Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

"Come in." A voice of a woman called out from the other side.

Simon took a deep breath; the last time he was here was the time he got promoted from Silver to Gold ranking. There are three different ranks in Special Detective before they can become the Captain. Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Since Simon had contributed so many times by capturing the Enchantresses, he was immediately promoted to Gold ranking and has the potential to become a Captain if he chose to.

Reaching the Gold rank granted him his own office, and the privilege of acquiring items or wishes that are possible for the Association to give without the need to pay. Not that he needed any of them, the only thing that he asked for was a decent bow and arrow.

Without wasting any more time, Simon turned the knob and saw his boss, Captain Morgan, staring outside the window. She has orange, curly hair that reached only up to her neck. She was wearing a white buttoned top with a red ribbon on her collar, paired with a blue skirt and tights.

Captain Morgan was known for being the only female, brave enough to join the Special Detectives Association. Behind her innocent looks, was a very cruel woman. Her methods on capturing the Enchantress are taunting, and one would say it's brutal.

"Captain." Simon greeted and Morgan looked over her shoulder.

As soon as she saw Simon, she greeted him with a smile.

"Ah, Simon! Please, take a seat." Morgan sat on her chair, while motioning for the seat in front of her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Morgan already knew why Simon was in his office. There's been a rumor that Simon wanted to resign from his duty, hence why she gave this mission to him as she knew that it would prevent him from quitting.

After all, Simon was a valuable member and she cannot let him quit, now that something more important came up.

"I'm sorry for coming in like this and not even writing a proper resignation but, I quit." Simon said while placing the folder on the table.

Simon always wanted a grand exit when the time has come for him to leave his job, but he was somehow afraid of Morgan so the scenario he had in his head didn't really play out well. 

He doesn't know why, but there's something about Morgan that seems so... intimidating and dangerous that he can't quite put his finger on it.

"No can do, Simon. You know I can't let you." Morgan stated.

Simon wasn't surprised, he expected this already. He was going to ignore what Morgan will say and quit anyway, or that's what he thought.

"I-" Simon didn't get a chance to speak because Morgan cut him off.

"Captain Gonka is dead." Morgan announced and this news shocked Simon.

Simon idolized Gonka the most, he was his inspiration to become a Special Detective. He was the one who defeated one of the most powerful Enchantress, who had taken over the Kingdom of Hedela. To everyone, he was a legendary and most valuable Special Detective.

"Wha... what did you just say?" Simon asked, hoping that he misheard it.

"I know it's hard to believe, but Captain Gonka is dead." Morgan repeated.

This news seemed to weaken Simon, his mind was spinning as he processed what he'd just heard. He just saw Gonka last month, strong, happy and healthy. How could he die just like that?

"How?" He questioned in a low, raspy voice.

Morgan stared at the folder on her desk, she knew this news would mess up Simon, but she also took this opportunity for him to accept the case. You lose something, you gain something.

"It was my fault..." Morgan trailed off with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I've been obsessed with the Enchantress that Jonathan mentioned. His death was too... sudden for someone who optimistic about everything. I wanted to see if the Enchantress did exist, so I sent a special task force to investigate. Ten Special Detectives in Gold ranking."

"Captain Gonka came to me and volunteered to lead the team as he too, was curious about this Enchantress. He said that he's the only one who'd have experienced facing a really powerful Enchantress and if anyone should bring her down, it should be him. This happened a month ago."

Something flickered in Simon's eyes as he remembered that he saw Gonka just a month ago. If he'd known that he was going to be sent on a special mission and die, then he would've gone with them.

"Richard Dallas, who was on that team, came back this morning and was the only survivor. He said that the Enchantress did exist, and that she killed everyone else, except for him so he can pass on her message for us. War is coming, we are going to take back what was ours."

"Why didn't you go instead? If you were curious, why didn't you look for this Enchantress?" Simon asked, and Morgan interlocked her fingers.

"I tried..." She trailed off while staring imminently at Simon's eyes to show that she wasn't lying. "But for some reason, the place doesn't welcome my presence. There's a dark aura surrounding the place and it's not letting me in. I've tried everything to break the barrier, but it wouldn't work. I've never encountered such a powerful aura from an Enchantress before, I assumed that it doesn't like females, so I sent the special team instead."

"And what does this case have to do with the murders happening here in town? I mean, that Enchantress is miles away from here so why the Association assumed it was her doing?"

"When Jonathan turned in the case, they thought he was going crazy. He mentioned that the Enchantress messed up his mind, to the point where he doesn't know what's real or not. He keeps repeating the word She will kill me, she will kill all of us! After his death, that's when the murders started. It's like she managed to spread a disease using Jonathan, and those infected died." Morgan explained and Simon was a little bit confused.

"BUT! Of course that's only the assumptions of the higher ups. One of them gave a theory that the Enchantress is evolving, hence why everything leads back to this certain Enchantress. They think that she has the power to spread a disease, targeting only females and children."

"It still doesn't make sense, assuming this Enchantress can spread disease, shouldn't the males die instead of the females because Jonathan was a guy?"

"I'm pretty sure you already know this, but it's easy for the Association to assume things that don't make sense, as long as someone says it's possible. I say I would blame those counselors, but sometimes their assumptions could be correct."

"So, you believe what they say?"

"Not exactly, but I believe that Enchantresses are evolving."

___________________

WRITTEN BY: FEIFEI17