Chapter 56: Interrogation Plans.
"Leslie’s Dormant Ability is called Splinter. She can create independent clones from any living part of her body. The only known downside to her ability is that her true body remains in a dormant state for the duration of the clone’s lifespan."
Vincent’s explanation wasn’t much different from common knowledge. People either chose to reveal their Dormant Abilities themselves, or others eventually pieced them together through observation. In Damien’s case, Seris had unknowingly done most of the work for him. She meant well, but it still irked him to a certain extent.
He had lost the element of surprise because of it. Though, in another way, it had also worked in his favour. High-ranking Awakened like the late Leslie and Paige had looked down on him because of it, and as history had already proven, underestimating Damien had a habit of becoming people’s final mistake.
Damien slowly shook his head.
He needed to keep his thoughts clear.
"Was she really in a dormant state while the fire consumed her? I’m pretty sure I killed both of her clones before the fire. We fought during the day, but the blizzard completely blotted out the sun, so honestly it’s difficult to judge the time. Still... I remember roughly how long it took us to reach the Eidolon army. Andrea said Leslie died two days after we left. We started fighting after about a day and a half. Unless she had other clones I didn’t know about, then she should’ve awakened by then. She would’ve tried to find Naomi. She would’ve wanted to report everything that happened... and make sure I got hunted down as well."
Without another word, Damien turned the wheelchair and rolled away from the burnt remains of Leslie’s tent. His eyes settled on the large command tent standing near the centre of the encampment. The other members of the Round Table all lived nearby, meaning Naomi’s tent couldn’t have been far away.
"The blizzard should’ve still been raging, so there probably wasn’t anybody outside at the time. That wouldn’t stop Leslie. She would’ve headed straight for her sister’s tent. She could barely see what was in front of her, but she’d still keep going. She had to tell Naomi about me. She needed to warn her sister... and hopefully have me killed while she was at it."
Damien suddenly brought the wheelchair to an abrupt stop. Vincent failed to react in time and lightly bumped into the back of it.
Damien slowly lifted his head and stared blankly at him.
"So she gave up and returned to her tent?".
He immediately shook his head.
"No. Leslie was far too stubborn for that. She hated my guts far too much to abandon the chance of getting me killed over something as trivial as bad weather. She would’ve continued..."
His eyes gradually narrowed.
"But she never made it." He finally said, before allowing the silence to settle between them.
"Why?"
Damien whispered the word almost to himself.
"If I figure out why she never reached Naomi... then I figure out who killed her."
Vincent had unconsciously leaned forward while listening. His warm breath brushed against Damien’s cheek.
Damien grimaced.
"Vincent... Do you mind? I’m trying to think."
"Oh. my apologies." Vincent immediately stepped back with the same polite smile. "Carry on."
Damien let out a quiet sigh before continuing.
"Leslie was a competent fighter. There aren’t many people in this camp capable of defeating her, especially in weather that bad. Which means whoever attacked her either possessed an ability that completely ignored the blizzard... or they never gave her a chance to fight in the first place. They ambushed her, overwhelmed her almost instantly, and prevented her from even activating Splinter. A few people come to mind, but before I start accusing anyone, I need information."
He finally looked toward Vincent.
"Alright. I believe Leslie was murdered as well."
He paused briefly before adding,
"Mostly because Andrea said it was an accident. There ain’t no way I’m believing that bullshit."
Vincent slowly brought his palms together.
"Splendid." His smile widened.
"So... who do we kill?"
Damien stared at him. "Why is this guy always so eager?
"Let’s hold off on killing anybody for now. What we need is information. Back on Earth, an investigation like this would’ve taken weeks. Witnesses, evidence, paperwork. A complete headache. But here, inside the Tower of Mysteries, things are much simpler."
A faint grin tugged at the corner of Damien’s lips.
"We can just Armstrong the information out of random suspects."
"Oh..."
Vincent sounded noticeably disappointed.
"How do we decide who’s a suspect and who isn’t?"
Damien shrugged without the slightest hint of guilt.
"Why does that matter? If we decide they’re suspects... then suspects they shall be."
A brilliant smile spread across Vincent’s face. His opinion of Damien had just doubled.
...
A young man nervously scratched the back of his neck while standing behind a row of storage tents. Opposite him stood a young woman with her hands clasped behind her back, the corners of her lips curling into an embarrassed smile as the poor fellow desperately searched for the right words.
"I’ve actually wanted to tell you this for a while now..." He swallowed hard. "If... if the world really is ending... then maybe... perhaps we could... you know, try doing that".
The young woman blinked.
"You’re stuttering."
"I-I know." His face turned bright red. "Oh god, I practiced this all morning."
She couldn’t help but giggle.
"I can tell."
The young man finally gathered every ounce of courage he possessed.
"So... would you-" He suddenly paused.
A thick strand of black miasma silently slithered across the snow and wrapped itself around his ankle.
He frowned.
"Huh?"
Looking down, he instinctively tried to shake it off, but the next moment
Whoosh!
The young man’s scream echoed throughout the camp before abruptly disappearing.
The young woman remained standing there with both hands still behind her back.To her, it looked as though he’d gotten cold feet and ran away.
"...Did I just get rejected?".