115 The Syndicate's 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,"