The masked boy headed toward the market, with the girl walking behind him. Her steps were hesitant, her eyes wandering in bewildernt.
The alleys were crowded, voices overlapping, and the sll of food wafted from nearby stalls. Despite the crowd, no one paid attention to the boy in the strange mask, nor to the girl following him.
After several minutes of walking, the masked boy stopped in front of a small clothing shop. Its facade was plain wood, and the glass window displayed a few old dresses on faded mannequins. He pushed the door open quietly and entered first.
Inside, behind the counter stood a middle aged woman with gray hair tied back and a tired yet alert face. As soon as her eyes rose, they t the masked boy. They exchanged a few brief words before he gestured toward the girl still standing hesitantly at the door. The woman approached her, smiled gently, and took her hand to lead her inside.
The girl was still wearing a thin white laboratory gown.
Even so, the masked boy use of the mask’s power made people ignore her, just as they ignored the mask itself. Still, he couldn’t stay with her forever, and at the very least she needed to change into sothing less conspicuous.
He would have preferred to let her choose for herself, but she was ignorant even of the simplest things. If he left her alone, most likely she’d be beaten to death and robbed of everything she had.
Even if she used her power to defend herself, it would attract all the wrong people gangsters who would try to exploit her, and if they failed, they’d simply get rid of her.
And in the worst scenario, the Wardens would capture her again. So he decided to stay with her. For now, he had no intention of moving. His goal was to gather information to pinpoint Valeria exact location.
Attacking another lab now wasn’t a good idea. Doing so would implicitly reveal that he knew the locations of the other labs a truth he didn’t want to expose.
The thought made him rember sothing. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black slip of paper. He wrote a few brief words on it, then crushed it between his fingers. It ignited and vanished into thin air.
***
At the Office of Public Investigations, Inspector Griffin sat calmly on his leather couch, holding a warm cup of tea.
Suddenly, a black ssage appeared before him, landing on the wooden desk. He picked it up and read it carefully.
His expression darkened gradually, the more he read, the more his features hardened. When he finished, he folded the ssage and slipped it into his coat pocket without a word. Then he rose, walked to the door, and strode quickly to the office next door. He kicked it open.
"Hey, Edward!"
A weary voice from inside answered:
"Haven’t I told you a thousand tis to knock before coming in?"
Griffin rapped the doorfra with his knuckles, then said:
"There, I knocked. Now listen I’ve got intel on the case."
"Already? It’s only been a few hours since we were assigned."
"I told you before, I’ve got informants in the Lower District, didn’t I?"
"You did, but I didn’t believe you. You hardly leave the office. Anyway, what’s the intel?"
The case they were working on involved the appearance of strange beasts throughout the Lower District. At first, the Office had tried to intervene, but political pressure from the dgar Empire had tied their hands.
Unlike the Imperial forces, the Office operates independently, spread across most kingdoms of the continent of Eretha, with a limited presence on the opposite continent. But the Empire, especially in the capital dlia, feared this growing influence and sought to cut it down by any ans.
Still, the rising danger and spread of the beasts recently forced the Empire to ease so of its pressure. Even a small chance of those creatures reaching the Middle or Upper Districts was enough to spark panic.
"I’ve got the location of one of the labs producing those creatures."
"Stop joking, this is an official mission."
"I’m not joking."
"And how did you get intel of that level so quickly?"
"My informant in the Lower District."
"You were gathering intel before we even got authorization?"
"Yes."
"So blunt, as always."
Graves wasn’t surprised many inspectors in the Office acted without waiting for official approval, especially when the Empire was involved.
After a mont of silence, Graves added:
"Anyway, why co to ? Give the location to Director Stefan."
Griffin hesitated, then said:
"I was going to, but this case involves soone nad Valentine Crow."
Graves straightened up instantly at the na.
"Valentine Crow? That forr Imperial researcher?"
Even though the case went back more than forty years, its mory still lingered in the Office archives and in the inspectors’ minds.
Valentine Crow had been a prominent researcher in the dgar Empire’s Human Experintation Division. He beca entangled in a notorious scandal after one of his experints spun out of control, causing a local disaster.
At the ti, the Office intervened and forcibly shut down the project. The dia picked up the story though most details were censored and rumors of "unethical human experints" spread. Under pressure, the Empire announced his license was revoked and that he was exiled.
But in truth, that never happened. The Office knew Valentine had never been exiled; the Empire had only covered up his existence to avoid a bigger scandal. Even so, the Office hadn’t acted back then. A direct clash with the Empire wasn’t in their interest.
"Yes."
"And why tell this?"
"Because we need to act before anyone learns Valentine is involved."
"We? Go alone."
"Where’s your sense of justice?"
"Buried under a pile of paperwork on my desk, if you care."
"I’ll handle it for you."
Graves gave him a skeptical look.
"Really?"
"Yes. Dead serious."
Graves picked up a sheet of paper from his desk, scribbled on it, then pushed it toward Griffin.
Griffin looked at it, then raised his eyes.
"What’s this?"
"Sign."
"Why?"
"Guarantee you won’t back out, as usual."
With his authority, Graves could create contracts that couldn’t be broken by anyone of comparable or lesser level of assimilation.
Griffin wanted to protest, but he needed his help and didn’t have ti to waste. He sighed heavily, took the pen, and signed.
As soon as the pen touched the page, it glowed faint gold, the words shining briefly before fading. Graves folded the paper, slipped it into his coat, and said:
"Alright, where’s the lab?"
Griffin pulled a black slip from his pocket.
"Here. The coordinates are inside."
...
In front of a half ruined building in an isolated neighborhood, Inspectors Griffin and Edward Graves stood.
Graves stared at the wreckage and said:
"You’re sure this is the place?"
"Yes. Now, hand that Piece of System."
"You an the Heart of Darkness?"
"Exactly."
"You don’t even know its na, and you call yourself an inspector?"
"Just give it to ."
Graves produced a black crystal the size of a palm, set in a copper fra etched with intricate runes. He handed it to Griffin, who grasped it firmly.
Muttering a few words, Griffin caused the surrounding shadows to gather and solidify, forming a vision of a masked boy storming the building, cutting down the guards in an instant. Then, just as suddenly, he vanished, and the scene dissolved.
Graves said:
"Looks like soone beat us to it."
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