Late Friday night, the 4th.
Wayaa Train Station.
East of Minehold City.
Even though it was already late at night, Zavi decided to head for the dead city of Moran and the mass grave for one purpose alone: a chain.
However, he was not foolish enough to walk straight in. Instead, he held something specific in his hand.
A folded newspaper.
He unfolded it, carefully smoothed it out, and read it once again, as if making sure his eyes had not deceived him.
'Damn it. Why did they send someone there at a time like this?'
Zavi hesitated, torn between continuing his journey and returning to Minehold, even though he had already traveled several hundred meters away from it.
Still, having already made up his mind to undertake the journey and having contemplated it for months, Zavi lifted his brown suitcase with a serious expression.
He did not want to take unnecessary risks after learning that the Cevenose Security Department from the great city of Kuranda was present there.
Rumor had it that whenever that department arrived at a location, especially a city that already appeared strange and terrifying to outsiders, there was always a hidden motive behind it.
That was even more believable considering that a commander and a captain, along with dozens of officers, had joined the investigation into this dead city, an operation connected to Mayor Novewilian Alistair and Count William Surcre.
'They're looking for something.'
Zavi crumpled the newspaper before slipping it into his pocket.
For now, he was relying on two artifacts whose powers he still did not understand, along with his trusted Hoisline fan artifact.
The journey took quite a while because Zavi frequently stopped to rest and nearly lost control again as the supernatural beings lurking among the dense trees continued attacking him.
Besides, he could not spend the entire night sleeping and lazing around here.
...
In Moran, Tezny District, 6 Senggong Street.
The Cevenose Department was here.
One of the officers under Queen Seon Arzen's command ran toward another group of officers and the captain with a pale face, as though he had witnessed something horrifying.
"...Captain, over there... there's a man's corpse," he said firmly despite being out of breath.
Queen Seon Arzen was startled before replying decisively, "You three, come with me."
Three people, one woman and two men agile enough to fight, followed behind her.
The officer who had reported to Queen led the way toward the location of the newly discovered body.
The reason Queen did not inform the commander and the other high-ranking officials was that she wanted to verify the existence of this new corpse with her own eyes.
She found it difficult to believe that a fresh corpse could appear in a city that had been abandoned for more than four months.
As she ran, Queen sank into thought.
'I've already entrusted the matter of that strange thief to Vaetan and the others. Besides, the higher-ups ordered this investigation after a mysterious figure was seen wandering around from late at night until seven in the morning.'
Although the news had not yet reached the general public, she feared it would eventually leak through the mafia.
As for that creature, which had been observed by the higher-ups from airships and hot-air balloons, the incident had occurred on Monday, April 1.
For the past three days, Queen Seon Arzen had been occupied by the terror caused by the strange "Thief and Con Artist of Time," yet she had been forced to set that matter aside for this serious investigation, delegating it to her vice captain.
She had even been surprised when the department director contacted her and assigned her to work alongside Commander Zousi Ayler on this investigation.
The director was fully aware that they were no ordinary humans, but "Receivers," individuals who possessed supernatural abilities.
Upon arriving, the group of five, including Queen Seon Arzen, stared at the corpse for several moments.
Although their expressions remained calm, their hearts trembled as they realized the strange anomaly surrounding the body.
Queen Seon Arzen covered her mouth with one hand, deep in thought.
She found Commander Ayler's hypothesis highly convincing: that "they" had arrived in Moran sometime several months ago and attempted to carry out that act, only to be stopped by an unknown party whose identity was still under investigation.
Their mission was simple.
The Cevenose Security Department was famous for hunting down "Receivers" and frequently clashed with the Numero Order, often with assistance from the Cathedral of the Goddess Nagreitta, whose teachings had spread rapidly throughout the cities over the past several months.
Furthermore, "Pope Necessary" of the Church of Nagreitta was allied with the Cevenose Security Department. Because some members of the department were Receivers, they were bound by a unique and dangerous condition, an unbreakable oath never to disclose any information.
Once someone became a Receivers, they were forbidden from leaving the Cevenose Security Department. Instead, they were required to hunt other Receivers and Hollows while combating the evil cults operating beyond the kingdom.
Naturally, this was no easy task. However, because Pope Necessary possessed a Level 1 artifact from the "Cielo" category, symbolizing the exalted "Highest Heaven," he was able to proceed cautiously against every move and threat posed by the dangerous Orders scattered across the world.
The Orders' subordinates, even those of low rank, possessed extraordinary power and cunning, not to mention their leaders, who had survived for years, even centuries.
In particular, the Aperomodia Sect was the organization "he" feared the most because of their use of artifacts combined with ancient spells and the supernatural ability of the "Puppeteer" or "Story Manipulation."
They were extremely dangerous, especially considering the setback the sect had recently suffered at the hands of an enemy named Finiscya. That woman had attempted to steal a relic from the city of Moran to perform a ritual, but her attempt had been thwarted by a group and an ordinary young man fighting to reclaim what rightfully belonged to him.
After suspecting an infection caused by the ritualistic "Black Death" plague, and noticing that the three essential conditions for the disease's spread had all been fulfilled, the suspicion grew even stronger upon seeing the black patches covering the corpse.
However, what truly puzzled Queen Seon Arzen was this:
'Where did this person come from?'
Fortunately, thanks to the commander's orders, Queen Seon Arzen breathed a sigh of relief. One of her subordinates, a woman, was a medical forensic specialist.
After conducting an examination that included dissecting the body to determine the cause of death, the woman managed to identify what had killed the man.
However, an unsettling moment followed when she spoke weakly, "Captain Arzen, he died of a heart attack, but..."
She hesitated, feeling that what she was about to say sounded inappropriate, or perhaps fearing people would think she was insane.
"But what...?" Queen asked hurriedly, her brow slightly furrowed.
The woman nodded hesitantly.
"...He's a puppet," she continued, her lips trembling.
Rather than trembling herself, Queen Seon Arzen's lips curled into a grin as she stared at the corpse.
She simply could not believe it.
Naturally, the other three men felt exactly the same.
After a brief silence, with everyone staring at the same object, Queen finally spoke firmly, "Return to the commander's location! Leave Lyliya and me to continue investigating this corpse."
The three male officers saluted before turning around and leaving their captain.
Their figures disappeared into the darkness of the street while Queen Seon Arzen took the lantern from the officer who had first discovered the body and shone its light over the corpse.
She turned to the right, looked at her female subordinate for five seconds, and asked, "Can you find the person controlling this puppet?"
Lyliya shook her head and answered honestly, "I'm sorry. I can't trace this puppet's owner."
After hesitating for several seconds, Queen asked again, "Search for the puppet's transmission signal. The source must still be inside it, at least for now."
Had she been wrong? Had she never considered that the corpses were actually puppets?
Never. From the very beginning, Queen had felt as though she lost all ability to think whenever she faced mystical phenomena.
"What if the victims of those mysterious deaths weren't humans at all, but puppets?"
Lyliya froze just before touching the puppet's body. Two seconds later, she slowly turned around and looked at Queen.
"Did Captain say something?" she asked in surprise before returning to her work.
"Ah, no," Queen replied, holding the lantern as usual.
Then, right at midnight, the fog overhead grew even thicker.
The Queen raised the lantern high into the air. Its soft, warm orange glow struggled to pierce the dense mist.
She had already expected this to happen and had given up on the futile search for the puppet's transmitter. Even though she knew it was the aftermath of the comet's fall, the midnight air had become suffocating several minutes earlier.
"Lyliya," the Queen said flatly. "Come on, let's head back to camp."
The woman quickly stood, gave a brief salute, packed up her medical equipment, and followed her.
Walking through the fog-covered streets, they arrived at the refugee camp near the forest, where the survivors were enduring the aftermath of the demon horses' attack.
They reached Coordinate 16, several dozen meters from the wooden fence.
Everyone had gathered together, and a bonfire burned at the center of the tents, as though the commander had deliberately arranged it that way.
One of the men, the vice commander, welcomed the two women with a sarcastic smile.
"Yo, Arzen. Tired of wandering around a place like this already?"
As always, his eyes remained closed, even while talking and walking.
Queen Seon Arzen ignored him. Meanwhile, Lyliya merely smiled before her expression returned to its usual blankness as she walked two steps behind her.
One of the officers, a lieutenant, approached and said, "Don't you tease her all the time? Isn't that a bit much?"
The vice commander smiled and replied monotonously, "There's something I need to investigate without either her or the commander finding out."
The lieutenant adjusted his cap and asked in confusion, "Is it because of that matter?"
"Yes, NitherBlack," the vice commander replied, opening his eyes slightly.
....
Forgenate District, 12 Capa Street.
Zavi stopped by the house of Ficius Newesto, an acquaintance he had met by chance on the roadside, where they had once talked about several unusual topics.
He had not come merely to visit or reminisce. He wanted to measure the distance between this house and his own in Chapena District, located at 11 Vica Street, to see whether it was exactly one kilometer away.
Zavi grumbled quietly but decided to test it.
He summoned a clone, modified so that it no longer resembled his own appearance, and the clone appeared in Chapena District, 2 Cosdever Street, near the roundabout and directly in front of the KYomi Library.
'Damn it, did the clone fail to reach the place?'
As long as it remained stationary, he could control the clone from several kilometers away. Even so, Zavi remained skeptical, choosing to have the clone move instead of making it appear directly in front of his house.
He had no idea whether his house had been destroyed.
00:35 a.m.
The Arsène Lupin clone entered the alley where his house was located.
The street there remained intact, but the road before the right-hand alley leading to his house had been completely devastated.
'So it's true. The lower part of Chapena, especially Vica Street, was consumed by those black and orange flames.'
After muttering to himself, Zavi ordered his clone to enter the house and search for something important enough to uncover the mystery behind his abilities and the information connected to this journey.