?I read the report in front of again, and then again. And then once more.
In the silence that descended on my office, I moved my hand aside, and as it did, the holographic report slid to the side. My eyes slowly rose, looking up at the man standing across the office.
"They just disappeared, is that so?"
The man swallowed, seed to avert his eyes for a mont, but was able to keep looking at .
"Y- yes, Ms. lany..."
I looked at his face for a while, into his eyes, and as he was sweating with nervousness with each passing second, I finally closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"You can leave."
The man didn't say anything. He just turned around, walked out of the office, and closed the door back. A deep silence fell over my office again.
I leaned back in my chair, threw my head back, and as my eyes slowly opened, all I could see was the ceiling.
"I... I can't understand anything anymore."
I brought the report in front of again, and then I watched the videos of the incident.
A maniac who could control the 'darkness'... a do that covered the whole street and that no one could break no matter what... and then the destruction of this do and the death of everyone in it except three people...
One of those three is my own daughter, Lucia.
I should be worried, shouldn't I? I should be looking for her everywhere, worrying...
No, it's not that I'm not worried. It's not like I haven't been looking for her. After all, I ordered everyone working under to stop what they were doing and look for her.
So why... why do I feel so... so unresponsive? Am I becoming numb? Or... do I not want to think about the thought of sothing happening to Lucia? Am I waiting for a miracle like with Aiden?
"Haaaaaaaah..."
Adrian and a girl nad Olivia, two other people who disappeared along with my daughter. Why did these three just disappear instead of being found dead like all the other bodies? This... murderer... whatever his motive was, soone who deliberately left traces behind. If he really killed them, wouldn't he have left their bodies too?
Hah, look at what I'm desperately hoping for...
I was jumping from one thought to another when suddenly a completely different screen appeared in front of . There was a na on it, and underneath... a text that implied that soone was calling .
I quickly straightened myself up, trying to calm my inner feelings as I answered the call, but... I wasn't having much success.
"Prince Lucas? What happened? Did you find a trace?"
The prince sighed lightly. And the mont I heard that, all my anticipation and excitent quickly vanished.
"Calm down. We found a trace, yes, but it's not what you think it is."
Oh, they actually found sothing!
"I'm listening."
"Aiden and I were attacked a few months ago, rember? We suspect the sa person is behind this."
He paused for a mont, then sighed again.
"No... I'm sure of it. That dark do is exactly the sa as before. At least in look and feel. So the two events are the work of the sa person. But other than that, we don't know any details about his identity yet."
That's... useless?
"Ms. lany, don't misunderstand. I know that one of the lives in question belongs to your own daughter, but... there is another issue here. And this is the most obvious difference between the two cases."
I didn't say anything, I just waited for him to continue. Maybe... maybe he could say sothing useful.
"This man... has gotten stronger. He has a rate of developnt that would leave behind Adrian, Aiden, or Zayden, so of the highest potential people the kingdom has ever seen, let alone normal. The amount of mana that do radiates around it, the depth of the darkness, the way there is never any unnecessary release or absorption, as if everything is in perfect harmony... Not only that, but this man is most likely responsible for the unexplained murders of recent months."
I could imagine him clenching his fist on the other end of the call, his voice cracking slightly as he said the last sentence.
"This man could be dangerous. No, every second we don't find him makes him even more dangerous. At this rate of developnt, he could be one of the most powerful people in the kingdom in just a year or two. So... finding this man and killing him as quickly as possible is now a necessity for this kingdom."
A brief silence fell over the room, and I couldn't help squinting when I realized he had no intention of continuing.
"So... you're saying this is the man who caused my daughter's disappearance?"
The prince sighed deeply. The formality in his voice suddenly disappeared, and instead, he spoke to directly.
"What I am saying is that not only you are looking for this man, but the whole kingdom is now. I don't think Adrian or Lucia, or the other girl, are dead. For them to disappear like this... it's not like this man. This is a man who leaves the people he kills in the open like a joke. So don't lose hope."
I didn't say anything, I just waited, and the Prince spoke again after a short ti.
"I will update you again if there are any further developnts. For now..."
He paused as if sothing had suddenly occurred to him. But then he continued.
"Don't let your emotions get in the way of your reason."
He hung up the call and the room fell silent again. His last words echoed in my mind.
Don't let your emotions get in the way of your reason, huh...?
"Hah... Hahaha..."
These... are the words I said to him a few months ago, aren't they? The words I used to persuade him when we were dealing with the Malus Family.
After calming down for a short while, I straightened up in my chair and pulled one of the screens I had pushed aside on my desk in front of . There in front of was a different and more detailed version of the report on the incident.
I read it all over again, from start to finish, over and over. Minutes passed, and after a while, I lost track of ti. Not even realizing how many tis I had finished the report, I raised my eyes upwards. I just... stared at the wall.
Finally... only two words could co out of my lips.
"Damn it..."
Don't let your emotions get in the way of your reason...
I know, I know that too! But...
My lips trembled, I clenched my teeth, and I looked up at the ceiling again, my whole body trembling slightly, and the wetness in my eyes.
"Damn it!"
*******
"Terror in the streets of Wiathen!"
~click!
"The unbelievable incident in Wiathen..."
~click!
"The mysterious killer who may have killed over a hundred people!"
~click!
"Haaaaa..."
After turning off the TV, I threw the remote control aside. Darkness fell over as the only source of light in the room disappeared. But... that wasn't important.
I let them get away from . Three people who saw my face sohow got away from .
'You failed, Revon... You failed...'
It's not certain that they survived... but what if they're really alive and they co back? Then... my face will be known to everyone. It will be revealed that I'm the one who committed the murders.
I made a mistake, a big mistake.
'Mistake...'
Sighing, I stood up. The darkness around rippled for a mont, then settled again. I approached the only window of my room, pulled the curtains aside, and looked out. I could see cars passing by, people walking on the sidewalks. They were oblivious to everything.
"Hmm..."
I stood there for a mont watching the outside, thinking.
Is it really important to know my identity?
Actually... no. It's not hard to hide my face, and I can dye my hair. It's not hard to wear contact lenses. It's not like I've been seen on any device, only three people can more or less describe my face.
Besides... now that I think about it, wouldn't that be more fun? The possibility of getting caught, having to hide...
I've always hidden myself until now, never leaving any evidence of myself behind. I killed, I had fun, and I hid. There was no fear or tension. And now... they will look for everywhere.
'Keep... killing...?'
Ah, people will now be able to foresee what happens when they see ... The terror on their faces...
Maybe letting my face be known isn't as bad as I thought?
Besides... I'm getting stronger and stronger. I'm constantly getting stronger. After a while, there won't be anyone who can beat , will there?
I paused for a mont, my face soured.
Wouldn't that be... as boring as it would be fun? If there's no one left to beat ... nothing would be fun. People lose hope, and when hope is gone... they beco numb.
I lowered my eyes slightly, and then a blue glow appeared in the nothingness. Then a floating window opened in front of .
How long has it been since I reached A-? A couple of weeks? I feel like I'm already close to A... Once I get to S or beyond, the number of people I'll be able to et will be lower than ever. Then everything will be easier... Unnecessarily easy...
'We're hungry... You're hungry...'
After a deep sigh, I let myself fall back into my seat.
"Nothing will change. I can keep doing what I'm doing. But..."
The image of the trio ca back to . One is an unnecessarily beautiful blonde girl, the other... an ordinary girl, and the last is a guy with silver hair and erald-green eyes.
How could I have made such a mistake? I'd better be more careful now. There is no room for more mistakes. I will make up for my mistake.
I visualized the trio again. I morized the way they looked, the way they called each other. The guy's na... Adrian. The blonde's na was Lucia. They didn't say the other girl's na, but I can find her sohow.
Their nas, hair color, eye color, height, who they were... I went over it all over and over in my mind and then sighed.
If you show up again... I'll find you. I'll also find that duo that got away from a few months ago. I'll tie up my loose ends.
The fact that soone can get away from ...
"Annoying."
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