3 years ago
The young man that would one day become the mage hunter known as Anon, looked nervously at the paper in his hand. The instructions said floor 29, room 913. The mage hunter class at the academy had already started. He was about one month late. He finished his exams in the police academy and now he was well on his way to becoming a mage hunter. His family had magical ancestry but the magical blood had run thin. His father was an accountant, his mother was a secretary. He recalled his great grandfather who could still use magic, but the recollection was vague. His great-grandfather was a mage hunter and quite a famous one at that. Anon, the name he chose for himself, would carry the legacy. It was short for Anonymous. He wanted to be known yet remain unknown, an idea that sounded incredible to a teenager all those years ago when he came up with it. Now, as a 22-year-old, he was glad he had chosen the abbreviation instead of the full word when he registered it.
Feeling incredibly nervous he opened the door to the classroom. To his surprise, there was quite a large group of people. He had heard that due to high difficulty not a lot got accepted and even less graduated. FBI caught human criminals, and mage hunters while cooperating with police, and the FBI caught mages. The job came with high risks and high death rates so there was always a demand for skilled individuals willing to do it. While the pay was good, not many people wanted to be mage hunters. So seeing a nearly full classroom was quite a surprise. The only free seat was in the middle row, in the very back, next to a blond young man in a suit.
He noticed that everyone how everyone was starting to notice him.
“Did you get lost or something?” a man in the front row asked.
“I don’t think so, this is the mage hunter course right?”
The man just nodded.
“Hello everyone, I’m Anon. Nice to meet everyone!”
A couple of girls laughed. Anon began to make his way to the seat in the back but was stopped again.
“You might wanna sit somewhere else.”
“Why?”
He looked at the blond man again. He had book stood up and shielded most of him from view. That was a really weird way to read, it occurred to Anon. He had heard that mages were eccentric at best and total weirdoes at worst. Having grown up with normal human parents he wasn’t sure what to expect.
“Let’s just say Toshi isn’t the type you wanna socialize — “
The you man stopped mid-sentence and Anon noticed the blond young man glaring at both of them.
“You talking shit behind my back? I’m right here, ya know.”
Anon smiled.
“Hi, I’m Anon. I’m new here. Can sit there?” he pointed to the empty seat.
“Sure,” the threatening demeanor seemed to soften somewhat.
“Toshi, right?” Anon asked.
“Toshiko Kageyama.”
Anon looked at the young man again: blond hair, ocean blue eyes, a bit of stubble, dark circles under the eyes. The suit he was wearing seemed a bit too big for him as it hung rather loosely. He sat sloughing forward with his chest pulled in between his shoulders.
“Sorry,” Anon said, realizing he was staring.” You don’t look Japanese.”
“My dad was half Japanese and my mother was American. So I’m like a quarter Japanese,” He answered rather calmly.
Anon noticed the past tense.
“I’m Sorry. It must be hard on you — losing both of your parents.”
The young man looked surprised by this.
“ Whatever. It was ages ago. Not like I knew them. They were probably idiots — Toshiko is a girl’s name. “
Anon couldn’t help but laugh a little at the nonchalant manner.
“Your parents were idiots too or something? What kind of name is Anon, anyway?”
“Sorry, that’s my mage name.”
“Wait, you gone already? I still can’t decide on mine. I want something cool-sounding like Night Stalker or Slasher or Mage Ripper. I really can’t decide.”
“You shouldn’t rush into it. I came up with mine when I was twelve. It’s short for anonymous. Now I’m kind of glad I went with Anon.”
Toshi starts laughing.
“You seriously named yourself Anonymous?”
Anon can’t answer because he’s laughing. Toshi is laughing too. People turn to look at them but he doesn’t care.
Since that day they had become inseparable. Anon had never had a close friend before, all of his classmates from school had chosen different paths in life and they’d fallen out of touch. He focused on his studies more than relationships while in the police academy which resulted in him not making any friends but graduating at the top of his class. Hanging out with Toshi reminded him what it was like to have friends. Despite being from different backgrounds they seemed to have a lot more in common when it came to their views and ambitions. Something just drew him to Toshi and he could not escape it but he also didn’t question it – happy just to have a friend again.
Nobody was perfect and Toshi was the definition of that. He was quick to anger but despite his threats of getting violent he never seemed serious about carrying them out. Anon figured he was self-conscious about his height since any comment about it would have him shouting death threats at the one who made it. He also noticed that Toshi always carried a Japanese sword with him.
“Is that for the protection of something?”
“No, this is my weapon. Kageyamas are an ancient clan of demon hunters.”
“Are demons real?”
“Well, yeah I guess. It’s kind of complicated. In essence they are evil that cannot be seen with the naked eye. They cannot do much on their own so they take control of people.”
“Ah, I see. That’s one of those old ideologies about why people do bad things.”
“It’s more complicated than just that but we’re not supposed to talk about this stuff with outsiders.”
“Still, being from an ancient clan like that must be pretty cool.”
“Not really. It’s a lot of work. Rules you have to follow, things you can’t do, a reputation you need to uphold. I mean the main family still lives in Japan. I’m from a branch family, nowhere near as important but we still have to act in a way that honors the main branch.”
“That does sound like a lot of work. I’m from a formerly famous mage family but my parents aren’t that strict or anything. Maybe you’ve heard of my great grandfather he was the mage hunter Silver Lance.”
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“Dude, you’re related to a legend!”
“When I found out that I could use magic becoming a mage hunter seemed like the only option. I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good as he was.”
“You have to, you’re carrying on the legacy. I guess that makes two of us. Since I’m the only man in the family I’ll be taking over when Gramps passes. “ Toshi looked at him expectantly.” So, how about it? You and me, we make it to the top and become the most renowned mage hunters of our era!”
“Who gets the top spot?” Anon asked.
“I’ll fight you for it.”
Those words had lit a fire in him and Anon threw himself into this new friendly rivalry between the two of them. Despite behaving a manner that was more fitting of a delinquent Toshi was incredibly intelligent. Anon had been shocked when he scored the highest during the test but nobody else seemed surprised, meaning this was a usual thing. Anon was usually at the top so being second to somebody felt like a blow to his ego. He swore he would score the highest next time.
Aside from taking classes, they were also required to become apprentices to a magus who was certified by the Magus Association and had their own agency. A certain amount of hours of police work and assisting on investigations was also mandatory. After six months of nothing but sitting in lectures it was finally time get out on the field. Anon had become an apprentice to a magus named Pamela, earlier that summer, as he knew it would be required. He didn’t like the woman much as she mostly used him to run errands. However, she had good recommendations and a stellar record when it came to solving cases with the police so he was willing to give her a chance. With his apprenticeship sorted out he focused on police work instead.
After patrolling the streets with a police officer and catching some petty drug dealers for a month, a real case finally landed. They had found the body of a woman with multiple stab wounds on the outskirts of town. Her clothes, identification, or any personal belongings were nowhere to be found. She had been stabbed in her chest several times.
Anon read the coroner’s report and paused at the line that stood out to him.
“What does it mean “potentially raped”? If she was wouldn’t it be obvious?”
The detective turned to him.
“The coroner said she had sex a few hours before her death. It’s possible she was a sex worker so the killer could have been a client. No traces of semen were found so it’s likely he wore a condom. “
“It says that splinters from a wooden object were found in -” Anon swallows uncomfortably”- In her vagina. So he had sex while wearing a condom and then shoved a piece of wood inside her. Why? This looks like it’s something more than a robbery. It seems like he wanted to hurt her. This feels personal.”
“We’re still trying to identify her. She doesn’t match any of our missing person’s reports. The lack of DNA and fingerprints on the body point to this being well planned out. He cleaned her before he dumped her. The scene where she was found was spotless too. She was killed somewhere else and transported to where she was found. If she was the intended victim or just an opportunity kill it’s not clear yet but I have a hunch.”
“What kind of hunch?” Anon asked.
“Whoever did this was skilled, well prepared. This is most likely not his first time doing it.”
“You think he might do it again.” Anon realized.
“It’s only a hunch. Let’s hope it’s wrong.”
“Has it ever been wrong before?”
“Only once.”
“Then let’s hope this is the second time.”
Anon rolled out of bed and hit the button on his alarm. It was 5 AM. He went to the bathroom and began preparing for his morning jog. He turned on the TV while waiting for the coffee to brew. Early morning news was on. A fisherman had caught a body in the river. Another body was found in a pile of leaves under a train bridge by a homeless person. He could not believe that two turned up in one night. Anon decided to skip the jog and go to the station instead.
He flashed his identification card before the receptionist as he rushed to the morgue but he had to wait for the detective in who was in charge of supervising him to get there- a tall, black man named Jared Hills.
“You’re here. I don’t remember calling you.” Detective Hills said.
“I saw the news.” Anon panted.
“Is it the same killer?”
The man sighed.
“Calm down. They’re still working on the bodies. It’s too soon to tell. Don’t go causing panic, okay? People tend to get nervous when you start waving the words serial killer around. So far there is no evidence to suggest that. “
“ I see. “ he said.
“All of you rookies are the same.” The man laughed. “ I was like that too once. You get your first murder case you think – serial killer. The fame of catching the next Ted Bundy it’s all you can think about. Most killers are ordinary people who make bad choices. Somebody got too drunk and got into a fight, somebody was owed money, and somebody was cheated on. Some are accidents. Most murders are a one-and-done kind of thing. We find the killer and put them away for good.”
“I’m sorry. I was being inconsiderate. “
“We’ve all been there, trust me. Even seniors in the field sometimes still dream about that big break of catching a criminal mastermind.”
“Have you ever worked a serial killer case?”
“Once. When I was a rookie. I didn’t so much work on it as I found one of the victims. The one who worked the case was Detective Avery Scott.”
“I haven’t heard that name before.”
“ He was my mentor. Brilliant man, smart, good at his job and he had those gut feelings occasionally. It was one of those feelings that led him to nearly catching the killer but then he got shot and didn’t make it. The FBI took over and claimed all the glory for catching the guy.” Hills clenched his fist tightly.
“I’m sorry,” Anon said.
“I remember how crazy things got back then. People were afraid to go out of their homes. If the police take too long to catch a killer suddenly we become idiots to the public. Serial killers are no joke. A competent one can avoid capture for months or even years and all you can do is sit there and wait for them to make a mistake. All the while, people are being murdered. But if there are no leads – there’s nothing to be done about it. I hope to never have to deal with that shit again.”
“ They weren’t joking when they said that to be a mage hunter you need to be cop a lot more than a magus.” Anon sighed.” Catching regular criminals is hard enough but when they can use magic it becomes a whole different game. Have you ever encountered a criminal who was a magus in your line of work?”
“Thankfully no. “ The man said. “ One of the patrol officers did once. Caught something nefarious going on during one of his patrols and suddenly ended up on fire.”
“Did he survive?”
“Yes, with 4th-degree burns on 40% of his body.”
Anon winced.
“Damn. Did they catch the bastard?”
“I’m not sure. We had the agency call in experts and they took over the case.”
“Fire is a pretty common thing a magus can use.” Anon said.” It doesn’t help narrow down the suspect pool none. Aside from magic residue trackers, we use the same tools as regular police. Being good at forensics and detective work are the most important parts of the job.”
The nurse her poked head into the waiting room.
“He’s done examining the bodies. “
They followed her to the autopsy room. Anon still felt a little uncomfortable around dead bodies. The woman on the gurney had ginger hair and was young-looking. Clear finger-shaped bruising around her neck.
“She’s been strangled. I guess it’s not the same guy.” He whispered.
“Don’t make assumptions until you hear all the facts,” Hills warned.
“She’s been dead for approximately 48 hours before she was found.” The coroner said. “ The cause of death is as you guessed – strangulation, however, that is far from the full extent of it. “
Anon noticed several bruises on the woman’s body, especially on her thighs and abdomen. However, the coroner drew their attention to her arm.
“An injection site.” He pointed to the small mark.” Her blood shows a concentration of Rohypnol in it. She must have been injected with it before her death because the body typically flushed it out in the course of a few hours. “
Hills crossed his arms.
“That’s not typically used as an injection.”
“No. “ the coroner confirmed.” It’s usually a pill. “
“ I’ve read about this. It’s a date rape drug, usually dropped into alcoholic drinks.” Anon recalled.
“It’s known to cause blackouts and memory loss when mixed with alcohol.” The coroner said.” It doesn’t stay in the body for long in most cases but she still had it in her system when she was killed. However, there is still more.”
The man picked up something from the table with metal tweezers.
“Glass?” Anon said surprised.
“It was found inside her vagina. I believe he put a neck of a bottle or something similar inside her and then proceeded to hit her abdomen until it broke. The bleeding indicates she was still alive when the beating occurred.”
“Sick bastard,” Anon muttered.
“No semen?” Hills asked
“None. “ the doctor confirmed.
“What about the one in the river?”
The coroner walked over to the other gurney, covered by a sheet.
“She’s been in the water too long. Not much I can tell you. “
Anon felt bile rising in the throat as the man removed the sheet. He knew bodies swelled up in the water but this was the first time he had seen one.
“Anything you can tell me will do.”
“Well, I can say for sure she didn’t drown.”
The man pointed to the neck of the woman which showed marks of something having been wrapped around it tightly.
“Could it have been something in the river itself?” Hills asked.
“I haven’t found anything that would indicate that. “
“Any other injuries?” Hills asked
“Some fish bites and scratches but nothing more.”
“All right.” He turned to Anon “Do your thing.”
He had almost forgotten that he had a job to do, though it was really more a formality. Taking the black crystal out of the box in his pocket he held it over the first woman and moved it up and down and around her.
“Nothing.” He said with a sigh.
The crystal was a tool to detect traces of magical energy. It required the user to have some magical capability as it needed mana to work.
“Nothing on this one either.”
“Alright, go home. We’re done here.”
Anon sighed, something was bugging him but he couldn’t quite piece it together. He knew he had to see Pamela and give her the case reports. He didn’t feel like going but it was better to get it over with than have her nag him for it later.