"Ah, boredom," sighed a well-dressed girl reclining on an office chair by the window, her feet propped up on a pile of files serving as a makeshift footrest. Across from her, a man with bandages was furiously scribbling something before setting a stack of papers on an already hefty pile.
"Work is finally done for today. Act with some grace, will you? You're supposed to be a lady, at least to some extent."
Elyon felt relieved to have a morning without a murder case—it had become a rare luxury not to be dragged off to look at corpses. The day had reverted to the normalcy of paperwork and tasks.
"How can you be so relaxed? Do you think 'k' is that simple? And what do you mean 'supposed to be a lady'? Where am I lacking?" Emma inquired.
"That's not my concern anymore. But why are you still here?"
Muttering to himself, Elyon speculated she might be dumped here by the Special Actions Division, looking to get her out of the way.
"They say you have a useful brain, so I'm to act as a liaison. They will let me return once 'k' is caught."
It seemed the upper echelons had decided to send her somewhere inconspicuous, much to Elyon's inward amusement. This young lady must not be favored in her usual circles.
"We're about to have tea. Shall I prepare some for you?"
"No, thanks. Tea is too bitter and astringent for my taste; I don't get why you're all hooked on it."
"That's because you don't understand the charm of tea. No point in discussing it with you."
Today, Bell brought a new type of tea that looked like a black brick, along with a set of tea-wares. As the case was handed over and with Bell's assistance, Elyon was back to enjoying a leisurely routine.
"The water is boiling, sir. Shall we start brewing the tea?"
Given his 'injured' status, Elyon was quite content to sit back and wait for the tea to be served.
The tea was a yolk-yellow color, bitterer than the common Brugge red tea, closer to Earth's semi-fermented variety. While Elyon preferred green tea, considering the long transoceanic shipment even with steamships would take over a month, his salary was insufficient for such a luxury.
Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Emma rose and rushed over, pointing to the headline on the front page of the Aegisburg Daily.
"'k' has acknowledged your guess and stated that to honor this, they will not conduct any more attacks within the harbor precinct's jurisdiction today," she exclaimed.
"Well, that's good news. If it's not within our jurisdiction, then there's no need for us to get involved," Elyon replied, continuing to enjoy his tea with Bell.
"Do you believe what they're saying?"
"No."
"Then why are you leisurely sipping tea here?"
Elyon glanced at Emma. "All the clues we have were already handed over, and cases involving superhumans and nobility are no longer within our jurisdiction to handle."
Emma seemed frustrated. "Time... wait, why do you think the criminal always chooses around eight o'clock in the evening to commit the crimes?"
"It's simple. The number eight is the holy number of the Underworld God."
"And you realize tomorrow is August 8th. Do you think 'k' might do something then?"
Elyon considered it. "Normally, anyone who knows they might be searched would keep a low profile." But 'k' wasn't normal, and Elyon didn't share his thoughts with the justice-driven lady before him. In the Kingdom of Brugge, where everyone is free and equal, some are more equal than others.
"I can't help feeling it's not that simple. The five bodies all had a part missing, but to make a complete person, they still need a torso."
"Are you suggesting there might be a sixth case?" Elyon asked, half-heartedly.
"It's just a theory. If 'k' is performing a ritual, they would need a full set of body parts. If they simply wanted to convey 'khorne,' why risk taking parts of the body? They could just kill and leave a letter. The body parts they took, along with representing aspects of the pentagram, must have another use."
Elyon didn't ponder further but suggested, "Perhaps starting from the Duke of North Island's lineage might yield results faster."
"They're looking into it, but it's hard to convince them with just an impression from you. They're prioritizing an investigation starting with nobility related to the Duke of North Island, and you know they're not easy to handle. It will probably take half a month to finish the investigation."
Elyon wasn't optimistic about their efficiency or the outcome. When the suspect was a noble, they couldn't be subjected to practices such as ability-induced hypnotic interrogation or sleep deprivation for questioning. In this era without surveillance cameras and weaker forensic capabilities, it was hard to catch a criminal, let alone when the opponent wasn't ordinary.
"I'll go back this afternoon and see if there are any new leads. Those idiots put together probably don't match up to you. If only I had the authority, I'd have you transferred to be in charge of thinking things through."
Elyon gave a wry smile to the overzealous intern.
August 8th brought the possibility of a typhoon to summer in Brugge. Today, the sky was overcast, with salty winds blowing from the sea.
"I have a feeling something will happen today."
Elyon, faced with the somewhat paranoid woman, chose to remain silent. Sometimes, silence is the best response. It was his patrol day, but Bell had taken his place, and all Elyon wanted was for the workday to end quickly.
As the time to clock out neared, Emma leaped up and tore down the map of the Gonia district from the wall. "I'll give you the five pence," she said before starting to mark the map with a pen and ruler.
"Take a look at this. What do you see?"
She had drawn lines connecting the locations of the five deceased, forming a pentagram.
"A pentagram, of course. What else?"
Emma then drew a few more lines, converging to a point at the center of the pentagram.
"This—the center of the pentagram. It's very likely that 'k's' sixth case will take place here."
Elyon glanced at the map. The address on Anfu Street was where little Cor lived. As realization struck like lightning, he rushed down to the armory, knowing that only Comms would be on duty at this time.
"Mr. Comms, what's Cor's full name? Hurry up."
Comms was still groggy but eventually responded, "Cor? You mean the orphan that Captain Kappa sponsors? His last name is Andy, I think. Full name's Cor Andy."
A name starting with 'k' and a surname starting with 'a' perfectly matched the letters of 'khorne' and the alphabet sequence ABCDEF. Elyon was now convinced of Emma's judgment. Don't rush; think of a plan; it's not yet five o'clock, they wouldn't have gone yet, he reassured himself.
"Weapons, I need weapons. Comms, what's the most powerful weapon we have available right now?"
Comms looked puzzledly at Elyon, "What do you need weapons for? Is your automatic pistol broken?"
Elyon's face was grave. "'k's' next crime is likely to be on Anfu Street, and the next target is little Cor. I don't know how many of them there are or what abilities they have. Give me the most powerful weapon a single person can use."
Comms scratched his head. "For big weapons, you need Captain Kappa's signature. He's on leave today. You're serious about this?"
"Of course, when do I ever joke around?"
"Well, if you forge the captain's signature, I can give you the weapon. The worst I'll get is a charge of negligence and a fine."
Elyon looked at the seemingly tipsy custodian. This man wasn't a stickler for the rules.
"For a high-powered weapon? How about this beauty from the army, one per platoon?"
Elyon saw where Comms was pointing—a formidable gun with a large metal drum for water cooling and a short protruding barrel. The ammunition belt entered from the left side. It was a water-cooled heavy machine gun, and with cooling water and bullets, it would weigh close to eighty pounds. Elyon could handle it physically, but he doubted his accuracy, and he was going to save someone, not send enemies and little Cor to heaven together.
"That's a bit overkill. I'm not facing a cavalry platoon. Get me another one."
Comms seemed disappointed but offered another option—a four-barreled shotgun.
"It's Captain Kappa's personal favorite, used to take down some odd creatures years ago. It's just slow to load; there's a safety switch to choose between single and volley fire."
Elyon recognized it as an oversized four-barreled shotgun, usually only seen in video games, feeling weighty in his hands.
"Give me slug rounds. I doubt buckshot would do much to them." Elyon sounded like a hunter purging demons.
"Here, sixteen rounds should be enough. I'll also give you thirty-six bullets for your pistol, that's three magazines. How about some flash grenades? Take three?"
"Yes, and give me a long box. I don't want to scare anyone by knocking with this in hand. Throw in a revolver too, the kind you guys use for training, a .22 caliber will do. When the patrol gets back, tell them to immediately notify Captain Kappa and the Special Actions Division to come to Anfu Street for a rescue."
Armed with the necessary weapons, Elyon returned to the office. Seeing Elyon's sudden recovery, Emma didn't comment.
"Here, you know how to use a revolver, right?"
"I've handled hunting rifles, don't worry. But isn't this a bit much?"
"You drew the center point on the street; there's a kid named Cor Andy living there. He runs errands for us, an orphan who looks after his sister. I think your prediction might be right."
Together, they boarded a carriage heading toward Anfu Street.