Hello, dear readers! Here's your chapter!
'Case#2 - A Rainy Parade' is available in chapter format on patreon if you're interested. The video will come up in the next few weeks.
The first case of my new detective story is available on youtube, along with the first chapter being available on patre0n if you're interested. it's a story following a detective and a new police officer who partner together to resolve crimes committed or linked to extraordinary beings. The setting is a 1920 style parallel world.
Do check the first case of 'Everlight City's Extraordinary Investigations' : https://youtu.be/BKCr9mg4OeQ
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Origin Islands, Earth
Hearing the familiar nickname, Demian turned his head toward one of the other two people who were previously present in the room.
Seeing the woman he had known since he was little, and whose body had transformed from an average beauty to a downright stunner, a warm smile appeared on his face as he replied gently.
"It's good to see you too, Aunt Lina. Seeing you look even younger and more beautiful than 6 years ago, it seems that Liya's introduction to my father has done you good."
Indeed, the woman in question was Magdalina, Adeliya's previous secretary and close friend.
Cocking her brow at the casual way he called Adeliya, Magdalina then turned toward her old redhead friend, the latter quickly walking toward the brown-haired woman before pulling her into a tight hug.
"I missed you, Lina. I've got so much to tell you."
Shoving the strange thought to the side of her mind, Lina returned the hug while replying.
"Same here. Are you back for good, or...?"
While letting go of her friend, Liya responded.
"No. We'll stay here at most a few days before leaving. You've all probably felt it already, but this place isn't really conducive to cultivation. At least, not if we want to reach a high level."
Although she was feeling disappointed at the news, Magdalina only let out an 'oh' without trying to convince the other of staying longer.
After all, she had learned from Roman that Demian and the girls were cultivation prodigies, and now that Lina had reached the Qi Gathering Rank, she understood the importance of cultivation and what being a prodigy meant.
If she were to convince them to stay in Molkovia and that hindered their chances of reaching Foundation Building, then she would not be able to forgive herself.
If she knew that the four were now genuine Void Seed cultivators, who could guess what she would think?
Seeing the barely hidden distress on her friend's face, Liya's lip corners rose in a grin as she added.
"Actually, the reason we're back so soon is to bring Roman and a few other people with us to the place we went to."
Her words brought a surge of surprise to Lina, Roman, and Anna Lirov, who was the other woman present in the room and one of Roman's two trusted lieutenants.
However, the surprise turned into shock when Liya continued.
"Sera, Bryn and I are about to get married to Demian, and we wanted to have Roman participate in the ceremony."
Lina was stunned for a while as she 'knew' that the four were all blood-related, though Roman regained his calm very quickly, both because he anticipated such a thing from the way the four had behaved around each other the last time he had seen them, and because of a piece of information he had recently dug up.
Still, hearing that his own son was about to get married made him feel slightly complicated, though it was quickly followed by delight as he stated calmly.
"Congratulations to you four. I wish you eternal happiness. And I'll gladly come with you, but I still have to ask... How many people can you bring? From my understanding, when leaving the Origin Islands, each person costs a lot to bring out, right?"
This time, it was Seraphine who replied with a mysterious smile on her face.
"For others, yes. But for us, we can bring out as many as we want at no cost. So, no matter who you want to bring, you can."
With the Realm inside her, even if she brought every single person living on the Origin Islands, it would still be considered sparsely populated.
Turning her head toward Magdalina, Sera added.
"Aunt Lina, you can come with us and bring your family along if you're interested. Where we're going, everyone can easily cultivate, and you won't stop at the Qi Gathering Rank, I promise."
The words brought the woman's dazed mind to the present as she nodded absentmindedly before asking hesitantly.
"That sounds great. But are you four really... I mean, aren't you...?"
Before any of the Mikhailovs could answer, Roman coughed once before saying, his face wearing a solemn expression.
"About that... You all know that since Demian was born, I'd been investigating the reasons behind what happened. After you left, and with my new Tier 2 cultivation, I was able to access a lot more information."
As these words left his lips, he brought out a stack of paper from his Void Ring before handing it to Demian, who swept through the whole thing in an instant, with the three Mikhailov women following suit immediately.
As the four learned the information contained in the documents, a frown appeared on Demian's, Adeliya's, and Bryn's faces while Sera had a thoughtful expression instead.
Turning toward his father, Demian said, his tone filled with complicated emotions.
"Are you sure all of this is true?"
Nodding his head, Roman explained.
"I've found multiple records stating that although you're my biological son, you're not Isabella's. I had to bribe a few people and threaten a few others to get that intel, but I'm confident it's true."
Letting out a sigh, the young man asked another question.
"Do you know anything else about that... 'Nastasya Saveliev'?"
Although Roman was less affected by the news since the woman was a stranger to him, she had still given birth to this son of his, and thus the middle-aged man responded with a complicated tone.
"I only know her name. After the people I listed in the document swapped you and your brother, and with both Bella and Nastasya passing away in childbirth, all information about her had been destroyed. Honestly, if it weren't because of some luck on my part, even her name would have been impossible to find."
With a wry smile, Demian said softly.
"So I've never been blood-related to the Mikhailov family... I don't know if I should feel happy or sad..."
If it had been him from a few years ago, the young man would have been crushed by the news, thinking that his whole life had been a lie.
Now, however, after having gone through so much, aside from a hint of disappointment, he only felt numb.
With a self-deprecating tone, he thought.
'Why does my current life feel like an onion, with one layer removed, I find out that there is another layer below it?'
His daydreaming was suddenly interrupted when he felt two incredibly soft hands on his cheeks before these same hands pulled his head toward Adeliya's stunning face.
Seeing his own reflection in her bright golden eyes, Demian felt as if he could see two other shadows floating behind him, with one resembling 'Damian Knight' and the other being himself before he awakened his memories.
As that illusion appeared in his mind, he heard Liya declaring firmly.
"No matter your past, you ARE Demian Mikhailov, the man I fell in love with in the past, the child I raised, and the man I fell in love with again in this life. So, you better not overthink, alright?"
As her words left her lips, he felt another two hands, each with a different kind of smoothness, grab his own hands, while Bryn and Sera added.
"After what we've all been through, you should know that we all love you, Dem. Also, it's actually a good thing that we're not blood-related, so there's no reason to feel sad."
"Unlike Sis, I don't really care if we are related or not. I chose you as my man, and anything else doesn't matter."
After glancing deeply at each of the three women, he felt as if the two shadows behind his reflection started to merge in his current body until only one person was reflected in Liya's bright pupils: Demian Mikhailov.
Feeling a weight he never noticed was there leave his body and mind, Demian suddenly felt incredibly light, with even the merging of his nine Elemental Void Rings with his Void Seed growing faster.
At the same time, he embraced the three women while declaring softly, his tone filled with warmth.
"You're all correct. As long as the four of us are together, then the rest doesn't matter..."
While the four were having their emotional moment, Roman and the other two women felt a mix of emotions.
The middle-aged man felt both relieved and happy for his son, while the other two women, seeing the young man hugging three women at the same time, started to have some ideas.
As if the two were in sync, they both glanced in Roman's direction before their gazes met and a strangely similar knowing smile appeared on both of their faces, though the 'target' was too busy enjoying the warm atmosphere and imagining himself with a few adorable grandchildren running around him and calling him grandpa to notice.
It was only a while later that the Mikhailovs stopped their emotional display and separated.
Then, Demian turned toward his father and asked, his emotions now as calm as a still lake.
"Father, if your information is correct, I have a sibling. Do you know where he or she is?"
The words brought Roman back from his daydreaming, prompting him to reply with his brow slightly furrowed.
"I've been trying to find out, but all information has been hidden away, and everyone who knows about it is either protected by Core Formation cultivators or has reached that Rank themselves. With my First Level Foundation Building cultivation, it's impossible to find out more... I don't even know if my and Bella's child is a boy or a girl..."
Sensing the helplessness in the other man's tone, Demian patted his shoulder gently and declared.
"Don't worry, father. With me here, as long as I have a lead, I'll find and bring back my sibling."
Seeing the confidence on his son's face, Roman fell into a brief daze before he replied hesitantly, though with a hint of expectation.
"If you go through it, there might not be only one Core Formation you'll have to deal with, son. Are you sure you can manage?"
His question made the three Mikhailov women giggle while Demian had an amused expression on his face as he replied.
"With my current strength, a Core Formation cultivator is as threatening to me as a Mortal without cultivation."
The statement and what it implied were so enormous that Roman froze completely for a few seconds, while the other two women felt only awe as neither truly realized the significance behind Demian's statement due to their weaker cultivation.
After all, to an ant, whether it was a piece of paper or a thousand-kilometer-high mountain, both seemed like insurmountable obstacles.
Roman's reaction amused the young man further, though now knowing he had a true blood-related sibling somewhere on the Origin Islands, he was keen to find him or her as quickly as he could, and thus said.
"Alright, there's no need to feel shocked. Once you arrive at the Federation, your cultivation will quickly break through to the Core Formation and even reach beyond that after some time. In the meantime, you should give me the information you've got about my sibling and those behind what happened back then, so that I can find him or her quickly. After all, even if it's been more than 26 years, further delay may result in something bad happening."
Demian's words broke Roman from his shock, though he still felt a hint of awe mixed with pride.
After all, his own son could deal with Core Formation cultivators as easily as drinking water.
Barely controlling the shaking in his voice, the middle-aged man told everything he knew to his son, along with giving another set of documents with everything he needed to know about the people involved.
After Roman finished speaking, he cautioned Demian to be careful before the latter turned toward the three Mikhailov women and asked.
"Does any of you want to come with me or do you want to stay here?"
After Liya volunteered to come, Bryn was about to do the same but was interrupted by Sera, who shook her head while saying.
"You two can deal with those weaklings. As for Sis and me, we've got something else to do. We'll meet back here once we're done on our end. And don't forget what I told you about using your strength, alright?"
Despite feeling curious, Demian did not ask her for more information, as it was clear she would tell him once she was ready.
Thus, he simply nodded and replied with a 'be careful' before bidding the rest farewell and leaving with Adeliya toward the location mentioned in Roman's information.
In barely a few minutes—which would have taken an instant were they not forced to hide their real strength—the two arrived at their destination, which was not at all where they expected it to be.
Indeed, the hidden laboratory responsible for those experiments, or more specifically, the one in charge of Molkovia and a few smaller countries around it, was located in the North Sea, with most of its infrastructure below the seabed.
Only a seemingly innocuous capsule-like building, as large as a two-story house, was set above the sea bottom.
However, both Demian and Liya, with their powerful senses, could feel that the material of that 'simple' building was made of Tier 3 metal, with its walls etched with some strong Tier 3 Runes, making it a special Tier 3 item with defense at its core.
And that was just one half of the 'problem', as their Soul Sense caught some fluctuations indicating that there was at least one Tier 3 Formation at work inside the building.
Letting out a sigh, Demian commented half seriously, half jokingly.
"Movies don't lie. Villains are really good at hiding and protecting their headquarters. This one will need a bit of finesse, unfortunately."
Hearing his words, Liya grinned with amusement, alleviating the slight heaviness weighing on her heart since she had learned earlier that her sister's child had been kidnapped and missing for 26 years.
Shaking her head slightly, she retorted.
"Finesse is good. Brute force is fine from time to time, but it's somewhat limiting."
With a grin, the young man replied.
"What can I say, Bryn converted me to using violence as the first means to deal with my enemies. So far, it worked perfectly."
Glancing at him with a deadpan look, she then asked in a serious tone.
"Do you have a plan?"
Her question wiped the smile from his face before he replied.
"Although we can't use our Void Seed strength, my Water Intent is close to transitioning to Entry-level Water Law, so it'll be a piece of cake. Just don't resist, okay?"
Ignoring the innuendo in his words, Liya suddenly felt her body merge into the seawater around them until her presence disappeared alongside Demian's own.
Then, the young man brought her to the closed door until their bodies started to actually go through the solid metal door made of Tier 3 material.
Although Liya could have achieved something similar if she had been alone, not only would it have been a lot less smooth, but she would also not have been able to bring someone else with her.
It was not that she was weak, but instead that Demian was specialized in Water Law, while she was comprehending Blood Intent, which was a mix of Water and Wood Element, and he also benefited from twice the efficacy with his own Perks.
Still, she did not care much, as the young man was her own lover, so 'what's his was also hers', as the saying goes.
As soon as the two went through the metal plate, they found themselves in a strangely bare room with one door on each side and one in front.
From the two on each side, they could sense some Foundation Building fluctuations, and even caught a few snippets of conversation, hinting at the fact that the two rooms were merely guard posts, while the door in front was the place they were looking for.
Gesturing toward the door, Demian stated calmly.
"Let's keep going, Love."
As for keeping silent to avoid discovery?
What a joke!
A Void Seed cultivator had basically started transitioning toward the Void Level, which meant that their bodies were growing closer to the Void itself.
Thus, for those below the Void Seed Rank, it was basically impossible to perceive their existence, unless the two allowed it actively.
In other words, they could basically stroll anywhere unimpeded as long as no other Void Seed cultivator was present, though they would still need to be careful about leaving some trails behind that a Tier 5 or higher being could follow to identify them.
Feeling confident, but with a hint of cautiousness, the two then repeated the same trick and went through the door hiding the elevator, with the latter leading to the proper laboratory.
As the two descended through the elevator shaft, they not only sensed a great number of cultivators, but most were actually at the Foundation Building Rank, with a few at the Core Formation appearing as they flew deeper and deeper.
On the way, they also went through multiple Tier 3 detection Arrays, but none could perceive their presence, so neither of the two paid them any mind.
A short while later, the two arrived in front of the deepest room of the laboratory where they could sense several Core Formation cultivators present, with the majority at the Early Core Formation Stage, two at the Mid Core Formation stage, and only one at the Late Core Formation stage, though the unstable fluctuations hinted that it should have only been a recent breakthrough.
Throwing a glance toward Liya, he then asked, 'Are you ready?' before turning back toward the laboratory door after seeing her nod in agreement.
Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, Demian then sent Liya and himself through the door, unveiling the hair-raising scene behind it.
Indeed, the cultivators dressed like scientists were currently discussing together while a few gestured toward the dividing window, showing a large number of children, each strapped to an operating table while lacking some body parts, whether it was a limb, an eye, etc., and sporting multiple ugly scars on the visible part of their bodies.
Seeing the horrifying state and imagining the pain and desperation these children had to go through almost made Demian lose control over his Inner Qi and obliterate the group of human-looking devils in front of him.
As for Liya, someone who had birthed and raised two adorable daughters to adulthood, her reaction was similar, and it was only because Sera's insistence on being cautious that they were able to keep their killing intent to a 'reasonable level'.
Taking a deep breath, Demian instructed coldly.
"Take care of the kids, Love, and I'll deal with the trash."
Without even waiting for her to agree, he suddenly acted, using a Soul Spell that Sera taught him against the entire group.
Although his 'qualitative' strength was set at the Peak of Core Formation, the purity of his Soul Power reached the Peak Void Seed level, which was akin to a dimensional strike against the Core Formation cultivators.
Attempt to resist?
They could not even feel the attack before it struck them, so resisting was impossible.
Thus, before even realizing it, the dozen Core Formation scientists had already fallen under Demian's spell, their minds and memories under his complete control.
Letting out a sigh, he mumbled.
"Read their memories and then kill them... Honestly, they deserve to have their souls burn for a million years in a Soul Lamp for what they have done..."
While Demian was cursing at these people and starting to read their memories, Liya phased through the one-way window and started using a flurry of healing spells along with mobilizing her blood intent, all to help heal these little ones' terrible wounds.
Despite their awful injuries, the vitality inside these children seemed abnormally strong in Liya's perception, something that should only appear in the bodies of Qi-gathering cultivators or children exposed to Spirit Qi since they were born.
However, the only thing she could feel from them was pure bodily power, with no trace of Elemental Qi, which meant that these kids' abnormal bodily strength should be completely innate, but with the muddled Qi on the Origin Islands, it should be next to impossible for that to happen.
At least, not with so many children.
Her confusion was nonetheless short-lived as she used her Soul Sense to thoroughly scan the interior of their bodies, which brought her the answer she was looking for, though she did not feel happy about it.
From the scan, she could feel that the children's life force had been overstimulated, or in other words, burnt, to reach their current level of strength.
While an average Qi Gathering cultivator could live beyond 200 years, these children's lifespan may not even reach an average Mortal without cultivation.
And that was not the only problem, as every aspect of their physiques was weaker than their average cultivator counterpart.
Add to that the fact that they could not use Spells nor absorb Elemental Qi to progress further, and it made their state akin to being fake body cultivators, something that was clearly done to them on purpose.
Indeed, after she helped regenerate every limb or piece of flesh missing from the children's bodies, she heard her lover's frigid voice while receiving a torrent of information inside her mind.
"This is what I got from them. Calling them devils isn't even enough to describe them."
It only took a brief moment for Liya to understand everything, from the how to the why they experimented on people.
Indeed, 'people', as this floor only 'housed' promising children, but other floors also had teenagers, adults, and even some elderly, whether male or female, none were left alone.
The goal behind these experiments?
To find a way to create easy-to-make, easy-to-replace, and high-quality 'tools', used for their strength as soldiers or rich Qi Blood as blood food for evil cultivators and beasts.
After all, a Core Formation may need hundreds of years to reach that rank, but through their experiments, only twenty years were needed.
Of course, the research was still not over, and although Tier 1 and 2 'superhumans' had become relatively easier to create, Tier 3 rarely appeared and that only through luck.
Turning her gaze toward the motionless scientists with a dazed look on their faces, the redhead's voice turned as cold as Demian's as she declared.
"I know it may not change much, but I want to save everyone imprisoned in this facility. And kill each of these monsters."
With a nod, the young man simply said, 'We're thinking alike' before the group of scientists was instantly and soundlessly crushed to dust, leaving only a few Void Rings behind that Demian grabbed with a thought.
After throwing a quick glance toward the sleeping children, Demian stated.
"I kill, you save. Leave the kids here until we've gone through each floor, alright?"
Seeing her nod, the young man then went on toward the closed door leading to the elevator shaft.
Around half an hour later, Demian was standing in one of the two guard posts at the top of the laboratory facility, with not a single person around him, the Void around him shaking from his Killing intent.
It was so powerful that even a Peak Core Formation would have their mind obliterated and their vitality vanish in an instant if they were standing around him.
And that was just the few strands that subconsciously leaked out of him.
If he let it completely loose, the Void in a few dozen kilometers radius around his body would fracture and crumble, destroying anything below the Void Seed Rank.
Closing his eyes, the young man focused on his breathing, his mind settling down slowly and the lingering killing intent vanishing at the same time.
Half a minute later, he opened his eyes, his gaze now as clear as a pure lake, lacking any of his previous coldness,
Letting out a breath, he muttered thoughtfully.
"Killing so much does take a toll on the mind, even when they deserved to be killed. Good thing my heart cultivation is high, making it relatively easy to shake off the side-effects."
While pondering cultivation matters, he suddenly felt two familiar presences appear behind his back, which brought a smile to his face.
Turning around, he immediately took Bryn and Sera into his embrace, squeezing them against his chest tightly while whispering.
"I need a bit of hugging energy, Loves."
Sensing the weariness in his tone, both returned the hug, while Bryn asked gently.
"It was that bad?"
After breathing in their bodies' fragrant smell, he replied.
"It was worse. But I've taken care of the ones responsible. As for the rest, that's why I called you two."
After a few more moments, he let go of them and led them downstairs to the first underground level where a dozen women were sleeping on metal beds while wearing some kind of hospital gowns.
By their side, Liya was waiting for the three, her face a picture of solemnity as she instructed Seraphine.
"Sweetie, you need to transfer every one of them into your Inner Realm. I used a spell to keep them asleep, so there shouldn't be any problem for a while. We can ask them later if they want to follow us to the Federation, but in the meantime, we can't leave them here."
As for restoring their overdraft essence, with the combination of Demian's Secondary Soul Bond and a few Spirit Herbs, it would not be too difficult to heal them completely.
Nodding her head, Sera mobilized a thought and every one of the sleeping women disappeared from the room before they reappeared inside of her Inner Realm on simple beds left from the Wolven Pleasure consortium's defeat.
Turning her gaze toward the other three, Sera instructed before vanishing.
"Stay here while I get the rest. It won't take me long."
Indeed, the trio only had to wait for less than a minute before the female dark elf reappeared by their side, her confident smile matching her tone as she declared.
"All done. We can leave here."
Of course, before they left, she took care to erase any trace of Qi they had left behind, making it impossible even for Tier 6 cultivators to find anything.
Half an hour later, they were back at the Fallen Fire Mansion, where Sera informed Roman of what they found and instructed him to choose the people he wanted to bring to the Federation and bring them to the Mansion so that they could leave as soon as the Mikhailovs were ready.
After all, with the stunt they had just pulled, even if there was no trace left, sometimes no evidence was needed to act against someone.
Thus, it was better for them to avoid lingering too long on the Origin Islands.
Once done, the group of four went to a specially prepared room, and as soon as the door was closed, Sera looked toward Demian and Liya and said.
"Before we deal with your side of things and go find your sibling, Babe, let's take care of the things we brought back, Bryn and I."
As she made a small gesture, two adult male bodies appeared in the middle of the room, with every single limb broken in multiple places and with their teeth and jaws broken into disgusting fleshy bits.
The two people in question seemed barely alive, and with so many injuries, it would have been difficult for others to realize who they were.
However, Liya and Demian could have recognized these two men even if they were blind.
After understanding who they were, the young man's previously controlled killing intent started leaking from his body as he muttered in a tone filled with frost.
"The Protector and Scarlet Sentinel..."