Seed of Titan-Chapter 174: The Storm’s Aftermath

It didn’t take long for Drai to notice a large cluster of trees wrapped in Max’s webs. Based on the trees’ tilt, it seemed like Max had used them to cushion or break their fall.

After landing nearby, the two men immediately spotted Horsie, who was lying among the tilted trees, sheltering from the rain. Clumps of moss green sludge covered his legs, presumably the same healing mixture commonly used by his kin.

"I think we still need to get him to a healer. I’m not sure how effective that goo is," Max said.

"Yeah. Do you know where the nearest settlement is?"

Max shrugged. "No idea. I don’t even know where we are exactly or if we’re even in Rivideria."

"Hmm... I wonder if Madeleine’s map still works outside Siyeun Mountains," Drai mused as he projected the virtual map. To his disappointment, the area outside the Strip was completely blank.

"Since the map’s useless now, I think you should put away that ring. If it’s a standard personnel equipment, it might get recognized," Max advised, to which Drai agreed and immediately put away his gifted map-ring into his dimensional storage. Upon doing this, Drai suddenly felt curious about the power source of his storage bracelet, as the device had remained fully functional despite its everyday use that had been going on for nearly a semester.

’Maybe it’s a prototype or experimental tech. I’ve never seen any other device that works this long without needing a recharge,’ he thought before carefully propping up Horsie on his back.

"You still have gas left?" Max asked, since he knew Drai could only fly for so long.

"I’ll manage," Drai replied. He didn’t want to waste time trudging the muddy forest floor while being peppered by the seemingly unending rain, so he’d gladly expend a bit more essence just to reach civilization faster.

Following this, Max latched on Drai’s free arm, and the three of them swiftly took off.

***

Gideon Carnegon was sitting in a comfy chair, sampling the various snacks on the table before him while listening to his subordinate’s report. Seated opposite to him was a smiling Madeleine, whose expression hadn’t shifted at all despite the team leader’s mention of an enforcer’s death along with the unidentified perpetrator.

"My men are currently heading toward the periphery while keeping a close eye for any clues or tracks, but honestly, I don’t think we’ll have much luck with the search—the downpour must have long erased any useful trace. We might get better results by backtracking and searching inward instead," the burly man in an imposing powersuit reported as he stood nearby.

"Hm, these are quite the delicacy," Gideon remarked, seemingly ignoring the enforcer’s words. He then grabbed the bowl of roasted nuts in front of him and raised it toward the burly man, saying, "Care to try, Yovan?"

Yovan politely raised his hand. "Apologies, Inspector Carnegon, but I must reject. No snacking while on duty—that’s the protocol. But thank you for the offer."

Gideon shook his head disapprovingly as he put the bowl down before turning to Madeleine. "What a stickler, eh, Ms. Hamilton? No wonder his men are still searching outward in vain while they could’ve started scouring the more sensible areas instead. Please pardon my discourteous men—you must be saddened since I’m taking up all your generosity."

Still smiling, Madeleine warmly replied, "Not at all, Inspector Carnegon. I understand Captain Jonathan’s viewpoint. Besides, this land is bountiful—these paltry snacks are nothing compared to what I can forage in a day if I put my mind to it."

With a smile, Gideon nodded. "Ah, yes. You must be well aware how fruitful this whole area is since you’ve been posted here for decades." Suddenly, his smile didn’t reach his eyes that had just turned cold anymore. "Then why your treacherous actions?"

Raising an eyebrow, Madeleine remarked in puzzlement, "Pardon me?"

Hearing her oblivious tone, Gideon’s smile faded. "Stop playing dumb, Ms. Hamilton. Yovan, tell us what you guys found."

Yovan nodded firmly at Gideon and began outlining his team’s investigation results. "Minute traces of tampering were found in Ms. Hamilton’s terminal, and the latest entries in the transmission log have also been purged. In addition, there are traces of a campsite near this forest’s periphery that was last used only recently. Lastly, we discovered faint tracks of a beast and possibly a few humans entering and exiting this forest."

"Do you hear that, Ms. Hamilton? Clearly, there were intruders roaming our land so close to your dwelling, so why didn’t you report them—or better yet, dispose of them?"

Hearing the inspector’s assertion, Madeleine chuckled. "How are you so certain that I haven’t dealt with these so-called intruders, Inspector Carnegon? What do you think I used for the filling of the meat pie you seemed to savor a lot earlier?"

"What?!" Gideon blurted in shock before frantically sticking his finger into his mouth, attempting to retch up his stomach’s content. At his side, Yovan was visibly suppressing his urge to break character, and somehow, he managed to remain almost perfectly at attention.

Just then, a hearty laughter filled the room, putting a halt to Gideon’s gagging attempt. He looked at the cackling Madeleine in a daze for a few seconds before turning furious upon realizing that he had just been played.

"Detain her!" he commanded his aide, who instantly obliged and swiftly launched several metallic devices that latched onto Madeleine’s wrists, ankles, and neck.

"Oh? Are these the new magnetic cuffs the R&D team developed a few years ago?" Madeleine asked, seemingly unbothered by her restraint.

"A word of advice, Ms. Hamilton," Yovan sternly said as he approached her and stood behind her back, clamping down her petite shoulders. "Do not attempt further offenses, as I will be forced to employ violence to discipline you."

Glancing at the stalwart team leader, Madeleine smilingly remarked, "Such is your protocol, right, Captain Jonathan?"

"Yes, Ma’am," Yovan flatly replied.

Suddenly, a plate came flying right at Madeleine’s face while a bunch of mouth-watering pastries scattered in the air above the coffee table.

A soft hum was heard, and a near-transparent silver barrier rapidly shrouded Madeleine. Upon touching the barrier, the plate was instantly deflected, smashing against a nearby wall and bursting into countless tiny pieces that nearly ricocheted across the room if not for an invisible force that quickly sucked them in.

Yovan’s fist clenched with a muffled crunch before reopening right after, revealing a coarse clump of porcelain.

"Please refrain from further violence, Inspector," he sternly warned the assailant, who was still posing in a throwing motion.

Gideon immediately straightened himself and coughed awkwardly before saying, "Sorry, I lost control there. Nice reaction, Yovan."

Yovan merely nodded before flicking his wrist, dispelling the defensive barrier. He then pocketed the crumpled ball of plate before resting his hands once more on Madeleine’s shoulders.

"Thanks, Captain," Madeleine said, to which Yovan simply grunted in acknowledgment.

Meanwhile, Gideon turned around and walked toward the secret chamber.

"I’m heading back to prepare the report," he mentioned. "Make sure you guys finish up by today, Yovan. And keep a close eye on that hag."

After delivering his instructions, Gideon entered the chamber and disappeared into the right passage. Shortly after, faint mechanical noises resounded for a while before the room turned quiet once more.

Still being held in place by the captain, Madeleine asked, "What now?"

"We wait," Yovan replied, unperturbed by the awkward air surrounding them.

"Aren’t you curious, Captain?" Madeleine asked again.

"Apologies, but I don’t think I fully understand your question, Ma’am," the man replied.

"I mean, don’t you want to know what really happened here?" the old lady teased.

Yovan’s brows slightly furrowed. He was unsure where this conversation was going or if his detainee was being mischievous again. Nonetheless, he replied, "I do. Please enlighten me." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Very well. In all honesty, Captain, a storm was passing by."

Yovan raised an eyebrow, for he hadn’t expected such a dissociated answer. Still, he intended to maintain the conversation just in case Madeleine ended up spilling out the events that spurred this investigation or at least some valuable hints, accidentally or not.

"That would be impossible, Ma’am. My men have found no trace of storm in the vicinity, otherwise it would’ve been reported to me. Are you perhaps referring to the storm currently occurring at the illusory area?"

Madeleine chuckled. "I think that enforcer of yours that passed away was hit hard by this storm, but it should’ve long left these lands by now. So, no—it’s a different kind of storm."

Yovan’s expression darkened slightly upon the mention of his team’s only casualty in this particular mission, but there was no noticeable inflection in his voice when he said, "So this ’storm’ you keep mentioning is the runaway murderer, one of the trespassers who had been camping nearby, correct?"

"Maybe, who knows? I was just assuming," Madeleine replied with a nonchalant shrug.

Yovan’s grip tightened as he said, "Ma’am, please—if you really know something about the loose murderer, you need to tell us now. Lives could be at stake."

"Heh. Who are you kidding, Captain? I’m sure it was your subordinate who acted first and incurred retaliation."

Hearing Madeleine’s words, realization dawned upon Yovan. He then lowly muttered, "So you personally know the murderer, perhaps you’re even close associates. That makes sense, since the perpetrator is supposedly a fifth-stager or higher, which corresponds to your age range. Is that person a long-time colleague, perhaps?"

Madeleine chuckled again before saying, "You can stop guessing, Captain, since you’ll get to know it soon—I reckon a few years at most."

Yovan snorted amusedly. "Why wait that long if we can just extract that information from you? You haven’t forgotten about the interrogation crew of our Intelligence Division, have you?"

"How could I? They’re a nasty bunch. But do you think I’ll willingly let my mind get probed by them?"

"You don’t have a choice. These cuffs completely stifles your powers."

"That’s where you’re mistaken, Captain. I won’t go into details, but just try probing me—see if you won’t regret the results and drown in your own tears."

Yovan’s brows furrowed once more, this time a lot deeper. He was unsure whether the old lady was merely barking an empty threat or if she had really put up countermeasures against psychic invasions.

’I need to make sure the Intel Division knows about this before they try to do anything to her,’ he silently reminded himself.

"So be it," Yovan eventually remarked. "I must admit, you’re a crafty individual, Ms. Hamilton."

"And you’re quite an admirable one, Captain. For that, I’ll let you hold onto one of my most precious belongings. Please, take off my necklace."

The sudden request caught Yovan off guard, causing his face to shift into a seldom-shown bafflement. After recovering from his daze, he decided to abide and gently removed the tiny golden chain from Madeleine’s neck.

"A locket?" he muttered upon seeing the object dangling from the gleaming chain.

"It’s a memento. Please keep it safe with you until I retrieve it. I don’t trust that icky bastard to keep his hands out of my personal stuff," Madeleine remarked irritatedly.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll open it?" Yovan asked.

"I couldn’t care less. The person inside has long disappeared from the world—a ghost from the past. You can even open it now if you’re really curious. Consider it my down payment for your help."

Yovan inadvertently gulped—Madeleine’s cryptic words had truly sparked his interest. Glancing at her, he hesitatingly said, "Then... don’t mind if I do," before carefully opening the locket.

A startled gasp left his mouth. Even for a seasoned soldier like him, the sight before him was a bit unbearable to look at.

Inside the locket was a photo of relatively young man. Despite his sharp features, his gaze remained a mystery, for where his eyes were supposed to be lay a fresh, gruesome gash.

***