****(POV)

"Another lifeless body, is it?"

"T-that, yes madam!"

*Sigh* that almost makes me sound old.

Here we are on a crime scene.

I and my 4 subordinates.

This is an official investigation.

One that proves thorny.

This whole situation is getting out of hand.

Somehow, recently nothing has been going right in Eaglevein.

The good thing is we managed to somehow keep it quiet.

There have been many murders.

Well, this is only our hypothesis.

The issue is that every corpse never shows any sign of injury.

No physical scar, no magical one either.

As if they simply ran out of lifespan.

Breathing their last.

This is the scariest thing.

This means that this serial killer can evade the city's safety measures.

*Shiver*

I believe it to be some kind of magic related to the soul.

This would explain us failing to detect it.

This is concerning.

It is a type of power extremely hard to master.

One that opens up so many possibilities.

"Madam what should we do?"

"As usual, dispose of it. Hide the traces."

They all get to work.

Soon enough there are no traces remaining of there ever being a victim.

At first, we were very meticulous in preserving the scene.

Even going as far as requesting backups from the sects.

A shameful thing for us to do for sure.

We are an independent law enforcement entity after all.

Not only did we beg for help, but it only served to humiliate us.

Any test only pointing toward a natural death.

The problem is the people dying are too young.

There is one thing that terrifies me.

Usually, such capacities would only be found in the strongest sects.

Not even the publicly recognized top sects.

No, the old giants and the hidden monsters.

Well, the only totally public super sect is the Moon Keep.

They do not care about being seen.

They do not care about offending anyone.

They can afford to be so arrogant.

They have enough power to start many sects.

If these crimes are the doing of a powerful faction, there is nothing my unit can do.

Hell, we struggle to get appropriate funding.

Especially given that the council members are always bickering.

Whose idea was it to have 50 sects taking decisions in common?

Right, our god. Compromis.

To be fair the only reason the city is even alive is because of him.

He is the main guardian deity.

Still, it often feels as if the various representatives are going to be our downfall.

As much as this all brings devout followers it also brings its fair share of trouble.

Now we need to somehow deal with this fiasco with no support whatsoever.

Sometimes I wonder if I should just leave this place.

Go hide in some remote location and start anew.

But then I remember that there is a war coming.

That this place is perhaps one of the few that might just remain standing.

Assuming most cities will be destroyed.

I'm really starting to hate this job.

I never signed up for this.

I just wanted to live well.

Not have to worry about money.

Nope, instead I need to worry about everything else!

This is painful.

Ah, whatever.

Time to leave.

There is nothing for us here anymore.

Now we just need to head back and…

That's when I hear screams.

Many, many screams.

As we exit the building a woman rushes toward us.

"Please help! There is a monster in town!"

Oh no.

This is a classic precursor to a city falling.

Run?

Where to?

Ah, I really hate this job.

"Alright, don't worry. We'll deal with it!"

She doesn't mind us anymore and just runs.

We follow the screams.

There are many traumatized bystanders.

They all claim to have seen a monster.

Yet none can tell what it was exactly.

There needs to be a catch.

Perhaps we are dealing with an illusion or mass hypnosis?

All I know is that they are all clamoring about an enemy.

Fine, it is part of my job.

Still, this doesn't make any sense.

That's when I hear a ruckus.

Someone screaming about something happening in the direction of the city gates.

I'm not too sure what it is about.

Something about people everywhere, enemy swordsmen and a monster.

"Follow me, let's hurry up."

Before long we find many soldiers running around everywhere.

Ah, this is the Gebreros family.

"What are you guys doing here? What's with the heavy troop mobilization?!"

What kind of thing warrants such a show of power?

They seem to be looking for someone.

Their leader comes closer.

"*Whisper* This, I don't mind telling you but it needs to remain between us."

"Sure, is it the monster that was sighted? Or perhaps something else?"

"Some guy apparently stole my sister's heart. We are hunting him down."

What?!

"This is the worst! Of course, you need to avenge her! Noone kills a citizen of…"

"Ah, no I just meant the expression. Apparently, she has been trying to acquire a portrait of a man recently. We are trying to assess if that will be a problem."

Then he goes back to his business.

What the hell?!

This is the reason why they are disturbing the peace?!

Ah, whatever we have better stuff to do.

"We need to figure out what the guys before meant exactly by swordsmen …"

A bystander replies.

"Oh, that? A duel just happened, well two. The first one a ranker died. The second one the previous winner fled."

I need to ask a vital question.

"Where did they fight?"

"Outside the city."

Nice, I don't have to give a fuck.

That just leaves the monster.

We keep asking eyewitnesses.

Then finally, after a while, we follow the trail to reach an alley.

In the middle, I can see something.

It is at this moment that I understand everything.

In there is a mass of flesh.

Goddamnit, why is the Gluto church out again?!

Can't he just stay at home and eat all day long?!

Wait, no.

There seems to be something wrong here!