Mikhail raised his bandaged hand.
The light behind made it hard to focus but he kept on staring at it. A few books were placed around his lap along with Methew.
'An Artifact of Destruction.'
He thought, lowering his hand to look at the book which had the details of it.
The Artifact, as the name suggested, was the reason for destruction and death.
There were a total of four such artifacts and each one of them was at least responsible for the deaths of millions.
They were a double edged sword that helped humanity and at the same time pushed them towards their inevitable extinction.
And now, he was in possession of one such artifact.
With a tired sigh, Mikhail summoned his status screen.
===========
> Artifacts:
The Mirror of the True Self. (SEALED)
Rank: Stage 0
===========
Mikhail let out a sigh and closed the screen as it was of no use. He had no idea why or when the item had been sealed.
'….This is troublesome.'
Mikhail thought, rubbing his temples as he read about it in the book.
From what was publicly known, the Artifact was last used by humans in the war against vampires during the Blood Moon War.
The Artifact made everyone involved in the war into what they thought of themselves in their mind.
Some became fragile and others became handsome, yet they all died in the end because the Artifact asked something of them in return that they couldn't fulfill.
It was unknown what the main function of the artifact actually was till the end.
Later, the Artifact was acquired by the church of God of War and was sealed there till now.
'This is clearly a lie.'
Mikhail thought grimly, as the item had been stolen, perhaps forty years ago when the church headquarters was attacked by the Red Crown Society.
With a sigh, Mikhail closed the book and rubbed his eyes gently. 'This is such a bother.'
He really didn't like the fact that he had such an Artifact that would bring him trouble.
'I really hope there is no way to track it back to me.'
He thought, looking down at his hand.
'But how did Robin even get such a thing?'
The question had been bothering him for a long while. He couldn't see any possibility of him stealing such a thing.
'There is something really wrong with the whole ordeal.'
He couldn't pinpoint it, but Mikhail was sure he had missed something.
'And how did the coffin get so far away from the side?'
"Mikhail!" Jasmine's voice jolted him awake. "Dinner is ready!"
"Coming!"
Mikhail replied, standing up with Methew in his hand.
'For now, let's stop thinking about the Artifact and let it be.'
He had other things that he wanted to focus on.
---
Daniel Smith walked on the empty streets of the city with a cane in his hand.
He had a vintage cap covering a part of his face, while his luxurious coat made him stand out.
With a grim look on his face, he arrived at a residential house and knocked on the door twice.
After a few seconds of waiting, the door gently opened up and a head peeked out.
Lady Vina blinked at him. "Sir Daniel?"
The man smiled and put his hat on his chest. "Can I come in?"
She nodded and opened the door fully, inviting him in.
Daniel walked inside and began to look around the place.
The house was nothing special, made up of old wood and stone that gave it an odd look.
A gentle light illuminated the main hall where Daniel sat on the sofa.
"Would you like something?" Vina asked politely.
"No." He shook his head and gestured at the seat in front of him. "Please, sit down."
Though confused, the lady sat down, looking at him for further explanation.
Daniel looked around once again, trying to find someone. "Where is your daughter?"
"She is asleep." Vina replied. "Poor girl was exhausted."
Daniel nodded his head. "How is the paperwork for the insurance going?"
"After finding his dead body, they have approved it." She said with a small smile on her face. "I can't thank you enough for solving the case."
Daniel didn't say anything but he kept on looking at her face.
"Why did you do it?" He asked at last.
Vina tilted her head. "Do what?"
"Why did you help Robin kill himself?" He asked, making her freeze in place.
"W-what are you saying?"
"It was impossible for Robin to do all that alone." He explained softly. "He needed someone to put him in the coffin and bring it deeper into the lake."
Daniel kept on looking at her sweating face. "He needed an accomplice who could help him in this."
Vina stood up abruptly. "You can't just—."
"I have proof." Daniel cut her off. "I have proof that you did it. Just confess, Mrs. Vina."
Vina looked at him for a long while, her eyes moist.
She finally let out a sigh and fell back on the sofa.
"I-I did what he asked." She mumbled. "I only p-pushed him further into the lake, nothing more."
"Why would he do that?" Daniel asked slowly.
"H-he had the A-artifact." She replied, rubbing her hands.
"The Artifact made him such a mess that he decided it was better to die than live. He told me many times that the Artifact was a devil, it showed him things that were beyond his understanding, giving him nightmares. He would just wake up in the middle of the night and cry till morning."
Daniel didn't stop her and kept on listening to her reasoning for what she did.
Vina had slowly gotten less and less emotional and more like an empty shell in front of him.
"My family practically sold me to Robin as a wife. He was abusive and never liked to hear anything against it….I can't lie, I liked when he was getting tortured by that Artifact."
Daniel didn't need to hear anything else from her. He had gotten everything he needed to know. Except one thing.
"How did you bypass the border patrol?"
She looked up at him with a broken smile on her face.
"Robin could use the Artifact, he made them forget what happened. Perhaps that's why the Artifact was so against him, it must have hated a weak human controlling it." She replied. "He planned to seal the Artifact with his dead body as a way to take revenge."
She let out a chuckle, shaking her head. "He was so far gone that he began to believe I would go along with his plan."
Daniel nodded his head and stood up from his seat, putting his hat back on.
"That's all I needed to know." He replied.
He already knew all the answers after that. The jewellery and contacting them was all part of her plan.
Had Mikhail not found the dead body, she would have given the clue anyway.
Vina looked up at him with surprise. "Do you believe my story?"
"I have seen a living angel, ma'am." He replied with a sad smile. "There is nothing I don't believe in now."
She nodded her head, staring at him without blinking. "I am ready to accept my crime but please let my daughter have the insurance mon—."
"It's a detective's duty to find the truth." He said, cutting her off. "And to keep his client safe."
He turned around and walked towards the door. "Please live your life the way you want from today onwards."
Vina remained unresponsive before she bowed her head, her voice sobbing. "Thank you."
Daniel walked out of the house, put a cigarette in his mouth and looked up at the sky.
He suddenly remembered how Mikhail had doubted the lady first.
A small smile formed on his face. "An absurd instinct, isn't it?"
He took out his notebook and crossed off the eight hundred and twentieth case of his life before he walked back to his office.