Chapter 38: A Close Call at Alpha Orphanage

According to Nikola’s recollections of the original story, Lucia and Imeline had investigated the Alpha Orphanage. It was within this very basement that they uncovered a hidden blood bank.

While no other more useful clues were found, this discovery at least confirmed that the Crimson Family harbored certain unspeakable secrets, solidifying Lucia and Imeline’s resolve to continue their investigation.

Nikola had not anticipated Imeline’s investigative speed to be so swift. At the same time, she silently congratulated herself for not having transformed into red mist just moments earlier. Had Imeline caught her in the act of turning into red mist, even with poor eyesight, she would undoubtedly realize Nikola was a fantastical creature.

In such a scenario, Imeline might report the presence of a fantastical creature lurking in the Royal City to the Mage Association, making Nikola’s future days considerably difficult.

‘However… it wouldn’t do to let this fellow discover the blood bank hidden in the basement so soon…’

Though Nikola wished to pilfer the blood bags from the blood bank, she certainly did not want Imeline accompanying her inside.

“Wait a moment. Once I’ve calculated the distance, we’ll teleport over using spatial magic.”

“Alright.”

Nikola nodded.

‘If that’s the case… then I’ll just have to find a way to trigger the barrier.’

Just as Imeline gazed at the iron door, calculating the distance, a wisp of red mist rose from Nikola’s finger, standing behind Imeline, and vanished in an instant.

“All set. Come closer; we’ll teleport together.”

Imeline summoned her magic wand, preparing to cast spatial magic, but Nikola did not immediately approach.

“W-wait a moment! Sister, look there!”

Nikola’s tone was somewhat flustered as she pointed above the stairwell. Imeline followed Nikola’s gaze, only to see a crimson bat swooping down from the corridor.

“What is that!?”

Imeline quickly raised her magic wand. She chose not to use projectile spells, as their immense power would create a significant commotion whether they hit their target or something else, undoubtedly drawing the attention of the staff and guards in the main hall.

“Ice Halo!”

Imeline’s magic wand’s red crystal immediately turned ice-blue. Nikola instantly felt the surrounding temperature drop considerably. It seemed Imeline intended to create a low-temperature environment to freeze the bat in place.

However… even with the temperature plummeting below zero, the bat’s movements remained entirely unaffected.

“Thud—”

The bat plunged towards the iron door, slamming forcefully into it. The door was even dented, after which the bat dissolved into a wisp of mist and vanished. As expected, the magic array on the iron door was triggered.

“Confound it! What in the world is this!”

The series of sudden occurrences left Imeline struggling. The crystal on her magic wand once again glowed crimson. She intended to destroy the iron gate before it could fully descend, but just like earlier in the day, the element stripping effect activated before the gate fell, completely nullifying the condensed fire element once more.

Hearing the sudden blare of alarms and seeing the iron gate rapidly descending, Imeline was instantly at a loss.

‘If only Lucia had come with me… If she were here, facing this situation, she could cleave through all these iron gates with just those two gunblades…’

“Bang, bang, bang—”

Three gunshots jolted the stunned Imeline back to reality. Nikola had raised her twin guns, and brilliant flashes of fire erupted from their muzzles, shattering the falling iron gate to pieces.

“Run!”

Nikola grabbed Imeline’s wrist and immediately bolted out of the stairwell.

Urgent footsteps echoed from the direction of the main hall; clearly, the guards were coming to investigate. The corridor offered no escape, only other locked rooms, without windows or alternative passages. They were cornered.

“Get close to me!”

As Imeline ascended the stairs, she suddenly remembered that she had escaped the barrier’s range. In that case, the invisibility cloak should be usable again!

Imeline pulled Nikola back, enveloping her within the invisibility cloak. The two girls in the corridor vanished into thin air as if evaporating.

Just then, the guards finally arrived.

The guards, weapons in hand, surrounded the stairwell entrance. One guard, seeing the shattered iron gate, immediately descended to the basement door to inspect it.

“The magic array isn’t broken, and no one has been detected passing through. The intruders didn’t enter the basement; they must be nearby. Chase them!”

After quickly assessing the situation, the guards split into two groups: one guarding the stairwell, and the other commencing a search for the intruders within the orphanage.

****

“Whew—that was a close call. We almost got caught.”

After escaping the orphanage, Nikola feigned nervousness, wiping imaginary sweat from her brow.

“Indeed… If we had been captured, who knows what might have happened…”

Despite avoiding direct combat, Imeline remained shaken.

After all, a mage of her caliber lacked sufficient solo combat capability, and with the barrier’s restrictions, being imprisoned would essentially render her as vulnerable as an ordinary person. The guards could easily overpower Imeline.

“What was that thing anyway? A puppet familiar?”

Recalling the crimson bat, Imeline felt nothing but exasperation. Someone must have been covertly obstructing their investigation.

“I don’t know, perhaps. It vanished immediately after hitting the barrier.”

“Damn it… just a little more…”

Imeline slammed her fist against a nearby street wall, the feeling of falling short at the last moment deeply unsettling her.

“Now, the orphanage’s defenses will surely increase, and they might even completely destroy or relocate whatever is in the basement. We finally found a clue… and we were so close!”

“*Cough*…”

Seeing Imeline on the verge of tears, Nikola felt a little awkward, as she was the one who had conjured the bat. However, it was unavoidable. The closer Imeline got to the truth, the greater Nikola’s risk of exposure. Thus, Nikola could only impede Imeline’s investigation.

After a long while, Imeline seemed to have composed herself and expressed her gratitude to Nikola.

“…Anyway, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might have been captured.”

“I should thank you too. Without your invisibility cloak, I wouldn’t have been able to escape. Speaking of which, why are you investigating the Alpha Orphanage? Do you also suspect something is wrong with the orphanage?”

Nikola also thanked Imeline, then inquired about her reasons for investigating the orphanage, hoping to ascertain Imeline’s current investigative progress.

Hearing that Nikola also sensed something amiss with the orphanage, Imeline immediately assumed Nikola shared her objective and revealed her purpose.

“I suspect there’s something problematic behind the Crimson Family, which is why I wanted to investigate their businesses. I’ve already discovered that this orphanage is suspicious: the children here have their blood drawn for examination every month, and some children have gone missing. They’re supposedly sent to noble families, but in reality, no one knows where they actually went.”

“I suspect they might be using children to replenish their hospital’s blood bank, trafficking organs, or researching dark magic.”

“In any case, there must be important clues in that basement, but I failed to seize this opportunity…”

“I see, so our objectives truly are the same.”

Nikola nodded. From Imeline’s words, Nikola now understood Imeline’s deductions and investigative progress. Clearly, Imeline had not yet touched upon the underlying truth; she was still at a superficial stage, which was good news for Nikola.

“My client also believes there’s something fishy about the Crimson Family. She offered me a hefty reward to investigate them, Sister. Since you also have intentions to investigate, why don’t we cooperate?”

Nikola smiled faintly, extending an invitation to Imeline. She claimed to be acting on commission rather than spontaneously, as demon hunters were known to be money-grubbing individuals, making her story more believable to Imeline.

As for her reason for inviting Imeline, it wasn’t truly to investigate together, but to obstruct Imeline’s efforts. By cooperating with Imeline, she could not only monitor Imeline’s progress but also covertly hinder her actions during their operations.

“Eh? Cooperate…”

Imeline paused for a second, then immediately agreed.

“Good! I was struggling a bit to handle these guards alone, so having someone willing to help me is perfect.”

Although she didn’t know Nikola’s specific abilities, based on the recent situation, Nikola fought with firearms, capable of powerful physical attacks without magic. This was a significant aid to Imeline.

Moreover, Lucia had consistently refused to believe in the Crimson Family’s conspiracy and wouldn’t investigate with her, which had greatly frustrated Imeline. Now, with someone who shared her views and was even willing to cooperate, Imeline naturally accepted with delight.

‘Lucia, I will definitely make you see that woman’s true colors!’