"GET BACK TO BED. NOW!"
As always, the detective agency was loud that morning.
"I'm talking to you! Get back to bed—now!" Harper shouted. She was yelling at Zach, who was sprawled on the couch with both feet resting on the table.
Zach looked completely unconcerned, lazily watching his surroundings with an empty gaze.
"I'm talking to you! You need to rest!"
"How many times do I have to say it? I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. Did you forget? I'm half-demon. I'm not weak like you ordinary humans." A mocking smile formed on Zach's face as he spoke.
Harper, growing even angrier, stepped toward him—only for Axel to intervene.
"Harper is right. The poison in your blood hasn't been fully purged yet. And the physical injuries you sustained are significantly slowing your recovery."
Zach turned his head toward Axel. The sudden seriousness in his eyes caught Axel off guard.
"Thank you," Zach said. "Even though you were barely holding together yourself, you spent two days trying to keep me alive."
The unexpected gratitude stunned Axel. He had never imagined hearing such words from Zach. He turned his head away, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Of course, for us to be even, you'll need to save me about a hundred more times. After all, I was the one who saved your shiny ass every single time in the past."
Axel suddenly shouted,
"You bastard!"
Zach's mocking grin didn't fade.
"Seeing you this cheerful in the morning really makes my day."
Lilith had entered the office. Axel straightened up immediately, while Zach remained as relaxed as ever.
"I hate to interrupt your little show, but you need to get ready. A client will be here shortly."
Zach sat up and asked in a serious tone,
"Demons?"
"No. This time it's an ordinary missing person case."
The disappointment was clear on Zach's face. He leaned back again and resumed staring into nothingness.
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Not long after, a young woman in her early thirties entered the agency. She was wearing a coat that wrapped tightly around her body. Her skin was pale—so pale that any passerby might have thought she was ill.
"Hello. I hope I've come to the right place," she said. Her voice was lively, completely at odds with her appearance.
"Yes, you're in the right place. Please, have a seat," Lilith said with a warm smile, gesturing toward a chair.
Zach observed everything from the back of the room.
"Thank you. To be honest, I'm not sure where to begin."
"There's no need to worry. You can start however you like. Putting the pieces together is part of our job," Lilith replied professionally—something that never failed to surprise Zach.
"Alright. I work as an executive at a private company. Because of my job, I travel abroad frequently. About two months ago, during one of these trips, I met a man. From the moment we first saw each other, we fell in love. Last week, we got engaged. Everything was going perfectly… and then, three days ago, my fiancé disappeared without saying a word."
The young woman suddenly burst into tears.
Lilith handed her a tissue. The woman continued.
"I went to the police before coming here, but they told me they couldn't help. They said my fiancé was someone who never actually existed."
"Never existed?" Eldon cut in, breaking his long silence.
The woman nodded.
"I don't know what to do. Please—help me." Her desperation was unmistakable.
"Do you have anything that belonged to him? An address, maybe. Or a phone number."
The woman reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper.
"This is the address where he stayed while we were together. After he disappeared, I went there countless times—but the place had already been emptied."
Zach stepped forward and took the paper from her hand.
"Let's see where our missing prince has been hiding."
"Hold it right there—you're not fully healed yet."
Zach ignored the warning and headed for the exit. Eldon called out after him.
"I'm coming too."
An excited smile spread across Zach's face.
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As they walked along the sidewalk together, Zach asked,
"What part of this case caught your attention?"
"The fact that the man never existed. What about you?"
"Same thing. How can someone who never existed go missing? It's absurd."
"Exactly."
The person they were chasing was practically a ghost.
And he wasn't joking—he'd dealt with ghosts before. But this one truly qualified.
While they walked, Eldon made several phone calls, running checks on the man's identity. The woman had been telling the truth. There were no records—nothing.
"A complete ghost," he muttered.
Eldon turned toward him.
"You think this could be a ghost case?"
"More like a scam. A wealthy, successful woman goes on a trip, meets a man, gets engaged in a short time—and then he vanishes. The poor woman's heart is so broken, I'm sure she hasn't even realized what else he stole."
"The famous demon hunter Zach Vale sets out on a grand adventure to retrieve a woman's stolen heart from a con artist."
"What are you, a novelist?"
Despite Zach's irritated expression, Eldon wore a mocking smile.
They continued walking like that for a while.
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"We're here. This should be the place," Zach said, checking the paper.
Eldon took a step back, examining the building from a wider angle.
"Are you sure this is the right address? It looks like this place was abandoned a long time ago."
"Watch your mouth. I live in an apartment not much better than this."
They climbed the stairs at the entrance. Soon, they stood before a rusty iron door.
Just as Zach was about to push it open, an elderly woman peeked out through the crack. Her face was covered in wrinkles. For a split second, Zach almost punched her, mistaking her for a demon.
He glanced at Eldon and noticed the glint on his sleeve.
Apparently, Eldon had almost stabbed the old woman as well.
Zach quickly composed himself.
"Hello, ma'am. Sorry to bother you on such a lovely day, but we're looking for a friend. We haven't heard from him in a while and we're worried. He said he was staying in this building. Could you help us?" The artificial tone in his voice was painfully obvious.
Eldon grimaced at the act.
The old woman glared at them angrily.
"Are you friends of that man who ran off without paying his rent?"
Zach immediately leaned toward Eldon and whispered,
"How much cash do you have on you?"
"Huh?" Eldon asked, confused.
"Just answer. Enough to cover a month's rent in a dump like this?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?"
"Just answer it!"
"I don't know—probably enough."
Zach instantly turned back to the old woman with a bright fake smile.
"Yes, ma'am. We're exactly those friends."
Eldon stared at him in disbelief.
"What are you doing?"
Zach silenced him mid-sentence.
"Our friend had to leave in a hurry because of an important matter, so he couldn't pay his rent."
He pointed at Eldon.
"But don't worry. This gentleman here will pay the rent—interest included."
Eldon's shock deepened.
"WHAT?!"
Zach pressed a finger to Eldon's lips.
"But we do need to take care of something urgent. Our friend left behind some important belongings. Would you allow us to retrieve them?"
The old woman hesitated for a moment. After a few minutes of thought, she opened the rusty door and let them in.
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They were inside the old apartment. Dust and grime covered everything.
"It's hard to believe someone actually lived here," Zach said, wiping dust from the windowsill.
"How does one month of interest equal an entire month's rent? I just gave that old scammer two months' worth of rent. And I'm not even convinced she was telling the truth. My detective instincts say something's off."
Eldon stared down at the wallet in his hands as Zach cut in.
"Why do you even carry that much cash? Put it in a bank. Even I do that."
"I know it's not normal, but I keep it for emergencies."
"People don't use cash anymore—at least not the ones who aren't expired."
"Shut up!"
Zach burst out laughing. He enjoyed pushing Eldon when he got like this.
"Why are you so upset? Thanks to you, that old woman won't have money problems for a while. Besides, look around. How many people do you think live in a building like this? Without your money, she probably would've starved in a few weeks."
Eldon looked at Zach with a sad expression.
"There's nothing we can do about it. Those are the rules of the world we live in. If you don't fight to keep what you have, you lose it piece by piece. We help people as much as we can—but never forget this: we can't save everyone."
Zach knew he was right. Still, the sadness gnawed at him.
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After a while, Zach looked around one last time and turned to Eldon.
"I give up. There's nothing useful here."
Eldon turned toward him with a proud look.
"If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure."
He was holding a piece of paper. Zach took it.
"You're amazing, Eldon. This is it—the clue we needed!"
It was a movie ticket from one of the cinemas in the city center.
By checking the date and time printed on it, they could easily trace who the missing prince really was.
They set off immediately.
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They soon arrived at the cinema where the ticket had been purchased and went inside without hesitation.
The place was moderately crowded.
As Eldon scanned the area, Zach tapped his shoulder.
"Show me your skills," he said, pointing at the ticket clerk with a teasing grin.
They approached the counter.
"Welcome. How can I help you?" The clerk was a young man in his early twenties. His eyes and facial features made it clear he lacked confidence.
"Child's play," Eldon muttered.
A detective's greatest weapon was observation. At times, it was even more effective against demons than angel steel.
Eldon seemed almost divinely blessed with these skills. From the slightest body movement, he could probably tell what someone had eaten for breakfast that morning.
He stepped closer to the counter.
"Hello. We're police. We're investigating a murder, and we need access to the security camera footage to identify our suspect."
With a stern expression and a fake badge raised in his hand, Eldon looked every bit like a real officer.
Zach turned his head away, struggling not to laugh.
The clerk sprang to his feet in shock. If Eldon had been any harsher, the poor kid might've snapped to attention.
"This way," the clerk said, his face even more serious than Eldon's.
As they followed him, Eldon wore a disturbingly pleased smile.
"Creepy," Zach muttered.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
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They arrived at the security room.
The clerk sat at the computer and entered the date printed on the ticket.
On the screen appeared twenty-four hours of footage from that day.
They fast-forwarded to the time shown on the ticket.
"This…" Eldon said, his face filled with shock.
"So what do we do now?"
Zach chose to remain silent.
They had thought they were chasing a con artist.
Instead, something far more dangerous—and terrifying—had just revealed itself.