Meeting the dragon II

"When did this happen?" Ambrose asked with a scrunched nose and an overall annoyed expression as he stood at the periphery of the dump site which was located in the western district of BoneHaven.

Here was where most of the waste from the central and eastern districts was brought with the Northern district disposing of their waste by burning and the southern district disposing theirs by recycling.

In any case, currently, the dumpsite which was normally only frequented by those working in the environmental unit was crawling with Royal Blues and Enforcers.

With yellow tape put in place to mark the area as a crime scene, the two groups went about their work.

Madeline stood beside Ambrose as she replied. "Late last night… or quite early this morning. It's hard to say based on the accounts."

"So between 11 pm-2 am?" Ambrose asked for clarification to which Madeline nodded silently.

"We already have the rebels and a suspected evil god to deal with and now this?... Who exactly did we offend?" Ambrose groaned at how many things were happening at a time in BoneHaven.

Even as a major city, it wasn't normal for so many high-profile incidents to happen at the same time.

With Lady Ana's presence, Ambrose could only attribute it to what she had said.

Something was brewing in BoneHaven and it could lead to its utter destruction.

However, Ambrose wasn't willing to let things go like that.

Even if he failed, at least he'd know that he did his best.

Sighing helplessly, he watched as the Royal Blue led out a group of over 50 men with Madhound at the lead.

They looked badly beat up with some looking like they were trampled on by a beast.

Of course, due to such a state, it was hard for them to walk but with the Royal Blue dragging them out like dogs, they had no choice but to move forward.

"Who are they?" Ambrose questioned.

Madeline promptly replied after a glance at the file in her hand. "Local mafia in the western district. Supposedly formed from the merger of all gangs previously active in the area."

Pausing for a moment, Madeline casually added. "According to reports, they might have some connections with a few noble houses."

Ambrose frowned at the added comment but chose not to respond.

He knew about the perverse actions of the nobles toward the peasants of the western district but currently, it seemed like they weren't even trying to hide their weird antics any longer.

Shaking his head to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts since there was no point thinking about it, after all, it's not like people knowing about it would change anything in the first place.

He gestured for the Royal Blues to bring Madhound and his cronies over.

Lining them up before him, they pushed them to their knees before the captain in charge of the Royal Blues approached Ambrose.

"Did you get anything?"

The captain shook his head. "At least not anything of importance. They keep saying something about a masked man manipulating shadows but I believe their mental state is just fractured due to the beating they received."

Ambrose didn't react as he nodded before gesturing for the Royal Blues to leave.

He already knew about the supernatural aspect of the case and since it wasn't their expertise, it was right that the Royal Blue didn't know about mysticism, at least those in lower ranks.

The captain was already walking away when he paused and turned to face Ambrose.

"Also, based on the condition in the abandoned warehouse deeper inside, it seemed like these guys had some guests."

"Guests?" Ambrose raised a brow.

The captain nodded. "Yeah, we aren't sure about who they were though."

Ambrose sighed. "Alright then."

With that, the Royal Blue captain left alongside his men to check for anything else of note.

Meanwhile, Ambrose approached Madhound and crouched until they were at eye level.

"Now, how about you repeat what you told the officers."

Madhound trembled before meeting Ambrose's gaze. "I had always wondered what was the difference between the Royal Blue and D.O.D but I think I understand everything now."

"Enough with the useless talk. Tell me about the masked man."

"He moved with a strange light that was both black and white with an aura reminiscent of the night sky, but not the night we are familiar with."

Ambrose frowned at the strange statement.

A night sky that they weren't familiar with?

'Is this related to the evil god Natasha sensed?' Ambrose couldn't help but wonder as he met the other party's firm gaze.

He could tell the latter wasn't lying.

"He had the power to kill you all but didn't… why?"

Madhound tried to laugh but found it difficult to with the pain he was experiencing. "How should I know?... I guess he showed mercy after having his fun with us."

"... Did he say anything before leaving?"

Madhound grimaced before letting out words that sent shivers down the spine of everyone present.

"it was only the beginning… that soon, BoneHaven will come to respect the Hunter of Evernight."

***

"Come in." Anastasia's voice came from within.

Arnold revealed a smile as he opened the door and gestured for Alex to enter.

"You aren't entering?" Alex inquired.

Arnold shook his head. "it is not my place."

"... I see."

"Please… enjoy your stay."

Alex obliged as he walked into the room after which Arnold closed the door and with a sharp turn, made his way back the way he came.

***

Upon entering the door, Alex was greeted with the scenery of a grand library with rows and rows of books, cleanly lined up on the shelves with not a single speck of dust on them.

Despite it being underground, the library had a size comparable to almost half of Sanders Manor.

Alex wondered how much knowledge he could glean from those pages.

His eyes shone with interest only to dim as he heard a voice.

"They are beautiful, aren't they?"

Controlling his breathing, Alex casually responded while placing both his palms on his cane. "Indeed."

"To simple-minded people, those are just pieces of paper glued together and placed on a shelf, but to the literary minds… those are worlds ready to be explored."

Alex didn't immediately look toward the origin of the voice, mostly because it was coming from everywhere but then again if he wanted to, pinpointing it wouldn't be too hard.

In any case, he remained flippant. "You must love books."

"I do. Especially history. The current affairs of the world are quite boring so I delved into the history of man and Eventide. Only one word can describe my experience while reading through…"

"Excitement."

"...Yes, I was incomparably excited." Anastasia's voice lowered for a moment like she was trying to recall an old memory before she added. "At that moment, I wanted to leap into those pages and relive the history that I had read."

Alex raised a brow, not in confusion but instead of interest. "Both the good and the bad history?"

"... Strange isn't it?"

"It sure is," Alex remarked before adding. "So do you plan on speaking like this or would you rather show yourself?"

"I apologize for my rudeness," Anastasia replied but this time, it wasn't echoing.

Alex slowly turned behind to find a beautiful red-haired lady wearing a black dress with a hat over her head and a net covering most of her face.

"You…"

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lady Anastasia Aizagora, the 13th family head, Omen of Great Disasters, the Last Dragon and Protector of the Empire. Nice to make your acquaintance, Alexander Regulus."