Chapter 417 Chapter 417 Necro-mana
His flashing eyes darted back and forth- slicing through each line in the report. Unbelief bled out from his eyes to his face. Years of policing- months of training. and hundreds of hours on the job, could not have prepared him for the shocking report he was holding.
Straightening his spine, he leapt forward- easing away from the reclining chair till he was seated upright.
"This can't be right–" he mumbled- staring straight into the report; "–it can't be!"
And yet it was.
The report showed one thing- and hinted subtly at another.
'Preliminary report, and Forensic evidence reveals that traces of
necro-mana, has been detected in the mana of the alleged killer.
Further analysis also goes on to show. . .'
Tom's eyes trailed off.
"Necro-mana?" he echoed aloud;
"This better be a fuckin' joke. It's only found in dead bodies! How the heck did it end up at a crime scene where two live people had fought?!"
His own dry voice echoed into his office space- spewing his apparent shock.
With the glare from the table lamp lighting up his face, he supported his chin with his fingers- propping his elbow on the table top.
"Not a single corpse at the scene. . ."
The big veins above his eyebrows was popping out, and thudding wildly against his skin;
"No sign of anyone being killed. . ."
His thin wry lips parted-
"The killer's mana was all over the place. . .Nexus and the girl clearly saw a live man attack them. . .so, it's either a ghost. . .or–"
He shook his head, and leaned back into his chair- trying to fight off the stream of illogical?thoughts flooding his mind;
"–or the killer is DEAD?"
His jaw tautened in the shadows.
"HOW?!"
He could already picture his boss hollering at him as he turned in his report;
"How can a dead man move Tom? TELL ME!! How can a corpse get up on its two feet- scuttle around town- looking to kill prodigy alchemists?! Do you even hear yourself?! I knew it was too soon to get you back on the job! I knew–"
Tom swallowed.
His swivel leather chair creaked underneath him as he leapt up on his feet.
"I need to get some eyes on this right away. . ."
With his boots thudding against the floors, a pushed the double doors back- and bounced into the adjoining office to his right. Without knocking, he barged in- and slammed the paper down with a heavy fling of his wrist;
"How do you feel about corpses committing murder detective?"
"Jeez Tom, good morning to you too!"
"I'm not in the mood man."
"Clearly!" the detective grunted, setting aside his fresh cup of tea; "What you got there?"
With a few short, detailed sentences, Tom filled him in.
"I see," the other man said- gripping the white sheet; "This is highly unusual, but still, a couple of things come to mind–"
Tom sat down in the adjacent chair- loosening his tie and leaning in.
"–I heard a rumor. . ."
Tom's eyes rolled- fast and hard; "You gotta be shittin' me. . ."
"Now, now, hear me out bud- you came to me remember? Anyway, back in the day, I used to work the fields. And I heard some really nasty stuff about some cultivators who dance on the edge of life and death–"
Tom mumbled a single word; "WHAT?"
"Necromancers." he answered back; "They use forbidden magic to–"
"I know what they are damn it," he snapped back; "You're saying someone out there resurrected a corpse? And they running around killing people? What the hell man?"
The other detective shrugged- lifting up his mug full of tea to his lips;
"I'm not saying that," he slurped noisily on the hot liquid; "I'm merely hinting that there's a possibility that's the case."
Tom's eyes dimmed; "You do realize that does not make ANY SENSE right? If you weren't a cop, I'd arrest you for trying to derail an active investigation."
"Tom buddy, you need to think about it." both his hands flung in the open air; "A criminal gets a corpse to commit a murder. . .no ties. . .no blood. . .and technically, no culprit. Plus we can't prosecute someone that's already dead. . ."
Tom's jaw hardened- disbelief ran circles across his confused face;
"This is nuts," he stuttered; "Even if it's possible–"
"Trust me, it is. Here–" the detective flung his across a piece of paper; "–this is a name and an address. If anything, it's actually worth checking out."
Eyes narrowing in suspicion, Tom snatched it from him. He looked at it for a moment, and grunted.
"Hey!" the other man yelled as Tom bolted towards the door; "Don't I get a thank you?!"
All he got was the violent slam of his door- and the spilling of tea from his cup.
......
"Mister Dracula?"
Tom stood under the shadow of the outstretched canopy- in the alchemist's courtyard.
"–my name is officer Tom," he raised his badge; "I'm from Castra City's police department. Can I have a word?"
The white bearded man answered without looking up;
"I don't know if you can officer, but you may."
"Thank you."
In slow quick steps, Tom approached the work table- cautiously flashing his piercing eyes -looking around. Metals contraptions, glass cylinders, test tubes, and low lit burners- all lined up on the wooden table.
Overhead, a thick white canvas jutted out of the main building- covering the man and his 'work' from the intense glare of the sun.
"As I said– I'm an officer from the department of justice, and I–"
From the open door in the main building, a young man with a knowing set of eyes, and flowing long hair- came bouncing out below the archway of the door.
Tom froze in his steps;
'Nexus?' he stuttered in surprise; 'What's he doing here?'
Disinterestedly, Nexus cocked his head in the direction of the boring looking dude- barely acknowledging him;
"Good day sir."
Tom nodded back a curt greeting- watching him with Hawk-like eyes.
"Master Drac, I've thought about it- and I think what I need is a fortified shield. Something thick- something sturdy and portable as well?"
Dracula- still bent over a microscope, answered;
"Yeah, well, after nearly losing your arm, I'm glad to see you're taking your defenses serious."
A cloud of steam erupted from a transparent glass flask- and quickly, he rushed to attend to it.
Tom's eyebrows jutted up as Nexus shrugged it off- acting like it had been a typical evening for him. is the young star trying to act brave? Or is he a cold motherfu??er?
"You got something for me?"
"Depends on whether or not you've learned your lessons."
Nexus' brought his hands together- locking his fingers below his groin;
"My defenses- they're weak."
"Go on."
"The assassin underestimated me- and made the mistake of going too easy on me. Any harder, and it would have been fatal."
The two carried on like Tom wasn't there.
The officer stood there, at the edge of the rectangular table, in plain clothing- just a couple of feet away from both alchemists. He was as still as a statue- except for his tiny eyes that kept glossing back and forth.
"Well..."
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