Showing the unexpected guests off, Victor closed the shop once again and stayed still for a while.

Thinking back to the previous conversation he had with the police, he felt somewhat safer. So diligent. Some might think that the police are annoying, but they are working hard around the clock.

Finally stepping away from the front door, Victor touched his hair and swept his fingers through it a few times.

Well. Now that I am dry already, it does seem a bit inappropriate to go back to soak in. Maybe I will get a good night's sleep since I know that the police are working hard to keep the ordinary citizens like me safe.

Making his way to the bathroom, he let the water out from the bathtub and gently picked his plastic rubber duck.

''Sorry for the short bathing time, Ducky. Maybe next time.'' Victor placed the plastic duck back to its own place and started to brush his teeth.

Finishing his preparation for sleeping, he looked deeply into the mirror and sighed.

''I really do have to get some company... Talking to myself is getting a bit creepy. It's like I am slowly devolving into some sort of a degenerate.''

Snapping out of his loneliness, Victor made his decision. Maybe I should get a fierce guard dog? That solves two of my problems at the same time: Loneliness and security.

Wrapping himself in nostalgic memories of his time with his foster parents, he felt warm and fuzzy. Memories of their family dog named Pepi came into his mind: How energetic, loyal and cute it was.

''Damn it. Now I really have to get a dog, they are so cute and reliable.''

Leaving the bathroom with a lonely shadow following him, he did not notice the shadow wriggling slightly.

If Victor would have seen it, he would obviously recognize it as a wide grin forming in its head.

Unaware of anything strange, Victor tucked in for the night and tried to sleep. Rolling for a while in his bed, the delicate face of the female officer from earlier came into his mind.

''Still it is rare to see police officers to be interested in symbols and history, even if it is foreign to them. Maybe when she comes back to pay me the rest of the book, I could ask her for a coffee sometime...''

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Back at the headquarters Erikson, Larsson and Byron reported to their Captain what they found out by interviewing Victor.

''What do you mean he is dangerous? Is he the guy we are looking for or not?''

Meekly looking away from the intense stare from their Captain, the team responsible for the interview stayed silent.

After a brief silence, Larsson broke the silence and met the Captain's eyes.

''Sir...We are quite sure that the shopkeeper is at least in some form related to the murder of Edward Baumhouser, but we can't prove it. To be frank with you Sir, I think it is best if we leave him to his own devices as long as he doesn't break the law blatantly.''

The Captain took a deep look at Larsson and then slowly shifted his eyes towards Erikson and Nicole as if to ask them if they agree.

''Sir. There is something you should know before commenting on that.''

Nicole took an object covered with black plastic wrapped around it and unfurled it. ''This is what the shopkeeper casually sold me. And to be quite frank, there was quite a price tag attached to it if I might add...''

Taking a look at the gray leather bound tome with bright red letters, the Captain felt a tremor in his very being.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

''Let me take a look at it'' Grabbing the tome roughly, he tried to open it.

''Why the fuck is it not opening? Did he sell you a joke grimoire?''

Taking the tome back from her Captain's trembling hands, Nicole lightly opened the tome with great ease.

''It cannot be opened by anyone but me. We already had the lunatics at the lab try every trick in the book for naught.'' She said with a grim tone, and continued with her explanation.

''I cannot divulge anything that the book contains even if I tried. As soon as I try to, something dark and twisted prevents me from doing so. Just know that this is helpful for the team and me in the long run.''

Looking at the tome in Nicole's hands, the Captain held some fear towards the unknown.

''For now, the tome remains in the research section until we find out what is its purpose and possible side effects. Did you get anything else from the shopkeeper besides the clue in slums?''

Nicole looked at her immediate supervisor with an obvious dissatisfaction in her face, but chose to answer on behalf of her team.

''He did say slums as a clue, but besides that we have nothing to go on. We discussed this with Erikson and Larsson, but so far he seems to be neutral towards everyone.''

Seemingly in deep thought, the Captain turned his uniform back towards the team and stayed silent for a while.

''Dismissed. I have some calls I have to make.''

Nicole and the rest left the Captain's office with some dissatisfaction, but still lingered outside the closed door. Carefully placing her head against the sturdy door, Nicole could hear a faint voice reaching her.

''This is John Murray from the special department, add Victor Wartell to the list. Yes, you heard correctly... And add it as a Special class individual, so far chaotic neutral alignment.''

Seeing Nicole looking a bit puzzled, Erikson nudged her on the shoulder.

''What's wrong? Heard something surprising?''

Tilting her head slightly sideways, she asked with curiosity. ''What is the list?''

''I'll tell you later, rookie. I have a hunch that we are going to be dispatched to the slums soon...''

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In a damp underground cellar silence reigned. Only slight breathing and the flickering of the torches were heard.

Unknown hooded figures were gathered in a semi circle watching grimly the small magical lock box floating mid air. Flickering light with greenish hue reflected back from eyes observing the box slowly melting apart.

Cold metallic sound echoed in the cellar, as the lock box slowly crumbled into small bits into the ground.

The most keen observers could hear the sound of increased heartbeats coming from the hooded figures as flickering flames slowly illuminated the content inside.

Slowly taking off his hood, Rob relaxed his mana output that he channeled towards the small item surrounded by greenish hue.

Impatiently he walked a few steps forward and reached out to the small, inscribed crystal that was hidden away behind locks.

He then slowly inspected the item he risked his life for some time ago, his face revealed ecstatic joy.

''Brothers and sisters. We have found the missing piece of evidence and the location for the drugs. No longer we will be hiding from the long standing oppression and human experiments. Karl, would you like to say something?''

Large framed man stepped forward and removed his hood slowly to reveal his facial features: Disfigured face filled with scars and burn marks.

''Even if the church was once the shining beacon of hope to people like us: Slumdogs, outcasts and abandoned stray rubble at the bottom of the society, we must not let others suffer the same fate as we once did.''

Taking a deep breath and looking around himself at his comrades that share his beliefs, he continued on.

''Maybe we have not been the model citizens that society would want us to be. But people like us need to get their hands dirty to get the justice that was denied before.'' Karl looked at his rough hands and raised his eyes towards the crowd.

''Tonight! We will cut off their cruel experiments and show that even the lowest of the low can achieve greatness with effort and luck.''

Karl reached his right hand with only 4 fingers deep into his robes and pulled out a rugged looking wrist ornament.

''We have all been showed the truth with the guidance of brother Rob, and found a way to forge a new destiny.''

Rob steadily walked next to Karl, grasped his staff and announced the location where the operation would take place. ''Ladies and gentlemen. Tonight we will return to our roots: The dark slums of Runa await us.''

Gazing at the hooded figures, Rob spoke out once again with a fanatic expression. ''When the light fades.''

The hooded figures each took an article of unknown origin from their robes and answered back.

''ONLY TRUTH REMAINS!''