The longer Jellal stared at the lifeless house, the stronger his unease became.
He raised a hand, signaling the others to remain quiet, then slowly placed it on the doorknob and turned it.
Click.
The door was unlocked.
Jellal hesitated briefly before stepping inside.
"Wait, Jellal. We came here to investigate discreetly—"
Ultear moved to stop him, only to notice that he had frozen in place. She followed his gaze into the house.
Then she saw the devastation within.
From the outside, the building had appeared untouched.
Inside, however, it had been torn apart. Deep slash marks covered the walls, and several craters had been smashed into the floor.
Near the entrance knelt a small elderly man, facing the open door.
Blood leaked from his eyes, nose, and ears.
His chest was drenched by the blood that had poured from his wounds, and his twisted expression made it clear his final moments had been anything but peaceful.
Ultear's eyes widened.
She hurried over to Councilor Cid while the rest of Crime Sorcière immediately entered the house and spread out, cautiously watching their surroundings.
Councilor Cid had been the first real lead they had uncovered after investigating Tartaros for so long.
Several subtle pieces of evidence had led Jellal to suspect that the former councilor had accepted bribes from members of Tartaros during his term.
As they investigated further, the entire team reached the same conclusion: Cid had likely sold confidential Council information and helped Tartaros erase traces of several operations.
The two sides had been bound together by mutual profit.
That was why Crime Sorcière had come here. They intended to force whatever he knew out of him.
Instead, they had arrived to find the old man dead in a pool of blood.
"Well?" Macbeth asked while keeping a wary eye on the windows.
Ultear shook her head and sighed.
"No sign of life. The body is still warm, so the killer can't have gone far."
"Sawyer!"
Macbeth turned toward him.
Sawyer immediately understood and vanished into the air at tremendous speed.
Jellal looked down at Cid's lifeless, wide-open eyes, his expression grave.
"Was this meant to silence him, or…"
Erik emerged from one of the back rooms, looking irritated.
"The killer blasted his entire collection of documents to pieces. They didn't leave us anything useful."
Meredy stepped out of another room holding a torn sheet of paper.
"Same over here, but I found this!"
Jellal quickly took the half-destroyed page from her.
Judging by its color and texture, it appeared to be part of a letter.
The beginning remained clear enough to read.
[I have heard that your esteemed Council welcomes capable individuals. I governed the Magic Council of Ishgar for twenty-three years and know well that the administration of this continent cannot compare to the discipline of your own. I also possess intimate knowledge of numerous confidential matters. Should your esteemed Council accept me, I am willing to offer such information in exchange for the privilege of serving beneath your enlightened rule…]
Everything after that had been scorched by an explosion.
Jellal studied the damaged section for a long time and managed to piece together a few scattered phrases.
"Tartaros… hold them back… activate the weapon… scheme… your border will be endangered…"
Macbeth frowned.
"What does any of that mean? Was Cid planning to run away? Where was he going?"
"The Magic Council on the western continent?" Meredy suggested after some thought.
"As far as I know, the northern continent of Guiltina is also governed by a Magic Council," Ultear added thoughtfully. "But it has no organizational connection to Ishgar's."
Jellal's brows drew together as he analyzed the letter.
"He intended to sell Ishgar's confidential information as proof of loyalty and defect to another Council. The eastern and western Councils are currently allied, so…"
"It had to be Guiltina's Council."
He looked again at the blurred fragments and suddenly understood.
"Cid must have discovered something during his dealings with Tartaros. Something frightening enough to make him abandon Ishgar and seek protection on another continent."
"And whoever came here to silence him was most likely a member of Tartaros."
Once he reached that conclusion, the pieces began falling neatly into place.
Tartaros intended to activate some kind of weapon in order to carry out a larger plan. Whatever that plan was, it could devastate Ishgar and perhaps even threaten Guiltina's border.
Cid had planned to use that information as bargaining power, betraying both Tartaros and Ishgar so he could flee north.
"How many councilors this shamelessly greedy are still out there?" Ultear muttered.
She had briefly felt sorry for the old man after seeing that he had been murdered.
Now she immediately stepped several paces away from his body in disgust.
The members of Crime Sorcière might once have been criminals, but at least they had possessed convictions and remained loyal to their chosen path.
A spineless opportunist who jumped between sides and betrayed anyone for profit was more despicable than an ordinary villain.
Jellal carefully wrapped the torn letter before turning to the others.
"Take anything that might be useful. We need to discuss this with Ankh."
"Understood—"
"Gaaah!"
Just as Crime Sorcière prepared to collect the evidence scattered around the house, a scream rang out in the distance.
"Sawyer!"
Macbeth's expression changed.
He immediately rushed outside, with the others close behind him.
Not far from the house, dust filled the air over a fresh battlefield.
Sawyer stood clutching his side in pain, glaring coldly at the creature before him—something that barely resembled either a man or a monster.
Its head was shaped like a sea urchin, covered in sharp spikes.
Its hideous mouth was packed with fangs, while the lower half of its body consisted of eight thick octopus tentacles. Four muscular arms grew from its upper body.
Its skin was dark green, and its grotesque appearance and heavily developed muscles made it obvious that this would not be an easy opponent.
"What's wrong, little rat?" the creature mocked with a booming laugh. "Why did you stop running?"
Sawyer snorted.
The golden patterns covering his body shone even brighter, and his figure vanished from sight.
Explosive impacts began sounding all around the demon, as though countless invisible fists were striking its body from every direction.
"Are you trying to tickle me?!"
The demon's laughter disappeared.
"Die, human!"
Its four arms suddenly snapped straight.
Lethal slashes erupted from them, sending countless blades of compressed air sweeping through the area like a rainstorm.
Sawyer's body became a blur as he raced between the attacks, but the sheer area they covered was too wide.
Several strikes still grazed him.
"Damn it!"
This kind of overwhelming, wide-range assault was exactly what Sawyer hated most. No matter how fast he moved, there was no way to avoid every strike completely.
"Got you!"
Seeing Sawyer begin to slow, the demon grinned and swung out a massive blade of air.
Then an enraged voice thundered across the battlefield.
"Get away from my comrade!"
Erik entered Dragon Force.
A torrent of dark-red poison instantly swallowed the demon's entire body.