Chapter 258 - The Smuggler's Tale
The plump driver chuckled, lowering his head as if he was confident enough in his situation. "You shouldn't have meddled with a Soul Trader, my boy."
"I think I meddled with enough people in my life to say that I don't care," Elliot retorted.
"Yes, you do not, don't you?" the man raised his head and stared at Elliot in the eyes. "Total Blindness."
'Supreme Dragon Immunity Crest activated.'
"What do you think you're doing?!" Elliot smacked the man on the back of his head to knock him out. He waited for a few more seconds and sighed. He pulled out a sleeping potion in his Inventory and let it flow in the man's mouth, digesting it for good measure.
"I wanted to be kind and gentle enough, but you tried to blind me?" Elliot scoffed. "No, sorry. You can't do that."
He had to make sure that the man was actually asleep before he lessen his guard by bringing him to the Guards. He also needed to make sure that the wagon wouldn't be stolen.
With a gulp, Elliot returned his sword and grabbed what's left of the reins. He checked its attachment to the wagon, making sure they're fastened enough before he positioned in front of it. He gripped the other end and raised his hand to his shoulders, the reins draping over his shoulders.
"I feel like a horse now," Elliot sighed and pulled the vehicle. "Hasty Aspire!"
With his strength and speed, Elliot took him almost half the time a horse could on the way back to the entrance. He called the Guard there and led him to the front of the wagon, "He's here! The culprit."
It was then that a certain smell hit Elliot's nose. He pushed the guard behind him and brandished his sword, rushing forward to block the incoming attack, "Formidable Parry!"
The tied up body of the driver hovered over the wagon and burst into green flames. The body fell to the vehicle, spreading the fire in a split second time.
Elliot successfully blocked the attack but he couldn't salvage any of the evidence. All the mummified corpses were gone, as well as the driver he managed to capture.
"What is happening?" The Guard gasped. People started to crowd over the bright green light that lit up just by the entrance, the traffic halted as well as everyone else, lost in the moment.
"That was a Suicide Pact," Alice walked over to Elliot and raised her hand, pointing it to the burning wagon. "Bright Veil."
Sparkles lit up over the wagon, knitting into a veil that looked like they were made of glitter. The veil dropped down to the vehicle, putting the fire out completely.
"I think I've heard of something like this happening before," Elliot said. "Right! When we were at the Butterfly Garden, someone lit himself on fire before we could capture him."
"Well, a Suicide Pact means that the person formed a condition within themselves, something like being caught, or being interrogated, if the condition is met, they burn just like this," Alice said.
"But this is a green fire," Elliot pointed out. "The guy had himself over a red fire."
"The color only means that this man has a green aura," Alice explained. "There is a range of Suicide Pact that had been utilized. The color doesn't mean anything, but the effect of the pact does. For example, this person burned himself as well as his wagon, meaning he wanted to burn with his wagon, the other person you saw just wanted himself to die. This was the range of the pact."
"But I don't know his condition though," Elliot thought out loud. "If it was to be captured, then he would've burned a while ago. He had to let me volunteer as a horse before he burned himself. That's just mean."
"Maybe something that's connected to an object?" Alice muttered. "Usually, it's not just from a person to another person, sometimes they have to make a condition that involves an object, like a Knight being stabbed in a duel. When he is stabbed outside a duel, the pact won't activate."
Elliot hummed and nodded a couple of times, "I know. He must've created a pact that prevented him from going back to the city without his permission. When he is captured outside, he can easily call out his allies or counter the opponents. But once he gets past that city gate, he ain't never coming back."
"That's a really good guess," Alice smiled. "But let's report this to the Police first. They know what to do, I bet."
'Quest [ The Smuggler's Tale ] completed.'
–
"The evidence is gone, what can we do?" a middle-aged man with bright red hair lazily said to Elliot and Alice in the counter of the Police Headquarters.
"But that guy had dead bodies behind his wagon," Elliot argued. "And they were sealed. And he mentioned about being a Soul Trader."
The entire department became silent not one second after Elliot's words. The guy on the front desk stared at them for a moment, he then leaned in closer to them, "Let's talk somewhere safer."
The red-haired man stood and led the pair into the hallway inside the establishment. The police officers returned to their tasks as if they didn't gave Elliot one of the biggest heart attacks in his life.
The man gave them silent treatment all the way inside. He wasn't talking to them nor was he looking anywhere else.
"How long is this hallway?" Elliot whispered to Alice.
"I have no idea," the woman replied.
Like a cue, the man stopped and placed his hand on a large blue gem that was attached on the middle of a metal door. The blue gem turned red, then blue, then changed color two times more before the metal door opened.
"Let's talk inside," the police officer said, gesturing his hand inside the room. "We don't talk about those things outside."
Elliot and Alice did as was told and got inside. They were reluctant at first, thinking that the police officers were acting sketchy. He made sure to tilt his arm up an angle to immediately brandish his sword if anything would happen.
The man led them to a square table where two chairs were seated on the two opposing sides. The police officer sat on one side and gestured for them to sit on the other, which they hesitantly did.
"Why do we have to talk here?" Elliot asked.
"This is a sealed room, no spying tricks can enter this room unless you're the Almighty Himself," the police officer said. "
Alice still felt skeptical, "So, why are we here?"
The police officer sighed, pulling out a folder in the air and placing it on the table, "Spatial magic. Pretty cool, right?"
Elliot flattened his lips and tried to avoid conflict, "Yeah. It's cool."
"My name is Randolph and I'm one of the officers assigned against the Soul Traders," the police officer introduced. "Let us make this clear, you found one just now?"