Elrod Investigation Agency

"Hah.. So boring.."

For a newly-hired receptionist, Elisia seemed quite unenthusiastic about her new job. She had graduated Intelligence School of Thought with passing grades, so she could not be underestimated when dealing with paperwork and intel.

But, she did not expect the great boredom of working a job. She wanted to act as an intelligence knight that helps those in the frontline by giving them information.

Alas, she had been given a night-shift and in the Kingdom of Elrod, almost nothing happens every day. It was too peaceful!

That also came with being given a position of receptionist. She was splendid when dealing with clients and papers, but the past few days had taken a great toll on her mind. 

Her arms leaned against her head, and her long silky black hair rested on the counter where she laid her elbows on. Her stern glasses seemed like it was falling off but Elisia did not mind it at all. She was really dying of boredom!

She had finished her work already, so there was really nothing to do but wait for clients.

"As if anyone would come late at night!"

She raised her hand in annoyance and suddenly sat up straight. Her glasses nearly fell, but she used her middle finger to adjust it. 

She then rested her head on the counter with a dejected manner. 

It had only been 5 days at work and Elisia already contemplated whether to quit or not! 

"Maybe this job doesn't suit me at all.."

Although she graduated from the Intelligence School of Knowledge, Elisia was not a Pathbearer. She was merely a normal human that has a genius-level of intelligence. 

She could be considered as a prodigy for her age. She was only 18 years old after all..

Due to the immense boredom that she felt, she scurried around the place and tried to find things to distract her. She felt giddy when standing still and doing nothing.

She always wanted something to distract her, like doing puzzles, reading books, doing paperworks, and many more!

Many people might find her hobbies as boring but Elisia greatly enjoyed doing technical activities that challenged the mind. 

She searched every corner of the lounge and spent a few minutes distracting herself. 

Then, she had nothing to do once again..

She sighed deeply and rested her head on the counter.

"AHHH!! I'm soooo bored.."

It seemed like Elisia went on a tantrum and she moved around her body in dissatisfaction. She punched the air, waved her hands, kicked her feet, and spun all around. 

Her long white coat waved around due to her restlessness, and the black slacks she was wearing felt tighter than ever. 

This went on for a few moments before Elisia finally calmed down and reseted her head on the counter once more. 

"I still have 3 more hours to go.." Elisia said somberly.

Looking all defeated and dejected, Elisia decided to reach some paperwork and requests that they have received. 

She moved over to the cabinets, and brought an entire stack of paper towards the desk. Upon doing so, she sat down and calmed herself, reading the mountains of paperwork slowly. 

"Looks interesting, an Unanchored traversing the forest in the South huh?"

"Wow, I didn't know that there was such a case back then!"

"The Gargoyle Knight of the South.."

She skimmed through the large amounts of paper and was almost done with half of them. 

However, she saw a particularly interesting case that has already been marked as solved. The case involved a remote town near the Eastern City of Dragonia.

It was stated that the inhabitants in that town suddenly vanished in one night!

This case attracted many Investigators and Detectives to solve, the complexity and mystery of it was very alluring.

Many Detectives wanted their reputation to rise up among the people. So, they took the case, thinking that it'd be easy to solve.

Yet... among the 32 Detectives that investigated the case, no one even managed to come close. 

Not until it was investigated by Mikella, the head of Elrod Investigation Agency, considered to be one of the strongest knights in Elrod. It was even rumored that she trained the Prince upon the King's request!

"The vast disappearance of the villagers caused great turmoil amongst the Kingdom of Peace. As stated by Wielder Mikella Reiloush, it had taken her a couple of weeks to solve! Upon further investigation, she deemed it to be a disappearance caused by a rogue Pathbearer." 

Elisia read the document aloud due to her excitement. She continued further with a gleam in her eyes.

"Other detectives that took on the case considered the possibility of such but the lack of evidence made them retreat from the hypothesis. Wielder Mikella, using her unique Path, saw strands of strings lying on the floors of the remote town.

Elisia's eyes widened at this sudden development.

"Upon seeing this, Wielder Mikella gathered a team to search a far perimeter near the town. The team consisted of Wielder Drot, Wielder Pale, and Wielder Tiern, all Pathbearers that are utility-type"

"Within a couple of days, the team located an unidentified lake inside a small cave. Wielder Mikella described the cave to have been a small enclosed opening that could not be seen easily by the naked eye. However, Wielder Mikella's unique Path, easily spotted this fracture in the ground and carefully entered it with her team."

"Inside was a cave structure that stretched for about a kilometer, and at the end of the cave, was a glowing lake."

Elisia could not contain her exhilaration, she felt so excited that her eyes were complete glued to the paper.

"In that very cave, lay the rotting bodies of 89 people. Upon identifying the identities of the bodies, Wielder Mikella came to the conclusion that these were the same people from the remote town."

"None of them were alive. Wielder Mikella reported that upon leaving the cave and returning back to the surface. She and her team encountered a beastly blue spider."

"She and her team battled the creature and came out unscathed. Thus.. upon returning back to Elrod Investigation Agency, she called for a public speaking and expounded the information to the masses. Deeming it as solved."

Elisia continued to read the information about the names of the deceased. She saw the records, conversations, statements, investigations, and data. The investigation report was a long 20-page case. Prior to Mikella's investigation, the early pages of the report showed the investigation made by the previous 32 detectives.

In the end, the case was solved and considered to be an attack by a creature from the depths. 

As for Elisia.. she was unsatisfied with the results of the case. It seemed like it was too simple yet also complex.

"There must be more to this.."

Although she had already consumed all the information regarding the case, Elisia thought that something was very amiss. How could 89 people suddenly disappear within a span of one night? 

The spider creature could explain that disturbance, but it still felt peculiar. Not only were they gone for a couple of weeks. But, their bodies were reported to be rotting. Elisia was not on the site of the incident herself, but she had not seen reports where the bodies were found to be sapped of blood. 

Moreover, such an enclosed space in the ground? Elisia felt like she was on the edge of finding something important!

"If they were really captured by the spider then wouldn't they be encased in its web?"

It felt like it was distorted and pieces were missing from the case.

She tried to use up all of her intelligence but with the lack of concrete evidence and facts, Elisia could not come to a proper conclusion. 

Finally out of boredom, Elisia decided to contemplate the case and solve it with her own mind. 

However! The door of the agency suddenly opened and with it.. came a 16-year old boy that had crimson red eyes and deep black hair. He was wearing a black blazer, and black slacks, it seemed like he was going to a formal party or a meeting!

Upon entering the establishment, the boy panted, Elisia thought that he must've ran all the way towards the Agency. 

'If he ran all the way towards them he must be in a rush! I-Is this a new case?!' Elisia thought.

The boy then slowly came towards the counter and slammed his arms at it. This startled Elisia a little and she felt an awkward smile creeping up her face.

"M-May I help yo-"

"Where is Mikella Reiloush?!"

Elisia stumbled upon her words due to the aggressiveness of the boy.

"S-she is not here at the moment. Last time I checked, she was scheduled to be in the Agency at Gold Borough..."

The boy sighed deeply and stared at Elisia with seriousness in his eyes.

"Shit!.. Could you bring me a team of Wielders then?"

The sudden request made Elisia ponder about the scale of the incident that the boy had encountered. His seriousness could not have been all made up! This was an actual case!

"I could do that, but what for? Tell me the details of the problem.."

"There is no time! That figure could be following me at this moment."

Suddenly.. Elisia felt the winds shift around her, she felt a deep fear linger inside her heart. Her eyes widened and her entire body shook in terror.

Elisia then pressed a button that is meant to signal the entire troupe inside the Investigation Agency to gather up. 

A few seconds was all it took for Wielders of different shapes and sizes to arrive at the lounge. They were curious as to why they were gathered and the scale of the situation. 

"Eli! What happened?" said a red-haired Wielder!

"It's dire! This boy said that he was being followed by a figure!"

The Wielders then looked dumbfounded and confused.

"You hit the emergency because of that? How are you so sure that he's telling the truth?" A large-stature man asked with annoyance in his face. The man then stared at the boy's face. Sure enough, it looked like it was full of distress.

"Even if it were true, that doesn't mean that you should gather up all the Wielders, Elisia.." said the man once more.

"Hey boy! Were you being chased by a drunkard or something? Why are you still up this late at night?"

The large-stature man went face to face with the black-haired boy. 

"Don't be causing trouble for us Wielders!"

The boy merely stared at him with indifference. Then, his hands reached up in his own face as if he were removing a mask. 

Soon, his black hair was turning pure white, and one of his crimson red eyes turned into deep gold.

As for his other red eye, it seemed to glow tenebrously. With that, everyone in the lounge felt a massive pressure upon them. They felt fear deep within their hearts, causing their knees to weaken.

Elisia stared at the scene and noticed the familiar white hair that the boy had. He resembled someone, someone really important..

Upon a few seconds of thinking, Elisia's eye widened even further.

"Prince Veritas!"

The Prince stared at everyone with an intensifying pressure.