Inside the Public Investigation Office

Inside the interrogation room, a sharp light beamed down from a large steam lamp hanging above the table. The light was directed straight at the broad face of Inspector Edward Graves, while the rest of the room was swallowed in darkness.

Graves sat on the chair, his back straight and his hands on the table. His face was stiff, showing no trace of tension. Directly across from him sat Inspector Cornelius Wright.

Cornelius slammed the table violently, shaking the few papers scattered on top.

"Why don't you confess, Edward, and end this? I'll make sure you get a lighter sentence."

Graves raised his eyes toward him, his expression steady and his voice calm.

"Confess to what? I did nothing."

Cornelius smirked sarcastically, then pulled from his bag a sword hilt without a blade, decorated with small engravings, and placed it in front of Graves before saying:

"Do you know what this is?"

Graves glanced at it briefly, then picked it up, examined it, and put it back on the table.

"A high grade system piece. Any academy novice would recognize it. But why bring it here?"

Cornelius leaned closer, lifting the hilt in his hand and holding it near Graves' face.

"Stop circling around, Edward. You know exactly what this is."

Graves replied as he clasped his hands in front of him.

"Of course I know. A high quality system piece. But do you really need me to explain its function? I'd think you should have memorized that from academy lectures."

Cornelius set the hilt gently back on the table. Then he turned, giving Graves his back, clasping his hands behind him.

"Do you know what my last case was?"

Graves replied:

"The one involving a rank seven authority battle?"

Cornelius turned and walked back toward the table, leaning in so heavily that his face was nearly touching Graves'.

"It was a battle between three assimilators plus the user of this piece, who wielded the Authority of Water. We managed to identify all parties except the user of this piece."

"Then search better. Gathering information is lesson one in the academy's first year. Perhaps you should return there and relearn the basics?"

Cornelius slammed the table again, but Graves didn't even blink.

"The interesting part, Graves, is that we already arrested the user of this piece. But he was released days ago… on bail from one of the inspectors. Do you know the name of that inspector?"

Graves answered:

"Me."

A flicker of confusion crossed Cornelius' face; he hadn't expected Graves to admit it so bluntly.

"Why would you do that, Inspector?"

Graves leaned back in his chair, answering:

"I don't understand the connection between all these details you're throwing at me. Unlike you, I read the entire file. First, you arrived after the battle had ended. Second, you failed to capture the wielder of the Madness Authority. And third, the man you did arrest was innocent."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"No, you've lost yours. The file clearly points out that the wielder of the Silence Authority was the likely user of the piece. The man you arrested his body was completely intact, no trace of authority power on him. Moreover, that piece had only been partially unsealed. Even an eighth risk level assimilator couldn't touch such a piece without collapsing. How do you explain that?"

"That…"

Graves cut him off immediately:

"I won't accept pinning the blame on an innocent man just to cover your failure. And under article seven of the Office's law: if a powerless individual is arrested in a case involving authorities, any inspector has the right to release him on bail by filing a formal report to the Director General."

The room fell silent, the only sound the buzzing of the steam lamp. Then, without warning, Cornelius let out a short, dry laugh.

"Well, Graves, looks like you played this smart? But you seem to have forgotten a small detail. After gathering information about the Silence Authority's assimilator and the Fire Authority's assimilator, we discovered both were part of the Bloody Fang gang. And here's the kicker: just days before that incident, you paid a visit to their leader, Iron Garrod."

"Do you have proof of that? Perhaps we should interrogate Garrod to be sure. But if you can't prove it, do you know the punishment for accusing an inspector of something he didn't do?"

Graves rose from the table, adjusted his jacket, and stepped closer to Cornelius.

"I only allowed you to interrogate me to prove that I'm no longer pursuing the Valentine Crow case. But I will not allow you to throw more empty accusations at me."

With that, he turned his back and left the room. Cornelius couldn't stop him he knew full well that what Graves said was true. The only reason he had been able to interrogate him was because Graves himself had given permission.

As soon as the door closed behind Graves, Cornelius angrily scattered the papers across the floor, then slumped into a chair. That's when his eyes caught one of the files that had slipped to the edge of the table.

He snatched it quickly and found a name that piqued his interest: Jevan a man who had been very close to the assimilators, and the only surviving member of the Bloody Fang.

...

Outside the Interrogation Room

Where the guards were stationed, Graves passed by and greeted them, and they returned the greeting with utmost respect. As he continued down the corridor, Lionel Gray appeared before him.

"Inspector, has the interrogation ended?"

Graves answered without slowing his stride:

"Yes."

"And what happened?"

"Not much."

Lionel frowned.

"Inspector, why did you let that bastard interrogate you in the first place?"

"Now he can't watch my every move freely. If I hadn't allowed it, he would've kept digging for any thread against me. This way, I've delayed him."

"But I doubt he'll stop now."

"At least I'll buy some time. I'm close to pinpointing Valentine's location."

Graves entered his office, lit the steam lamp, and began gathering the scattered papers. Everything related to Valentine Crow he placed into a small metal box. He knew Cornelius couldn't search his office without an official warrant, and after the interrogation just now, Cornelius would certainly not be able to get one. Still, caution was necessary.

Lionel watched him, his eyes fixed on the box. Then he turned and left without Graves noticing.

He exited the Investigation Office building and headed into a side alley. There, a vague, indistinct human shape began to form before him.

Lionel dropped to his knees, lowered his head, and began describing in painstaking detail everything that had just happened.

The shadowy figure smiled.

"Help Cornelius uncover Graves' actions."

And then, it vanished. Lionel remained alone, his face blank as he stared at the wall for a long moment. Finally, he stood, brushed the dust off his jacket, drew in a deep breath, and walked back toward the office building this time, with very slow steps.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.