Dollhouse Arc

"It's a place that Vernice calls the 'Dollhouse.' She said the place nearby had an influx of orphaned children because of the economic standpoint of that district. It was the lowest one in the whole of Albion, and now the Duchess wants to help the people living in that part."

"But after a few months, when we defeated the Umbras, Vernice came to that place with another problem. To others, it was a positive thing that happened. But to the Duchess, it was anything far from positive," explained Bryan.

"When she returned, Vernice found that a wealthy man by the name Fabian Brookes had bought a giant plot of land on top of a hill. After walking around, the Duchess noticed that lesser kids were running around the next day. The difference was small but noticeable in her eyes."

"The Duchess wanted to ask for help, but she couldn't since it wasn't related to any Mages. But, unfortunately, the normal authorities weren't helping either. The townsfolk didn't seem to care; they found it relaxing that the kids were slowly vanishing."

"Poor Vernice, she sounded so desperate in her letter," explained Bryan.

I closed my eyes to think for a moment. A wealthy philanthropist and a bought plot of land on top of a hill... Missing children that happened to be poor or orphaned... That sounds like the plot of a particular manga I used to read. It involves a traveling circus with abducting kids.

I was starting to feel uneasy about this mission, so I tried finding it within the archives. Expectedly and regrettably, I couldn't find anything about the 'Dollhouse Arc.' But I tried digging up information about the district Bryan was talking about.

"Notice. The district that Slayer Verna was saying is the poorest out of the 27 districts of Briton. That place is known for prisoners and orphaned children. The place is dilapidated, and royals refrain from stepping into the streets there. Thus, the area has not been doing well."

Collages of people dying in the sewers and pavements emerged in my vision. The kids were disabled and filthy. None of them looked alive. The images looked so sad as I skimmed by. But I halted as I saw something that didn't seem to fit in the photos.

I enlarged the picture, seeing that a man dressed in beautiful clothes was in the background of an image. The photo had a starving person with its remains all over the place. At the person's left, a man was wearing all black while dropping pieces of something into somewhere.

Words Of the World, please locate this man in your files. Identify him and tell me if he's still alive. There was a pause before my vision was bombarded with images of men. Sadly, there weren't any successful matches. Unknown in the archives, this guy must be good to escape the system.

"Notice. I have found signs of life within the empty plot of land that Bryan had stated there shouldn't be any."

Huh?! Hold on! Capture that and save it for later. We've got a match to finish soon. And I've got plans to fight the Valkyrie tomorrow.

"Do you think that wealthy man and the children have a connection?" I asked out of the blue.

"I guess so since the disappearance of the kids, and that man's arrival coincides with reach other. And in the short span of a month, Fabian has already built up a large mansion on that piece of land he bought. It's a wonder where'd get all those material from in such a short time."

Okay, this is where the situation splits from my memory of the manga's plot. Yet, somehow, I am relieved to know that I am genuinely treading into the place of unknown territory.

"Does Mavislin know you are going to take up this mission? I highly doubt that she would allow you to go alone," I quizzed.

"Lady Roydon opted to join me in this mission, but I'm worried because she's busy with the kids. Tomoe and Raiyen want to come along, but I thought I could do this alone. However, after reading the last letter Vernice sent me, I started to question my choice of accepting the call."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, the letter stated that there was something strange with the mansion that the person built. Unfortunately, I'm not good at dealing with the paranormal."

"You're a Mage. You don't have to be scared of the supernatural when you are part of the supernatural," I said, standing up.

"Hey! I can be afraid of anything I want, thank you very much. Besides, it's different when I know I'm dealing with the dead. They freak me out. Like, out of the corner of your eye, there's this shadow... That gives me goosebumps!" protested Bryan, shivering.