...

  Raghav, Randheer, Ansh, and Sameer. All four stood before the room Pranali had granted them for their investigation.

  When they pushed the door open, they were met with total chaos...things that belonged on the left were on the right, and vice versa.

  Ansh looked at Sameer. Sameer looked at Randheer. Randheer looked at Raghav. Raghav’s chocolate eyes surveyed the mess, his lips pressed thin.

  On his shoulder, the blue butterfly remained stuck like a sleeping badge of honor.

  His brow furrowed. The sight of the disarray triggered an unpleasant memory, the moment his throat was crushed, and he had fought for every scrap of air in this very room.

  『What an unpleasant memory!』

  Raghav forced his muscles to relax. He scanned the room one more time and clapped his hands sharply.

  "C'mon! We have work to do. Let's fix this room so we can start the real job."

  The sound snapped them all to attention. They nodded. The work began. Anything unnecessary was hauled out. Together, they scrubbed and polished until the room shone.

  Between the cleaning, the constant bickering of Ansh and Sameer became the background music for Raghav and Randheer. It provided a lightheartedness Raghav desperately needed after so much trauma, he let them argue, enjoying the normalcy of it.

  Within an hour, everything was set. A pin-up board adorned the wall, filled with all the things they had found so far, and the few photos they needed.

  A round table stood in the center with four chairs.

  Four men sat.

  Raghav picked up all the documents he had to work on and placed them on the table.

  Ansh and Sameer exchanged a hesitant glance before looking at Raghav. He could see they had a question. Their eyes were practically shouting it.

  And reading eyes was his specialty.

  "Mr. Raghav? Can we ask you something?"

  "Of course."

  Though Raghav was the leader of this small team, he carried himself with the grace of a capable, balanced guide, someone who valued his team's input while staying a step ahead. Perhaps that's why they both didn't feel burdened working with him.

  "We understand why you trust Officer Randheer... but why us? We could be working with the enemy for all you know."

  Raghav listened and looked at them. His hands were busy arranging all the papers one by one on the table, and so were Randheer's.

  "Well... to lift the Kaalmani or the Ojasutra, one must be at least a Power-tier fighter. You both are Low-tier."

  "As for being Involved..."

  He smiled.

  "If you are, I’ll find it eventually."

  His voice carried so much self-confidence. So much certainty.

  Raghav knew he would solve this puzzle. The puzzle itself wasn't difficult. It was easy. The only difficult part were the people involved.

  All of them dangerous.

  This environment was dangerous. These circumstances were dangerous.

  He picked up a pen and pointed to a stack of papers.

  "Since the thief must be at least Power-tier, it's clear that one of them is involved. So first, we start by subtracting everyone below that level."

  He looked at Ansh and Sameer. This was no small task. There were 44 pages detailing 216 fighters, either Guild members or Guild leaders.

  Following that were ten pages of Kalminar’s own staff and soldiers. Pranali had told him not to bother with them, as none could have stolen the artifacts, but Raghav was Raghav.

  He insisted. Pranali then got him the documents for these as well.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Ansh and Sameer nodded and began their work. Raghav slid the second stack toward Randheer.

  "This is for the Vault. Anyone except a Low-tier could have lifted the Kaalay Dagger. We need to look for someone with 'Stealth' or 'Invisibility' traits. Bcz The theft happened right under their noses, yet the person remained unseen."

  Randheer nodded, picked up a pen, and he and Raghav began narrowing the list. As he worked, Raghav’s eyes drifted toward the Supreme-tier fighters.

  Their powers...

  『So, Mr. Amogh has Shielding Powers? A barrier fueled by Fire energy.』

  Raghav's eyes moved from him to Chirayu.

  『War Foresight?』

  Raghav found this one a bit odd. It was difficult to understand it just by reading the name. Then the boy looked at the soldier sitting in front of him.

  "Randheer sir? What exactly is 'War Foresight'?"

  Randheer lifted his face from his paperwork and looked ahead, only to find a curious Raghav. He too wouldn't have known much if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

  "Think of it like this if I’m about to punch you, you’d know exactly what I’m going to do two minutes before I do it, allowing you to step aside. That’s War Foresight."

  "Oho!"

  Raghav nodded, now knowing exactly what it was. And a few more racing thoughts...

  They stopped when Randheer opened his mouth again.

  "One more thing. Even outside of combat, they get a 'hunch' about good or bad events before they happen. It’s not as precise as the combat version, but it’s there."

  The boy listened. He understood. The soldier did not know what the boy understood but he knew that whatever he told him was useful.

  Raghav filed this away in his mental cabinet, he knew this information would be vital. His eyes moved down the list.

  『Miss Ukti... Healing Power. Hmm, simple enough. And who is this...?』

  『Mister--...』

  He saw the photo, and his stomach turned. It wasn't the face. It was the memory attached to it.

  『TF you mean Mister! I am never calling him that. Never! Die in a hole, you JERK!!!』

  He flipped the page containing Sangharsh and his Telekinesis data. He had already experienced that power, and he had zero desire to do so again.

  The next page was about Pranali herself.

  『Power Blocking? She can block anyone’s power for a maximum of two hours... but only three people at a time. Hmm.』

  The concept wasn't too difficult. It was easy for Raghav to understand. Pressing his click pen casually, he turned the page and found Major.

  Major Shaurya.

  『Lightning!』

  Raghav had to admit. It was a terrifying power. From ground-level bolts to celestial strikes. But the photograph looked familiar. Raghav’s eyes narrowed. His brow rose.

  『His face looks way too similar to... HIM...』

  A suspicion formed. He kept it to himself and continued marking names that matched "Stealth" profiles in his diary.

  By the time he finished, he looked up.

  The room was silent. Everyone had collapsed.

  Some on the table, some on other's shoulder, some in their chairs. Raghav smiled.

  He didn't wake them. He gently moved the sleeping butterfly from his shoulder to the table and stood up.

  He couldn't sleep. There was too much to do.

  But as he rose, a sudden streak of blue flashed across his vision and vanished.

  A wave of dizziness hit him, making him grab his head.

  It passed as quickly as it came.

  Now he felt nothing there.

  There was only a gust of cold wind...

  Everything seemed normal. But a persistent, rhythmic ache was thumping in his upper back, between his shoulder blades.

  But Raghav was Raghav. Raghav told himself it was just from sitting too long.

  But deep down...

  He knew something very different was going on inside him...

  ?°?°?°?°?

  The armory in the first tower of the Kaalminar.

  The armory in the first tower of the Kaalminar, equipped with all kinds of modern weapons.

  The Major was inspecting it.

  Alone and in peace.

  He sipped his tea, reading the metal spec sheets on the weapon racks.

  But this peace wouldn't last long. A brown trench coat appeared at the door, accompanied by that distinctive scar over the eyes.

  And The Major knew. There was no need to even look. He took a long breath.

  "I didn't give you permission to enter. Leave."

  A light, mocking laugh...

  "I don't need your permission to enter anywhere, Major."

  And just as he said, he entered. The Major sighed again. He came and sat down on the sofa, which had a glass table in front of it, and Sangharsh was sitting directly opposite him on the other side.

  "Why are you here?"

  "Do I need a reason to visit you?"

  And Shaurya placed his tea cup on the table and stared at the person sitting right in front of him.

  "You doing something without a reason? Impossible."

  Sangharsh just smiled, looking like the picture of innocence. He picked up Shaurya’s tea cup and took a leisurely sip. Shaurya rolled his eyes.

  "Stop the nonsense! Tell me!"

  Sangharsh finished the tea, set the cup down, and his expression turned serious.

  "Chirayu and Amogh are both here. Then why did you come here? To settle the score for their old sins?"

  Shaurya looked at Sangharsh with an equally intense gaze.

  "Perhaps."

  To be continued...