Our focus shifts back onto the Southwestern Grand Province, where Xavier and Adrian begin their small game of chess…
"The point of the game is to defend your king with your life," Adrian informs Xavier. His hand reaches across the board, resting his finger against the piece's pointy top. Xavier hesitates, scanning the remaining pieces on the board. "There's so many pieces! Are you sure someone like me can learn this game?"
"Anyone can learn chess - you just have to get used to the basics."
Adrian slid a pawn forward, opening the center of his formation. "Your move."
Xavier's hands scrambled above his white pawns. Dominated by confusion, he imitated Adrian's motion. "Protecting your king is crucial to your success. Split the movement of your pawns into categories of offense and defense." His knight moved two squares, entrapping Xavier's pawn in a threatening position. "Witnesses stated there were five hooded figures in the Town Square. One of these figures was Chrome, Fire Moon's founder. Once you blew their cover, the four remaining cultists fled into the streets…"
Xavier lifted his knight, placing it behind the endangered pawn. "There were four individuals from my group that pursued the cultists - Kevin, Gerald, Kaelan, and Lila. If possible, we can create a timeline of Fire Moon encounters."
Adrian grinned. "I admire your thinking, Xavier. Connecting events to organize our case is crucial to success." He slides a blank paper from under his desk, pressing it onto the wooden table.
Xavier's eyes dart towards the table's side. His arm extends, reaching towards a cup of sharp pencils. "When we entered the Grand Province yesterday, I noticed the sudden disappearance of a guard spectating outside entry. During my battle with Chrome, I heard him talk about an individual named Alan that destroyed his winning streak."
Adrian gasped. "I've heard Alan only leaves during his shift for emergencies. If your entrance was between the hours of 9 AM and 3 PM, then you could be correct."
"11 AM," replied Xavier. "Using these context clues, we begin our timeline with Alan vs. Chrome."
Xavier's pencil scrambles across the paper, forming six large dots. A line glides across the paper, uniting the large dots together. His pencil shifts back to the first dot, where he writes "ALAN VS CHROME."
Adrian glances at the second dot. "The next major event regarding Fire Moon occurs in the Town Square, where you faced off against Chrome yesterday afternoon."
XAVIER VS. CHROME is written above the second dot.
"After I released my allies to pursue the remaining four cultists, there were many unidentified encounters. Since you're a professional hunter, we can retrieve CCTV footage from specific locations to bring these fights onto the timeline."
Adrian smiled. "For all the professional stuff, you can count on me!"
Volume 13, Chapter 58 - Special Detectives!
Both Xavier and Adrian sit on a pink antique couch facing a digital television.
"I am no longer Tarsa the Strong. Ever since I joined Fire Moon, I became Tarsa the Beast!"
Adrian lifted the remote towards the digital TV and pushed the pause button. "I obtained this CCTV footage from a local residence, showing Kevin and Tarsa's brawl yesterday afternoon at 12:21 PM."
Xavier's eyes squinted. "That's Kevin, all right…" He reached towards the wooden table, writing KEVIN VS TARSA above the third dot. "Any more encounters you've obtained?"
Adrian's head shook. "The only thing I have regarding Kaelan and Lila's encounter are witness statements. However, no proof has been obtained of Gerald's battle." Xavier leaned forward, consumed in suspense. "That weakens our timeline's credibility. Fire Moon did well covering their tracks, huh?"
Adrian set the TV remote on the wooden table. He skimmed through the newspaper's front-page article, searching for further information. "Three cultists raided the Royal Complex, escaping through a glowing portal. At three minutes twenty-five seconds, Tarsa speaks about his dimensional power. Not only that, but there is a common factor in his attack names; he fuses Pyron's firepower with his own, creating 'Dimensional Flame.' This dimension power could also explain his immediate disappearance following Kevin's counterattack. Could the portal the transformation mages escaped through have been summoned by Tarsa?"
Xavier jumped from the couch, celebrating in excitement. "Nice job, Adrian! We'll have this case cracked in no tim-"
"Wait." Adrian lifted off the couch, pacing through the small room. "Yesterday morning, five cultists infiltrated the Grand Province. This number narrows down to three in last night's Royal Complex Incident, but something doesn't add up." He stops at a shelf, grabbing a bulky, dark-blue book labeled "TRANSFORMATION MAGES." His fingernail glides between the pages, creating a satisfying sound. "Page 215 of the Transformation Mages book states the following: Mages born with Transformation powers are the only ones capable of exercising Advanced Transformation Techniques. If the user wields Advanced, they are capable of creating special domains overriding environmental laws."
"I see," replied Xavier. "We've got an Advanced Transformation user on our hands."
"Chrome stayed behind in the Town Square, while Tarsa stayed behind to fight Kevin. That leaves three remaining mages on the run, connecting to the statements I gathered from local witnesses. Three hooded cultists merged their firepower together, creating an unstable fire-type entity."
Xavier froze for a moment. "Following Lila's intervention, the three transformation mages escaped."
Both of them now paced through the room, attempting to connect the dots.
"This leads us to a temporary conclusion: the three transformation mages were the ones Lila and Kaelan encountered. The individual wielding Advanced Transformation could be among those three…"