No Case

Scarlet had heard that voice before. It belonged to a person who should not be lingering around a low section like the Tutorial Section. But more importantly, that person was someone you should not mess with.

She did not even need to turn around to confirm the identity and simply raised both of her hands, dropping her sword to the ground. Even her subordinates straightened their postures out of sheer nervousness and fear. It was not something caused by superpowers or the likes—it was caused by simple intimidation.

"You are..." Jay muttered weakly as he was out of breath. He could barely stand anymore, given his injuries and the amount of blood he was losing. Still, he stared at the black-haired woman whose grin emitted both confidence and intimidation. He might have lost his memories about himself, but he still possessed general knowledge, including information about the tower and famous individuals.

"Is this how a police officer should act?" Elsa asked, although it sounded more like a rhetorical question. "Are you sure that you haven't wronged this person? Have you confirmed what happened here?"

With a scornful gaze, she passed Scarlet and checked on Jay. After a few seconds of examining his injuries, she took out a small test tube filled with a strange green liquid. She opened it and forcefully shoved its contents into Jay's mouth.

Jay, in turn, was surprised by what was happening and tried to defend himself first until he noticed the effects of the strange liquid kicking in. The cut wounds—no matter how shallow or deep they were—closed, and Jay's complexion improved.

"A healing potion...? Why would she use such an expensive item on a stranger...?" Scarlet muttered, bewildered.

Jay coughed vehemently after drinking everything.

"Do your job properly and question them first." Elsa stated sternly, looking over her shoulder. "If I happen to hear about further misconduct from you, I will personally handle the matter."

"Y-yes!" Scarlet responded, her body stiffened completely.

"Good. Now take them all away from here." Elsa added with a sigh.

She walked toward Ella, whose head was cut off cleanly. Her body suffered from a fatal stab injury and several frostbites. Elsa looked down at the body and covered her face with her hand for a moment.

"E-excuse me... We need to investigate the body..." one of the other police officers said sheepishly.

Elsa turned her heel and walked back to Erik and the others.

"W-why are you putting handcuffs on me, too?!" Luna argued, outraged.

"Just cooperate for now...!" Scarlet whispered, her nervous gaze falling on Elsa from time to time. "Don't cause a scene in front of her...!"

"Who is she anyway?" Luna asked, still angry. "The tone completely shifted when she appeared."

"What?! You don't know her?! She's Elsa Rark! The Elsa Rark!" Scarlet elaborated, raising her voice a little.

"Leave her be. She's new here." Erik chuckled after overhearing their conversation. He appeared relaxed despite being put in handcuffs as well and having several officers restraining him. However, it was when he peeked at Jay that he showed a trace of anxiety on his face.

Jay cooperated with the police and let himself be escorted by them without any problems, but before leaving the scene with the others, he noticed Elsa approaching him.

"You’re truly the spitting image of him." Elsa remarked, relaxed. Unlike a while ago, her smile was anything but menacing. It was filled with warmth—and love.

"How does someone like you know me? Ah—thank you for the healing potion!" Jay said, getting the order of his priorities wrong. He was nervous like everybody else, but he also had to show his gratitude to her.

"No need to make a big deal out of it." she sighed. "After all, it's my duty to look after you, too."

Jay tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Keep advancing." Elsa encouraged him as she placed her hand softly on his shoulder. "No matter what happens and no matter how grim the situation is, just keep advancing. I know that I’m a stranger to you, but please do me the favor and show me a what-if version of yourself."

She slightly pursed her lips.

"I just hope that this time, you won’t get corrupted."

"What do you mean? Who... Do we know each—"

"Now get going." Elsa cut off Jay, who had a mountain of questions for her.

Everything she had said was like a cryptic message to him. However, he was certain that there was a connection between her and him—or at least the version of himself that was whole. Jay's gaze was fixed on her, and he kept calling out to her, even after she walked away, as the officers moved on her command.

"W-what's this?!"

However, when it looked like everything was solved, a strange phenomenon occurred. A handful of police officers fell to the ground and shrieked as if they had seen a ghost. They were the ones tasked with taking care of the deceased body, but when everyone looked over, Ella's body began to fade away. Starting from the top, her body dissolved into fine, shiny particles, which faded away as they went into the sky.

"E-Ella...? W-what's happening to her?!" Luna shouted, worried. But just like her, everyone else was confused—aside from Elsa, Erik, and Jay.

It was not just the body that began to disappear. The blood on the soil and on Jay's blade dissolved, too. It was as if every physical trace of the being called Ella was erased from that place.

"See? It wasn't a murder. If it had been an actual person, the body wouldn't disappear like that." Erik said in a laid-back manner, breaking the tension in the air. "The thing that you all have perceived as a person was, in the end, just the product of a skill."

"A skill, you say...?" Scarlet repeated, not sure what to believe. During her career, she had witnessed many murders, but it was the first time she had seen a dead body disappear like that.

"Don't listen to him! Ella was a real person! She was my friend!" Luna shouted, glaring madly at Erik.

Scarlet observed the scene once more. There was no trace left of the person who had apparently been killed—even on Jay's body and weapon. In order to confirm the crime, they needed clear evidence that could be used against the culprit, but there was none.

She glanced at the outraged Luna. Her emotions were real. Her connection to that person was real. However, she could no longer make assumptions based solely on statements. Normally, she would proceed with taking everyone into custody, but the situation changed. Scarlet shifted her gaze to the indifferent Elsa.

Based on her behavior, she was connected to the one who was thought to be the culprit. If Scarlet were to proceed with her own plan, she could risk enraging Elsa.

"L-let them go for now." she declared, defeated. Saying those words hurt her pride, but she had no other choice. Right now, her life was more important to her, even if it meant going against her just principles.

Her subordinates were flabbergasted by her decision. They followed her order and released Erik, Jay, and Luna, although Luna was still throwing a tantrum.

"With this, the assimilation is complete, right?" Erik asked.

"Yeah." Jay responded tiredly.

After a certain amount of time, the dead body possessing a part of Jay would disappear, leaving no physical evidence behind.

"By the way, do you know her, Erik?" Jay asked, glancing at Elsa. If it were not for her, Erik and Jay would have been in great trouble.

"Of course, I know her. I don't think there's anyone here who doesn't know—"

"I meant personally." Jay added, noticing the superficiality in Erik's words.

Upon hearing that, Erik's smile softened, appearing as if he was thinking about something.

"I don't know if you could call us acquaintances, but I guess we do know each other somewhat." Erik answered, albeit vaguely.

And right when Jay intended to dig deeper, Scarlet approached the two released men. She held her chin high as she stared at them sharply.

"Even though I've decided to let you go for now. I still want to collect all of your statements. Write them down and hand them over before you leave." she commanded strictly as she passed them two clipboards.

They had predicted that they would not be able to leave so easily, so they readily took the clipboards and proceeded to write down the events from their perspective. And since Scarlet was simultaneously occupied with Luna, who was writing her thorough report, Erik and Jay peeked at each other's boards to avoid inconsistencies in their stories.

"We're done." Erik announced.

"That was quick." Scarlet remarked, tired from dealing with the case. "Now show me your status windows so I can confirm your identities. You can go after that."

Scarlet had initially thought that she would be done quickly with that crime scene, but nothing went according to her plan. First, there was the arrival of Elsa, and then there was the disappearance of the dead body. With so much on her plate, she could not care less if another shocking event was revealed.

"Here." Erik and Jay said at the same time, sharing their screen with Scarlet.

It was a lie. Once Scarlet looked at their screens, she widened her eyes as her body trembled out of shock.

She had clearly picked a fight with the wrong people.