Chapter 359 The Oracle.
Chapter 359 The Oracle.
"... Umm, where-Huh?! What is--Uahhh!!
"Oh? Are you awake, inspectress Alice?"
"What is...? Oh my GOD!!" Barely awakened in her artificial sleep, she found herself twenty thousand feet, about six thousand meters above the mainland.
And just as she was going to proclaim her dizziness, she noticed the two criminals in police custody beside her.
Instantly, her forehead showed drops of sweat just by imagining the worst.
"How do you feel?"
By this simple question that Alvine nonchalantly asked, she later understood the investigators of this anomaly.
"Take me down!" She yelled with frightened eyes, lack of better words to describe her fear.
"...Very good." Alvine did not insist; he later canceled his gravitational magic on her.
"... Huh?! Arghhhh!! Stop!!"
"Haha, didn't you say the opposite a second ago? You have to know what you finally want." Alvine's mocking tone resonated next to her while enjoying the show with more than particular interest.
-?!
Seeing Alvine a few centimeters away, she did not ask herself a question; she ruthlessly abandoned her pride as an inspectress as she clung to her lifeline (Alvine).
"Tsk, what a strange hobby." Reha retorted by slamming his tongue.
But Alvine didn't care about her comments; Alice, for her part, didn't have the luxury of listening to anyone when her life was in danger.
'It's strange; she could normally fly even using her flames as burst. That confirms my suspicions about the current level of mana development on this planet.' He murmured, gaining altitude while trying to get rid of Alice's grip on his neck gently so as not to break her bones inadvertently.
But the next moment, he gave up, noticing the latter's combativeness for her life.
"Relax; we will soon be at our destination." He murmured as he accelerated to catch up with Reha, who had not wasted time waiting for them.
'This guy is a demon!' She shouted in her thoughts, finally guessing the hidden senses behind Alvine's ruthless actions.
"You said earlier that you do not believe in the existence of demons; you are becoming more and more contradictory, inspectress Alice," Alvine answers without worrying about her reaction when she finally confirms her suspicions.
"You're a deviant, right?!"
"Hm? Are you talking about these people who can use several skills at once? Do you think these people exist?"
"... Even if they did not appear in history, there are still unrealistic stories about them, saying they can use several skills such as water, fire, etc. But I never thought I would cross the path of one of them." She explained, continually fearing more for her life.
"And what proves to you that I am one?"
"Isn't it obvious? At first, while watching the surveillance videos, I thought you had creative skills (especially seeing this woman make a sword appear out of nowhere), but now you are flying without even using your black wings, just like this woman, by the way." She murmured as her gaze switched between Reha and Alvine.
"Hmm, I see."
After this brief answer, Alvine no longer asked a question, and the two flew at medium speed.
"Where are we going?"
"At the headquarters."
"And why did you take this innocent man who did nothing more than his work, in all honesty?!"
"Ask the criminal if you want to die because of your curiosity." He said, looking at Reha.
"And...is your hair real?"
"..." At that moment, Alvine no longer had the will to continue the discussion with her, guessing that she did not intend to stop.
'Sigh, can't she hold her tongue for at least a second? However, I mastered embarrassing skills that would unconsciously attract opposite sexes to me, like magnets. The problem probably comes from her vicious thoughts that I stopped reading because of their... pff, it's unimportant.' He shakes his head while also pretending not to hear Alice's heart rate acceleration.
But despite Alvine's annoyed expression, she continued asking him important or trivial questions.
But she received only dull silence and total indifference from Alvine.
...
..
.
'Gangnam, one of the most popular and well-known neighborhoods in Seoul, when I came for an attempt to collaborate with one of the most flourishing companies of the time. If I don't lack my memory, it is located in the southern part of Seoul City and behind the Han River. According to tourists' opinions, this district is known for its hectic life, luxury shops, trendy cafes, and art galleries.
-But, since I was only interested in developing my start-up, I could not live the dream life of a tourist. Sigh, my thoughts contradict each other even at this moment; the excitement and revenge which I wanted to enjoy as soon as I returned fully have become such a trivial detail that I have the impression that it is not even necessary for me to waste my time with it.
-On the other hand, it is thanks to all these obstacles that I was able to reach this level, A level that is only a starting point for me. I call it a starting point so as not to reduce all my efforts to nothing; otherwise, this level does not even deserve the place as a starting point. - He murmured as he flew over the Hannam bridge.
...
"We are there." He suddenly said, stopping above a forest in the middle of the capital, more precisely on the banks of Namsan Mountain Park.
"Where are we?"
"In Seoul, I think." As Alice did not have a vision wide enough to see under their feet, Alvine momentarily gave her this answer.
"What!? How long have you been flying?"
"I didn't count the time, but it should be at least two to three hours of average flight."
"Impossible! Do you want me to believe you have traveled more than ten thousand kilometers in less than five hours?!"
"..." As usual, Alvine did not try to convince her. Instead, he focused on the great Park under their feet.
'Even if it's just a seat branch, this place captivated my attention for a good reason. According to the memories of this inspectress and the agent who was in the control room (her name was Léa, if I'm not mistaken), it is very likely that the so-called oracle is here; she is Korean, after all.' He murmured as he gradually descended into one of the most deserted places in the park.
And without wasting more time, he looked at Alice after a glance at Reha.
"Notify your superiors that we are here." He ordered coldly.
'Ugh! Since they are more powerful than me, it's better to leave them with my superiors. I thought they were only people who had just awakened their skills, but they even know that one of the headquarters branches is in this Park.' She stammered in her thoughts as she looked at them with contracted eyebrows.
"What do you intend to do if I contact them? You...you're still not going--
"If this can reassure you, I don't have bad intentions. Now let's not waste any more time. You know well that I already know the way; if I go through you, it's because only I don't want another unfortunate incident to happen." He explained himself briefly by noticing the hidden meanings behind Alice's question.
"... Very good. But--
"Contact them." He ordered before she asked another question.
'She is trying to get confirmation of our intentions. But I don't have time to explain myself further. If this madwoman loses patience, she will risk committing other irreversible actions. Sigh, I never thought she would kill someone with such a trivial reason; it's ironic to hear her call me a demon while she-- pff, their mentalities are different from ours.' He whispered, looking sharply at Reha while Alice did what he had ordered.
"Well, two agents will soon come to escort us." She said in a monotonous voice after thirty seconds of call.
"Good." Acquiesce Alvine before focusing on Reha.
*Leave me managed, don't get involved.*
*...*
Fortunately, he received only a silence from her, which attested that she did not care.
...
After three minutes of waiting, two bald men in black tie suits came to the place designated by Alice. But even if the three were five meters away, they looked around, not seeing them.
It lasted only a period of time before Alvine broke his shield of invincibility around them.
And when the two guards in sunglasses saw them, they did not ask themselves any questions before approaching them and exchanging some details with Alice.
Following this, one of them focused on Alvine,
"Please follow us, MR. Dragnar, the deputy director, is waiting for us inside." He announced in a sober tone.
-Nod.
Following this nod, the two escorted them to a small black mansion that seemed gloomy.
But at that moment, Alvine frowned, noticing a detail he had not expected.
'There is a person who uses the affinity of illusion.' He said to himself while noticing the mansion, even though it was hidden behind an illusory shield that distorts the view of ordinary people.
'But as usual, this spell is not even worthy of a mage of spiritual rank; maybe a great master rank? Or artifacts?' He murmured while inspecting the purity of the mystical shield with his magical perception.
The reason he used his skills was because of two factors.
Even if he had previously told Reha not to use their skills that contradicted the earth's natural laws, this statement was based on the assumption he had believed before his arrival.
The hypothesis that said that magical energy was abolished on this planet.
But he realized his mistake from the moment they arrived on the planet. Even if the mystical energy was lower, it was still present.
The second reason was because of the mages of this planet, who are called users of skills or Espers.
Even if they are weak and constitute a small minority, they are still present and use this energy in their ways, which will collapse all his plans.
Since Reha does not need magical energy to change natural laws, and the planet already has mana, these factors do not restrict it, nor Alvine's skills!
-Knock, knock, knock.
After crossing the illusory barrier, the two guards escorted the trio until they arrived in front of the door.
But instead of following them inside, they stopped in front of the main door of the mansion, leaving Alice and the two entrances into the mansion after the doors opened.
"Hohoho~, what earns us the honor of one of the inquisitors' visit?" At the same time, a middle-aged man was waiting for them in the modern living room with a professional smile up to their ears.
"It's a pleasure to see you so energetic, Deputy Director Kim. But my guests want--
"I know, queen of flames; I know why you came here. And I must admit that I didn't expect you to bring me such interesting guests." He mysteriously murmured as he opened his eyes, which slightly shone with a golden glow as he looked at Alvine and Reha more interestedly.
"AMAZING!" He suddenly screamed with a crazy scientist's smile.
"D-Deputy Director, why are you--
"That's incredible!" He continued without waiting for Alice to finish her words.
'Tsk, another useless guy who did not understand why we came here. And the most annoying thing is to know that the information has reached this place too.' Alvine retorted with bland air.
"Who would have thought you would find young people with such talents!?"
"Huh?!" At that moment, as slow as she is, even Alice realized a detail that she was the only one who had not understood from the beginning,
"No, you didn't understand what I am--
As usual, he did not listen to Alice. Instead, he approached Alvine while caressing his little beard with a more than particular interest.
"And to say that this old man was worried about our future? Who would have thought that my prayers would be not only heard by angels but even by demons." He continued, breathless, as his eyes switched between Alvine and Reha.
'... I knew it; he's always obsessed with his religion and the oracle's predictions. But if I don't stop him, these two will risk killing him. The seat will condemn me if they lose such an important pillar that can understand the skill of any Espers at a glance.'
The more Alice saw his actions, the more nervous she became, especially when she noticed the old man approaching Reha, whom she feared more than Alvine.
-Grip.
But she sighed with relief, seeing Alvine prevent him from going to the disguised reaper.
But it was only a short moment before she noticed a strange phenomenon with the eyes of the deputy director, who became abysmal black.
"I don't have time to waste, so tell me everything you know and show me everything you don't want to say."