TRPM 264

chapter 264

Arthur and I, riding in a police car, arrived at the airport where the plane used for the smuggling attempt was being held.

The plane in question was originally scheduled to take off again for another country right after maintenance and boarding passengers. But at Arthur’s request—and with pressure from the police—it had been grounded in the airport hangar for two days.

The airline wasn’t happy, but there was no helping it for the sake of the investigation.

“Still no leads?”

“I told you, there aren’t any. The crew has no memory of anything before moving the luggage and cleaning the cabin.”

Inside the cargo hold of the plane, we found people bickering.

‘…One’s a police officer, and the other’s a psychometry ability user from the Night Eagle Guild.’

I’d seen him in passing before, so I remembered. He was saying that no traces of memories prior to the crew unloading the baggage remained in this space.

“Well?”

“Yes… it’s definitely gone.”

I could imitate psychometry, so I confirmed it myself.

The memories of the crew unloading luggage two days ago were still here—but nothing from before that.

‘Psychometry reads the magical traces left behind in a place.’

But what if those traces were erased entirely? That’s exactly what we were seeing. All traces of mana in the plane before the unloading had been wiped clean. That’s why the psychometrist found nothing.

And erasing mana isn’t something shadow manipulation can normally do.

“Arthur, are you sure that criminal is just a shadow manipulator?”

“According to the intel from England, yes. He’s definitely a Shadow Sorcerer….”

Then only one possibility remained.

“A dual-ability user.”

“…You mean he has another power besides shadow manipulation?”

“Exactly. He definitely has the ability to erase mana in the air.”

Maybe shadow manipulation could erase mana, though I’d never heard of it. Still, it was more likely he had a second ability.

‘A power perfect for hiding in shadows, combined with one that neutralizes investigative abilities like psychometry…’

He was practically built for crime.

But that didn’t mean investigation was impossible.

‘Psychometry won’t work, sure, but there are always other ways. Fingerprints, footprints—traces unrelated to supernatural powers.’

Or so I thought.

“I’m sorry… but after the crew unloaded the luggage, they also cleaned the interior. There aren’t any usable traces left.”

“……”

“We did find something, but it’s just the footprints of the cleaning crew.”

One of the forensic officers reported.

Well, if that worked, they would’ve pursued the case that way from the start.

‘And anyway, if the suspect could evade Arthur, then he was skilled enough to leave no fingerprints or footprints to begin with.’

A shadow manipulator of that caliber could merge with shadows, hiding inside them, leaving no physical traces. Normally, the mana residue would still remain in the air…

‘But shadow manipulation and mana erasure together… that’s the worst possible combination.’

No supernatural tracking. No scientific evidence. Nothing to even start with.

“…Wait. Not quite.”

Think the other way around.

The Shadow Sorcerer was erasing mana traces to hide himself.

So—what if we looked specifically for where the mana was erased?

‘It would be tedious and time-consuming, since only I and a psychometrist could sense it….’

Or maybe not. Maybe there was an easier way.

I pulled out my phone. It was school recess, so I knew someone would be free to answer.

Ring, ring.

[Hello? Geonwoo? What’s up?]

“Haeun.”

The Great Mage, Lee Haeun.

I needed her help. Strictly speaking, not her personally.

“Sorry, but can you summon Sarang and send her to me?”

[Sarang? Okay. Anything else you need?]

Haeun didn’t ask why.

“Just sending Sarang is enough. Thanks.”

[Alright. I don’t know what’s going on, but good luck.]

She hung up.

Arthur looked at me.

“Sarang… that wolf? You’re not planning to have it track the suspect’s scent, are you?”

“Of course not.”

If this were a normal fugitive, maybe. But someone hiding in shadows wouldn’t leave a scent trail. Sarang could sense more than smells.

[Sarang, can you feel the remnants of this spell?]

I let Sarang feel the lingering traces of magic from earlier.

She sniffed the air, pretending to smell it. And then—

[Woof!]

She barked, recognizing the trace.

Back on the elementary school trip, Sarang had sensed the aura I showed her. Aura isn’t physical, it has no smell. That meant Sarang could detect “energy,” not just scents.

Woof!

“Ah, there you are.”

Sarang arrived quickly. With Haeun’s aura and my inner energy strengthening her, she was already stronger than most Aura Masters.

“Here’s what I need you to do.”

I asked her to find places where mana had been erased.

Whine?

She tilted her head. She didn’t understand what that meant.

So I demonstrated.

I used Sammaejinhwa, my flame that can burn even intangible things, to burn away the ambient mana.

“…A flame that burns powers themselves….”

The surrounding Awakeners murmured in awe, realizing what I’d done.

I ignored them. What mattered was—

Woof!

Sarang barked again, understanding this time. She darted off, nose to the ground.

“Follow her!”

Arthur and the others ran after her. She kept her pace just slow enough for us to keep up.

We left the airport, ran for quite a while, until suddenly Sarang stopped and growled.

“Grrr…”

“…Why’s she doing that?”

“Let’s see….”

I imitated psychometry again, and realized why.

“Up until now, the mana had been erased only up to two days back. But here, even yesterday’s mana is gone.”

“Meaning….”

“He probably spent the night here.”

A cop frowned.

“But… this is under a bridge.”

Sure enough, we were beneath a bridge spanning the Han River. No shelter around.

“He must’ve slept rough here.”

He didn’t have Korean money, so he couldn’t get a room.

“…Wait, what? An Aura Master–level fugitive… homeless?”

The Awakeners muttered in disbelief.

It sounded ridiculous. Someone powerful enough to evade Arthur could easily slip into a building with tight security. Why sleep under a bridge?

Honestly, even I was baffled.

Woof!

Sarang barked again, leading us onward.

We followed until we reached…

“…Huh?”

“…The mana….”

An entire park where mana simply didn’t exist.

‘…Mana keeps flowing in, but vanishes as soon as it enters.’

That meant the Shadow Sorcerer’s erasing ability was active here. Which meant—he was still here.

The police, Night Eagle Guild, and Iron-Blood Guild Awakeners silently spread out, contacting reinforcements, forming a perimeter.

Their target was strong enough to shake off Arthur. A normal cordon wouldn’t hold. They had to commit everything.

And in just—

“Oh… impressive. Korean police set up a full perimeter of this size in only three minutes?” Arthur marveled.

“I thought British police were capable too.”

“They are, and crime isn’t bad back home. But not to this level. We’d need the Association to mobilize Awakeners, and that takes time. Not three minutes.”

Well, it helped that the police and guilds had already been standing by while we tracked with Sarang. But still—credit where credit was due.

“What about civilians?”

“Luckily, it’s a weekday morning. Few were around, and evacuating them was easy.”

“Good.”

The Chief of Police himself appeared, holding a megaphone.

“Shadow Sorcerer! You are surrounded! Surrender peacefully! I repeat…!”

At his voice, the shadows of the trees, grass, and benches in the park began to tremble.

‘So… let’s finally see the face of the man who even managed to shake off Arthur.’