Chapter 19 The Hunt Begins

Please note that using a real surname for a villainous character may offend some people with that surname, regardless of the intention. To avoid any potential harm, I have considered changing the surname of my fictional character. From now on ' Cillian Colombo will be 'Cillian Marino'.

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After having a meal in the tense atmosphere where no one said anything, I paid for the meals and left for my dorms without providing any kind of explanation because none was needed. I feel like I just rejected someone who hasn't even proposed to me.

I arrived at my dorm and saw a group of doctors attending to the little girl lying on my bed.

"How's her condition doc?", I asked the same doctor whom my shadow brought at first.

"A few days of rest would stabilize her situation; however, the trauma and lack of proper nutrition will pose a problem. In the event that any psychological conditions arise, it would be a serious concern as she is only four years old. Altering her state of mind and helping her recover from trauma would be challenging.", He replied.

"How long do you think she has been like this?", I asked.

"Someone must be really a psychopath to do this, I cannot provide you exact time but approximately seven to eight months", He replied and added, "Her serotonin level is dipped, she hasn't been exposed to sunlight for seven to eight months and -".

"And suffered sexual assault for that amount of time, am I right?", I interrupted.

"Yes", He said.

"Well, don't hesitate to ask for anything, even though it's late, I apologize for bringing you here without your consent, but watching over her out of the academy would have been difficult for me too", I said as I bowed a little apologetically.

"It's okay, you don't have to, rather am grateful I was able to save an innocent child, after our treatment is over rest would be up to you after all", He said putting his hands on my shoulder and patting them.

"Then I have some work to do, I'll take my leave doc", I said and walked through the exit of the dorm apartment.

"Okay, go ahead", he said while I left the apartment.

The moment I exited the dorm my surroundings distorted and I was back at my home on the top floor of the Sears tower Chicago, which was obviously outside the academy, in fact, the distance from here to the academy is four thousand kilometres.

My penthouse underwent a minor renovation while I was away for three days and was transformed into a sleek and modern space with a dark colour scheme. The walls were covered in black wooden panels, and the tiles were a dark matte grey. The furniture consisted of sleek modern sofas and glass tables, with a few glass-made Buddha statues displayed on the transparent cabinets.

Upon entering my rarely used office, I exited and walked towards the drawing room, which had a similar design aesthetic. There, I noticed Henry Miller, who was dressed in a long black coat over a black shirt and pants. He had left the top three buttons of his shirt open, revealing his well-defined body and collarbones.

"Do we have the required information?", I asked Henry Miller, who was seated on the sofa in the drawing room.

"Not just required but almost all", Henry replied, closing the golden pocket watch he had been intently studying. He placed it on the table beside him. From a gold ring with a dark crimson-red gem, matching the colour of his eyes, he retrieved some papers and passed them to me as I took a seat on the sofa across from him. I perused the papers with interest.

"Cillian Marino was raised in a privileged environment with supportive parents," Henry began. "However, his upbringing is where his problems began. He was a born psychopath with an addiction to sexual interaction. But that's not what makes him dangerous. He has a fetish and gets aroused by causing women to feel despair. Despite this, he's not very smart," he concluded in one breath.

"…."

"…."

"Yeah, I know, the reason am saying this is because, he acts hasty and loses his cool really quick and I personally want him dead in the most brutal way if you do so", he paused and extended his hands to flip the page of the folder in my hand and pointed at the list of names and said, "One hundred and thirty-eight".

"One hundred and thirty-eight is the number of women he has abducted, violated, and inflicted suffering upon over the past two decades," he revealed.

Cillian Marino, a man born into wealth and privilege, seems to have taken advantage of his position for his own sick desires. With a twisted fetish for causing women to experience despair, he has kidnapped, raped, and brutally tortured over a hundred and thirty-eight victims over the past two decades. His callous acts have left a trail of destruction and suffering in their wake, making him a cruel and sadistic villain. His lack of empathy and disregard for the well-being of others makes him a dangerous threat to society.

"….", that's seriously inhumane.

"Let's move on to what I want," I said.

"Understood," Henry replied. "I'll continue in a hierarchical order."

"Cillian controls five assassination divisions. Each division is capable of killing an SS-ranked individual, and since they're contracted to devils, they may even pose a threat to an SSS-ranked individual," he said.

'It's as expected of the villain who will face the protagonist in Volume 8 and now I'm gearing up to confront him in the coming days.', I thought.

"Proceed", I prompted.

"In addition to the divisions under his command, there are two individuals who hold a special place in his trust," he informed me. "One of them even shares his sadistic tendencies. I presume you are familiar with Karl Fischer and are trying to uncover the root of Ruby's deep-seated hatred towards him?"

"….", I remained silent and fixed my gaze on him, signalling for him to continue and to abandon his relaxed demeanour.

"Ok, The other person he trusts is Saira Lewis, who acts as his right-hand and assists in managing his empire. She also poses as a male assassin, but the reason for her unwavering loyalty remains unknown"

"Let's focus on Karl Fischer," I said, "I want to hear more about him."

"I was unable to gather substantial information on the particular incident. However, it is known that when Ruby was young, she was abducted by an assassin guild owned by Karl. Ruby was then trained by the guild, with Karl making personal visits to the branch on occasion. The intense level of cursed energy present there made it difficult for me to uncover more details", he said.

"Then we'll just uncover them", I said and asked, "How many branch leaders does his guild have?"

"The three branches of the assassination guild are known as the Dark Hunters, Shadow Stalkers, and Silent Killers. The leader of the Dark Hunters, responsible for Ruby's past, can be found frequenting one of your bars in Chicago to relieve stress and engage in questionable activities at 8:00 PM", He said.

I rose from the sofa and headed to the dressing room. I quickly changed into a sleek black coat, paired with a dark grey shirt, black jeans, and matching dark grey shoes. As I stepped out of the room, I noticed Henry was nowhere to be seen. He had a habit of coming and going as he pleased.