In a certain tunnel of Zone 4 within the Chris Mine.
The mine shaft was dark and lightless, thick with the heavy mingled scents of coal dust, rust, and damp earth.
Along the path, piles of stacked ore, worn-out mining baskets, and idle machinery were scattered here and there.
Ordinarily, this place would have been filled with the ceaseless hum of steam engines, the clattering rumble of minecart wheels, the rough chatter of miners, and the sharp clang of iron tools…
But now, all of that had ceased due to the work stoppage.
All that remained was the dripping of water from the depths of the cave and the mournful howling of the wind.
This condition of total darkness and eerie silence did not last long.
Tap, tap, tap—
From the distance, muffled footsteps gradually approached, splashing through puddles, accompanied by the sound of some mechanical operation.
Then, a beam of light emerged from a lantern approaching in the distance, faintly illuminating the surrounding gloom.
A tall, middle-aged man walked in from the outer end of the tunnel.
He held a lantern in his right hand, and a hunting rifle was strapped across his strong waist.
Every few dozen steps, he would occasionally light an oil lamp on the stone wall, marking his path.
At his feet, a mechanical dog followed closely.
Its gears turned and joints twisted, producing a creaking, groaning sound that was especially clear in the confined mine shaft.
It was Foreman Cole and his mechanical dog, Magnum.
“Magnum.”
Cole glanced around warily.
“How much farther to the scene of the crime from that day?”
“Report: The crime scene is located at Vein 3 of Zone 4.”
The voice came from inside the mechanical dog.
“Turn right at the intersection ahead to reach the destination.”
But its voice was stiff.
If you listened carefully, it carried the mechanical quality of gear operation, completely unlike a human voice.
It was nothing like the robots currently on the market in Novalis, whose voices could almost rival real humans.
It seemed the language module installed in this mechanical dog was already very old.
“Alright, let’s pick up the pace.”
Cole quickened his stride.
After turning right, they soon arrived at the location of Vein 3.
It had already been over half a year since the first incident occurred at the mine.
During these six months, Cole and his men had once believed that the Enforcers would solve the case quickly.
He had tightened supervision, ordered the workers to travel in groups, and even sealed off some of the more remote paths within the mining area.
But what awaited him was still news of one brother after another losing their lives.
Official personnel sealed off one small mining area after another where crimes had occurred, took away one clue after another, and carried off the corpses of his brothers one by one for autopsies—
And yet, they couldn’t solve the case.
Those Enforcers, once hailed by the people of Novalis as “Great Detectives,” seemed to have gone quiet overnight.
Although his brothers never said it outright, he knew what lay behind their gradually changing eyes.
As the foreman of this mining area, Cole’s authority was being eroded day by day.
He had once argued with the mine owner, demanding to know why they didn’t just shut down the mine and wait for the case to be solved.
The answer he received was that the Demon Crystal Ore produced by the Chris Ore Vein was the city’s foundation, and the authorities couldn’t afford such a loss.
He had also once questioned his brother, who served as an Enforcer, with urgent vehemence—why had they been investigating for so long without even a definitive answer?
The only response was his brother’s inscrutable silence.
Cole had remained silent for too long.
He had held back for too long.
He had trusted his boss.
He had trusted the Enforcement Bureau.
He had trusted the authorities.
But his boss’s callousness only fueled his resentment, the Enforcement Bureau’s inaction only provoked his anger, and his brother’s expression—full of unspoken suffering—pained and anxious him.
In the end, he lost one brother after another, and even his own brother went missing.
And he had gained nothing in return.
This series of cases was like an unfathomable black hole, seemingly capable of devouring anyone who dared to probe its truth.
But this time, he was not going to endure it any longer.
Why did the authorities always seal off the scene for a while, only to hastily resume operations?
Were they destroying evidence?
Were they hiding something?
He didn’t care how far the authorities had investigated, or what awaited him at the scene. He had to go in and take another look.
Otherwise, he would be failing his brothers, failing his missing brother.
“Magnum, I’ll need to rely on you to lead the way again.”
Cole hadn’t been at the scene that day; the other workers and the patrolling Magnum had brought him the news.
“Received.”
Under Magnum’s guidance, he discovered a small space hidden behind the vein.
It was a confined space, with no other passage besides the one they had entered.
Cole was secretly shocked.
As the foreman of the mine, he had never known that Vein 3 concealed such a space.
He had already strictly ordered the miners not to enter remote areas of the mining zone alone, yet he never imagined this place had been overlooked.
Cole had worked at the Chris Mine for over a decade.
He didn’t think there were many people who knew this mining area better than he did.
Moreover, in such a dim environment, walking itself was difficult, let alone committing murder—how had the perpetrator managed it?
Could it be that the killer was even more familiar with the mining area than he was?
He gripped his lantern tightly and walked into the narrow space.
By the faint light, Cole struggled to make out the contents of the space.
As expected, that worker’s body had long been removed by the Enforcement Bureau.
There was no bloodstain on the floor either… completely clean…
It seemed the Enforcement Bureau had taken all the physical evidence from the scene…
This narrow space held nothing left after all…
“Cole.”
The dull mechanical voice came from beside him.
“Detecting magical energy fluctuations above us.”
“Mode switching: Illumination Mode.”
Light shot from Magnum’s eyes, striking the cave ceiling.
The pitch-black ceiling was instantly illuminated.
“Hm?”
Cole looked up at the ceiling.
There was nothing there.
“Mode switching: Mana Output Mode.”
The mechanical voice came from beside him.
“Output type: Light Element.”
Hum—
A dull startup sound came from Magnum’s core component.
Light Element gradually gathered at the mechanical dog’s mouth, then shot toward the illuminated area.
A black symbol slowly emerged on the ceiling.
“This is…?”
A black cross…?
Something from the Church?
Wait…
A sense of foreboding rose from the depths of his heart.
This was not the normal cross symbol he had seen in churches.
Because the cross before him was longer on top and shorter on the bottom…
“An Inverted Cross…”
Cole swallowed hard.
Looking more closely, it also bore a sinister skull!
Some of his fellow workers were religious.
Cole had heard them describe the symbol of the Church—the holy cross.
The Church would never allow such a blasphemous, sinister symbol to exist!
The moaning wind came from the distant tunnel, sending chills down Cole’s spine.
Goosebumps had already risen all over his skin.
Then… there was only one explanation.
Cole’s back went cold. His face turned pale.
This was the situation he least wanted to see…
This was… a demon…
“Alert! Hostile attack detected—”
Magnum suddenly emitted a shrill cry.
Cole immediately turned around.
“What—?”
Before he could finish, a sword aura carrying an ominous magical energy came flying straight toward his face.
…