****(POV)

Another case!

This is insane!

On the floor is a corpse.

A man with a knife stuck in his chest.

Surprisingly he seems to be the one that has done the deed.

There is a chance this is the result of suggestion magic.

God, this city is turning into a huge mess.

Somehow, we are the only ones in charge of dealing with this.

"Madam! It seems to be a bit different yet similar."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, at first glance he seems to have died from committing suicide, right?"

*Nod*

"Here is the thing. I can recognize his state.

The same one as all the others we found.

You know the ones that died from a heart attack."

"You don't mean?!"

"*Sigh* It's an open secret that this man used to be impotent.

I think whoever fed him aphrodisiac wanted him to suffer.

He got to feel extremely excited with no way whatsoever to relieve himself.

I'm afraid this is one of the most hellish torture methods I've ever seen.

So harsh he preferred to commit suicide instead."

I see.

It was already bad with the death magic, now this.

There doesn't seem to be a pattern either to the victims.

Honestly, with all the cases happening at once this can only be the doing of multiple assassins.

Some mad alchemist is now supplying the city with tons of deadly poison.

So far, we haven't been able to crack down on him.

Every time we find a new case the killer is long gone.

People aren't talking either.

It seems there is a tacit understanding shared between them.

I've already asked the higher-ups for permission to investigate more aggressively.

Sadly I have been denied.

That is when a subordinate barges in.

"Madam! Good news!! There have been a few more cases!"

"How is that good?"

"We finally have permission to use force to close this case quickly!"

I guess they didn't care when it was random civilians getting killed, but now there are bigger fishes getting targeted.

"Alright, there was a rumor of it appearing in the red-light district!

Get me anyone that knows something and brutalize them until they talk!

Also! Get me some of the assassins that we know about.

Put them all in different cells and tell them they will be killed after 10 minutes if they don't talk."

They are showing disbelieving expressions.

"Do it, the more we wait the more lives we are losing."

They get to work.

Before long they have captured a lot of people.

Bringing all of them to individual holding cells.

At first, they all act smug.

But then they get beaten and promised death.

Most think we are bluffing.

Then I order one subordinate of mine to use illusion magic.

I make them hear cries of agony.

That gets them talking.

Before long we have a physical description of the mad alchemist.

Also his shop's location.

Both things I recognize easily.

What the hell?!

This must be a mistake!

There is no way that guy is the mastermind.

That dumbass that spends all his day cooking?!

The disciple of the commander.

I come out of my stupor.

I need to talk to him right now.

"You guys, don't give the info to city hall right now, I think it may be false information!"

"Madam, it's too late already. We already sent a message."

Fuck.

Fuck.

Something doesn't add up here.

This isn't his style.

I quickly head toward his new place.

*Knock Knock! *

"Open up or I'll destroy the door! It's me! Little Li! It's urgent!"

The door finally opens and…

It's not him at all.

There is an old man.

One that chills me to my very core.

I have no idea why.

He has a subtle aura of confidence around him.

One I recognize since it's similar to the commander.

Except that this old man's aura is oppressive instead.

"What is it, young lady?"

"City hall is about to come here! They think he has been brewing poison! He needs to run!"

"Oh? So you are here to warn him?

He has in fact been learning alchemy.

I'm very proud of him.

I'm not sure myself how, but he managed to create a true masterpiece.

Well, it is but an initial product, but it shows promise."

"What?! Why would he do that?!"

"Some people angered him.

Something about destroying a bakery.

Now they will pay dearly for it.

A bunch of fools really."

"I need to stop him!"

"You will do no such thing.

This is a vital part of him becoming stronger.

At least his resolve.

I have always wondered why he felt so special.

I recently figured it out.

He is too nonchalant.

About life.

About this world.

About everything.

For once, he decided on acting.

So, no. You will do nothing to stop it."

"This will bring chaos upon the whole city!"

"Hehe. You are wrong, young lady.

This will bring chaos to the entire Earth realm.

Still, I believe it to be a good thing.

For too long we have remained silent.

For too long we have remained passive.

We are now back!"

The way he says it makes me shiver.

This man is one that fits the description of a mad alchemist.

Has he been influencing the young man?

What happened exactly?!

Also, what will happen?!

"W-who are you?!"

"Just an old alchemist. One that is part of a tiny faction called the Moon Keep."

Oh god.

This city is finished.

Recently there have been a few sects disappearing.

Without a single sign.

One day they were thriving, the other all corpses.

Every time there were eyewitnesses of an old man.

This old man.

One that does not care about being seen.

THE Mad Alchemist.

A legend that is said to be able to even poison the gods.

For him, annihilating entire civilizations is as easy as taking a walk.

He is here.

Smiling.

Proudly talking about…his disciple?!

Taking about the chaos to come.

I fear what will happen.

What the seemingly harmless young man will do.

He will destroy the Untainted Sect.

Then how will the other sects react?

They will see him as a threat.

They will try to get rid of him.

But no matter what, they are bound to fail.

For he has this old man as his backing!

I need to stop this at once!

I need to warn them.

That no matter what, they cannot fight him!

Ever!

"Young lady, I won't let you ruin the fun haha.

You should go to sleep for a little while."

No! This is bad I…. ZZzzzzz