Eldritch Exorcist

I took that in. It meant a massive change to the world, to me, to everything.

"So, when will it happen, and do others know?"

"The answers are… we don't know, and we don't know. But I don't think anyone else noticed." The cat put on a smile. "Well, we might get to know something, but information like that costs."

"Out with it." I groaned internally, dreading the coming negotiations.

"We want you to make an exclusivity contract with this branch. Don't worry, I can guarantee the best information for the best price. And if our reputations are tied together, we can trust each other fully." The previously mysterious cat now sounded more like a sleazy car salesman.

"Well, that would be making a statement to the world. You sure you want that?"

"Yes, we are willing to take that risk."

"But that also puts me as your official backer, so if you pull something, people might pester me about it."

"Even if we, as you say, 'pull something,' wouldn't you help anyway?" He tilted his head a bit.

"Well, you are not completely wrong..." I had to think for a second. It would mean tying myself to this branch of Frumentarii, but then again, they never failed me before. Moreover, they have worked with my father in the past and were used to the way my family handles things.

"Throw in a clause that if you can't provide something, I can seek out other brokers, and you won't charge above market prices."

"Deal!" My broker, now my partner, shouted excitedly.

"That was quick," I said, surprised at the lack of lengthy negotiations the brokers were known for. "Did you scam me? Because that would be a nasty way to start a partnership."

"No, I wouldn't do that. However, if your infamous family makes a return, then that would be the best deal of my life. You know how this world works. It's not about the money. It's about who your backer is." He smiled like a Cheshire cat.

"Using my name to threaten the competition? How nice," I raised my eyebrows.

"Exactly," the cat purred, pretty proud of himself. "And don't pretend like you will not benefit from this."

I leaned forward a bit. "Okay, so I made the deal. Now, what information are you offering?"

"Well, I sent a couple of cats, who know how to keep their mouths shut, to the site to study the vein, and we have some initial information. We got our paws on some research into mana veins, and although they were a mystery even thousands of years ago, people theorized about the healing process. If the mechanism was right but the timeline was off, then it would go like this. First, the smaller veins will connect. The rise in mana caused by that will be minuscule, but in around a year, some magic should be felt everywhere, with some weaker artifacts awakening. Until the big event." The creature made a dramatic pause.

"The main pathways connect and shit will hit the fan," I finished absentmindedly. "When?"

"Hard to say. The main pathways are much bigger than the veins, so our timeline for now is around two to three years."

I could barely imagine the world after that, all the artifacts that will awaken, all the cryptids that will fight for territories, and all the singularities...

"Well, that's gonna be interesting to witness."

"Interesting to say the least. But for now, you need to buy land with a mana pathway. You'll need formal ownership to have a claim, so that anyone trying to take it away from you will have to use force."

"Oh, I can't wait for someone to try." I practically giggled thinking about all the nasty enchantments one could create if directly powered by something like a mana pathway.

I heard my grandfather once made a spell that would replace people's motor controls with those of a slime. He would then tell them he would spare them if they could get through the doors and watch them flop around. I wondered if the spell was in one of my books.

"Looking at that nasty smile, I'm assuming you're thinking about something horrible. Once you formally own the land, the title recognized by the mortal world will also be recognized by the Vatican," said the cat in a know‑it‑all voice. "We have some initial info about possible land we managed to compile this morning."

The cat's tail tip danced in a couple of runes, and a scroll levitated from one of the bookshelves toward my lap.

I opened it. It was a map of old mana pathways, cross-referenced with the modern-day USA. Most of them were crossed out due to being in places like the high mountains or under big cities, but there were two that were on relatively good land. One on the east and one on the west coast.

There was some initial info attached for both of them.

Both lands were already owned by companies that were building storage units or a housing project on them. But the land between Boston and New York was interesting. It belonged to a large corporation, ES Electric. It was this company that had some interesting developments.

They recently made their move towards the air transportation industry, and soon after that, the CEO's daughter was kidnapped around a week ago. That was common knowledge, with the kidnapping being sold to the public as a typical ransom attempt, but the information I got from my broker was much more interesting.

The company has discovered a new technology that should enable the production of electric planes. They quickly patented the technology before anyone could steal it, but that did not sit well with their competition, which dominated the aviation market, Doeing.

After ES Electric refused to sell the technology, the competition finally got the daughter of the CEO. The guy knew that technology was the only thing keeping his daughter alive, so they were at a standstill.

However, it was the part about the patented technology that was the most interesting in the entire story.

The patent was filled with many technical terms, but the part about the material was marked in red with "Thunderium?" written next to it. It was a thunder‑attributed alchemical ingredient that needed mana to obtain its properties. That meant there was most likely a mana vein connected in the mine, changing the stone's properties.

"Is there an outside party involved?"

"We don't know, we had been scrambling all night and this morning to get that much info. This is an assumption, and we would need an alchemist to check it."

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"Well then, it's a perfect opening."

Still, it was a bit too convenient, considering all the possible businesses, that it happened to be the one owning land with a pathway. But it wasn't like I had any alternatives.

"You should get it done as soon as possible. For now, I think we have an advantage, but once others become aware, a race for resources will begin. We should get an invitation to a Common Sabbath, once the Vatican figures it out."

"A Sabbath? Do we have to go?" I asked, dreading the idea.

"You serious? It will probably be the most important Sabbath since the 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' law was passed."

I sighed, "So we have to go. But you handle the politics. I don't like negotiations."

"Yes, I know, they tend to end up in violence when you are involved," he said flatly.

I just shrugged. "Not my fault."

"Was the incident with the cultivators also not your fault?"

"Yes."

It's not my fault that some people have titles that are too long to remember.

"If your skin were any thicker, you would be a dragon. Don't worry, you're staying away from politics."

"Fine." I nodded.

I then remembered something, thinking about the magic possible with access to a vein.

"I think it is possible to perform a judgment ritual. Do you want to try as well?"

"No, I can try it once there is a fortune‑teller available," the cat shook his head. "Good luck."

The next couple of days were spent compiling intel about the case, with the help of my favorite fluffy organization. It turned out that the girl was transported out of the country, beyond her father's sphere of influence, and had disappeared.

Finding her would be a pain, even for me, but not impossible. First, I needed to locate her and obtain a photo or some proof for negotiation leverage.

It was time to get to work. There were many ways of locating someone, but most required mana to fill the world or a strong connection to other planes to get information from otherworldly entities.

But I had an idea. Excited for my first attempt at both summoning magic and a judgment ritual, I made my way to the house where I had previously fought the spawn. The previous owner was selling it, but for now, I had permission to use it as much as I wanted.

I went inside, placed the collection of tomes I had with me on a table, and started on the first step of my plan.

Starting in the relative center of the house, I began drawing runes in a spiral‑like pattern, with each subsequent rune roughly 1.618 times the distance from the previous, forming a spiral. Next, I placed an empty mana crystal in each of the runic nodes of the spell circle and activated it. Looking closely at the mana crystal, I could see a bit of energy seeping into it.

Nice. It worked.

Taking out some finely crushed mana crystals, I spread the mist‑like powder around the house. Looking closely, there it was. The mist moved alongside the movement of mana. With the small vein, the movement was minuscule, but it was there. I followed it and finally found its origin. Sure enough, it was in the hallway, probably right where the guy died.

I drew a summoning circle, swearing at the number of crystals I had to use to summon a small bug with this low magic concentration. Taking a bunch of moon powder, an alchemical ingredient made during a full moon, I knelt in front of the vein and started to chant in the arcane speech, tracing runic shapes in the air with one hand while pointing my staff at the opening with the other.

After a few minutes, I finally threw the powder right under the vein, finished the chant, and waited.

For a second, I thought that I might have messed up. But then I could feel something akin to a reverberation, a wave traveling through the vein like a string being pulled and then released, and after a while, pop.

A weird creature showed up.

A Moonhunter Dragonfly. Similar to a dragonfly in shape, the creature was all white with a black head and two large eyes like twin moons. The craters and coloring of those moon‑eyes didn't align with the moon in our orbit.

The creature hovered over the circle, looking curiously around, only to stiffen a bit when it noticed the moon through the open window.

I whistled at it, at a loss for what else to do, to get its attention. How do you call over a Moonhunter Dragonfly from another dimension? Should I have gone with pst pst pst?

But my musings were cut short as the creature turned to me. I took out more of the powder from my pocket, and the thing darted for it as I quickly pulled my hand back as if taking a dog's bone right from underneath its nose.

The bug froze in the air now, with a bit of hostility behind its strange eyes. The feisty little thing was probably judging if it could take me on. I locked eyes with it, rising slightly from my knees, making myself look hostile, and the bug moved back a bit.

Now it was time to bargain.

I took out a photo of the CEO's daughter and laid it on one side, with a bit of the powder next to it. The creature moved back a bit without thinking.

I added more powder. It was still a reasonable offer, but the creature moved back again. Now I started pulling the photo to myself as the bug moved toward the offering, but kept its distance.

I added a pinch to the powder already on the ground, and the summon landed on the photo. The bargain was made.

I could see it turn its head towards the night sky, and the bug's moon‑like eyes began to spin faster and faster.

I waited with bated breath.

If I could find the girl on the first try, it would be a fantastic, quick job.

But the catch was that the fly could hunt anything that was currently lit up by the moon, so if my target was inside during the night and away from windows, like a kidnapping victim in a hideout, for example, it wouldn't do anything. I was hoping that at least one of the people on the list was currently next to an open window.

The eyes stopped spinning, and the summon started to gorge itself on the powder. There was no reaction.

I sighed.

After the meal was done, I laid out the next photo with the same amount of powder.

It was one of the possible so‑called "cleaners" working for a corporation that seemed to disappear after the kidnapping.

Nothing again. I repeated the process with three more photos, swearing at my dwindling supply of powder, and finally, on the third photo, the creature froze.

I locked onto the bug's gaze and felt a tug on my subconscious, similar to the one made by the spawn, but not hostile. I focused on it, allowing it to enter my mind, and concentrated as hard as possible.

I saw the world from the moon, with a vision that was almost 360 degrees, as if I were looking through some weird camera. The unnatural way of seeing was beamed straight to my brain, and I could feel a headache coming on.

My vision quickened as I flew from the moon with the light, everything turning to a blur as I gritted my teeth to avoid puking from the ride. Finally, I could see a man. He was apparently on the job, dressed in black, in the garden of an apartment complex. I assumed someone was about to have an accident.

But now came the most challenging part. I needed to get the address. I could see everything around me, but getting letters through my distorted vision was a pain. I desperately scanned my surroundings as the vision began to slip away.

There was a number.

I think 44.

But 44, what street?

The number was big enough to read, but deciphering the distorted letters was another thing.

The vision was ending, and the image was becoming blurry. Now, I couldn't even make out the letters. I strained my mind to get something, to cling to the image with all the mental strength I could. However, no such luck. The distortion was worsening.

Finally, with my last thought, I looked up towards the horizon, and there it was. This had to be Manhattan, and the thing in the distance would be the Freedom Tower, so this was an apartment complex on the right bank.

The vision ended, and a sharp headache assaulted me.

I looked at the bug, considering whether I should risk attempting the vision again to get more info, headache be damned. But the summon, now visibly rounder, was apparently full as the creature slowly made its way towards the vein.

I chuckled a bit as it got stuck at the entrance. Finally, after giving it a bit of a push, the summon was gone, and I fired up the Maps app to look through the street view, after a few moments localizing the apartment complex.

Whatever job the man had would happen late, after most lights were out. I had maybe three hours before he disappeared, and it took only one to get there.

Plenty of time for a judgment ritual first.