Standing before the resort, Ava crossed her arms.

Her eyes swept across the ground, taking in the fractures, the deep gashes, and the charred patches scorched into the surface.

Behind her, several CPV officers stood in silence, the local team that had arrived after the rifts were taken down.

"V, talk to me," she said, not looking at anyone in particular.

The earpiece in her ear crackled in response.

{I went through all the footage you asked for. There’s no sign of tampering.}

Communication had been blocked during the incident, but the cameras in the resort had remained active. She had someone review everything, hoping to find even the slightest trace of the anomaly.

"Hmm. And the other officers? Anything unusual in their behavior?" she asked, stepping closer to the deepest crater at the center of the site.

The very spot where the eruption had occurred, where that wave of Genesis had wiped out all four rifts at once.

{Nothing out of the ordinary... except for the movements of one girl. Clara. She was heading toward the back of the resort. Possibly to assist her teammate.}

"Oh, I’ve read her report," Ava replied. "She heard her comrade cry out and ran straight into danger. Reckless, but expected of a foolish brat... though on the way, she encountered the anomaly."

{Is that so? And he didn’t kill her?}

V’s assumption wasn’t unreasonable.

The anomaly had displayed overwhelming power wherever it appeared. And yet—

"As unbelievable as it sounds, that girl managed to corner him, even if only for a moment."

{What?!} A sharp gasp came through the line.

{How is that even possible? Are we sure she isn’t exaggerating to save face?}

"Who knows? I’m planning to get permission from the Judgement Circle."

{The chief won’t allow it, especially against officers working under that woman. You know this could turn into an internal dispute.}

Ava grinned. For some reason, the thought of challenging Veronica by placing her officers under suspicion felt thrilling.

But for now, she said, "Well, let’s assume she was telling the truth and actually managed to strike the anomaly. Then... doesn’t that prove something?"

{Either one of two things: he’s weak against something that isn’t a Knull resident, or he hesitates to strike a woman.}

Ava’s grin widened. "Oh, I hope it’s the second one. I’d love to play on his sympathy and then slap cuffs on that bastard."

{Careful, Ava. This could all be a miscalculation, and you might end up with an arrow up your ass.}

She growled, "Shut up, midget. For now, arrange the tools I asked for and have them sent to me by tomorrow."

{You really are a sly one. Leaving them behind on purpose just to fool the Commander... honestly...}

She snickered. "Without some firepower, this hunt would be boring. So stop bothering me and send them right away." With that, she cut the communication and turned around.

"Whoever is in charge, step forward," she commanded.

A partially bald man with a small moustache stepped forward. "Officer Charlson, ma’am."

Ava got straight to the point. "Were you present during the cleanup?"

The officer nodded. "I arrived alongside the Nightwalkers team. I was also involved in checking the resort thoroughly for any survivors."

The Civil Protection Bureau had always maintained close coordination with the Paranormal Suppression Corps. Whenever an emergency involving civilians and the aether world occurred, the CPV stepped in as well.

Just like that day.

Ava crossed her arms and asked, "Did you notice anything strange or out of place?"

The officer took a moment to think.

It had been a disaster. Chaos everywhere. They had arrived late, with barely any information to go on.

The officers already on duty were severely injured, and a massive explosion had torn through the settlement.

Those who remained conscious were visibly shaken, traumatized by what they had seen. If not for the memory-erasing drug the PSC always carried, those people—

Ah.

"Yes, I remember something," the man said suddenly. "Among the few who were still conscious and had seen things they shouldn’t have, there was one person who went home instead of to the hospital."

Ava’s eyes sharpened. "What do you mean?"

"After everyone was administered the memory-erasing drug, they were sent to the hospital for a routine safety check. But one young man, who definitely wasn’t a Nightwalker, was allowed to board the bus and leave."

Ava’s gaze darkened. "Who was it?"

The officer shook his head. "I don’t know his name. But he had dark green hair... and he was quite tall."

Ava frowned. Those features...

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the images sent by the organization deeply involved in the anomaly case.

It didn’t take long for her to find him. The same bastard who had dared to insult her at the mall.

"Was it him?" she asked, turning the screen toward the officer.

He leaned in, studied it, then nodded. "Yes. That’s him."

Ava’s fingers tightened around her phone.

The curve of her lips made the man flinch, instinctively taking a step back.

Her eyes burned with purpose. With anticipation.

This was exactly what she had been waiting for.

A reason to torment that bastard.

....

"Yes, I understand," Amanda said with a nod. Her mother had called her because a few guests would be staying over, including Melissa’s parents and Melissa herself.

That was why Amanda had been given the task of instructing the maids to prepare the guest house for them.

"It’s not urgent, so go back to your friends for now," her mother added with a gentle smile.

Amanda nodded. She had been planning to do just that.

She turned to head back to the reception hall when a voice stopped her.

"Amanda."

She didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

"Ethan," she said, "what do you need now?"

"Um... you dropped this."

She turned and saw him holding her earring.

Reaching up, she checked her ear. One was missing.

"Thanks," she said, taking it from him.

Just as she was about to leave, Ethan spoke again. "Hey... um, I wanted to apologize."

Amanda frowned. "For what?"

"For how I treated you during the clan meeting. Trust me, I regret it."

Back then, he had been upset that she showed up after saying she wouldn’t. He had wanted them to arrive together, but she lied.

Frustrated, he had spoken to her harshly.

Shaking her head, Amanda replied, "If anything, you should be apologizing to Kyle. If word gets out about what you did to him during the break on our journey, your reputation will be ruined."

Ethan let out another sigh. "I didn’t mean for things to go that far. But if you believe that, then I’ll apologize to him. Just... can you do me a favor? Let’s go back to the academy this weekend."

Amanda frowned. "For the reunion?"

"Yes. Everyone will be there, including Layena. You’re part of our team, so..."

Amanda stayed silent for a moment before answering, "I’ll think about it."

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- On public demand, it(Ethan) is about to end.

If you have been reading the story so far, please drop a comment and review. Trust me, it will help.