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Chapter 102: The Meeting Part Two

Anya burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking as her hands slapped the table. "A monster? Really? This is a joke, right?" Her laughter slowly died down as she noticed Aethel's serious expression. She leaned back, her smile fading. "You're serious?"

Aethel nodded. "Our analysis supports this theory. The skill and efficiency of the kills, the state of the bodies, coupled with the complete absence of the killer from any surveillance footage, point to a non-human entity."

Eryx leaned forward, his brow furrowed in thought. "Have you analyzed the footage frame by frame? Maybe there's a glimpse of the monster, even a blurred figure."

Aethel shook his head slowly, his eyes narrowing. "We've examined every frame multiple times. Nothing. It's as if the monster vanishes into thin air."

He paused, letting his gaze drop shortly before looking back up, his expression growing grim. "What's even stranger is the isolation of the victims. Most of them were alone when the attacks occurred. It's like the monster materializes out of nowhere."

Arden, the branch master of the Red Phoenix guild, placed a thoughtful hand under his jaw, his other fingers drumming lightly on the table. "A monster that can appear and disappear at will? That's unheard of. I've been in countless dungeons and clearings, and I've never encountered anything like that."

Aethel nodded in agreement, shifting in his seat. "That's precisely what makes this case so perplexing. It's a completely new type of threat."

Cheng leaned forward, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, what do you want from us, Aethel? We're warriors, not detectives."

He uncrossed his arms, pointing towards Aethel. "If you want us to hunt down this monster, just say so."

Anya smirked, her fingers tapping on the table as she leaned back in her chair. "If that's what this meeting is about, you can count me in. I could use a real fight to warm up before I crush the competition in the wastelands."

Aethel raised a hand to silence them, his gaze sharp. "Hunting down the monster would have been the usual solution, but from what I have seen, simply getting rid of it may not be a permanent fix."

He paced slightly as he spoke. "The situation is far more complex than that. We believe these murders are part of a larger scheme. There's a pattern that suggests they're forming a ritual or spell of some kind. The killings are not just about taking lives; they're about gathering power."

"We may have to capture and question it in order to get answers."

Yuuto's eyes narrowed, his posture stiffening. "You mentioned a ritual? Are you suggesting that someone... or something is using these murders to fuel a spell or some other form of dark magic?"

Aethel paused, turning to face the group. "Yes," he replied, his voice serious.

"Apart from being mutilated, each of the bodies decayed far too fast. The time they disappeared from CCTV footage and the rate of decay when they were found is far too much."

"Suggesting that they were drained of their life energy."

Aethel placed both hands on the table, leaning slightly forward. "I believe these murders are connected to a larger threat. After extensive analysis of the victims, we discovered a strange energy signature radiating from their drained bodies. It's an unknown energy, undetectable by conventional means."

The room fell silent as the weight of Aethel's words sunk in. Yuuto leaned forward, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he rested his elbows on the table. "An unknown energy signature? That's intriguing."

Anya smiled, tilting her head slightly as she considered his words. "Indeed. What kind of monster can leave behind an unknown energy signature? A strong one, most certainly."

Aethel's expression grew more intense. "That is exactly what we need to find out. And I believe you five are the only ones strong enough to handle it."

"We need to prevent any more murders, as well as find out if there is more we have to worry about."

Cheng reclined in his chair, waving a hand dismissively. "A single monster that the guild representatives need to gang up on to defeat? Highly unlikely. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm busy. We can just let our elite teams handle it."

Aethel's gaze hardened as he straightened up. "I'm not asking you all to actively hunt for it. All I'm saying is if a murder occurs in your sector, consider mobilizing personally."

He let his eyes linger on each representative before continuing. "I'm certain only one of you can capture whatever we're dealing with, without accidentally getting killed." Yuuto, who had been calmly assessing everything, finally broke the silence, leaning back slightly in his chair. "If this is a ritual as you suggest, then whoever or whatever is behind it isn't just targeting random individuals. Each victim must have some significance, some purpose in this grand scheme."

"Have you found any similarities between the victims?"

Aethel nodded, pacing slowly again. "Not yet, but we believe the victims were chosen based on some unknown criteria. Their deaths are serving as catalysts, fueling whatever this ritual is meant to accomplish."

They speculated, but they couldn't be more wrong.

Arden, who had been quiet until now, leaned forward slightly, his fingers interlaced. "So let me get this straight, we have to capture this monster and bring it in for questioning?"

"Indeed," Aethel confirmed with a nod, his eyes locking onto Arden's.

Eryx leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping on the table as his gaze drifted upwards in thought. "So, we're dealing with an intelligent monster, capable of avoiding all forms of surveillance and performing a ritual that uses human lives to gather power. Do we have any leads on where this creature might be hiding?"

Aethel's expression darkened slightly as he crossed his arms. "The most troubling aspect is the energy signature from the bodies. It dissipates rapidly after the killings, making it nearly impossible to track the creature."

Anya's impatience flared, her fists clenching slightly. "So we're practically blind then? I'm ready to fight, but this sounds like a dead end."

Yuuto calmed her with a steady gaze, his voice even. "We must approach this systematically, Anya. Rushing in blindly could be a fatal mistake."

Arden nodded, his gaze shifting to Yuuto in agreement. "Old Yuuto's right. We need more information, but time is against us. This ritual must be stopped before it's complete."

Aethel continued, uncrossing his arms as he gestured towards the table. "I didn't say we are entirely without hope. We've already developed devices to detect powerful energy signatures like the one the creature emits."

"All I meant by that was once detected, you have to move immediately or it could disappear again."

With that, sections of the table rose, revealing strange blue devices. Aethel motioned towards them.

"These are miniature versions of what we've sent to your guilds. They'll alert you instantly if the creature comes within fifty meters."

"Keep them on you at all times, certainly in the next few days all this will be behind us."