Victory in Defeat

The night was as dark as it could get- with the moon above barely showing its dimming face through the fluffy clouds.

Nonetheless, nobody needed any moon to walk through the night, as the street lamps were still blazing. Adding to the lights from these posts were the windows of the brick buildings.

And no building gave out as much light as Derbury Detectivete. The two-storeyed complex covered an area wider than the Electal Lord's mansion. It had a huge entrance at the front. A few words were calligraphed above it.

'Serving Avarynth and Protecting Her Citizens'

Above it was the Detectivete's coat of arms- an insignia depicting a winged shield.

Two figures walked out from the entrance below- Xavier and Eulene. Xavier was nonchalant but Eulene had a wide smile on her face.

As the team from the Thirteenth had no evidence whatsoever of a magic battle, they were forced to hand the duo over to the general Detectivete. After some questioning, Xavier used his status as an Aramoner along with his faint connection to the Electal Lord to get a break free from this matter.

As for his two guns, he just had to show their licenses- 'legitimately forged' ones.

"Let's go eat something," Eulene proposed.

"I was thinking the same," Xavier answered.

The duo walked through the path amidst the yard. On both sides, lay parked a dozen of bicycles and a handful of steed-less carriages. Sounds of horses neighing came from not far away.

[I knew it] Eulene transmitted. [You need to feed your brain some sugar after pulling off that trick]

[It was indeed tiring] Xavier admitted [I wouldn't have to manipulate a total of 457 Kg and 366 grams of flour particles and take them to their place if you had only controlled yourself a little]

[Come on. It was just a little 'showdown'. Besides, I forgive you for hurting my face.]

"Tsk." Xavier clicked his tongue. [Anyways, next time you think of fighting, be sure to wear something durable. Or was it your tactic to make me pull back my shots?]

[Oh my! You are quite the gentleman, aren't you?] Eulene transmitted a giggle. [You don't have to worry about me. I have fought in worse condition before]

Xavier stopped in his track, prompting Eulene to do the same. He gave her a weird look.

[What? Jealous of that opponent?] Eulene showed Xavier a knowing smile.

[Jealous? You are a crone] Xavier turned ahead and resumed his walk.

[Crone?] Eulene followed Xavier with a frown. [What is a crone? How beautiful do you mean by that? Hey!]

The duo left the precinct. They hired an open coach, and wheeled West.

"Should we let them go, sir?" Thompson asked.

From one of the windows on the complex's second floor, David and his team peered at the departing carriage.

"Did you notice anything strange from your position?" David asked, his eyes still locked on his target.

Thompson gave Chrysa and Cassius a glance, who had been unnaturally quiet since the raid. He turned back to David. "No, sir. What happened there?"

"How long were we in there?" David answered with a question.

"6 minute 57 seconds?" David let out an amused 'heh' followed by a chortle. The soft chortles soon waved into loud cackles. The laughter showed no signs of stopping.

Thompson was baffled by this laughter- almost scared. He turned to his other comrades, but they remained as quiet as ever- their eyes fixed on the floor.

David's laughter finally slowed down, until it came to a halt. Even the smile on his face disappeared. "5 seconds. That nightmare- that eternity- it was but 5 seconds." David turned to Chrysa. "What do you think that was? An illusion?"

The blonde gulped. She took in a deep breath and said, "A curse?"

David shook his head. "No. It was a pure manifestation of killing intent."

"How's that possible?!" Chrysa exclaimed. "To conjure such a killing intent, how many must one kill? A whole nation- no- half a continent?"

"She did something to amplify the force," David responded, "nevertheless, her kill-count is by no means low."

"That foreigner dared to attack you?!" Thompson fumed. His hands clenched into fists while electric threads sparked around his body.

"That's the problem, Thompson, that's the problem." David sighed. "I wish they had attacked me. At least I would have a tangible evidence to initiate their arrest. Even if they escaped, we could have marked them as criminals of the highest level. And after I got the clearance to use the artefact, I could have killed them easily.

"But all's for naught. Showing killing intent is by no means killing, or even assaulting."

"So, we didn't get anything?" Thompson sighed. His fists unclenched. The sparks around him disappeared.

A smile appeared on David's lips. "No. We hit the jackpot."

"Pardon?" Thompson knitted his brows.

"Now we know who has the item."

"Is it certain?" Thompson asked.

"Of course! They admitted so themselves." Davis smirked.

Thompson remained silent, awaiting his superior's answer.

"Those two have a volatile partnership- with a tendency to start a duel at crucial times. Sounds familiar?"

Thompson widened his eyes. "The battle at the impact site!"

"Yes." David nodded. "Besides, their battle revealed a few more of their traits. And I could gauge their powers better. It seems that my previous deduction was incorrect, or…"

"Or?"

David shook his head. "Forget it. Just know that they are stronger than I previously predicted. And even with our whole team, we can't defeat even one of them- let alone both."

"So, our only choice is to gather evidence and ask for a clearance to use 'it'?" Thompson questioned.

David nodded.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Stop tracking them for now." David's grey eyes glinted gold as he peered through the window. "Let them down their guards."

The glint in his eyes- disappeared.

"It's gone," Eulene said. "Those stalkers have finally moved their eyes away from us."

The open carriage wheeled West through the empty streets of Derbury.

"They want us to let our guards down." Xavier gazed toward the East.

The carriage suddenly slowed down, before coming to a halt. A two-storeyed building came into the duo's view.

The two hopped down the carriage. And the vehicle left after David flicked a silver coin to the coachman.

They eyed the two floored building. Above the entrance, there was a plain but neat signboard.

'Kimberley's'- it said.

It was the same restaurant where they shared a meal that fateful night.

Xavier faced East one last time before the duo entered the eatery.

"But the question is, should we have them dance to our tunes? Or give them a little surprise?"