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#090. The Lost Children (4)
Whirik— Whirik—
A hand holding a pen was busy marking dots across a large map on the table.
“If we mark the places where the kids disappeared, it looks like this. We don’t know the exact location, but if we divide the distance into numbers and look at it.”
To Philip’s words, Veronica responded with the face of a competent and experienced investigator.
“Looking at it this way, it’s clear that the missing persons locations are concentrated in the north. I think we can narrow down where the next disappearances will occur.”
“I guess so. Hmm. Maybe a ghost or something took it.”
Veronica flinched at the word ghost.
A competent and experienced investigator
“Philip, there is no such thing as ghosts in this world.”
“Why? It could be. There’s magic, so how can there not be ghosts?”
“I’ve never seen anyone around me who said they saw a ghost.”
“Even if you can’t see it, it can still exist.”
“If you don’t see it, it doesn’t exist. That’s what I think.”
“Manado is like that too. You can’t see it.”
“… … .”
“But it doesn’t actually exist.”
Veronica thought.
Philip, I don’t think it’s possible to win against this man with words in this lifetime.
The tongue-twister that he had honed while dealing with the tough shop owners was a wall too thick and high for a former bookstore heir to overcome.
‘But there really are no ghosts. There shouldn’t be such a thing.’
A ghost.
It was terrifying to think that such a terrifying and horrible thing was wandering around.
Also, a competent, experienced, and handsome investigator should not be outdone by anyone in logic.
“… … !”
One thing that suddenly occurred to me.
The investigator used a number of tricks.
“Mana! Ray, I can see it!”
“uh….”
“And the fact that mana exists can be proven by magic. But there is no way to prove ghosts.”
“About that too….”
The argument that followed was quite heated, but Ray couldn’t hear it at all.
It was because I was deep in thought.
“We’ll investigate the missing person issue for you, so you just focus on gathering information.”
That’s what I said to Melom and Denaine in the empty lot.
It was a question of efficiency.
If the disappearance of children is related to magic, it would be very difficult for ordinary people to find any clues or leads.
‘It would be better if we investigated instead. Let’s have all the people who were searching for the missing children divert to gathering information.’
Of course, it wasn’t just for that reason that he took over the investigation.
“Red light. I think I saw a red glow in front of Tommy.”
Red color.
Perhaps it was because I thought that the light might also be related to Murkred.
According to Graham, Murkred is an organization that engages in all types of crime, including human trafficking.
‘First, let’s investigate the area centered around the northern street….’
While Ray was setting the direction of the investigation.
“Lay, are there ghosts in the world?”
“Ray, what do you think? About ghosts?”
Philip and Veronica turned their heads and asked simultaneously.
“ghost?”
“Huh! Ghost! You don’t think they exist in this world, do you?”
“Hey, how can you lead someone to answer like that?”
The first thing that came to mind was the nickname he had in Sector 50.
Ghost Ray. A nickname given to him because he moves around so quietly and his facial expression never changes.
The definition I found later in the dictionary was this:
“ghost”
“The soul of a dead person wanders around the other world because of foolishness, resentment, or other reasons.”
The answer to the question first is, ‘Ghosts do not exist in the world.’
Because I’ve never seen a ghost or spirit in my life.
It was the boy’s nature to trust only what he had personally experienced.
‘…dead.’
But why is that?
I had a feeling that it would be nice if ghosts existed.
Ray opened his mouth and answered both of their questions.
*
That evening.
Melom and Denaine looked at Ray’s actions with confused eyes.
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Ray was making a repeated motion of placing his palms on the backs of the boys belonging to the two gangs and then removing them.
‘What is that doing?’
‘I don’t know. It looks like you’re stamping with your palm. Is that a rating?’
Ray was in the process of giving each person a binding spell one by one.
However, the two captains, who could not sense mana, had no way of knowing that fact.
Woof─
As the final binding spell was completed, Ray could clearly feel the presence of about 30 boys.
It feels like there is a thread of waiting between them and myself.
It should be possible to detect location within a certain radius.
“It’s okay to disperse now. Just go around the streets and do your usual activities.”
The boys split up into pairs and dispersed in unison.
“Ray, can we really get a clue as to where the kids disappeared to?”
Denaine asked hesitantly.
There was no reason to refuse the offer to help search for the missing person.
Even putting aside the fact that I have no power to refuse orders.
But since I didn’t know the specific search method, I couldn’t help but feel a little skeptical.
“One of the scattered ones will disappear again. There’s a high probability.”
Ray answered, looking up at the hazy moonlit sky.
A synthesis of the testimonies of both groups shows that the disappearances both occurred during the evening hours.
Also, the occurrence cycle is 2-3 days.
Today marked the third day since the last disappearance.
‘Today, a red light will appear on one of the streets north of here.’
Not many people witnessed the red light, but it wasn’t just one or two.
This is not a story of a fantasy, but a real phenomenon.
‘If red is magic.’
It was thought that it would be possible to trace the moment of occurrence and the process of movement.
Veronica said about this.
「Tracking the magic itself…? That’s the first time I’ve heard of it. The elements used in magic are already tightly bound and stuck together, making them as difficult to detect as mana in the air. It seems impossible to me based on common sense… Hmm, no. It might be possible since it’s Ray.”
Ultimately, magic is a kind of lump of mana and a combination of elements.
If the components retained even a little bit of their original shape, it wasn’t that difficult for Ray to detect them.
“I’ll trust and wait. At least we’ll find a clue faster than you guys.”
Melom and Denaine’s faces brightened at Ray’s assurance.
Although they didn’t show it on the outside, they were also very worried about their missing subordinates.
Ray turned the alley and left the empty lot where the gathering had been.
He said, sitting on a bench in front of the fountain in the square.
“Keep your guard to the side so no one touches me. I need to concentrate.”
“yes!”
“Yes, I understand!”
Melom and Denain, standing on either side of the bench, turned their heads around and glared at each other.
Ray closed his eyes.
Your current location is the square at the very center of the northern sector.
A location where you can quickly run to in case an incident occurs.
As I concentrated, the sounds of people’s voices and footsteps began to fade, and my physical senses began to dull.
“… … .”
LOL.
A feeling of sinking into deep water and your body gradually becoming heavier.
On the contrary, the senses of the mind began to become extremely sharp and sensitive.
The vast surface area of the surrounding elements, entangled in a complex web, touched my mind’s senses.
The position and shape of each element.
Concentration and flow of each element.
Also the location of the children spread out on each street.
I could feel it all clearly, and the detection range gradually expanded from where I was currently sitting.
It was like a kind of radar network.
If any magic was activated within the range, the ripples caused by the mana would be transmitted to Ray in their entirety.
Tick tock.
The passage of time was no longer perceptible.
Tick tock.
Even a few seconds passed.
Tick tock.
It’s been a few minutes.
Tick tock.
Or how many hours have passed?
Without knowing it, I focused my mind solely on detecting the ripples of Mana.
How much time has passed like that?
“… … !”
Ray opened his eyes wide at the ripples of mana he felt at one point in the distance.
“Tea, are you looking for it?”
“Are the kids gone?”
The first things that came into view were Melom and Denain with surprised faces.
We also saw Philip and Veronica returning after checking that the children had found their designated locations.
But there was no time to explain at length.
“18-2 Street.”
Leaving only a word about where he was coming from, Ray bolted from his seat and ran.
The boy’s leg muscles, expanded to their limits by strengthening magic, made him run at the speed of an animal.
Go through the alley. Cross the bridge.
Across someone’s yard.
The ripples of mana continued to be felt, and Ray quickly closed the distance towards that point.
but.
‘It’s moving.’
The sway was moving.
Although not very fast, he was approaching at a steady pace towards a child who was enchanted with binding magic.
‘Petro. Near the alley.’
The child’s name.
And it was the terrain of the place where the current ripples were heading, memorized through the map.
Take a deep breath.
I ran until my body broke.
And the moment before the ripples and Petro’s presence meet.
Thump! Jiiik─!
Ray stopped dragging his feet in front of an alley.
Petro’s figure was nowhere to be seen before my eyes.
There was only a red halo the size of a person’s body swirling around with an ominous atmosphere.
Woof──!
The red light was sucked into a central point and disappeared in an instant before Ray could take any action.
‘I don’t feel Petro’s presence.’
But soon another anomaly was detected.
The mana that had been stagnant in the air was disintegrating, and the disintegration continued in a steady line at a fast speed toward somewhere.
As if something transparent was forcibly passing through the mana.
I could tell instinctively.
‘The halo is moving.’
Ray immediately turned around and started running after Mana’s confusion.
“Ray, wait a minute─ Hey!”
The children who had been chasing after Ray turned around, panting for breath.
Knock knock knock knock!
The sound of heated footsteps echoing through the streets.
The mana ripples that cut through the air above the buildings showed no sign of coming any closer.
‘There is a limit to how far you can run.’
A bicycle parked on the side of the road came into view.
I just got on and started pedaling.
Crunch! Creak! Creak!
“Hey, wait! My bike! It’s a thief!”
A shout was heard from behind.
But there was no time to worry about that right now.
Ray’s leg movements were converted into power for the bike, and the speed increased to more than twice that of running.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The distance between us and Mana gradually narrowed.
After several minutes of chase,
Squeak! Bam!
The bicycle stopped.
It was in front of a mansion surrounded by a very tall reddish brown wall.
Spiky vines grew up the walls, and the lights in the mansion were off, giving it an eerie atmosphere.
“… … .”
The son-in-law was quiet.
A remote area away from the streets.
Because there were no pedestrians passing by.
The disturbance of mana that had stopped inside the mansion was no longer felt.
And then Petro’s presence appeared in that place.
It was as if the halo of light had swallowed Petro and spat him out again.
‘He’s not moving at all. Did he faint?’
There weren’t many clues to infer what was going on.
The only thing that is certain is that Petro is currently in the mansion.
I walked around the wall and checked the inside and outside of the mansion, but apart from one discovery, I couldn’t find any traces of people or movement of mana.
‘There’s less dust on the doorknob than in other places. It’s evidence that there are people coming and going.’
Perhaps the owner or manager of the mansion.
And the person was judged not to be present in or around the mansion.
“… … .”
Ray reviewed the situation.
What actions you can take now.
Also, to what extent can you handle a dangerous situation?
After making his decision, Ray approached the tightly closed bars.
And then he injected mana into the lock.