The house burned and the firemen are everywhere.

A house in the upper district was caught on fire. The fire was strong, but through some miraculous interference, it didn't spread in the neighborhood. The firemen are weirded about the peculiarity, but who are they to ask for something they should be grateful for.

It burned thoroughly, the wisp of flames sticks like glue to paper. Everything turned to ash— except the pair of statues.

Yes, statues.

A pair of lifelike human statues not sculpted by mortal hands, but by supernatural coincidence.

Who can elaborate? No one truly knows.

It was a pair of a man and a woman so graphic, they seem to possess life. Not that Detective Kahowzki can truly prove, but somehow, he can tell. Flames that are as hard to kill as to create, that burns through any solid matter and possesses a mystical nature of unlikely prior existence.

Depending on who you ask, this supernatural phenomenon in front of him is either too ancient or of an outlier nature.

"Matt Mathews. Male, 19 years old. Dropped out of high school at the age of 17. He dedicated himself to his career as a magician performer. Neither knowledgeable of the arts nor a dabbler in some sort." The Detective stared at Matt's statue scrutinizing its every curve. Full of emotions, either longing, sadness, or despair— he concluded.

The statue in the likeness of Matt Mathews wears the same outfit he used during his performance in the game show 'Talent Talks'. Excluding the top hat which is nowhere to be found, the fossilized suit depicts the stereotypical magician that he is...

"Lenny Lengkins. Female, 19 years old. Graduated from Hamgerdan Highschool with high honors. Studious and good friends with Matt. She dedicated herself to pursuing archaeology, the result of her parent's influence. Investigation shows that she has an inkling of what is real magic like..." The Detective stared at Len's statue only for a moment, he is sure of his findings. Lenny Lengkins is a mage. But not a properly initiated one. She mostly knows rituals, archaic charms, and rudimentary knowledge of relevant fields relating to magic. Initiated Mages know how to cast proper magic. She is knowledgeable but not much as a mage. At least, she is better than most dabblers.

The statue in the likeness of Lenny Lengkins wears what can be described as a gown. Evident from the CCTV footage around the neighborhood, she wore a pointed hat and a dress with the entire color theme being black.

After the pair's dinner, they made their way to the Lengkins residence. There were testimonies of Lenny possessing a book that seems to contain supernatural attributes.

The detective started his sleuthing and true to his observations, the aftermath of the conflagration is quite an ash-inducing spectacle. He touched the once stony pavement only for his fingers to sink. "Such destructive flames, even the earth wasn't spared." The peculiarity made the gears in his mind turn. Just what could have possibly occurred? Is it the book?

Alas, the detective found no traces of such a book. He only got dust and soot on his trouser and coat. His assistant nudged him from the sides in apprehension, because of the strutting police chief. This interrupted the detective's thought process greatly.

"Guard the statues." The detective instructed his assistant with a whisper.

"It will do us good to put an investigation into her parent's background." Detective Kahowzki added, his words carried over his assistant's thoughts. Telepathy is a magic technique favored by mind mages. The Detective only has the most basic grasp of the magic, but it is enough for simple instructions like this. It is a good way to send commands covertly.

"Detective! It is a pleasure to see you on this fine morning. The fire is strong, it took the firemen a whole night to kill it off. We had to extend the cordon we set up. My men are complaining of such a thankless task. Though the statues came as a surprise, it's good that not a single one is hurt." The chief of police walked in a relaxed manner, his left foot lagging by a second.

Must be a permanent injury, Kahowzki thought to himself.

"I sympathize with your troubles, but we are in a hurry. I can't even spare a tea-time for myself. We will be taking the statues, and be on our way." Detective Kahowzki said in a neutral tone. He gestured for his assistant to make the phone call to prompt the movers responsible for taking the pair of statues.

"You may be busy... But surely, you can hear a word or two. Right?" It made the Detective wary and curious, so he gave up his precious time to satisfy the police chief.

"Is it related to the statues? Is it Matt? Or Len? Is it related to the fire?" He probed, while subtly casting his magic— analysis, and telepathy— creating the magic spell lie detection.

The chief is not surprised by the series of questions rapidly hurled at him. He just scoffed at it thinking that it's the interrogation techniques expert policemen employ.

"No need to be hostile to a fellow servant of the law. And yes, it's related to the statues. I don't know about the fire. Simply put, I am here just for the statues. The mayor saw it, he said that he liked it. The bastard told me to sack it and immediately send it to his residence. But what truly worries me, is why the statues resemble Matt and Len so much." The Detective didn't even bother to make eye contact, his eyes staring at the floor. The chief is fine with the disregard, oblivious to the fact that his words are being unraveled at a break-neck speed, Kahowzki trying to discern any lies.

The police chief shares a shallow relationship with the Matthews family in the level of acquaintanceship, so the chief knowing Matt is not questionable.

"How do you know Len?"

"The kid, Matt, always had her by his side, so I reckon they are together."

"Good, you didn't lie." The Detective said unleashing a big chunk of his mana. He combined his techniques— telepathy, focus, release and suppress— creating the spell memory wipe. It erased the target's memory worth of few seconds. Its effectiveness is dependent on the caster's skills and mana invested.

Honestly, Detective Kahowzki is not fond of mind magic. Still, he worked hard enough to learn some of them due to the necessity his work demanded. Magic can be divided into two kinds— techniques or spells.

Magic techniques are magic learned through transcending one's awareness. The concept is vague, but it mainly revolves around learning and increasing brainpower.

Magic techniques include telepathy, analysis, focus, suppress, and more that were developed from ancient magic. Such techniques serve as foundations for casting magic spells.

Meanwhile, Magic spells are composed of two or more magic techniques. They are so much more potent than a technique in every aspect. Their examples are lie detection and memory wipe.

The Detective continued his self-review. He recited a few magic theories inwardly with Matt's statue as his only companion. He has long separated ways from his assistant, they are to meet a month later after they receive permission from Trimystery.

The statues are to be researched separately. As the strongest mages in the vicinity, it is his and his assistant's responsibility to guard the magical artifacts in the unlikely event that someone tries to rob them.

Yes, magical artifacts. The Trimystery didn't even bother to search for a way to save the pair. After sending the report to his superiors, instructions for securing the artifacts are immediately given, but none of the permission that he desires.

To investigate the Lengkins family.

To find the source of the phenomenon.

To find a way to save the two.

The Trimystery is expectant of acquiring the statues. Kahowzki has a hunch but lacks the evidence to confirm it... Every object that came from a supernatural phenomenon guarantees a birth of a magical artifact. He is certain that the pair of statues has a function he doesn't know aside from being life-like.

Just lately, Trimystery has been scrounging for a lot of magical artifacts around the world.

It is like... They are preparing for war.

Kahowzki is inside a truck's trailer being shipped across the Atlantic. There is a sofa, cubicle, a comfy bed, some books and a lot of food. On top of that are some mana-fueled intricacy such as the bright fluorescent light hanging above, the television, and the magical fridge with its insides enchanted with increased space. There are also some paintings depicting historical events relevant to Trimystery. The insides of the trailer pretty much gave it all to make its guest comfortable.

Except for the statue, the place looks normal fitting for a middle-aged guy's room in terms of his preference. Too bad, there is no internet. It is protocol at work here, so he can't do that much.

Barely ten days passed since the ship's departure, but Kahowzki is feeling weird vibes from the statue. It felt like someone is staring at him. When he sleeps... Eats... Watch TV... Read books... It is there, it can be felt. The Gaze remained. To his paranoia, he started to move the shelves to the side of the open-air cubicle improvising a wall.

"Is it you?" The stern detective asked infuriated that his health might be put at risk, just because of the statue in front of him.

"I must be going crazy." Kahowzki cast a mental barrier on himself through— telepathy and solidification. He slept peacefully that night.

It has been exactly 23 days, 13 hours, and 21 seconds since the shipment's departure. His exactness is just a matter of diverting his attention since the disturbing events last time. He suspects that it's a result of the statue's unexplored functions.

He is feeling tense today. It is not the statue. It is because of his most recent nightmare. And nightmares to mages generally translate to danger being near them.

The TV opened of its own will flashing whites and blacks amidst the static noise, the silhouette of the information department's spokesperson appeared. He looked panicked and in hysteria.

"To all agents out there. This is an emergency. Trimystery is under attack! I repeat, Trimystery is..." Bang! That sounds just right, it is a gunshot. Kahowzki has heard that sound so many times since his mission to Iran. The blood splattered on the screen whilst the spokesperson fell.

It happened so fast, the screen blacked out before even Kahowzki stood to express his shock.

More than tense, Kahowzki's back is filled with sweat, his mind is in chaos, and his breathing is raggedy. He needs to calm himself. Alas, he can't. The shock traveled from his feet to his brain— its vibration, so subtle an ordinary person won't recognize it.

Gunshots and explosions rang. It must be artillery and armed stragglers boarding the ship. The ship's every personnel is a qualified mage. "If a high mage like me joins the fray, we might be able to turn this around."

The door is locked from the inside unlike the other trailer boxes here. Kahowzki tried to unlatch the lock, to his surprise, it is stuck.

Telekinesis, solidification, focus, release, and oscillation— magic techniques mastered to the peak collided in the center of Kahowzki's palms. Invisible potent force shaped into a sphere its very presence vibrates in excitement. Its core burns a hue of blue leaving an impression of danger.

FORCE HYPER-SPHERE. Kahowzki earnestly spoke the name of the original spell eager to exert its presence against the world.

The spell collided with the wall of the trailer. Surprisingly, not a dent was made. Kahowzki's expression distorted in rage.

"I've been had. The trailer has been warded." The detective's thoughts raced. Ward magic is ancient magic that still has applications to this day. Ancient magic in the contemporary world is known for its infamy of being obsolete. They are as hard to use as hard to learn. Even today, it has become a rarity for magic clans to use them. When it comes to obsolete magic, alchemy and wards are an exception.

Alchemy survived because of the scientific inclinations that in turn propelled them. Though comparing alchemy with chemistry is heresy, the latter surely helped in furthering alchemical knowledge.

Concurrently, wards survived for their practicality— in the contemporary world, they are mostly used to hide the supernatural presence from the common people. They range from many applications capable of nullifying almost everyone to becoming fences that separate the abnormal from normal.

Kahowzki tried again with different variations of his sphere spell.

Changed the oscillation with stimulate.

FORCE HYPER-FIST.

Swapped the order of oscillation with release.

FORCE HYPER-BLAST.

In the heat of the moment, Kahowzki was able to add stimulate on the techniques he used on FORCE HYPER-SPHERE barely reaching the level of an Archmage.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

Kahowzki is getting short of breath, but the warded wall remained intact, its wards firmly rejecting his attempts. Nights... Days... The battle outside has long ceased, the noise inexistent except for the banging sounds Kahowzki's magic creates, his well-maintained body clock has long been messed up.

When his mana runs out, he rests for a while, eats food then relieves himself. Once his Mana returns to full capacity, he continued his magic barrage on the nigh impenetrable trailer box.

Nothing is truly impenetrable. He earnestly believed that these wards will one day shatter in the face of his might.

So he tried, again, and again and again.

A simple guarding duty turned into a hellish nightmare with a statue as its sole witness.