"Start from the beginning. Tell us what you told her."
The alchemist swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "It—It started yesterday. A man came to my shop… he brought a girl with him. He said he needed to use my lab for a private experiment. He paid me well, so I didn't ask questions."
Seraphine stepped closer, her gaze sharp. "And then?"
The alchemist hesitated, his eyes flicking nervously to Cassandra, who gave him a pointed look. With a shuddering breath, he continued.
"I heard… screaming. Painful, horrible screams. When I opened the door to check, I saw him—he was laughing like a madman. And the girl—she was…" He choked, his face paling.
"She was being drained. Her body was… rotting, like her life was being sucked out of her."
Ray clenched his fists. "What did you do?"
"I tried to stop him!" the alchemist said quickly, his voice rising in panic. "But he overpowered me. He wasn't human—he was too strong. He warned me not to say anything. Said he'd kill my family if I did."
"And you believed him," Seraphine said flatly, her voice dripping with disgust.
"I didn't have a choice!" the alchemist cried. "But now… now that the miner died the same way, I knew he is very dangerous. All of this... It has to be connected!"
Seraphine's jaw tightened, and she looked like she was about to explode. "And you just let it happen?"
"I was scared!" the alchemist cried. "You don't understand what he's capable of!"
Ray turned to Seraphine, his expression hard. "We need to check the lab."
The alchemist flinched, wringing his hands. "Wait! You can't just—"
Ray didn't wait for permission. He strode toward the back of the alchemist's shop, pushing past shelves cluttered with vials and reagents.
Seraphine followed, her eyes scanning the room for any signs of foul play. Cassandra trailed behind, her gaze sharp and calculating.
When they entered the lab, the first thing that hit them was the smell—a sickening, rotting stench that made Cassandra gag and cover her nose.
"Gods," she muttered. "What is that?"
Seraphine's expression darkened as she stepped further in, her eyes narrowing. "There's a faint aura here. Demonic, but it's fading. Whatever happened here, it left a trace."
Ray scanned the room, his senses on high alert. Broken glass littered the floor, and the workbench was strewn with remnants of alchemical experiments.
A dark stain on the floor caught his attention. He knelt down, running his fingers over it.
"This... this is not blood," he said grimly.
Seraphine tilted her head, her fingers trailing along the edge of the workbench. "It's old. Not recent, but not ancient either. A few days, maybe."
She paused, then turned to the alchemist, who hovered nervously in the doorway. "You said you tried to stop him. What exactly did you see him do here?"
The alchemist swallowed hard, his face pale. "He… he was performing some kind of ritual. I didn't understand it, but he had this… substance. It looked alive, almost. Like it was writhing."
Ray's lips curled into a grim smile. "A degradation solution. That would explain the aura."
Seraphine frowned. "What's that?"
"It's alchemy fused with dark magic," he explained. "A way to break down life essence and corrupt it. Highly illegal, and highly dangerous." He glanced at them. "We're not dealing with an amateur here."
Seraphine's expression hardened. "No, we're not."
As they prepared to leave the lab, Seraphine muttered to herself , "Who was this other girl now...? Was she Elara?"
The alchemist hesitated as he intervened her thoughts, his gaze darting between them. "Well...Elara wasn't the only one. There were others."
Ray stopped in his tracks, turning to face him. "What others?"
The alchemist wrung his hands, his voice trembling. "Girls. All around her age—seventeen, eighteen, maybe. They've been disappearing over the past few months. I didn't think it was connected until now."
Cassandra's eyes narrowed. "How many?"
"I-I don't know exactly. Four, maybe five. They were from different parts of the town. It wasn't all at once, so no one put it together."
Seraphine's fists clenched. "And you didn't think to say anything sooner?"
"I didn't know!" the alchemist insisted. "I thought they ran away, or… or something else. I didn't think it was connected until Elara went missing. I think... the Mayor may know something about these disappearances."
Cassandra stepped closer to the alchemist, her ruby eyes glinting with icy precision. Her tone was calm but carried an edge that made the man flinch. "You're sure he didn't say anything else? Nothing about where he took her?"
The alchemist shook his head, trembling. "No. But he did mention something… something about needing them for a ritual. Said it wasn't complete yet."
Ray's jaw tightened, and a cold determination settled over him. "Then we don't have much time." He turned to Seraphine and Cassandra. "Let's pay this Mayor a visit."
----------
The mayor's office stood tall in the heart of Ironvale, a symbol of power and control that barely matched the crumbling state of the town itself.
The grand iron doors, marked with ornate carvings of the town's crest, swung open with an ominous groan as Ray, Seraphine, and Cassandra entered.
Mayor Aldric Varros sat behind a massive oak desk, flanked by high bookshelves that were more for show than function. His sharp eyes peered up at the group as they approached, his expression shifting from irritation to outright suspicion.
"What brings the three of you here?" Aldric said gruffly, his fingers tapping impatiently on the desk. "If this is another complaint about the market prices, you can save your breath."
Ray stepped forward, meeting the man's glare with a calm demeanor. "This isn't about the market. It's about the missing girls."
The mayor raised an eyebrow. "Missing girls? What missing girls?"
Seraphine folded her arms. "Don't act like a fool. You must have heard the rumors. Elara and others, all around the same age, vanished without a trace."
Aldric sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Rumors are all they are. Girls like you running off with lovers" he looked at Ray with disdain, " sneaking away for adventure—that's not the town's problem. And it's certainly not mine."
Ray's jaw tightened. "So you're telling us you're not even investigating?"
The mayor shrugged. "What's there to investigate? No ransom notes, no signs of a struggle. Just foolish teenagers running off. It happens."
Cassandra, who had been silent until now, leaned casually against the wall, her eyes glinting with subtle curiosity. "So you're just going to sit here and wait? What if something did happen to them?"
Aldric scowled, shifting in his seat. "What do you want me to do? Send the guards into the wild on a wild goose chase? The town has enough problems without chasing after every wayward girl."
Ray stepped closer to the desk, his voice low but forceful. "If this were just one girl, maybe. But we're talking about multiple disappearances. All the same age, all within weeks of each other. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"
The mayor hesitated, his gaze flicking between the three of them. For a brief moment, his defensive mask slipped, revealing a flicker of unease.
But he quickly covered it up. "Even if there's something more to this, it's not my priority. I've got trade disputes to handle, unrest in the mines—things that actually affect the town."
Seraphine's tone was razor-sharp. "The safety of your people doesn't affect the town?"
Before Aldric could respond, Cassandra spoke up, her voice soft and almost playful. "Mayor, have you heard anything unusual recently? A traveler passing through, or maybe someone suspicious hanging around town?"
The question was so casual that Aldric didn't immediately catch its intent. He frowned, thinking for a moment. "Now that you mention it, there was someone strange who came through town recently. An odd fellow, kept to himself. Didn't stay long, though."
Ray's attention sharpened. "What did he want?"
Aldric waved a hand dismissively. "He came asking about old trade routes, said he was looking for ruins outside the town. Claimed he was some sort of historian. Didn't seem dangerous."
Seraphine exchanged a glance with Ray. "And you didn't think to ask more about why he was interested in ruins?"
The mayor scoffed. "Because it's none of my business. If he wanted to go poking around forgotten places, that's his problem."
Ray sighed, rubbing his temples. "Did he mention where he was going?"
Aldric frowned, his tone growing defensive again. "I didn't ask for details. Like I said, not my concern."
The room fell silent. Ray studied Aldric closely, noting the sudden tension in his posture, the way his fingers gripped the armrests of his chair.
The mayor then leaned back in his chair, waving a hand dismissively. "Look, I did what I could. someone left an anonymous tip yesterday. Said they saw a man dragging a girl into one of the nearby towns. Figured it might be worth looking into, so I sent a team."
Ray's gaze sharpened. "Who's on this team?"
"The best we've got," the mayor sneered, though his tone suggested a bitter afterthought. "Callen and a few others. He practically kicked my door down, demanding I let him go. Said he wouldn't sit idle if there was a chance to bring the girls back."
Seraphine tilted her head, her voice cold. "And you just sent them off? Based on nothing but an anonymous tip?"
The mayor shrugged. "Why not? Better they're out there doing something than wasting their time here. Besides, it's just a quick check. If they don't find anything, they'll come back."
Ray leaned forward, his tone deceptively calm. "Where did the tip say they went?"
The mayor hesitated, glancing between the three of them, clearly annoyed. "Some old town nearby. Not far."
"Where?" Ray pressed, his eyes narrowing.
The mayor exhaled heavily, leaning back in his chair as though their persistence was exhausting him. "The tip said they were heading toward Virella. Probably hiding out there."
The room fell silent.