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Chapter 418 418 The Unscheduled Visit
Chapter 418 418 The Unscheduled Visit
Chapter 418 Chapter 418 The Unscheduled Visit
Unabashedly, Tom's prickly ears stood like a hungry gossip- inclining his head forward- listening to their every word.
The older alchemist sighed heavily- fanning the cloud of fumes that was swirling over the open flask;
"I'm afraid you still haven't learned anything at all Nexus," he croaked; "Do you know what the alchemist's greatest advantage is?"
Nexus shrugged- "His brain? Knowledge? Power?"
"Yes- well, all of those things are good. But you missed one thing- the alchemist's lifestyle is one of peace. The greatest advantage of the path of Alchemy is that it is a path that should be free from the dangers of bloodlust, and masked assailants with glinting daggers."
Dracula cocked his head- turning his bearded face towards the younger man;
"–you've lost that advantage Nexus. You're now in the spotlight. And that has put a target on your back. . ."
Nexus sighed.
Tom's neck craned forward- eyes hungering for information.
Really, the self-righteous cop in him loathed being here. His stomach churned as the arrogant scowl of his inner voice echoed in continuous chants;
Necromancers are a myth Tom!
Get your head out of your ass!
You're not a kindergartner!!
But he bit down on his lip- forcing himself to ignore every single rebuke. This was no ordinary case. Therefore, he needed to take a different route. And Dracula was that route. If anyone knew anything about this stuff- it was Drac.
After all, he was the most famous alchemist- the man whose eyes were open- the man who had seen it all!!
Homicidal corpses?
Tom's professional bells rang loud- lusting for any kind of clues at all. So, DESPERATE for any kind of answers at all, he concealed the hungry desire in his eyes, and kept quiet- watching and listening.
". . .all the more reason I need to defend myself," Nexus replied the older man; "I need something epic- like some kind of dense shield. At least for now- before I can get stronger."
Nexus possessed the power of the heavenly flames.
He had a harem of dangerous homicidal women.
Plus he had the dual cultivation system.
But all these were assault weapons.They could not defend him in sudden- unprovoked situations. The attempt on his life had revealed one thing- he needed a rapid-response defense system.
Something quick and present.
Finally, after sometime, the white bearded alchemist exhaled- and drifted away from the white clouds of vapor;
"Anky-dragon's scales."
"Huh?"
Dracula swiftly explained; "It's one of the hardest materials out there. That should be a good starting point to build on something sturdy."
Nexus' grin stretched out the corners of his mouth- testing the elastic limit of his lips.
"Anky-dragon's scales huh?"
"I highly recommend you get it."
Nexus rose to his feet- rising from the three-foot tall lab stool.
"Thank you master Dracula."
"Don't thank me yet. You won't just find it lying around. Those scales are dreadfully hard to come by."
"I wouldn't expect it to be any other way." he replied- bowing slightly as he turned to leave.
Nodding briefly at Tom, he stepped out from under the canopy- into the golden yellow glare of the midday sun, and strutted away happily.
Tom stared at him for a while, before finally turning to the older alchemist in the flowing white coat. Dragging his feet, he inched closer- eyeing the boiling flask nervously;
"Pardon my intrusion mister Dracula. But, please, I need to your opinion."
There was a clanging sound.
A pair of tongs struck the base of a glass flask.
Dracula picked up a pair of glass googles and strapped it on;
"Go on, indulge me. I'm curious to know the issue that has brought Interpol to my doorstep."
"Oh trust me, you're going to get a kick out of this one."
And so, right under the white canopy, with thin slices of the sun's rays pouring in, Tom narrated his suspicions to the Alchemist. Of course, he left out the details of the case. He didn't overtly mention Nexus.
In fact, he didn't mention any homicide.
His mouth kept moving- rasping out short quick sentences;
". . .so, I've been stuck on this particular loop. . .and I've come to the conclusion that it's either necromancy at play here. . .or something else entirely. . ."
Dracula's eyes- full of fire and intelligence- twitched lightly. His arms were spread out before him- flattened firmly on the table top. And his glorious white beard fluttered softly on his chin- hiding his jaw completely as he listened to the man.
Tom landed.
And an uncomfortable silence followed.
"Mister Tom- you still haven't asked me any questions. What would you like to know?"
Tom's fingers rummaged through his satchel- and whipped out his notebook;
"I need to know–" he gripped his pencil over the blank sheet; "–when looking for a necromancer's corpse, what are the signs? What is peculiar to them? Is there some kind of location they would likely be?"
"You mean like a graveyard or something?"
"Exactly," his eyes flashed.
"Don't be absurd," Dracula rebuked him- looking him directly in the eye; "I heard a certain cop got suspended for digging up a grave. Does that make him a suspect?"
Tom tensed- gripping the pencil so hard, the sharpened tip broke.
"Anyway, you're looking at it all wrong," Dracula explained; "Forget about the corpse- and?focus on the Necromancer."
His eyebrows huddled together- linking together at the middle;
"How?"
"By looking out for the signs," the old man lifted up his forefinger; "One- they're usually tired. Not the typical work-day tired. But exhausted, spent, like they spent the whole night doing something they shouldn't be doing. . ."
Tom's head bent over- writing furiously in his notebook.
". . .if the sun gives life, then the darkness breeds death. . .Necromancers do their best work at night. . .without the sun. . .under the cover of darkness. . ."
The scratching sound of the pencil's tip continued to whirl across the white sheets.
". . .they take a tiny sliver of their life force. . .and temporarily infuse it in animated bodies. . .it takes a great amount of energy to do that. . .so, they're usually too be active during the day. . ."
This time, Tom's head jerked up;
"Essentially, they're night owls- people who sleep during the day, and operate fully active at night."
Dracula nodded- "That should narrow down your suspect list. . ."
"Indeed." he replied- hastily slipping his book into his satchel.
His thick neck was pulsing with excitement. He could barely keep his fingers still. The information had set a fire in his eyes- giving him the much needed breakthrough.
Giddy and shaky, Tom threaded the buckle of his bag- slinging it over his shoulders with a tight grasp. And like an arrow shot out of a bow- he lunged forward- springing on his heels. Clouds of dust rose up from beneath his heavy boots. His feet hardly touched the ground- racing towards the next thing-
'gotta check again. . .'
He muttered to himself.
'who sleeps the whole day off?'
Several names cruised through his mind- 'Madam Kay? Mike the alchemist?'
WHO???
....
Dracula watched the officer dash out of his building.
His rumpled shirt fluttered behind him. On his beige sheriff hat bobbed up and down. Dracula watched with mild interest- waiting to see if he would turn back and say goodbye.