Danzan continued talking. "The next department is the RP department, synonymous with the Reaper department, led by David Ortega. They aren't really important, but you should keep them in mind." Danzan swiftly brushed over the topic.
But Kairo was no fool. The word "Reaper" sounded alarm bells in his mind. Why did they not have an understandable name like the others? Even more intriguing, what was their job? But before Kairo could probe more, Danzan continued.
"Don't think too much, Kairo. I'm also curious about them. We rarely see them in the headquarters. As if they didn't even exist here." Nyx commented to the side.
"If you say so. And what about the final department?" Kairo asked.
"Then we have the Investigation department. Where we currently are. Our job is pretty simple. We handle investigations and do all sorts of cool things in between. You shall find out soon enough. Now let's talk about your case…"
But just as Danzan was about to brush off again, Kairo paused. "Wait, who leads the Investigation department then? Isn't it my father?" Kairo had his head reeling. Had he misunderstood the position of his father?
Danzan smirked. "You fool, I'm right in front of you, moron. Didn't I mention it? I am right in front of you. Danzan Monera." He said it almost sarcastically, as if he wasn't proud of being the head.
Kairo was skeptical. The heads were supposed to be five-star officers, but Danzan was just a four-star officer. So why was he the head? Even more intriguing, what was the real position of his father in all of this? "Looks like I know very little about him," Kairo murmured.
Kairo didn't expect the card mage police to have such a level of complexity. His head reeled from all the names he had just heard. But he probably just had to retain the first four: Mirelle Dorothy, Fabian Fabregas, Danzan Monera, and of course, David Ortega from the Reaper department.
"Now, the most important thing. Recently, there have been a lot of strange occurrences in town. People talk of victims with modified bodies moving around." Danzan stood up, walking to the whiteboard. With a flick of his finger, it came to life, drawing vivid pictures of the town and several other pieces of information.
"Is this not the underground card masters? Selis Variant has been very active these days. When Locked Target almost got her before Kairo spoiled the operation, she was distributing an illegal substance." Nyx said bluntly. There was no hint of malice or mockery in her voice. To her, she was simply stating facts.
Kairo smiled awkwardly and focused his attention back on the board. "I doubt it should be that. What will Selis gain in turning people into these things? They look like mindless puppets."
Danzan nodded. "We can't say for sure if this has to do with Selis, but one thing is certain: the perpetrator is still in town and sowing havoc. Your first task as a card mage officer will be to find him, whoever he is and wherever he hides, and then beat him so hard he can't do such nonsense anymore. This shall be all for the year. Good luck." Danzan waved at them before walking away.
"A year? Is he still making fun of me? Or simply doesn't think we can pull this off?" Kairo was speechless.
"This is bad for us, Kairo. We will have too much fun on this one." Nyx said delighted. "This case reminds me of the trial of the newcomers. If I remember correctly, in each department, whenever new recruits arrived, they would be given as their first task something that was two times out of their league."
"No wonder he talks about a year," Kairo laughed. His father had once talked about this. Kairo knew this maneuver had two objectives. First, through this trial, the card mage police could allow the gifted to shine so their superior skills could quickly be detected and put to better use, instead of letting them rise in rank naturally over the years. Secondly, just to make fun of the newbies.
"This is our chance to get a head start from the get-go. I am ready for this, and I hope you are too, Nyx. First, let's go and take a look at the last crime scene," Kairo proposed. He was eager to prove himself. Even though his father wasn't around, he was probably observing too. His performance on this first task was crucial.
"You bet I'm ready. I'm right behind you."
Kairo and Nyx left the meeting room, moving toward the exit. When Nyx cast him a strange look. "Where do you think you're going, Kairo? This way is the normal exit?"
Kairo halted his steps, a curious stare on his face. Was there something else to the police department he didn't know?
"We have our own network for moving around. Essentially, a one-way route to every important location in the town. Even though we can't use it to get back here, we can use the network to quickly dispatch officers everywhere we need to. Practical, huh?" Nyx said.
Kairo nodded. It made sense. With so many officers here and so many things to handle, they needed a quick way to move around.
Located at the center of the card mage police was a special building with four entries on every side. From all over the place, officers would continuously go through the doors but never return. Probably gone to faraway places in the town.
"This reminds me of the mind labyrinth. It talks about an unexplored realm created by a card on its own. Lost in time and reality. This door was created with it as a base. The reason why it's so ugly," Nyx spoke continuously.
Although Kairo found her really one of a kind, he had to admit he was learning quite a few things with her around. Hopefully, she knew how to be serious when it was time for work. Around them, there was a sea of faces Kairo could not recognize. Except for one.
"JED!" He said, almost screaming.
"Are you friends with the son of the Chancellor?" Nyx asked suspiciously. Kairo didn't reply and simply walked to his 'friend.'
"Kairo, my friend. Long time, how have you been doing? I heard your exploit with Selis—that must have been incredible to meet such a figure," Jed said in the most amicable way possible.
No matter how he tried, Kairo couldn't see any hint of malice in him. Either Jed was really good at acting or Kairo was really bad at reading people.
"Huh, yeah, long time," Kairo said, unable to muster his next words. He had acted on instinct, running to Jed because it reminded him of Rellion. Thinking of him, where was he now? Kairo could only hope he was fine. "Forget about it. What department are you in now?"
"Espionage department, Kairo. My cards, Swift Shadows, are best suited for this kind of task. You know we don't sit around and just ask questions."
"Are you certain, Jed? You don't look really important. Since your friends are leaving over there without you," Nyx laughed.
Jed tilted his head to the side, a disturbed smile on his face. "Nah, I work alone. Groups aren't my strength. I don't need people to walk me around, you know," he said casually.
"Yeah, good for you." Kairo stepped in before the two killed each other with their eyes. "Good luck, Kairo. I have work to do." Jed waved and left through the door, his figure vanishing as soon as he went through the foam.
Kairo couldn't tell why, but he had the urge to follow him. But unfortunately, the doors were programmed to bring them to a certain location. Even if they entered at the same time, they would never cross paths. This was one of the ways the higher-ups ensured missions remained isolated.
"Let's go, Nyx." This time, Kairo forgot about all these distractions and went through the portal, followed by his partner.
Kairo and Nyx arrived in an old building at the suburbs of the town. The building spanned three floors with green goosegrass rising on parts of them. It was so old there were no elevators, just the old stairs creating eerie sounds with everything they touched.
"So gloomy, how could someone live in such a place?" Kairo said, pushing the creaking door as they went to the second floor.
"Me, for example. We used to live in a one-bedroom with my friends," Nyx said calmly. Kairo's movement slowed for an instant. Yeah, they came from completely different worlds. Kairo was born as the son of the card mage police head, while Nyx, on the other hand, had a completely different upbringing. Feeling stupid for his comment, Kairo quickly said, "What happened here?"