I always said "Shadow" was insane, but no one believed me. Still, I never imagined he was this insane. I straightened my coat collar, drew a deep breath, then in a low voice that carried a slight tremor, I said:
"I have nothing to do with this. It was ’Shadow’ who ordered me to do it."
So if you want revenge on anyone, go after him, I added inwardly.
He muttered with surprise:
Then turned and walked away. And me? I froze in place, not daring even to breathe. I waited until he was completely out of sight, then turned and walked in the opposite direction, pretending to stay composed.
Did I survive? It seems so. Damn this district. I must leave it now. But before anything, I have to find Edward. Luckily, I didn’t need to search Edward found me.
"You’re not a little boy, so could you stop getting lost?"
"No time for jokes. We need to leave immediately."
"What’s the rush? Missing the Bureau already?"
"Forget the mission. We have to get out right now."
"Have you lost your mind? We have a direct order from Shadow himself, how do you expect to..."
"Listen carefully. If you want to stay alive, you’ll follow me now."
[Jivan’s Perspective]
As I walked away, I thought about that inspector who looked as if he were terrified of me, as though I’d rip his soul out of his body. He even said he had nothing to do with what happened (though I hadn’t asked him) and that the one who ordered him was "Shadow."
Shadow? Who could that be? Well, surely, for him to command an Inspector of the Investigation Bureau, he must be someone of very high rank.
But why would someone with such influence watch a child begging in the alleys?
I ignored the thought. In the end, it wasn’t my biggest concern at the moment. I had to focus on little Jivan, who was in a pitiful state.
I carried him until I finally reached the ruin he lived in. I pushed the rickety door open and went inside. Then I laid him on the bed and placed the silver coin beside him, covering his body with a piece of cloth barely worthy of being called a blanket. And as soon as I laid the blanket over him, my body began turning transparent again.
"Seems I’m back to ghost form," Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝔫𝔢𝔱
I muttered sarcastically as I looked at my hand, which appeared more transparent than usual.
The little one slowly opened his eyes, staring at me. His face was pale and exhausted before he whispered weakly:
My eyes widened in surprise, then I said in a mocking tone:
"Aren’t you supposed to be shocked? Or at least ask me who I am?"
He shook his head slightly:
"Aren’t you the ghost who’s been floating around me all this time?"
Silence fell between us for a while before I broke it, lying down on the ground beside his bed, hands folded behind my head:
"Well, since you can hear me, why don’t you tell me why you live in this abandoned neighborhood?"
Dozens of other questions ran through my mind at that moment, like: If you could see me all this time, why did you act like I wasn’t there? And why does a ghost appearing suddenly seem normal to you? But as usual, I set all that aside for the time being.
"There’s no other place I can live."
In the Bureau of Public Investigations, inside Detective Shadow’s office. Inspector Griffin stood face to face with the most terrifying man in the city. His body was stiff, his forehead dripping with sweat. And yet, he still thought standing before "Shadow" was preferable to facing that terrifying being for the sake of a System Piece.
At least "Shadow" wouldn’t kill a Bureau Inspector, right?
That’s what he tried convincing himself of all the way until he entered the office. But the moment his eyes met the man sitting in the leather chair behind the desk, he felt deep regret. Those eyes, despite their cold surface, seemed to say: I’ll tear you apart.
Detective Shadow’s voice pierced the silence, completely devoid of emotion:
"Why didn’t you bring the System Piece?"
Griffin swallowed hard, then cleared his throat and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He tried to collect his thoughts, then began explaining everything that had happened, from the moment he entered the Lower District to his encounter with the beggar boy.
Shadow stayed silent the whole time. He didn’t comment, didn’t interrupt. He just watched. Suddenly, a faint smile appeared on his lips but faint as it was, it was enough to terrify Griffin even more.
After that, he gestured toward the door without adding another word.
Griffin hurried out at a speed unworthy of an Inspector of his rank. And once he closed the door behind him, he exhaled sharply, wiped his face with his hand, and muttered:
"Looks like I’ll live another day."