Chapter 69
Even though Wayne had a different perspective regarding the strange cases that occurred in Moran before the Demon Horse incident, he was not entirely certain whether all of them were connected or the opposite.
There were three cases that made him strongly believe that the sudden appearance of the Demon Horses was related to them; the incident involving a binding shadow attack and the murder of a female worker in Hava, the destruction of Eaurealis Castle which became the starting point of the case escalating further, and lastly, the chain deaths across seven districts on October 20, precisely on Saturday, followed by a kidnapping incident in the town square that resulted in six deaths.
They all knew that the Demon Horses were seen about a month ago, precisely at the beginning of November, and without realizing it, five Demon Horses passed through the southern part of the refugee camp, on Road No. 8 Similar, as they destroyed the southeastern side of Tezny, dragged forcefully, causing hundreds of houses and even roads to split apart due to the flames from their tails, before reappearing again at the edge of the road leading to the town square.
And out of the ten Demon Horses that existed, only four remained now, six had been killed by Zuhen, Felina, and Zavi.
On the left side, where a long wooden table and several neatly arranged chairs stood, one of Wayne's subordinates pushed a rectangular board filled with papers connected by red strings.
Wayne immediately stood up, followed by Alfred, who happened to attend this meeting out of curiosity after last night's incident.
Wayne took a long, thin, straight piece of wood from his guard as a pointer among the many cases displayed there.
"Pay attention to this," he finally spoke while pointing at a framed photo located right in the center among the many others. "As you all know, Eaurealis Castle was destroyed precisely on Sunday, October 21."
They nodded in unison, still sitting quietly and listening to further explanation, and would speak when the time came, just like nobles with a higher status than them. Although Albert was slightly different, as his family held significant influence in Norn.
'Yes, I know this is related to the underground group known as Black Cage,' Albert thought after studying the case together with his two friends.
Even though he learned about it from a friend while he was in Sanerva and happened to meet him at the mansion where the Duke's family had died. His friend was a first-level Receiver under the special forces of the Norn Kingdom; NightField. He had accidentally met him there while his friend and his partner were conducting a follow-up investigation.
An elite force well-known and highly popular among common citizens, tasked with protecting Sanerva and operating at night to make it easier to track criminal activities.
After pausing for a moment and thinking about how to continue his explanation more clearly, Wayne then continued in a slightly firmer tone.
He moved the pointer slightly downward so that its blunt tip rested in the middle of another image.
"This is an image of a group of people showing strange behavior in Hava," he paused briefly and continued without hesitation, "and the death of a woman that caused them to become like that, as well as witnesses who mentioned that there were two or five people involved."
Wayne moved the pointer slightly to the right, pointing at an image of the deaths of six strange individuals in Tezny a month earlier.
"You've all read about this, right?" Wayne asked while turning his body, observing their faces carefully. Then his gaze shifted to Alfred, who wore a dark expression as if something was piercing his heart and mind.
'I know that, as the son of the ruler of Tezny. It has caused the lower-class citizens to show extreme fear and distrust toward your family again,' Wayne thought with slight pity, realizing that it had already happened in the territory he governed, and he had already deployed his subordinates to investigate it, but so far, no satisfactory results had been found.
Others had thought, including himself, that the strange deaths occurring, especially in Moran and other cities in Havanuheta Province, were not deaths that happened in the usual way. Instead, they were related to supernatural matters they believed in due to the influence of their culture and ancestors a hundred years ago.
It might sound absurd. However, if one speaks of the actual facts, they did not die because of others, not biologically, but because of their own actions!
Meanwhile, Zaharon immediately expressed his thoughts, while also asking about Wayne's previous statement.
"Sorry for interrupting," he stood up immediately. Their gazes instantly turned toward him, who was sitting beside Fererra.
"I've been here for more than a month. I don't understand Mr. Havertson's previous statement, and I come from Krensen. That information never reached there at all. So I ask that you explain it, my apologies for my rudeness." He bowed deeply.
Everyone present in the previous meeting only realized this after Zaharon spoke about his place of origin.
Even in the past month, they, from the previous meeting group, among the many groups established by higher authorities across different coordinates, had not asked about each other's backgrounds because they were focused on finding someone who had leveled houses to the ground and turned them into mass graves.
"If Mr. Havertson permits," Evan suddenly spoke, immediately standing up to show respect. "I will explain it, and coincidentally I live on Silver Road and Bronze Road, Road No. 6, which is also fairly close to this refugee camp."
Silver Road and Bronze Road are part of Road No. 6, and the river serves as a boundary between the refugee camp, where various tents are set up, and the road that stretches across a vast grassland, where several houses are located, before entering the western section where Vathaik Road No. 7 and Similar Road No. 8 are situated.
Wayne remained silent for a moment after hearing that. After thinking for a few seconds and realizing the advantage, he finally agreed.
"Very well, if that's what you want."
Evan pressed his chest with his right hand, cleared his throat once, and spoke in a slightly raised voice so they could hear him.
"It was an incident involving eleven people who were kidnapped by a group of robed individuals and taken to Forgenate, specifically on Road No. 12 Capa in an abandoned area. I don't know their motive, and not even a day after the incident, six of those who survived died in a strange manner, and all six had identical deaths."
"Is that enough? It's true that my residence is near one of the victims, and coincidentally, I saw the body with my own eyes along with around ten others, including the victim's family, at the same place."
After explaining everything he knew, Evan immediately sat down, and everyone who had been focused on him simultaneously shifted their gaze to Zaharon and then back to the board at the front.
'I didn't hear about this in Navana. Was it deliberately concealed to prevent panic among the citizens?' Albert thought uncertainly.
"I think that was a good explanation," Wayne said while directing the wooden pointer to another image, on the lower right side of the previous one.
"This is the last one, and also the most striking among the three I mentioned earlier. The chain deaths that occurred in Moran, precisely on October 20, on Saturday."
"According to the information I obtained, this is related to the group I fought the previous night. But after thinking about it more carefully, it's as if different information has been overlaid onto this to complicate the actual facts, and there is an important individual who altered all of this."
"An important individual?" they whispered in unison.
"Yes," Wayne replied hesitantly. "Alfred and I fought a strange person at the intersection of Vathaik and Similar earlier. He managed to escape, and I tracked him to an abandoned factory in southern Tezny. And unexpectedly, I encountered a group calling themselves Black Cage, who are suspected to be behind the recent cases in Moran. That's all. If anyone has something to say, go ahead."
After saying that, he realized they did not fully believe the information he had provided. As he knew, the source of his information was unclear, obtained from a subordinate who got it from a suspicious man living in the same refugee camp.
Even though the subordinate knew that the western area was not completely destroyed, including five other districts that were only partially damaged, and not entirely, because the group suspected of summoning the Demon Horses had stopped the destruction for unknown reasons.
However, that subordinate received the information from an adult man who had burn injuries on his hands and legs, and immediately reported it to Wayne, having failed to track him further.
"I know you all have doubts," Wayne said as he returned the wooden pointer to his female guard. "But it would be better if all of you help me find a woman with a wound on her shoulder."
"What do you mean?" Arvrenda interrupted, sensing something off.
"A woman who was likely hit by my gunshot earlier," Wayne replied as he stepped out of the tent.
They had been silent the whole time, watching, listening, and unsure of what to say, as if afraid to speak to someone of higher status.
Realizing that Fererra, as the leader of this group formed by higher authorities, stood up and followed Wayne along with Alfred and their respective guards, the others immediately rose from their seats and followed them.
After searching around, looking for a woman with gunshot wounds on both shoulders, they instead found about three people; one man and two women with similar injuries, and brought them to the main large tent at Coordinate 15.
Burn injuries covered their hands, wrapped in bandages to prevent worsening, along with wounds on their legs resembling those caused by sharp objects.
They found the three individuals at the border between Coordinates 16 and 14, south of the field, where logistics crates were located and where food preparation took place.
Alfred exhaled as he approached the group from the previous meeting. "Ask them how they got those injuries!"
"Yes, sir." Fererra accepted the order and immediately invited about two others to question each of them.
"How did the three of you end up with injuries like this?" Albert asked in a firm tone, almost sounding like a threat rather than a simple question.
The man hesitated for a moment and glanced at the two women standing beside him.
"Uh, it's just my own negligence," he replied with trembling lips, unwilling to meet their gaze out of fear.
Then Fererra stepped aside and stood facing a woman with straight black hair, dressed neatly, her expression flat as if their presence was not a threat at all.
"Explain what actually happened to you?" he asked coldly.
"A fight that happened last night, and I became a victim because of it," the woman replied without the slightest hesitation.
'A fight, huh? I just remembered there was a disturbance at Coordinate 16 last night,' Arvrenda thought, sensing something off, as if everything was connected like it had been planned.
While Fererra and Albert focused on questioning them, he shifted his gaze to the right, toward a well-dressed woman, unlike the other two who looked more worn.
A linen shirt, paired with a blue jacket reaching nearly to her knees, slightly torn but still giving an elegant impression when combined with her cream-colored trousers.
He approached her and asked in a neutral tone so as not to pressure her, "The burn on your hand and the wound on your leg. What exactly happened to you?" He hoped she would answer honestly.
"Yes, as you can see. These are just ordinary injuries caused by someone else's negligence," she replied calmly.
Arvrenda let out a deep breath to hide his disappointment, then turned around and walked back toward the others to report his findings.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Havertson," Arvrenda said, feeling guilty. "I couldn't get an answer from that woman."
"It's fine, you've done your best," Wayne replied, his suspicion growing stronger that someone had infiltrated the refugee camp.