Capítulo 55: C55: Smart
When reading manga, having a character go 'all according to plan' was entertaining.
It was the trademark of showing an intelligent character.
Deep down, every reader knew that the 'smart' character could only be as smart as the author could write it.
But when that translated to the real world. Those 'smart' characters became genuinely brilliant. Even before Paris had asked me a question, she had touched my shoulder.
Before I even had the chance to think of something, she had already outsmarted me. No, it was even before that.
She checkmated me before the game started.
Such startling intelligence. No wonder someone like her could come up with such a dangerous ability.
Since Ord was the essence of someone, they couldn't intentionally create loopholes in their abilities. So being smarter didn't necessarily mean a stronger ability. But in some cases, people have a conviction about something that no matter what happened…
The entrance door creaked open, and Delia came in. She was soaked too.
"He has been out," Paris said.
She probably wanted to sow some discord between us. That way, she would have more control over the team.
"So what?" Delia shrugged, her clothes stuck to her body. She didn't seem bothered, but I still looked away. "He can go out and do whatever he wants. Don't try to control my cute little cousin. He was just curious."
Curious? Did she know I was following her? No, that shouldn't be the case. When her Ord increased, the bloodlust I felt from her wasn't the same pressure a Blaster would have released.
What Delia had caused was instinctual fear. In comparison, a Blaster would have released a force that felt suffocating.
The only conclusion I could think of was that Delia was genuinely just sticking up for me.
"He acted suspicious. Your little cousin is hiding something," Paris fixed her glasses. They reflected the light at such an angle that it hid her eyes.
"So what? I'm hiding something too, and so are you. What? Are you a priestess to whom we should confess all our sins?" Delia used her authority to the fullest.
Paris frowned but ended up not refuting anything. "I will explain to you my findings tomorrow."
After that, she walked to her room. Once Paris was away, Delia turned toward me, and her eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"
We didn't display any signs of internal fighting in front of an outsider. But with Paris no longer in the picture, Delia was cautious too.
"I just went out to check some things."
"Keep your secrets then," she huffed.
I smiled. "You have your secrets too. Don't you?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just go to sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow," she walked up to her room.
…
The next day I woke so early the sun was barely out.
But despite that, both Delia and Paris were already eating breakfast by the time I came down. Neither of them even glanced at their plates of food; they just kept direct eye contact. Like some kids playing who could keep their eyes open the longest.
I didn't get involved and waited until they finished their games. After that, we got ready and set off for the mission.
Our first destination was an empty alley, which looked like any other alley, and Paris explained what she had been doing yesterday.
"Investigating the recent disappearances and seeing who had done it. As expected, the kidnappings were just covering for the local hospital to have lost the blood bags. It seemed like the person who did this was likely the kidnapper. He was injured. The culprit is Reiss Wanderlag!"
"{Red Judgment: Death by Mysterious Circumstance}"
When she named the culprit, a black book manifested in her hand, and red fingerprints coated the whole book's surface, making it look like it had a red cover.
This was one of the most broken abilities out there. If someone was a criminal in hiding, and Paris decided to come after them, they were just a dead man walking.
"For this confrontation, the Dark Sword Clan has promised to hold back the culprit," Paris clarified. Her sharp regal gaze settled on me. "My abilities are quite public due to my position, but I will still clarify the basics of my Special Ability. So it won't cause any misunderstandings."
Then she pointed at her book. " If I investigate a crime scene where the culprit is unknown, and I find out who the culprit was. After I read them their rights, the offender will die."
Well, she hid a lot of her conditions. Like how the crime needed to be committed during the last month. Because after a certain amount of time, the ability won't activate even if she investigated it.
Also, she could only use her ability once a day. On top of all that, she must read out the rights of her victim within a week, or she will suffer an enormous backlash.
Oh, I almost forgot. There was a condition where the target of the ability had to be in hiding and commit a crime he was trying to conceal.
Yet even after all that, one harsh condition made others pale in comparison. As a Master, she had written a contract with herself using her life force. Just like me.
Yet for such harsh conditions, a Godly ability had manifested. It didn't matter who the target was. They could be a God, but if he fulfilled all the requirements, the victim would be cursed to die under mysterious circumstances.
"Well, if you have revealed yours. I will reveal mine too," Delia pulled her hand across her face, and a mask manifested.
"{Killer in Disguise}"
Her mask looked like it was rough and made of a rag. But the predatory Ord she had displayed yesterday wasn't there. She was probably hiding a big part of her abilities.
Delia stretched a little and explained her ability. "It can increase my physical abilities by about 50%. Sometimes the boost grows to 150% depending on my emotional state. Also, this gives me the power to use another secondary ability that can allow me to track a victim. The tracking distance depends on how much I know about the victim. I can only do the tracking once a day."
Well, it seems like we were all going to lie about the specifics of our abilities.
"So you have a tracking ability. That's why the Dark Sword Clan sent you," Paris nodded in approval. Though it was clear that the ability made her uncomfortable, she would rather be using her Mysterious Death: Red Book of Judgment on Delia. "If I see you commit any crime. No matter how small, I will kill you."
Paris was forthright and didn't dice her words.
A heavy bloodlust rumbled from Delia. "You're welcome to try it, bitch. I'm sure no one will say anything either if you were to die on a mission… accidentally."
"Okay," I clapped my hand. Why do I, as the youngest, have to be the adult here and stop these two? Whatever, I will play along for now. "My ability is called Perfect Me. It allows me to calm down and ignore pain. I can't utilize it often as I'm not used to it yet."
"That's a shitty ability," Delia said without hesitation.
Hey! That was not my actual ability! But you didn't have to be so rude!
Our team was already at each other's throats, so I decided not to add to that. "I'm a pure Beast Master. I'm more aligned to taming beasts."
"Are you talking about the dumb fish you keep in your backpack?" Delia added.
I just stared at her. "Don't insult Carpy."
After saying that, I didn't say anything anymore. Delia got the message and pulled out a piece of paper. "Let's see where our guy is."
She read the facts about the target, like; height, weight, appearance, blood type, and background. After doing that, she breathed hungrily, which looked creepy in her mask.
"{Victim Hunt}"
Delia's eyes widened. "Well, that's surprising."
"What is?" Paris asked.
"Seems like our guy is still in town. Around one of the expensive hotels," she pointed at a lone ten-story building atop a hill. "He's on the tenth floor."
Okay, so her ability was scarily accurate. I better avoid ending up as prey. Or exorcists like these would end up coming after me.
We immediately jumped from rooftop to rooftop, moving at breakneck speeds.
"You two will distract him while I read his words. If the man has already prepared in any way to counter my ability, then destroy the thing." Paris clarified. "Even if he manages to escape, my ability will kill him by the end of the week under mysterious circumstances."
After a short conversation and plans, we arrived at the hotel. We immediately got in, and the receptionist looked at us. She was a cute young woman. "Ladies and gentleman. How can I help you?"
Paris showed her a lock with a symbol in front of it. "I'm Special Rank Exorcist, Paris. Evacuate everyone. Is there anyone else on the tenth floor?"
"N -No, our client, a rich man, rented it all. But I could call him, and maybe he can-"
"No, you won't notify him," Delia smiled at the girl.
Despite Delia's friendly looks, the receptionist's hands shook, and she ran away in fear. My cousin probably did something to scare her, though I didn't notice anything.
******
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