The room faintly echoing with each key press, the setting sun of the outside peered through the window as the curtains filtered it. The heater was working overtime due to the intense coldness of the outside.

  Remi didn't expect Ashnafal to be this cold when he first arrived. Expecting that the information regarding it were exaggerated, however he couldn't be further from the truth.

  A notification popped up, his sight naturally snapped onto it as he lifted a cup of nice smelling coffee before chugging it down.

  Checking it subconsciously, his eyes widened at the first word of the email address before slowly dragging his eyes along the document attached. His heart raced as he rapidly consumed the content. Such a detailed document could only be sent by an Intel group in the black market. And surprisingly they sent extra detail about the person paying them to keep their information safe but a dead man couldn't pay.

  Mumbling gibberish, his screen immediately went to the police index as he checked the database.

  His eyes darted, gears in his head moving faster by the second as he displayed incredible speed on the keyboard.

  He was searching for something as anyone could've guessed but that something was quite tricky. As a detective that lived almost his entire life in Nightlights, his experiences were quite limited. Yet despite that, he rivaled the top detective that cost a couple of saving.

  Having to pay a hefty amount for a case didn't suit him well, and he always liked doing charity work. Although he couldn't do everything for free due to living costs, he kept a mild cost for everyone. Heck he even gives a discount if the same district keeps on having cases.

  Though this came at a cost, low prices meant people thought he was someone that was desperate, low skilled and someone that shouldn't be hired. This wouldn't be a problem in of itself but the main problem lies in the cases.

  His skill is similar to a top level detective and being similar to a top detective makes it more likely for him to get targeted. He couldn't have a personal bodyguard as they required loads of cash and most were government provided. But being government provided means they had to sign a contract which was problematic for his freedom to take cases which he thought were necessary.

  For that very same reason, he had to flee from Nightlights.

  Still, that left a bad taste in his mouth, his mind was constantly on the edge for corruption when solving cases appointed by the local police.

  A map popped up on his screen, having dots of various colors on the screen, correlating to each type of kidnapping. Ranging probable motive to guaranteed motive. Of course, there were more such as children, elders,the riches which he was slightly displeased by and plenty of other types.

  He checked the document, containing personal information on the man that was murdered back in Nightlights. Although, he ran from because the officials there knew he was going to investigate and was planning on shutting him down but now wasn't the case.

  Barely anyone knew him in this city, and this lack of information granted him the perfect opportunity to gather Intel on human trafficking. Reporting to the officials here would be risky as he didn't know they were corrupt too but he had a plan for it.

  It was reporting to forbidden organizations unrelated to the government. Despite this also carrying the risks if not more, he knew one place where human trafficking was deeply hated.

  Focusing on the document once again before clicking on the search bar of the index as his hand dashed above the keyboard. Typing one name and one name only.

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  Kint Ein.

  Such a name was ridiculous but he didn't have the habit of making fun of people that didn't have a choice as the home of the person almost filled the screen. Slightly surprised at the size of the mansion, his suspicion only grew bigger checking the available information about the job he had, a beauty salon.

  It just so happens that the place around his house and salon had women and men disappearing. It would be a stretch to say he caused this due to the fact that the people were indeed mostly disappearing in this district. However it would be suspicious if said people’s disappearings were circling the mansion and salon and the frequency getting more dense as one moved closer.

  And it didn't help that the area just 3 city blocks away didn't have as many missing people at all. While this is a good thing, the contrast made it seem like they were avoiding the place entirely.

  He examined the victims once again, and now his mind was certain at a single glance. This man was most definitely the person behind this.

  Not only was the frequency suddenly changing, he was also helping the search parties in the third block range At first sight, this might seem heroic but the fact that he suddenly stops helping outside the range was too obvious for him.

  Of course the evidence was quite lackluster, but it didn't hurt to check out right?

  Evaluating the pros and cons, he sat there before calling out to his assistant as he got put on his winter clothes. He exercised for a bit, finished his coffee as he got ready.

  Ready to run away at the slightest major risk of threat and ready to gather evidence.

  ***

  The usual air of frozen temperature surrounded each body of heat, slowly replacing the heat within their body as they slowly walked ahead.

  The Odachi protruded from his waist, its movement following the frequency of his silent footsteps. His eyes peered into the fence, observing the security guards before jumping in. The fence encompassed the entire mansion, spanning beyond what he could see from his position, spikes extended with electric wires ready to shock anyone to death.

  Inside, he memorized the guards pattern of moving to 7 points inside the fence.

  The lights of each guard circled the entire mansion, moving rapidly to catch any intruder. With guns strapped to their chest, it was clear that they wouldn't spare any that came close.

  As they slowly moved closer to the point, he derailed off the course, moving closer to the guest room before it was a few inches away from him. His emotionless face lit up, reaching for the locked window.

  Normally lock picking would be impossible as the window was enhanced by a Versile user but it wasn't like that was the only method he had to use. Without any hesitation he lightly pressed against his sword, his plan clear and simple as the blue sky.

  His sword swung alongside the chains, one half detached from the others as a clear line split them apart. The tip of the sword carried the splitted chain, his hands skillfully pressed the chains down, almost unbearably freezing due to the unnatural atmosphere of the outside. He quickly got to work as the window hugged the top. His swift movement, gentle enough to not make a sound and rapid enough to not be time consuming. Not a single ounce of movement was wasted. The freezing night would make any movement and noise noticeable to anyone. Especially the guards.

  Even though he knew he could take all of them down, he still had to be cautious of an Overlapped suddenly appearing in their group even if he didn't notice one.

  Pondering about the plan, the bone chilling window gently opened under his rough palm, he brought his legs closer to his chest as he began to climb inside.

  A noise echoed from behind, his head immediately snapping as he rushed towards the source, grabbing the neck of the silhouette. They struggled hopelessly, the nails of their hand slowly piercing his skin, ripping out parts of his skin.

  The sharp pain of nails burrowing into his flesh reverberated through his bones. His body told him to defend against the nails, and yet his expression remained unmoved with the freezing winds enveloping their bodies.

  Planning on remaining like this until they stopped moving. Of course, he wouldn't do anything reckless like choking one to death. His true goal was to pass them out before asking for Intel. Despite this simple plan, it was proving to be difficult.

  With his line of sight fixated on them, a second figure blocked the moon that shined radiant, surprising him. Instinct grabbed his hands, dropping them as he flashed to the side in a single motion, barely dodging the strike.

  He watched as their hand zoomed by his face before turning back to them. The last cover of clouds, enshrouding Ashnafal, dissipated under the heavenly rays of the full moon, bathing the entire city in shades of bright blue as their faces faintly illuminated by it.

  His body froze, stunned at their faces as they got together, trying to defend from them, only for them to realize the same thing.

  His voice bolted out in a instant, careful to not alert anyone as the other party did the same.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You're here too?”