A dark figure stood alone on an overhanging cliff, unmoving and unafraid of the magic waves that attacked him from all sides. Five extremely powerful magical attack waves, each belonging to a different pure magical element – earth, fire, wind, water and space – were rushing towards the slim, shadowy figure encased in black.
It was enough to send chills down the spine of anyone watching the scene!
This was insane!
An attack of five pure elements – so powerful that they seemed to render the very environment apart – it was unbelievable! This was enough magical power to destroy an entire small city, but here, all of this force was being directed towards this one lone man, a single figure standing by himself at the edge of a cliff!
It was impossible for this man to survive when besieged by such an attack of magical elements, no matter how powerful he may be! This was an attack of all five elements from five powerful magicians, surrounding this one solitary figure from all sides!
How terrible! How cruel!
However…
At the very last second, just before the raging elements hit him, his fingers moved, tapping a small circular gadget. Instantly, the magical energy scattered like multi-coloured confetti all around him, bouncing off harmlessly.
The man, who was covered in black from head to toe, smiled – but no one could see his smile due to the black mask that hid his face. Not an inch of the man's skin was visible – and it was only a guess about the general shape of his body that led the others to assume that this was a man and not a woman.
"Incredible!" cried the Supreme Mage of the Magical Warriors, the top-rank person of magic warriors, looking down at the dark figure from the sky. It was the first time she had seen her wind magic dispelled so easily. It excited her immensely and made her even more determined to bring the young man to her organisation. She had been trying to recruit this mysterious person for several years now – but she had been rejected every time.
"Unbelievable!" cried the Chief of Police, looking up at the dark figure. He looked mildly annoyed that his powerful earth magic had been scattered so easily. He was used to the extraordinary skills of this prodigious youngster, but it always left him a little frustrated.
"Wonderful!" cried the Military Commander-in-Chief. This was his first encounter with this person. If he hadn't seen it himself, he would never believe that his water magic could be nullified effortlessly. If such a powerful person joined the army, how great it would be!
"Amazing!" cried the President of the country. She was not only impressed with the youngster's power, but also glad that his hypothesis was right, after all. The fact that he had scattered her fire magic with a mere flick of his finger didn't bother her; on the contrary, she wondered if she could enquire into the identity of this person and set him up with one of her children…or at least as a friend.
"Impossible!" cried the Dean of the University of Advanced Magical Education and Warfare (this was the university where Ilari and his entire family had studied in). He refused to believe that his space magic could fail so miserably, let alone a combined attack from five of the most powerful elemental magicians in the not just their country, but the entire world. Also, if this boy's hypothesis was proved right, the Dean would be placed in a very, very difficult position…he might even face dismissal.
The dark figure tossed the small gadget in his hand towards the Chief of Police, who caught it smartly and smiled up at the younger man. Yes, the Chief of Police was familiar with this figure, and while he didn't know the true identity of the person in front of him, he did know that it was a young man, likely to be in his twenties.
"Thank you, Enre," the Chief of Police said, waving at the figure high above. "Are you sure this thing will work for everyone?" he asked calmly, although his eyes sparkled as if he knew that Enre had already solved the case for him.
The black figure, who was called Enre, shook his head. He was popularly known as the mysterious 'Super-Detective' among the general public, and it was rumoured that till date, no case where Enre had been involved in had remained unsolved.
And no one knew the true identity of Enre. All they knew was that he was a man – and a few people, like the Chief of Police, knew that he was a young man.
"Single-use only?" asked the President, a frown marring her elegant brow.
Enre nodded.
The Dean frowned. "But then…"
Enre tossed another, this time unused, gadget to the Chief of Police.
"You are welcome to test it," came a whisper – clearly the effect of a magical voice-changer. "Anyone with three attributes or less should be able to repel grade 1 spells. Pure elementals like the five of you can even scatter a death ray."
"How many of these devices are available? Can they be mass-produced?" the Commander-in-Chief asked eagerly.
Enre shook his head. "Ten were made before the magician died," he continued in a whisper. "Since his laboratory exploded, neither his research nor the unfinished gadgets could be saved. Out of the ten, I just gave you two. Five are supposed to be with the Dean. Three are with the King of a foreign country, which, perhaps, the President can find out more about if he wishes, but it is highly unlikely that he would give out any more. The King is an acquaintance of mine and owed me a favour from earlier; he originally had five, but gave me two because of the favour. It stands to reason that the one used by the murderer came from the Dean's collection."
Blood drained from the Dean's face as everyone turned to him.
The video ended.