"Let's put together everything we've known till far." Suben suggested.

  "Yeah, let's do it." Ellissae finished her bowl of soup in a long sip and set it aside. Aiden was already ready to hear it all out.

  Villaira, on the other hand, pressed her temples, irritation stretched across her face like sand stretches across the heart of a desert. It was already past midnight. The inn they had chosen to spend the night in was quiet. The owner had retired to his own quarters, the night was quite and everyone was calm, except for Villaira herself. Her head was aching, her eyes continuously moving back and forth between Aiden and Ellissae. She was burning up from inside, her fingers twisted in a fist in her lap, her heart caught in an aviary of fire.

  When was the last time she had seen Ellissae? Seventeen years ago when the Fiery Lotus Institution was burning down, and Ellissae had cracked open the ground and split the sky to seal the Demonic Fire with her Snow Shield. She herself was pierced through by the crystallised snow beneath. The credit of the fact that she was still alive went to Madame Sorrel, the greatest healer of the Continent. And then, Villaira's world was torn apart when Master Zachar threw Ellissae out of the Institution. Even Master Thane didn't hesitate with his decision. Later they had received the news that the Master of Rippled Air Institution had taken Ellissae under his shelter.

  And that's how Villaira had spent seventeen years- with the bloody image of Ellissae- fallen and twisted, expected to give away her last breath any moment.

  But here she was, all alive and grown up - not a teenager anymore. Oh, and she also got herself a man.

  Villaira's fist tightened.

  "Why did your Master send you?" She questioned, her tone rougher than she wanted.

  Ellissae answered while casually wiping her lips. "He's busy. Plus, I'm his best disciple."

  "Villi," Suben interrupted before Villaira could say anything further. He knew exactly what was going through her head, and a little look at him told Villaira everything she needed to hear in that moment - it was not the time to be in the grasp of emotions.

  Villaira let out a trembling breath. She remembered learning a lesson from Arvi years ago - to learn the difference between 'important' and 'more important.' Her feelings were in turmoil, no doubt, but the murderer on the loose was more important. For now.

  "Fine. Let's begin from the beginning." Villaira started. "Yesterday, we got the news through the local people that there were dead bodies in an inn at the border of this village. It is in the outskirts of the Glass Lake Forest which falls in the neutral zone between both of the Fiery Lotus and the Rippled Air Institutions."

  Suben: "The inn where the murders happened was considered a normal place until it was exposed to be an undershadow of the cults' meetings. The owner of the place is already dead, as you know, Ella, you were the one who split his head into two."

  Ellissae: "Tsk tsk."

  Villaira: "The killings happened within one night, or I might say, within some hours. The inn had seven rooms, four of which had no occupants. The owner was found unconscious in the courtyard outside. From the looks of it, he seemed to be walking out of the place after getting his money and got knocked out there. The seven corpses were scattered in rest of the three other rooms. They belonged to the criminal clan which went by the name 'Night Ghouls' as maximum of their atrocities were conducted at nights.

  Upon checking the corpses I had found all of them had a common burning mark on their chest. They are the real Night Ghouls. The murderer had also left out that portion of their bodies intact, as if hinting at us to go to the end of this hellhole."

  Ellissae's burrow furrowed. "This group was known for its continuous kidnapping of girls from the village outskirts. Back then, elites from our two Institutions were sent to wipe them out. Even though I was still young then, I remember it was declared that their entire group had been massacred. But from our inquiry yesterday, a man had confirmed that these are the same hooligans who had murdered his wife and daughter years ago. But didn't those elites present dead bodies back then too? If these are the Night Ghouls, then who were they? Or, was it all a scheme back then and these bastards had been laying down to avoid encounter? If that's so, then why come out now?

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  Villaira: "I have no idea. Did this happen before I joined the Institution?"

  Ellissae: "Yes. You and Suben came in a couple of months later. Rylan was already there though."

  Aiden: "Ella, let's go through about the murders first. We might get some hints about it then."

  Ellissae: "Alright."

  By now both Villaira and Suben had noticed how gentle Ellissae's behaviour was towards this man. They had never seen her like this before.

  'Time changes, and so does people.' Villaira reminded herself and went on.

  Villaira: "In the first room, four dead bodies were found on the floor. All had sustained injuries from each others' weapons. No one else's mark was found there. They killed each other."

  Aiden: "What about the other two rooms?"

  Suben: "The second room had what it seemed like the corpse of their 'boss.' As for the last room..." He coughed, discomfort settling on his face like heavy fog. Villaira noticed it and waved her hand at him with heavy exhaustion. For her, she just wanted to get this over with now. The faster, the better. So she continued.

  Villaira: "The third room had two corpses. Both of them were found naked, in an obscene position. They were lying on the bed, the smaller man had the penis of the bigger man in his mouth, and they were struck then and there in that position. No sign of fight- they didn't even get that chance. And it was murder on the spot.

  The mode of the murders were more barbaric than tragic.

  The four, as I said earlier, had killed each other. It must have been that smoke which the dead owner and the little girl talked about. It must be a controlling spell that had compelled them to distort each other's lives. They had cut off their limbs, gouged out their eyes, bitten off each other's ears and noses. And at the end, when they were terrified to their cores, the murderer compelled them to cut off their own heads."

  Ellissae: "What about the illicit lovers?"

  Villaira: "An earth spell was used to cause roots grow out from inside their bones and while they were left to bleed to death, the murderer had pulled out the fingernails before cutting off their fingers, twisted their necks and feet, and ultimately crushed their hearts into pulp. She then went on to freeze their corpses into perfect frozen statues, as if she wanted the world to see their degradation even in death."

  Aiden: "And what about their 'boss'? What treatment did he get?"

  A silent sigh passed through Suben's face and Villaira paused for a moment, as if pulling up her courage together to continue speaking.

  Villaira: "The second room was massacred in a blood bath. The murderer had strangled the victim just enough to rupture his larynx, but didn't kill him straight away. He cut off his tongue, shredded his bones into pieces, skinned his face and throat alive, and tore apart his tendons and ligaments. His eyes were crushed into pulp right inside the sockets and his intestines were pulled out from his insides. He was killed slowly with deliberately afflicted pain. And as the final blow, the murderer ripped out his pulsating heart from his ribs. He died from irreversible shock."

  Villaira paused for a moment to fill her lungs with dear oxygen before continuing again.

  "In addition to all of these, the flesh and spirits of the deceased had been drained. Besides, the traces of the black miasma left behind by the murderer indicates that the person not only is a Master of unattainable prowess but also has extremely high level of knowledge about dark acts and forbidden devilish magic."

  Now Aiden's full attention was turned to Ellissae: "What did that little girl tell you?"

  Ellissae: "About the murderer? That it was a woman."

  Suben: "How is it possible?"

  Ellissae: "What?"

  Suben's brows furrowed and a familiar expression settled on his face. He always gave that look when he thought he was talking about something obvious and that the others should had already been knowledgeable about it. It was more like that of an irritated look that screamed 'how do you not know such a basic thing?'

  Suben: "The two frozen bodies had snow purer than yours." He pointed at Ellissae. "Villaira said that the roots grown out of their body were of the highest quality she had ever seen. They were far higher of the level than that of Master Zachar or Madame Sorrel."

  Ellissae realised what Suben was implying. "Two Soul Attributes in a single person? How is it possible?"

  Suben: "Plus, don't forget the mind controlling spell. These were no ordinary men. They were highly cultivated and extremely adept at killing. Yet, they were murdered in such brutal ways, and that also so easily. The murderer obviously had an upper hand, and yet played with them like discarded dolls. And then deliberately left all these evidences and witnesses. For what exactly?"

  Aiden: "She wants us...to find her?"

  As soon as those words slipped through his lips he looked at Ellissae who was already looking back at him, and a silent exchange of words passed between them. Villaira looked away instantly, her teeth clattering against each other inside her mouth.

  Suben: "What if this is a trap?"

  Ellissae: "If she wants us to find her, I would rather bet that she had already found us. It might be just a matter of time before we encounter each other. For now, let's pray that this trap is not for our death."