Dracarus hid the paper in his pocket and quickly teleported back to the palace.

As he arrived, he was all soaked from the rain. The Goddess was in the library reading an old book while waiting for him to return. Dracarus calmly walked towards her…

– Khaos, I have something important to report about the mission.

Khaos quietly put the book away and turned around to face Dracarus.

– What is it?

– Well… when I arrived there, his body was already dead in the fountain’s water. Someone must’ve already killed him before I got there, the blood was fresh.

– I see… The same as the usual last cases… Did you find anything else that could lead us to any evidence of the killer’s identity? 

– Oh actually… – Dracarus took the mysterious paper out of his pocket, and handed it to Khaos. – I found this.

– Hm? So, this murderer wants us to know him as The Moon’s Shadow, huh? – She deduced, while reading the drenched paper.

– Yeah, I also thought about that… Could it be connected to the previous murder cases? – Dracarus supposed.

– I don’t know… It sure would be troublesome if we had two murderers to find, especially because they aren’t normal murderers… They’re quite literally assassinating the people we needed to.

– That’s true. It could either be any type of organisation, or really the same person. There’s already plenty of people idolising it on social media due the fact it’s killing bad people. – Dracarus added.

– Indeed. I’ll try to investigate this name while giving the case to the police. I want to see how it goes and what that killer is up to; he surely knows what he’s doing, and that someone was going to murder him sooner or later. – Khaos discussed, keeping the paper to herself. She was planning something.

~~~ 

The next day, Khaos requested the local cops to investigate the case. She just told them that Dracarus found a dead body during his mission, in the mansion nearby. They weren’t supposed to know the truth. The cops went to investigate the location, the corpse’s condition and cause of death. They found out he had been stabbed with something sharp… They also detected electric particles in his body. They suspect the weapon used was powered with electricity.

After an hour of inspecting the place, they decided to search the man’s house to find his identity documents and also contacts to inform the family of the deceased.

~~~

At Dahlia’s house… It was already 09:00 a.m, and the group of friends had woken up.

– This was indeed a good night of sleep. – Xavier said, stretching himself.

– I agree, we should do this more often. – Catherine added.

As they were getting up to go eat breakfast, Catherine’s phone started ringing.

– Hm? Whose number is this? – She questioned, looking at the mysterious number.

– Well, maybe you should answer. It could be something important. – Lydia warned.

She answered the call, it was a cop.

~~~

Catherine Lawrence

– Hello, sorry to disturb you but, are you Catherine Lawrence? – The anonymous person asked.

– Yes, who am I talking to?

– A police officer. I called to ask if you are related to Mr. Cyrus Lawrence; are you perhaps his daughter?

I was even more curious and confused… “Why is he asking me this? Did my dad do something?”

– Yes, what happened? – I answered, quite scared.

– Are you occupied right now? – The cop asked me.

– Not really, I’m at a friend’s house, what’s the matter? – I replied, glancing at my friends who were as curious as me.

– Could you please come as soon as possible to your residence? We have a serious matter to talk about and saying this over the phone would be quite unpleasant.

“Shit… I’m sure something bad happened.”

– Alright then… I’ll go as soon as possible. – I hung up the call.

– What’s wrong Cath? – Xavier asked.

– I don’t know, it was from the police. They want me to go to my house as soon as possible. Something might’ve happened.

– My mom can take you there, I’ll go as well. – Eclipse offered.

– Thanks, Eclipse, I’d appreciate that.

We got dressed up and had breakfast. Xavier and Lydia also went with us since Dahlia offered herself to take all of them home.

She was going to drop me and Eclipse, who decided to make me company, while she took the others home.

“I’m genuinely scared about this… I have a bad feeling.”

~~~

We finally arrived… I was getting out of the car with Eclipse, when I immediately noticed bloody ponds near the gate. “Blood? What happened?!”

– That seems like blood, what the hell…?! – Eclipse chuckled in a shocked tone, pointing at the numerous little ponds.

– I’m starting to think my father died… – I murmured.

– What?! – Eclipse replied, looking straight at me. She seemed as terrified as me.

We crossed the gate, and rapidly walked towards the cops who were next to the fountain. The bloody ponds and trails kept on until we reached there.

– I’m here, Cyrus’ daughter. Now, what happened?! Why is there so much blood on the– 

I suddenly glanced at the other side of the fountain, and saw the most horrifying thing… The body of my father, with a big stab on his chest. He was dead. 

– Oh… I see. – I felt like my mind and body were paralyzed for a good second. The panic was immense.

I was starting to feel nauseous. This morbid view of my dad… I fell to the bloody ground while tears started to form in my eyes…

– Hey, Catherine! Are you okay?! – Eclipse asked, crouching to me. She looked extremely worried.

– Eclipse… My dad… – I stuttered, starting to hysterically cry.

Eclipse hugged me really tight after that. 

– I’m sorry you had to see your dad like this… We’ll talk to you once you calm yourself. – The police officer said, he also looked pale and mortified. I’m sure he could sense my pain at that moment.

– C’mon Cath, let’s sit over there on the bench. I know this might’ve crushed your heart, but you need to calm down, okay? – Eclipse, wiping my tears and getting me up again.

– Thanks…

It was good to have a friend to comfort me at that moment… I would go insane if I was witnessing that alone.

~~~

“She looks absolutely heartbroken… I’m sorry you had to witness this, Catherine.” Eclipse thought to herself. She could feel the pain of her friend.

From afar… Someone watched the entire scene.

“Hm? I remember seeing that girl somewhere… Is she related to the victim?”

~~~

After a while, Eclipse’s mom arrived. They then explained the situation.

– Oh, my dear… That’s truly heartbreaking. I’m sorry you had to go through this. – Dahlia murmured, holding Catherine’s hands.

Catherine was really devastated… She was now alone with no one to take care of her. Yet, she still was lucky enough to be comforted by her best friend and her mother; someone she didn’t have since a young age. Remembering this, she started crying in Dahlia's arms. She really needed her mother to take care of her at that moment, however, the one who was there with her was Eclipse’s.

Dahlia noticed the situation as she knew Cath’s past, and started crying as well. She was moved by this.

“You poor soul…” She thought to herself as she hugged the sorrowful girl.

~~~

After making sure Catherine was feeling less panicked, Dahlia went to talk with one of the cops.

– Sorry to intrude but, do you guys have any clue of who could’ve caused his death? Was it a murder? 

– No, Miss. We are still investigating. However since we couldn’t find any weapon in the crime scene, we suspect it could’ve really been a homicide. Some of us will now return to the police department to investigate further with the clues we have.

– Alright. Thanks for the information. The poor girl is terribly lost… He was the only family he had.

– Oh about her… We’ll need to take her with us. – The worker replied, looking at Catherine.

He walked over to her and asked if she could go with them to the police station. She agreed. She was a bit calmer now, but she was still extremely distressed. Her father may not have been the best to her, but she still cared enough for him as his daughter.

~~~

When she presented herself with the cops at the department, her closest friend Vincent was there. He was a detective.

He had red hair, dark blue eyes and a noticeable scar on his face.

– Cath!! How are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt too? – He asked, worried, rushing towards her.

– I’m fine, just a bit distressed. 

Vincent hugged her and led her on to the main room.

– Do you want to drink or eat something? – He asked, sitting with her on a sofa.

– No, I already had breakfast, thanks.

– Oh alright… – He kept glancing at her… Seeing her like this hurt his heart. – The cops will interrogate you soon, that’s why they brought you here. But don’t be scared, it’s just some simple questions since you lived with him.

– Oh, thanks for warning me… I’ll be fine though. – She replied, looking at him.

After some minutes, another police officer appeared and asked her if they could talk in another room. She agreed and followed him.

They talked about what happened, what was her relationship with her father and if she had any clue of who it could be. He also asked about her family; she looked even more sad when he asked that.

“My parents divorced and my mom died after some months… I don’t know much about her side of the family, I never got in contact with them again, I lived alone with my father who was also alone.” She stated.

– Alright then Miss Catherine, thanks for the information. You’re dismissed. She then left the room and outside was Vincent, waiting for her.

– What are you gonna do now? Are you gonna live there alone? I know that house only brings bad memories to you… – He asked, concerned.

– I don’t know… I don’t plan going there anymore honestly, but I also don’t know where to go, nor do I have any money other than the one my father left for me.

Vincent wanted to ask her something, but he was hesitating since it could be too much for her yet. He still asked though.

– Well… You probably won’t like this idea and feel a bit uncomfortable right now but you can stay with me if you want. I have enough space for someone and I wouldn’t mind living with you.

He was nervous about her response. She was already dealing with too much and suddenly changing her home and deciding to live with another person, could make her feel worse.

– I accept. – She hesitantly stuttered. – I trust you and you’re my closest friend so, why not…

– Well then, I’ll go with you to pick up your things when you want. – He was shocked. He didn’t actually think she would accept.

– Thanks… I'm really grateful to have you.

Vincent smiled, he was happy to hear that.

~~~