Facing Duanmu Huai, Mary gave a detailed account of everything that had happened that night.
She had noticed her friend's expression was off, so she waited for her at the academy dorm. On the way back, Shirley seemed very downcast, and then suddenly, that terrifying steel monster appeared behind her. It was drawn to Mary's right eye, and so it began chasing her instead.
"I see."
After listening to Mary's explanation, Duanmu Huai thought for a moment, then looked at the girl in front of him.
"To be honest, I still don't fully understand what's going on right now. But as for Miss Shirley's current condition, I can tell you the reason."
"Huh?"
"It's actually quite simple. The reason Miss Shirley hasn't woken up is because what's here is only her body—not her soul."
"Huh???"
Mary was clearly shocked upon hearing Duanmu Huai's answer.
"You mean…"
"Her soul isn't here. So no matter what the doctors do, they won't be able to wake her. Right now, she can be considered something like a living corpse."
"Then—then where is Shirley's soul?!"
Hearing this, Mary clenched her fists tightly and stared at Duanmu Huai. He shrugged.
"I don't know. But based on what we've seen so far, the most likely possibility is that her soul is in that dark city."
"That place…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Mary recalled once again the city she had run through that night—silent, lifeless, like a graveyard.
"Then how do I find her? If this keeps going…"
"With current medical technology, maintaining the body's survival isn't difficult. And Miss Shirley seems to be from a noble family, so at least we don't have to worry about life support being cut off due to lack of funds. Hmm… that's some good news. But the specifics—I'll need to investigate further."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai glanced at Mary. Though he didn't say it outright, from what Mary had described earlier, he felt that this girl named Shirley might have some connection to the series of incidents.
The monster wandering in the dark city had already been completely destroyed by Duanmu Huai. However, after killing it, the previously sealed and dark city disappeared. Immediately afterward, he saw a strange man in the distance scream in agony, bleeding from all seven orifices before melting away into the darkness.
At first glance, Mary and Shirley seemed like mere victims of a random killer. But Duanmu Huai felt something was off.
After all, even subspace had manifested.
And according to Mary, on the way home, Shirley had brought up the murder cases herself, as if she wanted to confess something—but ultimately changed the subject.
From this alone, it was clear that Shirley might not be just a simple victim.
Perhaps Mary herself suspects this deep down…
she just doesn't want to believe it.
As for the Golden Eye, Duanmu Huai had asked Mary about it. She explained that she hadn't been born with it—it had suddenly changed about a year ago.
Not only that, ever since gaining the Golden Eye, she had frequently dreamed strange dreams. In those dreams, she was always in a dark city, being chased by something, running desperately until she woke up.
She had seen doctors about it, but nothing helped.
Aside from that, ever since her right eye turned gold, her ability to decipher ancient texts and ruins had greatly improved. She was already a student in the academy's history department, but now she had advanced even further.
Many ancient inscriptions and records that seemed extremely difficult—or even lost—could now be deciphered by her in a very short time.
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye.
As expected of the Golden Eye.
Forget everything else—this thing is basically a BUG for archaeology…
As for its magic resistance, Duanmu Huai had already figured it out.
Back in the dark city, although it looked like Mary was just playing a game of chase with the steel monster, that wasn't actually the case. Every time the monster acted, it released powerful evil energy. A normal person would be drained just by coming into contact with it—losing strength and even life force, forced to wait helplessly for death.
But Mary had been able to run through it the entire time, only getting caught because her body couldn't keep up.
If I had to put it in game terms…
It's like the monster was constantly applying debuffs to her…
but she kept showing immunity the entire time…
She simply hadn't realized it herself.
Yeah… this is kind of like that certain "right hand," but the Golden Eye is way stronger.
Unless it's a physical attack, most things probably won't affect her at all.
No wonder that steel monster had been desperately chasing behind her. Magic attacks didn't work—it must have been pretty desperate.
Built-in magic resistance and magic-breaking…
this Golden Eye really is insanely valuable.
After examining Shirley, Duanmu Huai left her house with Mary.
"From what we can tell, the situation is clear. Your friend has fallen into a deep sleep and lost her soul. It's likely related to that dark city. So…"
Duanmu Huai stared at Mary. She held her breath, looking at him nervously.
"Would you like to cooperate with me?"
"Huh?"
Mary was stunned by the proposal.
"Cooperate?"
"Yes."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai took out an identification document from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Duanmu Huai. I'm an investigator—and a detective. I came to the fog city to investigate the serial murders occurring here. From what I can tell, the case I'm investigating is related to what you experienced. So I think we can work together to uncover the truth. Perhaps we can also find a way to wake your friend."
"A detective… an investigator…"
Staring at the document, Mary froze.
To be honest, when she realized she was the only one who could see him earlier, she had thought he might be some kind of Grim Reaper…
Her face flushed red, and she lowered her head.
That was so cringe… how embarrassing…
"What do you think, Miss Mary?"
Fortunately, Duanmu Huai was too tall to see her expression. Mary took a deep breath and looked up.
"I'm willing, sir. But what exactly do I need to do?"
Mary was a top student in the academy's history department. Interpreting ancient inscriptions or ruins was within her expertise.
But facing terrifying monsters? That was beyond her.
"I need you to act as bait."
"Bait??"
Mary froze again.
"Yes. You've noticed it too—those monsters seem to be very interested in your right eye. If another one sees it, it will definitely come after you. At that time, I can eliminate it and continue the investigation."
That was right. Previously, Duanmu Huai had been like a headless fly, making no progress because he had no leads.
But after that battle, he had gained some insight.
On that day, he could feel a massive fluctuation in the subspace of the fog city. Then the dark city appeared.
However, that version wasn't complete.
It felt more like seeing the seabed from the surface—just a refracted reflection, not the real thing.
It was still asleep.
Not yet awakened.
Duanmu Huai and Lorena couldn't lure those monsters out themselves. And once the monsters disappeared, the dark city would close as well.
So to enter it again, they had to wait for the monsters to reappear.
And for now, Mary—with her Golden Eye—was like an anglerfish in the deep sea, the perfect lure to attract them.
Although theoretically it might only happen once, Duanmu Huai didn't believe it would end so simply.
The next time they entered that dark city—
it would likely be the complete version.
After thinking it over, Mary agreed.
She had no other choice. Moreover, after that incident, she realized the monster had indeed been targeting her eye. If it happened again, the outcome would likely be the same.
So her choice was obvious.
"Very good."
Duanmu Huai nodded, then reached into his pocket and took out… a ring.
"Huh?"
Seeing the ring, Mary immediately blushed and looked at him in surprise.
"This is a kind of holy artifact. Wearing it will protect you from harm."
Duanmu Huai placed the ring directly into her hand and continued.
"And also… You need to undergo training."
"Training?"
"That's right. How are your physical fitness scores?"
"Uh…"
Mary felt a bit embarrassed. She was just an average girl, nothing particularly outstanding…
"Starting tomorrow morning, I'll assign someone to assist with your training. At the very least, you'll need enough stamina to escape those monsters."
Fighting was out of the question. The Golden Eye only provided magic resistance and magic-breaking—it didn't mean she could just slap something and dispel magic.
Mary was still just an ordinary girl without strong combat ability.
Simply put—
She just needed to run.
"I… understand."
Mary didn't object. She still remembered how helpless she felt being chased by that steel monster that night.
Back then, she had thought—
if only I could run faster… try harder…
So she didn't refuse Duanmu Huai's request.
Well—
until the next morning.
Early the next day, at the agreed time, Mary left her apartment two hours early.
Outside, she saw a girl in a nun's habit with long pink hair, looking gentle and adorable. Upon seeing Mary, the girl smiled brightly and approached her.
"Ah, hello. You must be Miss Mary Clarissa Christie, right?"
"Yes, that's me. And you are the one that the gentleman sent…?"
"That's right."
The girl nodded.
"My name is Lorena. Starting today, I'll be in charge of your daily training!"
"Ah, hello… Miss Lorena."
Mary quickly greeted her politely.
"So… what will we be doing?"
"Mm, very simple."
Lorena smiled cheerfully at Mary.
"First, we'll do morning running to warm up the body. Then we'll proceed with the rest of the training!"
"Alright, no problem."
Mary nodded. She had done morning runs before.
"Then let's begin. Target—five kilometers!"
"...…Huh?"