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~40~

  Hiroyuki immediately whispered to Noah, "You can't believe in this."

  "I don't. That is why I wanted to hear it from her first…" Noah confirmed. “Okay, anything else?”

  Morpheus wasted no time speaking about the interview as he addressed the room, “My team indeed did a full investigation of the disappearance of Father Raphael. Even though all four of them are still at large, he just seemed to disappear without a trace. We found his home outside of the Essex countryside. It was abandoned and set on fire. They rallied up most of the workers there who were nephalems. They kept their code of silence, even though it was us."

  “Such loyalty among the broken…” Noah said while taking off her jacket and putting it on her chair.

  “And let’s not forget the only two dead bodies that were in that entire mansion looked like bodyguards…” Hiroyuki informs.

  “They were bodyguards…” Noah confirmed while sitting down in her chair.

  Morpheus sat across from her as he continued, "We even did mitochondrial DNA analysis in every room. Spotless except for the bedroom. There was a dislodged finger that looked like it belonged to a young male underneath the table, a nephalem with a heritage of a Stoicheiódis Foínix, an endangered species of fire elementals. We even checked the bedspreads for fluids and found a match. The seminal fluids that we found on the bedspreads matched the blood and tissue samples of the dislodged finger."

  Noah was contemplating the information as she was rocking back in her chair.

  "We even found vaginal fluid on the sheets. We swabbed every mouth of every female who was in that mansion, and there was no match." Marcus concluded while presenting them with a huge stack of evidence.

  “I guess we can forget about the coffee cup that Marco drank out of…” Noah agreed.

  “So, I suggest we commence and ascertain the fate of Father Raphael!" Marcus proudly announced with a smirk.

  Marcus was indeed the Imperial Knight, and this was under his jurisdiction, so he can decide to distribute any information to any law enforcement agency she sees fit. But Hikari has a better idea, “do you have your files?”

  “Yes,” Morpheus got up from his seat and went inside his book bag to pull out three different redweld folders.

  “Are these the only originals?” Hikari asked as the slightly confused Marcus handed them to her.

  “Didn’t have the time to make copies,” He answered truthfully.

  Hikari nodded as she rose from her chair and walked towards the nearest fireplace. She opened one red wild to separate the papers into separate wads and threw them all into the fire.

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  “WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!” Marcus rushed to her, but Leon cut him off.

  “Watch yourself, Morpheus!” Leon warned.

  Hiroyuki wasn't surprised by Hikari's insubordination, but he would’ve wanted an explanation, “was it that obvious, Hiraki-Sensei?”

  "I guess you can say I am the lesser of the two evils. Marky Mark and his funky bunch would have used this against her. He had already sent that poor girl away to Lancashire as an act of exile because baby girl felt threatened.” Hikari explained. “Meanwhile, he had a dormant Malefica Obscura for him to cultivate and mold into a weapon but decided to have daddy’s little girl instead.” Hikari throws more papers into the fire. "I never understood that about you, Marcus. Always being a politician before a soldier. I guess in your mind, this works for you.”

  "Like you are any better than me?! If that was the case, you would be the Imperial Knight and not me," Marcus yelled.

  “The title ‘The Stygian Society’ is based on what we can do for our communities, not what we can do for ourselves. That logic makes us fearful, incompetent, and weak. None of this should've happened in the first place, but at the same time, it worked out for the best for Marco since she had finally found what was holding her back; her fear."

  Hiroyuki nodded in agreement as he saw the paperwork turned into kindling.

  “It makes no sense, Marcus. We should be better than this. Yet, on our darkest day, we sat on our hands and did nothing while we watched the world burn and tear itself apart through ignorance and greed. Father Raphael was just a boy in his early twenties with immense powers beyond his comprehension, and he was held back by those who wanted to mold him into their perverse image. Only to be cut down for the same reasons we see every day in public or our own homes. We turn on the television,” Hikari lectured as she pulled another reweld and started doing the same thing.

  "But I do believe that Marcus Halberstam is an evil genius. He chose to stoop to the same levels as Holy Mother Maria Boutonnière, Daemon Archduke Endspiel, Daemon Princess Saboten, and Daemon Prince Maven to defeat greater evils. It made no sense; I can't say it enough. He sent Marco Bennett to Lancashire on purpose because he deemed her as a fake. Even though I signed off on her bloodwork saying she was a dormant Malefica Obscura--”

  “I AM STANDING HERE, WOMAN! MIGHT AS WELL GET ON FOUR LEGS AND TAKE A SHIT ON ME!” Marcus yelled.

  Hiroyuki shook his head in disgust, "So you knew, made her records public without exposing her. Just like you were banking on The Third Revelation to storm her home village.”

  "You would think Marcus would find someone who can help her awaken her true powers in a proper and safe environment. But no, and that is what separates the old guard and the new blood. He wanted to traumatize Marco beyond the point where he needed her to be what he felt a wiccan should be," Hikari still prospecting. "The murderess of two dozen men, a violator of another. All because of one simple thing; Marco Bennett wanted to save the woman who took her place in the line of fire that night. And that is something that she will have to live with for the rest of her life… In the end, that is Marco's reason why she will always do what is necessary to keep those who can't fight for themselves. Following the true code of a Daemon Knight."

  It took everyone a while to process that. He felt that Marcus did Marco in his favor by putting her through such a terrible experience. But at the same time, it was for her to be prepared for what was coming up on the horizon. Hiroyuki was never really a huge fan of Marcus in general, but he respected some of his decisions even though they were extreme.

  And with that, Hiroyuki helped Hikari burn the last bit of evidence of the “disappearance” of Father Raphael.

  Noah approached the livid Imperial Knight, "We are not done with our interviews, sir. We need to speak to your First Knight, Arcana.” She informed.

  “Be back in 1400 hours.” Marcus recessed.

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