Thin mist and drizzle shrouded Lodun beneath the shadow of the Mountain of Myriad Blades. Sunlight rarely reached the city, and its lifeless gloom lingered from the first break of dawn until the broken moon climbed high into the sky.

A fine rain pattered against the ancient streets. Dim yellow lamplight glimmered through the mist and rain, barely illuminating the rainy night. Moonlight flickered between the clouds, filtering through the haze and falling across the towering clock tower, lending the city’s silhouette a faint glow.

Rainy nights in Lodun were quiet. The small, ancient city sat in silence on the edge of the Dibite Alliance. At night, the only sound was the soft patter of drizzle.

But tonight, a discordant note seemed to slip into the quiet rhythm of the rainy night.

The cat at the street corner was the first to notice something amiss. It raised its head and peered toward the end of the mist. In the haze-blurred corner ahead, something seemed to be stirring...

“Get lost!”

A lazy curse came with a kick, sending an empty can tumbling beside the innocent cat. It jumped in fright, then bolted into a nearby alley.

A glimmer of lamplight pierced the mist as two figures emerged from it. The one in front carried a lantern, using its faint light to carefully scan the street. The person behind him had the swaggering look of a good-for-nothing punk—the sort who’d scare a cat away!

“Hey, Vance, this is no fun. Why don’t we head back early?”

At that, the boy called Vance turned around impatiently and looked at his scruffy companion.

“We’re here to patrol the neighborhood, not scare cats away. Did you forget?”

“Patrol this, patrol that... Do you really think the investigators from Dibithe are gonna come all the way to Lodun looking for someone? This godforsaken dump...” Jack strolled along the empty street behind Vance, his hands clasped behind his head.

Vance ignored his companion and continued sweeping his gaze over Lodun’s old streets. The buildings lining them had clearly stood for years. They weren’t exactly run-down, but they didn’t look particularly well-maintained, either.

Watching Vance act so serious and tense, Jack sighed helplessly.

“The second young master has to patrol in the middle of the night. The Monak Family’s really hit rock bottom.”

Vance turned around, annoyed, and glared at his companion.

“If you don’t want to come with me, go back. Quit yapping at me. You’re such a pain.”

With that, Vance picked up his pace and marched ahead in a huff without looking back.

“Whoa, whoa, don’t get mad, young master! I was just teasing...”

Jack sighed and followed after the short-tempered young master.

Lodun’s rainy night remained quiet and gloomy. In years past, the city had served as a trade hub for Dibithe, and caravans from the I-Telan Kingdom kept it lively during the day. But at night, Lodun showed its true face. Beneath the ever-present shadow of the Mountain of Myriad Blades, the city grew empty and dark.

After living in the city for so long, Vance was used to the damp air and the endless drizzle. Its oppressive atmosphere didn’t bother him in the slightest.

The two walked slowly down the street. Vance paid no more attention to his carefree companion and stared tensely toward the edge of the mist, as if afraid something might leap out and eat him. As they walked through the drizzle and haze, it became harder and harder to keep track of time. The patter of rain against the ground seemed to hold a strange power, drawing everyone who walked through it into the rainy night.

Who knew how long they’d been walking? As Vance turned his lantern toward another street corner, Jack suddenly cried out in excitement behind him:

“Hey, Second Young Master! There’s a pretty lady over there!”

“Quit messing around... Where would you find a pretty lady out this late?”

Used to his companion’s antics, Vance didn’t even turn around. He continued checking the street on his own.

“No, no, I’m sure of it... Whoa, her hair’s white!”

“White hair? So she’s an old lady, then.” Vance pursed his lips and scoffed. There was no way some old lady would be wandering around outside this late. “Is she carrying a cane, too?”

“No, no! Look at her legs—she’s wearing black stockings!”

Black stockings?! Vance’s blood rushed, and he spun around.

“Where?!”

He caught only a glimpse, but Vance saw a lock of white hair vanish into an alley across the street.

“Oh, there she goes.” Jack waved at Vance helplessly. “All right, let’s keep searching the streets, Second Young Master. She was probably just...”

“S-She could be an investigator from Dibithe, right?” Vance’s voice suddenly rose. “We should go check!”

“I don’t think so... You just wanna get a look at her...”

“Shut up! Come with me! Weren’t you the one complaining that you were bored?” Vance cut Jack off without giving him a chance to argue. He took the lantern, crossed the street, and headed for the alley. Jack sighed helplessly, then followed.

Fine rain gathered along the eaves at the alley entrance, then pattered down in little streams. Vance slowly approached the mouth of the alley, an inexplicable unease settling over him. On a rainy night like this, nearly every resident of Lodun stayed locked inside. Who was the girl wandering the streets in the middle of the night?

With a mixture of doubt and excitement, Vance slowly angled his lantern into the alley to see what was inside—

No one.

“Huh? What happened...? I’m sure she went in there...”

Vance examined the dark alley. It wasn’t very deep, and even the weak light of his lantern could easily reach the far end. Yet the fact remained: there was no one there.

C-Could she be a ghost...? A thousand local ghost stories suddenly sprang to mind, making Vance shudder. But he quickly collected himself and forced every thought of ghosts and spirits out of his head.

“Hey... Jack, you saw her too, right?”

Vance kept looking over the alley and asked without turning around. But his usually chatty companion had gone completely silent.

“Jack?”

A bad feeling flashed through Vance. In an instant, he realized something was wrong and whipped around—

“Shh.”

A blade glowing red pressed against Vance’s throat. A rare shaft of moonlight pierced the clouds and fell on the girl before him. Raindrops clung to her pure white hair, reflecting the moonlight faintly through the mist.

But what made Vance’s eyes widen most of all was the girl’s pair of blood-red eyes.

“I’m looking for someone.”

Perlis Hafu'erjiade’s expression was the same as ever: indifferent, with a hint of cute childishness. But to Vance, this ghost drifting soundlessly through the rainy night had nothing to do with the word “cute.”

“Take me to whoever’s in charge.”

Vance looked past Perlis. Jack lay on the ground behind her, completely unconscious.

“O-Okay...”

Vance looked up at the broken moon, which seemed willing to spare Lodun the occasional glance only because the girl had appeared. It seemed tonight wouldn’t be a quiet one after all.

......

Up in the clock tower, a figure hidden behind the mist put away a pair of binoculars, slowly stood, and picked up a walkie-talkie.

“Target has entered the area. Report to [Angel].”

“Copy.”

......