Strange… There was no one else here earlier! 

Then, who was the one who shot off those large blasts of water in the sky? I looked around to find the culprit but was stopped by a sudden shriek.

“A-A-A red cloak!!! Y-Y-You're from that organization!!!”

An older woman trembled in fear at the sight of me. I glanced in every direction and saw another older woman and a couple of ability hunters with her. 

Are these hunters unarmed?

Strange. Ability hunters were always wielding guns or something similar.

“A red cloak!?”

“Crime!?”

The hunters yelped. They didn't have their weapons and it didn't look like they had anything else on hand. 

“That's right... I'm the leader of Crime!” Just those words alone were enough to send a chill down their spines. “And I need you to answer my questions.”

“The leader…!? Everyone, retreat!! We can't take him on alone! We need backup!!!” One of the hunters shouted and the group immediately tried to run past me.

“Oh? Now, we can't have that!” 

Using my ability, I shot at the grass where everyone was standing and paralyzed everyone's shadows, rendering them immobile. They couldn't escape like this.

“The hell…?! Why can't we move?!” The hunter was sweating bullets now.

“I'm the one asking the questions, not you.” I strangled him by the neck. “Now, answer my questions or I'll kill you right here.” 

“G-Guh…!? W-What… d-do you want…?!” He was already struggling to speak.

….!?

Upon further inspection, I noticed a giant burn mark on his cheek.

“...First question. Where did you get that burn mark?” I spoke darkly.

“D-Don't… play dumb…! I-It was that girl… who could shoot flames from her hands…! O-One of your… friends…!”

“....I have no such friend.”

…You would say the same too, wouldn't you?

I clenched my teeth bitterly, tightening my hold on the hunter's neck. His face started to go pale.

“Second question. Who shot off those large blasts of water in the sky?”

“A… As if I'd tell you…!”

I narrowed my eyes, applying even more force. “Is that really your answer when I hold your puny life in my hand?”

“Guh…!! G-Go to hell… monster…!” He spat.

As expected, these hunters had no intention of cooperating.

Pieces of shit.

Well, maybe those two civilians over there would be more cooperative if they saw what I could do.

I sneered, “Don't say I didn't warn you!”

With a snap of my fingers, the hunters were engulfed by total darkness, their blood spattering on the trees and grass and promptly dragged into their own shadows.

Hmm?

I looked down at my cloak. The color of blood blended in well with the dark red but it was still noticeably messy. Was that blood on my cheek, too? I'd have to clean that up later.

“Nooo!!!” One of the older women screamed.

“S-S-So, that's how the bodies disappear!?” The other one was shaking in her boots.

“Correct! And now that you've seen what I can do if you don't answer, you better cooperate. Tell me everything you know. Now.” I demanded.

“Eep!? W-W-We don't know the water girl's name but she was trying to signal to you by shooting off her water into the sky!!”

“...She was trying to signal to Crime? Why?” I asked curiously.

“W-We don't know! Isn't she your friend?!”

I hummed. “Maybe, maybe not.” 

“W-What kind of answer is that…?”

I ignored her. Assuming the water girl was who I thought it was, this could be really useful information… 

“So, what did she look like?” 

“S-She had dark hair and purple eyes… And she was wearing a tacky purple ribbon in her hair…”

Dark hair and purple eyes… with a water ability…

I couldn't stop the grin from forming on my lips.

“Ahaha! How exciting!!”

I couldn't control my joy! We had finally found a lead after all this time!!

“We found Luna Ione! Ahahaha! At long last we've found Luna Ione!!” I laughed with excitement.

“Eep!?”

“Do you know where she went?”

“N-N-No! B-By the time we regained consciousness, she and those other four were gone! We don't know where she went!” 

Regret…

I clenched my teeth. It was the second worst-case scenario!? The first worst-case scenario being that she was dead and that was why we couldn't find her… 

Well, at least it wasn't the first, but still!

Regret…

“Ughhh!!! We finally find her and Regret has to get involved?! Are you kidding me!?”

I shot a shadow blast at the tree in my anger.

“Aieee!?” The two older women screeched.

“That damn Blaze is just set on ruining everything!!” I knew my anger was boiling over. “Why the hell did she have to find her before Crime did?!”

“W-We don't know! That girl was crying and begging for you to come save her! We thought for sure she was one of you!”

I froze.

…She was crying and begging for Crime to save her?

And I arrived too late... I couldn't save her in time. If Regret hadn't saved her, then she would have…!

I was so angry. I was angry at Regret for taking Luna Ione from us. I was angry at myself for letting it happen so easily. But most of all, I was angry at these two…

“...And you just watched her?” I asked darkly.

“W-Well…”

“You just watched her cry and beg for help?! You did nothing but watch as ability hunters were about to shoot her down?!”

One of the older women whimpered. “W-We were restraining her for the hunters… ”

The other one panicked. “Hey! Don't tell him that! Do you want to be killed!?”

Shadows were already seeping from my gloves. These two deserved no mercy. 

“I see… So, you tried to kill her.” I stepped closer to the two.

“W-Wait! We can explai—!”

I didn't let her finish. I had the shadows devour both of them in an instant. Their horrified screams echoed and their blood splattered. Their battered bodies being dragged into the depths of their own shadows where they would never see the light of day again. 

“...What a mess.”

My cloak had gotten some more blood on it and my face felt dirtier too. The blood wasn't mine, so it was fine, but I'd still have to clean it up…

“Heh heh heh!”

But now that those scum were dealt with, I couldn't stop the excitement from coming back! My lips curled into a wide smile at the thought of our search finally coming to an end after six years. 

It's annoying that Regret found her first, but no matter…

“I'll just have to go retrieve Luna Ione myself!” 

With that decision made, I ran off in search of Regret's hideout, unable to contain my excitement.