10:00 am, 16th of August, 2027
In The Roseau Luxury Banquet, Melobranch.
"Make sure every single corner of the banquet hall and ballroom is clean. We are hoisting the Royal Family of Garharia, the Political Leaders of the Republic of Hurlan and the best detectives of the nation. The Crown Prince does not want a single detail to be missed." The manager of the banquet to the decor workers, who were doing their best to make the Banquet hall clean and beautiful.
In less than an hour, the guests will start arriving and the place will get crowded. The manager, Marquez, went around the banquet to manage the chefs, venue decorators, guards and greeters.
The event in the Banquet is organised by the Crown Prince every year. The Melobranch Detectives Banquet, as he calls it, is the most important event for a detective.
This is the day when the rankings of detectives all around the globe are released. But even before the release, the agencies who have the detectives in the Top100 are invited to a banquet and ball.
"Everyone! Get to work! Don't mess this up!" Marquez's shout echoed throughout the banquet and the kitchen.
"YES SIR!" Everyone responded with a shout.
........
10:45 am
"We are finally here!! I'm so excited. My stomach is burning with excitement!! Kya~!!" Eluya spoke while rubbing her face against Ellen.
"Meeeooooww~" Ellen shouted, feeling the excitement of Eluya but being a little annoyed because of how hard Eluya was rubbing her face against her.
"Aww~" Eluya made a sorry face as she rubbed her face a little softer against Ellen. "I'm sorry, dear.. Mama won't be hard on you again."
"She's spoiling Ellen, don't you think?" Iliana said calmly, still trying to adjust into the dress she wore for the banquet.
Eluya, who is used to dressing up for formal events like these, looked at Iliana and asked with a concerned look. "Iliana, are you alright? Is the dress irritating you?"
"No, not really. I'm worried that I'll fall on my face." Iliana said with a resigned laugh.
"Don't worry, you won't fall. I did teach you, so have confidence in my teaching." Eluya said calmly, before staring at Abel, who was standing outside, checking in with the staff to see if the entry had begun.
Upon getting a proper response, he walked back to the car and opened the door for Iliana and Eluya. He held his hands out for them, helping them get out of the car before handing the car key to the valet.
Iliana smiled as she got out of the car, holding Abel's hand, followed by Eluya. Then the valet drove away with the car.
Eluya wore a dark blue drizzle gown that contrasted beautifully with her white hair, styled in a delicate combination of thin and thick loop braids.
Iliana, on the other hand, was dressed in a light blue drizzle gown, her hair arranged in an unusual yet captivating waterfall braid.
Eluya had done both their makeup. Her own makeup style was minimalist, as she prioritised her natural beauty, nurtured through her diet, and the influence of her Divine Blood Art, which enhanced her radiance. This simplicity extended to Iliana as well, with only a single stroke of mascara and the faintest hint of eyeshadow-so subtle that it could easily be overlooked. Yet, this minimalism did nothing to diminish their allure, as onlookers remained mesmerized by their beauty.
As for Abel, he looked confident in his navy blue formal coat, accented with a gold chain draped from the pocket. His light blue shirt provided the perfect backdrop for the ensemble, with a black tie neatly centered. Though his attire was understated, the meticulous attention to detail caught the eye, drawing subtle admiration from those around him.
'Of course, I dressed all of us.' Eluya smiled, her eyes glinting with satisfaction as she noticed how the way she had styled the three of them was drawing attention from the crowd. For her, there was no greater honor than seeing her efforts recognized through the admiration of others.
Once they entered the banquet, they were greeted by the staff and were gifted bouquets.
Marquez, also, stepped up and greeted the guests. "Welcome to the Roseau Luxury Banquet, dear guests. I hope the journey here was pleasant. Please enjoy the event and in case of mistakes from our side, feel free to contact the guards."
"Thank you, Mister Marquez. I'm sure everything in this place is perfect. We don't doubt your capabilities." Eluya spoke calmly, her voice easing Marquez.
"Thank you, Miss Eluya. Now if you will excuse me." Marquez said calmly and went along the way to greet other guests, as it was his job as the manager of the banquet.
There were quite a few faces he has seen over the years and he remembered everyone that's been here before. And for those, who were new, he made sure to assign people to look after them.
Everything was going well in the banquet.
.........
"So, what should we do now?" Iliana asked Eluya, as they were seated in the ballroom.
"We. Wait." Eluya asked with her eyes glowing in excitement.
"I told you we shouldn't have come so early." Abel spoke with a sigh as he drank some water.
"But look at this! We can enjoy the beauty of this place by ourselves. We won't even get to talk to each other when the event starts." Eluya nudged Abel and Iliana with her elbow, since she was sitting on the chair in between them.
"Meow~" Ellen purred with her obligatory perch on Abel's head.
"Aww.. Little Ellen wants to see more of the banquet." Eluya spoke, looking at Abel.
"Fine.." Abel stood up slowly and walked away, showing Ellen the banquet and the ballroom.
........
As Abel walked around the banquet, he met a lot of people.
Some were even nervous that they were invited to this banquet, which reminded Abel of his self, a few centuries ago. When he was so nervous for every formal occasion, but that nervousness had vanished a long time ago.
"Meow?" Ellen sounded confused as she looked at the man who came out of nowhere and stood in front of Abel.
"Hello kid! Long time no see." The middle aged burly man spoke as he moved his hand for a handshake.
Abel recognized the man and sighed with a smile. "It's been a while, Mr. Rank One. And please, I'm not a kid by any means." Abel spoke as he shook the man's hand.
The Man, Morel, was the Rank One detective. He held the undisputed record of 300 pending cases in one week. He deserved every bit of respect that Abel had for him.
Morel was called the symbol of hope, the Bringer of Justice and many more, but Abel wasn't trying to put this humble man on a pedestal so high. So he had a nickname for Morel, 'Mr. Rank One'.
"Oh please, I'm just an old guy who works as a detective for a living. It's the criminals who are dumb." Morel spoke with a smile, before his gaze fell on the car perched on Abel's head.
"Wait, pets were allowed here?" Morel asked, since he wasn't aware if pets were allowed in or not.
"They are. Mr. Marquez said that as long as she doesn't bother other guests, she'll even get her own bowl of food and water." Abel said calmly and Ellen purred happily as if she understood everything that Abel just said.
"Wow. And where are those two ladies that are always beside you?" Morel asked.
"In the ballroom, waiting for the event to start. And what about you, Mr. Rank One? Where is your team?" Abel asked calmly, after all, Morel's team was just as legendary as him.
A three person detective team, with the three of them ranking 1, 2 and 12 by themselves. They were so well known that even the Worshippers of Justifia and other High Priests of Justifia like Farina and Gerald knew their names.
"Well, they are roaming around somewhere. They don't listen to me when we are at an event." Morel said with a smile.
"By the way, aren't you worried that someone in that ballroom will try to flirt with those ladies? What if they leave you?" Morel whispered in Abel's ear.
"Oh please, It's their decision to accept or reject a guy's flirting. Who am I to say anything?" Abel replied with a smile.
"Oh! No jealousy whatsoever. Oh well, you should trust them that much if you ever want to marry them. That's how I met my children's mother." Morel said with a chuckle, then he walked away.
'That man really is an enigma.' Abel thought to himself before he continued walking around.
........
"Are you sure that the worshippers of the Mechanical God will try to summon Rudandon here? Using one of the guests as a medium?" The man who was dressed in extravagant attire with jewels, gold and platinum. His golden eyes looked into the crowd below, at the ballroom, followed by a sigh. "Keep me updated on any sign of THEM."
The man stood up and walked out of the hidden room on the first floor and made his way to the banquet below.
"Yes, Your Highness." The female, who was the servant of the man in the golden attire, disappeared into the shadows. Her eyes fixated on every single person present in the banquet.
........
11:10 am
"Ladies and Gentleman, Today, We are all gathered here for the Annual Melobranch Detectives Banquet. Some of us have been here for the first time, while some have been here many times. But as a citizen of this world, I would like to thank you all for bringing truth to light and spreading the notion of justice and fairness." Marquez spoke, as he stood in the middle of the ballroom, the spotlights were focused and all 231 guests were looking at him.
Though not everyone was in the Top100 list but they all deserved to be here by supporting those who were in the Top100.
"Now, The Crown Prince of Garharia, Austin Ashiwal Garharia, will announce this year's Top100 list. Please enjoy the night here as you are the team of the best detectives and the best detective agencies in the entire world. Please give a huge round of applause for His Highness, The Crown Prince."
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At that moment, the spotlight shifted from Marquez to Austin, he was dressed in an extravagant attire, fit to be worn by a crown prince. The chains that draped from his pockets and the smoothness that could be felt from far away, left people in awe.
"Congratulations to those who have gotten their names written in 2027's Top100 list and a heartfelt thank you to everyone for preserving the notion of justice." The Crown Prince spoke, followed by never ending waves of applause from everyone.
Then the crown prince walked to the wall covered by the curtains, which was guarded up until now and no one was allowed near it.
He pulled a rope and as the curtain fell, the Silk Cloth engraved with the names of 100 detectives was revealed to everyone present.
"Oh my! The list is very different from what I expected."
"Yes, but hey look at that, Mr. Morel is still at Number 1 and his partner, Miss Rosie is at Number 2."
The people talked to themselves, since everything was after the first two were not what they would've expected.
"Oh my my! I'm Rank 3!" Eluya said with a smile, while covering Ellen's ears to protect her from the loud clapping sounds.
Eluya had moved up one Rank. From Rank 4 to Rank 3.
"Wait what?! I'm Rank 99." Iliana was surprised at the sudden increase in her rank. Last year, she was 1355.
"Well you did solve more cases as compared to last year and you solved the Legacy Case too." Iliana spoke with a smile before her eyes fell on Abel, who didn't seem to care about his ranking.
"Hey, Mr. Swordsman~." Eluya said in a seducing tone. "Where is your name?"
But before Abel could answer, she found it herself. "Oh there it is!"
Abel was in Rank 5, just two ranks below Eluya. He had also moved up, from 7 to 5.
Iliana smiled as she looked at the list. All three of them were in the Top 100.
And all of a sudden, they were surrounded by their fellow detectives.
"Wow, Miss Iliana, how do you feel after ranking in the Top 100 Rankings?"
"Woah, Miss Eluya, congratulations on achieving Rank 3."
"What's the secret to achieving high ranks?"
"What's your secret to your beauty? How do you look so beautiful without makeup?"
The people crowded Eluya and Iliana, while Abel sneaked past the crowd without being caught and met the Crown Prince on the First Floor, overseeing the Ballroom.
"First of all, allow me to congratulate you and your team on reaching the Top 100 collectively. Alas, if there were an agency ranking, all of you would have definitely been up there as well." Austin said with a smile as he reached his hand out to Abel, but not for a handshake but a fist bump.
"Thank you.. And congratulations to you too, Isn't this event just a segway for you to announce your engagement with Lady Rina?" Abel spoke with a calm look, since he knew the Crown Prince.
"I can't hide anything from you, can I? But No, not today. That can wait." Austin spoke with a chuckle, before sighing.
"Why did you come up? Go down and enjoy. The ball is about to start, isn't it good to make contacts with the Higher Authorities of other nations." Austin spoke, taking a sip from his wine glass.
"If that's what you say, I was just here to say congratulations on your engagement. You should do a better job hiding the ring." Abel chuckled before he left the room.
Hmm.. Can't really fool that guy with Magic or Blessings.' Austin thought to himself as he put down the wine glass, looking at his right hand's ring finger. The symbol of his love for Rina, the Daughter of the Democratic Party of Hurlan.
..........
Once the talks about the rankings and the excitement for it died down, everyone sat back in their places.
By then, Abel had also returned to his seat after congratulating every other group and individual members whose names were in the Top100.
Ellen purred as she saw Abel sit back on the table beside Eluya and Iliana.
"Good call, Ellen." Eluya rubbed Ellen's back for reminding her.
"Abel, where did you disappear off to? The ones congratulating us were looking for you." Eluya spoke to Abel calmly.
"I was congratulating others. I did meet them all later, don't worry." Abel replied back as he adjusted his coat and tie before sighing in relief.
"By the way, Iliana seems to be dazed? What happened?" Abel asked calmly.
"Well, you see. A lot of the men in those groups asked us out in the end.." Eluya said calmly, leaving Abel to figure out the rest himself.
"So while you are used to it and rejected them, Iliana was bewildered and couldn't reject so you had to step up for her?" Abel guessed.
"Yep, exactly." Eluya said with a chuckle before she lightly shook Iliana, who was still blushing hard.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not used to being the centre of attention, I don't know how Eluya handles this much." Iliana said, hiding her face in her hands.
........
11:45 am
The Banquet was proceeding smoothly, and this was something that Marquez was proud of. Till now, not a single thing has gone wrong, surprisingly.
'No, I must not jinx it.' Marquez thought to himself before he quickly walked to the kitchen to check up on the food.
Meanwhile in the ballroom, the ball dance was proceeding smoothly.
The music was smooth, elegant, rhythmic and flowing, and the footsteps of the detectives dancing among each other in a steady tempo that matches the pace of the romantic melodies of the waltz being played by the Empire's best Waltz group.
And even though Abel wasn't participating in the dance, Eluya didn't let anyone else hold Iliana as she took Iliana to the floor herself.
"Feeling comfortable, Milady?" Eluya asked with a hint of seduction in her eyes.
"Yes, yes." Iliana replied back in a low voice, her lips curled up in a smile as she lets her body flow with the slow tempo that Eluya was dancing to.
There were multiple actual couples in the Detective Agencies who were dancing with the same step as if everyone was thinking of the same sweeping motion for the dance.
Abel looked at all of it from a distance, since he was cataclysmically bad at dancing. The last time he tried to dance was 157 years ago, where he tried to dance with Eluya, following the oncoming of 10th and 11th.
On that day, his dance broke not only Eluya's heels but also his own bones. It was so horribly beautiful that Lady 4th forced him to take dancing lessons but poor Abel hasn't danced ever since.
Meanwhile, on the floor above the ballroom,
"Dear, are you alright?" Austin frowned seeing Rina so tired.
"It's okay, my love. I'm just a little tired." Rina, who was dressed in a Yellow Drizzle gown, the dazzling look and beauty was befitting of the future queen of Garharia.
Austin, who was holding Rina's hand, walked her to the chair in the room, helping her sit down.
"You are sweating a lot for someone who's in a room with 25°C as the temperature." Austin spoke calmly as he took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her forehead, though some of her mascara was ruined by how much she was sweating.
Just then, the maid that always stays beside Rina, Sisse, walked inside the room and spoke calmly.
"Your Highness, Lady Rina has been called by her father. Allow me to escort her back to her father." Sisse said, keeping her head bowed, her hands tucked in front of her and not a single unnecessary movement was present in her body.
She wasn't Rina's maid for the show.
"Yes." Austin nodded as he looked at the maid before turning his attention to Rina, helping her stand up and walking her to Sisse. "Please take care, dear."
"Yes, my love. You too.. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." Rina said with a smile before she left the room with Sisse supporting her.
..........
"Is our plan working?" asked the man, who was looking at the ballroom's dance from a distance.
"Yes, we haven't been suspected yet. Soon, it will happen.. All thanks to the help of the Strange guy." The female beside him replied.
Both of them were disguised as servants and were indistinguishable from a normal crowd because they were normal. Average at everything, they didn't stand out in the servants nor onlookers. But they were different, somehow.
Their gazes were darting between various couples dancing but to their amazement, there were two women dancing with each other in this as well.
"Wait, isn't she?" The female spoke as she recognised one of the women. The woman who was taking the front in the dance, Eluya.
"Disperse immediately. If she's here then the other one is here too. We cannot get caught." The man spoke immediately as the two of them got away immediately. Their actions weren't suspected as they moved around like normal.
They had total control over their current bodies so they didn't sweat or change their heartbeat as they lied and worked around the banquet like normal workers.
..........
Morel, who was tired looking at the couples dancing, got up from his seat and walked up to the table where Abel was and sat beside him.
"Hey, kid. Aren't you gonna join those two ladies?" Morel asked.
But Abel just shook his head.
"I'll accidentally break their legs and the floor if I even tried. I'm just that bad.." Abel said, but he wasn't that bad after the lessons he took.
"So do you dance or destroy? Because that doesn't sound humane at all." Morel said, a bit terrified after he realised that Abel wasn't lying. He really was that bad, at least in his own eyes.
Just then, the entire place shook as if there was an earthquake. But it didn't feel like an earthquake.
It wasn't that the ground was moving. No, the ground was still.
It's the sky that was shaking.
"Why is the sky suddenly shaking?!" Morel shouted as he tried to stand up but the ground started shaking as well.
"What the HELL?!" He shouted as he fell on the ground, and looked at Abel, who remained surprisingly calm.
Not just him, but Eluya, one of the ladies who worked beside him was just as calm. In fact, these two were the only ones who were unaffected by the shaking of the sky and earth.
But as soon as the shaking stopped, the roof of the building blew up. Not just the banquet, but every building in the capital that had more than one floor blew up such that there was only the ground floor with clear sky above.
Just then, Crown Prince Austin and Rina came running inside the ballroom. Though they didn't look injured, Rina was screaming while holding her head tightly.
She was holding herself so tightly that her nails were digging into her flesh as blood poured all over the carpets on the floor.
"Someone! Anyone who can help Rina with her pain?!" Austin shouted, as at this point, there was nothing else he wanted but to ease Rina off her pain.
A few people rushed over to the Crown Prince, since some groups had doctors in them for injuries.
But even after a lot of attempts, they were unable to ease Rina and just like that, she fell unconscious.
But it was clear that whatever was torturing her was still there as the nerves on her temples were still visible.
Then suddenly, the sky split in a roar, loud enough for everyone to cover their ears, except Abel and Eluya, who stared at the sky in disbelief.
"There is no way this is happening." Abel murmured.
"This should not happen. We aren't at that point yet." Eluya said as she fell down on her knees.
A large space worm slowly descended from the crack in the sky, it had an uncountable amood teeth in its mouth. Though it was a bit far away, it's size was still massive as it covered the entire sky with just a part of its body.
The space worm looked below and its eyes fell on Abel, Eluya and Rina.
"anTi-DestruCTion... cOnStanT fLOweR... This world should not end yet.. Help me kill that woman.. She bears the Seed of Doom." The space worm, who Abel and Eluya immediately recognised as Rudandon, The Elder God of Doom, aka the Devourer of Failed Timelines.
This was not a being that comes without a warning and its intentions currently were not of harm, cause if it was, then the entire world won't be standing here.
Though no one else has figured out its identity, everyone instinctively knew not to look at it as its very existence gnawed away at their soul.
Abel and Eluya looked at each other, before turning their gaze on Rina, whose forehead was covered in a symbol.
Which both of them knew about, it was the Seed of Doom. This symbol was the very reason why multiple worlds were destroyed, why the essence of justice was tainted.
Iliana, who was unable to look up, instead looked at Abel and Eluya and following their gaze, she looked at Rina.
"No.. Don't do it." Iliana knew what was going on inside their head. Since the two of them are people who can kill for the greater good without a second thought.
But before the two of them could move, a strange black fog started to leak out from the Crown Prince's body.
"No.. You are saying this was planted in her." Austin spoke calmly.
"reGresSoR, remOVe the Seed fRoM heR heaD." Rudandon spoke to the Crown Prince, addressing him as regressor.
This shocked Eluya but not Abel, since he knew Austin since before Austin became an apostle.
Austin nodded at Rudandon, before he pushed the people who were tending to Rina's pain just a moment ago. His hands held a pen, the only weapon he could find currently.
He sat down beside Rina as if he was about to stab her to death, to ease her off the pain. The Seed of Doom cannot be removed any other way.
But no matter how much everyone waited, Austin didn't strike Rina. He couldn't.
He loved her way too much to sacrifice her.
"I can't.. I love you way too much to do that."
Then Austin looked up at Rudandon and asked, despite this action eating away at his soul.
"When was the seed planted?" Austin asked.
"20 minutes.." Rudandon answered.
'So I will regress back to the start to the banquet and protect Rina.' He thought to himself as he gripped the pen harder.
"Noganonozue! I hereby accept that offer of being your apostle. Give me the blessing to regress back one day!" Austin shouted towards the sky as he held the pen against his neck.
Abel and Eluya tried to move as soon as they heard the name of Noganonozue, The Outer Entity of Regression. But no matter how fast they tried to move, their body was restricted under the presence of an Outer God, while for others, even breathing was hard.
But just as they were about to reach Austin and snatch the pen from his hands, their bodies were slammed against the floor.
"No.." Abel whispered since he knew what this was.
Noganonozue was listening to Austin and accepted his cry for help.
Then another voice rang through their ears.
"Save the world, little one.."
'As if one Outer God wasn't enough.'
As soon as the Second Outer God's voice was heard, every person except a select few like Iliana, Morel, Howard, Altaria and a few others, had their heads burst off like a balloon.
The whole place was now coated in blood. And just then, another scream was heard, which was suppressed as if the voice box collapsed immediately.
Austin, clutching the pen tightly, drove it into his neck. His eyes, filled with determination, locked onto Abel and Eluya before he exhaled his final breath.
And then, a black mist rushed out of his body and covered the entire world. Just like that, even Abel and Eluya closed their eyes.
..........
10:48 am
"So, what should we do now?" Iliana asked Eluya, as they were seated in the ballroom.
"We. Wait." Eluya asked with her eyes glowing in excitement.
As Eluya and Iliana turned their head to look at Abel, they got a bit scared. Abel was shaking in fear.
"Hey, Abel? Is everything alright?" Iliana asked with a worrisome tone.
"Is everything alright, Abel? Do you need more water?" Eluya asked as she patted his back and took the water glass from his trembling hands.
'So even she did not remember.' Abel thought to himself.