Chapter 78: Astraval

The day hadn't gone as Cassian had expected. Katherine only returned for an hour at most, clearly caught up in some exciting development in her research—something Cassian had no clue about. Still, he managed to ease her burden a bit by giving her a massage, helping her relax for a few days.

When she mentioned she wouldn't be back until late that night, Cassian reluctantly made his way to the dorm provided by the law enforcement department.

Thankfully, he didn't have to share the place with anyone. However, it was located in a densely packed part of the city, where tall buildings stood barely an arm's length apart, forming a maze of narrow streets. His dorm was on one of these streets, but luckily it was on the outer edge. Otherwise, he might've spent the entire day lost in the winding alleyways.

It was still early evening when Cassian returned to the dorm after shopping for some necessities and clothes, using the money Katherine had given him. He had also picked up a few books to keep himself entertained at night before going to sleep.

Exhausted, he collapsed onto the bed with a sigh. His training tasks were already completed back at Katherine's room, and with nothing else to do, he considered taking a nap. But before he could settle in, there was a knock on the door.

"Cassian, you back? Come out—there've been murders..."

Cassian sat up, looking weary. Murders were a big deal, but in this city, they happened often—one or two almost daily in their area alone. He wasn't sure what was so special about this case that Robert felt the need to inform him. After all, as far as he knew, he wasn't involved in these kinds of incidents, being part of a special unit.

"So what?" Cassian asked with an annoyed expression as he opened the door, only to find Robert grinning widely, which weirded him out even more. "What do these murders have to do with me? And why are you smiling like that?"

Robert's grin grew even wider at the question. "Well, I've been transferred to your unit," he said, clearly excited. "And as for the murders, they fall under our special unit's jurisdiction, which means we're the ones who have to investigate them."

Cassian looked even more confused. "Why are these murders our responsibility? There are plenty of murders in the city—what's so special about these?" Your journey continues with m v|l--NovelFire seaʀᴄh thё novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Sergeant Hally will explain everything. But get ready, we're leaving in a few minutes. It's urgent—there have been multiple murders," Robert replied, his grin widening at the mention of the word "murders."

Cassian found his reaction strange but decided not to dwell on it. "How many?" he asked.

"I don't know," Robert said, still smiling unnervingly. "We'll find out soon enough..."

With that, Robert left for his room, leaving Cassian standing there, still confused. Letting out a frustrated grunt, Cassian reluctantly went to get ready for work on his day off. Half an hour later, they found themselves at the office, sitting in a room with a few others, including Julius, Sergeant Dallas, Detective Alix, and two people Cassian hadn't seen before.

Sitting next to an overly excited Robert, Cassian leaned in and asked in a low tone, "Who are those two?" He nodded toward the pair, who were talking to each other. One was an older man with a scruffy gray beard, his heavy clothes worn from the cold. The other was a young woman, neatly dressed—completely the opposite of the man, much like Alix.

"That man is a legend in our department, a Astarval," Robert said with admiration.

Cassian was shocked. Astraval was a mage only two steps away from surpassing mortal limits and becoming something beyond. Most mages at his level, like Lady Katherine, spent their days locked away in labs, working tirelessly to bridge those final steps. So, what was someone like Astraval doing here in this department?

It didn't make sense to Cassian. With a confused tone, he asked, "Why is he here?"

Robert shrugged. "I don't know for sure. I heard he's been investigating some terrorist organization since he joined the force. He was actually the first member of our special unit," Robert explained, then added, "And next to Astraval Killian, the young woman. She's a 6th-rank warrior, Cassandra Shiam. She may look young, but she's older than Sergeant Dallas and the others—she's a genius."

Cassian was reeling from one shock after another. He'd always thought the law enforcement department didn't attract people of such immense strength, but clearly, he was wrong. First, he'd learned that Alix was a Luminara, and now he was face-to-face with someone two whole stages ahead of her.

With a chuckle, he couldn't resist asking, "Don't tell me Sergeant Hally is a Mage Ascendant too."

Robert shook his head with a grin. "No, he's not. But he is an 8th-rank warrior." He glanced at Cassian's stunned expression and burst out laughing. "Since you're already in shock, let me hit you with another surprise—you know our Commandant Sher?"

"Is she as powerful as the others?" Cassian asked, not wanting to make any assumptions.

"Yeah, she is," Robert nodded. "She's on par with Sergeant Hally, but from what I've heard, she's much closer to developing her domain and making it materialize."

Robert glanced at Julius before continuing, "I know it's shocking—why would so many powerful people join law enforcement, right? But there's a lot about our job that you might not be aware of yet. And I'm only talking about our department. There are eight departments across the city, four special units. All of them have people just as strong, if not stronger, than the ones in ours."

"The city has too much power..." Cassian muttered, calculating the number of powerhouses residing here.

"Yeah, it does," Robert replied with a smile, "but not as much as it seems. Most of these powerhouses come from different kingdoms and organizations. Only a few are natives, like Sergeant Dallas and Hally. The others, like Detective Julius—and even you—come from other regions."