The commotion attracted some of the guests who were in there and even the inn keeper of the inn came to see what's going on. Ignus was still fuming and gritting his teeth but all of them were only looking at him like he had lost his mind.
"Dear guests? May I know what's happening?" The manager asked but no one from the people involved was willing to answer him.
The innkeeper was then put into an awkward position but he can't let these people disturb the peace of the inn or else the owner would be angry if they continued.
"It was that man," one of the people who saw what happened pointed at Ignus. "He was the one who started all of this commotion. He entered and started shouting for no reason," he added.
Ignus saw that the person was pointing at him so he got even more angry but this time he controlled himself and instead left the inn which made the innkeeper relieved. The crowd of people also dispersed slowly.
"What actually happened Mr. Astrophos?" Cygnus then asked after everything finally calmed down. To see that the other party was so angry after their investigation, something might have happened between the two of them.
The grand mage could only sigh and rub his head that had been aching ever since they left to their designated areas. "It was no big deal. He was the one who suddenly started complaining about why they should be forced to work with us. And when I told him to actually shut up, he suddenly went crazy."
Cygnus cringed at what he heard and thankfully it was not him who was paired with Ignus because he might have killed him on the spot and just created a dummy that looked like him. "But you still managed to find something right?"
The man gave another sigh and they instantly knew that their investigation didn't go well. It was inevitable given the current situation so they let him be for now. This time, Nina and her partner arrived. The atmosphere around the two of them was also a bit stiff and awkward.
Both of them had a frown on their faces and were not speaking with each other which only meant that their side had not found anything yet. This time it was Cygnus's turn to let out a sigh. It was indeed a very bad decision to pair them up but there was nothing they could do right now.
In order to not scare off the other guests because of the dark atmosphere around them, the butler conscientiously suggested that they move upstairs to the room where they had their meeting. All of them moved upstairs with the air still as bleak as how it was a moment ago.
It took a couple of minutes before one of them finally spoke. The silence was broken by Cygnus's crisp voice. "It seems to me that this group," he gestured at all of them, "is not working as expected."
"I agree!" Nina raised her hand and squinted at the other woman in the room before averting her gaze and looking at the room's decoration.
Cygnus sighed, he felt like he had been sighing throughout this whole ordeal and that any moment now, he might have totally lost the ability to sigh once again. "So, I suggest that after this meeting we go our own ways and investigate separately. I'll try to talk with the lieutenant regarding this matter. Let's just not force it."
"Yes, that's a better idea. We can just directly report to the lieutenant if we find something. I don't want to go through that headache again since I have a feeling that whoever will be sent to work with us, will definitely find the idea unpleasant," Astrophos voiced out.
Now he was regretting letting the lieutenant decide. He should have just accepted the mission and not the cooperation with those non-magic users. It was truly difficult to work with them, except for the other soldier who seemed to have gotten along with Cygnus.
"Now that it is settled let's proceed to what we found on our walk," Cygnus went straight to the point since he did not want to consume more of their time by going around the bush. "We found weird magic circles on the places where the disappearances happened and the unmistakable feel of something dark was also strong in those areas."
"Same with the other places we managed to check out but we haven't found any magic circle since my partner wasn't that cooperative." Astrophos nodded his head as he brought out a paper where he wrote Cygnus's observation. "But if all the places you went to have those weird magic circles, then the places we haven't checked most likely have those too."
"Then, is this really the work of a magic user?" Hwaquin finally spoke after his long silence. He was not a person who talks a lot but when he had something he wanted to ask, then he would definitely talk.
"In a sense yes, but I think there's something darker behind these disappearances. Can you draw the magic circle you found?" He pushed the paper and pen towards Cgynus.
The master calmly took the paper and diligently drew what they saw in those alleys. The others waited patiently for him to finish and when he was done, he placed the paper in the middle of the table.
No one talked but the grand mage's face darkened like the night at what he saw. "No wonder those places felt ominous. This is not a regular magic circle which a normal mage would use. Whoever used this circle has connections with dark magic, and what's more this is not a regular dark magic circle. The symbol at the center of the circle represents a human being and connected to it are the symbols of sacrifice, death and power."
The room once again fell into a deep silence after the information they heard, especially those who had not encountered this kind of magic. There was no visible reaction from the people inside the room but Astrophos was sure that he'll get one after a short while.
"That's insane! Are you saying that someone was using magic to sacrifice people!?" The other woman stood up from her chair as her voice rose while uttering those words. "This is why I cannot trust any magic users. They could do this kind of wicked thing just because they had the power to do so."
"Hey!" Nina also stood up and pointed at the woman, "Be careful of your words! Not all magic users are like that and haven't you been listening! The mage said that it was the work of dark magic. Don't lump us with those idiots who only know how to use that kind of nasty power!"
"Hah! Don't be absurd, dark magic or whatever, it is still categorized as magic. You can't pass yourself as someone clean just because you aren't using dark magic. Magic is magic and so are magic users. You are all the same!" The woman was not daunted by Nina's words, instead she pushed back harder.
"Wow so are you saying that you, people who can't use magic are more righteous than us? When in fact all of you are the worst. Don't be a hypocrite when you non-magic users can also sacrifice others just to protect your pride or your reputation or just because you find the other annoying!" Nina was not having any of it. She would not let this ignorant woman continue to run her mouth.