


    Once the sigil was finished, he carried the dead bodies one by one and placed them in the center of the blood sigil. After that, he stood outside the sigil with his hands stretched in front of him and his palms facing down. The wound that he made earlier had completely healed, leaving no scar whatsoever.


    Dread began muttering something inaudible under his breath. Slowly, the blood sigil began glowing red, and the dead bodies on top of it began twitching violently like something was trying to dig out of their skins. The dead bodies continued shaking and squirming for several minutes before finally, they melted into a pool of blood and flesh. The bodily remains then slowly slithered to the center and solidified into four tiny horse-like creatures.


    The tiny creatures were only half the size of an adult''s palm. They each had four legs made out of human fingers complete with the nails. Their heads looked like thumbs that had grown a tumor cell in the form of eyes and body hair made out their manes.


    Dread looked at his creation and then took a deep breath. He then issued a command to the tiny horses.


    "Get down there and help your brethren!" he said with a ceremonious tone. His voice echoed in the cold night.


    The tiny ''horses'' then quickly galloped and jumped off the six-story hotel, landing perfectly safely on the paved ground below. They moved quietly towards the dead victims of the ghouls and Dullahan and stood next to them. Their ''head'' then grew sharp nails that they used to dig a hole inside each of the dead bodies. The horse-like creatures entered the holes and once inside, they merged with them creepily. After the ''horses'' were inside the dead bodies, the wounds that they had mysteriously began healing and the dead bodies came back to life, ready to serve their new masters.


    "They are ready, Master," said Dread proudly. His breathing was heavy because the ritual had taken a lot of his stamina.


    "Good. Let them aid our children," replied Tenebrosity solemnly.


    ...


    Inside a quiet hotel room, Valentine Hymes was sitting in the dark with his hands pressed in front of his face. He had just finished his contract ritual and was now analyzing the new abilities that he had received. The color of his face had returned as he had recovered completely from the painful ritual. He also felt that his body had gotten stronger and lighter, and his stamina had been boosted greatly.


    "G, let''s see. The abilities are the same as what the man showed us during our fight. I can use illusion substitute to redirect an attack to my illusion instead. This ability must be activated beforehand but once it was active, it would passively trigger without me doing anything, although the limit is only ten times per day for now," he said analytically.


    "However, the downside of this ability is that it doesn''t distinguish fatal attacks from scratch wounds, so even if it was just a mosquito biting me, it would still activate. And I cannot reappear far from my original position, making it easy for the enemy to predict and redirect their attack, just like what we did to that man," he added.


    Valentine leaned back against his chair. The veil of the dark soothed his mind and made it easier to concentrate.


    "The next ability is also the one displayed by the enemy. It''s a mass illusion ability that requires constant blood supply for activation. That means I can maintain the illusion for as long as I want, provided I have enough blood for that. This ability works on everyone around us, which means our allies might attack our weakened self if we were to use it recklessly."


    "The type of illusion created depends on what I want them to see, so at least we can control it to some extent, G. It can be very useful for deceiving the enemies or for information gathering. It can even be used for assassination if used correctly," he said coldly, and then added, "The limit of this ability is ten times per day, as usual."


    "There is another ability that the enemy couldn''t show us. Is Memory Erasion. This one is not like your Memory Reading, G. This ability enables us to select a memory of us inside someone''s mind and we can erase it. We cannot tamper with the memory in any other way for now, but maybe when we get stronger, we would be able to. This ability only works if the enemy is unconscious, however. But I can use Interrogation for that, or borrow your Order that has been copied by Purloin,"


    "It sounds similar to Luuk''s professor who just erased his existence from everyone''s memory. But that man''s ability sounds more potent than this because, with this one, we would have to do it one by one with every person that knows us. The limit to this ability is ten times a day as well, G."


    "The greatest improvement perhaps is the fact that I don''t have to chant the previous Deities'' names anymore to activate the abilities. It makes it easier to use them; not to mention the fact that they can be used up to twenty-five times per day now. On top of that, I can now use Restriction and Concealment on multiple objects at once. I think the limit is six for now. That means I don''t have to constantly activate and deactivate it like before. Reveal has also gotten stronger and it will tell us more information than before. We need to try it out after this,"


    "Now, do you notice that most of our Contractbound abilities only work on sentient beings, G? It almost seems like the Deities purposefully want us to fight and kill each other. Remember what the book said? We are but just fuel for those Deities," he said heavily.


    "But it doesn''t matter, does it? We just have to do what we have to do,"

 155 Decei

    "G, let''s head out and test my new abilities," said Valentine. He was still wearing his own appearance and didn''t plan to use Purloin to transform because his own abilities had just been upgraded.


    He stood up from the wooden armchair and walked towards the giant suitcase that he brought. He hadn''t unpacked yet, so all his clothes were still inside-- in fact, he didn''t plan to unpack at all so that in case he needed to escape quickly, it could be done easily.


    Valentine opened the big brown suitcase and revealed the neatly folded clothes inside. He took out the brown leather jacket that was placed at the very top and put it on. There were slight folding marks on the jacket, but with some tapping, they were gone. After taking out what he needed, he carefully zipped the suitcase shut and placed it standing up next to the bed again for ease of reach.


    Once he had put on his jacket, Valentine muttered began using his ability of Concealment to mask himself. Since the limit had been raised to six, he could conceal more than one thing at once.


    "I hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist descended slowly and enveloped his whole body.


    "I hereby declare my face a secret!"


    The same thin yellowish mist descended again and floated over his face, covering it completely.


    "I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!"


    Another thin yellowish mist descended and enwrapped his mouth, feet, and hands, and a thinned layer covered his entire body, stacking on top of the previous one.


    "Hmm... what else can I conceal?" he said while in thought, however, his voice could only be heard by himself and not other people.


    Valentine''s whole being had now been completely concealed, and if an outsider were to come into the hotel room right now, they would only see a silent, empty room.


    He then picked up his commando knife with the engraving of his name and pressed the tip of his left index finger against the blade. His flesh was cut open easily and a tiny splotch of blood came out.


    "I declare this jacket under the Shroud of Secrecy hereafter!"


    He shouted and then rubbed his bloody fingertip against the inside part of his brown leather jacket. His blood stuck to it instantly, leaving a tiny bloodstain that was invisible from the outside.


    "We''re ready now," he said confidently while wiping the remaining blood from his fingertip. His wound healed immediately after that.


    With his preparation done, he walked out of his hotel room and locked the door behind him. Luuk had moved into the room next to him sometime in the afternoon after he gave a call to his friend''s house through the hotel''s landline, and the man was probably inside. However, since he was completely concealed, knocking on his door would be just meaningless, so he left his neighbor alone and went downstairs.


    "..."


    The moment he pressed the small button to ring it, the yellowish mist moved and engulfed the bell, concealing its sound. Valentine was both pleasantly and annoyedly surprised by the finding.


    "G, the concealment extends to the sound created by things I use. That can be very useful but at the same time, it is annoying. And I hope you can still hear my voice because otherwise, we can''t communicate. We cannot read each other''s mind, after all," he muttered quietly out of habit, although his voice was completely muffled by the mist.


    "So this is what the enemies used to avoid our detection. However, people who stare and concentrate directly at us will still be able to see us, since we are not invisible. The mist just misleads the senses, making them think we''re not here. Except for the one covering our face and sound, I guess, since they are completely blocked off to the outside," he said analytically.


    Valentine then walked out of the hotel through the main door and although he wasn''t even trying to be silent, there was no sound created in the process of him opening and closing the door-- not even the wind chimes'' tingling made a noise.


    The moment he took a step outside, the gentle night breeze brushed his face. The moonlight shone upon the land below, casting shadows to the trees with brown leaves. Besides himself, there was currently not a single soul outside. Not even a single motor carriage was seen driving by either, despite there usually being quite a few at that hour, especially in the big street of Bloemstraat. With his boosted hearing, all he could hear was the silence that was broken by insects and other denizens of the night.


    The park next to the hotel was also deserted. The street lights were still on and illuminated the place, but there was currently no one there. Although it was not very strange for the park to be empty past midnight, if coupled with the fact that the street was unusually barren, it became somewhat curious.


    Feeling the abnormality, Valentine had his right hand ready to draw his gun at any time. His left hand had taken out his dagger and was holding it tight. He then walked towards the north, where the street should be busier. From where he was currently at, going north would take him to Grotemarktstraat.


    Valentine walked very quickly with light steps. Since entering the rank of President Contractbound, his physical abilities had also been enhanced. He was trotting through the quiet street and in less than five minutes, he had arrived at Grotemarktstraat, which was also abnormally empty. Even the numerous establishments there had been closed.


    "Something is not right. Where is everybody? Had something happened while we were busy cooped up in our room?"


    Then, the next breeze that hit his face brought something unexpected that made him raise his eyebrows.


    "G, it''s the smell of blood! It was very faint but I could smell it,"


    He then quickly ran west where the smell was coming from, heading towards the direction of his apartment. There was still currently no one else besides him as if the government had issued a stay-at-home order to every citizen of Sloten.


    Because he had gone too far from where he cast his abilities, his Concealment had become undone. Valentine quickly recast his abilities and concealed himself again.


    The smell of blood became somewhat thicker. After crossing the bridge, Valentine headed north again, following the smell. There, he finally saw signs of human activities. There were parked Police motor carriages blocking the entrance to the street and some hospital carriages on stand by. Something big must have been happening there for them to completely blocked off access like that. The thick smell of blood reinforced his suspicion even more.


    He readied his weapon and approached the blockade, skillfully climbing over the motor carriage that was placed on the sidewalk silently. There were bloodstains on the ground that had dried up. Valentine approached the stains and observed them carefully.


    "The fight happened here some hours ago. But since the blockade is still in place, the main event must still be happening further in," he muttered as he drew his gun from the holster.


    Bang! Bang!


    There were faint sounds of gunshots in the distance. Valentine increased his pace but stayed in the shadow of the buildings. Although he was still concealed, he still needed to be careful. He walked farther and farther in until he could finally see the reason why people were all staying inside; the Police were fighting with a group of supernatural creatures!


    There were a total of five ghouls and a headless bulky figure carrying a giant ax. There were also four creatures that looked like reanimated dead bodies busily attacking the Police force.


    Bang!


    Clank!


    The headless creature easily deflected a bullet shot at it using its giant steel ax. Despite the size and probably the weight, it was swinging it with ease as if it was just a wooden stick. Valentine was curious about the creature, but to use Reveal, he would have to get close enough for it to be in range. He decided to stay away because he could get hit by stray bullets or even the blood arrows that a female officer was firing at the creatures.


    Besides the heated fight happening, there were also Police officers tasked with transporting the dead bodies and the injured out. The officer with the friendly face seemed to be in charge of the operation. He was busy making people inhale a similar blue powder that Luuk made and then commanding the others to carry those people away.


    "The Police should have this under control. There is nothing we can do here but watch, G," he muttered.


    Valentine was hiding near the entrance of a building with a protruding wall that served as a cover while the fight was happening in the middle of the large intersection. The Police were coming from all four directions, completely blocking off escape for the creatures, although they wouldn''t try to escape in the first place. Most undead creatures only knew to fight until death since they had no fear.


    At that moment, suddenly Valentine noticed a Police officer who was acting strangely. He was a man with brown hair and glasses on his face. The man was looking around suspiciously in the heat of the fight and once he was sure no one was watching him, he quietly slipped past his companions and headed towards a secluded alley.


    Out of curiosity, Valentine followed the man who hadn''t seem to notice his concealed self. The man kept walking deeper into the dark alley and then turned right and hid behind a pile of cardboard boxes. Valentine also took a hiding spot somewhere he could still see the man, right behind a dumpster on the opposite side.


    "!!"


    The man suddenly began twitching uncontrollably and collapsed to the ground. He was writhing and wriggling as if he was about to burst in an explosion. His belly then got bigger and bigger until it ruptured in a bloody explosion, sending pieces of flesh and blood everywhere. From the hole that was created by the explosion, a naked woman came crawling out covering in blood and other bodily matters. A strong stench of blood and fecal matter instantly filled the air.


    The woman then stepped out of the body and stood there while looking at the blood covering her whole body. Slowly, the blood seeped into her skin while the other substances fell down on the paved ground, revealing her corpse-like pale skin. Her blue eyes were looked like she had been dead for decades and her blonde hair was curly and messy. She looked rather young and beautiful, but her face had a sinister expression that would make people want to stay away from her, especially while she was looking at the mangled corpse below her.


    Valentine had slit his wrist a little to allow blood to come out, but not too much that he would be weakened. He let the blood pour down to the pavement and began chanting while focusing on the effect that he wanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth an illusion that covers this area!"


    The blood that had touched the ground suddenly evaporated and at the same time, an illusory orange curtain descended from above, covering a very small area in front of him. It was only enough to envelop the woman and probably two other people around her if there were any.


    Once the curtain was set, the woman, who had been taken by surprise, suddenly began seeing numerous men with sinister and lusty expressions surrounding her from every direction. There was no gap that she could use to escape. Although there were many men there, all of them looked similar, with only slight variations to their features. The woman was covering her face tight with both hands and backing away until her back was against the wall. She seemed to be in great emotional distress and was screaming gibberish.


    It was Valentine''s new Illusion ability!


    He had made the woman see her biggest fear many times fold and now she was incapacitated because of that. However, since the enemy seemed to be stronger than him, the blood consumption was great despite there being only one enemy and he was getting weaker and weaker very quickly.


    Valentine raised his gun with his right hand and aimed at the woman.


    Bang!


    His bullet his the woman''s head! The shot that he had fired was silent despite he himself could hear the sound. The woman, who hadn''t been able to avoid it, was hit by the bullet. However, it failed to penetrate into her skull and only managed to cause a slight injury on her forehead. The bullet head then bounced off and she screamed in pain.


    "Argh!!"


    Knowing that she was in danger, she used her instinct, and suddenly her body melted into a disgusting blob of flesh and blood. Her melted figure then reentered the corpse, causing its open belly to be bloated.


    Bang!


    Valentine quickly shot at the corpse''s stomach and this time, his bullet drilled into the dead man''s flesh, causing blood to come out of it. However, he didn''t know if it was the corpse''s blood or the woman''s blood.


    Before he could shoot again, the man''s bloated stomach quickly returned to normal and the woman was nowhere to be seen. She had managed to escape!


    Valentine wiped the blood off his wrist and the wound began healing rapidly after that. He carefully walked towards the corpse with his gun in his hand and observed it. The man''s expression looked like he had died in extreme pain while the area around his stomach was disfigured like he had been mauled by a giant bear. There were pieces of flesh around the dead man but there was no sign of the woman at all.


    "G, that must have been a member of the Pale Society. The one with corpse abilities should be a Plague Cavalry, and she must have teleported to another corpse. It''s useless to try to find her since we don''t know which corpse she has moved into, but at least we have seen her face," he said calmly.

 156 The World of the Dead Tree

    In a world where everything was surrounded by a thick fog, Valentine found himself waking up from under a massive dead tree. Valentine got up and looked at his surroundings; only the tree whose trunk was ashen grey and the wet grass beneath him were visible-- everything else was hidden behind the white fog that seemed to be able to hide memory itself.


    It was Valentine''s second time being in the foggy world, so he wasn''t as flustered as before. He focused on the tree in front of him and said in a calm voice,


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    He was looking at the giant tall tree with thirteen main branches with anticipation. However, the text that he had been waiting for didn''t come up. It was apparent that his ability had failed again.


    Seeing as he couldn''t get any information about the tree, Valentine turned around and just waited patiently for Graham. The latter should be showing up any time soon.


    The thick white fog in front of him was moving gently like river water as he was looking at it. There was no sensation on his skin when he touched the fog-- the normal cold feeling that usually came with fogs was not there.


    Suddenly, there was a gentle ripple coming from ahead of Valentine. Behind the fog was a shadow of a man that was as tall as himself and the build was perfectly identical. Slowly, Graham''s figure was revealed as the fog around him was broken through.


    "Hello there, Val," said Graham with a familiar smile.


    Although it was already his second time, it still felt rather strange to see his other half standing in person in front of him. It was something different from looking at himself in the mirror.


    Graham was wearing a plain white shirt and a pair of cotton pants just like last time. Valentine then looked at himself and realized that he was also wearing the same shirt, although his pants were denim. The pants and their different eye colors were the only things different about their appearance; even their rolled-up sleeves were identical.


    "Where did you find yourself waking up in?" asked Valentine as Graham got closer.


    He felt that it was strange that only he woke up under the tree. Besides, there didn''t seem to be any other place other than the dead tree and the inaccessible house. However, Graham couldn''t have woken up there since he didn''t seem to know about the house either when they first tried going there.


    "You must be thinking why I don''t wake up under the tree. I don''t know myself. I found myself in the middle of the thick fog with nothing around me. But I seem to know the direction to find you," he replied calmly.


    The thick fog surrounding them seemed to be able to muffle their voice as well. They felt like they were speaking in a soundproof room right now.


    Valentine nodded solemnly.


    "I think so too," he replied.


    Graham then looked around as if trying to remember the direction of the house that they last went to.


    "The house is that way, isn''t it? Let''s see if there is something new there," he said while pointing at the direction to the right of the dead tree.


    "Let''s," replied Valentine shortly.


    The two identical men walked casually in the direction that Graham had pointed at and the tree gradually became more and more covered in fog until it was no longer visible despite its massive size. Even the topmost part of it was covered by the white fog that reached all the way to the sky.


    Crunch...


    The sounds of their feet stepping on the grass wet from dew were the only thing they heard in that world.


    "Do you think we''ll be able to enter this world with each rank up?" asked Graham curiously. He seemed to already know the answer but he just wanted to know his other half''s opinion.


    "That is likely," replied Valentine.


    The fog kept moving around them but their skin felt nothing. After walking for some distance, the silhouette of the big house in the middle of a field started to appear in front of them, hidden behind the thick fog. The grass beneath them gradually shortened like it was trimmed nicely and finally, they found themselves standing in front of the house again.


    "Val, last time we couldn''t get near the house no matter what we tried. Do you think it''ll be different now?" asked Graham while being in deep thought. The expression on his sharp-featured face was serious. His right eyebrow was raised while his eyes were squinted while looking at the house.


    Valentine was also looking serious. The house was somehow giving him a strange feeling of nostalgia and familiarity despite him not remembering clearly anything about it. He had a strong feeling that he used to live there as a child.


    "I''m not sure either. We can only try, can''t we? Let''s go," he said.


    Valentine''s cold eyes were looking straight at the house with anticipation. He and Graham then started marching towards the main wooden door that was just across the field. However, no matter how fast they were walking or how long, the house stayed the same distance and they couldn''t get any closer to it.


    "So it is still no use, Val. That might mean we have to get stronger first before this place will be accessible to us. So that means, there should be another new place that we can go to; otherwise, we won''t be here in the first place," analyzed Graham. He had stopped walking and still found himself in the exact same spot as he had been before.


    "That seems to be the case. If the house is related to our memory, the other place that we might find must be as well. What do you think we''ll find?" asked Valentine.


    "That, I don''t know the answer to either," replied Graham with a shrug. He was wearing a foolish expression on his face.


    "Then let''s stop wasting time here. I say we should go that way," said Valentine decisively.


    Graham nodded and the two of them went towards the direction that Valentine designated, to the left of the house. Although they couldn''t see anything in the distance because of the thick fog, they had a feeling that they would find something there.


    The wet grass was felt soft underneath their shoes, and the faint crunching sound accompanied them in their search. Wet marks filled the soles of the identical brown loafers that they were wearing while the fresh fragrant of the grass penetrated their noses.


    "You are better at finding directions, so are you sure we''re still going the right way, Val?" asked Graham. The sensation that he was getting felt like they were coming from every direction the farther they walked. The thick fog that surrounded them wasn''t helping either. It was just as if they were walking in absolute darkness.


    "Based on the way we walk, we are supposed to be walking in a straight line, so it should be the correct way," replied Valentine. Although he sounded confident, there was a hint of doubt in his tone. He was also feeling the sensation from all around him and was only relying on his instinct to walk in a straight line, "Why don''t you use divination to find out, just in case?" he added.


    Graham shook his head with a frown.


    "I still cannot use any of my abilities here and I guess that''s the same for you," he said without a doubt.


    Valentine nodded heavily. It felt rather frustrating that the power he had got through hard work was suddenly unavailable to him.


    The two of them walked some more and after a while, a silhouette slowly appeared in front of them. It looked like a massive building with many stories surrounded by a tall gate. There was a large courtyard between the gate and the building itself that would probably take minutes to cross.


    Graham and Valentine increased their pace and the large building then revealed itself. It was a classic building with brownish brick walls and arches at the entrance. The gate was made of metal with the color black and there was a carving of a scale and a sword on each section.


    "Val, this is our university!" exclaimed Graham.


    "You''re right," replied Valentine calmly. However, his face also showed as much astonishment as Graham''s.


    "To be precise, this is the Faculty of Law of the University of Bredevoort. This place being here means we can find something related to our past there. But I still remember perfectly our university years, don''t you, Val?" added Graham.


    "Me too, and I still think it''s the best years of our lives, although we attended uni later than we should have because of the war. At least, a few of the other students were in the same situation, so we weren''t the oldest in our year," replied Valentine with a rather nostalgic tone.


    "True. But precisely because of the war we got a different view of life that helped us achieve better grades, so I''d call it a blessing in disguise," said Graham. His tone was slightly filled with self-mockery.


    "If you say so," replied Valentine shortly.


    The two men then looked at the black metal gate and opened it with both hands. If the faculty was exactly the same as the one in real life, the gate should be very heavy and it would sometimes get stuck. It was because the university was very old and the management refused to renovate the place for the sole reason of keeping the building ''pure'' and ''original''. The most that they would do was repainting, but even that also required a special kind of paint that looked exactly the same color as the original.


    Thud!


    "Yup, it''s stuck again, Val,"


    The heavy black gate had been pushed only a little, revealing a gap that was not enough for an adult to pass through, before it stopped midway. The hinges seemed to have failed and it couldn''t be pushed further without breaking it. Even then, it would take tremendous strength to force it open; something the two of them didn''t possess in that world.


    "Remember back then when we would gather random students to push it open? It would only move slightly without breaking, but it took more than eight people to get it there. With only the two of us here, it''s impossible, Val," said Graham.


    Valentine looked up and smiled meaningfully.


    "Then we climb. In this world, I don''t think that crazy security guard is present," he said while pointing up.


    "Fat Aldershof? Yes. He would start yelling on top of his lung if someone even dared to think about climbing over, despite this junk being impossible to open. And even worse, he always refused to help open this gate. Let''s do it then since he is not here," replied Graham. There was a mischievous smile on his face.


    Graham and Valentine held on to the carvings and used them as both gripping points and footholds. Valentine skillfully made his way up while Graham had to do so slowly. With a single jump over the gate, Valentine landed on the other side while looking at Graham who was still making his way up. Graham crossed over the gate while holding tight to it and then climbed down carefully, successfully making his way across.


    "It seems that I am back to being a normal human in this world," he said heavily.


    "You could always try to go through the gap, but I don''t think your fatass would fit," replied Valentine casually.


    "We''re literally the same weight, Val," responded Graham.


    The two of them then walked across the large courtyard that was decorated with various trees and plants. The leaves on the trees were still green although it was autumn in the real world. There were only very few fallen leaves on the paved ground as well.


    "This place definitely runs on a different time from the real world, Val, as we can see from the leaves," said Graham as he looked right and left while analyzing everything.


    They kept on walking until they finally reached the arches at the entrance of the majestic faculty building. On top of the arches, there was the logo of the faculty of law which was a measuring scale made of a sword placed on top of a shield. Under the logo, there was the writing ''University of Bredevoort Faculty of Law''.


    The moment they took a step on the staircase leading to the inside of the building, their ears picked up sounds of activities from there. Graham and Valentine instantly looked at each other with a curious expression on their faces.


    "Val, there are other people here!"

 157 A Glimpse of the Pas

    "Hey, G, aren''t they looking too familiar?" said Valentine in puzzlement.


    Graham was also watching the scene unfolding in front of him with a curious expression on his face. His right hand was rubbing his chin while the elbow was resting on his left hand. He squinted his eyes to see better since he didn''t have Supersight in that world.


    "They are indeed the students from our university year..." he replied, "Which means, this place is most likely a projection of our memories."


    "That seems to be the case. But there must be something significant here if it''s shown to us. It''s not like we''ve forgotten those years," added Valentine.


    "You''re right. Let''s look around. We need to also check if we can interact with them or if they can even see us," said Graham.


    The two men walked farther inside the faculty building and found themselves in a large hall with a large dome ceiling with paintings on it. They were mostly of animals in the prairies and beautiful flowers and sunshiny skies. There were a few babies with bat wings and horns here and there depicted as playing with the animals. Those paintings, coupled with the shape of the dome and the natural lighting, evoked the feeling of majesty and greatness in the onlookers.


    Below the dome, the students, who were mostly wearing thin clothing, were busy with their own things. The paintings had ceased to amaze them since they saw it basically every day.


    "Val, remember when we first saw those paintings? We would be looking at it for minutes and minutes until we were late for class. But after a while, we didn''t even remember they existed," said Graham nostalgically.


    "It was mostly you, although I must admit those are great paintings although no one knew who made them," replied Valentine.


    "True. Even Professor de Groot didn''t know anything despite being the oldest here. He just said those paintings are as old as this building,"


    They kept walking past several students who didn''t seem to notice them. Graham waved his hand at someone but got no response.


    "Yes, it''s clear that they cannot see us," concluded Graham.


    In the bright faculty building, the two identical men walked across the hall that they were very familiar with. Being there again brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad. Graham then stopped and pointed at a young male student who was wearing a green t-shirt and a pair of cotton pants. He was surrounded by a group of other students and his expression seemed happy.


    "Val, that''s Jonas..." said Graham with a heavy tone. His expression looked somber.


    "That''s indeed him. That means we are in our first year of university," replied Valentine. Although he sounded rather monotonous, there was a faint hint of unhappiness in his tone.


    "It''s a pity that he had to die gruesomely. He was such a kind guy," added Graham.


    "Yes. And even worse, Jonas was raped by him before being killed. It''s ironic that this is the Faculty of Law but one of the professors committed a heinous crime like that," said Graham. There was mockery in his tone.


    "At least he has been arrested and should be rotting in jail right now," replied Valentine coldly.


    The two of them then left Jonas who still had a happy expression on his face with his friends. Although it was not the real world, it still somehow put a smile on Graham''s friend to see his dead friend smiling again.


    Graham and Valentine walked across the hall with a marble floor and entered the corridor at the end of it. It was the direction towards the Department of Criminology where they used to study. There were fewer students there compared to the common hall, but the number was still quite big.


    Suddenly, they stopped again because they saw a face that was all too familiar. It was their younger self!


    The younger Graham Hymes was wearing a thin white shirt and a pair of striped pants. His amber hair was just as curly as his current hair and there was stubble on his face. His green eyes, however, looked colder and distant. He was carrying a briefcase that was different from his current one and was walking quickly towards a lecture hall on his own.


    "Val, that must be the first year after the service. No wonder I still looked miserable as hell," he said with self-mockery.


    "I think I was even worse," replied Valentine shortly.


    They followed their younger self and entered a lecture hall that was already filled with other students. The professor had already started his lecture and seemed to be too focused on it that he didn''t notice the late student. The younger Graham entered quietly and took a seat near the wall where the least number of students were sitting.


    "Val, I think that professor always knew we were late but he just pretended not to notice," said Graham. Looking from a third-person view gave him a new perspective.


    "That seems to be the case. Besides us, there were other students who were late and he never raised a fuss. Maybe he knew about our situation," replied Valentine.


    The two of them were standing in front of the lecture hall near the doorway and were watching everything. The professor was very passionate about delivering his materials and his voice was loud and clear. However, since he was rather old, he didn''t use a wide range of gestures but mostly just stood there. The students looked rather interested in the lecture, although there were still some who couldn''t stop yawning.


    Suddenly, Graham''s attention was drawn to a person sitting on the backmost row looking at his younger self. It was an old woman of Longese descent with black hair that had mostly gone grey. She was wearing a black dress with a red dragon pattern on it and was sitting elegantly while watching the younger Graham.


    "Val! That''s..." he nudged his other half and pointed at the woman.


    "That''s Paim?? What is she doing here?" replied Valentine. His voice was full of puzzlement and disbelief.


    They had met Paim only after getting the commission from Ruben Arnaud to find his missing son, Fabien. Even then, it was only because of Ruben''s jeweler friend, Emiel, that they got to know about the antique store on Oosteindestraat. They had never seen the old owner of that mysterious antique store before, so the fact that she was in this same lecture hall watching their younger self felt so abnormal.


    "Why is she watching us? Has she been doing that all this time, Val?" asked Graham. His tone was curious and guarded, "How come we''ve never noticed her?"


    "That, I don''t know, but this is definitely not normal. Let''s go over there and see if we can get any clue," replied Valentine.


    Graham nodded and the two of them walked towards the raised platforms where the students'' desks were without anyone even noticing them. They walked up the steps to reach the backmost row, but suddenly, they froze.


    Paim was looking straight at them!


    "What the fuck!" exclaimed Valentine.


    Swoosh!!


    Suddenly, they felt like something was dragging them from behind violently and they couldn''t do anything about it. Before long, they found themselves under the dead tree again and the thick fog was surrounding them.


    Graham tried to get up from the ground that was full of wet grass and once he was up, he realized he had come back to his hotel bedroom.


    "!!"


    He had woken up from his dream and his forehead was full of cold sweat. He looked around to make sure he was really inside the hotel where he was staying and once the familiar place was registered into his brain, he calmed down. Graham controlled his breath and then wiped the sweat off his skin.


    "Val, that was too sudden. We didn''t even get the chance to see her from up close. And the fact that she was looking directly at us despite that place being from our memory is creepy if I should say so myself," he muttered. However, this time, there was no response from Valentine because he had come back to the real world.


    "It''s a shame that we cannot talk to each other for real here, Val. But at least we now have a place where we can do it. Maybe next time we don''t have to explore and just stay there and chat until we wake up," said Graham again.


    He looked to his right and saw the sunlight trying to penetrate through the thick curtains without any success. He then reached out to the brown watch that he had left on the table next to the bed and checked the time. It was almost nine in the morning.


    "Now, Val, what do you think about Paim being in our memory. If she was watching us even in our first year of university, that means she had known us for that long. And yet she acted like we didn''t know each other when we went to her store. It feels really strange," said Graham analytically.


    "I have a crazy theory, Val, but there is no proof for now. What if everything was set up by her? What if the guys who were chasing Fabien were hired by her. We''ve never seen the two of them again after that, after all, so it is even more suspicious. But why had she arranged all this? To make us a Contractbound? But why?" he said while stroking his chin.


    "It sounds rather far-fetched, but that''s the only explanation I get think of as to why she was watching us during our first year of university. She must have been looking for the perfect opportunity for that. But why wait that long? Why not make us a Contractbound much earlier? The more I think about it, the more I don''t understand, Val," Graham then stretched his hands in frustration.


    "For now, let''s just have breakfast. And we need to check up on Luuk to make sure he is still alive. I''m sure the answer will come along sooner or later, so there is no need to hurry. We can ask Ruben and Fabien about the detail some time, but for now, we need to focus on our survival. Do you remember why Val?" asked Graham with a cheeky smile, "Because we''re still targeted by the Pale Society. They launched a large scale attack last night so they are not an organization we can look down upon."


    Graham got up from his bed and had a quick wash. After that, he looked in the mirror and started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Hansen M¨¹ller!"


    His whole skin itched and then he grew taller and more muscular. His exposed torso showed his bulging chest and strong biceps and the big scar on his back gradually disappeared. His skin also became darker and the features on his face changed. In less than thirty seconds, Graham had become another person entirely.


    Once his Transformation was completed, he went back to the bedroom and unzipped his large suitcase and took out the biggest shirt he had. He put on a black shirt and changed the denim pants that Valentine had worn the previous night with a pair of striped cotton pants. After that, he put on his gun holster along with the bullet pouch along with Valentine''s dagger. Valentine had put all of them under Concealment so they were covered by a thin yellowish mist. Now, they didn''t have to worry about being randomly searched anymore.


    Graham put on his brown trench coat to hide the weapons he was carrying and left the hotel room before locking the door. He then walked up to the room next door and knocked on the door slightly.


    Knock knock...


    "Who''s there?" asked a voice from inside.


    "It''s me. Let''s have breakfast," he said with a voice deeper than his original''s.


    "Give me a minute," shouted Luuk from inside.


    Graham waited patiently for his neighbor and not long after, he came out wearing a black sweater and a pair of denim pants. Luuk was surprised for a split second when he saw Graham but then he quickly remembered that the man was wearing a disguise. Although it was not his first time seeing his neighbor like that, he was still not used to it.


    "Anyway, did you go out last night?" asked Graham.


    Luuk looked at him and raised his eyebrows.


    "Of course not. We were told to stay indoors by the Police," he replied.


    It was Graham''s turn to raise his eyebrows now.


    "We were? When?" he asked curiously. He had not received any announcement like that.


    "The receptionist told me when I went down. He didn''t tell you?" asked Luuk.


    Graham shook his head.


    "There wasn''t even anyone downstairs when I went there,"

 158 A Drastic Change

    "We need to go to the abandoned chapel tonight. It''s been a while since we last had a meeting. Those guys must have found something by now about the missing people. Although I am sure the Pale Society is behind it, it''s still much better to know about what they''re trying to do so we can stop it," explained Graham lengthly.


    Graham and Luuk were having breakfast at the hotel restaurant and it was a buffet-style breakfast where hotel guests could take whichever food they wanted. Graham had taken a portion of jelly salad that had broccoli and asparagus in it while Luuk was eating a cheese and pineapple hedgehog.


    "Val, this style of food is very modern! I believe it will get even more popular in the future!" he muttered as he took a bite of the jelly; his tone was completely different from the serious and analytical one he had used earlier. The bouncy texture of the jellified broth and its savory taste complemented the vegetable pieces that were hiding inside it nicely.


    "So what are we going to do while waiting for tonight? Is it safe for me to go to uni?" asked Luuk while chewing his food slowly. Judging from his expression, he didn''t seem to like the combination of pineapple and cheese that much.


    "It should be okay. I don''t think they would dare to attack you out in the open. And besides, I''m sure you are fast enough to escape in case you were attacked," said Graham casually.


    That makes sense. Luuk thought about Graham''s answer and decided to trust the man. However, he still needed to be careful because he didn''t know the extent to the enemies'' abilities.


    "But stay away from corpses. They have a Plague Cavalry," added Graham.


    Luuk tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.


    "What is that?" he asked curiously.


    "That''s a Contractbound with creepy abilities. They can move between corpses. You are the Faculty of Medicine and I am sure there is a morgue there. Just don''t get anywhere near the morgue," reminded Graham.


    Luuk nodded.


    That''s creepy. He thought. I''ll just stay away from building C then. My classes are in buildings A and F today, so I should be fine.


    "So what about you? What are you going to do?" asked Luuk to the man who was busy finishing his jelly salad.


    "I''m going to go investigate some things. This city is getting more and more dangerous because of the Pale Society. We need to stop them as soon as we can," he said with a hint of urgency in his tone, "And besides, I want to go home soon because I''ve paid the rent until the end of this year," he added.


    "Me too. Although I''ve managed to pack some books, most of them are still at home. Sometimes I wish studying medicine didn''t require me to buy those expensive thick books. That''s also another reason why I resort to stealing," said Luuk half-jokingly.


    "But before that, Val, we need a new identity just to be safe. This one has an identity card so we''ll use this for official businesses," he muttered quietly.


    In the street outside the hotel, the sun was shining brightly and the wind was blowing strongly. His brown trench coat protected him from the cold breeze and the thick skin of the appearance that he was wearing kept himself warm. Graham walked carefully and picked a random stranger whose memory he would read. Creeping from behind the man, he whispered an Order without being seen.


    "I order you to go to the alley where no one is around!"


    With that, the man''s body moved automatically against his will and he headed towards a quiet back alley. Graham was following far behind the man to avoid suspicion and once he entered the alley and was sure there was no one besides the two of them there, he approached the man.


    "I order you to stand there quietly for five minutes!"


    He issued another order once the man was in range and he stood there like a mannequin.


    "Val, I can''t believe that we basically do most of our business in an abandoned alley. We sure sound like a drug dealer now," he muttered in self-mockery.


    Graham made sure to stay behind the man so he couldn''t see his appearance. Once he was close enough, he started chanting while focusing on the kind of information that he needed. It was the closest person that the man last saw.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of this man!"


    He suddenly felt surrounded by water and was watching scenes by scenes of the man''s interaction with someone. It was a woman!


    Graham couldn''t change the scene once it had started so he could only pay attention to her behavior and mannerisms. He also received information about the woman from the man''s memory. After that, he severed the connection and returned to the real world. He looked at his watch and noticed that only less than five seconds had passed despite him watching the man''s whole memories about the woman.


    The man, who was still conscious through the whole process, had an uncomfortable look on his face that was mixed with fear. However, he couldn''t even open his mouth to scream because of Graham''s order nor could he turn around to look at the man who was holding him captive.


    Since his Order was for him to stand there in silence for five whole minutes, Graham wasn''t worried that he would suddenly turn around. He didn''t need to go to another alley for his transformation, so he just hid behind a dumpster.


    "Val, I''m sure you couldn''t see what I saw in the man''s mind, so you''re in for a surprise," he muttered with a mischievous smile.


    After that, he began chanting quietly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Priscilla van Lanen!"


    His skin began itching in an instant and his whole body shrunk. His hard, tanned skin became soft and fair while his hair grew all the way over his shoulder before turning light blond. There were slight curls in his hair now that gave him a ''mature'' aura. His breast kept growing before stopping once it reached the size of a small-sized melon. His height, which was originally over 185 cm as the martial arts instructor, had become only a little over 170 cm. Once the transformation process was over, Graham had completely turned into a pretty woman with a petite body.


    "Val, what do you think?" said Graham with a very feminine voice-- it could even be said as a beautiful voice.


    "It sure feels weird that our chest holds weight now. And not a light one either. I cannot imagine running with them. And down there has also changed, Val. This ability sure values perfection," he said as he was holding his now bulging chest part of his shirt.


    "Now the question is whether this is the woman''s actual size or the man is just remembering them as bigger than in reality," he wondered curiously.


    "It''s definitely better to turn into another man, but this one will do for now. We just need to adjust our clothes a little," he said and then looked at the now oversized clothes that he was wearing. Even Purloin had become very loose.


    "I order you to become tighter!"


    He said and the fabric of his pants unraveled and wrapped around itself, making the material thicker with the excess thread. The pants that he was wearing were now just a little too big but not too loose anymore. He couldn''t make it the exact size in case he needed to transform into someone else again.


    Graham then tighter the pale leather belt with complicated patterns that he was wearing and adjusted his oversized shirt. It still looked good on him because the petite build of the woman just fit well with the shirt. He didn''t really care about his coat because it didn''t obstruct his movement unlike his pants, so he left it alone.


    He approached the man who was still standing motionlessly in the alley and then whispered in his ear from behind.


    "I order you to forget what happened just now!"


    His voice was like a seductress trying to coerce someone into doing her bidding. Once he had issued the Order, the man suddenly became confused, especially since he found himself standing alone in a deserted alley while being unable to move.


    Meanwhile, Graham had quickly left the area while trying to match the way the woman walked but it still felt awkward for him. He was still not used to walking with something heavy on his chest and also, the way the woman walked was completely different from his normal way of walking.


    "Val, this is somewhat difficult," he muttered quietly with a very womanly voice.


    Graham then decided to just stop a public motor carriage driving by because he didn''t want to spend the rest of the way on foot. He waved his hand softly and not long after, one metal vehicle pulled over and the driver looked at him with a stare that made him uncomfortable.


    "Where are you going, missus?" asked the driver. There was something in his tone that made him felt somewhat awkward, but he couldn''t really put it.


    "Val, is this how it feels to be a woman? It does feel ''different''," he muttered. He wasn''t worried that the driver would try anything funny because he could defend himself, but the whole situation was just strange to him.


    "Take me to Raadhuislaan," he said, making his voice as rough as he could but it still came out as feminine.


    "Right away!" replied the driver.


    He drove away towards the destination at once and although he acted rather creepily towards Graham who was wearing a beautiful woman''s appearance, his driving was very smooth. They arrived at their destination more than five minutes later because the traffic was rather bad for a reason. The driver then pulled over and turned around to see the passenger better, although Graham had noticed that the man had been staring through the rearview mirror the whole time.


    "That would be four pennings, miss," said the driver with a weird smile.


    Graham noticed that the price was cheaper than normal. He quickly took out the money and paid before the driver changed his mind. He slipped the coins through the gap in the glass separator and the driver took the change to touch his soft hand with the pretense of receiving the coins. Graham was weirded out but he didn''t say anything. He just quickly got out of the motor carriage and went away without looking back.


    "Val, I wonder if all public drivers give a discount to pretty women. If that''s the case, they would go bankrupt in a matter of days. I now envy those women..." he muttered as he was walking past the numerous people filling the large avenue.


    He walked towards the other end of the avenue where the accident had happened the night before and noticed with his Supersight that a lot of men were staring at him because of either his face or his breast size or both. He was used to not caring about his surroundings so he just ignored them and kept on walking awkwardly; he still hadn''t mastered the way the real Priscilla walked.


    The farther he walked, the more people were gathered. There seemed to be something happening on the other side, but because of his short body, he couldn''t see past the other people''s shoulders. Graham had to walk around to find the quietest spot around and only then he could see the other side.


    "Val, the whole street is blocked and the Police are still there. Shouldn''t it have been finished last night? So why are they still here?" he muttered in curiosity.

 159 A Seed

    "Excuse me, sir, but what''s happening here?" asked Graham with his ''womanly'' voice to a man who was also watching the blockade made from Police lines and many stationed armed officers.


    The man turned around and looked at the short and pretty woman wearing an oversized trench coat next to him.


    "I have no idea myself, but I heard it''s been like that since last night. Maybe it''s related to the stay-at-home order from last night?" replied the man. He was clearly clueless as to what had happened.


    The fight had happened during the night and should have been finished in the morning. And wrapping things up shouldn''t take that long for the Police and the government if they wanted to keep the matter a secret from the public. That was why the fact that the whole street was still under restriction was strange.


    Graham became curious and at the same time worried that something bad was happening. He quickly slipped away from the crowd and went inside a store closest to the barricade. There was no secluded alley near there so he couldn''t use his usual modus operandi.


    "Excuse me, can I borrow the toilet, please?" asked Graham to the storekeeper. He pretended to want to pee so badly and was holding it back. He tapped around a little and appeared restless.


    The female storekeeper looked at the small woman in front of her with a worried look on her face and then quickly pointed at the back door.


    "It''s over there. Please feel free to use our toilet," she said. Her tone was full of genuine concern, maybe because she knew how it felt to hold her bladder for a long time.


    Graham entered the back room of the store and quickly hid inside the only toilet that was available after making sure there was no one else besides him there.


    "Val, we''re lucky this small store only has a unisex toilet. It would feel too awkward otherwise if we had to enter a female toilet," he muttered.


    After that, he took out a lighter from his pocket and lit a fire. For a second he noticed that the lighter now felt a little bigger when he was holding it with his small female hand. He then began concentrating on the gentle flame while thinking of a question.


    ''What is happening behind the Police line?''


    The flame in his hand burned brighter and then it started shaking violently. There was something forming from within the flame but it was not the clear image that he usually got from divination, but instead just complete blackness. He felt like he was staring right at the abyss and it was sucking him slowly in. He quickly put out the fire and ended his divination.


    Pant... pant...


    He was breathing heavily because of the tense atmosphere caused by the image. Graham tried controlling his breathing at once and wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead.


    Graham put the lighter back inside his pocket and then began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Cornelis Haring!"


    His body underwent a transformation at once after he finished his chant. He grew taller and more muscular. His fair skin also became tan and his hair became shorter. There was a big scar formed on his face and his gaze turned very sharp as if he could see through lies.


    Now that he had transformed back into a tall man, his pants had become too small for him. He had to unbutton it mid-transformation because it would break otherwise. Concentrating on his pants, he issued an Order.


    "I order you to become bigger!"


    The pants that he was wearing started expanding to match his current size and the material became thinner to compensate for the extra size.


    With that, Graham had completely transformed back into a man and now he was using the appearance of the Police Sergeant Cornelis Haring aka Rood.


    "It''s indeed much more comfortable to turn into another man, Val," muttered Graham.


    Once he was done with his preparation, he exited the toilet and went back to the store only to be welcomed by the storekeeper''s perplexed look. Graham didn''t say anything and just walked out of the store as if nothing had happened while the female storekeeper walked into the back room where the toilet was.


    Graham''s plan was to get information from one of the officers stationed as a blockade about what was happening behind the Police line. He would rather not have to enter the area because the result of his divination was not exactly reassuring. There must be something dangerous happening there, but he was very curious as to what it was and he needed to know if it would affect his life or not.


    He walked confidently towards the stationed officer who was standing in the corner, rather far from the others. The moment the officer saw him, he straightened his back and gave Graham, who was now Rood, a salute.


    "Sergeant Rood, Sir!" said the officer loudly enough for the others to hear him. The other officers nearby also saluted and once Graham gestured at them, they returned to their own things.


    "Officer, how''s the situation? Did something else happen?" asked Graham, pretending to know about the whole thing but was away for some time. He had to word his questions carefully to avoid suspicion.


    "Sir, I am sorry but I am not allowed to answer unless you are wearing your coat and show your badge, Sir!" replied the officer loudly.


    Graham''s expression turned sour for a split second but he quickly controlled it.


    "Sorry, I''ll go get it," he said. The other officers began looking at him once the one he asked refused to answer, so Graham had no choice but to retreat for now.


    Once he was away, he began muttering in frustration.


    "Damn, Val, I think they are trained for impostors. We can''t use this appearance to get anything out of them unless we have the coat and the badge, which is impossible. We have no other option but to slip past the blockade," he paused, and then added, "That''s your specialty, so we switch,"


    Graham kept walking away and disappeared from the sight of the stationed officers. He needed somewhere secluded and his only option was another toilet since the alley would be too far from there. He couldn''t enter the same store so he chose a different store that was rather far away from the Police lines.


    It was a rather big convenience store that usually had public toilets for customers. Graham didn''t need to ask any storekeeper this time because the toilet was accessible to anyone and there was a sign by the door. He entered the male toilet and hid inside one of the stalls, sitting on top of the closed toilet lid.


    "I order myself to fall asleep!"


    He issued the order quietly and then after a second, he felt very sleepy. Once Graham fell asleep, Valentine woke up and opened his eyes. He was still using the appearance of the Police Sergeant Rood whose gaze was even colder and sharper now if combined with Valentine''s.


    "I hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    "I hereby declare my face a secret!"


    "I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!"


    Valentine cast Concealment in quick succession and his whole body was now covered in a thin yellowish mist. After making sure his weapons were ready to be drawn at any time, he left the toilet stall and exited the convenience store quietly. There were absolutely no sounds created as he opened the door and walked out of the building as they were muffled by the mist shrouding him.


    Once outside, Valentine quickly walked towards the Police barricade. He then chose a spot where there were the fewest officers and carefully walked under the yellow line placed around the area. He needed to make sure he didn''t touch any of the officers because although he was concealed, he was still physically there and could be seen by people with a sharp eye if they concentrated hard enough.


    He made it on the other side and observed the surrounding street behind the barricade. It was a total contrast to the area outside where people were crowding the street. Besides the occasional officers running around delivering news, there were absolutely no civilians. Even the establishments and stores were all closed and the residents had probably been evacuated.


    "G, this is just like last night. Something serious is surely happening here," muttered Valentine as he kept on walking farther and farther. He felt like he was in a post-apocalyptic world where humans were no more.


    The deeper into the street he went, the more his sense of danger was triggered. Valentine stayed in the shadow of the buildings just like the night before and arrived at the heard of the isolated area. There were numerous armed Police officers being stationed there as well as some familiar faces. He recognized the real Rood there and his partner; the short officer with a friendly face.


    Valentine hid behind a wall and perked up his ears to listen in to their conversation.


    "Paars, divination still doesn''t work?" asked a female officer with a pink floral dress under her coat.


    "No, lieutenant. Oranje and I have both tried many times but we still got nothing. Not even an image appeared. We have no clue what object this is," replied the officer whose coat was tightly buttoned, Paars. He seemed to be wearing nothing underneath.


    "Okay. Go back to patrolling then. Make sure no one entered the area, especially those Pale Society bastards," commanded Roze with a slight frustration in her tone.


    "Will do!" replied Paars.


    He muttered something and then suddenly his body became invisible. He then took off his coat and shoes and handed them to another officer nearby and he was completely untraceable now. Valentine couldn''t see where the man was going because there were no sounds of footsteps nor marks of footprints on the ground.


    Valentine then turned his attention to the space behind the officers. The female Lieutenant was talking about using divination, so there must be something they needed to find out. He carefully walked out of his hiding spot and crouched quietly towards the opposite side of the street, from which he should be able to see better.


    "G, what the fuck is that?" Valentine couldn''t help but exclaim. Luckily, his voice was concealed.


    In the distance ahead of him, surrounded by yellow lines and people with strange equipment, there was a tiny black hole suspended in the air. It was only the size of a tennis ball, so it was rather difficult to notice from afar. However, the pitch-black hole was emitting a purple aura that looked dangerous. Valentine couldn''t feel the aura directly because he was too far away, but his sense of danger was triggered nonetheless.


    Looking at the hole in the space carefully, it did look like an anomaly. It was there as if someone had ripped out space, leaving a spot open. There was absolutely nothing that could be seen on the other side, but it appeared to be connected to another place or even dimension. The Police had tried to throw random objects at it to see if they could get through, but there seemed to be a force field blocking them.


    "So we cannot destroy it by force and divination doesn''t work. What the fuck are we supposed to do?" said Roze in irritation. She then turned to Rood who was talking about something else to Oranje.


    "Rood, any news from the Captain?" she said.


    The tall man with the scar turned around.


    "The matter in the capital is almost finished. He should be returning with the main force at the earliest tomorrow," replied Rood.


    "Then in the meantime, we have to gather as much information as we can about this hole in the space. Nothing has happened so far?" she asked again to the two Sergeants in front of her.


    This time, Oranje replied.


    "Nothing so far. I am also monitoring it using my familiar," she then patted the giant semi-transparent lizard next to her, "He hasn''t shown any reaction whatsoever, so we can say it''s still stable for now,"


    Just as she said that the hole began shaking slightly and became stronger and stronger. All the officers there became alarmed at once and got their weapons ready.


    Crack!


    There was a loud noise coming from the hole as if a piece of glass was just broken violently. Then, two bloody hands reached out from the tiny hole, stretching it open. Without waiting to see what was trying to pass through, Lieutenant Roze quickly issued an order to her subordinates.


    "Fire!!"


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    A barrage of bullets attacked the bloody hands that were trying to open the hole, but they didn''t seem to have any effect. The hole got bigger and bigger and the creature''s head now fit through it. It was a skinny head with wounds all over its face and there were sharp fangs growing all over its elongated jaw. The creature''s bloodshot eyes were staring at the humans before it with a starving look, like a tiger looking at its prey. A dangerous aura came out of the creature''s whole body as purple miasma started seeping out of its pores.


    "Growl!!"


    It let out a loud cry that was enough to hurt the ears of anyone standing near it, including Valentine whose hearing was boosted.


    Suddenly, the short and friendly officer shouted from the back.


    "That''s a Ghoul! Not a summoned ghoul, but a real Ghoul! Everybody get back!"

 160 A Crossroad Figh

    "A Ghoul? Not a summoned one? What''s the difference?" asked Oranje curiously while keeping an eye on the creature that was slowly crossing to their side. Her lizard familiar was ready to attack at her signal.


    "The ones we''ve been fighting before were summoned creatures, so their strength was limited by the summoner''s own strength, whereas this one is something coming directly from that side. Its strength won''t be limited by anyone!" explained Groen.


    The Ghoul was slowly climbing over the tiny hole in the space by stretching it apart with its two bloody hands with sharp and long claws. The pus on the wounds all over its hands dripped down to the ground and emanated a putrid smell, enough to shake the stomachs of the weaker ones.


    The barrage of bullets shot at it had had no visible effect but to enrage the creature, making it try to cross over even faster. There was visible frustration on the faces of some of the officers, mixed with fatigue from having to guard the area for a long time.


    "Is it still weak against blood attacks?!" asked Roze.


    "It should be. But our attacks need to be stronger as the thing is stronger as well!" replied Groen loudly because she was standing far from him.


    "That''s all I need to know!" she shouted back and then turned to the real Rood who was standing near Oranje, "Rood, your weapons!"


    The tall officer with a scar on his face nodded solemnly. He had taken several blood pouches from his coat and poured the content on the ground. The red liquid formed a small puddle that got bigger and bigger as he poured in more blood on it. After using a total of five 500ml pouches, he began chanting.


    The blood on the ground began boiling and squirming as if it was alive. It gathered in one spot where slowly, something solid rose. Little by little, the blood solidified around the thing, forming the parts of the weapon. The process took a long time and during the formation, Rood had to stay focused.


    While waiting for Rood''s blood weapons to finish, the others kept a watch on the Ghoul whose upper body had completely crossed over to their side. More pus caused even more putrid smell and the grotesque gaping wounds on its chest could make someone shudder.


    Swoosh!!


    Roze had been firing blood arrows at the creature but they only managed to scratch the creatures without actually injuring it. It also couldn''t slow down the creature''s crossing at all although her blood arrows were hitting all of the Ghoul''s vital spots.


    Valentine, who was still hidden behind a wall, was watching the whole situation carefully. The wall of the building provided cover for him to avoid the sharp gazes of the Police Contractbounds while at the same time, it could also protect him from stray attacks.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The barrage of bullets was still being fired at a regular interval with the command of Roze. Despite not being effective, at least it could divert the creature''s attention to them instead of Rood who was still making his blood weapons.


    "Growl!!!"


    Finally, the Ghoul managed to completely cross to that side and its whole body was revealed. It was bigger than the ones they had been fighting so far and the aura it emanated felt much more dangerous. The thing was probably at least two meters tall, standing on two hooves instead of feet and its whole boney body was covered in wounds and blood. The sharp claws on its hands looked like it could shred metal into pieces with ease while the fangs on its elongated jaw could crush bones like they were candy.


    "Look out!" shouted Groen.


    The creature had dashed at a frightening speed towards the line of Police officers with guns. With one motion of its right hand, a couple of men were instantly killed while several others were injured. There were deep wounds on the chests of the people attacked by the creature and blood came gushing out of them. Their expressions were full of horror and puzzlement from the sudden attack. One moment they were the hunter, suddenly they had become the hunted.


    "Arrghh!! Help!!"


    Cries of distress came out of the mouths of those injured but alive. Their companions had terror on their faces but they didn''t run away. Roze had quickly shot the Ghoul with numerous blood arrows to attract its attention so they could get the injured to safety.


    "Growl!!"


    The Ghoul was angered by her attack and lunged at her. Roze, who was fast enough to react, managed to avoid the initial attack and aimed another blood arrow at the creature''s right eye.


    Stab!


    The arrow hit its bloodshot eye, pushing it back with the impact and hurting it. The Ghoul fell on its back and quickly tried to pull the blood arrow out of its eye socket.


    "Tomio!"


    Whoosh!


    Oranje, who saw the opportunity, had ordered her lizard familiar to breathe fire at the injured Ghoul. The hot flame engulfed the creature''s whole body and burned its wound, making the blood on its body boil. There was smoke rising and the smell of charred skin filled the air.


    "Growl!!"


    It was furious!


    Meanwhile, Rood blood weapons had almost been completed. With the last drop of blood on the ground rising to the air and sticking to the floating red object, the greatsword and a blood drum and stick were completed. The sword was bigger than Rood himself and looked very heavy. With a slash of it, it could probably cut even a metal motor carriage in half. With a motion of his right hand, Rood easily controlled the massive sword like it was paper while his left hand moved the drum closer to himself.


    Badum! Badum!


    The blood drum was beating, sending an invigorating rhythm to the ears of all his allies. The beats of the drum sent an energizing wave upon everyone who heard it while making the enemies of the caster irritated.


    Valentine, who was standing far away, was also strangely strengthened by Rood''s War Drum.


    "G, this is weird. We shouldn''t count as his ally. Or is it because we''re using his appearance so, in a sense, we''re that guy himself so his ability affects us as well?" muttered Valentine with a puzzled look.


    Because of Roze''s distraction, Groen and the others had successfully brought the injured away from the center of the fight. He had also made them inhale the blue powders that he had created and in an instant, their wounds began healing. However, since they were normal humans, the rate at which the wounds healed was slower than when a Contractbound inhaled the powder.


    The Ghoul had gotten back up on its two hooves and was looking at Rood with its bloodshot eyes. The sound of his drum provoked it and now it had made him its target.


    Dash!


    The Ghoul lunged at Rood, who was standing several meters away from it, and in less than a second it had made it all the way to his location.


    Clank!


    Rood used his blood greatsword to parry the Ghoul''s attack, but he was still pushed back by the impact.


    "Look over here you bastard!!" shouted Roze as she drew her bowstring and the creature looked back at her.


    Swoosh!!


    Three blood arrows pierced through the air and hit the Ghoul''s both eyes and forehead. Its regenerating right eye was once again destroyed, along with its left one. The arrow hitting its forehead, however, failed to make any substantial injury and only slightly wounded it; a tiny splotch of blood came out of its light wound.


    Bash!!


    Using the opportunity, Rood slashed the creature with his giant sword and managed to sever its right arm with one swing. The creature let out a loud groan of pain while thick red blood came gushing out of its right shoulder where the arm had been.


    "Everyone, keep on attacking! Don''t give it any time to recover!!" commanded Lieutenant Roze.


    Valentine was watching the fight intently while learning what he could about both the creature and the Police.


    "Growl!!"


    Suddenly, the Ghoul growled louder than usual and its whole body emanated a thick disgusting miasma that quickly spread to the surrounding area. The small particle filled the air and painted the atmosphere green, making it look like an area of sickness and decay.


    "That''s a disease aura! Everyone hold your breath!" shouted Groen from the backline. he swiftly reached out to his waist bag and took out some more paper pouches full of blue powders. After inhaling one himself, he proceeded to hand it over to the Police officers closest to him.


    The green miasma only covered the center area of the street where the fight was happening but didn''t reach all the way to Valentine''s location, so he was safe.


    Suddenly, he felt a sudden sense of danger that was coming from behind him. Valentine quickly turned around but there was no one there. However, he remembered that one of the Police Sergeants had gone invisible and was patrolling the area. He quickly retreated from his hiding place and someone suddenly appeared on the exact same spot that he had been before. If he hadn''t moved away in time, he would have been caught by the man.


    "Who are you and how were you able to sense me?" asked the Police Sergeant who was completely naked but didn''t seem to be bothered by the fact. A moment later, he had turned invisible again.


    "Shit!" muttered Valentine, "We need to retreat before he calls for reinforcement!"


    The two invisible men couldn''t hear each other''s voice because of their own concealment, but Valentine was at a disadvantage because the man had found him. As long as he could focus, he would be able to pinpoint Valentine''s location with ease whereas Valentine couldn''t even see him.


    "At least he shouldn''t be able to interact with physical objects as long as he is invisible," added Valentine.


    Suddenly, someone was holding the back of his coat and threw him violently at a wall.


    Thud!


    Valentine''s back hit the wall hard, but it only hurt him slightly. He was still under the effect of the real Rood''s War Drum so his physical abilities had also been enhanced, also it was the same for Paars, the invisible man.


    "Wait, how could he throw us like that? Is it because of the War Drum or he has something that allows him to interact with physical objects? This is trickier than I thought," he complained as he got back up.


    Valentine took out his commando knife and sneakily slit his wrist to allow blood to come out. He then waited until the man came closer to him again and once he felt the hand grabbing his clothes, he quickly sprayed his blood all over the spot. The blood stuck on the man''s body, revealing his location to Valentine while he was being thrown again.


    Crash!


    This time, he hit a metal trash can and dented it in the process. However, he still wasn''t injured badly. He only felt a slight pain on his back that had hit the trash can and also the wall before.


    "He definitely has something, G. If he were just a normal Unseen, the blood should have made him turn visible again because he couldn''t turn invisible while interacting with it. But why does he have to be naked? Is there a limitation on how much interaction he can have with physical objects?" muttered Valentine.


    Paars had noticed the bloodstain on his body and quickly tried to wipe it away. Valentine, seizing his chance, quickly used his dagger to slit his wrist and began chanting while focusing on the spot where the man was standing.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth an illusion that covers that area!"


    The blood that was flowing to the ground quickly evaporated and dispersed in the air. From above, an illusory orange curtain gracefully descended upon the area where the man was standing and before he could get away, the curtain had been set and he had fallen under Valentine''s illusion.


    Valentine couldn''t hear the man''s voice nor see what he was doing because the bloodstain had almost been erased completely. He could only see that the man remained there, so he seized the chance.


    "G, now let''s get away!"


    He kept supplying blood so that his illusion could be maintained while quickly getting away from the area. The farther he went, the thinner the orange curtain became until it completely vanished. Valentine didn''t even look back and only focused on escaping.

 161 Another Ambush

    "Found you..."


    Suddenly, while Valentine was busy escaping from the invisible Police Sergeant, there was a voice coming from above him.


    He didn''t look up to see who was speaking in such a sinister tone, but he followed his instinct and rolled to the side.


    Crash!


    There was a woman wearing a pink dress with a small cloak at the top covering her face who had just attacked him directly from the top of a four-story building. Her giant club hit the ground and created a small crater, showing how powerful her attack was. Valentine managed to avoid the main impact, but there was a shockwave created by her attack that pushed him back a little.


    "Please give me a break. And how did she see us..." he complained while getting away. He was still behind the Police barricade so there were no other people around.


    As he was running, Valentine began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth Illusion Substitutes to defend against the enemies'' attacks!"


    Several illusory ink sketches appeared one after another and they all merged into Valentine''s real body. He was now safe from attacks, but even a small scratch could trigger the ability and wasted it, so he had to be careful.


    "G, that woman is the one who attacked us before at the black market. Why is it always her? At least we have more chance this time," he muttered.


    While the woman was still busy recovering from her own failed attack, Valentine kept on running towards the other side of the barricade. However, as he got closer to it, he hit something that shouldn''t be there.


    Thump!


    The impact was soft despite him running at full speed, but because of that, his Illusion Substitute was triggered. Valentine''s body became just like a blotch of ink on water that got dispersed and erased quickly. After that, he reappeared a few centimeters behind his illusion completely unscathed.


    In puzzlement, he touched the invisible ''thing'' that was in front of him. It felt like a wall of gelatine had been set in place and although he could see through it perfectly, going to the other side was something impossible. He tried pushing it but his hands just sank into the wall and bounced back not long after.


    "G, it seems either the Police or the Pale Society have set up another barricade around this area. Escape is not an option anymore, so let''s try our best to survive," he said calmly.


    Valentine looked back and saw the woman rapidly approaching him. He wanted to see her reaction to the invisible wall as well. If she knew it was there, then there was a high chance that it was set up by her organization-- or she had experienced the same thing as he did but earlier.


    "No running away, eh, fucker?" she said. Her voice was beautiful but it had a vulgar tone in it.


    "I hereby put you under interrogation!" he shouted without letting the target off his sight.


    She seemed to be feeling something but after a second she easily shook it off.


    "That weak shit won''t work on me, asshole," she said with a tone full of mockery, and then with a frightening speed suddenly lunged at him.


    Clash!


    Although his eyes could keep up with her, he couldn''t react in time. She was too fast that her giant club had been swung and hit Valentine hard. His Illusion Substitute was triggered and he appeared right next to his rapidly dispersing illusion and got away from there at once. Her giant club rebounded as it hit through the illusion and made contact with the invisible wall.


    "Ah shit!" she said. It seemed that her hands were slightly hurt from hitting the invisible wall.


    Seeing that, Valentine made a quick judgment.


    "G, damaging the wall seems to be dangerous. But it doesn''t seem to be lethal even with her attacking power just now, so we cannot really use it for our advantage, especially since she doesn''t seem stupid enough to fall for something like that."


    Valentine observed her carefully using the split-second window he had got from her backlash. Her weapon was a giant metal club whose swing could break someone''s skull easily. Its reach was farther than his dagger and when in full swing, its power would be very dangerous. Fighting her out in the open was not a wise decision, so he had to change his plan.


    "G, I don''t think I can make it back to where the Police are with her speed. We need to fight her in a narrow space so she won''t be able to utilize her weapon to its fullest potential," he decided. His voice was calm although he was speaking much faster than usual.


    He quickly drew his gun and aimed at the woman who was now several meters away from him.


    Bang!


    Clank!


    She deflected the bullet with her club!


    Valentine used the recoil from firing his gun to quickly get back and entered the closest building behind him. It was an office building with a glass double-door at the entrance. He pushed the door open and ran towards the upper floor.


    "No need to hide. I can find you no matter where you are!" shouted the woman while fixing her dress. She didn''t seem to be in a hurry.


    Valentine was currently on the second floor of the office building and was walking down the corridor that was wide enough only for three people to walk side by side. It was the spot that he had chosen to go face to face against her. There was a window behind him that he could use for escaping if things became too disadvantageous for him-- jumping from the second floor shouldn''t hurt him. The corridor itself would be too narrow for her to swing her giant club around freely.


    "Now let''s wait for her here, G," he muttered. His voice was still concealed by the thin yellowish mist enveloping his whole body and mouth.


    "I still don''t understand how she is able to spot us so easily, though," he said again in slight puzzlement, "It must be related to her ability. But we don''t know what her Deities are."


    He was waiting in anticipation while racking his brain for a plan to fight against her. The fact that he knew nothing about her abilities was detrimental to him, so it would be his first priority; to use Reveal on her. However, he wouldn''t be able to read the information unless she was put under control, which made things more difficult.


    "I have to rely on Purloin again," he muttered. There was a meaningful smile on his face as he was reloading the chambers of his revolver.


    The sounds of the woman''s footsteps could be heard in the distance. She was heading straight to Valentine''s location despite not seeing where he had gone. It was as if she knew exactly where he was for some reason.


    Step... step...


    Her high heels hit the wooden floor with a slow rhythm. She seemed to be enjoying closing in to her prey slowly while making them anxious about the encroaching danger.


    "Cornered now? Do you know how difficult it is to finally find you?" she said as she walked down the corridor towards Valentine.


    The man shrouded in a thin yellowish mist was standing mysteriously as he had been expecting the woman. She dragged her giant metal club across the corridor, making a loud, irritating noise. The small cloak covering her face couldn''t conceal the distorted smile made by her thin purple lips.


    Valentine kept his eyes on the woman while minding the distance between the two of them carefully. When she got close enough, he quickly drew his gun and aimed at her.


    Bang!


    Clank!


    She deflected the bullet again with her metal club. However, Valentine noticed that her movement was very slightly slower than before because of the lack of space. Her club hit the wall first before it made its way in front of her.


    "That won''t work, bastard!" she said with a tone that didn''t match her appearance.


    Valentine quickly fired another shot.


    Bang!


    And she quickly deflected it again with her club.


    Clank!


    "As I said, it--"


    "I order you to hit her!"


    Valentine had very quickly issued an Order while looking at the first bullet that she had deflected. The paralysis bullet that had been lying on the floor moved on its own and shot at her exposed calf with a weaker force than a normal shot. However, it was enough to graze her and caused a tiny line of blood to form on her skin.


    "!!"


    Because of his attack, the target had been paralyzed!


    Valentine knew that he only had a couple of seconds so he quickly looked at her and used Reveal on her.


    "I ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    As he said that, an illusory text began forming above the woman''s head. Before reading it, Valentine looked at the woman again and shouted.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    The effect of the paralysis bullet almost wore off, but his Order kept his target immobilized for a little longer. Now he had the chance to read the text that had been revealed.


    ''Saskia Faivre aka Ghastly. She is a member of the Pale Society whose task is to eliminate its enemies. She is currently in a contract with the Deity of Lost Dignity and Honors. Her forte is frontal assault because of her strong physical capabilities.''


    After that, the text disappeared and while the target was still under the effect of his Order, Valentine quickly slit his wrist and began chanting while focusing on the effect of illusion that he desired.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth an illusion that covers this area!"


    His blood that flowed from his wrist evaporated and filled the air with its iron smell. An illusory orange curtain descended on the spot where Ghastly was standing and put her under illusion right away. Because the target was much stronger than him, despite only covering a small area, the blood consumption for his ability was high and Valentine became weaker quickly.


    Valentine had made Ghastly think she was in the safest place from her memory, so she quickly dropped her weapon and began talking to ''someone'' in front of her. While still having the strength, Valentine had to decide what he wanted to do in order to boost his chance of survival.


    "G, she is a Marquis rank, so there is no way our attacks will be effective against her. It was the same as the corpse woman. I hate to do it but our only option is to run away. But before that, while she is ''unconscious'' because of the illusion, let''s erase her memory about us," he muttered.


    While still bleeding, Valentine approached Ghastly who was still having a conversation with an illusory figure in her head. He stood right next to her and placed his hands on each side of her head while chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, hereby erase all of her memories about me!"


    Some kind of smoke came out of his palms while his left wrist while still bleeding. The smoke entered Ghastly''s head through her ears and after that, Valentine quickly backed away. He was worried that the illusion would be canceled because of that.


    "The illusion is still maintained. That''s great, G. Now we need to get away quickly. But, before that, let''s try something first," he muttered weakly. He had lost so much blood to keep the illusion going.


    Valentine held his dagger in his right hand and pressed the sharp blade against Ghastly''s neck. He put all his power into his right hand but her skin was very hard. The bullet before could only scratch her and this time, he was only able to injure her slightly albeit with difficulty.


    Whack!


    She suddenly hit Valentine, who quickly turned into ink and disappeared.


    His Illusion Substitute had been triggered!


    His action of wounding her seemed to have canceled the illusion effect on her and now she was swinging her giant metal club on instinct. Valentine appeared a few centimeters away from his illusion and quickly backed off.


    Ghastly, who felt the pain on her neck, quickly looked around as if trying to find her assailant. She hadn''t seemed to notice Valentine who was standing motionlessly in the corner, observing her.


    "Who did this to me! Get out here you fucking coward!" she shouted loudly in anger. Although her injury was really light, the fact that she could get injured meant the enemy was someone dangerous.


    "G, it looks like with her memory of us erased, her detection ability has also been nullified. That''s a pleasant surprise. This should give us some chance then..." he muttered while racking his brain.


    Suddenly, a greenish aura came out of Ghastly''s whole body and quickly filled the narrow office corridor. The aura gave off a feeling of sickness and decay and Valentine''s sense of danger was instantly triggered. The narrow space made it easy for the aura to fill in every corner and spot, making it difficult to hide from it.


    "If I can''t see you, then I''ll just fill this whole place with diseases!" she shouted with malice in her voice.


    It was a Malady''s Disease Spreading!

 162 Ghastly vs Paars vs Graham

    "Time to flee!" muttered Valentine before the green aura reached his spot.


    Without hesitation, he dashed towards the second-floor window and put all his strength into his legs before jumping at it, breaking the glass using his shoulder. The glass window shattered into pieces and Valentine skillfully rolled once he reached the ground to spread the impact of landing. Without looking back, he escaped from the building towards the center of the sealed zone.


    The green aura that brought sickness was seeping out of the broken window before suddenly being sucked in rapidly. Ghastly had canceled her ability and was standing in the corridor looking at the spot where Valentine had run away to. There was a smirk on her face.


    "You''re running away? Then whoever you are, I''ll be able to find you from now on," she said with satisfaction in her tone and placed her giant metal club against the wall.


    Ghastly took out a small dagger that looked more like a letter opener than a weapon.


    Using the sharp blade, she cut open her left wrist and poured her blood on the ground.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Lost Dignity and Honors, offer this blood of mine,"


    She began chanting loudly. Her voice echoed in the corridor and the blood on the ground began boiling.


    "For I declare that I will track down any honorless soul who flees from battle!"


    The red kept bubbling violently until it finally evaporated a minute later. The stench of iron filled the air and it created a path of blood particles in the air that only Ghastly could see. As long as her enemy stayed within the area of effect, she would be able to find them even if they turned completely invisible.


    Her ability worked on every enemy that had escaped a battle before, and she had a spiritual sense when someone that fit the criteria was near her. The downside of the ability was that it took too long to prepare and if the enemy was fast enough, they could get away from the area of effect even after it was activated, rendering it useless. However, since the whole area was sealed, she could track down Valentine no matter where he went because he couldn''t go outside.


    Ghastly picked up her giant metal club and started running in the direction that the blood trail led her to her target.


    Valentine, who didn''t know how she could see or even find him despite his concealment, was running as fast as he could. He knew that she would probably catch up with him sooner or later, so he couldn''t afford to slow down his pace.


    "G, we should switch. Your Orders are better suited for this fight than my illusion," he muttered as he turned left to an alley.


    Valentine sat next to a dumpster and quickly closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. His heart, that was beating fast because of the adrenaline, gradually slowed down and started pumping in a steady rhythm. In a matter of seconds, he had fallen asleep.


    "Where is that invisible man when we need him?" he muttered as he ran across an empty crosswalk despite the light showing red for crossing.


    "The Police must have used something to evacuate all the people in the area. It just seems impossible to me that just within six or so hours everyone has disappeared completely," he muttered again in curiosity.


    Suddenly, his sense of danger was triggered but it was too late to react. A hand had grabbed him and tossed him with great power to the wall!


    Swoosh!


    Graham''s body was launched through the air like a bag of flour but once he hit the wall, he turned illusory like a splotch of ink on the surface of water that dispersed. He appeared several centimeters away from where he had been and took a defensive posture with his dagger in hand.


    "It''s a pleasant surprise that your ability still works even if we switch. I guess it''s just like your other abilities, Val," he muttered.


    While both of them were concealed by their own abilities, they couldn''t hear each other''s voice, so Graham didn''t bother explaining the situation to the naked invisible man. Ghastly should be there soon and he should be able to judge the situation for himself. For the time being, Graham just had to defend against the unseen enemy.


    His left hand sneakily took out the lighter from his pocket and lit a fire.


    "I ask that you float and use my stamina as fuel instead!" he commanded the tiny flame.


    The tiny flame then rose in the air he covered it with his body.


    "I ask that you burn as big as you can!"


    At once, the flame behind him burned brighter and grew to the size of an exercise ball. He could no longer hide the flame so without waiting for his enemy to attack, he quickly issued another flame manipulation order.


    "I ask that you circle around me!"


    The giant fireball began to revolve around Graham''s body in an intimidating fashion. It looked like a raging spirit from hell was protecting him, ready to burn anyone who dared to come closer into crisp. In reality, however, the fire was not that hot and it only served to ward off the invisible Paars from getting to close to him.


    "That man''s strength is not to be looked down upon, Val. He could throw me around that easily, so close-quarter combat with him should be avoided," Graham muttered while standing his ground.


    It seemed that the fireball had the effect that he desired. Paars hadn''t approached him for another attack because of that.


    At that moment, his sense of danger was triggered yet again and this time, it felt stronger than before. In the distance, a woman wearing a pink dress wearing high heels was running at a frightening speed while dragging a giant metal club across the pavement. The dragging noise filled the air and pierced their ears.


    "She''s already here. So it''s true that she can track us down despite our Concealment somehow," concluded Graham.


    He didn''t know where the invisible Paars was currently but the man should still be in the area.


    "Now, tell me who you are, asshole! Are you with the Police?" she asked with anger in her tone.


    The memory of him that she had had been erased by Valentine, but she should still have a vague recollection of it, like the fact that she had been fighting with someone just before. It was just she couldn''t remember exactly who she was fighting, and the fact that Valentine was attacking her should help her put two and two together.


    Dash!


    Without a warning, Ghastly darted towards Graham with her metal club ready for an attack. She didn''t seem to be threatened by the giant fireball at all.


    "I ask that you burn her!" he commanded.


    The fireball circling him moved toward Ghastly and began burning her. However, she didn''t stop and kept charging at him at a frightening speed.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    He said an Order and suddenly, Ghastly''s whole body became immobilized. He couldn''t even lift a muscle because of Graham''s ability that was much stronger than the Purloin version.


    The giant fireball was still burning the vulgar woman as she stood in place, unable to do anything. The cloak that she was wearing quickly turned to ash, revealing her beautiful face that was filled with anger and malice. However, her skin didn''t seem to receive any damage; there were illusory things resembling scales that were protecting her from the flame.


    "Miaw!"


    Suddenly, there was a giant cat the size of a lion with black fur coming from Ghastly''s side. The giant cat had a white spot of fur on its chest while its yellows eyes emitted greed and mystery. The giant black cat jumped at the immobilized Ghastly and clawed her.


    Scratch!


    Her hard skin protected her from the attack and only a scratch wound was left.


    "Val, what is that black cat? A familiar? So the invisible man has decided to help u--..." Graham was muttering when suddenly a hand tried to grab him.


    This time, he was fast enough to dodge.


    He quickly retreated to a safe distance because Ghastly also looked like she had broken free from his control.


    "So he wants to eliminate the two of us at once, it seems," he concluded. He had to pay attention to two enemies at the same time, one of whom was much stronger than him.


    "If we escape now, what do you think will happen? That woman will most likely chase us an ignore that Policeman. We should try to finish her off with his ''help'', Val, while watching out for his sneak attacks," he added.


    Thud!


    Once she was free, Ghastly hit the giant black cat with her club and launched it far away with her brute strength. She then tried to charge at Graham but suddenly, she felt a strong kick on her stomach.


    "Fuck!"


    The kick was powerful enough to send her flying back. She hit the wall of a building and the impact left a dent on it. Without waiting for her to recover, Paars launched another attack, this time he punched her pretty face.


    Smack!


    Her hard skin protected her face from the attack, but she was still hurt by it. Feeling angry, she started swinging her metal club in front of her but failed to hit anything.


    Paars had retreated right after landing his attack!


    Ghastly got up and cleaned her dress.


    "So there is an invisible cunt. That ugly cat must be your familiar. Are you friends with the fleeing cunt?" she asked with mockery in her tone.


    She wouldn''t be able to hear either Graham''s or Paars'' voice even if they answered, so there was only silence in the street and the sound of another fight in the distance.


    Paars'' familiar had come back and was now staring angrily at the woman. Its tail was raised all the way up and its fur was tense.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Lost Dignity and Honors, hereby empower myself in the face of the honorless enemies that outnumber me!" she chanted loudly. Suddenly, her aura became more dangerous.


    "I ask you to burn her!"


    Graham commanded the fireball that was now floating on the spot where she had been before and it quickly launched towards her, enveloping her with its heat. Ghastly tried to shake it off in annoyance but the flame kept on burning her despite her illusory scale protection. She had been empowered now, but being engulfed in flames for too long could still be dangerous for her, so she decided to do something.


    Kaboom!


    Suddenly, the flame went out in a fiery explosion!


    Ghastly had activated her Disease Spreading and as the green aura made contact with the fire, it exploded. She was protected by her empowered hard skin but there were still mild burn marks on it. Her beautiful pink dress was now tattered, and her hair was a mess. However, the fireball had now disappeared and she quickly released another green aura that quickly spread to the surrounding area.


    Standing in the middle of the disease aura, Ghastly fixed her hair and dress and grabbed the metal club that she had dropped. Her expression showed extreme malice and as she triggered her enemies'' sense of danger.


    "I order you to disperse!"


    Graham shouted an order and the green aura began to blow away as if there was a strong wind forcing it to disperse. Noticing the abnormality, Ghastly quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Lost Dignity and Honors, hereby smite the enemy who cheated by canceling my ability!"


    Suddenly, there was a ray of light falling from the sky and struck Graham''s location. It was like heaven itself was punishing him for canceling Ghastly''s Disease Spreading. The light burned his body but he quickly turned into a blotch of ink that rapidly vanished. Graham reappeared near his original spot completely unscathed.


    "Crap. We only have five more Illusory Substitutes, Val. And that ability felt very dangerous," he muttered warily.


    He hadn''t known that a Contractbound of her Deity could do something like that, but now that he did, he could be more careful. Paars, who also saw what had happened, became guarded against her. The two of them didn''t know the extent of her abilities.


    "!!"


    She had suddenly dashed and appeared next to Graham within less than a second. She smacked him very hard with her club, sending him flying backward. Her speed had increased to a level that his eyes had difficulty keeping up with.


    Graham''s body then vanished and reappeared nearby.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    Ghastly''s whole body became immobilized again under Graham''s control. However, this time, he knew that his Order wouldn''t last long because it had been used repeatedly against the same enemy and she had become empowered.


    "Val, time for a new strategy," he muttered.

 163 Ghastly vs Paars and Graham

    "If only we had a strong offensive ability, Val," Graham muttered.


    Ghastly''s charred skin had begun healing and after a while, what was left would only be her tattered clothes. The damage done to her would disappear completely as she got stronger because of her being outnumbered.


    Her hard skin already protected her against most of Graham''s attacks previously, so her current defense should be even more impenetrable. He really couldn''t think of a way of winning against her with his current power.


    Even if he had Paars by his side, an Unseen like him shouldn''t have a strong offensive ability either. Judging from the fact that he had a familiar, his other Deity must be of Astrology and Familiars and Contractbounds of that Deity were good at Divination, not fighting. His giant cat familiar looked like it would be able to kill normal people easily, but against the current Ghastly, it was rather powerless.


    Thud!


    The invisible Paars had launched a surprise attack on her!


    Although she could see through Graham''s Concealment using her ability, she couldn''t see Paars. It was something he could exploit.


    "Show yourself if you dare you Zakkenwasser!!" she shouted angrily.


    Ghastly swung her giant club around in a frightening manner. Even the air around her got pushed in a loud whack; being hit by her attack could be fatal if he didn''t have Valentine''s Illusion Substitute.


    Ghastly took out her ''letter opener'' again and slashed her wrist. From the wound, red blood came pouring out as she moved her left hand closer to her left shoulder. She seemed to be about to splash the whole area with her blood to reveal the invisible enemy.


    "I order you to stop!"


    Graham''s Order, although couldn''t be heard by the enemy because of his concealed state, immobilized Ghastly instantly. She froze in the air while the blood kept flowing from her slit wrist. In only a matter of seconds, the wound began closing and the blood dried up.


    "Alright, Val. We got a few seconds at best. What are our options? Knife? Doesn''t work. Gun? Doesn''t work. Wrestle her to death? My skull wouldn''t be cracked first before I could even think about it," he then looked up and smiled meaningfully, "But maybe we can make use of that thing,"


    Crash!


    Paars had launched another attack on Ghastly and either his kick or his punch had sent pushed her back and hit a metal trash bin behind her. The trash fell out of the bin and littered the street, but it was not something Paars cared about right now.


    "I order the mist covering my voice to dissipate!"


    The yellowish mist covering his mouth became thinner and he felt that now his voice could be heard by others, although the other sounds that he made would still be concealed.


    "Hey, invisible man, let''s agree on a temporary truce between us," shouted Graham.


    "I''ll just beat the shit out of the enemy I can see first then!" she yelled angrily.


    Dash!


    Ghastly charged at him with her inhuman speed and whack the heavy metal club right in his face. His head was hit but instead of his skull cracking, he turned into a blotch of ink that disappeared.


    "Not so fast!" shouted Ghastly.


    She swung her heavy club around again very easily as if it was made of paper. She all the spots that Graham would reappear after his Illusion Substitute took effect. Just as his body was forming, it was hit by her swing and disappeared again.


    Bang!


    Graham was finally able to aim at her and before his body was hit again by her weapon, he had fired a shot and hit her right in the head. However, the bullet failed to penetrate her skull and only caused a wound on her forehead, from which blood began pouring. She was pushed back by the impact and was unable to move.


    It was a paralysis bullet!


    Graham was now standing in close proximity to the paralyzed Ghastly. It was something that he had planned, and although he didn''t know how many Illusion Substitutes it would take, he still took the gamble. Now that the enemy was close to him and couldn''t move, he could use his Implant!


    The ability worked by planting a false thought inside the enemy''s brain that would manifest by time. However, for it to work, it couldn''t be too contradictory to how the person would normally think, especially since the enemy was much stronger like her. It worked before on Fright because of his desire to use his Mass Illusion without Fear being nearby. It also worked on Luuk before because he might already have suicidal tendencies; at least that was what Graham could analyze from it.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    He issued another Order because the effect of the paralysis bullet wouldn''t be more than two seconds against a strong enemy like her.


    Graham began mumbling to make sure she didn''t know what he was saying. If she knew he was planting a false thought in her head, she would be more guarded and it might fail. Once he was done, he quickly got away from her as fast as he could.


    "Now we just need to survive until the thought manifests," he muttered while looking around to find anything he could use to prolong his survival.


    Suddenly, Paars appeared near him, completely naked just like before. His expression was like someone judging and his body language showed that he was guarded.


    "Who are you? Why do you sound like Rood?" he asked inquisitively. His tone was interrogative and he was demanding an explanation right away.


    Paars couldn''t see Graham''s face but he could see his figure even through his Concealment. It was a passive ability that he got after becoming a Contractbound the Deity of Invisibility and Treasures and of Astrology and Familiars, which enabled him to see hidden things. The fact that Graham''s voice sounded exactly the same as his partner made him suspicious.


    Graham began mumbling inaudibly again and without waiting for Paars to become even more suspicious, he answered while looking straight at the man''s blue eyes.


    "It''s something that you will learn in time. For now, let''s focus on that dangerous woman," Graham turned his attention at Ghastly, who was beginning to shake off the effect of Order, and asked, "Anyway, why haven''t you called for backup?"


    "It''s none of your business," replied Paars coldly, "And I still haven''t trusted you yet, but I''m willing to cooperate for now."


    "Then just trust me. I have a plan. Please help me distract her. We just need time," he said meaningfully.


    Paars turned invisible again and Graham couldn''t feel him anymore. He wouldn''t be able to feel Paars'' presence unless he was trying to attack him.


    "Thanks for standing so close to each other, fuckers. Now I can hit you two at once," said Ghastly mockingly.


    She charged at them with her metal club in full swing. Graham and Paars managed to get away in time, fortunately, so she hit nothing.


    Dash!


    Ghastly quickly launched herself at Graham, who was much slower than her now. She easily caught up to him and swung her club as hard as she could. She didn''t know how many more Illusory Substitutes he had, but she could just keep attacking him until he ran out of them.


    Whack!


    Graham managed to duck and she hit a tree with her club. The trunk of the tree cracked like broken porcelain and it fell began toppling, showing how much power she had. Graham, who had just barely avoided the attack, could even feel the hot air caused by the weapon that she was using.


    Crash!


    The tree hit the pavement and the brown leaves were scattered everywhere. Graham managed to flee the area so he wasn''t hit by it.


    "Stop running around like a coward and come fight me!!" she shouted. Ghastly readied her club again for another attack.


    "Maybe I am indeed a coward?" replied Graham, making her even angrier.


    Ghastly stood up straight and shortly after, a dangerous green miasma came out of her body and quickly spread to the surrounding area. She had used another Disease Spreading!


    Graham quickly got away from the area but Ghastly chased after him. The dangerous miasma was following her, making Paars unable to approach her. Graham couldn''t use Order to cancel it because then she would smite him, which he thought was her purpose of using that ability. It was just a bait.


    Graham took out his lighter and lit a tiny fire.


    "I ask that you burn brighter!"


    The flame burned violently and it became the size of a basketball. It couldn''t get any bigger because it was still using the fuel from the lighter to burn.


    "I ask that you burn my enemy!"


    The big fireball shot at Ghastly and the moment it made contact with the miasma, it exploded.


    Kaboom!


    Smoke rose from the explosion and blocked Graham''s view. Suddenly, Ghastly dashed towards him from behind the smoke with a smirk on her beautiful yet perverted face. Before Graham could use Order to stop her, she had swung her club and hit him. The heavy metal club struck through his Illusion Substitute and hit the pavement, cracking it.


    Graham reappeared near the spot where the illusion disappeared and quickly took a step back. He now only had one last Illusion Substitute and after that, he would be left defenseless-- just one attack from the enemy could end his life.


    Ghastly didn''t chase after Graham right away because she knew Paars would take the chance to attack her. She instead took out her small dagger and slit her wrist. With a motion of her left hand, she splattered her blood all around her and it took Paars by surprise. Some of the blood stuck to his body, exposing his location.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    Graham shouted, stopping Ghastly''s attack against Paars. It gave him a chance to quickly get away from her range of attack. However, since she had fallen under the same ability many times already, the effect wore off a second later. She turned to Graham and her eyes were squinted in a sinister way. There was a smile of satisfaction on her face.


    "Now your little trick is ineffective, just like your little wiener. What are you going to do, huh?" she mocked him, "And your invisible friend is no longer invisible because he is on his period," she added as she looked at the floating bloodstain on the air that was constantly moving.


    Ghastly then took off her high heels so that she could move even easier. She wouldn''t usually do that, but since she was fighting two enemies who were good at running away, it felt natural for her just to do so.


    Graham wasn''t interested in listening to her speech so he just kept on running to the spot that he had prepared. He then stood behind a tall metal electric pole as if trying to hide from Ghastly.


    "Hiding behind that thing? Do you know that my club is even stronger than that pole even though it''s fully erect? Just with a little vibration of this thing, it will go collapsing on the ground," she said as she licked her giant metal club. Her tone was full of derision.


    "Val, why does she suddenly speak a lot more now. Is it because she is so sure she will win?" muttered Graham. He kept his eyes on the vulgar woman who was approaching him rapidly.


    Ghastly reached Graham''s spot not long after and stood behind in front of the electric pole without giving the man the chance to escape. She wanted to blow away both the man and the 30m tall metal pole in front of her at once. She felt something was amiss but she didn''t pay any more attention to it. What mattered to her right now was destruction! Both for her enemies and for everything else standing in her way.


    Whack!


    Her heavy metal club was swung with great power and it hit the metal electric pole, creating a loud bang. For some reason, Graham was still standing behind the electric pole despite the chance to escape because she failed to destroy it in one hit. She swung her club again with a distorted expression.


    Whack!


    The metal pole finally bent all the way and it started collapsing.


    Snap!!


    The power line cables connected to it snapped one by one and fell on the ground. This time, Graham got away quickly from the place to avoid being hit by both the collapsing pole and the highly dangerous cables. Ghastly, who saw what was happening around her, felt her sense of danger triggered and quickly tried to get away,


    "I order you to electrocute her!"


    Graham had been waiting for that very moment when the power chords were within his range of ability. One of the cables quickly slithered like a snake and buried its exposed wires right on her leg.


    "Aaaaaaahh!!"


    Right at that moment, her whole body was suddenly shaking and twitching violently as the electricity flowed through her to the ground that she was on.


    "I order you to electrocute her!"


    Graham commanded another broken power line cable and it mauled her right in her face, sending even more deadly electricity through her body.


    "Fuck you!! Fuck you!! Come here you little shit!!" she shouted angrily while writhing in pain. She tried to shake off the cables while approaching Graham but strangely, they were stuck to her.


    "I order you to electrocute her!"


    Yet another thick power line cable attacked the woman who was already in great pain. It took three power line cables to send enough volts to kill her.


    The smell of burned flesh filled the air as her expression turned more and more twisted. Her eyes became bloodshot and a short while later, she exploded in a bloody mess, sending pieces of charred flesh and burned organs everywhere. Ghastly had finally died in a very painful way.


    Both he and Paars had got away from the area so they were safe from the exploding human and the lashing power cables.


    Once her soul had been snuffed out of her, Ghastly''s whole body burned once more and turned to ashes rapidly. Among her ashes, five Contract scrolls were left lying and a round object began to slowly form. Graham used Order in quick succession to bring the scrolls to his side so he didn''t have to approach the danger zone where she had died. After the round object resembling a belly button with flesh attached around it finished forming, he also used Order to obtain it.


    "That was a brilliant plan, Rood," said Paars suddenly. He had appeared near Graham and the expression on his face no longer showed suspicion.


    "Why didn''t you tell me that you''ve gone undercover to fight her?" he asked in a friendly tone.

 164 Degradation of the Situation

    "I can''t believe she died just like that. She''s supposed to be smarter than that," said a man whose face was covered in a hood. His voice hid slight sadness behind its calmness.


    On the man''s back, there was a pair of wings that were made of countless bird wings stitched together in a grotesque way. The wings were flapping slowly and heavily, carrying the man afloat while he was observing the scene below him. There were severed power lines that created blue sparks every now and then and a pile of ashes scattered about.


    "Well, it''s her own fault for running off like that just because she felt a ''coward'' nearby. We were not even finished setting the barrier around this place," replied another hooded man coldly. He didn''t seem to care too much about Ghastly''s death.


    Flap... Flap...


    The flapping of the unsightly wings broke the silence of the cold sunny morning.


    "You don''t have to be so cold. She is--was still a member of our organization who had fought many battles with us," responded the man in objection at the other''s tone.


    "Yes, yes, my condolences yada yada. She is one with the Deity at least now..." he replied nonchalantly.


    "Can you use Reconstruction to see what happened here?" requested the flying man.


    "You don''t have to ask. I was just about to do that," responded the man on the ground.


    He lifted the cloak covering his body and took out three pouches of blood. Using his sharp index fingernail, the man poured the content on the ground very gently.


    Once all the crimson liquid was out of its containers, the pool of blood on the ground started bubbling as if it was boiled in a furnace. The man was sitting with full concentration next to the boiling pool of blood and slowly after that, it rose to the air and began forming human figures, using a very thin film of blood to form only the outermost part of them. Inside, the figures were hollow.


    There was a beautiful woman standing with two power line cables stuck to her body. Her expression showed both pain and anger, but there was no fear despite her nearing her end. Although the blood couldn''t recreate the figure''s color, the man knew what she must have looked like. He could also even imagine the smell of charred flesh, although none was currently present.


    Standing a distance away from the woman was a tall man, probably about 185cm, wearing what looked like a trench coat. There was a layer of mist covering his whole body and a thicker layer around his face, making him unrecognizable. The shrouded man appeared to be staring right at the agonized woman calmly, not stepping back despite the woman''s advance. He looked like someone who knew what he was doing.


    Next to the shrouded man was a man completely naked floating several centimeters above the ground. The naked man looked more guarded, which was shown by both his expression and his body language.


    "A Shroud and an Unseen... what a troublesome combination," said the man, "But I recognized that naked man."


    "Who is he?" asked the flying man.


    "He is Sergeant Paars of Kleurs. Which means, the Shroud would most likely be Rood. He is the only one that tall in the Police," he replied.


    "Or he could also be that private detective. He got Shade''s scroll, remember?" added the flying man, whose voice sounded beautiful for a man.


    "True. Now that we know who the attackers are, we need to focus back on this... hastily made plan, or everything will come to ruin," replied the man who was standing on the ground with his hands behind his back. The manner in which he was standing made him appear dignified, but at the same, time radiated arrogance.


    "It is true that this plan was executed too prematurely. But it can''t be helped. A ''seed'' has suddenly appeared and we have to make sure it doesn''t get destroyed by the Police-- before we can utilize it, at the very least. Mr. Tenebrosity is even willing to go on a frontal assault against them for that," added the flying man.


    "Then that means we have to wrap things up before their main force comes back from the capital. The barrier should prevent entry and exit for three hours maximum. Let''s just get going now. I also have a personal beef with that Unseen for making me go through interrogation like that," replied the arrogant man.


    The man in the air flapped his wings faster and took flight, away from the area. The arrogant man on the ground ''melted'' and became a puddle of thick, gooey blood that slowly seeped into the pavement before disappearing.


    ...


    Inside an office building, on the third floor, Graham was standing behind a glass window looking down at the street below, leaning on the wall beside him. His whole body was enveloped in a mysterious yellowish mist that shrouded his presence. He was breathing heavily as if he had just run across the whole city.


    "Val, I didn''t know using Implant could be very draining like that. Maybe it''s because the targets were strong people, *pant* or maybe it''s just the nature of the ability. But anyway, I am out of breath right now," he muttered with difficulty.


    The street outside was still full of the members of the Police. They were still fighting a Ghoul which looked to be another one that had gone through the tiny black hole in the air. There was no corpse that was left by the first Ghoul, but there were ashes in the shape of a thin humanoid creature lying on the pavement.


    "Another one had come out of that black thing. What exactly is that, Val? I cannot even use my divination to find out," he muttered. His breathing had started to return to normal as his stamina recovered.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Loud sounds of gunshots were heard coming from outside. The Police were busy shooting the second Ghoul to distract its attention. Rood and another officer wearing a similar dress to Ghastly seized the chance and attacked the creature at the same time, wounding it but not enough to kill it.


    "An organized force sure is different from our little group, Val," muttered Graham in self-mockery.


    At that moment, Paars suddenly appeared behind the friendly-looking officer who was busy tending to the wounded. The naked man then beckoned at someone and an officer came running with a Police coat, which he put on right away to cover his exposed body. He and the friendly man seemed to engage in a conversation after that but Graham couldn''t hear what they were saying since he didn''t have Valentine''s boosted hearing.


    "Val, judging from their expression, that man must be telling the other guy about the barrier surrounding this area. And the fact that he was surprised means the barrier was indeed set up by the Pale Society, not them. I wonder what they will do?" he muttered while stroking his chin with his right hand.


    "Also, the fact that they have set up a barrier means they are planning something. We should prioritize our safety first and help out only when necessary. We only have one more Illusion Substitute too, so things can get dangerous for us pretty fast," he said calmly.


    Graham didn''t know the extent of the secret organization''s power and he was not really prepared for a prolonged battle. He was just unfortunate to be dragged into the fight between the two. He took out his lighter and sat down on the ground next to the window. Once he couldn''t be seen from outside, he lit a fire and concentrated.


    ''Is it dangerous to stay in this building?''


    The flame in his hand burned brighter and showed an image of a piece of paper being burned. The flame very slowly consumed the paper, which meant the answer to his question was yes. However, the rate at which it burned was slow, so the danger shouldn''t be that great and he would be able to manage it.


    Suddenly the whole flame, not just the image, went out. His lighter fluid had run out because of his previous action. Graham put it back inside one of his pockets and took out another, identical lighter from another pocket and lit another fire.


    ''What is the barrier that the Pale Society has set up around this area?''


    As Graham asked his second question, the flame burned brighter and another image began forming from within it. The image became bigger and bigger until he felt like he was watching a movie at the movie theater. It showed him four cloaked figures who were setting up the barrier in a quiet alley. There was a bloody altar made of human mangled human corpses and the four figures were standing around the altar, pouring their blood simultaneously on it. Once the already bloody altar was drenched in fresh blood, one of them lit four black candles facing four cardinal directions and an invisible wave came out of them.


    "So, the barrier is a product of a ritual. I wonder if it can be destroyed... although I don''t think it will be as easy as just destroying the altar," muttered Graham once the image had disappeared, "This divination hasn''t been very useful, Val. Usually, it would show us a page of a book from somewhere where we could just read the detailed information about something."


    "So we know there are at least four--five members of the Pale Society here. One of them is dead and the others'' locations are unknown. We should stay here for the time being and watch for things to unfold," he decided.


    Suddenly, he felt a very dangerous presence coming from outside and the Police below seemed to have felt the same. Those who could, looked up to the top of the building where the presence was coming from, while those who were still engaged with the Ghoul couldn''t afford to be distracted.


    There were four cloaked figures standing on top of a four-story building, each one sent out a dangerous aura that made the hair stand. The weaker Police officers even had difficulty standing straight as their legs began to tremble in fear. The pressure that the cloaked figures emanated was enough to suffocate a weak Contractbound, let alone a normal person.


    Swoosh!


    The female officer wearing a floral pink dress fired a blood arrow at the four figures simultaneously without a warning. However, four giant worms suddenly came out of the surface in front of them and shielded the people, rendering the attack ineffective.


    "That was rude of you, young lady. And besides, it is our job as men to ''shoot'', heheh," said the figure who was standing on the far right. His voice was full of mockery and mischief.


    Graham, who could also hear the man''s words, became puzzled. The four cloaked figures were standing on top of the building all the way across the crossroad, far from where he was hiding. Even if he had shouted, his voice would have only been faintly heard from there.


    "Val, he didn''t even sound like he was shouting. His voice sounded like he was standing right in front of us. Is it yet another Contractbound ability?" he analyzed.


    The Ghoul then attacked Roze, the pink dressed officer, so she had to defend against the attack. A giant sword made of blood came swinging from the air and attacked the Ghoul, giving her a chance to recover her standing. Meanwhile, the blood drum was still beating and empowered everyone on the battlefield. Graham, who could also hear the War Drum faintly, still got a little of its effect.


    "You must have heard that this whole area is now sealed off from the outside, so there is no escape for you. If you are willing to leave this area without a fight, then we will let you since we also don''t want some pointless bloodshed... do you?" added the hooded man.


    Roze looked like she was saying something to Rood and the latter nodded. He then quickly got back to engaging with the Ghoul to give her a chance to focus on the four people above her.


    "We don''t negotiate with terrorists. Peacefully surrender and your sentence might be lightened," she shouted.


    "If that is your answer, then so be it," replied the man calmly. He looked at the hooded figure next to him and then nodded.


    "We will kindly accept your offer. We''ll take your lives as painfully as possible, so please do not resist," said the man. His voice was morbidly warm and hid a deep menace.


    Chime...


    Suddenly, there was the sound of an eerie bell being chiming in the distance, followed by the sound of a bone-chilling melody that came from a lute. It completely overpowered the sound of the War Drum, negating its effect to some extent while striking fear in the hearts of the listeners.


    The weaker ones of the Police force gave in to the sinister melody and collapsed to the ground with weak knees. There were drops of cold sweat on their forehead while the color had been drained out of their faces.


    "Enjoy the slaughter!" said the hooded man.


    Several giant worms came out of holes that suddenly appeared on the ground and spat bloody human corpses at the Police.


    Bleeerghh!!


    Mangled body parts and mutilated organs were splattered everywhere, filling the air with a bloody and putrid smell of decomposition. The fear-struck officers couldn''t escape in time and were buried in mountains of dead bodies, although they were not actually injured. However, the attack didn''t stop there. The worms were now spitting tiny ''horses'' made out of human fingers that quickly drilled into the dead bodies.


    "They became zombies!!" shouted a man on top of his lungs. His voice was full of fear and terror.


    The corpses that had the tiny ''horses'' inside became reanimated and stood back up one by one with difficulty. They began attacking anything alive near them, tearing flesh apart with their teeth. Although they moved slowly, their big number was enough to massacre a whole small town.


    The situation looked bad for the Police force. They were still fighting the strong Ghoul and now there were four members of the Pale Society attacking them. Their formation had been broken and their line of defense was shattered.


    However, there was a hidden smile on Roze''s face despite their situation.

 165 A Trap

    "Tell those three to come out!" shouted Roze. She was smiling as if she had been expecting the whole situation.


    A member of the Police then appeared to be talking on the radio which Graham couldn''t hear from his hiding spot, especially amidst the eerie music and chaos transpiring. Zombies, giant worms, and a Ghoul was keeping everyone on their toes, with a single mistake going to cost their lives.


    Badum! Badum!


    Rood beat the blood drum harder to overcome the sound of the eerie music, but it was only slightly successful. The sound of the lute felt like it was coming right in their ears. The gloomy, depressing melody created the terror of death in the listeners'' hearts.


    "Whaaaaaaa!!!!"


    Suddenly, there is a loud crying coming from a direction, which was accompanied by the sound of a motor carriage engine. The crying sounded like it was a baby''s and it got louder and louder by time.


    "Whaaaaaaa!!!!"


    The baby''s cries didn''t evoke any feelings inside the human listeners'' hearts except for being obnoxiously loud, but the summoned creatures and the Ghoul seemed to be affected deeply by it. They were all looking in anticipation in the direction where it was coming.


    Vrooom!


    The motor carriage finally showed itself and on its roof, a baby half the size of the motor carriage itself was tied up. Its appearance, however, was unlike a normal baby. Its skin was all pale blue like the blood had been sucked out of it, and its nose, that was on its oversized head, was nonexistent; there were only two nose holes where it should have been. The fat, naked baby looked unnaturally bloated like it was force-fed a lot of liquid beforehand.


    "Whaaaaa!!!! Whaaaaa!!!"


    The crying became even louder the moment the baby saw the monstrous creatures filling the street. However, its expression didn''t show fear, but distorted jealousy as if it wanted something it couldn''t have. The baby started fighting off the rope tying it violently but it was unsuccessful.


    Once the Police motor carriage pulled over, three people came out of it and quickly untied the giant baby. Once free, it quickly rolled down the vehicle and crawled to the center of the fight, crying all the way.


    "What in the world is that?" muttered Graham with a puzzled expression. Never before in his life had he seen something as bizarre as that. Judging from some of the people''s expressions down there, it was also their first time witnessing the ugly, pale blue baby with a head bigger than its body.


    Graham quickly sat back down to avoid being seen and lit a fire using his lighter. Although he was concealed, the flame was not, so he had to remain careful. With a flick of his finger and the spark wheel, a tiny flame was created. He tried his best to concentrate amidst the loud crying coming from outside.


    ''What is that giant blue baby outside?''


    ''Artifact name: Dreaded Baby''


    ''History: It was said that the baby was the child of a powerful but depraved summoner who sacrificed it in order to summon a powerful supernatural creature. However, the ritual went wrong and the baby instead became a ''summoned creature'' itself with deep hatred towards other supernatural creatures for taking away the life it was supposed to have and other babies for having what it couldn''t.''


    ''Origin: This artifact was found inside the Bambergers'' mansion one night as it mysteriously crawled inside it. It was chewing the head of the couple''s newborn when it was found, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Bamberger in shock. The Police were called right away and ever since, it had been in the custody of the Police''s Contractbound department.''


    ''Other reported accidents regarding the artifact: Before it was found inside the Bambergers'' mansion, it had been terrorizing the small town of Lunteren. It had killed and eaten many of the townfolks'' babies and any efforts done by the local Contractbound failed to destroy it.''


    ''Abilities: The Dreaded Baby will start crying if there is a supernatural creature within the area, making it a useful alarm. Its cries can attract the attention of low intelligent creatures, making them attack the baby instead of their actual targets. It has no offensive abilities, but it is indestructible. The Dreaded baby cannot be killed using normal attacks, but once it has gotten too weak, it will go to sleep.''


    ''Cost of Use: The Dreaded Baby must be fed with a live human baby at least once a month or it will go berserk. Once it''s asleep, it can only recover by eating a human baby as well.''


    ''Special Note: Do not ever feed the Dreaded Baby with a stillborn!''


    After reading the notes, the image disappeared gradually and the flame went back to normal. Graham, however, was left stupefied. He raised his eyebrows and wrinkled his forehead.


    "... I have no words, Val. It means the Police are offering it a human baby at least once every month. That is... messed up," he said.


    "Whaaaaaa!!! Whaaaaaaa!!!!"


    The crying continued and Graham put out the fire before standing back up to observe the fight.


    The baby was now lying on the ground with its two fat short hands trying to cover its face. The zombies and Ghoul were attacking it, clawing its skin with their hands. The giant worms were sucking everything in their vicinity and spat it back at the giant baby. However, despite the attacks, its skin remained uninjured.


    "Whaaa!!!"


    The Police took the chance and started eliminating the distracted creatures. The three people who had just come also joined in the fight. They appeared to be saying something but Graham couldn''t hear it.


    Bang! Bang!


    The fear caused by the eerie melody had been dispelled by the baby''s loud cries, so now the Police could fight with their fullest power.


    Swoosh!


    A giant blood sword cleaved a worm into, exposing its innards. Purple blood came gushing out of its now lifeless body as it collapsed to the ground. The hole where it appeared from started closing rapidly, cutting off its portion of the body that remained underground.


    Roze repeatedly shot at the Ghoul using her blood arrows, and this time, she added some explosive gunpowder to them to eliminate the zombies nearby at the same time.


    Kaboom!!


    The Ghoul was deeply injured, but it was still attacking the crying baby like a crazed animal. It didn''t care about its own wounds and only cared about killing the giant baby that looked helpless.


    "Whaaaa!!"


    The four cloaked figures looked like they were ready to take action. One of them, who seemed to be a woman judging from her figure, took a step forward and placed her hands in front of her with the palms facing the front.


    "Explode!!"


    She shouted, and then, suddenly,


    Kaboom!!! Kaboom!!!


    All the corpses in the area went up in a violent explosion, sending blood and pieces of flesh everywhere. The people who were taken by surprise couldn''t escape in time and were badly injured by the attack.


    "Groen, help the injured!" shouted Roze, "And stay away from corpses!!"


    Groen and his men quickly dragged those injured but alive away from the battlefield. The others also got as far away from the newly dead people who had turned into corpses, adding to the already big number spat out by the worms earlier.


    Kaboom!!!


    More corpses exploded, injuring those who were not fast enough to get away.


    "Bruin, bring out the book!" shouted Roze again.


    The man with brown hair and brown eyes retreated from the battlefield and went towards the Police motor carriage that had carried the baby before. He quickly opened the trunk and ran back with a box the size of both his palms. Once he was near Roze, he opened the box using a combination and picked up the content carefully. It was a small book half the size of the box that he held with one hand, making sure not to touch the cover. The cover of the book featured a single closed mouth that protruded from it. The lips that made out the mouth were pale purple and all cracked.


    "Another artifact?" muttered Graham. With his Supersight, he could see the detail of the book clearly even from where he was standing.


    He sat back down with his lighter and lit another fire.


    ''What is the book artifact with a mouth on the cover?''


    He asked a question in his mind while concentrating on the flame.


    An image began to appear and it was the exact same neatly typed page of a book that had appeared before. Graham read the text on the page carefully once it had fully formed.


    ''Artifact name: Caron''s Book of Curtailment''


    ''History: Caron was said to be a man who was obsessed with rules and restrictions. As a Mayor of a small town, his words were almost absolute and no one dared to oppose him. He had a book that he would use to write down all the rules that he had come up with and it would then be publicized for all the people to know. However, the rules that were originally made for the benefits of the mass slowly became distorted and were there to satisfy his own depraved desires. He would put down all sorts of twisted punishment for those who broke the rules he created, until one day, a person who dared to oppose him appeared. He exploited the loopholes in the law and cunningly made Caron break his own rules. All the resentments from the people who were punished by him had unknowingly gathered in his book and forcefully punished him as stated in the rule.''


    ''Origin: This artifact was found in the small town of Geldern, under the possession of the local mayor. Just as the original owner of the book, he abused its power to make people do whatever he said. He even set a rule that would prevent people from contacting the outside, to prevent interference. However, since the book''s power was not absolute, someone managed to call the Police in another city to come and apprehend the criminal mayor. The book has been in the custody of the Police since.''


    ''Abilities: The book is able to grant restrictions in a wide area the size of a small town. However, one restriction will only take effect for at most one hour and it cannot defy the law of the world, such as making people unable to step on the ground so they have to fly. There are also loopholes in the restrictions created by the book, so they must be worded carefully, but at the same time, making it too specific will make the restriction not work. The effect is also greatly reduced against people who are stronger than the person creating the restriction.''


    ''Cost of Use: For each restriction, one body part containing flesh must be sacrificed, which means hair, nails, and teeth won''t work. Sacrificing only a piece of flesh won''t work either as it has to be the entirety of that specific body part. However, the sacrifice doesn''t have to come from the one making the restriction, as long as the person who gives the body part is still alive and perceives the user as an ally. Sacrificing an enemy''s body part or that of someone who hates the user won''t work. The bigger the sacrifice, the more powerful the restriction that can be made.''


    ''Special Note: Do not touch the cover as it will count as you making a sacrifice! If no restrictions are made within five minutes of the sacrifice being given, the book will create its own!''


    The image then disappeared. Graham thought about what he had just read and there was a slight feeling of amazement in his heart.


    "Yet another messed up artifact. This supernatural world is sure vast, Val. I wonder if we can have our own one day..." he paused and then touched the belt that he was wearing, "Purloin is enhanced equipment, not an artifact, although I don''t see much difference except that the former can be worn," he muttered.


    Graham stood back up after putting out the fire and watch the fight again. Roze had taken off the glove covering her left hand and revealed her slender fingers. The little finger on her hand, however, was much shorter than normal, and the tip was missing. It looked as if it was still in the process of growing back.


    Bruin was still holding the book while Roze quickly cut off the ring finger of her left hand. Blood came flowing out of it and she poured it all on the mouth that was on the cover of the book. The chapped lips instantly opened, revealing a dark abyss surrounded by sharp yellowish teeth with bloodstains all over. A pale pink tongue came out of the abyss and licked the blood on the lips clean.


    Roze then dropped her severed finger into the mouth and it closed right away, chewing the finger with delight. Although Graham couldn''t hear the sound, he could imagine the crunching noises it was making as it was chewing away on the severed body part.


    Since the sacrifice was only a finger, Roze couldn''t make a great restriction. However, she had already had an idea in mind.


    "Anyone fighting under any kind of concealment will be at a disadvantage!!" she shouted.


    "Whaaaaaa...!!"


    The mouth on the book cover opened wide and it let out a bone-chilling cry that sounded completely different from the Dreaded Baby''s. It was the kind that sounded like a red fox screaming while being in danger. The cry pierced the ears and sent a shiver down everyone''s spine.


    As the cry subsided, the restriction took place!


    Graham suddenly felt weakened because he was also under Concealment. It felt like the opposite effect of Jacco''s War Drum in that his stamina had been reduced and his physical abilities were lowered.


    Roze specifically chose that kind of restriction because the enemies were all cloaked, and there were some hiding ones as well. As long as they were supporting their members from the dark, they would be weakened, and it also worked the same for the others as long as they kept their cloaks on. They could easily take their cloaks off to avoid the effect of the restriction, but it would mean exposing their identities, something that the Police had been working hard to get.


    "Now, don''t let any of them escape! Capture them alive if you can!" yelled Roze as she put back the glove.

 166 The Police vs the Pale Society

    "Gee, Val, I''m really weakened right now. That Caron''s Book is indeed powerful," said Graham rather weakly, "Should I remove the mist and regain our strength or should I just stay weakened like this?" he pondered.


    "Nah. Let''s just stay like this, so we remain undetected. The moment someone approaches, I''ll remove the Concealment so we have a fighting chance... or running chance," he finally decided.


    Graham turned his attention to the fight that was happening in the street below. It was getting more heated now that the four cloaked figures were joining in the fray.


    One by one, they lifted the hood covering their faces to regain the strength that had been restricted by the artifact. They were two men and two women, one of whom was the corpse woman who had run away from Valentine the night before. The other woman might be Fear, judging from her figure while the two men were complete strangers to Graham.


    One of the men looked younger than the other with blond hair and brown eyes that reflected the serious character of the man. He looked to be in his early twenties, not that much older than Luuk van der Meer. They even looked like they could be classmates at university. The way he was standing was a little tense but there was no nervousness shown by his body language.


    Standing on the far right was a man in his early thirties with a mischievous look on his face. There was a slight smile that made him seem carefree and unbothered by the whole situation. His sharp eyes were observing everyone below him carefully, and Graham felt that if he weren''t concealed, the man would have found his hiding location from all the way there.


    "There you go. Now you can see our faces," said the mischievous man. His voice sounded devious and it rang right in everyone''s ears, despite their distance.


    "Since we will be fighting head to head now, let me introduce ourselves. You can call me Obscurity," he smiled and bowed, and then pointed at the corpse woman standing next to him while saying, "This one is Macabre, and the one next to her is Dread. The woman standing on the far left is called Fear."


    Once he had finished introducing the three people standing next to him, he looked at the horizon and chuckled. "The one over there is called Horror," he said with a satisfied smile.


    Caw! Caw! Caw!


    Suddenly, there was the noise of countless crows rattling at the same time coming from the distance where Obscurity was looking at. Everyone instinctively looked in the direction and saw, flying towards them, numerous black crows in the air whose eyes were red and full of murderous intents. Those crows didn''t look normal in the slightest. Behind the crows was a man with wings made of countless mangled bird wings stitched together in a grotesque manner carrying a lute in his hands. He was the source of the eerie melody and was still playing despite the Dreaded Baby''s cries overpowering his music.


    Swoosh!


    With only a thought from Rood, the giant blood sword flew across the battlefield, cutting numerous crows in its flight.


    "Tomio!"


    Oranje commanded her giant lizard familiar to breathe fire at the flying crows while Paars'' giant cat was busy hunting the crazed birds one by one as if it was a game. The smell of charred flesh filled the air and blood splattered as the birds were dying.


    "Everyone, get away!!" shouted Roze urgently. She was also running as far away as she could from the corpses of the birds that she had shot down with her blood arrows.


    "Explode!!"


    Macabre used Corpse Explosion!


    The dead birds all exploded one by one, injuring anyone not fast enough to get to safety. Tiny pieces of flesh and the stench of blood filled the area once more.


    "Whaaaa!!"


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the Dreaded Baby was still being attacked by zombies and the Ghoul. The worms had all been killed while there were only a couple of zombies left. The Ghoul also looked like it was on its last legs; its body was covered in deep wounds while its left hand had been badly mangled, albeit still attached. It was regenerating slowly, but with its current condition, there was too much to regenerate and it didn''t have enough power to do so.


    Amidst the chaos, the tiny mysterious black hole was still floating motionlessly in the air. There didn''t seem to be any sign of another creature trying to cross to that side.


    "Val, that''s a large scale battle right there. Let''s keep observing and learn about both sides'' power while we''re at it," he muttered with a smile, "That Horror person has power over birds, so it''s most likely he who was monitoring us in the black market. If he sent only a normal bird, it would be possible not to alert the power in the place I think," concluded Graham while stroking his chin.


    "The combination of his countless birds and the Corpse Explosion of that corpse lady is surely dangerous. I don''t know what I would do if I were attacked by the two of them. Probably your illusion could work to send the birds somewhere else, but I''m sure it would take too much blood to use,"


    "Explode!!"


    Kaboom!!!


    The more birds the Police killed, the more explosions happened. Although they were small, their sharp talons and beaks were still dangerous enough to pierce through flesh, not to mention the explosive power itself.


    Groen was busy running around handing pouches of his herb mixture to aid the wounded, but with every use of it, the effect would be lessened. Those who had been injured repeatedly took longer to recover from their new wounds.


    Roze gestured at Bruin to bring the box back and then cut off another finger; this time, it was the pinky finger on the right hand. She dropped the bloody severed finger onto the mouth of the Book of Curtailment and once it had started eating the finger, she shouted the new restriction.


    "Corpses are not allowed to explode!"


    The book didn''t let out a loud cry like before, which meant the sacrifice was insufficient. Roze quickly cut off the ring finger of her right hand and dropped it to the still gaping mouth with bloody teeth and chapped lips and at once, it started munching on the fleshy finger.


    "Whaaaaaaa!!"


    The same terrifying shriek resounded in the area and made everyone''s hair stand. The restriction had worked!


    Bruin looked with concern at Roze who was putting back the gloves to cover her hands. The wounds had healed, but now she was left with only three intact fingers on each hand. Roze, who noticed the man''s worried look, smiled at him.


    "Don''t worry. You know I can grow back fingers. It just takes annoyingly long. Let''s make sure I don''t have to sacrifice a limb because even I don''t know if I can grow it back," she said.


    She took out her short bow and held it firmly using her left hand that was missing one and a half fingers. Her right hand skillfully created blood arrows that she used to fire at more birds that were attacking everyone.


    Caw! Caw!


    The birds were crying in pain as they were murdered. All the other ones, seeing their kinds being slaughtered, got even more crazed, and attacked with more ferocity. Their beaks and talons were now full of the blood of their victims and they kept flying up and down to avoid attacks.


    The corpses now couldn''t explode anymore, which made the Police able to fight without worries.


    Swoosh!!


    Rood''s giant blood sword cut several birds at once in two, effectively ending their lives. Although it pained him to kill animals, their survival was still the most important.


    "Can''t let you kill off our cute little pets, can we?" said Obscurity, still with the voice that was reverberated right in everyone''s ears.


    "Val, isn''t this ability quite dangerous? If he shouted, wouldn''t we all take damage?" he said curiously and then took a short pause, "But since he hasn''t done so, I''m sure this ''speaking-right-in-your-ear'' ability has its own limitation," analyzed Graham.


    After saying that, Obscurity''s voice became inaudible while his hands were placed in front of him as if he was chanting.


    Swoosh!!


    Roze shot several blood arrows at him, but Macabre deflected them using a short sword that had an engraving of a cracked skull on the handle. There was a single dark purple gemstone embedded on its hilt that seemed to be glowing as she was swinging it.


    Obscurity then slit his left wrist using the iron claw that he wore on his right index finger and after that, he let his blood flow out. The blood evaporated instantly once it touched the air, and the tiny red particles spread around the area quickly.


    "Now everyone, please feel free to fight among yourself," he said, whispering gently right in everyone''s ears. His voice was like a sweet temptation that was impossible to resist. Even Graham, who was far from him, felt the urge to attack anyone in his vicinity.


    Roze''s face was red from holding back her urge. The blood veins were showing and her expression twisted. She started chanting loudly.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Great Battles and Decay, declare harmful effects affecting my allies ineffective!"


    After that, she opened her mouth as wide as she could.


    "Roaarrr!!!!!"


    She let out an ear-deafening roar that startled all that present there, including the birds in the sky. The angry faces of the Police officers were suddenly gone with one roar from their Lieutenant.


    "Rood, finish off those creatures! Oranje and Paars, focus on the birds and the winged man! Groen, provide support, and tend to the wounded. Wit, Bruin, and Geel come with me! We''ll deal with those four enemies!" commanded Roze.


    Everyone nodded and uniformly got to their own assigned tasks. The three people that she called for followed closely behind her as she charged towards the building where the four enemies were standing.


    Wit, the female Police Sergeant with purple hair and green eyes, had finished some kind of ritual before and now she looked to be chanting something. After that, her whole body started undergoing a transformation that was different from Graham''s. It was much slower and looked rather painful. She started running on all four limbs when her upper body became heavier and light brown fur started growing all over her. Her body stretched and reached a length of almost two meters and a long tail grew from her back. After a while, Wit had completely turned into a Puma, the most dangerous big cat in the Republic of Tulp.


    "Bruin!" said Roze as they arrived near the building where the enemies were.


    Bruin nodded and ran towards the building while the other three stayed back. He put both of his hands on the wall of the building and seemed to be muttering something. The enemies were suddenly alarmed and they quickly tried to escape.


    Rumble!!


    The building started shaking violently and slowly, it started collapsing. Pieces by pieces of walls fell down on the ground as the four-story building was crumbling because of the man''s ability. Geel, the female Police Sergeant with a calm look and demeanor, had a pained expression on her face as if she was reminded of an unpleasant memory.


    "With that much power, why don''t you want to become a Lieutenant?" shouted Wit from the back in her Puma form. Her voice was very hoarse and beast-like, and there was a ferocity in her tone despite her normal question.


    Bruin didn''t respond and kept on focusing on destroying the building to kill the four enemies all at once. However, he knew it wouldn''t be easy as they surely had their own methods of getting away.


    Macabre''s body quickly turned into a pool of flesh and blood and entered one of the corpses of the giant worms that had shielded them from Roze''s attack before. The corpse became bloated with her inside and after that, it returned to normal. She reappeared inside another corpse that was lying on the ground far from the Police and got out still in the form of a blob. After a while, she solidified and her body became that of a woman again, complete with the clothes that she was wearing.


    Meanwhile, Obscurity turned into countless tiny snakes that slithered away in every direction, entering the holes and pores of the building before gathering back on the ground right next to Macabre. Dread and Fear entered two giant worms that had appeared from holes that appeared in front of them before reappearing on the ground near their companions.


    Crash!!


    The whole building finally collapsed, but Bruin had failed to take down any of the enemies.


    "Roar!"


    Wit dashed at a frightening speed towards the spot where Fear had just appeared. She was following her beastly instinct and attacked the weakest one in the enemy''s rank. Just as Dread was about to help his fellow member, Roze shot a blood arrow at him, making him change his action to defending instead.


    Kaboom!


    The arrow was an explosive arrow!


    The worm that he had summoned to defend himself was killed in a strong explosion, whose impact also sent Dread flying backward. He hit a wall and blood came out of his mouth while his skin showed slight signs of being burnt.


    "Hah! You''re not the only ones who are good with explosions!" shouted Roze. There was pride in her tone.


    Fear was also wounded because of Wit''s attack. Her animal form had boosted her physical ability tremendously, so Fear''s pitiful defense couldn''t completely block her attack. There were deep claw marks on her chest from which blood was flowing abundantly. There was hatred and rage on her face as she tried to get back up, albeit with difficulty.


    "This doesn''t look too good for us, doesn''t it? I wonder if we can make it out alive, heheh..." said Obscurity right in everyone''s ears. Although he was saying that, there was no urgency in his tone, only calmness and a hint of madness.

 167 Analysis of the Figh

    "Whaaaaaa!!!"


    Rood had just finished killing the Ghoul as the Dreaded Baby let out its last cry and went to sleep. The baby with pale blue skin closed its yellow eyes and started snoring lightly, looking completely different from when it was awake; it had a peaceful expression on its face.


    Snore...


    With the Dreaded Baby reaching its limit and falling asleep, the remaining zombies were no longer attracted to it and began diverting its attention to Rood.


    "Now you guys can finally die!" he shouted coldly.


    Swoosh!


    The giant sword cleaved the bodies of the zombies in two, revealing the tiny horse creatures made of human fingers inside. The horse creatures quickly left their destroyed hosts and were in search of a new corpse to reanimate.


    "I won''t give you ladyfingers a chance to do that!" he shouted.


    Using his mind, he controlled the sword to cut down the creatures while he used his dagger to finish off the rest. Once cut in two, the finger horses started disintegrating into a smoke of dark green ashes.


    "Roze, I''m done here! I''m going to assist Oranje and Paars!" shouted Rood to Roze, who was busy fighting Obscurity.


    "Okay! We can handle it over here!" she shouted back as she fired blood arrows at the man with a devious face.


    Rood quickly dashed towards the location where Oranje and Paars were and both of them were currently fighting a flock of crows with red eyes who were attacking them from the sky. The winged man was behind the birds, playing his lute to empower his bird allies.


    The man''s expression was calm despite being outnumbered. He was being shot at by the normal Police officers, but his wings either blocked the bullets for him or helped him dodge them. Despite his wings being hit by paralysis bullets, the man with the unnatural green hair didn''t seem to suffer the effect. On top of that, the wings also seemed to have a scary regeneration power. All the bullet holes had closed up just in a matter of seconds!


    Ding... ding... Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!


    Suddenly, the man whose codename was Horror started plucking the strings of his lute violently, sending a thrilling melody. Now that the Dreaded Baby''s cries were no more, the sound of his music was dominant, even louder than Rood''s War Drum.


    Badum! Badum!


    Rood beat his drum harder to not lose out to the sounds of the degenerate melody. His drum empowered his allies only slightly because of the interference of the Lute.


    Caw! Caw! Caw!


    The crows appeared to be even more ferocious now that the melody had become violent. They started pecking and clawing with greater intensity than before.


    "Three Police officers versus birds. Who do you think will win, Val?" said Graham amusedly. He had been watching the fight from the beginning and by the looks of it, the Police were winning.


    One of the Police, the man called Bruin, looked like he had expended all of his stamina to make the building collapse. While the others were fighting, he was just sitting on the ground while breathing heavily. The faint sound of Rood''s War Drum seemed to be helping him recover a little.


    "Val, we can see from this fight which Contractbounds are good with frontal assault and which are not. I guess we belong to the not so good at direct combats. Those like the vulgar woman we killed earlier must be one of the strongest at fighting others face to face. Hell, she could even get stronger when outnumbered," he analyzed a hint of jealousy.


    Graham still hadn''t got any direct offensive abilities that he could use to kill his enemies. He still had to rely on weapons or other underhanded measures to finish them off. Most of his abilities were under the category of controlling and manipulating.


    Among the Contractbounds present on the battlefield, the ones with the highest offensive capabilities were perhaps Roze with her blood arrows that never missed, Rood with his Blood Sword and War Drum, Wit in her Puma form, and, to some extent, Oranje and Paars with their familiars. The man called Bruin also seemed strong but Graham had only seen him use one of his abilities and he was already out.


    On the other hand, the members of the Pale Society didn''t seem to have anyone capable of direct offense. The man who called himself Obscurity sounded more like a manipulative type while Macabre could be strong with corpses, but now that the restriction had taken place, she couldn''t use Corpse Explosion anymore. Fear, based on Graham''s fight with her before, was able to use all sorts of curses, but they all seemed to take time and the Police didn''t appear to want to give it to her. The fact that she hadn''t prepared the curse while they were still on top of the building meant they had their own limitations.


    Dread, who had the summoning abilities, also seemed to suffer from limitations. It must take a lot of preparation for him to use his abilities, and he lacked an offensive one. Or, he was just hiding his abilities and was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.


    The winged man called Horror, although good at supporting and was very difficult to kill, didn''t seem to have any offensive abilities either. Graham was thinking that he might be able to use his melodies to directly injure his enemies, but the fact that he hadn''t done so meant he might not be able to do so or the ability would also injure his allies.


    Graham finished analyzing both parties and continued watching the fight. Although he could come up with those theories, he still didn''t actually know the extent of everyone''s abilities. It was a good learning opportunity for him.


    "Val, among the abilities that we''ve seen so far from this battle, that building destroying one sure looks the strongest. But I don''t think we''ll ever have the need to destroy an entire building for our mission. The stamina required also looks to be no joke," he said while stroking his chin, "If we were to copy one of those abilities into Purloin, which one would you choose, Val?" he muttered calmly. There was a hint of excitement and anticipation in his tone.


    "For me, I think I would choose the blood weapon creation for now unless there is another one with higher offensive power later. The other abilities were mostly control types, and we don''t really need more of those, do we? The Puma transformation sounds neat, but I don''t believe it''s quite practical," he added.


    Suddenly, while he was busy coming up with all sorts of theories and analysis of the fight, his sense of danger was triggered. He quickly turned around and felt that the source of the danger was already near the door. He was puzzled as to why he hadn''t felt it much sooner.


    It was too late for him to escape!


    Step... Step...


    The person''s footsteps resounded in the empty office building. It sounded like the hard soles of leather shoes tapping against the wooden floor. With each sound, Graham''s time got shorter. He had to quickly do something.


    Since he now probably had to fight, Graham had to undo his Concealment to regain his strength that had been restricted by Caron''s Book of Curtailment.


    "I order the mist shrouding myself to disappear!"


    Once he said that, the yellowish mist began to disperse and disappeared soon after, revealing his appearance that was still that of Cornelis Haring aka Rood. He was still weakened because the transformation was a kind of concealment. He had to return to his original self in order to regain his power, but in doing so, he would expose his real identity.


    "Val, I''ll rely on you to erase their memory if it comes to that," he said with regret. It was probably the first time he had to show his face without a mask to his enemies and it didn''t sit well with him.


    "I order myself to return to my original appearance!"


    Graham quickly became a little shorter and very slightly fatter. His skin was not as tanned as Rood''s and his body was less muscular, although the muscles were definitely somewhere there. The big scar on his face disappeared and his eyes turned light green while his hair became amber and somewhat curly. In less than thirty seconds, Graham had returned to his original self, and at the same time, he felt that the dangerous presence was right behind the door.


    "What the hell, Val? Why am I still weakened? We''ve already removed any kind of concealment?!" he said, completely stupefied.


    He was still under the restriction!


    He didn''t have too much time to come up with an answer, so he quickly took a position that would enable him to see the person through the gap of the door when they opened it.


    Click!


    Creak...


    The door was opened slowly and the dangerous aura became even stronger, and there was also the smell of an expensive perfume accompanying the aura. Since he was not the type to wait around for the enemies to take the initiative, without even waiting for the person to completely show themselves, Graham had already drawn his gun.


    Bang!


    He fired a paralysis bullet at the person!


    The person who was still trying to open the door stopped and there was a tiny bullet wound on his right shoulder. Graham knew exactly who the person was only from his figure.


    It was Zeger de Witt!


    "That man! How did he find us, Val?" he muttered in puzzlement. There was a slight fear in his tone because of the pressure that the man was emitting which felt even stronger since he was weakened. It was completely different from when he encountered him last time. "That doesn''t matter, Val. It''s now our chance to escape!" he decided.


    Judging from the man''s aura, the paralysis effect wouldn''t last longer than two seconds on him. He had to take action right away or else the man would soon recover. He couldn''t implant a false thought inside the man''s brain because of his weakened state, so Graham looked at the man and issued an Order to buy him a little more time.


    "I order you to turn back and leave!"


    He shouted, this time, using his original deep voice.


    Zeger''s expression became twisted and there was a smile that struck Graham''s heart with uneasiness as he turned around and left the room.


    Graham didn''t waste his opportunity and quickly shoot the glass window that he had been using to watch the fight below. He was currently on the third floor, so jumping down would certainly hurt, especially since he was still under the restriction. However, he didn''t have another choice as it was his only means of escape.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The window began cracking and there were several bullet holes on it. Graham put all his power into his right foot and kicked it as hard as he could, effectively breaking it. There was now a gap big enough for him to jump through.


    Zeger only took five steps in the other direction before the effect of Graham''s Order wore off. He immediately turned around to find Graham who had just finished breaking the window with his kick.


    "That is mighty rude of you, Mr. Detective. Now, where do you think you are going? Isn''t it better to stay here and have a chat with me about all the things you''ve done to us?" said the man coldly. There was a sinister smile on his face that sent shivers down Graham''s spine.


    Without even waiting for Zeger de Witt to finish speaking, Graham had jumped off the window to the ground below. His body accelerated towards the hard pavement and the moment he touched the ground, his body turned into a blotch of ink that got erased right away. He reappeared next to it, standing on the ground completely unscathed.


    It was the last one of Valentine''s Illusion Substitute.


    "Not only are you rude, but you are also impolite. Please listen when someone is speaking," shouted Zeger from above. He seemed rather angry.


    Zeger de Witt slit his wrist and muttered something. Graham didn''t pay attention to what he was saying because he had started running away. He was going to where the Police were, so at least he could get someone to distract the dangerous man.


    Swoosh!!


    Six blood spikes had formed near the man and they were shooting at Graham with incredible speed. Trusting his instinct, he dodged to the right and managed to avoid being hit by most of the spikes. However, because of his weakened state, two spikes still hit him: one on his left shoulder and one on his leg.


    "Crap!" he cursed in pain.


    He then felt a very dangerous premonition coming from the spikes, so he quickly removed the one on his shoulder with his hand while using order to get rid of the one on his leg.


    "I order you to come off!"


    The blood spikes came off his leg, leaving a deep wound from which blood came gushing out. His shoulder was not much different. He didn''t waste the chance and quickly got as far away from the spikes as he could.


    Kaboom!!


    The blood spikes exploded and the impact hit him, pushing him off several meters. The explosion also got the attention of the Police who quickly assessed the situation.


    "I order you to close!"


    "I order you to close!"


    Graham used Order to close the open wounds on both his shoulder and leg as he got back up and ran away from the spot. He was in so much pain that running became a little difficult for him.


    "Val, this is totally not good!" he muttered.

 168 Unexpected Cooperation

    Zeger de Witt ''melted'' into a pool of thick blood before seeping into the floor. On the ground below, droplets of blood came out of the pores from the pavement and solidified into a man with a cold gaze and a threatening smile. His shart features enhanced the menacing looks that he had about him.


    He didn''t seem to care about showing his face to the Police despite his status as a politician and a member of the Pale Society. The man must have a plan in his mind because otherwise, his political career would end since there were a lot of witnesses.


    "That restriction sure is troublesome. If we could get the book into our possession, things would be easier for the organization," whispered Zeger to himself.


    Groen, who had seen Graham running while being wounded, was currently running to his side. He was the closest to him and since he was the only one currently not in a fight, he was the only one who could help.


    "What happened to you? What are you doing here?" asked Groen with an inquisitive tone.


    Graham stopped running once Groen was by his side.


    "I''ll explain later. Zeger is coming. He is a member of the Pale Society!" he replied with urgency in his voice. His breathing was still heavy because of the pain.


    Groen looked at the direction where Graham was running from and saw the man who had just formed from a puddle of blood and their eyes met. There was only coldness and indifference reflected in the politician''s eyes, while Groen''s expression showed guarded calmness.


    "Here, take this," said Groen as he handed Graham a pouch containing a blue powder that was already familiar to him because of Luuk. Groen kept watching on the tall politician all the while.


    "You don''t look surprised about him," said Graham curiously as he inhaled the blue powder inside the pouch before discarding it inside his pocket. His condition rapidly improved, although the pain was still there.


    "We know all about him," replied Groen shortly, and then slowly turned to him, "We also know about you,"


    Those words struck Graham like thunder in broad daylight. He couldn''t hide his surprise as it was shown all over his face. The pain that he was feeling was forgotten for a moment. All sorts of scenarios came into his mind about his future and slight panic grew in his heart, but he quickly focused on his breathing to calm himself down.


    Graham didn''t know how much the Police knew about him, but the fact that he hadn''t been arrested yet meant he might still have a chance to maintain his freedom, at least for a while. But it still didn''t feel right to him that the Police actually ''knew'' about him without him knowing. It felt like he had been caught red-handed doing something illegal and now he must think of a way out.


    Groen''s statement felt like water quenching his thirst, and the fire burning in his heart. However, the water also contained some unknown kind of poison. Some ''higher up'' told the Police to leave him alone. He didn''t know who this ''higher up'' was or the reason why they decided as such. He felt like he was at the mercy of this person and he didn''t like it.


    "I see that you''re having a little chat over there. Mind if I join in?" asked Zeger who was now in the range of the two people.


    "Get out of the Safe Zone and Fire at Zeger de Witt!" shouted Groen at the line of Police officers behind him.


    Several officers who were not wounded or only slightly wounded quickly marched out of the line made of blood and readied their weapon.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Several bullets flew through the air and hit the tall man in several spots of his body. His head, chest, and shoulders were ridden with bullet holes from which blood came seeping out. He also looked like he couldn''t move because of the bullets.


    "Those were the paralysis bullets I created. But you should already know about that, right?" said Groen proudly. There was a smile on his friendly face.


    Graham nodded at the short man.


    "Val, let''s focus on finishing off the enemy first with this man. We can think about the other stuff later," he muttered quietly while looking over his shoulder.


    Since he had been healed by Groen''s health powder, he was stronger now. However, he was still strangely under the effect of the restriction, so he was still weakened. Even with the help of the man, he didn''t think he could win against the dangerous Zeger like that.


    "Val, we need to switch. If we''re to fight in this kind of state, you should still be the better choice," he muttered and then turned his attention to Groen, "Can you buy me time?"


    Groen nodded.


    "Sure, as long as you don''t just run away and leave me to fight that monster," he said jokingly.


    Graham gave a thumb up and then ran towards a spot where no one could see them. Although the Groen said the Police knew about him, he was still unsure to what extent their knowledge was. He still needed to keep as many of his secrets as possible.


    "Fire!" shouted Groen again.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The line of Police officers once again fired paralysis bullets at Zeger who was still unable to move. The previous wounds on his body had begun healing and the bullet heads had been ejecting out of them. New bullet holes were created all over his body after the second wave hit him.


    In his secluded spot, Graham sat down with his back against the wall and closed his eyes.


    "I order myself to fall asleep!"


    The moment he finished issuing his Order, a heavy wave of sleepiness struck him. His consciousness faded shortly after and he went to the dream world. Valentine woke up a second later and quickly got up.


    "G, wake up!"


    That was the first thing he said. His voice resounded inside him and he felt that there was something who had just been jolted awake by it.


    "I... don''t feel weakened," said Valentine once he was sure Graham was awake.


    Unlike Graham, the restriction that would weaken anyone under the effect of any kind of concealment didn''t work on him. He was still at his 100% power and although the pain from the wounds caused by Zeger was still there, albeit only slightly, everything else was perfectly fine.


    "We''ll think about this later. We have a lot to think about once this is all over. And let''s not use our gun just in case," said Valentine.


    He rushed back to where Groen was and Zeger de Witt was in the middle of turning into a puddle of thick blood when he arrived. All around them, the other fights were also still going on. The winged man seemed to still hold the advantage over Rood, Oranje, and Paars while Obscurity and the others seemed to be evenly matched against Roze despite not having a lot of offensive type Contractbounds.


    Groen looked at the man and seemed to notice something different, but he couldn''t really put it exactly where. He didn''t pay more attention and just focused on the blood in front of them.


    "One versus many. Isn''t that unfair?" said a voice suddenly from behind them.


    It was Zeger de Witt who had reformed from the blood seeping out of the pavement and reappeared there. His body was perfectly fine despite being ridden by bullet holes just a moment ago. It was as if he had never been attacked in the first place.


    "Now, it should even out the field a little," said another voice coming from his front. It sounded devious and ominous.


    "Instead of one versus many, what about three versus many?" said yet another identical voice, this time coming from their side.


    There were now three Zeger de Witts!


    The three identical men muttered something inaudible and waved their hands in front of them. After that, six blood spikes formed in front of each of them.


    "Can we hide behind your safe zone?" asked Valentine while getting ready to dodge at any time.


    "No. It doesn''t protect us from outside attacks. Incoming!!" shouted Groen.


    The eighteen blood spikes darted through the air with frightening speed, targetting mainly Valentine and Groen.


    Valentine quickly dodged to the side and managed to avoid most of the spikes, which hit the Police officers behind him instead. He kept on dodging and thanks to his agility, he could dodge all of them. However, he didn''t stop there and kept on running in case he couldn''t make it in time.


    Groen had commanded the officers to fire at the spikes but the bullets couldn''t completely stop all of them. Although he himself managed to avoid being hit by the remaining spikes, the men behind him weren''t as lucky.


    "I hereby declare the word ''explode'' a secret!" shouted Valentine just as the three Zegers were about to open their mouths.


    "...!"


    The words couldn''t come out of their mouths as if something was blocking it. The blood spikes that scattered around the area failed to explode because of Valentine''s restriction.


    "Thank you. My men would have suffered even more if not because of you," said Groen in gratitude. He had come to their aid and was busy removing the spikes from them and giving them pouches of blue powders.


    "No problem. I have a plan, but I need you to distract him. Can you do it?" said Valentine.


    Groen stood up and readied his weapon.


    "No problem," he replied with a smile. He felt familiar with Valentine because the man was giving off a similar vibe to Rood. Groen then turned back to his men behind him, "Those who cannot fight anymore, go to the Safe Zone!"


    Several men ran back to the zone behind the line of blood. Although they could still be attacked with ranged attacks, at least over there, if Zeger de Witt decided to suddenly show up there, they would be safe.


    "Fire!!" shouted Groen.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Bullets flew to the air and hit the three identical men. Since the attack was spread this time, less damage was received by each of the enemies.


    Valentine dashed towards one of the men who was still paralyzed by the bullet and once in range, he opened his mouth.


    "I hereby declare Zeger de Witt''s face a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist descended and covered the face of the man in front of him. After that, he quickly went to the other one closest to him and did the same.


    "I hereby declare Zeger de Witt''s face a secret!"


    He didn''t have enough time because the effect of the paralysis had worn off. The last Zeger de Witt managed to get away from him into a pool of blood.


    Because of the restriction from Caron''s Book of Curtailment, since their faces were concealed, the two Zeger de Witts had become weakened!


    Valentine used this chance to quickly dashed towards one of the two men with mist covering their faces with his dagger in his hand.


    Slash!


    He was faster than the weakened man, so his dagger sliced right through his abdomen, tearing the suit he was wearing and cutting his flesh apart. Valentine couldn''t see his expression now but he was sure the man was showing anger.


    Dodge!


    Zeger kicked Valentine, but he was fast enough to avoid it.


    Swoosh!


    There were six blood spikes coming towards him, but the speed was much lower than before. It was easy enough for Valentine to dodge all of them.


    Bang!


    Groen shot at the other Zeger whose face was also covered by the mist.


    He was paralyzed!


    Suddenly, the Zeger whose face wasn''t covered by the mist reappeared from a pool of blood on the ground far away in the distance. He was out of the range of Valentine''s ability but still within the shooting range of the Police guns. Groen gave the order right away and the remaining men quickly fired at Zeger.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The bullets missed!


    All the Zeger de Witts had turned into puddles of blood on the ground and disappeared from their sight.


    "Aargh!!"


    Suddenly, pools of blood appeared right at several Police officers'' feet and moved up their bodies rapidly like several snakes slithering towards their prey. There were also the same pools of blood under Valentine''s and Groen''s feet but their sense of danger had been triggered and they had managed to step out of them in time.


    "Help!!" shouted several men in pain.


    The blood covering the officers contracted and crushed the men inside. The sounds of bones being crushed and organs being squished could be heard among the pained cries of the helpless victims. Those inside the Safe Zone were spared from the attack, but they still had to hear the last agonizing screams of their fellow officers.


    "I guess unless I can get rid of this mist of yours, I won''t be strong enough to kill the two of you," said Zeger who had just come out of the ground. His face was covered in a mysterious yellowish mist that concealed his expression.


    All the blood around them had disappeared just as the man reappeared. It seemed that the blood, along with the other two Zegers, had merged back into one body, bringing with them all the effects they had suffered before. His suit was still torn because of Valentine''s dagger, but the wound on his stomach had completely healed.


    Because the blood was gone, the bodies of the men who were crushed to death were now revealed. They were lying on the ground looking like meat that had come out of the meat grinder. Their bones were in pieces and organs were all over the place. Their blood, strangely, was gone as if it had been sucked dry. It seemed Zeger consumed their blood to replenish his own.


    "Since I don''t think I can win, I''ll take my leave right now then. After all, I''m a busy man," said Zeger coldly. There was anger in his tone, but he managed to suppress it. He valued his life more than seeing his enemies suffer. Besides, as long as he was alive, he could always come back later to take his revenge.


    Just as he was about to turn into a pool of blood again, suddenly, a loud noise came from the center of the street.


    Boom!!!!!

 169 An Interruption

    Boom!!!!


    There was a deafening noise coming from behind Valentine and Groen, most likely from the center of the field. It was so loud that even though they were not standing anywhere near the center, they were still deafened for a second. The effect was even more severe on Valentine whose hearing was boosted and who had been taken by surprise. Blood looked like it was about to come out of both his ears accompanying the damage they suffered. However, he didn''t really have the time to react, nor to even process what was happening. Even the pain hadn''t been registered by his brain.


    Following the noise was a devastating shockwave that pushed everything out of its path. Bodies, pieces of concrete, and dust were sent flying away from the center of the blast. The sounds of bodies hitting brick walls of the surrounding intact buildings were completely overpowered by the thundering noise of the aftereffect. Not that it mattered for in the ears of the survivors, only loud ringing was heard even after several seconds.


    Once the shockwave had done its share of damage, clouds of dust began descending onto the area, covering vision with its thick brown-greyish color. The smell of blood, dust, and charred flesh combined into one and penetrated the survivors'' noses. The thick dust stuck to people''s skin. Dirty, sticky dust covered both the skin and the open wound on it, sending a stinging pain to the person unlucky enough-- which included most people there.


    Valentine was now lying on the ground with a bleeding head. However, he couldn''t really pay attention to the pain from his head because he was still hearing the loud ringing from his ears, and the incessant noise was giving him a headache. His whole body was aching and covered in the brown-greyish dust while the coat he was wearing was torn in many places; he must have hit something else before hitting the wall.


    Tap!


    There was a dusty hand tapping his shoulder which sent a surprise to Valentine. He was still unable to focus because of the ringing, so his sense of danger wasn''t triggered. He moved his right hand with difficulty, which sent pain all over his body, and held the hand on his shoulder tight. If it was an enemy, at least he could prevent him from taking another action to some extent.


    "I-- ------ ------ -------!"


    The person seemed to be speaking, but he still couldn''t hear anything but the noise in his ears. Valentine looked up and behind the cloud of dust, he could see it was only Groen who didn''t look that much better than him probably. He didn''t hear what the man had said, but Groen was handing him a pouch containing a blue powder using his free hand. Without wasting his time, he let go of the man''s hand and took the pouch from him.


    "Hhhhh..."


    "Thank you," said Valentine genuinely, and then asked, "What''s the situation?"


    "I --ont know. Yo- --re the cl---st to me when I ca-- to," replied the man, his voice not to clear because the ringing hadn''t completely disappeared yet.


    Valentine knew what the man was probably saying. Since they had stood near each other, the shockwave probably sent them to the same spot as well, so Valentine was the closest person to Groen at that time.


    Valentine began hitting his ears with his palm as if he was trying to get water out of the other side.


    "Your ears are still ri---ng?" asked Groen. Valentine now could hear almost everything he said.


    He nodded and then quickly check his condition again. The wound on the back of his head and his waist had completely healed while his stamina was recovering quickly.


    "It''s stopped," he replied.


    "Then I''m going to check up on everyone. I would appreciate it if you could watch my back. Zeger de Witt might still be lurking around somewhere," said Groen. He sounded rather tired. Perhaps he was worried about the fate of his men and it was weighing on him.


    Valentine gave the man a firm nod. He readied his dagger and followed him closely from behind while keeping a watch on his surrounding.


    The curtain of dust reduced the line of vision and the sounds of coughing and painful grunting filled the air. The first man that they found was sitting against the wall with a bleeding wound on the back of his head, similar to Valentine''s, but much worse. The wall was painted red with his blood whereas his body was painted grey by the dust. The man''s upper body was unmoving, his eyes wide open. He seemed to be dead.


    "May you rest in peace," said Groen as he closed the dead Police member''s eyes. His tone couldn''t hide his pain.


    They continued along only to find even more dead bodies lying on the ground. Since Valentine was not attached in any way to the dead men, the thought about how to loot their bodies without being seen by Groen crossed his mind. However, he suppressed the thought right away and stayed respectful. That was the least he could do to the people who had helped him.


    "Urgh... Help! Is there anyone??!! Help!!"


    There was a voice of someone in pain coming from behind the curtain of dust. Groen and Valentine rushed to the source of the voice without wasting time. There was a man wearing the blue Police coat lying on the ground; his right hand was crushed under a big chunk of concrete.


    "Sergeant Groen! I can''t feel my hand," said the man the moment he saw Groen approaching him. There was relief in his voice.


    Groen looked at Valentine and the latter nodded. The two of them took position and lifted the heavy concrete with all their power.


    Thud!


    The chunk of concrete was flipped to the other side, freeing the man''s hand. Groen then gave him the same pouch of blue powder that he had given Valentien and the man inhaled it right away. However, his crushed hand didn''t return to normal even after all the powder was inside him.


    "Your powder can''t return his hand to normal?" asked Valentine out of curiosity.


    Groen shook his head.


    "No. It is not some miraculous medicine. It only boosts the body''s natural healing, which for us Contractbounds can do wonder. But for normal people, it all depends on their bodies," replied Groen. There was still a smile on his dust-covered face.


    The two of them kept on searching for survivors around the spot where they had been fighting before. A total of nine surviving Police Officers were found and they were all gathered near a building. After Groen placed a Safe Zone around them and made sure that they had their weapons, he said to Valentine.


    "Zeger de Witt seems to have gone away. I''m going to investigate the cause of the explosion and the condition of my fellow Police members. You do what you want," said Groen.


    It hadn''t been one hour since the restriction was put in place, so Valentine couldn''t use his Concealment yet. He didn''t really fancy meeting the other Police Contractbounds because things might go wrong, so he let Groen go alone. He wanted to investigate as well but he would do so alone, under the curtain of the thick dust.


    "G, that sudden explosion took us all by surprise. It''s difficult to see through all this dust so we''d better be careful," he muttered.


    Valentine quietly walked towards the direction that he was sure to be the center of the street. The ''black hole'' had been there and had most likely been the cause of the explosion. What he wanted to know was the cause and what happened there after that.


    It didn''t take him long to reach the center, which he knew because of the giant crater left on the paved ground. There was no sign of the black hole anywhere except for the damage the explosion had caused. The buildings closest to the center were obliterated and were only barely standing. All the windows had been reduced to glass shards on the ground.


    Valentine felt like he was looking at a war zone. It evoked a familiar feeling of sorrow, terror, and anxiety that he used to feel back then.


    Suddenly, Valentine heard a pained cry from the distance. He followed it and slowly, he could see ahead of him the female Sergeant called Oranje kneeling on the ground next to a motionless man.


    It was Paars!


    The man''s body was covered in deep wounds and there was a gaping hole on his chest where his heart was. Blood and dust covered his whole body and the Police coat that he was wearing was all torn. His eyes were wide open and there was an expression of shock on his face. A moment later, he started bursting into flames and his ashes were left on the ground, along with his contract scrolls and remain.


    He was dead, and Oranje was mourning his death.


    Judging from the wounds that had been on his body, his death was not caused by the explosion, but an attack from someone. The enemy, Horror, must have been using the shockwave to attack the man somehow before fleeing; there was no sign of him anywhere.


    Although he was not familiar with the man, Valentine still felt regret that he had died just like that. They had been fighting Ghastly together and he wouldn''t have won without Paars'' help.


    Valentine left the area quickly before Rood, who was searching for Horror, noticed him. He went to see what had happened with the other fight between Roze and Obscurity, which happened on the other side of the street. Valentine relied on his hearing that had returned to follow the sounds of people talking in the distance.


    "We got two of them, and one is heavily injured. What about the losses on our side?" asked a female voice that should belong to Lieutenant Roze.


    Valentine walked closer but stayed hidden in the distance. Groen was among the people currently present there, and they all didn''t look to be in their best condition. The man named Bruin was covered in cut wounds while Geel''s right arm was mangled. It was recovering slowly, but it still looked to be in a terrible state. The woman named Wit had returned to her human form and she was probably the only one without any visible wounds on her body-- even Roze was covered in blood.


    There were ashes on the paved ground in the shape of humans. Those must have been the members of the Pale Society that they had killed. Valentine couldn''t judge who those ashes belonged to, so he could only guess.


    At that moment, he heard the sound of static followed by the voice of a man that he was already too familiar with; it was Rood, whose voice he had often used, speaking through the radio.


    "Paars *static* dead,"


    Then there was silence. The news seemed to have been a shock to them.


    The sound of static then disappeared, leaving the five people present there in disbelief.


    "Rood must have been joking... right?" said Wit. She tried to sound cheerful but her voice couldn''t hide her disbelief.


    Roze shook her head heavily.


    Wit fell on her knees. Her usual ferocious face was nowhere to be seen; what was present was just the face of someone who had just lost someone dear to her. Tears started running down her cheek as she held back the urge to scream as hard as she could.


    Valentine didn''t know the relationship between the two, so he could only guess. Wit must have been Paars'' partner or maybe there was even something special between them. He left the mourning Police on their own and made his way towards the end of the street.


    "G, they said they got two of the members of the Pale Society. That means there should be four of them still left around this area. It''s still quite dangerous here so we have to pay attention to our surroundings," muttered Valentine.


    After walking only for several meters, suddenly, there was a voice of a man speaking right into everyone''s ears. It was none other than Obscurity, the enemy with the creepy ability.


    "*Pant*... you should have left the ''seed'' to us. It wouldn''t have exploded like this if you had done so. Now, look at what you''ve done. Your men are dead and your beloved city is destroyed, heheh..." he said. Although his voice sounded amused, he didn''t sound to be in his best condition either.


    Suddenly, Valentine heard the sounds of motor carriages approaching. There seemed to be at least six of them coming towards the Police, judging from the sounds. Valentine quickly hid behind the wall of a building and watched what was happening through the cloud of dust.


    Vroom! Vroom!


    His estimate was exactly right. Six brown motor carriages approached the street at a high speed and then stopped at the spot where the Police were.


    From where he was standing, Valentine couldn''t see clearly what was happening, but he could hear everything perfectly.


    "Finally you''re here, old friend," said Groen, greeting one of the people getting out of the motor carriages.


    There was a figure of a man wearing what looked like a suit who was standing with his back facing Valentine. He could only barely see his figure through the dust, but he felt like he had seen the man before.


    "I''m sorry, Henk. It took us a while to break through the barrier set up by their organization,"


    Valentine recognized whose voice that was. It was Mastro Gianni of Fratello Maggiore, the mafia organization!


    "Now that you guys are here, let us begin the second round of the hunt. We need to properly avenge Paars as well," said Roze with audible anger in her tone.

 170 The Hunt Begins

    "I hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    "I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!"


    "I hereby declare my face a secret!"


    Valentine put down three Concealments at once and the thin yellowish mist began descending and enshrouded him. Following the Concealment was the weakness that came because of the restriction put in place by Caron''s Book of Curtailment, but it was not a concern for him. What he would do was watch the fight of the Police and the Mafia against the remaining members of the Pale Society.


    Once he was finished with his preparation, Valentine approached the group of people carefully and began observing them.


    There were a total of seven Police Contractbounds and twelve mafia members present there. The people in the mafia that Valentine recognized were Mastro Gianni, Pietro, Lucio, Pier, and the female boss. The rest of them were new faces to him.


    "Bruin, can you do something about all this dust in the air?" asked Roze to the man with brown hair and brown eyes.


    "That''s too much work..." replied Bruin lazily, "Just wait, it will all go down eventually."


    Bruin was leaning against the wall of a building with an unconcerned expression on his face. The loss of one of their members didn''t seem to have affected him greatly-- if at all. His body language was radiating his carefree nature.


    "But... it''s difficult to see..." said Geel, chiming in weakly, sorrow apparent in her tone. Roze seemed to have gestured at her to say something. If it wasn''t for her unspoken request, Geel would have stayed quiet and kept mourning Paars'' death.


    Hearing Geel''s words, Bruin''s expression showed a slight change before he controlled it. He then stood straight up and revealed his hands that were inside his pocket.


    "I guess it''s true it''s hard to see like this..." he said. His voice sounded rather enthusiastic instead of annoyed for some reason, "*sigh... It can''t be helped then."


    Bruin turned to Rood, who was standing in the back with a cold expression on his face. The man seemed to have a lot in his mind right now.


    "Rood, can you use your big ass sword as a fan?" requested Bruin.


    Rood nodded slowly. The blood greatsword behind him, as if controlled by invisible hands, flew to an empty spot nearby and started spinning. The initially slow spinning gradually became faster and faster until everyone could feel the wind blowing from it; the dust around the sword dispersed.


    Bruin raised his right hand in the direction of the spinning sword and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, hereby alter the intensity of this wind!"


    Swoosh!!


    "I suggest everyone hold on to something," said Bruin casually. He was already back to leaning against the wall with his hands inside his pocket. He was watching his creation without any change in expression.


    Everyone followed his suggestion and began finding something to hold onto.


    Swoosh!!


    The whirlwind kept getting bigger and bigger while the dust around them was being sucked into it. Once it was the size that Bruin wanted, he began chanting again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, hereby alter the nature of this whirlwind!"


    Boom!


    Suddenly, the whirlwind exploded, creating a shockwave that blew everything in its path away. The power of the explosion was not even a tenth of the ''black hole''s'', but it was enough to clear the area of the clouds of dust that had strangely been persisting in the air.


    "There you go, clean and clear sky. *pant* Now I''m tired. Leave me alone here," said Bruin while breathing heavily. It seemed that the abilities he had just used consumed a lot of his stamina.


    Roze looked at Groen and the latter nodded.


    "Here, take this stamina powder," he said as he handed a pouch containing a yellow powder to him.


    Bruin looked reluctant, but under the judging gaze of Roze, he had no choice but to take the pouch.


    "Aw man, why can''t you just leave this old man alone..." he said lazily; his breathing was still heavy.


    Bruin inhaled the powder and at once, his stamina began recovering at a high rate. He looked visibly more energized although his posture was still too relaxed and slothful.


    "We''ve wasted too much time here. Let''s begin," commanded Roze, "We will split into groups of two so we can sweep the whole area. Rood and Oranje will go north. Groen and I will go west. Bruin, Geel, and Wit, you go south," Roze paused and then looked at the woman who was still kneeling on the ground, "Wit, I know it''s hard but we have to do this to prevent more victims," she said with compassion.


    Wit, who hadn''t said anything, only nodded.


    "Mastro, I assume the barrier is only broken in the area that you got in from. Is that right?" asked Roze to the old gentleman.


    He nodded with a polite smile.


    "Yes. Where do you want my men to be?" he asked gently. His voice carried his charisma and experience.


    "Can you please send some of your men to guard the exit? And also we need some people to patrol the central area to aid our normal officers. We also need some men to find the source of the barrier to prevent them from deactivating it to escape," she asked politely. In the presence of the man, she couldn''t help but be humble.


    "Then it shall be done. Everyone, you heard her. Let''s provide our service to this city from the surface this once. I alone will keep watch of the exit. The rest of you do as she said," said Mastro Gianni to his men. His voice was authoritative, but compassionate at the same time.


    The members of the mafia nodded in unison.


    "When you encounter the enemy, call for backup immediately using your radio. Although they are few in number, they are full of trickery. Let''s head out!" commanded Roze.


    Everyone began moving in their own designated directions, leaving a few men patrolling the center of the street where the explosion had happened. The Police officers had heard what their lieutenant had said, so they felt relieved that they were not left alone, especially with some of them being injured. Although the Police and the Mafia were two very different entities, in Sloten, at least, they were not directly opposing each other. That was why the Police officers had no qualms about working with them.


    "G, which group should we follow?" muttered Valentine.


    He was interested in seeing more Contractbound fights because it would be useful for him. He had seen the abilities of most of the Police Contractbounds, and the ones who caught his interest the most were Roze and Bruin. He was also curious about the members of the mafia, especially Mastro Gianni. He didn''t know what the man was capable of.


    "I''ve decided. Let''s follow that Mastro. I have a feeling that it will be interesting," said Valentine.


    Valentine guessed that Mastro Gianni would take the motor carriage to drive back to the spot where they had entered before, but the man was walking instead. He walked alone back in the direction carrying a cane. His grey suit and top hat emphasized his gentlemanly nature, but he was also emitting a mysterious aura that warned people not to look down on him.


    The man was walking leisurely without any signs of being in a hurry. He looked more like someone who was taking an afternoon stroll in the park instead of someone on a mission to prevent bad people from escaping. He seemed to be confident that he would make it in time.


    Valentine followed the Mastro some distance away because he could never be sure if he would detect him. There were two people already who could see through his Concealments. One was Ghastly, whose abilities were related to cheating and dishonor, and the other one was Zeger de Witt. Valentine guessed that Zeger''s ability to bypass his yellowish mist was related to his blood ability.


    "You don''t need to walk that far behind me," said Mastro Gianni suddenly. He was speaking using his normal tone as if he was speaking to someone right next to him. However, although Valentine was far behind him, he could hear the man perfectly because of his boosted hearing.


    Valentine was suddenly alarmed. The Mastro was the third person in just one day who could see past his secret abilities. And the fact that he spoke normally made him even more guarded. It might mean he knew about Valentine''s super hearing.


    "Come here. Accompany this old man," said the man again. He slowed down his pace so Valentine could catch up.


    Valentine didn''t even need to run to reach the man''s side. He was now walking near the old man with the yellowish mist shrouding his whole being, keeping a safe distance.


    "I hereby declare my voice no longer a secret!"


    The thick mist covering his mouth dissipated, but there was still a thin layer of yellowish mist there that was part of his face Concealment.


    "How did you know I was there?" asked Valentine curiously. He then looked at the man and started concentrating.


    "Everybody needs to have their own little secret, don''t they? Let''s just say it''s one of my abilities," replied Mastro Gianni mysteriously. His voice was like a grandfather telling a mystery story to his grandchildren.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me..." mumbled Valentine very quietly.


    An illusory text began forming above Mastro Gianni''s head. However, before it could completely form, the text began crumbling like pieces of dominoes and Valentine got a splitting headache instead. The pain was like someone was piercing his skull and his brain with a sharp, long metal needle repeatedly.


    "Argh!" he grunted in pain while holding his head.


    "That won''t work either. You will find out in time, but the time is not now, so please be patient," said Mastro Gianni with a meaningful smile.


    Since prying into the man''s secrets didn''t work, Valentine could only ask questions normally to the man. He didn''t even dare to use interrogation on him because of the consequence that he might incur.


    "How are you confident that you can prevent anyone from escaping alone?" asked Valentine calmly, after his headache had subsided.


    Mastro Gianni looked at him straight in the eyes and smiled.


    "I am stronger than I look, young man," he said. Valentine couldn''t hear any arrogance from his voice, only confidence.


    "What do you know about the Pale Society?" asked Valentine again, "Did you commission me to steal the Eye of Amada because you knew of their plan beforehand?"


    The man nodded slowly. His smile was as friendly as ever.


    "Yes and no. I only knew that Zeger was up to no good. I didn''t know it was this bad," he replied.


    Valentine quickly thought of his next question. The man seemed to be willing enough to provide him with answers, so he shouldn''t let the opportunity go to waste.


    "How did the Police evacuate all the people in this whole area only in a matter of hours? Is that another one of their artifacts?"


    "I must admit that you''re a smart man," he praised.


    Although he didn''t show it, Valentine was actually proud of being praised by a man of his caliber.


    "It is indeed one of their many artifacts. That one is called The Brick of Displacement. It''s a peculiar artifact in that it looks like a completely normal brick that can be found anywhere. However, given the right sacrifice, the brick can transfer living beings from one area to another. The people here should have been moved to a safe place somewhere," explained the Mastro.


    Valentine put both hands inside the pockets of his pants and thought about what Mastro Gianni had just said.


    "G, it''s yet another artifact requiring a sacrifice. Does it mean all artifacts require sacrifices to be used?" he muttered quietly. Valentine then turned back to the Mastro and asked, "Can you please tell me more about this... Brick?"


    Mastro Gianni let out a chuckle.


    "It''s funny that you call it a ''Brick''. Don''t dare to call it a brick when the artifact is around you or it will move you to a random, usually dangerous, place. It''s sentient," replied Mastro Gianni with amusement in his tone.


    "A sentient artifact?" asked Valentine in surprise.


    "Yes. I guess you haven''t been in this supernatural world for too long. Some artifacts, and even equipment, are sentient. They have their own needs and demands. This brick requires at least a million guilders for every use, and the amount goes up depending on the intended effect. And the moment someone or something pisses it off, it will cancel the effect immediately, although... the money cannot be refunded," he explained calmly.


    "A fraudster of an artifact, eh?" muttered Valentine.


    Mastro Gianni chuckled in amusement.


    "You say that in front of this artifact and you''ll be lucky if you don''t find yourself deep under the ocean," he replied jokingly.


    Only then Valentine could feel the true horror of the Brick of Displacement. Although the cost of use is exorbitant, it could just transfer all of the enemies somewhere dangerous like the bottom of the ocean or the middle of a volcano. The fact that the Police hadn''t done so to the Pale Society meant that there must be limitations or the cost for doing that would be too much.


    "We''re here," said Mastro Gianni suddenly.


    They had arrived at the spot where the barrier was broken. In front of them, although it was invisible, Valentine could faintly see a thin line forming a semicircle on the road which acted like an ''arch''. Behind the barrier, the street was still empty but through the opening, Valentine could once again hear the sounds of the bustling city.


    "Now we wait here. You are curious about my abilities, don''t you? Then just sit back and relax," said Mastro Gianni meaningfully.

 171 The Mastros Power

    Valentine and Mastro Gianni didn''t have to wait too long until someone came in their direction. It was someone gliding in the air with his giant wings that were made of severed tiny wings stitched together. The flapping of his wings was loud enough for them to hear from a distance.


    "We have our first guest. I''ll be welcoming him. You stand back," said Mastro Gianni calmly.


    Valentine, who was already standing some distance away from Mastro Gianni, walked even farther away. He didn''t want to get caught in friendly fire.


    The flying man, Horror, saw Mastro Gianni but he didn''t seem to have any intentions of engaging him. He was flying straight towards the broken gap in the barrier behind the two men, trying to get away.


    Woosh!


    He folded his wings and dove through the air right towards the highest point of the gap, which was only barely visible thanks to the faint silver outline. The man squinted his eyes to protect them from flying dust and his unnatural green hair was blown back by the wind. Although he was an enemy, Valentine must admit that the man had an air of majesty around him while in flight.


    Mastro Gianni definitely wouldn''t allow his prey to escape from him. He raised both hands which made Horror suddenly guarded. He stopped midair with an acrobatic move and spun around with his wings around him. He then quickly flew higher to avoid whatever the Mastro was trying to do.


    Whip!


    Suddenly, around Mastro Gianni, there were countless thorny vines growing from the ground. Instead of plant-based, they looked more like stingrays'' tails, grey in color, and thin like whips. The vines were lashing and whipping everything in their reach, leaving behind a trail of violet miasma that looked to be poisonous.


    If Horror had tried to continue his glide towards the exit, he would have been caught by one of the vines.


    "Who are you? And why are you attacking me?" he asked while flapping his wings up high in the sky, away from the reach of the dangerous thorny vines. He hadn''t seemed to notice Valentine who was under concealment.


    Mastro Gianni smiled.


    "I''m just an old man helping an old friend. You don''t need to know the detail. Just come with me in peace and you won''t be in any pain," he said with a friendly tone, but there was a threat hidden behind his friendliness.


    "There is no way in hell I''m doing what you want! Get the hell out of there and no one will be hurt!" threatened Horror. His voice radiated confidence and anger.


    The man didn''t carry the lute that he had been playing before anymore, so he took out a small flute from under the green coat that he was wearing. He began blowing air into the flute and the sound filled the area.


    "Screech!!!!!"


    "I hereby declare the sound made by the flute a secret!"


    Suddenly, a thin yellowish mist descended and covered the flute, muffling its sound completely. Only silence came out of it.


    "Huh?" said Horror in confusion, and then put the flute back under his coat, "So the Shroud is here somewhere. It''s too dangerous for me, then."


    He began flapping his wings more vigorously and got ready to take flight. However, before he was able to do so, a vine stretched up high while the rest seemed to get shorter somehow. Once Horror was within a range of ten meters from the vine, it made a swiping motion as Mastro Gianni shouted.


    "Your intention of running away is mine!"


    Something glowing suddenly appeared on the tip of the thorny vine. It coiled around the glowy thing as if it was guarding it against others. That single vine then retracted rapidly while the others returned to their normal length.


    Horror, who was now flying in confusion in the air, looked around in alarm. He seemed to have forgotten what he was about to do. He then looked at the Mastro and began flying higher to gain some distance.


    There was a smile on Mastro Gianni''s face as he opened his mouth.


    "Your intention of flying up will be strengthened manyfold!"


    Suddenly, Horror lost control of his wings as it kept taking him higher and higher at a frightening speed. He couldn''t stop himself as his intention had been distorted by Mastro Gianni. He kept shooting straight at the sky without being able to do anything.


    "Shit shit shit shit!!!" he kept swearing as he tried everything to stop himself from flying higher. He knew what was waiting for him up there.


    Crash!


    He hit the top part of the barrier!


    Although the barrier felt jelly-like when touched gently, when something hit it hard, like what Ghastly had done before, it somehow hardened and injured the attacker. Horror, who hit it headfirst like that, must have been badly injured.


    Valentine couldn''t see clearly what had happened to the man because he was too high up in the sky, but he could hear perfectly the sound of the impact. Slowly after that, the man began descending, or more precisely, falling from the sky.


    As he was about to hit the ground, the injured horror quickly flapped his wings to prevent the impact. He managed to avoid being turned into mincemeat by the cold, hard pavement, but there was a visible injury on his head. After what Mastro Gianni had done, he didn''t dare to fly up again and just maintained his current altitude.


    "You! Even if you kill me now, the Pale Lord''s descent is unavoidable! He will make sure all his enemies will perish and only his worshippers will thrive!" said Horror in anger. Blood was flowing down his forehead onto his face reddened with rage and humiliation.


    Mastro Gianni let out a polite smile and a chuckle.


    "Young man, I have no intention of killing you. You''ll come with us Fratello Maggiore and become our lab rat," he said politely. There was no malice in his tone as if what he was saying was perfectly normal.


    Horror looked surprised by how calm the man was saying that. Fear began forming in his heart.


    "Shit! You are crazy!!"


    Horror began flapping his wings again in order to run away, but once again one of the vines stretched out and made a swiping motion.


    "Your intention of running away is mine!"


    Another glowing thing appeared on the tip of the vine and it quickly coiled around it, protecting it like a treasure. Now, there were two vines with glowing ''objects'', each of which was coiling around their own treasures tightly.


    Horror was once again stupefied as he had forgotten what he was about to do. He then began flying higher instead to avoid any subsequent attack from the man. He did so very carefully and the moment he showed an abnormality, he knew what to do.


    He got higher slowly, but nothing had happened yet.


    "You cannot make him shoot up to the barrier again?" asked Valentine curiously.


    Mastro Gianni only smiled without saying anything. It seemed that he was unwilling to tell the secrets of his abilities.


    "G, it seems that his ability to distort intentions has a kind of limitation. We should remember this in case we fight someone with an ability similar to his," muttered Valentine quietly while looking over his shoulder.


    "If I cannot run away, then I''ll just kill you!" shouted Horror.


    Valentine knew that the man was probably just bluffing. The birds that he had used before had probably been all killed in the explosion, otherwise, they would have been there with him. His lute was nowhere near him whereas his flute had been restricted by Valentine. The man didn''t seem to have a lot of options for attacking, except by using a weapon, which was not a good choice since the vines would just get him if he got into melee range.


    "I''d like to see you try," replied Mastro Gianni calmly. The friendly smile hadn''t disappeared from his face. He was like an old man playing with a young child and knew exactly that the child couldn''t win against him.


    Horror flew higher and opened his mouth wide.


    "Aaaaaaaaaa!!!!"


    He began screaming like a wraith!


    The sound that he made had a similar effect to the flute ability before, but stronger. Valentine''s head felt like it was about to burst while Mastro Gianni''s expression showed that even he was affected. Valentine now couldn''t even open his mouth to place the restriction because he was in too much pain. He collapsed on the ground while covering both his ears. His head felt like it was being hammered down by the Deities themselves.


    Mastro Gianni opened his mouth and Horror, who felt the sudden surge of danger, quickly closed his mouth. If he had given the Mastro the chance to distort his screaming intention, he might have lost control over it and ruptured his throat in the process.


    Valentine slowly recovered and was breathing heavily. Mastro Gianni was also breathing heavily from what Valentine could hear. Once he was back on his two feet, he could see how much the man was actually affected; his face was pale and his expression was ugly. It was the first time Valentine had seen him like that. The vines surrounding him, despite not having ears, were visibly weaker as well. They looked like tall grass that had started withering because of drought.


    "That''s the expression that I like. That''s how it should be! You should show fear before me!!" shouted Horror with a twisted expression. The blood on his face only served to enhance his depraved look.


    "Your intention to keep speaking and looking down on us will be intensified manyfold!"


    Mastro Gianni quickly distorted Horror''s intention, making him unable to stop talking.


    "What have you just done?! It doesn''t have any effect on me. Does your ability not work anymore? Have you lost your power because of my ability? Then cower before me and I might give you a chance to live longer-- that is after I''ve done playing with your body," he kept blabbering. Although he felt that something was amiss, he couldn''t stop talking and it somehow made him feel good even.


    The sight of his enemy still weakened because of his scream and the fact that he was in a higher position than them because of his wings boosted his ego and fueled his perverted personality.


    "I will make sure to kill you slowly and painfully if you don''t give up now. Your vines are powerless against me. All they''ve done was steal something that I don''t even need. Escape? I don''t need to escape if you are the ones who will die. Yes, the two of you. Once I deal with you and your vines, your Shroud friend will also feel the rage of my melody," said Horror with a sinister expression. His voice was full of arrogance.


    Mastro Gianni looked at Valentine and smiled meaningfully.


    Swoosh!!


    One of the vines suddenly shot towards Horror who was still blabbering nonsense as the others shortened to give it the necessary length to reach the man. The vine aimed at Horror''s forehead and positioned itself a little higher than the flying man.


    Horror saw the vine and quickly dodged downward.


    "Your intention of flying down will be strengthened manyfold!"


    Swoosh!


    Horror suddenly fell down uncontrollably instead of just moving down a little. He shot through the air and hit the ground hard.


    Crash!


    "Fuck!! How dare you do this to me! I''ll make sure to pluck that tongue of yours so you cannot distort people''s intentions anymore!" he shouted in pain while trying to recover from the impact. He tried to stand up while bearing with all the pain.


    "Your intention of standing up in place will be strengthened manyfold!"


    "!!"


    Horror stood up, and after that, he couldn''t move! He was locked up in one spot without being able to get away. Even his wings refused to take him away from that spot because his intention was to stand up in one place.


    Swoosh!


    Taking the opportunity, the vines, which had also recovered and somehow looked like hungry snakes now, slithered quickly towards the immobilized man. Horror couldn''t get away and could only see as the thorny vines entwined around him, stabbing his flesh with their sharp thorns. Blood came out of his body and the purple miasma seeped into his wounds.


    He had been paralyzed!


    The vines then lifted Horror and dragged him back to Mastro Gianni''s side, who was still smiling politely at the man whose expression showed horror and anger mixed into one.


    Mastro Gianni then took out a scroll, whose color was completely black and whose aura made people shiver, from under his suit. He looked at Valentine who had a curious expression on his face.


    "This is my artifact. It allows me to store prisoners inside," he explained kindly.


    Mastro Gianni put the scroll on the ground and controlled the vines to redirect the paralyzed man in the direction of the scroll. The black scroll, which was only the size of his one hand, couldn''t possibly be able to store a whole human inside, so Valentine was confused and intrigued about how it worked.


    Crunch!


    Suddenly, there was the sound of bones breaking as the man was pushed into the black, rolled up scroll. Horror slowly began turning paper-thin as he entered the artifact with the sounds of his bones being crushed into pieces filled the air. It looked to be a very painful process, and the paralyzed man couldn''t do anything about it. He couldn''t even scream and could only show his expression of extreme agony and terror.


    Crunch! Crunch!


    Very slowly, his bones were being turned into shreds as his body entered the artifact and once his skull had been crushed, the man was completely gone!


    Mastro Gianni controlled the vines to pick up the still rolled up scroll on the ground and unrolled it. Inside, there was a ''painting'' of horror whose expression was indescribable. His eyes were wide open while his mouth appeared to want to say something. However, there was no sound coming out, although Valentine could somewhat hear a faint cry of pain from the scroll.


    "Don''t worry. He''ll return to normal once I release him," said Mastro Gianni kindly.

 172 Traps

    "Why do I have to take care of two grieving women... *sigh...*," said Bruin heavily.


    The two women walking behind him were quiet. One of them, Wit, had a sorrowful expression that was not normally shown by her. The usually fierce Wit was nowhere to be seen. Geel, who had always had great empathy for others, was burdened by her own sadness and the others'' feeling.


    "I''m sorry..." said Geel finally.


    Her apologizing made Bruin feel guilty. He instantly regretted teasing them trying to break the ice. Although he looked carefree, he seemed to actually care about what others'' felt, especially Geel, the woman with a calm mannerism.


    "No, no. No need to apologize. It''s just... it''s too awkward if none of you are saying anything," he said while scratching the back of his head.


    "I''ll try to talk more, then..." replied Geel, "It''s just... Paars'' death was too sudden," she added. Her tone was heavy and she was looking at the ground the whole time.


    Bruin sigh again.


    "I don''t mean to be cold, but in this line of work, someone''s death is inevitable. I am also saddened by his sudden passing, but we need to focus on our current mission, so no more victims will fall," replied Bruin. His tone was gentle and understanding.


    It was easier for him to get over Paars'' death because they were not really close in the first place. However, he could only imagine what Wit was feeling because they had been partners since they joined Kleurs, the Police Contractbounds. As for Geel, she had always been the overthinker, so Bruin couldn''t do anything about it. He wasn''t the type to like confrontation either, so scolding them was the last thing he would try.


    "I''m sorry... I will try to focus," responded Geel.


    "Good. Wit, I hope when it comes to it, you''ll be ready to fight. Think of it as an act of revenge if you have to," said Bruin.


    Wit didn''t reply right away. She just kept staring blankly ahead like someone who had lost her purpose in life.


    "I know," she finally replied. Her tone was monotonous and cold.


    "That''s good enough for me," responded Bruin, and then sighed again after putting both hands inside his pockets, "I''m really not suitable for the position of a leader,"


    The trio was walking south from the center of the blast and had found nothing so far but empty buildings. All the residents of the area had been translocated using the Brick of Displacement while those outside the area were prevented from entering. Bruin felt like he was in a post-apocalyptic world that he often read in novels during his spare time.


    "...!!"


    Suddenly, they can smell a thick stench of blood in the air coming from the direction ahead of them. Bruin looked at the other two and nodded, although only Geel nodded back.


    "Can''t you just destroy this whole building?" whispered Geel.


    Bruin shook his head.


    "I still don''t have enough stamina to do another one of that stunt," he whispered back. "Try your Sleep Ritual."


    Geel nodded and then took out a piece of paper from the inside pocket of her blue Police Coat. Using a lighter, she burned the piece of paper while chanting. Her calm and soothing voice echoed with tranquility.


    "With the burning of this paper, I wish that the people inside this building were granted peaceful sleep!"


    The ashes from burning the paper flowed to the inside of the building and quickly spread around. There was a heavy wave of sleepiness carried by the ashes.


    Once the process was finished, Bruin then gestured at the other two to ready their weapons.


    "Geel and I will enter from the main entrance. You stay outside and be on the watch for anyone trying to escape," he gave his command quietly and decisively.


    Bruin nodded at Geel and the two of them entered the building sneakily with guns in their hands. Wit stayed outside because she needed time for her shapeshifting to finish and to prevent anyone from escaping.


    The stench of blood became even stronger and penetrated their noses. It felt like they were in a place where a lot of people had been massacred, although they saw no dead body anywhere. They raised their guard and proceeded deeper into the building very carefully, with Bruin in the lead.


    "Watch out!" shouted Geel.


    Bruin quickly dodged to his right and on the spot where he had been standing, sharp blood spikes had thrust out of the ground. If he hadn''t dodged in time, he would have been badly impaled by the spikes that looked as hard as steel.


    Once the blood spikes had served their purpose, they melted back into a liquid form and seeped into the tiny pores on the floor, flowing somewhere unknown.


    "Thank you for your warning," he said with gratitude to Geel, "I am positive this whole area is riddled with traps. I couldn''t even feel that one, so we must tread carefully," he warned.


    Geel nodded.


    They continued walking down the narrow office corridor while keeping a close watch on their surroundings. The traps had no presence for some reason and the smell of blood filled the whole building, making it difficult to pinpoint their exact locations.


    Stab!!


    Suddenly, from the wall on his right, sharp blood spikes stabbed Bruin''s unsuspecting body. Numerous holes were formed there, but no blood came out of the wounds. Instead, his body turned into a complicated pattern made out of various shapes before disappearing and reappearing next to Geel.


    "Sigh..." he exhaled tiredly, "We can''t keep doing this. I''ll do something, but I will be very tired afterward. You will have to guard me for some time in case the enemy shows up," said Bruin annoyedly.


    He then placed his hands on the wall and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter this building to get rid of all the traps placed here!"


    The whole building began shaking but Bruin didn''t let go of the wall. The shape of the building began to undergo a transformation, with numerous parts of the wall crumbling into pieces while another took their place. Some areas of the floors were also crushed by the ones around it and they ''patched'' the floor afterward, preventing holes from forming. The same thing also happened to the ceiling. The parts that had traps on them got destroyed and were replaced by the surrounding parts.


    The process took less than five minutes to finish, and after it was done, the building looked the same as before. However, if someone were to pay attention, they would notice that the walls, ceilings, and the floors had become somewhat thinner. There were also crushed remains of building materials in several places.


    Pant... Pant...


    Bruin was breathing heavily after using so much of his stamina. He quickly took a paper pouch containing a yellow powder that Groen had given him before and inhaled it.


    "Are you okay?" asked Geel in concern. She approached Bruin who was now sitting on the floor with his back against the wall.


    "Yeah yeah, I''m fine. Just a little bit tired. Give me a minute to rest. The traps should all be gone, so it''s safer now," he explained amidst his heavy breathing.


    Suddenly, the stench of blood became even thicker, and on the floor ahead of them, blood began seeping out of the surface and gathered in one spot. Bruin looked at Geel and the latter quickly drew her gun and shot.


    Bang!


    The loud gunshot resounded in the narrow corridor. The bullet pierced through the air and instead of hitting the target, it pierced through the liquid blood and hit the floor behind it. The target appeared to be immune to physical attacks in that form.


    Geel waited a little longer until the blood solidified more. It quickly formed the figure of a man with a sharp gaze and a devious smile. The suit he was wearing was a little tattered from his previous fight, although it could be said as unnaturally clean, seeing as the explosion earlier had caused a cloud of dust to cover the entire area.


    "I wasn''t expecting the Police to have another Alterator. And by the looks of it, you are already out of stamina," said Zeger de Witt aka Morbid, whose head had just been formed by the blood while his body was still solidifying rapidly. The Concealment that Valentine had placed on him previously had disappeared for some reason.


    Bang!


    The moment the man''s figure appeared, Geel quickly fired another shot, and this time, the bullet successfully hit the man, who had no time to dodge because his body hadn''t been completed yet.


    "Don''t tell me it''s another paralysis bullet. I''ve been hit by too many today that they have lost any effect on me," he mocked. There was a grin on his face.


    The bullet that was lodged in his flesh was spat out and the wound closed rapidly. At that moment, Zeger noticed the piece of a green gemstone on the tip of the bullet and his expression became amused.


    "Poison bullet? That''s even more useless against me," he laughed sarcastically.


    Zeger used his sharp fingernail to make a small cut on his wrist and after a short while, a green liquid was expelled from his body. It was the poison that had entered his bloodstream through the bullet.


    "Get back!" said Bruin. He stood up and gestured at Geel to step back, "I''ll deal with this man. You move back and provide support, Geel," he ordered.


    "Okay," she replied calmly and did as she was told.


    Zeger wasn''t going to give his enemies the chance to get into position. While they talking, he was muttering something and waved his right hand in front of him. Six blood spikes formed in the air and he shot them at Bruin and Geel.


    Swoosh!


    The iron-hard spikes pierced through the air and aimed straight at their heads. Bruin, however, was fast enough to finish his chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the state of the blood spikes!"


    Bruin waved his right hand in front of him and the blood spikes that were shooting right at them suddenly turned into a liquid form and flowed down to the floor. The blood then seeped into the pores on the floor before disappearing.


    "It is indeed tricky to face a fellow Alterator. But it is apparent that you''re not blessed by the blood," said Zeger.


    Geel slit her wrist and let her blood flow out. After that, she quickly shouted.


    "I offer you this blood to give a horrifying nightmare to my enemy!"


    Then there was silence.


    Geel''s ability had failed!


    "How?!" she asked in confusion.


    Bruin had a chance to observe the whole thing and noticed that the moment Geel''s blood flowed out and was about to be used as an offering, Zeger had made a swiping motion with his hand and the blood disappeared. Bruin wasn''t sure if it was a Thief''s ability or a blood manipulation ability.


    "Don''t use abilities using your blood. That man can ''steal'' it from you," warned Bruin.


    There was a smile on Zeger''s face.


    "What an acute observation," he praised Bruin jeeringly.


    Bruin didn''t pay attention to the man. He quickly waved his right hand in front of him and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the state of the floor beneath Zeger de Witt!"


    The floor that was solid before slowly liquified and Zeger''s weight caused it to sink. Once the man was halfway down, Bruin quickly waved his right hand in the opposite direction to cancel the ''Alteration''. He could do it without having to expend another use of his ability as long as the object he altered hadn''t completely turned into another state of matter or another form that he had designated.


    Because of Bruin''s ability, Zeger de Witt was now stuck in the floor!


    "I place you under interrogation!" shouted Bruin.


    However, his ability didn''t seem to have any effect on the man.


    Blob!


    The man melted into liquid blood and seeped into the pores on the ground. There was a gaping hole on the floor where his body had been which exposed the thick concrete ground below.


    Zeger then reappeared under Geel''s feet in the form of blood, rapidly trying to encase her whole body in the crimson liquid. The calm woman quickly tried to jump out of the encirclement around her, but the blood tangled around her right leg.


    Crush!


    "Aargh!!" Geel shouted in pain as her right leg was crushed by the blood around it. The sound of her bone being squashed was audible, which multiplied the pain she felt.


    Seizing the opportunity, Bruin quickly slit his wrist and shouted.


    "I offer you this blood to give a horrifying nightmare to my enemy!"


    The blood that flowed from the wound on Bruin''s wrist quickly evaporated and Zeger de Witt rapidly returned to his normal form. The blood around Geel''s leg withdrew and entered the man, who was writhing on the floor, seemingly in terror.


    Bruin''s nightmare had worked!


    However, seeing how powerful Zeger was, an ability from a lower-ranked Deity wouldn''t be as effective. The effect would wear off very soon, so they had to make use of the opportunity.


    "Geel, you''re a liability right now. Leave this building as fast as you can," said Bruin. He had suddenly become very serious; his carefree and gentle attitude from before had disappeared.


    Seeing the truth behind the man''s words, Geel nodded heavily and grabbed the gun that she had dropped before quickly leaving the corridor with difficulty. Her right leg was broken so she could only hop around using her left leg and the help of the walls.


    Zeger de Witt recovered soon after and the moment he realized that Geel was trying to escape, he seemed to want to try and stop her. However, Bruin had slit his wrist and let the blood flow out of the wound. There was a smug smile on his face.


    "You have the option of chasing her down or stop me from using my ability," said Bruin provocatively.


    Zeger knew that if he chose to run after the escaping Geel, Bruin''s ability would activate and stop him in his track, thus allowing the woman to flee to safety. If he chose to stop Bruin from activating his ability, the time he needed to do so would also be enough for the woman, who was already far away, to feel to safety. Whichever option he chose would lead to the woman escaping, so he decided to stop Bruin''s ability for his own safety.


    Zeger made a swiping motion with his right hand and the blood that was flowing out of Bruin''s wound disappeared before it could evaporate. He did so a couple more times because the blood was still flowing whereas the man hadn''t even chanted his ability yet. After a while, the wound began closing rapidly and Bruin''s attempt to activate his ability had failed.


    "There. I''ve fulfilled your wish. Now it''s just the two of us here," said Zeger with a sinister voice.

 173 Alterator Bruin versus Alterator Zeger

    "Have you ever wondered how two people with the same power would fight?"


    Zeger de Witt launched a question at Bruin without expecting an answer. He was just trying to distract the man while his hand was making a slight waving motion in front of him. Right after that, six blood spikes appeared in front of the politician, each of which looked as sharp as a spearhead.


    "I''ve never thought about such a bothersome thing," replied Bruin casually, and then he threw his enemy a question of his own, "Since you didn''t even chant, that blood spikes must be your previous rank''s ability, is that right?"


    Bruin waved his right hand in front of him and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the state of the blood spikes in front of me!"


    The blood spikes, which were about to shoot at Bruin, suddenly liquified as if they had been melted by something very hot. The liquid blood then flowed down to the ground and gathered in one spot to form a small puddle.


    "You really are worthy of your title as a member of Kleurs. Why don''t you work for me instead? We''ll pay you much more than your meager Police salary," seduced Zeger, although his tone was more like someone patronizing instead of persuading; the man''s voice was devoid of any shred of sincerity.


    "No, thank you," replied Bruin shortly. He was paying close attention to what the devious man was planning next.


    If there was a fight between two Contractbounds of the same Deity, there would be many factors that could decide who the victor would be. Whether or not the individual had evolved their abilities through pleasing the Deity would be one, and judging from what they had shown, neither Bruin nor Zeger de Witt had done so.


    Another factor would be their proficiency with their own abilities. The more they used their abilities, the more familiar they became with them. There would often be instances where the users found another use for their abilities through practice or experiment as well. Although Bruin was lazy by nature, he never skimped on practicing with his ability, so he wasn''t losing out against Zeger in that aspect. He always tried to find out creative ways to use his abilities to make his life easier, in order for him to be able to laze around more.


    The other factor that would be directly influencing the abilities themselves was the previous Deities the person was in a contract with. Zeger de Witt had been in a contract with the Deity of Wit and Blood, judging from the way he could manipulate blood easily. His Alterator abilities must have granted him even more freedom in manipulating blood. That was where Bruin had a disadvantage. He didn''t have anything readily available that he could alter without using too much stamina.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the state of the pool of blood on the ground!"


    Bruin sensed the danger that was about to come so he retreated back as far away as he could while covering his mouth and nose with his hand. He held his breath while retreating. However, it was too late as several tiny droplets of blood had entered his nose and lodged in his lungs.


    Zeger de Witt showed a grin and then shouted a word.


    "Explode!"


    Burst!


    The blood droplets exploded one by one in a chain reaction. Although they could only cause non-lethal explosions because of their size, anyone caught in the middle of it would still be injured nonetheless. However, the real target of the explosion was not someone''s outer skin, but their organs after they unknowingly inhaled the tiny blood vapors.


    The enemy''s blood that had entered Bruin also exploded, and the man should have been gravely injured because of the attack. Bruin, however, turned into a complicated pattern made out of countless different shapes before ''breaking'' into shards and disappearing. He reappeared far behind his original spot completely unscathed.


    "Illusion Substitute? So that''s how you managed to avoid my traps," said Zeger de Witt, looking straight at Bruin who had created some distance between them, "So, are you waiting for a chance to use your Mass Illusion now?" he asked in mockery.


    Bruin ignored the man''s words and kept focusing on his enemy. He had put his gun back inside the holster because it was not very effective against Zeger and took out his cold weapon instead. It was a thin double-edged sword with a cruciform hilt. The blade was sharply pointed at the tip and the length of the blade was about 100 cm. Judging from the looks of it, the sword was made more for stabbing rather than slashing. There was a complicated pattern on the hilt inlaid with three gemstones of different colors.


    "Enhanced equipment? Now that looks dangerous," his enemy said, pretending to be scared, but his calmness was as cold as the winter.


    "You''re talking too much you start to sound like a bad Sunday morning cartoon villain," retorted Bruin.


    The narrow corridor made it easy to launch a direct attack at the enemy and predict where they would dodge. Bruin rushed forward with his sharp blade pointed at Zeger and quietly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter my speed!"


    Woosh!


    His body suddenly felt very light and he felt like there was something pushing him forward. Bruin reached Zeger''s position in less than two seconds from that distance and the sword was ready to stab the politician in the heart.


    Zeger was surprised by Bruin''s sudden increase in speed and quickly dodged to the side.


    Slash!


    Bruin made a quick slashing motion and managed to his Zeger who was still in the middle of his dodge. His blade hit the man''s right shoulder and cut it open, sending blood flowing.


    Swoosh!


    Zeger de Witt waved his right hand and the blood coming out of his wound became tiny sharp spikes that shot at Bruin from a close distance.


    Crack!


    Some of the spikes hit him, causing light wounds on his right shoulder and waist. However, his body quickly turned into a collection of shapes before ''breaking'' and disappearing. The blood spikes that had hit ''him'' had all fallen to the floor while Bruin reappeared several centimeters near his original location without any signs of injury. It wasn''t time for him to relax, though, because the blood spikes still posed danger despite having failed to injure him initially.


    Before the enemy had a chance to utter his next word, Bruin already launched another attack with his sword.


    Dodge!


    Zeger de Witt managed to avoid the attack by moving backward. He was about to command the blood spikes scattered on the floor under Bruin to explode when suddenly,


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the length of my blade!"


    Stab!


    The sword suddenly became lengthened, reaching all the way to Zeger''s position. Strangely, the sword didn''t get any thinner nor weaker; it stabbed him on the right side of his stomach with the same sharpness as before. Blood flowed out of the deep wound and again, Zeger waved his right hand, and the blood quickly formed into tiny blood spikes in front of him, with a greater number than before.


    Fwoosh!


    All the spikes were shooting straight at Bruin, who turned into numerous shapes again before disappearing. However, this time, the spikes didn''t stop there. It kept darting around the narrow corridor in search of the target. The spikes hit Bruin who had just reappeared and it caused him to disappear again, consuming another one of his Illusion Substitute.


    Explode!


    Kaboom!


    The numerous spikes and bloodstains from before all exploded, causing Bruin to keep ''breaking'' and disappearing. He reappeared again in the distance, completely unwounded, but Zeger''s attack had taken a lot of his Illusion Substitute.


    "Why are my wounds not healing?!" said Zeger in anger.


    Blood was still flowing out of his open wounds that showed no signs of closing unlike usual. His breathing also became heavier as time passed.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the state of the blood on my wounds!"


    As Zeger said that, the blood that was still coming out of his wound magically solidified and closed his wounds from the outside. At least for now, Zeger didn''t have to worry about losing too much blood. But he now had to be extra careful because Bruin''s sword was more dangerous than he thought.


    "You don''t actually expect me to answer that for you, do you?" retorted the man nonchalantly from a distance. He had returned the blade of his sword to its normal length at one point.


    There was only a sinister smile on the politician''s face in response to Bruin''s reply.


    Zeger de Witt''s whole body suddenly melted and turned into a puddle of blood on the ground, which squirmed about as if it was alive. The terrifying pool of blood then split into two: one began crawling on the ceiling while the other turned into small blood pellets.


    Noticing the danger, Bruin tried to get away from his position, but it was too late. The blood that was crawling on the ceiling had turned into iron stakes that stabbed him down from above, causing his body to break again. The blood stakes kept moving around, stabbing down all the possible spots where Bruin might reappear. The blood pellets had also begun shooting around, bouncing off the walls like rubber balls, except they were much stronger and left small craters on the surface they touched,


    Crash!


    Crack!


    The barrage of attacks didn''t leave Bruin any windows for recovering. His Illusion Substitute was being consumed at a fast rate. He tried to reappear a distance away from his spot, but the whole corridor was full of blood pellets that were hitting everything in their wake, while from the ceiling, the blood stakes didn''t leave any safe room at all.


    Finally, Bruin''s Illusion Substitute had all been used up, and his real body reappeared at the farthest distance he could. The blood pellets now could hit him and injure him, but at least the blood stakes crawling on the ceiling would still take some time to reach his position.


    Bruin couldn''t alter the blood to turn into solid because it was the enemy''s own body; his abilities didn''t allow him to alter living beings. Slashing the blood with his sword also didn''t seem to work that well, as they would just liquify again to avoid the damage. If he could, he would alter the temperature or even the whole atmosphere in the room, but he couldn''t, so he had to find another way to deal with the enemy.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the hardness of my coat!"


    Clank! Clank!


    The blood pellets hitting his coat bounced off as if they had hit metal. At least for now, he only needed to worry about the attacks aimed at his face.


    Bruin bore with the blood pellets hitting him and placed his hands on the wall. After that, he quickly chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the shape of this corridor!!"


    Boom!!


    A part of the corridor suddenly caved in like it was a piece of paper folded in two by invisible hands. Zeger de Witt was caught in the attack and was probably buried under the ceiling that was now on the ground.


    Bruin was breathing heavily as he had used a lot of stamina for that one attack. His right hand reached into the inside pocket of his coat and took out a pouch containing a stamina powder, which he inhaled without hesitation. It didn''t restore as much stamina as before because of repeated use, but at least it helped a little.


    "How dare you!!" said a voice coming from the other end of the corridor that was still intact. It was the enemy, who was still in the process of turning from blood into a human again. His voice sounded angry and the pain he felt was apparent in it; the attack just now had injured the man!


    Bruin wouldn''t let the man fully recover. He readied his sword and, with what stamina he had left, dashed towards the injured enemy.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter my speed!"


    He thrust his sword in front of him at a frightening speed, aiming for the man''s head that had completely formed. Zeger, who was still half made of blood, couldn''t move as easily, but he was still fast enough to prevent his forehead from being stabbed by the sword. His left cheek was penetrated instead by the sharp tip of the metal sword, injuring him deeply.


    Using the opportunity that had presented itself, Zeger used his blood ''hands'' to coil around Bruin''s right arm and grip it tighter and tighter, sending a surge of pain to the man. Bruin felt like the bones in his arm were being crushed by a giant snake that was about to eat him. He couldn''t let go because his sword was still lodged in the enemy''s face.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Geometry and Alteration, alter the width of my sword!"


    The thin sword that was stuck in Zeger de Witt''s right cheek became wider and cut through the man''s nose and the right side of his face. Using the remaining strength on his right arm, he slashed to the right, cutting even more part of the man''s face before his arm was completely crushed.


    "Aarghh!!!"


    Bruin screamed in pain. His right arm and hand had been macerated like mincemeat as blood flowed out of the wounds. His bones had been reduced to smithereens and he had lost control over the limb. Bruin had lost his right arm!


    Meanwhile, Zeger de Witt''s face was cut open and blood flowed freely through the gaping wound. The sword was still stuck there, preventing even more blood to come out, but the man was not dead yet.


    Stab!


    Bruin used his left hand to drive his sword even deeper into Zeger''s head. A twisted expression surfaced on the politician''s face as his eyes turned bloodshot. Using his last strength, he coiled his blood ''body'' around his attacker in an attempt to crush it.


    Crack...


    Bruin couldn''t shake off the blood around his body that kept getting tighter and tighter. The hardened coat that he was wearing broke apart little by little. It was difficult for him to breathe, and him being squished like that sent even more blood to flow out of the wounds in his right arm. He got weaker and weaker by the second, but he kept pushing his sword forward, cutting open the enemy''s head wider.


    Burst!


    Before Zeger could kill his enemy, he had died first. As life was snuffed out of his eyes, his whole body burst into flames, burning everything he had on him. Bruin''s body, who was still coiled around by Zeger in the moment of his death, was badly burned, leaving behind charred, bubbly flesh.


    Bruin collapsed to the floor because he had no strength left, and at that moment, sounds of footsteps and worried screaming approached him.

 174 An Unexpected Revelation

    Valentine and Mastro Gianni were rushing back towards the center of the street as fast as they could. The mafia boss had received a distress signal on the radio coming from one of his underlings. It seemed that they were currently engaging with strong enemies, that even their strength combined with the Police Contractbounds was not enough.


    "I have a feeling that someone powerful has shown up. Kindly lend me a hand, will you?" requested the Mastro politely.


    Valentine was the only outsider there, but all the parties involved had their own reasons to want the Pale Society to disappear from the face of the Earth. The Police wished so for obvious reasons, while Valentine could only guess the mafia''s reason; they must need the city intact in order to still be able to conduct their business safely. As for Valentine, the organization had been hunting him the past few days, so it was also in his best interest to see them arrested.


    "How did they get in? Did they break a portion of the barrier like you did?" asked Valentine.


    If the enemy was indeed able to break the strong barrier, they must indeed be at least at Mastro Gianni''s level. Valentine didn''t know the detail about how the man was able to break a part of the invisible barrier, but it mustn''t have been easy.


    "That''s the only possible explanation for now, or they can somehow ''bypass'' the barrier they set up themselves. But if that were the case, wouldn''t it make more sense for them to just use that method to run away? They are clearly outnumbered now," explained Mastro Gianni. His voice was calm and his breathing still steady despite the two of them running at their highest speed.


    "Anyway, I have been curious. Why didn''t you take the motor carriage on the way to the barrier before? You wouldn''t have to run like this if you had done so," asked Valentine.


    Mastro Gianni chuckled and smiled widely.


    "To be honest, young man, I cannot drive," he replied shortly. There was no embarrassment in his tone, but his voice sounded sincere.


    Valentine didn''t say anything after that. The two men kept on running and arrived at the center of the street, where the injured members of the Police were resting.


    In the middle of the intersection, several ghouls were fighting with the mafia members stationed there. Although they didn''t seem to be at a total disadvantage, their weapons didn''t appear to be able to kill off the creatures. The ghouls must be summoned ones since they felt much weaker than the ones that had been wreaking havoc earlier.


    Seeing their boss had come, the expressions on the faces of the mafia members became somewhat lighter. They began fighting even fiercer.


    Click!


    The paralysis bullets inside the chamber of his revolver were quickly replaced by blood bullets that he had taken out of his bullet pouch. He aimed at the injured ghoul in front of him whose wounds were rapidly healing and pulled the trigger.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Valentine shot three bullets in quick succession and the blood bullets drilled through the creature''s head before blood veins burst out of the bullet holes. The countless blood veins enwrapped the ghoul and then raptured, covering the ghoul in red blood that began bubbling right away.


    "Growl!!"


    The boiling blood burned the ghoul as it screamed in agony. Its whole body was cast aflare before turning into ashes, leaving behind an object that resembled compressed flesh. Valentine quickly picked up the object and shot two more bullets at another ghoul near him.


    Mastro Gianni didn''t have any blood attacks, so he used the grey thorny vines to capture the undead creatures. The vines were lashing and stabbing everything in its path, leaving the ghouls no chance to regenerate their wounds. They were chopped down repeatedly by the violent vines until they were nothing but pieces of squirming flesh. Even then, the vines didn''t stop attacking.


    Stab! Stab! Stab!


    The sounds of flesh being pierced and mutilated filled the air. The rotten smell coming from the ghouls'' wounds made those with weak stomach want to vomit.


    "Where is Bianca?" shouted Mastro Gianni.


    Just in a matter of minutes, all the ghouls in the area had mostly been taken care of thanks to the two of them. The ghouls that he had minced into pieces didn''t seem to be able to regenerate back into their original forms because of the constant assault from the vines.


    "Miss Gonella ran off to chase after a person wearing a cloak! She went that way!" replied a mafia member while pointing at a direction.


    "That hot-headed woman," he facepalmed and then turned to Valentine, "Mr. Hymes, would you mind shooting this pile of flesh with one of your blood bullets?" asked the man politely.


    Valentine looked at the ''mincemeat'' near the mafia boss''s feet and raised his eyebrow. The thing looked like a piece of meat that had been through the meat grinder.


    He reloaded his revolver and aimed at the thing on the ground.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    He shot it three times just to be safe and blood veins came bursting out of the holes that the bullets created. Blood ruptured and burned the pile of squirming flesh into ashes, which left several objects resembling compressed meat.


    Valentine looked at Mastro Gianni for permission and the latter smiled kindly and nodded. He then picked up the ghouls'' remains and stuffed all of them inside the pocket of his coat.


    With the situation in the intersection under control, Valentine and Mastro Gianni rushed in the direction that they had been shown. It was towards the west, where Roze and Groen had gone. The two of them arrived not long after and were welcomed by a friendly laugh that rang right in their ears.


    "Hahaha!"


    There was a man with a cloak covering his face standing straight on top of a six-story hotel. The man didn''t seem to be bothered by the restriction on concealments placed by the Police''s artifact, and despite his friendly laugh, the aura he was emitting was shouting at everyone to get as far away from the man as possible.


    Behind the man were the surviving members of the Pale Society. There was the corpse woman, Macabre, with deep wounds all over her body that were still healing. Her left leg was missing, although the blood had somehow been stopped from flowing. Standing next to her was Obscurity, who didn''t look injured at all; the same mischievous smile was still adorning his roguish face.


    "It seems that Morbid and Horror are indeed dead. It can''t be helped then," said the cloaked man in amusement. His voice sounded like someone who had experienced all facets of life-- it was strangely charismatic.


    Standing on the street below the building were the Police Contractbounds: Roze, Groen, Rood, and Oranje, and the members of Fratello Maggiore: Bianca, Diogini, Lucio, Pier, and Pietro. They all had seemed to gather there because of the appearance of the new enemy.


    Swoosh!


    Roze fired a blood arrow straight at the man''s head, but for some reason, the arrow disappeared midway. There was some kind of invisible creature that ''swallowed'' the arrow that Valentine saw only for a split second.


    "Explode!" shouted Roze.


    The blood arrow that had been swallowed should have exploded by then, but there was nothing but silence. Her attack had been rendered ineffective for some reason.


    "Please listen to what I have to say," said the man again. His voice almost sounded like he was begging.


    Roze didn''t lower her short bow, but it seemed that she was willing to listen for a while. She also needed time to think of a strategy anyway, and Bruin wasn''t there to destroy the building, so she could use the time.


    "Thank you for your cooperation," said the mysterious man; his voice rang right in everyone''s ears just like Obscurity''s. It was either they were using the same ability or Obscurity''s ability could be used on someone else.


    "Now, I must apologize for causing trouble to this city," he paused. His tone was sincere, and his mysterious charisma made people want to believe in what he said, "But please know that we''ve been doing all this for the sake of the greater good."


    The man took a deep breath while everyone listening to him felt skeptical.


    "What ''greater good'' can you achieve by massacring innocent people?!" shouted Roze angrily.


    Valentine looked over his shoulder and started muttering, "G, that Police Lieutenant is very short-tempered,"


    The cloaked man started speaking again.


    "Did you know that the world is going to end soon?" the man''s voice had suddenly turned solemn. His question sounded ridiculous, but the way he said it made it difficult to dismiss what he had said.


    No one said a word. There were various expressions on everyone''s face; Roze looked like she had just heard the words of a mental asylum patient, Rood looked calm but he was visibly thinking about the man''s words. Mastro Gianni a strange change in expression as if he had heard something similar before, while Valentine raised his eyebrows. The notion about the world ending was not something he would easily dismiss as some crazy person''s paranoia.


    "It seems that some of you think that I am crazy. However, what I am saying is the truth. The world is going to end in a matter of years, and only the Pale Lord, the Deity that we worship, will be able to stop it," explained the man passionately, "In order to hasten the descend of the Lord, some sacrifice is necessary, but in the end, what is a thousand of people if we can save the remaining billions?"


    His voice echoed in everyone''s heart and his passion was clearly felt. If he wanted to, the man must be able to sway the general mass with his speech alone, creating waves of suicidal people willing to sacrifice themselves.


    "What proof do you have for this supposed... ''end of the world'' and how can your ''Deity'' be the only one to save us?" asked Rood calmly. His voice didn''t carry any judgment, only genuine curiosity.


    "I cannot provide proof as the Pale Lord only gives His revelation to those he deemed worthy. I can only give you my words that what we are doing is for the sake of mankind and this world." replied the mysterious man fervently.


    "Then how can we know that you''re not just uttering total nonsense to justify your twisted sense of heroism?" shouted Roze irritatedly.


    It was understandable for her to feel angry at the man who seemed to be the leader of the criminal organization. Because of their action, a lot of innocent people had lost their lives and they had even caused a mysterious ''black hole'', which had allowed dangerous creatures to spawn, to appear in the middle of the city. As a member of the Police, it was her job to keep the people safe, but right now it was as if she had failed to do it.


    "I really cannot show you anything but my sincerity, and it seems that his discussion will go nowhere. We, the Pale Society, will still try to prevent the apocalypse by letting the Pale Lord descend as soon as possible. You are free to try to stop us, but don''t think we will just sit back and watch," replied the man without a shred of anger in his voice, only conviction.


    The cloaked man then clapped his hand and three giant worms appeared from behind them before swallowing them whole. The worms then quickly burrowed back into the ground and disappeared from everyone''s sight before Roze could even fire her arrows.


    The enemies had successfully escaped!


    Valentine quietly hid in the shadows of the building while listening in to the conversation between the Police and the mafia.


    "Gianni, do you know anything about this ''apocalypse''? You looked strange when that man mentioned it," asked Groen in a familiar tone. It was clear that the two of them were good friends.


    Roze and Rood looked at the mafia boss in expectation, while the members of the mafia were listening intently.


    "I might know about it vaguely, but not anything concrete," replied the man with a complicated look on his face. He appeared to be recalling something from the back of his memory.


    "You can tell us anything. Any information right now is valuable," reassured Groen.


    "It''s something that happened long ago when I was still a young child. I won''t go into detail about my childhood, but at one point, there was this strange old lady who came to the village where I used to live. I remember that she was of Longese descent and her laughter was very creepy although she was really kind."


    Mastro Gianni paused while Valentine wrinkled his forehead.


    "This lady would often help the villagers with their problems while only asking for odd things for payment, like an old vase or a broken gate hinge. I used to come over to her house to play and talk with her, and she always joked around with me. However, one day she told me about an apocalypse that would happen in the future. At that time, I thought she was joking, and I''ve forgotten all about it until now," explained the Mastro.


    "What happened to the woman after that?" asked Groen seriously.


    "She disappeared the next day," replied Mastro Gianni with a calm voice, "There was not even a trace of her ever being there except for the missing stuff that we used for paying her. Even her house vanished completely."


    Valentine looked over his shoulder and muttered quietly, "G, don''t you think that sounds familiar? But how is it possible?"

 175 Returning to a Normal Life

    Barely two hours had passed since Valentine first came into the restricted area and got stuck inside the barrier. Now that the enemies were gone, it was up to the Police to do the cleanup, and he, as an outsider, had no place there. Valentine quietly sneaked out of the central intersection and left the barrier through the gap that Mastro Gianni had created.


    "I wonder how long this barrier will last," muttered Valentine as he walked past the barely visible silver lining above him.


    Valentine once again felt the warm sunlight on a cold day once he was out of the barrier. Although it was invisible, the barrier somehow made the sky look dull and the sunlight faint. He was grateful that he had managed to stay alive, although it was mostly thanks to the help of others. It made him realize that he himself was weak.


    "If not for the Police, especially Paars, we might have died. We are only lucky, G," he said with a genuine feeling of gratitude mixed with slight regret.


    There were so many things to think about right now and he just couldn''t focus.


    "Let''s go get breakfast at Don''s," he finally decided, "We haven''t gone there in days. Now that the Pale Society has been reduced to a couple of people left, they should be too busy to care about us."


    To reach Tuinstraat from where he currently was, it would only take him less than ten minutes of walking, especially with his pace. Valentine, who was still concealed, walked past the barricade set up by the Police with ease. The chattering of people congregating in curiosity filled the air, and he tried to listen in to a group of people talking.


    "There is no news yet. What in the world is happening over there?"


    "I heard that the residents have been evacuated, but I don''t know where. How is it possible to relocate that many people?"


    "It''s the Police we''re talking about here. They are ALWAYS efficient."


    "True, but I still can''t imagine where they might have been relocated. There is nowhere that big to accommodate that number of people, is there?"


    "Beats me. I guess for the time being there is no going to the other side. It''s a shame because my favorite restaurant is there."


    "Yeah, I hope it''ll be over soon."


    Then there was another group of people who were talking a little more loudly. The expression on the face of one of them was of that terror. Whether he was acting or he was seriously frightened, Valentine couldn''t judge.


    "It''s the end of the world!!!"


    "Shush! Stop spouting nonsense! Is it one of your conspiracy theories?"


    "It''s not a theory-- it''s a fact! The Police are hiding it from us, but what''s happening over there is actually the first sign of the end!"


    "Where did you even hear that from?"


    "A friend of a friend told my friend, and he told me! It''s true!"


    Valentine left the people alone to their own bantering and continued heading south. He was actually rather curious about that ''friend of a friend'' of that guy who ''knew'' about the apocalypse but he was sure asking that frantic man would take him nowhere.


    The street was already packed with people at that hour, and although it hadn''t been that long, Valentine kind of missed that atmosphere. Inside the barrier, the fact that not a single resident was around brought about an indescribable feeling of loneliness and worry. Although he spent most of his time alone, there were still other people around him.


    "I feel strangely relieved to see all these people, G, although they are total strangers to us. I think I''m growing sentimental for some reason," he mocked himself quietly.


    The familiar smell of exhaust gas and bread being baked nearby penetrated his nose and filled him with peace. He knew that he was in the city that he knew of again.


    Reaching Tuinstraat made him feel even more nostalgic. It hadn''t been that long since he left, but being forced to be away from his home made it feel like years since he had come back. The familiar buildings, the trees, and even the familiar faces of the people who were often there made him strangely happy.


    Valentine walked up to a secluded alley and removed all of his Concealments before continuing to Don''s Pancake House. Once the yellowish mist enveloping his body was gone, he strolled out of the alley leisurely with his hands inside his pocket and continued onward to the small diner.


    The watch on his wrist showed eleven in the morning, and there were already a lot of people there either having brunch or late breakfast, or even lunch. Valentine entered the small, family-owned diner and was greeted by the familiar smile that he hadn''t seen in a while.


    "Graham! Welcome!" shouted Mirjam.


    The cheerful and warm waitress then followed Valentine who was heading to his usual spot which happened to be empty. Or other people just didn''t like sitting in the corner where only a couple of people could fit in, despite it having the view of the outside.


    "Where have you been? I haven''t seen you in ages!" asked Mirjam interrogatively.


    "Something came up and I had to leave the city for several days," replied Valentine, making up a lie.


    "But now you''re back at least! Didn''t you miss this place?" she asked with a sunny voice that sounded all too familiar in Valentine''s ears. It brought a slight smile to his face that he quickly hid.


    "I did, actually," replied Valentine shortly but honestly.


    His honesty made Mirjam smile. She always liked it when the customers said they missed the restaurant where she worked at, since she also loved the place herself. The place and the people there had been like a second family to her, one that she didn''t have except for her sister. She was thinking back about how lonely she had been when there were only the two of them.


    "So, can I order?" asked Valentine, bringing Mirjam back to reality. She was flustered and a little embarrassed for not paying attention like that.


    "Y-yes yes, sure. What are you having today?"


    Valentine had thought of what he wanted to order, so without any difficulty, he replied.


    "I''ll have your turkey sandwich with peanut butter and extra hot sauce. And please add in some sliced bananas in there and a drizzle of honey. A hot cup of chocolate for the drink, please," he said confidently.


    Mirjam raised her eyebrow and asked suspiciously, "Are you sure...?"


    Valentine nodded firmly.


    "Then I''ll go tell the chef. Is there anything else, like a bowl of tomato drenched in salt and sugar or turkey smoothie?"


    Valentine shook his head while looking at Mirjam like she was crazy.


    "Okay then please wait here," she said, embarrassedly and then left the table.


    After making sure that Mirjam had told his order to the chef, Valentine rested his head on the wall while leaning far back on his chair. The chair was standing on its hind legs while he balanced it using his head and neck. He closed his eyes and fell asleep not long after; on his face, there was a faint smirk as his consciousness drifted away.


    "Val, what in the world were you ordering?!" said Graham the moment he opened his eyes. He carefully moved the chair back and sat straight at the table.


    Graham was stupefied by what he had ordered for their lunch. And since Valentine couldn''t taste what Graham was eating, he had to suffer from it alone.


    "I''ll definitely pay you back for this, Val," he muttered.


    The sunlight was shining brightly outside, warming up the street. The people, who were wearing even thicker clothes since winter was on the horizon, seized the chance to bathe in the sun as much as they could. Graham was watching with amusement from inside, now leaning back on his chair. Since signing a contract with the Deity of Fire Divination, his body had become warmer, so he could practically wear anything he wanted as long as it didn''t get too cold outside.


    "Here''s your order, Graham!" said Mirjam who came not long after.


    She was holding a tray with a place of his ''sandwich'' and a cup of hot chocolate that Valentine had ordered. At least he didn''t get black coffee like Valentine usually had because he absolutely couldn''t tolerate the bitter taste of the coffee.


    "Thanks, Mirjam. Do you want to have a taste of my food?" offered Graham as he picked up his food from the tray to help her while she put down his drink on the table.


    There was a forced smile on her face as she replied, "No, thank you, Graham. You enjoy the delicious sandwich yourself. It''s your special order after all."


    Graham wanted to scream that it wasn''t him who had ordered, but he couldn''t. He could only smile back and pick up the abomination sandwich in front of him. Although at a glance it looked normal, once he lifted the brown bread at the top, he was repulsed by the food. The turkey pieces were all drenched in hot sauce, peanut butter, and honey combination while the lettuce had absorbed the flavor of the banana pieces there. The pickled cucumber slices at the bottom looked like they were trying to hide from the mess happening on top of them, but they couldn''t. Their pickle juice had fused with the turkey juice and the abomination sauce.


    "Why are you still here?" asked Graham to Mirjam who was standing near his table, staring intently at him and his food.


    "I''m just curious. And besides, I need to be here in case you need a hospital carriage to take you there," she answered nonchalantly like it was none of her business. There was a curious smile on her freckled face.


    "Nah, go away, please. I will die of a heart attack first if you keep looking at me like that. Leave me alone with my delicious food," retorted Graham. He was rather embarrassed if he showed her his disgusted face as he was eating the food that Valentine had confidently ordered.


    "Okay, okay..." replied Mirjam dejectedly. She then went to another customer''s table instead and had a chat with the middle-aged woman sitting alone there.


    "Phew, she''s finally gone. Look what you''ve made me go through, Val," he muttered.


    Graham then focused back on the food in his hands. He brought it closer as he opened his mouth wide. His hands began trembling as the sandwich got closer and closer to his mouth, and once he felt the crusty bread on his lips, he took a big bite. All the things in the sandwich entered his mouth as he chewed slowly, trying to get a grip on the actual taste of the thing.


    "What the...!" he exclaimed, "It''s actually much more disgusting than I thought! How dare you do this to me, Val!" he muttered angrily with a disgusted look on his face. His mouth became ''airy'' as he started to feel the vomit coming up.


    Gulp!


    He took a gulp of his hot chocolate and swallowed the whole thing in his mouth along with the sweet liquid without finishing chewing it. It was too unbearable for him. He wanted to put the remaining sandwich down but it would be too embarrassing in front of Mirjam, so he forced himself to finish it.


    Chomp!


    Another big portion of the sandwich was gone as he bit into it. Graham chewed once and then quickly took another sip from his hot chocolate to wash the thing down. He repeated the process until half of the sandwich had been finished, and by the end of his struggle, he was breathing heavily. He felt much more tired than when he was fighting Ghastly or Zeger de Witt and he didn''t think he could continue eating it.


    "I can''t. I can''t anymore..." he pleaded. In his moment of weakness, he was begging for the Deity to come down and smite the abomination sandwich away from existence. However, he knew things didn''t work like that, but he got an idea instead.


    Graham concentrated on himself and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant the idea in my own brain that this sandwich is delicious!"


    After that, he felt even more tired because a lot of his stamina had been consumed. He didn''t know if it would work well either because the idea was too contradictory to reality. He had experienced himself how horrendous the sandwich tasted, so fooling himself into thinking it was delicious might be stretching it too far.


    Minutes passed, and he hadn''t moved the sandwich that he was still holding even a centimeter. However, slowly, the ''food'' in his hand became more and more attractive despite him knowing that it tasted awful. Something in his brain was telling him to eat it and just ignore the flavor, and the more he looked at it, the more his appetite grew.


    Graham took another bite of the sandwich and this time, although it still tasted awful, he could somehow ignore most of the flavor and only focused on the texture. The crunch of the lettuce and pickles and the tender turkey pieces were the saving grace, although the peanut butter mixture ruined it to some extent. He took a sip of his hot chocolate to help him swallow it and repeated the process until he had finished all his food.


    "Finally!" he said proudly as if he had won a hard and arduous battle.


    Mirjam, who was looking at him from the distance, was giggling quietly.

 176 Conjecture

    "Val, now that the ''food'' is out of the way, we can finally have some peace of mind to think about everything," he muttered, and then put the cup of hot chocolate down.


    "First, let''s go over what we''ve learned from the battle this morning-- I can''t believe it''s just this morning. It felt like it was going for ages," he said in amusement.


    "We know more about higher rank Contractbound abilities now, and we even managed to copy one. Thanks to you, Val, we can now use Mastro Gianni''s ability to extensify an intention. It''s just twice a day and I am very sure that the power is much less than the original, but at least we succeeded in copying it. It was very difficult to do so, wasn''t it, Val?"


    Valentine had copied it without the Mastro knowing and it was indeed an arduous process. He had to focus on the man''s ability every time he activated it and to successfully copy the ability, it took him more than one try.


    "I wish we could also copy the man called Bruin''s ability to destroy an entire building as I said before, but it''s impossible. We didn''t even meet him again after that," he paused and then took another sip of his hot chocolate. The thick, warm liquid entered his mouth and filled it with its rich, sweet flavor.


    Gulp!


    He swallowed the liquid and put down his cup.


    "I am also curious about Mastro Gianni''s tentacle ability-- or vines, I''m not sure what they were. They looked awesome! He was like some kind of big shot standing in the middle while his tentacle underlings were doing all his work. If we had that, we could also look menacing, especially in a dark alley at night," said Graham quietly; his tone was cheerful and expectant.


    "Now, enough about the abilities. There are other things that we need to think about, Val, one of them being the presumed ''apocalypse''. This is the first time we''ve heard of something like that, isn''t it? The only apocalypse we know about is the one that will happen if we don''t stop the Pale Society, and it''ll only befall this city-- at least according to my divination," he paused; his voice grew heavier.


    "Let''s try to use divination," Graham decided with conviction.


    He adjusted his seat so that he would be facing the wall while the other people wouldn''t be able to see what was in front of him. After that, Graham took out his lighter and triggered the spark wheel, causing a small flame to be lit. He focused on the gently burning flame and concentrated.


    ''What is the apocalypse?''


    ''Apocalypse: affording a revelation or prophecy. ... predicting or presaging imminent disaster and total or universal destruction.''


    After that, the image disappeared as Graham facepalmed.


    "I wasn''t looking for the dictionary definition of the word... *sigh*" he took a deep breath, "Let''s try again, Val. This time, my question should be worded carefully.


    Staring at the flame that was still burning on the tip of the lighter, he asked another question in his mind.


    ''How will this world end?''


    The flame in his hand burned brighter and brighter until it was almost uncontrollable. There was no image showing, only flames that wouldn''t stop burning. Graham''s hand became hotter, so he had to force stop it.


    "I ask that you stop burning!"


    Swoosh!


    The flame was snuffed out like there was a strong wind blowing it out. Graham examined his right hand to see if there was any burn damage on it, but fortunately, there was none. The lighter was also somehow alright, and he was very thankful for it. It was his favorite lighter and he would be very upset if it got broken.


    Click!


    Graham closed the lid of the black lighter and put it back inside his pocket. His divination attempt had failed and it almost cost him his precious lighter, so he had to be more careful.


    "I am sure I''m not strong enough to know about something like that, so let''s try changing the question a bit," he muttered.


    He then raised his hand to call for Mirjam and the latter came ambling leisurely.


    "Yes, Graham. Anything you need?" asked Mirjam warmly.


    "Can I, by any chance, borrow a lighter?" he asked straight to the point.


    Mirjam raised her eyebrow judgingly.


    "You don''t smoke, do you? And besides, this is a non-smoking area. You can do it outside," she said sternly. She seemed to hate smokers to some extent.


    "No, no, no, don''t worry. I''m just trying to meditate," he paused, and then his tone became salesmanlike, "It''s called ''Flame Meditation'' where you sit quietly with a relaxed body. You then stare at a gently burning flame for five minutes. You are guaranteed to be much calmer after that," added Graham, coming up with some excuse. He didn''t actually know anything about such a meditation technique.


    Mirjam''s right eyebrow was still raised and she didn''t seem to believe him, but she just shrugged.


    "Well, if you say so. Just promise me you won''t smoke inside-- or at all," she said, and then went back to another customer.


    "Val, it seems that she has a strong aversion to smokers-- or smoking in general. I wonder why?" muttered Graham with curiosity.


    Not long after, Mirjam came back with a cheap-looking lighter in her hand that she must have borrowed from another customer. She handed it to Graham while watching him closely, and after making sure he wasn''t taking out any cigarettes, she left.


    "It would be much easier to use my ability to make the flame float so I won''t damage my precious lighter, but we''re still visible from outside. Although they shouldn''t be able to see the divination because of the distance, a floating flame is still too eye-catching," he muttered weakly.


    Using the cheap lighter, Graham created another flame and then focused on it. He had another question in mind first, so he concentrated on it.


    ''Why does Mirjam hate smokers?''


    The flame in his hand burned brighter and slowly, an image appeared on it. The image looked strangely discolored like it was from a distant past. There were two little girls in the image, one was apparently younger than the other. The older one looked to be about five while the younger one was probably about two. Since the question was about Mirjam, Graham could only guess that the older one was little Mirjam, although she looked very different, while the younger one was her sister.


    Graham felt like he was watching an old movie at the movie theatre that had no sound with the two girls as the main characters. After a while, there seemed to be someone knocking at the door, because the two girls'' attention was fixated in one direction and their faces suddenly looked happy. It was like they were waiting for someone to come home and the person was finally there.


    The image then shifted to the doorway where the older girl unlocked the door and opened it. Her happy expression suddenly disappeared when they saw there were two people whom they didn''t know instead. The older girl looked scared while the younger one was just curiously playing with one of the people''s pants, tugging it repeatedly.


    After that, the image once again shifted and this time, it was showing a document that seemed to be a death certificate. The deceased was Frank Osterhout and the cause of death was lung cancer. The death was documented in the year 1947 EH. The image then finally disappeared, leaving Graham rather puzzled.


    Holding the lighter in his hand, he began thinking about what he had just seen. At a first glance, it might seem like random scenes put together, but when put in context, he could see what it meant.


    "Mirjam''s father died of lung cancer when she was just a young girl, leaving her with her younger sister only. I didn''t see her mom anywhere in the image, so it''s safe to assume her mom had died earlier or had disappeared. No wonder she hates smokers; it reminded her of her late father," he said with a heavy tone, and took a deep breath, "Why didn''t my divination show me only the last image about the death certificate. It would have been sufficient to answer the question. Instead, it showed us her childhood first...?"


    Graham had just learned another side of Mirjam by pure chance because he needed to borrow a lighter. If he hadn''t borrowed one, she wouldn''t have shown him her disdain for smokers and he wouldn''t have used divination to find out further.


    "But we still have an urgent thing to divine," he muttered.


    Graham turned his attention back to the flame that was still burning. He thought of another question in his mind and began the fire scrying ritual.


    ''What big disasters will strike the earth in the future?''


    The flame once again burned brightly-- almost violently. However, this time, it was still under control. An image slowly appeared from within the fire, which showed nothing but complete blackness. There was only nothingness as far as his eyes could see. After that, the image disappeared abruptly and Graham was left feeling inexplicably tired; the divination just now had taken most of his stamina.


    Pant! Pant!


    "I don''t understand...! *pant*", he said while breathing heavily. His heart was racing while his face had turned paler than before, instead of redder, "Why is it all black...?!!"


    Graham''s mental state wasn''t really stable after getting that revelation, which was too much for normal people to handle. It was as if his whole world was turned upside-down. He had to quickly think of something in order not to lose his mind.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, plan the idea in my brain that I am calm right now!"


    He chanted quickly and then magically, he began calming down. However, the ability just now took another big chunk of his stamina, leaving him exhausted, and his emotion was still on the verge of breaking if he wasn''t careful.


    Feeling a little calmer, Graham began racking his brain using what stamina he had left. The divination just now didn''t answer his question, but instead, added even more, and it even struck him mentally. He controlled his breathing and tried to recover his stamina and his mental state as quickly as he could while coming up with a possible explanation.


    "It wasn''t really a disaster, was it, Val? It was just as if everything had disappeared. Maybe that''s what will happen in the future? Everything will get reduced to nothing?" he pondered while putting out the flame. He was speaking much faster than usual. "Or maybe my divination just failed and showed me utter nothingness?" he said in denial. He knew that was not the case since failed divination attempts looked different.


    The lighter in his hand was put on the table as Graham leaned back in his chair. He rested his chin on his hand while stroking it, rubbing the stubble that had been left there.


    "So it is true then that the world will end. That still feels unreal," he said, with a hint of fear in his voice.


    He didn''t know what he was feeling right now. Besides the fatigue, his emotion was still in a messy jumble because of the revelation, although his ability had managed to make him calmer somehow. Knowing that the world as he knew it would end wasn''t something easy to digest. There were still so many things that he wanted to do in this world and so many mysteries he needed to uncover.


    Graham suddenly sat straight back up and reached out to the lighter on the table. He lit another fire and focused on the flame.


    ''When will the world end?''


    The flame began burning violently just like the first time and the flame became uncontrollably bigger. The cheap lighter also became very hot and Graham knew that it wouldn''t end well if he didn''t force stop it. Besides, there was no sign of an image appearing any time soon.


    "I ask that you stop burning!"


    The flame went out in a snuff as if something had blown it out. He dropped the hot lighter that looked to have been damaged and looked at his hand that was in mild pain. There was nothing serious happening to his right hand, and even if there had been, he would be able to recover quickly as a Contractbound.


    "So we are not strong enough to know when it will happen. That''s not good enough-- the world might end a century later, or it might end tomorrow. We can never know, Val," he muttered restlessly.


    "But worrying about that won''t take us anywhere. Let''s now try to focus on matters we can think about," he finally made up his mind, although his emotion was still in a mess.


    He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, and repeated the process many times until he had calmed down.


    "We need to find Paim. I have a feeling she is the key in all of this," said Graham finally, coming up with a conjecture. His voice had now returned to that of his normal self.

 177 An Investigation Effor

    "By the way, Val, now that I''m completely calm, I can see how strange my reaction was to the ''nothingness'' image in my divination..." he paused, and then rested his chin on his right hand that was supported by his left one, "It was a bit of a ''strong'' reaction I must say, to cause me so much panic like that."


    Graham was walking while his brain was wandering, while still paying attention to where he was going from time to time.


    "Is there some kind of supernatural power in the revelation that will make anything learning about it lose control of themselves?" he muttered quietly.


    There were many people around him and most of them ignored him despite his talking to himself very seriously. It was probably a normal sight on Tuinstraat since that was where the detective lived.


    "People are wearing even thicker clothing now, Val. I guess it''s getting colder for them. As for me, I''m still warm. It''s like I''m permanently wearing the ring that caused Fabien Arnaud to be targeted," he smiled in amusement, "Speaking of which, that ring was made from a Contractbound''s remains, right? So that means we can turn one of the remains we have into enhanced equipment. Maybe we should go out of town to find Cadhla... or make Luuk a Transmuter."


    He rubbed his stubbled chin gently and thought about all the possible outcomes. He still had Ghastly''s Contractbound remains inside his pocket, along with the scrolls that she had left behind. He hadn''t gone home; that was why he was carrying all of his battle loots in his person.


    "That woman had abilities related to being outnumbered? and cheating? I wonder what effect the equipment will have if we turn her remains into one. It would be useful to have the strength while outnumbered one," he wondered.


    Graham turned right at the intersection. If he went straight, he would arrive at the entrance to Erbarmelijk Bazaar, but it wasn''t his destination today. He kept going south until he saw the wide bridge with the slum area underneath.


    In the slum, there was a mysterious old woman called Old Benthe who seemed to have extensive knowledge about a lot of things. She was also suspected to be a strong Contractbound since Valentine''s Reveal couldn''t give him any information about her besides her real name. If he couldn''t find any clue, he would come and visit her, although she always charged money for the information she gave.


    "Maybe we should also ask the mafia if we can''t find anything. We should be on good terms with them, right, Val?" he muttered guardedly as he walked past the Favaran restaurant called ''La Padella''.


    Although Mastro Gianni, the mafia boss, had been friendly towards him earlier, he still couldn''t let his guard down since he knew the mafia never worked for free.


    After passing several shady restaurants and karaoke bars that only had a handful of customers, Graham arrived at the entrance of the small alley where Paim''s antique store used to be. He walked into the narrow alley between two buildings and finally reached his destination.


    The empty plot of land.


    "Val, this is where Paim''s antique store should have been. It''s strange that it''s just an empty plot now. There isn''t even any ''for sale'' sign, which means it''s owned by someone. Maybe if we can find out who the owner is, we can get a clue," he pondered.


    In front of him, surrounded by the walls of the buildings around it, the flat empty plot of land looked out of place. Besides the soil covering it, there was nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact that it was the only buildingless space around the area.


    "If we were a normal person, we would have to ask around to find out the owner of this place. But I''m a Fire Divinator, Val. Convenient, isn''t it?" he said proudly. There was a smug smile on his face.


    Graham took out his lighter and since there was nobody around him, he didn''t need to cover up. He lit a fire and then manipulated it.


    "I ask that you float!"


    The tiny flame rose in the air, leaving the lighter behind. It now consumed Graham''s stamina to burn instead of the lighter fluid.


    Concentrating on the tiny floating flame, Graham asked his first question.


    ''Who is the owner of this plot of land?''


    The flame burned brighter as an image began to gradually form. It showed an image of an official-looking document that appeared to be the land certificate for the place. It was registered under the name that he was already familiar with! The shock broke his concentration and the image disappeared abruptly.


    "Val, did you see that? This plot of land belongs to Ruben Arnaud!" he exclaimed, "This is going a full circle..."


    Graham took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.


    "So this land belongs to Ruben, and then Paim ''set up'' her antique store here. That cannot be a mere coincidence, since it was because of his commission that we met her..."


    "Let''s get over the case one more time, Val. Ruben came to see us because his son was in trouble. We then found the Fire Divinator ring inside Fabien''s room that led us to Emiel the Jeweler, who then pointed us towards the ''antique store'' on Oosteindestraat. That''s how we met Paim and she told us about the fire scrying ritual, using the ring, to find Fabien," he paused and then rested his chin on his hand.


    "We found Fabien but were attacked by two mysterious men, one of whom was a Contractbound-- a Slumberer, to be precise. We''ve never seen those two men since, by the way, Val. Now, by sheer luck, we managed to survive their attack. Or was it Luck, Val? Paim seemed to know about you. Do you think it''s related?" he began rubbing his chin gently while his eyes were scanning the empty plot of land carefully.


    "Anyway, after we finished the commission, I became a Contractbound with her help, and right after that, she disappeared. Now, do you think everything was set up by her to turn us into one, Val? The fact that we saw her in our dreamworld about our past makes me consider that possibility even more,"


    "But what is her goal? Does she just want to create a lot of Contractbounds? But I don''t think it''s that simple,"


    "We''ll just visit Ruben for now. Maybe he can tell us something new," he decided, finally, "But before that, while we''re still in the area, let''s visit Old Benthe again. She might also know something about this antique store."


    Graham put out the tiny floating flame using Order and then left the narrow alley, returning back to the big street of Oosteinde. He quickly headed towards the fork and headed north until he saw the unnamed bridge again. This time, instead of crossing it, he turned right to a small path leading down to the area below the bridge.


    "You little shit come back here!" shouted a woman at a boy running away mischievously from her.


    Graham was greeted by the busy afternoon slum once he made his way all the way down the paved path. The sounds of the water flowing in the river and the bustling of human activities filled the air, giving off a completely different vibe from the quiet Oosteindestraat. People there couldn''t afford to stay idle, especially since winter was on the horizon.


    The houses in the slum were mostly made of scrap metal put together and only a portion was made of actual brick walls. When winter came, people would usually put layers of straws or other insulation materials to cover the small gaps in the wall, and right now a lot of them were busy preparing for winter. Luckily for them, winter in Sloten wasn''t known to be the coldest in the Republic. The city far up north, Emden, was the one infamous for its freezing winters.


    Graham walked past the people who were looking at him with curious eyes. In a community like that, it was normal for everyone to know everyone else, so a stranger like Graham would be easily noticeable. He headed straight to the house made of scrap irons put together that he recognized to be the enigmatic woman''s abode. The windows that were formed by cutting a square shape in the iron, was covered only by cloths that were tied to the sides, giving a clear view of the inside of the ''house''.


    Knock! Knock!


    "Good afternoon!" he shouted from outside while knocking on the part that looked to be the door.


    Through the ''open'' windows, he could see that there was no one at home currently. However, it was the same last time; there hadn''t been anyone but the woman suddenly appeared from somewhere. It made him suspect the existence of a hidden basement or the woman just had a teleportation ability.


    "Hello?!" he shouted again.


    People around didn''t seem to mind him shouting. It was probably because people there shouted a lot, or Old Benthe''s visitors always did it, so they were used to it. Graham thought it was both reasons why people just shrugged his shouting off.


    "Yes?" replied a voice coming from somewhere inside.


    Graham then felt a presence from behind the door and he stepped back. A woman who looked to be in her sixties was standing in the doorway wearing a thick, dirty wool dress and a red headscarf. She looked at Graham and then her expression looked as though it was saying ''oh it''s you''.


    "Where did you come from? I didn''t see you in the house?" asked Graham curiously.


    "*Chuckle* I was somewhere inside. Sometimes I''ll be sitting on the chair so people can see me from outside, sometimes I''m somewhere else doing something. But I''m always at home," she explained vaguely with a peal of mild laughter, "Consider that information a treat from me for a returning customer," she added.


    Graham raised his right eyebrow. He hadn''t expected she would count even that kind of question. He had to ask carefully in order to save his wallet.


    "Do you know anything about the antique store on Oosteindestraat? It has disappeared now," asked Graham, and then braced himself to hear the amount of money he had to pay.


    "Two stuivers," replied the old woman shortly with a wide smile.


    After letting out a long exhale, he reached out into his pocket to grab his wallet, from which he took out two one-stuiver bills. He then handed the money to the old woman, who received it very happily.


    "To be honest, young man, I don''t know, hahaha," she finally answered after putting the money somewhere under her dress. Her laughter sounded innocent although Graham could hear the mischief in it.


    "..."


    Graham couldn''t say anything. He felt cheated.


    "But for five stuivers, I''ll tell you why," she added, seizing the chance before her customer decided to leave because of dejection.


    "Four stuivers!" replied Graham firmly.


    "No, dear. Five stuivers and that''s final," replied Old Benthe, standing her ground.


    Reluctantly, Graham took out some more money from his wallet and gave it to the old woman. After stuffing the money somewhere, she began speaking.


    "The reason I don''t know about the store is that it was protected by something. My usual method for gathering information, don''t ask, wouldn''t work. That''s why, young man," she explained with a lovely voice that still sounded vigorous. If Graham wasn''t looking at her, he would probably forget that he was talking to an old woman.


    "What do you mean?" he asked curiously, and then readied his wallet.


    Seeing him touch his wallet like that, she smiled in delight.


    "This one is free, hehe. I mean exactly what I said, young man. Whoever was running the store was very powerful. That''s also the reason why I steered clear from that area, y''know?" she explained.


    "So, Val, in the end, we learned nothing new," Graham muttered heavily.


    Old Benthe kept on smiling while watching her guest quietly, waiting for his next question. She could easily make a lot of money per day by giving information to people who needed it for the right price. The fact that her house looked in shambles was a whole new question entirely.


    Since he couldn''t get anything useful from her, he decided to stop there. After thanking the old woman, Graham left the slum area and walked back up to the street, where he waited patiently for a public motor carriage to drive by. It was in the afternoon, so it didn''t take long for him to see one despite the quiet street. He waved his right arm and the driver pulled over near him.


    "Next, we need to ask Ruben Arnaud. He''s our only lead currently," he said.

 178 An Unexpected Find

    After paying the driver, Graham walked toward the gate and stood there to look for the button for the bell. Last time, he had been expected, so Janssen, the assistant, had been waiting for him at the front. Because he dropped by without an appointment, no one was waiting for him, although he knew Ruben was home through divination that he had done earlier.


    There was a small button behind the small brick column that connected the section of the fence with the gate, and after pushing it, he could faintly hear the ringing from inside. Graham waited patiently for someone to respond instead of ringing the bell repeatedly because it would be impolite.


    It didn''t take long before someone finally came out, and to his surprise, it was Ruben Arnaud himself, the lord of the house. Ruben was just as surprised to see the unexpected guess, but his expression turned to delight shortly after. It was as if he was looking at an old friend that had been separated from him.


    "Graham! To what do I owe this pleasure? Come in come in!" he welcomed his guest warmly while opening the gate for him; it was unlocked, only kept secured by the latch.


    "Good day, Ruben. It''s been long. Please excuse me," greeted Graham as he entered through the gate. He then stood there and waited for the host to enter the house first.


    Ruben Arnoud entered through the double doors that were still open and gestured at Graham to follow suit. He took off his coat and hanged it on the coat rack near the door before following Ruben to the next room. The two men then walked into the large living room with a lit fireplace sat comfortably on the soft sofa.


    Everything in that house seemed to be of the highest quality, which made Graham rather jealous. The sofa that he was sitting on was warm and covered in soft fur that rubbed very gently against his skin. It felt like he was sitting on a giant, fluffy cat, or even a bear.


    "So, Graham, what has brought you here? Do you need anything to drink? We have just received the finest tea leaves from a friend of mine who has just returned from the Southern continent. I''ve tried it myself and I can say that the flavor is exquisite! Prachtig! You should really try it," he said without even pausing. Given the chance, the man looked like he would be able to speak for three hours straight without being tired.


    Graham looked over his shoulder and muttered quietly.


    "Val, his case of verbal diarrhea hasn''t been cured it seems,"


    "I would take you up on your offer, then. Tea sounds lovely on this cold afternoon," he said, although he didn''t actually feel cold. He was warm and comfortable.


    "Then tea it is," he smiled happily and then turned his attention in the direction where the kitchen probably was, "Sabine! Please bring the tea for my guest and me!" he shouted politely.


    "Sabine?" asked Graham curiously. The last time he was around, there was no one named Sabine in the household. Granted, he hadn''t seen the whole house so there might be people he hadn''t seen yet, such as the cook and the rest of the cleaning maids.


    "Ah yes, yes, you haven''t met Sabine. She is my second assistant who is in charge of the household affairs. Janssen is busy taking care of the business and training my son Fabien, so I hired a helping hand for him. As for me, for someone at my age, it''s important to enjoy life and the fruit of your labor, isn''t that right, Graham? Hahaha!" he replied merrily.


    "You should also hire an assistant like me, so you can delegate some tasks to your assistant and enjoy life more. You won''t need to go around as much to investigate, just ask your assistant to do it while you do what you do from your office. Speaking of which, my colleagues whom I recommended your detective agency to were all very pleased with your work. I hope this will boost business for you," he added.


    Ruben Arnaud''s habit of changing topics midspeech and coupled with the fact that he spoke really fast could easily confuse the interlocutor. Another challenge presented was which topic to reply to first because there were many in one speech alone.


    "Thanks to your recommendation, I indeed got a lot of clients recently, and most of them were rich, so the money was good," replied Graham honestly, "As for an assistant, it does sound lovely to have one, but I can only trust my own investigative skills, you see?"


    A burst of amused laughter came out of Ruben''s mouth.


    "Hahaha! Of course, of course. How did I forget that! Your assistant absolutely won''t be as good as you, right, Graham? But still, you can have one just to do trivial work like fetching things or those other things that don''t need your detective skills. But I digressed. You haven''t answered my question, Graham. What has brought you here? Surely you''re not the type to just drop by and have small talks, are you?" he asked while leaning back against the sofa. He rested his hands on his fat belly contently.


    Before he could answer, Sabine, the new assistant, came carrying a tray with two teacups that had steam coming out of them. However, Graham''s attention was fixated not on the teacups, but the woman herself. He knew her!


    She was the woman he had rescued from Daan Holsten!


    Graham quickly controlled himself and hid his surprise. Although he knew her, she didn''t because she hadn''t seen his face during the whole thing. It would be strange if he revealed that he knew her.


    Sabine, the woman with long straight brown hair put the teacups down on the small table in the middle of the living room and observed Graham for a second. After that, she turned her attention to her employer.


    "Is there anything else, Mr. Arnaud?" she asked politely.


    "No, no, thank you very much, Sabine. You can go now," he said with a warm smile.


    Sabine then walked away from the living room and then looked back for a second before disappearing into another room.


    "Does she... know us, Val? I don''t think so. Our identity was concealed by your mist back then," he muttered quietly.


    Ruben had picked up one of the teacups and sipped the hot liquid inside.


    "Splendid! Have yours, Graham!" he said in delight.


    "Then don''t mind if I do," he replied out of politeness, to which Ruben nodded. Graham picked up the small teacup and looked at the dark brown steaming liquid inside. A subtle citrusy aroma penetrated his nose, followed by a stronger earthy smell.


    Graham put the cup closer to his mouth and sip a little of the tea carefully. The hot liquid entered his mouth and the rich, strong black tea flavor massaged his tongue and palate. A delightful tanginess of a kind of citrus fruit followed not long after and touched the back of his mouth gently. There was a smile on his face as the hot liquid entered his throat and warmed up his body.


    "This is indeed very good!" he exclaimed.


    Ruben''s smile became wider in pride.


    "Hahaha! You are indeed a man of culture who can appreciate good things!" replied Ruben cheerfully.


    Graham put down the cup of tea on the table after getting some more sips of it. He then looked at Ruben and leaned back on the sofa.


    "So I''m here because I have some questions for you. In fact, the number of questions just increased," said Graham honestly.


    "Yes, yes, ask away, Graham. I''ll answer your questions to my best ability. What do you want to ask anyway? Is it related to Fabien? Is he in trouble? He should still be in the company with Janssen, but if you need him here, I can give them a call and he''ll be home in a jiffy," replied Ruben.


    "Not at all, no, it''s not about Fabien. I first want to ask you about your new assistant, Sabine. How did you meet her?" asked Graham in a casual tone not to alarm the man.


    "Ah, Sabine? She came here one day looking for a job. Around two weeks ago, I think. If I think about it, it hasn''t been long at all, but I feel like she''s worked for me forever!" he paused and smiled in amusement, "When I asked her how she knew about me, she said a friend sent her this way. She proved to be very capable so I didn''t ask anything else. She even knows how to do a lot of things by just watching someone do it. It''s rare to find someone like that, you see? That''s why I hired her and have trusted her since. She has never caused me trouble either," replied Ruben honestly.


    Graham raised his right eyebrow.


    "Isn''t it dangerous to just trust someone you know nothing about just like that?" asked Graham.


    Ruben laughed.


    "Hahaha! It''s true, it''s true! But you know what, Graham? My family is protected! Remember when Fabien was in trouble? You came along! So I''m not worried about something befalling my family," he said merrily.


    Graham''s attention was drawn towards the word protected.


    "What do you mean by protected?" he asked.


    "I don''t know myself, but my late father used to say that. And even until now, every trouble that we got into has always been resolved without fail, so I can say that my father''s words are true!" he said enthusiastically.


    Graham looked over his shoulder and muttered quietly, "So, Val, it''s a family superstition. Maybe we can take a look to see if it''s true. And another thing we need to look into is this ''friend'' of Sabine that led her here. We might even need to talk to her ourselves."


    By now, Ruben had been used to Graham''s habit, so he knew that the detective wasn''t talking to him. He just sat back and smiled politely.


    "Okay, on to my next question. Do you know of an old woman of a Longese descent who goes by the name Paim?" asked Graham.


    There was no change in Ruben''s expression when he heard the name.


    "Who is that?" he asked curiously. Judging from his tone, he might actually not know who she was, or he was very good at acting.


    "There is a small plot of land on Oosteindestraat that belonged to you. Do you know anything about it?" asked Graham straight to the point.


    Ruben seemed to be racking his brain to try to remember. For someone rich like him, a small and insignificant lot on Oosteindestraat might be easily forgotten.


    It took him some time before the man finally spoke, "Ah! I remember! I bought it a long time ago thinking that it would be a great location for a restaurant. I didn''t remember who told me that, but I just bought it without thinking twice. After actually surveying the area, it turned out the land was in a small alley, and let''s be honest here, no one would want to go to a restaurant in a secluded place like that, so I haven''t done anything to it since. What about it, Graham?"


    Graham rubbed his chin gently.


    "Do you remember about the antique store owner who I told you could help me find Fabien? Her store was built on your land, but now it''s gone, and I need to find this store owner, the woman called Paim," explained Graham.


    Ruben raised his eyebrows.


    "So her store is completely gone? How is that possible?? So what''s on the land now?" asked Ruben curiously.


    "Exactly my question. How is that possible? And your land is now empty again like there has never been anything on it in the first place. Have you heard of a similar story like this?" asked Graham back.


    Ruben Arnaud seemed to be thinking again and leaned a little bit to his right to rest on the armrest.


    "I don''t think I have. It''s very bizarre, your story, you see? It''s not that I don''t believe you. It just sounds very crazy that someone built a store on my land, although I don''t use it, and then the place just disappeared out of thin air. You managed to find Fabien, so I don''t doubt the existence of this woman Paim or whatever, but it still sounds... peculiar," he paused and took a deep breath, "My father used to say, just because we can''t see it doesn''t mean it doesn''t exist. So I believe you, Graham. But I really don''t know anything about it, you see?"


    "That''s too bad, then. I guess there is nothing we can do about it," replied Graham, "In that case, can you tell me more about your family''s protection?" he asked instead, following the other lead that he had.


    Ruben''s smile returned. He seemed to like talking about his family the most, although he could always talk about anything and everything without tire.


    "Sure sure! What do you want to know?" he replied jovially.


    "The detail. Everything about it, if you can," replied Graham shortly.


    "Hmm... where do I start," he paused and seemed to be thinking. Finally, he started speaking, "I heard from my father that our family is protected, that no harm can befall us, you see? And my father heard it from his father, my grandfather, who heard it from his father, or my great-grandfather. It''s like a story that has been passed down generations. The protection seemingly weakened when my father decided to move here from Rodin, or so he said," explained Ruben. "Do you want to see a photo of him?" he offered.


    "Sure, why not?" replied Graham.


    Ruben reached out to the bottom shelf on the table in front of him and picked up a thick book that looked to be a family photo. He laid it on the table and opened it, revealing the content that was full of black and white photographs,


    "This here is my father, handsome isn''t he?" he said proudly while pointing at a photograph of a man wearing a suit.


    The man in the photograph resembled Ruben so much that it wasn''t difficult to see that he was indeed his father. Standing next to the man was a beautiful woman wearing an elegant dress with a feathered hat.


    "That''s my mother. She was very beautiful. No wonder my father fell for her, you see? He was a very lucky man! Well, I''m also very lucky because my Anne is also very beautiful, don''t you agree, Graham?" he said proudly and laughed.


    Ruben then flipped the photo book to the next page and revealed even older-looking black and white photographs. The photographs were blurry, which meant that the people in them moved a little while they were being taken.


    Graham''s attention was suddenly fixated on a young woman standing next to a man that might have been Ruben''s grandfather or great-grandfather.


    "Who is this one?" asked Graham inquisitively in a serious tone while pointing at the woman.


    "That''s my great grandmother, Carmen. Why Graham?" asked Ruben curiously.


    The woman in the blurry photograph was probably in her early thirties and she was definitely a Rodinian. However, Graham couldn''t shake the feeling that her face was all too similar.


    "That''s Paim!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

 179 Rubens Stories

    Ruben Arnaud looked at his guest became as puzzled as he was. He shouted the name Paim before, which was the name of the woman the detective was looking for.


    "I''m sure this is my great-grandmother, yes. Why do you think this is Paim? Didn''t you say earlier that she was of Longese descent? I''ve never heard my great-grandmother being from Long Empire. Although, I heard that she used to travel a lot, but it couldn''t have changed her race, could it? And the woman is already dead. I attended her funeral when I was a very young boy myself, Graham, so she can''t be alive and running an antique store, can she? Although, I only vaguely remember about it because I was only five I think at that time," replied Ruben with puzzlement.


    "It does sound crazy when you put it that way, but do you know how many crazy things there are actually in this world?" he retorted, "Can you tell me more about your great-grandmother? And do you have another photograph of her? And when was this taken?"


    "I''m sorry, Graham, but this is the only photograph we have of her. Back then taking a photograph was a thing of luxury, you see? People couldn''t just have one taken whenever they wanted. They had to schedule an appointment far ahead of time and it took hours just to get one photograph done. That''s what my father told me. As for the year, I think this photo was taken in 1870 something if I''m not mistaken. If the woman you''re looking for truly is my great-grandmother, she would be over a hundred years old now," he paused.


    Ruben took a sip of his tea that had gone a little colder to quench his thirst. After talking so much, it turned out the man could still feel thirsty just like normal people.


    "As for what kind of woman my great-grandmother was, I don''t know much, but according to my father''s stories, she was very kind to him. His mother, my grandmother, was very strict with my father and his siblings, and his grandmother was like the opposite of her. She would secretly give my father candy when his mother wasn''t around. And she traveled a lot, even after she was old. Whenever she got back, she would give my father and his siblings all sorts of gifts, you see? I''m kind of jealous of my father in that aspect. That''s why, Graham, my father took the effort to fly back to Rodin when he heard of the news of her passing," explained Ruben lengthly.


    Graham was listening intently to what the man was saying, but even he could get tired because of the man''s non-stop speech that had a speed matching a running jaguar.


    Looking over his shoulder, he began muttering quietly.


    Graham turned back to Ruben and smiled.


    "What''s her great-grandmother''s name again? Carmen Arnaud, is that it?" he asked to make sure.


    "Yes, yes, that is correct. I don''t know her maiden name, and in fact, I only learned about her name when my father finally remembered it. He had always called her grandma and actually managed to forget her real name! Can you believe that, Graham? Even I remember my grandmother''s name in my heart, although I haven''t really spent much time with her. I only met her the few times my father took us to visit them in Rodin," he replied enthusiastically. It seemed that he was always happy to talk about any topics at all.


    Graham didn''t think he would get any more information about the woman herself, so he had to change the question.


    "What about your family''s protection? Is it related to your great-grandmother in any way?" asked Graham inquisitively.


    Ruben seemed to be thinking now. He leaned against the armrest and rested his head on his left hand while tapping his temple with his fingers.


    "I think...? I''m not sure, you see? It''s what my father always told me but he never actually told me any detail about it. I believe him because of his stories, however. Remember when I told you my family was poor, Graham? My grandfather and grandmother lost all their fortune in the economic crisis that struck Rodin at that time. Strangely, however, they always seemed to be able to manage day by day. My great-grandmother was always there to help them, but still. It all changed when my father decided to move here to the Republic. He became successful here through his hard work, and it took a long time," explained Ruben lengthly.


    Graham nodded, but then raised his right eyebrow.


    "So where is the protection part?" he asked curiously.


    A smile surfaced on Ruben Arnaud''s plump face.


    "You see, Graham, although they became poor, my grandparents never actually got in trouble for some reason. Do you know how debtors like to target declining families to gain a fortune for themselves? They never met such people in their lives. And also, they''ve never been targets of thefts and burglary even when they were still rich. At least that''s what my father told me. But I believe that it''s true because even my father was never in any serious trouble as far as I can remember, you see?" replied the plump rich man.


    "But your story still didn''t show me the relation between your family''s protection with your great-grandmother..." replied Graham.


    Ruben showed regret in his expression.


    "I''m sorry but that''s all I know, Graham. I wish I could tell you more, but alas, I can''t. If only there was a way to talk to my deceased father, but then it would be just another crazy thing that you mentioned, isn''t it? But then again, I wouldn''t want to disturb him even if I could. The poor man''s tired, you see? So I''d rather just let him rest in peace and be happy in the next world if there is any," he replied with a more serious tone.


    Since he couldn''t get any other useful information from the man, Graham could only rely on his divination later. At least with what Ruben had told him, he would have enough information to go by.


    "Well then, in that case, thank you very much for your time, Ruben. And also for the marvelous tea! I don''t want to keep occupying you and your precious time," said Graham politely.


    A burst of cheerful laughter came out of Ruben''s mouth. He looked at Graham in a friendly way.


    "Thank you, thank you! I do love the tea myself and to be honest, I''m glad you enjoyed it. So where are you going next with your investigation?" he asked merrily.


    "I''ll probably visit some other people after this. Once again, thank you for telling me all those stories. I''m sure they can be helpful," replied Graham and then got up from the comfortable sofa.


    Ruben Arnaud also got up and then walked with Graham to the main door. After putting on his coat, Graham bid goodbye to the man and then exited the large house.


    "Come again anytime!" shouted Ruben from the doorway as Graham exited through the gate.


    Creak...


    Graham closed the gate behind him without locking it, leaving it in the same state as when he first came. Once Graham had walked several meters away, Ruben Arnaud entered his house and closed the door behind him.


    "Val, we need to talk with Sabine as well. I have a feeling that she doesn''t just work there by pure chance. There are too many coincidences happening that I don''t believe they are mere coincidences anymore," he muttered as he headed towards a quiet alley not far from Ruben''s house.


    He walked into the alley that had no one but himself there. Normally, people wouldn''t be in that kind of place unless they were trying to dispose of trash or if they were the trash collectors.


    After making sure that he was indeed alone, Graham took out his lighter and lit a fire.


    "I ask that you float!"


    The flame began rising slowly in the air, breaking contact with the black, classy lighter that he then put back inside his pocket. Concentrating on the flame in front of him, Graham began thinking of a question in his mind.


    ''Who is Carmen Arnaud?''


    The flame burned brighter and brighter. However, after waiting for a while, what he got was not an image that formed in the flame, but a splitting headache that broke his concentration. It felt like several giant needles were stabbed into his brain repeatedly.


    "Crap!" he cursed while holding his head tight.


    After a while, the headache subsided, leaving Graham breathing heavily. The floating flame in front of him had turned normal as if nothing had happened.


    "That settles it. Ruben''s great-grandma must be Paim. Normal people won''t give that reaction to being divined about, Val..." he muttered, "That means anything we try to divine about her will just result in failure, so let''s just try something else,"


    Once he had completely recovered from the headache, he concentrated once more on the flame and thought about another question.


    ''When will Sabine, Ruben''s assistant, leave the house?''


    The flame burned brighter and this time, an image gradually formed. It showed a clock on the wall with the short clock hand pointing at the number three while the long hand pointing at the number four. After that, the image disappeared.


    "She''ll leave at three twenty? It''s still a while from now, so we have time, Val," he said while looking at his watch. It showed two fifty-seven, so he still had more than twenty minutes to wait.


    He needed to prepare first before actually talking to the woman to avoid suspicion. Although he knew her, she shouldn''t know about him at all. That was why the fact that she was staring at him earlier was strange to Graham, although she might have done it just out of curiosity-- or she could feel his spirituality.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Cornelis Haring!"


    Once he had finished chanting, his body underwent a transformation process at once that lasted less than thirty seconds. He became Rood, the Police Sergeant, not long after.


    "The battle earlier had consumed a lot of our abilities, so we have to make everything count, Val," he muttered and sat on the ground with his back against the wall.


    Graham closed his eyes and began concentrating on his breathing to help him fall asleep. Since he was not in a hurry, he didn''t want to waste another Order to help him sleep. The battle with the Pale Society had also made him rather tired, so he should be able to fall asleep quicker than normal.


    It took him around five minutes to finally fall asleep, and Valentine woke up not long after. He got up from the ground and cleaned the dirt off his coat.


    Although Valentine couldn''t read Graham''s mind, he could guess what his intentions were. He must want to use Valentine''s interrogation to ask questions to Sabine to make things easier.


    The small alley was quiet and reeked of garbage, so Valentine didn''t stay there too long. He walked back to the main street where people were busily walking by. He walked towards Ruben Arnaud''s house and leaned against a tree while waiting patiently for his target to come out.


    At exactly three-twenty, the door to the big two-story house was opened and a woman came out of it carrying a small purse. It was Sabine, Ruben''s new assistant, and also the woman that he had rescued from the deranged Daan Holsten''s basement. She was dressed up casually in a blue wool sweater and a pair of cotton pants, so she was probably only going out not for long.


    Just as she opened the gate, she saw Valentine, who now had the appearance of Rood, standing under a tree. She looked surprised for a second and then smiled at him.


    "Good afternoon, officer, what brought you here?" she asked as she walked towards Valentine.


    Although he hadn''t been there after the event at Daan Holsten''s house ended, he could guess that Rood was one of the Policemen that came to rescue the women. That was why she was friendly toward him.


    "Good afternoon, Sabine. How are you nowadays?" asked Valentine, using Rood''s voice and pretending to be the man.


    There was a smile on her face.


    "I''m doing great, to be honest. It''s all thanks to you and the mysterious man," she replied.


    Valentine let out a friendly smile that didn''t go really well with the scar on Rood''s face.


    "Can you come with me for a second? I need to ask you something," he said gently as not to alarm the woman. Although she trusted him, being asked by a member of the Police would still make most people nervous.


    Sabine nodded slowly and then followed Valentine to the quiet alley that he had been before.


    There were now only the two of them there, and although she looked relaxed, Sabine was visibly on guard. Her own experience had taught her to not easily trust anyone, even though the man in front of her was her savior. The moment Valentine showed any suspicious behavior, she would definitely run away as fast as she could.


    Valentine opened his mouth and at that exact moment, Sabine''s consciousness began to fade.


    "I hereby put you under interrogation."

 180 Getting Closer

    Valentine felt that his control over her could last long enough, so he didn''t have to hurry. It was probably because he was much stronger than her, especially now that he was a President rank.


    "What is your full name?" asked Valentine coldly, which was emphasized even more by Rood''s cold tone. Right now he didn''t have to care about the other party''s feelings because of his control.


    "Sabine van Aalsburg," replied the woman monotonously.


    "How did come to work for Ruben Arnaud?" asked Valentine promptly.


    "I was told by an old friend to go to Mr. Arnaud for a job. He accepted me after I showed him my capabilities.


    Valentine crossed his arms and looked over his shoulder.


    "G, the story checks out. So she wasn''t lying to Ruben," he muttered and then turned his attention back to Sabine.


    "Do you have any hidden agenda for working for the Arnauds?"


    Sabine nodded slowly.


    "Yes. I have to watch over Fabien Arnaud," she answered honestly in a monotonous voice that was devoid of any emotions and feelings.


    Her statement got Valentine raising his eyebrows.


    "Did you hear that, G?" he muttered quietly.


    "Why are you watching over Fabien and who told you to do that?" asked Valentine inquisitively. His voice was authoritative, like someone in a higher position asking for an explanation.


    "I don''t know. I just know that I have to do that," she replied.


    Under the effect of Interrogation, she wouldn''t be able to lie unless she had some kind of ability to do that. That was why her answer made Valentine even more suspicious.


    "Explain more," he demanded shortly.


    "I can feel the urge to watch over Fabien Arnaud, but I don''t know where it comes from or why it is there," she replied with no change in her flat tone; her expression remained blank and tranquil.


    Valentine remained silent. He had a suspicion that she was under some kind of Contractbound ability and the ''old friend'' she mentioned before might have something to do with it.


    "Who is the old friend that told you to work for Ruben Arnaud? And why did you easily follow their suggestion?"


    "His name is Emiel Gompers. I trusted him because has always helped me ever since I was young," she replied.


    There was a suspicion on Valentine''s face. The name sounded familiar, and going by how the events had transpired lately, it wouldn''t surprise him if it was the exact same person as the one he had in mind.


    Sabine nodded and replied shortly.


    "Yes,"


    At that moment, Valentine''s suspicion was confirmed. That was Emiel the jeweler, the man who had told him about Paim''s antique store!


    "G, the puzzle pieces are falling into place one by one now. That is too much for it to be just a coincidence. What''s next? Egon the driver is actually Paim in disguise?" he muttered jeeringly.


    "Do you know of a woman named Paim?" he asked, just to be sure.


    Sabine shook her head.


    "I don''t know," she replied.


    Valentine had got everything he needed to know, but since the Interrogation would still last for a while, he made use of the opportunity.


    "Are you a Contractbound?"


    Sabine shook her head robotically.


    "No, I''m not," she said.


    "Thank you for answering all those questions," replied Valentine with a strange smile. He was using Rood''s appearance but he didn''t have Graham''s knowledge about the man''s mannerisms, so his smile looked unnatural.


    Valentine walked away from Sabine who was still under the effect of his ability and once he was far enough, he used Order that was stored inside Purloin to revert to his original appearance.


    "I hereby declare you are no longer under interrogation!" he shouted, as his body was undergoing a transformation process.


    Sabine snapped back to reality and had a confused look on her face. She looked like someone who had just been jolted awake from her nap and now knew nothing about her surroundings. She looked around and it came back to her that she was in the alley near the Arnauds house. As to why she was there, she only remembered following Rood, but everything was gone after that.


    In a panic, she began examining her body, and only after finding no signs of assault, she calmed down; there weren''t even any signs of her being touched anywhere. Without lowering her guard, she returned to the street and resumed what she was initially going to do before she blacked out, slightly limping with her walk.


    Meanwhile, Valentine had long been gone from the area and was on his way to Grotemarktstraat, where Emiel the jeweler''s store was. He could take the public motor carriage there, but since it was close enough, he would rather walk.


    It didn''t take him long to reach Grotemarktstraat, which at that time was packed with people crowding the numerous establishments there. Valentine walked past all the other people and went straight to the jewelry store that had the sign that read ''Bron''s'' above the door. It was the place that Emiel ran, and according to Ruben, Bron was the name of the man''s great-grandfather.


    The sounds of the bustling street were resounding behind him, accompanied by the smoke from the motor carriages as he entered the jewelry store. Valentine was welcomed by the numerous pieces of beautiful jewelry on display, but there was no sign of Emiel anywhere in the store.


    "This is rather suspicious," Valentine muttered silently as he looked around.


    Walking straight past all the display cases with luxurious jewelry inside, Valentine headed towards the back door and gave the handle a twist. Since it was unlocked, the door opened very easily and the detective let himself into the back room.


    The room was dark as the lights were off. There were no windows from which the sunlight can penetrate through, nor was there any glass panel on the ceiling to allow lights to come in. The only source of light was the sunlight coming from behind him.


    Valentine''s night vision was activated and in an instant, he was able to see clearly in the dark with everything glowing in a yellowish hue. The room itself was normal, but it was full of cupboards and shelves with countless objects on them, making it look messy.


    "Welcome, Hymes. It took you a while to find us again," said a voice that came from the other end of the unlit room.


    "Us?" muttered Valentine quietly.


    It was the bespectacled owner of the store, Emiel, who was sitting behind a table at the end of the dark room. His expression was like that of a child who had won a race and was waiting for the others to catch up.


    "I hereby place you under interrogation!" shouted Valentine right away as he approached the man carefully.


    Emiel''s eyes turned blank behind his glasses as his expression became tranquil as if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Valentine didn''t come any closer but stood where he was with his dagger ready. Despite the man being under his control, he could still feel the tension in the air.


    "Who are you really?" asked Valentine inquisitively.


    Suddenly, there was a creepy smile surfacing on the thin man''s face!


    "That won''t work, will it, Hymes?" said Emiel with a tone that was completely different from usual.


    Valentine quickly took a step back and got ready for an attack.


    Creak...


    Suddenly, the door closed on its own!


    "No need to be so tense. You are here to ask us questions, aren''t you? Then we will answer. But you don''t need to use Interrogation for that, now, do you?" he said and then let out a laugh that sounded like a child''s laughter but with an adult''s voice.


    His words didn''t reassure Valentine in the slightest. The detective wouldn''t let his guard down, especially not in front of a mysterious person who seemed to have been expecting him. Now that the door behind him was closed, he also had to rack his brain to escape in case he was suddenly attacked by the man.


    "Who are you?" asked Valentine again shortly. This time, his voice was colder than before.


    The thin man with glasses kept on smiling widely as if trying his best to appear friendly. However, his effort only served to make him look unsettling and creepy in a way, especially in the room that was now devoid of light.


    "I''m Emiel, and as you have already heard from Sabine, my last name is Gompers, son of Frank Gompers. Is there anything else you would like to know?" asked Valentine.


    As a Denuder, he would feel it if someone was lying, and right now, he couldn''t sense any lies in the man''s words. It was either he was telling the truth or he was just too strong that his lies weren''t possible to be detected.


    "What''s your real identity? Why are you referring to yourself as ''we''?" asked Valentine without lowering his weapon. Meanwhile, the man was still sitting leisurely on the other end of the room.


    "My real identity? I''ve already told you, hmm?" he replied teasingly, "As for us, we are us, is that difficult to comprehend, Mr. Detective?"


    There was still no lies detected in his words, which made Valentine even more suspicious. There was no way in the world that he was just a normal person. However, Valentine felt that he wouldn''t get anything useful out of him if he kept asking about Emiel himself.


    "Why did you ask Sabine to work for Ruben and watch over Fabien?" he asked a different question this time.


    Emiel looked like he would let out an even wider smile if he could, but he couldn''t, so his face just looked rather distorted instead.


    "How did you know it was us who told her to watch over the young master Arnaud?" he asked teasingly, "How perceptive of you!"


    Clap... Clap... Clap! Clap! Clap!!


    Emiel clapped very, very slowly, and then suddenly the clapping became very quick as if he was actually congratulating Valentine, which made the detective even more puzzled. He didn''t seem to be able to read Emiel''s train of thought at all; all his actions seemed very random and bizarre.


    "Just answer the question, would you?" said Valentine coldly and calmly. He tried not to be provoked by the bespectacled man''s actions.


    "Teehee..." Emiel started giggling and squirming as if someone was tickling him, and then his expression became serious while still maintaining his wide smile, "Yes, it was us. Fabien is a very important person for the world. We would do the same if we were you," he said.


    Valentine raised his right eyebrow.


    "Important how?" he asked.


    The smile that Emiel had maintained for so long was suddenly replaced by a frown. He genuinely looked saddened by something as tears began forming at the corners of his eyes.


    "Boohoo... we can''t tell you!" he said sadly; his voice echoed in the dark room, "You are still not strong enough to know. You are also looking for the Lady, aren''t you? She said you have the right to know everything once you''ve pleased two Presidents..." he paused, "Or four, in your case, hehee..." the tears in his eyes disappeared as he raised his left hand with four fingers stuck out.


    "G, he indeed works with Paim, and he seems to know about you as well, just like her," muttered Valentine.


    "Yes, G, we know about you," echoed Emiel playfully, which got Valentine surprised and creeped out!


    Valentine''s body tensed up and lowered. He was in a position to attack at any time, or to defend against a sudden attack.


    "Relax, Hymes. We''ve told you we don''t want to fight," Emiel said; the smile came back on his face, "The Lady said that once you''ve pleased two Presidents, come and find her in the abandoned place where the people''s voices reached the sky, during the time when the moon is fully consumed by darkness," he said vaguely.


    Valentine didn''t react but kept his guard up instead.


    "Now now, we told you not to be tense, didn''t we? Here, as a token of our friendship, we''ll leave something for you two here," Emiel said in a genuinely friendly manner; however, his creepy face betrayed his friendliness.


    He took out a piece of paper from thin air that had some kind of map on it. Emiel then placed the map on the table in front of him and then turned back to Valentine, looking straight at him in the eyes.


    "This is the location of the hidden basement where your lunatic friends are hiding. Give it to the Police or burn it, we don''t care. Now, we have to be somewhere else. It''s a shame that we have to abandon this place, but what else can we do? *sob*" Emiel started crying all of sudden.


    Emiel stood up from his chair and at the same time, Valentine took another step back. Seeing what the detective did, there was an expression of amusement on the thin man''s face. He started hugging himself tightly.


    "Relax, relax, I''m going now. See you someday!" he said merrily. His two eyes were looking at Valentine full of expectations.


    Emiel''s skin suddenly turned paler and paler until it was mannequin-like, and the features on his face began fading. He had completely turned into a mannequin!


    The thing that used to be Emiel the jeweler was now nothing more than a lifeless human-like object that was commonly used for displaying clothes. The mannequin was still wearing the same clothes as Emiel; even the glasses were still there. The difference was just the face was featureless and the skin was nowhere near a human''s tone.


    Not letting his guard down, Valentine carefully approached the table where the bizarre man had left the map while keeping an eye on the mannequin. When the map was within his reach, he quickly snatched it and put it inside the inner pocket of his coat. Valentine then turned back and got ready to leave the dark room.


    "Fuck!!"


    The mannequin was suddenly standing in front of him! There was a smile painted on its face using a black marker!


    He kicked it as hard as he could and then quickly ran toward the door. It was unlocked, so he could easily escape from the creepy back room and returned to the store that was basked in sunlight. He calmed down his heart that was beating fast and controlled his breathing.


    "Fuck that man!" he muttered angrily.


    At that moment, he noticed that all the pieces of jewelry that had been on display were all gone!


    "What a stingy man! We can''t even gain anything valuable from this place as compensation for the scare," he complained.


    Valentine then left the now empty jewelry store with another goal in his mind; giving the map that he had just received to the Police.

 181 An Effor

    The abandoned chapel on top of a hill was standing tall, unmoved by the assault of the wind. Occasionally, through the open gaps in the wall and roof, the wind would blow in and rattle its old wooden planks and blow out the candles shining inside. However, there were several floating flames dancing in the spacious chamber that didn''t seem to be affected by the wind.


    "We really can''t have candles here with the wind raging like that, Val," muttered Graham, who was wearing his Gemini mask and a black trench coat. His striped cotton pants were mostly hidden by his large, buttoned coat.


    Graham was sitting on an old wooden bench that he had dragged to the side of the altar, facing the rest of the seats so he didn''t have to stand up while talking to the others. His stamina was being drained slowly by the eight small fireballs that were illuminating the abandoned chapel, unbothered by the wind.


    "We''ve managed to give the map to the Police safely and invited everyone else to come to the gathering tonight. Now we just need to wait," he muttered, his voice muffled by the mask he was wearing.


    Under the mask, he was using Rood''s appearance, which also made him slightly taller and changed his voice. It was just something that he was getting used to doing since he never knew what kind of enemy would be lurking around the corner.


    "That Emiel, or whatever his real name is, is leading us by the nose and I don''t like it one bit, Val. We need to get stronger soon, but isn''t that exactly what he wanted us to do?" Graham paused and rubbed the chin of his mask, "But at least they shouldn''t know about our little syndicate here, so we can make use of this to gain an upper hand," he said with conviction in his voice.


    Woosh...


    The wind gusted once more into the chapel through the windows and crevices, strongly blowing Graham''s coat and trilby, which he quickly held down with his hand. Once the wind subsided, he decided to take off his hat once and for all to avoid the hassle, revealing Rood''s brown hair.


    "Luuk and Jacco should be here any time soon, Val, while the rest of them should come exactly at eight, as we ordered them to," he muttered calmly.


    Creak...


    "Capricorn, Aries, welcome," said Graham, welcoming the two men.


    Luuk nodded casually while Jacco felt awkward being addressed with a nickname. However, he understood that they had to maintain their secrecy in that place, especially after Graham told them what had happened to him earlier.


    "Good evening, Mr. Gemini," replied Luuk naturally, "Are you wearing a disguise, that''s why your voice is different?" he asked.


    Graham nodded firmly.


    Luuk and Jacco walked over to the bench near the altar where Graham was sitting and took a seat near him. They were amazed by the floating flames illuminating the room and watched them for quite some time before finally, Luuk opened his mouth.


    "I have good news," he said proudly.


    "Let me guess. You''ve pleased your Deity?" said Graham.


    "Yes..." replied Luuk dejectedly. He was actually planning to surprise them, but it seemed there was no way of surprising the detective with Divination power.


    "So how did your abilities evolve?" asked Graham curiously.


    Luuk, who was sitting on Graham''s right, stood straight as if he was about to give a speech. Jacco, on the other hand, was leaning leisurely on the backrest.


    "My gemstone detection is stronger now, and the limit of Embedding I can do per day has been increased to thirty," he said proudly.


    Graham was listening intently and his brain was already considering all the possibilities that Luuk could do with his evolved abilities.


    "Did you get a brand new ability?" asked Graham.


    He had got Fire Manipulation when he pleased both the Deities of Fire Divination and of the Tongue, while Valentine had got Reveal when he pleased both of his Deities. Surely, Luuk should get something similar now that he had done the same.


    Yes, and once again you ruined my moment, thought Luuk without saying anything.


    "Yes. I got an ability that I call Negation. That is an ability that allows me to negate the effect of embedded equipment or bullets that strikes me or my allies. I can use it fifteen times a day only, so if the enemy shoots us fifteen times with embedded bullets, my ability will run out," he explained.


    "Negation sounds powerful when used correctly. The Police especially like to use embedded bullets, so in case we have to fight them, yours will come in handy," replied Graham, and then added, "So now you''re ready to enter the rank of President," he said.


    Graham then turned to Jacco.


    "What about you? Have you pleased the Deity of Reconciliation yet?" he asked.


    Jacco nodded merrily and proudly. There was a cheeky smile on his face under his mask.


    "It''s easy you know? The Deity wanted me to prevent a lot of fights. It would be difficult if I just went around the city looking for fights and prevented them, but you know what I did? I asked my boys to fight and just prevented them. Rinse and repeat until the Deity was pleased, hahaha!" he replied proudly.


    Graham could only shake his head at the man''s ingenuity.


    "So how did your abilities evolve? And were you granted a new one?" asked Graham.


    "Yes, but it''s complicated. You know Contractbounds of this Deity radiate a peaceful aura? Mine was strengthened but was negated by the Deity of War. My Safe Zone can now be made bigger, maybe the size of this whole chapel, you know? And I got a new ability from this Deity too!. It''s a kind of illusion ability, I think, that will make the enemy think I''m their friend," he explained.


    "That sounds useful. So the two of you should quickly enter the rank of President," said Graham.


    He hadn''t told them about the end of the world, but he just told them to get stronger as quickly as they could.


    "Have you decided which Deity you want to be in a contract with?" asked Graham.


    Luuk and Jacco nodded at the same time.


    "The Deity of Invisibility and Treasures will grant me invisibility, right?" asked Luuk, "I think I want that one,"


    "I want the power to spread more chaos! Stupidity and Hatred for me," said Jacco confidently.


    There was a conflicted smile on Graham''s face that was hidden by his mask.


    "I happen to already have the scroll for you, so you can buy it from me. But you have to gather the materials yourself," said Graham to Jacco, "As for Capricorn, I know one source of getting that scroll..." he paused.


    "Where?" asked Luuk curiously.


    It was the dead Police Contractbound''s scroll, Paars.


    "The Police have it. I''ll try to use divination to see if we have another source," said Graham heavily.


    Jacco waited patiently for his turn to speak, so he had to hold back his excitement at knowing that the scroll was just right in front of him.


    "I ask that you come here," said Graham, beckoning one of the floating fireballs to come to his side.


    The fireball glided in the air gently like a wisp and approached its master, the man with the dual-faced mask. Once it reached Graham''s side, it stayed afloat while burning gently in the air.


    Graham focused on the flame and asked a question in his mind.


    ''Where can we get the scroll for the Deity of Invisibility and Treasures?''


    The flame burned brighter and an image began to gradually appear. It showed a building that they were already familiar with; a building with the logo of the Police force on it. It was the Police Headquarters, the lair of strong Contractbounds. The image then disappeared after that, without shifting to another option for them.


    Luuk scratched the back of his head.


    "So that place is the only option?" he asked.


    "Yes, and I guess you have to steal it from them. I know that the scroll should still be ownerless right now, and probably for another day or so, so you have to be quick," replied Graham.


    "There is no other way?" asked Luuk nervously.


    Graham shook his head.


    "Then I have to steal it from them. It should be easy enough, right, since I''m a Thief," said Luuk dejectedly.


    "You can rent my belt, Purloin. I''ll put transformation in it so you can infiltrate the place safely," said Graham, "But you still have to observe everything first. My divination only showed the outside of the building, which means anti-divination is in place inside."


    Luuk nodded.


    "So, how much should I pay for the scroll?" asked Jacco, seizing his chance.


    "Forty guilders," replied Graham shortly while raising five fingers in the air.


    "Fuck! That''s too expensive!" exclaimed Jacco. The price was four times as expensive as when he bought an Earl-rank scroll from the man!


    Graham shrugged.


    "We still have those materials we haven''t sold yet. You can sell everything and use the money from your share to pay for it. It should be enough," said Graham casually.


    Jacco suddenly calmed down and relaxed. He had forgotten about all those supernatural creature parts that they had harvested from the northern cave. He then began imagining himself as a strong President-rank Contractbound, although he actually didn''t quite get the abilities that he would get from that Deity.


    "Don''t forget you have to gather the materials yourself," said Graham.


    He actually still had the remains that Gloom had left behind, along with his scroll, but he wanted to use it to make something with the help of Cadhla. He would also need a lot of money, so he let Jacco deal with selling everything because he didn''t want to bother with such a mundane task.


    "What about me? How much should I pay to rent the belt?" asked Luuk.


    "Thirty guilders should be alright," replied Graham quickly. He didn''t actually know the rate of enhanced equipment rental in that supernatural world, but he calculated the cost based on the abilities that were stored inside.


    "Why so expensive?" asked Luuk in surprise.


    "It has Transformation, which is a President-rank ability, and one more ability that I call Intensify, which is at least as strong as, if not stronger than, a Marquis-rank ability. It allows you to Intensify a target''s intention, effectively distorting it. You can basically make someone who is about to jump down carefully to fall down violently instead. However, its effect is greatly reduced because I was much weaker than the owner of that ability," explained Graham.


    Luuk seemed to be thinking and after a while, he nodded.


    "Okay, then I''ll rent it. I''ll pay you back at the hotel, not now," said Luuk.


    Graham nodded.


    He also had to replace Order with Transformation first, so he couldn''t give it to Luuk right away.


    "What about my ritual materials? Where can I get them?" asked Jacco.


    Graham shook his head. Although he had seen the scroll that Gloom had dropped, he had no idea where to gather the ingredients. He hadn''t bothered using divination to find out because he was not interested in that Deity at all.


    "Maybe you can buy them on the black market as well after selling the stuff. If you have the money, that is," said Graham.


    Jacco surely would need a lot of money to get everything he needed for his ritual, and he didn''t even know what they were.


    "What do I need for the ritual?" he asked curiously.


    Graham rested his masked chin on his right hand and began rubbing it again.


    "Let''s see... You will need the intact brain of an Imp, don''t ask me what that is, five milliliters of an Arachne''s blood, and the last one is the whole head of a Dokkaebi, without its brain. They should all be available somewhere near Sloten, otherwise, the man I killed wouldn''t have had the contract in the first place," explained Graham.


    Jacco scratched the back of his head and under his mask, his expression was that of confusion. All the names that the man had just mentioned were totally alien to him.


    "Okay, I''ll definitely buy them at the market if they''re available," he said, "Or if not, can I commission you to help me find them?" asked Jacco.


    "Sure, sure," replied Graham, and then looked over his shoulder, "Val, so there two are getting stronger as well. We can''t sit back and relax either, but when in the world will the messengers of the Deity come to us and tell us how to please the Deities?" he muttered quietly.


    Creak...


    At that moment, the clock struck eight and the tall doors of the abandoned chapel were opened. Five people carefully entered the chamber that was illuminated by the floating fireballs.

 182 The Gathering

    The five people walked deeper into the chapel and took a seat on the frontmost row, directly facing the three masked men sitting near the altar. Even after sitting down, they could stop but be amazed at the floating fireballs that occasionally danced and flickered, illuminating the dark chapel without being affected by the blowing wind.


    Is this Mr. Gemini''s power? He seems to be the one who''s able to control fire. Thought Yvette. He sure has gotten even stronger. I wonder when he''ll let us gain supernatural power.


    "Good evening everyone," said Graham using Rood''s voice that was further muffled by the mask. It caused his voice to sound entirely different from his original''s.


    Almost everyone appeared to have noticed the difference is Graham''s voice-- everyone except Eduard, who remained clueless. Diedrik was especially perceptive, as shown in his change of expression that reflected puzzlement and suspicion. After all, the person was wearing a mask, so they would never know if it was the same person or not.


    "Don''t worry. I''m just wearing a disguise," replied Graham solemnly, "That''s why my voice changed, as some of you seem to have noticed," he added.


    Diedrik felt embarrassed and guilty for having suspected the man, but he quickly brushed off the feeling.


    "Now, I''ve gathered you all today because there is an update to the situation. There had been a fight between the Police and the Pale Society, with the Police emerging as the victors. I''m sure you should have also noticed the sudden blockade that appeared near Raadhuislaan," said Graham seriously.


    So that''s what the blockade is about! How did Mr. Hymes know about it? Divination? Or was he dragged into it again?


    Luuk looked at the man sitting next to him and pondered.


    Blockade? What blockade? Thought Jacco. He was clueless about the situation so he could only look at Graham in puzzlement.


    Isn''t that information top secret? I couldn''t even get anything after asking around for the whole afternoon... How did Mr. Gemini know about it? Does he have an informant within the Police? Or is he a member of the Police himself?


    Diedrik was awed by the man sitting in front of him while his brain was coming up with all sorts of scenarios.


    He can''t be a member of the Police, since our first-ever request was the assassination of Yvette''s father. Or he''s a very corrupt member of the Police force, which I don''t think is the case. So he must have an informant in the Police who told him about all that, and the informant must be an important one at that.


    I wonder if Mr. Gemini was involved personally in the fight? That must be why he knows about it. He must be very powerful himself to be able to fight against those powerful people! Maybe he worked with the Police? Which meant our little syndicate is on good terms with them?


    Yvette''s mind also began to come up with her own scenarios regarding the information.


    What blockade? Why does everyone look at Mr. Gemini like that? Did I miss something? Eduard was as clueless as Jacco. He hadn''t left his house the whole day because he was busy reading his comic books in peace, now that his brother problem had been taken care of. The previous night, he went to bed very early, so he had completely missed the announcement about the stay-home order.


    "Ahem..." Graham cleared his throat., "Now I will tell you the sequence of events in detail, so please pay attention," said Graham, and then continued speaking solemnly.


    "Last night, the Pale Society released a horde of ghouls and another kind of headless supernatural creature near Raadhuislaan, which took the souls of countless victims. After that, a mysterious black hole appeared, from which an even stronger Ghoul came out. That was why the Police relocated all the people and sealed off the whole area."


    Their expressions showed visible surprise.


    "The Pale Society showed up not long after that, which resulted in the death of a Police Sergeant, Paars, and numerous other officers. The Police, with the help of the mafia that came a little later, managed to kill four of the enemy''s members while the rest managed to run away after someone who appeared to be their boss showed up," he recounted the story, based on what he himself knew.


    The mafia was also involved? So the Pale Society is even more dangerous than I thought?! Diedrik''s expression showed a surprise yet again. ...And for Mr. Gemini to know this much detail can only mean one thing. He was there personally. So now there is another possibility that he is a member of the mafia. Although, it is much more likely that he is an independent party, otherwise he wouldn''t know the event from the beginning since he said the mafia came later.


    The mafia? What? Mr. Gemini is involved with such a dangerous organization? I hope it won''t implicate us in any way. I don''t want to be involved with the mafia no matter what! Thought Calvin while looking at Graham with a gaze that seemed to be analyzing the man.


    "Worry not, everyone. We are not associated with Fratello Maggiore in any way, so you can rest assured. We''re an independent party that operates on our own terms," said Graham, finally as though he knew what the members were thinking based on their expression.


    Calvin''s expression relaxed while Diedrik felt validated. His assumption had been proven correct. Meanwhile, Yvette, Helga, and even Eduard somehow showed relief on their faces.


    "Now that the Pale Society has been reduced to only a handful of members, we can focus our attention somewhere else. However, we will still reward you for your effort in finding out more about the serial kidnapping recently and other things that you managed to gather," added Graham kindly.


    Great! I thought my effort would be useless-- thought Eduard happily.


    "Now, there is something very important that all of you must hear," said Graham with a very serious tone.


    He muttered very quietly and suddenly the fireballs burned brighter. To the five people there, it was as if the fireballs were reacting to their master''s words and were burning brightly in response. They were awed by Graham''s power and quickly focused on the man so that they wouldn''t miss what he was about to say.


    "First of all, be aware that something big is going to happen in the future, something that will affect us all," he said vaguely with a voice that could make people tremble.


    Luuk''s expression showed a shock that was hidden by his mask.


    That sounded pretty ominous. By the way he worded it, it''s something entirely different from the Pale Society''s attack, or even something much bigger. Why hadn''t he told us about this before?


    The five associates of the Zodiac Syndicate were also visibly restless. Graham''s words had managed to agitate them and filled their brains with all sorts of sinister scenarios.


    The Pale Society is not all? There is something even bigger? Diedrik thought.


    "What is it, Mr. Gemini?" asked Yvette, breaking the painful silence. Her voice sounded very concerned.


    "Even I don''t know the detail," replied Graham with a lie. He didn''t want to straight-up tell them the world was going to end because he didn''t know how they would react. Even he himself needed his ability to calm down after learning about the truth. Whether the end was preventable or not was something out of his current knowledge, and only Paim could answer that for him.


    "The second thing is that we need all of you to prepare for this upcoming big event. Yes, I''m offering you the chance to become a Contractbound, and based on your contributions so far, I might also provide you with the necessary materials," added Graham with open arms.


    A Contractbound?! Finally, the chance has come! Shouted Diedrik in his heart. He had been working hard for the sole reason of getting rewarded with the chance of becoming one, and now it was right in front of his eyes. It would be even better if the materials were also provided by the man, but he would already be happy enough to become one.


    "Now, this is something that you have to decide yourself. Once becoming a Contractbound, there is no going back. And also, you basically sell your soul to the Deity in exchange for power. Think carefully before deciding and tell me your decisions on the next gathering, which will happen on Saturday night," said Graham.


    Silence crept into the abandoned chapel as the five associates were thinking about Graham''s words. They knew that Contractbounds were people with supernatural abilities, just like the man himself, but they didn''t know about the part where they had to sell their souls. It was not an easy decision to make.


    Woosh...


    The wind blew in, breaking the silence. The floating fireballs were still burning bright without being affected by the sudden breeze, illuminating every corner of the large chapel with their orange lights.


    I definitely want to become a Contractbound, but am I ready to sell my soul to the Deity? Eduard pondered. But what does it even mean? Does it mean we don''t go to heaven once we die? That''s even assuming heaven exists. So I guess why not, as long as I don''t die, I should be alright, right?


    Should I become a Contractbound? Would Fabien still accept me if he knew the truth? Helga was conflicted. I don''t really need this power since it''s enough for me to be with him...


    Suddenly, her attention was drawn by the sound of throat-clearing from in front of her.


    "Ahem... Helga, we have a special task for you, and for that, we surely hope you will consider becoming a Contractbound. We will provide all the necessary materials should you say yes," said Graham persuasively.


    "W-what special task if I may know?" she asked cautiously.


    "The big event that will happen in the future might involve Fabien Arnaud one way or another," he said, which caused a shock to her. She raised her eyebrows and there was worry on her face. Graham then continued, "That''s why we want you to become stronger and to watch over Fabien on our behalf. You are quite close to him, no?"


    Helga nodded slowly and hesitantly.


    They were indeed very close now, especially since Graham had told her about what the man was actually feeling toward her.


    I don''t want anything bad to happen to Fabien. I guess there is no other option but for me to become a Contractbound. I hope I can be of use to the syndicate while at the same time protect the man that matters to me.


    Her hesitation turned into conviction as Helga said, "Alright, I''ll do it,"


    Graham nodded in approval.


    "Very good. Then I will give all of you your tasks for now. Everyone except for Helga, who will be watching over Fabien, will focus their attention on gathering information about a man called Emiel Gompers aka Emiel the jeweler. He used to run a jewelry store with the name ''Bron''s'' on Grotemarktstraat, but now the man has suddenly disappeared. Be very careful because he is a very crafty one. Always prioritize your own life first," said Graham seriously.


    "Now then, please follow me to the confessional for your personal rewards," said Graham.


    Diedrik stood up first and followed Graham to enter the small chamber on the right side of the altar that had two entrances. Graham entered through one side while he entered through the other. Inside, there was only a small gap for their voices to travel to without allowing each other to see the other side.


    "Tell me, what do you want or want to know?" said Graham gently. However, he was still using Rood''s voice which sounded rough and interrogative despite his best attempt.


    "I just would like to request for my materials to be provided. Have I contributed enough for that?" asked Diedrik carefully not to offend the man.


    There was silence for a second that was followed by a short chuckle.


    "Haha! Then it shall be arranged," replied Graham amusedly. He didn''t expect the man to be that straightforward. Although he currently didn''t have any materials, he could easily go to the black market to try to buy the cheapest one he could get or sneak into the cemetery''s morgue again, especially since the Police should be busy with the Pale Society.


    Diedrik almost couldn''t control his excitement, but he quickly calmed down. It was unbecoming of him to act that way in front of Mr. Gemini.


    "Thank you very much," he replied with gratitude and grace.


    "Before you go, let me do some safeguard measures," said Graham suddenly.


    Diedrik nodded and then stood there patiently, waiting for Graham to do whatever he needed to. Graham began chanting quietly from behind the separation wall while concentrating on the man through the gap.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant the thought in your head that you will forget all about us in case you fall under an enemy''s control!"


    Diedrik felt funny for a second like something had just entered his mind but he couldn''t pinpoint what exactly. The feeling disappeared very quickly and since he trusted the man to some extent, he didn''t raise a fuss about it. He left the confession chamber after thanking Graham one more time.


    Meanwhile, Graham was breathing heavily on the other side. Using one of those abilities took a lot of his stamina.


    "Val, just four more people to go," he muttered weakly as soon as Diedrik left the confession chamber.

 183 Another Productive Day

    Graham woke up in his hotel room and stretched his body and yawned widely, almost cramping his jaw in the process. He then did some simple exercise by twisting his body to the right and to the left with his arms in front of his chest.


    "Good morning, Val. What do you think will happen today?" asked Graham with a smile.


    He got up from the bed and went straight to the bathroom to relieve the built-up liquid during the night and to wash his face, especially the area around his eyes. After flushing the toilet, he stood in front of the washbasin and looked at himself in the mirror.


    "It''s really the best to use our own appearance, Val. We''re not that bad-looking after all," he said in amusement as he was checking his face closely in the mirror.


    He gave his stubble that had grown a bit too long a quick trim and then proceeded to wash his face.


    "I wonder if Jacco''s sold everything out," he wondered while feeling the rough texture of his freshly trimmed stubble on his fingertips.


    Once he was done, Graham went back to the bedroom to get dressed, squatting near the large suitcase that he had brought along. He was only wearing his pajama pants without anything on top. The large scar on his back was quite visible, but he actually didn''t mind people seeing it since he thought it actually looked cool.


    "The scar from the war, Val. Or has it been around even before that? I really can''t remember for some reason, which is odd. My memory should be better than this," he muttered curiously as he was taking out some clothes from the suitcase.


    Before putting them on, Graham had to change his appearance again because he was staying at the hotel under a different name. It would be odd if he suddenly showed up there using his original appearance.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Hansen M¨¹ller!"


    His skin began itching all over as his body underwent a transformation process. His body became bulkier and more muscular while the tone of his skin became a little darker. He grew several centimeters taller and the scar on his back disappeared rapidly. He turned into a completely different person in less than thirty seconds.


    "Sorry, Val, cotton pants again today," he said apologetically.


    Once he was fully dressed, he left the room and locked the door behind him before going down the corridor to the dining area of the hotel. He quite enjoyed the breakfast in the hotel and would take the chance to eat there whenever he could.


    "We''ve paid for the whole week, might as well enjoy our stay while we can," muttered Graham joyfully as he walked down the stairs to the dining area on the second floor.


    The dining area already had several people eating in it at that hour, which was not even eight in the morning. It was a buffet-style breakfast, so he could get whatever he wanted. After grabbing his tray, Graham went around to get a piece of rare steak, mashed potatoes, a slice of apple pie, and a cup of hot chocolate with mint. He carried his tray of food and went to sit at the outdoor table, from where he could look at the street below.


    Graham was just about to get a piece of his food when suddenly, he got a terrible headache! It was much worse than the headache he usually got when he reached the limit of his abilities; the sensation was like several people were banging his brain with metal hammers while at the same time, iron spikes were stabbing it repeatedly.


    The color red began taking over his face as droplets of sweat filled his forehead, running down his cheeks. He wanted to shoot himself in the head just to stop the pain, but he knew he couldn''t do that. He gritted his teeth and tried not to shout as loudly as he could while his head felt like it was about to explode, but wouldn''t. It was stuck in a state of painful loop.


    "Argh!!!"


    Groaning in pain, he held his head tight with both hands, hoping that the pain would go away. People around him began noticing his abnormality and fear mixed with concern surfaced on their faces.


    Using what strength he could muster, Graham began chanting quietly and hastily.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant the thought in my own head that the headache I''m feeling is painless!"


    He felt that something entered his brain and since he knew it was his own ability and its effect, he didn''t give any resistance. The thought, being unconstrained and even welcomed, manifested quickly and the painful headache he was feeling was slowly receding. His head still felt pounding, but the pain wasn''t as unbearable as before.


    With the pain gone, now Graham could finally focus on his surrounding. He didn''t realize that at some point, tiny illusory letters had formed in the air and if he hadn''t used his ability to stop the pain, he wouldn''t have been able to notice the letters because of the unbearable pain.


    Carefully, he began reading the floating illusory letters that would pulse as his head pounded, following the order that they presented themselves before him.


    "Fool ten individuals using transformation to get their most precious valuables plant into their brains the memory of a scapegoat, someone who will take the blame,"


    Once he had finished reading the floating letters, they disappeared along with his headache, leaving people around him wondering. Graham didn''t pay attention to those people, but rather, he began analyzing what had just happened.


    "So, a messenger from the Deity just came... They always come at a very unpredictable time. And now the way to please the Deity has become even more complicated. Fooling ten people? Blaming someone? Does the Deity want me to become a fraudster?" he muttered weakly as he took a bite of his food.


    The delicious food entered his mouth and improved his mood instantly. Graham began chewing faster and stuffed more pieces of the warm, juicy steak into his mouth.


    "I don''t think I can do that just to random people. Being blamed for something they don''t do? Isn''t that the worst, Val? But I still need to please this Deity nonetheless-- if not for getting stronger, at least for preventing me from turning into a ''monster'' like that woman Marieke," he said.


    Graham continued eating while his brain was wandering, thinking of a solution as hard as he could. He considered all sorts of scenarios in his head while the meaty, savory steak was being chewed into smithereens by his teeth.


    "I think I''ll just do this, Val. I''ll find a criminal who hasn''t been sentenced for some reason. However, that alone would be difficult since it means they must be a strong person. The Police have divinators, so if someone managed to evade punishment, they must have some sort of abilities themselves or a powerful back-up," he paused.


    "Now-- after we find such individual, we''ll read his memory or use divination to find out ten people connected to him in some way. We''ll then target those ten people to steal their valuables while putting the blame on said criminal. That at least should draw the attention of the Police to that individual, so they can be convicted for their actual crime. The crime of fraud would just be the icing on the cake, Val," said Graham with conviction.


    Once the solution had been thought of, he continued finishing his food with relief. He ate happily and quickly and before long, everything on the table had been wiped clean; not even crumbs were left behind. Graham took the last sip of his hot chocolate and left the table.


    "Let''s go back to our room and do some divination, Val," he muttered merrily.


    With light steps despite his huge body, Graham quickly made his way back into his hotel room on the third floor. However, he didn''t go straight upstairs but made a detour down to the lobby where he snatched that day''s newspaper, tucking it under his armpit. He then walked back up to room number 13 on the third floor.


    Before entering, he took a glance at the room next door where Luuk should be staying.


    "Is he still out? I wonder if he''s successful in stealing the scroll," muttered Graham in curiosity, "He has Purloin, so it should at least help him out a bit."


    Graham closed the door behind him and locked it from the inside. After that, he sat at the table and used a cheap lighter that he had left there to make a fire after putting the newspaper aside.


    "I ask that you float," he commanded.


    The flame left the lighter and was suspended magically in the air. After that, Graham began concentrating and asked a question in his mind.


    ''Which criminal hasn''t been convicted yet?''


    He waited for the flame to burn brighter as usual and an image to appear. However, after waiting for more than a minute, nothing happened. He didn''t have enough information to go by with his divination, so it had failed!


    "I guess divination is not all-knowing after all, Val," he muttered jeeringly, "It''s a good thing we have this," he said while pointing at the newspaper.


    Graham got up and switched on the light to help him read. He didn''t have Valentine''s night vision, and the cloud outside blocked the sunlight, making the room too dark for reading without the artificial light. He didn''t want to rely only on the flame''s illumination either because it wouldn''t be good for his eyes.


    "I''m looking forward to the day when I can use Order without limit, Val, so life will be much easier. Right now, we don''t know when we will be dragged into a fight like yesterday, so it''s safer to keep it in case we need it," he said self-mockingly.


    With the light on, Graham returned to the table and sat on the wooden chair leisurely while flipping the pages of the newspaper to get straight to the crime report. He began to carefully read today''s report while memorizing the information in his mind.


    ''A dead body of a baby was found yesterday night in a dumpster near the shopping center...''


    ''A man had his genitals chopped off by his angry wife and girlfriend after found cheating...''


    ''Culprits of serial burglary finally caught...''


    ''Mayor suspected of embezzlement cleared out of all charges,''


    The last piece of news got Graham''s attention.


    ''The mayor of Hoorn was under investigation for allegedly using the city''s money to fund his own and his family''s mega businesses. The mayor, Lars Gullman, was first reported by a local newspaper agency called Hoorn''s Hours, after they did their own investigation, which was then reinvestigated by the local Police investigators. However, it has been found that the allegation was false, and Mr. Gullman is now pressing charges against the news agency for slandering him.''


    Graham stopped reading after that piece of news and then put the newspaper away. He leaned back on his chair and rubbed his chin with his right hand as he opened his mouth.


    "Val, I smell foul play. Let''s see what our divination has to say on that matter. We should have enough information to go by right now," he muttered, and then focused on the floating flame above the table.


    ''Is Mayor Lars Gullman guilty of embezzlement?''


    The flame burned brighter as usual after a short while. However, instead of an image appearing, Graham got a painful headache that felt like someone was stabbing his brain with iron spikes. Although it wasn''t as painful as before, it was still not a pleasant feeling.


    "Crap. My divination was interfered with, Val. It sure looks even more suspicious now," he muttered.


    He massaged his head and once the headache subsided, he concentrated on the flame again and asked another question.


    ''Is it dangerous for me to go to Hoorn?''


    The flame burned brighter again and this time, an image finally appeared. It showed a piece of paper being burned from the bottom right corner. The flame consumed the paper little by little, slowly turning it into ashes, and it didn''t stop midway. After a while, the whole paper had been turned into ashes, but the rate at which it happened was slow enough. The image then disappeared after that.


    "It''s safe enough for us to go there, it seems. I guess we''re going out of town again, Val, but let''s wait for Luuk to return Purloin, shall we?"

 184 Preparing

    The two men were sitting at Luuk van der Meer''s hotel room that looked perfectly identical to his own, except the young man had somehow managed to make the room as messy as his apartment. Graham was sitting on the sofa while Luuk took the seat at the table that had various items and gemstones on it.


    The young Thief looked dejected and Graham could already guess how it went. After all, it was the Police Headquarters, a place where a lot of strong Contractbounds worked. The place where they stored valuable items must have been heavily guarded.


    "I actually couldn''t even enter the storage..." said Luuk, "I tried last night and this morning, but both times, I failed," he added with a heavy tone.


    "Tell me the detail," said Graham.


    Luuk sat more leisurely as if he was about to tell a grand story to his grandchildren. His hands began moving around to help him tell the story better.


    "So last night, I didn''t use the disguise, but just tried to enter normally since I thought they would be busy. But the security was too tight that if I had done something suspicious, they would have caught me right away. There were like, more than twenty officers there and there was no way I could escape from all of them," he paused and then took a deep breath.


    "And then this morning I tried again, but this time I used the Transformation ability from your belt. I turned into Cornelis Haring as you suggested, but it only took me as far as the hallway to the basement, where they stored everything, at least that was what one of them told me. The room was password protected and I couldn''t find out what the password was even after asking around a little. I didn''t ask directly for the password, mind you, as it would be too suspicious," he shrugged.


    Graham stroked his chin.


    "Interesting..." said Graham softly, "So they store everything in the basement? It''s a good thing that you didn''t go in. I''m sure there will be dangerous artifacts there that could have hurt you in many unimaginable ways," he said with a serious tone.


    Luuk''s expression sunk.


    "Why didn''t you tell me that earlier??" he asked; his tone was raised.


    "That''s on me, it''s true. I thought they would be too busy that they would leave the scroll in one of their Sergeants'' office. I''ve just given them the map to the Pale Society''s hideout, you know? So I assumed most of their fighting power would be out," said Graham defensively.


    "Maybe it''s true that their fighters are out, but there were still way too many people at the Headquarters. They are very careful, the Police," responded Luuk.


    "True. We''ve underestimated the Police''s strength, and that''s our mistake. But at least you made it out alive and learned about the storage basement. It might come in handy in the future, who knows?" said Graham, consoling the young man.


    "True. So what should I do now? Is there no other option for that scroll?" he asked.


    Graham crossed his legs and thought.


    "You know, I''m going out of town tomorrow for something. Maybe there will be the scroll you need there, so do you want to come?" offered Graham kindly.


    Luuk seemed to be thinking.


    "Where are you going? And if I go with you, what about my classes?" he asked.


    Graham shrugged.


    "Now you care about your classes? What about all those lectures you''ve missed?"


    Luuk rolled his eyes and also shrugged.


    "I''m going to Hoorn," added Graham, "And there is no way to be sure if your contract scroll will be available there since it''s too far for me to divine. I will need either a name of a target or to be there in person," he explained.


    Graham wanted Luuk to come along to Hoorn because he needed the man''s abilities too. He admitted that so far, he hadn''t won most of his fights alone; he needed the help of others most of the time. His next mission would be to deal with a mayor of a city, a person with the most power there, so he would definitely need any help he could find.


    Luuk was seriously thinking about it. On the one hand, he really wanted to go out of town because he was bored with the same routines in Sloten, and he would like to try to steal from new people in Hoorn for a change of pace. On the other hand, now that the Pale Society''s plan appeared to have almost been foiled, his university would remain intact, which meant he had to seriously think about his grades.


    "Can''t you lend your belt to Jacco for him to transform into me and attend the lectures in my stead?" asked Luuk curiously.


    Graham raised his eyebrows.


    "There is no way. One Transformation only lasts for two hours and it can be used twice maximum per day. Besides, I will need the belt for my mission," replied Graham.


    "Then I really cannot go with you. I need to make sure I don''t miss classes or I will have to repeat this year," said Luuk despondently.


    "It''s understandable," said Graham, "So you''ll just have to pay me in case there is the scroll there," he added, "Plus extra delivery cost since it''s all the way out there."


    Luuk''s jaw dropped as he nodded very, very slowly.


    "Then it''s settled," said Graham as he stood up from the sofa, "Anyway, we''ve paid for this hotel for a week, so you''re free to stay here until then. As for me, I''ll need to check out tomorrow before leaving for Hoorn."


    Luuk nodded and then watched as the man left his room. He knew how petty the detective could be but there was nothing he could do. He could only brace himself for the exorbitant price the man would charge him for the scroll if he managed to get his hands on one.


    Graham walked out of Luuk''s hotel room and came back to his, to get the briefcase that he had prepared before. He planned to pay Cadhla and Rafferty a visit before going to Hoorn since he needed to turn the remain of Gloom into a piece of enhanced equipment.


    Hoorn was located northwest of Sloten while the small unnamed town where Cadhla and Rafferty were was located to the east, so going there on the way to Hoorn would be impossible unless he had his own ride. He would take the intercity bus the next day to go to Hoorn, as trains couldn''t reach the city that was up high on the foot of De Vaalserberg.


    After getting his briefcase, Graham locked his hotel room door and walked downstairs to the lobby, wearing his own appearance instead of the martial arts instructor, Hansen M¨¹ller.


    "Mr. Detective? When did you come here?" asked Stefan, the young receptionist boy in surprise. His expression was like someone who had seen a ghost.


    "Hello there, Stefan. You were inside when I came, so you didn''t see me. I was just visiting my friend, Luuk," said Graham, lying.


    "Ah, really?" said Stefan in disbelief. He didn''t remember ever leaving his post since the afternoon. "Did you come in the morning?"


    Graham shrugged.


    "I don''t remember what time it was. Well, anyway, gotta go now. See you around, Stefan!" said Graham.


    Stefan waved his hand in confusion. To him, the last time he saw the man was back in South Sloten when Graham was looking for the haunted mansion. However, the man looked like he had just seen him recently and wasn''t like someone who hadn''t met for a long time. Maybe because he was in a hurry? Thought Stefan.


    Outside, the afternoon street was still bustling with activities, and the sound of engines running and the pollution they caused filled the air. It was a typical afternoon in Sloten, one of the biggest cities in the Republic of Tulp.


    "Mr. Hymes, over here!" came a voice from the side of the street, a little walk away from there.


    It was Egon, whom Graham had called to arrange for the trip to the unnamed little town. He had got his house number last time and through divination, he waited until Egon was home before making the call using the hotel''s payphone that was available in various spots there.


    "Good afternoon, Egon," he greeted the man warmly. He felt rather inexplicably happy to see another familiar face. Probably because of the stress of dealing with the Pale Society that forced him to get into hiding and to use a disguise all the time.


    Graham got into the motor carriage that the man had driven there and once he closed the door shut, Egon started driving right away. It was already past two in the afternoon, and Egon wanted to save as much daylight as he could.


    "So do you think it''s possible to return tonight?" asked Graham.


    Egon, while driving, seemed to be thinking about it.


    "It''s possible, Mr. Hymes, but I''m not too sure about the condition of the street at night. I heard it''s dangerous when it''s dark because it''s right next to the forest," replied Egon.


    Graham also knew about the stories of attacks happening in the street right next to Oostelijk Bos, the vast forest area lying between Sloten and the unnamed town. Back then, he was still too weak, so he decided to stay the night in the town to avoid unnecessary dangers. However, now that he was stronger, and the fact that he had seen the tiger-like supernatural creature in person, he felt more confident that he could deal with whatever problem that arose-- at least he could buy them enough time to escape.


    "Leave it to me. I''ll make sure to keep the both of us safe," said Graham persuasively. His tone was very confident, which made Egon''s heart at ease.


    "If you say so, Mr. Hymes, then I''ll trust you. You can trust the driving to me," he said.


    The two of them then spent the rest of the trip talking about various things, mostly gossip around the city and his family, which kept Graham awake the whole trip. The road was smooth and mostly straight, so it could be boring, although the view from the window was magnificent.


    The trip to the unnamed little town took them a little over four hours before they finally arrived. The colors of the sky had already changed as they entered the small town that didn''t have a lot of people activities at that hour.


    "Where do you want me to drop you off, Mr. Hymes?" said Egon. His voice sounded tired and he was stretching his body. It seemed that driving for a long time still took a toll on his body.


    "Just drop me off there," pointed Graham at an antique store that was used as a front for Cadhla''s magical trinket store.


    Egon drove the motor carriage near the store and pulled over. After that, Graham got off and said to the man, "You can wait for me at a restaurant nearby. Just order whatever you want and get some rest. I''ll pay for it," he said kindly.


    "Then I''ll do just that, Mr. Hymes," said Egon enthusiastically while giving his passenger a thumbs up. He drove away without waiting any longer and disappeared from Graham''s sight, who wasn''t worried about not being able to find the man-- he had his fire divination.


    "Now then, Val, let''s get down to business," muttered Graham. He was also rather tired, as he began stretching his body while walking down to the door.


    Chime!


    The wind chimes above the door rang as the smell of wood and antiques penetrated his nose. The air inside the store felt colder and damper than the outside.


    "Hello there, Hymes. We''ve been expecting you," said a voice that came from the other end of the store. It was Rafferty, the man with a thick accent. His red hair looked darker in the dimly-lit room and his freckles were almost hidden by the shadow.


    "Hi there, Raff. Long time no see," said Graham, not surprised that they had been expecting him. After all, Cadhla was also a divinator, although she was an Astrologer instead of a Fire Divinator like him.


    "Cadhla is waiting. Let''s get in," said Rafferty.


    The big man then entered the back room through the door behind him, followed by Graham who was still carrying his briefcase.


    In the backroom whose walls were all full of talismans and trinkets of various origins, a beautiful woman was sitting behind a crystal ball. It was Cadhla, Rafferty''s sister who made most of the magical items there.


    "Graham, long time no see," said Cadhla with her beautiful, mature voice. Her wavy red hair was glistening in the artificial light that illuminated the room.


    "Long time no see, Cadhla. I''m sorry I can''t stay long, however. I''m rather in a hurry, you see?" said Graham.


    Cadhla nodded in understanding.


    "So what has brought you here?" asked Cadhla curiously. She seemed to only be able to know that Graham was coming, but not his intention.


    Graham unzipped the briefcase that he was carrying and took out something from it. It was a round object resembling a brain that looked very pale and soft to touch.


    "I need you to turn this Contractbound remain into a piece of enhanced equipment. Can you?" requested Graham.


    With her right hand, she beckoned Graham to come closer and once he was close enough, she began observing the object that the member of the Pale Society, Gloom, had left behind in his death.


    "Which Contractbound left his behind?" asked Cadhla.


    "This is from an Ignoramus. So can you?" replied Graham, and then asked in anticipation.


    "Yes, but the effect will depend on the end result. I cannot predict what will be created," replied vaguely.


    Graham rested his chin on his right hand.


    "That shouldn''t be a problem. How long do you need? And how much should I pay you?" asked Graham, bracing himself for the surprise.


    Cadhla touched the pale brain and tried to squeeze it. The object hardened as more force was placed against it-- it now felt like she was trying to squeeze a metal ball.


    "Hmm... it shouldn''t take me that long. I happen to have everything else that I need. You can come back in one hour. As for the price, a measly fifty guilders should be enough," she said.


    Graham''s jaw dropped instantly.

 185 A New Piece of Equipmen

    The driver, noticing his passenger''s distressed looks, became concerned.


    "Anything the matter, Mr. Hymes? You''ve been rather emotional the past hour," asked Egon with genuine concern in his tone.


    Surprised, Graham shook his head firmly.


    "No, nothing, Egon," replied Graham shortly.


    It had been more than one hour since he paid and left Cadhla to work on the remains from Gloom. He had gone to where Egon was having dinner and resting with the help of divination and ordered dinner for himself. Now, it was time for him to go and get his new enhanced equipment, but he still couldn''t get over how expensive it was to get it made.


    "But at least it''s cheaper than buying the already-made equipment, Val. But still..." he mumbled.


    In that small town, everywhere was close to everything, so it didn''t take long for Egon to return to the antique store where he had dropped off his passenger before. Graham got out swiftly from the metal vehicle and asked Egon to wait for him there since he wouldn''t take long.


    "I hope the effect is worth it or I''ll ask for a refund," he muttered with conviction.


    Graham entered the antique store that had a strong reek of wood and old things. Through the same door behind the counter, he entered the colder back room whose walls were leaking spiritual energy because of the numerous talismans hung there.


    "Welcome back, Graham. Your order is ready," said Cadhla gently. She looked very tired, most likely from making the item.


    "It''s over here. Come," beckoned Rafferty kindly.


    This pair of brother and sister looked very kind on the outside, but Graham knew that Rafferty would turn 180 degrees the moment Graham showed malice or even too much friendliness towards his sister. As for Cadhla, he had never seen her flip, but judging from her brother''s personality, she must have her own trigger button as well, despite her calm and gracious mannerisms.


    Graham walked over to the table where Cadhla was sitting behind and on it, there was a bracelet with a simple design. Its color was brown, which happened to be Graham''s favorite, so he was already liking it without knowing its effect. The bracelet looked to be made of some kind of metal with unconnected ends, so it could be stretched a little for his hand to fit through. There was no pattern adorning the bracelet, but there was an uncanny closed mouth with thin, pale pink lips at the top.


    As his fingertips carefully touched the surface of the bracelet, a cold sensation ran through his nerves. It felt like he was touching a block of ice that was still frozen solid. Graham didn''t want to touch the mouth part for it gave him a bad foreboding.


    There was a meaningful smile on Cadhla''s tired face. She then looked at her brother and nodded, seemingly asking him to do the explaining in her stead.


    "This bracelet, not thing, is called Gloom''s Redress," said Rafferty, and before he could continue, Graham already interrupted.


    "Did you name it that?" interrupted Graham, looking straight at Cadhla with a look of suspicion. She might have divined the origin of the remains beforehand; that was why she knew the owner was called Gloom.


    The freckled woman shook her head slowly.


    "No. The name came to me as the bracelet was finished. It seems to want to be called that," replied Cadhla.


    "Can I continue?" asked Rafferty impatiently.


    Graham nodded.


    "Gloom''s Redress allows you to use an Ignoramus'' Stupidity Charge five times a day. It''s an ability that will make your target''s intelligence drop significantly for their next action, making them much more likely to make the wrong decision," explained Rafferty.


    Being the experienced man that he was, Graham knew that there was nothing in the supernatural world that didn''t have any downside, especially when it came to enhanced equipment and artifact. Even the belt that he was wearing would constantly send out presence to anything within a radius, and if not for Valentine''s anti-divination, he would have attracted many unnecessary dangers. At least now that Valentine was stronger, his anti-divination alone was enough to stop Purloin from sending out signals, without the need to constantly apply Concealment on it.


    "What''s the catch?" asked Graham inquisitively.


    There was a smile on Rafferty''s face. He seemed amused.


    "So you''re experienced, I see. This bracelet, as you''ve felt it yourself, is very cold. Wearing it for too long might give you frostbite-- unless you''re a Fire Divinator or something with a naturally warm body. It also requires the wearer to feed it with the wearer''s hair daily or it will freeze them instantly the next time the wearer tries to put it on," explained Rafferty.


    Graham''s expression showed approval as he picked up the brown bracelet on the table. Before putting it on, he brought it closer to his head and the mouth suddenly opened wide, revealing two rows of clean, white teeth. The bracelet seemed to have come alive as it tried to get closer to Graham''s hair as he could feel the pulling force on his hand. He gave in and as soon as it was within range, the bracelet took a big bite of Graham''s wavy hair tip.


    Munch! Munch!


    The bracelet seemed to be chewing on the strands of hair with a loud noise, which was bizarre. Once it was done, the mouth returned to normal and Graham knew that it had been satisfied. He put it on right away and the cold sensation rushed through his wrist. However, as a Fire Divinator who had a naturally warm body, Graham got used to the sensation quickly and now it felt like he was just wearing a normal bracelet.


    "Val, please remember that you shouldn''t wear this for too long since you don''t have the supernatural warmth," muttered Graham quietly.


    Since he had paid for the bracelet in advance, he didn''t need to take out his money to pay again. However, since he was already there, he would like to buy more items from the pair of siblings because they sold them cheaper.


    "Do you have blood bullets in stock?" asked Graham.


    Drag...


    There was a sound coming from behind the table as Cadhla opened the drawer built into it. She then looked at Graham and smiled.


    "Yes. I have twelve of them here," she said as she laid the twelve blood bullets on the table.


    "I''ll take all of them. I''m going to Hoorn. Do you have any suggestions on what magical items I should have with me?" asked Graham.


    Cadhla looked at Rafferty and raised her eyebrow. The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned colder as the friendly smiles on the sibling''s faces were drained.


    "Hoorn? Why are you going there?" asked Rafferty with a tone that was a mix of concern and suspicion.


    Judging from the siblings'' reaction, there must be something about them and that mountain city. Graham became curious and could help but ask.


    "For some business. Is there anything wrong with the place?"


    Then it was Rafferty''s turn to look at Cadhla. The two of them were surely hiding a secret, and if it would compromise his safety there, he would like to know what it was all about.


    "It''s just... an evil city. The officials were corrupt to the bone. Do not trust anybody there, not even the Police," replied Cadhla. Her voice had suddenly turned as cold as the coldest winter''s night. There wasn''t any sign of her gentle smile.


    "Just finish your business and get out of the city as soon as you can," added Rafferty, with the same coldness as his sister. His expression was as flat as a sheet of paper.


    The siblings'' warning made Graham feel uneasy. He had used divination to determine the danger of going to Hoorn before, and it indeed showed him that there was danger, albeit still at a manageable level. However, the words that came from them made him doubtful.


    "Val, do you think my divination is wrong? Or are they exaggerating? Or the danger is manageable as long as I don''t stay too long in the city?" muttered Graham cautiously.


    He then turned to the pair of siblings who had been staring at him motionlessly. He felt like they had become mannequins for some reason-- ones that radiated enmity.


    "What made you say so?" he asked carefully.


    Neither Cadhla nor Rafferty moved nor show a change of expression. They just kept staring at Graham with eyes that looked like they were looking at a dead person.


    "Just do what we say if you value your life," said Rafferty coldly with only a slight movement of his facial muscles. He looked like an automaton that was programmed to give a specific answer only.


    Graham could only nod slowly. It was apparent that there was nothing else he could gain from the pair of siblings, and he didn''t want to use his ability to make them spill the beans by force since he didn''t know the extent of Rafferty''s full capability. It was not wise to make an enemy out of the only people he knew who could create enhanced equipment.


    "I''ll heed your warning. In that case, let me pay for all the blood bullets," he said.


    After paying twenty-four guilders for the twelve blood bullets, he stuffed them all inside the bullet pouch on his waist. He had to leave the money on the table and took the bullets himself because the pair of siblings still refused to move a muscle.


    He placed some of them neatly in the bullet slots for ease of taking out, but since they were full, he had to leave the rest lying around the pouch. Each time the pouch jiggled, the bullets hit each other, creating a faint tinging sound.


    "See you around," bid Graham goodbye as he quickly left the back room of the store. He wanted to get away from them as soon as he could.


    Ever since he mentioned Hoorn, the pair of siblings had turned into completely different people. They didn''t even reply to Graham''s goodbye as they were just standing there motionlessly, staring at his back until he closed the door behind him. It gave Graham a chill and made him very uncomfortable.


    "Are you done, Mr. Detective?" asked Egon warmly, which eased Graham''s anxiety. Being with the changed siblings made him feel like he was in a different world, and meeting Egon had brought him back to reality.


    "Yes, yes. Let''s head back to Sloten now. We don''t want to arrive too late, do we? Your wife and kid must be waiting for you," said Graham.


    "Sure thing. Get in," said Egon.


    The moment Graham closed the metal vehicle''s rear passenger door, Egon hit the gas and drove away from the small town as fast as he could. There were only a handful of other drivers on the road, so he wasn''t held back by the traffic.


    It was already very dark when they left the town. Luckily for them, the government of the Republic of Tulp always made sure to take care of public facilities, including street lights. The road was illuminated by the numerous artificial lights, making it easy for Egon to see where he was going. His motor carriage had its own light, but it was still much better like that.


    "It''s not so bad," said Egon, "It shouldn''t be too dangerous with the street being bright like this."


    Besides himself, there were still other drivers on the road-- mostly people going to or from Rijssen, the coastal city east of Sloten. It made Egon feel even safer to know that he was not driving alone that evening.


    "Please still drive carefully," said Graham, reminding Egon not to be too complacent.


    Although Graham didn''t want trouble, he wanted to try out the new bracelet he was wearing. As long as the enemy wasn''t mindless, he felt that the Stupidity Charge would be effective against them. And if the motor carriage that Egon was driving got damaged in the process, Graham was confident that he could use Order to fix it part by part, at least as a temporary solution as long as it was not completely broken.


    Egon kept on driving at a constant speed, which was probably sixty kilometers per hour, the fastest his vehicle could go without its engine being overworked. The other drivers could drive faster than him, so they overtook Egon one by one and left him behind.


    "I''m sorry Mr. Hymes. This cheap junk can only go this fast," he said apologetically.


    Graham smiled and although he wanted to pat the man''s shoulder, he couldn''t because of the glass separator that was placed in every public motor carriage. He actually preferred driving at that speed to Agatha''s crazy speed. He just didn''t feel safe when the vehicle he was in went too fast, as things could happen faster than he could react.


    Now that he was driving all alone again, Egon''s feeling of safety slowly crumbled. Being in the middle of a big road at night with tall trees on the sides made him feel small and insignificant. He also couldn''t see what might be lurking behind those massive trees.


    Suddenly, there was a large, black shadow appearing in front of the motor carriage that he was driving, causing Egon to floor the brake and tried to stop abruptly. Graham was launched forward because of that and he hit the glass separator, although he managed to dampen the impact with his hands.


    He had a bad feeling about the shadow and quickly used his Supersight to try to find it. It had disappeared at one point, which made him even more cautious.


    Since the shadow had disappeared from in front of him, Egon had a clear way to go. However, before he could press the gas, Graham stopped him.


    "Don''t! It''s waiting for us," he warned him urgently.


    Egon could only nod and did as the man said.


    "Stay here!" ordered Graham as he took out his lighter and his gun. Right now, he couldn''t be bothered to worry about the man finding out about his supernatural power. Their safety was the priority.

 186 A Little Inconvenience

    The poor driver didn''t know what was going on, and gun possession was illegal in the Republic even though the man was a detective. What was more, he was strangely holding a lighter in his left hand for some reason.


    "It''s for fighting these things. I can guarantee your safety if you stay inside, and get ready to drive away at any time," said Graham assuringly. His calm and confident voice helped Egon relax a little.


    "O-okay," he nodded slowly as the man opened the passenger door and went out to the quiet street illuminated by electric lights.


    There was silence in the street; even the sounds of wild animals in the distance couldn''t be heard. Graham couldn''t see what he was fighting against, but judging from its actions, he could guess that the enemy was the beast the locals called Zwarte; a giant tiger-like creature that can go invisible like an Unseen. On top of that, its pitch black fur made it difficult to spot when hiding in the shadow.


    "It must be waiting for the carriage to drive by and then the Zwarte will strike it down, Val. We need to clear the coast first before we can escape," muttered Graham quietly as he reloaded his gun with paralysis bullets.


    Using his lighter, he lit a fire and then used Fire Manipulation to make it float and get bigger. Now, there was a fireball the size of an exercise ball floating by his side, illuminating the area and dispelling the cold.


    Inside the motor carriage, Egon was perplexed by what he saw. He didn''t know if he should feel safe or threatened to have a passenger like that. So far, the detective had been nothing but kind to him, but now that Egon saw what power the man possessed, he couldn''t help but be scared of Graham. His brain kept telling him to just drive away and leave his passenger behind-- only by sheer will did he manage to hold back.


    Vroom!


    Suddenly, there was a light approaching rapidly from the distance and the sound of an engine running. It was another motor carriage that was driving towards them at a high speed. Graham suddenly had a bad feeling.


    Crash!


    As it approached their location and just when it passed Egon''s motor carriage, a large, black shadow suddenly jumped at it before Graham could do anything. The metal vehicle toppled as the Zwarte stood on top of it, trying to pry open its door.


    "What the hell is this?!! Get away!!" shouted a man with a mix of surprise and fear in his voice.


    "Dear, I''m scared!!" said a woman in panic.


    "Please help us!! Please...!" shouted the man as his fear began to turn into despair.


    Bang!


    Using the chance while the Zwarte was distracted by the other motor carriage, Graham fired a shot at it. However, it was fast enough to reach and quickly jumped out of the projectile''s way.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    Before the creature could hide back into the shadows, Graham had issued an Order and freeze the creature in place. The Zwarte, who was mid-jump when Graham used his ability, fell down to the paved road without being able to move.


    The creature''s appearance was now clear to everyone present. It was a giant tiger the size of an adolescent elephant with a dark grey mane around its neck. The two giant protruding fangs and its sharp, long claws gave the creature a fierce appearance, and the aura of danger coming from its whole being could intimidate both its prey and its predators-- if there were any, to begin with.


    "W-what is that Mr. Hymes?" asked Egon with a shock from inside his carriage. He had heard of the rumors about the creature, but seeing it in person struck his heart differently. He was just a normal driver, after all, so something like that was not even in his wildest dream.


    "That''s the creature from the rumor. Now you know why you shouldn''t move recklessly, right?" replied Graham while pointing his gun at the Zwarte. His Order would wear out soon.


    Egon nodded slowly. The color had been drained from his face and pearls of cold sweat filled his forehead.


    Bang!


    He hit it!


    The creature couldn''t dodge the bullet because of his Order. However, the bullet could only graze it without dealing any significant damage. The spot where the bullet hit it was only grazed without even blood coming out of it.


    "Now let''s try to use our new trinket, Val," he said with a somewhat excited voice. He was like a child who had just gotten a new toy and couldn''t wait to play with it.


    Graham stretched his right arm that was wearing Gloom''s Redress in front of him and began chanting according to the knowledge that he had got when putting it on for the first time.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    Just as he finished chanting, the brown bracelet he was wearing glowed faint orange, and at the same time, dark orange ''tendrils'' that looked illusory entered the Zwarte''s brain. He didn''t know if the others could also see the tendrils, but to him, it was as clear as day.


    He didn''t have any intention of killing the creature since he lacked the means to actually do that. His goal right now was to either scare it off, which would be difficult, or just to create a window for them to escape. Graham quickly ran towards the toppled motor carriage while keeping an eye on the Zwarte.


    "I order you to stay still!" he shouted when the effect of the paralysis bullet was about to wear off.


    "Please help us..." said the woman from inside the vehicle. Her voice wasn''t as panicky as before, maybe because she knew the stranger could somehow hold back the creature.


    Looking at the toppled motor carriage, Graham quickly thought of a solution.


    "I order you to stand back up!" he said while concentrating hard on the vehicle.


    Screak...


    His stamina was suddenly drained and the motor carriage couldn''t lift itself up. His Order had failed because the vehicle was too heavy!


    He had to move fast because the Zwarte would break free from his control soon.


    Standing on top of the black metal carriage, Graham issued another Order.


    "I order you to open!"


    The front door to the driver''s seat was forced open, revealing the frightened man whose head was bleeding slightly. Sitting next to him was a woman who was probably his lover. She looked as scared as him, although she didn''t look injured. Both of them were looking at Graham with eyes full of expectation and hope, mixed with the fear that they were feeling.


    "Egon! Can you help these people?!" shouted Graham. He had to keep an eye on the creature as not to allow it to suddenly attack them.


    Thud!


    The sound of a door being opened and slammed shut was heard. Egon the driver had mustered his courage and gone out to offer his help. Although his face was still pale because of fear and he was stumbling in his run, he still did what he was asked.


    Meanwhile, Graham had to engage with the creature again.


    Bang!


    He fired another shot and hit the creature''s head, grazing its flesh a little. It was now paralyzed again!


    However, using the same control effect in succession would greatly diminish its effectiveness, so he had an even shorter time than before.


    "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" said a voice from behind Graham. It was the man who Egon was currently pulling out from the motor carriage.


    Graham saw that the Zwarte''s claws began twitching, which meant it was about to break free from the control. He then quickly shouted.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    The Zwarte once again was unable to move because of Graham''s chained control effects. However, he felt that the Order this time would only last mere two seconds.


    "She''s stuck!" shouted Egon.


    The man had been successfully pulled out from the toppled vehicle, but the woman seemed to be stuck there. Graham couldn''t afford to withdraw his attention from the dangerous creature, so he could only say, "Do your best! I''ll keep this thing busy!"


    "Roar!!!!"


    The Zwarte had finally broken free and Graham knew his paralysis bullet would do nothing against it now. It looked enraged and was seizing the detective up. It was also looking at the two men struggling behind Graham.


    "Darling! Help me please..." begged the woman from inside the motor carriage. The panic and helplessness had struck her again because of the creature''s loud roar.


    Bang!


    Graham shot the Zwarte in the head. Instead of easily dodging it, for some reason, the creature instead tried to eat the bullet with its large mouth.


    "Growl!!"


    It was the effect of the Stupidity Charge!


    The bullet his the creature''s inside part of the mouth and seemed to have hurt it. It groaned in pain before quickly retreating. It was now paying attention solely to Graham, the person who was the most dangerous out of the bunch.


    "Come quick!" said Egon from behind Graham. It seemed that the two of them had managed to pull the woman out from the motor carriage. Graham couldn''t afford to even look at them as he was paying close attention to the creature who was ready to strike at any time.


    The uneven sounds of footsteps of people running could be heard in the silent night. It was clear that the couple was injured. Graham could even smell the faint stench of blood in the air, which also seemed to attract the giant black tiger.


    "It seems that I can''t use Stupidity Charge from this distance, Val," muttered Graham; the Zwarte was too far away from him.


    Dash!


    The creature suddenly leaped forward and dashed towards the running trio. Graham was fast enough to react, and he quickly controlled the fireball that was still on stand by.


    "I ask that you attack my enemy!"


    Woosh!


    The giant fireball struck the creature and hit it right in the head. Although it seemed uninjured, it looked wary of the floating ball of flame as it retreated even farther back. Hiding in the shadow, its yellow eyes were glowing in the dark, staring right at the people ravenously.


    "Quickly, get in! Get in!" shouted Egon hastily.


    Suddenly, the Zwarte turned invisible!


    Dash!


    Graham could hear the sound of the animal leaping forward the silent night. It seemed that its invisibility worked differently from that of an Unseen. It was also still able to attack while being invisible, as he had seen during its fight with the mafia.


    "I ask that you protect this perimeter!"


    He manipulated the giant fireball and it began moving back and forth in a line at a high speed. To the naked eye, it now looked like there was a firewall that had been erected between them and the creature. Graham''s stamina was drained very fast by the fireball and he clenched his fist to hold on.


    Boosh!


    The Zwarte couldn''t stop in time and jumped straight into the wall of fire. Its invisibility was canceled by the crackling flame. Its tiger-like face showed an expression of shock and it quickly decided to retreat. However, Graham was faster since it was the opportunity that he had been waiting for. His right arm had already been stretched in front of him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    The same dark orange tendrils drilled themselves into the creature''s brain as it was retreating from the fireball that was going back and forth in a straight line. After that, Graham himself quickly retreated and entered the motor carriage through the front passenger''s door.


    Inside, Egon and the couple were looking at him with frightened faces. He wasn''t sure whether they were more scared of the creature or him. After all, to normal people, Graham couldn''t really be described as ''normal'', and most humans were apprehensive towards the unknown.


    "Drive now!" ordered him, which took Egon back to reality.


    The driver floored the gas right away and the engine that was left running quickly moved the metal vehicle forward. Once they left the protection of the fireball, there seemed to be something big moving towards them.


    Dash!


    The Zwarte was trying to pounce at them with its giant claws and large fangs. However, instead of targeting the moving motor carriage, it attacked the heavy pole of a street light instead, as if it had mistaken the pole for its target.


    The people inside the motor carriage were curious about why the creature did that, but they were too afraid of the man sitting next to the driver to say anything. Even Egon was wary of Graham despite them having met on several different occasions.


    In the street illuminated by the electric lights, the motor carriage was driving as fast as it could, away from the area. The hungry beast could only look at the metal vehicle from the distance once it realized what it was doing, and after a short while, it disappeared from sight.


    Graham looked at Egon and then calmly said.


    "I order you to forget the supernatural elements of what just happened!"


    He then repeated the Order for both the man and the woman. The faces of the three people suddenly became more relaxed, unlike before, where they looked very tense as if they had been taken hostage by Graham.


    "I order you to forget that I have a gun!"


    He issued another Order and repeated it to each of them. For something that had just happened, using Order to make them forget would still work. However, if too much time had passed, he would have to use Thought Implant, which would become more complicated.


    To see if his abilities had worked, Graham asked a question to Egon, whose expression now looked rather proud instead of scared. The fear he felt towards the detective had been erased along with his memory of the supernatural events earlier.


    "Can you tell me again what has just happened?"


    Egon then turned his attention to Graham and looked at the detective in a strange way.


    "Did you forget, Mr. Hymes?" he said with his right eyebrow raised.


    "Yes," he replied shortly.


    Egon then started laughing joyfully.


    "I guess that is the adrenaline hitting, Mr. Hymes," he replied, "So we were attacked by the tiger-like creature from the rumor. Do you remember?" he paused and took a deep breath, "And then this couple''s motor carriage was struck by the beast. You bravely chase it away using just the fire from your lighter and after helping them, we ran away," said Egon with an excited tone as if he was telling the story of an action film.


    "Yes. Thank you very much, man," said the man from the back while pressing a handkerchief against the wound on his head.


    The woman was holding him tightly with her right hand, but their expressions were much more at ease now. "Our belongings were left behind, but our lives are more important. We''ll try to retrieve them tomorrow during the day," he added.


    "Yes, dear. At least we still have our documents with us inside this purse," said the woman weakly. There was a purse that she was holding tightly in her left hand. The cotton pants that she was wearing were ripped, exposing a wound on her leg.


    "At least we''re safe now, thanks to you Mr. Hymes," said Egon with gratitude, and then looked at the back passengers through the mirror, "We''ll get you guys treated as soon as we reach the city,"

 187 Hoorn, the Mountain City

    The brown suitcase that he was dragging looked heavy like it had been stuffed with more things than it could handle. It was done on purpose because Graham didn''t want to carry two large suitcases on his trip, so he loaded one of them with as much stuff as he could and left the other one with Luuk for safekeeping.


    "I wonder how the couple is doing now," he muttered quietly as he was walking down the corridor and then down the stairs.


    The previous night, Egon had dropped off the couple at the nearest hospital once they reached the city and after dropping Graham off at the hotel, he left. The little accident with the tiger-like beast had been remembered as a heroic action by a normal man by Egon, instead of a supernatural event involving scary powers.


    "Are you leaving now, Mr. M¨¹ller?" asked Stefan the receptionist once he saw Graham, who was using his disguise, came down carrying his stuff. The young man was standing up straight in a professional way as his guest approached him.


    "Yes, Stefan. Something just came up so I need to leave now. Thanks for the service and, especially, the breakfast," said Graham, using the martial arts instructor''s deep voice. He had just eaten breakfast there before leaving and he was yet again amazed by the food.


    Stefan nodded joyfully. There was a genuine smile on his face that usually looked somewhat confused even though he wasn''t. He proceeded to scratch the back of his head awkwardly because of the compliment.


    "Thank you for your praise, Mr. M¨¹ller. I''ll tell the chef that you liked his food. I hope you''ll stay again with us in the future," said Stefan, "But if you''re staying here, I won''t be around anymore," he added with a tinge of regret in his voice.


    Out of curiosity, Graham asked, "Why is that?" as he fixed his shirt a little. His muscles were bulging under the tight white shirt that he was wearing, hidden away by his coat.


    "Because my father-- the manager has decided to move me again to another branch that has just opened. I don''t know where, but I''m actually kind of nervous," he said timidly.


    Graham was actually impressed by the young man. At his age, he had already been put in charge of a big hotel like that-- although, he was most often seen behind the reception desk. On top of that, Stefan seemed to have moved around a lot, so his experience must be vast.


    Hearing his guest''s words, Stefan''s eyes lit up and his expression became brighter. A wide smile then surfaced on his young face that could be said good-looking if not for his constantly confused expression.


    "Really?? Thank you, Mr. M¨¹ller! That meant a lot to me," he said merrily.


    Graham responded to the young man''s smile with a smile and then nodded.


    "Well, then, I need to go now. I''ll see you around, Stefan" he said as he waved his right hand along with his briefcase that he was carrying.


    "Bye, Mr. M¨¹ller! See you soon!" he shouted from behind the reception desk because Graham had walked away.


    The detective exited the hotel called ''The Hotel'' through the wooden double doors and quickly made his way to a secluded alley, where he returned to his original appearance.


    "I order myself to return to my original appearance!"


    Once his Order was out, the bulky muscles on his body shrunk, leaving behind only a toned body with not-so-big muscles. Fat also returned to the spots where there had been none before, like around his waist and under his upper arms. Although he was not fat, he was not perfectly lean either.


    "It''s nice to return to myself, Val," said Graham, "It''s not really my cup of tea to have that kind of bulky body. I felt somehow heavy. Maybe because we got the body not through hard training."


    Once his transformation process was done, Graham left the alley with much lighter steps than before. He walked quickly north, where the Bushalte, where he could catch the coach going to Hoorn, was located. Not all Bushaltes were passed by that specific coach, so he had to go to the right one.


    ''The Hotel'' was located on Bloemstraat, south of Grotemarktstraat, and the closest Bushalte that the coach would stop at was on Paleisstraat, north of the busy commercial street. Graham looked at the watch on his left wrist and it showed a little past seven in the morning. Although he had a lot of time, the suitcase that he was dragging was heavy and inconvenient. He was put in a dilemma.


    "Val, should we walk while carrying this heavy stuff or should we just pay for a public motor carriage? I don''t really want to spend money unnecessarily, but I also don''t like walking with heavy objects," said Graham, pondering what he should do.


    He was torn between choosing convenience or money.


    "Let''s just pay. Maybe we can ask for a discount," he muttered.


    The bustling morning street was already packed with vehicles driving on the road, so it wasn''t hard for Graham to get a public motor carriage to pull over for him. Seeing the potential passenger''s large suitcase, the driver got off and offered him his service.


    "Do you need my help to carry it?" he said in a professional tone.


    Graham shook his head.


    "No need. Just open the door for me, please," he asked politely.


    Although it was large, it was in no way heavy for Graham, especially with his status as a President-rank Contractbound. It was just very troublesome to drag around. He lifted the large suitcase with ease and put it inside the back of the metal vehicle, on the right side of the passenger''s seat. After that, he got in and sat next to his brown suitcase.


    "Where to, Mr?" asked the driver with a polite tone.


    "Take me to the Bushalte on Paleisstraat, please. And can I get a discount for lifting my own stuff?" replied Graham with a very confident voice.


    "Sorry, sir, there is no such a thing," answered the driver kindly, although he sounded like he just heard the strangest thing in his life.


    Graham''s expression sank as he sat in silence while the driver began driving smoothly to his destination. Since the road was quite busy, it took them longer than usual to arrive.


    "Thank you," said Graham with manners. He carried his large brown suitcase down after paying the driver seven pennings through the gap in the separator.


    There were seven other people standing under the shelter of the Bushalte. They wouldn''t necessarily be waiting for the same coach as Graham because there were buses going to other routes stopping there as well.


    Dragging his suitcase behind him, he stood just in the periphery of the Bushalte and stood there patiently. Occasionally, he would check his watch to see the time.


    An orange bus then came not long after, stopping right in front of the spot that the people had been waiting. Two people got off the big vehicle while only one person among those waiting there got on. After that, the bus closed its door and drove off to the distance.


    It wasn''t long until Graham''s coach arrived. He checked his watch and it showed exactly seven-twenty. Once the gray vehicle that was bigger than the bus just now made a complete stop and opened its door, Graham and two other people got on. He was greeted by the smell of the air fresheners that were hung on the ceiling fans of the coach. A strange, citrusy smell that could be described as somewhat pungent penetrated his nose as he walked down the aisle to find an empty seat with his large suitcase being dragged behind him.


    The coach was not very full of people, luckily for him. He sat at the left back row near the back door with the suitcase placed on the foot space of the seat next to him.


    "I hope this coach won''t be full so I don''t have to move my stuff, Val," muttered Graham as he placed his briefcase on the seat on his left. He was sitting near the aisle so it would be easy to get out any time he needed to, while at the same time, keeping his belongings safe.


    The coach began driving away and headed straight north towards Noordeinde where it made another stop to lift even more passengers. There were more people now but several seats were still empty, so no one was aiming for the one next to him.


    "Luckily it''s a cold day. Otherwise, this place will smell like sweat mixed with lime," he muttered gladly with a sigh.


    The coach kept driving north until it went past the ring road surrounding Sloten. Once out of the city, the scenery began changing gradually; from buildings to farmhouses to fields. The farther north they went, the colder it got and the more mountainous areas they could see through the windows.


    At the Bushalte with trees and the tall mountains in the background, the coach stopped once again. A person got off the vehicle while no one got on, so it drove away once the door was closed.


    Beyond that point, the road began going uphill as they went up the foot of the mountains. All around them were tall trees whose leaves were mostly still green, while those at the back had their leaves turn orangish already. It was like an explosion of colors happening outside the window, which reminded people how beautiful the world outside was.


    After hours of driving, the road became steeper and steeper until they could see the view below them. It was also getting very cold, so the fans were no longer necessary-- the driver''s assistant turned them off promptly to save energy.


    Graham decided to take a nap on the way because they wouldn''t arrive in at least another three hours. The total amount of time needed to reach Hoorn from Sloten was usually five hours.


    Once his eyes were closed and his consciousness began wandering, a faint sound of snoring came out of his mouth. It seemed that Valentine also decided to fall asleep.


    "Ahem!! Our esteemed passengers, we are now closing in on Hoorn, the Mountain City," said a loud voice suddenly, which woke Graham up. It seemed that they almost reached their destination.


    Graham looked out of the window and saw the amazing view of a valley that had a big blue river running across it. He then looked at his front and saw the person who was speaking with a majestic mountain view behind her. She was the driver''s assistant who seemed to also become the tour guide for the coach.


    "If you see behind me, you can already see Hoorn. It''s a big city that was built on the foot of De Vaalserberg, although calling it the foot is an understatement because currently, we are more than one thousand meters above sea level!" she said enthusiastically, "And as you can see, Hoorn is a mining and industrial city, so you can see the smoke of human progress rising up high in the sky!"


    The female tour guide wearing a dark orange blouse with a bright orange scarf made a gesture with her hands to allow the passengers to see what she meant. From the coach now, Graham could see the smoke rising from the numerous chimneys located in the city. He could also hear the bustling of activities coming from the city ahead of him.


    "The main industry here in Hoorn is gold and gemstones, but it is also famous for its exotic mountain snake liquor which will surely keep you warm in this freezing temperature! Brrr!!" said the guide with a wide smile while pretending to feel cold and shiver. The breeze that came from the opened upper parts of the windows was indeed cold.


    A smile surfaced on Graham''s face.


    "I must admit she''s good, Val. And also, that snake liquor sounds interesting. We should definitely try it," he muttered with an approving nod.


    The tour guide continued her explanation of the city with her loud voice that could reach all the way to the back row with ease.


    "Now, if you''re wondering about the history of Hoorn, it was founded by none other than Richard Hoorn, who first discovered, more than two hundred years ago, the vast natural resources that the mountains were hiding! Thanks to our founding father, this city is now bustling commerce that can support hundreds of thousands of families! The total population count of this glorious city as per last week''s statistics was 843,058 people! That''s almost a million!" she said with a tone that could lift anyone''s spirit. Her body language was also emitted all the bouncy energy she had.


    "When you''re in Hoorn, it''s not complete if you haven''t visited our various tourist attractions! Yes, you heard that right! Although it''s a giant industrial city, it also has many beautiful places you can visit. We have a very tall waterfall whose water comes directly from a spring high on top of De Vaalserberg! There is also a hunting ground for those of you who want some challenge. If you like water sports, just visit Blauwemeer, a lake with magnificent blue water where you can go kayaking or canoeing!" she kept explaining with the same vigor even though she had spoken for a long time.


    The coach they were riding passed a gate with a giant word that read ''Hoorn'' on top of the arch, which meant that they had officially entered the city. The busy noises of the city filled the air right away with the sounds of engines and heavy machinery being dominant. However, despite the bustle and the clouds of smoke, the air in the city was still fresh, which perplexed Graham.


    "This city is amazing. I wonder why Cadhla and Rafferty hate this place to the bone," muttered Graham thoughtfully.


    "We''ve now entered Hoorn. Esteemed passengers, the coach will soon stop at our final destination, so you can prepare to get off. Please don''t forget your belongings and enjoy your stay at Hoorn!!" she shouted merrily.

 188 First Day in Hoorn

    "The air here hurts. I wonder how people can live in a place like this," said Graham with amazement.


    It was his first time being in Hoorn, and everything still fascinated him like a child who had just seen the outside world for the first time.


    "First, let''s find a hotel, Val. I wish we had something more convenient than Fire Divination to look for a hotel. Maybe something small that we can hold in one hand and with just a simple command, we''ll get all the options," muttered Graham wistfully. Every time he spoke, there was a faint cloud of condensation coming out of his mouth.


    The city of Hoorn sounded busier than Sloten; however, the street was somewhat emptier. Probably because most people were busy working at the numerous factories and mines located there. Currently, the street that he was in only had a handful of other people, mostly those who were in the same coach as him. The road itself, however, was quite busy with vehicles driving by.


    "Let''s find somewhere private first," he muttered.


    Dragging the large brown suitcase behind him, he walked down the paved street in search of a secluded alley. While he was at it, he also observed his surroundings, to take in as much of the city as he could.


    The buildings in Hoorn had a different color scheme from Sloten. In Sloten, most buildings were painted bright colors like orange, the national color of Tulp, or yellow, or just plain white. There in Hoorn, the buildings around him looked dark; there were dark orange buildings, black buildings, dark brown ones, and gray ones--even the sidewalk he was walking on was dark gray. It gave off the feeling of it being a heavy industrial city with the walls being tainted by the dark smoke of factories.


    The buildings and the natural background of the mountains behind them were creating a nice contrast that pleased the eyes. The mountains behind were still all green and orange with trees and plants, and the sky above it was light blue. He could also see buildings on higher and lower elevations from his spot because the city wasn''t built on flat land.


    "How can humans achieve such magnificence, Val? It feels like we''re in a sort of science fiction. The sounds of heavy machinery in the distance, the smoke of progress rising up high in the sky, the sturdy and intimidating buildings... this city is something else-- in fact, this country is something else. Do you remember Rijssen and how it also gave off a completely different vibe? Now I want to travel to even more places," said Graham with amazement in his voice as he was walking down the street while looking around.


    Graham turned left and entered the alley, where he took out his trusted lighter once he was sure no one was around. It was almost midday and he was already hungry, so he wanted to find a hotel and get some lunch soon.


    Concentrating on the flame in his hand, he asked a question in his mind.


    ''Where can I find the best hotel for me here?''


    The flame burned brighter as an image began to gradually form in its core. It showed a hotel that to Graham''s surprise, was already very familiar. It was ''The Hotel'', where he had stayed when he went to Zuideinde and just recently when he was chased out of his apartment.


    Once the image disappeared, Graham scratched the back of his head.


    "It didn''t show any other alternative, so that place should be the best for us, Val. Besides, the siblings'' words still make me uneasy, so it''s best to stay at the place we already trust," he muttered, "Speaking of The Hotel, didn''t Stefan say he was tasked to manage yet another branch? Don''t tell me it''s here..."


    For a Fire Divinator, not having a map wasn''t a problem. Although he didn''t know the location of the place or the city''s layout, he could very easily just ask his trusted flame. He turned his attention back to the warm flame that was burning in the cold afternoon and asked another question.


    ''Where is "The Hotel"?''


    Another image began forming from within the flame. This time, it was an aerial view of the city with two red dots: one indicating the hotel''s location and the other one was Graham''s. It looked like the place he was looking for wasn''t that far from where he was. It was probably only less than two kilometers away.


    Once he had found out what he needed to know, he quickly left the alley in a non-suspicious way. He didn''t know the customs in that city, so it was best to avoid unnecessary trouble. However, it shouldn''t be too different from Sloten as he was still in the same country.


    Back in the street, Graham waved his hand to stop a public motor carriage that he recognized from their red number plate. Private vehicles in the Republic had blue plates. Since there were many vehicles driving on the road, it didn''t take long for him to get the motor carriage.


    "Where can I take you, Sir?" asked the driver loudly while leaning his body towards the front passenger''s window.


    Contrary to Graham''s expectation, the accent of the locals was just the same as that of people in Sloten. It was probably because the city was only about five hours apart, so there was not that much difference. It was only that the driver spoke unnecessarily loudly despite Graham standing not that far.


    "Please take me to The Hotel," he replied, emphasizing the hotel''s name to avoid confusion.


    The driver made a beckoning gesture with his hand.


    "Sure, get in!" he said.


    Since he liked to be safe, he didn''t get in right away.


    "How much?" asked Graham cautiously.


    "Just the normal price, sir, ten pennings," replied the driver, which made Graham''s jaw drop.


    "That''s not the normal price! That''s twice the normal price!" said Graham in shock.


    The driver only smiled politely. It seemed that he had already experienced people like Graham in the past, especially when taking passengers from that area, where the coach from Sloten stopped.


    "That''s what it is, Sir. So are you getting in or not?" asked the man.


    Since he didn''t really want to walk while carrying his large suitcase, he had no other option than to get in to the public motor carriage. Although it was more expensive, it was not like Graham was too poor to pay anyway. The detective just didn''t like spending a lot of money, that was all.


    The driver hit the gas right away once his passenger and the suitcase were in.


    "So you must be from Sloten, Sir?" said the driver, still loudly despite Graham sitting just behind him. Although there was a glass separator, it didn''t affect the quality of sound going around in that small vehicle, so the driver really had no need to shout.


    "Yes. Why are you speaking so loudly?" asked Graham curiously.


    Since the driver started a conversation, Graham thought it would be a good idea to ask about the city. After all, public motor carriage drivers were usually the ones who were the most knowledgeable about their city. They heard all sorts of gossips and rumors from their various passengers and visited all the different spots there. On top of that, if they had a basecamp where they gathered with all the other drivers, they would also hear even more spicy information from them.


    "Oh, am I? I''m sorry, Sir. It just sounds normal to me," replied the driver still loudly.


    "Does everyone in this city speak loudly like that?" asked Graham.


    The driver seemed confused at first and then nodded slowly.


    "Maybe, Sir. That kind of thing is something we don''t really notice. It just happens like that, you get what I mean?" replied the driver nonchalantly.


    "That''s interesting, Val. It will be very easy to spot the non-locals just from the volume of their speech," muttered Graham quietly.


    The driver didn''t seem to notice his passenger''s muttering at all.


    "I notice that the road is busy but there aren''t many people in the street. Why is that?" asked Graham again.


    "Oh, that, sir. Most people are still at work, and that area you were just in doesn''t really have a lot of places to go to, that''s why people mostly just drive by there. If you go to Rotsstraat, there will be a lot of people in the street because there are many restaurants there," replied the driver with a volume much higher than Graham''s.


    They had been going downhill for a while, and now the street was an uphill slope, which required the driver to switch to a lower gear. Graham had to get used to the non-flat city quickly because it appeared that most streets there were like that.


    Not long after, they finally arrived at the five-story hotel with the name ''The Hotel'' hung up high above its doors. After paying, Graham got off with his suitcase and entered the building through the wooden double doors that still looked new. In fact, the whole hotel looked like it had just been built recently.


    "Welcome... Mr. Hymes?" shouted a confused voice from the other end of the room.


    Graham walked past the large hotel lobby that looked similar to that of the other ''The Hotels'', but with a slight difference, especially in the color scheme. Everything was still mostly wooden, but they were darker and looked rather rusty somehow, especially with all the pipes going around the ceiling and the walls. The interior design gave off a strong industrial sense.


    "Hello there, Stefan?" replied Graham, pretending to be confused although he had expected to find the young man there. After all, the last time Stefan told Graham about his relocation, he was still wearing Hansen M¨¹ller''s appearance.


    "It''s unexpected to see you here! Are you going to stay with us? We''ve just opened recently and you''ll be one of our first hundred customers!" he spoke with a normal volume, unlike the driver before. His tone was still made to sound professional, although Graham could still clearly hear his naive enthusiasm.


    "Actually, I am indeed going to stay here. The driver recommended this place to me," replied Graham, "But I don''t know how long I''ll be staying,"


    "Then, in that case, why don''t you put a deposit of one week, and if you stay less than that, you can withdraw the remaining money," said Stefan. This time, he sounded like a true professional. It was as if he had dealt with something similar before.


    Graham''s eyebrow rose and his expression sank. He had forgotten to take his remaining deposit back from The Hotel in Sloten!


    "I feel really stupid, Val. As someone with a good memory, I should be able to remember something like that. But I totally forgot," he muttered weakly.


    He had stayed as Hansen M¨¹ller in Sloten, so there was no way he could just ask for his money back as Graham Hymes. He would try to ask Luuk to do it later since he booked for his room as well, so it should be possible.


    "Is something wrong, Mr. Hymes?" asked Stefan. His face looked genuinely concerned.


    Graham shook his head slowly.


    "No. Nothing. I''ll just pay a deposit of one week then. And here''s my identity card," he said while sliding his identity card across the reception desk. He had his wallet ready to take out the money once Stefan told him the price.


    "That will be twenty-one stuivers for one week, Mr. Hymes," said Stefan. His youthful face couldn''t hide his immaturity, but he seemed to be more professional by day.


    "At least the hotel price is the same, Val," muttered Graham while taking out the exact amount of money before giving it to the young hotel receptionist and also the manager.


    "Thank you, Mr. Hymes. Do you have any preferred rooms? Our hotel is currently not full, so every floor is available," asked Stefan, "But if you want the best view, I''d recommend the fourth floor. From there, you can see Hoorn from above from your window while still being close enough to the restaurant on the second floor," he offered.


    "Then I''ll do just that, Stefan," replied Graham.


    The young receptionist nodded and then finished the administrative work before giving the key to Graham.


    "Do you need help with your suitcase?" offered Stefan politely.


    Graham shook his head.


    "No need, but thank you," he replied just as politely.


    Dragging the large suitcase behind him, he began walking up the stairs that were located to the right of the reception desk.


    The upper floor of the hotel was decorated the same way as its lobby; wooden walls and ornaments filling the interior and pipes going through from the ceiling with the sound of water coming from inside. Overall, Graham liked how the hotel was designed.


    He arrived at his room, which was number 434 on the fourth floor, not long after. After inserting the key to its hole and twisting it to unlock it, he entered his room and once again was amazed by the hotel.


    His room was all wooden, and on the ceiling, there were numerous pipes striking through, giving the room a strong sense of industrial achievement. The dominant color of his room was dark brown, which he liked very much. There was a king-sized bed which was obviously too big for him, a desk and a ceiling fan made of metal. There was a giant glass window that allowed him to see Hoorn from above.


    Through the window, he could see the city that was built on a mountainous surface. Some parts of the city were on a higher elevation than the others, giving it a sense of beautiful imbalance. The mountains behind the city were like a giant painting with its unreal orange and green colors, while the sun was shining brightly unobstructed in the blue sky above. In the distance, he could again see the smoke rising from the numerous chimneys of the mines and factories, which were the main industry of the city.


    "This is like men and nature working hand in hand to create a harmony," said Graham poetically, "I''m glad we''re here, Val. At least for now."

 189 Mission Star

    ''Show me the map of this city,''


    With a thought, the flame began burning brighter and an image that he wished for appeared. It was a real aerial view of the city which showed the parts of Hoorn clearly. There were also illusory texts floating above the streets, showing their names, as well as next to famous landmarks that most people knew of. At that point, he noticed that there was a section of the city that was located on the highest elevation in the city with gorges around it, making it look like some kind of fortress. The buildings in that part of the city also looked much more impressive than the rest.


    After a while, the image gradually disappeared. Graham had made sure that he memorized everything and as many details as possible. He put out the flame at once and put down the lighter on the table. He didn''t want to waste the precious time when his memory was still fresh.


    Using the blank pen next to the notebook, he began drawing the map of the city on both pages of the open notebook, noting all the details from his memory. Although he still remembered perfectly how the city looked from above, his drawing and handwriting were bad, so it was more difficult to get a perfect replica of the map than he thought. After a while, a decently done map of the city was created.


    "You should have been the one making the map, Val, but the memory is in my mind," he said and then sighed as he was looking at the map that he had made. He dropped the pen in his hand and picked up the notebook.


    "At least this should be the most updated map of the city. If we just buy one, we don''t know when it was made," he added while appreciating his creation. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that it was actually not bad, "You know what, Val? I think I did well," he said rather proudly.


    With the map done, now he could divine the next thing he needed to know, which was the mayor of Hoorn''s whereabouts. He lit another fire and focused on the flame.


    ''Where is the mayor of Hoorn currently?''


    An image began to form and it showed a building that looked like the town hall. However, it quickly changed to that of a hotel that looked like a love hotel. The image then zoomed in to one of the rooms where a man and a woman were currently having sex. The man should be the mayor while the woman, judging by the fact that they were in a love hotel, must be someone other than his wife. The image then suddenly disappeared because Graham''s concentration wavered.


    "..."


    He was at a loss for words for a while.


    "Did we just watch people having sex, Val?" he said with a mix of emotions.


    "It will be a scandal if people know, so he must be there only with the few people he trusts. It should be easy enough for us to sneak in, then," muttered Graham while rubbing his chin.


    Before going, he had one more thing to divine, which involved his safety. He stared at the flame that was still burning from the lighter in his left hand and asked another question.


    ''How dangerous is it for me to approach the mayor right now?''


    The flame then showed an image of a piece of paper being burned. The fire in the divination consumed the entire paper at a very slow rate, which meant it had dangers but it was something Graham should be able to manage. After that, the image disappeared.


    "So it''s safe enough I guess, Val. I just need a good look at the mayor in person so I can use divination for more personal questions about him. But if we have the chance, maybe we can also use your interrogation to get the names of ten people from him directly," said Graham thoughtfully.


    He concentrated back on the fire that was still burning and asked one more question.


    ''Where is ''The Love Bites Hotel''?


    Another image appeared in the flame and now it was an aerial view of the city. The hotel where he was currently staying had a red dot indicating his position while another red dot was glowing in the target location. It was quite far from Rivierstraat, where his hotel was, so he would definitely need to take the public motor carriage. Hoorn, after all, was much bigger in area than Sloten. After that, the image disappeared.


    Graham then leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes after putting out the fire from the lighter. After that, he muttered an Order to make himself fall asleep, and not long after, he had fallen asleep. Valentine woke up soon after that.


    Since Graham only needed to see the mayor in person, he could do it through Valentine''s eyes. On top of that, Valentine was better at stealth anyway, so he was the best person for the job.


    Valentine didn''t get up right away, but instead, he looked at his right wrist that now felt cold. He didn''t have Graham''s warm body so he got the full negative effect of the bracelet. He took it off before it got even worse and held it in front of him. While concentrating on it, he muttered slowly.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    Illusory letters began appearing above Gloom''s Redress and after a while, they formed a complete text. Valentine read the text carefully.


    ''Gloom''s Redress. Current status: sated. This is a piece of enhanced equipment made by a medium-rank Transmuter. It was made from the remains of a Contractbound who died carrying their desire for vengeance to their grave. The wearer of this bracelet will feel the coldness of the dead, and if it is kept on, the wearer''s flesh around it will begin freezing. It also requires nutrients in the form of the wearer''s hair, otherwise, it won''t work and will just freeze the wearer to death. If the bracelet is sated, it will allow the wearer to chant the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred''s name to grant Stupidity to their enemy. It also has a chance to grow(?).''


    The text then disappeared quickly while Valentine was puzzled by the last sentence.


    "This bracelet can grow?" he muttered thoughtfully, but then didn''t think more about it. He left the bracelet on the table and then got up.


    Valentine approached the large suitcase and got undressed. After he took off his collared shirt, he put on a brown t-shirt that he had taken out of the suitcase. He then took out a black leather jacket before putting it on, and lastly, he changed his cotton pants to a pair of denim pants that felt more comfortable to him.


    Not forgetting the bracelet, he picked it up from the table, along with the notebook that had the city''s map and Graham''s lighter, and stuffed them all inside the pockets. Although the jacket had fewer pockets than the coat, there was still enough space for everything he needed. He also didn''t forget to put Purloin back on, along with his gun and bullet pouch. After putting Concealment on everything that might cause him trouble otherwise, he zipped his jacket and left the hotel room.


    With light steps, Valentine quickly made his way all the way from the fourth floor to the strangely empty lobby. Stefan, the receptionist, was nowhere to be seen. The young man would often do something like that, so Valentine wasn''t alarmed. He left the hotel quietly and went out to the street.


    His face was hit by the sharp, cold air once he left the warm hotel. He was hungry, but since he didn''t want to miss the chance, he needed to quickly go to where the mayor was. He waved his hand and not long after, a public motor carriage pulled over.


    "Where to, Mister?" asked the driver before Valentine hopped on.


    "Grotstraat," replied Valentine shortly as he entered through the passenger''s door.


    The driver had a meaningful smile on his face, but he didn''t say anything else. He drove away and then made a U-turn at the gap in the road separator. The driver then kept driving east until he turned to the north at the next intersection.


    Unlike Sloten, which was built in mostly blocks with sections of the city that were easy to remember, Hoorn was built following the available mountain paths, creating a very confusing layout of the big city. He had gone uphill, downhill, turned left, and right before he finally arrived at the destination. The street names there also had a different theme. In Sloten, the streets were named based on the area where they were in, like Grotemarktstraat for the commercial area. In Hoorn, it seemed that the street names were taken from nature.


    "Grot means cave in old Tulpese, isn''t it, G?" muttered Valentine while looking around the street before he got out.


    "Fifteen pennings, please, Sir," said the driver.


    Valentine understood that it was indeed far from his hotel, so he complied and took out his money. After paying through the gap in the glass separator, he got out, and once again, the cold air hit his face The difference this time was that the air brought with it a subtle smell of perfume for some reason.


    At that moment, it dawned on him. He finally understood the meaning behind the driver''s smile. The whole street was a Rosse Buurt, or red light district!


    He was surrounded by tall hotels with steams coming out of their chimneys and pipes. The dominant color in that street, unlike the other streets that he had observed, was pink and red, creating a strange yet arousing contrast between the colors and the industrial building designs. Although it was still early in the afternoon, there were already many people of both genders standing behind glass windows trying to attract customers.


    "G, look at all this. The driver must think that we''re looking for ''something'' here. If he hadn''t picked us up from another hotel, I''m sure he would have offered us a hotel that he knew of here," muttered Valentine while looking around.


    There were people of different ages flocking the street, but it was dominated by the male demography, although the number of female passersby there wasn''t anything to scoff at. It was apparent that Hoorn was progressive in that aspect as well.


    Without paying attention to all the ''goods'' displayed in the ''stores'', Valentine continued what he needed to do there. He walked down the street towards a specific hotel where the mayor was currently located, and once he found it, he walked into an alley before entering the hotel.


    "Ah! Yes! Yes!" came a continuous voice from behind a dumpster.


    Although he couldn''t see it, Valentine was sure there were people having sex behind the dumpster. He had to focus hard to ignore all the noise that kept coming constantly, especially since his hearing was magically enhanced. He stood where people couldn''t see him and quickly used Concealment on himself.


    "I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!"


    He spoke as quietly as he could, and the people having sex didn''t seem to notice his voice amidst their own noises.


    "I hereby declare my face a secret!"


    "I hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    After that, he also recast the Concealment on all his items because he had left the effective radius of his ability.


    Once ready, Valentine quickly left the alley so that he could get away from the people enjoying themselves there. He was honestly distracted and if he had stayed any longer, he wouldn''t have been able to hold himself back from checking, especially since he was concealed.


    Stealthily, Valentine entered the hotel called ''The Love Bites'' through the main door since he couldn''t see any other way in. When the door was opened, the woman behind the reception desk seemed surprised, especially since she didn''t see anyone because Valentine had sneaked in quickly. A strong smell of perfume entered his nose as he walked past the hotel lobby.


    He walked upstairs toward the location that the red dot in Graham''s divination indicated. The mayor should be in the room farthest from the stairs on the fifth floor. There was no elevator in that hotel since elevators were still rare, so he had to walk manually. As he was walking, he didn''t hear any strange noises coming from any of the rooms despite his boosted hearing, which meant that the rooms in that hotel were sufficiently soundproof. Valentine kept that little fact in mind as he made his way up.


    Upon arriving on the fifth floor, Valentine carefully watched his surroundings and found two people wearing black suits standing in front of a room. Their faces were covered by masks and sunglasses, making it difficult to see their identities. They must be the mayor''s bodyguards. They hadn''t seemed to notice Valentine, so he cautiously approached the two men and once they were within range, he used Reveal on them.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    ''Danny van Houten, one of the mayor of Hoorn''s most trusted bodyguards. He is adept at martial arts as well as using firearms. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of War and the Deity of the Tongue.''


    Once the text disappeared, Valentine used the ability once again on the other man.


    ''Lucas Baltes, one of the mayor of Hoorn''s most trusted bodyguards. He is very proficient at martial arts and close quarter combats in general using various cold weapons. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Invisibility and Treasures.''


    Valentine was crouching behind a potted plant that was shaped to look like a pop culture heart while analyzing the information he had just got.


    "Contractbounds... that''s not unexpected, is it? And it seems that we''ve also hit the jackpot, G," he muttered quietly.


    His goal here wasn''t to fight, but only to take a glance at the mayor, or if possible, to use Interrogation on him. He also couldn''t afford to cause trouble for himself yet since he didn''t know how powerful the mayor, or his backing, actually was. He could only stay there and wait while also coming up with a plan to turn the man called Lucas into a contract scroll.

 190 Stalking the Mayor

    The man on the left, who was called Danny, was the taller of the two. His body was also bigger and looked more muscular. Valentine couldn''t see Danny''s face clearly, so he couldn''t judge what kind of man he was based on the expression he wore.


    Lucas was shorter than Danny and his body was a bit leaner. He looked like the better candidate for stealth missions between the two. Judging from the postures of the two men there, it was apparent that they were disciplined, so dealing with them would be tricky.


    Click!


    The sound of the door being unlocked was heard and a man came out not long after that. It was the same man that Valentine had seen before through Graham''s divination, the mayor of Hoorn. In person, the man looked more mayor-like than the one in divination, probably because he was fully dressed and not busy thrusting his rod into someone else.


    The mayor of Hoorn was a tall man, perhaps about 180 cm in height-- almost as tall as Danny the bodyguard, and his body wasn''t out of shape. He was a little bit chubby, but he was in no way fat. The man was probably still early in his fifties and the expression on his face showed the face of someone who shouldn''t be messed with. His naturally gray hair was covered by a top hat that matched the white suit that he was wearing. In his left hand was a cane while his right hand was holding a kind of book.


    "Let''s go," said the mayor domineeringly.


    The door was still unlocked and Valentine was wondering if he could interrogate the woman the mayor just had sex with. Besides, after seeing the mayor himself with his two bodyguards, Valentine didn''t think he would have any chance to put him under Interrogation without fighting his way through. The book that the man was carrying was also making him feel uneasy for some reason.


    Once the three men were out of his sight, Valentine sneakily entered the room where the mayor had just been in. There was a woman inside who noticed that the door opened on its own and became suspicious instantly. However, before she could do anything, Valentine had dashed towards her and placed her under his control.


    "I hereby put you under interrogation!"


    The woman''s expression became blank and her eyes were staring emptily into the distance. Her hands fell to her sides and the robe that she had been trying to button came undone.


    The room was secure enough and there was evidence that no one else was there except Valentine and the woman with long, curly hair whose body was half exposed and make-up on the face was messy. He focused on his goal and quickly asked his first question.


    "What''s the name of the man who was just in here?"


    "His name is Hank Krammer," replied the woman in a plain, monotonous tone.


    "Tell me everything you know about Mister Hank Krammer," asked Valentine assertively.


    The woman began opening her mouth again as the same, emotionless robotic voice resounded in the room.


    "He is the mayor of Hoorn and has been one for ten years. He is known to be a caring man, but I think that is false. He is a regular here and every time we have sex, he has always been very rough. I cannot really complain since he is one of the highest paying customers here,"


    The moment she said that Valentine began paying more attention to her body and noticed several fresh bruises that were just beginning to change color. The bruises were around her neck, on her wrists that weren''t covered by her robe, and the most notable was on her stomach.


    "Besides with me, I heard he is also borderline abusive with the other girls, and even to people close to him if the rumors can be trusted," she added monotonously.


    "Who are the closest people to Hank Krammer?" asked Valentine while processing all the information the woman had told him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against the wall.


    "I don''t know," replied the woman dully. Since she couldn''t lie while under Interrogation, she must really not know the answer.


    "Where does the mayor live?" asked Valentine.


    "I don''t know," replied the woman shortly.


    "What about the two bodyguards waiting for him outside? Do you know them?" asked Valentine again.


    "I only know their names. The mayor calls them Dan and Luc. I''ve never seen their faces because they always wear shades and facemasks," answered the woman truthfully with a boringly robotic tone.


    After her answer, Valentine felt that the duration of his Interrogation was about to run out. He then quickly unlocked the door and after making sure the corridor outside was safe, left the room. The door behind him made a low click once he closed it.


    "I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!" muttered Valentine quietly. The thin yellowish mist descended again and covered his mouth and his whole body.


    "That was a lot of information, G," muttered Valentine, "But not all of it is useful," he added while walking down the corridor quickly.


    Since he didn''t really get anything he could use from the woman, he would just try to follow the mayor if he could catch up with him. In the worst-case scenario that the mayor was already gone, he could switch with Graham and let him use divination. It should work better now that he knew both the mayor''s appearance and name.


    "As usual, I don''t want any of this to leak out," said a voice from downstairs as Valentine was walking down from the second floor stealthily. It was the mayor speaking to the female receptionist, who nodded compliantly.


    "Remember, you''ve signed this book, so you have no way of breaking the contract," added the mayor with a little bit of threat in his tone. He raised the book that he was holding in front of him while His two bodyguards were standing silently behind him, watching everyone''s every move.


    The female receptionist could only nod slowly. There was a smile on her face, but Valentine knew it was a forced smile.


    "G, it seems our target is a full-blown villain," Valentine muttered, "And judging from the way he said it, that book seemed to be an artifact with some kind of contract effect, I think? We should have also asked that woman about it, but I didn''t know enough about it to be suspicious of the book," he added with a hint of regret in his tone.


    He could come back upstairs and interrogate the woman one more time, but in doing so, he would lose the mayor. In the end, Valentine decided to leave it to Graham to use his divination later while he kept following the most powerful man in Hoorn, at least to his understanding.


    The mayor, followed by his two bodyguards, left the love hotel and Valentine followed far behind, staying hidden under Concealment. Once outside, the mayor''s attention was attracted by a faint noise coming from the alley nearby, where Valentine had placed his Concealments on himself before.


    "G, normal people shouldn''t be able to hear that noise since even to me, it sounds very faint. The mayor should also have boosted hearing then," muttered Valentine.


    He approached the man who was walking towards the alley and once the mayor was in range, he cast his Reveal ability.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    Illusory letters began appearing above the man and after they fully formed, Valentine quickly read the text that they were showing.


    ''Hank Krammer, mayor of Hoorn. He is a cautious man who only trusts a handful of people around him. His personality is cunning and merciless, and he is perfectly able to hide everything under the guise of kindness and a caring facade. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Domination and Order and in possession of one artifact and one piece of enhanced equipment on his person.''


    The text faded into nothingness like smoke being blown by the wind once Valentine had finished reading it.


    "Another Marquis rank Contractbound. Plus his bodyguards, we really can''t deal with him on our own. Luckily, your mission is not to kill the man, eh, G?" muttered Valentine.


    Mayor Hank Krammer and his two bodyguards kept walking until he turned right towards the alley where the noises were coming from. Valentine hid behind the wall in the corner and leaned in a little to see what was happening.


    In the alley, the mayor stood in place while looking down on what seemed to be two people who suddenly stopped what they were doing. Valentine couldn''t see clearly who the people were, and he didn''t want to expose himself in the plain sight of a higher-rank Contractbound, so he stayed hidden. However, he could hear everything perfectly clearly.


    "The two of you have been caught in the act of committing public indecency. What do you have to say in your defense before I call the Police here?" said the mayor threateningly.


    The two people were too stupefied to reply. On top of that, the stare of the mayor and his two bodyguards threatened them even more. Valentine couldn''t see them, but their faces must have been drained of their colors.


    "Are you not going to say anything? Then let your lawers speak for you in court!" added the mayor with an intimidating voice.


    "P-please don''t! I beg you, Mr. Mayor! Please don''t call the Police. W-we promise not to do it again!" said the man finally, after mustering his courage. His voice, however, wavered as he showed his fear and embarrassment.


    Valentine could only see the mayor from the back, but his body language showed that he was not so tense now. It was probably because he didn''t need to intimidate the man any longer. The mayor lifted the small book in his left hand and showed it to the man.


    "If you really feel guilty, then you have to sign this book," said the mayor coercively.


    "O-okay," said the man.


    "You too!" added the mayor, most likely directed at the woman beside the man.


    "Y-yes, Mister Mayor," she replied weakly. Her voice wasn''t full of embarrassment like the man''s; only fear of punishment.


    The mayor looked at the bodyguard on his left, Danny, who took out a pen and gave it to the man. From his spot, Valentine could see the man dragging his body forward and received the pen, still naked. That was probably why he didn''t dare to stand up.


    "Write in this book exactly what I said," said the mayor while holding the book.


    "O-okay," replied the man.


    "I will never again go against Mayor Hank Krammer of Hoorn or I will receive severe punishment from him." said the mayor, dictating what the man had to write, "Once you''re done, write your full name at the bottom," he added.


    The man seemed to be writing and once he finished, a faint grunt left his mouth.


    "Ah!"


    It wasn''t a painful grunt, but more like something had suddenly surprised him. The mayor then looked at the woman again and gestured at the man to hand her the pen while he kept hold of the book.


    "Write exactly the same as your boyfriend here," he said assertively. The mayor was surely a man who must get things his way no matter what, judging from the way he spoke and his body language.


    "No! No, I can''t!" shouted the woman, and then she suddenly stood up and ran towards the other end of the alley.


    The mayor gave a gesture and Lucas quickly chased after the escaping naked woman with a speed that was much higher than hers. Just as he was about to catch up, Lucas took out a curved dagger from under his suit and the mayor shouted.


    "Don''t kill her! She must be judged in front of the law!" his voice hid no malice nor anger; there was only coldness and indifference towards the woman''s fate.


    Lucas skillfully slit her left calf, causing her to stumble and fall. After that, he grabbed her by her long hair and dragged her across the alley back to where the mayor was. All the while, the woman was audibly whimpering both in pain and fear while kicking and punching, trying to break free.


    "Please, Mister Mayor, I beg you, please let her go!" begged the man pitifully.


    The mayor looked down on the man and replied shortly, "I''m sorry I can''t. She brought this upon herself."


    "Then please let me take her place. I don''t mind going to jail. After all, it was all my idea," said the man, trying to sound resolute although fear and uncertainty was still showing in his voice.


    Some passersby walked past the alley and got curious, but with a glance from Danny, they all quickly walked away as if scared of something. It seemed that the bodyguard or the mayor himself had a reputation around that area.


    "That means going against me. Are you willing to do that despite the contract you''ve just made?" asked the mayor intimidatingly.


    There was silence from the man, while the woman hadn''t stopped crying and begging Lucas to let her go. However, her efforts were all fruitless. The man didn''t even seem to listen to her at all.


    "Y-yes!" said the man finally.


    There was a faint burst of laughter that got louder and louder. It was coming from the mayor, who seemed to have been having the time of his life.


    "Hahaha!! You all are indeed amusing! That''s why I like catching criminals like you!" he said joyfully, but there was a hint of depravity in his voice that Valentine could only catch because of his experience with such people.


    "But I''m sorry, it doesn''t work that way," the mayor''s tone was suddenly cold and emotionless, "And the punishment for going against me is death!" he said.


    With the words from his mouth, the man was suddenly sounding like he was choking. Valentine leaned in a little bit more and then he could see the man''s pained expression as his neck was twisting unnaturally. There was no one touching the man and Valentine didn''t hear anyone chanting anything except for the mayor declaring the man''s punishment. The man tried to struggle for a short while but without success; he died not long after.


    "Call the cleaner to take care of this one. As for the woman, take her to my place. She doesn''t look half bad," said the mayor coldly.


    He closed the book and then left the alley alone, walking with the cane in his right hand. The two bodyguards were busy dealing with their own tasks, so they stayed behind.

 191 Finding Targets

    Valentine was observing Mayor Krammer carefully; from the way he walked, the way he spoke, and the way he behaved in general. Although Graham would get the knowledge about the mayor once he read someone''s memory, Valentine wouldn''t, so he needed to learn for himself. Besides, it didn''t hurt to know their target better.


    "He is going to get into that motor carriage. It doesn''t look like a government-owned one," muttered Valentine.


    The mayor was walking towards a plain-looking motor carriage that was stopping by the side of the road. There was already a driver there and the moment he saw the mayor approaching, he started the engine right away.


    "Ready to go, Mr. Krammer?" asked the driver in a rather casual tone.


    "Yes, Wiebe. Don''t worry about those two. They''ll be back on their own later," replied the mayor. His voice was much friendlier than when he was talking to the man and woman he caught.


    Valentine, who was watching and listening from the distance, memorized the driver''s name and looks.


    "G, it seems that we have our first target," he muttered.


    Vroom!


    After closing the driver''s window, he drove away with the mayor, leaving the Rosse Buurt behind.


    "We have no other option now but to see what those bodyguards are doing," he said decisively.


    Valentine quickly made his way back to the alley and saw the two bodyguards carrying a person each as if the people they were carrying were sick. The woman, who had been knocked unconscious, was lying on Lucas''s arms with her clothes already on. The dead man with a twisted neck had his face ''fixed'' and now looked like he was just sleeping. His body was covered by his shirt, including his neck that was beyond repair, while Danny was carrying him.


    A motor carriage pulled over not long after and the two bodyguards placed the man and the woman inside it. The woman was laid carefully on the passengers'' seats while the dead man was dropped on the foot space. Lucas hopped on to the front passenger seat, and the driver drove away at once, leaving Danny behind.


    Not long after, another motor carriage pulled over and a person came out. Valentine, who was watching from behind a tree, was amazed by how efficiently and fast the mayor''s people worked.


    "They sure do respond to his commands quickly," he muttered.


    The person who had just come out of the motor carriage was a woman who was wearing a tight, yellow dress and a black coat over it. Her black hair was tied up and there were big, round glasses on her face.


    "The mayor''s faction does hold a tremendous power here it seems," analyzed Valentine.


    The woman who had just come walked into the alley and then slit her palm using her sharp nail. The blood that came out of the wound was dropped onto the paved ground as she was muttering something, which was very clear to Valentine.


    She was placing anti-divination in the area!


    Valentine watched carefully where her blood was dropped with the intention of wiping it clean later, otherwise, Graham wouldn''t be able to use divination to find out more about what had just happened.


    Once the woman was done, she and Danny went back to the motor carriage and the driver, who was waiting inside, hit the gas and left the street.


    Finally, peace came back to the steamy street. People who had seen the accident pretended they didn''t see anything, but Valentine could still hear chattering about in nonetheless, especially since people in the city tended to speak loudly. He perked up his ear and tried to listen in to their conversations.


    "It''s the mayor again, isn''t it? He''s really scary,"


    "As long as you don''t commit a crime or go against him, you should be okay. Isn''t that what matters?"


    "Yes. It''s those people''s fault for committing a crime, whatever it was. They deserve all the punishment!"


    "That''s true. The mayor only did it for the sake of his people!"


    The chattering quickly derailed into chants of praises for the mayor, so Valentine just ignored it. He walked sneakily back into the alley and looked around carefully to find the bloodstain that was used as a medium for anti-divination. It didn''t take him long because the woman didn''t actually bother hiding it for some reason. She must have been sure that no one would bother cleaning something that tiny.


    On the ground near a stack of wooden boxes, there was a red dot the size of a small seed. If he hadn''t seen where the woman had been standing, Valentine wouldn''t have found it as easily. The bloodstain had dried up and it would be impossible to just wipe it clean, so he had to rely on Order that was stored in Purloin, the belt.


    Valentine looked around for a kind of combustible surface and found an old piece of paper lying nearby. He then squatted near the bloodstain with the piece of paper next to it.


    "I order the bloodstain on the ground to transfer to this paper!"


    The pattern on the belt that he was wearing emitted a faint glow as the tiny red stain began liquifying and then magically squirmed like it was alive towards the old piece of paper. Once he was sure there was none left on the ground, he got up and moved away from the area, where he burned the paper and spread the ashes on the gutter. With that, the anti-divination on the area should have been lifted.


    "Now let''s go back to the hotel and you do your part, G," muttered Valentine.


    Valentine began walking away from Grotstraat with the help of the map that Graham had drawn in the notebook. He walked south, in the direction of his hotel, and after walking for quite some time, his surroundings finally changed. The steamy hotels and red glass windows were gradually replaced by valleys to his right and restaurants to his left. He could even smell the fragrance of the food they were selling.


    After making sure he was far enough, Valentine went into another alley and undid all his Concealments. He then walked into one of the restaurants to order a takeaway before going back to the street to stop a public motor carriage.


    The motor carriage that he was riding in arrived after a while. After paying, he got out and checked his watch. It was already almost three in the afternoon, and he was very hungry. Carrying the bag of food in his right hand, he quickly went into the hotel.


    "Welcome back, Mr. Hymes!" greeted Stefan warmly from behind the reception desk.


    "Hi, Stefan," replied Valentine shortly, and then walked up the stairs quickly. He wanted to get a taste of his food as soon as he could before it got cold, and thanks to the cold temperature of the city, it wouldn''t take any longer.


    In his room on the fourth floor, Valentine unpacked the food that he had bought and revealed the mouth-watering content. It was a box of steamed pork buns and roast lamb with a kind of traditional Hoorn sauce smothered all over it.


    With a large bite, Valentine got a taste of the food that was luckily still warm and delight quickly overcame him. The bun was soft and the pork filling was tender and juicy. The explosion of flavors in his mouth made him close his eyes to be able to focus entirely on it.


    "G, can you taste it? It''s really good!" he said in excitement.


    Valentine quickly finished the buns and lamb and only after there was no food left, he lied on the bed and went to sleep on a full stomach.


    Graham, who woke up not long after, was mumbling a complaint.


    "Val, you know I can''t taste what you''re eating. Why didn''t you leave me any..."


    He quickly got over it, or at least tried, and sat on the table after cleaning up after Valentine''s mess. He lit a fire using his lighter and ordered the flame to burn using his stamina instead because he would need to do a lot of divination.


    The flame began floating and then Graham put his lighter back inside the pocket of the denim pants that he was wearing. He tried to sit comfortably in them, but he just couldn''t, so he quickly changed to a pair of cotton pants. He also took off the leather jacket and wore only the t-shirt despite the cold room. Valentine had turned on the radiator but it was still slowly heating up the room and hadn''t reached the desired temperature yet.


    Once he felt comfortable, he sat at the table and focused on the floating flame above it.


    ''Who are the people who trust Mayor Hank Krammer the most that I can choose as my targets?''


    The flame began burning brighter and an image began to slowly appear. His divination had now worked because he knew about the mayor more. That much was needed since his target turned out to be a Marquis rank Contractbound.


    In the image, he saw the face of the driver that had just taken the mayor away earlier. It showed him driving the mayor, so if he hadn''t already known about it, he could guess that the man was the mayor''s driver. The image then changed to that of the face of the two bodyguards, Danny and Lucas, standing next to the mayor. After that, it changed yet again and this time, it showed the woman just now who was standing in the mayor''s office, handing him some documents. Graham could guess that she was his secretary.


    After displaying the four people whom Graham had already seen through Valentine''s eyes, the image changed again and showed another person who was unfamiliar to him. It was a young man who resembled the mayor in some way. That must be the son of the mayor. And then the image shifted one more time and now it showed a man who looked to be in his fifties sitting behind an office desk. He was wearing a suit and judging by the overall looks of him and the office he was in, the man was a higher up in some kind of company.


    The flame was still burning brightly and the image kept changing until it showed Graham a total of ten people who trusted the mayor the most. Based on the question he asked, those ten people were also the most suitable candidates for him to make as targets of his trickery. To his surprise, someone in the local Police was also one of the people shown.


    Once the image disappeared, Graham began analyzing what had been revealed to him.


    "My mission from the Deity is to fool these people by pretending to be the mayor and steal their most valuable possession. I need to also make sure that they blame the mayor. That sounds easy enough but also vague. ''Valuable possession'' is just not definite enough, Val," he leaned on the back of his chair and rubbed his chin.


    "What if the person''s most valuable possession is their virginity? I don''t think I can do that. We need to find another target if it''s indeed the one. Now, hopefully, I can use divination to find out what their most valuable possessions are," he muttered with expectation.


    Graham turned his focus back on the burning flame and asked another question about the target that he found the easiest to get to.


    ''What is the full name of Mayor Hank Krammer''s driver?''


    The flame then formed a text that answered Graham''s question: Wiebe van Houten. After that, it disappeared quickly.


    "That''s the same last name as the bodyguard Danny. That means they''re brothers. It makes things a little bit more complicated, but that shouldn''t affect our plan that much," he said.


    ''Where does Wiebe van Houten live?''


    The flame flickered and then an image gradually appeared. It was a small two-story house on a cliffside that looked nice despite its size. The view from the second-floor balcony must be amazing. After that, the image shifted to an aerial view of the city with two red dots, one indicating Graham''s location and the other one showed the house of the target. According to Graham''s memory, the driver''s house should be on Klifstraat, to the east of his hotel about five kilometers away.


    After the image disappeared, Graham asked another question.


    ''Is Wiebe van Houten a Contractbound?''


    The flame showed a short text: ''no''. Wiebe van Houten was just a normal person, so it should make things easier for Graham.


    ''What is Wiebe van Houten''s most valuable possession?''


    The flame then showed an image of a bedridden woman whose face was as pale as the first winter snow. Her black hair looked as brittle as her thin body. The expression on her face, however, wasn''t that of sorrow, but rather, contentment and joy. On the end table next to the bed, there was a photo of what looked to be her younger self with two even younger men which Graham assumed to be Wiebe and his brother, Danny. After that, the image disappeared.


    Stupefied by what he had just seen, Graham scratched the back of his head.


    "Have I told you that I''m a hypocrite, Val? I can''t just go around killing somebody''s sick mother. Killing a Contractbound is different because, for some reason, we''re no longer ''human''. At least that''s what I feel," he muttered weakly.


    Graham then focused back on the flame and rephrased his question.


    ''What is Wiebe van Houten''s most valuable material possession?''


    The flame burned brighter and this time, it showed an image of a thing, not a person. It was an antique locket that was hung around Wiebe''s neck. In the image, the man was opening the locket and revealed the photo inside, which was similar to the one on the end table from the previous divination. However, the photo had four people in it: child Wiebe, child Danny, the younger mother, and a man who should be the father. After that, it disappeared.


    "Now, that''s more like it. I can steal that locket and blame it on the mayor. Or manipulate him while pretending to be the mayor to make him give it to me, and then destroy it in front of the man. Whichever way we choose, at least we don''t have to kill anyone," said Graham decisively.

 192 Night Time Hoorn

    It was already ten in the evening and the street was only getting busier. People wearing thick clothes kept on coming and gathering around the many bonfires. There were happy looks on their faces like there was nothing wrong in the world. Their cheeks were puffy and red because of their liquor and their loud voices filled the air.


    Graham walked out of his hotel room wearing a black trench coat covering a thick, dark brown shirt that he was wearing underneath. He wore a pair of black cotton pants at the bottom and a black trilby at the top. If he was standing in the shadow, he would blend perfectly, especially since the night was moonless.


    In front of ''The Hotel'', there was a group of five men and four women who looked to be in their late thirties. They were gathering around a bonfire, roasting the food that looked like some kind of potato but the color was purple. They were loudly chatting and drinking the clear liquid from a bottle that had an intact snake carcass in it, passing it around each person every time.


    Feeling mischievous, Graham walked a little closer to the bonfire and muttered something inaudible.


    "I ask that you create a snake form!"


    Whoosh!


    Because of his Flame Manipulation, the fire in the steel bin shot in the air and started slithering around like a snake. It went dancing for a while and then returned to normal as if nothing had happened.


    The people around it were surprised for a second, but then they looked amazed and started cheering.


    "Whoa!! Do it again! Do it again!" shouted a man at the flame that had returned to normal excitedly.


    "Yes! Hahaha!" added a woman.


    They kept on laughing and shouting like they had just seen the most spectacular show in their lives. The people were surely drunk.


    Graham didn''t pay more attention to them because he had his own mission. He had had his little fun, so now it was time to go.


    Unlike Sloten, Hoorn was too big to travel on foot, even for Valentine who could walk really fast, so he had no other option but to hail a public motor carriage. However, since it was night time, they wouldn''t just be driving around randomly. He had to ask Stefan to call the company to send one to the hotel.


    There were a lot of public payphones in the street, so Graham could use the same method for going back to the hotel later. It was also most likely how most people there traveled at night.


    The driver starting driving once his passenger had told him where to go.


    Even from inside the carriage, Graham could hear the noises that people were making outside in the street. They were singing, dancing, laughing, and mostly, talking with their unnaturally loud voices.


    "Val, at least they look happy. That looks like a channel for them to release their energy," he muttered, and then asked the driver, "Does this happen every night?"


    "No, no, sir. People only do this on Saturday nights. And it''s especially festive tonight because it''s the last Saturday of the month. On weeknights, there are usually only a few who gather outside like this," explained the driver loudly, just like the rest of the city''s inhabitants.


    "Why Saturday nights?" asked Graham curiously.


    "It''s because it''s the last working day of the week, Sir. People in Sloten work six days a week-- Monday to Saturday, and they have Sunday off. That is if they work for the government companies. If they work for private companies, it''s the normal five working days, Sir. But most people here work for the government," he added, "The mines and the factories are all owned by the government of the Republic, you know that, Sir?"


    "All the different factories and mining companies are owned by the government?" asked Graham.


    "Yes, yes, sir. Amazing, isn''t it?" said the driver proudly. His voice resonated within the carriage.


    "So what happens on Sunday if people are off? Who will take care of the mines and the rest?" asked Graham curiously.


    "Oh that. There are people who work Tuesday to Sunday, Sir. So everything never stops working here. There are also people working night shifts to make sure production is kept running 24/7. We have a lot of manpower, after all, so there is never not enough people," replied the driver.


    "That''s interesting, Val. So this city must be very important to our country. I wonder what sorts of things they are producing here," muttered Graham quietly. Mining and production were not his specialties, so he didn''t know a lot about it.


    They arrived at their destination not long after, and just like the rest of the city, Klifstraat was also full of people gathering around bonfires. After trying to haggle without success, Graham paid the driver reluctantly and got out of the motor carriage.


    "This street is called Klifstraat, so there should be a cliff here, right, Val? Just like what my divination showed us this afternoon. I''m sure it''s beautiful during the day, but at night like this, I can only see a dark abyss," said Graham.


    Behind the houses and buildings there, there seemed to be a cliff that was just pitch-blackness at night. There were metal fences built a little far from the edge to keep people safe, so even if it was dark, people shouldn''t accidentally trip and fall into the abyss.


    Graham walked around a little to try to find a secluded place. He needed to do divination to determine where his target was. There were a lot of flames there, but he couldn''t just use one and reveal the image to everyone near the flame.


    Since it was a busy night, it was rather difficult to find an area where there was no one around. Even the alleys were full of people dancing and singing, so Graham had no other choice but to go near the fence to the cliff where there were fewer people and lit his lighter there.


    With his back facing the street and the abyss of a cliff in front of him, he concentrated on the flame from his lighter and asked a question.


    ''Where is Wiebe van Houten right now?''


    An image appeared in his flame and it showed a man sleeping in his bedroom. It was his target, Wiebe, who was currently sleeping. After that, the image disappeared.


    Graham had divined the man''s location before, in the hotel, but after seeing the condition of the street, he became aware of the chance that the man might be heading outside. However, it seemed that Wiebe was still asleep the whole time.


    After putting out the fire from his lighter and stuffed it back inside his pocket, he focused on the belt that he was wearing.


    "I hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    "I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!"


    He had had Valentine store his Concealment inside Purloin, so now he could use it twice. A thin yellowish mist began descending and covered his whole body. The mist made people instinctively ignore him like he was just an insignificant rock on the pavement-- nothing to pay attention to. However, it didn''t mean that he was completely invisible.


    It was also the same for the sounds that he created. To people, it now sounded muffled and just like an insignificant background noise that was completely normal. That was why doing something eye-catching might make people see through his Concealment if they concentrated hard enough. Creating a loud noise would have the same effect.


    He now had used all of his Concealment charges stored inside his belt, and he hadn''t put any on his face. If people looked at him, he would still be easily recognizable. If he had Concealment on his face, there would be a thick yellowish mist covering it, blocking people''s view. However, for Graham, it was not an issue.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being into that of Cornelis Haring!"


    Graham''s body began undergoing a transformation process at once. He became taller and a scar formed on his face, running across his nose. In a short while, he had completely turned into the Police officer from Sloten, Rood.


    "!!"


    Suddenly, he felt like a pair of yellow eyes was staring at him from the darkness below. It sent a chill down his spine and he felt scared for some reason. The eyes only stayed for a split second, but he was sure they were there. They were like the eyes of a giant monstrosity lying dormant in the abyss.


    "Val, did you see that?" muttered Graham while trying to control his breathing. His heart rate had increased significantly because of it, "What was... that?"


    He quickly got away from the fence and turned his back against the dark abyss. Whatever that was, it wasn''t something the current him could probably handle. Besides, he had his own mission, so he had to get to it. Later, he would use divination to try to find out what it was if it was possible.


    "Let''s just go to our target''s house," he muttered more calmly.


    He walked fast but carefully towards the location of Wiebe''s house based on his memory. The body of Rood helped him do that because the man was better trained than he was. It didn''t take long for him to get to the mayor''s driver''s house, all the while staying in the shadow to avoid attention.


    Graham stood near the back door of the house which most likely led to the kitchen. He remembered that Danny, the brother of his target, was a Contractbound of the Tongue and War, so he had to be careful. However, Danny shouldn''t have any detection ability-- that was assuming he was even home at all. He was the mayor''s trusted bodyguard, after all.


    After using divination to determine the safety of the house, he issued an Order to the door.


    "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    Click!


    A clicking sound that was luckily drowned by the noise from the street was heard. After that, Graham very carefully opened the door and closed it behind him as quietly as he could. He made his way through the kitchen and up the second floor, where the man''s room was.


    Tiptoeing, he walked down the corridor to the man''s bedroom. He found out that his door was unlocked, which was probably so that he could quickly respond in case his sick mother needed him. It also meant that Wiebe wasn''t a deep sleeper, so Graham had to be extra quiet.


    He twisted the door handle and pushed open the door slowly. The faint sound it made was drowned by the noisy street, but it still woke the man up!


    "I order you to fall asleep!"


    He quickly said before Wiebe could fully get up from the bed.


    Since Wiebe wasn''t fully awake yet and Graham was much stronger now, his Order took place immediately and the driver went unconscious.


    "An amazing man this guy is," Graham muttered quietly, "It seems that he had trained himself to completely ignore the noise from the people outside during these nights, but other noises can still wake him up." There was praise in his tone.


    Graham approached the sleeping man and placed his both hands near his head. After that, he started chanting while focusing on the information he needed. It was about the mayor of Hoorn, Hank Krammer.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of this man!"


    Sploosh!


    That was what Graham felt. He felt like he fell to the water and was now inside an aquarium, watching the scenes in front of him through the glass tank. He saw the interactions between Wiebe and the mayor, and it was apparent that the mayor was treating him kindly. That explained why the driver trusted the mayor so much. The scenes kept changing and Graham memorized everything about the mayor that was shown by Wiebe''s memory. There was also information being transferred to his brain slowly.


    Once everything was done, Graham felt like he was pulled out of the water and returned to reality. The man was still sleeping soundly on his bed and his expression showed a little discomfort for a second. After that, it became peaceful again.


    Meanwhile, Graham was processing all the information he had received.


    "So, the mayor''s cane is his enhanced weapon. And the book, as we know it, is an artifact. Anti-divination has been placed upon them by the secretary, that''s why my divination didn''t work earlier, Val," he muttered, "According to this man''s memory, the cane is almost indestructible and can cause the mayor''s enemy to instantly develop a random irrational obsession. It sounds like a very powerful weapon," he said jealously.


    "If we want to pretend to be the mayor, we have to make a replica of the book and the cane, because the man always has those two items with him," he said quietly.


    Graham was looking at the locket that the driver was wearing.


    "We cannot steal it tonight. It has to be a believable performance where the mayor is the villain, and it has to be powerful enough to shake his trust that he has built all these years," he muttered coldly.


    Leaving the sleeping man alone, Graham quietly and carefully got out of the house through the same way that he had entered. Once outside, he walked several meters away to get a payphone to call for a public motor carriage. Before making the call, he removed the Concealment shrouding his body but not the transformation. He would do that later once he was near his hotel.

 193 Approaching the First Target: Wiebe

    Graham, wearing the appearance of the mayor, was in a clothes store, muttering to himself while looking at the numerous clothes on display. He was looking for a piece of suit that matched that of the one the real mayor often wore, according to Wiebe''s memory. There was a single soft sofa provided by the store where he was currently sitting on, waiting for the shopkeeper to return. The woman had just taken his measurement and was looking for a piece that suited him.


    The previous day, he had called Luuk using the hotel''s landline and told him to carry on with the scheduled gathering without him. He had also asked his young neighbor to try to get the remaining deposit money back from The Hotel while also informing him about the existence of an Unseen in Hoorn.


    "He sounded elated when he heard about Lucas, so I hope he chaired the gathering well. That kid too often is just a follower-- a yes man. He needs to take the lead once in a while for him to grow," he determined quietly.


    "Mr. Mayor, are you sure you don''t want a tailor-made one just for you?" persuaded the female storekeeper loudly as she came out of the storage room carrying a suit, a pair of pants, and a pair of formal shoes.


    "No. I need them quickly because it''s an emergency, but I still care about the quality, that''s why I came here," reassured Graham. His voice wasn''t as loud as the storekeeper''s, but it was deep and bassy. Graham controlled his voice as best as he could to match that of the real mayor''s.


    With a proud smile, she replied, "Then these ones will do the job. Do you want to try them first?"


    Graham refused with a firm shake of his head. "No, thank you. I trust this place,"


    He didn''t want to spend too long posing as the mayor in public. The longer he did it, the higher the chance something would go wrong.


    The suit, pants, and shoes cost him a staggering amount of more than twelve guilders because they were of the finest quality. Although he was very reluctant to pay, he couldn''t skimp on them. It would be suspicious if his targets noticed that he was wearing a cheap rip-off of a suit as the mayor.


    "What someone will do just to please a magical being in the sky..." he lamented as his precious money left his wallet.


    Once he was done paying, he looked at the woman and opened his mouth, letting words that carried supernatural energy out.


    "I order you to fall asleep!"


    The female storekeeper blinked repeatedly and each time, it looked like she was trying very hard to hold back. After a while, she finally closed her eyes and her head fell on the counter, resting uncomfortably on her arms. She had fallen asleep!


    Standing in front of the sleeping storekeeper, numerous thoughts appeared in his mind.


    "That won''t do. She won''t blame the mayor for it. She would probably just blame herself for being negligent,"


    Graham looked at the security guard outside and sneaked into the changing room once he was sure the man hadn''t noticed anything. Inside the changing room, he reverted back to his original self and returned to the sleeping storekeeper.


    "I cannot just simply make her forget our visit here. The suit we bought is too expensive and the mysterious transaction will make them investigate it, Val," he muttered.


    Concentrating on the woman in front of him, he began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this thought inside this woman''s head!"


    "The one who came to her store wasn''t the mayor, but a random rich businessman from another city whose name she forgot. He bought a suit and pants without having them tailor-made because he''s leaving the city in the afternoon,"


    After he finished, he felt something leaving him and entering the woman''s head. He felt drained all of a sudden like he had been running the whole day without any rest. The complicated thought that he had implanted inside the woman''s head had taken most of his stamina.


    Graham mustered everything he had and tried to walk out of the store. The security guard had seen the mayor, but it didn''t matter if he was made to forget it. After all, the woman was the one he did the transaction with. Sneaking behind the man, Graham said weakly.


    "I order you to forget about the mayor''s visit just now!"


    The security guard looked confused for a second while Graham used the opportunity to leave the store stealthily. He had to hold on to the wall as he was walking because of the weakness. Once he was far enough, he rested on the ground with his back against the wall; the shopping bag he was carrying was placed neatly on his lap.


    "*Panting* It doesn''t matter if the limit is ten times per day, Val, if I get drained after using it just once," he complained.


    His stamina gradually returned and after resting for five minutes or so, he had completely recovered. Graham got up from the ground and wiped the dirt off his coat before continuing his way forward.


    "Now we need the cane and the book. The mayor''s cane looks ordinary, probably to fool his enemies into thinking it''s just a normal walking cane. That''s the same for the book, so we can just buy something that looks similar," he decided.


    Graham was currently on Zilverstraat, the commercial district of Hoorn. It looked very similar to Grotemarktstraat in Sloten in that the street was bustling with activities and the fact that it was surrounded by stores and other establishments. The difference was that in the background, he could see De Vaalserberg, the tallest mountain range in the republic, from up close. The cloud covering the mountain top was like a giant sleeping with a blanket. It made him feel small and insignificant.


    It didn''t take really long for Graham to find everything he needed because all the stores were not that far apart from each other. He got a cane that looked almost identical, except for the color of the handle, and a book that was the exact copy of the artifact. Along with the cane, he also bought a small vial of black paint to adjust the color of the cane later.


    For now, he needed to go back to the hotel to get everything ready.


    With a wave of his hand, a public motor carriage pulled over and let him in. Once he told the driver, who was a woman, his destination, she drove away at once.


    After arriving at the hotel, he paid the driver without even trying to haggle. Graham carried all his shopping bags and returned quickly to his hotel room, through the lobby that was full of guests but devoid of the receptionist. It was another one of Stefan''s disappearance cases, which didn''t strike Graham as odd anymore.


    Inside his room on the fourth floor, he laid everything on the table and took off his coat.


    "Now let''s get to work, Val," he said with excitement.


    Graham took out the vial of paint and cane that he had just bought. As a Contractbound of the Tongue, he didn''t really need to do manual labor. His words alone were enough to get things done.


    "I order you to paint the handle of this cane a little darker!"


    A small amount of the liquid paint left the opened vial and smeared itself around the handle, making it a shade darker. Now he had the perfect copy of the mayor''s walking cane, although his was not an enhanced weapon. However, he felt that he could somehow replicate the ability of both the cane and the book to a believable extent using his own.


    Graham then used divination to determine where the real mayor was. It turned out that the man was in a kind of meeting that would take hours, so that meant the driver should be free right now. He also divined Wiebe van Houten''s whereabouts and found out that he was at home, taking care of his mother. After that, Graham divined the number of the driver''s landline.


    "Alright, Val. My preparation is ready, so we can go now. I hope the scary thing from last night doesn''t appear again," he hoped.


    Wearing only a black shirt and the new pair of pants and shoes he had just bought, Graham went out with a shopping bag filled with everything else he needed. The pants were a little too short for him and the shoes a little too wide, but once he transformed into the mayor, they would fit perfectly. The walking cane was sticking out of the bag, but he wasn''t concerned. After all, a lot of people used walking canes, so it wasn''t anything suspicious.


    In the street, Graham waved to get another public motor carriage to take him to his destination, and then suddenly a tinge of regret filled his heart.


    "Do we have to do this all the time, Val? My wallet will be drained empty by the transport cost alone," he sighed.


    Graham went to the red light district using the motor carriage and once he arrived, he quickly went to an alley where people couldn''t see him. This time, there was no one having sex there. After making sure that it was safe, he began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being into that of Hank Krammer!"


    Graham rapidly became a little shorter and bigger. His head became squarish just like the mayor''s and his eyes turned dark brown. His skin tone didn''t change much, but there were now more freckles all over his body. He felt heavier and less agile, but at the same time more powerful. He was sure that he could punch a hole in the wall easily, although it might not actually be the case since he only had the mayor''s physical body, not his supernatural abilities. Besides, he was the mayor that was in Wiebe''s memory, so he might be slightly different from the real person.


    Once his transformation was complete, he put on the shoes, held the book in his left hand, and used the walking cane with his right hand. He also put on Purloin, covering it with the suit, and Gloom''s Redress. Once empty, he folded the shopping bag almost neatly into something very small and stuffed it inside the pocket of his suit.


    Walking out of the alley, people began noticing him and they all smiled politely or greeted him with respect, which made Graham rather uncomfortable. However, his acting skill was put to test here, so he had to react accordingly. He let out an aura of importance and responded only as necessary as he was walking towards a payphone.


    Ring!


    The sound of the ringing while reaching the other side was heard. Graham had dealt Wiebe van Houten house landline number and not long after, someone picked it up.


    "Hello, this is van Houten''s residence," said a man from the other side. It was none other than his target himself.


    "Wiebe. I need you to come and pick me up right now at the usual street," demanded Graham with authority, but there was enough friendliness in his tone to reflect the way the real mayor spoke. His bassy voice resounded in the payphone booth.


    "Okay, Mr. Krammer," he complied without asking anything. It was the way the mayor always did things, so he was used to it, "I''ll be there as quickly as I can,"


    "Thank you," replied Graham shortly, and then hung up the phone.


    Since he was the mayor now, he couldn''t stay cooped up in the phone booth. It would be too out of character for the most powerful man. With confidence, Graham walked out of the booth and took a little stroll along the street while waiting for his driver.


    The people there gave him all sorts of reactions that gave him a better insight into how the mayor was perceived by his people. A big portion of them were evidently the mayor''s die-hard supporters, while some of them only greeted him out of either fear or politeness.


    "Mr. Krammer," shouted Wiebe from inside his motor carriage.


    Graham approached the driver and got into the back left passenger seat like the mayor always did. Since the driver''s seat was on the right, it also gave him a better look at the man who seemed to be in his early thirties.


    "Are we going back to the office now, Mr. Krammer?" asked Wiebe politely.


    "No, no, let''s first get some lunch. It''s almost midday now," replied Graham.


    He was actually hungry, and he needed to spend time with the man to reinforce Wiebe''s belief that he was the real mayor.


    "Just take us to your favorite place. I haven''t gone there in a long time."


    "Sure thing, Mr. Krammer," Wiebe approved of the mayor''s decision.


    He drove away at once towards the west and after driving up and down hills, they finally arrived at a small restaurant called ''Jasmine''s Cantina''. They entered the place and was greeted by the warm smile of the waitress.


    Graham and Wiebe ordered their food and chatted while eating. He asked all sorts of questions to find out more about the mayor and the man himself. It turned out that his mother''s condition was getting better and better nowadays, but he was still very worried about him. After all, it was only he and his brother who took care of her.


    Since he was the mayor, there were some questions that he couldn''t ask because the real person should already know the answer. He was curious about why Wiebe didn''t take his mother to the hospital, but asking that would only make him look suspicious, so he refrained. They were mostly talking about light topics, which improved the mood significantly.


    Once they finished eating, Graham paid for the two people''s meals and the pair returned to the parked motor carriage.


    "Should we return now?" asked Wiebe. His tone was much warmer than before.


    "No. Take me to Laaglandstraat," he replied without hesitation.


    Silence suddenly crept into the small metal vehicle. The atmosphere turned heavy as he saw that Wiebe''s hands twitched for a second. His expression showed hatred that was quickly suppressed. He seemed to be a completely different man from before.


    "Why are we going there, Mr. Krammer?" he asked slowly. His tone was a little higher and his voice louder than usual as he still couldn''t fully control his emotion.


    "I have some business there. Let''s go," Graham insisted.


    He had used divination the previous night and found out that the driver was deeply tied with something on Laadlandstraat, which was the Hoorn''s equivalent of Oosteindestraat in Sloten. The place was the perfect stage for Graham to use the man''s history to ruin his trust for the mayor-- once and for all.

 194 The First Victim: Wiebe

    In the quiet and shady street of Laadlandstraat which was surrounded by tall cliffs, Graham had ordered ''his driver'' to pull over and waited in front of a small, sketchy restaurant.


    Having no choice, Wiebe van Houten obeyed his trusted employer''s command and waited inside the motor carriage while the ''mayor'' got out. Wiebe sat tensely while his attention was fixated on the building that Graham was about to enter.


    Before entering the building, Graham turned to a secluded alley near there to do a quick switch with Valentine before quickly switching back. The pattern on the leather belt that he was wearing changed as a result.


    Once he was ready, Graham entered the restaurant and was greeted by a surprised look from the chef that was standing behind the counter that also worked as a cooking station. The chef quickly ran towards Graham and greeted him.


    "Mr. Krammer, long time no see. How can we help you?" asked the chef with a high-pitched, nasalized voice.


    It was a fat man wearing an apron that was all greasy. Even the yellow shirt he was wearing was full of grease, despite the fact that there was no customer around and he hadn''t seemed to be cooking the whole time; there was no smell of food and no heat coming from the kitchen.


    "I need your boys," Graham disregarded the chef and continued on walking towards the back door.


    He was letting out an aura of dominance to make his act more believable, which made the chef not dare look at him in the eyes.


    Going through the back door, Graham found himself in a room that was much livelier than the restaurant itself. There were a total of twelve people there, four of whom were playing a kind of card game. The rest were just chilling or watching something on the small television that showed more static than the actual program. The yellow light from the light bulb in the ceiling was the only source of illumination in the room.


    Besides the door where he had just come through, there was another door there that probably led to the back alley. Graham observed the door for a while and then turned his attention to the denizens of the room.


    The moment the fake mayor walked in, all the attentions were directed at him, and some of them quickly returned to what they were doing while the rest kept staring at him. There were a total of nine men and three women, and all the women were part of the ones ignoring Graham.


    "You dog! Mr. Krammer is here! Be respectful!" shouted the chef in anger. His double chins moved up and down as he opened his mouth.


    Even after the chef blared at them, their attitude didn''t change. Some of them even had a look of disdain in their eyes.


    Graham sighed and then a sinister smile surfaced on his face.


    Suddenly, there was fear in the people''s faces, including the chef''s. Graham, or the mayor, had suddenly become an all dark figure with a suffocating aura that felt like it pierced right through their hearts. The dark figure also got bigger and bigger and its red eyes were staring at them, even if they closed theirs. The eyes that were full of anger and malice were staring right into their souls.


    Pearls of cold sweat began forming on their foreheads. They suddenly regretted ignoring the mayor despite knowing how powerful the man was. They felt stupid, and their stupidity had probably cost them their lives. Seeing as he was now, there was no way the mayor wasn''t angry, and if he didn''t stop the suffocating aura, they would choke to death soon enough.


    Although everything was just an illusion. Graham was enjoying the show with amusement, standing right by the door. Even the fat chef looked like he was dying.


    "Val, your Mass Illusion ability is so fun to use. Although, the blood consumption is just too much," the blood kept on dripping unnaturally from the wound on his finger, and the moment it touched the floor, the blood evaporated into a cloud of crimson mist. "Luckily, they''re just normal people, so I can maintain it for long enough,"


    Grunting, choking, and begging noises filled the room, as well as cries of pain and despair. People were writhing, struggling, and kicking about on the floor, while the illusory curtain remained above them as if it was a grand stage for a play.


    Graham covered his wound once he thought it was enough, effectively ending the blood supply to maintain the illusion. The orange curtain dispersed and his victim''s sense returned to normal. They no longer saw the monstrous dark mayor and his soul-sucking aura. However, they were still weakened nonetheless.


    "Are you now willing to listen to me or do you need me to teach you another lesson?" Graham''s voice was shrill and domineering. The sinister smile was still adorning his face, showing his sincerity in inflicting harm upon them should they misbehave.


    Nobody dared to answer. They were looking at him with eyes that looked as if they were begging for mercy.


    With a swing of his cane, he commanded the people to get up from the floor.


    "Then let''s get down to business. I need you guys to punish your old friend," he said mysteriously.


    Without him even explaining, there was a look of understanding on their faces.


    According to his divination, Wiebe was once a member of the gang, along with these people, working under the chef. They were notorious for doing dirty jobs that the higher-ups were unwilling to do until one day there was a mission gone wrong. It was caused by Wiebe''s sudden deserting of the mission because of the news that his mother had suddenly fallen ill.


    Wiebe''s action caused the mission to fail and one of their men to be killed. In retaliation, the gang kidnapped his mother and tortured her, making her illness much worse and leaving her in her current condition. It was thanks to the mayor that she was saved, and after working for the mayor, the gang didn''t dare to touch Wiebe''s family anymore.


    Because of the incident, Wiebe''s hatred towards the gang only grew with each passing day, especially when he looked at his frail mother. The gang was the same. The wound from the man''s betrayal hadn''t healed, and the hatred hadn''t been quenched. It was the reason why the driver had been avoiding the street like a plague.


    "Now, get up you dog! We have a job to do!" shouted Graham authoritatively, "And don''t do anything unless I tell you to!"


    The men and women all tried to get up with what remaining strength that they had. They seemed to be emitting an old, resurfacing anger that could no longer be contained.


    After issuing his command, he left the room to fetch his unsuspecting driver. He walked past the empty restaurant and out to the street where the man was waiting for him tensely.


    The fresh, cold air hit his face once he was out, showing a total contrast to the musty, damp room inside.


    "Mr. Krammer, can we leave now?" persuaded Wiebe politely. His voice was wavering as he repressed his emotion.


    Graham could see that the man was rather anxious, or perhaps, holding back his anger. The incident happened long ago but he seemed to have not forgotten all about it-- the guilt of causing one of them to be killed, the anger for them for causing his mother''s worsening condition, and for himself for being too weak to do anything-- they were all reflected on his face.


    "Not yet. It''s now time to settle the old debt and I''m here to help you do that," Graham said, not in an explanatory tone, but a coercive one. His eyes pierced right through Wiebe''s soul.


    Doubt arose in the driver''s expression as he was unsure what to do. However, he was forever indebted to the mayor, so he couldn''t help but comply. With a slow nod, he got out of his motor carriage and followed the fake mayor inside the restaurant.


    The two men walked back to the room in the back of the restaurant, where the twelve people plus the chef had been waiting. Their faces looked like a clan of hyenas welcoming their prey. The atmosphere in the room was very heavy and the ensuing silence was enough to split a rock in two.


    "Mr. Krammer, what''s the meaning of this?!" asked Wiebe in confusion and anger since judging from the people''s looks, it''s not him who was about to settle the debt, but the other party.


    Slam!


    Graham kicked the door shut and slit his finger again, letting his blood flow down to the floor. An illusory orange curtain returned to the room, enveloping everyone there. However, this time, there was no dark figure of the mayor whose aura was killing them.


    Without giving the anxious and angered Wiebe any explanation, Graham walked towards the other door in the room and opened it. He then grabbed something that was revealed to be Wiebe''s sick mother!


    Graham carried her on his shoulder and then dropped her on the floor just like an insignificant bag of wheat.


    "Mr. Krammer!! What are you doing!!" Wiebe shouted worriedly and then tried to run towards his unconscious mother. However, the fat chef and another person were holding him tightly. "Mom! Mom! Why are you here?! Mom!" he shouted and kicked and punched, but nothing worked. He was held back against his will.


    Hahahahaaa!


    Bursts of amused laughter filled the small room. It seemed that they were enjoying the show with Wiebe as the main character.


    "Oh, poor Wiebe. You are so naive..." the mayor''s voice came out of Graham''s mouth. It was a voice full of mockery and pity.


    "Do you want to hug your mother? Then come here and hug her," added Graham and then gestured at the two men to release him.


    Wiebe came running as fast as he could and once he was near his mother, Graham muttered something inaudible.


    Whack!


    Wiebe punched his mother right in the face!


    "Mother! No! I-I didn''t... Mom!" he quickly got away from her and looked at the mayor, "Mr. Krammer! What did you make me do!"


    He looked at his hands and at his mother who was still unconscious on the floor. Her face was bruised and her nose bleeding. Wiebe''s heart was broken into pieces at the sight of his pitiful mother. His hatred of the situation grew stronger, but he was quickly held back again by the chef and the other guy.


    "Wiebe. Do you know why these lowlives could easily reach your mother?" asked Graham while pointing at the gang members with his cane.


    A sudden realization came into the driver, enraging him even further.


    "Aaarrghh!!! You!! Hank Krammer!! It''s you!!" shouted Wiebe from the top of his lungs.


    A smile surfaced on the fake mayor''s face.


    "It seems your brain is still working. Yes, that is correct. I let them do that. Why? So that I can get myself a cheap driver who will take me anywhere without question. Is it worth all the trouble, you ask? Of course. But now I''m rather sick of you and your dying mother,"


    Wiebe wanted to vomit because of the mayor''s pretentious voice. The smug smile on the big man''s face made him want to stuff burning coals into the mayor''s mouth.


    Graham approached Wiebe slowly and snatched the locket that he was wearing, which made the poor man opened his eyes wide.


    "No!! Give it back you bastard!! No!!" he struggled and was kicking the air, but to no avail.


    With a wide smile, Graham dropped the locket and crushed it with his cane.


    Crack!


    The sounds of laughter were getting louder and louder as Wiebe''s rage increased. His face was red with anger and his breathing was very heavy.


    "FUCK YOU KRAMMER!! FUCK YOU!! I''LL KILL YOU!! I''LL KILL YOU!!!"


    His frantic screaming only made the laughter go wilder and louder. After that, Graham squatted and slapped the face of Wiebe''s mother, seemingly trying to wake her up.


    "Look at your son. You failed as a mother. Look how dirty his mouth is."


    The mockery in his words was unbearable to Wiebe. However, he still couldn''t get away from the restrain despite struggling as hard as he could.


    Graham picked up Wiebe''s mother and carried her on his shoulder.


    "You guys have fun with him, but remember, don''t kill him or do anything that will put me in trouble. If you do that, I''ll make sure to gut you all of you personally and force your families to eat whatever left of you!" he threatened with a voice colder than hailstorm.


    "Oh, and Wiebe, I might still need you to go to work after this. If you have no dignity, that is," he said warmly to the enraged man, which only served to fuel his anger even more.


    Wiebe was looking at him with eyes full of disdain as he was struggling to break free and gouged the man''s eyes out.


    Graham then left the room through the other door and once he closed the door behind him, he covered the wound on his finger. As soon as he did that, Wiebe''s mother on his shoulder disappeared.


    "So, van Houten, any words you''d like to say to us?" asked a big man with a smug smile on his face. He gestured at the two behind Wiebe to let him go.


    "FUCK ALL OF YOU!! YOU CAN ALL GO TO HELL WITH KRAMMER BASTARD!!" he charged at the man.


    Smack!!


    Crash!


    The man punched Wiebe in his stomach, sending him flying and hit the wall.


    Wiebe quickly got up and ran towards the door where the fake mayor had left through but he was stopped by the people in the room. They were grinning and laughing. After that, the sounds of punching, smashing, and cries of pain filled the room.

 195 A Foggy Nigh

    Graham had returned to his original appearance and went back to the hotel after he was done with Wiebe. The man would definitely hate the mayor because of him, which was exactly what Graham wanted.


    "It''s time to decide on the second target now. We need to strike while the iron''s hot, so I guess Wiebe''s brother would be the best option. But he almost never leaves the mayor''s side, and if he does, Lucas is always with him,"


    Graham was leaning back on his chair, looking out the giant glass window at the mountain view outside. White fog covered the highest peak, gently and slowly making its way down.


    "And since he is a Contractbound, it will be a little more difficult, but should be manageable,"


    Looking at the quiet late afternoon sun, coupled with the silence of the mountains and the slowly setting fog gave him peace of mind. Graham took a deep breath and exhaled very slowly.


    "It will be foggy tonight it looks like. Let''s head out later, Val. I''m curious about foggy nights in the mountains... but right now, let''s get to work,"


    There was a black lighter lying on the table and an open notebook with a drawing of a map. On the other side of the table, a bottle with a clear liquid inside was standing inconspicuously, despite there being a carcass of a snake inside.


    "This drink will accompany our night tonight. Just be sure not to get too drunk, Val," he said, in amusement.


    Among the items on the table, he picked up the lighter and lit a gentle flame. He then used his flame manipulation and made the flame float in the air above the table. The tiny fireball suspended itself in the air and illuminated its surrounding with its warm, soft orange light.


    Concentrating on the flame in front of him, Graham began asking a question that he needed an answer to.


    ''When will Danny van Houten be alone?''


    The supernatural phenomenon that always accompanied his divination began to happen. The image in the flame showed him the man that he was targetting, walking in the street alone. The man''s surrounding was dark and foggy, which meant that his target would be alone at night. After that, the image disappeared.


    Graham then continued with his divination until all of his questions were answered. He always felt lucky to be a Fire Divinator, because everything he needed to know could easily be done through divination. He imagined if he were not one, he would have to manually do all the investigation processes himself.


    "We''ve got everything we need to know, Val," he said finally, "At least most of them,"


    By the time he finished his divination processes, his stamina had been drained quite a lot, both for the divinations themselves and for sustaining the tiny floating flame above the table. He rested his back against the chair and looked at the view beyond the window.


    The sun had begun setting in the west, painting the southern sky that he was looking at different shades of blue. The more westward the sky was, the brighter and more colorful it was, whereas the eastern sky had become a lot darker.


    After grabbing the small glass place upside down on the bottle, Graham pouted a little amount of the liquor on it. The narrow bottleneck made sure that the snake carcass inside wouldn''t come out, which arose another question: how did they get it in in the first place? However, it wasn''t something he bothered to find out right now.


    Graham rose the glass in front of him and gave it a gentle circular shake. The clear liquid turned rather cloudy after being shaken. There was a strong stench coming from the liquid, which made him think of the smell of sweaty workers'' undershirts after working in the hot afternoon sun in the desert. It was not a pleasant smell, and certainly not an appetizing one. However, it made Graham even more curious about the taste.


    With a sip, the cloudy liquid entered his mouth and down his throat, stinging everything it touched. The liquor itself had a subtle sweet background note while the dominant flavor was an earthy and somewhat chickeny taste. His tongue got a numbing sensation from the liquor, but not an unpleasant one. In fact, it was a kind of addictive numbing feeling that made people want more.


    As the liquid entered his body, he felt hot and energized. Graham now understood why people in Hoorn drank it. The low temperature could be unbearable at times, especially during these times when winter was just around the corner.


    "As long as we don''t drink too much, we should be fine," he giggled.


    Right then, he felt something nudging his right hand. That was where he had put on Gloom''s Redress, and he felt that the bracelet was looking for his attention.


    "Oh, it''s time to feed you, eh?"


    Graham''s warm body negated the bracelet''s negative effect of being too cold, so he didn''t notice that it had actually gone even colder. If it was Valentine, his wrist would have probably got mild frostbite because of the bracelet.


    He put the bracelet closer to his hair, but it didn''t open its tiny mouth. Instead, Graham could feel that it was trying to bring his hand somewhere else.


    "The snake liquor? Are you kidding me? You''re a bracelet, and underaged, at that!" exclaimed Graham.


    The liquor was too precious, so he didn''t want to share it with his questionable bracelet. He had specially asked Stefan to bring him one that was of the best quality in the city, and the price was a staggering half a guilder. There was no way he was sharing it.


    Gloom''s Redress seemed insistent on getting the liquor as it tried even harder to bring itself closer to the glass of liquor. Graham quickly took it off and placed it on the table. Since it was a bracelet, it couldn''t move on its own. However, he could see its mouth showing a begging expression somehow.


    "A no is a no!" he didn''t back down.


    Using Valentine''s dagger, he cut a tiny portion of his hair and stuffed it down the bracelet''s tiny mouth, force-feeding it. Once it had eaten its wearer''s hair, it didn''t seem to be begging anymore.


    Graham put the bracelet back on and continued enjoying the beautiful sunset in the mountains while drinking his snake liquor.


    Night fell and Graham was already tipsy from drinking, even though there was still more than three-fourth of the liquor left in the bottle. The alcohol was in his blood, and he didn''t have any blood manipulation ability so he couldn''t supernaturally get it extracted. He had no choice but to switch with Valentine, who had a higher alcohol tolerance. He did so after replacing Mass Illusion inside Purloin with Transformation, by quickly transforming into the mayor and transforming back.


    Valentine woke up not long after Graham fell asleep and quickly took off the bracelet that felt like it was trying to freeze his wrist solid. He shook it violently before stuffing it inside the deepest part of his pants pocket, squishing it against his thigh as he moved about. He got up and walked towards the counter near the door, where a large pitcher of water had been prepared.


    After drinking a lot of water, he felt much better, and now he was ready for action.


    The fog had set outside. From his window, he couldn''t see anything except the gently floating white fog that blocked everything it covered.


    Valentine activated his night vision and everything became a shade of yellow, outlining everything even those hidden in the darkest spot. However, he still couldn''t see anything outside because of the fog.


    He put on a black sweater on top of his shirt and his favorite leather jacket on top of the sweater. Currently, he was wearing four layers of clothing to ward off the cold mountain air. His hands were all covered in gloves while his head was warmed up by a thick wool hat, black in color.


    After that, he placed Concealments on himself and left the hotel room. He walked down to the lobby and was surprised to find someone other than Stefan there.


    "So our theory that Stefan is a humanoid replica that works 24/7 has been proven wrong, G," he muttered jokingly.


    The clock showed six forty-two in the evening and there were quite a lot of people in the hotel lobby, enjoying the warmth of the place while being accompanied by bottles of snake liquor. However, none of them seemed to notice Valentine, who was sneakily walking past them towards the main entrance.


    The street was dark and foggy, with visibility only about 500 meters in front of him. The street lights shining above were covered by the dense fog, causing them to look like spectral lights descending upon the Earth.


    "Where might that bodyguard be going in this condition?"


    Valentine wondered as he was walking towards the location that Graham''s divination had indicated.


    The road, strangely, was still busy with vehicles driving by. It seemed that people in Hoorn were used to foggy nights like that. They didn''t even drive slower than usual-- if anything, they drove faster.


    Since the location was not that far from his hotel, Valentine could just walk there. With his pace, he arrived less than an hour later and it was just about time that the bodyguard should show up. He was currently on Woudstraat, where it was supposed to be beautifully surrounded by trees during the day. However, at night time like that, coupled with the dense fog, he felt like he was in a horror movie scene, and the trees looked like monsters hiding in the dark.


    The man that he had been waiting for finally came. Danny van Houten was wearing a thick wool sweater that looked tight, defining his muscular body well. There were no sunglasses nor masks covering his rough-looking face. Valentine could now see the similarities between the two brothers, and it was clear that Danny was the younger one.


    Valentine followed the man who suddenly crossed the street once the road was clear. Danny then walked towards a small path between the trees, going into the dark woods. Valentine walked closely behind as not to lose his target in the fog. The sounds of his light footsteps, as well as his presence, were concealed. Unless Danny was very perceptive, he wouldn''t notice Valentine, especially since he was a higher-rank Contractbound.


    The way that the man walked showed that he was impatient. It was apparent that Danny wanted to get to his destination as soon as he could. Valentine could feel the repressed anger as the man walked.


    After treading the path for about fifteen minutes, finally, something other than trees appeared in the distance. It was a small house with faint orange light coming from inside. Amidst the foggy woods, the house looked like the lair of a witch who beckoned weary travelers with its warm light.


    Danny van Houten approached the main entrance and through the eyehole, someone from inside asked the man for a password.


    "Revolution..." replied Danny coldly.


    Click!


    The door was unlocked and someone opened the house slowly, revealing only a gap big enough for one person to enter. There didn''t seem to be any other entrance, so Valentine had to seize his chance. Using the ability stored inside Purloin, he began chanting while focusing on the person behind the door through the eyehole.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, intensify your desire to open the door!"


    Instead of opening it a little, suddenly the person felt the urge to open the door all the way. Valentine''s copied ability was much weaker than the original, so after a short while, the person quickly started to close the door again. However, he had managed to slip past, right after Danny entered the small house.


    "I''m not that big. No need to open the door that wide," complained Danny.


    "Sorry," replied the man who was behind the door.


    Valentine was now inside the house and was hiding behind a shelf in the corner of the room, away from everyone''s eyes. The house was illuminated only by a single lantern that for some reason was shining brightly. The room itself didn''t look as dilapidated as it was outside. It was messy indeed, but it was apparent that the house was still being used.


    Besides himself, there were seven people in that room, including Danny who had just arrived. To his surprise, the female tour guide from his trip to the city was also there, and she even seemed to be the leader of the small gathering. There was one other woman besides her while the rest were men, and Valentine didn''t recognize any of them except for Danny.


    "Welcome, Danny. Now I believe everyone is here, so we can start our meeting," said the tour guide with a voice that was not as loud as before. Even her cheerful tone was completely gone, replaced by a mature, scheming voice that sounded experienced.


    "Before we start, I want to say something," Danny raised his hand. He was standing with his back leaning against the wall on the right side of the room.


    "Yes, Danny?"


    "The mayor has just done something terrible to my mother and brother, so if there is the need to kill him, I volunteer to do the honor," he said coldly. There was hidden anger in his voice.


    Everyone looked at him curiously, but he didn''t seem to be in the mood to share. The woman smiled.


    "If that comes down to it, then I''ll let you do it, Danny. But for now, we need to cook up the plan to overthrow the snake first,"

 196 An Enemy of an Enemy

    His low voice was muffled by the mysterious yellowish mist hovering over his mouth, preventing it from going out.


    "What are we going to do about that bitch Eveline? She''s very dangerous," asked the other woman in the room.


    The group had been talking for a while. It was mostly their plan to overthrow the mayor, which didn''t sound quite solid yet. They were stuck in a dead-end because the mayor''s faction was more powerful than their group and even with their strength combined, they wouldn''t be able to do much. Not to mention the Police that would definitely back up the mayor since he was still legally in position.


    "Eve is indeed another problem we have to face. But we really can''t do anything for now unless she''s out of the picture. But at least the mayor has lost his most trusted driver, hasn''t he, Danny?"


    The man nodded firmly.


    "Let''s see if we can sway whoever is his next driver to come to our side. Sara and Felix, you''re on it," ordered the tour guide, looking at the other woman and the man standing next to her.


    Sara and Felix looked at each other then back at the tour guide. They nodded simultaneously.


    "Then that concludes our today''s meeting," she then added, "You''ll know when we''ll meet again,"


    Most of the participants nodded, but Danny seemed to be wanting to say something. The tour guide noticed his restlessness and approached him.


    "Danny, what is it?" she asked kindly.


    Without hesitation, the bodyguard replied with impatience in his voice, "So are we not going to take action?!"


    "No. As much as I want to, we really cannot, for now, unless a miracle happened. Please don''t do anything reckless, we need you in this," she spoke as she tapped his left shoulder. Her voice was gentle and it had a somewhat soothing effect.


    Danny''s clenched fist loosened up as he relaxed. The woman''s words managed to convince him.


    In the corner of the room, concealed behind the yellowish mist, Valentine was leaning against the wall, observing everything that had transpired there. His arms were crossed in front of his chest while his expression was calm.


    "Maybe we can help these people out by dealing with Eveline, whom I guess is the Shroud secretary," he muttered, "But we don''t know what these people''s motives are, so we shouldn''t get involved more than that,"


    His goal happened to be in line with the group''s, so Valentine didn''t mind lending a little hand from the dark.


    Once the tour guide had ended the meeting, everyone left the small house one by one, with around a minute gap in between. When it was Danny''s turn to leave, Valentine quickly followed the man out into the woods enveloped in fog.


    Once they were back in the street, about fifteen minutes later, Valentine got ready to take action. He quickly and sneakily dashed ahead of Danny using a different path. Using the Transformation stored in Purloin, he turned himself into the mayor and undid all the concealments shrouding himself. After that, he put concealment to cover his body, effectively hiding the different clothes that he was wearing. The mayor''s secretary was a Shroud, so the mayor showing up with Concealment could be believable.


    Walking slowly towards the bodyguard, Valentine let out a sinister smile that belonged to the mayor of Hoorn.


    Danny was shocked to see the mayor, smiling, come from behind the fog. He wanted to look around to make sure the other members of the gathering weren''t there but he held back. Doing so would make him look even more suspicious.


    "Mr. Krammer? Why are you here alone?" asked Danny, trying to hide the mixture of anger and fear in his heart.


    "Danny, oh Danny..."


    Valentine''s voice was full of pity-- it was like he was talking to a beggar or an orphan.


    "You think you can betray me without consequences? Tsk... Tsk... Tsk..." Valentine clicked his tongue.


    "I-I don''t know what you mean, Mr. Krammer?" he tried to sound innocent, but his voice wavered.


    Valentine mumbled something and suddenly, Danny''s consciousness faded. He stood there with a blank expression; his eyes were staring at the great nothing before him. He had fallen under Valentine''s interrogation!


    "There really is nothing I want to ask you,"


    Approaching the unconscious man, Valentine reached into his pocket and grabbed the man''s wallet. According to Graham''s divination, his most precious belonging was the photograph of his family, which was also the last remaining photograph he had of his father.


    Danny treasured the photo so much that he carried it everywhere. It was also the photograph that would brighten up his mood whenever he felt down since his father was a model figure for him. The photo reminded him of the happy times they had spent together when they were still very young.


    Valentine put the wallet back but kept the photograph in his hand. After that, he broke the Interrogation affecting Danny and the poor man snapped back into reality.


    Drops of red blood fell onto the paved ground and an illusory orange curtain descended slowly as if it was marking the stage of a grand show. In the silent world of fog, suddenly a sound of eerie footsteps could be heard, and the mayor became blurry.


    "Hold him down!" ordered the fake mayor.


    Danny quickly looked around and noticed that Lucas and another man had appeared from behind the fog. They did as the mayor ordered and pinned the man''s body down on the ground. Lucas then pulled Danny''s hair and forced him to look at the mayor, who was crouching in front of him now.


    "Danny, look what I''ve got here," said Valentine innocently, like a child wanting to show his new toy to his friend.


    Danny''s eyes were looking with hatred at the mayor whose body was covered in a strange mist. He was struggling to break free from the restrain, but he couldn''t. After all, he was a rank lower than Valentine.


    On the spot where Lucas was holding him, Danny could feel something wet dropping onto him, but it quickly evaporated into nothing.


    The mist covering the mayor slowly disappeared, revealing the suit that he had always worn and the cane that was laid on the ground. In his left hand, instead of the book, there was a photograph that Danny was very familiar with. It was a photograph of his family!


    "You bastard!! When did you steal it?! Give it back!!"


    Danny''s struggle became fiercer, but ''Lucas'' was pinning him down as strongly as he could. The liquid dropped even faster onto Danny and evaporated in an instant.


    There was only a depraved smile on the mayor''s face.


    "Danny, what punishment do you think fits a traitor like you? Death? Too easy. Torture? Too kind..." the fake mayor was pondering, all the while holding the photograph against the struggling bodyguard.


    "What if I just take everything precious to you and leave you in this world all alone. And whenever you find someone else, I''ll destroy them as well!" the mayor''s voice was full of confidence like he was just stating facts.


    "Fuck you, Krammer! You''ll burn in hell!" Danny spat on the mayor''s face.


    "That''s the spirit!" he smiled creepily, "Let''s start with this,"


    The ''mayor'' took out a lighter from his pocket and held the photograph above it. With a flick, a flame came out of the lighter and latched itself onto the photograph, burning it slowly.


    The fire was reflected in Danny''s eyes, as well as deep hatred towards the man in front of him. He violently shook about, trying to break free, but ''Lucas'' wasn''t giving in. Danny was still pinned down helplessly on the ground, watching the only photograph of his father being consumed by the flame.


    "KRAMMER!! STOP!! STOP IT!!"


    He screamed and shouted from the top of his lungs, but nothing happened. The flame kept on burning the photograph until it turned into nothing but ashes.


    "Let that be a lesson to you. And I still expect you to come to work tomorrow,"


    The ''mayor'' then picked up his cane and stood up before walking away from Danny. He disappeared into the fog before Lucas did the same. He and the other guy walked into the fog and disappeared, leaving Danny, who was heartbroken and enraged, alone in the street.


    The bodyguard frantically gathered the ashes of the photograph and sat there motionlessly, shrouded by the night fog.


    Meanwhile, in the distance, Valentine was massaging his wrist.


    "That man is really strong. I hope when I get stronger my Illusion can physically hold people down..."


    ...


    In an abandoned factory far from the city center, two people, a man and a woman, were walking down the stairs towards the dark basement. The man was tall and big with a domineering aura while the woman had a mysterious atmosphere around her. They were walking in the dark as if it was nothing.


    "Eve, have you seen Wiebe all day?" asked the man curiously.


    "No, He must just be busy taking care of his mother. The sooner we kill that useless mother of his, the easier it will be for him to do whatever we say,"


    The woman''s voice resounded in the dark. It was a beautiful, mature voice, but the tone was that of a seductress.


    "We can''t do that now. We still need the mother to some extent to control him. Be a little patient, Eve. Everything will go according to our plan," replied the man assuringly.


    "If you say so, Hank," she said, looking passionately at the man with her pair of bright yellow eyes that glowed in the dark.


    "Do something about your night vision. They''re too eyecatching," said the man coldly.


    The yellow glow in her eyes then disappeared, replaced by a pair of beautiful light green eyes that looked like corals in the ocean.


    "I''m sorry. I lost control if I get excited,"


    They arrived at thick metal doors that seemed to be locked, although there were no visible locks nor latches on the doors. The sturdy doors stood tall in the dark, preventing entry to anyone who didn''t have the right ability to open them.


    The man stood in front of the doors with both hands resting on the cane that he was carrying. He opened his mouth and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, declare that every locked heavy metal door must be open!"


    The heavy metal doors began moving apart from each other in a dragging manner. The loud sound pierced the ears and resounded in the dark and quiet night. Once the door was open, the room beyond it was revealed.


    The room behind the metal doors was more like a dungeon instead of a room. There were bars and cages where people were locked behind. On the right, there were a total of eight jail rooms, with five people inside while on the left there were a total of then jail rooms, and all of them were filled up with a person each.


    "Eve, which one is ready?"


    In the dungeon, nobody dared to make a sound. The moment they heard the door being opened, all of them stayed away from the bars, curled up in the corner for safety. The people looked dirty and unkempt, but for some reason, they didn''t look sick. In fact, all of them seemed healthy and properly fed.


    "This one right here should be ready. He was a thief and I heard the hands of thieves are in high demand right now,"


    The man and the woman were standing in front of the second jail on the left, and the male teenager inside was cowering in fear. The man called Hank fished out keys from his pocket and unlocked the jail. After that, the woman entered it.


    "Stay away from me! Stay away!" the teenager shouted frantically as if the woman was a monster.


    "Shh... don''t make a noise," she put her index finger in front of the lips, shushing the teenager.


    She walked closer and closer while displaying her long, sharp nails as a threat. If the teenager were to do anything reckless, those nails would be the last thing he felt inside his throat.


    The moment she was close enough, she used her both hands to force the teenager to look at her straight in the eyes. After that, she muttered.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Lies and Attraction, declare that you are in love with me!"


    The teenager''s tense expression loosened up. After that, the big man entered the jail room and held a book in front of him. After giving the teenager a pen, he told him to write something.


    "Write right here that you will genuinely feel thankful to me or, as a consequence for failing to do so, you will do as I, Hank Krammer, say for the rest of your life.


    The teenager was reluctant to write anything in the book, but the woman whispered something in his ears, and he began writing it out of his own volition. Once the teenager finished writing what the man asked, a sinister smile surfaced on the man''s face.


    "You failed to do your end of the contract, so from now on, you will do as I say!"


    There was fear on the teenager''s face as his eyes reflected inexplicable horror. He lost control over his own body and couldn''t do anything besides the bare necessities to keep himself alive. He wanted to scream and run but his body wasn''t listening to him.


    "Now follow me," said the man to the teenager, who then turned his attention to the woman, "Discipline the others here. They need to learn some manner,"


    The woman smiled meaningfully.


    "With pleasure, Hank,"


    The man called Hank then left the jail room, followed by the teenager in a robotic manner. He tried very hard to regain control over his body but he couldn''t. For the rest of his life, which he didn''t know how long, he would have to do as the big man in front of him said, and it filled his heart with terror.


    As the man and the teenager left, the woman stood in the aisle between the jail rooms and began laughing maniacally.


    "Teeheehee! Did you hear the mayor? He wants me to discipline you dogs. Get ready! Teeheehee!!"


    She took out a whip from under her tight dress and began walking very, very slowly towards one of the jail room where a young man was locked in.


    From outside, the sounds of screaming, begging, and crying were heard. There were also the sounds of creepy laughter and whipping mixed in the midst. The night was young, and the torture continued on until what felt like forever for the prisoners.

 197 The Life of a Seductress

    "Morning,"


    The woman walked past the men who were hungrily staring at her as if she was a piece of walking steak. She tied her black hair up and revealed the back of her neck, which made them men in the office even madder. Even the women in the office were somehow charmed by her.


    Whispers began to be heard in the common workspace where a lot of people were.


    "Ms. Herrick is definitely the sexiest woman I''ve ever met!"


    "Shush! Don''t you dare say that in front of the mayor or you''ll be beheaded!"


    "Really? Are they dating or something? I know that Mayor Krammer is not married, but is Ms. Herrick single?"


    "Ah, you''re new here. I heard Eveline is in love with Mayor Krammer, and vice versa, I guess? So, anyway, we can only enjoy her beauty from afar,"


    A smile surfaced on Eveline Herrick''s face as she faintly heard the whispering. She turned around and gave the gossiping men a wink.


    "She winked at me! She winked at me!"


    "Not at you, you bastard! It was me she winked at!"


    "Shut up! She winked at me!"


    A heated argument broke out between the men about a topic that shouldn''t have been an issue in the first place. However, somehow Eveline''s charm was able to make people stupid.


    Eveline ignored them and entered her private office. As the mayor''s secretary, she got her own space that was separate from the rest.


    Her private office was not large, but it was big enough to be comfortable. There was a desk with objects neatly arranged on it, a shelf on one side with numerous books and documents, various potted plants that gave the room a natural vibe, and a giant full-body mirror in the corner. The room was painted mostly yellow, and the greed plants added a beautiful harmony to the color scheme.


    After closing her office door, the first thing Eveline did was stand in front of the mirror, looking intently at her own reflection. Her slender body was emphasized by the tight yellow dress that went only a little below her thighs, revealing most of her legs. She took off the black coat that she was wearing and hung it on the rack before returning to the mirror.


    "Eveline, look at you. Aren''t you the most beautiful woman in the world?" she said playfully with a breathy voice.


    She caressed her own body while looking at her reflection. Suddenly, the ''Eveline'' in the mirror spoke.


    "Yes. Look at you and your gorgeous face, your body, and those legs. No men can resist you, Eveline. Even women will have a hard time resisting your charm..." the ''Eveline'' in the mirror''s voice had a higher tone and sounded devious.


    "Teeheehee... Oh, you..."


    "Being a Romancer is the best idea ever. Now I can get anyone I want, isn''t that right? *Wink*"


    The ''Eveline'' in the mirror winked back.


    The more she looked at her reflection, the heavier her breathing became. She could feel the warm air coming out of her mouth while her hands were touching every part of her soft, fair skin gently.


    "Don''t forget that now you can even create potions to make even the most resistant man fall for you," the ''Eveline'' in the mirror spoke.


    "You''re right... *Hhhh..." she let out a deep breath.


    Knock! Knock!


    Her expression sunk in an instant.


    "Who the fuck is that..." she mumbled.


    The ''Eveline'' in the mirror shrugged, and then her reflection returned to normal. It no longer spoke to her and did actions that were different from the real person.


    After making sure that her appearance was appropriate, Eveline opened the office door and found a young man standing behind it.


    "Eve, are you free tonight?"


    "Oh, it''s you, Jonathan. Are you finally asking me on a date?" she replied playfully. Her expression was innocent, but her eyes were seizing up the man.


    "No, not like that, Eve. Diana and I are celebrating our second anniversary. We are inviting all of our close friends, and we hope that you''ll be there," said Jonathan in a friendly manner. He didn''t seem to be affected by Eveline''s seduction.


    Eveline was visibly enraged for a split second, but she quickly controlled her expression and didn''t let her smile waver.


    "I''ll think about it, Jonny,"


    "Alright then, Eve. Please let me know if you''re up for it. Anyway, this morning I blacked out for a second. It felt like my brain was being probed. Has it ever happened to you?"


    "No, never. You must be just tired,"


    "I guess... Anyway, it''s time for me to get back to work or Mr. Krammer will chew my ass," he smiled and waved at her.


    "He''ll chew your ass alright..."


    Eveline closed the door slowly and then locked it. Once she was alone, her expression became ugly and twisted.


    "How dare he resist my charm! And to invite me to dinner with his girlfriend? How dare he!"


    "Calm down, honey. He has been your friend since childhood, so he must have higher tolerance against your charm. Just give it some time and he will surely fall for you," the ''Eveline'' in the mirror was back and she was hugging herself for comfort.


    "Yes, you''re right, Gorgeous. I should properly seduce him and then have sex with him in front of his girlfriend. That will be the best scenario, teeheehee..."


    Eveline began laughing maniacally and once she was satisfied with herself, she looked at the desk to check if there was work to be done today.


    "That''s quite a lot. Darling, do you think we should just do what we usually do?" she asked her reflection, who was busy checking her nails.


    "That is the best way to get things done indeed. You are very smart, Love,"


    Eveline picked up the documents on her desk and after looking at herself in the mirror one more time, she got out of her private office.


    In the common workspace, the moment she came out, all the eyes were looking at her. The fact that she wasn''t wearing her coat anymore, revealing the curves of her body, made her even more ravishing.


    Walking as slowly as she could while swinging her bottom, Eveline approached one of the men whose cubicle was the closest to her office. She then leaned forwards, bringing her bosom closer to the sweating man.


    "Bruno, would you mind doing these for me? Please?" she said breathily as she handed the stack of documents to the man.


    "Y-yes Ms. Herrick! Leave them to me!" the man took the documents from her hands, intentionally rubbed his sweaty fingers against hers.


    "Thank you," she replied with a smile and then quickly left.


    "You lucky bastard!" shouted another person from another cubicle.


    "Bruno, tell me if you need help!"


    Meanwhile, Eveline had gone to the toilet and was standing in front of the mirror, thoroughly washing her hands with soap. The toilet was empty except for Eveline and her ''reflection''.


    "How dare that pig touch me!"


    "You should punish her, dear. Bruno, isn''t it? How did you even remember his name?" asked her reflection with a voice that was a pitch higher than the original.


    "Although they are all trash, knowing their names is still important. They will feel that you care about them that way, see?"


    Once she finished washing her hands, she checked the makeup on her face.


    "Anyway, Love, you sounded like you had fun last night? Hmm? I''m jealous..." the ''Eveline'' in the mirror wore a frown and her hands were reaching down to her intimate part.


    "I''m sorry, darling, I couldn''t bring a bigger mirror, so you couldn''t see. At least you heard how much fun I was having, didn''t you?" she laughed and exhaled deeply, "Ahh... just remembering about last night got me excited..."


    Her breathing got heavier and heavier and she began touching herself vigorously.


    Suddenly, she felt a heavy wave of sleepiness weighing down on her!


    "Love, I''m sleepy. I''ll get some sleep first," said the ''Eveline'' in the mirror.


    She didn''t hear any footsteps nor felt any presence. She tried to look around using the remaining time that she had to find anyone suspicious, but there was none. Eveline used what remained of her strength to get out of the toilet, but the sleepiness became heavier and heavier until she fell unconscious on the toilet floor.


    A faint sound of snoring was heard from the toilet as a tall, shrouded figure entered it. The figure''s whole body was covered in a mysterious yellowish mist that made people instinctively neglect his presence. The sounds of his footsteps were also muffled by the mist.


    The figure looked at the mirror with suspicion and then focused his attention on the sleeping woman on the floor. He seemed to be mumbling something inaudible and once he was done, he left the toilet tiredly. The figure disappeared not long after, as Eveline continued to sleep inside the toilet.


    "Ms. Herrick, what happened?!!"


    Two women just entered the toilet and were surprised to see Eveline''s body on the floor. They panicked for a second, but after hearing her faint snoring, they quickly calmed down and even began gossiping.


    "If only we can take a photograph of this..." said one of the women mischievously.


    "You know what, I''ve always hated this bitch. Who does she think she is, seducing all the men in the office," replied the other woman in disdain. She was looking down at the sleeping Eveline with contempt.


    "What are you thinking about?"


    There was an evil smile on the other woman''s face.


    "Let''s completely undress her and hide her clothes somewhere,"


    "What are you? A high schooler?"


    "What? Do you not hate her? You even wanted to take a photograph of her sleeping like that!"


    "Yes, but that''s just to tease her, not to publicly shame her like your idea!"


    The two women''s bickering woke Eveline up. She slowly got up from the floor with a confused expression on her face.


    "Why am I sleeping here? What are you two doing?!" Eveline''s voice sounded irritated.


    "Ms. Herrick, we just came and you were already sleeping. We don''t know what happened," replied the woman who wanted to take a photograph.


    "Why didn''t you wake me up?!"


    Eveline didn''t like to not be in control and the fact that there were other people while she was sleeping in an inappropriate place made her even angrier.


    "I-I''m sorry Ms. Herrick. We didn''t have time to. We literally just came in and you already began waking up,"


    Eveline''s nails grew longer in an instant and they looked like they were made of metal.


    "Don''t you lie to me!"


    She closed in towards the woman who planned to undress her and pushed her to the wall. Her sharp nails rubbed against the woman''s skin and it appeared that if Eveline brought her nails any closer, the woman would start bleeding.


    "Ms. Herrick... she''s not lying. Please let her go..."


    Someone who heard the commotion from outside the toilet then came barging in. It was Jonathan, who had just happened to be walking past the female toilet.


    "What''s happening here?" he asked worriedly, looking at Eveline who was pinning another woman against the wall. The woman''s face had been drained of its color and drops of sweat filled her forehead.


    "Jonathan! These women were bullying me!" said Eveline in self-defense.


    With just a quick glance, Jonathan could see that the situation wasn''t like what Eveline was describing. He raised his eyebrow and looked at Eveline in disappointment.


    "Eve, you''ve changed," his voice was disheartened, "Please let her go,"


    Seeing that Jonathan was not on her side upset her even more. She hated the way he was looking at her like she was some kind of lunatic. She hated the way the two women played victim there, although clearly, she was the victim. However, she couldn''t do anything right now because it was a public space.


    Eveline charged out of the toilet in anger and quickly returned to her office, slamming the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror and began venting her frustration.


    "Those bastards! How dare they humiliate me like that!" she rested both her hands on the mirror and looked down on the floor in anger. Her breathing was heavy because of her emotion.


    "Love, calm down. There will be a chance for revenge, and when the time comes, you can enjoy it for as long as you can," replied her reflection coldly.


    "Yes, yes, you''re right, Gorgeous. I will make sure they will not forget that I, Eveline, am the one standing at the top and they can only lick my foot. I will make sure to humiliate them in the way they will never forget!"


    She looked at herself in the mirror and was reminded of how irresistible she was now. She began caressing her body intimately.


    "For now, let''s go back to the basement. Hank shouldn''t mind if I play with his toy for a while. I need to release some pressure or I will explode, ahh..."


    After putting on her coat, Eveline left her office and walked downstairs towards the main entrance. Her mood was much better than when she returned to her office, which made the other people confused.


    ...


    In a cafe near the town hall, Graham Hymes was sitting at the outdoor seat near the corner. On the table in front of him were a bowl of warm stew and a cup of hot chocolate. He took a little sip of his hot chocolate and rested his back on the soft cushion. His breathing was heavy as if he had just run a marathon.


    "Val, the preparation is all now ready at last,"


    Graham looked at the town hall across the street and watched as a woman wearing a yellow dress and a black coat exited the building.


    "Our next target has left the building as expected,"


    Using the provided soup spoon, he scooped out some of the stew and brought the thick, hot liquid into his mouth. The chunks of mutton, carrot, and potato touched his palate as he chewed them. The soup warmed up his body and the solid ingredients filled up his stomach.


    "Once we finish this meal, we''ll start our next project, Val. I''ll call it operation Identity Theft,"

 198 Spiraling Down into Madness

    "I''m back," replied the slender woman naughtily with black hair tied up. The yellow dress that she was wearing emphasized her curves as she walked seductively past the men staring at her ravenously.


    She entered her private office after smiling at the people greeting her out of politeness. Once she locked the door, she looked at herself in the mirror.


    "Val, this crazy hag has a habit of talking to herself in the mirror. She should be locked up in a mental asylum, not working in the town hall..." her deep voice sounded different from the normal tone she usually used. The woman rested her chin on her right hand, thinking.


    On the desk, her nameplate was placed neatly in the corner. It read ''Eveline Herrick''. There was also a brown leather purse placed neatly on it.


    Graham, who was pretending to be Eveline, the mayor''s assistant, sat down at her desk and began looking at another stack of documents, pretending to be working. However, he suddenly stopped.


    "What am I doing... Based on the memory of the people about her that I read, she never actually works. She uses her seduction to make the men in the office do her work for her. What a sly hag,"


    After realizing how out of character working was for the woman, Graham stopped and instead, just got up and stood in front of the mirror.


    "So that''s what she does all day; talking to her reflection in the mirror. What should we do instead, Val? I quite literally cannot do that. I''m not crazy like her..."


    Graham decided to get out of her office to chat with her co-workers. There were quite a lot of people in the common workspace, so he should be able to at least gather some juicy information about the mayor.


    Just as he opened the door, someone was standing in front of it, about to knock. It was Jonathan, Eveline''s childhood friend and also the first person whose memory about her he read. However, in Jonathan''s memory, Eveline was just an innocent, pretty woman. That was why Graham had to also read the memories of other people in order to get the perfect character of Eveline Herrick.


    "Jonny, is something the matter?" he asked, using his best Eveline impression. He also used the man''s nickname that the real Eveline would often use based on Jonathan''s own memory.


    Jonathan looked hesitant. There was guilt on his face as his brown eyes stared at Graham''s-- Eveline''s light green eyes.


    "You know what? I''m sorry for not believing you earlier. They just explained to me what happened, and now I know the whole story,"


    Graham wanted so badly to start muttering, telling what he was thinking about to Valentine. However, it would break her character, so he held back. He could only keep his thought to himself alone until later.


    "I agree that you were a little rough with those girls. They didn''t actually mean you any harm,"


    "I''m sorry, okay! I didn''t know why I suddenly collapsed and they wanted to take advantage of me,"


    His words were purely based on speculation of what had happened. He wasn''t there to watch after he successfully planted a thought inside the real Eveline''s head. However, based on Jonathan''s words, he could guess what had taken place-- or almost taken place.


    "Yes, they are at fault too. I''m just trying to say that I am sorry for jumping to a conclusion like that back then. It''s just it was very not you to be violent like that. You seemed like someone else, someone I know nothing about," Jonathan paused. He looked down and started speaking slowly.


    "We''ve known each other since we were young, so I should know you better than anyone else-- but it doesn''t seem to be the case anymore. You know that you can always talk to me about anything, Eve,"


    If he could, Graham would have probably knocked the man unconscious for putting him in an awkward situation like that. He wanted to get away as soon as he could, but he had to stay and maintain character. After all, it would determine the success of his mission.


    "Thank you so much for caring about me, Jonny. I am fine. It''s just that work has been taking a toll on me, so I''m a bit stressed out. The mayor''s demands are also non-stop, so I can barely take a break. When this is all over, I''m sure I can be my old self again,"


    "Is that so?" asked Jonathan with suspicion. He didn''t seem to trust Graham''s words right off the bat.


    "Yes. You don''t have to worry. And I''ll be sure to come to your anniversary dinner. After all, it''s your special moment with Diana, so I want to be there for the two of you," he said cheerfully.


    His words seemed to have convinced Jonathan to some extent, especially at the mention of the man''s anniversary that Graham had learned from reading his memory. If the man hadn''t thought about inviting Eveline all morning, he would not have been able to see that memory when he was reading him.


    "You''ll be there? Then we''ll be waiting for you! Don''t forget, it''s Tuesday-- tomorrow night at our house. We''ve also invited our other friends, so it should be fun!" Jonathan''s voice was cheerful now.


    "Will do, Jonny!" Graham gave his best, non-seductive smile that Eveline used to do back then; before she became a Romancer. The innocent smile looked better on her pretty face than the usual, suggestive smile she often gave men and women alike.


    After that, Jonathan returned to his own private office, leaving Graham in relief. He quickly changed his mind about going out and closed the office door instead. Graham sat at Eveline''s desk and rested his head on the backrest of the tall chair.


    "Val, that was really tiring, and cringeworthy, especially when that guy mentioned their childhood. Thank the Deities we''re out of that situation..."


    Graham took out the watch that he hid inside his coat. Eveline never wore a watch, so him wearing one would raise suspicion.


    "It''s already two. She should be back any moment soon, and the mayor too. The show is about to begin, Val,"


    As he was sitting leisurely, suddenly he heard a noise from outside. It was the cue for him that his plan had entered its next stage. With a smile, he got up from the chair and hung the black coat that he was still wearing, revealing Eveline''s gorgeous body.


    "Ms. Herrick, welcome back? But when did you leave?"


    A slender woman walked past the cubicles in the common workspace with a confused look on her face. At the same time, people were also staring with as much confusion as she had, and some were even looking at her with suspicion.


    Graham opened the office door and showed himself, which created even more puzzlement in the office.


    There were two Eveline Herricks!


    People began gossiping and talking, while the real Eveline was staring with a hostile look at the impostor, Graham.


    "Who are you?" asked Jonathan, who had come out of his office because of the commotion. He was looking at the real Eveline with suspicion, instead of confusion, in his eyes. He had somehow ''instinctively'' known which one the ''real'' Eveline Herrick was.


    "That should be my question. Who are you? How dare you disguise as me!" Eveline shouted at Graham with hostility, which created more commotion in the office.


    "I''m Eveline Herrick. Who ARE you?"


    There was a smile on Graham''s face. Blood started dripping from his finger as an orange curtain began enveloping the area. People''s expression suddenly became twisted and was looking down on Eveline as if she was some dirty impostor trying to take over the ''real'' Eveline''s position.


    "Don''t look at me like that! I''m Eveline Herrick, secretary to Mayor Hank Krammer! Now, drag this impostor out of here!"


    In reality, people were looking at both sides with puzzled looks. Only Jonathan and a few other people of high position took Graham''s side because of his Thought Implant. He had inserted the idea that he was the real Eveline and Eveline was the impostor.


    His Mass Illusion had caused Eveline to see people looking down on her; the kind of look that she despised from the bottom of her heart. It caused her to be enraged and lose her cool.


    "What proof do you have that you''re Eveline?" asked Jonathan straightforwardly.


    "Proof? Jonny, you''re asking me for the proof?! We''ve known each other since childhood!" she shouted.


    "Don''t you dare call him Jonny! He''s my childhood friend, not an impostor like you! And I''m sure you can''t show any proof that you are me, since I am me," Graham didn''t back down. He said confidently with a little disdain in his voice.


    Eveline was looking around, cornered by people''s condescending stare. She knew that she had to show her identity card if she wanted to prove herself. She began reaching into the pockets of the coat that she was wearing to try to find something. After not being able to find it, her expression suddenly sunk.


    Her purse was gone!


    Graham raised the brown leather purse that he had been holding and took out an identity card that belonged to Eveline Herrick. With that, the expressions of the people who trusted him showed relief. Most of the people in the office were now looking at Eveline with contempt and suspicion, so he didn''t have to maintain the illusion. After all, keeping the illusion going for that many people took too much of his blood.


    The illusory orange curtain ascended back before disappearing into nothingness. Eveline, being stared at scornfully, began freaking out. She had always been the one in control, and now that her control over the people was slipping out, she felt furious and enraged. The calm and seductive Eveline that she always showed the public was now gone.


    "That''s mine you bitch!" she screamed and lunged at Graham; her sharp nails had grown long enough to claw ''his'' slender body open.


    "Security!" shouted Graham for help.


    Before Eveline could reach Graham, she was grabbed by Jonathan and several other men. She then started kicking and lashing at anyone close to her, injuring them with her sharp nails. Luckily, security came not long after and pinned her down to the floor. Two big men in black uniforms were overpowering her, preventing her from breaking away.


    "What''s happening here, Mr. Herrick? Who is this woman? Why does she look like you?" asked one of the security guards.


    Graham pretended to be shocked by her attempt to attack her and was hiding behind Jonathan, whose forearm had a deep scratch wound.


    "She''s a crazy woman who tried to kill me! Thanks to Jonny and the others I am safe. You can ask everyone here that she is the one starting it."


    The security guards looked around and got a nod of confirmation from everyone. Even though some of them were still confused, after seeing how Eveline tried to actually kill someone, they couldn''t help but join Graham''s side. Especially since all these times, Eveline in their eyes was a frail woman who needed their help to defend herself against the evil world.


    Eveline, who was pinned down on the ground, began mumbling something, but so did Graham.


    "!!"


    Her mouth was suddenly closed against her will and her words failed to come out. Whatever she was trying to do had failed!


    "Mmph!!"


    She kept trying to scream and shout, but it was not successful. Graham had used Order to forcibly shut her mouth!


    He knew that she would try to make the security guards fall in love with her and let her go. Luckily, he was faster than her.


    After making sure it was safe to do so, Graham walked closer to her and stared at Eveline right in the eye. He then brought his lips closer to her left ear and then opened his mouth.


    "Look deep inside your heart. Are you really the real Eveline Herrick?" he whispered quietly and gently, but his words were sharp like knives.


    Eveline''s eyes opened wide. Her face looked like she just had a sudden realization. After that, doubt began blooming in her heart as she questioned herself. She tried to fight back the doubt that kept on growing bigger, but it was too powerful. It was like a seed that began manifesting and turning into a big tree, without her having any control over it.


    "Am I... Eveline Herrick? Yes, I am!" she shouted, finally her mouth could open.


    "Are you sure?" replied Graham.


    With the words coming out of the ''real'' Eveline, she the doubt became even more uncontrollable. She looked at ''Eveline'' with contempt and confusion. Her mind went crazy, trying to find the answer to the question that she had repeatedly asked herself.


    "Who... am I?"


    "I''m Eveline Herrick. I don''t know who you are,"


    Graham''s voice was loud and confident. It was as if there was no doubt about what he had just said. Everyone also took his words without a grain of salt like it was the absolute truth.


    "I don''t know who I am..." she mumbled.


    She looked around and got the same contemptuous looks from everyone in the room. It didn''t remind her of her identity, but it reminded her of her fury. She began struggling again to break free, which made people look at her with even more scorn.


    "Stop looking down on me! You will regret this! You should kneel before me!"


    She couldn''t use her sharp claw because her arms were pinned on her back. The only thing she could do was wriggle and shout.


    "Let me go, you bastard! Let me go!! I swear you will regret this!!"


    Jonathan and the rest of them felt slight pity for the woman, not because of her situation, but because of her delusion. She looked like someone whose lies had been just bared out for the world to see, but she still refused to accept her defeat.


    "Escort her out and call the Police. Don''t let her go until they''re here," ordered Jonathan.


    The two security guards nodded and dragged the struggling crazy woman out of there. As they were just about to exit the office, the mayor entered and looked at the woman with confusion.


    "Who is that? What happened here?"


    "Arghh!! Let me go!! Mayor, help me!!" she began struggling even harder.


    Jonathan quickly gestured at the security guards to take her away. He then approached the mayor and explained the situation.


    "To think there was something like that happening here," his expression showed contempt. He then walked closer towards Eveline, who was standing in front of the door to her office, "Ms. Herrick, I need your help with something. Please come to my office soon," he said.


    After that, the mayor left Eveline and walked towards the office of another person.


    Everyone''s expression gradually returned to normal after the incident came to an ending. They were glad that their Eveline was unharmed. After that, they returned to their own work, leaving Eveline alone with Jonathan, who was still worried about her.


    "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked with genuine concern.


    With a meaningful smile, Eveline replied, "Yes, Jonny, I''m alright. Now, it''s time to get back to work. Mr. Krammer needs me for something apparently,"

 199 An Unexpected Bonus

    "*Pant* Ms. Herrick, Mr. Aukes, the crazy *pant* woman ran *pant* away!"


    The man was panting while speaking at the same time, making his speech incoherent, but Graham and Jonathan understood what he meant. Eveline''s childhood friend looked at the fake secretary with concern on his face, and then back at the security guard. His expression turned sour.


    "How did she run away?! And have you called the Police?" Jonathan''s voice was stern.


    "Y-yes we have, Mr. Aukes. She ran *pant* when we were making the call..."


    ''Eveline'' looked at Jonathan calmly.


    "It''s fine, Jonny. I''m sure the Police will catch them. Besides, I know how to protect myself," he smiled at the woman''s childhood friend and extended it to the other people in the office who were looking his way.


    Graham didn''t worry about the escaping crazy woman. He left the worried Jonathan who was still munching the security guard''s ass and headed towards the mayor''s office that should be down the hall.


    "The mayor should be back in his office by now, shouldn''t he, Val? What do you think he wants to tell us?"


    Walking down the corridor as gracefully as he could, Graham arrived in front of white double doors with intricate carvings on them. He knocked on the door exactly four times, because that was what the real Eveline would usually do, and a voice came from inside.


    "Come in!"


    "You''re looking for me, Hank?" said Graham intimately.


    Graham closed the door gently behind him and glanced sneakily at the office where the mayor was. It was a grand office, much bigger than his little detective one in his apartment. It was even much bigger than Mastro Gianni''s office.


    The mayor''s office was the size of the common workspace but without all the cubicles. The man''s desk was placed near the center a little closer to the wall opposite the door with a large, beautiful carpet adorning the floor. The walls were painted white and carved with beautiful patterns. Numerous trophies, including animal mounts, medals, and certificates were hung on the white wall.


    The office looked more like a living room than an office. There was a fireplace on one side with comfortable sofas placed around it-- again, a carpet was decorating the floor. The numerous shelves around the room had books and more trophies in them. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling was very expensive-looking; the kind Graham would never be able to afford only by doing an honest detective job.


    Hank Krammer was sitting at his desk, reading some documents. He glanced at ''Eveline'' for a second and then returned to his documents. It was clear that he was currently very busy.


    "There are many things in my mind, to be honest, Eve," The mayor''s voice was troubled, "First, have you seen Wiebe and Danny? They haven''t shown up since yesterday,"


    Slowly and elegantly, ''Eveline'' walked up to the mayor and sat on the desk. The slender hands then started caressing the mayor softly. It was what the real Eveline would usually do, so even if he was feeling very uncomfortable right now, he had to do it.


    Earlier, after putting the real Eveline to sleep, Graham was able to read her memory about the mayor before planting those thoughts inside her head. He was lucky that he had managed to do it, otherwise, right now the mayor might have suspected something because of the inconsistency of his secretary''s actions.


    "I haven''t seen them either, Hank, but I have asked someone to go look for them," he lied.


    Hank Krammer rested his forehead on his palm and started shaking his head.


    "If I see those two, they''ll get it from me! I''ve also sent Lucas to look for them," he replied, irritated.


    After stopping his head shaking, he looked at ''Eveline'' and raised his eyebrow.


    "What about the impostor just now? How did she look just like you?"


    ''Eveline'' smiled. The beautiful secretary ran her finger up and down the mayor''s right cheek.


    "I have no idea. She might have been sent by our opposition to try to shake our position here, but of course, a half-baked plan like that wouldn''t work, teeheee..."


    The giggle left the secretary''s mouth and resounded in the large office room, echoing back at the only two people there. The mayor''s expression was calm now, but Graham couldn''t shake the feeling that he suspected something.


    "!!"


    Hank Krammer then grabbed Graham''s slender wrist tightly and looked straight into his light green eyes. The man pulled the hand and brought their faces closer together.


    "Then prove to me that you''re the real Eveline..." he whispered domineeringly.


    The man''s other hand began running across the secretary''s body, touching every bit of it, grabbing anything that caught his interest. His breathing became heavy as lust took over him.


    ''Eveline'' then whispered into his hears.


    "I order you to fall asleep..."


    The mayor''s eyes suddenly opened wide and he pushed the secretary back using all of his strength, which sent Graham flying. A wave of sleepiness swept over him, but his status as a Marquis rank made him able to resist longer than those weaker than or equal to Graham.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, intensify your desire to sleep!"


    Before the mayor could do anything else, Graham had already used the ability stored in Purloin to amplify the sleepiness that the man was feeling.


    With the two abilities combined, the mayor couldn''t resist anymore and fell into a deep sleep not long after. The sounds of his snoring filled the office.


    "Phew... that was close," Graham exhaled in relief. He genuinely felt grossed out being touched inappropriately by the mayor.


    Carefully, Graham approached the sleeping mayor and listened to his breathing intently to find any irregularities. After all, the man was a rank higher than him, so he might have some tricks up his sleeves to avoid control effects.


    "If we hadn''t stolen that woman''s identity, we wouldn''t have had the chance to get close to the mayor like this, Val. Or maybe we could, if we transformed into one of the sex workers whose service the mayor often uses, but that''s a path I don''t want to tread..."


    Once he was sure that the mayor was truly sleeping, he began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant the thought in your head that you will think that I am the real Eveline Herrick and the real Eveline Herrick is an impostor!"


    He felt his energy leaving his body and entering the mayor''s head, rendering him weakened. Graham began breathing heavily as he sat down on the chair for support. He had to recover his stamina quickly before the mayor woke up because there was something else he wanted to do.


    Snore...


    The combination of Order and Intensify was really potent that the mayor was still sleeping even after five minutes when Graham''s stamina had completely recovered. The man was probably also very tired in the first place so his body naturally welcomed the rest.


    Since his stamina had returned, Graham chanted one more time.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant the thought in your head that the impostor Eveline Herrick stole your book artifact and your enhanced cane, while I, the real Eveline Herrick, was sent to chase after the impostor!"


    Graham felt weakened once more, but he didn''t have any time to waste. He quickly but carefully grabbed the book and the cane that never left the mayor''s side. Once he had the items, he buttoned his black coat and began chanting one more time while mustering all the stamina he had.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Hank Krammer!"


    His body began undergoing a transformation process, which felt very strange because he was turning from a woman into a man. His body became much bigger, which the tight dress couldn''t fit anymore, so it began tearing. Luckily, his coat was big enough and buttoned, to cover his now exposed skin and private part.


    Graham took off the high heels that he was wearing and hid them under his coat. He now looked like a flasher because he was only wearing a coat without pants or shoes. He couldn''t ''borrow'' the real mayor''s shoes because it would risk waking him up.


    Once he had completely turned into the mayor, Graham exited the office in a hurry and just interacted as necessary with people he passed on the way. They all had a concerned look on their faces, but they didn''t dare to ask any question since Graham wore a furious expression on his face on purpose.


    Once he was out of the town hall, Graham went to a secluded alley near there where he had hidden his original clothes. After making sure that no one was around, he unbuttoned his coat and found out that the dress was completely ripped apart, including the underwear that he had worn as Eveline.


    "*Pant* If we had shown ourselves in public like this, Val, we would certainly have been thrown to jail for public indecency,"


    He took a deep breath because his stamina hadn''t fully recovered. After that, he reverted back to his original appearance and put on all his clothes.


    The trench coat that he was wearing was big enough to conceal the cane and, of course, the book under it. However, he preferred to be safe, so he would switch with Valentine once he was done. He had to do things quickly before the mayor woke up.


    Flick!


    The lighter created a small flame that Graham used to burn the clothes and shoes that belonged to ''Eveline''. He manipulated the flame not to go away until everything was burned to ashes. It took longer than he expected to completely burn the high heels. All the while, he used Order to contain the fumes so they would not attract attention. Once he was done, he sat on the ground and leaned against the wall.


    "I order myself to fall asleep!"


    The same wave of sleepiness that had struck the mayor was now looming above him, making his head heavier and heavier with each passing second. He fell asleep shortly after, and Valentine woke up in his body.


    Knowing what to do, Valentine quickly placed Concealment on the cane and book, as well as anti-divination. He also located the bloodstains that Eveline had used for anti-divination and rubbed it clean with his nail.


    With the cane and book concealed and hidden under his coat, he walked back to the street confidently as nothing had happened. It was rather difficult to walk normally with a cane hidden under his coat but had to in order to avoid attention. He and hailed a public motor carriage to take him back to his hotel.


    He made it safely to the hotel and after paying the driver, Valentine got out and entered the elegantly designed building. He was greeted by Stefan on his way in.


    "Good afternoon, Mr. Hymes! Back already?"


    The warmth of the smile that he radiated could be felt all the way from across the room despite the cold weather. Stefan was getting more and more professional by the day, although at times he was still naive and clueless.


    "Hello, Stefan. Yes," replied Valentine shortly with a smile accompanying his words.


    The detective then walked upstairs to his own room and after locking his door, Valentine bared the two items that Graham had just stolen on the table.


    "G, these are a very nice bonus. I''m sure stealing these wasn''t part of your plan, was it?"


    It was indeed not a part of Graham''s plan, but he had thought about doing it. His plan was only to steal the identity of Eveline Herrick which he would use again in the future in case he needed it. He was just lucky that the mayor called him to his office and didn''t reprimand him right away. Graham was sure that the mayor had his suspicion, but the man had to make sure first.


    "The key to your plan was the timing, wasn''t it, G? If the mayor had come earlier to the workspace and witnessed the whole thing, he would have been able to see who was the real one, since he knew Eveline''s Contractbound abilities. Danny and Lucas would also know who the impostor was, but Danny is out of the picture and Lucas was sent to look for him, all according to the plan,"


    "Since the mayor was almost sure that you were the real Eveline, he dared to bring you to his office, which resulted in us stealing these two valuable items,"


    Valentine crossed his arms and looked at the book and cane on the table. No matter how he looked at it, the book was just a normal book. If he hadn''t seen its abilities in person, it would be hard to believe that it was an artifact, especially since he had never seen an artifact before. The uneasy feeling he got from the book helped him confirm that it was, indeed, a supernatural artifact.


    "The bitch''s anti-divination is gone, so my reveal should work, right, G?"


    Valentine focused on the wooden cane and used his reveal ability on it.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    Illusory letters began appearing and slowly, they formed a complete text.


    ''Dr. Obtuse''s Cane. Current status: sated. An enhanced weapon created by a powerful transmuter. It was made from the remains of a powerful Contractbound, who, when in life, was obsessed with many things. This cane has the ability to grant the user''s enemy a strong random obsession that will last for six hours, but at the same time, will randomly eat the user''s desire for something, rendering the user completely uninterested in that thing until the duration is up. This cane is indestructible by anything as strong as or weaker than it.''


    The text disappeared and Valentine admired the weapon but was also slightly concerned about the negative effect. He then continued on with what he was doing.


    Focusing on the small book with a blue cover, Valentine opened his mouth and let the words out.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    An illusory text once again began forming above the book. Once it was complete, Valentine read it.


    ''The Contract Book of Paulina. A strong artifact disguised as an ordinary book. It has the ability to bind people into an unbreakable contract. When someone, willingly and not under threat or force, writes the terms of the contract and signs their name in this book, the contract will be validated. If the person breaks his own term, the consequence that is written in the contract will be realized. No one, except those stronger than the book, will be able to stop the consequence from happening once a contract''s term is broken. This book is also indestructible by any known means.''


    The words began disappearing after Valentine finished reading them. He crossed his arms and thought about the information.


    "So can we write a contract with immortality as the consequence? I guess not, since I''m sure death is stronger than this book."

 200 Moving on to the Next Targe

    The afternoon sunlight penetrated through the giant windows, landing right on his right shoulder, warming it. The peace in the mountains outside the hotel couldn''t help ease the feeling that he had missed something.


    "This Contract Book is very strong indeed, isn''t it, G? But so far, all the artifacts that we know have a powerful drawback or a certain condition for using them. I can''t help but feel that my Reveal might not have shown me everything..."


    He cerebrated with his arms crossed on his chest.


    "We need to be sure first. Let''s switch,"


    Valentine decided and then closed his eyes after moving a few centimeters to the side to avoid the warm sunbeam. He fell asleep only within minutes and Graham woke up in his place.


    The detective with green eyes took out his favorite black lighter and lit a fire with a flick of his thumb. While concentrating on the flame in front of him, he asked a question.


    ''What are the negative effects of Paulina''s Contract Book?''


    The flame in front of him flared up and gradually formed an image within it. It showed Graham a moving scene where a masked, bare-chested man was standing under the full moon. There was a stone table and the same Contract Book was laid open on the table. Around the table, there were a total of four people tied with metal chains, immobilizing them, and preventing escape.


    When the moon shone at its brightest, the bare-chested man took out a sword and approached the chained people, slicing their necks one by one. Blood began pouring from their wounds and painted the ground red as their lives were snuffed out of them. The masked man then slit both his wrist and poured his blood, mixing it with the blood of his victims.


    Once the bloodbath was ready, the blue-covered book on the stone table suddenly grew a pair of long, purple arms with sharp claws and a pair of bony legs whose flesh was falling apart. The book used its limbs to crawl off the table and soaked itself in the blood.


    After that, the image disappeared.


    Graham was speechless.


    "That... thing is not a book. It''s a monster..." his voice was troubled, "How could the mayor carry that kind of monstrosity with him all the time...?"


    After learning the truth, he was less than eager to even get near the book. After all, the unknown was the most fearsome.


    "Maybe we should try to divine its origin," he decided hesitantly.


    Graham concentrated back on the flame and asked his next question.


    ''What''s the origin of Paulina''s Contract Book?''


    Swoosh!


    The flame was put out and everything went back to normal. The blue book was lying on the table like nothing had happened while Graham was sitting with a pale face, cold sweat ran down his cheeks.


    "That''s it. It''s been decided. I''m not going anywhere near that book,"


    Graham stood up and opened his suitcase swiftly. After that, he looked at the book on the table and issued an Order.


    "I order you to move to the deepest part of my suitcase!"


    The book didn''t budge!


    His Order had had no effect on the book!


    "It... failed?" Graham was stupefied.


    It was apparent that artifacts were different from enhanced equipment. It was his first time actually seeing one up close, so he still didn''t know a lot about them.


    "I guess we can''t easily order artifacts around, or is it just this book?"


    He had no other option but to move it manually. Graham didn''t want to have too much skin contact with the monstrous book, so he pinched it with his index finger and thumb, and then dropped it to the deepest part of his suitcase. He then buried it under mountains of his clothes, hiding it from sight.


    "And that''s one fewer thing to worry about,"


    After zipping the suitcase, he dragged it to the corner of the room and rubbed his palms against each other, ''cleaning'' them.


    "Time to continue with our mission. We''re down to seven targets now, although judging by the rate of it, it seems that I don''t need all the ten victims. I can feel that the Deity has been very pleased with our performances so far,"


    "Although, the secretary didn''t really blame the mayor, did she? Or maybe she did because, at her last moment, the mayor didn''t take her side. I really don''t know what that woman is thinking. She''s just very mentally unstable... And she''s a Shroud, so I don''t think I can use divination to locate her,"


    With Wiebe, Danny, and now Eveline out of the way, Graham could move on to his next target; Lucas Baltes. It would be a more difficult target since he was of the same rank as Graham. On top of that, the man was an Unseen, so he should also be good at stealth, and probably detection.


    "For the crazy hag, her most valuable was the attention she was getting from the people in the office, especially the mayor and that Jonathan guy. I wonder what it will be for Lucas?"


    Graham picked up the lighter that he had dropped on the table and lit a fire. He began divining about various things he needed to know about Lucas. It turned out that the man was happily married and his most valuable possession was the baby girl that had just been brought into the world.


    "..." he was conflicted, "We can use Illusion to make him think that the mayor has kidnapped his daughter, but we have to take his valuable permanently, so we have to make him think that the mayor also kills his daughter. But the moment he goes home, he will see his daughter still alive, and it will ruin the plan..."


    He leaned back against the chair, resting his chin on his right hand that was supported by his left arm.


    "So far, we''ve managed to avoid harming anyone except our direct target. I won''t go around killing someone''s daughter. Absolutely not. So what should we do, Val?"


    Graham looked out and saw the majestic mountain view outside the window. Clouds were rolling from the distance and fog had started descending upon the highest peaks of the mountains. Tonight, it would surely be cloudy again in Hoorn. The calm scenery outside helped soothe his mind and get the thoughts rolling.


    "I think I''ve got an idea,"


    Starting another flame, he began concentrating on it and asked questions related to his target. He needed to make sure he knew everything before setting his plan in motion. Once he was done, he put out the fire and put the lighter gently on the table.


    "Lucas should be on a break right now, but he will begin his night shift from seven to three in the morning. The poor man got extra work because Danny just up and went... but that''s perfect for us. I''ve exhausted all my abilities, so I can''t do anything right now anyway, although, I still have one Thought Implant left and we''d better make use of it, Val,"


    The Mass Illusion ability stored in Purloin had all been exhausted, so Graham concentrated and sent his energy into the belt to forget that ability. In its place, Graham planned to exploit the belt''s nature and place another ability instead.


    While Concentrating on the belt and himself at the same time, he began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant the thought inside my own head that I will forget my fatigue!"


    He felt that some kind of energy entered his brain and he welcomed it. Very slowly, he felt that the exhaustion he was feeling the whole day was disappearing. However, at the same time, a new kind of tiredness overcome him because using the ability took a lot of his stamina.


    At the same time, on the belt that he was wearing, a new pattern emerged. He had successfully copied Thought Implant!


    Now Graham could use it two more times instead of just once. Although if he had just used the last one on a real target, technically he would be able to use the other two from the belt for something else, he couldn''t really do it. Copying an ability didn''t have a 100% chance of success, so if he had failed earlier, he could just go to bed and reset everything the next day, postponing his plan a little. If he had been outside and the copying failed, he might be in a pinch because of that, depending on his situation.


    "*Pant* okay, so now I''m really tired but at the same time, I am recovering stamina quickly because I''ve ''forgotten'' my fatigue. At least the copying worked. Let''s go, Val,"


    Graham went to bed and closed his eyes. The tiredness from using his ability made it easier for him to fall asleep.


    The sky outside slowly became darker and the fog descended lower, covering most of the city. The afternoon sunlight shone upon the sleeping detective and disappeared as the sun was setting, replaced by the dark, cloudy night.


    Valentine woke up once it was dark and got up from the bed right away. He checked his watch and it was already nine in the evening. He changed his clothes to that of the mayor and this time, he carried the real cane instead of the fake one. Once he was all dressed, he put himself under Concealment. Graham didn''t turn into the mayor before switching because the transformation only lasted for two hours, and the actual plan wouldn''t take place until Lucas came home, so it would be a waste.


    Once he was all shrouded in the mysterious yellowish mist, Valentine left the hotel room and went down to the lobby silently. The lobby was lively that evening with a bunch of people chatting and enjoying snake liquor as usual. Neither Stefan, who was standing behind the reception desk nor the guests noticed Valentine, who was walking casually past them. He exited the hotel and began walking east towards the man''s house.


    The fog outside was not as thick as the one from the previous night. However, it still reduced visibility. Even with his night vision, Valentine couldn''t see through the wall of fog more than normal people could.


    He walked quickly past the other people in the street who were mostly walking in groups. It seemed that most people didn''t dare to walk alone in that condition, which was understandable. Luckily, Valentine had a knife, a gun, and an almost indestructible cane in his possession, as well as numerous supernatural abilities for self-defense.


    The house where Lucas and his wife lived in was located on Watervalstraat, which was just two intersections away from Rivierstraat, where ''The Hotel'' was. That was why he confidently decided to walk. The closer he got to the street, the louder the sound of the waterfall was. Apparently, there was a tall waterfall on the right side of the street coming from the mountains above, going down all the way to the abyssal cliff, whose other side lied behind the houses on Klifstraat.


    Since it was dark and foggy, Valentine could see the waterfall that according to what he had heard, was very beautiful during the day.


    "G, if we have time, we should stay here after our mission is complete. We haven''t seen all, or any, even, of the tourist attractions here," he muttered with expectation.


    Valentine kept walking down the street with the sound of water falling in the background towards the house of his target. Lucas''s house was number 43 on Watervalstraat, and he had just passed house number 37. It should be very close already. He had reapplied Concealment before, and he did so again because he was almost out of the radius of its effectiveness.


    Once he had found the house, Valentine knocked on the front door loudly. Because of his Concealment, small noises would just be muffled by the mist.


    Knock! Knock!


    He did it several more times until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He had to concentrate hard to hear the footsteps because of the noise from the waterfall.


    He saw a pair of brown eyes looking through the eyehole in the door, confused.


    Click!


    The door was unlocked from inside before it was opened. A woman that looked to be in her mid-twenties stood in the gap, looking outside for a sign of someone. She couldn''t see Valentine that was hiding in her blindspot.


    Lucas''s wife looked puzzled, as she heard the loud knocking but didn''t see anyone. Her face began to show slight fear as she retreated back into the house. Before she had a chance to close the door, Valentine opened his mouth.


    "I hereby put you under interrogation!"


    Her expression turned blank and her eyes stared right into nothingness.


    Standing in front of her, Valentine concentrated on the belt that he was wearing and tried to draw out the energy that it had stored.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this thought in your head: you want to go to and stay at your parents'' house for five nights because you missed them dearly. You will bring your baby daughter with you and since you''ll leave in a hurry, you cannot tell your husband,"


    Valentine felt that his stamina was drained while at the same time, a kind of energy entered the woman''s head. He took a deep breath and entered the house while she was still under his control. Sitting on the sofa, Valentine ended his Interrogation and let the woman return to her conscious self while he was recovering.


    "Oh dear, what was I doing?"


    Lucas''s wife closed the door while touching her cheek gently like she had forgotten something. After that, she went upstairs to what seemed to be the baby''s room. Valentine could hear her voice all the way from down there, so he could just relax.


    "Dear, let''s go see your grandparents. I really miss them and I''m sure you miss them too! We need to go now, otherwise, we won''t get any public motor carriage. It''s already very late now,"


    The sounds of her footsteps came from above Valentine. It seemed that she was currently packing since he heard the sound of zipper and light doors being opened. It took the woman almost thirty minutes to finish packing, by which time Valentine had already recovered. She then went down with a large suitcase and a baby strap around her chest. Before she could go back upstairs to fetch the baby, Valentine put her under Interrogation again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this thought in your head: every time you want to inform your husband about your and your baby''s whereabouts, you will keep forgetting it for some reason."


    After that, he released her from Interrogation as he stumbled back into the sofa in exhaustion. The woman again looked confused and then went upstairs to get her baby. She came back down not long after with her baby on her chest while her left hand was supporting her. Using her right hand, she dragged the suitcase behind her and left the house. Valentine could hear the door being locked from the outside, which meant Lucas should have his own key.


    "Now that the wife is out of the picture, let''s sleep and wait until Lucas comes home,"


    He closed his eyes and his consciousness began fading.

 201 The Fourth Victim: Lucas Baltes

    A moment later, there was a sound of a motor carriage approaching the house on Watervalstraat with the number 37 on it. Awoken by the sound of the engine, Graham Hymes, who was sleeping under the shroud of a thin yellowish mist, opened his eyes and got up from the soft and warm sofa. He quickly started chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being into that of Hank Krammer!"


    With the spell chant, his body began quickly undergoing a transformation process, which lasted less than thirty seconds. Once he had transformed into the mayor, he hid the cane behind him since the real mayor had lost his. He also undid all the Concealments and stood in near the door. Graham concentrated on the belt that he was wearing; he was ready to put on the illusion at any time.


    The sound of the engine stopped and there was a sound of a door being slammed shut outside. After that, a man''s footsteps approached the house. Graham was waiting patiently and calmly for the target; his left hand was holding Valentine''s dagger, ready to injure index finger the moment Lucas came in. With a click, the door was unlocked from the outside and slowly, the wooden door was pushed open.


    Creak...


    Graham held his breath. Every second felt like forever as he waited in anticipation for the man. He perked up his ears to hear the sounds he was making behind all the noise from the waterfall.


    But there was no one!


    With a decisive movement, the fake mayor injured his finger and let the blood drop to the floor while quickly chanting. However, before he could finish, a strong gust of wind pushed him back!


    Crash!


    Graham was knocked back and hit the bookshelf behind him. The Mass Illusion ability that he was trying to cast had been canceled because of the attack. He didn''t expect that Lucas'' detection ability was that good; the man must have felt a different presence than that of his wife coming from inside the house. However, what Graham didn''t understand was why he attacked right away since Graham was wearing the mayor''s appearance.


    "Lucas! How dare you attack me!" he shouted in anger, mimicking the way the real Hank Krammer would say it.


    With the help of the cane, he got up and stood guard. His enemy was invisible, so he couldn''t see him. He also didn''t have Valentine''s secret detection, so he couldn''t feel the man''s presence at all.


    "I can''t use Order either if I cannot see my target..." he mumbled.


    Smack!


    "Aren''t you curious about the whereabouts of your wife and daughter?"


    Graham baited the man using his weakness. An Unseen couldn''t be heard as long as they remained invisible, so if Lucas wanted to speak, he had to show himself first. The moment the man decided to reveal his body, Graham would have a chance to use the various abilities that he had prepared.


    There was silence.


    With the cane protecting his body, Graham expected another attack. However, it seemed that the man had left the room and was probably going around the house looking for his family.


    Bash!!


    An attack came from his unprotected side, sending him flying yet again. Graham felt like a tennis ball that kept being sent all over the place as he tried to recover from the impact.


    "This man is far too cautious!" he complained inaudibly while gritting his teeth to bear with the pain.


    It seemed that Lucas knew what the ''mayor'' was waiting for. The moment he turned visible, terrible things would happen to him.


    Graham quickly looked around the room to find something that he could use. It was a living room with a now broken shelf and books on the floor. There was a carpet that he could order to wrap around the man, but he had to know the target''s exact location first for it to work. He couldn''t see any ink or something similar that he could use, but then it reminded him that he had his own blood. The man''s relentless attack made him forget about something as trivial as that.


    With a swift movement, he gripped the blade of the dagger that he was holding in his left hand, effectively injuring it. He made sure that the enemy didn''t see his action, otherwise, Lucas would just stay away and made Graham''s injury a waste.


    He stood his ground and braced himself for another attack while trying to locate the invisible bodyguard. His ears, however, picked up nothing but the sound of the waterfall in the distance and the faint ticking of a clock somewhere.


    Whoosh!


    Smash!


    Instead of a physical attack, this time the man chose to send another strong gust of wind in Graham''s direction, knocking him back to the wall again. The blood in his left hand was splattered everywhere but his target, who seemed to be standing far away from Graham''s spot. His plan had failed again!


    "Should I just burn down this house, Val? No, it would attract too much attention," he mumbled in desperation. His body was all bruised and his breathing was heavy.


    Looking at the carpet underneath the sofa, Graham issued an Order.


    "I order you to circle around me!"


    The brown fur carpet began floating and stretched itself wide, forming a square barrier. It then circled around Graham at a high speed.


    Whoosh!


    The gust of wind came again and blew the carpet away, ridding Graham of his ''protective barrier''. He then began picking up any random objects he could find and started throwing them everywhere in front of him. Books, vase, and other small objects were sent flying across the room, hitting nothing but the wall and the floor where they landed.


    "Of course that wouldn''t work, would it. At least it was worth a try,"


    Since there was no more object to throw, Graham decided to escape from the house instead. Nothing seemed to work against the careful Unseen. He appeared to be a much more difficult enemy to face than the deceased Police Sergeant, Paars.


    "I will order someone to kill your wife and daughter if you don''t show yourself!!" he shouted as he ran across the room towards the door. His voice was angry and thunderous.


    There was still nothing. It was apparent that his enemy had very good self-control and wasn''t the type to be easily provoked.


    The moment Graham went through the door, he slammed it behind him as quickly as he could and kept on running towards the street. Since the door was closed, at least he would know if the man decided to follow him.


    "How do we deal with someone who is immune to manipulation like that, Val?"


    Graham breathed heavily in the fog-covered street, trying to recover from all of his injuries. The pain was still stinging, especially his left waist and his back, which got most of the impact.


    Using his lighter, he lit a fire and used Fire Manipulation on it to make it stay afloat without the lighter. After that, he also made the fire bigger, to the size of an exercise ball.


    Creak...


    The door was opened from the inside and again, there was no one walking through the doorway. However, Graham knew his enemy was here. They were now out in the open, so at least he was not in such a disadvantageous position. The supernatural detective focused on his fireball and asked a question.


    ''Where is the location of Lucas Baltes?''


    Whoosh!


    The enemy sent a gust of wind to put out the fire, but his fireball was too big and strong for the wind to completely blow it out. An image began appearing, which showed to red dots: one belonged to Graham while the other was Lucas the bodyguard. The target was standing just several meters in his ten o''clock direction!


    He quickly slit his palm and ran towards where the enemy was indicated by his divination. Since his concentration was broken, the image disappeared abruptly, which he didn''t mind. It was even in his favor since the enemy hadn''t seemed to move from his position-- the detective''s blood was successfully splattered all over him, revealing his whereabouts.


    It seemed that Lucas had been mesmerized by the Fire Divination!


    Since he could somehow ''see'' the target now, Graham could use his other abilities. Lucas, who realized what had just happened, tried to escape at once. The floating blood began moving away from the ''mayor'' right away.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    Graham was faster. With his Order, Lucas was now unable to move.


    "I order you to get out of invisibility!"


    Against his will, the man turned visible. His skin slowly phased into existence out of nothingness and his figure appeared right at the spot where the floating blood was. In front of him, there was now a naked man with blood covering his shoulder, back, and chest. The cold night''s fog didn''t seem to affect him despite him not wearing anything.


    The man''s eyes showed calmness, but Graham could see the hatred and wariness hidden deep beneath his cold gaze. It was apparent that the lean-bodied bodyguard was actually worried about his family, despite him not showing it.


    "How dare you attack me!" yelled Graham at the immobilized man, staying in character as the mayor.


    "Drop the act. I know you are not the real mayor. What has happened to Wiebe, Danny, and Eveline was all too suspicious. The real mayor wouldn''t do it all out in the open like that," replied the man calmly. His voice sounded confident in what he was saying.


    Graham was surprised by how the man could easily see through his plan, but then quickly rationalized the situation. It would be difficult for the other three victims to see the truth since they were emotionally attacked. However, Lucas, who probably had had the chance to talk to Danny and Wiebe, and gathered what had happened to Eveline, could most likely come up with a rational explanation of the whole thing, especially seeing as how cautious he was.


    Since talking was not possible, Graham had no other choice but to use another method, which was not only less effective, but also much more tiring.


    "I order you to fall asleep!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, intensify your desire to fall asleep!"


    He used his new favorite ability combination and forced the naked bodyguard to sleep out there in front of his house, by the side of the street. A heavy wave of sleepiness swept over the Unseen and was intensified manyfold, making him unable to resist. The man quickly collapsed to the ground and began snoring.


    Approaching the sleeping man in front of him, Graham began chanting once he was in range.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this memory inside your head: the person whom you met tonight was the real mayor and he had decided to kidnap your wife and daughter, that was why you couldn''t find them anywhere in the house. The reason for the kidnapping is unknown to you, but it has something to do with the mayor''s secret project with Eveline Herrick. You confronted the mayor inside your house but then the man managed to get away."


    Graham couldn''t plant the thought that the mayor had killed Lucas''s wife and daughter in front of him since it was something too emotionally painful. He could only plant the memory, not the emotion, so something like that would be easily rejected by the brain since the emotion was absent from the memory.


    Once he had finished implanting the false memory, most of his stamina was drained all at once. He was breathing heavily while kneeling on the ground. The pain felt almost unbearable now that his stamina was almost all gone.


    "Why do you have to make it difficult for me, man..."


    Another alternative that he had also given a thought about was resetting the man''s memory, making him think he was just on his way home, and then starting the illusion once he entered the house for the second time, doing it as he originally planned. However, the fact that the man was naked and the house in shambles made it almost impossible to do that, so Graham couldn''t help but complain.


    "It should take a while for the false memory to take root and manifest, especially since the man is a cautious one. We cannot do anything right now, so let''s just go home and recover, Val,"


    Before he went, however, Graham pointed the wooden walking cane at the sleeping bodyguard and sent some of his stamina into it, activating the ability that it had. There was a faint glow at the tip that was directed at the target, and he could feel a kind of sucking sensation coming from the handle that he was holding.


    "This is for getting me into so much trouble," he said mischievously.


    He felt that a kind of energy was shot towards the man and entered his body, while something left Graham and entered Dr. Obtuse''s Cane. A piece of knowledge was also transferred into Graham''s brain. It was the information about the effect that the cane had created.


    ''Lucas Baltes is now highly obsessed with the smell of sewer!''


    ''You are now completely uninterested in chocolate!''

 202 Underground Hoorn

    In a wet and dark corridor with sounds of water rushing in the distance, someone was sneaking around in the shadow. The person''s eyes glowed yellow as they traversed down the sewer, going deeper and deeper, away from the reach of the outside world.


    Rats and cockroaches scurried away as the person approached. The high-pitched noise that the rodents made echoed in the passageway as they moved their tiny feet hastily. The rancid smell that the cockroaches released almost masked the damp and rotten stench of the sewer itself.


    Holding a mirror in the left hand in front of their face, the person began talking to the reflection in it.


    "Love, how are you doing?" it was the voice of a woman who sounded calm but genuinely worried.


    "I''m good, gorgeous. We will get through this," replied the ''woman'' in the mirror.


    There was a smile on the woman''s face as she put the mirror back inside the black coat that she was wearing. The black coat that seemed to have been clean before was now full of dirt and stains. Visible wrinkles were also dotting its surface, indicating that it had gone through a lot.


    The woman had been walking in the sewer for hours and fatigue began showing on her face. Her lips were dry and chapped, with a faint sign of wiped lipstick on them. Her beautiful face wasn''t showing its utmost grace because of the veil of exhaustion.


    The more she walked, the stronger the foul stench of the sewer that penetrated her nose. It reminded her of the putrid odor coming from rotten eggs.


    She suddenly slowed down her pace. Far in the distance, she could see a figure of a person. She couldn''t see exactly what the person was doing, but she knew there was someone there.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Secrets, hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    A thin, yellowish mist descended and covered her whole being, hiding her from detection. Quietly, she approached the figure with curiosity and cautiousness. It seemed to have been hours since she last saw another human being since her face showed joy and expectation mixed with suspicion.


    As she got closer and closer, the figure became clearer and clearer. It was a man with a lean and tall body wearing a black t-shirt and dark-colored denim pants. His tight-fitting t-shirt defined his toned build. It seemed that the man could easily defend himself in case he was attacked, judging from his stance and his muscles.


    The woman appeared to have recognized the man, judging from her expression. However, she didn''t reveal herself yet, but stayed in the shadow, observing the man. The man looked like he was sniffing around looking for something. He raised his face and inhaled deeply. After that, he crouched down to get closer to the small stream of water running beside him and began sniffing the fetid sewer water.


    Sniff! Sniff!


    The woman raised her eyebrow, but it didn''t seem that she was feeling weirded out. It was strange what the man was doing indeed, but to her, it was probably not the strangest thing a person had done. With a chant, she removed her Shroud of Secrecy and spoke.


    "That''s a strange habit you have there, Lucas," she said jeeringly.


    Surprised, the man stood up and got into a fighting stance. He then saw who was speaking and suspicion showed on his face.


    "Stay right there and answer my question! Are you the real Eveline?!" his voice reflected anger and frustration.


    It was apparent that the moment the woman made a sudden move, the man wouldn''t hesitate to attack her, so she stayed where she was.


    "The real Eveline? Or not... Argh!" her head began pounding as she started thinking about the question. It felt like something was preventing her from getting the right information out of her head.


    Lucas didn''t let down his guard. He knew how devious the woman in front of him could be. On top of that, he had just been betrayed by a man he trusted, so he wouldn''t trust anyone related to the mayor that easily.


    "I... don''t know. My head has been throbbingly painful whenever I think about my identity. But I''m still beautiful, right, Lucas?" her voice was breathy as she returned to her seductive self.


    "Stop it, Eveline. You know I''m also a Romancer. Your tricks won''t work. Now tell me, why are you here?"


    He didn''t let her get closer. His voice stayed stern and domineering.


    "I''m in hiding, duh, if you can''t see yet. And judging from your action, Hank has struck you with his cane?" she suddenly became cold and mockery filled her voice.


    "And that''s not the only thing he did, that backstabbing bastard. Now I can''t even go look for my wife because of this ''sickness'' he inflicted upon me,"


    Lucas took another deep breath and inhaled the hellish smell of the sewer.


    "Look for your wife? Did he kidnap your family? How did you know it was him?" she asked suspiciously, looking down on Lucas who was crouching near the stream.


    The man got up and sniffed his palms that had been touching the sewer floor. He didn''t seem to want to let even a sliver of the odor escape him.


    "I just know, and I fought him! That''s how I got this sickness! And the fucker managed to get away! Once I''m done here, I''ll go look for my family," he sniffed his palms one more time before cleaning them.


    Dash!


    He suddenly charged towards Eveline and pinned her down to the wall, obstructing her escape. His nails suddenly grew long and sharp, like the claws of a bear.


    After overcoming the initial shock, a smile surfaced on Eveline''s face.


    "I wonder why you didn''t just kill Hank while you had the chance. With your invisibility and your claws, it should have been easy," she chuckled as her own nails grew longer.


    "If I had wanted to kill him, he would have been dead. I needed to weaken him enough to interrogate him, but that bastard was too cunning. Now tell me, where is the hidden place where you and that man often go to. And what are you guys doing there?"


    "*Chuckle* Do you think I''ll betray Hank for your little family, Lucas?" she looked at him condescendingly.


    His grip over her neck became tighter and his nails sank into her flesh, causing blood to come out. Eveline, however, didn''t try to stab him since it would do nothing but slightly injure the man who was stronger than her. Besides, she knew that he needed her alive, so he wouldn''t kill her.


    "If you value your life, you should. And why would you still protect the bastard? I''m sure right now he is having sex with your replacement. The whole thing must surely be his plan, don''t you think? But I know you don''t," he replied mockingly.


    Anger surfaced on Eveline''s face.


    "I dare you to repeat what you said, you whoreson!"


    Grab!


    Eveline tried to stab the man in anger but he grabbed her right hand with his left hand and held it in place. The man then used his knee to pin down her left hand to the wall, immobilizing it.


    "Don''t you even try!" his grip got even tighter, choking her. When he saw that she was in pain, he loosened his grip a little. "Now answer me, where is it?!" he sounded restless like he was in dire need of something and he needed it soon.


    As doubt grew even stronger inside her heart, she began thinking about the truth behind the man''s words. What if it was indeed the mayor that had orchestrated the whole thing. She could choose to protect him, but the fact that he didn''t even believe her back during the impostor incident broke her heart and hurt her a lot. Especially the way he looked down on her like she was some kind of worthless insect.


    "Let go of me first and I''ll tell you. You''re hurting me!"


    Lucas tightened his grip.


    "Not in a million years. You tell me first, then I''ll let you go," his voice was cold and demanding.


    "Okay! Okay! It''s in Hoogland! Under the abandoned mansion owned by Bjergsen!" she answered desperately as she was running out of breath, "You should have already suspected the area, right!"


    The grip around her neck was loosened as Lucas quickly let go of her. She could finally breathe normally now. Eveline took a deep breath and felt that blood began flowing into her head again.


    Meanwhile, Lucas retreated to a distance and crouched near the stream, inhaling as much rotten stench as he could. His twisted expression gradually became normal as his restlessness faded away.


    Not wanting to have anything else to do with the man, Eveline took the chance to run away. She went in the other direction and then turned to the deepest and darkest part of the sewer, following the flow of water that had merged into a bigger underground stream. The loud noise of the water rushing masked the sounds of the high heels that she was wearing.


    Lucas didn''t seem to care about the escaping woman as he kept on sniffing the smell of the sewer.


    The sewer floor started going downhill, so Eveline had to tread carefully. The slippery floor and her high heels were not a good match, after all. Everything was pitch black around her, but thanks to her Night Vision, she could see things in shades of yellow outlining the objects.


    "Love, what do you think about what Lucas just said?" she asked her reflection in the hand mirror.


    The ''Eveline'' in the mirror tapped her lips as if thinking.


    "I think he has a point, dear. Why else would Hank not help you back then?" she said, in a higher pitch than her. The reflection''s voice was much calmer but there was still a sign of fatigue in it.


    "Yes, ''dear''. The mayor must have been the one pulling the strings from behind the scene, teeheee..." suddenly came the voice of a man from the darkness ahead of her. Through her eyes, she could see the yellow figure of the man walking towards her from the distance.


    She was surprised since she hadn''t felt anyone''s presence so far. The man''s sudden appearance alarmed her. She grew her nails rapidly and got into a defensive position.


    The man that was approaching her slowly was wearing glasses. His body was thin, and he looked just like a normal peddler that she could find in the streets. His shirt was tucked neatly and the cotton pants he was wearing had no wrinkles. However, the smile on the man''s face unsettled her.


    "Relax, darling. I''m just here to help, heheheheheee..." the man''s creepy laughter echoed in the dark sewer.


    ...


    It was very early in the morning at around six o''clock. Valentine Hymes woke up in his hotel room feeling refreshed, although he could still subtly feel the soreness of several spots in his body. He got up and opened the curtain to see the morning view from his hotel.


    Outside, the fog was still covering the land. However, it wasn''t as thick as the previous night. The low hanging fog also didn''t cover the bright morning sky up above. The sun was shining beautifully, casting its warm light upon the foggy land.


    The morning air felt fresh. Valentine inhaled deeply to get as much air as possible and then exhaled slowly. At that moment, he felt lucky to still be alive.


    "How''s your progress, G? I don''t mind staying here longer, so you don''t need to rush," he muttered joyfully.


    Valentine went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He hated going out with dragon''s breath, so he always did so even while knowing he would have breakfast later. Once he was done, he returned to the bedroom and got dressed.


    The hotel room was warm because of the radiator, but he knew that it would be very cold outside, so he put on a t-shirt and a green sweater with a picture of a red tree on it. He also put on a pair of denim pants and his favorite leather jacket. After that, he equipped all of his weaponry that was still covered in mysterious yellowish mists. The cane was one of the things he would carry today since he really liked its effect and the fact that it was almost indestructible.


    "Let''s check out that abandoned mansion that you got from the mayor''s memory today. If that bodyguard managed to find a clue to its location, he should also be there looking for his family. We can then use illusion on him while maybe freeing those prisoners they are holding there,"


    He left his hotel room and locked the door behind him. After that, he went down to the lobby to find Stefan, since he needed to know about the area before going in.


    "Good morning, Mr. Hymes!" came a friendly sound of greeting from behind the reception desk just as he took a step on the first floor.


    "Good morning, Stefan," he replied and looked around the lobby.


    There were not as many people as last night, and almost all of the present individuals there were knocked out cold, probably from overdrinking. Their faces were still red and there were empty bottles with dead snakes in them. Sounds of snoring filled the room, but Stefan didn''t seem to mind.


    Since it was none of his business, he didn''t ask either. He was not a busybody like Graham.


    "Stefan, what can you tell me about Hoogland?"


    Being not a local himself, he tried to recall his memory. After a while, the young receptionist and manager finally answered.


    "Based on what I''ve heard and learned about this city, Hoogland is on the highest elevation here and it''s surrounded by gorges, so there is only one entrance. It''s a gated community where not everyone can enter. Only the richest and the most influential people live there. I''m sure the mayor is one of them," he said, sounding like a textbook reader.


    "Have you been there? Is it easy to enter? While here, I want to enjoy every corner of the city, and it would be a shame to miss Hoogland,"


    "In fact, I haven''t, Mr. Hymes. My father has, however. I think as long as you can prove that you have been invited by someone from inside, you are allowed to enter," he smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.


    "I see," Valentine then looked over his shoulder, "Not that it matters to us, G. We can just stealth our way inside," then turned back to Stefan, "Thank you for your help,"


    "You''re welcome, Mr. Hymes!" he smiled wildly and proudly.


    Valentine then walked towards the main doors of the hotel after smiling back.

 203 Hoogland, the Richs Playground

    A black metal vehicle approached rapidly and then pulled over on the left side of the street. A man wearing a leather jacket and a pair of denim pants got out after paying the driver. Once the man with the amber hair and light blue eyes had completely exited the motor carriage, the driver drove away at once.


    Valentine Hymes was standing on the sidewalk of a relatively quiet street that merged into one and went uphill. There was a traffic circle near where he was standing and tall trees on the roadside. On the traffic circle, there was a giant rock that was carved into the sign ''Hoogland'' while behind the wall of trees, canyons and gorges were visible, creating a natural separation between the high elevated land and the common area below.


    Approaching the cliff, Valentine could see down below in the canyons that narrowed down into gorges a stream of a river that was still flowing. If there was a way to get down, it could be an amazing experience just to do some canyoneering in the area. However, his goal today wasn''t to explore but to visit a certain abandoned mansion.


    Valentine walked to a spot under a big tree and cast Concealment on himself, hiding his presence. Now, the sounds he was making would be muffled as long as they were not too loud. However, to be even safer, he also cast the second layer of Concealment that would block off his voice and other sounds, so the level of noise tolerance would be higher. After that, he also made the thin yellowish mist descend and cover his face, completely masking his identity.


    Once his own body was covered in the mysterious yellowish mist, Valentine cast more Concealment on Dr. Obtuse''s Cane and his revolver. The limit of objects he could put Concealment at once was six, so he saved one more for an emergency. Purloin and Gloom''s Redress didn''t need any since they didn''t look conspicuous, and the former only needed anti-divination now to stop it from sending a ''distress signal''.


    Hidden behind a shroud of yellowish that eluded the senses, Valentine started walking up the slope towards the area where the richest of Hoorn lived, staying on the sidewalk to avoid being hit by a motor carriage. The road had guard rails on each side, on the outer ends of the sidewalks, that looked very thick and well-maintained. Those were necessary as behind the thin walls of trees, it was a cliff leading straight to a deep gorge.


    Orange and brown leaves were crushed beneath his feet, creating a noise that was muffled by the mist right away. As he was walking, a trail of thin mist was left behind to cover up the sounds Valentine was creating before quickly evaporating.


    The metallic brown gate itself looked mesmerizing. There was a complicated pattern that resembled a giant queen bee with her drones hovering around her. The queen bee had tentacles instead of legs and on its head, there was something that looked like the cap of a mushroom. The drones were similar to the queen but much smaller.


    "G, what do you think that design means?" he tapped his chin as he walked.


    Upon arriving at the grand arch, Valentine quickly scanned the area to find an opening. The gate was closed and would only open when a permitted vehicle would drive past. There seemed to be a smaller gate just next to the security post for pedestrians. However, one would still need to prove that they indeed lived there, or they were invited by someone who did. Since Valentine wasn''t either, he had to sneak inside using his own method.


    "Climbing around doesn''t seem possible. It''s a straight-up cliff and I don''t see any grip around the stone arch columns. We should go inside the security post and enter through their door, G. The problem is, we don''t know if they have a security measure against Contractbounds like us. They are rich people here, after all,"


    From outside, the security posts built into the grand arch looked spacious and comfortable enough. The one on the left side of the road was facing him since people drove on the left in the Republic, so Valentine could see inside. There looked to be a sofa and even a bed for the man on the shift. There was also a giant mirror, which alerted Valentine-- an Unseen Astrologer had the ability to see through mirrors!


    Although he was concealed, he wasn''t invisible, and if the mirror was indeed not a normal one, but a Contractbound medium, he would be noticed right away once his reflection was captured by it.


    With his discovery of the giant mirror, Valentine became more cautious. He began scanning the area for more mirrors, and his suspicion was proved correct. There were several smaller, barely noticeable mirrors placed around the arch. If one didn''t pay attention, they would only look like parts of the stone blocks that were shiny because of the sunlight.


    "Those mirrors. The one inside the security post is only one giant mirror, so if we take the guy out of the picture in a non-suspicious way somehow, we should be able to crawl underneath,"


    Valentine carefully approached the security post with a man probably in his late thirties looking out through the clear glass window that was almost half the size of the total post. The man hadn''t seemed to notice the shrouded person who was inching silently closer and closer.


    Once he was in range, Valentine sent his energy to the cane and pointed its end towards the man. He felt that something shot at him while at the same time, the handle sucked something out of Valentine.


    ''That man is now highly obsessed with cleaning!''


    ''You are now completely uninterested in your own safety!''


    "Shit! I lost interest in my safety!" he exclaimed, letting his other half know.


    Valentine suddenly had the urge to charge right in. He had completely lost interest in being stealthy and careful.


    The security guard in the post was now busy cleaning the place like someone possessed. He had taken a piece of cloth and was vigorously rubbing every nook and cranny to rid of any speck of dust, although there wasn''t really any, to begin with. He had completely forgotten his job to watch over the post as he was busy wiping everything in the room.


    Meanwhile, completely disregarding whether he would be discovered or not, Valentine walked leisurely towards the front door. He started picking the lock without caring about the man inside, who, luckily, wasn''t paying attention to the door; he was rubbing clean the bottom of the bed.


    Once inside, Valentine nonchalantly opened the back door and successfully got into Hoogland. He closed the door behind him out of politeness, leaving the cleanliness obsessed man behind. The effect would last another six hours for both of them.


    The area behind the arch was still the same as before; a wide road with sideways and guard rails on the sides. Behind the guard rails, there were walls of trees and cliffs behind. Ahead of him, however, Valentine could start to see majestic buildings that looked like houses-- if giants lived among men.


    He kept on walking quickly without worrying about anything until the houses were right in front of him. Those buildings were humongous and really didn''t look like the residents of humans. If he hadn''t seen people in front of their houses, he wouldn''t believe that those were built for them.


    Most of the houses were at least four-story-high and the walls were all painted dark color with pipes going through them. Steams came out of the pipes and rose up high in the air. The area felt more like a factory for giants rather than a rich neighborhood. On top of that, there were entertainment places as well, so calling it just an area was an understatement; it was more like a small city within a city!


    From up there, if he looked back towards the east, he could see the rest of Hoorn, which was on a lower elevation than Hoogland. He could see tiny roads with tiny motor carriages going up and downhill. In the south, clouds of smoke rose up high from the ever working factories while up north and the west, he was surrounded by even taller mountains with cloudy peaks. Autumn orange and brown painted the scenery of the background mountains.


    "At least I didn''t lose interest in the beauty of this place. I wonder if the negative effect only affected me or you as well, G,"


    Valentine was still interested in knowing the answer, luckily, so he hid under a tall tree and lied down on the ground. After closing his eyes, he began falling asleep and Graham woke up not long after.


    The detective with green eyes got up and examined himself. He felt that he hadn''t lost anything, and certainly not his cautiousness and his desire to keep himself safe.


    "I seem to be normal, Val. So that means as long as you stay there for six hours, we should be safe. I shouldn''t use this cane again in the next six hours in case I get a very bad negative effect, like losing my will to live," he jested.


    Staying hidden behind the tree, Graham began recalling the way to the abandoned mansion based on the memory that he got from both the mayor and the secretary.


    From the main entrance where a small park with a lot of trees was, he should head left and kept going for three kilometers. Since it meant getting out of Valentine''s Concealment radius, he had to transform into someone else before continuing, and in that area, the mayor and the secretary were out of the question.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Cornelis Haring!"


    Graham rapidly transformed into the Police Sergeant from Sloten and once it was done, he began grabbing leaves and other stuff he could find on the ground to disguise the mayor''s cane. Using the power of Order, he made sure the bits and pieces would stick to the cane and look natural like they were part of the cane itself. After he finished, the cane looked completely different.


    Now he had to continue walking onwards. He had a lot of distance to cover, so he had to travel quickly, otherwise, it would take him half a day to reach his destination.


    In the rich neighborhood, everyone had their own motor carriages, so the public ones were not available. It wouldn''t even surprise him if the children also owned ones.


    After walking three kilometers away from the park, Graham headed west, deeper into Hoogland. Even though it was already on the highest elevation of the city, there were even some areas located on an even higher elevation, so Graham had to walk uphill, which was more tiring than normal roads.


    As it was still early in the morning, the air was still very cold and fresh with a lot of moisture. A lot of the residents were outside their house doing their hobbies, like playing golf in their large front yard or just playing with their children. Most of the houses were gated, but through the gaps, the inside was still visible. The people looked at Graham with a strange look whenever he passed them, probably because he was walking instead of driving. He had noticed that he was the only one walking in the street.


    Another possibility was because Rood had such a large scar on his face that was sure to attract attention.


    After walking for more than an hour past all the giant houses with otherworldly architectures, he finally arrived at a large field behind a tall iron gate. In the middle of the field, there was a medium-sized mansion that didn''t look inhabited but was still well-maintained nonetheless.


    Graham couldn''t switch with Valentine for fear than the man would do something reckless because of the cane''s negative effect, so he had to make sure no one was around before climbing over the gate. Once inside, he walked confidently as to not look suspicious.


    The field was large with grass that appeared to have been recently mowed. There were also flowers that weren''t blooming since it was autumn currently. It looked like the mansion used to be very beautiful, but for some reason it was abandoned, which raised Graham''s suspicion.


    "No one would abandon this kind of place without a reason, Val," he rubbed his chin as he walked.


    Graham arrived at the mansion itself not long after, and suddenly, his sense of danger was triggered.


    Someone or something was approaching him with the intention to attack!

 204 Fighting a Strange Enemy

    A tentacle coiled around Graham''s leg and lifted him up before he could react. He quickly looked around to find its owner, but he could only see the tentacle coming from all the way behind the mansion. The purple and green slithery thing was grabbing his ankle tightly and the area where it touched felt burning.


    Whack!


    Using the camouflaged cane, he hit it as hard as he could. The soft octopus arm reacted to the impact as if it was rubber and the cane just bounced off. The blunt force didn''t have any effect on the thing.


    Smack!


    This time, it was the tentacle''s turn to attack. It smashed Graham into the hard wall of the mansion. He felt like the toy of a giant kid who didn''t know how to play gently. Since he hit the wall face first, blood started dripping from his nose.


    "I order you to let me go!"


    It worked! Although he couldn''t see the owner of the tentacle, his ability had forced it to loosen the grip and drop him to the ground. Again, he fell face first. Luckily, the ground was soft soil and grass, so he didn''t injure his nose a second time. A patch of blood was left on the spot where he had fallen, as well as crushed grass.


    The bizarre purple tentacle that was green at the bottom quickly slithered away like a scared snake, disappearing into the back of the mansion. It left behind a trail on the grass that had traces of being burnt by its touch.


    "Should we follow it and take care of it now or continue on with our mission, Val? I have a feeling that if we don''t deal with it now, whatever it is will come and get us later,"


    Decisively, Graham readied his knife in his right hand while carefully following the trail it had left behind. Smashing didn''t work on it, so he had a feeling that bullets wouldn''t work all that well either unless it had a piercing property. The dagger and his abilities were the best options he had for now.


    Circling around the mansion from the distance, he was gradually presented with the back view of the mansion in the middle of a large field. Over there, there was a mound on the ground with a hole the size of a motor carriage in the middle, like something had just dug itself out of the mound. The trail of burnt grass went all the way inside the hole.


    "I''m not going down there, so let''s summon whatever that is out,"


    Flick!


    He lit a fire using the lighter that he had skillfully taken out without letting go of the cane. Using Fire Manipulation, he made it burn using his stamina instead and also caused it to grow as big as an exercise ball. That rubber ball that had just been invented several years prior was the only thing he had in mind that had the perfect size for his fireball. He was unable to make it any bigger than that currently, but he was sure that when he got stronger, he would have more freedom with the way he could manipulate fire.


    Whoosh!


    "Hiss!!"


    Something inside the hole was burned by his attack! The smell of charred flesh filled the air, as well as smoke that rose from the hole. Not long after that, something quickly came out, starting from its numerous tentacles until its whole body was revealed.


    "What in the world is that?!"


    Graham exclaimed and his jaw dropped. The creature in front of him looked so bizarre that he was left speechless.


    Using its tentacles, the creature dragged itself out of the hole, exposing itself. The fire seemed to be still burning inside the hole, so it had no choice but to get out. What stood in front of Graham was now a big, thin dog with a pained expression on its face. Its long brown fur, that had burned patches here and there, wasn''t glowing as normal dogs'' would be, and its ribs were visible from outside because of how thin it was. It was panting heavily and its eyes were bloodshot. It wasn''t looking at Graham with malice, but instead, it appeared to be giving him an expression of begging.


    Attached to its stomach was an octopus-centipede-like creature with twelve long-- very long tentacles. It looked to have gorged itself into the dog''s side and latched on to it with strong mandible-thingies that surrounded its ''head''-- or more precisely, a blob of mass that was more like a tumor growing out of the dog''s side. The creature was dark purple with green coloration at the bottom of its body, extending all the way to its tentacles. It appeared to have no eyes, or Graham just couldn''t see them.


    The tentacles appeared to have suffered the most burn damage as smoke was still rising from them and the charred smell was even stronger now that the creature was out. Without even moving from its spot, it lashed its tentacles around angrily, hitting everything around it and burning the grass as it went.


    "It''s funny that it''s also capable of burning but is weak against fire," Graham mocked while busily avoiding the attacks. He defended himself using the cane against the ones he couldn''t avoid. Once he got the chance, he looked at the creature and shouted.


    "I order you to stop!"


    The tentacles all stopped at once, but it looked like they were struggling to regain control. Strangely, the dog was still able to move and it licked the purple and green creature on its side. Once its tongue touched the creature, Graham''s Order was broken, seeing as it could move freely again.


    "Val, that dog and the bizarre thing are definitely different creatures. I think the purple blob is a parasitic one that is controlling the dog, whose saliva has some kind of power? This whole thing is just too incomprehensible..."


    Graham then quickly took out his revolver and aimed at the purple blob after stuffing his dagger in its sheath.


    Bang!


    He shot a paralysis bullet right at it. However, the bullet just bounced off after hitting its rubber-like skin. Fortunately, it was enough for the paralysis effect to take place. The tentacles were now stopped once more.


    Again, the dog tried to lick the blob on its side. Graham aimed at it in order to stop it. However, when he looked at its begging and pitiful eyes, he somehow hesitated. A feeling of compassion surfaced in his heart, halting his attack and resulting in the dog successfully removing the paralysis effect from the tentacle creatures.


    "That dog made me unable to shoot it, Val! What a cheater!"


    A tentacle tried to grab his legs but Graham was able to avoid it. He then retaliated by attacking with his dagger that he had skillfully taken out. With a stabbing motion, he thrust his dagger down upon the tentacle. To his surprise, the creature''s rubbery texture made it difficult to pierce through as well. It felt like he was trying to cut a piece of meat using a dull knife, although he was very sure that his dagger was as sharp as it could be.


    "Fire it is then. Take this!"


    After taking a step back to avoid another tentacle, he took out his lighter again and lit another fire. He didn''t want to use the one that was still burning inside the hole to prevent the creature from running away.


    "I ask that you shoot at the tentacle creature!"


    Whoosh!


    The tiny flame left the tip of the lighter and pierced through the air, successfully hitting the purple and green thing.


    "Hiss!!"


    It seemed to have been injured. Smoke rose from the spot where the flame had attacked it and the smell of barbecue filled Graham''s nose again.


    "Val, maybe we can chop off the tentacles and sell them as exotic food! Nobody would know what it''s made of, right?" he then got an idea in his head as he sniffed the somewhat delicious smell, "Although, I wouldn''t want to eat it myself,"


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh!


    Since his previous attack was effective, he repeated it several times, sending numerous tiny fireballs at the creature. It tried to block using its tentacles, but it resulted in its tentacles being burned instead. More fire bullets were coming its way, and the dog suddenly stood up. It looked like it was trying to block the tiny flames using its face, but what happened was out of Graham''s expectation.


    The flame bullets fell to the ground and burned the grass below instead!


    It was evident that the dog was somehow able to avoid being attacked through different means. However, it looked even more tired afterward and began panting heavily again while collapsing to the ground.


    Now it was the tentacle creature''s turn to attack while Graham was still somewhat enthralled by the sight of the pitiful dog. Nine tentacles all shot at him from different directions while the remaining one stayed out of sight.


    Taken by surprise, Graham couldn''t avoid all of the tentacles. His left hand and right leg were grabbed by them while his left waist was smacked hard by it. He was lucky those things were not sharp, otherwise, he would have been stabbed.


    "I order you to let me go!" he shouted at the one grabbing his leg.


    "I order you to let me go!" he issued one more order at the one grabbing his arm.


    He was now free, but suddenly,


    Smash!


    The last tentacle had found a rock the size of a chair and smacked its enemy with it. Luckily, Graham was able to defend himself with the cane, or else, his head would have been scattered on the ground.


    He was now pinned down on the ground, holding the rock back with the cane using all of his strength. His veins burst out of his skin and his face turned red.


    "I order you to move the rock away!!"


    The tentacle moved against its own will and Graham quickly retreated, avoiding a second rock smashing attack. His knuckles were bleeding and hurt a ton because it was grazed against the rock when he was defending himself.


    "Hey, over here!"


    Suddenly, there was a voice coming from behind him.


    Hurl!


    Just as he was approaching the source of the voice, the creature threw the rock at him!


    "I order you to shoot back at the tentacle creature!!"


    He quickly issued an order at the rock before it hit him, and in a strange and awkward motion, it stopped midair and changed its trajectory. It was now aiming for the blob of mass on the side of the dog. The dog once again blocked the attack with its head, and the rock strangely just dropped down to the ground.


    The voice was coming from all the way out of the reach of the creature''s tentacles, so, after seeing Graham backing away quickly, it tried to move closer by dragging itself with its long limbs. The mandibles that were latching on to the dog''s side were biting even more strongly and dragged the dog along with it.


    Seeing what happened, Graham got an idea and quickly issued an order.


    "I order you to let--"


    "Don''t!!"


    Someone shouted from behind him, interrupting his Order. He already knew who it was so he listened to the man and stopped his order.


    Lucas Baltes then appeared behind him, completely naked since he had to use invisibility. He didn''t seem to be embarrassed in any way, however.


    "Why shouldn''t I try to separate them?" he asked hastily and curiously; the creature was slowly approaching them.


    "The tentacle monster is the one keeping the dog grounded. Once they are separated, the dog will go berserk and I''m not sure if we will even be able to scream before we die!" Lucas sounded genuinely scared as he was explaining it.


    "The dog? So it''s the dog that''s more dangerous, Val?" he muttered, then issued another Order at the creature.


    "I order you to move away from us!"


    Against its will, it began pushing the ground with its tentacles, shoving itself away from the two men. It gave Graham and Lucas some time to come up with a strategy, but not that long since the dog had begun moving its head to try to lick the thing.


    "What is that thing? How do we defeat it?"


    "Since it''s attacking you, I will assume you are also the mayor''s enemy, so I''m willing to help you. It''s the guardian of this place-- at least that''s what I''ve heard. I don''t know about its weakness since obviously, they would never tell me," replied Lucas.


    He seemed to have been attracted by the sounds of their fight. The man must have decided to help because as long as the creature was alive, he wouldn''t be able to explore the mansion safely. In Lucas''s mind, he had been branded as the mayor''s enemy after their previous night''s encounter, so he should think that the creature would also attack him.


    "So what do we do now? I cannot attack the dog for some reason and the fried squid is immune to most attacks. Control effects don''t work well either because of the dog, and I cannot use control on the dog because of its ability somehow. Fire works, but the dog will get in the way,"


    Lucas''s expression was troubled for a split second, but something in his mind was telling him that it was nothing to think about. It was just that Graham''s abilities reminded him of something. However, he trusted his own mind and let it go. Besides, for some reason, his mind was telling him to trust the man in the leather jacket in front of him.


    "Have you tried beating it to a pulp?" the man said confidently.


    Graham, who possessed only an ordinary Contractbound physical strength, of course, couldn''t pull something like that.


    "I don''t have the physical strength to do it,"


    "But I do," there was a proud smile on the man''s face.


    As an Unseen, he was indeed granted a little more strength than other Contractbounds. Combined with the strength he had got from becoming a Romancer, he should be pretty strong right now. Graham remembered the previous night how the man was easily smacking him around the room like he was a wooden bat.


    "Then you do it. I''ll provide cover,"


    Lucas nodded.


    "Just remember, don''t try anything funny or you''ll be the next one to get beaten into a pulp," he threatened seriously.

 205 The Mayors Secrets

    The dog started sniffing around, looking for Lucas, but his smell had also disappeared. However, it seemed to be able to sense the danger still since the tentacles started lashing about, hitting everything in their range.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    The tentacles suddenly stopped. The dog creature, that was unaffected by Graham''s order, moved its head closer to the purple blob and began licking it, removing the control effect that it had.


    Smack!


    Thwack!


    Lucas was hitting the dog repeatedly from behind!


    Its eyes showed pain and it seemed that it was begging for Graham to stop the man. If he wasn''t strong enough to resist, he might have attacked Lucas because of the dog. It was the kind of puppy eyes that would make anyone weak to the owner''s pleas.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    He once again stopped the tentacles from defending itself and attacking the bodyguard, who was still busy beating the dog from behind. That way, it didn''t have to see its pleading eyes.


    "I think he might actually hate dogs, Val," he mumbled in amusement.


    The sounds of whimpering filled the air as the dog tried hard to get away from Lucas. It didn''t seem to be able to move without the tentacles dragging it, so it wasn''t able to get anywhere really. The dog''s only choice was to free the tentacle monster out of Graham''s control.


    Whoosh!


    Without even waiting for the dog to finish its action, Graham sent bullets of fire that burned the immobilized tentacle monster. The flames torched its body without it being able to do anything about it.


    The dog creature didn''t even try to block the flames this time because its highest priority seemed to be freeing the purple blob of mass.


    Focusing on the belt that he was wearing, Graham began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, intensify your desire to lick the creature attached to your side!"


    Lick! Lick! Lick!


    The giant dog suddenly started licking the tentacle monster with great intensity and was unable to stop. It kept on licking even though the tentacles had started moving again. With each lick, it grew weaker and weaker, especially with Lucas beating it non-stop from the other side.


    A strong stench of iron and blood filled the air as the red liquid splashed from the dog''s body onto the invisible man, revealing his location. The man was literally beating the dog into a pulp, and judging from his now visible, bloody expression, it seemed that he was enjoying it. There was a satisfied smile on his face and he was like someone who was releasing his pent up anger on the poor creature.


    Seeing that its other part had died, the tentacle monster got agitated and enraged. However, since it was actually not that strong on its own, with Graham''s Order, it stopped moving again and there was no way for it to break free-- not without the help of the dog.


    "I ask that you come back here!"


    Heat suddenly filled the area as a fireball the size of an exercise ball rose from the hole on the ground. The fireball ascended slowly as if it was lava coming out of a volcano, which was the mound. The scorching flame then floated towards Graham, staying by its master''s side.


    Feeling the heat from the fireball, the eyeless blob of purple mass seemed distressed. However, it was still unable to move because of Graham''s control ability.


    Lucas quickly got away from the giant dog''s corpse and allowed the tall man with a scar on his face to do what he wanted.


    "I ask that you burn the tentacle monster!"


    The flame began moving slowly towards the octopus-centipede-like creature whose mandibles were still attached to the dead dog. It was visibly shaking as the hot, giant fireball was inching closer and closer. The creature must have felt like a cornered prey, powerless to defend itself, while its predator was looking at it ravenously, ready to devour every inch of its body.


    Hiss!


    The sound of moist flesh being charred by the hot flame resounded in the field, and the smell of burning returned. Now that its protector was gone, the creature was defenseless, unable to protect itself against the flame. The crackle of fire and the high-pitched shrieking came shortly after, accompanying the creature''s agonizing death. The flame consumed both the blob of mass and the dog, turning them into a black, burned carcass with smoke rising from it.


    Graham turned around and saw Lucas, still covered in blood, had turned visible, and was wearing a coat to cover his naked body. He must have hidden the coat somewhere before joining the fight earlier.


    Since the fight was over, the man''s expression now had turned suspicious.


    "Alright. Now tell me who you are and what you''re doing here," he demanded.


    Graham cleaned the dust off his jacket and pants and picked up the camouflaged cane that he had dropped earlier.


    "I''m Cornel, a private detective. I''m here because I was paid to investigate the mayor. My informant told me he was hiding a secret here. Now, who are you?" he spoke calmly. He wasn''t technically lying since Graham was currently using Rood''s appearance.


    "I''m Tony. I''m also here to investigate the mayor," replied Lucas shortly. He gave a quick glance at the cane but then brushed it aside.


    Although his mind was somehow telling him that he can trust the man to some extent, Lucas seemed to still take basic precautions.


    "Nice to meet you, Tony," Graham spoke as if he didn''t know the truth. He offered his hand, which was received by the bodyguard. He then gave Lucas a firm handshake.


    Seeing the blood still covering basically the man''s whole face and body, Graham offered, "Need me to clean that off you?"


    Lucas touched his face and wiped some of the blood off with his fingers. He then nodded slowly.


    "With one condition. Please tell me how an Unseen can have physical contact while being invisible," he asked. Graham didn''t want to waste his chance to gain an important piece of knowledge.


    The blood-covered bodyguard squinted his eyes as if seizing up the man in front of him.


    "Once we please our Deity, we gain the ability to have limited physical contact while invisible," he explained shortly after deciding that it was alright to share that information.


    Graham nodded; his theory had been proven correct. He then concentrated on the blood covering the man and opened his mouth.


    "I order the blood covering you to go away!"


    The red liquid became like water that just slid down the man''s body down to the grass beneath him. He was, once more, clean, and no longer did he look like a rampaging mass murderer.


    "Thank you,"


    Lucas then started walking into the mansion without waiting for Graham. The detective was now looking at the burned carcass of the creature with intensity. He was thinking hard about how to get everything home since he could probably sell its parts. However, he could also do it later, especially since it was hidden away from the street thanks to the mansion in front of it.


    Following Lucas, Graham entered the mansion through the window that the man had forced open and found himself inside a dusty kitchen area. He hadn''t had a single pleasant experience involving mansions as of late, so it brought back bad memories. Especially around the dark corners where tall black creatures with elongated tongues could suddenly pop up.


    "So what are we looking for here?" asked Graham to the man who was now entering the next room.


    He didn''t answer right away.


    "I don''t know," he said, finally.


    Looking over his shoulder, Graham began muttering quietly, "Val, it''s evident that he is still guarded against us. He doesn''t want to show what he knows,"


    Lucas walked far ahead of Graham and he kept looking over his shoulder. He didn''t want to leave his back exposed to the stranger, and by walking far ahead, he would have the time to react in case the man named ''Cornel'' decided to try something funny.


    The bodyguard''s action gave Graham the window he needed to start his plan. Using the dagger hidden in the left sleeve of his leather jacket, he injured his finger and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth an illusion that covers this area!"


    The belt that he was wearing let out a faint glow and an illusory orange curtain began descending upon the room, floating above Lucas and swaying gently as if it was blown by the breeze. The man, not suspecting anything, suddenly froze. He tilted his head a little like he was trying to hear better.


    "Help us! Help!!"


    It was the voice of a woman that Lucas knew very well. The distressed, weak voice was coming from the room ahead of him!


    The man then quickly ran off to another room while Graham deactivated the illusion. The wound quickly closed and the blood dried.


    Following Lucas, he arrived in the library with giant shelves full of dusty books. Graham knew that it was the room where the basement was hidden, according to both the mayor''s and the secretary''s memory. He also knew exactly how to get to the secret door but he couldn''t just show it to Lucas.


    "Did you also hear that?" he asked innocently.


    Lucas''s expression was enraged and his face was red. He didn''t answer Graham''s question but just gave him a cold glance. The man then got busy trying to pull the books one by one from the shelves to reveal the hidden door.


    The sounds of books hitting the hard floor broke the silence of the abandoned mansion. Tirelessly, Lucas kept on doing what he was doing in hope of accidentally stumbling upon the secret lever to open the door to the basement. However, it was not the way to do it.


    According to the memory that he had received from Eveline Herrick, the mayor used an ability that was similar to his Order, but much stronger and its effect worked on more than one object. Graham figured that as long as the door operated as a single entity, then he should also be able to open it. Another way to open the door was to use the enhanced key that Eveline possessed, but Graham wasn''t able to locate it.


    He waited for Lucas to pull the next book, and with the correct timing, he quietly issued an Order.


    "I order the secret door to open!"


    Lucas felt something was shaking the moment he pulled the last book. He was glad that he had finally found the secret lever to open the door.


    The bookshelves in front of them began moving apart, revealing a tiny gap that was only big enough for two adults to get through at the same time.


    The bodyguard went on ahead, walking into the dark corridor stairway leading down to the basement. He was perfectly able to see in the dark because of the night vision that had. Meanwhile, Graham had to use his lighter because he had no such thing. He manipulated the flame to float and led the way for him, illuminating the dark and narrow passageway that reeked of dust and mold.


    Upon arriving at a tall metal door that had no handle whatsoever, the two men stopped.


    "How do we get it open?"


    Lucas now didn''t care about showing that he actually knew about the place. He was more worried about his family trapped behind the door.


    "Use that ability that you used to stop the octopus. it should work here,"


    Curiously, Graham looked over his shoulder and whispered quietly, "Val, why didn''t he tell us to do the same back then but he did now?"


    Graham did as he was asked and focused on the solid metal door in front of him.


    "I order you to open!"


    The door began moving to the side, revealing the entrance to the basement. However, Graham suddenly felt very weak. It appeared that opening that particular door had taken quite a lot of his stamina. It felt rather similar to when he used his Thought Implant on his targets.


    Lucas impatiently barged into the dark basement with ten jail cells in total. Some of them were empty while those occupied had their prisoners cowered in the corner in fear. Whenever someone came in, nothing good had ever happened to them.


    Staying by the entrance, Graham quickly injured his finger to let the blood flow. He was still breathing heavily because of the exhaustion from before, but he couldn''t waste any more time. After he chanted, an illusory orange light began descending upon the chamber and placed every single individual there into his Mass Illusion.


    "Lucash! Helf me!! Flease!! Nho!! Nho!!!"


    A distorted and distressed cry of help came from the room in the far end of the chamber, which got Lucas running towards it. The jail cell was locked, so he couldn''t get in, but the sight inside made him go rampage. He kicked, rammed, and shook the bars violently, trying to break it. With his strength, the bars were slowly bent abnormally.


    Inside the cell, Lucas saw Mayor Hank Krammer smiling sinisterly while holding up the body of a dead baby. It was Lucas''s daughter! On the baby''s face, there was a bloody smile that was inflicted by blade wounds while her eyes had been plucked out, creating a stream of bloody tears. The mayor then dropped the baby brutally, making her flesh go mushy.


    The mayor then ran his fingers over Lucas''s wife, who was still screaming for help unintelligibly. Blood and tears ran down her cheeks as the man plucked her teeth forcibly one by one, accompanied by a cry of pain. Her eyes, which had also been gouged out, were placed inside her mouth by the man, to prevent her from closing her mouth.


    Crack!


    Hank Krammer suddenly twisted her neck as Lucas was about to break the bars apart. The woman''s lifeless body then fell on the ground, right on top of the slush that was a baby. After that, the most powerful man in Hoorn took out a match and dropped it after chanting something inaudible to Lucas.


    Whoosh!


    The jail cell quickly caught on fire, burning everything inside, including the man himself. With a distorted and perverted smile, Mayor Hank Krammer waved goodbye at Lucas before turning into ashes, disappearing from the jail cell along with the dead wife and baby.


    Lucas was left alone inside the dark and empty jail cell. Sorrow, hatred, anger, and regret were reflected in his eyes as tears ran down his cheeks.


    Meanwhile, the wound on Graham''s finger healed quickly while he stumbled upon the wall, leaning for support. His breathing was heavy and his face showed exhaustion.

 206 An Unexpected Outcome

    Now standing in the corner of the basement near the first jail cell, Graham watched as the man ran past him. He, however, had no intention of stopping the man. His goal had been achieved; he felt that the Deity had been very pleased with his performance just now. Now, there were four people hating the mayor from the bottom of their hearts, all because of Graham''s actions.


    "I wonder what we should do with all these prisoners," he looked around in the dark with the help of the tiny fireball floating nearby.


    Seeing that Graham was not the mayor, one of the prisoners closest to him began approaching. With a distressed look, he began begging.


    "Please, let me out of here! Please! We can''t be here anymore!"


    Graham knew, based on the memories he got both from the mayor and his secretary, that these people were actual criminals that Hank Krammer had somehow transferred to this dungeon. He didn''t plan on letting criminals walk free, but, at the same time, he didn''t want to leave them there just for their organs and limbs to be harvested.


    "Val, should we or should we not? If we free them, the most that they will do is wreak havoc around these rich neighborhoods. If we don''t, they''ll just die here..." he pondered. He was sitting with his back against the wall, looking at the faces in the dark begging at him. With each breath, his stamina recovered a little.


    "Man, you have to let me out! They will kill me if you don''t!" coerced the man in the cell closest to his spot.


    "Sir, please let us out... We don''t want to die..." begged another man from another jail cell.


    Graham didn''t reply. He was still busy recovering his stamina. Even should he decide to let them out, he would need his stamina to use his ability.


    "Come on! Are you going to let me out or not?!" the man grew impatient.


    Sigh...


    In the dark dungeon, the sounds of begging kept on coming. He patiently ignored those voices and just focused on regaining his stamina.


    "Val, these guys are annoying. But we haven''t been acting like a good person anyway, so why not create some chaos. Besides, we don''t really like super-rich people anyway, do we?"


    Once he had recovered, he got up and walked towards the farthest cell at the end of the dungeon. The woman inside was looking at him with eyes full of hope. Despite being a prisoner, her condition was actually pretty good. It seemed that she had been well fed and also bathed regularly. Luckily, neither the mayor''s nor the secretary''s memory provided him any info about that, because he really didn''t want to know.


    His Fire Divination told him that there was no grave danger posed by the people locked up inside the cells. After all, if they were powerful enough to harm him, they should have their own means of escaping from the prison. Looking at the jail cell closest to him, Graham issued an Order.


    "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    Click!


    The jail cell where the woman was held was opened, and without even thanking Graham, she quickly ran away from the basement. He did the same thing with the rest of the prisoners, except for the impatient man closest to the entrance.


    "What are you waiting for?! Come on let me out!" shouted the man restlessly. He was the only prisoner left.


    Using his Fire Manipulation, Graham brought fireball back to his side and ordered it to enter the cell. There was a mischievous smile on his face.


    "What the fuck?! Man, get that thing away from me!"


    Scared, the man backed off until his back hit the wall. There was nowhere else for him to go, but the fireball kept on coming closer and closer without any signs of stopping.


    "Go away!! Back off!! You don''t know how dangerous I am when I''m scared!!" The prisoner''s face grew pale and his screaming became more high-pitched. He sounded like a woman screaming from the top of the lung because of a mouse.


    Whoosh!


    The man''s hair caught on fire! The flame burned off a large chunk of his hair, leaving a bald spot in the middle of his head. After that, the flame moved away and returned to Graham''s side.


    "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    After unlocking the jail cell, Graham left the now bald prisoner alone and returned to the surface, where the sunlight could still reach.


    "Hello there. I''ve been waiting for you. Took you long enough to return here,"


    Graham was frozen shocked. There was a woman standing in the doorway and a bunch of unconscious people laying in a pile nearby. Lucas was one of them, while the rest were the prisoners who had just run away earlier.


    The woman let out no presence at all and Graham couldn''t even feel any aura of danger coming from her. If he wasn''t looking right at her, he wouldn''t even know that she was there.


    With some taps, she cleaned the dust off the pink denim pants that she was wearing. Her bright green coat, combined with the yellow short dress she was wearing underneath, made her look like a walking shady caf¨¦''s neon light. If not for the fact that she had knocked unconscious a lot of people seemingly effortlessly, Graham would have commented out loud on the horrendous fashion sense.


    "Excuse me, but who are you?" asked Graham politely. He was trying to buy some time while thinking of a way to get out of that situation.


    "Trying to buy yourself some time? It won''t work, duh...! But I''ll answer your question anyway..." she was speaking like she was in some kind of Televised drama. Combined with her dramatic body language, the whole thing was an overkill. No sane person could stay and watch her speak long enough without growing insane.


    "I''m what they over here call... neighborhood watch! It''s simple... really. They pay me, and I keep this area safe. Now... you have dared to walk past my monitoring mirror without even getting past the security appropriately, and for that, I have some questions myself..."


    The way she dragged the endings of her sentences was very annoying. Her abnormal rise and fall of intonations were the icing on the cake that was made of cat shit.


    "Now, I don''t know who these people are or why they are here, but you''re the one who broke my rule. You see... everyone must enter Hoogland according to the book. You can''t just stroll past like that, otherwise... people would start doing it, you know?"


    If there had been a competition for the most dramatic and useless body language, the woman would have won easily.


    The way she kept on blabbering gave Graham some time to think about his means of escape. There was a window in the library that should lead out of the mansion. Although he had a feeling that the woman was faster than him, he couldn''t worry about that. For now, he had to get out of the building in one way or another.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    The woman stopped talking against her own will while Graham quickly reached out with his right hand. He focused on the bracelet that he was wearing and aimed at the woman.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    Tendrils that were dark orange in color appeared around her head and entered it. After that, Graham didn''t waste his time and ran straight for the window. He jumped and broke the glass easily with his body and made it outside.


    The bright colored woman, already free from his control, followed him at a frightening speed. However, just as she was about to jump out, she squatted instead, as if trying to avoid an obstacle above her head. It made her hit the wall below the actual window, although she didn''t seem injured one bit because of that. Once she recovered, she vaulted over easily and chased after Graham at a frightening speed.


    "My heart is broken by how rude you are. Come back here and answer my questions!!" she shouted dramatically while following Graham. She didn''t even break a sweat while running like that, despite wearing tall, bright purple wedges with glitters all over them. It felt unsettling to be followed by a rainbow-colored lunatic like her.


    Graham was aiming for the small woodland behind the mansion, which should be connected to the cliff at the edge of Hoogland. He had no other choice since going inwards to the city didn''t seem very safe with her around.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, intensify your desire to run!"


    The belt that he was wearing had a faint glow and suddenly, the woman ran even faster. He had used the last charge of the Intensify ability stored inside Purloin.


    Dash!


    He jumped out of the way and the woman dashed right past him, disappearing into the woodland without any intention of stopping.


    Graham took a slightly different direction and entered the woodland, heading for the cliff. According to his memory, the place shouldn''t be that far away. He kept on running until his body became all hot and sweaty despite the low temperature of the highland.


    "Your abilities... are annoying, you know!! Just how many Deities are you in a contract with?"


    To his surprise, the woman had broken free from the effect of the Intensify and was now running towards him. He didn''t even know how she had been able to locate him that easily. However, his only goal right now was to get away from her, so he couldn''t be bothered to think about it.


    "Your right leg is mine!"


    The woman made a swiping motion and suddenly, Graham couldn''t feel his right leg!


    He fell down to the soft, dried grass cushioned grass and looked at his leg. It was still there, but its function had totally gone, taken away by the woman!


    She kept her right hand in a fist while catching up with Graham, who began crawling as quickly as he could.


    He turned around and looked at her before issuing an order.


    Bang!!


    He shot her with a paralysis bullet!


    "I order you to return my right leg!"


    The paralyzed woman''s right fist loosened up and a bright, yellow light escaped from it, returning to Graham''s right leg. He could now feel his limb again and quickly got up with the help of the cane and started running.


    "So you have a gun, eh? Are you sure it''s a good idea... to show that to me?!" Her tone sounded like she was angry, but Graham couldn''t take her seriously because of the way she spoke. She sounded like a housewife who had just found out that her husband was cheating with the underaged maid that she had recently hired.


    As she opened her mouth, Graham turned around and pointed the end of the cane at her, shooting invisible energy at the ridiculously-dressed woman. At the same time, something was sucked out of him by the handle of the wooden cane that was covered in leaves and roots.


    ''That woman is now highly obsessed with handsome men!''


    ''You are now completely uninterested in women!''


    "Crap! Not what we needed!"


    Suddenly, he felt a little lighter. His gun had been stolen!


    There was a strange smile on the woman''s face as she quickly closed in the distance between them. In her right hand was now the black, .31 caliber revolver that had accompanied him in all of his journeys. Graham wanted to steal it back but he didn''t have Luuk''s Theft, and he hadn''t been able to copy the woman''s.


    "I order you to run away from me!"


    Graham''s Order made the woman moved in the other direction for several meters before she broke free and started chasing him with even more vigor than before. The cane had made her even crazier.


    "Stop running and become my husband! Come here, handsome!!"


    His heart broke a little by the fact that he had to let go of the gun for his safety. In that situation, he couldn''t have both. On top of that, for some reason, he was even more reluctant to get anywhere near the clown-colored woman.


    Once she was close enough, she began another swiping motion with her right hand. The gun had been tucked away somewhere.


    "Your right hand is mine!"


    Graham''s right hand suddenly fell motionless. He couldn''t even feel it because he had lost its function. Using his left hand, he aimed at the woman with the cane and shot another invisible energy just before she caught up to him.


    ''That woman is now highly obsessed with leaves!''


    ''You are now completely uninterested in becoming conscious!''


    "Crap!!"


    Graham cursed in panic. The negative effect that he had got was really bad. Suddenly, a heavy wave of sleepiness swept over him, making his eyelids very heavy.


    Meanwhile, the woman was busy crouching on the ground, sniffing the leaves around her. She no longer paid attention to Graham, which was supposed to be a good thing, except...


    The cliff was right under him!


    He had lost consciousness for a second while still on the run! Unable to stop in time, Graham ran down the cliff, falling off to the deep gorge down below.


    "Crap... Crap... Crap... Crap... Crap!!!"


    He tried his best to stay conscious. If he fell unconscious again for even a millisecond, he would fall to his death and become a blob of flesh deep inside the ravine.


    Good thing Valentine hadn''t taken over when he fell unconscious, since he was still under the effect of the cane, making him uninterested in his own safety. If he had taken over, he would just let himself fall into his death.


    The wind brushed roughly against his face while his organs felt like they were pushed upwards. Blood couldn''t flow properly to his brain, but for some reason, the fear and panic that he had been feeling just now were completely gone. He was now feeling euphoric for some reason and was looking forward to the impact. All the while, he had to fight hard to not fall unconscious.


    In just a matter of seconds, he was almost at the bottom, and if he was late even for a millisecond, he would be very dead.


    "I order the wind to blow me up!"


    "I order myself to stop falling!"


    "I order myself to land safely!"


    He issued Orders in quick succession. The wind suddenly blew even stronger, slowing down his fall. His second Order made his body stop midair for a second, hitting the wall of wind hard because of the momentum. He broke his nose as a result.


    After that, Graham began falling again, but since it was not so high up, he could land safely by letting his body move on its own. Although he still broke his left leg because of the fall, at least he wasn''t dead. The wave of sleepiness hadn''t gone away, however. Graham fell unconscious not long after, with great pain coming from his leg.

 207 In the Valley

    Crack!


    Bearing with the pain, Valentine snapped his broken leg back into position. Although it was agonizing, it was incomparable to the pain he felt during the rituals, so he did it with relative ease. However, even after realigning his broken leg, he still couldn''t walk normally; he needed time for it to recover. The same was also true for his broken nose.


    "G, do you think our injury will be gone once we return to our original appearance?"


    Valentine was pushing his bent nose to realign the bone while blood kept coming out of it. Rood''s nose was definitely longer than his, now that he had a chance to take a closer look at it. Even though he pushed really hard, in the end, it was still slightly bent, and there was nothing he could do. He wiped the blood using the bottom of his shirt once he was finished.


    "We know that if we suffer injuries and we transform into someone, the injury will be gone. But does it work the other way around?"


    With the help of his cane, Valentine got up and looked around. He was currently in a narrow valley, with walls of rocks all around him. There was no way he could climb back up in that condition. On top of that, the woman must still be up there, enjoying the leaves around her.


    "Anyway, who is that woman... You''re still unconscious, eh, G? She must be a Thief, but much stronger than Luuk if she could steal body parts like that,"


    Valentine began walking in one direction which he had chosen randomly. Unlike Graham, he didn''t have the whole layout of the city memorized, so he didn''t know where he was going. He just went whichever way he liked. Besides, he currently couldn''t switch with Graham because his other half was still under the influence of the cane and fell unconscious for the remaining six hours.


    "You left me with nothing I can use inside Purloin, G. How does this cane work, anyway? You lost interest in consciousness and then you fall asleep? Does that mean your mind and body just magically decided not to remain conscious anymore? Then, this cane is really dangerous. But at least you could fight it off for a while,"


    The rock walls around him were getting taller and the path that Valentine was walking on became wider. He still couldn''t see what was on top of the cliff, and ahead of him, he could only see walls of rock. He had no other choice but to keep walking.


    The tall man limping with a cane was walking down the gorge that was widening into a valley. Slowly, Valentine could start to see something other than rocks ahead of him. There was a small river decorated with boulders, some kind of forest that went all the way up, and more rock walls surrounding him.


    "At least if we were trapped here, we wouldn''t die of hunger or thirst, heheh," he amused himself.


    Valentine walked closer to the tallest boulder and tried to climb it. His left leg made it difficult for him, but with the help of the cane, he finally made it. From the top of the boulder, he began looking around.


    The river flew from the direction where he came from and went downstream ahead. If he followed it, he would probably be able to reach the city, although he didn''t remember seeing any river so far.


    The forest looked endless and it went steep uphill. It didn''t seem to be the right way to go if he wanted to return to the city. However, something in the forest caught his attention. Although his eyes were not as good as Graham''s they were still enhanced, and from there, he could see something like a cave hidden behind overgrown vines. If he hadn''t encountered something similar back then when he was exploring with Luuk, he wouldn''t have noticed that it was a cave.


    "That''s our destination, G," he said decisively without even worrying about his condition.


    Valentine slid down the boulder and landed safely on the ground. Before continuing his journey, he did a quick wash in the river, as well as drank some of the water to quench his thirst. The water tasted very fresh and cold, just what he needed.


    Without wasting any more time, Valentine started heading for the forest. At that moment, he suddenly felt his skin grew all itchy. The two-hour duration of Graham''s transformation was up, so he was returning to his original appearance. Also, it reminded him that he still had four hours to go until the negative effect of the cane affecting him wore off.


    He became three centimeters shorter and the large scar on his face disappeared. His body also became less muscular, although it was still pretty toned. He also noticed that his nose had completely returned to normal, not bent anymore. However, the pain was still there. As for his left leg, it was still as injured as before.


    "So our appearance returns to normal, but injuries persist," he concluded.


    Crunch...


    The satisfying sound of dry leaves being crushed by his shoes filled the silent forest. Ants and other small crawlies began scurrying away to safety in the presence of the giant creature invading their territory.


    Crunch! Crunch!


    Valentine deliberately stepped on the leaves because he liked the sounds they were making.


    After walking for almost fifteen minutes, he finally reached the destination; overgrown vines blocking the entrance to a cave. He pushed the vines away with his cane and entered the cave confidently without even being careful in the slightest despite it being an unknown territory.


    If it was cold outside, it was even colder inside the cave. It was also damp and smelled like moss. He felt like a layer of a cold sheet was covering his whole body as he walked deeper into the cave. Luckily, the cave floor was not slippery, so he could walk easily with the help of his cane.


    Using his night vision, he could see well in the cave that appeared to have not been touched by the sunlight in ages. Valentine perked up his ears to try to hear any sounds coming from deeper inside the cave, but there were only the sounds of water dripping, and nothing else.


    "What do you think we''ll find here, G?" his voice echoed in the cave.


    As he walked, he began to notice that the wall on his left had become flatter and deeper inside, some murals were drawn on it. He touched it and felt the rough texture of the wall that felt almost like concrete.


    Valentine stopped in front of what seemed to be the center of the murals. It depicted a bubbly gray skull, something that looked like a war machine but pale pink in color, a white bird that looked strange, a traffic cone, and a dark-skinned woman in white with a heart as her skirt. The art style was all bubbly with only limited sharp edges, and it was all colorful, although the color had mostly faded.


    The skull, the woman, the bird, and the war machine were the images that were the most prominent in the mural. Besides them, there were a lot of tiny skulls on the bottom right that looked like they were the dead being sucked into the afterlife. Valentine also noticed that under the war machine, there was an upside-down smiling rabbit that looked very out of place. If he hadn''t paid attention, he would have missed it since it was practically the same color as the background now.


    "I don''t understand this. This wall feels like a building instead of a cave, and this painting looks more like a wall art that youngsters often do. But why is it here?"


    Feeling curious, Valentine concentrated on the mural in front of him.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    Bzzz...


    Instead of illusory text, Valentine heard the sound of static that usually came from the Television at midnight when there was no more broadcast. It rang in his ears, so he covered them. However, the ringing seemed to be coming from inside him so even after covering his ears, he still heard the loud noise.


    After a while, the noise disappeared and everything returned to normal. His ability had failed.


    "I can''t use reveal on this wall. There must be a hidden meaning then..."


    Valentine tapped around his jacket and was relieved to find what he was looking for. Thankfully, Graham was always prepared. The small notebook and the pen had been stuffed inside the inner pocket of his leather jacket.


    "Thanks, G," he said as he began copying the mural down to his notebook. Not long after, there was a beautiful drawing that was pretty similar to the mural on the wall, minus the colors. In its place, he had written some notes about the actual colors.


    Once he was done, Valentine stuffed the tiny notebook back inside his pocket and continued to walk deeper into the cave. So far, there had been no creature residing inside except for bats that were still sleeping and insects crawling on the walls, that had returned to the texture of normal cave walls. There was also no longer any mural painted on them.


    The path of the cave was very straightforward without any forks or intersections, which made exploring it easy. It then reminded him of the cave back in the north of Sloten, which had branches that he hadn''t explored yet. He was sure to come back once he got stronger since the paths were leaking danger.


    Valentine had walked for about twenty minutes before he reached a dead end.


    "What are those?"


    There were two small round objects lying on the ground in the corner of the cave where the wall blocked his path. One of them was brown in color and looked very solid, while the other one was black and looked like it was melting a little. Valentine didn''t feel any spiritual energy coming from the objects, but they were completely out of place. Besides that, he also felt that Purloin was nudging him for some reason.


    Looking at the brown round object first, Valentine began speaking.


    "I ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"


    Illusory letters began appearing into existence above the object on the cave floor. The letters then form a text that was readable after a while.


    ''Brown fragment of a Thief. Can be used to upgrade Purloin with the help of a Transmuter. If used, it will increase the number of times copied abilities can be used by two, and it increases the success rate of copying an ability. It will also slightly increase the effectiveness of a copied ability to match that of the real one. If this is taken, the black fragment of a Thief will be broken.''


    Valentine was pleasantly surprised by what he found, but then he looked at the other object, which should be the black fragment mentioned by the text. It seemed that he could only choose one of the two, so he wanted to check the effect of that one first before making his decision.


    After using Reveal on the black melting object, a text appeared above it.


    ''Black fragment of a Thief. Can be used to upgrade Purloin with the help of a Transmuter. If used, it will increase the slot of copied abilities to a total of four, and it will slightly reduce the cost of using copied abilities, as well as the original ability if possessed. If this is taken, the brown fragment of a Thief will be broken.''


    Valentine sat on the ground with his left leg straight to avoid the pain while his arms were crossed. He was thinking hard about which fragment he had to choose since both offered a different kind of upgrade.


    "G, which one do you think I should take? Do we need more uses and a higher success rate of copying or more abilities at a reduced cost? This is a very difficult choice."


    He then lied down on the cave floor. The cold, hard floor touched his back and sent a chill down his body.


    "Right now, we can only use copied abilities twice. If it is increased, doesn''t it mean once it''s reset, we can use Intensify four times? And also, the higher success rate will make it much easier for us to copy and ability, won''t it? On top of that, it increases the effectiveness of the ability, which can be very useful. As of now, the Intensify that we can use is only half as powerful as the original one."


    Valentine''s voice echoed in the dark corridor with two objects the size of a small ball lying on the floor.


    "But, if we can copy a total of four abilities, we will have more diversity. Also, the cost of my Mass Illusion is too much, so if the belt reduced its cost, we can use it longer. We can also use it to reduce the cost of your Thought Implant if we copy it to the belt. Why can''t we just take both of them...?"

 208 Returning to the City

    "They must have been left here by the maker of this belt... probably,"


    He reached out his right hand and was about to pick up the object on the right: the black melting one. It was the one that would allow Purloin to store a total of four abilities while slightly reducing their cost.


    Looking at the object on the left, he muttered, "Hmm... I wonder..."


    At exactly the same time, Valentine picked up the brown and black balls from the cave floor. They both felt heavy despite their size, and their surface was extremely smooth and cold to touch.


    Crack!


    Just a second later, the black ball cracked and quickly turned into ashes. The ashes then blew away from Valentine''s hand despite there being no wind inside the cave. The black ball, on the other hand, remained intact.


    "That''s curious. It appears that they know of my intention..."


    Valentine stuffed the heavy black ball inside his pocket and gave the dead-end one more thorough look in case he had missed anything. Besides the two balls, there seemed to be nothing else, so he left quickly, heading back towards the entrance of the cave.


    The mural didn''t show any abnormality on his way back, so he didn''t pay any more attention to it. It might have some significance, but right now, Valentine had no way of knowing what it was since his ability had failed. He could only rely on Graham and his Fire Divination to check.


    Once outside, he continued walking along the clear river while occasionally drank the water to quench his thirst. It took him quite a long time, probably more than two hours, to finally see a sign of a city being nearby. The river kept on going downstream, following the now wide valley with rock walls on both sides. Above the valley, there was a modern-looking bridge connecting the two sides. Whenever there was a bridge, usually there would be a way up and down the gap below for a lot of different reasons.


    Just as he had expected, below the bridge, there was a ladder going all the way up. The metal ladder looked well maintained, without any signs of rust nor damage, although it was dirty, probably because of not being used recently.


    "*Gulp!* Ah... this is refreshing!"


    He drank the water from the river one last time before having to say goodbye to it.


    "We''re finally here, G!" There was genuine relief in his tone, as well as joy.


    After climbing up the ladder for more than five minutes, Valentine finally reached the top, finding himself by the side of the street. There were fences leading from the ladder all the way to the sidewalk, which was protected by guard rails to prevent people from accidentally falling off the cliff.


    With a wave of his hand, he stopped a public motor carriage and asked the driver to take him back to the hotel. According to the driver, he was currently on the north side of Rotsstraat, and since The Hotel was quite far away, he had to pay fifteen pennings for the ride. Valentine didn''t have any problem with it, so the driver started driving right away.


    Rotsstraat was a very busy street. It was quite similar to Grotemarktstraat in Sloten, in which a lot of people were flocking the street filled with restaurants, stores, and other establishments. It was also supposed to be close to Hoogland, where the rich lived, so the place attracted many different kinds of people.


    Valentine reached the hotel after driving past different streets that he didn''t know the name of. Apparently, at that hour the roads were busy, so the driver had to take a lot of unconventional roads to avoid traffic. After paying, Valentine entered the hotel and went straight away to his room. After writing something in his notebook and leaving it on the table, he lied down on the bed, sleeping the rest of the day to let the negative effect of the cane affecting both him and Graham wear off.


    At seven in the evening, Graham Hymes woke up. He was finally free from the cane''s negative effect. He quickly got changed into a simple shirt and cotton pants and sat at the table where he found his notebook lying around. There was a note from Valentine.


    ''G, the whole time you were unconscious, I found these things. First, there is a cave at the bottom of the valley near Hoogland, which can be accessed from the bridge north of Rotsstraat. Inside the cave, there is this mural that I''ve drawn in this notebook. Please use your divination to find out about it since my Reveal didn''t work,''


    Graham looked at the copy of the mural drawn on the left page and raised his eyebrow. It looked like wall arts that people would usually draw on walls in the city. It was not something he would have expected to find inside a cave. Judging from the color details that Valentine had also written, it seemed that the mural was old enough to allow the paint to fade. He then continued reading the note.


    ''Besides the mural, I also found two objects that can be used to upgrade Purloin. However, as soon as I decided on which one to take, the other got destroyed. It''s the black ball that is inside the pocket of my jacket. We need Cadhla''s help to use it in an upgrade.''


    ''Once you wake up, you should use divination to find out about the mural. Something is telling me that it''s hiding a secret, G. Also, we need to find out about the woman attacking us earlier if possible,''


    With guidance from Valentine''s drawing, Graham began his divination attempt right away. He lit a fire with his lighter and tried to imagine the mural that was drawn on the cave wall. After he got the image in his mind, he began asking a question.


    ''What is this mural?''


    The flame suddenly burned very brightly, making even the lighter hotter. Gradually, an image appeared and showed the mural that was exactly the same as the one Valentine had seen. However, it was not drawn on a cave wall, but rather, on the wall of a building. After that, the image disappeared.


    "So it was indeed a wall art. But why is it inside a cave? Just how old is that thing?"


    Graham returned to his divination and asked his next question.


    ''How old is this mural in the cave?''


    An image slowly appeared in the flame. However, the image didn''t come alone; it was accompanied by a raging flame and a painful headache that suddenly struck Graham. Trying his best to maintain his concentration, he carefully looked at the image.


    It showed him the same mural again on the wall of a building. It then zoomed out and showed a very modern city with sky-reaching buildings everywhere. After that, the image abruptly shifted to that of a scene where people with strange fashion styles were dying one by one. After that, the image went completely red before it finally showed the mural inside the cave.


    "Argh!!"


    Suddenly, Graham felt a thunderclap headache that broke his concentration. It felt like he had been smitten by someone or something, and he fell down on the floor in pain, hands holding his head tight. His divination had ended violently and the lighter fell on his notebook, burning the copy of the mural that Valentine had drawn.


    The smell of burning entered his nose, and noticing what was happening, Graham got up with difficulty and quickly used his Fire Manipulation to put out the fire. Unfortunately, the drawing of the mural had all been burned, although the note left by Valentine was strangely still safe, as well as everything else in the notebook. It was as if the drawing was the only target.


    Pant... Pant...


    "What do you think it was, Val?" his voice was still pained and his face red. The blood veins were still bulging on his forehead.


    He sat on the chair and tried to recover as quickly as he could.


    "The city that we saw, it doesn''t look like it''s in the Republic. Or anywhere in the world, really. I''ve never seen or heard of buildings reaching the sky like what we saw. And the people were wearing strange clothes. It was like we were looking at another world altogether, but the mural surely couldn''t have come from another world, could it?" he leaned back on the chair leisurely while massaging his forehead.


    "And the people dying and the red we saw. I have no idea what those mean. But one thing we know for sure is that it''s not something we should know, seeing as something just interfered with my divination. Maybe once we get stronger..."


    "Anyway, Val, based on my recent performances, I have a feeling that with just one more target, I will be able to please the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation. It''s just a President rank Deity and we already have to go through so much trouble to please Him. I don''t want to start thinking about the higher-ranked ones. No wonder those Contractbounds are so rare... Not to mention the fact that their messengers are taking their sweet time to tell us what They want."


    Graham picked up his lighter that luckily was still intact. With a flick of his finger, he lit another fire and concentrated on it.


    ''Who is the woman with a weird fashion sense that attacked us earlier?''


    Suddenly, Graham had a grieve sense of danger, so he quickly used Fire Manipulation to contain the flame.


    Kaboom!


    The flame exploded!


    Luckily, he was fast enough to mitigate the damage. The explosion only affected the table and nothing else outside the explosion radius, leaving just a burnt patch on the table-- nothing that a little scrubbing couldn''t clean. Unfortunately, the lighter was basically part of the explosion, so it couldn''t be saved.


    "I swear one day I will be able to do divination on whoever and whatever I want!" he mumbled in frustration and anger.


    He had instinctively taken a step back and fallen off his chair as a result. Although he was not damaged by the explosion, his back still hurt from falling. Graham got up and retrieved his favorite lighter that was now damaged.


    Sigh...


    "After losing our gun, now my favorite lighter is broken..." his voice sounded really heartbroken.


    Sitting on the chair face down, Graham was looking at the broken lighter on his palms.


    "I swear I''ll take revenge on that woman, Val,"


    He then set the broken lighter aside, putting it inside the suitcase. He then took out another, much cheaper lighter whose design was plain and boring. It was clear that the lighter was the one very commonly found in convenience stores everywhere.


    "It seems that she didn''t place anti-divination, but instead, a curse. Something like that had happened before, and if I''m not mistaken, it should be the ability of a Demise who knows a lot about divination. Since she used mirrors to monitor us, we could conclude that she is a Thief, a Demise, and an Astrologer at least."


    Graham started rubbing his chin.


    "However, Val, we know that Paars also used mirrors for monitoring back in the morgue, and he is both an Astrologer and an Unseen. I think that''s the more likely combination to get mirror divination ability. That means that woman is an Unseen and an Astrologer, and the divination curse ability should be something she got from her Marquis rank Deity, or from enhanced equipment. I think it''s the latter since the power of the curse just now was something that I still could handle. If it was a Marquis rank ability, the effect would have been much greater,"


    Graham''s eyes lit up.


    "Do you know what it means, Val? If we successfully take revenge on that woman, we''ll be able to get our gun back, as well as a potential enhanced piece of equipment. We already have three in our possession. Getting one more won''t hurt," he smiled greedily while imagining himself using yet another equipment that had a special effect.


    Speaking of enhanced equipment reminded Graham of something. He looked at the bracelet on his wrist and placed it closer to his hair. Valentine must have neglected to feed it despite feeling the cold touch on his wrist because he was still under the effect of the cane. Luckily, Graham''s warm body negated the damage it was doing to his body.


    "Here, eat my hair,"


    The moment the bracelet made contact with Graham''s hair, its mouth began opening right away and started chomping away on it. His hair had gotten shorter because of it. Luckily, its mouth wasn''t on the underside of the bracelet; otherwise, the hair on his arm would have also gone away.


    "For now, let''s use divination to get ready. We can''t wait until we meet Cadhla to upgrade the belt. We need to divine a trustworthy Transmuter in this city. After that, we also need to find the next target related to the mayor. Lastly, since that woman is using enhanced equipment to curse divination attempts, there must be a limit. Let''s just keep doing divination on her until she runs out of her curse,"

 209 Moving On

    A tall and big man was walking with the help of a cane down the hall of a spacious corridor. The walls were all white with beautiful paintings hung on them and potted plants of various colors adorned the hallway. Despite the bright sunlight shining upon the corridor, the man''s mood was sour; his expression looked grim and the manner in which he was walking was stiff and impatient.


    The man stopped in front of a door and fixed the expensive suit that he was wearing. After that, he knocked on the door firmly.


    Knock! Knock!


    The man''s knuckles hit the thick wooden door, creating a loud and uniform banging sound that resounded in the corridor. After knocking, the man opened the door himself as if he had done it only to announce his arrival. Upon entering the spacious room beyond the door, he quickly reached for the soft, leather chair and sat leisurely. The cane was right beside him, leaning on the desk in front of him.


    Another man, who was sitting behind the desk on the opposite side, gestured at someone who looked like his assistant, who then nodded and went out of the room before closing the door behind him.


    "Hank, to what do I owe this pleasure?"


    The man who seemed to be the host spoke casually to the powerful-looking man who had just come. He himself didn''t look that much less important-- it was only that he was dressed up much more casually than the man with the cane. He was only wearing a shirt whose sleeves were rolled up, suspenders, a pair of black cotton pants, and a pair of big, round glasses on his face. Although he looked to still be in his late twenties, he was exuding an aura of charisma and domination.


    "You know why I''m here, Henrich. It''s the same thing again. Have you found anything about those zakkenwassers yet?" his tone was irritated and impatient.


    A smile rose on Henrich''s face.


    "You''d do well not to rush me, Hank Krammer,"


    Although his tone was friendly and there was a smile on his face, Hank Krammer was threatened by his words. There was a hidden meaning that only he knew and it reminded him not to mess with Henrich.


    "I''m sorry, Henrich. It''s just that the whole thing frustrates me. First, I lost my valuable items, and now all my people are gone,"


    Hank joined his hands together and pressed them tightly. There was frustration on his face that was hiding his suppressed anger. To a man like him, something like that must have been a big blow in his pride.


    "Relax, Hank. I''ve done some preliminary investigation, and it''s come to my attention that whoever is doing this is a professional. Divination doesn''t work on them, and they left no trace behind,"


    A cheeky smile surfaced on Henrich''s youthful face.


    "So you''re saying that you''ve actually found no clue?" asked Hank cynically. He rested his back on the soft chair.


    "That much is obvious to me. What I don''t know is how and why they are doing it. How did they turn my loyal servants against me?"


    Hank Krammer cracked his knuckles and popped the air bubbles.


    "I have a theory for that one," Henrich said vaguely. His deep and mysterious voice made his words sounded like they contained deep secrets.


    Without saying anything, Hank waited for Henrich to continue speaking. The silence in the spacious room made it seem that even the deer mount on the wall behind him was waiting for him to speak.


    "I think it''s a kind of ritual. A Contractbound must be trying to please their Deity. I''m not sure which one, but it must be a Deity that deals with manipulation. I can think of some already,"


    Hank raised his eyebrow.


    "Are you sure it''s just that? I''m more inclined to think that it''s the doing of an opposition group trying to take over my position," he said confidently.


    The tip of Henrich''s thin pink lips curled into a smile. His expression was that of approval; like the other party had finally met his expectation.


    "That was also my initial thought. However, think of it this way. Why would the opposition group go through all the trouble of doing things like this? If the goal is to dethrone you, isn''t it easier to just target you or the public directly? Or if they need to get rid of the people surrounding you, killing them would be much easier. The way things are, it makes me strongly believe that they need the targets alive for whatever reason," explained Henrich lengthly.


    Henrich picked up the cup of tea that was on the desk in front of him. The warm liquid wet his dry throat.


    "I instead believe that the opposition group is capitalizing on this other party''s action. Although they are not directly working together, their goals are aligned,"


    Hank nodded slowly.


    "Assuming your theory is true, what can we do to stop them? I mean the opposition and the supposed Shroud," he said and then rested his chin on the back of his hands that were joined together.


    "We lay a trap for them, that''s what we do," Henrich smiled proudly, "I''ve already found the patterns in their actions. All of the four targets all have some things in common. First, they are close to you. Second, they all trusted you. Our target broke their trust for you somehow, which I guess is the whole point of their ritual. Going by this pattern, you should be able to predict who the next target will be,"


    Henrich lied back and placed his feet on the desk. His brown leather shoes reflected the sunlight that penetrated into the room through the giant glass windows. His hands were placed on the back of his head, supporting it while his expression showed satisfaction. It seemed that he had had a plan in mind and was only waiting for Hank Krammer to chime in.


    ...


    It was already Tuesday, the first of October when Graham woke up from his sleep. He entered a new month in Hoorn. He looked at the calendar on the hotel wall on his side and looked out the window. Winter was just around the corner.


    "Time surely flies, Val..."


    He then got up and went to the bathroom to do his morning routines. Washing his face was something he always did every morning. However, unlike Valentine, he refused to brush his teeth before eating since they would get dirty again anyway. He would brush his teeth right after breakfast.


    "What ability should we store inside Purloin, Val?" he muttered while looking at his reflection in the mirror. His tone was rather heavy for some reason. Graham was also caressing the belt that he was wearing much more lovingly than usual.


    Graham had found a Transmuter the previous night through divination and went to the man right away. The man was able to upgrade Purloin quickly, just in less than two hours, but Graham had to pay an exorbitant amount of money, which gave him a headache. The total for upgrading Purloin was a staggering forty guilders!


    Once he had upgraded his belt, he used his Thought Implant to make the man forget about the whole thing. On top of that, he had also gone as Rood, so his activities shouldn''t be able to be traced back to him.


    "The obvious ones that we need are Mass Illusion and Thought Implant, just for the reduction in cost. We can store a total of four abilities now and their costs are slightly reduced, so it''s possible to store those two. If we come across another ability that might be useful, we have to sacrifice the slot for that one,"


    Graham had actually successfully copied Thought Implant into Purloin. He had done so while he was making the Transmuter forget about his activities there. As for Valentine''s Mass Illusion, it was already stored inside, so there was no need to do it again. There was one remaining free slot that he could use.


    "Now let''s get going right away. Today should be yet another busy day,"


    He went back into the bedroom to get dressed. The previous night, he had also divined the next and last target that he needed to turn against the mayor. It was none other than the mayor''s own son, Derrick Krammer, whose most valued possession was the mayor''s trust. He should be an easy target since he was still young. According to the information he had got through divination, Derrick was still in his early twenties, probably the same age as Luuk.


    After putting on a white shirt and a pair of black cotton pants, Graham put on the tailor-made suit and his trench coat over it in order to hide the suit that resembled the mayor''s so much. He combed his amber hair quickly with his fingers and put on everything else he needed, including the gun holster even though he no longer possessed the revolver. It was a force of habit, and he also did it just in case he got the chance to get it back.


    "I''m ready to go, Val. But before that, let''s do some more divination to make sure everything goes according to the plan,"


    He took out the cheap lighter from his pocket and began his divination attempts. He had to divine the location of his target, as well as the safety of his mission. His eyebrow rose because of the result, so he divined some more things just to be sure. Once he was done, put the lighter back and left the hotel room.


    "Good morning, Mr. Hymes," greeted Stefan from behind the reception desk in the lobby once he got downstairs.


    Stefan''s face looked very fresh and his smile was as bright as usual. Graham noticed that the young man''s naivety that used to be reflected very clearly by his expression was slowly fading away.


    "Good morning, Stefan. Had a good rest, I can see?" He smiled and nodded at the young man.


    The young man''s smile grew wider.


    "Yes, Mr. Hymes. In fact, I''ve been sleeping very well since moving to this city. Perhaps it''s because of the temperature? It''s just perfect for curling up under a thick blanket next to the fireplace,"


    Graham didn''t have a fireplace in his room, so he could only imagine.


    "Anyway, going somewhere so early, Mr. Hymes?" asked Stefan curiously. The clock on the wall showed six in the morning. It was indeed very early.


    With a nod, Graham replied, "Yes. Have some business I need to take care of. See you later, Stefan,"


    He waved goodbye at the young man and then left the hotel lobby. Stefan, who was waving back, was watching as the man''s back disappeared from his sight. After that, he went to the back room and left the reception desk unattended.


    Stopping a public motor carriage, Graham waved his hand on the side of the street. It was still very early in the morning, so the fog from the previous night hadn''t completely disappeared. The morning dew was still covering the land and the thin, cold air hit his face sharp.


    A metal vehicle pulled over not long after and after getting in, Graham told the driver his destination. He was going to the mayor''s son''s company that was located on Rotsstraat. Derrick was already at work this early in the morning, which earned Graham''s respect. He himself wouldn''t usually start working on his detective cases that early.


    Once he arrived on Rotsstraat, the same street that Valentine had found himself on after escaping from the valley, Graham paid the driver and walked a short distance away to reach a tall, ten-story building with the name ''Dag News'' written elegantly on it. The letters were carved beautifully from hardwood and set on a metal plate.


    The street wasn''t quite as busy as the last time he was there, probably because it was still very early. He could see some remains of bonfires from the previous night and the city''s cleaning service cleaning the street.


    Graham didn''t enter the newspaper company that was owned by the mayor''s son right away, but instead, find a secluded alley to switch with Valentine so that he could use his Concealments first. Once the thin yellowish mist descended and covered his whole being, Valentine switched again with Graham, who then entered the building through the main doors.


    Inside the building, he went upstairs using the elevator. He knew right away where he had to go since the target''s location was shown by his divination. He had also memorized the layout of the building.


    Ding...


    The elevator reached his desired floor, so he got out right away.


    "So it''s indeed like this..."


    Graham muttered as he walked out of the metal box. He quickly took out his weapon and got ready for a fight.

 210 The Last Targe

    The sound of an elevator stopping filled the air. It was the highest floor in the newspaper company that was standing tall on Rotstraat. On the corridor where the elevator had stopped, there were men in coats and sunglasses whose hands were concealed as if they were holding weapons ready to be drawn at any time. Their expressions looked serious and full of expectation.


    The door slowly opened, and they were holding their breath. Their hands were itching to draw their weapons right away, but they had to wait for the command from their boss, who was standing behind them calmly.


    "There is no one!!"


    One of the men shouted as the door fully opened. The elevator was empty!


    "Search the elevator! Don''t miss any corner!" commanded the boss from behind. His deep voice didn''t show any sign of surprise.


    Three men quickly entered the elevator while four others surrounded the door. They had now drawn their guns and were ready to shoot at any time.


    "Negative! There really is no one here, Mr. Wagner!"


    The boss that was addressed as Mr. Wagner looked at the man standing next to him. It was the tall mayor of Hoorn, Hank Krammer, who had a disappointed look on his face.


    "It''s apparent that our target is also a divinator, so we''re going with plan B,"


    "What''s plan B, Henrich?" asked Hank calmly.


    Henrich Wagner smiled meaningfully, then looked at his men.


    "Search this whole building, especially the floors below this one! Do it the usual way! We''ve relocated everyone else besides us here, so if there is anyone, it must be our target! Always go in pairs, never allow yourself to be alone! Come back here in ten minutes if there is nothing!"


    Once he had finished his command, most of the coated and sunglassed men ran downstairs. The other two stayed behind to guard the tenth floor of the building.


    "So your plan B is to just blindly search this place? How are you even sure he is here today?" asked Hank skeptically.


    "I''m not. I just have a hunch that he''ll be here. And no, I''m not just blindly searching for him. Just trust me in this, Hank. Have I ever failed you?" replied Henrich with confidence. He then looked at the young man standing beside the mayor, "You can just go back to your office, little Derrick. Leave this serious business to us adults,"


    There was subtle annoyance that was quickly hidden away on Derrick''s face. The tall young man didn''t say anything and entered the office that was at the end of the corridor after nodding at his father.


    "We can easily crush that person once we find them. Judging from the way they''ve done things so far, it can be concluded that they are not Marquis rank yet," added Henrich. His hands were resting casually inside his pockets.


    "That, if we can even find our target," Hank responded, still as skeptically as before.


    Eight minutes had passed since the men went downstairs in search of their target, and none of them had come up yet. In fact, there had been no sound of fighting so far despite them being armed with guns. It made those waiting upstairs anxious. Hank Krammer was standing impatiently. His hand gripped the handle of his cane tightly.


    Step! Step! Step!


    The sounds of boots hitting the hard wooden floor were heard as the man that went on the search returned. They came back to the tenth floor without any result.


    "Mr. Wagner, we found no one, and we searched all the way to the third floor," reported one of the men. He and two others had approached Henrich to give the report.


    Henrich raised his eyebrow. He looked carefully at the three men standing in front of him to find any abnormality. They still looked perfectly the same as when they left earlier with no sign of someone in disguise.


    "Are you sure guys have carefully searched every corner? You didn''t miss any suspicious figure hiding in your blind spot?"


    "Yes, Mr. Wagner!" replied the man firmly.


    Hank looked at Henrich and spoke, "Maybe he just left once he noticed the abnormality. Assuming he''s a careful type, that''s most likely what he has done,"


    "That is also possible, but I still have the feeling that he is here. You know, call it the hunch of a Burgher,"


    "But your hunches only usually work with money involved," Hank shook his head slightly and then left Henrich''s side. He walked into the office where his son was.


    "What a cynical old man," Henrich jeered.


    His men chuckled but quickly repressed it.


    "What do we do now, Mr. Wagner?" asked the man who had reported the situation to him.


    "We stand guard here. Don''t lower your guard no matter what!"


    Henrich then leaned against the wall and stood casually while observing his surroundings. He was still not convinced that his target wasn''t there, since his hunches were never wrong. He also had an uneasy feeling that he couldn''t explain. However, nothing seemed out of place, so he couldn''t help but watch for now.


    With his hands inside his pocket, his eyes were scanning all of his subordinates. Their brown trench coats could potentially hide something, but with his sharp eyes, he would be able to notice something unordinary with ease. So far, everything seemed safe. His men''s faces looked serious and intimidating as they were standing tall with their guns ready.


    After standing guard with nothing happening for five minutes, Henrich suddenly had the urge to search the building again, but this time, he would go with his men. He felt that his subordinates might have missed something that only he could find.


    "We''re going down again!" commanded Henrich, and then looked at one of his men who was standing closest to him, "You stay here. If there is anything, just shoot and we''ll come running back here!"


    The man nodded.


    After taking out a gold coin from the pocket of his cotton pants, Henrich Wagner chanted something and tossed the coin on the floor. The golden object magically stood on its edge and started rolling.


    Henrich and the rest of them all went downstairs following the small gold coin, walking past the elevator that was still staying on the tenth floor for some reason.


    The subordinate that was tasked to stay on the tenth floor carefully walked towards the office where the mayor and his son were and knocked on the door. The coat that he was wearing gradually became bigger somehow.


    Knock! Knock!


    "Who is that?" asked a voice from inside that was muffled by the door. It sounded like the mayor''s son''s voice.


    "It''s me. We need to talk!" replied the man standing in front of the door. His voice was deep and sounded cheeky.


    Click!


    The door was unlocked and opened from inside. Mayor Hank Krammer was standing in the gap, looking at the man behind the door.


    "What is it, Henrick?" he asked. His eyes were squinted as if he was scanning the man.


    "We found something. Come with me,"


    The mayor followed the man outside the office and entered the room next door. As Hank entered the room, he suddenly became a little sleepy. The man in front of him then muttered something inaudible that made him become even sleepier. It felt like he hadn''t slept for three whole days and now his body was not able to hold on anymore.


    Hank was about to chant something but it was too late. His eyelids were too heavy and his consciousness was quickly fading. Just like that, he collapsed to the floor and started snoring loudly.


    Derrick Krammer was sitting in his office with some documents in front of him. His expression looked serious but there was no worry on his face. He was only focused on working, and the whole stuff about catching the target was not something he was interested in. He needed to keep on working and making his father proud.


    His hands were moving very fast across the documents that he needed to sign. His eyes were scanning the words very quickly like a machine.


    Creak...


    The door was then opened and the mayor returned to his office.


    "What was it, father?" asked Derrick. His tone didn''t show curiosity. It was as if he was asking just for the sake of asking.


    "They''ve found evidence of the opposition group being here. We need to leave the building now," said Hank Krammer coldly. There was genuine anger in his voice, which made Derrick understood the severity of the situation.


    "Alright,"


    He quickly tidied up his desk and grabbed his briefcase with him. He followed his father out of the office and down the corridor where they took the elevator. After pressing the number 1, the doors closed and the metal box went downstairs quickly.


    Meanwhile, on the ninth floor, Henrich had just found the unconscious body of one of his men who had been stripped out of his clothes. His face was red because of anger.


    "Fuck! We''ve been had! How come no one saw this?! Who was with Lorry?!" he shouted.


    "I-it was me, Mr. Wagner. But I swear he was with me the whole time!" replied one of them.


    Ding!


    They heard the sound of the elevator opening in the corridor and quickly ran to see. They got out of the room and in the distance, the elevator doors were already closing again, giving no time for them to stop it. Inside, the mayor was standing with Derrick behind him. There was a smile on the mayor''s face that lasted until the doors were fully closed.


    "Quick!! Go downstairs!!"


    Henrich and his men quickly ran towards the stairs next to the quickly moving elevator. Henrich grabbed the railing and began jumping down until he couldn''t go anywhere anymore. There was a blockade blocking the stairway from the third floor to the second floor! Objects like desks, chairs, and shelves were on their way, barricading them.


    "Goddamit!"


    His nails grew longer rapidly. After that, he injured himself using his sharp nails and let the blood flow out. The blood magically flew to his nails and fingers, coating, and extending them. Henrich now had blood claws that were at least ten centimeters long and looked as thick as the handle of a dagger.


    With his monstrous claws, he began tearing apart the barricade with ease. Pieces of wood and plastic were torn to shreds as the way was cleared out for him and his men, who were watching with a mix of awe and fear from behind. Their boss now looked like a feral animal, completely different from his usual self.


    Once there was a gap big enough for them, Henrich dispelled his claws and his hands returned to normal as he jumped downstairs. However, he was too late. The mayor and the son were nowhere to be seen.


    "Where did Hank Krammer go?" he asked the receptionist woman.


    The woman was startled by the sudden question and looked at Henrich. She had seen the man together with the mayor and her boss, so she had to show respect. Besides, the man was for some reason emitting an aura that made her unable to resist.


    With her best smile, she replied, "I''m sorry, Sir, but they didn''t say anything. They just went out towards the parking lot,"


    "Tell me the number plate of Derrick Krammer!" urged Henrich.


    The woman didn''t understand why the man was in such a hurry. She wanted him to stay longer so she could stare into those beautiful blue eyes of his that were hidden behind the big round glasses that the man was wearing.


    "Uhm... it''s HR-571-RT, sir," she said sensually.


    Henrich didn''t pay any more attention to the receptionist who was trying to show off her cleavage. The man had already left with several other people out of the building. They were heading toward the parking lot.


    ...


    "Where are we going, father?" asked Derrick as he was driving.


    The young man stole a glance at his father who was sitting mysteriously in the back seat. Inside the luxurious and spacious motor carriage, Hank Krammer remained silent, causing worry to began to surface inside Derrick''s heart.


    The mayor had been sitting tensely at the back without uttering a single word. Derrick just decided for himself to drive away from the building as fast as he could since his father had said it was dangerous. He didn''t want to disappoint his old man. But now that he hadn''t given any more directions, Derrick was at a loss.


    The motor carriage that he was driving finally made it out of the busy street of Rotsstraat and was going downhill. It was still early in the morning, so the road was still slightly foggy and slippery. However, being the experienced driver that he was, it posed no challenge to Derrick.


    Finally, the mayor looked up and saw Derrick through the rearview mirror.


    "We''ll go to your holiday house at the edge of the city,"


    Derrick felt like he had been struck by a lightning in broad daylight. He hadn''t expected his father to know about that place. His worry was quickly replaced by anxiety and restlessness. However, he couldn''t go against his father''s words, so he could only nod slowly.


    "A-as you wish, father,"


    The luxurious motor carriage kept on driving northeast towards the edge of the city. The more distance they traversed, the faster Derrick''s heart was beating. Pearls of cold sweat began to form on his forehead.

 211 Derrick Krammer

    Huge metal gates were standing between the motor carriage and the front yard of the mansion. They were standing five meters tall with a complicated ornament adorning the shiny metal bars.


    Derrick Krammer leaned out of the rolled-down window and shouted.


    "I order you to open!"


    Creak...


    The gates started pushing themselves apart, creating a wide enough gap for the dark brown motor carriage to drive through. Once in, Derrick used Order one more time to close them.


    Click!


    The metal gates clapped together, blocking the way in and out of the mansion.


    Derrick Krammer parked his motor carriage next to the fountain in the front yard that had a statue of a strange-looking fish on it. It was a flat, diamond-shaped fish with its two eyes on one side. Graham had never seen a fish like that before, but he kept from looking because he had to maintain the image as the mayor.


    "We''re here, father,"


    The young man opened his door and got out of the motor carriage. He then went to the left passenger''s door and opened it for his ''father'' to get out from.


    Derrick was avoiding eye contact the whole time. His body was also tense like he was anxious about something.


    Since Graham had already divined everything he needed to know about his target, he knew exactly why the young man was anxious. He would be as well if he were him and his father, whom he was scared of and highly looking up to, was suddenly visiting his secret house. The detective was somehow enjoying the man''s anxiety.


    Derrick led Graham inside the mansion, using the power of Order once more to open the main doors. The giant wooden doors twice their height were open to the inside, letting the two men in. There didn''t seem to be any keyhole in the door, so it was most likely that only certain people would be able to open it.


    The mansion was strangely empty for something its size. What was stranger was that it was very well maintained and clean; there wasn''t even a speck of dust on the floor.


    "Welcome to my humble house, father," Derrick turned around and spoke. His arms were spread in a welcome gesture. His voice echoed in the large and well decorated main hall. "As you can see, there is no one but us here currently,"


    Graham ignored him and just kept moving forwards, heading straight to the basement. He wanted to tell Valentine his thought about why everyone who had a basement always seemed to be hiding something there, but he couldn''t because it would ruin his image.


    "Show me what''s beyond this door," commanded Graham domineeringly.


    There was a door at the end of the staircase that was blocking the way. It was a thick metal door, typical of someone who was hiding some secrets behind it. It reminded Graham of Daan Holsten, who held and tortured women in his basement.


    Derrick''s face had gone pale. He was like a child who had just been caught red-handed by his parent doing something he shouldn''t. His discomfort was reflected in every inch of his body while his eyes showed his anxiety.


    "Th-there is nothing there, father. Only my old b-book collection..." he stammered and his voice weak. Derrick didn''t dare to make eye contact with his father.


    "It is up to me to decide whether there is nothing or not. Open this door now," said Graham calmly and coldly.


    Derrick felt like his words were piercing straight to his heart. There was no warmth that was usually present in his father''s tone. He knew that his father already knew what was hidden behind the door, and at this point, he could only accept his fate. Tears began bubbling at the corner of his eyes, but he held back from crying.


    "I... I order you to open!"


    Clank... Drag...


    The heavy metal door was unlocked and pushed itself open slowly. The room behind it was dark.


    "Turn on the light,"


    Derrick obeyed his father and dragged his feet heavily inside the room. He switched on the light, which then illuminated the depravity hidden in the room that was only as big as a bedroom.


    Graham maintained a cold, unsurprised expression as he was looking inside the room, which made Derrick even more intimidated. It seemed like his father had known all along and was waiting for this chance to confront him. That gave Derrick a slight hope because the fact that the mayor hadn''t said anything so far could mean he was okay with it.


    Through the doorway, Graham observed the room that could make anyone who knew Derrick personally feel sick to the bone.


    The room was a perfect replica of the mayor''s room back in Hoogland!


    The king-sized bed was placed perfectly in the middle with two end tables on each side. There was a reading lamp on each end table and a footrest at the end of the bed. The door to the closet room was on the wall on the right while on the left side, there was a giant shelf full of books.


    What made the room sickening was not that it was a copy of the mayor''s room, but what was inside. On the bed, there was a naked, human-sized doll that looked exactly like the mayor''s wife, Isabella Krammer! The short, blonde hair, tanned skin, and model-like mature face were all preserved flawlessly by the doll. If only for the fact that it was not breathing, one might mistake it for a real human.


    Besides the doll, there were also photographs of naked figures on the wall, and all of them were of Isabella! It looked like the photographs had been taken in secret, and most of them were in the bathroom of the mayor''s house. There was even one where she was having sex with someone, but the man had been cut out.


    "...F-father...?" Derrick was waiting for his ''father'' to say anything, but Graham remained silent.


    Even though he had seen the same image through divination, seeing it in person affected him more intensely. He even felt like he would vomit if he imagined what the man was doing here. Isabella was his own mother, and he was having sex with a replica of her!


    "You disgust me..."


    There was genuine disappointment in Graham''s tone, as well as disgust. His words struct Derrick like lightning.


    There were visible semen stains on the doll''s hole that was supposed to be the genitalia, which showed that the action had been repeated several times. The same stain could also be found near the mouth and the bottom of the dolls. Graham couldn''t imagine what went through the young man''s mind for him to fantasize about having sex with his own mother.


    No longer able to see the scene in the room, Graham turned around and shouted, "From now on, you are no longer my son! Don''t you dare show yourself in front of me!"


    His words were the last nail on the coffin. Derrick''s slight hope that had arisen shattered all at once.


    "Father! Please let me explain!! Father!"


    Graham kept on walking upstairs as the young man ran after him.


    "Father! I just want to be like you! Is that wrong?!"


    It was true that so far, Derrick had been following the mayor''s footsteps closely. Even the company that he was managing right now was the mayor''s before he took office. However, his answer made Graham even more disgusted.


    "Don''t you dare call me father! I have no son like you!"


    Graham kept on walking upstairs, ignoring the begging and pleading of the young man with a twisted world view. He didn''t even want to imagine if he had actually done anything to the real mayor''s wife or not.


    "Father! I order you to stop!"


    His whole body froze! The man had used Order on him and now he was unable to lift even a muscle.


    Derrick caught up to him and stood in front of Graham. His expression was strange and twisted. There was a mix of sorrow, embarrassment, anger, and jealousy. There were clear tear stains on his cheeks.


    "Father, please listen! I just want to be like you! You''ve always made me follow exactly where you''ve stepped. And now isn''t it wrong if I want to have a child of my own? And who else can create a perfect child for me except mother? Is that wrong, father?" the man that looked like the younger version of the mayor spoke with a depraved voice. His expression had gone somewhat scary.


    As soon as the duration of Order ran out, Graham shouted.


    "I order you to stop!"


    It was now Derrick who was unable to lift a muscle. Quickly, Graham slit his left finger and let the blood drop down to the floor while chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth an illusion that covers this whole area!"


    An illusory orange curtain gradually descended and covered the stairway corridor, placing his victim under an illusion. Graham was just standing still and watching, but in Derrick''s eyes, the mayor was inching closer towards him in anger with a knife in his hand.


    Unable to move, Derrick could only struggle. He couldn''t even open his mouth.


    The mayor slit the belt of his trousers and pulled them down, revealing the underwear that the man was wearing. With the sharp blade of the knife, he cut the underwear open and exposed the young man''s private organ.


    The cold metal was pressed against his skin and struck fear in Derrick''s heart. He wanted to scream so badly but his body wasn''t listening to him.


    The mayor held the man''s testicles and with one motion, he cut them off using his blade.


    Slash!


    Pain overcame Derrick, making his knees weak. He would collapse to the floor if he could, but the power of Order combined with the illusion held him up. He could only feel blood pouring out of his private part and the agonizing pain that he was suffering.


    "You won''t be needing this anymore," said the mayor, holding his amputated testicles in front of the man.


    Crush!


    The mayor''s hand gripped them tightly, crushing them under his strength. Blood and pieces of flesh seed out of the gap between his fingers, while terror and anger overcame Derrick. He was powerless to do anything.


    "Aaaarrghhh!!!!!"


    The effect of the Order ran out soon, and he screamed as loudly as he could. Derrick then stumbled on the floor, holding his private part with both hands to stop the bleeding.


    Suddenly, he felt sleepy. However, the pain kept him awake.


    Another wave of sleepiness hit Derrick, and now he was unable to hold back. Even the agony he was feeling was quickly drowned by the wave. He had fallen asleep!


    The orange curtain then lifted itself up, ending the illusion. The mayor with a bloody hand also disappeared along with the curtain, leaving only another mayor who was standing a distance away from the unconscious Derrick. The wound on his finger rapidly healed, with not even a scar left behind in the end.


    Approaching the sleeping man, Graham finally was able to talk with his other half again.


    "Although it was just an illusion, that must have been very painful, Val. Even I could somehow feel it..."


    He held both hands near the sleeping Derrick''s head and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this thought inside your head: you will no longer be able to see or feel your testicles from now on. You will also get all the effects of someone whose testicles have been removed. This thought will only disappear when you have completely gotten over your sexual desire over your own mother,"


    His energy left him and entered Derrick Krammer''s head. This time, Graham didn''t feel as tired as usual since the upgrade of Purloin had cut off the stamina consumption of the copied ability by a little. It felt like only three-third of the usual stamina had been consumed.


    Once the thought had been planted, Graham reached into the man''s suit and took the keys to the motor carriage. He then got up and walked towards the entrance. There was nothing else of interest inside the mansion, and he was not some petty thief, so he wouldn''t just steal the expensive paintings and sell them.


    The moment he stepped outside, he got a strong urge to quickly return to his hotel room. It was as if there was something there waiting for him. It was the third time he felt something like that, so he knew exactly what it was.


    Graham used Derrick Krammer''s motor carriage whose number plate had been taken out first. He opened the metal gate using Order and began driving away at once.

 212 A Guile of Fire Divination

    "Welcome back, Mr. Hymes!" greeted Stefan warmly the moment he took a step inside the hotel.


    "Hello again, Stefan. Still working hard I see?" Graham nodded and smiled back.


    "Yes, Mr. Hymes. The other receptionist will come later after midday."


    There was no hint of complaints in the young man''s tone. Graham had grown to admire the hard-working nature of the young man over time. He was still young with a lot of other things that he could do, but instead, he chose to manage the hotels that his family owned.


    "So, Stefan, besides working, what else do you do?" Graham''s curiosity took the best of him.


    The young man tapped his chin with his index finger and began thinking. His eyes were looking at the ceiling above while his expression showed solemnity. After a while, he finally looked at his guest.


    "To be honest, Mr. Hymes, when I''m not at the reception desk, I do manager stuff. My father still needs to guide me, so I work slowly. I''m sure when I get more proficient, I''ll be able to work faster and have more time for myself,"


    Stefan then leaned forward as if trying to whisper. Graham walked closer.


    "However, Mr. Hymes, I still watch Television from time to time. There is this cartoon that I just can''t miss. Please don''t tell anyone," Stefan''s eyes were glimmering and begging. He was like a puppy that wanted something.


    Graham nodded.


    "Don''t worry. Well, anyway, gotta get back to my room. See you later, Stefan,"


    With a wave, Graham hurriedly walked upstairs, heading to his room. Stefan waved back at him but was only met with the man''s back, so he awkwardly retracted his hand.


    Graham started running up the stairs in excitement. He knew what was waiting for him and couldn''t wait to obtain it. Standing in front of his door, he fished the keys out of his pocket and unlocked it.


    His room didn''t show any abnormality when Graham entered it. The curtains were still closed like when he left it, and the lights were also off. Stuff hadn''t been moved around; they were exactly where he had put them. However, he knew something was waiting for him there. He had to use his ability on himself to get it.


    After taking off his jacket, he lied down on the wide, soft bed and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, ask to read my own memory!"


    There was nothing to be seen through the glass window in front of him, so he kept on searching. The scene in front of him was just that of thick fog. Finally, Graham got what he was looking for: a line that he needed to say out loud. He quickly ended his ability and returned to reality.


    Bracing for what was to come, he began saying the line out loud.


    "Ayer serpente Ose!"


    Whoosh!!


    His surrounding suddenly changed! He was no longer in his hotel bedroom but floating underwater. However, instead of water, it felt more like very dense air that was surrounding him. Graham was unable to move nor speak, for his body was just suspended mid-air without any support. He didn''t even know which way was up and which was down.


    There was no light that he could use as a guiding point. In the pitch darkness, Graham was trying to focus only on his breathing. At that point, he noticed that he could breathe!


    The air around him refused to enter his lungs!


    He tried to inhale deeply but got nothing. Quickly, he held his breath and tried his best to preserve whatever left oxygen he had in his body. Panicking would only cause his heart to beat faster and in turn, consumed more oxygen.


    His skin couldn''t feel any sensation but thickness around it. The air around him felt solid, yet at the same time viscous enough to allow him to move his limbs, albeit with difficulty.


    At that point, he felt that the air suddenly bubbled up and reached an unimaginable temperature! There was also a giant shadow that looked even darker than the pitch blackness around him descending slowly. He couldn''t clearly see it, but he had a feeling that he shouldn''t directly cast his eyes on the shadow that evoked every bit sense of danger that he had.


    The heat was most definitely coming from the figure, and if not for the dense air surrounding him, he would have been burned off to crisp.


    Graham instinctively closed his eyes while his whole body was receiving the intense heat from all around him. It felt like he was standing very close to the sun. His skin started bubbling and popping, liquid mixed with blood came out of the ruptured holes.


    His throat felt very dry that even the saliva in his mouth was completely gone. He couldn''t breathe, and he couldn''t swallow anything. It felt like a hot iron rod had been inserted into his throat, going all the way into his stomach, causing stinging pain all over him.


    The pain lasted for what seemed to be years. However, the dark figure actually had only stayed for less than a second. Once it ascended back, the dense air around Graham cooled off rapidly.


    His pain didn''t just go away, however. Even after was brought back to reality not long after that, his skin still felt charred.


    Pant... Pant...


    Graham took a deep breath and examined his body. His skin was normal, and his whole body didn''t show any damage nor injury. It was just a mental pain that he was experiencing, but the sensation was more real than he would have liked.


    Getting up from the bed and wiping the sweat covering his face, Graham began to analyze the new knowledge that had just been transferred to his brain. The cold temperature of the hotel room helped him concentrate and cool down his still sweating body.


    "My abilities have finally evolved, Val!" he cheered when he accessed the new information in his brain, "The Deity seemed to have been very pleased with our performance that five targets were all it took,"


    "It''s apparent that the Deities are not rigid systems, but living entities. They are very alive and can change their minds. They also seem to possess emotion, as seen from the fact that we need to please them to gain more power. But I don''t think we should be talking about Them like this, Val,"


    Graham began rubbing his chin.


    "Now let''s see how my abilities have evolved. First, as usual, the limit to how many times I can use my abilities has been increased to fifteen for all of them: Memory Reading, Transformation, and Thought Implant. However, Val, the cost for Thought Implant is still the same, so even though the limit is increased, I still cannot use it as often as it is too tiring. At least with the upgraded Purloin, the cost is slightly reduced."


    Looking at the pale leather belt with complicated patterns that he was wearing, a smile surfaced on Graham''s face.


    "You chose the right upgrade for it, I think, Val. Choosing the other one will increase the abilities'' power but their cost will remain the same. They are already powerful as they are, so the cost problems are the ones that definitely need addressing. If only we could find more of those fragments of a Thief..." there was gratitude and expectation in his voice.


    "Moving on with my report, Val. There is an unexpected upgrade that I''ve got. So, do you remember that I got the ability of Palmistry from the Deity of Fire Divination, Val? That ability is just very underwhelming that I''ve forgotten it at the back of my head. With the current me, I''m now able to get a sense of what someone is thinking and feeling by touching their palm only. That upgrade should make the ability more usable, although I don''t think I can use it in battle since there will be no time to be touching my enemy''s palm,"


    Graham looked at his own palm and ran his finger across it.


    "I wonder how it works. We should try it on Stefan later. It should be okay since it doesn''t do any damage whatsoever. Next. My Fire Divinator root seems to also have influenced the way my abilities evolved. Now I''m able to conjure an illusory flame with just thought alone!" his voice sounded genuinely excited.


    Concentrating on the empty space in front of him, Graham began imagining a fireball the size of an exercise ball that he usually created. However, he got a headache instead, so he quickly changed the size of the fireball to that of a tiny flame created by a lighter.


    Gradually, a flame appeared into existence in front of him, floating mid-air. The flame looked real, but he didn''t feel any heat coming from it. It was, however, bright enough to illuminate the dark hotel room to some extent.


    Graham put his finger on the floating flame but felt nothing. It was indeed just an illusory flame without any capability to burn anything. He got up and noticed that the flame was following him.


    "I ask that you grow bigger!"


    He uttered a command to the flame using Fire Manipulation. However, nothing happened. The illusory flame, after all, was illusory.


    Seeing that his ability had failed, Graham changed his approach and concentrated on the flame that was floating in place. He then asked a question in his mind.


    ''Is it safe for me to stay longer in Hoorn?''


    The flame burned brighter and gradually, an image appeared. It showed an illusory calendar that marked today''s date, the first of October. Wednesday was the next day and there was no mark on the calendar. However, on Thursday the third, there was an ominous-looking skull on the calendar. Looking at the skull gave Graham a grave sense of danger, akin to what he felt from the man with a top hat that was chasing him after he and his crews had killed a Tiyanak. After that, the image disappeared, leaving Graham in deep thought.


    "Alright, there is a lot to analyze from that. First, let''s call this ability Fire Conjuration. The conjured flame is illusory and can''t be used for burning or heating. However, it''s good enough for Divination and illumination, seeing as it''s following me. This way, we can save up on lighter fuel. Second, let''s take a look at the result of divination just now. That seems to be telling me that we can stay for one more day top and then leave this place. Thursday will be a very dangerous day for us if we are still here by then,"


    Graham then concentrated and thought about the fireball disappearing. Quickly, the fire disappeared as he commanded.


    "Pleasing a President rank Deity brings a lot of upgrades to the previous rank, Val. My Tongue abilities have also evolved yet again. I can now use Order to force someone to think about something. It''s a spur of the moment thing, so it''s different from Thought Implant, and it will quickly go away if it''s not aligned with the target''s thought. However, if we add Intensify that we have stored inside Purloin into the equation, that ability can be very powerful."


    Different scenarios began popping up in his head. He was thinking about the different ways his new Order could be used in battle.


    "The ability to talk to ghosts hasn''t been touched, so it remains useless. The ability itself is not actually useless; it''s just the ghosts are not very helpful. Seeing that Contractbounds cannot turn into ghosts and only normal people can, they won''t be of much help unless they knew a lot while alive, like that Soldier from Dodenherdenking," he complained.


    Rubbing his hands together, his expression showed even more excitement now.


    "Now onto the main dish: the evolution of my Guile abilities. As I''ve said, Val, the previous Deities we''re in a contract with influence how the abilities evolve. I can now use Memory Reading with the help of Fire Divination as long as the target is within range and my line of sight. That means we don''t have to make them unconscious first if we want to read their memory without leaving a trace,"


    "Next is Transformation. Now I can store a total of six identities that I can transform into, and the duration has been doubled to four hours. There is this feeling inside of me that is telling me that this ability can evolve even further and it''s related to the Deity of Fire Divination, but it appears that I''m still too weak for that. I''m sure it will evolve soon."


    "The last one is Thought Implant. Besides the increased limit and effectiveness, I can also now implant an Order that the victim cannot break, as long as they''re weaker than me. If they''re equal in strength, it will take some time for them to break the Order, and if they''re stronger, it will only take a short time. It''s definitely influenced by the Deity of the Tongue. I wonder how this works. We''ll need to experiment, but we cannot do it on Stefan. We''ll need to find a scum of the earth for the experiment,"


    Graham lied down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. His hand reached up as if trying to grab something.


    "Now I understand why President rank Contractbounds are significantly stronger than Earl rank ones. However, I wonder why I can''t form a contract with two Earl rank Deities, seeing as Fire Divination is just a Knight rank. That''s definitely a question I need an answer to..."

 213 A Powerful Detective

    ''Where can I find a scum who I can use for experimentation?''


    An image began to gradually form within the flame and showed him an alleyway that was unfamiliar to Graham. In the image, there was a man beating up a puppy with a stick. The man cold-heartedly hit and kicked the poor creature that was already pretty badly wounded. Graham''s heart was broken seeing the animal that looked not even older than a year in that condition.


    After that, the image shifted and showed an aerial view of Rivierstraat where ''The Hotel'' was. There were two red dots, one indicating Graham''s location while the other one was for his target. It turned out the alley was very close to his hotel. Once he got the location, he ended the divination and buzzed off after getting rid of the illusory flame.


    He ran downstairs and noticed that Stefan wasn''t at his usual spot, but didn''t pay any more attention to it. For now, he had to hurry if he wanted to save the poor animal.


    Slamming the main doors, Graham got out and headed east where the alley was. It was only five hundred meters away from the hotel, so he reached his destination shortly after-- especially because he was basically running.


    The plain white shirt that he was wearing was drenched in sweat when he arrived, both from running and from bearing with the painful process of received a power-up earlier.


    The man was still there in the deepest part of the alley when Graham arrived. He cursed the fact that nobody in the street noticed anything that was happening there-- or maybe they did, but they just didn''t care.


    "I order you to stop!"


    The man that looked to be in his early thirties suddenly couldn''t move a muscle. His brown eyes reflected his confusion and fear of the unknown.


    Graham rushed to the puppy and noticed that fortunately, the animal was still alive. However, its breathing was weak and irregular. Its body was all covered in bruises and injuries while its mouth was panting heavily. If it didn''t get any medical treatment any time soon, the puppy would surely die.


    He quickly looked at the man that was just a little shorter than him. He was wearing a neatly tucked shirt and a pair of cotton pants, typical of an office worker. He needed to take care of the dog at that instant, but he also needed to punish the torturer, so he had to do something.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this Order inside your head. You will become a statue and won''t be able to do anything except breathe. You will not leave this spot until I order you otherwise."


    Graham ran as fast as he could while making sure he wasn''t rocking the puppy so much. While running, he also conjured an illusory flame and used it to find the closest vet clinic from his place.


    He was just about to leave the alley when the divination finished. He quickly got rid of the flame before people began to notice and continued running west. The clinic was just about two hundred meters away, luckily. He busted in without hesitation.


    Clink!


    The small bell above the door rang, notifying the people inside of his arrival. There were two people, a man and a woman, sitting behind the counter of the empty clinic, and the moment they saw the badly injured dog, they both stood up. The woman approached the detective while the man quickly went to the back.


    "Please help this dog. Someone was beating it up and it will die if we don''t do anything." Graham said hurriedly while laying the puppy on the wheeled bed that the man had pushed in.


    "Don''t worry, sir, we''ll do our best. The veterinarian is just at the back," said the man and immediately pushed the bed to the back.


    "Sir, while waiting, can you please fill in this form?" said the woman.


    Graham was now relieved that the puppy was in the right hand, and he needed to go back to the animal beater to deliver punishment to the man. He didn''t have time to waste filling in some administration form.


    "Here, two guilders for the treatment and medical costs. I''ll come back tonight to check up on the dog and pay more if the money is not enough," he took two bills from his wallet and then quickly darted off after leaving them on the counter.


    The woman was confused but took the money anyway. Two guilders was definitely more than enough to cover the cost as long as the puppy didn''t need any major surgery.


    Not long after, Graham had made his way back into the quiet alley, and the man was still standing there motionlessly. Even his breathing was very subtle, making him look like a real statue, if not for the fact that his skin and expression were too realistic.


    Graham was now pondering whether to use Order or Thought Implant. The former was an instantaneous ability that only worked for a short duration while the latter took longer and the effect was also longer. However, since he was stronger now, and the target was most likely a normal human being, he wanted to try if Order would last long enough to achieve his desired effect.


    "I order you to follow me!"


    The man''s expression became not as stiff and his body also began moving normally again. He started following Graham closely behind against his own will. He wanted to break free but he couldn''t.


    "That''s another difference between Order and Thought Implant, Val. If I use Order, the target is still fully conscious and understands that they are moving not by their own will. Thought Implant is much subtler and most of the time, the target doesn''t even realize that they are being controlled," he concluded.


    The man was still following behind him, but after walking out of the street, Graham intuitively felt more struggle coming from the man. He turned around and made him stop moving.


    "I''ll have to use Thought Implant after all,"


    He then began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this order in your head. You will follow me voluntarily and it will be something that is just natural to you. You will not say or do anything that I do not ask of you,"


    His stamina left his body and entered the man. Feeling much weakened, Graham supported the weight of his body by holding on to the wall to his right while waiting for his implanted order to manifest. It shouldn''t take that long since the man''s mental resistance shouldn''t be that high as a normal human.


    When the duration of his Order ran out, the man''s struggle slowly ceased. The thought had manifested and now the man was under Graham''s control. He asked him to follow him and the two of them walked back to his hotel room.


    Stefan was still not at the reception desk when he came back, but it was not really something strange. The young man was often missing all of sudden, only to come back soon after. He must be watching his favorite cartoon on TV in the backroom currently.


    Graham walked up the stairs, followed by the man whose expression was docile. His face didn''t look blank and lifeless like someone who was under the effect of Interrogation, so people wouldn''t suspect a thing. He was just like a very quiet person who was just quietly following the only friend he knew in the area.


    Once he was inside his room, Graham locked the door and turned on the light. He also opened the curtain to reveal the mountain view from his hotel room, all the while, the man was standing by the door, unmoving.


    "Let''s see now. I''d like to know who you are and why you''re torturing the poor dog," he asked the man who was just staring at him without saying anything.


    Graham conjured another illusory flame and focused on the man and the kind of information he needed while chanting.


    "I, in the name the Deity of Cunnigness and Transformation, ask to read the memory of this man!"


    Instead of falling underwater and being enclosed behind glass walls, an image appeared in the flame and showed Graham the scenes that he wanted to see. He was now not inside the man''s mind, so the target shouldn''t feel anything and he was in no danger of being suddenly attacked.


    In the flame, the scenes of the man''s interactions with his wife were shown to Graham with moving images. He didn''t plan on transforming into the man''s wife to fool him, but he memorized her mannerisms anyway, in case he needed to quickly transform into a completely different person. He still had a lot of empty slots after all.


    While watching the scenes, Graham also had information about the man transferred into his brain. Apparently, the man''s name was Evert Holsten and he had a wife and two little sons. His name reminded him of Daan Holsten and Graham wondered if the two of them were related since they both had the same psychopathic tendencies.


    The memory reading just now, however, didn''t show Graham the reason why Evert was torturing the puppy. After all, he could only read memories related to the target and someone whose identity he would use in transformation.


    "I order you to tell me the reason you were torturing the dog!"


    The man opened his mouth and began speaking. His voice was strangely charismatic, and the way he was speaking was sure to be able to seduce the opposite gender, especially since he was basically good-looking. It made Graham wonder if it was safe to return that kind of person to society.


    "It was just fun. There is no other reason," he said nonchalantly. There was no sign of struggle since he wasn''t speaking against his will-- the man was still under the effect of Thought Implant, essentially.


    His answer disgusted Graham. He was not an animal activist, but he really hated people who abused animals like the man in front of him. On top of that, there was no remorse in his voice.


    "Val, I''m sure you know I hate people like him the most. What kind of punishment do you think is appropriate for him?" Graham dragged the chair and placed it in front of the man. He then sat down leisurely while pondering.


    The man was still staring at him like he was looking at a friend. He followed Graham''s implanted Order and didn''t say anything unnecessary.


    "I order your fingers to break!"


    Nothing happened. His Order was still unable to cause someone or something to harm themselves, even though they were much weaker than Graham. It reminded him of his experiment with the deer back at Oostelijk Bos.


    Since Order didn''t work, Graham''s only choice was to use Thought Implant again. Luckily, the cost was slightly reduced so his stamina had completely recovered while they were walking back to the hotel.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this thought in your head. You are a chair, and you will behave as such. You will only maintain basic bodily functions that are necessary for survival!"


    Graham felt weakened in an instant and stumbled back in his chair, sitting lazily while breathing heavily. The man in front of him remained unmoved, since the implant required time to manifest.


    Waiting patiently, Graham checked his watch from time to time to see for sure how long it took for the thought to manifest in a normal human. Around three minutes later, the man began crawling inversely on all four, with his two hands supporting his raised-up chest. His upper body area had become the backrest of the chair while his thighs were the spot where someone would sit. It was angled as such that someone wouldn''t just slide right off while sitting on him.


    Once he was finished, the man was now maintaining his position stationarily while controlling his breathing to the minimum. A chair, after all, didn''t normally breathe. His expression was now blank and his eyes were lifeless. Graham was sure that the man was conscious, but he couldn''t check what was going through his mind right now.


    Graham had actually had no intention of sitting on the man as it would just feel weird. However, he was satisfied that his experiment worked; his ability could be used in such a manner. Although that was practically not doable in a battle because of the long duration of manifestation and the fact that the enemy''s strong mind would resist such a thought, it was more than enough to punish a petty scum like the man.


    Not wanting to waste his new furniture, Graham went and grabbed the trash bin from the floor and put it on the man, who couldn''t complain nor show any disagreement. He was behaving like a real chair, blinking occasionally to wet his eyeballs, and breathed subtly.


    "We''ll leave him like this until tonight, probably. His family might start looking for him if we keep him for too long. Before we release him, we shouldn''t forget to give him a reformation so he won''t repeat his action again in the future, Val,"


    After that, Graham took out his lighter and flicked his finger to start a fire. He had something else he wanted to experiment with, and for that, he needed a real flame.


    Using Fire Manipulation, he made the fire float in front of the man and suspended itself in the air. He then conjured an illusory flame in front of him and turned his back against his ''chair''. He faced the window so that he couldn''t see Evert.


    There was now one tiny fireball floating in front of the man and one illusory fireball floating in front of Graham, following his every move, maintaining the same spot where it had been conjured relative to its conjurer.


    ''Show me what the other fireball sees,"


    The illusory flame began acting like a small screen that reflected whatever the tiny fireball floating in front of the man saw. Unlike normal divinations, the image remained small, just big enough for him to see clearly but not too big to take up all his line of sight. Graham could also move the image to see another point of view. Basically, everything seen by the flame could be seen by Graham through the illusory fireball.


    "Val, we''ve just got ourselves a spying bug. With your Concealment, the flames will be hidden and we''ll be able to spy on anyone!"

 214 Pleasing the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts

    "What is it, Val?" He said as he was walking towards the bed.


    Graham lied down and gave his new chair a glance. Evert, who had been turned into a piece of furniture, was standing-- or sitting motionlessly by the door without even making a sound. There was a trash bin placed on his stomach while his eyes were staring blankly at it.


    Seeing that nothing seemed abnormal, Graham began closing his eyes and letting his thoughts wander. His consciousness drifted away slowly as he was falling into the dream world.


    Once Graham was completely asleep, Valentine woke up and quickly got up.


    "G, it seems that the messenger of my Deity was trying to reach me,"


    Valentine followed the intuition in his heart and took out his dagger. With a quick and confident motion, he slit his palm and let his blood drip down to the carpet below, and once there was a lot of blood pooling and slowly seeping into the carpet, he began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth an illusion that covers this whole area!"


    An illusory orange curtain began descending slowly while the pool of blood on the carpet evaporated rapidly. Under the curtain, a transparent figure began forming very slowly, and the more realistic it became, the more painful Valentine''s head grew as he was looking at it.


    He quickly retracted his gaze and looked down at the floor instead.


    The figure fully formed some minutes later, after which it began speaking right away. Its voice was as loud as a gong that was played right next to his ears and as rough sounding as porcelain being scratched by metal.


    "YOU... HAVE PLEASED... HIS LORDSHIP... ENOUGH. NOW... JUST MAKE... PEOPLE THAT YOU''VE MADE... A BIG IMPRESSION ON... FORGET ABOUT YOU...!!"


    The loud voice sounded like thunder in his ears, hurting him highly, especially since his hearing was boosted. He felt that blood was oozing out of his earholes and running down his neck.


    After shouting those words, the illusion dispelled itself as the orange curtain ascended back into nothingness. His bloody ears also began healing rapidly.


    "G, so it seems that pleasing the Deity doesn''t require us to wait for the messenger. He might have probably been pleased by our use of Illusion to inflict mental trauma on those people, or as the messenger worded it, ''leaving a big impression'',"


    Valentine looked at the human chair by the door and examined it. It seemed to have been unaffected by what had just transpired in the room. Evert Holsten remained motionless while breathing very quietly at that side of the bedroom.


    Valentine crossed his arms and sat on the chair that he had turned around. Rather than looking in the direction of the human chair, it was better to look out the window at the mountains outside.


    "Does it mean we need to erase the memories of the related person from each of our targets or do we have to completely erase the existence of ''Graham Hymes'' in Hoorn?"


    Looking at the still mountains beyond the glass window calmed his mind.


    "But my ability only allows me to erase people''s memory of us. It doesn''t specify which identity it will erase. Perhaps, it''ll just erase the memory of any identity we used when interacting with the target because that is, ultimately, also us,"


    It felt like such a shame to him because he and Graham had worked hard to turn those people against the mayor. Making them just forget everything would mean erasing their hatred as well since they couldn''t hate someone who didn''t exist. However, the task given to him was much easier than what Graham had had to do, so he wasn''t complaining.


    "Although, erasing that woman''s memory might be a tad bit problematic..." he sighed.


    Graham''s illusory flame was still active and floating in front of him. Since he was going to leave the hotel, he might need it to keep an eye on the human chair by the door.


    "I hereby declare the illusory flame in front of me a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist descended and covered the flame. However, Valentine could still see the real-time image that the other, real flame was sending it. After that, he put on his leather jacket and cast Concealment on himself, covering his presence, face, and sound.


    Valentine left the hotel room and locked the door from outside. If somehow Evert returned to being a human, he at least wouldn''t be able to steal stuff and run away.


    Downstairs, Stefan had come back to the reception desk. He didn''t notice Valentine who was walking lightly past the hotel lobby towards the door. Only when he opened the door did Stefan notice that the doors were open on their own.


    The young man looked confused for a second but then he brushed it aside. In his mind, if it was the doing of a ghost that was the same as the one in the Bauwen''s Mansion, he''d better not check and just stay away; that would be the smartest move.


    The closest targets to him currently were Wiebe and Danny van Houten, whose house was just a couple of streets away. Valentine began heading east, where Klifstraat was located.


    It was already late afternoon when he left. Without him realizing it, a lot of time had already passed. The sun was beginning to set as the sky gradually turned orange in the west. The eastern sky, on the contrary, was dark blue in color.


    Although already walking very quickly, Valentine still reached the destination more than half an hour later. Hoorn was indeed much bigger than Sloten.


    Valentine had reapplied Concealment along the way, so now he was still covered by the yellowish mist that shrouded his whole being.


    On Klifstraat, it was already dark and the allegedly beautiful cliff had turned into a dark, endless abyss that would swallow anyone unfortunate enough to step too close to the edge. He still remembered the abyssal eyes that were staring at both him and Graham and even the thought of it made him shudder.


    He quickly made his way to find the house where his two targets resided. Valentine was not sure if they were at home since unlike Graham, he didn''t have any divination ability to check. He could only get in and see, and if they were both home, he would consider himself lucky.


    From time to time, he would check the concealed illusory flame in front of him to see if anything was happening in his hotel room. Nothing seemed to have happened yet: Evert still remained motionless with the trash bin on his body.


    Upon arriving at the target''s house, Valentine walked to the back street to find the back door leading to the kitchen that he had used before. There was currently no one on that quiet street, so he took out his wallet and fished out the lock picking tools hidden in it. Skillfully, he began tinkering with the door''s lock.


    Click!


    The door was unlocked shortly after and Valentine very carefully opened it. The yellowish mist covered the door the moment he touched it and muffled any sound that the door created. He made it inside without any accident.


    There was currently no one in the kitchen, but Valentine could hear the sound of someone eating from the next room, which was the dining room. Judging from the sound of it, it was just one person.


    Carefully, he walked towards the room while remaining in the shadow. It turned out that it was Wiebe who was eating. Sneaking into the dining room without being noticed, Valentine stood quietly behind his target while placing his hands on each side of the man''s head without touching it. After that, he began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, hereby erase all of Wiebe van Houten''s memories about me!"


    An illusory smoke was released by his palms and entered Wiebe''s head through his ears. The man''s expression looked confused for a split second but then it returned to normal again.


    Valentine didn''t know what effect his ability had had, but he wasn''t about to find out right at that moment. He needed to get a move on.


    Leaving Wiebe who had resumed his dinner, Valentine perked up his ears and tried to listen to the other sounds coming from the house. Besides the clanking of metal cutleries and porcelain dishes, there was a sound of gentle breathing coming from upstairs. It was regular and faint, most likely coming from the man''s sick mother.


    There was also a heavier sound of breathing coming from the room next to where the sick mother was staying, farther from where Valentine currently was. He swiftly and carefully walked upstairs and headed for the room where the next target should be.


    At the end of the second-floor corridor, behind the brown wooden door, the sound of breathing was coming. It was Danny van Houten''s room. Valentine reached for the door handle and twisted it, opening the unlocked door.


    Seeing that someone was trying to open his room door, Danny became alerted and looked in that direction, expecting his brother to come in. However, there was no one and the moment the gap was wide enough, he lost consciousness.


    He had been placed under Valentine''s Interrogation!


    Valentine walked up to his victim whose expression was blank and whose eyes were staring lifelessly into the distance. He placed his hands on each side of the man''s head and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, hereby erase all of Danny van Houten''s memories about me!"


    The same smoke that had invaded Wiebe''s brain came out of Valentine''s palm and entered Danny''s head through his ears. Danny didn''t show any change in expression since he was still under Interrogation, but Valentine knew that his ability had worked.


    "That''s two targets down," he murmured as he was leaving the house through the same way that he had entered.


    Next, he had to take care of Lucas Baltes since his house was the closest to the siblings''. Quickly, he began walking west and then going east again at the junction, effectively circling around the dark abyss of a cliff. He reached Lucas'' house in less than thirty minutes.


    The sound of the waterfall once again became the prominent background of the dark street illuminated by artificial lights. He reached house number 43 where Lucas lived not long after. Occasionally, Valentine would also check the illusory flame to make sure that everything was okay at the hotel.


    "That man seems to still be under your ability''s effect. Does your ability last forever, G?"


    Valentine did some lock picking again and entered Lucas''s house after making sure that someone was home. The sound of the waterfall made it a little difficult for him to listen to the sounds coming from inside the house, but in the end, he could faintly hear light footsteps coming from inside.


    The yellowish mist muffled the sound of the door being opened, but it seemed that Lucas noticed someone trying to enter his house. Suddenly, the sounds of his footsteps disappeared.


    "He''s gone invisible... won''t work against me, though,"


    Valentine concentrated and faintly, he could feel the invisible man''s presence thanks to his Secret Detection. It was most likely the same for the man for him to be able to sense through Valentine''s Concealment.


    With his dagger, he cut open his palm and gathered the blood there, clenching it in a fist. Pretending not to be able to sense the invisible Contractbound, Valentine walked around the house sneakily in search of him. The moment Lucas tried to strike him from behind, Valentine quickly waved his arm.


    Splash!


    The blood splattered all over the bodyguard, taking him by surprise. Not wasting his opportunity, Valentine quickly shouted.


    "I hereby put you under Interrogation!"


    The blood-covered invisible man stopped moving at once. Valentine couldn''t see his expression since the blood was mostly covering the man''s body, but he knew Lucas had fallen under his control.


    Judging where the father of one''s head was, Valentine places his hands on each side and began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, hereby erase all of Lucas Baltes''s memories about me!"


    Thin, illusory smoke came out of his palms and blew into Lucas. Since the man was invisible, the smoke looked like it just disappeared mid-air after going through a certain spot. His spiritual intuition told Valentine that his ability had worked, so he quickly left the house before closing the door behind him.


    "That''s three down. G, I''ll need your help to track the bitch and the motherfucker. Also the hobo woman,"


    For now, Valentine could only go back to his hotel first and switch with Graham.

 215 A Storm Brewing in Hoorn

    Valentine had switched with Graham and now the latter was planting another thought at the animal abuser Evert Holsten. The poor man was still acting like a chair, standing motionlessly by his hotel door.


    His energy left him and entered the man, taking root inside his brain. Since it was an idea that was contradictory with the man''s true nature, Graham didn''t know how long it would manifest. He didn''t care that much since he thought that the man had got punished enough.


    The puppy that he had left at the veterinary clinic had been treated and it was now on its way to recovery. However, it had to stay one more night there to make sure there was no other problem with it. That was another reason why Graham was willing to let the man go-- him having a wife and children waiting for him at home being the other.


    "Now let''s move," Graham breathed heavily. His stamina was slowly recovering after using Thought Implant.


    After removing the trash bin from the man''s stomach, Graham dragged him outside his hotel room and placed Evert in the lobby, facing the stairs down. He also made sure not to leave the man right in front of his door, but a little farther away in front of a random room.


    Focusing on the belt with complicated patterns that he was wearing, Graham began chanting while crouching so that his two hands would be level with the man''s head.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, hereby erase all of Evert Holsten''s memories about me!"


    A black illusory smoke came out of his palms and entered the man''s head through his ears. Meanwhile, one of the patterns on the belt grew dimmer, indicating that only one more use of that ability was available.


    Making sure he was completely in the man''s blind spot, he issued an Order.


    "I order you to return to normal!"


    His initial implanted Order was canceled by his new order. At once, Evert collapsed to the floor out of weakness and most likely muscle soreness. He also looked very confused and pained with a little fear mixed into his jumble of emotion. He looked around to find no one nearby.


    Graham had quickly run back into his room and closed the door very carefully. Now that his job was done, he needed to switch back with Valentine again.


    Before lying down on the bed, he used Fire Manipulation to get rid of the flame that he had used as a monitoring device inside his room.


    "I''m all done, Val. Time to switch. Don''t forget, Derrick is still in his mansion while Eveline is inside the sewer under Kreekstraat. And Eveline seems to be waiting for us on purpose, otherwise, we wouldn''t have been able to use divination on her,"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being into that of Cornelis Harring!"


    Graham closed his eyes and drifted into the dream world on the soft, comfortable bed while his body was undergoing a transformation process. The dark sky outside was cloudy, and occasionally, lightning would roar. The bad weather outside set up the perfect mood to sleep, despite his itching skill from the transformation.


    Valentine woke up not long after, with a completely different appearance. He quickly got up and got dressed, wearing clothes that matched Rood''s size. He also brought everything that he would need in case a fight arose. Gloom''s Redress, the bracelet, had been fed and was ready to use.


    He left the room once ready, and using the payphone available on the first-floor lobby, he called for a public motor carriage to take him to the mansion at the edge of the city. Stefan had been replaced by someone completely unfamiliar to him, which was a good thing for him because the young man might have recognized Rood otherwise.


    The motor carriage arrived less than five minutes later and Valentine was already waiting by the side of the street. He quickly got in and told the driver his destination. He also asked the driver to wait for him later because he needed to go to his next destination.


    That night sky in Hoorn was abnormally dark, although the occasional lightning helped illuminated the land. Thick clouds were hovering above the city menacingly like they were hiding an entity that was looming up high.


    Roar!!!


    The sound of thunder just cracked, following a flash of lighting that came a few seconds earlier. The loud rumble continued murmuring in the distance for a few more seconds before it faded away.


    "Whoah, that was a big one," the driver said, starting a small talk.


    Valentine only nodded, which he wasn''t even sure if the driver could see or not.


    They continued driving in silence until finally, they arrived near the protruding cliff where the mansion was built. After telling the driver to wait again, Valentine got out and walked in the dark of night towards the big building, casting Concealment as he went.


    He arrived at the tall metal gate that was strangely still open. Even the main doors were open. It seemed that Derrick hadn''t bothered to close them after Graham stole his motor carriage and left.


    Carefully, he entered the mansion and heard the sound of heavy breathing coming from the direction of the basement. He quietly headed towards the source of the sound and found the young man still sitting on the stairway with a sorrowful look on his face.


    It seemed that Derrick Krammer had remained there since this morning after Graham had used the illusion on him. He was leaning against the wall with his hands covering his crotch area. There were dry tear marks on his cheeks while his eyes were red. Valentine somehow pitied the young man, but he wasn''t actually suffering from any physical injury. Everything was just in his head.


    "I hereby put you under Interrogation!"


    The man''s expression went blank as his eyes were staring into the vast nothingness. Valentine crouched in front of him and placed his hands on each side of his head without touching him. After that, he began chanting and the usual black smoke came out of his palm, entering the young man through his ears. With that, one more target was taken care of.


    "That was easy," he muttered while walking out of the mansion.


    Only after leaving the gate several meters behind did he undo his Concealment. Valentine then returned to the motor carriage and asked the driver to begin driving again.


    They arrived at Valentine''s second destination stopping a little farther away from the entrance to the sewer. He told the driver to wait for him, and this time, it might take a little longer.


    "Here, I''ll pay for your service up until now, and I''ll pay you extra once I return," he said while handing the driver six stuivers.


    It was a lot of money for normal people, although to Valentine, that amount was nothing compared to the high cost of everything he needed as a Contractbound. The driver''s face reflected his excitement at the prospect of receiving even more later as he thanked his passenger.


    "Let''s see what''s waiting for us down there, G,"


    Valentine walked away from the motor carriage and cast Concealment as well as Illusion Substitutes on himself under the guise of the dark night. He then lifted the manhole cover and climbed down the metal ladder down into the sewer.


    Drip... Drip...


    The sounds of water drops echoed in the dark sewer corridor, while the sound of a stream was audible in the distance. The smell of moss and dampness penetrated his nose and his skin was rubbed gently by the cold and moist air of the sewer.


    Valentine walked in the direction that was shown in Graham''s divination earlier. If she had indeed been setting something up for him, Eveline shouldn''t move away too far.


    The sound of the underwater stream got louder as Valentine walked deeper until finally, he could see the source of the sound. The sewer water was running gently in the pitch-black tunnel. There should be service lights somewhere for the sewer workers, but Valentine didn''t need them since his night vision allowed him to see perfectly fine in the dark.


    After walking along the stream for about three minutes, finally, he saw something in front of him that was almost unnoticeable, if not for himself being in the same state. It was someone covered in a thin yellowish mist standing in the middle of the walkway. The mist made him instinctively neglect the figure, making them seem to be not there, but with high enough concentration, he could tell his brain to focus on the figure.


    "You''re finally here. I''ve been waiting for a long time,"


    The mist covering the figure dissipated, revealing Eveline Herrick who was still wearing the same black coat and tight yellow dress. The difference was that her round glasses were missing and she looked like a celebrity who had been thrown out into the street to fend for herself. Her dress and her coat were dirty, and her make up had been ruined. Valentine wasn''t sure if the rancid smell was coming from the sewer or the woman in front of him.


    "If you''re wondering how I knew you''d be looking for me, that person told me," she said. The manner in which she spoke was still the same as usual; breathy with a lot of seductive emphases. She was looking straight at Valentine in the eyes as she spoke, which alerted him.


    Having his curiosity piqued, Valentine lifted the shroud covering his voice and readied his weapon.


    "What person?" his voice was cold and inquisitive.


    Chuckle...


    "Teehee... he told me not to tell you... or he''ll punish me. But you should know him. He also told me not to make things easy for you,"


    Eveline''s nails grew long instantly as she charged at Valentine without hesitation. She seemed to know exactly where he was despite his Concealment being one rank stronger than her.


    Valentine managed to dodge thanks to his high speed. He quickly opened his mouth and spoke swiftly.


    "I hereby put you under interrogation!"


    Her expression went blank right away, but a short moment later, she looked like she was in great pain. She collapsed to the ground while holding her head. The pain had caused Valentine''s control to be broken!


    "That person also protected me from control effect, teehee..." she smiled as she got back up. The pain appeared to have quickly subsided, as it only served to jolt her awake.


    Clank!


    Valentine blocked her sudden attack with the cane and quickly stretched his right hand in front of him.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    His bracelet glowed in a faint orange light while dark orange tendrils drilled into Eveline''s head.


    Eveline wanted to retreat from Valentine to avoid his subsequent attack, but because she was under the ability''s effect, she instead stupidly banged her head on the wall next to her.


    Seizing his chance, Valentine focused his energy on the belt and chanted.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, intensify your desire to bang your head on the wall!"


    The pattern on Purloin glowed and then dimmed. At the same time, Eveline suddenly became unable to stop herself from banging her head repeatedly on the wall.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The sound of a skull hitting a hard concrete wall resounded in the dark tunnel, almost overpowering the sound of the gentle stream.


    "You''re not the only one with fun toys, you know?" she said angrily. Strangely, however, there was no pain in her voice and her head wasn''t bleeding despite repeatedly hitting the wall.


    Valentine''s sense of secret was triggered and he instinctively looked at the woman''s neck. There was a necklace that was glowing faintly. If he hadn''t used his night vision, the glow would be very noticeable in the dark sewer.


    "What is that enhanced equipment? I wish I had my gun right now," he muttered and carefully dashed closer to Eveline, who was still unable to control herself.


    Concentrating on the necklace that she was wearing, he cast his ability.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    Bang! Bang!


    Amidst the banging, illusory letters began appearing and formed a complete text not long after. Valentine read the text as quickly as he could.


    ''The necklace of Kamiel. Status: sated. A piece of enhanced equipment made by a high-ranked Transmuter. It allows the user to withstand damage at the expense of the user''s stamina. As long as the user''s stamina is available, the damage suffered will reduce stamina instead, allowing the physical body to remain intact and uninjured. Once a week, the necklace must be fed with the user''s stamina non-stop for at least sixteen hours, or more depending on its use during the week.''


    The illusory text disappeared as Valentine retreated to a safe distance.


    "That necklace is very strong, G. The side effect is only that we will be incapacitated for the whole day once a week basically," he concluded.


    If he had Luuk''s theft ability, Valentine would have stolen the necklace. Going in for the theft didn''t seem like a good idea currently since despite not being able to stop herself from banging her head on the wall, Eveline was still able to move his other body parts freely.


    "Finally, that fucking ability stopped,"


    The banging stopped, and Eveline checked her forehead. There was no injury at all, and strangely, although her stamina should have been drained, she didn''t look tired.


    She looked like she was about to attack, but Valentine didn''t give her the chance. He pointed the end of the cane at her and sent his energy into it. Even though the negative effect might be bad for him, he didn''t have another choice. His Mass Illusion wouldn''t work because she would just be jolted awake again by the pain. He needed to somehow stop her and took the necklace away if he wanted to incapacitate her.


    A kind of energy shot at Eveline and entered Valentine at the same time. Knowledge about the effect was also transferred into his brain.


    ''Eveline Herrick is now highly obsessed with the sight of blood!''


    ''You are now completely uninterested in ducks!''


    "Shit! That''s completely the opposite of what I wanted!" he mumbled as he took a step back, getting away from Eveline who suddenly emitted a strong bloodlust.

 216 All Settled

    There was anger and bloodlust in her tone as her eyes were looking at Valentine like he was a cornered prey.


    Not having the intention to reply, Valentine just took out the dagger and held the cane in his left hand, using it as a shield instead. He didn''t want to risk using it again and getting a debilitating negative effect.


    Stretching his hand in front of him, he began chanting again.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    The same illusory tendrils drilled into Eveline''s head, affecting her next course of action. Valentine took a step back and got ready to capitalize on her next mistake with his sharp dagger in his right hand.


    "Not killing is definitely more difficult than just straight up killing our targets, G," he mumbled a complaint.


    Eveline''s eyes that were projecting out strong killing intentions looked like they were burning in yellow flames in that dark tunnel. She was like a demon hunting an unsuspecting victim with her glowing eyes and sharp claws that looked like they could shred metal as easily as they could paper.


    She dashed forward, but instead of aiming for Valentine, she attacked the sewer floor instead for some reason like it was some kind of enemy that must be killed.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, intensify your desire to attack the sewer floor!"


    Crash! Crash!


    Eveline began attacking the floor more vigorously without any sign of stopping. Her expression was twisted and her eyes were glowing even brighter.


    Her sharp claws were gouging out pieces by pieces of concrete from the floor with ease until there was a hole in the floor. If it had been Valentine, he would have definitely died from those sharp claws.


    Seizing his chance, he quickly got behind the woman and placed his hands around the woman''s head while chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, hereby erase all of Eveline Herrick''s memories about me!"


    Black smoke came out of his hands and entered the woman through her ears. Her face showed confusion for a split second but was quickly replaced by the same ferocity and bloodlust as she continued savagely destroying the floor.


    Valentine had done what he came for, and he had a feeling that something was waiting for him back at the hotel, just like what had happened to Graham. However, he couldn''t just leave the woman like that, or else she would chase him non-stop-- her unnatural obsession for killing hadn''t been satisfied after all. He had to at least disable her so that she wouldn''t be able to give chase or kill her if possible.


    Raising the dagger up high above her neck, Valentine focused his power on it and made a quick and sudden downward movement.


    Clank!


    "If I can''t break it, then let''s just overwork it!"


    Stab!


    Valentine thrust his dagger and sank it into Eveline''s back. The sharp metal cut open the flesh easily, but there was no blood coming out of the wound. In fact, his dagger was forced out by the flesh that was closing rapidly. The necklace was glowing all the while.


    Stab!


    While the woman was still unable to control herself, Valentine stabbed her one more time with all his strength. Again, there was no blood and the wound healed very quickly, leaving no scar. Eveline didn''t even seem to be in pain from his attack-- or maybe she was, but her intensified desire to decimate the floor just made her ignore it.


    He repeatedly stabbed the woman and her wounds kept on healing rapidly. She then regained control of her body and quickly turned around, aiming for Valentine''s heart.


    Clank!


    Luckily, he was fast enough to block her claw with the indestructible cane!


    Valentine quickly took a step back and watched as the woman was visibly exhausted from having her stamina drained to heal her wounds.


    Suddenly, something under her dress glowed visibly, and in an instant, her exhaustion seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Eveline became as powerful as she was before.


    "I don''t know who you are, but I have a strong urge to kill you... Teehee..." she had a slightly confused look on her face since a ''stranger'' was suddenly attacked her. However, the confusion was quickly replaced by bloodlust.


    "Shit! That''s another enhanced equipment? That one is able to return her stamina? What a bullshit combination!" Valentine complained while maintaining his distance.


    The glowing object wasn''t visible to him, so he couldn''t use Reveal to see its full capability. He couldn''t even try to take it out since it was placed somewhere he couldn''t reach easily without disabling the woman, which was currently impossible.


    "G, I have nothing that we can use against her. We need to switch right now!"


    Sleeping was out of the question as long as he couldn''t put her under his control effect to buy himself time. Although he had Graham''s Order stored inside Purloin, he still needed time to completely switch, during which time Eveline could kill him with ease. He had no other choice but to provoke the woman.


    "I bet your ugly ass can''t make me fall in love with you!" he shouted with mockery.


    Enraged, Eveline scratched her sharp long nails together in a threatening manner. Then, a smile surfaced on her face. Her heightened obsession for killing didn''t seem to make her go berserk as shown by her ability to still think rationally. It must just make her unable to resist the urge to kill anyone she saw, whatever the method.


    "You would regret making me do this... teehee..." with a chuckle and eyes full of bloodlust, she dashed towards Valentine, ready to shred the man into pieces. She seemed to have forgotten what the man was capable of, so it was easy to bait her.


    Protecting himself with his cane, he managed to prevent her claws from sinking deep into his flesh. However, what she aimed for wasn''t that. The moment she was close enough to him, she opened her mouth and began chanting seductively.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Lies and Attraction, hereby declare that you''re in love with me!"


    Valentine''s body felt hot all of a sudden and his judgment became clouded. Although he knew he could do it easily, he didn''t try to resist as it was what he wanted.


    Once her ability took complete effect, Valentine strangely saw Eveline as a figure that looked very delicate and in need of protection. Her innocent round face and her kind smile made his heart beat faster. He didn''t lower his weapons since her sharp nails still looked dangerous, but slowly, his desire to attack her diminished.


    "Now do you want me? We can have fun before I gut you alive and use them to strangle you. If only those mists aren''t covering your handsome face... teehee..."


    Eveline''s killing intent was still leaking out of her voice and body language, but to Valentine, it looked just like she was teasing him. His body felt warmer despite the cold sewer night. However, his grip on his weapons hadn''t loosened since his sense of danger was still working.


    "Now, let me take total control of you. It seems that you can still resist my charm," she said while looking at the cane and dagger that the man was still holding up. If she approached recklessly, the man would definitely attack her and her spell would be broken.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Lies and Attraction, hereby put the one in love with me under my total control!"


    Valentine''s consciousness began to quickly fade. He could faintly hear Eveline mumbling about him being her pet and what she would do to him before he finally fell unconscious.


    Just when he began stumbling, suddenly his footing became steady again. Graham had taken over!


    With a surprised look on her face, Eveline looked at her victim and knew something was wrong. She quickly dashed forward with her sharp nails forming a sharp spearhead.


    Graham, who wasn''t as fast as Valentine, could only guard against the attack using the cane after he barely managed to conjure an illusory flame to help him see. The woman''s attack was too fast for him to dodge.


    Clank!


    The sound of strong, sharp claws hitting the indestructible material of the cane echoed in the sewer.


    "How did you break free from my control?!" asked Eveline angrily as she launched another attack with her left hand.


    Graham kicked her away before she could land her attack and quickly took a step back.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    Like someone who had been petrified, Eveline was suddenly unable to move her body. However, she quickly felt a terrible headache that broke her free from Graham''s control. His Order had been rendered ineffective!


    The reddish-orange light from the tiny flame in front of him cast away the darkness in the tunnel. Stretching his hand in front of him, Graham began chanting while targeting the woman who had just recovered from his control effect.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    Eveline had no way of avoiding that ability as the illusory dark orange tendrils drilled into her head. Now, whatever next action she chose to do, she would stupidly make a mistake.


    Graham took out his lighter and with a flick of his finger, created a real fire. He then used Fire Manipulation to make the fire float. Now, there were two tiny fireballs floating in front of him. In the dark tunnel, Graham looked like a menacing master of flames.


    Worried about her enemy''s actions, Eveline decided to attack first. However, instead of attacking Graham with her sharp, long nails, she retracted instead and fist punched the man.


    Her attack was very easy for him to dodge, and using the chance while she was next to him, he sent the real flame to her. The flame set her coat on fire upon contact.


    "I ask that you burn more violently!"


    Whoosh!


    The flame suddenly became bigger and started burning her whole coat. It also managed to spread to her dress and began burning it as well.


    Eveline was uninjured by the fire because of her necklace that kept on glowing. Something under her dress was also glowing as it sent her more stamina to be converted to health. However, she knew that if she didn''t do anything about the fire, even the necklace and the other equipment wouldn''t be able to keep up with her injury.


    Heading towards the water, she began running. However, Graham already expected her action. He stretched his hand forward and chanted one more time.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    Instead of jumping into the sewer stream, Eveline backed away from it, going in the other direction because of her enemy''s ability.


    Crackle!


    Her coat burned off completely a few seconds later because of the violently raging flame. Although uninjured, there was panic and confusion on Eveline''s face. She wanted to get back to the water again, but the flame was too uncontrollable.


    "No!! My hair!! My beautiful hair!!"


    She screamed in extreme anger as her hair and eyebrows burned off. Her skin remained pristine, but her hair was disappearing quickly. Her dress was also almost completely turning into ashes, revealing the other enhanced equipment.


    It was an ornamental waist chain!


    That was the thing that kept supplying her with stamina. Since he had seen it, he would be able to use divination on it with ease. But for now, Graham''s goal was to overwork the enhanced equipment since they should be finite.


    Besides the ornamental waist chain, Graham had also noticed the scroll that fell from her burning dress a moment ago. It appeared to be a contract scroll, seeing as it was unscathed by the fire. But Graham couldn''t pay attention to it for the moment.


    "I ask that you burn the woman to ashes!"


    The flame didn''t go out even after burning all of her clothes, revealing her naked body that was adorned with a glowing necklace and waist chain.


    Eveline was too shocked and panicked before, but now she had to take action, or else she would really burn to death. She didn''t know how many times her enemy could still use the Stupidity ability, so whatever action she chose to do might end up in failure again.


    Finally, Eveline chose to attack the caster. Even if she ran for the water, if the enemy was still alive, he could burn her again easily.


    "Die!"


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"


    Dark orange tendrils drilled into her head, making her attack a failure. Instead of attacking Graham, she dashed towards the wall, creating a dent on it at the spot where her sharp nails landed.


    Whoosh!


    The flame was still raging on her body in a strange manner because it didn''t seem to be burning anything. However, slowly, Graham could see that her skin began changing color and the smell of charred flesh began filling the air, fighting for dominance with the smell of moss and rot.


    "Arrghh!!! Arghh!!! It hurts!!!"


    Eveline was finally burning alive!


    Her waist chain was no longer glowing, and neither was the necklace. The woman''s breathing was very heavy as if she had already exhausted all of her stamina. She was writhing and screaming in pain as the flame was engulfing her, eating her from the outside.


    "Argghhh!! Stop it, please!!! AARGH!!!


    Her screaming became louder and louder. The dark tunnel was now filled with her cry of pain as the flame dispelled the darkness around her.


    Suddenly, Graham felt a gust of wind!


    Zwoop!!


    Eveline was gone! He only blinked and the burning woman was suddenly nowhere to be seen! Not even the flame remained.


    Graham quickly assumed a defensive stance while listening to his surroundings.


    Besides the sounds of water dripping and the gentle stream behind him, there was nothing else. It was as if no one else besides him had ever been there. If not for the scroll lying on the floor, he might have thought that he had been under the effect of an illusion the whole time.


    "Her backer decided to help her? How did they take her away?"


    After making sure that everything was normal, he focused on the illusory flame in front of him and began divination.


    ''Where is Eveline Herrick?''


    The illusory flame burned brighter, but instead of showing him an image, it gave him a throbbing headache. As expected, even his divination couldn''t locate her.


    "Her backer must be very powerful. That scroll must be what they promised her for dealing with us. Well, it''s ours now, Val,"


    Graham didn''t take the scroll right away. He used divination again to make sure it wasn''t cursed or something. Once he was assured that the scroll was safe to take, he walked towards it and picked it up.


    The brown scroll felt heavy and sturdy in his hand. Quickly, he opened it and took a glance at the complicated pattern drawn on it as the knowledge entered his mind.


    "It''s a Demise contract scroll, Val! I think this one is suitable for you. Since you have pleased your Deity, you can do the ritual right away tonight," Graham rolled the scroll and tucked it inside his jacket while heading towards the exit of the sewer, "As for me, I think I''ll check the other contract scroll that we got. I''ve pleased three Deities, so I should be able to check its content now,"

 217 A Deceit of Secrets

    The night was getting late. The sounds of thunder kept on roaring in the sky and while the flashes of lightning were flaring. Luckily, it hadn''t started to rain yet by the time he came back.


    Before entering the hotel, he waited outside where no one was around for the duration of Graham''s Transformation to be over. It shouldn''t take long since he could feel his skin began to itch. Valentine became three centimeters shorter and the big scar that was distinctive of Rood''s feature disappeared. His face became more ovalish with sharp jawlines and a stubble growing on them.


    Upon returning to his original appearance, Valentine entered the hotel without delay and returned to his room. The receptionist, who wasn''t Stefan, smiled and nodded at him, to which he replied with a nod.


    Click!


    The sound of his hotel door being unlocked could be heard faintly amidst the rumbling thunder outside. Valentine opened the door and locked it from inside. After hanging his jacket on the hook, he sat at the table and focused.


    "Now let''s see. Those Deities like playing little secrets. Which ability should I use this time to uncover it..."


    Valentine was pondering hard when suddenly he had an epiphany. He felt that something that he had long forgotten had resurfaced on his brain. It was as clear as day despite him being sure about not having known about it before.


    "It''s... in my brain?"


    He dug up his brain to make the memory clearer. The line for summoning his Deity was then laid bare in his mind, ready to be recited at any time.


    Bracing himself for what was about to come, Valentine opened his mouth and spoke loudly.


    "Lirach tasa Malphas ayer!"


    Roar!!


    The thunder roared loudly outside while an orange illusory curtain began descending above Valentine. The curtain, thicker than usual, was hanging low, swaying in the invisible breeze gently.


    Another flash of lightning came outside the window, followed by a rumble of thunder not long after. More layers of curtain descended until the ceiling was no longer visible. It was as if the hotel room had been turned into the setting of a grand finale.


    Valentine''s heart was beating faster and faster in anticipation.


    Slowly, a strong for came from above, forcing Valentine to fall on his knees and prostrate. The force only got stronger and stronger, and he had to struggle harder and harder not to get crushed flat on the floor, which strangely remained unaffected.


    Valentine then felt a grand presence hanging above where the curtains were. Despite not being able to see the presence, he could feel the majesty and horror that the presence was emitting. His heart was filled with terror while his brain somewhat felt all-knowing.


    Blare!!


    He had been smitten!


    However, he was strangely alive, despite the devastating pain that he was feeling. He felt like his head had just been crushed by a giant meteor, repeatedly so. He even almost lost consciousness, if not for his inability to do so at the moment for some reason. He was being forced to remain aware of all the pain that he was feeling.


    The crushing agony remained only for a few seconds, but it felt like centuries to him.


    Roar!!


    Another roar of thunder exploded, and following that, the presence slowly ascended, lifting the pressure that was agonizingly weighing Valentine down. The pain in his head was also slowly receding.


    Following the presence, the thick orange curtains also ascended back into nothingness, returning the room to its original state.


    Valentine wiped out the drops of sweat on his pale forehead. After massaging his head, he sat back down on the chair and concentrated on the new knowledge that had been painfully transferred into his brain.


    With heavy breathing, he leaned back on his chair and looked at the storm that was brewing outside. The thunders were rumbling in the distance, but he could swear that just now, they were inside his hotel room.


    "Alright, G. The painful encounter has evolved my abilities. First, the usage limit has been increased to fifteen times per day, just like yours. This means I can use Mass Illusion, Illusion Substitute, and Memory Erasion more times now."


    He crossed his arms and placed his feet on the table while leaning back with his chair, balancing himself with his legs. He was looking out the window, and if not for the frequent flashes of lightning, it would be pitch black outside.


    "Let''s do it the way you did it. I''ll start from my Earl rank abilities first. So I have eight Earl rank abilities: Night Vision, Concealment, Anti-Divination, Interrogation, Reconstruction, Reveal, and the passive ones, Sense of Secrets and Lie Detection. I didn''t include heightened reflex, hearing, and speed because it''s, you know, like a physical upgrade."


    "First, my Concealment will now erase people''s memory of what''s concealed and can conceal up to ten things at a time. Although it''s still bound by distance, that upgrade is really powerful, G, but can also be detrimental when we''re fighting in a group. It seems that this Deity is meant for people who fight alone,"


    Valentine used concealment and a thin yellowish mist came down to engulf his right hand. The mist looked more complicated now, and although somewhat thinner, the object it was covering was no longer visible.


    As the caster, Valentine knew that his right hand was still there, even more so since he could feel it. However, if he wasn''t focused, he felt that his right hand was never there in the first place.


    He then lifted his Concealment on his hand and put Graham''s lighter, which he had placed on the desk, under the yellowish mist instead.


    Valentine still knew what was behind the mist, but again, if he didn''t focus, he would forget that something was on the table at all.


    "In a team fight, if our teammates forget about us, we might put the whole formation into disarray. But alone, this upgrade is perfect for missions," he concluded after canceling the Concealment on the lighter.


    "Next is Reconstruction. It can now show perfect scenes of what has happened in a spot. That means the color and everything, at a reduced cost. I think it''s because of the influence of Mass Illusion, so instead of seeing blood-constructed figures, we just pay the blood price to recreate past events using illusion. That is another useful upgrade, although it is very situational since we can''t really use it in public. Maybe if we could conceal a whole area..." he said longingly.


    "But don''t forget that it will also reconstruct an ability''s effect, as shown when we accidentally used Gloom''s ability when I used Reconstruction. With the reduced cost, I can see myself using it more often in combat,"


    Wanting to try out its effect, Valentine got up and stood in one spot of the room. He then placed Concealment on several spots of the floor, creating a circle of mysterious yellowish mist around him. After that, he lifted the Concealment and returned to his chair.


    He sat down straight and took out his dagger. The sharp metal edge was then pressed against the soft flesh of his left palm, cutting it open. He let his blood flow out and drip down to the floor below. Concentrating on the spot where he had stood up before and the timeframe that he wanted, he opened his mouth.


    "Show me what happened in that spot!"


    His blood evaporated right away while an illusory orange curtain, which was much thinner than usual, descended. However, instead of showing him an illusion, it recreated a past event that had happened in that specific spot.


    There was another, perfectly replicated, Valentine standing on the spot. The replica Valentine used his Concealment ability and created a circle of yellowish mist around himself. The real Valentine, being not the caster of that ability, now couldn''t remember what was concealed by the mist. To him, it seemed that his replica was standing on a floating panel of the floor, separated from the rest. Even if he racked his memory, he couldn''t recall what was being shrouded by the mist.


    After that, the replica Valentine lifted his Concealment and revealed the floor that was hidden there. The real Valentine suddenly remembered what it was as if he had never forgotten about it in the first place. The Reconstruction then ended as the illusory curtain ascended.


    "That means targetted abilities might not be useful even if replicated since the target will also be the replica of the real person. However, wide area abilities should be usable," he concluded and then leaned back on his chair.


    "My other Earl rank abilities didn''t get any upgrade, so that''s that, G. Next, let''s see my Deceit abilities. Just like yours, their evolution was influenced by the previous contracted Deities. First, Mass Illusion. The cost has been reduced, which is great, but the biggest improvement is the Concealment that comes with it. When the orange curtain comes down, the whole area will be shrouded in Concealment, so anyone except us and our targets won''t be able to see what''s going on,"


    Valentine switched his legs, placing his left leg over his right leg on the table.


    "Although so far it hasn''t become a problem, it will surely come in handy. It also means we can use Mass Illusion in public because nobody else will be able to see it. We just have to make sure the area of effect is not too big or it will drag innocent passersby into it,"


    "Second, Illusion Substitutes. This one seems to have also been influenced by Secrets. After it''s triggered, we''ll be concealed for two seconds after reappearing, so the enemy shouldn''t be able to pinpoint our location too easily. Although we are still unable to reappear far from the initial position, this upgrade is already powerful enough,"


    "I just realized we didn''t even have it triggered once while facing that deranged woman. That shows how powerful we are now, G," he muttered proudly.


    It was true that during his fight with Eveline, he was in total control of the battle despite not being able to put the enemy under his control effect. He just lacked an offensive ability to finish off his enemy, especially since he had lost his gun.


    "Alright, the last one is Memory Erasion. This one has also been upgraded, and in an interesting way, in my opinion. We can still only erase people''s memory of us. However, now we can use Concealment in combination with this ability to ''seal'' someone''s memory of something. Just like Concealment, it''s bound by distance, so if the target gets out of the radius, their memory will return."


    "Unlike Concealment, G, this ability still needs chanting, though, and we still have to be in close proximity with the target. Using it in a fight will be tricky, but with a little control effect, we can seal their memory of their own abilities. If we can utilize it well, we''ll get the upper hand in combat just with this."


    Valentine crossed his arms while his eyes were glimmering.


    "Maybe, it''s even possible to seal someone''s memory about being a Contractbound, thus effectively turning them into a normal human. This needs testing, although the chances of it being capable of doing that are low. I think for now we''ll only be able to seal small fragments of memories, not something essential like that,"


    Valentine then got up and walked up to his leather jacket that was hung by the door on the hook. He took out the contract scroll tucked inside it and walked towards his suitcase. He also took out a contract scroll that was hidden deep inside it.


    With the two scrolls in his hands, he returned to the chair and laid both scrolls on the table. One was the scroll for the Deity of Serpents and Death, who would grant curse abilities to His Contractbounds, while the other one was the mysterious scroll that required him to have pleased three Deities.


    "I''m indeed interested in the Demise contract scroll, G. I think curse abilities will be the offensive abilities that I''m really lacking. They will be perfect for assassination and finishing blows against enemies. However, I''m curious about this other scroll as well,"


    First, Valentine opened up the scroll for the Deity of Serpents and Death. The sigil showed four interlocking crosses and a sideway crown on the right. Once he saw the sigil, knowledge of the required materials was also transferred into his brain.


    "We definitely can''t do the ritual tonight. We need the six tongues of Leyaks, six hair strands of a Gorgon, and six essences of Dybbuks. Besides the Leyaks, we don''t know what or where the rest are. Even if we know where to find Leyaks, they will melt into a pool of blood if killed, so we have to cut off their tongues before they die, which won''t be easy..."


    Valentine rolled the scroll and put it back on the table. He then picked up the other, identical scroll and opened it. The last time he had done so, there was nothing on the scroll and only the instruction came into mind.


    Slowly, the scroll was unrolled, revealing the sigil on it. Surprisingly, the sigil was strangely familiar to him. He had seen it before-- in fact, he had seen it numerous times before.


    "G, isn''t this the sigil of the Deity of Fire Divination?"


    However, the knowledge that was transferred into his brain was not that of the Deity of Fire Divination.


    It was the scroll of the Deity of Pyromancy and Agony! A President rank Deity that wasn''t listed in the ancient book!

 218 The Storm That Brought Darkness

    The loud roar of thunder broke Valentine''s reverie. He looked outside his window with the help of his night vision and noticed that rain had begun pouring down heavily, sparing no patch of the land from its cold embrace.


    Lighting accompanied the downpour, highlighting the drops of water and the thick, dark clouds in the sky. The rumbling of thunder came shortly after the lighting, adding more dynamic to the patters that the rain created in the cold night.


    Zwoop!


    The electricity suddenly went out in unison. The numerous artificial lights outside that had been glimmering and twinkling before suddenly went dark, as did the room where Valentine was staying.


    There was now pitch blackness covering the Mountain City of Hoorn, with a blanket of stormy rain and flashes of lighting as companions.


    Looking around, Valentine''s guard was heightened. It was not something that would commonly happen in Sloten, and it shouldn''t be common either in Hoorn. Especially since it was a heavily industrial city. Losing production could cost many companies millions of guilders.


    Rumble...


    Valentine felt like he was surrounded and had nowhere to go from all the noises happening around him. The thunder, the storm, and the silence from having no electrical appliances running.


    Suddenly, his sense of secret was triggered, as well as his sense of danger. Something was approaching!


    "I hereby declare my presence a secret!"


    "I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!"


    "I hereby declare my face a secret!"


    Thin, yellowish mists descended and enveloped the tall detective''s whole body. He was suddenly like an entity that both existed and didn''t at the same time, hidden underneath the thin layer of mysterious mist.


    The presence that Valentine felt was looming closer. The loud splattering of the rain drowned the nonexistent sound of footsteps that the presence was making, but his strong detection sense allowed the detective to feel it.


    Knock! Knock!


    The wooden door of his hotel was hit rhythmically by something from outside.


    Having heard a related story in passing while he was out in the street, Valentine had no interest in answering the door. People said that during a stormy night, when someone knocked on the door, whoever was inside should never open it or something terrible would happen.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    The sounds of knocking became harder and more pressing. It was as if whoever it was was in urgent need of getting inside.


    Knock!! Knock!! Knock!! Knock!!


    An unsettling feeling came creeping into the room and crawled up Valentine''s heart as he was standing in a defensive stance. The knocking was incessant and oppressive.


    BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!!


    The door shook with each banging. Whoever was outside wanted to come in really badly.


    After a while, the banging finally receded and he felt that the presence was moving away from his room. Strangely, it didn''t seem to be knocking on anyone else''s door besides his. If anything, it should be the other way around since his presence was hidden.


    "What the fuck was that..." he mumbled.


    He stood on his spot motionlessly while still maintaining a defensive posture. Valentine was watching the door intently, ready to strike in case something decided to barge in.


    However, he didn''t notice the two glowing eyes in the valley outside his window, eyeing him sinisterly.


    Amidst the downpour, Valentine could faintly hear something that seemed to be coming from downstairs.


    It was the sound of a gunshot!


    "Someone''s fighting, G. Let''s go take a look,"


    He concentrated and tried to feel any presence from outside his door. After he was sure that it was safe, Valentine unlocked the door and went outside, carrying the cane and dagger. He had taken off the Gloom''s Redress because it had become too cold for him to wear.


    The corridor was dark and empty, and all the doors were firmly closed. The detective then closed his door, and at that moment, he noticed something.


    There was a scratch mark on the door!


    However, strangely, the deep mark that looked like it had been done by a huge bear was slowly ''healing''. The gaps were closing in, returning the hard wooden door to its initial condition gradually.


    "That thing caused this... Just what was that?" his voice that was muffled by the mist was brimming with confusion and curiosity.


    Leaving the door behind, he made his way downstairs carefully, observing his surroundings as he went. The third below also seemed safe; all the doors were securely closed and there didn''t seem to be any signs of clawing as far as he could see. However, Valentine could smell iron in the air.


    Upon arriving on the second floor, he saw a trail of blood. The periodic red stain on the carpeted corridor was coming all the way from the fifth room on the left and headed downstairs to the lobby, judging from its direction. The blood that had seeped into the carpet still looked fresh, and when he touched the surface of the soft carpet, his fingers were stained red.


    Valentine''s curiosity was piqued. He went to the room where the blood came from and found the same scratching mark on the open door. The room itself was empty and showed no abnormality. The blood only started on the doorway, where the room owner had most likely been attacked the moment they opened the door.


    Roar!!


    More thunder came amidst the loud patters of the rain.


    Quickly leaving the room, Valentine made his way downstairs where the sound of the gunshot had come earlier. There hadn''t been any more gunshot sound, but there were the sounds of crashing and doors opening just as he was about to reach the first floor.


    In the dark lobby, neither Stefan nor the other receptionist was anywhere to be seen. The trail of blood also stopped in the middle of the lobby, near where the sofas were placed.


    Thud! Thud!


    The main hotel doors were open, allowing the stormy wind and rain to come peeking through. The doors were making a repeated banging noise as the wind blew them against the wall.


    Hidden under his Concealment, Valentine cautiously walked outside the hotel to try and see what was happening. His dagger and cane were ready to intercept any sudden attack aimed at him-- if there was any.


    Outside the hotel, in the heavy rain was an injured man wearing a peach-colored sweater and a pair of denim pants that were all soaking wet. There was a hole on his sweater on the man''s stomach that was the size of a basketball, and the man''s skin showed signs of injuries that were still healing. The man''s right arm, whose hand was holding a small-caliber gun, was badly wounded, while his left hand was seemingly reaching into something under his pants.


    The man then quickly took out a small vial containing a green liquid, which he drank without hesitation. The injury on his right arm began healing at once the moment the liquid entered his body, while the one on his stomach healed completely and disappeared as if he had never been injured there in the first place. He then shook his head, causing water to splash away from his soaked auburn hair that looked yellowish in Valentine''s eyes.


    Valentine then observed the figure that the sweater-wearing man was fighting. It looked like a man-- a very tall man, probably about two and a half meters in height. The tall man was very thin and boney, which was emphasized by the oversized black suit that he was wearing. His skin was very pale, and on his hands, there were sharp, long claws-- much longer than those of Eveline Herrick''s. On his head was a black top hat that seemed to be covering no hair.


    Since he was behind the tall man, Valentine couldn''t see his face. He could feel the danger coming from the man, however. His Illusion Substitutes had been in effect, so he was not that worried.


    The two parties hadn''t seemed to notice Valentine, who crept closer to the tall figure. Once the suited tall man was in range, he quickly opened his mouth.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    Bzzzzt...


    No text appeared! Instead, there was a buzzing sound ringing in his ears that sounded like Television static. Valentine quickly took a step back from the tall figure, and at the same time, he turned his head around.


    His head completely turned around! He was now staring at Valentine with his two black, hollow eyes that looked like they could swallow him whole.


    The tall figure had no mouth nor nose. Besides the two deep, dark holes for eyes, his face was featureless. There was no expression that could be interpreted from the tall creature''s face. However, Valentine could strangely feel that the monstrous figure was smiling at him.


    Seeing as the tall man was looking at nothing behind him, the man with the sweater quickly loaded his gun and aimed at the tall figure.


    Bang!


    He shot the figure and hit him right on the back of his head. The tall creature, seemingly unaffected by the gunshot, simply turned around and gorged his sharp right claw into the back of his head, taking the bullet out. He flicked the bullet away like it was nothing.


    "Shit. Do I have to die here..." the man with the gun muttered quietly. The sound of the rain drowned his voice, but Valentine''s boosted hearing could still pick up what he was saying.


    Weighing his options, Valentine decided to lend the man a hand.


    "That thing must be the one clawing on our door. He has seen us, so if we don''t finish him now, he will surely come after us after killing that guy," he decided.


    Even after deciding that, Valentine didn''t know how to actually kill the towering man. His offensive abilities were lackluster, and even if he switched with Graham, the heavy rain would only render his flame ineffective. Luring the creature back to the hotel and burning it would risk burning the hotel down together with it, especially since it was mostly all wooden. Even Graham would not be able to control a fire that big.


    Since he had decided to help out the man with the gun, the least he could do was see what the man was capable of. Valentine ran towards the man, splattering the water on the paved sidewalk everywhere. Thankfully, his mist covered the water splashes he created as well, masking his presence from those around him.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    An illusory text began to form from the letters that appeared above the man.


    ''Florin Baciu, aka Konijn. A member of the Police Contractbound Division from Rijssen. He is a family man who will put his wife and children above everything. He is straightforward and honest, and he tends to find himself in trouble a lot. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Potions and Medicines and in possession of one piece of enhanced equipment.''


    "A Tincture? I wonder if they possess a strong offensive ability..."


    The towering man was now walking slowly towards Florin. His steps, strangely, didn''t cause any splatter on the puddle on the pavement despite his steps looking heavy.


    Valentine quickly dashed behind the tall man and swung his cane around with all his strength.


    Bash!


    He hit the creature''s waist. There was also the sound of bone cracking accompanying the impact. Valentine''s hand hurt from the vibration that the cane created after making contact with the thin man''s surprisingly hard body.


    The tall man turned around and lashed his long arms around, trying to hit his attacker in anger. The fast detective had retreated to a safe distance, so he was unharmed.


    Seeing the abnormality that was happening to the creature in front of him, Florin seized the opportunity and took out something from his pants pocket. He looked to be mixing something, protecting the vials with his body from the rain.


    Valentine decided to buy the man some time, so he dashed towards the creature and hit him with his cane again, aiming for his right leg. Valentine wanted to hit his head, but the creature was too tall and he couldn''t do so without jumping, which was too risky.


    Smack!


    The tall figure was angered again by the detective''s constant pestering, so it turned around and chased him. He strangely moved slowly despite his tall and slender body. It seemed that only his upper body was capable of moving fast enough to almost reach Valentine.


    Roar!!


    Thunder came again, following a flash of lighting that outlined the tall figure''s sharp claws. The menacing storm clouds up in the sky seemed to be watching their fight below.


    Once done, in Florin''s hand was now a red liquid inside a small vial. In the pitch blackness of the night, the red liquid glowed mysteriously.


    Florin threw the small vial at the tall man that was chasing nothing. Once the vial was above his faceless head, Florin shot it, causing all the liquid to splash onto the suited figure. The rainwater appeared to be diluting the red glowing liquid, helping it spread all over the creature.


    The moment the red liquid made contact with the figure wearing a top hat, it began corroding anything the liquid touched. The suit, slowly disintegrated, revealed the figure''s pale skin, which was not spared by the dangerous liquid either.


    Roar!!


    It wasn''t thunder that just roared, but the creature! In pain, its face had ripped apart a bloody mouth. Its roar was almost as loud as the thunder in the sky, deafening the people nearby.


    The roar was the last thing that the creature did. It completely disintegrated into a puddle of red liquid shortly after and got washed away by the rain.


    Florin''s face showed relief as he chugged another vial of green liquid, completely healing himself.


    Valentine, however, was still feeling uneasy. Even with his night vision, the darkness surrounding him felt suffocating.

 219 The Foggy Dream

    Without wasting time, he got out of the downpour and walked back into the blood-stained hotel lobby. Drops of water came down from the jacket and pants that he was wearing, quickly seeping into the carpet on the floor. Valentine made his way back to his room.


    He got undressed as soon as he entered his room and hung all his wet clothes on the radiator, to help them dry faster.


    "G, if by tomorrow these aren''t dry yet, please use your Order to dry them," he requested.


    Valentine then got dressed lightly enough, but enough in case he needed to wake up and go out suddenly. After making sure that the door was locked, he lied down on the bed and closed his eyes.


    The downpour and thunder outside sounded strangely calming, and the blanket of total darkness was somewhat soothing. Valentine drifted off into the unconscious shortly after, still covered in the layers of Concealment.


    ...


    "Val, wake up..."


    A voice that he was all too familiar with came to wake him up. The voice sounded calm while it hid the vast curiosity of the person speaking.


    Valentine opened his eyes slowly and was greeted by Graham''s smug face. His other half appeared to be very proud for some reason. Probably because he was awake first.


    "We''re here again?" Valentine asked and got up.


    It was indeed the place that had always had them taken to whenever they powered up lately. Valentine had been sitting on the grass, leaning on the giant ashen tree with numerous branches. Around him was a thick fog that obstructed vision.


    "Yes, but it''s expected, isn''t it, Val? Let''s now see what''s new about this place. Anyway, have you noticed that the tree behind you is not as pale as it was before?" he pointed at the giant tree.


    Now that Graham had mentioned it, the tree was indeed not as pale as before. It was still ashen grey in color, but there definitely was a very slight difference in color-- it was somewhat more vivid.


    "You''re probably right,"


    He then looked back at his other half and noticed that the man was wearing the same thing as the last time they were in that world: a plain white shirt, a pair of cotton pants, and brown leather shoes, while he himself was wearing the exact same thing except for a pair of denim pants instead of cotton.


    "In which direction should we go today, Val?" asked Graham, looking around.


    "Let''s try this way," he said. Although their voices were identical, Valentine was speaking in a lower tone normally.


    Valentine was pointing in the direction opposite to where he was facing when he woke up. Graham nodded and then the two men started walking there, swiping away the curtains of fog as they went. The wet grass beneath them made a soft crunch the moment their shoes stepped on them, while the fog itself gave off no sensation whatsoever.


    "Anyway, what was the monster you were fighting earlier?" asked Graham curiously.


    With a shrug, Valentine replied, "No idea. Reveal didn''t work on it. It might not be strong, since, with a whack from our cane, its bones got broken, but I might be wrong,"


    Graham rubbed his chin.


    "Yes. We haven''t seen that thing''s full power. But you felt the dangerous aura coming from it, didn''t you?"


    Valentine nodded and replied, "It did feel dangerous. Doesn''t that mean that guy''s red mixture is extremely potent, then?"


    His other half nodded.


    "That must be the case."


    The two of them kept on walking blindly in a straight line with Valentine at the front. Around them, the fog seemed to have got thicker and the grass wetter.


    "Anyway, I think after we return to Sloten, we should focus on finding materials for your ritual first, Val. They sound easier to get than mine. If we''re lucky, we might even be able to get some at the black market."


    "True enough. Although we have no idea what creatures Gorgons and Bydukks are, they definitely don''t sound as dangerous as a Devourer of Inferno. But maybe don''t judge the creature by its name, G."


    "You''re right, but the other reason why we go with yours first is that we already know where to find Leyaks. That''s basically one material off the list. Besides, other than the heart of a Devourer of Inferno, my ritual also requires the essence of an Efreet and the liver of a Mistress of Excruciation. That one doesn''t sound easy to deal with either," Graham said regretfully.


    "That''s true," his other half replied shortly.


    The fog around them was getting even thicker, making it difficult for Valentine to navigate. Graham couldn''t do anything to help since his divination wasn''t available. In this world, they both were just normal humans and Valentine''s navigational skills were much better than his.


    "We''re still going in a straight line, aren''t we, Val?"


    "We should be..." replied Valentine rather hesitantly.


    Crunch...


    The sounds of the leaves being crushed were the only noise in that still, silent world. The fog seemed to be hiding everything else from them, and them from everything else. However, they could only keep on pressing forward.


    After walking for several more meters, at last, the fog thinned, revealing a shadow of a large building in front of them. The closer they approached, the clearer the building became until they could finally see the real thing.


    It was a large, grey building with three floors that was built in a U shape. The wall was stained with dirt and what looked to be blood while the windows were all barricaded. There were numerous bullet holes on the outside wall and several parts of the wall had been chipped. The building was definitely not located in a conflict-free zone, judging from its condition.


    The two identical men were looking at each other with a complicated expression on their faces.


    "Do you... remember this place, Val?" asked Graham. His tone was heavy.


    Valentine nodded slowly.


    "...of course. Now that I''m looking at it, all the memories are coming back. How did I never think about this place, not even for a second despite what has happened here..."


    Graham was looking at his other half with a concerned look. He then turned his attention to the building again. Valentine was right. Now that he was looking at the building, the events that had transpired there started coming back to him. However, he had never paid any attention to that part of his memory all this time as if it didn''t exist in the first place.


    After standing in front of the building silently for several minutes, Valentine finally looked at Graham and nodded.


    "*Deep breath* Let''s go in,"


    The two men walked into the building through the main doors that had been busted open before. A thick smell of blood and gunpowder penetrated their noses the moment they took a step inside. The fog surrounding them also disappeared, as if they had just entered a different world.


    "Help us! Help!" came a distressed cry from the upper floor with a heavy accent.


    Valentine and Graham already knew what was happening and calmly made their way upstairs. The cry for help should be coming from one of the rooms on the second floor, and someone that they already knew very well should be coming to the person''s aid.


    "It''s exactly like that time..." mumbled Valentine. His cold gaze was looking ahead, seemingly able to pierce the walls.


    The two of them left no sound of footsteps in that building, and the only sound of footsteps was coming from the other person, who was rushing very quickly towards the same room that they were going. The other person should be coming from another direction, so the two identical detectives wouldn''t encounter the person on their way.


    "It''s this room, isn''t it?"


    Graham was standing in front of a room that had the sign above the door saying ''Class 2C''. Valentine nodded.


    The room that seemed to be a classroom had all of its windows barricaded as well, much like all the other windows inside the building. The door, however, had been kicked open, and inside, there was an injured woman protecting three young children from an armed man.


    Valentine and Graham felt the urge to take action, but they knew that they couldn''t interact with that world, so they only stood there and watched.


    The five people there had a dark skin tone that made it look like they were from a country with a lot of suns all year round. The armed man, who was pointing his gun at the injured woman, looked very angry.


    Bang!


    Suddenly, came another man that directly shot the angry man in the head without hesitation. The man was tall and his light blue eyes cast a cold gaze upon the dead person. It was the young Valentine Hymes!


    "Hwaaa!!"


    Hearing the gunshot and seeing the stranger, the children started crying. The injured woman knew that they had been saved and tried to calm down the children, comforting them with her voice.


    "You should hide here for now. Here''s some bandage and medicine," the young Valentine crouched down and handed her a small satchel with medical supplies inside.


    The woman''s eyes were brimming with gratitude, but it seemed that besides help, the woman, who was obviously a foreigner, didn''t know how to say anything else in the young man''s language.


    After giving her the satchel, the young Valentine quickly left the room and disappeared from the two identical men''s sight. The current Valentine clenched his fist while Graham was looking at him with concern.


    "How could I be so stupid back then... If I had stayed a little longer..." his tone was full of regret, as if he was actually in the moment.


    Graham tapped the man''s shoulder and spoke gently, "We were still very young and inexperienced, Val. Don''t be too hard on yourself,"


    Valentine looked at his other half and nodded very slowly.


    What they had been fearing finally happened. After the young Valentine left, three men came from another direction, and, hearing the whimpering of the woman who was bandaging her wound, they entered the classroom.


    "Alguien est¨¢ aqu¨ª!"


    One of the men shouted once they spotted the woman and the children. They then continued speaking in a foreign language that Valentine and Graham didn''t understand. Their expressions were twisted in anger.


    The woman''s heart was then filled with terror while the children were crying loudly, which enraged the men even more. She was speaking in a foreign language that seemed to be begging for mercy, but the men weren''t listening. They pointed their guns at the helpless woman.


    Valentine and Graham couldn''t just stand and watch. They tried to attack the men, but their bodies just went through the assailants like they were ghosts.


    Bang! Bang!


    Two bullets pierced through the air and drilled into the woman''s forehead, killing her instantly.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    More bullets were fired, killing the scared and helpless children. After that, the man just left the room and disappeared from sight, leaving Valentine and Graham in anger at their own inability to do anything.


    "Let''s go, Val... There is nothing else we can do here..." said Graham. His tone was even heavier than before.


    Valentine didn''t say anything and just left the classroom. He then remembered back then how the young him returned to the classroom much later to find that the people he had tried to save had been killed brutally. He remembered the pain, anger, and hatred that he had felt back then; how his stupidity had led them to their death, how his powerlessness had caused people''s lives to be taken away. What he was feeling right now was probably not much different than back then.


    "We can''t save everybody, Val," reminded Graham.


    They were now heading towards another end of the building, where the young Valentine had headed. The young him should be engaged in combat with another group of assailants currently with his own squad.


    "If we hadn''t left the woman quickly, more lives might have been lost at that time. Although it still didn''t justify our stupidity..."


    The two of them finally arrived at the big hall on the second floor where two groups of people were firing at each other. One group, which included the young Valentine, was wearing green and black camouflage uniforms with the logo of the Republic on the right shoulder. The other group was wearing civilian outfits, but they were heavily armed.


    The young Valentine was fighting the rebellion group that had taken over the school and killing off anyone who didn''t support their view. It was a memory that Valentine and Graham would never forget, and even though it had been buried deep inside their brain somehow, everything had resurfaced now, along with the pain and sorrow that they had felt back then.

 220 The Memories of War

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 221 Resuming Detective Works

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 222 Gathering Materials

No content

 223 Graham and Luuks Quality Time

    Luuk was sitting inside a public motor carriage at the passenger''s seat with Graham next to him on the opposite side. The metal vehicle was speeding towards the west, being forced to slow down once it entered the busy roads of Westeinde.


    "We''re going to a village in Westelijk Bos. That''s where Dybbuks can be found," Graham replied nonchalantly while looking out the window, his voice was low enough so that only Luuk could hear him.


    It was almost sunset, so a lot of people were out in the streets, especially those who had just finished work and were on their way home. The honking and sounds of engines filled the air, while the smoke from the exhaust pipes painted the sky gray. Sloten was not as industrious as Hoorn, but it was indeed busier, albeit smaller.


    "And what is a Dybbuk anyway?" he lowered his voice to match that of Graham''s.


    The detective turned around.


    "They''re malicious spirits, akin to lingering spirits and wraiths. The difference is that they don''t just linger around, but actually possess living humans, forcing their victims to do their biddings obediently. Since they''re malicious, they usually make their victims commit atrocious crimes."


    Luuk raised his eyebrows while listening intently. There was an expression of surprise on his face, as well as genuine interest.


    "Then how are we going to deal with them? Kill the victim along with them?"


    Graham chuckled and smiled proudly.


    "If it was the old me, then maybe that would be our only option. But now, I have my own means of forcing them out of the victim''s body," he replied confidently.


    "Hmm... Order?" asked Luuk.


    He seemed to have hit the bull''s eye as Graham laughed in approval.


    "Indeed! Now I''m stronger, so my Orders will be effective against them,"


    All the while, they were keeping their voices low, almost to that of a whisper. The driver was too occupied with overtaking other, slower drivers on the road while avoiding being hit by those faster than him. The traffic was in chaos that afternoon, while the descending sun painted the sky orange, setting a contrasting background to the mayhem.


    Honk! Honk!


    "Get a move on, grandpa, or just get out of the road!!"


    Someone was honking and yelling incessantly at the motor carriage ahead of him. However, nothing could be done since the number of vehicles caused the traffic to be congested.


    "Do you have any ability to solve this problem?" Luuk turned his attention back to Graham and whispered.


    "I don''t think so. I can use Order to force them to move, but there is just no space for them to move to. As for the other solutions... let''s say things won''t end well if I use them. We''re not in a hurry anyway. Dybbuks will come out at night," he shrugged and then leaned back on the seat somewhat comfortably.


    "I see. Then we''re not actually in a hurry, right? Anyway, what''s the name of that village we''re going to?"


    "It''s called Pompoen. A cute name, isn''t it? Apparently, it''s called that because they''re famous for their giant pumpkins. We might be lucky enough to see carved pumpkin lanterns later since it will be dark already," Graham explained excitedly. He now understood how the tour guide lady could be that cheerful in explaining about Hoorn to the passengers.


    "That sounds fun," replied Luuk, pretending to sound interested, "Anyway, you''re going to pay me for helping you, won''t you?"


    Graham frowned and then answered, "Yes. Or you can just take any other loots besides the essence of those Dybbuks."


    "Deal!"


    The sun finally set as the motor carriage that they were in left the busy street of Grafstraat and entered western Sloten Ring. After crossing the intersection, they would be out of Sloten the city and entered Sloten the region which included the village and the nameless city in Oostelijk Bos.


    The city view was quickly replaced by endless woodlands as far as their eyes could see. The street lights gave adequate illumination, but the dark forest remained shaded.


    After driving for twenty minutes out of Sloten, the driver finally turned left and entered a smaller street with a sign saying ''To Pompoen'' which had an arrow pointing to the left. Ahead of them, lights began shining again as they got closer to the village. The driver then pulled over in front of a building that had quite a few people inside.


    "We''re here, Sirs. I''ll be heading back now. If you need a public motor carriage, you can use one of the payphones here to call one. The city is not too far away, after all," the driver explained.


    After his passengers paid through the gap in the glass separator, he drove away, back to the city.


    Graham and Luuk were standing in front of a convenience store that had carved pumpkins at the front. The pumpkins were almost the size of the exercise ball that Graham always used for his fireball. They were worthy of being called giant pumpkins.


    "You want anything to drink or some snacks, maybe?" he asked.


    Luuk looked inside the convenience store and noticed that the villagers were looking at them curiously.


    "Are you paying?" Luuk sounded rather interested in what sounded like an offer.


    "Of course not. Just asking," replied Graham quickly.


    "Then no. I''m good."


    Since Luuk had said he didn''t want to buy anything, Graham entered the convenience store alone, leaving the man with the black sweater behind. The detective went straight for the sweets aisle and picked up a bar of Dolcebambini, which was fortunately sold there as well. However, they only had the regular milk chocolate one and not Graham''s favorite-- the one with jelly beans and dried fruit inside.


    After paying, he returned to the stupefied Luuk and gestured at the young medical student who was on the verge of having to repeat the year to follow.


    "Why do you need money so badly anyway?" asked Graham curiously.


    Luuk hesitated for a moment.


    "My rent is due next month. And I''ve just spent all the money on something," he finally replied, guiltily for some reason.


    The rent at the Vakbond apartment was paid yearly, and it was twenty guilders per year for Graham, and probably Luuk as well. It was a little expensive despite the condition of the building, but it was already cheaper than some. Sloten''s rate of rent was infamously high, after all.


    "Why don''t you sell more embedded weapons to make money? And what did you spend your money on anyway?" Graham was curious.


    The young man scratched the back of his head.


    "Actually, I''ve used up almost all of the gemstones to buy the thing. You''ll see later," he said both proudly and guiltily, "Where are we going now?"


    The two of them had been walking in the same direction for a while. There were a lot of carved pumpkin lanterns with various designs everywhere they looked, decorating the small foresty village beautifully. The smiling flames inside the giant pumpkins made them feel like they were in some kind of mysterious spooky village out of a fairy tale.


    "We need to find somewhere quiet first. I wasn''t able to divine those Dybbuks'' exact location before because I was too far away,"


    He looked around to find a secluded spot in the village, which was somewhat difficult. There were a lot of people currently out in the street, chatting and wasting time with their neighbors. Village life was definitely different from city life, as they could currently see.


    "This way," Graham said decisively.


    They walked the cobblestone path down towards the river that divided the village into two.


    The river, whose water was flowing gently, was also decorated with carved pumpkin lanterns on both sides, giving it a mysterious yet magnificent look. It was like they were staring at the pathway to a faraway land.


    There were still several people sitting by the riverside, enjoying the serene view. Graham walked to the right and turned right to a secluded alley where trash was dumped. Rotten pumpkins were a big part of piles of trash occupying the dark alley, as well as rats and cats that were running around.


    "I can''t believe this is still Sloten. This village is beautiful," said Luuk. His mind changed after actually seeing the village with his own eyes.


    Graham only smiled. He then conjured an illusory flame with his thought and began his divination.


    ''Where can I find Dybbuks?''


    The illusory flame burned brighter while an image slowly appeared. It showed him an aerial view of the village with several glowing red dots. One indicated Graham''s location while the rest were the Dybbuks. He could see that there were two near his location, one to the north while the other was to the west, and eight others at the edge of the village, in the periphery of the forest.


    Most of the red dots were not stationary as the Dybbuks were on the move. Graham memorized their locations and then quickly ended his divination. He gestured at Luuk and the two of them ran towards the one closest to them.


    Graham got rid of the illusory flame once he left the alley and headed towards the bridge, crossing while running. The two men quickly got the attention of the villagers, but they didn''t care all that much. Graham had also divined the danger involved in his current mission and his divination had told him it was relatively safe.


    In the northern part of the village, the two men were standing outside an old-looking stone house with two floors. The first Dybbuk should be inside somewhere.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    With his cane, he knocked on the door but there was no answer. Meanwhile, Luuk had taken out something that looked like a severed corpse''s right hand with sharp nails that was stuck in a ''clawing'' position. There was a piece of thin rope tied to the severed hand while the other end was tied to Luuk''s left wrist. The hand emitted a somewhat ominous feeling when Graham looked at it.


    "What in the world is that?" he asked in puzzlement at the sight of the bizarre thing.


    With a cheeky and proud smile, Luuk replied, "Hehe... this is my own enhanced weapon that I bought with all of my savings. It''s called The Hand of Lauriere. It has a Thief''s Theft ability."


    Luuk noticed Graham''s eyebrow rising and knew what the man was thinking about. Before the detective could say anything, he continued his explanation, "But hear me out, since I''m also a Thief with the same ability, it upgrades my ability instead! So if I use Theft with this hand, I will use an upgraded version of it, for a maximum of fifteen times per day."


    Graham nodded.


    "But that''s not all! Since it upgrades my Theft ability, that means when I get stronger, the upgraded version will get even stronger. So this enhanced weapon will grow alongside me," he said proudly.


    "What''s the negative effect?" asked Graham finally after the young man finished talking.


    "I just have to make sure I steal at least three things per day from other people or this weapon will steal my precious belongings. I forgot to do so three days ago after I bought it, and my remaining money was all gone, along with the embedded dagger that I planned to sell. And also my expensive medical coursebook. That''s why I''m poor now," there was regret in Luuk''s voice.


    "Understandable. Then would you please take care of the door?" Graham gestured at the locked wooden door.


    Luuk nodded and made a swiping motion with his right hand. He didn''t seem to need the weapon for something that simple.


    "Your lock is mine!"


    The door''s lock then appeared in Luuk''s hand, which he quickly discarded. Graham opened the door carefully and entered the house.


    The old stone house was dark. There weren''t any electric lights nor carved pumpkin lanterns illuminated the inside. Luuk''s night vision was activated while Graham used his illusory flame to help him see.


    The light from his flame cast away the shadow, revealing the messy room that had no signs of life. However, there was a thick stench of blood coming from upstairs, which made the two men look at each other and quickly went for the wooden stairs.


    On the second floor, inside a bedroom, Graham and Luuk found the source of the bloody smell. It was a man who was repeatedly stabbing his knife into the chest of a lifeless woman under him. The woman, who looked like she had been stabbed to death in her sleep, had an expression of horror and shock at the last moment of her life.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    The man''s arms were frozen in the air and he couldn''t move a single muscle. Graham gestured at Luuk and the latter nodded.


    "Your knife is mine!" he made a swiping motion and the knife in the man''s hands disappeared, only to reappeared in Luuk''s hand.


    The man had an expression of extreme anger reflected in his eyes and on his face. His bloodshot eyes were looking at the two intruders with hatred.


    Luuk swung the severed hand and threw it at the possessed man.


    "Your anger is mine!"


    The severed hand looked like it could move on its own and aimed for the man''s head. It then held on to the head and after that, Luuk promptly pulled it back. There was now something glowing in the severed hand.


    The man, having his anger stolen, now looked docile and calm.


    "Great job. It makes it easier for me to remove the malicious spirit," said Graham calmly.


    Graham concentrated on the illusory flame in front of him and used his divination to see the true form of the creature. The flame then showed an image of something that looked like an old, boney man with rotting skin and gray hair. The old man''s eyes and mouth were hollow, appearing as an endless abyss.


    Once he could see the creature''s true form, Graham focused on the creature and shouted his Order.


    "I order you to leave the man''s body!"


    His words sounded like thunder to both the Dybbuk and the man. The man began shaking violently and blood started coming out of his eyes and mouth. Shortly after, something that was almost invisible came out of the man and quickly charged at Graham.


    "I ask that you burn this creature into ashes!"


    Woosh!


    He had taken out his lighter and used Fire Manipulation to shoot it at the Dybbuk. The flame quickly engulfed the unsuspecting creature and burned its very spirit.


    "Shriek!!"


    A loud shriek came out of the creature''s hollow mouth as it was turning into smoke. Not long after, the Dybbuk was no more, and in its place, there was a green pearl that emitted a sinister aura.

 224 Pompoen Villages Fores

    "Poor guy. Those Dybbuks are very dangerous it looks like," Luuk concluded.


    "Yes, but they can''t possess just anyone. According to what I read, someone must have a strong repressed feeling for the creatures to be able to control them. Maybe that man has secretly been wanting to kill his wife, and the creature just helped him realize it," explained the detective.


    Luuk nodded and then concealed the severed hand under his sweater, making it hold on to his belt like a buckle. He then increased his pace to catch up with Graham.


    "Where to next?"


    Pointing at a direction confidently, Graham answered, "This way."


    Spooky carved pumpkins still lined up on each side of the cobblestone street, illuminating their way along with the street light up above. The two men headed west, walking past villagers who were sitting around in front of their houses.


    "It''s sure nice to live a simple life like them. No need to stress about overdue assignments and upcoming examinations..." Luuk muttered longingly. University life was killing him.


    The detective shrugged. He had once experienced those hectic moments in his life and was glad that he didn''t have to experience it again. Although, back then he could simply switch with Valentine for lectures that he really didn''t want to attend.


    The two men stopped in front of a building that looked like a storage house. The street in front of it was empty and the lights were not working. Through the windows, Luuk could see objects upon objects being piled on top of each other. There was an ominous feeling coming from the building, which tipped them off about the whereabouts of their target.


    Graham gestured at Luuk and the latter nodded.


    "Your lock is mine!"


    As he made a swiping motion with his right hand, a rusty iron latch suddenly appeared in it. Luuk quickly discarded the object and got the Hand of Lauriere ready.


    Graham opened the storage house and entered it carefully. A musty smell penetrated his nose at once the moment he took a step inside, and the thick layers of dust on the objects were blown up by the gentle wind that accompanied him.


    Luuk followed closely behind, walking as lightly as he could. Inside, besides boxes and crates stacked on top of one another, there didn''t seem to be any signs of humans activity. However, if he looked carefully, there was a faint marking on the floor which showed that something had been dragged on top of the layer of dust recently.


    "Who is there?!" shouted someone from deeper inside the storage house. The voice belonged to a woman, but there was an animal-like ferocity in it.


    Whoosh!


    A strong gust of wind blew Graham and Luuk away all of sudden, while in front of them, a bloody woman was standing savagely, like an angered beast. Her footsteps were so light that they left no mark on the dust on the floor and her speed so fast that they almost couldn''t see her coming. Her bloodshot eyes looked esurient and her teeth glaring.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    Her whole body got immobilized right away. She looked like she was trying hard to break free, but her struggle was fruitless.


    "We need to lure her outside. Burning the creature here will trigger an explosion," explained Graham the moment he noticed the floating particles in the air which came from a sack of flour behind the woman.


    "I order you to follow me!"


    Graham quickly ran towards the exit and the woman followed him for several steps. After that, the effect of Order ran out while she was still nowhere near the exit.


    Crash!


    The possessed woman had grabbed a wooden crate near her and threw it at Graham with all her strength. The detective, not being fast enough, was hit in the face by the crate as he turned around. He didn''t even have the chance to defend himself using his cane.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    Graham hastily moved the pieces of broken crate away from him and ran in another direction. His face hurt and his nose was bleeding slightly. The power of her throw was extraordinary, and if it had been something else like metal, his head might have been crushed.


    "Your strength is mine!"


    Luuk threw the severed hand at the immobilized woman and it quickly grabbed the woman''s hand that was closest to it. After that, the young medical student pulled the rope along with the severed hand that was now holding a shiny orb.


    "She must be a Contractbound. That strength is not normal," Graham concluded.


    The woman now suddenly looked very weak like someone who hadn''t eaten for weeks. However, her speed was still scarily high. The moment the effect of Order ran out, which happened only a few seconds later, she retreated like the wind.


    "Can you make the stolen strength your own?" asked Graham, looking at the orb in the severed hand.


    Luuk shook his head.


    "Not with my current power. But I have a feeling I''ll be able to do it once I get stronger,"


    The woman was now in hiding since her strength had been stolen. Going deeper into the storage area was a bad idea, but they had no other choice. They had to get the woman out of the storage somehow, and since she seemed to still retain her intelligence, luring her would not work. Graham had to use his new trick to do the job.


    The detective concentrated on the belt that he was wearing and sent some energy into it, causing one of the patterns to glow.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth Illusion Substitutes to defend against the enemy''s attacks!"


    Several illusory ink sketches appeared and merged into Graham''s body. He could now use Valentine''s weaker version of Illusion Substitutes twice.


    He nodded at Luuk and the two of them quickly dashed inside, following the path that the possessed woman might have taken. The storage house was much bigger than it looked from the outside, and the path was like a maze of boxes and crates.


    The smell of dust was starting to slowly mix with the smell of blood. They followed the iron stench and found a severed body of an unidentifiable person not long after. It looked like the person was being eaten by a beast.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    Graham shouted the moment he noticed the woman who was hiding behind a giant crate. She seemed to be planning to run away again when she saw them.


    "Your intention to run away is mine!"


    Luuk swiped his right hand and an orb appeared there. He now already had two stolen objects that he was keeping, so he couldn''t steal anything else for the time being.


    Graham praised his partner in his heart. It was exactly what he needed. The woman needed not to think about escaping so strongly or his ability wouldn''t work.


    Concentrating on the immobilized and weakened woman who had no intention of running away, Graham began shouting an Order.


    "I order you to think about staying in front of this storage house!"


    With just that, the woman would start thinking about going out of there. However, that would be it. If she was still thinking about escaping from them, the Order would be wiped instantly as she changed her mind back, but now Graham had some extra seconds to chant his next ability.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Domination and Order, intensify your desire to go to the entrance of this storage house!"


    The thought that she just had was suddenly intensified, along with the urge. The moment Graham''s immobilizing Order wore out, the possessed woman started running at a frightening speed towards the entrance, leaving the two men behind.


    "Let''s go now, quick!"


    Graham and Luuk followed the woman and found her standing at the front of the storage building solemnly. It was as if she was fulfilling her desire of being there. She didn''t even pay attention to the two men who were following them.


    The street was luckily still empty around the dark storage house. Luuk went on standby while Graham conjured a tiny floating flame which he used to see the Dybbuk''s true form. The moment the creature''s true form was revealed, Graham used an Order on it.


    "I order you to leave the woman''s body!"


    A transparent figure that looked like an old, hunch-backed man with hollow eyes and mouth began coming out of the woman slowly. It appeared that the creature was resisting the Order, but Graham was much stronger than it. The woman collapsed to the ground the moment the creature was completely out.


    Whoosh!


    Graham had readied a real flame and used it to burn the creature, which was trying to return to the woman''s body. The flame set fire to the Dybbuk and burned it, turning it into a cloud of smoke that dissipated quickly. All the while, it was shrieking in pain as if it was being burned by the fire of hell itself.


    An object resembling a green pearl was left behind by the dead Dybbuk, lying near the bloody woman who was slowly regaining consciousness. Luuk quickly used his ability to snatch the pearl away after releasing the woman''s stolen intention. After that, the two men disappeared into the dark street.


    "That''s two. I need four more. So it''s not always easy," Graham complained.


    Although his divination showed him there was no danger, it didn''t mean the mission would be a walk in the park either.


    Sigh...


    Luuk handed the green pearl that was emitting an ominous aura to Graham, who then stuffed it inside his briefcase, along with the other materials that he had bought.


    "Where to next?" asked Luuk.


    If they were not fighting, the situation in the village was actually very peaceful. The glowing giant pumpkins added a calming, soothing feeling to the moonlit night, and the villagers'' chattering brought liveliness to the atmosphere.


    "The edge of the village. We wasted too much time with that woman, so I hope they''re still there."


    Graham and Luuk increased their pace.


    "Anyway, how many abilities do you have now?" asked Luuk curiously. Just after leaving the city for four days, the detective had suddenly grown much stronger.


    "Let''s just say it''s a lot," he replied mysteriously. Graham knew that Luuk knew about his switch of personality, but the young man didn''t know the detail. He would like to keep it that way for now.


    The farther they walked away from the village, the darker it got. The street lights became scarce and the pumpkin lanterns were occasional. Plants replaced stone houses and a wall of trees waited for them in the distance.


    Graham conjured his illusory flame again to help him see, as well as to divine the locations of his remaining targets. Apparently, there were three Dybbuks staying together and another one just a short distance away.


    "Three at the same time? Will it be alright?" asked Luuk hesitantly, remembering their encounter with the beast-like woman just now.


    The detective nodded in confidence.


    "It should be fine. My divination told me this mission is safe."


    "Then I will trust you. Let''s just hope the next three targets are not Contractbounds," Luuk shook his head and then followed Graham who was walking ahead of him.


    "Would you rather they were children? So it''s like stealing candy from children?" he joked. However, there was no reaction from Luuk. It made him want to punch a wall hard.


    The forest ahead of them, where the Dybbuks were supposed to be, was strangely quiet. There was no sound of night animals or the rustle of leaves. It even gave off an eerie feeling.


    Towering trees welcomed them to the forest as the man walked off the last cobblestone path of the village. The air suddenly became chilly and sharp, and the smell of the forest penetrated their noses. The soil, the leaves, and the barks of the trees each emitted a different kind of smell that mixed together.


    The soft soil sank under their weight as they walked the forest floor. Gradually, they started hearing a faint singing-- or chanting, from the direction in front of them. It sounded like children''s voices, eerie and sinister. There was also the rustling of leaves being crushed rhythmically like some people were jumping around uniformly.


    Graham and Luuk walked slowly and cautiously, the latter could see perfectly in the dark while the former had to reduce the light of his illusory flame to such extent to avoid being seen in the dark forest. It made it possible for him to only see Luuk and nothing else, so Graham was relying on his neighbor to show him the way.


    The moment they reached their targets, the sight perplexed Luuk.


    "Oh, dove the silly dove..."


    "You fell under yet you came from above..."


    "The Lord gave you wings and made you sing..."


    "But then He took your soul and let you burn in a hole..."


    "Oh, dove the silly dove..."


    "I''ll pluck your eyes and gut your insides..."


    "Place them on the altar to please the Ones in the skies..."


    "Then I''ll get some pie before I die..."


    In front of them, in the small opening of the forest, there were four children. Three of them were dancing and singing while holding hands, jumping around the last one who was lying on the forest floor. The lyrics of the nursery rhyme that they were chanting disturbed the two men. On top of that, the calm expression on the children lying on the ground was unsettling.


    Around the child lying on the ground were bloody intestines of animals, along with their heads. The lifeless eyes of deer and squirrels all looked like they had died in pain. The blood had seeped into the leaves and the soil, creating a circle of crimson around the child.


    "What the hell are those kids doing..." Luuk whispered at Graham.


    The children somehow heard Luuk''s whispering and turned their attention to him. The way they turned their heads was simultaneous, which looked very unnatural. The moment they lied their eyes on the two adults hiding behind a tree, they started giggling.


    "Hehehehehee..."


    "Hahahhaaa..."


    "Hihihihiiii..."


    The giggling in the dark forest sent a chill down Luuk''s spine as he looked at his partner.


    "Mr. Hymes, this is too much,"


    Graham increased the size of his illusory flame and concentrated on the belt that he was wearing. He then smiled sinisterly and spoke, "You are not the only ones who can be scary, you little brats!"

 225 Gaining Everything That was Needed

    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth a curtain of illusion that covers this area!"


    A mysterious orange curtain that swayed in the invisible wind descended slowly upon the opening in the forest. The curtain brought with it a feeling of peace and serenity, placing everyone caught in the area under its gentle embrace.


    "Hahahaha..."


    "Hehehehe..."


    The giggling of children surfaced again. The creepy titters echoed in the lightless forest, seemingly coming from every direction.


    Luuk van der Meer, who was already tense from the beginning, clenched his fist and crouched behind a tree expectantly. His heart was beating fast and his breathing heavy. Something seemed to have terrified him to the extent that his usually expressionless face was showing fear.


    Looking at the adults, the children''s eyes glowed red in the dark. With uncanny smiles, the three little humans began approaching the two, moving creepily fast across the forest floor on all four. However, they weren''t facing down, but rather up, as if they got down on all four limbs from their back.


    Suddenly, sparks of fire came out of the tiny illusory flame, setting the dry leaves on the forest floor on fire. The blaze spread quickly, creating a wall of fire around the children.


    The small nimble limbs stopped abruptly to avoid the flames. The glow in their eyes was overshone by the bright, hot inferno surrounding them. Hesitation and confusion overcame them, replacing the mischief and malice that had previously been there.


    Meanwhile, the child that was lying on the ground remained motionless. His eyes were staring blankly at the forest canopy and his hands were crossed on his chest weakly.


    "What are you doing?! Stop!!" one of the children, a little girl, shouted. However, her voice sounded nothing like that of a girl. She sounded beastly, just like the strong woman they had fought before.


    The flames were unwavering. They kept on burning hotter and hotter, sending clouds of smoke rising to the sky.


    Thump...! Thump...!


    A large shadow appeared behind the wall of flame, towering almost as tall as the trees. After that, the figure tore the wall of flame apart as if it was paper. Through the gap, a fiery giant walked into the area surrounded by the blaze.


    "Aaaaaa!!! Get away from me!!!" the little girl from before shouted from the top of her lungs as the figure inched closer and closer.


    There were flames floating around the fiery giant, from which an image of an old, boney figure could be seen. The little girl, who was closest to the figure, had a confused and terrified look in her eyes when she saw the image in the flame. Leaves rustled beneath her feet as she slowly backed away from the inching towering figure.


    "Roar!!"


    The fiery giant mumbled something inaudible and very loud that sounded only like a horrifying roar in their ears.


    Suddenly, the little girl collapsed to the ground and something illusory came out of her body. The other two children were shocked by what was happening and quickly backed away from the fiery giant, who easily burned the figure coming out of the girl''s body. If they didn''t do anything, they knew it would be their turn next.


    "DIE!!"


    One of the boys fiercely shouted. The loud war cry sounded like a cornered beast that was fighting back instead of a young boy''s voice.


    The moment he jumped at the fiery figure, his body stopped midair! He then fell on the ground still in the same position, unable to lift even a muscle. The boy was looking at the towering giant with horror as the flame around the giant was showing an image of an old, boney man, just like what had happened to the girl.


    "Roar!!"


    Another roar came from the giant and the little boy fell unconscious. Flames then quickly consumed the illusory creature coming out of the boy''s body, turning it into a cloud of smoke that dissipated into thin air.


    The last boy was trying to run away, but his body was suddenly frozen, just like his friend before, and after a mysterious image appeared in the fireball surrounding the fiery giant, the boy lost consciousness.


    Whoosh!!


    Flames once again burned a figure that looked like a boney old man with hollow eyes and mouth. Once the old man turned into a cloud of smoke, something green and sinister was left behind, lying on the ground waiting to be picked up.


    After all the three possessed children were taken care of, the wall of flame suddenly disappeared and the night returned to its dark, serene state.


    "What just happened?" Luuk snapped back to reality and noticed that Graham was busy picking up the green pearls that the Dybbuks had dropped.


    The man ignored his partner''s confusion and kept on picking up the loot. He also checked to make sure the children were unharmed, including the one lying on the ground surrounded by animal entrails.


    "There you are, finally," Graham said, and then turned his attention to Luuk.


    There was one more child, a little older than the rest. It was more appropriate to call the child, who was a boy, an early teenager than a child at that point. His limbs were dangling awkwardly just like any other teenager, but his eyes showed beat-like fierceness.


    Beneath the teenager''s feet, there was a swarm of tiny spiders and scorpions, which made raised Graham''s guard.


    "I order you to stop moving!"


    The teenage boy''s body suddenly froze as he lost the ability to control it.


    "Come over here and steal his anger," Graham told Luuk, who was still regaining his senses after falling under Graham''s illusion.


    The young man nodded and then quickly ran towards the teenager, flinging the severed hand that was attached to a rope. The hand grabbed the teenager''s face and once Luuk pulled it back, there was a glowing orb in its grip.


    Making use of the teenager''s weakened state, Graham used divination to see the Dybbuk''s true form and then quickly used Order to force it out of the person''s body. Once the creature was out, he used Fire Manipulation to burn it to smoke, freeing the possessed teenager once and for all.


    "There, it''s all done now," he said finally while picking up the green pearl that the creature left behind.


    On the body of the teenager, Graham noticed something that attracted his attention. It was the spider brooch that the teenager had on his black shirt, which emitted a kind of mystical energy. Graham took it off and the moment he did so, the spiders and scorpions crawling around the teenager''s unconscious body all scurried away.


    Focusing on the illusory flame in front of him, Graham began divining about the brooch.


    Slowly, an image appeared, which was the very same brooch that Graham was holding in his hand. There was an illusory text appearing above it, just like what happened when Valentine used his Reveal ability.


    ''The Brooch of Grommock. A piece of enhanced equipment created by a medium-rank Transmuter. It allows the user to repel insects and bugs alike for as long as the brooch is worn. However, arachnids will be strongly attracted to the wearer, and will only lose their attraction if the brooch is taken off. It was created from the remains of Grommock de Gras, an enigmatic man who had an unhealthy obsession with arachnids while hating bugs and insects alike with all his heart.''


    The divination ended there and Graham turned his attention back to his partner.


    "Can we go home now? I don''t feel so good," Luuk begged.


    Graham didn''t expect that his illusion would have so big an impact on Luuk, who was supposed to be stronger than normal humans. His illusion had managed to weaken the Dybbuks, making it easier for him to extract them out of the hosts'' bodies, but it also weakened his partner apparently.


    "Sure. We''re done here anyway,"


    The detective then sat down under the tree and used Order on himself to fall asleep. In his place, Valentine woke up and quickly wounded his palm, dropping his blood on the forest ground and placing anti-divination in the area.


    "Let''s go," he said shortly.


    He walked away from the forest, followed by Luuk whose face was still somewhat pale. Valentine headed towards the storage house from before and placed anti-divination there as well. The woman from earlier had long left the area, so there was currently no one there.


    The woman shouldn''t be able to remember the events that happened while she was possessed, at least according to the ancient book that Graham had read; therefore, Valentine didn''t have to bother looking for her and erasing her memory.


    Their last stop was the first old brick stone house where the murder had happened. Valentine placed his anti-divination just outside the house, dropping his blood somewhere not easy to see.


    Once he was done, he returned to the convenience store where they had been dropped off before. He remembered there was a payphone outside that he could use to call for a public motor carriage.


    After making his call, the two men waited in silence for more than fifteen minutes before finally, a black vehicle pulled over. Valentine and Luuk got in and the driver drove away at once, taking them back to the city.


    "I''m not sure what I saw before, but it was very scary," Luuk finally spoke. Colors had returned to his face, "It''s not that I''m scared of that thing, but something was like taking over me, making me scared."


    Valentine looked over his shoulder and muttered quietly, "G, the illusion is more potent than we thought, and it was only the Purloin version. Or is it just that Luuk is weak against illusions? Should we experiment?"


    He quickly got rid of the thought. Although his curiosity was high, he didn''t want to risk mentally scarring his partner.


    "Anyway, this brooch is for you. You must have seen its ability as well. Consider this your payment," Valentine handed the brooch that featured a black widow spider on it to Luuk.


    The young man received the enhanced brooch and stuffed it inside his pocket. He didn''t want to put it on right away it seemed.


    The trip home didn''t take them as long as the trip to Pompoen because the traffics wasn''t as bad now that it was late. Valentine and Luuk arrived at their apartment a little later than ten in the evening, after which they quickly returned to their own rooms.


    "Alright, G, let''s just wait until one to start my ritual. This Deity''s ritual requires orange candles, which we luckily have, and Storax essential oil, which we also have."


    Opening his briefcase, Valentine placed all the material that he had just gathered on the desk. There were six hair strands that looked like dead snakes, severed elongated tongues, and green pearls that emitted an ominous aura. All of them were the materials required for his ritual.


    Valentine then opened his safe and took out the contract scroll belonging to the Deity that he wanted to contract today. He laid the scroll on the desk as well.


    Walking towards the shelves, he took out four orange votive candles and a small vial of Storax oil that still had more than half of its content inside. He placed everything he needed on the table, including the vial of mercury that he would use to seal the scroll later. Before doing his ritual, he needed Graham to copy Order inside Purloin so he could borrow it for the sealing process.


    "Now I''m ready. After this ritual, I should become a Contractbound of the Deity of Serpents and Death," Valentine''s eyes were brimming with expectation.

 226 The Ritual of Serpents and Death

    The Storax oil that had been sprinkled around the room brought a leathery, balsamic smell that calmed his mind, and the veil of darkness comforted him.


    Using his dagger, Valentine made an incision on his left palm and let his blood drip down to the scroll below. He followed the pattern, which was four crosses interlocked together with ankhs in between them. His blood seeped into the scroll, painting the sigil dark red in color, but to paint a small section of the sigil, a lot of his blood was required.


    Once he was finished with the crosses, Valentine redrew the crown on the right side, feeling weaker with each second because of the loss of blood. The moment the sigil was completed, he covered his wound with his right hand and it began healing right away.


    Pant... Pant...


    He took a deep breath to recover for a second. However, he couldn''t waste too much time; he had to proceed with the ritual.


    The brown parchment scroll on the desk now had its pattern completely redrawn in blood, emitting a mysterious faint glow that was consumed by its surrounding darkness. After placing all the materials on the sigil neatly, Valentine picked up Graham''s lighter that was placed near the scroll.


    Flick!


    With a quick movement of his finger, the lighter in his hand was now lit. He brought the flame closer to the four orange votive candles that were placed in the four cardinal directions. Starting from the one pointing north, he lit the candles all the way to the west.


    After the candles were lit, the darkness in the room seemed to have intensified instead of dissipating. Its comforting embrace blanketed Valentine, slowly engulfing his entire being.


    Opening his mouth, he began the summoning chant calmly, although his heart was starting to race with each passing second.


    "Thee I invoke, the One born from Fire,"


    "Thou art the master of Curses,"


    "Thou art the master of Serpents,"


    "Thee, that teachest Death and Deathly Knowledge,"


    "Thee, that bringst Pain and Suffering,"


    "Come thou forth, and accept my offering,"


    "And grant me your power, worthy of thy name!"


    Suffocating silence crept onto the room once he finished the chant. Not even the sound of the clock ticking nor his heartbeat could be heard.


    "Hiss!!"


    Snakes of different sizes came slithering out of the blood sigil, coiling around the ritual offering until there was no more. The snakes then scattered around the place, consuming every tiny bit of remaining light, bringing about pitch blackness into the room.


    Under the blanket of absolute darkness and silence, Valentine''s heart was beating faster and faster in anticipation.


    Rattle...


    "Hiss..."


    Valentine noticed that he was unable to move. Through his night vision, he could see that his legs had been locked in place by the other snakes that coiled around them tightly. He couldn''t even feel any sensation from his legs as they had grown numb.


    "Shit..."


    The giant snake was now right in front of him, its eyes staring right at his. The snake then opened its jaw wide and bit into Valentine''s head, its sharp teeth sank into his skin.


    Its backward-facing teeth made it impossible for Valentine to break free without tearing himself open, and its strong suction force kept on swallowing him whole. Its strong, tight jaw felt crushing on his bones as he entered the snake''s body, slipping deeper inside without being able to resist.


    Flesh and enzymes surrounded him, slowly eating away at his clothes and skin. The cramped space made him feel claustrophobic, but this time, it was warranted. He really couldn''t do anything to break free, and could only accept his fate of being eaten alive by a giant serpent.


    His bones were slowly being crushed and his skin corroded away. Valentine was alive to feel the agonizing pain the whole time, unable to even fall unconscious. He felt his arms, the first to be digested by the snake''s stomach, fall off and turned into tiny snakes that slithered away. His legs were next and his body followed not long after. What remained was only his head and his consciousness, wishing he would die with every breath.


    Just when he thought he would be digested thoroughly by the giant serpent, the flesh around him moved and pushed his head outside.


    He was spat out!


    His head hit the hard wooden floor, rocking his brain and giving him a throbbing headache.


    Rattle...


    Tiny snakes slithered towards the bodiless man and coiled against each other, solidifying into a new body for Valentine. It was a very strange sensation as his body clearly felt like it was made out of numerous tiny slithering creatures. His skin felt hard like scales and the itch that came with it was unbearable. He wanted to scratch his skin open, but he was still unable to move.


    After several seconds of lying on the floor with the agonizing itch, Valentine was finally able to move his body again. He got up and the moment he did so, the room returned to normal.


    He found himself in the middle of the office, nearer to the door, so he walked back to his desk blew out the candles in reverse order. After that, he rolled the scroll back. Sending his energy to the belt that he was wearing, he focused on the vial of silver liquid on the desk.


    "I order you to seal this scroll!"


    The mercury inside the vial came out and wrapped around the scroll on the desk, effectively sealing it. Once it was sealed, the scroll burst into flames and the ashes entered Valentine through his nose.


    With that, his ritual was over.


    "That was painful and strange," he muttered, touching the skin on his left hand.


    His skin still felt like that of a normal human, but there was definitely something hard if he pinched hard enough. It was as if his skin was resisting the force.


    "Yes, something has definitely changed about me. And as usual, something has also been taken, but I still don''t know what,"


    Valentine sat down in the armchair and leaned back with his arms crossed. He began accessing the knowledge about his new power that he had received from the Deity of Serpents and Death.


    "This Deity seems to be all about curses, G, but before that, let''s see the abilities that have evolved because of this Deity,"


    "First, my Anti-Divination now will allow us to disrupt divination attempts. After I place Anti-Divination on something, we''ll know if someone is trying to divine it. At that moment, we can use a curse to disrupt it. The explosion you got back then was an example of it,"


    "Although it''s powerful on its own, the strongest part of this ability is the fact that we''ll know if someone''s trying to use divination on us, G," Valentine concluded.


    "We can use it ten times per day. Let''s call it Divination Disruption,"


    Just as Valentine finished saying that, his spiritual intuition was triggered. It seemed that someone was trying to use divination on one of the places that he had put Anti-Divination on.


    "Speak of the devil. So this is how it feels like; it feels like something is pulling my shirt trying to remind me about something. Although we can''t know for sure what is being divined, we can damage the divinator if we''re lucky. This divination at this hour must be about Pompoen Village, G. Let''s not do anything for now since I don''t want to reveal my status as a Demise that early."


    "Alright, let''s move on. Besides Anti-Divination, Illusion Substitutes have also been influenced by this Deity. Now instead of turning into a botch of ink, I''ll turn into countless tiny snakes if it''s triggered. I don''t know if it''s an upgrade or just a visual gimmick, but it sure looks cooler that way."


    "Now onto the main course. This Deity granted me the ability to use curses. There are many different types of curses and the knowledge of some of them has been transferred into my brain. Basically, to curse someone, I''ll need a part of their bodies, be it their hair strands or their nails. Blood doesn''t work, however. After that, I''ll have to set up an altar and conduct a cursing ritual using an offering. Different offerings will bring about different curses."


    Valentine stared into the darkness in his office. His mind was racing, thinking about how to best utilize his new ability, and his eyes were brimming with excitement.


    "I really want to try this right away, but there is no suitable target. We can maybe try a harmless curse on Luuk," he decided, "But for that, we''ll need his hair strand. We''ll do it after I finish telling you about my abilities, G,"


    "The next ability I got is likely a hybrid between the two President rank Deities I''m in a contract with. It allows me to turn into a giant snake. It''s not real, of course; it''s but a mere illusion. However, we can intimidate our enemies that way, or trick them. Let''s call this Snake Illusion,"


    Valentine was curious about the ability, so he wanted to use it right away. He got up from the chair and went to his bedroom, where the vanity mirror was.


    Standing in front of the mirror, he began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Serpents and Death, hereby turn myself into a giant snake!"


    His body didn''t undergo a transformation process like when Graham used his ability, but he felt that something was growing out of him. Although he still felt human and looked human when he looked at his arms, when he looked at his reflection in the mirror, it was of a giant snake!


    It was the same snake that had swallowed him before!


    The snake''s eyes were glowing orange and its scales glistened in the dark. It emitted a malevolent aura that could probably intimidate even the bravest of men as its body was stretching more than four meters long. In the mirror, Valentine was no more, and in his place, a giant deathly serpent was standing.


    "So other people will see us this way. The duration seems to last only ten minutes, but that should be more than enough, right, G?"


    Valentine then placed Concealment on his aura to hide the snake''s intimidation.


    While still under transformation, Valentine left his apartment and walked toward his neighbor''s door; room number 24. He knocked on the door with his hand, but it looked like a giant snake banging on the door with its head.


    He waited patiently for Luuk to come out. After several seconds, the sound of footsteps was heard approaching the door.


    Click!


    The door was unlocked from the inside and then opened. Luuk was standing in the gap, and the moment he saw Valentine, the young medical student froze in terror. Although the intimidating aura had been concealed, looking at the snake directly still sent horror to the victims.


    While the young man was still in shock, Valentine swiftly used his dagger to cut a little of his neighbor''s curly brown hair. He took just a little at the tip so it wouldn''t be noticeable. After he got the hair, Valentine quickly returned to his own room, leaving the young man whose face was as pale as a corpse alone.


    Thud!


    The door was closed behind him and he sat at the desk, placing Luuk''s hair strands on it. He then crouched and opened his safe, taking the essence of a lingering spirit that Graham had managed to collect long ago. It could be used in a cursing ritual and the effect was mostly harmless, so he would experiment with that one.


    Using the desk as the altar, Valentine began drawing the sigil of his deity using his blood on it. It was much easier because there was no scroll that kept sucking his blood dry.


    Once the sigil was completed, he placed the hair and the essence on top of it and four candles around the sigil. Strangely, the hair didn''t soak the blood that was used for drawing the sigil.


    Once his preparation had been finished, Valentine lit the candles one by one, starting from the one pointing the north and ended with the west one. His mischievous face was illuminated by the orange light from the flames, and his eyes were glowing in excitement.


    In the candlelit room, Valentine began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Serpents and Death, offer you this hair,"


    "Please bestow upon us Your blessing,"


    "And bestow upon my target Your curse,"


    "With this essence from a lingering spirit, make my target experience a nightmare in his sleep!"


    The flames burned brighter and the blood on the desk started boiling. The hair and the essence were then slowly engulfed by the blood, being reduced to nothing. After the offerings were accepted, the flames went out on their own and the smoke spread in the room.


    "The curse is successful. The nightmare shouldn''t be that bad since we only used one essence. Tomorrow, we have to treat Luuk to some meal as an apology. We''ve scared him enough today," he said without even a tinge of regret in his voice.

 227 Chasing Pravitatem

    Valentine was woken up by the sound of his doorbell ringing. It was a Thursday morning with a cloudy sky, and the bustling street below was already filling the area with its noise. The detective opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the wall; it was seven in the morning, still very early.


    "G, wake up!"


    He got up and put on a simple t-shirt to cover his torso. After cleaning the dirt off his eyes and tidying his hair up a little, Valentine left his bedroom and entered his office.


    After the initial ring, the person behind the door hadn''t pressed the doorbell again. It meant that they were a patient individual. Judging from the presence, there were two people waiting for him. Valentine could already guess who they were without even seeing.


    Creak...


    The wooden door made a loud creak as he pulled it open. Through the gap, he could see the two people that met his expectation.


    "Good morning," he greeted shortly.


    "Good morning, Mr. Hymes," greeted the woman warmly and politely. It was Agatha van Nostrand.


    Agatha was wearing a loose leaf-green dress that fell beautifully on her knees. A thick emerald-colored sweater covered her top and a floral hairpin kept her hair neatly up. She was wearing a pair of brown winter boots that perfected her overall look.


    "Good morning, Mr. Hymes," greeted the man politely, but more distantly. It was Johann Bockhorst, the fellow detective who had requested his assistance in tracking down Pravitatem.


    Compared to Agatha''s dazzling appearance, Johann''s was lackluster. The man was just wearing a simple leather jacket and a pair of disheveled denim pants. The shirt that he was wearing had some visible stains on it and his brown boots were all dirty. However, his face was still brimming with intelligence and sharpness.


    With his hand, he gestured at the two to enter and wait at his office. He then walked out and knocked on his neighbor''s door hard to wake the person up. Since it was the beginning of the mission, it would be stupid not to let Luuk hear the plan as well.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    There was no answer.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    After knocking several times, Valentine''s sharp ears finally picked up the sound of faint footsteps from inside the apartment. His neighbor had woken up and was heading towards the door.


    Creak...


    "Yes?" he said, still half asleep.


    Luuk''s face looked exhausted; there were visible black circles around his red eyes. His hair was all messy; its curls tangled up against each other. His voice was still cracking and his yawn was wide.


    "What happened to you?" asked Valentine, despite already getting an idea of his neighbor''s condition.


    "Yawn... I couldn''t sleep last night because of something," the young man said wearily.


    Valentine nodded.


    Now it was Luuk''s turn to nod. he did so slowly while rubbing his eyes.


    "Okay. Just give me a minute,"


    After that, the young man closed the door and his footsteps were heard going into his bedroom. Meanwhile, Valentine returned to his office, back to his guests.


    "Luuk should be here soon. Now, let''s talk about your plan," he said while walking towards his chair.


    Johann and Agatha were both sitting on the sofa, so the chair across from him could be reserved for Luuk.


    Johann sat up straight and began speaking.


    "Just as I told you yesterday, I found traces of Pravitatem," he said seriously.


    Before he could continue, Valentine made a gesture for the man to wait a second. Johann nodded and trusted the detective.


    "I hereby declare the sounds coming from inside this room a secret!"


    A thin yellowish mist descended upon the area, which marked Valentine''s Concealment. However, there was something different this time. There were tiny, illusory snakes that slithered about in the mist. He didn''t know what effect the snakes brought, so he just let them be.


    Once the Concealment was in place, there was no way for people outside the room to eavesdrop on their conversation. The Anti-Divination that had been in place also prevented divinations from afar. With that, The Hymes'' Detective Agency had basically been turned into a secure place.


    Knock! Knock!


    The door was knocked and Luuk entered after that. He still looked exhausted, but at least now his face had been washed clean and his hair was somewhat human-like.


    "Good morning, Mr. van der Meer," greeted Agatha, standing up.


    Johann smiled but remained seated.


    "Good morning, Ms. van Nostrand," Luuk smiled back and then sat at the chair opposite the detective with light blue eyes.


    "So, how did you manage to find traces of Pravitatem? The last time I used divination on them, I only got blurry images of seven people," Valentine asked the man seriously.


    Johann''s expression turned into pride mixed with bitterness and gloom.


    "My Fianc¨¦e, their last victim, was just a normal human..." his tone was heavy, "But I had her wear an artifact for her own protection. This artifact was broken by her attacker, but one of its fragments managed to latch itself onto the culprit. Maybe as a last resort by the artifact to seek justice for her."


    Valentine seemed to have understood what the man implied.


    "So you''re saying, although Pravitatem can''t be divined, this artifact fragment can?"


    Johann nodded.


    "Yes, although you might not have enough information to go by to do so. As for me, I know everything about it, so my divination works."


    The grieving detective opened the briefcase that he had placed next to him on the sofa and took out a small crystal ball the size of his palm. He then looked like he was focusing on the crystal ball and slowly, blood was sucked out of his palms that were in contact with the ball, creating an image that was somewhat clear.


    In the bloody image, there was an abandoned house located on a quiet street that looked like Dorpstraat, where the abandoned chapel was. The image then shifted to the basement of the house, where stacks of crates and empty shelves were placed. There was an orange glow under the floor, which might indicate the location of the artifact fragment, but it looked to be very deep underground.


    After that, the image disappeared and the crystal ball returned to normal.


    "The fragment is buried deep underground, or there is a hidden passage under that house that we can''t see," Agatha concluded.


    Johann nodded, "That is also what I''m thinking. The Pravitatem killer must be hiding there or has left the fragment there. In any case, we need to check it out. I''ve divined the danger and it''s very dangerous. That''s why I need your help."


    The detective passed a glance at everyone present in the room.


    "What about the underground passage itself? Can''t you use divination to find out more about it?" asked Luuk curiously.


    The man shook his head, "I''ve tried, but they''ve placed a strong Anti-Divination there. It even shattered the previous crystal ball that I created myself."


    "So they have a Demise or someone with similar abilities," Valentine concluded.


    "Serpents and Death? Then we have to be extra careful. Don''t let the enemies even take any part of our body or we''ll fall under their curse," Johann added.


    The discussion ended, and Valentine and Luuk got ready right away. Valentine put on Graham''s trench coat because although it wasn''t as comfortable, it contained many more pockets than his favorite leather jacket. He needed those pockets to carry materials that might be useful for the cursing rituals.


    He packed his dagger and cane but left the gun holster and bullet pouch behind since his gone had been stolen anyway. Just in case, he also packed the book and placed it inside the pocket in front of his heart. It could at least offer protection even though he didn''t plan to use it for its effect; the ritual needed to satisfy the book was too deprived even for him.


    Purloin and Gloom''s Redress still accompanied him, the latter making his wrist too cold, so he took it off for now. Gemini''s mask was also safely stuffed inside one of his pockets along with the supernatural materials.


    Once he was ready, the three people left the detective office and waited for Luuk to come out of his apartment. The young medical student came out not long after, wearing a black sweater and a beanie. On his back was his backpack that still looked rather empty.


    "Shall we go now?" asked Agatha.


    The three men nodded at the same time and walked down the apartment building. They headed towards the black parked motor carriage that belonged to the rich woman and got in. Agatha started driving right away with Dorpstraat as her destination.


    Honk! Honk!


    She kept on honking to get people out of her way while speeding maniacally. Strangely enough, none of the men inside seemed to be affected by her driving. They all were looking calmly outside the window at the people who were almost hit by Agatha.


    Not even five minutes later, they had arrived at their destination. The rich woman pulled over and parked her motor carriage parallel to the street skillfully, after which everyone got out.


    "The house should be this way," said Johann.


    The man must have divined the exact location of the house beforehand; that was why he knew. The other three followed the detective walking down the quiet street. At a small intersection, they turned left and walked on the cobblestone street several meters before they finally arrived at a residential area.


    There were only a couple of people outside on that cloudy morning. They looked at the four strangers curiously for a second, but then returned to minding their own business. Judging from their reaction, it seemed that strangers were common around that part.


    "It''s this one," said Johann.


    He stopped in front of an old, dilapidated house that stuck like an eyesore in that neighborhood. Its second floor was in a much worse condition than its front floor, which looked like it might collapse at any time. The fact that the house was easy to spot made Valentine and the rest more guarded since that meant the people who left it that way might have also left some traps for intruders.


    "Do you know any Contractbounds who are good at laying traps?" Valentine asked.


    Johann shook his head. His extensive knowledge was more about artifacts and enhanced equipment, not Contractbounds.


    "I know that an evolved Demise can place curses on objects, basically making them work like traps. That is all I know, however," Agatha said.


    "Then we''ve got to be extra careful. Don''t touch anything inside the house unless we''re sure it''s safe," Valentine reminded.


    The four tried to get around the house, looking for the back entrance. However, there was none and the front door was the only way in. If he were alone, Valentine could climb all the way up the second floor, but Agatha didn''t look like the agile type. She appeared to be the brute force type, preferring to destroy her way in.


    At least, they could find a secluded alley where they could get ready for the mission. Valentine placed Concealment on all four of their presence, making them unnoticeable. He also concealed the sounds that they were making.


    Meanwhile, Agatha was busy preparing her blood weapons, which were flying chakrams. She had prepared pouches of blood inside her purse and used them to create the weapons. It took her almost five minutes to complete her two chakrams, which fell under the Concealment as well as long as they didn''t leave her body. The blood chakrams were spinning with her in the middle, protecting her from harm.


    Johann was busy summoning his familiar while Agatha was making her weapon. After he was successful, a giant spider burrowed itself out of the cobblestone road, leaving no trace behind as if it had come from a different dimension. The spider was all black and on its back, there was a red marking that looked like a rose. On its body, there was something that looked like armor made out of gemstones that didn''t look to be a part of its body. It was standing at least one meter tall and its legs had sharp stingers on each end.


    After the familiar came out, Valentine placed Concealment on it as well. After concealing nine things at once, Valentine only had one Concealment left, which he saved for an emergency.


    The illusory snakes that he had seen before suddenly intertwined, connecting the mist covering everybody in a strange, chain-like form. After that, everyone was suddenly able to feel the presence of each other again despite not being the caster of the ability. They could also hear Valentine''s voice although he had concealed it.


    "So that''s what the snakes do. Let''s see now," he concentrated on the snake connecting Luuk and Agatha and severed it.


    The snake separated, making the two of them forget about each other''s existence once more because of the mist''s memory erasion effect. He then relinked their mists and their memory returned to normal.


    "The snakes are linking us together, so we can still see and feel each other. Outsiders shouldn''t be able to perceive us, but we can still communicate this way," he said.


    After that, Valentine activated his Illusion Substitutes and was now ready.


    Luuk was the only one who didn''t need to prepare anything. He was only standing there confusedly before the snakes were linked.


    "Let''s go," he said.


    The four of them walked back to the front of the house, thin yellowish mist covering them and concealing their presence. There were chains of illusory snakes linking the four people together.


    They stopped in front of the main entrance and Valentine gestured at Luuk to do his thing.


    "I hereby declare the door''s lock mine!"


    His right hand made a swiping motion and something made of metal appeared there. Thanks to his enhanced equipment, The Hand of Lauriere, his Theft ability had basically been upgraded and he no longer needed to chant it, as long as he still had charges left inside the severed hand.


    Valentine opened the door slowly and the mist covering him extended to the door, concealing the creaking noise it created. In complete silence, the four people and one giant spider entered the abandoned house carefully.

 228 The Curse of a Demise

    "Hold! Don''t step on that spot!"


    Valentine''s sense of secret was triggered. It seemed that since becoming a Demise, he was also able to faintly detect curses around him.


    The four people stopped all at once behind him, not daring to make a sudden move. They looked at the spot that Valentine was pointing at.


    The wooden floorboards looked normal without any signs of tampering. Even the layers of dust were consistent with their surrounding, which indicated that the spot hadn''t been touched in a while.


    Taking out Graham''s notebook that was left inside the trench coat, Valentine tore off a page and crumpled it. He then tossed the crumpled paper onto the spot that was triggering his sense.


    Rattle!


    A blood sigil appeared on the floorboards the moment the paper made contact with them. The sounds of snakes rattling accompanied the emergence of the sigil. The crumpled piece of paper looked strangely rigid, staying in place abnormally.


    After a while, the sigil disappeared, and the paper rolled a few centimeters to the front.


    "That was a trap?" asked Luuk.


    Valentine nodded.


    "What do you think it did?" Johann walked closer carefully to observe the paper ball on the floor. His spider familiar stayed close by his side.


    There didn''t seem to be any abnormality there, so he couldn''t judge.


    "It only immobilized the paper, but I don''t think that''s all," he added, "It might have an invisible effect that only worked on living beings."


    "You might be right," Valentine nodded.


    Agatha was standing gracefully and scanned the room.


    "If the traps are all like that, I am sure I will be able to trigger them all safely with my blood chakrams," she offered. The crimson weapons were spinning ceaselessly with her in the center.


    Valentine looked over his shoulder and muttered, "She is indeed the brute force type, G," after which he turned to Agatha and rejected her idea, "The traps might not all be like that one. We don''t want to alert the enemy-- if we haven''t already by triggering this one."


    She nodded.


    Valentine then proceeded, going in the direction that Johann gave him. Leaving the living room of the abandoned house, they entered the kitchen where the door to the basement was located.


    The stench of mold penetrated their noses the moment they entered the kitchen. The floor was littered with sharp pieces of glass while the wall near the water source was covered in moss.


    "Uttu, please take care of those," Johann commanded his familiar.


    Clank! Clank!


    Its two front legs swept the glass shards away, creating a large path for its master and his companions to walk through. The spider pushed the shards all the way to the sides, making sure they couldn''t hurt anyone.


    "Stop!"


    Valentine suddenly told Johann to stop his familiar. There seemed to be another trap laid ahead of it.


    Using the same method as before, he tossed a crumpled piece of paper on the spot after Johann''s familiar had been pulled back. The paper touched the floor and caused a blood sigil that represented the Deity of Serpents and Death to appear.


    Stab!


    Once the sigil appeared, numerous thin blood spikes came out of the ground, stabbing the paper ball and the glass shards around it. The spikes stayed for several seconds before evaporating along with the sigil. What was left was a hole-ridden ball of paper, destroyed glass shards, and tiny holes in the layer of dust on the floor.


    "Would your familiar have survived that?" Valentine asked the detective.


    Johann seemed to have been thinking about the same thing, and after a while, he finally concluded, "With the armor, easily. Without the armor, Uttu would have been seriously injured."


    With a nod, Valentine replied to the man. He then gestured at him to continue clearing the path for them. The spider familiar scurried back to the front and started swiping away the shards of glass again.


    The quartet slowly approached the door to the basement, following the giant armored spider that was clearing the path for them. After they reached the door, once again, Valentine told the group to stop. He sensed another curse on it.


    "Just how many traps are there?" Luuk complained.


    Nobody reacted. They all backed up on Valentine''s order, who was busy crushing another piece of paper in his hand and tossed it at the door, right on the spot that triggered his sense of secret.


    "Hiss!!"


    The moment the blood sigil appeared, a giant snake came out of it! If they had been too close, the snake would have bitten one of them with its large jaw.


    "Uttu!"


    The armored spider took the vanguard, ready to intercept the snake''s attack.


    The snake stuck its tongue, trying to sense the enemies that it couldn''t see or feel. The yellowish mist shrouded them.


    "Don''t move around too much. There are still traps around this room!" Valentine reminded the group.


    They all nodded and got ready to fight. The enemy was one giant snake, but they knew it was not just a simple snake.


    Swoosh!


    Agatha sent one blood chakram at the snake. Its hard scales protected itself against the woman''s attack, but Agatha''s strength allowed her to keep the chakram spinning, slowly drilling into the snake''s body. There was the sound of metal hitting each other, even though none of the two were made from it.


    "Hiss!"


    Thwip!


    The armored spider shot a ball of spiderweb that hit the snake and the wall behind it, tying the two together. The sticky web was strong enough to hold the giant serpent for several seconds. Meanwhile, Agatha''s blood chakram was still drilling its side, destroying its hard scales. Green blood came spurting out from the wound that the chakram created.


    Having no offensive abilities, Valentine and Luuk just watched as the fight transpired. They were ready to intercept the creature''s attack at any moment, but for now, it didn''t seem to be necessary yet.


    Valentine could always try to curse the snake, but it would take too long to prepare the ritual, and the only curses he could do with the materials at hand wouldn''t be enough to kill the creature.


    Thwip! Thwip!


    As the snake was about to break free from its constrain, Johann''s familiar shot two more spiderwebs at it from its spinnerets, rendering the snake''s struggle in vain.


    Whoosh!


    The chakram spun even more vigorously as Agatha put even more strength into it.


    "Hiss!!"


    The snake was writhing and hissing in pain, but the sticky spider webs held it in place. After a while, its body was finally cut into two by the blood weapon as blood came splattering everywhere.


    Once the snake had died, its body turned into a pool of blood that evaporated along with the sigil on the door. The trap had now been taken care of, so they could proceed.


    "G, that was much easier than our fights. People with offensive abilities sure are different," Valentine muttered quietly.


    "I''m sure there will be even more traps like that waiting for us down there," Johann concluded. His breathing was rather heavy from the fight. Since the spider was his familiar, it used up a portion of its master''s stamina to operate, along with its own.


    Luuk took out two pouches of stamina powder and handed them to Johann and Agatha; the latter stuffed the paper pouch inside her purse.


    "I am still alright. It is better to save its effectiveness for later," she smiled politely.


    Johann sniffed the powder and at once, his stamina returned. He then discarded the pouch on the ground, which caused Valentine to raise his eyebrows.


    "Let''s go," he quickly turned his mind to the door.


    It now felt safe, so he touched the handle and twisted it, only to find out that it was locked. Looking at Luuk, he signaled his neighbor to do his thing.


    "The lock on the door is mine!"


    Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand while his left hand was holding the severed hand on his waist. Suddenly, something metallic appeared there. He then discarded the lock, putting it on the counter near him.


    Valentine opened the door and the mist surrounding him extended to the door, muffling the creaking noise it was about to make. Behind the door was the staircase leading down to the basement, dark and devoid of any light.


    All of the four people there had night visions, so the darkness was not a problem for them. Valentine got it as both a Shroud and a Denuder, Luuk as a Thief, Agatha as a Slumberer. Johann was the only one whose source of night vision was unknown to Valentine. He might be a Slumberer just like Agatha, or a Denuder just like him.


    "Stop!"


    This time, it was Johann that stopped the group from advancing forward. The four people and a giant spider stopped just before they reached the basement area, standing on the staircase. He seemed to have sensed something.


    "There is an artifact at work here," he added.


    Valentine raised his eyebrow and a thought came to his mind.


    "How did you know?" asked Luuk curiously. He couldn''t feel anything.


    The detective smiled proudly, "I also have a sense of secret, although it works differently from yours," he looked at Valentine, "Mine helps me detect artifacts and enhanced equipment''s effects."


    Valentine''s theory had been proven correct. The man was a Denuder, and his sense of secret evolved in that direction because of the Deity of Wisdom and Transmutation.


    "What should we do then?" asked Luuk again.


    Johann tapped his temple, seemingly thinking.


    "I don''t know what effect that is. I can only sense that it covers the area in front of us. Seeing the traps so far, I bet you it''s not something pleasant," he turned to Agatha, "Ms. van Nostrand, can you send your blood chakram there to check?"


    Agatha smiled politely and nodded gracefully, "With pleasure, Mr. Bockhorst."


    The woman with the green dress stretched her right arm forward and one of the chakrams moved up, leaving her body, and went to the room in front of them. The moment the chakram left Agatha''s body, the mist concealing it dissipated, exposing its existence.


    The spinning chakram entered the room without any problem. There didn''t seem to be anything happening to it. Agatha let it stay in the room for several more seconds, but still, nothing came out.


    "I do not feel anything affecting my weapon. I cannot tell you what effect the artifact has with this, I am sorry," she apologized and then retracted her blood chakram.


    Even when the weapon returned to her side, no effect was seen whatsoever.


    "I reckon you cannot use divination because of the curses?" Luuk asked.


    Both Johann and Valentine nodded, although the latter couldn''t use it because he actually couldn''t.


    "I''ll try to send my familiar to check. Maybe it only affects living beings. Can you get health and stamina powders ready? If my familiar is destroyed, I will take a huge amount of damage," Johann requested calmly. Judging from his tone, it seemed that he was ready to sacrifice whatever was necessary to achieve his goal.


    With a nod, Luuk opened his backpack and took out two paper pouches, one containing a blue powder and the other one, yellow.


    "Uttu, go there!"


    The spider moved its eight legs quickly down the stairs and entered the room that was affected by the mysterious artifact. Obeying its master''s order, it showed no hesitation.


    The moment the spider was in the room, a purple aura appeared around it, engulfing it completely. Suddenly, Johann felt a throbbing headache and Luuk quickly handed the blue powder to the man. After inhaling the powder, his condition gradually became better and the headache subsided.


    "What happened?" asked Luuk.


    The man''s face was still pale and sweat ran down his face.


    Meanwhile, Valentine was observing the spider that was no longer engulfed by the aura. The glow in its eyes was now more intense than before.


    "I''ve lost connection with my familiar. It''s been taken over by the enemy!" Johann explained.


    The spider, now looking hostile, was standing guard in the room beyond the stairs. Valentine had instinctively lifted the Concealment on it the moment the purple aura appeared, severing the snake link with it, so now the spider wasn''t able to perceive them.


    "It seems that the artifact is able to turn allies into enemies," Valentine concluded.

 229 The Underground

    Agatha stepped forward.


    "In that case, I should be able to deal with that."


    She stayed just on the last step so she could see the room better. Her night vision was scanning the chamber in front of her.


    Gracefully, she raised both of her arms and the spinning chakrams flew up. With her hands now stretched to the front, the chakrams were sent flying forth at a frightening speed, spinning incredibly fast all the while. The moment they left Agatha''s body, the yellowish mist concealing them disappeared, revealing their bloody menace.


    Clank! Clank!


    The armored black spider stomped the ground with its giant, metallic legs in a threatening manner. Its eight eyes looked like they were ready to shred the intruders into pieces.


    Whoosh!!


    The chakrams flew above it, completely ignoring the detective''s defecting familiar.


    In the pitch-black room ahead, there didn''t seem to be many objects that might be the hidden artifact. There were a lot of crates stacked up on top of each other and empty shelves that were collecting dust. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in that basement. On top of that, Johann couldn''t seem to pinpoint the exact location of the thing because the artifact''s effect was dominantly triggering his secret sense.


    Smash!


    Crash!


    Agatha''s solution to the problem was clear. If she couldn''t find the artifact''s location, she could just destroy everything in the room, and in the process, probably destroying the artifact as well.


    Two big blood chakrams were slashing everything in their path, moving arrogantly all over the room. Wooden crates were destroyed, metal shelves cut into pieces. Even the objects stored inside the crates were not spared. Vases, porcelain, old books, everything was torn into shreds.


    The massacre continued on for several more minutes while the men were watching in awe and slight wariness. The brute force and the decisiveness that the woman possessed definitely was out of their expectation.


    "G, definitely don''t provoke her unnecessarily," Valentine sighed.


    Luuk''s face showed a mix of amazement and fear.


    How can she be very violent like that? I don''t want to imagine how she is with her lover. He amused himself with his thought.


    Tiny wooden pieces, porcelain shards, and shredded paper were now littering the floor. It looked like the room had gone through a shredding machine, destroying everything mercilessly. Only the armored spider, which was standing guard in the middle of the room, was spared. Agatha seemed to know that Johann would need the familiar back after the effect was lifted.


    Agatha nodded slowly.


    "Then I will try to destroy the wall as well," she said innocently, but it was clear that she was not joking.


    With her hands, she controlled both chakrams and began drilling away at the brick wall, chipping pieces and pieces of it. Pain, layers of cement, and bricks were quickly destroyed under the brute force of the blood weapons.


    Clank!


    Finally, the chakram hit something hard. It was a metal cube the size of an apple that was embedded into the wall. The blood weapons didn''t seem to be able to even make a dent on it, so it was surely the artifact that they were looking for.


    Hearing the sound of the chakram hitting metal, the other three walked closer to take a look. The artifact was hidden on the wall on the left, obstructed from where they had been standing.


    "I don''t think you can destroy the artifact that easily," he concluded.


    The chakrams were drilling into the metal cube without any result. The cube was still embedded on the wall undamaged; its effect affecting the whole room.


    Valentine was too far to use reveal, so he couldn''t see what it was, but he was close enough to try something else.


    "Leave the thing be. I''ll try something," he said shortly.


    Agatha elegantly swiped her hands up, recalling the blood chakrams. The spinning weapons returned to their master''s side, and the moment they were close again to her, the yellowish mist engulfed them.


    She then inhaled the stamina powder that Luuk had given her before. Her offensive move just now seemed to have drained a lot of her stamina.


    Valentine leaned forward and focused on the metal cube. He then activated his ability.


    "The effect of that artifact is a secret!"


    The same but thicker yellowish mist descended and enveloped the metal cube, covering the object under its shroud of secrets. There were tiny illusory snakes slithering about in the mist, looking somewhat like eye floaters.


    Valentine felt like he could link the illusory snakes surrounding the cube with those slithering around him, but he didn''t know what it would do.


    "What do you think, G? Do you think it will cause the effect to befall us and those linked to us and not anyone else? That could be useful if the effect were positive," he analyzed, his arms were crossed over his chest.


    Once the shroud was in effect, Johann felt that his connection with his familiar had returned. The giant armored spider hurriedly scrurried close to its presence less master, relying on their spiritual connection to find him.


    Valentine then used the last charge of Concealment and hid the spider''s presence, and then linked it with the rest of them through the illusory snakes.


    "Let''s go now. They might have heard the noise we''re creating here," Johann suggested.


    The rest nodded and carefully entered the room one by one. That way, if the artifact''s effect was actually still in place, they could quickly back away and deal with only one person.


    Luuk was the first to take foot into the room because he would be the easiest to deal with in case he fell under the artifact''s control. Johann followed behind Luuk. Although he was a double President rank Contractbound, his offensive abilities were limited and highly tied to his spider familiar.


    The most problematic if falling under the enemy''s control were Agatha and Valentine. The former could easily wipe the group away with her brute force, although she had no defense against control effects, something that Valentine was adept at.


    The group deemed that Valentine should be the last because of his abilities. If he fell under the artifact''s control, they would have no way of dealing with him, especially if they couldn''t see him. Although Agatha could sweep the whole room clean with her artifact, the young detective must have something that could counter it.


    That was even without them seemingly knowing about Valentine''s Mass Illusion ability.


    "It''s safe now. You can step in," Johann beckoned.


    Confident in his own Concealment, Valentine walked into the room casually. He then approached the concealed metal cube embedded into the wall and used Reveal on it.


    ''Neptu''s Cube of Malice. An artifact that looks like an ordinary metal cube. It has the ability to turn anyone inside its area of effect into enemies, no matter what relationships or connections they share. It can even turn someone bound by contract against its contractor and vice versa. Its area of effect depends on the room where it is in, as it has to be buried somewhere in the desired area. However, the biggest area it can affect is the size of a large chamber. With every use, the user must give up their memory of a dearest person forever, and the effect will last as long as the strength of the connection between the user and the person they are willing to forget.''


    After that, the illusory text disappeared.


    "G, this artifact is not half bad, although using it will mean affecting the user as well if they remain in the area. Also, giving up the memory of a dear person sounds difficult for us," he ridiculed himself.


    Meanwhile, the other three were looking at a different part of the wall.


    "Thanks to Ms. van Nostrand''s blood chakrams, the hidden entrance has also been revealed," Johann said, pointing at the metal door that was buried in the wall. The missing first layer of the brick wall had revealed it.


    "Can you open it?" Valentine turned his attention to the Thief.


    The door had no handle whatsoever, so opening it must take a special kind of measure.


    "I can try."


    Focusing on the door, Luuk swiped his right hand.


    "The lock of this metal door is mine!"


    Nothing happened.


    His right hand was still holding thin air; no lock had appeared there.


    "It failed. Let me try something else," he said seriously. The others had showcased their abilities while his only function so far had been lockpickers. He was rather eager to prove his usefulness to the group.


    He took out the severed hand that was attached to a rope. After sending some energy into the hand, he flung it towards the wall next to the door and activated his ability. The hand grabbed on to the wall tightly like a lizard''s feet.


    "The wall around this metal door is mine!"


    The hand was pulled and alongside it, the sections of the wall all around the metal door got pulled as well in the form of an arch. The metal door was now not attached to anything and was standing alone in the way. That way, with just a push, the door would topple.


    "That was smart," Johann praised Luuk''s ingenuity genuinely, "If you can''t break the door, break the wall."


    Luuk smiled proudly but he was still struggling to prevent the wall arch from collapsing on him.


    Valentine quickly came to the young man''s aid and pushed the arch away from them. The moment his hands touched it, the yellowish mist engulfed the arch and muffled the sound of its impact. There was only a faint thud the moment the wall hit the stone floor.


    Valentine did the same with the metal door, pushing it forward. The mist muffled the impact again.


    "Let''s go," he then said shortly.


    The group pressed forward, walking down a dark path that was leading deeper underground. The path was made of stone tiles, similar to the walls around them. The path that was only big enough for three people to walk side by side looked like some kind of underground ruin.


    "I can''t believe there is something like this under Sloten," Luuk expressed his thought.


    "This place looks like it was built very long ago, even before the world war it seems. It doesn''t look like a bunker," Johann added.


    "My mother used to tell me stories about how a lot of places in the Republic used to be ancient cities. Maybe this is one of them, I wonder," Agatha chimed in. Her voice sounded genuinely impressed. It was as if her childhood stories had come true.


    The sounds of their voices and footsteps were hidden by Valentine''s Concealment. The dark path was completely silent, but slowly, there were faint noises that sounded like numerous tiny feet moving about and hard materials rubbing against each other. There were also the occasional buzzings of wings.


    "That... sounds like insects..." Johann concluded.


    The deeper they walked, the louder the noises became. The path that they were walking on led to a bigger room and they had to stop just before they took a step in it. The scene in the room amazed and disgusted them at the same time.


    It was numerous cockroaches! The floor, the walls, and even the ceiling were littered with those tiny relentless insects!


    Although their presence was hidden, they couldn''t avoid stepping on cockroaches if they wanted to go to the other side of the room. If they did that, some of the insects in contact with them would surely be able to detect them and probably mark them somehow.


    Johann''s spider familiar showed an inexplicable ravenous look on its arachnid face.


    "Looks like it''s a job for Uttu and your blood chakrams again," Johann said confidently.


    Valentine could use Mass Illusion to scare the insects away, but it would also affect his companions, so he decided against it. Besides, Johann was right; Agatha''s blood chakrams and his familiar were perfect for the job, so he didn''t have to switch with Graham to use his Fire Manipulation.


    Once again, he and Luuk could only watch from the rear.


    "Screech!!"


    Johann''s familiar let out an intimidating roar and charged ahead. It began stabbing the cockroaches from under the Concealment, using the sharp edges of its eight legs to pierce through the insects'' carapaces.


    Meanwhile, Agatha''s blood chakrams were spinning around, slicing through the insects unfortunate enough to make contact with them. The smell of dead cockroaches filled the room, sending a pungent stench down their lungs.


    Slide...


    Slide...


    Suddenly, countless cockroaches gathered in the middle of the chamber, getting on top of each other and forming a tower. After a while, the cockroaches solidified and turned into the figure of a tall, thin man with long, brown hair. There was a heavy sinister aura coming from the man that instantly intimidated the spider.


    "What have we here? Blood chakrams killing my babies? And something concealed? A Shroud? That is very rude of you,"


    The man''s hoarse but effeminate voice resounded in the room. The aura he was emitting became even stronger now.

 230 The Cockroach Man

    "Most likely. So he shouldn''t be able to see or hear us, can he?" Johann replied and then turned to Valentine, who was slowly sneaking closer to the man.


    "Only our noises are concealed. Our voices are still audible if we speak loudly enough," Valentine explained.


    The man standing in the middle of the large room infested with cockroaches was repulsive. His head was completely human but the bottom of his body was still made of those small insects crawling around hurriedly. Occasionally, a few cockroaches would crawl out of his skin, leaving a hole that would quickly be filled by another one of the brown insects.


    Crush!


    Since the floor was still pretty much littered with cockroaches, Valentine just accidentally stepped on one, crushing it into squish. Although the sound was muffled by his mist, it seemed that the man could sense his location because of that.


    "There you are!"


    The long-haired man raised his right hand and all the insects around Valentine suddenly started behaving strangely. He quickly ran back to the path and shouted.


    "Duck!"


    The others did as he said right away.


    Kaboom!!


    Numerous cockroaches near where he had stood exploded in a bloody, gunky mess that left a small dent on the floor. It was evident that the power of the explosion wasn''t something to dismiss easily.


    Splatters of green slime with a rancid smell filled the wall. Had they not ducked, the slime would have hit and stuck to them.


    "Screech!"


    The spider let out an intimidating screech at Johann''s command and shot spiderwebs at the thin man. Sticky white silk came out of its spinnerets and hit the man right in his face and upper body, causing the cockroaches to stop moving around.


    Woosh!


    Agatha controlled her blood chakrams to strike the man. The giant, spinning blood weapons quickly moved towards the man at a frightening speed, like metal predators lunging at their prey. The loud noise created by their spinning could strike terror to the hearts of anyone nearby.


    Slash!


    The giant spinning chakrams sliced through the man without any resistance, cutting him into three parts. Having his head, torso, and bottom half of his body separated caused the man to disintegrate into countless cockroaches that collapsed to the floor, except for the part that was still stuck together by the spider web.


    From another spot in the room, cockroaches gathered together again, congregating and forming the same man.


    Whoosh!


    Agatha didn''t give him any chance to reassemble his body. The blood chakrams struck right at the spot where he was trying to reappear.


    "The two of them make a very good pair, G," Valentine muttered softly.


    He and Luuk were watching from the back, ready to provide support at a moment''s notice. They were amazed by the synergy between the Gore and the Astrologer.


    "Alright. That is enough! I won''t play around any longer!"


    Came a voice from inside the chamber that sounded insect-like. It sounded like whoever was speaking had had their throat slit and was unable to vocalize their words perfectly. The voice also came from every corner of the room instead of just one spot, as if the cockroaches themselves were speaking.


    With Agatha''s and Johann''s combined attack, the number of cockroaches in the pitch-black room ahead had been reduced by quite a lot compared to before. However, they were slowly replaced by new ones that came crawling through the numerous tiny holes that were barely visible because of the small creatures blocking them.


    Rumble!


    Suddenly, the corridor where they were staying shook, and shortly after, they became narrower and narrower.


    "We need to get out of here!" Valentine shouted from the back. He was the first one to notice that the walls behind him were closing in.


    Knowing that they would be crushed to death if they stayed, they had no other choice but to enter the chamber despite the danger littered about.


    Agatha had to move her blood chakrams to take care of the insects closest to the entrance first. Body parts of small insects flew about the moment the chakrams killed them, cutting them into pieces.


    Baam!


    The path behind them was no more. The walls had closed in, blocking whatever exit they had. Now, they were completely in the domain of the cockroach man.


    The damp and bloody smell mixed with the stench of the creatures was even stronger in the chamber. The thick odor was sickening, although luckily they were not normal people. The blanket of darkness didn''t feel comfortable either, as if there was something crawling on it.


    "Mr. Detective, don''t you have any offensive move?" asked Johann to Valentine. His spider had come back to his side to help kill the cockroaches around them to prevent another explosion.


    Having no other choice, Valentine had to switch with Graham.


    "Yes, but I will need a second. Protect me," he ordered.


    Luuk nodded and took out his dagger. He began slashing the cockroaches with the weapon that was inlaid with a red gemstone. The moment the sharp blade came into contact with the creatures, a flame came out, burning them to crisps. However, with every attack, the brilliant glow of the gemstone became a little dimmer.


    Valentine leaned back against the wall that had been cleared out of the creatures and closed his eyes. He had activated the Illusion Substitutes previously, so Graham could also use it once they switched. Now all he had to do was fall asleep.


    Since Agatha and the spider were now busy clearing the spot near them, the enemy had got the chance to fully formed his body, appearing far ahead of them. His sinister smile was back, but there was now anger mixed into it.


    "If you tell me who you guys are and what you want, I might spare you right now," he said. Now his effeminate voice was back to that of a normal human, although it was still very hoarse.


    Johann looked like he wanted to speak with the man. His goal was to gain information and seek revenge, after all.


    "Are you a member of Pravitatem?!" he asked loudly and sternly so that his voice could go through the yellowish mist. There was no friendliness nor warmth in his tone.


    The long-haired man smiled in amusement. His anger had suddenly disappeared and was replaced by satisfaction.


    "So that''s how it is. Are you here for revenge? Someone you love was killed by us? Hahaha..." he mocked.


    Johann was provoked by the man''s nonchalant ridicule. The pain and anger that he had been trying hard to suppress were stirred once more. Hatred was reflected in his eyes.


    "How dare you! Uttu!"


    He commanded his spider to attack the man.


    The spider, obeying its master''s command, shot its spider web, which the man could easily avoid now. He just simply disintegrated into numerous cockroaches and the web just shot past him. The man then reformed again.


    With his right hand, the man commanded an intrusion of cockroaches to swarm the spider that was lunging at him. The cockroaches crawled all over the spider''s giant body, slowing it down and inhibiting its movement.


    "Your intention to cause an explosion is mine!"


    Luuk quickly made a swiping motion with his right hand, and a glowing orb appeared there. The man, who was just about to utter something, suddenly looked confused as if he had forgotten what he wanted to do.


    Agatha couldn''t assist him because she was busy keeping the tiny crawling creatures away from the spot where they were standing with her giant chakrams.


    "Mr. Bockhorst, do not get provoked by the enemy!" she reminded.


    Screech!


    Johann''s familiar let out an intimidating roar. It was busy trying to get the cockroaches off its body. Although they couldn''t damage it thanks to its hard skin and armor, the creatures could explode at any time at the command of their master.


    The thin, tall man heard the spider''s screech and saw that his cockroaches had surrounded it, so he regained his intention to cause an explosion. Luuk, who saw what the man was about to do, tossed the severed hand at him and quickly stole it.


    "Your intention to cause an explosion is mine!"


    The hand landed on the man''s face as if specifically aiming for it and the moment Luuk pulled it back, a glowing orb came back with it, secured safely in its grip. Luuk now had two glowing orbs in his possession, both of which were the man''s intentions to cause explosions.


    "Hiding behind your friends? Are you unable to take revenge on your own? What will your girlfriend think? I assume that''s who was killed... how pathetic... No wonder she died," the man forgot what he wanted to do again and just decided to anger the detective even more.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    Graham, who had woken up, used Order on Johann to prevent him from doing anything reckless. The detective was now immobilized, unable to lift even a muscle. His face was fuming red from the provocation, but his body wasn''t listening to him.


    "You''re back," Luuk welcomed Graham, who was cleaning his coat off the dirt.


    "Yes. Let''s deal with that man," he replied. The tiny, illusory flame in front of him illuminated his face, its reflection seen in his bright green eyes.


    Flick!


    Using his lighter, Graham created a fire that he quickly made bigger using Fire Manipulation.


    The flame, that was shining brightly in the pitch-black room, caught the long-haired man''s attention. His face turned ugly and twisted. It was as if he had just met his nemesis.


    The spider familiar, which had managed to come back closer to its master''s side, was now almost all freed up of the cockroaches crawling all over it. The winds created by Agatha''s spinning chakrams helped blow away the last remaining ones on its body.


    "Ms. van Nostrand!" Luuk gestured at Agatha and the latter nodded.


    Using her two chakrams, she created a wall between them and the cockroaches, standing in front of the immobilized Johann.


    Luuk, who saw that the enemy was about to do something, quickly let go of the glowing orbs, returning his intentions of causing an explosion. After that, he hid behind Johann, followed by Graham, forming a line behind the two spinning blood weapons.


    The two orbs returned to the man''s body and suddenly, his intention to use his ability was replaced by the intense urge to make the cockroaches that had been on the spider''s body explode.


    "Explode!"


    Kaboom!!!


    The cockroaches that had been pushed back by the chakrams suddenly exploded, sending blood and gunk everywhere. A dent was left on the floor where the strong explosion had occurred, and the thick stench of blood suddenly filled the room.


    Fortunately, the blood chakrams served as a protective barrier. Although they couldn''t cover the whole area, the four people were safe because they were standing in a straight line behind the barrier. Only the spider was affected by the explosion, chipping away some of its armor. Besides that, it didn''t look wounded.


    Once the explosion ended, Graham came forth. Around him were now two fireballs, each the size of an exercise ball, and a tiny illusory flame floating gently in front of his face. The heat from the fireballs made the room warmer, and their brightness cast away the darkness.


    On his command, one of the fireballs shot at the enemy almost at the speed of a bullet while the other once descended upon the ground in front of him. One of the fireballs made contact with the cockroaches, burning them and leaving a wall of fire on the floor, while the other one forced the man to disintegrate into numerous cockroaches that quickly got roasted.


    "I ask that you spread!"


    Flames suddenly blazed, spreading across the room with the help of the tiny insects. The smell of charred flesh replaced the stench of blood, and smoke filled the room that was now a raging inferno.


    Crackle!


    Screech!


    The sounds of the creatures writhing as they burned were mixed with the crackling and conflagration of the flames. The heat was getting more intense by the second.


    "I order the smoke to flow in the other direction!"


    Thanks to Agatha''s spinning chakrams that acted like a fan, the fumes didn''t flow in their direction, but with Graham''s order, the smoke was now blowing to the other exit, its heat cooked the cockroaches that were too far from the flames.


    Having no chance to reform because of the fire, the enemy was nowhere to be seen.


    A few minutes later, all the cockroaches were now dead, including the ones that came crawling in from the holes. After a while, no more insects came out, leaving the room clear of all insects. The raging flames were burning all of their remains, turning them into ashes.


    "Did the enemy die?" asked Luuk curiously.


    Graham let the flames burn a few more minutes to make sure they were completely safe.


    "I don''t think so. He must have run away, but he couldn''t have run away unwounded like that. He must be severely weakened, so we must get him soon," he analyzed.


    Johann, who had been free from the Order, was trying hard to control himself. He was angry at the detective for disabling him, but he knew if Graham hadn''t, he might have put himself in danger.


    Agatha kept the blood chakrams spinning to blow away the smoke. She had taken another one of Luuk''s stamina powders to replenish her lost stamina from controlling the weapons for too long.


    "I cannot believe this strategy also worked on human enemies," she said amusedly.


    "Yes, and whoever is waiting for us at the end of this underground space should be suffocating right now," Graham smiled in satisfaction.

 231 Pravitatems Secrets

    Cough! Cough!


    "The smoke is still around," Johann coughed and complained. It seemed that his lungs were the weakest among the four, probably from excessive smoking, as seen from his darkened lips.


    "Anyway, thanks for holding me back, back there. Otherwise, I don''t know what would have happened," he looked at Valentine with genuine gratitude then quickly back at the dark path ahead.


    Valentine nodded and didn''t say anything.


    Their night visions enabled them to see the path ahead clearly. It was a similar one to the path before; rocky flood and wall and wide enough only for three people to walk side by side. It seemed that the secret underground passage was built in a consistent fashion.


    "If we meet that man again, we must make sure to incapacitate him. I have questions I want to ask,"


    "Was that person the one who killed your girlfriend?" asked Luuk, who was walking next to Agatha at the back.


    Johann shook his head slowly. His right hand clenched in a fist.


    "No. I didn''t feel her artifact in him. Anyway, what do you think this place is built for?" he turned his attention to Valentine beside him.


    The detective with light blue eyes looked around once more and shrugged. Besides the long straight paths and the large chambers full of cockroaches, they hadn''t found anything else there.


    "I have no idea. Maybe it used to be a secret escape route? But it won''t make sense to escape from that old house, so the real entrance should be from the opposite direction," he guessed.


    Johann nodded in affirmation.


    "*Cough* That''s also what I''m thinking about. But now it''s a kind of hideout for that evil organization, although I am sure this is not their main one. The security here is too lax-- we easily entered with just the four of us," he paused and tapped his temple, "This place must serve as something else,"


    After walking for more than five minutes, they finally reached yet another chamber, but this time, it was filled with shelves that were full of old-looking books. There wasn''t any speck of dust resting on top of the books despite their location, which meant they must be well taken care of. Besides that, there was no sign of cockroaches or other insects either.


    "Is this a library?" Agatha gasped. She didn''t expect to see something like that underground.


    "Looks like it," Johann nodded.


    Luuk had a dejected look on his face.


    "I hope we have time to read even just one book here. Whenever we stumble upon something secret, it''s either we get kicked out by something or our time runs out," he complained and exhaled heavily.


    The other three nodded and quickly spread out.


    Valentine went to the shelves on the right side of the room while Agatha went for the ones on the left. Luuk and Johann scanned the shelves in the middle, the latter''s armored spider familiar standing guard near the other entrance to the room.


    "G, I regret switching back. Reading should be your job," Valentine sighed and began searching the shelves carefully. His eyes were scanning the titles of the books with nimbleness.


    Most of the books there were books that could be easily found on the surface, so he skipped them. There were also books written in different languages, which Valentine couldn''t read. Graham''s Deity of Fire Divination had actually granted him the ability to learn languages faster, but the man hadn''t had the chance to actually do that.


    "That''s why you shouldn''t neglect your studies, G," Valentine complained.


    His attention was then caught by a book with a peculiar title. He directly picked it up and opened the object that was just a little bigger than the size of his palm.


    "The Handbook of Curses, written by Cercie. This is like striking a jackpot!"


    Valentine''s eyes lit up as he opened the first page. There was an illustration that looked old. It showed a method of building an altar that would be used in the cursing ritual.


    Reading only the important parts, he began transferring the knowledge to his brain.


    ''To inflict a stronger curse, a proper altar is necessary. The most ideal one would be using an altar-shaped artifact that can enhance the strength of the curse, but such a thing is hard to come by. The second alternative is to use human bones and skin to create the altar, but in the future, something like that will surely be largely against the law,''


    Valentine stopped reading and checked the publication date of the book on the back. It was written in 1900 EH, more than sixty years ago.


    "This writer sure has a good foresight about the future," he chuckled and then continued reading.


    ''Something that won''t lose out to the effectiveness of human bone and skin altar is to use any other artifact that has a flat surface and has a strong negative aura surrounding it. However, by doing so, the artifact will grow more resentful with each ritual until it comes to the point where its negative effect is enhanced to such a degree that it''s unusable without killing the user. Only use an artifact that you don''t plan to use for its intended effect as an altar. That kind of artifact will boost the power of the curse because of its strong supernatural and negative energy.''


    "G, don''t we already have something like that? Although, it''s too small so maybe it won''t work if we can''t put everything on top of it, but we should try either way."


    ''The last alternative is to hunt and use the bones and skin of powerful supernatural creatures, the kind which can only be killed by at least a Prince rank. Their remains will strongly boost the effectiveness of the curse, although not as strong as using an altar artifact or an artifact as an altar.''


    Valentine stopped reading there.


    "That is something we can safely disregard for now. Prince must be the rank above Marquis so it''s still a long way to go,"


    He closed the book and stuffed it inside his pocket after placing an Anti-Divination on it. After that, he began scanning the shelves again for something else that might be useful.


    The shelves in front of him had four levels, and luckily, he was tall enough to reach all the way to the top shelf to grab another book that struck his fancy. It was titled ''The Dead and Hidden Deities by P''. The author only used a pen name, but the title got his curiosity.


    Skipping the lengthy introduction that talked about how the world wasn''t as it seemed and how supernatural power existed, Valentine went straight to the point of the book.


    ''Besides the Deities that are alive and actively grant power to those deemed worthy, there are several others that are already dead or are in hiding for several reasons. Know that the Deities'' relationships with each other might not be all harmonious, so Their own safety might be the reason for their hiding.''


    ''The first Deity that has been confirmed dead is Amada, a Deity with the ability of True Sight and Hexes. Her death was caused by attacks from the degenerate but powerful beings called Angels when She was already weakened. Upon her death, Amada left behind some powerful artifacts whose locations are unknown. Some said the army of Angels took them away, and some said another Deity managed to secure them, keeping them safe for someone worthy to take them.''


    ''The second Deity that has been confirmed dead is Clauneck, the Deity of Wealth. He was killed by a fellow Deity sharing the same domain in order to take over His authority. Clauneck''s death left nothing behind except more power for His killer, but legends said that He had hidden a vast amount of wealth for those worthy enough to seek it. However, even until this day, no one has managed to even glimpse a trace of said treasure.''


    After that, there were some illustrations about the so-called treasure; a mountain of gold and jewelry that could feed tens of generations of families. There were no maps nor any clues regarding the whereabouts of the treasure, however, the knowledge alone was enough to stir Valentine''s curiosity.


    "Let''s say we were lucky enough to get our hands on this treasure, we wouldn''t need to work the rest of our life, G. And getting stronger will just be a matter of sending people to find materials for us for the right price," he amused himself, and then his expression turned serious, "Remember the mural we saw? That means Angels are an actual threat, to be able to kill a Deity like that. Also, Deities can get stronger by killing another for their authority?"


    Valentine continued reading.


    ''The next dead Deity is Turgmam, the Deity of Pyromancy. She was killed by a fellow Deity sharing a similar Domain for Her authority. Upon her death, She wounded Her killer in an explosion, causing Him to go into hiding for fear of His own life. However, some lucky individuals might encounter this Deity and be granted His blessing.''


    He looked up and crossed his arm with the book still in his right hand.


    "That sounds like your Deity of Fire Divination, isn''t it, G? And now the Deity of Pyromancy and Agony. No wonder He isn''t listed in the book."


    After that, he continued reading more about dead Deities, but besides Amada, no other Deities left behind powerful artifacts. Most of them were also killed by Angels, which caused their power not to go to other Deities.


    ''Deities in hiding. The first one is the Deity of Fire Divination, Pyromancy, and Agony, who was forced to take a step back from the front line because of His injury. Although He is recovering, He still needs time to get back to His original strength, especially after digesting the domain of Turgmam. Only a select view can be granted the strength of this Deity.''


    ''The next one is the Deity of Omniscience, Guidance, and Time, one of the King rank Deities, who went into hiding because of His knowledge of the Doomsday, the past, the present, and the future. It is said that He is being hunted by the army of Angels to silence Him and to prevent Him from spreading the forbidden knowledge.''


    The information after that was not really useful, so Valentine stopped reading. He placed an Anti-Divination on the book and stuffed it inside one of the many pockets of the coat that he was wearing, making it even heavier. Whenever he walked, the coat swung from its own weight.


    The other books on the shelves in front of him had nothing that could be useful, so he quickly went to where the others were. Johann and Luuk had also stopped reading, the latter had an exhausted look on his face.


    "You''re a medical student but you don''t like reading," Johann tapped the young man''s back.


    "I''m sick of reading all those thick medical books, I don''t want to read anymore," he said in his defense. He wasn''t even shocked that the detective knew about his status.


    "Anything valuable?" asked Valentine to the two men who seemed to get along well enough.


    Johann and Luuk shook their heads.


    "Not really. All these books are just common ones that we can find on the surface. I don''t know why they put it here. Probably to hide those important ones among the useless ones, but there is none on these shelves here," the detective explained.


    "Same here. I scanned all the titles and nothing was important unless you want to learn how to manage a city or something like that," Luuk shrugged, "What about you?"


    Valentine took out the two books that he had found.


    "I found these two. You can have a read later, but it''s not going to help us at the moment," the tall detective replied.


    Just right at that moment, Agatha walked gracefully from behind a shelf carrying a book the size of a common encyclopedia-- even the thickness was similar.


    All the eyes were on her, the sounds of her boots caught their attention. Although concealed by the mist, the link made it possible for them to hear them.


    "What have you got there, Ms. van Nostrand?" asked Johann, eyeing the thick book.


    There was no pride on her face, but only confusion and concern. Lifting the book up, she replied.


    "It is... a book of complicated rituals that I do not really understand. But I have a strong feeling that Pravitatem is trying to do one of these rituals," she said with a heavy tone.

 232 Pravitatems Plan

    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, the book disappeared!


    "Put on your masks!" Valentine quickly yelled, which the others did as told without question.


    Their faces were now covered with their own masks and the yellowish mist with illusory snakes slithering about.


    In the doorway, a figure slowly emerged from a yellowish mist that quickly dissipated, walking from the path to the room where they were in. The mist, which looked identical to Valentine''s own, had illusory birds surrounding it and now covered only her feet, causing her footsteps to be silenced.


    "That one is ours," the figure, which turned out to be a woman in her mid-forties, said. She sounded rather angry.


    The woman had blonde curly hair that was tied up and a smart short dress that was typically worn by office workers, dark brown in color.


    "Be careful! That must be an enemy!" Johann reminded.


    The four of them raised their guard. The spider, that was standing near where she was, looked rather intimidated, however. It quickly ran back to its master''s side.


    "You of all people to speak in that manner! How dare you break into someone''s place without permission, and taking away our books to boot!" she replied, sounding even more irritated. Her eyes were looking straight at Johann''s eyes right through his mask.


    Valentine was alarmed by how she could hear the man perfectly and even knew where the man''s eyes were. Then, he noticed that there was some line made of illusory birds that had connected itself into Valentine''s Concealment, eating away the illusory snakes one by one.


    "Shit!" he cursed.


    Focusing on the birds, Valentine tried to sever the link that the woman had established without him knowing. The illusory snakes then fought back against the illusory birds that looked like tiny eagles. However, his snakes were outnumbered and the birds easily pecked them to death, causing his effort to fail.


    Having no other choice, he lifted the Concealment on himself and the others because he didn''t know what would happen if the woman''s birds finished eating all of his illusory snakes. Besides, the woman was able to see and hear them anyway because of the link, so there was no point in maintaining it.


    "You''re a cautious one, I must give you that," she said, sounding like a fierce teacher complimenting her student. In fact, it wouldn''t surprise Valentine if she turned out to be a teacher in reality.


    The book that had been in Agatha''s hand before had suddenly appeared in her hand instead, holding it easily with one hand despite its size.


    "Young man, there is nothing impossible. If you contract the right Deity, the range of your Theft can be increased. You should know at least this much if you''re a Thief that is," she lectured Luuk.


    "But there must be a trade-off," Valentine quickly said, which got her reaction. The woman frowned for a second, but he clearly saw that.


    Valentine''s mind was racing to find out what the downside of having the range of Theft increased to that extent. Even the unfashionable woman from Hoorn couldn''t seem to steal unless she was close enough to him. That would mean that probably the strength of her Theft ability might be compromised, or she might not be able to steal multiple things at once, unlike Luuk.


    "I don''t like smart alecs," she said shortly and then clapped, "Consider this a warning from me, do not ever come here again or look into us,"


    Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled violently. Slowly, the ground became mud, capturing them in its grasp. Without being able to do anything, they sunk deeper and deeper into the ground. The bookshelves, which were their only hope of getting out, also turned liquid and melted into the ground along with the books on them. The room was now a giant quagmire without anything to hold on to.


    Having been attacked, Valentine''s Illusion Substitute was triggered. However, there was nowhere safe for him to reappear after his body turned into countless tiny snakes. The moment his real body took shape, he began sinking again. He had to deactivate the ability in order not to waste it.


    Their body sank deeper and deeper into the liquid ground, covering almost all of their heads. The spider had disappeared into who knew where while Valentine''s ears, being the tallest in the group, were still above the surface.


    Using his Boosted Hearing, he overheard the voice of the woman talking to someone else, the voice of whom was unfamiliar to Valentine.


    "Why don''t you kill them?" asked the other person, who sounded like a man. The sound of the liquid ground moving muffled their voices somewhat.


    "There is no use. They might be useful in the future. Just make sure to protect our secret bases better in the future," she replied sternly as if blaming the other person for the breach in security.


    "But they have learned of our secret if they''ve read that book!" the man retorted.


    "That is impossible. Only the woman has read it, and unless she''s a Divinator, she won''t understand a thing. Our secret is still safe," the woman replied, sounding offended.


    After that, Valentine completely sank into the ground, his vision blurred. Besides the sounds of the sound of his own heartbeat and breathing, it was complete silence around him.


    "Mr. Hymes!" came Luuk''s voice, bringing him back to reality.


    Valentine opened his eyes and saw that they had been transported outside. He was lying in the middle of a secluded alley not far from the house, but it was a different one from the one that they had been before. He took off his mask after making sure that no enemy was in the vicinity in order to breathe better. The others seemed to have taken off theirs as well.


    Noticing that Johann was missing, he asked Luuk, "Where''s Johann?"


    "Mr. Bockhorst went to check the house," the young medical student replied.


    The detective then tapped his coat to clean the dirt off it and went out of the alley to quickly check things out. They were still under the effect of his Concealment, so their sudden appearance shouldn''t have attracted anyone who just happened to walk past the alley, but he just wanted to make sure.


    "Things look safe around here, G, but I don''t think we should dilly dally any longer. We need to get a move on once Johann is back," he decided.


    Just as he said that, the other detective returned with a complicated expression on his face. There was repressed anger, confusion, and regret all mixed together on it. Johann walked back into the alley after gesturing at Valentine to follow him to where the others were.


    "What did you find, Mr. Bockhorst?" asked Agatha.


    Heavily, Johann said, "Nothing."


    "What do you mean by nothing?" asked Luuk confusedly.


    "I couldn''t even get close to the house. They''ve set up an invisible barrier that I don''t think any of us can break..." explained the man rather impatiently. It seemed that his mood was sour.


    "So did we come here for nothing then?" said Luuk dejectedly. Although he wasn''t personally involved in the Pravitatem business, he still wanted the commission money for successfully completing the job.


    Valentine stepped forward and spoke, "Not really, but for now, we need to leave this place. We don''t know what might come for us."


    After saying that, the four people quickly left the alley, following the tall detective with blue eyes. Johann sent his spider familiar back to its realm once he got the chance and after that, they all got into Agatha''s parked motor carriage.


    "Where should we go, Mr. Hymes?" she asked.


    "Home. We''ll talk on the way," Valentine replied and checked his watch. It was still


    Vroom!


    The expensive motor carriage ran fast in the late cloudy morning. The mood inside the vehicle was heavy like the dusk. They had just been defeated very easily by the strange woman and it left a bad taste in their mouths. Only Agatha and Valentine seemed not bothered by that fact. The former was driving cheerfully and honking maniacally as usual while the latter stayed quiet in the front seat while watching the streets went by.


    Once they were far enough, Valentine''s Concealment got dispelled on its own.


    "So what did you mean back then?" asked Johann finally. He seemed to have calmed down.


    The detective, although prone to emotional fluctuations, appeared to be able to recover quickly as well, which Valentine applauded. He was completely the opposite of Agatha who never showed any other strong emotion but a polite smile and friendliness. Although she did sometimes express her anger with her action, her face still showed the same warmth.


    "We have actually learned about their plan. At least Agatha has," Valentine explained vaguely.


    "You mean the book, Mr. Hymes? But I did not understand any of what was written in it," she replied regretfully.


    A meaningful smile surfaced on Valentine''s face, although those sitting at the back couldn''t see it.


    "Did you forget that I can read memories?" he finally replied, shortly but it was enough for her to put things together.


    Luuk and Johann also understood what Valentine meant.


    "I totally forgot about that! You are right, Mr. Hymes! That way, you can help me interpret what was written there. There must be a secret hidden for that lady to take it away like that," Agatha replied merrily. Her eyes were still locked to the road ahead while her hands were skillfully steering and switching gears as needed.


    They arrived at the Vakbond apartment building a little less than five minutes later. The four of them quickly went upstairs to the Hymes Detective Agency. After locking the door, Valentine activated his ability.


    "The sounds coming from this room are a secret!"


    "The location of this room is a secret!"


    A yellowish mist descended and enveloped the room, covering its walls, windows, ceiling, door, and even the floor. The room was now a safe space for the four people to convene without their secrets leaking out. Although Valentine wasn''t sure his Concealment could block a Deity''s intervention, he at least knew most Contractbounds would have a hard time doing so.


    "Just make sure we are careful in extracting the information from the book. There might be a Deity''s name mentioned there, and we shouldn''t say it out loud," explained Valentine, "I once did by accident."


    "And what happened?" asked Johann curiously.


    "Nothing, fortunately, and I know why. The Deity whose name I mentioned out loud was in hiding according to this book, so I guess He couldn''t afford to react to just every minor thing. But things won''t end well if we mentioned some other Deity''s true name," he replied while holding the book about the Deities.


    After placing the book on the desk and asking the others to wait, Valentine went to the bedroom and lied down, closing his eyes. He fell asleep not long after and Graham woke up in his place, ready to perform the Memory Reading and Divination all in one.


    Upon returning to the room, Johann was looking at the man intently. Back then, when they were in the dark, the grieving detective was using his night vision, so every color looked the same to him. This time, he noticed that the fellow detective''s eye color had changed. His aura had also completely changed like he was a totally different person. However, he quickly brushed away the thought because it wasn''t what he needed to do right now.


    "It''s just impossible," he thought to himself.


    Sitting in his office chair leisurely, Graham beckoned at Agatha to sit across from him and the others to watch.


    "Are you ready, Agatha?" he asked gently.


    Johann then noticed again that the man''s confidence was different from before. If the man before was emanating an aura of cold and mysterious confidence, the person sitting at the desk now sounded more outgoing and somewhat charming, for the lack of better words.


    Nodding politely, Agatha replied, "Yes, Mr. Hymes,"


    The tall and slender woman relaxed her seating a little bit, although she was still sitting gracefully like a lady.


    With a thought, Graham summoned an illusory flame that hovered just in front of his face. He then started chanting while focusing on the kind of information he wanted to get while watching the gently burning flame. Since he could only read memories related to the target''s interactions with another person, Graham had to improvise a little bit.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby ask to read the memory of Agatha van Nostrand!"


    The illusory flame flickered a little bit, and after a while, an image began to appear just like when he used divination. It was the interactions between Agatha and Valentine in the underground passage! Scenes after scenes appeared, which made him slightly embarrassed because looking at himself-- or rather, his other half-- from another person''s point of view was a different kind of experience. He turned out to be slightly different from his own expectation.


    The scene then reached the one in the underground library, where Agatha had opened the book and was about to show it to the others. It was stolen right after, but from Agatha''s point of view, the content of the book was very clear. Graham memorized every single detail of it before the scene change again, which happened shortly after.


    The others, getting a glimpse of the content of the book, was amazed by the man''s creativity in using his ability, especially Luuk.


    "It''s a shame that you were alone when you read the book, otherwise we would have been able to see it as well," Johann said, "But that is good enough. I''ve got it memorized in my brain."


    "I also still remember it, but it does not make sense to me," Agatha replied.


    "It does make sense to me," said Graham once the image disappeared. His tone was grim.


    The detective then turned his attention to Luuk, who was standing on Agatha''s left, "Luuk, do you remember this name?"


    With a pen and a page from his notebook, Graham wrote a name that made Luuk raise his eyebrows. Agatha and Johann didn''t seem to know what it meant, but Luuk and Graham knew very well.


    "Are they... are they trying to summon that?" he asked, his tone was now heavy as well.


    "I think so," replied Graham shortly and nodded slowly.


    On the brown paper, just one word was written.


    It was Cherub.

 233 A Serious Discussion

    There was only one word written on it: ''Cherub''.


    Johann understood the detective''s intention of writing down the name instead of saying it. It must be an entity whose name they shouldn''t say out loud, just like their Deities. However, it was something he had never seen nor heard before, and the name strangely evoked a certain inexplicable emotion within him.


    Graham moved his illusory flame to the middle of the desk with his thought. He was wearing a solemn expression although his body was relaxed.


    "I''ll just show you. Just make sure you don''t say any of what you see out loud, just to be safe," he reminded them weightily. He didn''t mention that he had said the names out loud before, although fortunately, nothing had happened to him back then.


    Hearing the seriousness in the detective''s tone, everyone nodded.


    Graham then focused on the mural that he had seen back then with Luuk inside the cave-- the mural that depicted a scene of a battle. Concentrating on the flame in front of him, he asked the same question he had done back then about it.


    An image gradually appeared in the flame, showing the relief that was hidden inside a ruin that no longer existed. It portrayed an old, bearded man leading an army of horned beings. The thin, boney old man was riding a horse and carrying a pitchfork that he raised up high as if signalling at his followers to charge.


    On the opposite side was a bizarre, eight-winged figure with hooves instead of feet. The figure''s four heads belonged to four different creatures all growing from the same body that was covered by a pair of wings. The winged figure was also leading an army of winged beings, thirst for blood filled their rocky eyes.


    Below the relief carved on the wall, there was a writing in an unknown language, that after all this time was still unknown to Graham. His divination then created an illusory text above the original, in a language that they all understood.


    ''Knight Furcas valiantly leading twenty legions of spirits against a damned Cherub with his degenerate army of angels''


    After that, Graham stopped the divination and turned his attention to the three people in front of him. They were all wearing a different expression. Johann was intrigued, Agatha was concerned, and Luuk was indifferent since it wasn''t his first time seeing it.


    "Where did you find such a thing?" asked Johann curiously. He seemed to be more concerned about the fact that such secrets actually existed and were waiting to be discovered by people just like him.


    "That was inside an ancient ruin inside a cave. However, the ruin has disappeared now-- or to be precise, someone powerful has made it disappear," he explained.


    Johann looked rather disappointed, but he quickly hid his emotion.


    "That being is the one we saw in the book that belongs to Pravitatem, is it not? If my conjecture is correct, does it meant that they are trying to summon that being onto this world?" she said gravely.


    There was genuine concern in her tone, although she didn''t know precisely what the being the enemy tried to summon was. She only had a feeling that it must be a powerful entity.


    Luuk was looking at the other three people in the room and thought to himself, this is like a gathering of smart people. What am I doing here?


    Responding to Agatha''s statement, Graham nodded.


    "That''s also what I think. It seems that their actions are all aimed at realizing that purpose. We should definitely tell the Police somehow, although they might still be busy dealing with the aftermath of the Pale Society," the detective added his own thought.


    "What are those beings anyway? Have you learned of something else that we don''t know?" Johann asked with a little bit of suspicion.


    Graham smiled bitterly. He then took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles.


    "The other figure that you saw just now is the Deity of Fire Divination. It should explain to you what kind of being He is fighting. For Him to bring an entire army of those horned figures, the being must be very powerful," he spoke without mentioning the names.


    "Your Deity?!" Johann sounded surprised, "So that being is at a Deity level?!"


    Graham nodded.


    "Have you ever heard of a being called ''Angel''? I have a feeling that what my Deity was fighting is a kind of Angel, a high-ranked one at that," he added.


    "So my suspicion was right," Agatha chimed in, "I have heard of the beings called Angels from my mentor; that was before he disappeared. He told me that Angels were powerful, terrible beings that can challenge the Deities themselves. They bring forth destructions and pain in their wake, reducing everything into rubble and ashes. There are several ranks of Angels, and the being we just saw is most likely one of the highest-ranking ones, although I do not know the detail. My mentor just said that the more wings they have, the higher their rank is."


    Surprise surfaced on everyone''s faces, including Graham''s. The Cherub that they saw had eight wings!


    "Then that''s the more reason for telling the Police about all this. However, summoning such a strong being can''t be that easy. There must be a lot of preparations and sacrifices needed, so we might safely assume that Pravitatem''s plan is nowhere near fruition yet. Although, we can''t rest too easy either. But at least it will give us time to prepare ourselves," Graham concluded.


    Agatha, Johann, and Luuk nodded.


    "It is just too unfortunate that I have not seen the whole ritual yet. You divinators might have been able to interpret more than just the name of the being they are trying to summon," she added with slight regret.


    "It is fine. This much is enough. If you have read more, that woman from before might have killed us all..." Graham paused, and then added, "easily."


    "This is something that is a too high level for someone like me," Luuk complained. However, there was a mix of excitement in his dejected voice for some reason.


    Graham, picking up the subtle joy in his neighbor''s voice, looked at him and raised his eyebrow.


    "Why did you sound excited? Is it because it means you have another reason to skip classes?" he accused straightforwardly.


    Graham''s words seemed to have hit the bull''s eye. Luuk couldn''t respond and could only smile bitterly.


    "I take it there is nothing we can do now but to inform the Police?" Agatha asked.


    Both Johann and Graham nodded.


    "That''s the best we can do. I didn''t expect things to involve such high-level entities," Johann clenched his fist, "I still want my revenge, but I don''t think I am strong enough to do that right now."


    "The best that we can do right now is to power up and to inform the authority. Agatha, I believe you have a way of anonymously contacting the Police? Or maybe you don''t even have to do it anonymously," Graham turned his attention to the beautiful woman.


    She smiled and nodded.


    "Leave informing the Police to me. I will also try to gather more information about the organization that we are dealing with. Let us hope that we can all work together and prevent the worst from happening."


    Finally, Luuk spoke, "So, Mr. Bockhorst, what about our payment?"


    Johann laughed amusedly and then tapped Luuk''s shoulder.


    "Mr. van der Meer, I almost forgot about it! Hahaha! Of course, I will still pay you. This much information is very valuable. Do you know how much I can sell it to the right person?"


    Graham''s eyes opened wide.


    "Hahaha! It seems that even Mr. Hymes is interested. I cannot tell you the detail, since it''s a trade secret, but I can assure you, it''s a lot! But anyway, I will still pay you for your service," he said merrily as if already forgetting the seriousness of the things they had just talked about.


    Johann grabbed the briefcase in his hand and took out an envelope before handing it to Luuk. He also got a long needle out of the brown briefcase that was attached to an invisible string and placed it on the desk.


    "That is your monetary incentive," he looked at Luuk and then turned to Graham, "While this needle artifact is yours, Mr. Hymes."


    Luuk received the envelope and counted the money inside. His eyes were glimmering as he counted the amount, which seemed to be exceeding his expectation.


    Meanwhile, Graham was examining the artifact that was called the Needle of Sutekh. His heart was filled with excitement. It was the offensive weapon that he so needed since his gun had been stolen. The needle had the ability to copy and enhance the property of the surface it was dipped in, so he could dip the needle in a paralyzing solution to create a paralysis needle that required no ammunition. He could also make it act like a blood bullet, although he didn''t know what kind of blood he had to dip it in for it to work.


    Looking at the detective, he asked, "Thanks for this artifact, but is this really alright? This must be worth a lot of money, so is there a catch?"


    Johann smiled.


    "Besides the negative effect, there really is nothing else. I just can''t handle that artifact anymore since, as you all have seen, I don''t have the best self control at times," he said bitterly.


    Graham nodded. It was indeed true that for someone with an explosive tendency, the artifact can easily corrupt them, making them tread the path of bloodshed. Graham and Valentine were confident in their own self-control, and besides, the former could implant thoughts in their own head to negate the downside of the artifact.


    "Then I''ll gladly take it off your hand," Graham said. He would use divination later to make sure it was a hundred percent safe for him to use the artifact.


    "If there is nothing else, I think I will excuse myself, Mr. Hymes," Agatha said, smiling politely at Graham, then turned her attention to the man next to her, "Mr. Bockhorst, would you like me to give you a ride?"


    "If you don''t mind, Ms. van Nostrand," the detective replied.


    "So what is your plan now?" Graham asked the two before they left.


    "I''m going to focus on pleasing my second Deity first. It will take a long while," Johann replied nonchalantly.


    "I am still trying to please my Deity, Mr. Hymes. I am impressed by how fast you could do yours," she complimented.


    Graham wasn''t surprised that she knew he had pleased his since he and Valentine had displayed different President rank abilities back then.


    "What about you, Mr. Hymes?" she then asked.


    Rubbing his chin and leaning back on his chair, Graham replied, "I think I''m going out of town again. I need to gather more materials."


    Luuk, who had finished counting the money, look at his detective neighbor. He seemed surprised to hear that the man was leaving town again after just coming back.


    "Where are you going this time, Mr. Hymes?" asked Luuk.


    "I''m going to Rijssen. My divination told me that is where I can get one of my materials," Graham replied.


    Johann and Agatha nodded while Luuk wore a complicated expression on his face.


    "Then we''ll take our leave now. Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Hymes, Mr. van der Meer," Johann offered a handshake.


    Graham got up and shook the man''s hand firmly. Agatha also got up and fixed her leaf-green dress a little elegantly before making her way towards the door, following the two men.


    "Wish you the best of luck," Johann said as he exited the detective office.


    "Leave the Police to me, Mr. Hymes. I wish you a pleasant trip to Rijssen," Agatha bid her goodbye.


    The two guests walked down the creaky corridor and went downstairs, disappearing from their sight. There were now only Graham and Luuk left, the latter had sat down on the sofa with the envelope full of money in his hand.


    "When are you going to Rijssen, Mr. Hymes?" the young medical student asked.


    Walking back to his chair, Graham sat down leisurely, leaning against the backrest.


    "Most likely tomorrow. There is really nothing I need to do here, so I''d rather leave as soon as I can," he replied.


    "And how long are you going to stay there?"


    "Probably a while. I will set up a business there to make money. I am in dire need of money right now. That Johann gave me a really good idea for a business. Why? Do you want to come with me?"


    Having been read right through, Luuk looked rather embarrassed.


    "Honestly, yes. I really need a vacation. You don''t know how boring life has been for me. Since the world is in great danger anyway because of Pravitatem, I feel like I need to focus on saving it. I''m sure my professors will understand the reason for my skipping classes," he scratched the back of his head.


    Looking over his shoulder, Graham muttered, "Val, look at what we have done to this poor university student. He is an adventure addict now, and has caught the hero syndrome."


    Graham turned back to Luuk and said, "If that''s your decision, I wouldn''t mind. But I will be staying for a while, so if you come with me, you will miss a lot of classes."


    "I''ve made up my mind. Besides, I can always go back ahead of you," Luuk replied quickly.


    Graham nodded in approval.


    "Then, let''s get ready. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we''ll depart to Rijssen."

 234 Going to Rijssen

    It was early in the morning, on Friday, 4 October 1968 EH. Graham Hymes and Luuk van der Meer were standing in the busy train station, waiting for their train to come. It was a cold late autumn morning, the air starting to hurt their faces.


    Wearing a thick maroon sweater and a pair of denim pants, Luuk kept himself warm while Graham was wearing his usual dark brown trench coat. The detective didn''t seem to show any sign of being cold despite the low temperature. It was probably because the train station was bustling with activity, or because his body was supernaturally warm. Even the fed bracelet on his wrist didn''t affect him in the slightest.


    "Yes, your hair looks weird in some spots like something''s been chewing on it," Luuk said honestly, looking at the detective with green eyes next to him.


    Graham had asked his neighbor if there was something strange about his hair and the answer disappointed him. He thought he had tried his best to make it look natural, but alas, he was no hairdresser. Feeding Gloom''s Redress every day had finally shown its effect now.


    Putting the brown trilby back on, he replied shortly, "Something has actually been chewing on it."


    Resting his hands on the cane, Graham returned to waiting for the train.


    The train station that morning was already very busy, despite it being only Friday. The rows of seats were packed with passengers waiting for their trains and the walls were lined up with people leaning back. Brown, orange, and black were the dominant colors of what the people bustling there were wearing.


    The sounds of chattering and the engines of the trains filled the giant building with steel beams decorating the walls. The station''s ceiling, up high above, was installed with glass panels to let the morning sunbeams through, and steel bars lined up there for the electric lights to hand down from.


    Being in the train station always filled Graham with awe.


    "Our train should be here any moment now," he said, looking at his brown watch that showed almost seven in the morning.


    He lifted dragged the large suitcase behind him and went closer to the track, standing behind the yellow line for safety. Luuk, who carried only a smaller suitcase than Graham and a backpack on his back, followed suit.


    The sound of a train engine could be heard getting closer and closer rapidly. It got louder and louder as the big metal giant approached and made its stop.


    Choo! Choo!


    The black locomotive stopped right in front of the two men, looking tall and manacing like some kind of metal monster. The locomotive operator, whose seat was up high, got off right after, climbing down a ladder from the other side.


    With the help of portable steps, Graham and Luuk entered the car that was painted all black on the outside and wooden brown on the inside. The interior looked classic, with brown seats rowed up all the way to the front. There were two seats on each side and a big enough leg room since it was the executive class train. The train floor was decorated with a beautiful carpet with brown zebra patterns on it.


    Looking at their tickets, Graham and Luuk went to their assigned seats, the latter took the one near the window. Their seats were in the middle row on the left side, with the numbers G1 and G2 respectively.


    "How long until we reach Rijssen?" asked Luuk, adjusting the backrest a little bit to make himself comfortable.


    Doing the same, Graham then replied once he finished, "This is a fast train, so it should take us ten hours, whereas if we took the coach, it would take us twelve hours."


    "Then I can probably sleep first," the young man said.


    Without answering, Graham agreed with what he said, although he himself was not sleepy. He was more interested in looking out the window later because the view on the way from Sloten to Rijssen was magnificent. He chose the aisle seat so that he could look through both the left side and right side windows.


    They waited for five more minutes before the train finally started moving. Besides the two of them, the car was filled with only fifteen other people when Graham finished counting. The seats in front of and behind them were empty, as well as the one right next to them. Most of the people filled the back and front rows, leaving the middle part alone. Making use of the fact that no one could see him, he used divination to observe all the other passengers on the train.


    On the front row seats, there was a group of four people who seemed to be traveling together. one man and three women. They looked like university students going on a vacation, wearing bright sweaters and carrying a lot of stuff. Behind the group, there was an old couple that looked to be in their fifties. On the seat on the right side on row F, a rich-looking woman was sitting alone with an expensive-looking suitcase resting on the empty seat next to her.


    Two rows behind Graham and Luuk were two men in business attire sitting together. They seemed to be business partners. Right on their right, there was another couple that looked to be in their late twenties with their five-year-old son squeezed in the middle. Farther to the back, on the row ''I'' which was second to the last, a lone man wearing a trench coat and a hat was sitting leisurely. However, his eyes were apparently observing his surroundings carefully.


    On the last row, there were two women that looked rather intimidating. They were wearing blue uniforms that Graham didn''t recognize. The women also seemed to be observing the surroundings. Once he finished observing everyone, he got rid of the illusory flame and made sure no one had seen anything.


    Choo! Choo!


    The loud sound of the whistle marked the departure of the train. With that, they slowly left the station of Sloten.


    The train station was located on Westeinde, and the track would go south of there and circled the city through its southern part. The northern part was too mountainous and the ground was not level, that was why the track was built there.


    Snore...


    Luuk had fallen asleep when the train left the city. Graham, on the other hand, was busy looking out the window with his chin resting on his right hand. The view suddenly changed once the train left the tunnel, which marked the exit of the city. On both sides of the train were now prairies, brownish in color and the morning light shining upon them.


    Graham then stood up. He wanted to go to the back of the train where there was a small balcony. He wanted to feel the wind on his face and get some fresh air. Leaving his sleeping neighbor alone, he walked to the back, past the man with the hat and uniformed women, who gave him a glance. He also noticed that the father of the five-year-old wasn''t in his seat.


    Drag!


    He pulled the back door, which was heavier than he thought, open, and found the man there, smoking. The strong wind blew his smoke away.


    "Good morning," he greeted Graham politely with a smile.


    "Good morning," Graham raised his hat a little and nodded.


    He did not fancy cigarettes or the smoke, but the train was moving fast enough for it not to bother him.


    "Want a pull?" he raised the box of cigarettes, offering Graham.


    "No, I don''t smoke, but thanks," he refused politely.


    The man nodded, took another puff, and blew the smoke in the other direction. He then put the box back inside the pocket of his cotton pants.


    "One of these days I just want to be left alone with my cigarettes. Are you married?" he asked casually. His brown eyes that showed a hint of fatigue looked at Graham''s.


    Shaking his head, Graham replied nonchalantly, "Nope, and not seeing it in the near future."


    "Good. Enjoy your days while you can. Once you''re married, everything will be about your family. Your ''self'' is no more, especially once you have a child," he spoke with longing in his voice.


    Graham didn''t want to respond, so he just nodded and smile.


    "Are you going to Rijssen as well?" asked the man.


    Since the train was stopping in several small towns along the way, it was a valid question.


    "Yes. Are you?" he asked back.


    The man shook his head and took another puff before answering, "No. We''re going to Schiedam to see my wife''s mother. Will probably go to Rijssen once our business is done. It''s just a shame to miss it since the town is so close to the city. Is it your first time?"


    It was now Graham''s turn to shake his head.


    "No, it''s my second time. But the first time was more than two years ago, so a lot of things surely have changed," he explained shortly.


    "A beautiful city, isn''t it? And the seafood just keeps making people come back. I also love their salted herring. It goes really well in sandwiches with some pickles and barbecue sauce," the man started blabbering about food, "And it''s also perfect for this cold weather since the sun somehow shines brighter there and the sea is always warm, err... kind of."


    Graham smiled and nodded, "It''s true. That''s why I''m also looking forward to going back there. It''s still a long way to go, though."


    He looked around and was greeted by the sunshiny prairies whose grass was swaying gently in the breeze. Autumn leaves were falling off the trees and blown away, carried by the wind to a faraway land.


    Choo! Choo!


    The train honked loudly to announce its presence in its surroundings.


    "How long are you going to stay in Rijssen?" asked the man.


    "It''s going to be a while. It will depend on how fast I can finish my business there," Graham replied honestly without giving away any concrete information.


    "Then it''s perfect if you want to go around, isn''t it? The city is truly gorgeous, so you shouldn''t miss any corner of it. I know you''ve been there, but I can''t help but want to say good things about the place since my father was born there," the man added. His tone was merry, "Those white buildings with blue roofs, they just look magnificent, especially with the vast ocean in the background."


    The man''s cigarette was almost finished. With one last puff, he was left with only the cigarette butt, which he discarded into a metal tube that he had taken out of his pocket.


    "What business are you doing in Rijssen anyway? You kind of look like a detective," the man asked curiously with a kind of inquisitive tone in his voice.


    "I am indeed a private detective, how did you know?" asked Graham nonchalantly. He actually had known about the man''s occupation from observing him through divination back then and from his mannerisms.


    "I am a Police officer, so this kind of thing is a part of my job, you know," he replied with pride in his voice, "But I''m on a vacation with my family currently, so I am but a normal person."


    "Either way, it''s reassuring to have a Police officer on board with us," Graham said.


    The man must be a normal Police officer and not a member of the Contractbound division since Graham didn''t recognize him. Although, he hadn''t actually met all of the members so he could be wrong.


    "Yes, and a detective will help a lot in case something came up," he added, "My name is Milan van Dijk," he offered his hand.


    Giving the man a firm handshake, Graham replied, "Graham Hymes, private detective."


    He wasn''t concerned about giving his real name since the Police Contractbounds already knew about him anyway. Besides, if things turned for the worse, he could always erase Milan''s memory using Valentine''s ability that he had copied to Purloin.


    "Somebody, help!"


    Suddenly, a muffled shouting came from inside the car, which alerted both men. Quickly, they returned.


    Once they were inside, the noise of the engine was muffled by the car, giving them some quiet moment. They looked at the crowd of people gathering near the seat of the two businessmen. One of them was standing among the crowd.


    "What is happening here?" Milan asked after making sure that his wife and son, who were sitting right next to the crowd, were alright.


    "He... he''s not breathing!" the man in the business attire shouted hysterically while pointing at his companion on the seat.

 235 A Murder on the Train

    Milan flashed his badge and spoke firmly and loudly.


    Seeing the man''s official badge, the crowd made way for him, including the other man in the business attire. The shocked expression on his face was still apparent, and his hands were clearly shaking.


    "Ma''am, can you come with me? Your husband asked me to move you to another seat," Graham said to Millan''s wife. The man had asked him a favor to get his family away from the scene, although he couldn''t move them to a different car completely because they were still suspects.


    "Mama, why people here? Is a clown?" the little boy spoke curiously, his speech was still rather incoherent.


    The wife was staring at her husband, looking for his approval first. The man, busy examining the body of the person in the business attire, finally looked at her and gave a nod.


    "Alright. Let''s go, dear," she held her son''s little hand and walked with him to the front of the car after Graham cleared the way for her. They were now sitting on row B, just right behind the seats of two of the group of university students and next to the old couple.


    "Please wait here until things are cleared, Ma''am," requested Graham politely. He then smiled at the little boy who was blowing bubbles at him.


    "Thank you, we will," she replied and then nodded.


    It seemed that she was used to this kind of thing because of her husband''s occupation.


    Walking down the aisle, Graham stopped at his seat and looked at his neighbor who was still fast asleep. His snoring was audible, although it was overpowered by the chattering of the crowd gathering near the body.


    "Wake up!" said Graham with a nudge at the young man''s shoulder.


    Only after shaking Luuk''s body several more times did his neighbor wake up. Luuk looked around in confusion as he yawned widely.


    "Are we there yet?"


    Graham shook his head.


    "No. Someone''s been murdered, and I suspect this is a Contractbound''s doing. But there''s a Police officer here, so we can leave it to him probably," he explained, "Now can you get a train attendant or the conductor to come here?"


    Luuk nodded and lazily got up from the chair. He was still yawning all the way while walking down the aisle toward the car in front of theirs.


    The train kept on speeding up past several more grasslands. There was a long bridge with valleys on the left side, while the right side was covered by a tall cliff. In the valley, the sunbeams were shining from the top, illuminating the blue river below and the rocky surroundings. Brown leaves were floating on the river like fish playing, joyfully going down with the streams.


    "It''s a shame that our beautiful trip is ruined by this accident. Let''s just find what happened quickly and be done with it, Val," Graham complained as he looked out the window.


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    "Are you the conductor?" asked Milan van Dijk, who gave the man a look after examining the body. He had put on a pair of gloves at some point.


    "Yes, Sir. I heard you are an officer. How can I assist you?" replied the conductor formally. There was a hint of surprise when he saw the breathless man sitting on the seat, but he quickly controlled his expression.


    "Please manage the people in this car. No one is allowed to leave until we find the culprit, no exception. I will ask questions to everyone later, so make sure they are sitting on their own assigned seats. I will need their identities as well. Also, make a report so that we can get the body down in the next station. Hopefully, we can also find the culprit before then," Milan explain professionally.


    "Yes, sir. Is there anything else you want me to do?" asked the conductor.


    "I''ll let you know if there is," replied Milan, and then went back to examining the body.


    After that, the conductor asked the other passengers to return to their own seats politely, although there was some hint of authoritativeness in his voice that made the people comply. Only the man in the business attire was seated somewhere else since his spot was needed for Milan to investigate, and his family who he had moved farther away as not to disturb the child.


    "What''s the cause of death?" asked Graham, standing on the aisle next with the letter I on the wall above the seats. He was observing the lifeless man sitting on the window seat in front of him.


    The dead man was wearing a brown suit and a pair of brown cotton pants that looked expensive. On his hand was a small briefcase that didn''t look like it had been opened recently. He looked to be in his mid to late thirties, seeing from the complexion on his face. The dead man''s expression was that of shock, his eyes and mouth wide open as if he had just seen something horrific. It reminded Graham of the victim of Pravitatem, although not as extreme.


    "My initial guess is heart failure. However, I don''t know what might have caused it. It certainly doesn''t look natural, that''s why I didn''t rule out the existence of a murderer. But how the culprit did it, I don''t know," Milan explained shortly. He didn''t seem to want to get into the detail of his reasoning yet, but Graham was sure it was not the man''s first supernatural case.


    "How can I help?" offered Graham.


    Milan looked at the detective warmly and then replied, "You can come with me for the questioning and take notes. I''m sure as a detective that kind of thing is easy for you to do. But for now, I still want to examine this body and its surroundings. Tell the conductor to make sure no one comes near."


    "Sure thing. Just come find me on row G if you need me," Graham said.


    After telling the conductor Milan''s instruction, Graham returned to his own seat, his neighbor already waiting for him.


    "Was he really murdered?" he asked curiously.


    "Most likely, and it looks like a curse or something. Let''s switch seats and cover me,"


    Graham, who was now seating by the window, had Luuk sit in such a manner that his body obstructed vision from the outside. That way, no one would see the illusory flame he would conjure. After that, he created the flame low enough in order for the train seats to naturally cover it as well.


    Concentrating on the flame, he began asking the question.


    ''What killed the man in the business attire?''


    An image gradually appeared from inside the flame, and looking at it made people feel like they were looking at a giant movie screen. That was why Luuk avoided the divination flame because he needed to keep watch.


    The image in front of him showed Graham the event that had transpired.


    It was the scene from when he was outside talking with the Police officer. Inside the train, one of the two intimidating women stood up and went to the toilet that was at the front of the car, walking all the way down the aisle. It struck Graham as strange because there was another toilet right behind her seat.


    Graham''s attention was then caught by something that appeared on top of the dead man, who was still alive at that time. It looked like a green apparition that no one else could see, seeing that no one reacted to something that apparent. Its body was see-through like an illusion and its arms were long with sharp claws at the end. The apparition''s head was blurred beyond recognition, just like Graham''s early day divination but much worse.


    The apparition was hovering over the man for several seconds before finally, it descended and stood face to face with him. It then stretched its right hand and pierced through the man''s chest, seemingly grabbing his heart directly. A second later, the man let out a cry that Graham couldn''t hear, and then his expression became the one that was immortalized in his death. The apparition disappeared after that, along with the image from his divination.


    "Val, our conjecture has been proven correct. So that''s how a curse looks visually. That might mean someone with a vision for that kind of thing can avoid being cursed technically, right?" he muttered quietly and then looked around.


    Luuk seemed to no longer pay attention to the detective''s muttering now.


    There was still no one around him, and Milan hadn''t come looking for Graham, so he continued on with his divination.


    ''Is the killer of the man sitting here in this car with us?''


    The flame flared and showed him a piece of paper being burned. The flame consumed the paper fully and quickly, indicating a positive response to his question. The killer was indeed there.


    Since he was dealing with a Demise, he didn''t know if it was wise to use divination directly on the person. However, he then remembered that his illusory flame was, in fact, illusory, so even if it flared up and exploded, he would be uninjured. He just needed to beware of another kind of Divination Curse that he wasn''t aware of.


    ''Who is the person who killed the man?''


    The illusory flame in front of him burned violently, as he expected. After that, it exploded in a blaze, which surprised even Luuk. Luckily, they weren''t hurt by the illusory flame that Graham quickly got rid of, and no one seemed to have noticed anything thanks to the cover by his neighbor.


    "What just happened?" he asked while looking around, making sure the situation is under control.


    "We are up against a Demise, so I can''t use divination against them," Graham replied.


    "So they are here in this car with us?" asked Luuk, looking seriously at Graham.


    The detective nodded.


    "The most suspicious one is that rich woman with her large bag. A Demise needs an altar to do their cursing ritual-- except for that woman Fear from Pale Society. She seemed to be able to do curses without an altar just fine for some reason," Graham explained, remembering the past event when they were fighting against Fright and Fear.


    "So what are you going to do? There is a Police officer here, right? But if he is just a normal human, he won''t be able to do anything," Luuk asked.


    "Yes, but we have to find the real culprit first before taking action. Divination doesn''t work, so we have to go with the old-school method," Graham said meaningfully.


    "What method? Interrogating them all one by one?" asked Luuk curiously.


    "That too, but I am worried about those two women at the back. There is something off about them. On top of that, one of them went to the toilet at the front before, instead of the one behind them. That is certainly another point we need to consider. They might even be Contractbounds as well, so we have to be careful. We don''t want any meaningless fight."


    Luuk nodded.


    "Then I''ll go check the toilet. There might be something inside there that we can use as a clue," he said.


    "Please do. Meanwhile, I''ll take a short nap," Graham said, which didn''t garner Luuk''s reaction. It seemed to be just an everyday thing to him now.


    After getting up, Luuk approached the conductor who was standing in front of the door to the other car to prevent exit.


    "May I go to the toilet, please?" he said.


    The toilet was placed outside the car, on the platform that connected the car with the one ahead. The exit doors were also located there, on the left and right sides of the platform.


    The conductor thought for a few seconds and then nodded. He opened the door for Luuk and stood on the platform door so that Luuk couldn''t sneakily leave the car. Although all three doors were closed firmly, the sound of the train engine was louder there compared to the inside of the car.


    Meanwhile, Valentine had woken up, replacing Graham. His sense of secret was triggered instantly the moment he became conscious, telling him there had been a curse at play in the car. However, it was very faint as time had passed since the event happened and he couldn''t pinpoint where it came from. He just had a vague feeling about it, but it was enough to confirm that the apparition he saw through Graham''s divination was indeed a product of a curse.


    Valentine felt a chill on his wrist coming from the bracelet he was wearing. He was sometimes jealous of Graham who could wear Gloom''s Redress without any negative effect because of that.


    "I''ll take this off for now," he muttered and took off the bracelet.


    After that, he fixed the ring on his left middle finger and got the needle artifact ready, in case he needed to quickly and secretly incapacitate someone. He had previously dipped the needle in the essence made from a paralyzing plant that Luuk had gathered. His neighbor''s extensive knowledge of herbs had come in handy once again.


    "Mr. Hymes, it''s time to do the questioning. Let''s start from the kids at the front," Milan said.

 236 A Dilemmatic Process

    "Ahem!"


    Milan cleared his throat to interrupt the group of youngsters, who quickly turned their attention to the figure of authority standing in front of them.


    "Yes, officer? Are you going to ask us questions now?" asked the male student with a confident tone. He seemed to have been expecting it, and Valentine could see a tinge of arrogance on the young man''s gaze.


    "That is correct, so please cooperate," Milan replied. His tone was friendly but there was a hint of authoritativeness in it, the kind that warned people not to mess around.


    The four people nodded. There was no sign of fear or worry on their faces, although that didn''t cross them off the suspect list for Milan.


    "First of all, can you tell us who you guys are?"


    The first one to speak was the male student whose hair was brown and wavy, hanging as low as his ears. His green eyes were brimming with confidence and his smile didn''t waver. The bright yellow sweater he was wearing contrasted nicely with his eye color.


    "My name is Levi Jansen," he said without breaking eye contact with Milan.


    The second to reply was the woman who was wearing a pink sweater sitting next to Levi on the window seat. Her voice was soft but there was no sign of timidity in it.


    "I''m Annie Baas."


    The third to respond was the one sitting on the right row on the aisle seat. She was a woman with long straight hair, jet black in color, and a cold, pretty face that resembled the first winter morning. However, her smile broke the ice of her face as it was radiating warmth and confidence.


    "My name is Norah Durand."


    Finally, the woman sitting on the far right replied when it was her turn. She was wearing a bright red sweater and a lot of accessories on her body that jingled when she moved.


    "I''m Sandra Monet."


    Valentine was writing all their names and characteristics on his notebook, including the subtle hints that normal people might not catch. The four of them, although tried their best to hide it, had a kind of mischievous look on their faces. Even though it was very subtle, Valentine could see that they were challenging Milan, almost as if saying ''try to suspect us we dare you''. Judging from how they behaved around a figure of authority and the fact that they seemed to know a lot about the whole procedure suggested that they might be law students.


    "May I know where the four of you are going and for what reason?" asked Milan without sounding judging.


    "We''re just going on a vacation, as you can see from our luggage. We heard Rijssen is a great city to have a vacation in, that''s why we''re going there," replied Levi confidently. His voice was as friendly and cooperative as he could be.


    Secretly, Valentine had been using Reveal to see the secrets of the four students in front of him to find any discrepancy between what they were saying and the truth. Since they turned out to be normal humans, Valentine could gather a lot using his ability.


    Milan looked up to the colorful suitcases stuffed on the train luggage compartment and nodded. They seemed to be telling the truth. However, Valentine''s cold voice from behind him disagreed.


    "He was lying," the detective said shortly and coldly, looking straight at the male student with his sharp gaze. His Denuder''s lie detection had been triggered by Levi''s words.


    Feeling surprised, Levi wore an offended expression.


    "What do you mean I was lying? Officer, who is that? He hasn''t shown us his badge yet!" he said, the friendliness from before was all gone.


    "He is my partner, a private detective. Now, if you were not lying, why are you offended by his words? Surely you are not hiding anything, are you?" Milan replied in Valentine''s defense.


    Flustered, Levi quickly controlled himself and returned to his friendly self.


    "We''re sorry, we all here just hate liars, so it offended him to be called lying," Sandra came to her friend''s defense.


    Again, Valentine''s lie detection was triggered.


    "She was also lying," said Valentine coldly, looking straight at the female university student.


    There was a surprise on Sandra''s expression, but unlike Levi, she could quickly control herself. She didn''t say anything else and just smiled.


    "Mr. Detective, what is your base for accusing us of lying? If you keep calling us liars without any ground, we will sue you for slander," said Norah sternly. There was an expression of satisfaction on her face.


    Valentine just let out a mocking smile.


    "Never did I say any of what you said I did. You just called yourself that," he replied nonchalantly.


    Milan was just shaking his head and smiled bitterly. He didn''t know that the detective he just met would be so cold and brazen despite only facing four younger students. Although he himself would not go easy on them just because they were young, at least he would still try to be a little bit warmer.


    Although it was clear that they were not the suspect because the four students were normal people, Valentine was still interested in what they were hiding. However, depending on the scale of their secret, it might not be worth wasting his time on them.


    Looking straight at Annie, who was sitting on the far left, Valentine cast his Interrogation quietly. After that, her eyes suddenly became blank, her face expressionless.


    "I''ll just ask that woman over there. She seems to be the only honest one around here," said Valentine jeeringly, "Now tell me, why are the four of you going to Rijssen?"


    The other three looked at her and felt weirded out by how blank her face was, but they didn''t know what was happening. There was a worried look on their faces, replacing all the confidence and arrogance that they had just a moment ago.


    "What did you do to her?!" Norah blurted out. Her tone was full of accusation.


    Milan also looked at Valentine; his face showed confusion.


    "Nothing. Did you see me even get anywhere close to her?" he replied.


    Valentine had been standing behind Milan all the time, leaning close to the front wall of the car. It was too far for even his arms to reach the woman.


    "We are going to Rijssen because we are running away from punishment from the university," finally, Annie replied. Her tone was as flat as her expression, almost robotic, in fact.


    "And why have you been punished?" asked Valentine.


    Levi was about to place his hand over Annie''s mouth when Milan grabbed the young man''s hand to stop him. His grip was gentle as not to hurt the student but firm enough to prevent him from doing rash things.


    "Because we have been proven guilty of bullying someone to the point of suicide," she replied honestly.


    Valentine suddenly felt disgusted. Before this, there was no trace of guilt at all on the four people''s faces, and even now, they were only wearing a worried look because of the fear of consequences.


    Milan gave each of them a stern glance.


    "And what is your punishment?" asked Valentine again, his disgust was apparent in his tone.


    "We have to do community service around the campus, and we have to privately apologize to the victim''s family."


    The more the truth about them came out, the more sickened Valentine became. It seemed that the university wanted to solve the problem inwardly and wrap things under the table without involving the Police, despite someone''s death being involved. Even Milan looked repulsed by the four university students in front of him.


    Calling the conductor, who was still guarding the platform door, to come, Milan said, "Please drop them off at the next station and tell your men to call the Police to escort them back to Sloten. We will make sure to investigate this case thoroughly."


    The conductor nodded.


    "But it''s not our fault! We didn''t do anything!!" Levi was enraged by the decision that he thought was unfair. His face was red from rage.


    "Shut up!" Milan roared.


    Hearing the officer angry like that scared the three students, especially Levi who was directly in front of the man, feeling the full force of his voice. Even the other passengers in the car found themselves looking at the man.


    "If they try anything funny, just call me, but I believe you and your men would be enough to handle them," Milan instructed the conductor.


    After that, Valentine ended the Interrogation on Annie, who quickly returned to her normal self, looking confusedly at the others.


    Following the Police officer''s order, the four university students were escorted out of the car by the conductor, walking with rage on their faces. Even until the end, they still didn''t feel that they deserved a harsher, or even any, punishment at all.


    "Don''t worry, they are not the killer, so we don''t have to bother interrogating them again," Valentine told Milan.


    After the detective''s performance, Milan''s trust in him had risen a lot. The Police officer nodded and then moved along to the next people they needed to ask.


    "Can you ask my wife while I interview the old couple? Conflict of interest, you know?" Milan said.


    With a nod, Valentine turned to the right side of the car while the officer looked to the left. They could still practically hear whatever the others were saying since they were all sitting on the same row.


    "Ma''am, did you see what happened back there?" asked Valentine after using Reveal on her.


    Milan''s wife was a beautiful woman with blonde wavy hair falling to her shoulder. Her face was still radiating her youthfulness and her big brown eyes were staring at Valentine kindly. Her son was sleeping in her warm embrace as she gently tapped his back with her soft hand.


    "I''m sorry, Mr. Detective, but my son and I were sleeping. We were woken up when someone screamed, so I didn''t see anything," she said apologetically.


    There was no lie in her words, so Valentine nodded.


    "Do you by any chance know the man who died?" asked Valentine, although it was unlikely that she did.


    "I don''t know him. My husband can confirm it," she said again with her soft voice. There was yet again a hint of regret in her tone.


    "It''s alright, Ma''am. I know you are not lying. Thank you for your cooperation," Valentine smiled.


    There was nothing useful that could be gained from asking her, so he turned his attention to the old couple. He had also heard Milan''s questions and their answers, so he knew where they were at.


    Apparently, the old couple was going to Rijssen to visit their grandchildren, which Valentine detected no lies from. They also didn''t see anything suspicious except for the fact that the uniformed woman went all the way to the front toilet, which was in line with Graham''s divination earlier.


    The old couple was also crossed out of Valentine''s list of suspects because they were just normal humans.


    Since the suspect was a Demise, Valentine could easily identify them using his Reveal. However, he had to make it look normal so that Milan could detain the suspect naturally. He was still wary of the two uniformed women sitting at the back.


    Drag...


    The front car door was opened and Luuk returned from the platform. He walked as if nothing had happened, going straight to his seat after whispering to Valentine that he had found nothing inside the toilet.


    The fact that his neighbor didn''t find anything didn''t surprise him, but he was disappointed nonetheless. He couldn''t get any clue regarding the women and his only chance was to use Reveal on them-- if there was even the opportunity.


    After Milan finished interviewing the old couple, he had a few words with his wife and then continued with his job. The next person on the list was the rich-looking woman who was sitting alone a couple of rows behind.


    The woman was wearing a pair of sunglasses and her medium-length black hair looked rather unnatural, like it was a wig. Her lips were rose red and her thick turtleneck maroon sweater covered the expensive-looking black dress that she was wearing. The expensive-looking suitcase was still sitting neatly next to her, on the window seat without any sign of having been moved.


    She was looking out the window without paying attention to the two men approaching her. Her hands were resting gracefully on her laps and her legs were crossed elegantly. Although covered by her big round sunglasses, it could be seen that her face had a certain mature beauty about it.


    Looking closely at her, Valentine felt that he had seen the person somewhere before, but he couldn''t really pinpoint where. Her whole slender figure, however, looked very familiar.


    Using Reveal on her, Valentine was then shocked.


    The woman in front of him was not a woman at all!

 237 Resolution

    The illusory letters then disappeared as Valentine began processing the information. The man in front of him was indeed the same person who had bought the Romancer scroll from Graham back then, and the one who smiled at him at Jacco''s restaurant.


    "Ma''am, can we ask you some questions?" asked Milan politely.


    Matias turned his attention away from the window and gave the Police officer a glance without even taking off his big sunglasses.


    "Yes, officer, go ahead," he said, his voice surprisingly much more feminine than usual.


    "G, is it possible that he had taken a potion to turn his voice like that?" Valentine looked over his shoulder and muttered quietly.


    The officer and the man in disguise were now looking at each other; the latter still refused to make eye contact with Valentine for some reason. He must have recognized Valentine and might be afraid that the detective would recognize him through his disguise-- little did he know, the detective had done so.


    "First of all, can you tell us your name?"


    Pretending to be getting his notebook ready, Valentine listened intently.


    "Diana Maanlicht. That is my name, officer," he replied without hesitation. Matias must have prepared his disguised quite well.


    Milan looked at Valentine, who was pretending to be taking notes and asked for the detective''s confirmation. Valentine then nodded, letting the officer know that it was not a lie.


    Since Matias was not the killer because of his Deity, Valentine didn''t feel the need to expose him. The man might even be useful in case something did happen later on, and his secret could be the bargaining chip that Valentine might need.


    "Can you tell me if you know the man who passed away?"


    "To be honest, officer, I don''t know him," he said with a voice that sounded even more beautiful than some women''s voices.


    Milan looked at Valentine again for confirmation. It seemed that the Police officer had fully trusted Valentine''s keen sense for detecting lies.


    Finally actually writing some information down, Valentine gave the officer a nod.


    "Did you see what happened, Ma''am?" asked Milan again.


    Matias placed his slender index finger that was covered in a glove on his chin and began tapping it lightly.


    "I only saw one of the two women at the back going to the front toilet. I think that doesn''t mean anything. The screaming came long after when she was already back in her seat, and I think it was the man next to him who screamed for help," he explained.


    Valentine nodded again. There really was no lie in his words.


    Matias and Milan both turned their attention to the suitcase.


    "It''s just my clothes and underwear, and I don''t feel comfortable exposing them to unfamiliar men," he said with a tone full of regret.


    The words that he had just uttered was a complete lie, but Valentine still gave Milan a nod. He himself had checked the content of the suitcase using Reveal, and although it wasn''t as what the man described, it wasn''t something that could pose a direct threat either. Exposing it might even make the situation more complicated.


    "She''s telling the truth," Valentine said.


    There was a split-second surprise on Matias''s face when Valentine backed up his lie. He was sure the detective wouldn''t buy the lie that easily, that was why he had prepared another excuse not to open the suitcase. However, the detective just readily confirmed his words like that, which made him think hard about the reason.


    "Then I shall press no further if even you said so. Thank you for your cooperation, Ma''am. Please tell us if you remember or see anything," finally the Police officer said.


    Matias nodded elegantly and then continued staring out the window, ignoring the two men standing in front of him.


    Milan and Valentine went to the middle of the aisle and started talking quietly.


    "Now we''re done to five suspects. I''ll interview your friend and you can go question the deceased travel companion," instructed the officer.


    Although Luuk wouldn''t give any useful information since he had been asleep the whole time, Valentine didn''t say anything and just nodded.


    Since the body had been moved recently under Milan''s command, the man in the business attire was now sitting alone on the right row, seemingly not wanting to sit on the same seat again. Approaching the man, Valentine walked calmly but imposingly.


    "Excuse me, Sir, can I have a moment of your time?" he asked politely but sternly.


    Valentine was standing in front of the aisle seat in order to prevent anyone from running just in case. Since the car was big and luxurious, there was a lot of leg space that was enough for someone to sit down and stand up at the same time without them touching. That was why it would be very easy for a suspect to just try escaping otherwise.


    The man''s face was still pale from experiencing someone''s death first hand. It seemed to have been an utter shock to him as his legs were still shaking, albeit lightly. Despite his attempt to look calm, the man was definitely shaken.


    Valentine observed the man while secretly activated his Reveal ability. The man looked to be in his late thirties and his straight black hair was all messy. There were droplets of sweat on his forehead and his pinky fingernail showed signs of being chewed on recently. Valentine also noticed that the man''s shirt had been untucked at some point, as seen through his unbuttoned grey suit.


    "Y-yes? The other officer already asked me questions earlier, d-do we need to do this again?" he said hesitantly. His voice was wavering with clear signs of worry and fear in it.


    Trying his best to make a kind smile, Valentine nodded, "Yes, sir. It''s just the protocol,"


    Meanwhile, illusory letters had appeared over the man''s head that began to form a comprehensive text slowly.


    Choo! Choo!


    The train was still moving fast despite all that happened in one of the cars. The prairies outside were quickly replaced by trees and tall hills on both sides, yellowish-orange in color because of the season. The sparse trees contrasted nicely with the brighter orange color of the grass, giving off the beauty of a mid-autumn morning.


    "W-what do you need to ask me?" asked the man rather anxiously, "I-I can believe he died just like that. What am I supposed to do now with our company?" he said, his left leg was shaking harder. It almost looked like he was having a panic attack.


    The beauty of the view outside created a strange contrast with the evil that was taking place inside the car. It almost felt surreal to Valentine.


    Once the text finally formed, Valentine raised his eyebrow, and on his face was a solemn expression. Instead of revealing the information about the target, all he got was the letters ''S''s and ''Z''s and ''T''s that sounded like a snake''s hissing. At that moment, he understood what was happening.


    The man in front of him was the Demise!


    Feeling something nudging his spirituality, the man in the business attire suddenly had a complete change of expression and posture. No longer was he the person who was shaken by his companion''s death. All the facade he had been wearing so far had gone down the drain. His eyes now looked cold, his face expressionless. The shaking by his legs had also stopped as he now sat straight casually like nothing in the world mattered.


    "I see that you''re trying to see my secret. Too bad it didn''t work, did it?" he said, coldly.


    At some point, Valentine''s right hand had been stretched to the front, pointing at the Demise in disguise; the bracelet on the wrist emitted a faint, cold glow.


    The man saw the glow and became guarded. He tried to open the briefcase that was resting on the seat next to him, but strangely, he dropped it instead to the carpeted floor.


    Quickly, Valentine activated his ability and placed the man under Interrogation. The person''s eyes went blank in an instant, as well as his face.


    "Milan, over here!" Valentine called for his partner.


    Feeling the resistance from his strong target, he knew that his ability wouldn''t last as long as usual, so he had to make use of every second. However, he also had to be careful about the question he asked since the two women at the back were making him uneasy. Although Milan, as a Police officer, should know about Contractbounds and should be amiable towards Valentine, the two uniformed women didn''t look like they were in line.


    The officer came running quickly and then looked at the man with a blank expression on the seat. He looked at Valentine and raised his eyebrow.


    "What''s happening?" he asked.


    "Just trust me," Valentine replied shortly, and then began asking the Demise, "Are you the one who killed that man?"


    Slowly, the man nodded and replied monotonously, "Yes."


    Not wasting his time, Valentine ignored Milan who was wearing a perplexed look on his face. The officer might have never seen a supernatural interrogation in person.


    "How did you kill him?"


    "I cursed him to death."


    "How did you curse him without a ritual?"


    "I used the help of my artifact." the man replied shortly.


    "Are you acting alone or do you have a partner?"


    "I have partn..."


    Just as he was about to finish his sentence, suddenly he was jolted awake by something and quickly dodged. A person under Interrogation would have their sense of danger greatly improved, so the man could easily dodge the knife that was thrown at him.


    "Who is that!" shouted Milan, looking at the knife that was now stuck on the back of the seat at the front.


    It seemed to have come from the back where the two women were sitting. Both of them appeared to be getting up from their seats with threatening looks on their faces as if saying ''back off or else''.


    With the Demise no longer under his control, things became more complicated, and the fact that his partners seemed to have made a move also didn''t help the situation. However, Valentine was prepared for something like that.


    Quickly slitting his wrist and concentrating on the belt that he was wearing, he began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Deception and Hidden Thoughts, call forth an illusion that covers this car!"


    Illusory orange curtains began descending from above and enveloped the whole car under its gentle embrace. Everybody in the car quickly fell under Valentine''s illusion while he was maintaining the blood supply to keep the illusion intact. Luckily, Purloin helped to reduce the ability''s cost.


    The people in the car were now seeing what Valentine wanted them to see. It was an underwater scene!


    Besides Valentine, everyone was gasping for air as they were drowning deeper and deeper into the ocean. Sounds of muffled screaming and cry for help filled the car as hands were violently reaching up as if desperately looking for a lifeline that didn''t exist.


    Valentine knocked out the Demise using the cane that he was holding, hitting the man at the back of his head hard. The man in the business attire then fell unconscious and was no longer suffocating because of the illusion.


    Having to work fast in order not to accidentally kill the normal humans with his ability, he ran to the back of the car where the two women were. The knife seemed to have come from their direction, and he didn''t like them in the first place, so Valentine didn''t waste the chance to teach them a lesson.


    His blood kept on dripping and evaporated once it touched the carpet. Ignoring the dying scream of the people around him, he made a beeline towards the women who had been making him feel uncomfortable the whole time. This time, their arrogant and imposing expressions had been replaced by paleness and fear of death as they were gasping for air.


    Quickly, Valentine knocked them out with the cane as well. Just to be safe, he also knocked out the mysterious man in the trench coat.


    Once all the suspicious people were unconscious, he quickly placed himself under layers of Concealment and quickly deactivated the illusion. Needing time to recover, Valentine sat on one of the empty seats, panting.


    The people in the car came back to reality and breathed in as much air as they could. Their faces were drained off their colors and their expression horrified. It was like they had just experienced the worst nightmare in their lives.


    After he had recovered a little, Valentine quickly went around the car and erased people''s memory about him except for Luuk and Matias. The thin yellowish mist made them already forget about his existence, so it was an easy enough job. Only after that did he return to his seat sneakily without anyone even noticing, including Luuk, and quickly tried to fall asleep.


    Milan, who had forgotten all about Valentine, somehow still remembered about the interview with the Demise where he confessed to his crime. However, his memory of the person asking the questions was all blurred and unclear. Making use of the fact that the man had been knocked unconscious, he asked the conductor to get something to detain the man. Since he was much more dangerous than the university students and the train didn''t have jail cells, it was safer to put him somewhere Milan could watch him.


    The conductor came back quickly after with a pair of handcuffs, which Milan quickly placed around the man''s right wrist and the bar of the seat.


    "These are all you have? This man seems to have partners in this car and we need more," he said.


    "Yes, sir. Those are all the handcuffs we have here on this train," said the conductor apologetically.


    Graham had woken up and heard what the officer said. Since the enemy was a Contractbound, and a President rank at that, just handcuffs wouldn''t be enough.


    Still hidden under the Concealment, Graham got up and approached the unconscious killer. He then crouched near him and began implanting Orders into the man''s brain.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby plant this Order inside your brain! Once you wake up, you will do nothing but obey what Milan van Dijk says."


    The implant would take time to manifest, but there should be enough time while the man was still unconscious.


    Graham''s stamina was almost greatly consumed by his ability if not for Purloin reducing its cost. He quickly walked towards the back of the car and repeated the process with the two unconscious women and then sat down to recover a little.


    The last target he had to implant the Order into was the man in the trench coat, Once his stamina came back a little, he did the same to the man before finally returning to his seat. With that, all the trouble in the car had been resolved. The enemies didn''t even know what had hit them.


    Smiling confidently, he muttered while removing his layers of Concealment one by one, "Val, it feels satisfying to win for once. We didn''t even have to fight. I''m sick of enemies beating us or running away from us."

 238 Rijssen, the Coastal City

    "So why did the man choose to murder his companion on the train? And what was the woman doing, going all the way to the front toilet like that?" asked Luuk curiously at his neighbor.


    The two men were still sitting patiently, waiting for the train to come to a full stop. Even before getting off the train, the view outside already stunned them with its magnificent beauty, so they didn''t mind waiting long inside the train.


    Rijssen''s train station was located at the outer edge of the city, up high on the hill while the city itself was built on the lower elevation. From the window, they could see the glimmering blue water of the vast ocean and the contrasting, velvety white sand that twinkled occasionally as it reflected the sunlight. The buildings that comprised the city were built in white brick stones with sky blue roofings that matched the natural colors of the ocean and the sky in the background. From up above, it was like they were looking at a sky kingdom on Earth.


    "I don''t know about his motive since he is a Demise; divinations about him will just end in a failure. However, I can answer your question about the woman. She is a Guile, just like me, so she most likely was resetting her Transformation in the toilet because the duration was up," Graham explained as he got up.


    The train had made a complete stop, the sound of its brake pierced the ears despite them being so far in the back. People were already waiting at the station to pick up their loved ones or just to watch the arriving train.


    "As to why she chose the one at the front instead of the back, it''s because there is already a curse trap placed there. If the target didn''t die from the first curse, they would lure the man to the toilet at the back to kill him and made it look like an accident," he added, ready to leave the car.


    "So it''s a mistake on their part, not expecting another Contractbound who can detect curses?" asked Luuk, putting on his large backpack on his back.


    "Probably they tried to use divination, but it failed since I always have anti-divination on myself," Graham replied casually, "The fact that the man hired mercenaries should tell us enough that he already prepared for a lot of different situations, including combat. He just didn''t expect that someone would incapacitate them all that quickly."


    "What about the other woman? What is she?"


    Luuk''s curiosity seemed to have only gone stronger by the day.


    Everyone had left earlier than the two of them and Matias, who was still sitting while looking out the window, ignoring everything else. Even Milan van Dijk had left without saying anything since his memory of Graham and Valentine had been erased.


    "I owe you one," said Matias aka Virgo the moment the two men walked past him.


    Graham gave the man that looked perfectly like a woman a nod and then kept on walking towards the exit at the front. Using the door to the right, they got off the train and took a step on the Station of Rijssen, a big welcome sign hanging above them.


    Taking a deep breath, they could smell the hot, metallic stench of the train engine mixed with the fresh, salty air of the city. Graham quickly dragged his suitcase behind him and walked with his cane in his right hand. He hated the smell of the engine.


    The station''s wall was black and metallic, a complete contrast to the bright color of the buildings in the city. It also gave off a feeling of grandeur, which made them feel small in comparison. Following the other people leaving the station, Graham and Luuk walked outside where a lot more people could be seen.


    Right in front of the train station was a large courtyard with the tall buildings of the station surrounding it from both sides. There was a parking lot on the far right that was already packed with motor carriages of different colors, but mostly black and brown while the rest of the courtyard was an open space filled with benches and people spending their lovely time, probably waiting for arrivals.


    "Whoa. This is pretty neat!" Luuk gasped in awe.


    The moment he stepped outside, he was captivated by the view. The cobblestone courtyard was like a portal leading to the white and blue city down below with gleaming water in the background. The salty air was now finally free of the fumes from the train as he inhaled deeply. A kind of sticky feeling rubbed his face gently the moment the air hit it.


    "This is your first time here, isn''t it? I also reacted the same way the first time I came here years ago," said Graham nostalgically and then looked over his shoulder, "In fact, Val, do you remember that we reacted even more strongly than Luuk? It was an overreaction, almost."


    The two of them walked over to where public motor carriages were parked, waiting for potential passengers. The moment the drivers saw them walking close, they signaled at the one parked at the front and the man quickly waved his hand. It seemed that they had a system in place to make sure no one snatched someone else''s passengers away.


    "Good afternoon, good Sirs. Do you need a ride?" greeted the driver warmly, his face brimming with a bright smile. The man''s accent sounded a little different from people in Sloten, although the difference was subtle.


    "Yes, please," said Graham.


    The driver offered to load his luggage, but Graham refused politely. He put it inside the trunk himself instead, along with Luuk''s giant backpack.


    The two men then got in the black public motor carriage and told the driver where they wanted to go. Graham had used divination and found the perfect place for him to stay there with Luuk.


    "Please take us to Seaside Lodging on Inktvisstraat. You know where it is, don''t you?" asked Graham to the driver.


    "Yes, yes of course! Your choice in place is excellent, sir!" complimented the driver and then started driving away.


    The moment his motor carriage left the designated spot, the driver behind him filled it, followed by the one behind him and so on and so forth until there was an orderly line created again.


    Inside the public motor carriage, Graham and Luuk were taken down the hill to the center of the city, away from the train station. Palm trees lined up on both sides of the road, welcoming them and escorting them, while tall cliffs in the distance far on the left painted the background for them. Looking straight, they could see the sparkling sea water waiting for them, waving playfully for two of them to come.


    The public motor carriage ran down the slope quickly, making the passenger rather nervous and worried. However, their worries turned out to be unfounded as the driver skillfully avoided collision with the other vehicles on the road.


    "We''re entering the city now, Sirs. It seems to be the young master''s first time here," he looked at Luuk through the rearview mirror, "Do you want me to tell you about Rijssen, Sir?"


    Since Luuk didn''t mind the lesson, he nodded and said yes to the driver.


    "Well then, let''s see. First of all, this is a coastal city, Sirs, so you should try out our famous seafood that should be illegal since it''s so good it makes you practically addicted. The produce is always fresh and sourced from local fishermen, so they are brought to the restaurants the moment they are caught. We also have our own local, traditional secret sauce that goes really well with the seafood. You will surely lick your fingers clean, Sirs!" the driver''s tone was jolly and lighthearted. It felt like they were currently watching a Television commercial instead of listening to a driver.


    "Next, Sirs, is our festival of the ocean that will happen in a week. If you happen to still be in the city, make sure to watch it as it is the biggest festival annually here in Rijssen. It doesn''t lose out to Dodenherdenking in Sloten, I assure you. Although we also celebrate Remembrance Day with a festival here, Oceaandag, or the Day of the Ocean, is even bigger in Rijssen. On that day, we offer our gratitude to the sea Goddess for her blessings during the year," the infomercial continued.


    "That sounds exciting. I didn''t get to see that festival the last time I was here. When is it exactly?" asked Graham, intrigued. He had always loved to see festivals and the likes.


    "The Saturday of next week, Sir," replied the driver happily, proud that his passenger was interested in the information he was giving.


    "What about the entertainment here? What do people do for fun?" asked Luuk.


    Being asked a lot of questions, the driver''s mood elevated even more and his driving became even faster.


    "People here like to do a lot of water sports, Sir, like kayaking, canoeing, and even windsurfing, especially at this season when there is still a lot of wind and the weather is not too cold. Those activities cannot be done in the winter so people are basically racing to do them nowadays. If you prefer to stay in the city, there is also a lot of options like rock climbing, since we have a lot of tall cliffs, and probably the most basic: fishing, where you can do everywhere here, even in the river."


    The driver then kept on talking about everything he knew about Rijssen, which felt like his whole life story out there served on the table. However, Graham and Luuk didn''t mind, since practically, they had learned a lot of new things from the man, including to stay away from a certain canned fish product that could kill with its smell.


    Besides that, they also learned that there were a lot of smaller islands off the coast of Rijssen and its surrounding coastal areas, which are under the authority of the government. However, not all of the islands were safely secured, especially those more difficult to access. They had effectively become the den of pirates, who would raid cargo and passenger ships alike passing their waters.


    Although bad, the problem hadn''t become big enough for the government to send out their whole marine fleet to deal with the pirates, however. In turn, it created a kind of mercenary business for sailors that wanted to pass the waters safely. Contractbounds would be hired to be bodyguards to defend against pirates, and the money was enticing enough for a whole group of them to come to the city with that specific purpose.


    "So these mercenaries, people with so-called superhuman power, are regulated under...?" Graham interrupted the driver and asked.


    "Those are just rumors, Sirs. I don''t think superhumans exist. But yes, there is a mercenary guild that is officially registered and managed by a branch of the Rijssen Police themselves. Are you interested in becoming a mercenary, Sir? You look like you can handle yourself pretty well," complimented the driver honestly, looking at Graham''s lean but muscular built.


    "For now, I don''t think so, but who knows if I need money in the future?" he replied vaguely.


    Without them realizing it, they had finally arrived at the building with the name ''Seaside Lodging'' on it, on the right side of the road. The street they were on had the ocean right behind the lines of buildings on the right, just below the cliff. Besides the one Graham intended to stay at, there were many others like that with various different names and architectural style.


    The Seaside Lodging building was surrounded by tall fences that still allowed people to see through, but secure enough to prevent entry. They could see that behind the fences there were compounds that looked like the individual villas they were renting out to people.


    After paying the driver, the two men got out of the motor carriage and took their luggage from the trunk. They then entered the white building in front of them, being greeted by a friendly and warm smile the moment they took a step into the lobby.


    "Val, this city is still as I remember it. The friendliness of the people is just like the hot sun above us," he complimented quietly.


    "Good afternoon, Sirs. How may I help you?" asked the female receptionist.


    "We would like to rent a villa. You have a vacant one, don''t you?" he asked confidently. His divination had shown him so.


    "Yes, Sir. We also have the one right by the cliff, if you''re interested. How long are you going to stay?" offered the receptionist politely.


    "That sounds good," Graham readily accepted, "We''re staying for at least a week, at most a month. Can we pay weekly?"


    "That wouldn''t be a problem, Sir, but we only accept advance payment. If you agree, may I get your identity cards?"


    With a nod, Graham took out his wallet, followed by Luuk who did the same. The two men then slid their identity cards across the reception desk.


    Accepting the identity cards, the receptionist said, "The Cliffside villa for a week is thirty-five guilders, Sir."

 239 New Dwelling, New Business

    Through the open windows and the thin white curtains that were swaying in the sea breeze, the ocean outside was visible from above.


    Meanwhile, Luuk was busy observing the villa where the two of them would be staying for a while. The room where they were currently in was the common room that had two sofas and a small Television. The room was painted white, creating a nice contrast with the brown wooden floor below. On each corner of the room, green plants were decorating it beautifully.


    Climbing up the cream-colored stairs to the right that had wooden railings, Luuk arrived on the second floor where the bedrooms were. The second floor was just narrow hallways leading to each bedroom. It was also prettily adorned with plants and simple colored paintings on the wall that matched the white background of the wall.


    Luuk entered the bedroom to the right that was designated for him with his backpack on his back. He opened the glass door and entered the room that had a balcony outside. The sunshiny room welcomed him with the warm sea breeze and the smell of the ocean.


    Meanwhile, Graham was checking the room on the first floor that was supposed to be the study. He would like to turn it into his temporary detective office.


    The study had two giant bookshelves on the right and an elegant, red carpet covering most of the floor. The bookshelves were rather empty except for a few old-looking novels left behind by the previous renters of the place, but it wasn''t any of his concern.


    Graham walked over to the desk on one side of the room right in the center and checked its condition. It had three drawers on the right side and a big compartment on the left, which were all empty. He then placed the materials inside the compartment and locked it securely. Later, he would switch with Valentine to place the whole building under Anti-Divination.


    Besides inspecting the desk, he also made adjustments to his new office using the power of Order to make his job easier. First, he swept all the dust away from there and moved the furniture around to resemble his office back home. It didn''t take him long to finish the job because of his ability.


    "Life sure is easy as a Contractbound, isn''t it, Val?"


    Once satisfied with the result, he went dragging his suitcase upstairs and prepared to put his clothes neatly inside the giant wooden wardrobe with an intricate carving in the bedroom. He also used Order to make the job easier.


    "Val, there seems to be a way down to the beach. Do you want to go?"


    Standing on the balcony, Graham''s attention was captured by what seemed to be stairs carved out of the rock on the side of the cliff to his left. The stairs looked worn out from use and age, but they appeared to still be stable enough for people to use.


    Looking at the balcony on the right side of the villa, Graham shouted, "Luuk! Come out here!"


    The young medical student, now already shirtless, walked out of his room and looked at his neighbor with a curious expression.


    "What is it, Mr. Hymes?"


    "It seems that we can go down to the beach. You coming?" said Graham while pointing at the carved stairs down below to the left.


    It was probably a little more difficult for Luuk to see it because he was farther away, but his good eyesight allowed the man to spot what Graham was pointing at.


    "Sure!" he said excitedly, but then his face turned sour, "But that means I have to wear my shirt again."


    Graham shrugged and went out of his room after locking the balcony door. It was a double glass door that let a lot of sunlight to shine through, so he also had to close the blinds, both the white see-through one and the thicker, brown curtains that almost completely blocked the sunlight. He also did the same with his glass door, making sure no one could peek into his room while he was away.


    Before leaving the bedroom, Graham quickly got changed to a more comfortable outfit and switched with Valentine, lying on the king-sized bed with a pure white sheet on it. Once his other half woke up, he quickly placed Anti-Divination upon the whole building, dropping a little of his blood behind the wardrobe.


    "Now that''s done, G. Let''s switch back over," he muttered and lied back down on the bed.


    Graham woke up again with a bit of a headache because of the rapid falling asleep and waking up process, but after a little massage, it went away by itself.


    Luuk was already waiting for him on the first floor, sitting leisurely on the sofa when Graham got out of his room. He made his way downstairs quickly, wearing only a shirt that was only buttoned at the bottom and a pair of loose pants. He was still carrying his cane and around his waist, the belt with complicated patterns was resting quietly. There was also a bracelet with a closed mouth and a silver ring on his left hand, seemingly connected to an invisible string.


    Looking at all the equipment the man had on his person, Luuk joked, "Are you going to the beach or to war?"


    Graham only chuckled and shrugged, "We can never be too prepared, can we?"


    Luuk nodded nonchalantly. He himself had an eerie severed hand holding onto his elastic pants and what looked to be a knife with a gemstone embedded on it hidden under the t-shirt that he was wearing.


    Although the two men looked casual, they didn''t neglect their preparation for unexpected things.


    Graham and Luuk then left the villa through the giant glass sliding doors leading to a small swimming pool. After closing the door and locking it, the two men walked down the platform where the pool was and trod on the grassy clifftop, completely barefoot. The sensation of the dry grass tickling their feet greeted them.


    The stairs leading down was located a little bit far from their villa, so they had to walk some distance before reaching them. All the while, the sounds of waves crashing and the sea breeze blowing accompanied them in their short journey.


    "This must be for tourists to go down to the beach, but it doesn''t look like it''s been used recently," Graham concluded.


    Besides their footprints on the dry grass, there didn''t seem to be anything else present around the stairs. The other villas were also located too far away from that particular part of the cliff.


    "Let''s get down then. It looks safe enough," Luuk suggested.


    The way down looked rather steep, and the steps were irregularly carved. With a single wrong footing, someone could fall all the way down to the bottom. However, Luuk with his light feet could probably go down easily, while Graham had to be a little more careful.


    The young man led the way and started jumping down with relative ease as if it was his second nature, while Graham had to take the steps one at a time.


    "Whoa!!"


    Luuk shouted in awe once he reached the bottom. He was currently standing on the warm, white sand looking at the vast ocean surrounded by rocky cliffs. The waves bubbled as they hit the beach and with them, tiny corals and shells were carried ashore.


    "Luckily this is not summer, otherwise, the sand would be boiling," muttered Graham casually as his feet touched the sand.


    The young medical student had run off to the water. It looked like it was his first time seeing the ocean, although it was unlikely since his family was very rich. He must have experienced going to the beach when he was younger.


    Looking around, Graham noticed that there were no other footprints on the sand either except for his and Luuk''s. The pristine beach looked untouched.


    Walking towards the ocean casually, he felt the wind and the sun on his skin. It was a feeling akin to being enveloped in a very thin layer of a warm sheet. The salty smell of the sea also penetrated his nose, enhancing the otherwordly sensation he was feeling.


    "Mr. Hymes, the water is warm!" shouted Luuk joyfully.


    "Val, I didn''t remember signing up for a babysitting job," he muttered jokingly as he approached the young man whose pants had been rolled all the way up, but still wet anyway.


    Graham sat on the warm sand and focused on being in the present. He let go of all the worries and anticipations of the future for the moment. The cane that he was carrying was laid down next to him.


    "It''s a nice day to be relaxing, but we can''t stay too long in the sun. We might burn our skin," reminded Graham.


    It was true that neither of them had put on any sunscreen. Luckily, Graham''s skin was already rather tan, so it didn''t turn burned red like a cooked crab easily. Luuk, however, had a paler complexion, and even then, Graham could already see some reddish patches on the man''s skin.


    "That''s fine, Mr. Hymes. My herb mixture should be able to help our skin recover, shouldn''t it?" he said confidently.


    "If you say so,"


    The two grown men spent more than five minutes enjoying themselves on the beach when suddenly, something caught Graham''s attention.


    In the distance on his left, there was something shining like a jewel reflecting the sunlight. The light twinkled for a few more times before disappearing, and then reappeared again and repeated the process as if it was trying to attract the attention of anyone nearby.


    "Luuk, did you also see that?" asked Graham, getting up from his spot. He readied his cane in his left hand and took out Valentine''s dagger that he had hidden under his shirt.


    "Yes. Wanna check it out?" Luuk nodded and asked back.


    Graham gave an affirmative response and the two of them began walking along the beach towards the twinkling light.


    The beach was wide and the tall cliffs surrounding it made it some kind of a private space. If not for the carved staircase, Graham didn''t see any other way of getting down there except by the sea route. Since there was no one else there, the appearance of the mysterious glow was indeed suspicious.


    It took them more than five minutes of striding along the beach to get close to the source of the light. Carefully, they approached the object that turned out to be a beautiful clear gemstone that was indeed reflecting the sunlight for its glow. However, a normal gemstone couldn''t control when it would reflect the light, so the regular interval of the twinkles was abnormal.


    The two of them stood a distance away from the gemstone that was the size of a big apple and watched it intently. Their supernatural sense was telling them not to touch the object.


    "Throw a pebble at it," Graham instructed Luuk who was standing closer to the sea. There were a lot of throwable objects under him.


    Picking up the biggest stone he could, Luuk then flung it at the gemstone, hitting it right in the center.


    "Growl!!"


    Suddenly, the gemstone shook and a giant, gaping maw turned visible before closing violently, swallowing both the gemstone and the stone.


    "What the hell is that ugly thing?!" Luuk said, surprised by the sight in front of him.


    The clear gemstone turned out to be a body part of the giant toad-like creature now standing in front of them. It seemed to have the ability to turn invisible and lured its prey to the gemstone before consuming them whole.


    The creature itself was twice as tall as Graham and its body was bigger than a motor carriage. Its skin was white in color, blending perfectly with the sand even without its invisibility, and its four limbs were covered in warts. It indeed looked like a toad, only much bigger and uglier.


    Seeing that its prey wasn''t caught by its trap, the creature looked conflicted. It must be thinking about whether to fight or flee. The fact that it had to hunt using such a method might suggest that the creature wasn''t the best at hunting directly, so it would most likely choose to flee.


    "I order you to stand still!"


    With Graham''s Order, the creature had now lost the ability to control its own body for the duration.


    "How do we even kill this thing? Do we slice it little by little?" asked Luuk curiously, looking at the giant monstrosity in front of him.


    "That''s the only way. Just make sure we are still able to sell its body parts later," Graham reminded.


    He raised his left middle finger that had a ring on and a needle flew out of his shirt. The needle then swiftly beelined towards the creature''s left eye and stabbed it. Blood spurted out of its injured eye as it became blind, the red liquid ran down its white skin.


    Meanwhile, Luuk had thrown his own dagger and hit the creature''s other eye, wounding it as well. The red gemstone embedded on the knife then let out a glow before flame burst out of it, burning the creature''s eye and blinding it. After that, Luuk used Theft to retrieve his knife back.


    "Groan!!"


    The giant toad let out a groan of pain the moment it was able to move again. However, the paralyzing effect of the needle then kicked in before it could do anything else, incapacitating it once again.


    Using the severed hand, Luuk stole the creature''s defense, weakening it. After that, he threw his dagger again, aiming for the toad''s head. Because of its weakened state, the dagger sank easily into its skin, wounding it even more before Luuk took it back using Theft. He repeated the process several more times until the creature''s head was all full of blood.


    Meanwhile, Graham was doing the same using his needle, stabbing the creature in various spots. Luuk''s ability made it easier for his needle to pierce through the toad''s thick skin, and each time it wounded the creature, the paralysis effect was reapplied, albeit slightly weaker than the previous one.


    Blood came flowing out of the numerous wound on the creature''s white body, creating a grotesque contrast. After the repeated attacks without it being able to do anything, the giant toad finally died, collapsing on the sand lifelessly.


    "Nice job. Now let''s harvest this thing," said Graham proudly. It was one of the easiest kills he had got so far, and he was pleased with it.

 240 First Customer in Rijssen

    "*Yawn* Good morning, Val," he said as he sat up and stretched his arms, "Today is another sunshiny day, it looks like. Rijssen hasn''t changed."


    Nights in the coastal city was usually very cold, but by the time the sun started shining, the temperature would rise, although not by much since it wasn''t Summer.


    Going to the bathroom, Graham washed his face in front of the mirror that had seashells decorating its edges. The sink itself was also beautifully made of a carved piece of wood with corals embedded into it, magnifying the ocean vibe the whole bathroom was giving off.


    "The water here feels fresh, compared to Sloten, don''t you agree, Val?" he muttered as the cold morning water touched his face. "It just has some kind of... natural feeling to it, but it''s not salty, mind you."


    After he had finished washing his face, Graham brushed his teeth and then left the bathroom. The sliding door slid through nicely, separating the bedroom from the bathroom.


    Standing in front of the big wooden wardrobe in the room, he started getting dressed. It was a relatively cold morning, but days in Rijssen were not as cold as those in Sloten at that time of the year, so Graham wouldn''t want to wear something too thick. He grabbed a plain white shirt that was rather thin and put it on, the loose shirt swayed in the morning breeze as he opened the balcony door.


    "Morning, Mr. Hymes," greeted his neighbor who was currently his housemate. The young medical student was also standing on the balcony of his own room, enjoying the morning view.


    "Morning. Got a good night''s sleep?" asked Graham casually.


    Luuk nodded, his face lit up in joy, "In fact, it might have been the best sleep I''ve had in a while."


    Graham began observing the young man and noticed that the black circles that were his defining characteristics were almost gone.


    "Good for you. Now, why don''t you make us some breakfast," asked Graham.


    The previous day, the two of them had gone to the market and bought several things, including cooking ingredients. The villa provided a refrigerator and a gas stove, along with several other kitchen equipments, so it was very possible for them to cook their own food.


    "Give me a minute. And besides, I only cook toast," the young man said, rather reluctantly.


    "That''s fine by me,"


    Graham stared at the ocean in front of him with its sparkly water and gentle waves. The warm sunlight blanketed his skin and the sea breeze blew his hair. He felt at peace at that moment.


    Ding... Dong...


    "It''s our first customer, Val!" he said joyfully.


    The previous day, he had also advertised his new detective agency in Rijssen, using the medium of the local newspaper. He had also used divination to see when he would get a client, that was why he knew who was coming. His advertisement must have been printed in the morning newspaper and had brought the person his way.


    Graham wanted to jump down the stairs, but he had an image to maintain, so he walked down calmly instead.


    On the first floor, he passed Luuk who was already in the kitchen, preparing to make his toast. Graham noticed that the young man had also taken out some eggs and an avocado that they had managed to purchase yesterday.


    "Who is that, Mr. Hymes?" asked Luuk curiously, noticing his housemate who was heading for the door.


    "My client, most likely," he replied casually, hiding the excitement in his voice. He was really curious about what kind of person would be his client in this city.


    Luuk didn''t say anything and Graham just continued on, reaching the door in no time. The cold wooden floor massaged the bottom of his feet softly.


    Creak...


    The wooden door made a noise as he opened it. Behind the door was a man in his early thirties, wearing a simple white shirt and a pair of khaki pants. The man was wearing a worried look on his face, his fingers clamped together tightly.


    "Good morning. How may I help you?" greeted Graham warmly.


    The man with the light blonde hair saw the host''s friendliness and smiled back, his anxiety still showed in it.


    "Morning. Is this the Hymes Detective Agency that is advertised here?" he asked, taking out the newspaper that he was clutching in his armpit. The man then looked around nervously.


    Curious about his own advertisement, Graham checked the section of the newspaper that the man was pointing at. It turned out to be exactly as he had instructed them, so he was happy with the results.


    "Yes. I am Graham Hymes. Please come in," he beckoned his guest.


    The man nodded and then looked around some more. After that, he entered the bright villa that was painted white, following the host. He then took off his shoes before climbing on to the main floor platform that looked squeaky clean.


    After closing the main doors, Graham led his client to the office that he had prepared and sat in his armchair, leaning back comfortably. The man looked around with his brown eyes that had black circles around them and sat on the chair opposite the detective.


    "Who am I speaking with, if I may know?" Graham asked politely.


    "My name is Derrick Damreau. I''m in dire need of your help, Mr. Hymes," the man said.


    Graham could feel the stress that the man was experiencing from his voice alone, but his name reminded him of another Derrick and it evoked a different emotion in him.


    "So here''s the thing. I am being followed by some people, so I need your help to be my bodyguard until things are settled. I''ll pay you a lot of money if my safety is guaranteed," Derrick added vaguely.


    "First of all, you can call me Graham, just like everyone else," he said, although most people still called him Mr. Hymes anyway, "Now, Derrick, please tell me why you''re being followed."


    There was hesitation on the man''s face.


    "I can''t really tell you. It''s a private matter. As long as you protect me, that all that matters," he retorted.


    Graham squinted and looked at the man sharply.


    "Derrick, I''m a detective. I''ll be able to find out about your problems one way or another, so it''s better for me to hear it from your own mouth. Besides, I need to know who I will be dealing with," convinced Graham. There was no sign of threat in his voice, but it seemed to be enough to convince the troubled man.


    After that, there was silence. Derrick seemed to be in deep thought.


    "A-alright then," he replied after staying quiet for a while, "I am a drug smuggler, and I''ve offended the wrong person..." he said weakly.


    "So that''s why you came to me instead of the Police. I got it. Anyway, your secrets are safe with me," Graham said casually.


    He really had no qualms about helping the man in front of him. After all, his own partners were mostly misfits. As long as they didn''t challenge him and were not his enemies, Graham had no problem with whatever kind of person he was assisting, unlike Valentine who really hated bullies.


    "Thank you, Mr. Hymes!" Derrick said gratefully, "You are right. If I go to the Police, they will have me locked up in no time. You''re my only hope."


    "Then tell me the detail. I want everything,"


    Derrick went into deep thinking again.


    Although Graham had agreed to help, he still had to be sufficiently prepared. The money might not worth the risk if he had to deal with people who were too powerful.


    "*Sigh* so besides being followed, I''ve actually received a death threat, Mr. Hymes. It all happened yesterday. I don''t know what had gotten into me, but I decided to run off with my client''s money and keeping the goods with me. I thought my client was just a nobody, but it turned out he was backed up by a gang. It''s my own stupidity, I know, but I still want my life intact..." Derrick explained, his anxiety was still audible.


    Graham couldn''t help but facepalm. Besides risking his life, he also risked his reputation as a smuggler by not delivering his end of the deal like that. The man in front of him didn''t seem to be that kind of stupid person, but his action was indeed very stupid.


    "I know, right, Mr. Hymes? It''s a very dumb thing to do and it''s unlike me at all. I really don''t know what had driven me to do that," Derrick Damreau said weakly.


    "Well, I guess you can look at the bright side. You won''t get any clients anymore now, so you have no other choice but to change your career," Graham shrugged.


    The man smiled bitterly.


    "Anyway, do you know who you''ve offended? I need to know what I''m dealing with, here," asked Graham.


    Derrick leaned back on the chair.


    "I don''t know either. I just know that someone''s been following me. They''re most likely looking for the chance to get rid of me once the situation is perfect for them. I haven''t been able to go home since last night because I had to stay in the crowd all the time so they couldn''t do anything to me," explained Derrick.


    "Then I have to find out through another means. You can stay here for the time being, and I will need some privacy here for a short while. Meanwhile, you can go to the other room and enjoy some breakfast-- my assistant should be about done cooking right now. Just make sure you include it in your final payment later," offered Graham with a meaningful smile.


    "Then I''ll take you up on your offer. Just remember that I cannot pay if I''m dead, Mr. Hymes," replied Derrick jokingly. His anxiety had apparently lessened.


    Showing his client out of his office, Graham closed the door behind the man.


    "Can I help you?" asked Luuk, who was currently placing plates on the dining table in the kitchen.


    The kitchen wasn''t separated by a door, so it was visible from the living room where the door to the office was. It was located on the right, just under Luuk''s bedroom, and had a long glass window with the ocean view behind it.


    "Uhm, Mr. Hymes offered me to stay here and to have breakfast while waiting for him," said Derrick.


    Luuk frowned but then nodded at the guest.


    "Then have a seat. You can eat that one," the young medical student pointed at one of the toasts on the dining table. He then returned to the kitchen counter and took out the ingredients that he had put back in the refrigerator, ready to make another one.


    Derrick Damreau sat at the dining table and looked at the food in front of him. It was a piece of toast with slices of avocado and a poached egg on top. There was also something that looked like sour cream underneath the avocado slices and chopped herbs mixed in it.


    Using his hands, he began eating the toast that was presented in front of him. The moment he bit into the egg, the warm, runny yolk filled his mouth, and the soft, almost sweet avocado touched his palate. The cold and herby sour cream added a beautiful character to the overall flavour of the toast and filled Derrick''s heart with delight.


    "This is really good," Derrick said, complimenting the food.


    "Why thank you," replied Luuk shortly. He was still annoyed that he had to make another one. Luckily, he hadn''t done the cleaning yet so all the tools and kitchen equipment he needed were still there and ready to use.


    Creak...


    The office door was opened and Graham came out, walking directly towards the dining table. Without waiting for an invitation, he sat where another toast was served and began eating right away, using the knife and fork that was lying next to the plate.


    "Is it a habit for the people here to eat using their hands?" asked Graham, noticing that Derrick was using his hands instead of the utensils.


    "Yes, Mr. Hymes. Locals usually use their hands for eating almost everything. That doesn''t count soup, of course," replied the man, "Anyway, what have you found out?" he asked curiously. The detective hadn''t left the house and had only stayed in his office for a short while. He wanted to know what the man had been able to do in such a short time.


    The detective ignored the man and kept eating the toast that his neighbor had made him. Even Graham had to admit that the toast was very tasty, and it fit the ocean mood in the villa perfectly.


    After he was satisfied enough, he finally replied with confidence brimming in his voice, "In fact, yes. I''ve found a lot about who we''re dealing with. And it''s even easier to uproot them once and for all rather than wait for them to attack you. So, are you in?"


    There was a meaningful smile on Graham''s face.

 241 The Perfect Targets for an Experimen

    The man''s face showed hesitation and a hint of worry. It seemed that he was opposed to the idea of killing people despite them wanting his life. Derrick was, after all, only a drug smuggler.


    Graham chuckled and smiled in amusement.


    "Hahaha... of course not, Derrick. I don''t kill random humans," he said, and then looked over his shoulder before muttering softly, "Although Contractbounds are a different matter entirely, right Val?"


    Derrick now looked confused.


    "Then, what do you mean? I don''t get it, really," the man said honestly.


    Biting into another slice of the toast, Graham ignored the man''s question. He chewed slowly, enjoying the burst of flavor in his mouth.


    After swallowing his food, he finally replied, "I have my own way. Trust me. After today, they will no longer threaten you."


    Derrick Damreau could only nod and continued eating his breakfast. It appeared that he had no other choice but to trust the detective in front of him, although if things went south, he wouldn''t hesitate to run away and save his own skin.


    Graham knew what the man was thinking. After all, they had just met, and there was no way the smuggler could know what Graham was capable of, so he shouldn''t trust the detective that easily. However, it didn''t matter to him as long as the job got done and he got his payment.


    "What are you guys talking about?" asked Luuk, who had just finished making another toast for himself. He then sat at the dinner table next to Derrick.


    "It''s a mission. Mr. Derrick Damreau here has asked for our assistance. In fact, I will need your help with something soon," replied Graham, "Don''t worry, you''ll get a share of the commission."


    Luuk nodded in approval, "Sure, what do I need to do?"


    The detective then took out a piece of folded paper from his pants pocket and handed it to the young medical student. While eating his breakfast with one hand, he unfolded the piece of paper and read the content, which had Graham''s messy handwriting on it.


    Luuk was reading the paper carefully as it turned out to contain detailed instructions on what he had to do. He nodded slowly and then looked at Graham and said, "Is that it? This is easy enough."


    "Yes. And here''s my belt," Graham replied, taking off his belt that had complicated patterns on it and gave it to Luuk.


    "Alright. I''ll go once I finish my breakfast," Luuk said, wearing the belt around his waist after he received it.


    Derrick was looking at the two without understanding anything. The exchange of belt was also something he didn''t know the meaning of.


    "Alright, I''m done. I''ll get going now," Luuk said, leaving the empty plate on the dining table.


    Graham looked at Derrick mischievously and then smiled, "Can you please do the dishes?"


    The man, having been given ''free'' breakfast, had no choice but to comply, especially since the detective was looking at him with somewhat threatening eyes. He got up and picked up all the dirty plates and utensils before walking towards the sink. With a twist, warm water came out of the tap and he began washing the dishes.


    "So, what are we going to do now?" he asked while rubbing the plate with a soapy sponge.


    "We''re going to deal with the ones following you directly as we''re waiting for my assistant to finish his job. There should be an ambush prepared for you already near here," explained Graham.


    Derrick stopped what he was doing and looked at the detective in confusion and worry, "How did you know about all this? And are we really going to be alright?"


    With a meaningful smile, Graham replied vaguely, "I''m a detective, remember?"


    After that, Graham got up and went to his bedroom quickly to grab his weapons: the cane and the dagger, the latter being concealed under his shirt. There was now also a bracelet around his right wrist that had a mouth on it, seemingly ready to devour anything it touched.


    "Done washing? Let''s go," he said.


    Derrick looked at the detective and couldn''t help but feel confused. The man in front of him was just wearing a plain white shirt and a pair of loose pants. The cane in his hand looked sturdy, but besides that, he didn''t look like he was going out to fight. He looked more like he was going out for a stroll.


    "Yes. Are you perhaps a martial arts practitioner?" the smuggler asked hesitantly.


    "No. But you can rest assured. I went to the war, so you know I can fight, if that''s what you''re worried about," Graham replied.


    It seemed that his answer had hit the spot. The worried and doubtful look on Derrick''s face was all gone, replaced by calmness.


    "Then I''ll be in your care," he said.


    The two grown men then left the house after putting on their shoes. Locking the door behind him, Graham led Derrick out of the villas compound through the shortcut. They didn''t have to go to the main lobby to leave the place because there was actually a smaller gate near his villa leading straight to the street.


    Using the key that he had also been given for the small gate, Graham unlocked it and pushed open the metal gate.


    The street around the villa area was a rather quiet one. There were mostly tourists there dressed up in casual thin clothes walking around, probably looking for the closest convenience stores or restaurants.


    Around five hundred meters to the west, the street would become busier because that was where the restaurants and bars were. However, Graham''s destination that day was the east side where Derrick had come from.


    "Alright. Let''s go this way. They should already be waiting for you to leave my villa and return home," said Graham.


    The two men started walking eastward leisurely, enjoying the warm sun in the relatively cold morning. The sidewalk they were walking on had patches of trimmed grass on it, and the crisp sound of the grass under their soles was satisfying.


    The farther they walked east, the more barren the street became. Derrick''s heart was pounding harder and harder with each second, despite Graham being on his side.


    Around the corner, they made a turn to the left, heading towards a smaller street that looked suspicious. There were empty alcohol bottles littering the street, along with other kinds of trash. At night, people must be getting drunk there.


    Suddenly, two men came out of a wooden door on the right as they were walking. They were tall men-- even taller than Graham-- with tattoos all-around their exposed shoulders and sleeves. There was an expression of arrogance and mockery on their pierced faces.


    One of the men had a bald head while the other had brown, short hair that was typical of a soldier. However, Graham knew that the man wasn''t a soldier since tattoos were not allowed for them.


    "Yo, Damreau, we didn''t expect you to show up here on your own. Are you sick of living?" said the brown-haired man whose voice was hoarse and menacing. There was a condescending tone in his voice.


    The two men looked at Graham from head to toe, sizing him up, and then started laughing.


    "Wahahaha!! We thought you were going out there to get someone''s help, and here you are with an old man with a cane! Are you insane!" the hoarse-voiced man said mockingly.


    Besides laughing, the man with the bald head hadn''t said anything. His eyes, however, were looking down on both Derrick and Graham like they were insects.


    "Just the two of us will be enough to take care of you misfits. You have offended the wrong person, Damreau, and the boss wants you to pay for it," the brown-haired man punched his fists together in a threatening way. There was an arrogant smile on his face.


    Besides the two men in front of him, Graham knew through his divination that there were more people waiting in hiding.


    "Val, they''re all just normal humans. We''d better not kill them because the bodies would be a problem if we did," he looked over his shoulder casually and muttered.


    Seeing the strange behavior of the man in front of him, the brown-haired tall guy scoffed.


    "Are you so scared that you start talking to your imaginary friend? Want to talk to mommy as well?"


    Derrick''s face had gone pale a while ago. It seemed that he really had no ability to fight. The smuggler looked at Graham beggingly, at which the latter only smiled meaningfully.


    Rising his cane, Graham pointed the other end at the tall man with the brown hair. A kind of invisible energy then shot at the man, while at the same time, something was taken from Graham.


    "What are you doing pointing that rusty cane at me?! Do you know how stupid you looked doing that? Whahaha!" the man started laughing jeeringly again, followed by the baldie.


    There was a subtle smile on the corner of Graham''s lips as the information was transferred to his brain.


    ''That man is now highly obsessed with licking empty bottles!''


    ''You are now completely uninterested in the sunlight!''


    After that, Graham instinctively moved to the shaded area of the street, hiding from the sun. He really had zero interest in being in the light because of the effect of the cane.


    Meanwhile, the brown-haired man had strangely left the two of them and went to the nearest pile of empty bottles. He crouched down and picked one up before licking it like a maniac.


    "What the hell are you doing?!" said the baldie in shock. He was looking at his partner like he was a madman.


    Besides the bald man, Graham and Derrick were also shocked, not because of the brown-haired guy''s action, but more because of the baldie''s voice. It was unnaturally high-pitched! He sounded like a teenage girl speaking!


    Trying to hold back his laughter, Derrick put his hand over his mouth. However, Graham didn''t care about holding back and just laughed as hard as he could.


    "Hahahaha!! No wonder you''re very quiet. Are you on puberty or something?" he almost teared up because of the man''s voice that completely didn''t match his build.


    Enraged, he looked at Graham with a red face that was a mix of embarrassment and fury.


    "Raaarghh!!" growling like a little girl, he threw a punch right at Graham''s face.


    Bash!


    Easily, Graham parried the punch using his cane.


    "Argh!"


    The hardness of the cane seemed to also have injured the baldie, who was now blowing his fist that had turned very red.


    Derrick was amazed at how Graham was able to quickly defend himself like that. He then looked at the brown-haired man who was busy licking empty bottles like there was no tomorrow and couldn''t help but think if it was also the detective''s doing.


    "Everyone, come out here!!" the baldie shouted from the top of his lung with his high-pitched girly voice.


    Suddenly, doors were opened and several people came out of their hiding. There were a total of maybe fifteen people, and although they were not as big as the first two, they had a menacing look on their faces. Their gestures were threatening and their smiles were confident and full of mockery.


    "You two can''t handle these pipsqueaks? Heh!" said one of them superciliously.


    "Shut up and beat them up!" the baldie shouted.


    "Heh! We''ll do it! The two of you, get ready to regret the day you crawled out of your mothers'' axe wounds!"


    Graham couldn''t help but feel amused by the man''s insult, but Derrick was busy feeling scared to feel anything else. There were more than a dozen men after their lives, after all.


    "What the fuck is Benson doing licking bottles like that? Yo, dogshit, are you out of your mind?!" shouted one of the men, looking at the brown-haired guy who was crouching in one spot.


    "Ignore him. It won''t be long before he starts inserting his tiny dick into the bottle. We''ll deal with these two wank stains first, heheh!!"


    They were advancing slowly and intimidatingly towards Graham and Derrick, the former was busy making sure the sunlight didn''t touch him. Derrick had gone to Graham''s side, looking at the detective worriedly. Although he had seen the man block the baldie''s attack easily, fighting several people at once was a different business entirely.


    "W-what''s the plan? S-should we run?" asked Derrick scaredly.


    Graham smiled.


    "The plan? Beat them up of course."

 242 A Brawl

    Using Order, Graham took control of the baldie with the girly voice, making him his own bodyguard.


    The tall bald man suddenly lost control of his own body and started moving against his will. He came to Graham''s side and took a stance. However, his face looked confused and his expression betrayed his action.


    Looking over his shoulder, Graham began muttering softly, "Luckily, Val, they''re just normal humans, so that kind of Order works. If only we could use it with stronger Contractbounds as well."


    Graham then looked at Derrick beside him and smiled, "Just stand behind me. I''m your bodyguard, after all."


    The two men stood under the shade with the bald man as their vanguard. Meanwhile, the other gang members were steadily approaching. They had a suspicious look on their faces the moment they noticed that the baldie was acting strange, but they didn''t stop their advance.


    Smack!


    The moment someone tried to get close to Graham, the baldie punched him hard in the face, sending him flying back.


    "What the fuck are you doing?"


    "Baldie, are you out of your goddamn mind?"


    They began shouting at the baldie for his action, to which he only showed confusion. He still couldn''t control his own body, so there was nothing he could do.


    There was a mischievous smile on Graham''s face. He then targetted another man and used Order on him.


    "I order you to start attacking those close to you!"


    The man in a black sleeveless shirt suddenly began acting strangely and started punching his own gang members like a lunatic.


    Bash!


    "I order you to attack the people behind you!"


    Graham used Order on another person wearing a purple jacket. He then began to do as he was ordered and turned around to beat up the people behind him. It sent a wave of rage and surprise to those people, and the ones farther away who saw what happened were also left in puzzlement.


    "What the hell is happening?"


    Since the gang members were an unorganized bunch, with just three people turning against them, distrust began to ensue in their hearts. They didn''t know anymore who was the enemy and who was their allies since anyone could start hitting anyone at any time.


    Chaos erupted in the small street as the angry people began retaliating against their own members. There was now a brawl happening in that part of the city, with people shouting and sounds of objects breaking filling the air.


    "Fuck you!"


    "Take this you pussy!"


    Crank!


    "Why are you guys hitting each other? We''re---"


    Smack!


    The sleeveless shirt man interrupted the person speaking with his fist, which caused him to punch back in response.


    Thud!


    The baldie was still standing guard, beating up those getting too close to Graham. His face looked reluctant but his actions were firm and strong.


    "This is easy, isn''t it, Val? Or should we go out there and fight as well? But I don''t want to be in the sun, so I''ll just watch from here," Graham muttered.


    The sounds of bunching and bottles breaking continued on for several more minutes. After a while, finally, people started collapsing, lying in pain on the ground.


    The people''s faces were all bruised blue and bloody, their mouths were leaking out their painful grunting. Only the baldie was left standing. Even the brown-haired man, who had only been busy licking empty bottles, was not spared from the fight. He was lying on the ground with his hands holding his stomach tight, a quiet groan was coming out of his mouth.


    "Now it''s just you, bud," Graham said to the baldie, who was still under his control.


    Smack!


    Graham raised his cane and hit the man hard at the back of his head, toppling him to the front and rendering the baldie unconscious.


    "You can start heading back to the villa first, Derrick. I''ll have to do some cleaning up here first before leaving," Graham instructed the still stupefied Derrick.


    With a confused nod, the man walked quickly back to the bigger street, leaving Graham alone with the beaten up gang members. He took a glance back and noticed that the detective was now sitting on the ground with his back against the wall.


    "I order myself to fall asleep!"


    Slowly, he felt sleepier and sleepier until his consciousness faded. Valentine then woke up, replacing him.


    Unaffected by the cane''s negative effect, Valentine left the shaded area and went to the other end of the small street where a pile of boxes and empty bottles were. With his dagger, he slit his finger and dropped a little of his blood behind the boxes.


    "I hereby declare this whole street under the shroud of secrecy!"


    An invisible wave surged the moment the blood touched the ground, and with it an Anti-Divination had been placed upon the street, rendering Divinations targetting the area useless.


    Looking at the people on the ground, Valentine smiled in amusement.


    "G, look at what you''ve done. If someone finds them like this, they will start asking questions," he muttered with mischief in his tone.


    Valentine then walked over to the closest person who was still unconscious. Using the tip of his cane, he began smacking the man''s cheek left and right to wake him up.


    "Wake up, shithead, this is not a hotel," he said coldly.


    He repeated the process to wake up all the unconscious ones while letting the ones remaining conscious be. Those people were looking at Valentine with hatred, but they were too weak to retaliate in their current condition.


    "Motherfucker what do you want?!" shouted one of the men, who seemed to be in the best condition among them. He was missing several teeth and had a bruise on his cheek, but other than that, he was clean of bloodstains anywhere.


    "Me? Just teaching you guys a lesson. Never go near Derrick Damreau or his family again or..."


    "Or what?! What can you do? You''re just one man, dogshit!" shouted another man, interrupting Valentine.


    "Or this..."


    There was a sinister smile on his face as his body began emitting a strange aura. There was a murmur coming out of his mouth, but it was too inaudible for those around him to make something out of.


    Suddenly, Valentine''s body became mysteriously elongated, stretching all the way up to many times his actual height. His body kept on growing abnormally until it almost reached the height of a building. His legs were stuck together and gradually melded into one, growing longer and thinner at the end.


    The clothes that he was wearing began to be replaced by hard scales that were growing all over his skin, stacking on top of each other and glistening under the sun. His hands slowly and abnormally merged with his long body, like they were glued to and absorbed by the skin. The man''s head also extended in a bizarre way, his eyes pushed to the sides and his tongue split in two at the tip.


    Before long, the man in a plain shirt in front of them was no more, and in his place, a giant, menacing snake as big as a house was standing, spelling doom upon those looking at it. The snake was baring its sharp, long fangs in an ominous way.


    Looking at the perplexing transformation process filled the people''s hearts with fear of the unknown. What once was a human being was now a monstrous animal.


    Hiss!!


    "W-what the fuck is t-that?!!"


    "S-shit!"


    There was a terror on the people''s faces that had gone pale. Their eyes were looking scaredly at the giant snake, but their bodies refused to listen to them. They had been paralyzed by fear!


    "Don''t eat me! D-don''t come near me!"


    Yellowish liquid started appearing on a man''s pants around his crotch area, and the rancid smell of piss filled the street.


    "If you mess with us, this will be your fate!" threatened Valentine. His voice had become distorted like there were pieces of sharp glass in his throat, "Now scram!"


    The snake''s yelling snapped the scared people back to reality. Mustering all their remaining power, they tried hard to get up and then just ran away in the other direction. Not even a single soul remained there in the street, leaving Valentine alone.


    Once things were settled, Valentine ended his Snake Transformation and, causing the illusion to go away. His real body was then exposed again without any signs of having undergone a bizarre change into a giant snake.


    "The matter here is now clear. Let''s wait for Luuk to come back and we can continue with the next step, G," he muttered.


    Tapping his pants clean, Valentine then left the street with the cane in his hand and walked leisurely back to his villa.


    In the main lobby of the villa compound, Derrick Damreau had been waiting. His face was full of expectation and his body language, impatient. He was sitting on the sofa with his hands clenched together and his left leg shaking.


    "How is it, Mr. Hymes? Did you take care of them?" asked Derrick with curiosity and worry in his tone.


    Valentine smiled at the man and replied shortly, "Yes. Don''t worry."


    The detective then kept on walking, heading towards his own villa. Derrick quickly got up and followed the man. After seeing the person in action, although he didn''t understand what had happened, his trust in the detective''s capabilities had risen by quite a lot.


    Walking on the wooden path with grass on both sides, Valentine and Derrick returned to the villa at the far end, closest to the cliff. They passed several other villas and the tenants who definitely looked like tourists. They were just wearing their bikinis and beach shorts, ready to hit the ocean at any time.


    "Hello there," greeted one of the tenants who was sunbathing in front of his own villa the moment the two men walked past.


    "Hello," replied Valentine with a nod and then continued his way.


    The two of them reached the villa not long after and seeing that the main door was still locked, it meant that Luuk van der Meer hadn''t returned from his mission.


    Valentine inserted his key into the hole and twisted it, unlocking the door. After his guest had come in, he closed the door behind him without locking it. After that, the two men took off their shoes and walked up to the main floor platform, leaving their shoes neatly by the door.


    "So, Mr. Hymes, what did you exactly do back there?" asked Derrick as he sat down on the sofa. He seemed to have relaxed a lot.


    Valentine smiled slightly and gave a vague reply, "It''s a trade secret."


    Opening the refrigerator door, Valentine took out a bottle of beer that he and Luuk had purchased the previous day. He then sat on the sofa beside the one Derrick was sitting on and flick open the cap using his dagger.


    "What are you going to do with the rest of them then? Those thugs will surely report what we have done to their bosses. We will be in trouble if they storm this place," said Derrick strangely calmly.


    Gulp...


    Valentine drank the brownish liquid straight from the bottle and felt refreshed right away. The fizzy drink tickled his throat as it passed and filled his stomach with gas.


    "We wait for Luuk to come back. After that, we can start. Meanwhile, just do what you like," he explained nonchalantly.


    Derrick smiled awkwardly and then asked while rubbing the back of his head, "In that case, can I have a beer?"


    "Sure," Valentine replied casually, but then he remembered that Graham would be angry if he just gave things away to his client like that, so he added, "Just make sure to add the price up to my commission."


    Derrick smiled bitterly but still grabbed a bottle of beer anyway.

 243 The Curse of Valentine Hymes

    "I''ve got it," he said, stumbling on the sofa with the backpack on the floor.


    The young medical student leaned back and closed his eyes, resting. He looked like he had just run a marathon.


    "What have you got?" asked Derrick Damreau curiously. The young man''s state made his mind wander. What could the young man have collected for him to be exhausted like that?


    Not responding to the question, Luuk kept his eyes closed and breathed slowly. The breeze that came from the back rubbed his face softly.


    Finally, the young man opened his eyes and looked at his neighbor''s client before replying, "It''s what Mr. Hymes asked. You can ask him what it''s for, although I doubt he will answer."


    Derrick nodded. He realized that a lot of the things that the detective had done were not disclosed to him, and he respected that. As long as his safety was guaranteed, he didn''t care whatever means the man used.


    "Anyway, where is Mr. Hymes?" asked Luuk while looking around. He hadn''t seen his neighbor since he came back.


    "He went out to buy some stuff. He should be back soon," replied Derrick.


    Luuk then got up and took a bottle of cold water from the fridge, gulping down the liquid in one go. It instantly cooled down his body as it washed away his fatigue... to some extent.


    Just as he was about to put back the empty bottle in the fridge, the villa door was opened and Valentine Hymes returned, carrying a briefcase with him.


    "You''ve returned," he greeted his housemate shortly, "Did you get the stuff?"


    Walking to his backpack, Luuk lifted it and nodded, "Yes. Everything''s here."


    He stretched his hand and handed the light backpack to the detective, who took a look at the content once he received it.


    "Great. Then I shall start now. Please entertain our guest in the meantime," he requested.


    Valentine actually didn''t want to leave Derrick alone while he was doing his supernatural thing because the man might snoop around, although the chances of that happening were low.


    With a nod, Luuk then went back sitting on the sofa that was facing the back of the villa. He leaned back leisurely and watched the swimming pool in front of him and the ocean in the distance while his guest looked around in confusion. Derrick didn''t seem to know what to do now.


    Thud!


    The office door was closed as Valentine left the two men on their own devices.


    He put down the briefcase and the Luuk''s backpack near the desk before closing the blinds, obstructing vision to his office from the outside. The room was now dim and gloomy, fitting the thing that the owner was about to do there.


    Touching the book, he could feel that it was starving. He hadn''t given the book any use since he obtained it and now it was deprived of the ritualistic energy that it so wanted. It seemed to be trying to influence Valentine to use it.


    Throwing the book on the desk abruptly, Valentine ignored its desperate plea. Instead, he took out four orange candles from his briefcase and set them around the book, designating it as an altar for his Cursing Ritual.


    In the dark office room, Valentine picked up his dagger and pressed the sharp, cold blade against the skin of his palm. He was now so used to the sensation that he no longer felt pain from it, although there was no scar on his palm whatsoever.


    The warm, red blood came dripping out of the wound and dropped on to the blue book. With a motion of his hand, Valentine drew the sigil of the Deity of Serpents and Death on the artifact. Strangely, it appeared that the book was also consuming his blood as he drew the sigil, making the process more difficult and tiresome.


    Once the sigil had been finished, a strange sensation came from it. It felt sinister, yet comforting to Valentine. It was akin to the feeling of being friends with death itself.


    Shaking the feeling off, Valentine opened Luuk''s backpack and took out all of the contents, placing them on the desk.


    There were mostly strands of hair with nail clippings mixed in. There were also some intact nails, which got his attention. However, what raised Valentine''s eyebrows was when he found that there was a severed pinky finger among the harmless body parts, no longer bloody, but still grotesque nonetheless.


    "How do you think he got this, G?" asked muttered Valentine in amusement.


    Before using the targets'' body parts in the ritual, Valentine had to use Reveal on them all to make sure they did belong to his targets. Although he trusted Luuk, something unexpected might have happened along the way that even the young Thief hadn''t been aware of.


    "I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"


    Illusory letters began appearing above the hair strand that quickly formed a comprehensible text. Valentine read through the text quickly and repeated his ability with all the body parts on the desk.


    Once he was sure that everything belonged to his targets, Valentine placed the body parts on the sigil, stacking them up high because of the lack of surface. He also took out the materials that he had just bought earlier from the briefcase.


    In his hand now, there was an object that looked like old tree bark, almost pitch black in color and all wrinkled. It emitted an ominous aura, and holding it for too long caused his skin to loosen like it had aged rapidly. Valentine quickly placed the tree bark on top of the rest of the stuff on the sigil.


    After it was ready, he lit the four candles starting from the one pointing north all the way to the west.


    Strangely, the candles being lit didn''t make the room any brighter, but instead, it felt somewhat darker. But it was a kind of darkness that blanketed Valentine gently with its sweet embrace, calming his nerves and enhanced his focus.


    His face was illuminated by the dim candlelight, and there was an inexplicable expression of calmness on Valentine''s face. With the flames reflected in his eyes, he began chanting softly.


    I, in the name of the Deity of Serpents and Death, offer you these sacrifices..."


    ...


    "Sweety, give me more beer!" a man shouted.


    That late morning, the private bar was bustling with activities and chattering, with shouting and yelling mixed in occasionally. It was the kind of bar that was located in a secret place and only those with invitations could come in. However, judging from the looks of it, it was a third-rate private bar at best, the one that only lowly thugs would book.


    A woman wearing a thin, tight dress walked towards the shouting man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, with two bottles of beer in her hand. She then sat on the armrest and handed one of the beers right to the man''s hand and put the other on the table. The bald man with a face tattoo smiled cheekily at the woman and rubbed her fingers as he was taking the bottle.


    Pa!


    He slapped the woman''s bottom playfully as she left his seat, to which the woman only scoffed jokingly.


    Another man, who was tall and serious-looking, was sitting opposite the face-tattooed man and grabbed another bottle from the table in front of him. He seemed to be just a little younger than the bald head.


    "Did you also feel that earlier?" he asked.


    "Feel what, Tucker?" the bald man asked back, confusedly.


    "Nothing," he replied.


    The noisy music kept on playing and the sounds of laughter became louder. Some other men in the other part of the bar were cheering on two people who were fighting. The fighters, obviously drunk, felt invigorated because of the cheering and their fight became more intense.


    "Yeah!! Beat him!! He took your pinky finger so bite his nose!"


    "Fuck him up, Thijs! Bite off another finger!"


    "Bruno, prove to that pussy who is the real man!!"


    Sounds of smacking followed the shouting and grunts of pain shortly after.


    "Idiots. All of them," the serious-looking man scoffed.


    He leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs. His grey eyes were looking around in disdain at the chaos that was happening in the bar.


    "Hahaha! Don''t be such a party-pooper, Jesse. Let the boys enjoy themselves once in a while. We''re going to be very rich, after all!! Hahaha!!" the bald man raised his beer bottle and drank the content all at once. Once it was empty, he picked up the other bottle on the table.


    "Nothing is definite yet. It all depends if we can pull it out tomorrow or not," replied the man called Jesse coldly.


    "You are always too serious. Drink some more. You''re more fun when you''re drunk! Hahaha!!" the bald man laughed. His face had turned red and his mood was elevated by the alcohol. There were eleven empty beer bottles on the table in front of him already, but it seemed that he could still drink a lot more.


    "I''m not getting drunk before a big day, Julian. Anyway, any news about that traitor Derrick?"


    The bald man gave Jesse an angry glance for a second. After that, he continued drinking until there was no more beer inside the bottle.


    "Don''t remind me about that whoreson. It makes me angry. He should be dead now. I''ve sent Benson and Ruben." he said rather seriously, and then looked back to the waitress who was sitting at the bar, "Sweety, more beers here! And bring a lot!"


    "There has been no news from them, though. Although you''re right. That Derrick won''t be able to do anything with those two people on his tail," Jesse said.


    "Yes, so just enjoy our time today. We''re gonna be R-R-RICH tomorrow!! Hahahaha!!!"


    Jesse was looking with lust in his eyes at the sexy waitress whose make-up was on the heavy side, most likely to cover the imperfection on her face. The curves on her body and her big breast garnered his utmost attention, however.


    "So you know how to have fun after all, hahaha!" teased Julian, the bald man, "Tomorrow, you''ll be able to buy any woman you want!"


    Jesse smiled.


    "For tomorrow!" he raised his beer bottle.


    "For tomorrow!" Julian raised his new beer bottle and had a toast with the serious-looking man.


    Clank!


    The sound of bottles hitting each other marked the beginning of their bright future, or so they thought.


    Suddenly, the two of them felt chill down their spines. Jesse looked at Julian and then they looked around curiously. It was an underground bar, so there shouldn''t be any breeze coming in. Besides, the temperature in the room wasn''t that cold either.


    "What was that? Barman, turn down the fan!!" shouted a man from another seat.


    Getting angry looks from the customers, the bartender quickly twisted the button for the fan, slowing down its spin.


    "Boss, that guy needs to be taught a lesson," shouted another man, looking at Julian.


    "Leave him alone, will you! Don''t let it ruin our day today!" replied Julian nonchalantly.


    Despite the fan having been turned down, the same chill came again, causing them to shiver for a second and look around in suspicion. However, it seemed that only Julian and his men felt it. The waitresses and the bartender were looking at their customers with a concerned look.


    "Fucking barman, something must be broken! Why is it cold in here?!" a big-bodied woman shouted.


    The barman, in panic, turned off all of the fans altogether. However, it seemed that his customers were still not satisfied.


    "Fuck! Why is it getting colder? Barman, what did you do?" came an angry voice from another spot.


    "I-I turned off the fan, so it shouldn''t be colder," replied the bartender scaredly.


    "What the hell is happening?" Julian looked at his men.


    The chill had returned, and now it lingered. Although it was nearing Winter, at that time of the year in Rijssen, the temperature shouldn''t be that cold. It was as if they had suddenly become more sensitive to the cold.


    "Is it only us? Those waitresses seem alright. What is happening?" Jesse added. His body was shivering a little. He then crossed his arms to warm himself up.


    Suddenly, he felt something weird happening. The moment his skin touched, he felt that it was too loose and wrinkled, unlike usual. He then raised his arms and looked at them in surprise.


    "What in the world! What is this?!"


    His skin had aged! It was like looking at the arms of a seventy-year-old man!


    After that, he felt inexplicably tired and his core strength was disappearing. The body that could sit straight before had no choice but to bend as his head felt heavier and heavier.


    In puzzlement, Jesse looked around and terror struck him.


    Julian had grown several decades older!


    The bald and tattooed man in front of him was no more, and in his place, an elderly man with loose skin and distorted face tattoo was sitting weakly. His pupils looked greyish and his expression tired. Gone was the youthful energy that he had possessed just a moment ago.


    "What the fuck is happening to us!!" Julian shouted, but only a weak, elderly voice came out of his mouth.


    His body that had been full of flesh and muscles earlier was now bony and wrinkled, the skin hanging loose from his arms.


    "What is this?! Help!!"


    "God! What is happening to me!!"


    "Why am I like this??!!"


    Weak shouting and scared screaming filled the bar. The bartender and the waitresses, who were somewhat unaffected, looked in horror as their guests had suddenly changed. They didn''t know what had happened, and the fear of the unknown was the worst.


    The bar that had been lively with young men and women enjoying themselves earlier had now been replaced by a place full of dread and terror as the elderly patrons were shouting in chaos.

 244 Mission Accomplished

    Luuk van der Meer was standing in the gap between the door and the wall, looking curiously inside the detective''s office. In the dark, four candles had just been put out, the smoke still rising to the air.


    Valentine Hymes was sitting weakly on the chair; his face had turned almost as pale as the first winter snow. The man was out of breath and the shirt he was wearing was soaked in his own sweat.


    "*Panting* I need some... stamina powder, please," he requested with difficulty.


    It was the first time Luuk had seen the man that exhausted. It was almost as if the detective had used all of his stamina at once.


    Ever since becoming a Jeweler, Luuk had always kept spare pouches of different herb mixtures in his pocket for emergencies. Taking out something from the left pocket of his pants, he handed the pouch to the drained detective and stepped back.


    *Inhale*


    The yellow powder entered Valentine''s nostril and down his lung, gradually recovering his stamina. It felt to him like the fresh, cool water entering his throat when he had been parched for days.


    "Thanks. You saved me," the detective gave a thumbs up to Luuk.


    "What did you just do anyway? I could feel the energy from outside," Luuk asked, curiously looking for clues.


    The desk in front of the detective had a blue book surrounded by candles and besides those objects, there was nothing else out of the ordinary. The book itself didn''t look striking, but Luuk could faintly feel some kind of sinister energy coming out of it.


    "I just cursed the people whose body parts you''ve stolen," answered Valentine shortly.


    "So besides sensing curses, you can also do curses?" asked the man in somewhat surprise.


    He couldn''t comprehend any more how many abilities the detective in front of him had. It seemed that his theory about the different personalities of the detective having a different set of abilities would be the most correct, although he couldn''t ask the man to confirm.


    "Yes," Valentine nodded.


    "What curse did you put on them anyway for you to be drained like that?"


    Valentine relaxed his sitting position and smiled proudly.


    "I made them decades older. But there were so many targets, that''s why it took a lot out of me," he explained.


    Surprised, Luuk''s jaw dropped. He didn''t expect the detective had that kind of ability. Making someone grow not just years, but decades older is a very scary ability.


    "Really? That''s possible? And is it permanent?"


    "No, it''s not. At most, in a few days, they will start going back to normal. It should be enough for our client to live a normal life."


    "And after they''re back to normal, won''t they be searching for the one responsible?" asked Luuk in concern.


    Luuk understood now. Since the detective''s memory implant ability is limited per day, he must not be able to finish the job in one day, and if he was not mistaken, it took a lot of stamina to implant a thought to just one person. That was why he weakened all his targets first so he could take his time.


    "Dealing with a lot of people is difficult, right?" Valentine added, self-mockingly, and then looked over his shoulder, "If only our abilities were not single targetted, G."


    "So can you use that kind of curse in combat?" Luuk changed the topic. There was genuine seriousness in his question.


    "No, it''s not possible. First, the material I used for the curse just now was very expensive, so it''s not worth using only on one or two targets-- unless we''re rich. Second, it took me too long to prepare for the curse. Maybe if I am stronger in the future, I can use another type of curse with cheaper ingredients," explained Valentine, sounding almost like Graham.


    Hearing the word expensive, Luuk became alarmed.


    "How much exactly was it?" he asked carefully.


    "Ten guilders..." replied Valentine shortly.


    The young medical student gasped. Spending ten guilders just for one ability was indeed outrageous. Luckily, they targeted a lot of people at once this time, so the cost was balanced out by the result.


    "Let me guess. You''ll ask the client to reimburse the money?"


    Valentine nodded firmly.


    "Anyway, it''s time to send that man home. The situation is safe for him now. Leave me alone for a while," Valentine asked.


    Luuk did as he was asked and left the office, returning to the living room where Derrick Damreau was sitting. The drug smuggler looked at the young Thief with expectation.


    "So how was it? What did Mr. Hymes say?"


    Sitting on the sofa facing the pool in the back, Luuk looked at the client and smiled a little.


    "He said the situation is now under control. You can go home after paying. Those people will never bother you again, unless you do another stupid thing, of course."


    Derrick''s eyes opened wide and there was a pleasant surprise on his face, like someone who had just won the lottery. He couldn''t believe what the man said but at the same time, it was really easy to believe if he remembered how the detective handled the ambushers.


    "Really? That was too fast! I just came here today!" he exclaimed in joy.


    "Well, that''s Mr. Hymes for you. As for the amount, you can wait until he comes out," Luuk explained.


    Not long after that, the detective came out of his office. His green eyes were somewhat brimming with expectation as he walked towards the sofas. The man then took the spot near Luuk and looked straight at his client.


    "So, Derrick, as Luuk has explained, your problem has been taken care of now. You can go home in peace. I assure you, no one from that gang will ever bother you again," said Graham full of confidence and assurance. He then smiled wide and added, "Now, it''s time to pay for the service."


    "Yes, yes, sure. How much do I have to pay?" said the smuggler.


    Graham''s smile became even wider and the sparkles in his eyes brighter.


    "Ten guilders for the service, twelve guilders for the materials I had to buy, one guilder for the breakfast and beer, five guilders for Luuk''s service. So the total amount is... twenty-eight guilders. It''s cheap, right?"


    The detective had used divination to see if Derrick would be able to pay that amount, and the result came out very positive. That meant that the amount, although hefty, was still affordable for the smuggler.


    However, the client still gasped in surprise.


    "A-alright..." he said weakly, "But I don''t have that much cash on me right now. I have to go to the bank first."


    "That is understandable. Do you need an escort?" offered Graham.


    Although the detective said the problem had been taken care of, Derrick still felt somewhat unsafe, so the escort offer was like a breath of fresh air to him. Without thinking, he nodded.


    "Then Luuk can go with you. Don''t worry, he can also fight well. And for the extra service, you can pay him two guilders," said Graham, "Meanwhile, I have to take care of something else."


    Derrick gasped again.


    "Luuk, can you give me some of the yellow stuff," said Graham vaguely.


    Understanding what the detective meant, Luuk stood up and handed the man some more pouches containing yellow powders. After that, he looked at the client.


    "Are you ready, Mr. Damreau?"


    Weakly, Derrick nodded.


    Graham returned to his own bedroom while Luuk left the villa with Derrick Damreau. They took the shortcut again and walked out to the sunshiny street outside.


    "Where is the bank?" asked Luuk.


    "This way."


    The two men then walked west, towards the area of the street where more establishments were located. Naturally, Luuk wanted to walk fast, but Derrick didn''t look like he was in a hurry, so Luuk matched the man''s speed as not to leave him behind.


    "Anyway, what did Mr. Hymes do to the gang members?" asked the man curiously.


    Looking straight ahead, Luuk shook his head.


    "I don''t think it''s something I can tell you," he refused to answer.


    "I understand. But it''s something supernatural, isn''t it? I know supernatural stuff is real," said Derrick seriously.


    Luuk was slightly surprised by the man''s statement. However, thinking back about the man''s occupation made it much less surprising. As a drug smuggler, Derrick must have been tangled with many different kinds of people, and it wouldn''t be strange if some of them were Contractbounds. He must have been exposed to the supernatural world then.


    "We can call it that way then if it''s easier," Luuk said vaguely.


    "No wonder it was done pretty quickly, and the material was so expensive. Supernatural materials are very expensive, aren''t they?"


    Luuk nodded.


    "Yes, they are,"


    "But, is Mr. Hymes always that calculating with money? Even the beer was counted towards the total amount," Derrick asked casually.


    Luuk chuckled.


    "You''ve only met him today. If you go to Sloten, maybe you can ask all the public motor carriage drivers about a customer who always haggles every time," he joked.


    The two men had entered the busier part of the street, so they could no longer talk about private stuff without people accidentally eavesdropping.


    "This part of the street is very different from our villa," Luuk commented.


    There were restaurants with ocean themes on the right, with the sea behind them, while on the left side of the street, stores and other facilities were lined up. There were clothes stores, convenience stores, and even money changers for tourists from another country. A tourist city indeed gave off a different vibe.


    "This is where the tourist bait places are. Everything here is overpriced, but since they are close to the villas and resorts, tourists just come here for convenience. Besides, the ocean view is another plus point of this street. I don''t recommend buying anything here, though. You can get them much cheaper if you go to a different part of the city," explained Derrick.


    The smell of grilled fish filled Luuk''s nose and attracted his attention. He looked to his right to find a restaurant clerk wearing a shirt with palm trees print on it grilling seafood in front of the restaurant. The liquid dripping from the fish and the charred smell wet his mouth. However, when he checked the price written on the small blackboard at the front, he retracted his eyes.


    "Thirty pennings for grilled fish? That''s too much money!" he complained to Derrick.


    "I didn''t set the price, man." he shrugged, "But, I told you."


    The Thief and the smuggler kept on walking, the former no longer having any interest in looking around. Although the food displayed was mouth-watering, the price would make him regret it afterward. The same applied to the clothes on sale. They looked pretty interesting and ''oceany'', but they were sold at an exorbitant price.


    The deeper they walked into the busy tourist street, the louder it became. The bars, caf¨¦s, and restaurants each played their own music to attract customers, and the sounds of the tourists chattering and laughing added to the noise.


    "How far still is the bank?" asked Luuk. He didn''t seem to be too comfortable being in the crowded street.


    "It''s just at that corner. You should be able to see it from here," Derrick pointed at a building in the distance.


    In the corner of the street, there was a tall building with the name ''The Bank of Tulp'' on it. Although it was not as big as the other branches, this particular one was decent enough for the location that it was in.


    After finally arriving at the bank, Luuk waited outside while Derrick got in to talk with the teller. It didn''t take the smuggler long to withdraw his money, after which he returned to his bodyguard who was waiting outside.


    "Anyway, is there another way back? That street is just too noisy for me," Luuk asked.


    Derrick seemed to be thinking first before answering. According to his memory, there should indeed be a detour that was much quieter, almost as quiet as the eastern part of the street.


    "Yes, I''m sure there is. This way then," he pointed.


    Luuk followed the man and the two of them turned left at the corner where the bank was and then turned left again to a smaller street.


    The street in front of them was indeed much quieter, and Luuk liked it better than the main one.


    However, at that moment, he noticed that there were people who had been watching them since they left the bank. His instinct told him that the people were up to no good. They must have been targetting Derrick, who had just withdrawn a lot of money.


    "Some people are targetting your money. Act natural, I''ll protect you," Luuk said quietly, almost whispering.


    Derrick wanted to look around, but the man beside him tapped his shoulder to remind him not to do that. His heart began beating fast as he walked down the quiet street.


    Luuk could feel that behind him, there were two people approaching them. There was also another suspicious-looking individual in front of them, leaning against the lamp post. He was wearing a beanie and a turtle-neck sweater that could almost cover his mouth. Although he was pretending not to pay attention to the two men walking towards him, Luuk could feel that he was eyeing Derrick from time to time.


    The two of them walked naturally, approaching the man in front of them. The moment they were close enough, Luuk secretly made a swiping motion with his right hand while whispering.


    "Your pants are mine..."


    Suddenly, the man''s pants disappeared and reappeared in Luuk''s hand, who quickly threw it to the two people following him. The man with the sweater instinctively covered his private area in embarrassment while swearing.


    "Get them!"


    One of the people following them, who turned out to be a man in his early-forties with magnificent facial hair, shouted.


    Luuk, however, was already prepared and flung the severed hand in his left hand. The hand that was attached to a piece of rope hit the other person, a thin man with a hoodie on, and grabbed his face.


    "Your balance is mine!"


    The Thief pulled the severed hand which was now holding a glowing orb.


    The hooded man, who was trying to run towards the target, suddenly stumbled awkwardly, falling face-first to the paved ground. He tried to get up but somehow he just didn''t have enough balance to stand up straight. He fell down again and couldn''t get back up after that.


    Seeing that the bearded man had a thin figure, Luuk quickly used another Theft.


    "Your belt is mine!"


    The man''s belt disappeared from his apparently oversized pants, causing it to fall off. With the pants in the way, he couldn''t run properly and fell down as well.


    "Now run!" signalled Luuk at Derrick while discarding the belt.

 245 Off the Shore

    The ocean wind blew strongly, dampening the young man''s voice. The bright sunlight hit his face gently while the salty air stuck to his skin. The seabirds hovering above them were cawing occasionally, using the wind to help them glide around.


    Luuk and Graham were currently on a passenger ship, sailing in the middle of the ocean. The tiny islands in the distance to their right seemed to be calling them, while the open ocean on the other side looked desolate and empty.


    "To Texel, and then we''ll try to find a boat that can take us to Raas. It says in your ticket, doesn''t it?" the detective explained shortly. His eyes were locked into the biggest island that he could see far ahead of him. His eyes were brimming with expectation while his mind was wandering.


    His neighbor scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. He admitted that he hadn''t bothered reading his ticket and just followed the detective.


    It was a Sunday morning, one day after their business with Derrick Damreau. The man had paid Graham fully for his services and was now no longer living in fear of the gang members, for the time being. The aged gang members wouldn''t be able to hurt him in their conditions, after all, while the rest should be too scared after Valentine had shown them his serpent form.


    "And why are we going there?" the young man''s tone was curious, but there was a hint of excitement in his voice. He enjoyed new experiences, it would appear.


    "My divination told me that''s where I can get one of the materials for my ritual. I''m not sure what we''ll find on that island, however, since the divination didn''t give me any detail since it was too far away," Graham explained.


    "Is it going to be dangerous?" the young man made sure.


    Graham shook his head.


    "There is going to be some danger, according to my divination, but it shouldn''t be mortal at least," his voice was serious, but the tone was calming.


    "So we don''t know yet what kind of place it is?"


    "I''ve asked that man Derrick. It seems that Raas is an uninhabited island off the shore of Texel. You know what kind of place Texel is, right?" Graham checked his neighbor''s knowledge.


    Luuk seemed to be thinking for a while.


    "Isn''t it a port island?" he finally responded, "That''s a tourism hub for people who want to explore the many smaller islands around it, right? It''s also close enough to our neighbor, Rodin, so the island sees a lot of visitors every day. That''s what I remember about it, at least."


    Graham smiled and nodded.


    "That''s correct. The small islands around Texel are famous tourist spots, but the one we''re going to, Raas, is much farther than the rest, and Derrick said not a lot of people dare to go there because the sea route to the island is prone to pirate attacks, unlike the closer islands which are protected by the Navy."


    "From Rijssen to Texel, it would take us four hours by ship, and from Texel to Raas, we will need to sail for four more hours South. That''s why we will rest first on Texel today and go to Raas first thing in the morning tomorrow. We''ll also make use of the black market on the island to resupply," Graham explained.


    Luuk nodded.


    The two men then looked at the sunny sky above them. Although they were still in the same country, it was hard to believe that it was actually already late autumn and winter was just around the corner. The temperature there was still relatively warm and the islands in the distance were still green. It felt like they were in summer, or even in the tropic.


    The passenger ship that they were on had seats inside and some cabins with beds for those who wouldn''t mind paying extra. There were currently a lot of people in the seating area, that was why Graham and Luuk chose to stand outside and enjoy the view instead.


    "Texel is a part of our country, right? And the language there is Tulpese, right?" asked Luuk suddenly.


    Graham smiled and nodded before replying, "Yes. Why? Don''t you speak Rodinian?"


    The young medical student smiled awkwardly and shook his head.


    "To be honest, no. Do you?"


    "Yes, I do. Although, it''s mostly passive. I can understand people perfectly, but my speaking skill is trash at best. But people should still understand me at least," he replied casually.


    Luuk shrugged, "Well then you do the talking if needed."


    Graham wanted to facepalm, but he held back. Instead, he just replied sarcastically, "So, basically, as like always?"


    The young man shrugged again, more nonchalantly this time.


    It had been three hours since they left the port of Rijssen, so they should be arriving soon enough. In the first three hours, the two men had tried waiting in the seating area, but the crowd of people there was too noisy. They then began exploring the ship before finally finding themselves standing on the front deck.


    "I''m tired of standing up. I''ll go in and have a rest, I guess. What are you going to do, Mr. Hymes?" Luuk said, suddenly.


    Graham rubbed his chin and thought. He didn''t really want to go back to the crowded part of the ship, and he didn''t want to spend money on a cabin that he would use only for an hour or so.


    "I think I''ll just go around some more. I''ll meet you at the seating area later," the detective answered and then waved his hand.


    He picked up the briefcase that he had left on the floor and walked away with his cane, heading towards the back of the passenger ship. Luuk also picked up his backpack and entered the passenger area through the door on the side.


    "Val, let''s explore this ship more thoroughly this time. The curious people who were exploring when the ship first departed should be all gone, right?" he muttered while making his way through the side deck. His boots tapped loudly on the metal panels beneath him.


    On his right, there were railings to prevent people from falling down. Although, if someone decided to jump overboard, the railings would only do so much to prevent them. There were rescue buoys attached to the walls and railings, within the reach of anyone nearby in case someone actually accidentally fell.


    Graham walked past the side deck and arrived at the back terrace, where he could see Rijssen far away in the distance. The mountain range behind Rijssen was shrouded in thick clouds, almost covering them completely while the coastal city remained sunshiny.


    "Val, let''s try that door near the stern that we saw earlier. But before that, I''ll need a disguise," muttered Graham.


    He hid behind an air vent tower and checked his surrounding. Currently, the sun was shining brightly and most of the passengers were copped up inside. There were a few people still standing outside, but from their position, Graham''s location should be obstructed.


    Concentrating on the identity he wanted to use, the detective began chanting.


    "I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being into that of Derrick Damreau!"


    Rapidly, his body began changing. His hair turned light blonde and his eyes brown. There were black circles formed around his eyes, as it was how the man was inside Luuk''s memory. No more than thirty seconds later, Graham had completely turned into the perfect copy of his previous client.


    With his fake identity, Graham was now ready to do some trespassing if necessary to satisfy his curiosity.


    "Let''s go now, Val," he smiled mischievously.


    Walking casually, he climbed down the metal stairs at the end of the terrace carefully. The ship was old and some of the steps had rusty edges, and Graham didn''t want to cut himself on some sharp rusted metal.


    At the bottom of the stairs was the place where all the giant ropes for docking were. There was a door with a restricted area sign on it at the bottom as well, and that was where Graham was heading.


    Grabbing the handle, he gave it a turn and tried pulling the metal door. However, the door wouldn''t budge.


    "I order you to unlock yourself!"


    Click!


    With his Order, the door was unlocked and Graham repeated his action. This time, the heavy door was pulled open and he could see the inside of the restricted area. Graham took a step inside carefully; it was his first time being inside a private area of a ship.


    Silence came once he closed the door behind him. The sounds of water broken by the ship and the air vents outside were no longer heard there. There was only a faint sound of people talking in the distance, on the other side of the narrow corridor where he was standing.


    On each side, there were doors with circular windows. For some reason, the windows were blocked off from the inside with curtains. That fact only piqued his curiosity even more.


    After making sure that there was no sound coming from inside the room to his right, Graham tried opening the door only to find out it was locked.


    "I order you to unlock yourself..." he whispered.


    Click!


    The door was unlocked and the detective took the liberty of coming in. It turned out to be just a cabin for the ship''s crew, and the stench repelled him from walking deeper into the room. It smelled like cheese that had been left unclosed in a storage room for years.


    Closing the door, Graham left the cabin that had clothes lying around and continued on. He walked down the narrow corridor carefully, getting closer to the source of the talking sound.


    Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps coming towards Graham, who was still behind the door at the end of the corridor. The footsteps were uneven like the person they belonged to was running and stumbling at the same time.


    Hiding behind the door, Graham waited silently for the person to enter.


    Thud...


    The metal door was opened and closed quickly. A person came into view along with the opening of the door. It was a man who looked rather uncanny to Graham. He was wearing a beastlike, ferocious expression on his face and his body was all sweaty despite the interior of the ship being air-conditioned. The man''s red eyes looked like he was in his own world, but at the same time eyeing everything around him intently.


    Before the man caught wind of him being there, Graham quickly activated his ability.


    "I order you to fall asleep!"


    Although he kept his voice low, in the quiet corridor it should be loud enough to alarm the man. However, he didn''t seem to have heard Graham and continued looking at the space in front of him as if searching for something.


    Staying completely silent, Graham hid near the door in the man''s blind spot, undetected.


    Slowly, the man finally began showing signs of sleepiness and began stumbling. He fell down on the floor as the sounds of snoring escaped his mouth.


    "That is strange, isn''t it, Val? It took my ability longer to make him fall asleep than usual. Is he a Contractbound, I wonder?" he muttered curiously.


    Graham conjured an illusory flame in front of him and began to use divination on the man. However, the result came out to be negative; the man was just a normal human being. He then quickly got rid of the flame.


    With his chin resting on his hand, he mumbled, "Does it have to do with the abnormal state that he is in, or is he just mentally strong enough to resist my Order?"


    Leaving the sleeping man behind, Graham exited the corridor through the door and closed it very carefully not to cause too much noise.


    He was now in a different corridor, a little wider than the previous one. The doors on both sides looked different from the cabin doors before and through the open one, he could see that he was in some kind of storage area.


    "He must have just come out of this room here. But where are the other people he was talking with?" he muttered.


    Curiously, he sneaked into the room while keeping an eye on his surrounding. It was a bit dark, so he had to focus so that he could see clearly.


    There were a lot of crates inside the storage room that was a little bigger than the cabin. However, there was something that caught Graham''s attention hiding behind all of the crates. There was something like a white plastic bag sticking out from the spot.


    "I wonder what that is?"


    Approaching the plastic bag, Graham walked around the stacks of crates and boxes, and finally, the object was revealed to him. It was a bag containing white powder that was still left open.


    "Don''t tell me..."


    The moment Graham saw the object, he had quickly retreated. He left the storage room and went back to where he came from, walking past the sleeping man on the floor.


    Only after exiting the restricted area and returning outside could he finally breathe in relief. He then walked back upstairs and found a secluded spot to do his divination; he needed to confirm his suspicion.


    Conjuring an illusory flame in front of him, he began focusing on the question that he wanted to ask.


    ''Was that white powder illegal drugs?''


    An image of a piece of paper being burned appeared on the flame. The fire in the image consumed the paper quickly, indicating a positive response. After that, the image disappeared and Graham quickly got rid of the illusory flame, which was strangely unaffected by the strong sea breeze.


    "So it was indeed drugs. Luckily no one saw us there; otherwise, we would be accused to be the one using it..." he rested his chin on his right hand and began rubbing it, "So I think it goes like this, Val. The ship is transporting illegal drugs to somewhere, probably Texel, and some of the crews decided to use some of it for themselves. Although it''s none of our business what they do, it won''t hurt to just be careful with the crews. We saw the effect of the drugs earlier, didn''t we?"


    Graham then returned to his original appearance shortly after and walked back to the passenger seating area, acting as nothing had happened.