A look back: Case 2

 “Don’t worry. I’m sure Kureha and Robert will both love you,” said a woman as she walked through the corridor of an orphanage, holding a little boy’s hand.
This wasn’t just any orphanage.
The children living here were the sons and daughters of officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, as well as civilians who died because they were caught up in the fight with criminals and their organizations.
It was like a shelter for them.

Remi Thornlee participated in a dangerous mission to destroy an organization that planned to take over Modar and use it as a base for spreading its beliefs. They found the organization's hideout in an old factory. Remi and her unit waited outside it. She touched one of the buttons on the chest of her special police unit uniform. It was a long robe, belted with a wide kontush sash. The sleeve on her left arm was slit to reveal the metallic armor composed of nanomachines that covered her body closely. Attached to her back were special wings with white feathers that reflected the moonlight. Anyone wearing such wings could move quickly thanks to their ability to hover above the ground.
They received the signal and rushed inside to attack.
However, the criminals had taken hostages.
A small family of three.
Their hands were tied and they had gags in their mouths, yet they didn’t look scared at all. They stood silently. They didn’t tremble, and their eyes were fixed on the police officers who appeared in the factory.
Remi felt that something was off.
"Let us go, and we'll let them go," they demanded.
Dammit. They want to use the hostages to safely escape. She thought.
It was a great opportunity to capture members of this strange organization alive, but she couldn’t just disregard the lives of civilians. No matter how suspicious the whole scene looked.
She gripped the Durandal tightly.
"Fall back," she ordered. However, her hand movements said something completely different. She moved her fingers delicately to signal to her subordinates that she was going to send spies after the enemy.

They waited for another signal. Half an hour later, one of the police spies returned and informed her that the group had gone underground and was probably making its way toward the catacombs under the church on Rykhensen Street.

"What about the hostages?" she asked.

“They disappeared.”
She touched her chin and started thinking. Maybe they weren't hostages, but part of the organization. They could have used her concern for civilians against her.
"Okay. Let's go to the catacombs and trap them."
They did as she ordered.

Her platoon hid in the narrow tunnels of the catacombs, which were filled with skulls and bones. They waited in the darkness, trying not to make a sound.

After a while, they heard the sounds of walking and some voices.

"Are you sure it was a good decision?" asked a voice.
"Yes. That was our role," answered the other. "Come here."

Remi looked from behind a wall to see what was happening. A woman and a man who were tied up were brought closer to the man dressed in a dark cloak. Before she could understand the situation, the man swiftly slashed their throats. She saw them fall to the ground.
"Now the kid..."

She didn't wait in the shadows.

Her anger pushed her toward the man in the black cloak.

His hand flew in the air after she used Durandal to cut it, and then it bumped into the ceiling.
The whole group started panicking.
After that, her subordinates came out and attacked the rest of the people. 

With their white wings, the policemen looked like angels come to deliver punishment. 
It was a one-sided slaughter. Blood splashed everywhere, and severed limbs littered the ground, adding to the catacombs' already grotesque appearance.

When all that she could hear were the voices of other police officers, Remi looked at the bodies of the pair of civilians.
"I'm sorry. I thought you weren't hostages," she said, kneeling down and closing their eyes with her hands. She took a deep breath. 

The whole situation still looked suspicious to her.

Out of the blue, her gaze fell upon a glimmer of light. She looked in that direction and saw a small child hiding in one of the graves dug into the wall. The child was petrified. She came closer and crouched down.
"Hey, I'm Remi Thornlee. I’m a police officer. Who are you?" she asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.

“You’re a police officer? I thought you were a dark warrior who brings justice to evil doers,” he answered, surprising her. In a way, the kid wasn’t mistaken. What they showed him definitely didn’t look like the job of a police officer chasing a thief who stole an old lady’s bag. They were special forces who dealt with dirty jobs.

"You might be right about that," she admitted with a smile. "We're the special force that destroys those who do something very bad."

“Something bad like painting my parents red and making them fall down?”

She froze for a second, unable to utter a sentence.
"Um..." she started. She took a breath to continue and smiled. “Yes, something bad like that,” she said, extending her hand toward the boy.

“Can you come out? I'll take you somewhere safe."

The boy nodded and came out. She took him into her arms and delicately stroked his light blond hair. One of her subordinates came closer.
"Captain Thornlee, we think it might have been some kind of sect and not them," the young police officer said.
"I agree. But we cannot disregard the possibility of a connection,” she replied. “Find someone conscious. We will interrogate them later.”
"Is that?" he asked, his gaze going to the boy held in Remi's arms.
"Yes, he's the boy who just lost his parents. It wouldn't have happened if I had acted differently in that factory. I’ll take responsibility,” she said as she walked toward the exit. "I'll take him somewhere safe and help you clean up this mess."
"As you command, Captain!" He saluted.

After a few days, they realized they were on the wrong trail. Among the bodies at the massacre site, they found three people who could explain who they were. Apparently, it wasn’t the organization they were looking for, but rather a heinous sect that sought sacrifices to offer to their deities in the catacombs. Something still didn’t click for Remi, though. She decided to reach out to another witness of the events on her own: the boy who got caught up in the tragedy. She had already decided to adopt him, secretly from her family. It would be a huge task, with all the paperwork she would have to submit, but it was certainly worth it.

Six months later, during the Summer Festival of Gratitude, she could finally bring the boy home to meet his future sister. She couldn't wait to see her husband's and daughter's surprised faces.

"This will be your home from now on," she told the boy as she opened the door. "I have a question for you," she said as they went in.
“Yes?”
"Will you help me prepare a small ball for a little princess?" She bent down to look him in the eyes.
"Yes, I will," the boy answered with a smile.
"Great! We'll be really busy!" She stood straight and held her fist high to show her eagerness.
Remi stayed in the kitchen, preparing the cake and side dishes, while the boy was in the living room, making colorful chains from strips of paper that had already been cut. After a while, they had prepared a beautifully decorated living room full of colors and lights, with a table full of tasty-looking dishes.
"Great job!" Remi exclaimed. She held her hands close to the boy. He repeated her movements and held up his hands, too. The woman smiled and screamed, "High five for a job well done!"

 The doorbell echoed throughout the house.
"Oh, they're here," she said, turning to the boy. "Come with me."
They approached the doors.
"Hide in this closet, and don't come out until someone opens it, okay? Be as silent as possible. Kureha can’t hear you, or it will spoil the surprise.”
The boy did as she asked. When she was sure everything was ready, she opened the door.

To her surprise, the people standing outside weren’t her husband and daughter. They were a pair of strange masked people. One of them was a man with white hair wearing a white mask with a black star where his right eye should be. He wore a brown suit. Next to him stood a woman wearing a fancy dress with puffs. She had curly red hair and wore a hat decorated with red peonies. Her face was also hidden behind a pink mask, and this time, a black heart occupied the place of her right eye.
Remi didn’t have time to react. The moment she tried to move, the voice of the mysterious woman echoed in her head:
"Stay still, my dear."

The police special forces captain froze, unable to move.
"Good girl," the woman said, patting her on the arm. "Now, lead us to the living room."

Whether she wanted to or not, Remi had to obey that woman’s hypnotic voice. The moment the woman saw the room, she clapped.
"Oh, how lovely!" Do you see that, Snow? We interrupted her celebration!" She turned toward the man.

"I don't care," he said coldly.

"Oh, you're heartless."

“W-w-what” from Remi’s mouth started coming out words "D-do you want fr-from m-me?” she finished while stuttering a lot.
"Oh dear! A copy is indeed only a copy. She can speak,” the woman said, touching her mask where her cheeks would be to show her surprise.
“Then don’t play around and kill her.”
"Simply killing is boring. I prefer to learn a little about my targets so I can grieve while taking their lives,” she answered in a dreamy voice.
“Why are there only crazy bastards in this stupid organization?”
“Snow, honey, if you’re part of us, then you’re a crazy bastard too. That weapon of yours is proof of that.”

Snow turned his head away.
Remi bit her lip as hard as she could. That woman had a power similar to Chief Boleslava's, but it wasn't as strong. It was possible to be set free. Steeling herself, she made the Durandal appear. Gritting her teeth, she screamed and used it to slash through the sofa.
"Oh, it looks like you'll have to take out your scary weapon, Snow." The woman took a step back.

"It seems that way." In his hands, a sword with a silver glow appeared.

"I'll try to hold her back." She said while waving her hand as she walked away.
"Much appreciated."
Remi tried to strike the woman, but the masked man parried her attack and pushed her back. She wasn’t in full control of her body. For the first time, she was scared.

Thank goodness they're not here yet! 
I hope they don't find him in the closet.
She thought.

Remi stood up unsteadily, gripped Durandal’s handle with both hands, and placed the blade behind her. She put her left leg forward, slightly bending her knees, and turned her body to the side. She threw herself at the enemy. Snow couldn’t block her attack completely and had to dodge it to the left. Not only was the sleeve of his suit scratched, but one could also see a small trail of blood coming from the wound the attack had made.
“You said you would hold her back!” he remarked angrily.
“I said I would try to hold her back,” the woman in the hat retorted.
Finally, Remi felt like she could stand firm. She took the same fighting stance again and struck Snow, who once again tried to escape her attack. This time, he fell down, and his tie was cut off.
"Dammit!" he snorted.
Remi held her sword high and aimed for his head. He swiftly placed Stormbringer above his head to protect himself. Remi pushed Durandal down on her enemy with all her strength.
The strength that left her in an instant.
She fell to her knees and let go of the sword, which fell to the ground.
The woman in the hat jumped happily.
Seeing what happened, Snow stood up and kicked Durandal away from Remi, who widened her eyes in surprise.
How could he touch her sword?
"Couldn't you do that earlier?" he remarked.
"Didn’t you see how desperately she tried to kill you? Only to have her hope crushed the moment she could have won?” She hugged herself and danced energetically. “How beautiful is that!”
"Ugh." The sword in Snow's hand disappeared. "Finish the job, Mandragora."
"On it!" She took one of the paper chains and said, "This will do." The paper transformed into a thick line.
Mandragora came closer to Remi and put the line in the police captain’s hands.
"Use it to hang yourself."

The order echoed in Remi’s head.
She gritted her teeth and sat still for a while.
Mandragora touched the chin of her mask and said in a worried voice,

"I knew a copy of that chief's sword wouldn't be as good as the original. She doesn’t listen.”
Snow sighed and came closer. He ran his hand through his hair, and a sword formed from it.
“What can this one do?” asked the woman in the hat.
"It will cut her attachment to this world," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. He ran the blade through Remi’s heart. Her eyes, which had shone with a glimmer of hope, now lost all light.

"Repeat the order," he said as he went outside.
“Weren’t you supposed to protect me if she attacked?

“I don’t have to. She lost her reason to fight."
"What a brutal man you are, Snowy." Mandragora turned back to Remi and repeated herself in a voice as sweet as honey.
"Adorn yourself with this exquisite banner and hang yourself, my dear."

Mandragora had fun toying with her new plaything while Snow stood near the door leading outside and looked at the closest. He knelt down and opened it. When he saw the boy inside, he extended his hand. The boy knew what that gesture meant. He put his small hand in the pocket of his shorts and took out a small, square object.
"Thank you, Luke. Your part of the mission is finished. Here's your prize."
Snow created a silver teddy bear out of thin air and gave it to the boy.
"Do you know what you're supposed to say when they start questioning you?"
The boy nodded.
"Good. I’ll contact you when there's a new mission. Now, wait for them to save you.”
As he said this, Snow closed the closet.
Before leaving the Thornlees' home, Mandragora and Snow made sure the police wouldn't find any evidence that could lead them to their organization.

Luke waited silently in the closet.
He did what they wanted and was free from his duties until they came for him again. He hugged the bear tightly.
Two hours later, he heard someone ring a bell. They rang it again and again. He heard people talking outside. Suddenly, the door opened, and a little girl appeared. Her light brown locks framed her small face beautifully. Luke could see her through the gap between the closet doors.
She disappeared from his sight when she went into the other room where he was making the paper chains earlier.
Finally, he could see her again when she came out.
She was crying and hugging her father desperately. She looked so sad, so weak, and so beautiful in her agony that a blush appeared on his face. He imagined himself as a handsome prince who would rescue her from her struggles. He would build a castle for her and protect her inside it. Whenever she cried, he would hug her and reassure her that he was there for her. Luke was engulfed by his dreams until someone forcibly brought him back to reality.
An old man with red, teary eyes opened the closet.

Luke would prefer that he not do that, but when he looked closer at the man, he noticed that he had the same eye color as the lovely girl.
Many people were surprised to find him there.
"Is it time to come out?" he asked innocently.

The man whom they called Loi answered.
"Yes, it is. Come here.”
Luke listened and came closer to the man.
"Who are you, little boy?"

"My name is Luke. Lady Remi said that today I would meet my little sister, and we had prepared a big surprise party for her. I hid to be a surprise present, but some people came and made a lot of noise before leaving. Then, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until you opened the door," he explained.
After the doctors carefully examined the child, Loi took the boy back to the orphanage.
Later, police tried to learn something from little Luke, but they didn’t hear anything that could be used as a clue.

After Loi became a professor at the Police Academy, he took on his sister’s role.
Sixteen-year-old Luke happily agreed to be adopted by the new professor.
Living with that guy could bring him closer to the angel he saw that day.
He wasn’t mistaken.
Once he started living with Loi, he learned that the lovely girl he had seen that night was the man’s niece. She was supposed to be his sister. Fortunately, that didn't happen.
If they had become siblings, it would have been harder to turn her into his lovely princess in a castle.
He played with her and observed her carefully, noticing that she was exactly the good princess he wanted her to be, but she had one big flaw.
A life as a princess in a castle wasn't what Kureha wanted; she had her sights set on a life as a warrior princess.
That didn't sit right with him.
He had to do something about it.