In early June, the weather in Daegu was both rainy and noticeably cold.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Inside the plane cabin, Anton was sleeping very peacefully, but at the same time, a phone kept vibrating.
"Silence, silence, stop making noise in my peaceful sleep... I'll wake up in a while; don't bother me."
Anton, who was lying on the seat, murmured softly and reached for the vibrating phone.
"Hmm? Wasn't I on a flight?" Anton thought as his memories returned to him.
Dazed, Anton opened his eyes. Since it was early, the outside was still dark. Anton looked around and saw Yoshio, who was reviewing files on the computer, having chosen to stay awake all night.
After ordering increased security in Daegu just to ease his concerns, he had the duty to attend to any calls promptly.
Moving his body slightly, savoring the last moments of comfort, he sat up straight before taking the phone and checking what it was about.
There was no smile on his face. Instead, Anton had a touch of seriousness.
"It seems to be from the Association of Light... Something must have happened for them to call me so early." Anton looked at the messages he had received.
"[Daegu Metropolitan Headquarters. Code 234890, compromised confidential information, a suspicious police report has been leaked, possible threat detected.]"
Anton's body felt a sting. Suddenly, he focused and fully woke up.
"So soon they found out where the black eye is?" Anton felt curious about the call.
But... What would they do in a city of over two million people if something went wrong?
In an instant, countless chaotic thoughts rushed into his mind alarmingly.
"[Special Department of the Association of Light, please identify yourself, sir.]" A woman's voice answered the call immediately.
Because information could be compromised at any moment, it was mandatory to verify personal information every time contact with the Association of Light was needed.
"I am Bishop Guardian Anton ShadowBane; verification code: 31 20CA CJYI09 8955." Anton responded with a clear and serious voice.
"Bishop Guardian identified, what are your requests before your arrival at the airport?"
"I want reports on the dark entity and to know if it has been identified." Anton said as he looked at the moon.
"Yes, sir, right away." A man's voice sounded on the other end of the phone.
"About half an hour ago, a report of a murder was received. The case was reported to the Daegu police, and a detective headed to the scene to take control of the case early in the morning."
"Is that all, then? Why did they assume it was an anomaly with so little information?" Anton didn't understand anything.
In theory, the Association of Light shouldn't interfere so easily with reports that don't compromise dark entities with unrelated individuals. Therefore, it would be ridiculous for special agents of the Association of Light to investigate every murder; after all, they didn't have the time or personnel for such trivial actions.
"Sir, you personally reported that surveillance would be strengthened in Daegu. According to our intelligence, it was discovered that the victim died in an abnormal way, leaving a completely dry body." The man said it calmly.
"How can..." Anton immediately thought of the corpse's condition, so if it somehow relates to the dark entity they are investigating, it would be good to take a look.
"Could they identify the gender of the victims?" Anton asked with a serious expression.
"No, because the investigation is still ongoing, we are unaware of the gender of the victims. However, the room registration belongs to a man, and it is very likely that he was accompanied by a woman."
"Your job is not to speculate. Contact the captain of the Daegu base, send him my location, and tell him to pick me up as soon as my flight lands. Also, make sure to find the black eye as soon as possible." Anton said it with total authority.
"Understood, sir."
Anton hung up the call with evident concern. He had no plans to undertake a possible hunt in Daegu; his team was in another country, so he didn't feel the possibility of handling it with the calmness he had before.
"[The plane is about to land!]"
Anton fastened his seatbelt, looked out the window, and found that it was dawn, so he felt much calmer.
"Will we investigate the victims?" Yoshio had heard Anton's call.
"Only superficially. We need to know if it is related to the demon, but it's going to be complicated."
After the plane landed, Anton descended with his bag containing his personal belongings, and three black trucks were waiting for them below.
"Bishop Guardian?"
"Yes, it's me." Anton replied.
"I am Exorcist Jang from the Association of Light base in Daegu. I will be the one responding to you, sir." Jang introduced himself to Anton, very nervous because everyone knew the legends of the ShadowBane.
Anton nodded as he got into one of the trucks and said, "You should have the updated report. Let's go to the first location to see if there is any connection with a dark entity."
"Understood, sir!" Jang nodded, and waving his hand, the others got into the trucks.
With little to do, he needed to stay focused, and the only way to do that was to be on the move. For now, a strange case has been reported, and the location is within the radius of the dark entity, so it will be easy to associate it as long as they have the same energy.
"Any information about the black eye?" Anton looked at the man named Jang and asked directly.
"Sir, about that..."
"Say it without any hesitation." Anton was a bit agitated by this pause between words.
"The monk who cared for the black eye has died. We don't know where the black eye is, but we speculate that a boy named Jayden, who is the current guardian of the black eye, is apparently looking for the red eye." Jang didn't know how things had become so difficult, but if the demon is reborn, many will die.
"Are they looking for the boy?"
"Thousands of people are working on it."
"Then we will find him sooner or later." Anton didn't get upset because he could face these problems in the same way.