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"Don't try to change the subject... nevermind." I gazed in the direction Kou indicated, only to see an alleyway between two rows of tenement buildings. The walls were covered with water pipes extending towards the residential units above, with a few garbage bags leaning against them on the ground – just a typical sight in the back alleys of Hong Kong.
Noticing the absence of police cordons, I asked Kou about the possible reasons behind it.
"I believe it's because they already gathered all the evidence they were able to find, and with the ongoing 'vampire' rumours, maintaining a blockade would only arouse suspicion. And so I guess they’d rather have the zone cleared. But even if there were barriers, we could still ask Mr. Chong to grant us entry." Kou logically elaborated her thoughts, as though she had anticipated the lack of police cordons in the first place.
"That makes sense... but I think it's best not to bother him, right? He has work to take care of after all, and also I'd rather not make too much contact with our clients.”
Won’t I have to bear the risk of exposing my identity if we call him over? So, yeah, we’d better minimise our meetings with that man.
"I knew you'd say that," Kou responded with a grin, sounding like she thoroughly understood my concerns.
"We're short on time, so let's get things started." I collected myself and concentrated, getting ready to uncover anything concealed within this ordinary alley as a mageka.
Suddenly, Kou questioned, "Do you need your sceptre for this?"
I shook my head. "That won't be necessary. We're not engaged in combat, nor is this a situation requiring substantial magical power. Pure observation will do."
It made sense for Kou to pose the question - I did not quite stick to my modus operandi. However, while my sceptre could facilitate the investigation, it would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Furthermore, with so many passersby in the perimeter, I could not rule out the possibility of someone witnessing the scene in broad daylight, even in a desolate alley. Unwilling to create unwanted attention nor squander my power just to keep myself out of the public eye with a magical barrier, I chose to leave my sceptre out of this.
In this very moment, I was once again reminded how uneasy life was for one who possessed magical power in this world - these constraints were such a headache to deal with. Centering myself once more, I closed my eyes and shifted my senses to detect the presence of magical reactions in the vicinity. Though I was uncertain of the outcome, I was confident that remnants of magical reactions would remain.
The alleyway, bathed in the dim light of dusk, emanated a warm ambience. Areas illuminated by sunlight radiated magical energy of the light attribute, while the shadowed spots exuded an essence of the dark attribute.
The magical system of this world primarily comprised two major magicae attributes: ‘Light’ and ‘Dark’. The light attribute was not limited to the sun or other sources of light; rather, it encompassed various sub-attributes, including the Sun, Moon, Sky, and Wind. Conversely, the dark attribute, which opposed the light attribute, consisted of the Shadow, Night, Earth, Soil, and Water sub-attributes. Sunlight served as the main source of magical power of the light attribute, while shadows and darkness fueled that of the dark attribute.
While it was natural for areas bathed in light to emit magical energy of the light attribute, the presence of that of the dark attribute within such areas was completely out of the question, and I sensed one such anomaly within this very back alley. As I gradually opened my eyes while adjusting focus, Kou's voice barged into my ears.
"How’s it? Got a hint of anything?" she asked, standing face to face with me.
I refrained from responding and proceeded further into the alley, eventually halting midway.
"Here." I gestured forward. "This area emits a magical force of the dark attribute despite being covered in light."
"Really? I don’t see anything out of the ordinary," she remarked, trying her best to scrutinise the direction I indicated, which appeared to those without the right abilities to be devoid of any sort of anomaly.
"Right…and how are you possibly able to see anything I described without magical abilities? Moreover, magical energy is invisible to the naked eye - it can only be detected through other senses," I replied, somewhat resignedly addressing her doubt. Nonetheless, her statement sent me a sense of relief - if the magical energy was in fact visible to her, that would be a red flag indicating an extraordinarily high concentration of magical power.
"That makes sense I guess," she concurred, nodding her head. "However, there’s something I still can’t quite figure out: Just now, you said that the area emitted magical energy of the dark attribute despite being covered in light. Could you further elaborate on what you meant by that?"
"Mm, about that…" I thought of an example that might be easier for her to comprehend. "Say, for instance, do you find it peculiar for a shadow to appear in a well-lit place?"
"Huh, what's fishy about that? If an object is present, wouldn’t it cast a shadow?" Kou retorted.
"No, what I meant was if there’s nothing present in that place at all, yet a shadow emerges in the centre. Wouldn't you say that would be rather strange?" I elaborated further on the example I raised to rectify her misunderstanding.
"If that’s the case, of course it’s strange! ...Hold on, are you suggesting that there’s an invisible dark-attribute 'shadow' here, which essentially is magical power, but such an occurrence shouldn’t be possible given that this corner is clearly bathed in light? That’s the anomaly you’re talking about, right?" Kou pondered my words and shortly guessed correctly.
"A round of applause for your quick comprehension," I responded with satisfaction. Looks like I can save myself some time and effort explaining.
"Hmph, that's because I’m indeed an intellectual," Kou boasted upon hearing my praise, placing her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest with pride like a child.
"Don’t get me wrong - that wasn’t praise. I was merely grateful that you spared me the effort of having to explain any further." I wrecked her self-congratulatory moment with the truth. The ‘victim’ immediately put on a tearful expression, as if I had been the one in the wrong.
"Enough of that," I urged. Although I had done nothing improper, her expression was disconcerting. "In any case, at this point I’m quite certain that there must be some unspeakable secrets behind this trace of dark power, possibly relevant to those 'vampires' we’re after."
"Let me see... Ah, yes! Look at this photo! The victim who was assaulted three days ago was found lying at this spot, positioned in this manner on the ground," Kou said, retrieving a photograph from the envelope in her bag. The image clearly depicted the state of the victim at the time of discovery: sprawled on the ground, eyes wide open in terror, with an expression of sheer horror on his face.
I could not help but feel a twinge of sympathy at the sight of this picture.
"It seems he perished while attempting to flee," I deduced based on the victim's position and expression.
"Yes," Kou agreed, handing another document from the envelope to me, “the autopsy report states that an empty wine bottle was found near the victim's body, and it contained his hair. He may have tripped over the bottle during his escape, which stopped him from fleeing."
"Though clouds of mysteries remain, we can at least be certain that this peculiar dark-attribute magical reaction is very likely related to the 'vampire' happenings," I confirmed, though my thoughts were occupied with other matters.
If ‘vampires’ really are Dark Creatures, which sub-attribute do they belong to?14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OHL8mLRnL
