It was some minutes before eleven in the evening. Valentine, wearing a tight black jacket and pants, was hiding in the dark outside the entrance of Sloten Public Cemetery. He was standing behind a tree with his presence concealed, carefully listening to his surroundings for any suspicious sounds.

He was waiting for Calvin, who was supposed to make a move soon to get the mangled corpse that he needed. Valentine's plan was to tail Calvin to see the person who had promised him a contract scroll. He needed to be very careful not to be detected by the man since he was powerful enough to make Calvin resist Graham's order. Valentine wasn't wearing Purloin for that exact reason.

The cemetery that night was quiet, with only the sounds of the security guards' occasional footsteps and chatters creating a noise. Suddenly, there was the sound of another pair of footsteps approaching from outside the area. Valentine concentrated on the sound that was getting closer and closer. However, although the person was supposed to be within sight, there was no one standing nearby.

Step... Step...

The footsteps kept on walking and when it reached the wall, Valentine could hear the sound of someone jumping and climbing. Although he couldn't see the person, he quickly followed. His own presence was revealed, so he wasn't worried about making a sound, as long as it was not too loud.

Tup...

Valentine easily climbed the tall brick wall surrounding the cemetery and landed safely. He listened to his surroundings and determined the direction the owner of the footsteps had gone in. He went in the same direction while staying hidden behind trees or tombstones. They went deeper into the cemetery until they arrived at the morgue; a classical building with a magnificent design.

The owner of the footsteps went into the morgue through the main door, which he easily opened. Valentine stayed outside without following the person. He couldn't hide easily from the mirrors, and his goal was to see the other person anyway, whom Calvin would meet after getting the corpse. It was a safer option for Valentine.

"G, you need to use divination later to find out how he can be invisible. Also how he can open the door easily," Valentine spoke as quietly as he could while looking around for a spot to hide.

There were trees and tombstones, but they were too out in the open. Valentine looked up and got an idea.

"Easy does it,"

He started climbing to the top of the morgue, getting up nimbly a distance at a time. There were a lot of gripping and footing spots, which made his ascent much easier. Before long, he had already skillfully made his way all the way to the top. Valentine could observe the surrounding area safely from there without being interrupted by the cemetery guards.

"Now we should be safe here, G,"

From above, Valentine could see where the cemetery guards were. There were a total of six guards who were split into three teams of two people. They were all carrying flashlights that they moved around to shine upon the dark spots. Currently, one team of guards was walking towards his location, but he didn't mind it. Unless they looked up and focused on him, they shouldn't be able to even feel his presence.

"Anyway, I cannot use Reveal on Calvin, who is currently invisible. I guess that means I must be able to see my target somehow, be it through mirrors or similar methods," he concluded.

He waited on the roof of the morgue for quite a while. Calvin seemed to be taking his time although he shouldn't have any difficulty in getting what he was looking for, especially since he was invisible. The mirror surveillance wouldn't be able to detect him at all.

"How is he going to find out which one he would need anyway? I guess a mutilated body of a murder victim should be easy enough to find as long as they were not separated. But what about carrying it later?"

After waiting for almost thirty minutes, finally, someone came out of the main entrance. However, there was no physical figure of the person. Valentine knew right away it was his target, so he listened closely to any sounds Calvin made.

The man seemed to be heading out of the cemetery, but the speed at which he was walking was slower than before.

"He must be carrying the mutilated body parts somehow. But we can't see it. Is it a high-level item he is wearing? Isn't it stupid of the mastermind to lend him something like that unattended?" Valentine paused.

He climbed down from the roof with agility and landed softly on the ground.

"Or probably it's a Contractbound's ability? There is the Deity of Invisibility, but the description of His power didn't mention granting invisibility to others,"

Valentine continued following Calvin out of the cemetery. It seemed that the duration of whatever item or ability he was using started to run out, so he became visible again. The man was carrying a big backpack, most likely with human body parts inside. There didn't seem to be any items on his person that could grant invisibility.

Calvin stopped in front of a manhole. He looked around and then opened it slowly and climbed down. Valentine quickly followed after waiting for him to make some distance between them.

The rusty iron ladder felt cold to touch, although he was wearing gloves. The sewer was very cold that night and the usual acrid smell penetrated his nose. The sound of the underground stream was loud, making it more difficult for him to hear Calvin's footsteps. He had to concentrate hard to locate his target.

Step... Step...

The faint sound of footsteps was coming from his ten o'clock direction, so Valentine turned left at the intersection and increased his pace. He saw the figure of the man soon after, still carrying a big backpack and walking cautiously. He looked around from time to time, but couldn't see Valentine.

Calvin turned right to a narrow tunnel and at the end of it, there was a figure cloaked figure that was taller than him. His face was covered by the hood completely. Valentine hid behind the wall and tried to listen in to their conversation.

"You're finally back," said the cloaked person. His voice was distorted, but it sounded like it belonged to a man.

"Yes. Here are the things you asked for,"

Calvin handed the backpack to the man.

"So, can I get what you promised me?"

The man didn't respond to Calvin's question. He seemed to be taking out something from his cloak.

"I promised you a swift death, didn't I?" the man suddenly charged at Calvin with a short sword.

Clank!

Valentine had jumped in and deflected the man's sword with his dagger. He had worn his Gemini and got ready to interfere the moment the cloaked man tried to take something out.

"Hide somewhere!" ordered Valentine.

Calvin, who was taken by surprise, quickly ran away, leaving Valentine alone with the cloaked figure.

Behind the man, there was a ladder and a wall, so Valentine's position should be advantageous for him. He had much more room to retreat in case something went wrong, whereas the man's option to escape was the ladder, which would take time to climb.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, hereby put you under interrogation!"

He quickly chanted and the man suddenly stopped moving. Valentine didn't plan to ask the man questions because it would take too long and his control over the man would be broken soon. He just needed to buy some time.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"

Slowly, an illusory text formed above the man's head. Valentine quickly read it.

'Andreas Peters, nicknamed Shade. He is a member of the secret organization called Pale Society. His mission is to gather ingredients for the organization that will be used in supernatural creature summonings. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, and his forte is in manipulation.'

"What a coincidence. G, isn't that the scroll that you want? He should not be difficult to deal with, in that case, as long as we don't give him a chance to use his abilities. I guess that's how he manipulated Calvin."

The cloaked man who was called shade suddenly took a step back. He seemed to have broken free from Valentine's control. Under the hood, Valentine could feel the man's eyes staring at him with surprise.

"Who are you? How did I not detect your presence??" asked the man in disbelief.

Valentine smirked.

"Maybe because you suck."

Shade was visibly provoked. His grip around the handle of his sword tightened. However, he didn't charge ahead at Valentine.

"I don't have time for this..." he suddenly said.

The man grabbed the backpack that he had dropped, but Valentine was fast enough to attack him with his dagger.

"Not so fast!"

Clank!

He parried using his sword, but Valentine's attack was stronger. His sword was dropped to the ground. He took a step back quickly and watched as the masked man was about to attack him again. Just as Valentine was about to launch his attack, Shade shouted.

"I order you to stand still!"

Suddenly, Valentine's whole body felt stiff. He couldn't even move a muscle nor lift a finger. He tried very hard to break free from the man's control and felt that with his current power, he would soon be able to do it.

Shade didn't waste his time. He quickly grabbed the sword that he had dropped and the backpack. He didn't even try to attack Valentine because he knew the control effect would fade soon. He just approached Valentine and muttered something under his breath and quickly climbed the ladder behind him and exited the sewer.

Valentine broke free from Shade's control soon after. However, strangely, he didn't chase the man right away. He had a strong urge to check up on Calvin instead.

"G, Calvin should be okay, so why do I really want to check his condition?" he said.

His memory was in contradiction, but he couldn't point out what was wrong. It just felt so natural to him that he wanted to make sure the man was alright.

He found Calvin not long after. The latter was hiding just behind the wall where Valentine was before and had been watching the fight all along. His respect for the man with the Gemini mask had grown because of the fight.

Calvin wasn't injured at all. He was definitely alright. However, even after knowing that, Valentine still didn't chase the running man. He instead felt the urge to converse with Calvin.

"Are you okay?" asked Valentine.

"Yes. Thank you for saving me," he said.

"Now, can you explain to me how you got in contact with that person?"

Calvin went into deep thought. He appeared to be trying to remember the details, but his memory was in a jumble when it came to Shade.

"I really cannot say it. I don't know," he said finally. His voice sounded confused.

"G, it's evident that Guiles are dangerous. It seems that he had also messed with our memory, although it was probably only on the surface." he muttered, and then turned back to Calvin, "What did you use to become invisible back then?"

Calvin looked surprised that the masked man knew about it. However, he quickly regained his composure. The man in front of him was the founder of the organization, and he himself was someone with supernatural abilities, so he must have his own way of seeing invisible people.

"I used this," he said as he took out an empty vial from his pocket. "There was liquid in it and the man said it could turn me invisible for some time,"

Valentine received the vial from Calvin and concentrated on it.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Uncovering, ask you to reveal your secrets to me!"

Slowly, an illusory text formed above the vial.

'Empty vial. Just a normal empty vial without anything special. It can be bought at the nearest hardware store or pharmacy.'

The text then disappeared.

"This is useless..." said Valentine in annoyance.

He gave the vial back to Calvin, who then put it back inside his pocket.

"Let's just get out of here now," said Valentine.

The two men walked towards the ladder and exited the sewer. The night breeze hit their faces, and fresh air entered their lungs. The air outside didn't stink, unlike the air in the sewer. They were currently in a quiet street with a lot of establishments that already closed due to the night.

Shade, who had exited way before them, was nowhere to be seen. He had successfully escaped. However, Valentine was not worried.

"G, we have his full name. You can use divination to track him, can't you?" he muttered.