Clinton, Astrid, and Maurius spent most of their time working together. Sometimes they were assigned individual missions or worked along with other regulators. If they weren't doing missions, they were doing small menial work or training at the headquarters.
'I'm so sick of this. Paperwork is the worst part of this job.' Astrid complained for the tenth time that day.
'You said it. I would rather face a bunch of warlocks than do this,' said Maurius.
Meanwhile, Clinton remained as serene, apathetic, and mechanical as ever. The team was working on a curious case: three magicians had disappeared in the last few months. They were not very important magicians, except for the fact that the three of them were dual shadow magicians with a low affinity for other elements. They had no connection to each other or any known relationship. They didn't leave much of a trace; one day they just disappeared, and that's it. They had not found any clues so far. A messenger arrived at the office where they were working, and a letter was handed over to Astrid.
'Well, two out of our three lost magicians have appeared,' Astrid told them while she was reading the letter.
The two men lifted up their heads and then approached her. 'Two bodies were found in the catacombs beneath the royal city. Apparently, there is evidence of arcane magic.'
'In the royal city? That is crazy; you have to be insane to do that right in the most guarded place of the entire dynasty,' Maurius said.
'Or maybe they are geniuses,' Astrid added. 'No one would expect it.'
'Or they think they're untouchable,' said Clinton. 'There are powerful people who are not affected by the law, not even by the regulators.'
The trio recalled a murder case they worked on a few weeks earlier: a couple of young magicians used their magic on a peasant but received no punishment. The boys were the sons of a powerful magician positioned at the top of the royal court. The case was dismissed and the evidence destroyed. They wanted to say something about it, but everyone knew it would only bring them trouble. They themselves were members of noble families and knew what the game was. For some high-ranking nobles and, especially, magicians, killing a plebey was not considered a great offense.
'This is different. If this is an arcane magic case we are talking about, no one can get away with it,' said Maurius.
'I wouldn't be so sure. Remember that we have found cases of people suspected to be warlocks among high-ranking noble families that have been very difficult to investigate,' Clinton reminded them.
"Of course, they are probably part of the arcane magicians at the service of the royalty; I wonder what face these two would put on if they knew that the uniforms they wear are enchanted with the arcane magic that they hate so much." Clinton though.
'Let us hope that this is not the case, or we may be in serious trouble,' said Astrid.
Since the beginning of the war against the Kingdom of Veldat, things have become chaotic in the dynasty. They had no clear evidence of association, but after the start of the war, there had been more cases of the use of arcane magic. Small colonies of plebeys had been transformed into cemeteries after being used as sacrifices for rituals. The regulators tried to investigate deeper, but every time, they stumbled upon a wall.
As for the missing magic case they were working on, the only thing that made them relevant was the fact that, as dual magicians, they were somewhat unusual. There were few in the kingdom, so their disappearances caught attention. If they were simple shadow magicians, no one would care about their lives.
'Let's examine the catacombs,' said Maurius, rising up.
The trio entered the catacombs, joining other regulators on the scene. The two dead magicians were low-grade magicians; they were granted the title of nobles after waking up as magicians, but the case had low priority, so the case was assigned to the three young new recruits.
'Delmer de Frye, fifty years old, a shadow magician with an affinity of fifteen percent and a fire affinity of two percent. He had problems with gambling and alcohol addiction; he was ill with miasma disease after undertaking subjugation missions to pay his debts. There are no known children. The rest of his family doesn't want any contact with him. He disappeared five weeks ago.' read Maurius in the report they had already drafted for the investigation.
—Sakuo de Hino, an immigrant from the Fang dynasty. Dual magician shadow with two percent affinity and water in traces. Fifty-five years. He wasn't really a magician; his affinity was mediocre; he basically stayed a talent. He worked in a bar in the slums of the royal city. He left his job without warning a month ago and disappeared,' read Clinton.
Maurius used the oculus on Sakuo's body.
'No elemental magic was used. There are only residues of his own magical energy. He turned and looked at Delmer's body. Okay, there's something weird here.'
'What is it?' asked Astrid.
'Look at it yourself.'
Astrid wore her monocle. 'The magic energy... is similar.'
'That doesn't make sense; they are different magicians, without any relationship among them, and with different elemental affinities, this makes no sense,' said Clinton, seeing the same as the others.
They asked the other members of the regulators who reviewed the area. Everyone had seen the same thing, and there was no explanation, but one thing was clear.
'These men did not die here,' said Astrid.
'I agree,' said Clinton. 'I asked the rest of the team. The southern end of the catacombs has been explored, but there is no evidence of anything going on there. We can't explore the far north. There is a stable nucleus of miasma somewhere in the catacombs.
'A stable nucleus of miasma?' asked Astrid.
'I thought the miasma was chaotic; how can it be stable?' asked Maurius.
'I've been reading and studying about it. Apparently, in certain areas, there are miasma nucleus that do not disappear or expand; they are static and exist. There's one of those in these catacombs. It is not entirely a secret, but it is not something commented on either. They have sent several teams and searched for the nucleus to no avail; the miasma seems to permeate the walls of the catacombs, but it does not grow. It is an area of interest and has been extensively explored, but it is still dangerous. As long as you do not enter the miasma, everything is fine; however, once inside, there are monsters, like in all the areas filled with miasma, especially zombie rats. It's not worth exploring that place. Too dangerous,' Clinton explained.
When she heard about the zombie rats, Astrid's face turned grim.
'Great, we have bodies and nothing else,' complained Astrid. Her perfectionist nature made her feel angry with the situation, but she would not enter a place infested with zombie rats without a very good reason.
'At least we can leave this behind for a while and take a break,' said Marius.
'Don't remind me,' lamented Clinton in an unusual demonstration of emotions.
It was their first period of leave since they joined the regulators. They'd be back with their families for a few weeks. Unless the royalty called all the available magicians directly to the front, they would complete their vacation. Although regulators generally did not participate in wars, it was still possible to be drafted.
'Can I visit you?' asked Maurius to Astrid.
'I don't know; I'll think about it,' replied Astrid, acting flirty and winking with her right eye.
'How romantic, right in the most tetrical place of the kingdom, in front of two dead bodies,' said Clinton, ruining the already inappropriate atmosphere as he came out of the catacombs with a slight smile.
A few months ago, for some unexplained reason, Astrid's strategies had begun to work. Her relationship with Maurius had changed, and they had become closer. They had gone out a couple of times, although work kept them too busy.
'It is not my business, but out of pure curiosity, how can you feel anything more than irritation for that woman?' Clinton asked Maurius on one occasion while they were alone.
'I know, I know, she's self-centered, noisy, rude, narcissistic, and she thinks she knows everything. But when she is not around, I get bored,' replied Maurius, raising his arms in sign of surrender.
'They say that love is blind, but this is ridiculous; it seems that it is also deaf and immune to pain,' said Clinton, who was yet unable to understand how it was possible.
'What about you? There are several girls from other squadrons showing interest.'
'One, I don't have time, and two, I generally don't have much interest in women, except for a few minutes at a time, every other day,' Clinton replied, returning to his papers.
'Sometimes I think you're made of stone.'
'Thank you,' replied Clinton without taking his sight of the paperwork.
Except for Maurius and Astrid, Clinton did not interact much with anyone. In his own words, he respected Astrid for her ability to strategize and lead. aparently Clinton's only weakness was Maurius; they were like nails and dirt, always rolling around each other. To the surprise of many, he once said, 'I consider Maurius to be one of the few important people in my life.' At times, Astrid was jealous of the obvious friendship between the two.
For the first time in years, the three separated and returned to their homes.
When Maurius arrived at his family's mansion, his parents hugged him, and his mother kissed him repeatedly.
'Mom, I'm not a child,' Maurius said with a false complaint as he hugged her.
'To me, you will always be a child.'
'I am pleased to see you, Mr. Regulator,' Nadial mocked his younger brother, pushing out his tongue and making an exaggerated reverence.
'Hey, you know that it is a crime to offend a regulator,' said Maurius, pretending to be indignant and embracing his brother.
That night, the full family sat at the table for dinner for the first time in a long while. They were aware of what was going on around them. Maurius told them about his missions with the regulators, omitting details that were considered classified information.
'The situation on the front lines is becoming more and more complicated; Veldat is putting up a hell of a fight. Merlo was here recently; he wanted us to help the old family. The Van Dekar wanted to earn points with the royalty and sent many of their magicians and soldiers to the front. It was a massacre; they lost more than half their troops,' said Cliford, who noticed the concern in the faces of his children. 'If the royalty calls us to the front, we will do our duty, but we owe nothing to the Van Dekar. We fight only for our family, our house, and our land. We are Van Feldings.'
'I hope the war ends soon. So much death and destruction, and all because of the prince's mistress,' Nadial complained.
'Shhh!' repressed Ultria. Everyone knew it was true, but it was not appropriate to say it. Following the massacres carried out by the Kingdom of Veldat, the Dynasty was not permissive to those who did not support the war; they sought traitors and dissidents among their ranks, recruited them, and sent them to the front.
A few hours after Maurius's arrival, Merlo received the news. But it was of no use to him. The regulators had a higher authority than his, and Merlo knew that the boy was carrying enchanted equipment and state secrets. Just thinking about all the power that was accumulated in the Van Felding mansion and that he could not exploit caused his blood to boil.
In the Van Castin mansion, things had become a little chaotic. The return of the young tyrant frightened the servants. They expected to return to the screams, the continual demands, the irrational requests... That torture would be part of everyday life again.
'Hi everybody, the joy of the house has returned.'
In front of this greeting, everyone felt their hearts fall to the ground. She was still the same spoiled, pompous, and irritating girl. Velen went out to give his daughter a good dose of reality. She had evaded her obligations to the family by making one of her egotistical decisions. However, before he could say anything, Astrid threw herself at him, hugging him.
'Dad, I missed you so much. Working with the regulators is horrible. All that paperwork. Now I understand how much you suffer.' The girl kept talking nonstop, saying how she understood how hard Velen life was and comparing it to her actual job.
Velen was frozen. His old weakness for his little treasure re-emerged, and he embraced Astrid as he repeated, 'My baby, my little baby.' Nothing was left of his previous anger or his desire to teach a lesson to his rebellious daughter.
Clinton arrived at the Van Ferra mansion. His face was as rigid and serious as always, a stone mask. When he saw him come in by the door, Sven threw himself toward him, holding him by the neck of his uniform.
'You fool, have you lost your mind? You have delayed and jeopardized the future of the family.'
'Always a pleasure to see you, Father,' Clinton interrupted him without changing his expression. 'You shouldn't do that; you're wrinkling my uniform.'
It was only then that Sven realized that Clinton was still wearing the regulator's uniform. Clinton's comment was the equivalent of a threat. Sven let him go even more furious than before, with the veins on his forehead about to burst. Clinton, on the other hand, remained impassed while, in his mind, laughing at his father.
'In any case, your brother Emer will inherit the control of the family.' You will be his support when you finish your contract with the regulators.
'I don't know, Father; I like the regulators; maybe I'll extend my contract.'
Sven's face turned pale for a second and then turned red from anger.
'Do whatever the hell you want,' he cried, turning around and leaving.
'Welcome home, son,' said Biela, to which Clinton only replied with a gesture of affirmation.
'Martel, Emer.' greeted Clinton in a cold way.
'Let us stop the false modesty and cordialities. Let's talk about the elephant in the room.' Emer's words had an arrogant tone. 'Father has appointed me as the heir of the family, so sooner or later I hope that you will fulfill your duties as an additional member and as a magician. It is your duty to protect our interests. I know you don't like me, but things are as they are. I hope you're not jealous of my progress. brother'
Clinton looked at the mansion in all directions.
'Calm down, Emer; I don't care about the legacy of the family; I have bigger plans in mind,' Clinton said, opening his arms as if indicating the insignificance of the mansion. Then he started walking to his room.
The comment annoyed Emer. Being the head of the family was his goal since he was a child, the greatest achievement he could obtain in life. In his mind, he had struggled a great deal to take that position out of his magically gifted brother's hands. Now Clinton looked down on his authority. He thought of opening his mouth to make him understand his position in the family, but Clinton's next words stopped him.
'By the way, although I am on my free days, I am still a regulator. Part of our work is to control and punish the abuses of the nobles over the peasants... and I, in particular, am quite irritated by the sexual abuses.' Clinton continued walking without paying any more attention to his brother.
For a second, Emer was petrified, not knowing what to do. In fact, Sven remained the head of the family, and Emer was only the future heir. Meanwhile, Clinton was a member of the regulators and a magician at the highest level of the lower class. He could destroy the whole family if he wanted to. Sven had more than one dirty business, so Clinton could burn the whole mansion and get away with it. Emer was aware that his brother was a complete lunatic, and now he was more dangerous than ever.
Clinton changed his clothes, and after taking part in the silent dinner, he returned to his room. The next day, he asked one of the guards of the mansion to go to the citadel and bring him a list of the criminals sought in the area.
He was surprised to discover a known name among them.
'Xavier de Vonder, a traitor in exile. Reward, fifty copper coins,' Clinton read.
'So, he's still alive. Well, that makes sense; roaches are hard to kill.'
Although he had not heard that name for years, he remembered it perfectly. The fact that he got away with everything he did at Liev's tower was funny to him, and he laughed like a madman, horrifying the servants and his brothers.
During the period of his vacation days, Clinton made several trips, visited the lower neighborhoods and slums of the citadel and villages, and entered bars, brothels, and places of low reputation. This only worsened the family's low vision of him, but Clinton didn't care.
Normally, a nobleman in those places would draw attention, and his life would be at risk. Clinton knew how to intimidate. He entered a bar, and as soon as the eyes of those present looked at it, his hands burned in flames. That made clear not who he was but what he could do. Power is power, and it is respected by everyone.
'Every good toolbox needs a hammer,' he thought to himself, examining the list of all the criminals he had been in contact with in the last few days. Even if someone had suspicions, he would only tell his superiors that he was investigating his case, deliver information about some low-ranking criminals, and get his superiors out of his back. He had done a good job with his experiments on Sakuo and Delmer. The regulators did not suspect anything; he had made many contacts within the Warlocks community and had enough hired hands to do his dirty work. He would soon carry out his plan.
A warlock within the regulators was a great advantage for this community of fallen magicians. After the initial difficulties in contacting them, he only had to gain their trust, but it was not difficult. Providing some information about the regulator's investigations and using arcane magic himself to prove his identity as a warlock was not a problem. After this, his path was easy. With the information he obtained from the warlocks, he confirmed his suspicions: the dynasty used arcane magic to create enchanted weapons, armor, and other items and blamed it on the warlocks.