The moment Ciel entered his slumber, a different commotion was unfolding within the streets of The Rich Valley Area. Unbeknownst to him, however had he been just a dozen minutes slower then his presence may not have gone unnoticed.
After all, within the wide streets, swarms of officers dressed in black suits were swiftly scattering in all directions. These men and women were thoroughly inspecting each corner, stopping suspicious individuals, or even investigating apartment complexes over any unknown disturbances.
Beyond those normal means, many were equipping strange tools which seemed to aid them in their attempts to find the trail of the wanted suspect.
Within a corner of The Ergo Street, two women were currently rushing forth with visible urgency. One of the two was sprinting slightly faster than the other as she stretched out her right hand. Upon that hand, grasped tightly by her fingers was a doll with blond hair, blue eyes, porcelain skin, and wearing a battered pink dress.
The doll's face was pointed forward, with its head occasionally shifting towards one direction or the other. Whenever it did move however, the two women would promptly correct the direction which they ran. As a result of this they had already entered and left a multitude of streets within this bustling night.
Everything was proceeding well at first, yet suddenly the doll's head ceased to further shift directions. Instead, it began rapidly shifting from left to right then right to left. Each time it did the speed at which it turned its head increased until at last it seemed to snap.
A sound reverberated from its plastic neck before its head began spiraling rapidly.
Witnessing this, the two women frowned. However, before anything else could be said, the voice of a little girl suddenly rang forth from the doll's chest.
"Heh-Heh, We Lost Him Mama! We Lost Him! Come On Mama! If We Can't Find Him, Then It Will Be My Turn To Hide! YOU READYYYY?! Heh-Heh-Heh-Heh!"
The voice of the doll was utterly joyous, yet behind its every giggle was the subtle, almost imperceptible sound of a baby crying.
As they listened to the doll's eerie giggle, the two women shared a glance with each other before one sighed and muttered;
"Damn it… A dead end."
*****
Meanwhile, back within the rotten second floor of The Meat Harvest Shop, Lara and Eric were now accompanied by over five other Inspectors. Each Inspector was currently using unique methods to attempt to unravel just what kind of existence had descended upon this very night.
Lara and Eric did not take part in this however as they had already been through a grueling ordeal and were now on standby as key witnesses.
Lara's blue eyes watched the blood filled room with a somewhat twisted expression. Even now they could feel their skin prickle, as if it had the sudden urge to begin rotting.
"This room stinks."
She said resentfully, wishing for nothing more than to leave this place. However, her annoyance did not truly stem from the abhorrent smell and lingering corruption but rather for their failure to accomplish anything. She felt utterly incompetent.
Sparing his partner a side glance, Eric could not help but agree.
"It sure does…"
He answered simply. A silence fell upon the two of them before Lara could no longer take it and exploded forth.
"Ahhh! Damn it! We fucked up really badly this time! That damn brat stabbed me after I went out of my way to save him! Like could he not have punched me instead of stabbing me?! You know, something less lethal! Ungrateful little shit!"
There it is…
Eric expected this reaction from his partner from the very start, however to his surprise she had managed to keep herself in check until now.
"Calm down, we are just Stage Two Espers. The fault here was not on us but the captain's assessment of the level of danger. Inspectors should not be hunting monsters, such is the job of our Enforcers. So calm down and rationalize that."
He paused for a moment, then added somberly.
"Actually, considering what we faced, I think we performed exceptionally well."
Lara felt frustration rush forth within her chest. Despite having been attacked, she did not truly feel angry over that, nor was she truly upset that they had come across a monster. What she hated was that she failed to kill the threat. Such a failure would be paid for with human lives. Just how many more women would become that vile thing's victim before they tracked it down again?
Damn it! I need to advance to the next stage soon, this level is just not enough!
She was about to answer Eric when a voice from behind the rotten door rang out.
"My, my, Eric, you of all people brazenly talking behind my back. It pains me."
Everyone present suddenly stood straight in attention upon hearing that voice. Shortly after, the door was opened, and the figure of a beautiful woman appeared. She was tall with a slender build and smooth brown skin. Her eyes and hair were black, with the latter being of a curly texture. She wore an elegant black suit which highlighted her perfect curves. Her stare was calm and warm, yet behind it was an unexplainable presence which would yield to no one.
This was their captain, the current head of all activities within the Southern Region of the Outskirts, and the sole Arbiter, Oriana Valenti.
Behind Oriana were a group of three Enforcers. Although the rank of Arbiter was but a single step away from them, the difference between a Third Stage and Fourth Stage Esper could not be underestimated. Furthermore, making the leap across those stages was so difficult that countless Enforcers had died before ever succeeding.
As such within all of Bastion, only around 30 Arbiters existed.
When she stepped forth within the room, an invisible force shot from her body. This force enveloped the room, immediately dissipating the lingering corruption which made one's skin feel like it was about to rot away.
Instead it was replaced by a strange sensation of warmth, the same type one felt when they were smiled upon. This was of course, Oriana's will imprinting itself within the toxic place.
Upon realizing what his captain had said, Eric made an awkward expression before weakly retorting.
"Captain… I… Well…"
Seeing such a sight from the usually stoic Eric made Oriana chuckle slightly.
"It is alright Eric, what you said was the truth."
Her beautiful black eyes turned to examine the scene before her. It was gone but she could still sense just how potent the corruption from just prior was.
"It seems I took this creature too lightly."
She said somewhat self-deprecatingly.
It was at this point that Lara stepped forward.
"Captain, the monster had a strange presence to it, I suspect what me and Inspector Eric fought was but a vessel which it took. Furthermore, there was another unknown figure present, already in conflict with the creature when we arrived. I believe the enmity between these two was what initially exposed the creature's existence."
Oriana nodded.
"So the report went. I too agree with your assessment. After all, the corruption present here must have been immense."
Oriana turned to one of the Enforcers beside her, her gaze serving as a signal. The Enforcer quickly retrieved a screen tab which displayed information.
"None have reported spotting the young man. It seems we have acted too slow. Furthermore, the Mystical Artifacts used also failed to acquire any results. Whoever this person is, he must know of our tracking methods if he remains unfound even after divination methods were implemented."
Oriana nodded. She then turned towards the pair once more.
"News of a killer with eerie skill was reported to us by the district eleven police force, they suspect we may have a rogue agent however our own surveys did not suggest this was the case. That was reported to us this very morning and now an individual with both the means to block our tracking methods and face a horrid monster appears. I believed they labeled him as The Slum's Butcher. This is a conjecture, however the chances are high that it is the same suspect."
Both Eric and Lara were surprised to hear this. Lara hurriedly asked.
"If that is the case then why was he here?"
Oriana shook her head.
"We still lack too much information. I will report this to my superiors and see if they can perform a survey throughout all departments within Bastion in search of a rogue agent with pale skin and green eyes. Until then, we will be on the lookout and will request that the police assist us."
The three Enforcers behind her nodded.
Oriana then turned her focus to the Inspectors still surveying the room. She calmly raised her arm and with a grasping gesture, all of the remaining pieces of rotten flesh rose to the air before rapidly condensing into balls of flesh which moved towards the inspectors, landing on their hands.
"Use this at the lab, they will serve well as spiritual materials."
She then saved two balls of flesh, these ones noticeably larger than the others and made them fly towards Lara and Eric with the flick of her slender finger.
"If you two wish, you can attempt to forge charms before you leave. While it may have ended in failure, none will deny that you performed well. Naturally, WVO Credits will be allocated to your profiles accordingly."
The two Inspectors became elated when they heard these words. However, Eric could not truly be at rest when the situation had yet to be settled.
"Captain, what will we do about the monster and unknown young man? Will we truly just remain on the lookout?"
Oriana sighed.
"With Operation Striker soon approaching, I can not turn my focus upon the fiend just yet. I will dispatch a team of Enforcers to aggressively follow any trails left behind by that monster. When the operation is over and before I depart, I will personally track down the fiend and slay it."
Oriana stated it with unquestionable certainty. It was as though the monster being slain was already predestined. Hearing that an Arbiter would act personally made both Lara and Eric feel relieved. However, they noticed another issue, she did not mention anything about the unknown young man.
"That is great news captain, but what about the young man? He is not normal, even placing a strange effect on me. He is dangerous."
Oriana waved her hand dismissively.
"Yes, be sure to head to the Minor HQ after this and receive a scan by the researchers there. However do not worry about that unknown man, even if we fail to spot him or if the report back from the main headquarters fails to bring any more information, he will soon be caught by me. We will meet soon after all."
Both Lara and Eric were surprised to hear this. They both hurriedly blurted out, their voices in sync.
"How?!"
Just why could she claim such a thing with utter confidence? Where did that certainty stem from? Did she already have a lead she would follow?
Oriana meanwhile surprised them even more by shrugging.
"I don't know how just yet, however we will meet, of that you can rest assured."
Seeing that the two inspectors were still confused, her lips curled into a warm smile.
"You are not qualified to know this, however as an apology for my lack of foresight, I will bestow this classified information onto you… My Concept Accommodation is that of Manifestation. If I believe that it is fated to occur then the world will bend to that belief of mine. Of course, if it involves creatures then they must be below my strength for me to influence. Whatever the creature was which you encountered, its true body is no less powerful than me so I can not manifest an encounter with it…"
At this point, Oriana's warm smile turned confident.
"However, an encounter with a small figure like that young man will be easy to manifest."
Her words left both Lara and Eric stupefied. They stared at each other, then back at their captain. A cold chill of both awe and fear rushed forth within their hearts as they asked themselves.
Is this the power of an Arbiter, of an Esper at the Fourth Stage?!