The clue I brought in the beginning was ambiguous, yet also promising. Asmodeus had perceived with a glance the curious pattern among all the disappearances. It turned out that they had all occurred in an area near the Elker forest, right in front of a river branch that veered quite far from the port.

Pocuán had been chained for so long that her muscles had begun to atrophy. She had managed to escape from her captors, but in her critical state, she couldn't have been able to get far from where they had held her captive. The lieutenant had pulled her out of the river at a point very far from civilization, right at the foot of the first mountain of Elker. The fact that no one at the port saw her floating was justifiable due to the stormy night, but it was more feasible to think that Pocuán had reached the river at a point far from the public eye.

Taking that into account, the most suspicious place was the one closest to the river and farthest from the rest of the port, just as the pattern of kidnappings hinted. Multiple places met those characteristics, but all were related to an old area of the city that had failed in its attempts to expand the port market and had been abandoned ten years after the city was founded.

That was the place Asmodeus and Lieutenant Roldus were heading to.

They crossed a bridge over the river —which was dilapidated from time— and continued walking despite the absence of civilization. As they progressed, it couldn't be suspected that that entrance to the forest would lead them to any place built by man. They traveled among large paths of shrubs until they arrived at a mysterious site with a stone floor that stretched over a huge area.

The undergrowth had already softened the stone between its roots, and only pieces of rock remained of the fine floor that had been attempted to be installed in the past. Some concrete columns were camouflaged among vines, consumed by years that did not correspond to reality and had left them in an unsuspected decay, as if nature had made more effort than ever to erase the footprint of man on that site.

Asmodeus stopped when he contemplated the first decayed building that could be glimpsed among the trees in the background, then ordered Abigail to stay and watch the area while he worked. His argument was simple: he needed someone to catch whoever might flee from the scene, but she understood that her master was just keeping her away from danger.

The young girl had many aspirations and was constantly harassed by what she wanted to be and couldn't achieve yet. The lieutenant knew because he had felt that way for a long time. Identifying that feeling on her face wasn't difficult. If he had been in her place, he would have ignored his master to sneak into the building and try to be of help. She, on the other hand, was much more docile and obedient. She accepted what her master asked of her, somewhat roughly, but she accepted it after all.

Asmodeus advanced without saying anything until he hid behind some bushes. His attitude and attire were as he always exhibited after that indifferent gesture of his gaze, but there were some elementary indications that only his closest friends could perceive in the apparent rigidity of his face.

Those more perceptive —like Abigail— were able to pinpoint the differences in Asmodeus's demeanor, which in that case would have seen the slight tension in his eyebrows, the inhuman contraction of his pupils, and the dull tone with which his eyes shone, unequivocal signs that he was in some intense state of meditation while continuing his life in the background. Lieutenant Roldus had come to the same conclusion with a single glance, though unaware of his reasons, just as smell identifies odors or skin, temperatures. His life as a soldier had conditioned his mindset to a more practical perception of his surroundings, avoiding deep analysis and focusing on what could be seen, felt, and used. That made him an attentive observer. Such ability allowed him to realize that the ten rings on his friend's hand were also not the usual ones. They were whiter and thinner than those he normally wore. The lieutenant was unfamiliar with metals, but he knew that his friend wore those for combat. They absorbed shpabisshys better and served to feed the tissues of his internal armor, which in turn increased his protection against shyvian attacks. They seemed like great tools that should be used all the time, but they had a cost that few were willing to pay.

He tried to introduce his concerns with a question, but Asmodeus responded so determinately that it invited absolute silence. The lieutenant paid attention again to the rings, white and thin. He was sure those were the ones Asmodeus was thinking about, the ones that shouldn't be used.

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—You said aforita is dangerous —he said.

—I remember —Asmodeus replied—. But it's more dangerous for you.

—You don't need it —said the lieutenant.

He was about to beg him to avoid such extremes, but he stopped at the instant he perceived his friend's aura.

Asmodeus's eloquent personality was only a small projection of the sharp mind hidden behind the mask of the master or the adventurer. Those who knew him could distinguish between all his silences. This one was heavier, colder. Such a man wasn't very communicative in any sense. He only used his voice as a means to an end. He never talked about feelings, nor emotions or dreams. He also didn't answer unnecessary questions.

He was thinking about something. It was something beyond the danger they might face. It was like the result of a deep dilemma and an anger that he could barely pacify. The lieutenant knew that words of encouragement didn't work on him as they did on other people. The only way to support him was to stay by his side while the natural flow of his thoughts led him to open up at the most opportune moment.

—It's illegal —he said.

—I know it's illegal —the lieutenant replied, swallowing his concerns for his friend.

—Losing your job and your rank will be the least of your problems.

The lieutenant looked to the side with a pensive gesture, after which he regained some of his smile. Asmodeus insisted with his position and made it clear that he could handle the situation alone. The lieutenant stayed silent, then lent a hand to his friend's briefcase.

—Craftiness and intelligence have their limits —he said—, especially when facing the unknown.

The sunset had already begun, and the sun's rays barely managed to slide over the treetops and clouds. The place they were interested in went as unnoticed as other buildings that were equally camouflaged in the landscape among vines, herbs, and the heavy branches of trees that descended to touch the roofs.

Asmodeus had investigated that place before. It was a warehouse built by an emerging company during the initial investments to build Elker. Its goal was to store materials for the other companies in the area and control their logistics. They had faith just like the kingdom in the prosperity of their project. These entrepreneurs managed to operate their company for a year, relegating most of their operations to that location because their businesses in Munrich had gone bankrupt, but eventually had to abandon the site when construction work began to attract the attention of numerous beasts from the Gaia forest, normally impassive to human advances, which showed unusually aggressive behavior. Twelve years had passed since then.

The lieutenant became a little more interested in the background of the site. Castiel told him that teenagers used to spend time in that area during its early years of abandonment, but everything changed when an Ekirma killed a boy. Since then, very few dared to visit it. That was noticeable in the appearance of the place, already totally conquered by nature.

The lieutenant doubted that investigations of the site would be fruitful, but Asmodeus trusted that the appearance of the surface was enough evidence to move forward. He pointed to the ground with his gaze when he noticed that the lieutenant didn't understand why, referring to the undergrowth whose strange distribution seemed to suggest an artificial pattern on the trail, especially on two perpendicular traces that resisted being devoured by the grass around them.

Asmodeus approached to feel the ground. It was very hard soil, but very light marks had managed to endure on it. He took out a metallic tool from his nolet and buried it in one of those marks. He observed it for a few seconds and finally stood up again.

—Wagons of almost a ton have passed through here —he said—. Small transports, possibly used to carry people.

It was time to go in. If there were guards inside, Lieutenant Roldus would attract attention due to his energy footprint. Asmodeus was an arcabassys, so he could go unnoticed by the senses of the usshyers. He asked to go ahead to explore the area, although the lieutenant knew it was more of an order than permission.

His friend was a very balanced man, but there were a lot of things he secretly abhorred; recklessness was one of them. The lieutenant had managed to forge a friendship with him respecting that, which was why he had no problem taking a step back.

Asmodeus headed to the warehouse on one side. He agilely climbed a wall using very small edges and superhuman strength in his fingers. He climbed onto the roof, then slipped through a broken skylight.