Morning of August 7, 2027

Abel was in the kitchen early, cooking breakfast for Iliana and Eluya, who were still in their room and hadn't woken up yet.

Barely an hour ago, a Messenger from the court had arrived, handing Abel a letter. The letter had the Audit ID and the letter from Gerald, which was the legal document giving EIA Detective Agency the authority to conduct a fair audit and gather evidence about corruption of Aslahan, if there were any.

"Today is going to be a long day." Abel spoke calmly as he stirred the vegetables in the pot while the rice was being made in the pressure cooker on the other stove.

Iliana and Eluya, most probably, will not have breakfast and directly have brunch so he could go a bit heavy for the breakfast. Also, Eluya won't accompany him today because she needed to prepare for her ritual tonight which means she won't be able to step outside the house either.

The smell of the vegetables and spices were filling the kitchen and the light hissing of the whistle of the pressure cooker filled the kitchen. A sound and smell that Abel seemed to enjoy a lot more than he gave credit to.

And just as the whistle was about to hiss louder, Abel turned off the stove and then he covered the pot containing the vegetables with a lid as well and turned off the stove for the pot.

And just like that, the breakfast was ready.

"Phew!" Abel said with a smile as he removed the apron and walked back to his room, brushing his teeth and taking a long relaxing cold shower to calm himself down.

This day is gonna be very tiring for him, running an entire Audit by himself while holding himself back so he doesn't kill Zorick. It's going to be hard.

After the bath, Abel got dressed in a Black buttoned Shirt and Black Trousers with a White tie, wearing his Shoulder Holster armed with his Baretta 92FS as usual. In accordance with the rule, he wore a glove on his left hand, leaving the right hand bare finishing his outfit with White Cotton Socks and Formal Black Boots.

Then he left the room, walking down to the kitchen where he sits down and eats the rice and stir-fried vegetables, enjoying every bite of it.

Once he was finished, he put the dishes in the kitchen sink. Then he picked up the sticky notes & pen from the top of the refrigerator and wrote on it. 'I will be back by the time Eluya starts the ritual.'

He stuck the note to the refrigerator before sighing calmly. He was done here and should leave now, as the pickup vehicle is gonna arrive soon.

He looked at the clock. '5 in the morning', Iliana is going to wake up soon.

After ensuring that the food was secured in containers, Abel left the house, making sure the door was locked behind him.

Outside the agency, a car was waiting for him and he sat in the backseat of the car.

"Aslahan?" asked the driver, who was Gamma in disguise, sent by Omega to make sure Abel reaches Aslahan safely. Though she knew that nothing in Aslahan could kill him, but it would've been suspicious if she didn't send someone.

"Aslahan." replied Abel, knowing full well that the driver was someone that Omega sent. After all, no normal human would ever tremble as badly as the driver, if they couldn't perceive what he was.

The drive to Aslahan remained silent as Gamma made no attempts to start a conversation and Abel had no intentions to talk either.

Once Abel was out of the car and walked into the Prison of Aslahan, Gamma sighed in relief and almost immediately, he took his phone and called Omega.

....

"Gamma, what's the situation there?"

"Ma'am, I know I am your servant but that monster really did not need protection. If anything, then I was the one who'd have died the moment he wanted me to. It was incomparable to the 2nd Proxy of Obrax." spoke Gamma as he curled up into a ball. His hands still trembled as he could get himself to look out the window.

"Aww, it seems I sent you to bite more than you can chew. Let me tell you a secret Gamma.. That man is the Proxy of Justifia, he is also my master.. so the next time you call him a monster.. I'll sever your tongue and don't reveal this information to anyone else."

Then Omega hung up, leaving Gamma fearing for his life. The Proxy they killed on the battlefield was more like a toddler as compared to Abel.

Gamma, who was the fourth rank in the Corps of Seven, was an assassin and can easily judge people's physical strength at a glance. And even though he could see that he was not far behind Abel in terms of physical strength, his body screamed to not make any unnecessary moves lest he dies.

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"I'll wait for him outside. Madam Omega gave me this job so I could learn something from this... I'm only learning what fear is."

....

Inside Aslahan,

Major General Zorick was standing inside with Colonel Mary and a few guards standing beside them, to welcome Supreme Judge Gerald's representative.

"Welcome to the Prison of Aslahan, Mr. Abel. I hope you didn't have any problems while arriving here." Zorick said while smiling but it vanished quickly when he saw Abel's stoic face and his eyes staring into Abel's.

'Well, this is weird. Have I ever wronged this guy? His eyes have a hint of bloodlust.' Zorick thought to himself.

"Major General Zorick, I am Abel, Rank 7 in the Detective Ranking and I'll be the representative of Supreme Judge Gerald, acting in his stead to conduct the Audit of Prison of Aslahan. As per the law of Empire of Garharia, you can either allow the audit-cum-inspection to proceed or challenge me in a fair duel, if you win, then we'll consider Aslahan to be safe and in case you lose, you'll get penalties." Abel spoke in a calm voice, speaking exactly how Gerald mentioned in the letter.

"I see.. The Supreme Judge chose you for your forwardness. Very well." Zorick spoke with a smile as he removed the glove on his left hand and threw it at Abel.

"I challenge the Audit Team to a duel. I say, we have a duel in the Duelling grounds of Aslahan." Zorick spoke calmly, after all as the one initiating the duel, he was allowed to choose the place of the duel.

'This might be a bad idea.. but I'm in no position to decline because of so many breakouts.' Zorick thought to himself, waiting for Abel's response.

"And I say, we have it now." Abel spoke, using his right as the challenged to choose the timing of the duel.

"And I, Colonel Mary will act as a fair judge in this duel. I vow that my loyalty to Major General Zorick will not hinder my ability to deliver an unbiased result." Mary spoke while raising her hand, taking an oath to remain unbiased.

"Very well, lead the way." Abel spoke calmly, waiting for Mary to lead the way to the Duelling Grounds.

On the way to Duelling grounds, he could see the jail cells filled with criminals of various descents including but not limited to Humans, Vampires (mostly Uncouths), Elves and Merfolks.

"Are you interested in the stories of these criminals, Mr. Abel?" Zorick asked with a smile.

"No, not really." Abel replied calmly. Afterall, he was the Proxy of Justifia, he could already see why they were in the jail and most of them were justified as per the Law of Empire but some were framed.

"I see." Zorick replied, a little bit shocked as Abel didn't even look at the same prisoner twice yet his response was near instantaneous.

Once they reached the Duelling ground, Abel sighed as he removed his holster and put it down on a table. Then he removed his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

As for Zorick, he was doing the same. He put down his pistol on the table along with his utility belt.

'Am I going to use it today? On this lad.." Zorick thought to himself, contemplating whether he will use his trump card.

'Oh Eluya.. I want to break this guy's face so badly, for even thinking about doing those things to you. Oh Justifia, give me the strength to hold back against him.' Abel prayed silently as he removed the glove on his left hand and put it down on the table before standing in the Duelling Grounds.

"Both principals of the duel, please stand in the Duelling Grounds." Mary spoke while raising her hand to signify that the duel was starting.

And just like that, Zorick stood in front of Abel and both of them were still barehanded as the weapons hadn't been decided yet.

"As the challenged party, Mr. Abel has the right to choose the weapon." Mary spoke before turning her gaze towards Abel.

"I concede my right to choose the weapon." Abel replied calmly.

"Very well, then I'll choose. We'll go barehanded." Zorick spoke with a smile on his face, realising that he had the advantage now. After all, Zorick was a trained soldier and was one of the best in unarmed combat.

"The two Principals will fight unarmed. The Winning criteria is to make the other principal surrender. Take your positions." Mary spoke with a commanding tone.

And while this was happening, soldiers had gathered around the Duelling Grounds. Some were laughing, some were excited and some were scared.

"Who is that fool? Challenging Major General Zorick to hand-to-hand combat.. There are less than 3 people in the entire army who can compare to him in CQC." One of the soldiers stationed there spoke to his partner.

"But don't you think it's a bit suspicious. That man, Abel.. As far as I remember, he's the Rank 7 in the Detective Ranking. Though the Investigation Department and Army are different, and they perform different jobs.. It's entirely possible that their members are better fighters than us." said the second soldier while correcting his glasses.

"Huh? What kind of joke is that? Why would anyone who is that good of a fighter ever become a detective?" The first soldier mocked the choice of those people but the second soldier remained silent.

....

At the EIA Detective Agency,

Eluya was sick due to the overflow of energy in her body. She needed to do the ritual soon but it could only be done at night and Abel needs to be present in case of emergencies.

She barely got off the bed and took a bath before heading down to the kitchen.

"Oh, Iliana.. Good morning."

Iliana looked up at Eluya before fear took over, and she ran to her, holding her tightly.

"Hey, what's happening?!" Iliana shouted at Eluya. She had already felt uneasy from Abel's notes, but seeing Eluya so sick only made her more frightened.

"Nothing much.. It's just a thing that happens once every 60 years or so.. It's your first time seeing this, don't worry, I'll be fine." Eluya spoke in a sickly tone.

"So that is why Abel wrote that note.." Iliana spoke with a sigh before helping Eluya sit down at the table.

"You should rest today. We don't have a case yet and I'm going to apply today." Iliana spoke calmly as she checked Eluya's temperature, finding nothing unusual about it.

"Apply? For what exactly?" Eluya asked, confused about what could Iliana apply for this early in the morning.

"For interns, of course. We can apply to get our license to take in interns.. It's the extra income that we need for the future." Iliana clarified as she hugged Eluya, pressing her face into her chest. "But if you need anything, just ask away. I'll be taking care of you until you start the ritual."

"Yeah.. Thank you." Eluya spoke smiling before she gazes up at Iliana. "You smell nice." She added teasingly.

Iliana, just smiled at Eluya's teasing, before stepping away. "I'll be downstairs. Eat your brunch and come downstairs if you get bored." She spoke calmly as she served Eluya her brunch before walking downstairs into the office. The online forms are going to open today so she needed to prepare the documents before hand.