Chapter 507: Arc 6, - 123: House Key

Chapter 507: Arc 6, Chapter 123: House Key

Fumeko walked around the fallen armour and looked over the railing on the dented walkway. ’Now, where’s the actual gangster?’ While her eyes scanned, her gaze paused on a small yellow flame that streaked off into the warehouse from the outside, followed by a yelp.

"You okay up there dude?" Ben hollered from below.

"I got the enchanter; he’s dead."

"Aru’s calling the police," Asobi shouted up.

"Clyde’s actual target’s in here somewhere, it’s not the enchanter. We need to find him first."

"The detective’s already got him," Ben told.

"Hm." Fumeko stepped forward against the railing, and felt a sudden buzz go down her spine; she winced. Her eyes darted to the staircase all the way at the end, before exhaling out the nose.

On the outside, the gangster in question was patting his rear end; his trousers were scorched. His pants were slowing down while in direct reach of Diana Ward.

"Look, look, I ain’t got nothin’ to tell, alright?" the man in a simple jacket and flat cap said.

"Thud!"

"What was that!?" the gangster turned to the sound from the warehouse.

"Don’t change the subject, why were you here?" Diana interrogated.

"Listen, who’s got my name in the mud? Carnicus? Morlow?" he tried to bargain.

"Your wife," Clyde answered with a solemn stare.

"Eh? What’s Malorie got to do with this? That whore’s the real trouble."

"She bargained for another one of you low-life types when I came in to send him to hell. After she sold you out, I shot him anyway," Clyde narrowed his eyes.

"Fucking two-timin’ bitch."

"Proceed with thine purpose in this disreputable locale," Tiffany had her arms crossed.

"The fuck? What kinda circus shit’s going on ’round ’ere? What’s this bitch on about?"

"Fshtuck!"

The gangster yelped and hopped back as a gleaming purple dagger flew past him and struck into the ground. Walking out of the warehouse, Ben carried the body of the dead enchanter forward while Asobi and Fumeko followed behind.

"One enchanter, on the house," Ben dropped the body as it thwapped onto the ground.

"Bloody hell!"

Clyde drew his bow taut with an arrow nocked.

"The sooner you answer, the sooner you will be safer in a cell," Diana’s tail swished.

"Okay, okay, I’ll talk," he put his hands up. "As long as you give Malorie what’s comin’ for her."

"You’re not in any position to bargain. Who are you, and what’s your business here?" Hotaru bared her fangs.

"Lodefall?" Diana said aloud.

"Look, we ain’t big around the big city ’ere alright? Name’s Weldes. Me and my buddies got a tip off about how to get into contact with the cult. It’s a fucking mess of a race, right. Ain’t a single damn gang’s got their foot in the door."

"How were you supposed to get your foot in the door here then?" Fumeko looked back at the Gratone warehouse.

The gangster shrugged and eyed the ramrat standing on her hindlegs while looking up at him... He leaned back from it, "You gotta ask Carnicus, I’m just actin’ on what I got."

’All the information must be scattered through word of mouth between the gangs all over Burnetrout. None of them have anything concrete.’

"I heard, someone was gonna be ’ere," he pointed at the warehouse. "We’d help ’em a bit with whatever they got going on, and we get a little bit of a chat back."

"What did he say—the knight?" Fumeko queried.

"Somethin’ about rats runnin’ in the tunnels and needin’ to flush ’em out. Fuck if I know what he meant, you saw the guy," he nodded to the corpse on the ground. "Bunch’a loons in that cult."

"I figured they’d respond at some point," Fumeko crossed her arms and gave a look to Tiffany, who met her gaze back. ’It’s all a plot; the cult has the gangs of Burnetrout playing their game without them even knowing.’

"That’s all I got," he shrugged and looked at the fox-woman. "He came in, spouted some nonsense and then you came outta the woodworks."

"What nonsense did he spout?" Hotaru continued.

Weldes groaned, "It’s not healthy listenin’ to those lot."

"You better remember like your life depends on it," Clyde’s arm was tensed and starting to shake from the tension.

He looked the arrow dead in the eye and wiped his nose uncaringly, "Talked about him not being there to witness the next act in the in between or some shit."

"He knew he was gonna die?" Asobi said.

"What do you mean ’the in between’? In between what?" Fumeko squinted.

"I don’t fuckin’ know."

"You said it like a location," Fumeko’s brows furrowed.

"I’m tellin’ you what he was tellin’ me runt."

"If the knight referred to it as an act, within the possibilities presented, could it not be further defined from the perspective of theatre?" Tiffany supposed.

Fumeko’s eyes glazed over, "Sure Tiffy, what does the in between mean in a play?"

Tiffany’s eye glared, "In between scenes?"

"How the hell does that help us?"

"Okay," Ben got in between the two and in front of the arrow Clyde was aiming. "This guy’s served his purpose, feel like telling him anything more’s gonna be a problem. Ms Detective, you got any handcuffs?"

"No," Diana replied.

"Hey, hey, we’re all civilized ’ere innit? I didn’t do nothin’, hurt nobody; maybe I can just be let off with a warning-"

"You admitted to collusion with the Deuctus Cult knowingly, attempted to hide the information, and also attempt escape; the first part alone gets you the death penalty here," Hotaru’s brow arched.

Tiffany made a silent gulp and faced away—something only the brunette noticed.

"I will handle it from here; this is nothing new. Pinfree didn’t find anything else in the warehouse, so rest assured," Diana grabbed the man by the wrist as a Dolpool police carriage siren could be heard a few streets away.

"What about," Fumeko stopped herself, seeing Detective Ward push the gangster ahead and away from the corpse. "-a certain flower?"

"You should worry about Namora’s funeral tomorrow."

"I can’t."

Diana’s ears stood upright as she looked back, "I’m sure there will be time later. On another matter, you should think about what you are and are not authorized to do, even if in self-defence."

Fumeko’s glance fell to the bullet hole in the cultist’s skull. ’I’m sure I’ll be fine.’ "Can you carry him inside?" Fumeko muttered to the red-armoured figure.

"Yup, sure," Ben picked up the corpse and marched into the warehouse.

"Ms Ward," Fumeko called.

Diana pulled both wrists behind the gangster’s back as he protested and cursed her out.

"Where can I find the tattoo?"

"Anywhere; could be big, could be small. Good luck," Diana escorted the gangster away.

The rest of them filtered into the warehouse before the authorities would arrive, while Ben set the body on a crate.

"Where do I go now? I’ve got no lead mate," Clyde stood over the body.

"I’d ask you to stick around, but you’re free to do what you want man," Ben replied. "...I’ve got a feeling we’re entering the dragon’s den now... I don’t really wanna drag you into it so soon," the helmet turned away.

...

...

"Then you’ll tell me where you lot are going, and I’ll be on my own way; I’ll be around, just not in the thick of it yet," he smiled.

Ben and Clyde clasped hands and nodded.

"What are you two shaking about," Fumeko commented as she approached the corpse.

"I’m not following you lot into the cult—for now," Clyde answered.

"Good for you," Fumeko examined the body.

"So, where are we gonna find the tattoo?" Asobi’s wand turned into a magnifying glass.

"Eugh, are we gonna have to strip him?" Ben’s voice cringed from within the helm.

"If we need to," Fumeko scanned the exposed parts of the body—the arms and face mostly. "Aru do you mind?"

"Why me?" the redhead leered.

"None of us can detect magic; I’d say your healing or Sobi’s light might be our best bet," she replied.

Asobi clicked some button on the magnifying glass and made it light up like a torchlight, before she handed it to the wolf-girl.

Hotaru grabbed it with a sigh and formed claws to cut down the shirt. "Please be on the upper body," she muttered.

Tiffany switched her eyepatch to her good eye.

Shining the light over the bare skin of the dead man, she found marks and scars; they were in clear slashing patterns and dark bruises over the otherwise peach-ish skin.

Hotaru furrowed her brows, "These... look like whips—or chains?"

"It looks to uniform to be chains, don’t you think," Fumeko added.

"Maybe."

"The guy had a kink?" Ben queried.

"It’s the Deuctus Cult, who knows what kinda conditioning or punishments go on in there," Fumeko rolled her eyes.

Ben pondered aloud, "I guess it is a cult at the end of the day."

"Why would anyone wanna help them like this?" Asobi questioned.

"I don’t know; maybe it’s like Ambrose said. There are just lost lambs out there that they can snatch up and guide however they want," Fumeko’s eyes flashed over at the blonde.

"Desperate and vulnerable people are their targets," Hotaru sighed and paused the light on his right shoulder. "Do you all see something there?" she moved her hand over it.

Her faint blue water painted over the skin, and it left a minor glimmer under Asobi’s wand-light that faded off as the water droplets seeped in.

"That must be it!" Asobi cheered.

"Constabularies approach," Tiffany warned as she heard the sirens.

"We have jurisdiction, we’re fine," Hotaru responded. "Fumeko?"

"Yeah, we do."

"Not that," the redhead glanced over. "What do you want to do with it if it’s the tattoo? If it is some key, we can’t carry a corpse around town."

"Can’t we just cut the arm, or a chunk of flesh or something?" Ben suggested.

"Then the enchantment might break, or not hold," Hotaru handed the light back to the magician. "We can’t be sure."

’... ... ...!’ "Magic’s weird."

"Uhm... sure?" the wolf-girl’s ears slanted down.

Fumeko pulled out her dagger and hovered it over where the tattoo was presumed to be. Very faintly under the gleam of the dagger, black ink was revealed. She skimmed over it in the pattern she guessed it to be.

About medium-sized, the symbol of the cult was indeed tattooed on the cultist’s shoulder. "How deep does an enchantment usually affect? The entire body? Just the arm?"

Hotaru shook her head, "How would I know? Enchantment’s a broad school of magic, I’d say it can be as deep or as shallow as it needs to be."

"If I fillet the flesh off the skin around the tattoo with a deep enough cut, could you heal the wound continuously while I do it? Sorta fill in the magic as my dagger breaks it?" the brunette stated.

"We can try. You’ll have to keep your hand the steadiest it’s ever been though; if you accidentally scrape up, the enchantment might break," the redhead cautioned.

"Well, if you need a steady hand," Ben elbowed Clyde forward.

"I got a bit lost there, what’s happening?" Clyde furrowed his brows.

Fumeko handed the dagger over to the archer, "This dagger cuts through magic. Do you think you can carve underneath the skin without tearing into the tattoo?"

"Been a bit since I carved meat, but I’d bet I could," Clyde took the blade and flipped it into a steady grasp.

Asobi shined a light down, while Hotaru prepared her spell to seep underneath.

"Before we do this, we can just cut off the arm, right? Or like, the chunk between the shoulder and elbow?" Ben stated.

’I’m not opposed to it.’ "You wanna carry that around? It’s easier to preserve the skin," Fumeko side-eyed.

"Fair point; this is cooler anyway."

Clyde aimed the dagger’s glow at the tip of the serpent tattoo and Hotaru dripped water right where he landed the first cut.

...

He pushed it further down, and with a hunter’s precision, smoothly carved underneath the skin layer while Hotaru healed it over immediately and staunched any bleeding.

Two police carriages came to a halt outside the warehouse, and two officers got out to check the scene.

"Done," Clyde held up the filleted slice of skin. "This is the best bloody knife I’ve ever freaking used."

"Yeah, give it back," Fumeko put her hand out, which promptly held the dagger handed back to her.

Hotaru let out a breath and leaned back with a bead of sweat down her temple. The shoulder and the skin fragment were completely healed on their respective sides with no scarring nor mark.

Clyde handed the slice to the wolf-girl, who grimaced and dangled it between pinched fingers.

"That’s our key, don’t lose it," Fumeko stated.

Tiffany switched her eyepatch back as the police came rushing in.