Ariel Terzic got surprised once he heard what Tobey had just said. For a moment, he truly believed that the man in front of him had just blown up the cover that demons and paladins struggled for so long to build upon themselves. If what he said was real, another race would enter that war, and things surely would get very chaotic.
"Child kidnap and selling, murdering of the witnesses and original family of the child, everything covered by the police station of our city, and hidden from the vigilance of our biggest security company..." Tobey began to list, making the tension on Ariel's shoulders get released bit by bit. "All these things are crimes against humanity that shall be punished, and that's why I told everything to them."
Tobey winked at him after finishing what he had to say, making Ariel secretly sigh in relief. All the while, he was just maintaining that acting.
Ariel Terzic was still sieged, though. Just as his paladin identity was something that he should care for, his image as a human was also very important if he wanted to still act for the sake of his race. After all, their battlefield for that war was still a human territory, so they needed to fight while also pretending to belong to it. It was a hassle, but necessary.
'If I get arrested here, I don't know what may happen. This man isn't only trying to put us in the prison, there is something more that he wants to achieve with it. Of course, having I and the other B to A-grade paladins arrested might help him to have a more tranquil life, but we can get out of the prison as easily as we got into it. I bet that he knows it very well. If that's the case, then why...?'
Ariel couldn't come up with an explanation for that. In the end, for now, he needed to follow Tobey's acting. He couldn't prove his innocence since, in theory, he wasn't innocent. He had, indeed, covered the action of the paladins by manipulating their security system. Ariel's enterprise took an important spot in maintaining the conflicts between demons and paladins under the cover.
If the state police were to investigate more about the enterprise's actions in the last months, they would find way more than just the detours of their security system made in the cases related to the "kidnap" of children and murderings.
'This guy could manipulate the entire story in such a way that it is even enviable. The fights between demons and paladins turned into calculated murder. Our scheme of taking children from the demons for experimentation and taking prodigies from humans to transform into paladins, which was something consensual of both parties, became child kidnap and child trafficking.
'We were too concerned with the power that Tobey Foster had and forgot about his most impressive trait, which is his intelligence. He wouldn't be a detective if he wasn't minimally intelligent, after all.'
Tobey was smiling faintly as he looked back at Ariel. He knew that the man was thinking about every single thing that happened and connecting the dots.
Tobey walked forward, coming closer to their ears, then whispering.
"What will you do now... paladin?" he provoked.
Caleb Alek, who was still holding him by his collar was about to do something. He widened his eyes and raised his fist. Ariel got surprised by his sudden movement and couldn't do anything to stop that.
'Hmm, so he will be crazy like this, huh? I wonder if I can survive this punch.'
[I bet that your skull will be smashed and shattered into millions of pieces!] Mask ironically said. Tobey could see him rolling his eyes inside his mind.
Just as Caleb Alek was about to punch Tobey, and before any of the cops could shoot, someone burst into the room, holding his fist while he was still charging it. The man twisted the chief's arm, nearly dislocating his shoulder, then kicked both his legs with a single swing. As the man's legs flew upwards, that person grabbed his head and smashed his face against the ground.
It was a quick and precise movement, a brutal attack that could've killed anyone. Not that paladin, of course, since his resistance was way bigger than an average human even out of his most powerful form.
"He nearly caught you, huh? You better be more careful, otherwise, I will always end up needing to save you from death. This responsibility isn't something I want to have, you know?" Roger said, raising one brow and glancing at Tobey. The latter giggled, giving him a high-five.
"Yeah, it's your job to be always there to protect me. By the way, what a cool technique you used here! Nice application as well. This guy even got... too silent. Anyway, he seems to be still awake, it's a tough one," Tobey commented.
"Now, about you guys..." he looked at each of the cops that were still aiming their guns at him, but with disturbing faces as they had guns pointed at them as well. "You better lower your weapons. Chief Reynalds is on the ground, and you probably will get in trouble if you comply with him too much."
One by one, they did as Tobey said, lowering their guns and heads, feeling the taste of defeat.
"You can leave the rest with us. The state police are coming as well. We will do an investigation and interrogate these guys. There is some more bureaucracy, and you, Tobey, might be involved in it too. You understand, right?" The chief of the police station of the neighboring municipality said, offering a handshake to Tobey.
When he received that sudden call from MDCI's head office, he didn't have any idea that his request would be so chaotic. The old man had gone through a lot just to send that request to the state administration and make the action of the deputy legal and reasonable. Of course, further analysis and investigation would be needed, something that was out of the hands of their police stations or even the marshal's investigation department.
To put his head into something so huge and that could cause him a lot of trouble, the marshal should really trust that man called Tobey Foster.
For the chief, that was something very impressive. His handshake wasn't just a simple greeting, but a signal of respect.
"I understand the bureaucratic part of this process. I am a very patient man. I would like if you heard a request of mine, though."
The police chief nodded.
"No trouble, but first, let's take care of things here."
Tobey nodded to him as the police chief took his officers and the suspects out of the room. For some reason, Roger also went with him, still holding Caleb and helping to scout Ariel.
[Wow, what a hell of a technique, huh? There is even a crack on the floor. Just how much strength does your partner have?] Mask asked, whistling in surprise.
Tobey glanced at the crack left on the floor but didn't say anything about it.
"Instead of paying attention to such things, I should follow them. After all, I need to make my request to that police chief. It will help me in my investigation."
[Hmm? Is there more?]
'Can't you tell just by watching? Although things are very busy and chaotic right now, that's just the start...'
****
Clementine was standing in the corridor between the benches of the church. All the pictures and paints distributed equally on the walls and ceiling seemed to be staring at her, curious about what one of the strongest paladins was doing in that specific place. It was unusual for her to visit that church, after all.
The old woman had her eyes closed. A while ago, she was praying on one of the benches, but got up and walked to the corridor where she stayed still.
Someone entered the church from the huge portal that was some meters away from Clementine. She had her back turned to that portal.
Once she heard the disturbingly annoying sound of the door opening slowly, Clementine's neck hair stood on end and her breath got unsteady for some seconds. She needed a little while to calm down again.
"Did you come here to pray, Clementine?" a woman said, her footsteps echoing inside the church. "Or are you just wondering again about things you shouldn't?"
"Both," she simply said.
The woman behind her got silent for some seconds, then sighed.
"You probably know more than you should, right?" the voice softly muttered, but could be heard anyway.
Clementine nodded her head.
"And you probably know what I think about what's going on among us paladins and the priesthood...", Clementine grimly said as she summoned her Soul Mirror, a white sword seemingly made out of pearls with golden ancient runes carved on it.
Suddenly, the air in that room seemed to be heavier, and a gust of wind that seemed to come out of nowhere invaded the church.
"I, Clementine Welcome, won't comply with this coup!"