Chapter 27: Back to square one

"Vivi, what is the probability of having north as a base finding missing children and women dead or alive?" I asked Vivi while looking at the map of Sailcoat city.

I had marked several locations on the map of Sailcoat city.

I was in my room and was using Vivi's prediction skill to find out the whereabouts of missing people the other day. Although the mission required not to use appraisal or prediction on the suspect, it didn't say anything about using it on different aspects.

[Vivi: 0% chances.]

I fell into silence as the old building had my suspicions. Drug dealers and other underground marketplaces were frequently using that building, so I had a lot of doubts.

"Then what about South?"

[Vivi: 0%]

I gritted my teeth as those were the prime location I had marked to find those people.

"...then what about the west?"

[Vivi: 80% chances of finding those missing children and women.]

My lips curved into a smile.

I immediately put my police uniform on and ran toward Shin's room.

I kicked the door and found him deep sleeping in his teddy underwear.

I signed and then kicked his ass.

"Wake up! The FBI is here!!!!"

"Whaa!" Shin jumped on his bed and took a fighting stance. "Ivan? What are you doing here?"

"Wear your uniform. I have found them."

"On it," Shin said and just like his daughter, he wore his uniform within a few seconds. I still had no idea how this father and daughter duo could change clothes fast.

Anyway, without wasting any time, we left the inn. For worst, I also prepared myself mentally since I had a feeling I would be confronted with my trauma.

---

We arrived at what seemed like a sugar mill surrounded by dilapidated and broken fences.

It seemed abandoned at first glance until we found an older man at the front gate.

"Hello, how can I help you?" The older man asked politely.

At first glance, he looked very typical but judging by the linear but vile stench of blood from the older man's body and Shin's distorted expression, I knew we hit the right spot.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, "Mr. Shin, do it!"

Just ad I ordered, Shin swung his sword, unable to be seen by the human eye, and in the next moment, the older man's head slipped from his neck, followed by his abdomen and other limbs.

It was Shin's actual skill. His weird habits aside, his skills with swords shouldn't be taken lightly.

After dealing with the older man, we silently jumped over the fences and bolted towards the old wooden house.

It was a two-story house where the ground was covered with hay, and some ordinary-looking people seemed to be working in the mills. When we suddenly entered, they looked at us with confusion, or at least it appeared at first glance.

Slowly, they started taking out their weapons just when we showed our hostility. It was like an animal acting on its instincts and not ordinary humans.

Although they appeared hostile by pointing their weapons at us, their faces were void of expression, like they were merely puppets of their subconsciousness.

"Is there any assassin eyeing us?" I asked Shin who was ready to kill everyone present. I didn't have high-level instincts and skills where I could detect enemies hidden to ambush us, so I asked Shin to look for them.

"No, but something is going on somewhere underneath," Shin replied.

As someone sensitive to the scent of blood, both of us could tell that something was going on underground.

"Leave them to me," I said and unsheathed my blade.

Shin nodded and disappeared before anyone of us could see him. The workers didn't even flinch with him disappearing all of a sudden. They just turned their focus on me like it was just a natural thing to do.

With my eyes on them, I used the appraisal skill.

[Lv. 13 Chunni

HP: 20/29, MP: 1/10

Alignment: True Good]

[Lv. 15 Phunni

HP: 25/33, MP: 1/9

Alignment: Lawful Good]

[Lv. 13 Munni

HP: 19/25, MP: 3/12

Alignment: Neutral]

[…]

"Wait, how is that possible?" I asked Vivi as I was confused since those people's alignments didn't match their actions. I could still feel the scent of blood from them, so how can they be 'Good' or 'Lawful'?

[Vivi: If you know the future, which you naturally do, then look at their eyes, and you will see why they are acting so strangely.]

As she said, I focused a little and realized their eyes as they were void of life and a horrendous face was visible like a parasite residing in them.

There is only one conclusion that I can make here.

Demons.

Demons were supposed to be the prime threat in the otome game where Prince Arthur was chosen as a hero to defeat the demon king. He then forms the party with the heroine, and the rest of the male leads go on an adventure. However, the story never went that way since the villainess became the final boss at the end of the proper route.

As for the demon king, only a few of the 72 pillars appeared in the game, while the rest, along with the demon king, remained a mystery. It was not revealed who and what are the cause, aim and strength of the demon king since game developers never released any news since they wanted to release a sequel or maybe a harem game in the same world.

Those parasites residing in the people are called Evil Spirits, spirits summoned by demons.

I wasn't shocked to see them appearing so early in the story since most of the mission that heroine had received in the game was related to exterminating demons. It was just unexpected.

However, the problem here was dealing with them. Those attackers were innocent humans, after all.

Just then, one of them, a guy with thin shoulders, tried to hit me with a heavy club that was impossible to be lifted by such a slim person, but I quickly dodged it. However, the impact was strong enough to make a hole in the ground.

I knew that these people were enchanted by those Evil Spirits, which fed their life essence at the cost of sudden physical enhancement.

However, their speed was more incredible as their accumulated power. Their moves were sloppy and easy to read.

Again, I ducked a blade while flipping backward, gaining some distance from the group.

[Vivi: Why aren't you fighting?!]

"Because of them!!"

I pointed at the other number of individuals glaring at me with their hollow eyes. They were all the people that I killed back in Afghanistan.

[Vivi: Ivan, I will get a new host again, but you won't get a second life if you keep avoiding your trauma.]

"I know… but…."

I gritted my teeth as those dead people glared at me like inviting me to take more lives.

[Vivi: Ivan, then run.]

"Huh?"

[Vivi: Although I can find a new host, it will take at least a century to find a new one since you want to die early. I want to mature a little before I could allow you to take your life, so run, dammit!]

I widened my eyes. Yes, I can run from here. I had the necessary tools to run from here and erase my traces. I also have money and can live a happy life.

I realized I was already standing at the gate with a smile on my face.

But…

"No, I can't run away. I can't betray, Anastasia, that child…."

The memories of spending time with her started to surround me, her cute face that brought me my daily dose of happiness and her faith in me for not betraying her.

I came here for one purpose, and it was to protect her. I had to take down Marquess Sailcoat, who tried to kill her and me with the help of those assassins.

"I don't care about the future, but for now, I have to face them, for her, for myself and to the people I killed!"

I raised my blade and boulted towards the attackers with one final resolve.

"HaAaa!" One of them came towards me with an agonizing roar and swung his sword vertically but easily neglected the cut with just an inch, and my eyes locked on him.

I raised my blade and called out the skill that I had recently learned from Shin.

[Shinigami Death Swipe C

A single-move blade flash-cut can bestow anyone with certain death with a probability of 58% by severing the head or piercing the heart of anyone. The favourable likelihood is based on the user's overall stats, including luck and the status of the enemy. However, even if the skill doesn't connect, it can be used to inflect unavoidable damage.

Cost: 4 MP]

I learned a blade technique from Shin, among his various skills. Although I could learn all of Shin's techniques and skills, they wouldn't evidently harm me instead because of my low level.

As I used this skill, the attacker stopped moving before his head slipped from his head like butter and fell to the ground. The fountain of blood soon flung in the air, forming a gruesome crimson flower. Some drops also fell on my cheek, but I didn't try to wipe it.

"Back to square 1, huh…."

That was how I killed the first person in this world. At that time, I saw a blood-thirsty monster that was me in my previous life. Back to square one.

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J_Titan

I am really sorry for short chapter as I had to write from hospital. I could have uploaded several chapters but I dont want to you to read without any edit.

Dont worry btw, I am fine. I will post again on time.

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