The night passed peacefully as another day came, welcomed by the rising of the sun, illumination by sunshine, and the blow of the light breeze.
Ruby woke up early as usual. She got up on the bed and stretched her arms. She realised that her shoulders felt lighter, her body was more energetic, and there was no pain anywhere.
"Looks like the walk I took worked," she thought sluggishly, while recalling the walk she took with Zoe yesterday evening. She turned her head to the left and saw Eric sleeping peacefully. She recalled he had told her that the pain would be over in the morning. She didn't know how he knew, but she had been with him long enough to know that questioning him wouldn't get her any answers.
She remembered him being sad, hurt, and broken last night. She wondered what he had been up to ever since they had come to Paris. She didn't like to invade anyone's privacy or ask questions that might annoy others or feel like her invading their personal space, but as his wife, how could she not question what had been happening to her husband? If she compared herself to others, she would definitely come off as a very thoughtful wife.
She suddenly got lazy and didn't want to get up from the bed. She moved near Eric, put his right arm on top of her, nuzzled her head in his chest, and slept again. His chest was wide and comfy—a place where she felt safe—even though she might have a little problem breathing with his arm on her chest. She could manage.
After an hour, Eric woke up naturally. He felt a little strange because he often woke up to the sound of Ruby making dinner or doing housework, but today it was silence.
Eric slowly opened his eyes and found someone pressing on his chest. He looked down and saw Ruby sleeping while burying her head in his chest. He didn't wake her up or panic or get angry because she hadn't done any work. He just stared at her head for a few seconds with a blank, lazy gaze. He couldn't really push her away after she had lent him her bosom to cry on last night, could he?
He raised his left hand and started to stroke her hair. Her kelly-green hair was soft and silky. It also smelt of her shampoo that she used often. Eric was in peace—it felt as if there were no problems or stress in his life. However, it didn't take him long to snap out of his delusions and get back to reality. Today was an important day—it was the day he would meet the trapper who had trapped Max while he was getting ambushed.
Eric slowly got Ruby away from his body as he silently stood up, making sure she didn't wake up. He tapped on his right pocket twice to make sure the earring was still with him. He got up from the bed and walked to the kitchen.
He walked to the dining table and sat on it leisurely. He looked around and made sure that no one was watching him. He even double-checked after activating his vision to make sure there were no souls, Angel Spirits, curse spirits, or demons or whatever hiding around. His worry had been lowered a lot ever since he had gotten the relic, but old habits die hard, as they say.
He looked around and whispered something to the air. After a few seconds—as if in a horror movie—objects like the toaster, breads, iron, his clothes, everything started to float around and do the normal household work. In the kitchen, his breakfast was being made. His clothes were being ironed while Eric sat at the dining table, thinking of nothing while staring out the window.
His breakfast—a simple toast on a plate with a glass of milk—floated from the kitchen and landed softly like a feather in front of him. Eric ate his breakfast silently while another toast was being made by the objects in the kitchen for Ruby.
After having his silent breakfast, Eric left the plate and empty glass on the table, which floated in the air and landed softly in the sink to be cleaned later. It wasn't done automatically. He got up and walked to the bathroom, where he brushed his teeth and took a bath as he sent the earring floating away. After taking a bath, Eric wore his well-ironed police uniform and went to his bedroom, where he shrugged the sleeping beauty a little, waking her up.
"Make sure to eat the sandwich I made for you. It is on the dining table," Eric informed her with a gentle smile. Before Ruby could process what he said or even apologise for not waking up and sleeping so late, Eric had already turned around and left the bedroom.
Eric walked out of the apartment and locked it. He turned right, walked to the front door of Max's room, and knocked. After two minutes, Max walked out with a piece of bread in his mouth. Zoe was urging him to get to work early from the living room.
Max looked at Eric standing outside the door and silently turned to the left and started to walk toward the lift with him. On their way to the police station, they didn't say anything. It was a peaceful walk.
Upon reaching the police station, Max and Eric took their service guns from the scrawny man and were going to head out to patrol again when Claude stopped them and handed them both a copy of some files. Eric activated his vision to check up on him. His "taint" was getting worse.
"This is the file of a little girl who went missing a week ago. Her parents have been worried about her getting kidnapped since. I hope you can do an investigation and get some clues on her whereabouts. I don't know if this info will help you, but there have been signs of a gang going around and kidnapping little kids and selling them."
Eric was staring at the content of the files until he heard the last sentence and had an unpleasant expression. Max's reaction after hearing Claude's last sentence was also a little strange. Max smiled at Claude as he put his right hand on his chest and said, "You do not need to worry, Captain. We will definitely find her."
Claude was happy seeing his enthusiasm but didn't put much expectation on them. "It is okay if you are able to find even a few clues. It's not like I don't trust your abilities, but I don't want to burden you to excel in your first mission. It can hinder your mental state and cause unnecessary pressure."
"You are a very thoughtful person, Captain. No wonder everyone who works here is always happy and enthusiastic," Eric complimented Claude. Claude chuckled and bid his farewell to them as he turned around and walked away to take care of other matters.
Eric and Max walked out of the police station and headed to the house of the missing girl. If they were going to do an investigation, they best did it from the source. Eric trusted the information in the files, but he would be able to do a good act by consoling the family.
To him, making preparations for a battle was a natural habit. After the last ambush, he couldn't be certain who might come to attack him. Who knew? It might even be a Hypernova. He might have a Rank 0 relic, but he didn't feel much safer with it.
Eric glanced at Max's face while walking. His face had an irritated expression. "Do you remember that person who saved us when we were four?" Eric asked Max in a low voice. "Yes. How can I forget him? What about him?" Max replied with a solemn tone.
Eric kept walking silently without answering for a few minutes before saying, "Nothing. Forget what I said."
After fifteen minutes of walking through the streets, Max and Eric reached a medium-sized wooden house by the side of a main road. Eric stopped walking in front of the main door, took a deep breath, and knocked twice on the door. Eric took a step back and waited. A few seconds later, he heard footsteps coming toward the door.
With a creaking sound, the door was opened by a lady in her thirties. She had plain black hair and black eyes. Her expression was very dark—worry, fear, uncertainty, confusion. Anyone could feel these emotions coming from her silent gaze. "Yes?" The lady looked up and asked Eric with a tired voice.
"Good morning, ma'am. My name is Eric Heisenberg. You may call me Officer Eric," Eric tilted his body and pointed to Max and introduced him to her with a smile. "And this is Officer Max." Eric took out his ID and showed it to her.
"We are here to ask you some questions regarding the disappearance of your little daughter, Lila," Eric stated his reason for visiting. "I have had officers come to me and ask questions already. When are you going to find her?" the lady screamed at Eric with an angry voice. It was clear she was frustrated and very worried for her daughter.
Eric kept his composure. "I understand your feelings, ma'am. But in order to find your daughter, we would like your assistance."
The lady bit her lower lip and stepped aside, making way for the officers to come inside. Eric bowed and walked into the house. Max did the same. Eric and Max sat on the sofa in the living room. The lady sat opposite them on another sofa.
Eric looked at a table in the corner of the room. There was a family photo of the three people, smiling brightly.
"We won't take much time. Please just recount what happened on the day of your daughter's disappearance."
The lady clenched her hands together as her face made an unwilling expression. She was obviously not comfortable remembering the day her daughter disappeared. Max and Eric stayed silent and let the lady collect herself.
After a few seconds, the lady heaved a heavy sigh and started to recount everything that happened on the day of her daughter's disappearance—at least what was important. "It all happened a week ago. I woke up as usual and prepared breakfast for my husband and Lila. I sent Lila off to school, and she came back home safely without any problems. In the evening she went out to play in the park across the street. She usually returns by seven, but that day she didn't. I kept waiting. At eight, I was getting worried, so I went out to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. I asked the kids around, and they told me that she had been near some black van before disappearing. Ever since then we have been trying to find her, but she still hasn't come home." The lady put her hands on her face and started to cry as tears flowed out of her eyes. Max had an empathetic expression while looking at her crying.
Eric put his right hand on his chest and spoke calmly, "Thank you for your assistance, ma'am. We can't promise anything, but we will try our best." Saying that, Eric and Max stood up and left her house. "So where to next?" Max asked Eric with a blank look, his eyes burning with determination.
"Let's go to some houses around the park and ask the people there. Maybe we will find something."
"I don't know anything. Don't bother me!" A fat old man with booze in his hand screamed at Eric and Max and slammed the door on them.
"I am sorry, but I don't know anything about that family. I can't help you with anything," a fox-faced lady told them with disappointment.
"No, I rarely go out, so I don't know anything about a kidnapped girl and some black van," a young man with sharp glasses told them.
"Yes, I do know something. My daughter Alice plays with Lila. She told me that she has seen some people roaming around the park in a black van. One of them was a bald man with an ugly scar across his face," a lady with bright red hair told them. From her expression, it was obvious that she was happy to help the police.
"Thank you for your help. Please make sure not to let your daughter go out for the time being," Max returned her smile and advised her. Their energy was definitely matching. Eric almost became blind—luckily he had the sunglasses he bought earlier.
After going to every house around the park, Max and Eric were only able to get a little information. It was already around noon. In about four hours, they would also have to go meet the trapper.
Max and Eric walked to the park and looked around. At this hour, there was no one in the park. Who would come to a park in this heat? Eric and Max walked around the entire park for an hour, only to find nothing. Max now realised the importance of divinations and prophecies.
Eric was in his thoughts, not caring much about the investigation. He was more worried about the topics to be discussed with the trapper. To him, this investigation was just a way of passing time. Max, however, was the total opposite. As Eric gazed at Max, a person suddenly came into his vision. He looked around and saw a scrawny-looking man with grey skin staring at them. He suddenly ran away after getting found out. Eric just stared at him running away.
The grey-skinned man noticed Eric not coming after him and heaved a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to take a turn, Eric walked from the turn and stood in front of him, staring him down with cold eyes.
"Hello, officer. I was just passing by. I am sorry to start running off after looking at you," the grey-skinned man laughed and scratched the back of his head.
Eric stared down into the eyes of the grey-skinned man with a cold gaze, not blinking at all. The grey-skinned man was feeling anxious and scared. Suddenly, Eric smiled, but it made the grey-skinned man feel a chill run down his spine.
Eric leaned down a little so that his face was at the same height as the grey-skinned man's. He slowly whispered in his ear as he put his left hand in his pants pocket, taking out a small pouch with white stuff in it.
"I was wondering why you looked too thin. No wonder—you're an addict. You have the right to remain silent."
The grey-skinned man was just about to run off, but just as he turned around he saw that another tall man with purple hair was standing behind him.
Eric raised the small pouch in front of his face as an amused smile naturally formed on his face. He gazed at the grey-skinned man and gave him an offer he couldn't refuse.
"No need to be afraid, my friend. We all have problems in our lives. You do your job, while we do ours. Why don't we cooperate? We are looking for a girl named Lila. She is small and cute. I know that you have seen her before, haven't you?"
Seeing his amused smile caused the grey-skinned man to feel like he was in a cold pool. However, seeing his willingness to cooperate and the hope of getting out of this mess made him agree.
"What do you want me to do?"
Eric chuckled as he said, "Nothing much. Just give us the key to the black van, tell us where the kids are, give us all the info on your partners, and then run off. Simple, right?"
The grey-skinned man hesitated for a while before nodding his head slightly. He put his hand in his left pocket and took out a key and threw it to Eric, which Eric caught quite easily. After that…
"I have three more partners. We take turns…"
The grey-skinned man told Eric about the location of the van, where the kids were, and some general things about his partners—like how they looked, their names, addresses, and their family members.
"Hmm, you can go now."
Eric gave him permission to leave after processing the information. The grey-skinned man was very happy and smiled as he turned around and was just about to run away—but what filled his sight was Max's punch. The next moment, everything went black.
Max laughed a little before picking up the grey-skinned man by the collar and putting him on his shoulder. Eric then called the police station and gave all the info he got from the grey-skinned man and told them to get the van and send some people to the warehouse. They would arrest all the people there and rescue the kids.
The one who was on the other side of the phone was the scrawny man, who advised these newbies not to take any risk and wait for backup. However, Eric told him that they were already there and his heart couldn't afford to let the kids continue to be in danger, abruptly cutting off the phone, making the scrawny guy at the station heave a deep sigh and arrange people to go to the locations Eric told him about.
Eric put the phone in his pocket as he exchanged a smile with Max. Golden liquid started to come out of their bodies and turned into light around their whole bodies. Even the grey-skinned man on Max's shoulder was covered with it. The light caused a spark and they both disappeared and reappeared beside the Grand Moulins de Paris, an abandoned warehouse.
Now that they had already been discovered, with a Hypernova already knowing and observing them from God knows where, they had no fear of using their liquids.
…
On the third floor of Grand Moulins de Paris, three men were present. One was an old man with his beard and hair already white, and two other men, both seemingly in their twenties.
Near them were steel cages in which three kids were tied up. Pieces of cloth were stuffed in their mouths, making them unable to speak. They could only whimper, but due to fear, they didn't dare to.
"Sigh. When will the boss come to pick these kids up? I'm getting bored," one of the two young men, who was leaning against the wall picking his nose, said. He was very bored due to doing nothing.
"The boss is a very mysterious person. He has superpowers! Giving us missions and guidance, even so much money just to kidnap a few kids… I can already buy a mansion in Malaysia and retire. I just wish I get my money soon." The other young man was excited by the money that was about to be given to them after this crime. He could only hope that nothing went wrong. Surely it wouldn't, right?
The old man was sitting on the ground, silently gazing at the floor. He was much older and wiser than these two young men. The person who had given them this task hadn't shown himself once. One day, from what he experienced and the others told him, a voice suddenly resounded in their heads, telling them to kidnap some kids and in exchange they would be given a lot of money and benefits. But would it be the end? This person was definitely not someone they could know of. What if he wanted them to do more work? What if they became his forever slaves? No one could help them against someone with powers.
Anxiousness and fear filled his heart. After all, fear of the unknown is the greatest fear.
Bang!
Just as they were in their own minds, the huge, thick, and rusty old door of the room was kicked open with a loud sound. The door couldn't handle the pressure and shot out like a bullet. They couldn't even comprehend what happened before the door slammed into the young man who was leaning against it, hitting him head-on, squashing his body against the wall, making almost all of the bones in his body break. He lost consciousness instantly.
Dust rose at the entrance of the room where the door had slammed into the wall. The other two were stunned for a few seconds before they came to their senses and stood up, taking out their guns and pointing them at the entrance of the room as they moved closer to the cage that contained the kids. Inside, the kids witnessed the entire scene with their big, teary eyes that held a hint of shock and hope within them.
"I told you to be careful, Max! What if you had kicked the kids? It's good you were lucky." From outside, a man's voice could be heard as he rebuked the other man beside him with an annoyed tone.
"Sorry, I got too excited," the other man quickly apologised and gave an excuse. As the dust settled, the two men were revealed. On the left was a man with pink hair and a pair of glowing rose-pink eyes with a black pupil. Around his black pupil there were four downward black arrows, two on each side. Whoever he looked at could feel that their soul was being stared at. His hands were on his left abdomen, embodying confidence perfectly.
On the right was a man with purple hair with a lump of white hair on the right side of his small bangs. He had a small smile on his face, oozing out the innocence of a child, making others adore his cuteness and instinctively let down their guards. His eyes were also glowing with a purple light; two inverted blue horns intersected each other at where his black pupil was.
They raised their guns, their bodies trembling due to the intense adrenaline. They hadn't expected two uninvited guests to come crashing the party.
The old man looked behind at the wall where the door had smashed the young man in. The dust had already settled, but there was not one body but two bodies dripping with blood!
The old man immediately recognised the other thin person with grey skin who was also bleeding. "Daniel!" he whispered as his eyes widened. The other young man also glanced back and saw Daniel's body. His face contorted into an angry expression as he turned around to the two men in police uniform, ready to take revenge for his brothers.
Eric was still looking at Max and rebuking him, but when he sensed the killing intent, he gazed at the two who had them at gunpoint. The two were chatting like they were not the ones in danger. His gaze caused the young kidnapper to tremble in fear, as if he had been thrown into the ocean.
"Hmph. Weak trash," Eric whispered as he raised his right arm. His middle finger and thumb were pressing against each other as a pink spark came out as he snapped his fingers. A formless pressure appeared in all directions around the two kidnappers, and they fainted on the ground.
Max and Eric entered the room. Max immediately let out the kids and untied them. His kind smile and gentle nature toward them—not to mention his kind gaze and empathetic voice—won the hearts of the kids, one of whom was Lila too. They all hugged him, pressing their chests against his chest and crying their hearts out while Max consoled them.
If he had been female, he would have no doubt been a great mother.
While Max consoled the kids, Eric looked around the room. His instincts told him that this case was not as simple as it seemed—especially when so many people had been sent by the four great bodies. It would be more weird and suspicious if things were normal. His guess was even more proven when Daniel told him about the voice that guided them and gave them the mission to kidnap kids.
Eric went to look at the body of Daniel and the man who had been leaning against the wall. They both were heavily injured and bleeding out fast. They were alive, but if not given treatment, they would die sooner or later.
Ignoring them, Eric walked up to the old man and the other young man. He kneeled down and checked their heart rates. They were certainly alive, but in his vision, he could see a white spot in their cranial region. There was something in their minds.
Eric disabled his vision and just then, from the young man's left ear, a small-as-a-nail blue puppet wearing white armour—giving it a knight's form—came out with a clicking sound and pounced on Eric.
"Divine puppet!" Eric recalled the name of these puppets in his mind and immediately caught the puppet in his hand. With just a little force, the puppet crumbled. Eric immediately turned back to the body of the old man and saw that another knight puppet had come out of the old man's right ear and was trying to escape.
"No, you don't!" Eric screamed as he raised his arm and snapped. A pink spark came out. The puppet that was in the air immediately broke apart and crumbled down. Its body twitched a few more times before it finally stopped all motion. It was quickly crushed to dust by Eric.
Max was still consoling the kids and was not letting them see whatever Eric was doing as he caressed their heads.
After a while of waiting, the backup came. Eric explained everything that had "supposedly" happened and how all the kidnappers were shot dead or crushed by Max's recklessness. Since they had forgotten their bodycams at the station, none could be verified. They were only given a small warning and fine for their mistake before they were free to leave for the day.
After getting down from the warehouse with Max, Eric looked around and made sure no one was near before taking out his golden liquid as thousands of golden strings appeared in front of him. He willed it, and three dark-yellow strings were left in front of him. One was to contact Max, the other one with a friend of his, and the third with Voyage.
…
Back in the hospital, Voyage heard a buzzing sound in his mind. He was getting a call. He took out his golden liquid secretly and rubbed his own golden string with the dark-yellow string that was coiling around his golden string and made a connection with Eric. They could now talk telepathically.
Eric got straight to the point. "Voyage, the boss of the gang and the mastermind behind these kids' kidnapping… is you, right?"
Voyage laughed in his mind, which was clearly heard by Eric as he said with smug confidence, "Of course! Who else could it be?"