030 SUSPECTED
"Did they discover the mining app? When he acquired attributes, …is that considered a psychic attack?" Damen thought.
"Our instruments detected a strong psychic residue on Lukas' body," Eryn explained. "That's how we determined the actual cause of his wounds was psychic in nature."
"They can do that? Pick up psychic residues from a body?" Damen began to worry.
"Did I leave psychic residues on the victims after I used Acquire on them?" he asked himself.
"Keep calm and weather this", Damen told himself.
"So… it has nothing to do with me," He clarified calmly. "I just smashed him with a conjured shield. I never used any psychic attack."
Eryn nodded. "We've checked your records. You obtained the meta skill Summon Shield from Heroes' Gym and trained there for nearly half a year. You were also tested, and confirmed, not to be a psychic."
"I was tested as a non-psychic? When did that happen?" Damen asked, surprised.
"You were tested during your Middle School finals. The psychic evaluation was a sudden addition to the test I was told," Eryn explained.
Damen's mind raced.
He hadn't realized he'd been assessed for psychic powers. Then he remembered seeing Dorin during his middle school finals.
There must be a connection…
"Was he a suspect all along?" he thought, regretting the reckless way he'd stolen attributes before. The authorities must have suspected me, even tested me during my finals.
But as he reflected further, a small relief washed over him. If they suspected me for so long without arresting me, then whatever doubts they had must have been cleared. That psychic test must have proved my innocence.
"You already know everything—why are you still asking me?" Damen asked Eryn.
"Just to get confirmation," she replied, then hesitated. "Well… there's something else."
"What is it?" he prompted.
"I read your file. You were working in the Aur mine about six months ago, were you?"
Damen considered it. "Yeah… probably. I worked there part-time until the evening."
"You worked in a mine?" Solana exclaimed, shock evident on her face.
She looked at Zairgid, who mirrored her surprise.
"Someone with thousands of Aurs to gamble in a fight working in a dirty mine?" he thought.
"Do you remember saving a girl there?" Eryn asked softly.
Damen's mind wandered back.
About six months ago, after finishing his shift, he had lingered around the Aur mine to avoid going home. He had dozed off somewhere deep inside.
When he awoke, he heard faint noises echoing from a tunnel. Following the sound, he found an unconscious girl lying on the floor. He carried her to the mine's infirmary and called an ambulance before leaving.
"Yes… that girl?" Damen asked. "Is she alright?"
Eryn's eyes glistened. "You don't recognize her?"
"Sorry, it was dark, and she was wounded in an accident. Her face was all bloodied… I asked again the next day, but the mine told me not to talk about it to anyone. I guess they must be covering up a mining accident.. so, I didn't follow up", Damen replied.
"She's me."
Damen froze in surprise. "That girl… you? How did you know I was the one who saved you? I didn't tell anyone."
"You left a name tag," she explained, tears beginning to fall. "I wanted to come find you earlier to thank you, but my family stopped me. We metas aren't supposed to interact with ordinary people. But when I saw your name…"
Damen smiled gently. "Don't worry about it. I didn't do much."
"Maybe not much to you… but to me, it meant a lot. Thank you," she said. "If you need anything please ask me", she added before giving him her number.
Zairgid was shocked that the silver haired beauty came here just to befriend Damen and was about to say something when Eryn turned and walked away.
Solana sprinted after her.
"What was that all about?" Zairgid asked, glancing at Damen.
"I… don't really know myself," Damen replied, shaking his head with a faint smile.
"So, are we good now.. with the Lukas mess?" Zairgid asked.
"I don't know. Most probably."
-----
Damen couldn't stop thinking about Eryn's words.
The psychic trace on Lukas still haunted him—if someone connected it to him, he'd be finished. Lost in thought, he found himself walking straight to Heroes' Gym.
Maureen wasn't at the front desk, so he slipped in unnoticed. His steps carried him toward Dorin's office. The door was ajar.
"Strange…" he muttered, pushing it open.
He meant only to ask her some questions, but something immediately caught his eye—a narrow doorway he had never noticed before, partially hidden in the wall.
"I've been in here a dozen times… and I never saw that," Damen whispered.
Curiosity tugged at him. He stepped inside.
Behind the hidden door was a large control room. Rows of monitors showed every corner of the gym through CCTV feeds.
The place was empty.
Damen was about to leave when something froze him in his tracks.
On the far wall stood a massive whiteboard cluttered with diagrams, photographs, and scrawled notes. It was an investigator's board.
At the very center of it—was him…. Damen Dark.
His own photo stared back at him, red lines branching out to others: Thames and Onda. Ralph. The Sneakers boy band and their bodyguards. Several MMA fighters.
And, to Damen's horror, the latest photo was Lukas Veyran.
Panic surged through him.
He backed away quickly, making sure to avoid cameras or people if he could. Then he slipped out of the gym and ran, his chest tight with dread.
Back in his dormitory, breathless and pale, he replayed the images in his mind.
Dorin had been investigating him all along. Every crime, every fight, every theft of his was… all mapped out.
Only the killings of Mad Cat and Big Boss were missing, which was a relief. Murder was a much bigger crime. But using psychic powers to attack people was a big enough crime.
"Why Dorin? She's just the operator of a gym…" Damen muttered.
Then Eryn's words surfaced in his mind—the detailed file she had read about him popped up.
His eyes widened.
He bolted out of his room and hammered the next door.
Zairgid opened with bleary-eyed. "What is it, buddy? It's late."
"How did Eryn know so much about me?" Damen demanded. "Where did she get all that information?"
Zairgid rubbed his eyes. "Huh? Usually, families like ours… we get our intel from the Superheroes Intelligence Agency."
"Thanks," Damen muttered, already turning to leave.
Zairgid blinked after him. "What was that about…?" he mumbled, shuffling back to bed.
Damen slipped back into his room and shut the door with a quiet click. He leaned against it for a moment, his heart still pounding, then slid down until he was sitting on the floor.
His hands trembled slightly as he buried his face in them.
"Superheroes Intelligence Agency…" he muttered, the words were heavy on his tongue. "Why are you people investigating me?"
The question echoed in the silence of the room, but no answer came.
------