Twenty minutes later, Raphael hurried over, carrying a briefcase, after evading the police.
Outside Alan University at this moment, a crowd had gathered.
The sound of sirens mixed with the noisy chatter of people, along with flashes from paparazzi and freelance reporters.
The scene was chaotic.
Raphael pushed forward: "What happened?"
An old man sighed and shook his head.
"A few young girls went to play in the abandoned teaching building at night.
I don't know exactly what happened.
One of the girls fell from a height and died on the spot… The two middle-aged people nearby are her parents.
The railing was probably old and poorly maintained; it must have broken."
At the entrance of Alan University, the police line had been set up, extending all the way inside.
Several police cars blocked the entire abandoned teaching building.
A female corpse lay on the ground, covered with a white cloth.
A middle-aged couple sat slumped on the ground.
On the other side, three other girls of similar age were escorted out of Alan University under police protection.
"I'm late…"
Raphael sighed silently, watching the three surviving girls being loaded onto an ambulance not far away.
They looked terrified, obviously not yet recovered, and one had already fallen into unconsciousness.
The shadow at his feet still showed no reaction, which made Raphael's expression gradually serious.
He memorized the license plate number of the ambulance and left the scene.
Raphael got into his black sedan and followed the ambulance from a distance.
Inside the ambulance on the other side,
Elena's mother sat on one side, looking at her daughter who had fallen into unconsciousness from excessive fright with concern.
"Oh, my daughter, why did you hide this from your mother…"
She held her daughter's left hand against her forehead and whispered devoutly: "May God bless you, my daughter."
At that moment, the fingers of the unconscious Elena's right hand suddenly moved.
Then, she lightly tapped the handrail of the stretcher.
Once, then again.
Tap.
Tap.
…
Two hours later.
Northern Area, Norton Street.
Several ambulances were parked outside the police department. The families of the survivors paced inside, unable to remain calm.
Outside, the noise was even louder.
Reporters from various newspapers swarmed the police station like flies.
After receiving basic psychological comfort, the three surviving girls were taken to the police station.
With a suspicious death, this incident had turned from an accident into a case.
In three separate rooms, interrogations were underway.
"Name?"
"Elena."
"Age?"
"19."
"Family?"
"Eldest daughter of the Silva family in Northern Area. Mother is Maria Silva, father is… never mind, not important."
"Gender… uh, just in case, I'll ask. Your gender?"
"Physically female, mentally also female."
The bearded police officer numbered 397-22 looked at Elena, then at the files in his hand, looking troubled.
It was his first time interrogating a child from a wealthy family.
"You sneaked into the abandoned teaching building to challenge the urban legend?"
"Yes."
Elena lowered her head, speaking calmly.
"At the time of the accident, you were all running downward.
Why then did the victim fall from a height?
According to the coroner's firm assessment, she fell from at least above the fifteenth floor."
The police continued to question, and Elena recalled:
"We were panicking at the time, not paying attention to details. I vaguely heard footsteps upstairs.
I thought it was a Ghost chasing us, so I kept running in fear, without looking back."
The bearded officer nodded and recorded this key clue.
"All the windows in the building were sealed.
The only two exits were the ground floor exit and the rooftop.
According to you, she mistook the stairs going up for stairs going down and ran frantically all the way?"
He flipped through the file:
"Paulanna, female, 20 years old, no history of mental illness, no cognitive impairment, normal intelligence.
No, there must be details missing here. Think again. Carefully."
He was about to continue questioning, but at that moment, a lazy voice came through the earpiece from his superior.
"Enough, release her."
"…But the investigation has just started, sir?"
Before he could argue, the voice from the earpiece sounded again:
"No 'buts'. I know you want to follow procedure.
But Elena's mother, a distinguished lady, provided a considerable bail.
In addition, she offered extra funds for our allowance.
Her only request is that we make sure her daughter returns to rest as soon as possible.
Understand?
397-22, now, release her. Don't make me repeat this twice."
The bearded officer touched his badge, looked at Elena who showed no surprise, and replied helplessly.
"Yes, sir."
Elena watched silently. Although there were traces of tears at the corners of her eyes, she no longer showed signs of collapse.
After a moment, she was escorted out of the station and left accompanied by her family.
Outside the station, Raphael's black sedan was parked not far away.
"…Who could it be?"
He picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Hello? It's me, Raphael Alanster. Are you available?
I want to ask for your help. Meet at Safe House No.2, just tonight."
On the other end was a lively female voice.
"Payment? Don't think I'll work for free.
Oh, right, I have a job recently, the pay is good, need an extra hand. Want to join, old partner?"
Raphael was silent for a moment, then replied briefly:
"Okay, the pay is enough. We'll talk when we meet."
…
Night, Dock Area. Inside a cheap inconspicuous room, Raphael opened his eyes while sitting on the bed, meditating.
A nimble woman in a black cloak with a hood appeared on the railing.
She was young, but had many scars on her cheeks and hands.
Her skin was lightly tanned from the sun.
The most striking feature was two cutouts under her hood, revealing ears like a cat's.
"Eva, long time no see."
Raphael stood up and nodded.
The cat-eared woman called Eva flipped into the room and stretched.
"Hey."
She extended her hand. Raphael raised an eyebrow, then high-fived her.
"You should learn how an adult greets."
Eva curled her lips, unimpressed.
She walked to the center of the room and looked at the map on the table:
"So, what's the job? Who's the client?"
Raphael stood on the other side: "No one hired me. My target is a member of the fraternity, called David.
He's a Demon. His contractor is dead, now he's just a Ghost-class Demon.
He's cunning. He abandoned his contractor, making him harder to find."
During the conversation, he noticed the necklace around Eva's neck. It had a delicate bronze plate, engraved with a complex, multilayered pattern depicting an eye.
Obviously, such an antique was not something a Demon Hunter could afford.
"You bought it?" he asked.
"I stole it," she replied.
"…From where?"
"Museum in the 21st District. The security was so weak, it felt like it was tempting me, what else?"
Eva shrugged, as if to say it was justified.
"We're Demon Hunters, not company lapdogs. I have no obligation to follow the law."
Raphael shook his head, making no comment.
He circled a spot on Norton Street in the Northern Area.
"At that time, I had another commission.
The son of a jewelry store owner here was possessed by a ghost, just an ordinary Wronged Soul, Level 1 Demon.
After I exorcised it, the owner found that the vault had been robbed.
He stole a lot of jewels. He ran, I chased.
Ha, the jewelry store owner paid me extra, otherwise I wouldn't have meddled."
Eva found it strange.
Ghost-class Demons usually only care about revenge or killing.
After all, they are the product of a human dying tragically, driven by resentment.
Treasure?
What use is it to them?
"Maybe even after death, they have loans to repay? High-interest loans, you know, even to the grave," Eva teased.
Raphael continued: "At that time, he jumped over ten meters, hit the cement hard, and ran off as if nothing had happened.
He even recognized me.
I grew suspicious, tracked him to his secret hideout, confirmed his identity. He is a member of D-Fraternity.
Finally, what happened last night—I spent several days ambushing him and severely injured him."
Eva sat on the edge of the table, playing with the necklace around her neck.
"So according to you, that Demon may not just be a Level 2 Vengeful Spirit?
He integrates into society, sets up a base, plans in secret, even steals property… his intelligence is almost like a human's."
Raphael nodded.
"So, David should be an Evil Spirit, that is, a Level 3 Demon.
At this level, Demons behave very similarly to humans."