"Where's the little boy I was holding?"
"They said Captain Kappa is taking care of the aftermath. My condolences," Emma said, her voice dropping in consideration of Elyon's feelings.
"Is it the 9th today?"
"Yes. You've been asleep for a whole day. Your two sisters came by while you were out. Contrary to your unassuming appearance, your sisters are real beauties. Hehe."
Elyon passed a tissue over, "Wipe that drool. We're a conservative family; we can't accept a daughter-in-law."
"What are you thinking about?"
The hospital room door opened, and two maids pushed in a cart laden with luxurious food. Elyon recognized thick steaks, crispy roasted chicken, a bone-in ham hock, and an assortment of fruits.
"It's time for a late-night snack, miss. The master said you need to eat well to recover quickly. He'll visit you again tomorrow. Tonight, the city is busy with the manhunt. We've added security to your door. If you need anything, just call them. They're veterans who've been to battle with the master, trustworthy."
Emma seemed uninterested in the feast, picking only a few fruits before pushing the cart towards Elyon, "Eat if you want. They'll take care of everything for you."
The maids looked pleased, seemingly content as long as someone took care of the heap of food, not caring who consumed it.
"Give me that ham hock; it looks tempting." The maids quickly deboned and cut it into pieces, serving Elyon a succulent and tender dish that was perfect for his current state.
"What's this about a manhunt?" Emma seemed to catch the key detail in the maids' conversation.
"Oh, I heard a convoy transporting suspects was attacked, a bomb assault. The police escorting them were in on it, distracting attention while the suspects and officers were blown up. I overheard the head maid talking about it; one of the dead was a noble's son."
They were already silencing witnesses. The people behind this had the audacity for such a brazen daylight cover-up. Elyon immediately thought of a hit to silence witnesses. Monge didn't seem like the type to die without talking, and those providing him with information, rituals, or even planning the entire case didn't seem like his usual lackeys.
After finishing the entire ham hock, Elyon felt stuffed. He already had a plan for how to deal with the investigators tomorrow: insist he just happened to disrupt the ritual's magic circle. After all, there were no third-party witnesses.
On August 10th, the morning sun shone on Elyon's face. When he woke up, Emma's bed was empty; perhaps now that her 'partner' was fine, she had no reason to stay in this commoner's ward.
The door soon opened, and two men walked in, one in a black police uniform and the other in a suit. To Elyon's surprise, it was an old acquaintance, Inspector Fred, who had attempted hypnosis on him back in June. Fred didn't seem to recognize Elyon, likely too busy with the broader manhunt. Fred extended his hand to Elyon in greeting.
"I'm Inspector Fred from the Special Actions Division, and this is my assistant. We're here today to ask you for details. Most of what happened Monge and his people have already confessed to, but we need to know how the summoning ritual was disrupted after the deity's possession. Oh, and we brought this device to ensure you tell the truth. Given the gravity of the situation, we hope you understand."
Elyon curiously watched the assistant pull a metal box from a briefcase, equipped with a pointer and a fan-shaped panel marked with 'Yes' to the left and 'No' to the right.
"As you can see, this is a lie detector, specifically designed for superhumans."
The assistant took out a shiny metal clip with wires from the box and attached it to Elyon's finger. The cold touch likely indicated a magical device. Elyon shook his head, commenting sarcastically.
"Why not just find someone who can hypnotize? Is this thing reliable?"
Fred shook his head, "Hypnosis might work on ordinary people, but it's uncertain against a superhuman. Most superhumans have strengthened mental fortitude and are difficult to hypnotize. Even if hypnotized, there's no guarantee they'll tell the truth. This box was invented by that otaku vampire, and apparently, a superhuman's emotional fluctuations carry magical ripples when they lie."
Elyon glanced at the device, realizing it wouldn't be easy to deceive.
Fred sat on a folding chair and began, "Ready? I'll start with the questions."
Elyon felt battered and bruised, but he was prepared to tell the whole truth, "Please, go ahead."
"Did you premeditate the kidnapping of Miss Emma? Although she later confessed, the General is pressing hard, so please tell us your side."
Elyon shook his head, "There was no premeditation. When I heard that little Cor, our police informant, had been kidnapped, I was desperate to rescue him. I thought you wouldn't pay much attention to a civilian's life, so we staged this act. The daughter of a General would surely draw more attention."
As Elyon spoke, he glanced at the lie detector, which swayed slightly but ultimately pointed left. Fred also took note.
"It seems you're not lying. Consider that a practice round. Now, how was the ritual suddenly disrupted?"
"I'm not sure myself, but I felt the presence of ice and snow powers at the scene. The magic in a Winter God amulet I was wearing was also drained," Elyon said, taking out the amulet, which had lost its chill and luster.
Fred took the amulet and said, "Ice and snow powers? We'll send someone to check the scene. Hand over this amulet; we'll return it to you after the investigation next week."
The detector swung decisively left, and Fred seemed satisfied. He continued, "There was significant damage in the courtyard and clear remnants of evil power. What happened?"
"Well, after the first summoning ended somehow, I got into a fight with one of Monge's superhuman subordinates. I still had my firearm and shot at him seven times. He was in a hurry to escape and didn't bother fighting to the death with me. You should find seven shell casings together at the scene."
The machine's pointer swung even more decisively left, and Fred seemed pleased with the response.
"Continue."
Clearing his throat, Elyon knew it was time to embellish, "After driving off the enemy, I tried to rescue little Cor. Suddenly, he seemed possessed by a deity—or rather, an evil god—floating in the air, attacking me and Miss Emma. After Miss Emma was blown away, I rolled around on the ground to dodge, and when the evil god's spear hit the ground, I was blown away. I landed by the summoning magic circle on the stage and broke it. Then, as I was preparing to flee with Cor, I passed out."
This time, the pointer didn't swing left but wavered back and forth. Fred looked at the machine and then back at Elyon with a hint of threat in his voice, "Inspector Elyon, are you withholding the full truth?"
Elyon's forehead broke out in sweat, "The details, let me add a bit. After dodging the first strike, I used my superhuman ability to enhance dynamic vision for a brief moment, then I fired five shots at the evil god's spear that he threw at me. That's all."
Finally, the pointer swung left.
Fred seemed satisfied with the answer, "One last question, why didn't you shoot the possessed boy directly? Your behavior is odd. You dared to storm the headquarters of a cult for a kid you barely knew, but when faced with the scene of the evil god's harvest, you didn't immediately stand up to resist? Thirty cultists died at the scene, I thought your sense of justice was overflowing."
Elyon gave a wry smile, "I went out of sympathy for an acquaintance. I promised his sister I'd bring him back. It wasn't out of a sense of justice or a desire to be a hero. Facing dozens of grown men and three superhumans, I didn't dare openly sabotage. As for the mass casualties, I had nothing to do with it. In fact, if I hadn't disrupted the magic circle, there might have been even more deaths. The destruction caused by the possessed evil god was almost like a cannon blast. I'm not so selfless as to challenge a deity for unrelated people. The first summoning only produced a hand, and it was huge. It easily crushed a superhuman who seemed more experienced than me. In such a situation, I'm not altruistic enough to challenge a god for strangers."
The pointer swung far to the left. Elyon was just an ordinary police officer with a weekly wage of five pounds, a man who simply wanted to find his way home. He had never aspired to be a great hero or savior.
Fred stood up and shook Elyon's hand, "You are a hero, even though you didn't perfectly quell the ritual. But you've made a contribution beyond your capabilities and responsibilities. Would you be interested in joining us?"
Elyon responded with a smile, "No interest. I've been hospitalized twice in less than a month; with my luck at your place, I'd earn money without a chance to spend it. By the way, did you recover my gun and glasses?"
"We've replaced your gun with our custom .50 caliber Lefton and issued you 30 rounds of special anti-magic ammunition. As for your glasses, they were specially made for you by the otaku vampire downstairs, right? The lenses are shattered. Looks like they can't be repaired. Maybe if you bribe him with some nice-looking, delicate dolls, he might make you another pair."
Elyon shook his head, doubting he could shamelessly ask for another magical item. The large-caliber revolver would likely require both hands to hold. He still preferred his automatic pistol, but given how quickly he went through guns, it would be difficult to ask Comms for another. It seemed the captain had already covered for him and handled the paperwork.