Brandon's brows raised as the realization washed over him.
His mind was running in circles, and to calm his beating heart, he took another puff on the cigarette, only to cough as he felt the heat stuck in his throat.
The moment he turned away from Evelyn's grotesque figure, he couldn't help but have the urge to gag.
"Huekk...!"
The cherry blossoms....
It was the person behind everything wrong that happened so far.
"Ah."
He was lured here just for the sinister purpose of killing Evelyn.
And the fact that the person responsible wasn't around, meant he was just being toyed with.
Someone was pulling his strings.
"Fuck."
And he had zero idea who it was.
He glanced once more at Evelyn.
"Ah?"
While her skin was still pale, her hair was slowly returning to its original color, making her recognizable.
Brandon tried his best not to glance at the hole on her chest. He grabbed a blanket from her room and covered her up.
All of a sudden, as he tried standing up.
Bang—!
The door slammed open.
***
Spectral Hounds.
A profession that specialized in suppressing people. Experience exclusive tales on мѵʟ
They operated differently from the police, rankers, or the army, with their main focus being to keep everyone in check.
Not even the Imperial Army had control over them.
In other words, they were hunting dogs.
Mercenaries personally working for the government themselves.
While individually, they weren't too powerful compared to the top rankers, they had the tools and the skills to suppress almost anyone, given they were in the advantageous position.
Moreover, they had also contributed during the recent auction, and blackmarket raid, working behind the scenes without the Imperial Army's knowledge, tracking down the escapees and such.
They were also the organization responsible in uncovering the truth behind Lumian, and disseminated the information, using the Imperial Army to finally hunt down the bastard.
However, this task was rather unofficial.
It was a personal request from a friend.
A man in his late twenties, Isaac, stood outside the room of a certain condominium.
Beside him was his partner, Seth.
After countless pleading, even offering a sum of money, Isaac had no choice but to take the job, despite the fact that he was doing it behind the government's back.
He was aware of who the room owner was. But Isaac didn't care for that matter.
The blanket-covered figure remained unmoving.
Isaac knelt beside the figure. His hand hesitated over the blanket, but with a quick motion, he pulled it back.
Beneath it, a woman with dark–purple hair greeted his sight.
Her pale, lifeless face stared back at him.
As Isaac lowered the blanket further....
"....Shit."
A rare reaction jumped out of Isaac, seeing the gaping hole on the woman's chest.
After killing several mages and duelists in the past, Isaac was used to this sight. However, he couldn't help but react upon realizing who the woman was.
She was a famous figure.
Almost everyone knew who she was.
"Evelyn Cessna."
She was dead.
"Who the hell did this?"
Isaac murmured to himself, but there was no time to dwell.
From what he had made out in just a few seconds, he could tell the blood was still fresh, despite how pale her body was, hinting that the murder could've happened a few days back.
But that raised the question.
"Who the fuck is capable of killing Evelyn Cessna!?"
Seth, who stood behind on the door, keeping watch, exclaimed.
"This might be a bigger case than I had initially thought...."
They knew there was no one else in the room, given the mana signature on their device never detected anything.
Isaac immediately retrieved his phone and sent back a message to his friend.
[Raven Blackheart]
***
The moment the door burst open, Brandon immediately grabbed the relevant documents.
He wasn't sure who was about to enter the room, but circumstances told him he had to leave as soon as possible.
He gritted his teeth knowing he had to leave Evelyn like this, but there was nothing he could do.
This mysterious killer was most likely too powerful for him to handle at the moment.
For that reason, having no other ways to escape before his face was seen, Brandon activated the ring that linked him to Amelia.
Soon after, his figure vanished, and the scenery changed.
"Ah...."
He appeared in a rather bustling part of the city.
The mall.
"....Brandon?"
A familiar voice rang from behind, and Brandon turned around.
He was just about to respond, when he noticed the figure standing right next to Amelia.
"Miss Lianna?"