“I hope Mr. Ryujin has the strength to check on Damien. Because it seems like we’ll be up here for quite a bit… wherever this place is.” Olivia looked around, feeling slightly bewildered.

  “It’s complicated, I apologize for not explaining sooner. This is a mindscape, a realm where Seekers like me can remain protected from the physical world.”

  Aizawa relied on an explanation given to him from his Spirit Body.

  “You’re a Seeker now, just like the kids?”

  Aizawa nodded. “I suppose I am now. I don’t remember consuming the potion, but something tells me it’s related to the sudden gaps in my memory.”

  As Aizawa continued to flip through the book, he read page after page of pure dialogue. He saw himself flipping through his childhood years, how he had been naive and almost friendly to an extent. As he gradually saw himself growing up, he saw his diction and monotony take a big hold over him. He saw moments of grief—like Oboro’s death, embarrassing moments, like the time he had fallen asleep in class, and the teacher had dragged his chair to the front of the room.

  Looking back at the wide scope of memories played out in dialogue, Aizawa huffed. He naturally wanted to look deeper into his life and memories, but the current situation didn’t possess the time for that.

  Aizawa flipped to the last twenty or thirty pages of the book, scanning the contents of the pages. His eyes widened the moment he realized the book also showcased one's internal dialogue, so it would have been increasingly tedious to decipher real dialogue from dialogue that had just been said in one's head. Additionally, as he thought and muttered to himself, Aizawa felt the book vibrate slightly as the book grew new pages to accommodate the abrupt changes.

  “Here.” Aizawa suddenly stopped at a page, pointing to a few lines of dialogue.

  In the excerpts he had found, he was discussing with an unknown individual about the abilities of the Edict pathway. He had consumed the Listener potion, and he could create audible commands anyone could follow.

  Olivia leaned in, reading the text.

  “A vulpur? What’s that?”

  “I don’t know, but I have a feeling that’s important,” Aizawa said, flipping deeper into the pages.

  The only downside of the book was that Aizawa couldn’t see the dialogue of the other person whom he was talking with. If he could, many current problems wouldn’t exist. As he analyzed the text closer, his eyes widened.

  “We were at the bar where we woke up during this conversation. We’ll need to get everyone else and head there for an investigation.”

  “Didn’t the Pollinators already run down the place? Why not head down to the cathedral and analyze from there?”

  Aizawa’s brows furrowed. "I've been working as an underground hero since before you even stepped foot in U.A. What makes you think I didn't pick up any tricks of the trade?"

  “So you’re also adept in investigating scenes? Damn, you’re an entire toolbox!”

  As Aizawa and Olivia descended from the mindscape, Olivia looked around the room. A sudden thought hit her, and she turned to Aizawa.

  “When this entire situation gets handled, I’ll need your help with something.”

  “Alright,” Aizawa acknowledged with a nod.

  …

  Knock, knock, knock.

  The door opened only a few moments after Aizawa had knocked. Carter, with a bottle of rum in hand, stepped aside and allowed them both to enter the house without much question. Catherine was in the kitchen, making food for herself and Carter.

  “If you’ve come to ask for money, I recommend you don’t. The vegetables I bought today cost triple the regular price.”

  “No, that's not why we’re here. We came to talk about what happened this morning.”

  Catherine stepped away from the stove, looking at Aizawa. “Is there something peculiar about waking up in a bar post-celebration?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Aizawa shook his head. “No, but the circumstances around it. Do you have any memory about what happened yesterday after that successful hearing?”

  Catherine thought for a few moments, sipping some coffee. Her brows furrowed in an almost contemplative manner.

  “I don’t remember anything aside from the drinks. We had that stuff from the Adligon Clans, did we not?”

  Aizawa groaned. “What do you know about vulpurs?”

  “Vulpurs? That’s quite the shift in topic.” Catherine looked taken aback at first, but a smile formed on her face.

  She practically skipped over to the library near the fireplace, plucking a few thick and dusty volumes from the shelves. After placing them on the table, she suddenly sniffed the air.

  “After the Pollinators raided our place and got rid of the… corpse under the floorboards, they unexpectedly commissioned a well-known carpenter to repair them. So if you do smell some things, I’d let you know that's the reason.”

  “A body under the floorboards?” Olivia and Aizawa’s eyes widened.

  “That was weeks ago. The last killing we did was during the Blood Moon,” Catherine mused with a sigh, opening one of the dusty books before her.

  In the faint lighting of the gas lamps, Catherine began to read the text. It was an excerpt from a scientific travel journal.

  “Vulpurs are… interesting creatures. They possess the traits of humans and foxes in one. I learned that due to a strange convergence event, the two unfamiliar species merged together, one remaining dominant while having the others anatomical traits. Of course, The Great Extinction had only happened one-hundred years ago, and humanity is still recovering.”

  Upon hearing the unfamiliar term, Aizawa arched an eyebrow. “The Great Extinction?"

  Catherine nodded. “It was an event that killed all life on earth, leaving the world vacant for a few months.”

  “I’m sorry… months? Wouldn’t an event like that have done enough damage to cause mass famine and chaos?” Aizawa was taken aback by the absurdity of the entire explanation.

  “Though it’s mostly unreliable, some ancient scriptures say that Mother Nature emerged from the ruins, working to repair the destruction.”

  “Who or what could have caused such an event?” Olivia asked, her face paling.

  In the past month she’s been here, the concept of existences powerful enough to destroy the world still rattled her to the core.

  “Many don’t know. Some say it was powerful existences from the Underworld destined to wreck havoc and cause chaos. Others say it was the work of only one powerful entity.”

  Upon seeing Aizawa and Olivia’s complicated expressions, Catherine switched the topic. “The vulpurs have an interesting diet. Their food is luscious, their berries filled with a jam-like substance. If I were all the lesser of a being, I wouldn’t have known of their toxicity to regular humans.”

  Aizawa raised his hand, cutting Catherine off in the middle of her sentence. “So vulpurs can eat food that’s poisonous to humans? And yet they’re almost genetically similar?”

  “What exactly do these creatures look like?”

  The black-haired woman adjusted her glasses as she turned the book over to Aizawa. On the pages, he saw a drawing on a piece of wrinkled paper. He saw a man and a woman, who looked ordinary at first, but a pair of large, fox-like ears protruded from their head—the vulpurs looked like humans, but they had fox-like traits as well.

  “They should be easier to spot then.” Aizawa crossed his arms, leaning back in the armchair.

  “Easier to spot? W-what are you planning exactly?” Catherine asked.

  “I’ve deduced that a vulpur is behind the gaps in our memory. Now that I’ve consumed the Edict pathway potion, I’ve gained better access to my thoughts and mind. Through that, I learned of a conversation between me and someone related to a vulpur, as I repeated the statement under my breath before.”

  “A vulpur… in Seraphis Kingdom?” Catherine’s eyes widened.

  Aizawa nodded. “We’re going back to that bar to investigate. Maybe we can find something of value there—like possible evidence on the vulpurs appearance.

  “Also, due to Shinso’s disappearance in the morning, I have an inclination that the vulpur could be behind it. After all, I have a feeling an interaction between our species would have gone not as pleasant as I imagined. If Shinso had been captured and used as bait or held for a ransom, any idea on the vulpurs would be adequate.”

  “As for Ayumi?” Olivia turned to look at him, arching an eyebrow.

  “I think she wasn’t at the bar. From the current viewpoint of her lifestyle, she operates mostly with the Pollinators, so I can deduce she’s either doing something with them, or something else.”

  “Something else? You’re not uncertain, are you?”

  “I… am to a degree,” Aizawa huffed, noticeable disappointment and regret boiling in his stomach. “If we can’t find them… I’ll have no students left to protect. It was my recklessness and stupidity for not enforcing that stupid rule I made! I didn’t know Isaac would… get shot. Shinso’s missing, and Ayumi’s—”

  The door suddenly slapped open behind them. Ayumi, covered in sweat and pale in color, stumbled into the house breathlessly. Behind her, Humphrey stood in the doorway with wide eyes.

  “What on Earth happened to you?” Olivia shot up from the couch, darting over to Ayumi. “You look like you ran a mile, don’t tell me you’re hurt.”

  “T-the captain… in the underground ruins under Madame Fitzgerald’s house… he lost control and went crazy, and we took him back to the cathedral for an exorcism!”

  “W-what?” Olivia was completely dumbfounded.

  Tears picked at the corners of Ayumi’s eyes as she looked up at Olivia. “There’s something terrifying beneath the house. It’s old, and ancient, and powerful!”

  “Underground ruins?” Catherine stood up from her chair, walking over to Ayumi. “Tell me what exactly you saw under there. Why go down there to begin with?”

  Ayumi’s lips sputtered like a motor engine as the words spilled out. “After Madame Fitzgerald lost control and turned into a monster, her house began to experience very weird and scary changes. People were being dragged underground left and right, and only me, the captain and Jasmine escaped with our lives… I lost my friend in the accident.”

  “Lost control… dragged underground…” Catherine fell quiet, scratching her chin. At that thought, her eyes widened.

  She looked at Humphrey in the corner, stepping forward. Humphrey’s guard noticeably raised. Upon seeing this, she sighed.

  “The trail went successfully, I’m innocent, remember?”

  Humphrey recalled his time at the event, nodding his head. Though, Catherine could still tell the man felt uneasy around her. After all, she was still a criminal to some extent.

  “I’m excellent with history. If I could receive protection while entering the underground ruins, I can source the problem and figure out what the issue is… and destroy the place.”

  “W-what? No!” Tears streamed down Ayumi’s face as she latched onto Catherine’s blouse, sniffling like someone with a high fever.

  “You’ll die in there! The captain died there, I’m not losing you too!”

  “I assure you I’ll be alright; I can defend myself,” Catherine assured softly, running a hand through Ayumi’s hair.

  “No way in hell I’m letting you leave!” Ayumi’s grip tightened, her pale hands trembling.

  “Ayumi, let go of her.” Humphrey spoke up, his voice thundering and holding an almost commanding tone to it.

  “I’ve lost a friend today, another got hurt! I’m not losing another friend! Ever again!” Ayumi was practically screaming at this point.

  Aizawa finally stood up from his chair, walking over to Ayumi. He grabbed the back of her shirt, sharply tugging her away from Catherine.

  “Please listen to us.” Aizawa spoke in a collected manner, yet an inscrutable flicker of worry ebbed behind his dark-colored eyes.

  “Catherine can handle herself.”

  “S-she can’t! She’ll die and it’ll be my fault for not stopping her!”

  Before Ayumi could wriggle herself free, Aizawa unleashed the illusory binding cloth.

  “Sleep.” It was the first time Aizawa had used the listener's abilities.

  Ayumi’s eyes gradually closed, her body falling slack against Aizawa’s body. Aizawa looked at Carter.

  “Keep her safe. No one goes in, no one goes out.”

  Following that, he looked at Olivia. “We’re running out of options. We’re gonna visit Leo and see if he’s willing to help.”

  “Leo, that bartender guy?”

  “Something tells me he’s not a bartender anymore following what happened to his boss.”