Kairo and Nyx sat helplessly in Fabian's office, unable to move forward with their investigation, as the surgeon had been a tad smarter than them. Kairo glanced at the clock on the wall. Out of the six hours given by the Chancellor, only two were left.
"Kairo, I think you should leave the Card Mage Headquarters for now," Mirelle finally broke the silence. The worry on her expression was genuine—almost motherly.
"Mirelle is right. The Chancellor is our representative to the outside world. He's like a bridge between us and the commoners. He's not in his best state right now. It will be better for you to leave," Fabian added.
"I'm taking him out of here. Kairo, you still have two hours—you should be able to make something out of it. Now let's leave this place," Danzan sighed and pulled them out.
Although Kairo didn't want to leave, it was clear that staying here was getting dangerous for him. Jeder had warned him—the Chancellor was the most just person that existed in the Card Mage Police. He would step back in front of anything… not even family.
"I will leave with Kairo. Taking us out separately will attract too much attention. Kairo and I are always together; it should not raise suspicion," Nyx proposed, without a single ounce of hesitation in her voice.
Kairo fell silent, glancing at all these people. The risks were clear—whether it was the Chancellor or the surgeon, this was getting out of hand. Yet none of them was running away. No one was backing down. He had been in the Card Mage Police for just a few weeks already, but it already felt like he had been here forever. Whether it was Danzan or Nyx, they all cared in their own way.
"Thank you all. I will find the surgeon and stop him. I just need a little more time," Kairo said. If he wanted to finish his investigation, he needed to be free—and staying here compromised that.
"Be careful," Fabian warned.
---
Kairo and Nyx silently left the Card Mage Police. With the influence of the captains, it wasn't hard to escape undetected. After going through the portal, Kairo and Nyx found themselves in an isolated house in the mountains.
The house looked like it had been forgotten for years. The air felt rusty, and the tables were covered in gray particles. On the walls, some white webs had started painting the corners. Kairo's face darkened—he hated those things. Very clean, as expected of Danzan.
Cleaning a chair around the dining table, Kairo took a seat, lost in his thoughts on how to get the surgeon. Until Nyx broke the silence.
"Are you afraid of spiders, Kairo?" she asked, with her usual teasing smile.
Kairo's face turned pale. He simply didn't like those things. It had nothing to do with fear—he just didn't like them.
"When I was a kid, I got bitten by one of those things. My mother was so hysterical, she forbade me from playing outside for an entire week. Can you imagine? At the age of five, that was torture... at last, that was the last time I saw her before she left."
"She must have been incredible, your mother. Just like you are now. In less than a week, you've achieved so much. We've survived death twice already—not a terrible score for defying the devil," Nyx added.
Kairo smiled. She was right—their adventures were just starting together. Born in a wealthy family, Kairo had seen his fair share of beautiful ladies. She feels so different, he thought. From the fight with the Scarecrow to the Trauma Storm, she had always been with him—and even now, she still was.
"Hey Kairo, why are you looking at me that way? … Hey, Kairo?"
Drawn out of his trance by her voice, Kairo tilted his embarrassed face toward his tablet.
"Any idea how we could stop him? I took a look at the news and things don't look good, Kairo," she said.
Kairo took out his communication tablet and glanced through the articles. It was going astray everywhere. The news of the Surgeon was the first thing on the pages. Every media outlet spoke of him, and how he could see the future of his operations—creating chaos and havoc. On the forums, many were wondering what the supposed police were doing.
"He is creating a diversion. Mirelle would have never allowed such information to get out."
Kairo's face twitched even more. The Surgeon was having fun with them once more. By sowing havoc and panic, he was forcing the Card Mage Police to react and might be making them miss something that was just under their nose.
"I can't take it anymore. When I get him, he will understand his pain."
"Hey Kairo, stop torturing yourself. With those files—we've gone through them a thousand times—there is no apparent link between the victims," Nyx said.
But Kairo had a doubt. Maybe they had missed something. Maybe if he just went through them one last time, he would notice something.
'I need to try a little harder. They all count on me. I can't disappoint them. I can't.'
"The victims all had awakened three cards in common, yes, but there was also a number of victims who had no card magic at all, and still got the same experience tested on them. This can't be the link, do you understand? I know it's hard for you, but take it easy on you, okay?"
While listening to her rambling, Kairo's expression shifted.
"The link… that's the link," he said out loud.
"Wait, did you listen? Not all the victims had card magic, so how do you explain that?" Nyx asked suspiciously. Clearly, she had turned the idea in her mind in every possible direction but was unable to find a satisfying answer.
"Simple. Remember the hidden mechanics I talked about? If my guesses are correct, the real victims are the people who have awakened a minimum of three cards. And as for the others—they are part of the activation condition of Promised Result, or at least are linked to its hidden mechanics," Kairo said.
This was the only possible answer. Although one could take a look at the description of another card and seemingly understand how it functioned, only the original owner could actually put forth its real power. For certain cards had inner workings way too complex to be explained on the description. The Eye of Truth was one of them. Kairo had absolutely no idea how that thing functioned—but it did function. Jed Bestial Wolf too was special. And many more.
"I get the point. But this still doesn't tell us how to find the Surgeon," Nyx said, crossing her arms and entering deep thoughts.
But the moment she noticed the gleam in Kairo's eye, she smiled—as if the duo could read each other's minds.
"Oh no. Don't tell me we are thinking of the same thing," she asked.
"This is the only option. I have awakened three cards, Nyx. I will contact the Surgeon."
Kairo went through his tablet without a second thought. If he was right, the Surgeon wouldn't miss an opportunity like this.
"Normally I am the one proposing stupidly dangerous plans, but here Kairo, you're on the first rank," Nyx said, tapping him on the shoulder.
Kairo took a deep breath and retried the number. As if the person on the other end was waiting for them, he replied.
"The Dwan Cemetery. Before noon. Alone."
Before Kairo could say a word, the voice hung up. Kairo tried the number again, but this time it seemed to have been disconnected. It wasn't valid anymore.
"He knew it too."
He felt cold sweat trickle down his face.
'Impossible. This is a trick to make us panic. It's a classic trap. Make us think he has everything in control and planned. Force us to act on instinct and fear. Kairo—he is trying to manipulate us once more. Exactly like with his twin.'
"I will be careful, but I'm going alone, Nyx. I will give you precise instructions before I depart with them," Kairo said as he stood up, preparing his belongings.
"This is a trap. Are you aware you're jumping willingly into the devil's jaw?"
"No choice. Finish thinking now. I'm going to smash his face again and again until I vent all my frustration. For now, don't talk to anyone until you receive my instructions. This game ends here."
Kairo left afterward. He wasn't going to stay here and think anymore. Now he was going to act—and fulfill his promise.