Immediately the next day, her board was presented to Rufus, and she was bombarded with questions. Everyone spilled their own ideas and some of them are beginning to believe her idea more since she presented actual data and made some really good points. It wasn't her idea to do so but it wouldn't hurt for the entire clubroom to know. Unlike Leon, having Rufus as a leader seems to have quite an impact. He is organized and took this position of leader seriously, cementing into his role. With her board presented, it looks like everyone is taking this matter into more serious discussion. He asked her questions regarding her discovery and now without realizing it, she took his old position as vice-president.
"So that raises the question. Who is responsible for the spirit and who is that spirit?" Rufus asked during a meeting.
Amy shook her head uninvested in this conversation, "No idea," she answered flatly. She is unmotivated to even talk to Rufus since he took her research and intruding into her room. He didn't even apologize for it. She may have allowed him to take the work and credit but that doesn't mean she's happy about it.
"The question is who would benefit from something like this." Another member said, "In Homicide cases, don't the authorities usually think of the motives in order to predict the next move?"
"But according to the chart, it is taken randomly. There is no way to figure out a pattern let alone make a prediction." Nathaniel refuted.
Viola tapped her shoulder and she turned to look at her. Her face appears to be in pain and Amy didn't even need context to see what is happening.
Luckily everyone is too focused on the meeting to pay attention to them, so she quickly grabbed her sister's hand and slipped away.
*
Alabaster has dealt with adversity of many kinds, so it is hard to grasp that he was at first beaten by a young man whom he lost everything then later beaten by an eleven-year-old girl who would enslave him. Despite the circumstances, he doesn't feel bad about it. It may be the worm talking but he is sincerely fond of her as there isn't a dull moment with her and the mind control doesn't hinder his feelings at all. Then he looked down at the spies, tortured and bloodied. One of them is a cleaning maid and the rest are warehouse workers. They attempted to break in and steal company secrets and blueprints. The success of Bowen's Gizmos has grown so much that he is not surprised to expect competition much less corporate espionage.
"It has been over a year since I built my company and already people are starting to besmirch my name and steal all my inventions." Alabaster smirked as he stared at the men and woman who dared to do this.
"I could send you to the authorities but..." he then smiled thinly, "I think I know someone who would gladly take you more than the authorities."
"You're gonna kill us? Like the Ripper?" one of them fearfully said.
Alabaster laughed, "Kill you?" he shook his head, "No. If I do that then my reputation would be ruined, and the bodies would be difficult to transport when you're in pieces. Someone is bound to know." He grabbed some water and drank it in front of them and watched, knowing that they are parched. Appearing classy, he continuously watched them struggle, "I will send you somewhere far worse." With an outstretched hand, Hecate's circle appeared beneath them and disappeared along with the intruders without any awareness of what's gonna happen next. Sipping his water again, he looked at the guards he hired.
Almost every single employee he hired were all homeless, impoverished or desperate, so he made sure that each and every one are hexed upon hire so that he would be aware who betrays him. Luckily for him, instinct and experience taught him to spot the early signs.
He then looked a bit serious. He saw her thoughts and she figured out it was a spirit. He groaned at the thought because she might be right. The data he has on the nobles are a bit unreliable. Unlike the other nations, Damat's nobility is affected, and they are the ones who immigrated there with little records of their family. Cennet Kadin is from humble origins and has no noble background. Commoners do not keep a family genealogy nor have full awareness of their family history dating back centuries. The reason why no one is able to make these connections is because the kingdoms are not cooperating with each other and focus more on pointing fingers at each other. Hekaton is surprisingly least affected by this for crying out loud and wants nothing to do with this.
There are no origins of the spirit or the person that is controlling it. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath.
"Next time you send me people, can you at least leave them in good condition?" Boris complained, spoken like a merchant that is disappointed that he received damaged goods.
"I got what you wanted but I needed answers from them first. If I still have the ability to use magic, then I could've left them intact like you wanted."
"Luckily none of their organs are damaged though you did leave some broken bones." Boris grumbled as he examined them, "Better alive than dead, I suppose."
Boris had asked for test subjects but is unable to get them himself nor willing to just grab or abduct people including slaves, so they settle on people who deserve it and grab as many deserving folks as possible. The good thing about the world panicking is that no one is willing to leave their comfort zone or homes. Alabaster had used Amaryllis's newest projects to gather the sliced-up bodies that succumbed to the Ripper and send them over to Boris's lab without getting caught but almost nothing is intact or left to preserve so live subjects are the only option.
Boris left the gory details out, but he did update them periodically on his progress.
Alabaster peered into Boris's thoughts as they silently communicate. "I am going to need your help. We need some bait."
"To catch the spirit?"
"To test her theory. If she's right, then we need to learn what kind of spirit it is."
"I don't understand. Why is dealing with a spirit this difficult. We have the ability to do so."
"Depending on the spirit, it would be unwise to go up against it. Spirits depend on their owner's power given by their contract to maintain their existence in the physical world but there are some that go rogue and those that are capable of it are powerful. The reason why Getel uses familiars are because of the dangers in the country. Other people don't keep it because of the risk of equivalent exchange. Even Amaryllis is reluctant because of the link. If something happens to a contracted spirit, you are affected too."
Boris seems to understand the situation more after hearing it in detail. He is not focused on the Ripper because of his Project.
*
Amy listened to their thoughts. It seems that they're gonna attempt to test that theory out. Alabaster currently has more freedom than she has so she can't be there to see. Amy listened in her sister's groans of pain while waiting outside her bathroom. Viola is going through what every woman goes through the first time. Amy is a grown woman prior to her transmigration and learned how to spot the early signs and its timing. She surprisingly didn't feel any pain like she did prior to her old life. She didn't believe in the concept of twins sharing everything, so she didn't take into account of them being in sync.
The door finally opened to Viola looking numbingly tired, Amy gave her a hot pack to put on her stomach and set her down to bed. Her sixth sense has also apparently put her mind and body to overdrive and now she is suffering far worse.
"I'll stay with you if you want."