Reclaiming the Demon’s Curse - Chapter 160

An hour ago, a black sedan arrived at Reim Town.

It headed at the scene of the crime and was surprisingly greeted and saluted by the police officers as they passed by.

Thud.

A couple of middle-aged men came out of the car. They were both very tall and muscular as they wore the special force’s uniform!

They are part of the Awakened Special Task Force!

The town chief including several police officers went out to meet them. After a while, the two left the scene and started their own investigation.

“Brother Liam, what do you think of this case?”

“It’s quite similar to the vampire’s ability but it’s weaker. It can also be some type of curse made by an Artifact. Anyway, the Saint Torido Clan did not report any problems with their Entrance Crystals yet. If it’s not done by a human, this is probably done by an Escapee from a different Arcane World.”

Liam answered.

Both of them have blond hair and brown eyes and almost similar facial features. People would normally assume them as twins but one of them is actually two years younger and that is Asher.

He is only 30 years old while Liam is already 32 years old.

“Vampire, huh… Then it might be difficult. Are you going to use your “Search” or we’re going to just walk around here?” Asher asked after looking at the closed stores in the town.

Because of the recent murders, they didn’t find it surprising at all. However, it means that it would be difficult for them to ask some questions as well.

“Yes… I’m planning to use my “Search” but we have to go to the center of the town so I won’t waste it. I can only use this Artifact once a day after all.”

“Oh… Got it!”

As soon as they arrived at the center of the town, Liam pulled out a small black book in his pocket.

He then poured some of his Aura in that book until a dog made of shadow came out! Liam muttered something on the dog before it started running in a certain direction.

Without saying any words, the two followed the dog until it suddenly vanished without any traces…

“Eh? Did it fail?” Asher asked after seeing how the shadow dog did not bring them to the culprit. As far as he knows, the Shadow Dog should be bringing them to their target within at least 10 to 15 meters. However, there’s no one in sight at all.

They also doubt that the target is actually underground.

Liam remained silent and only looked ahead.

“Hmm… Let’s follow the direction it’s heading to…”

Liam said and immediately started walking forward.

“Wait! Stop! I found something!” Asher immediately said staring at the spot where the dog vanished.

“What did you find?”

“A field magic… Some kind of barrier is blocking our way. If we stepped inside that field, we will be detected. As for your shadow dog, it vanished before touching the barrier so it hasn’t been detected.”

“I see…” Liam nodded as he looked at his little brother’s gloves. It has the ability to sense the surrounding magic and cancel it if necessary. However, they don’t want to alert the culprit at the moment.

Anyway, he also tried to focus on sensing the surrounding magic field and he indeed felt its presence after concentrating for long.

“We can either wait here or forcefully enter the field and face whoever set this thing up…” Asher suggested.

They are both fully equipped with Artifacts provided by the government and their own. So they were confident to face any Awakened. The only concern they have is that they were unaware of the number of their enemies.

“Eh? It’s already gone. Something must’ve happened. Be ready, brother.” Asher exclaimed after noticing that the field had suddenly disappeared.

They waited for a moment but nothing happened.

“Let’s move.” Liam decided before stepping forward.

They continued walking until they arrived in front of an abandoned building.

“Someone’s inside.”

“Yeah… I think they already noticed us as well.”

The two immediately pulled out their handguns. They can only sense that there is an Awakened Aura inside. Whether he’s the culprit or not, they are still unsure.

However, considering how suspicious this place is and that barrier they saw, they must’ve stumbled upon something big.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

A slow footstep was suddenly heard.

Click! Click!

They immediately held up their guns as they waited for the person coming from the abandoned building.

“Put your hands above your head! This is the Awakened Special Task Force!” Lian immediately said after seeing the middle-aged man coming out.

He has a black and wrinkled face but he doesn’t seem to be that old. He has a short beard and scar on his left face making him easily identifiable.

“Oh… What’s the Task Force doing in this place?” The middle-aged man asked as he followed Liam’s instruction to raise his hands.

“There’s a serial killer lurking in this town and you’re quite suspicious. We need to bring you with us.”

Asher answered as he looked carefully at the middle-aged man in front of them. He felt that something was off. The previous Awakened Aura they felt was no longer showing up and the man appears to be very calm even though they have their guns pointed at him.

Aside from that, they can’t feel the presence of his Artifact that should’ve been capable of creating the barrier.

‘Did he leave his Artifacts inside the building? We should investigate this place later.’ Asher immediately had an idea.

“Oh~ So you guys are also searching for that killer… That’s good. However, you are already too late. I already dealt with them.”

“What?”

“You dealt with them? How many are they? And why did you not let the authorities handle this case? You should be reporting it to the police.”

The two members of the ASTF were stunned after hearing the middle-aged man’s answer.

“Yes, they would no longer harm the people of this town. However, another “serial killer” might appear if the root of the problem isn’t resolved.”

“Ugh… Just who are you, mister?” Asher asked as he slowly stepped forward.

“I’m just a passerby. The culprit is inside. However, they already turned to ashes after I killed them. They are Thralls… Anyway, you should know them with your status. The problem is how they have gotten here in our world. I’ll let you guys handle the rest. I’ll take my leave now.”

“What? You can’t leave yet!”

Liam raised his voice and was about to use his Artifact to bind the middle-aged man. However, they suddenly felt a huge pressure coming from the man in front of them!

“S-Rank!”

The two exclaimed at the same time. There was no way to mistake such a power. Aside from that, they felt that they entered the barrier field that they tried avoiding a while ago.

As soon as they regained their balance, the middle-aged man is no longer there.

“Tsk. We should report this to the higher-ups. What is an S-Rank Awakened doing here?!”

“Yeah, that Artifact he used is suspicious as well. Do you think that’s a Rank-S Artifact?” Asher asked after recalling the Artifact that the middle-aged man is hiding using a scarf.

“No way… Rank-S Artifact is difficult to obtain and it can only be found inside a high-class Arcane World. If there is a large-scale exploration that found such an amazing Artifact, there’s no way we wouldn’t hear such news.”

Liam explained.

Well, his words are correct considering how the other Rank-S Artifact are made known to the public. Even if they don’t know the name of such Artifacts, rumors of their existence and their owners should still be known to them.

However, the middle-aged man and the Artifact he’s using were definitely not included in their intelligence.

“Anyway, we learned of his face already. It’s only a matter of time to discover his identity.”

After they accepted that they can’t take the man with them, they can only try to check the “ashes” he mentioned.

As expected, the ashes indeed form a human shape without any head. Well, they found the ashes they assume to be their heads before.

“This indeed feels like a vampire race. He mentioned that it’s a Thrall as well.”

“That’s possible indeed considering how the victims died.”

The two brothers discussed for a while as they decided to go with the middle-aged man’s story.

However, just like what he previously said, they indeed have to find the Arcane World where they have escaped!

This is not a small matter at all!

***

While the two officers of the ASTF are busy, Cyril arrived not too far from his car and removed his Identity Shroud Mask revealing his real face.

‘That should be fine now. I guess I shouldn’t be acting on impulse the next time. They should be able to handle this case even if I didn’t make a move at all.’

Cyril thought as he started the car and drive away from the town.. He’s planning to visit the Aeson Company since he wasn’t too far anyway.