NOVEL NEXT Chapter 516: Searching for evidence.
If someone had truly betrayed him and Charlotte to military authorities for whatever pathetic rewards or misguided patriotic duty had motivated their treachery, Arthur promised that individual a punishment that would make Adam's suffering inside Armageddon's prison cell seem merciful by comparison.
With that vengeful thought in his immediate priorities, Arthur decided to investigate the matter immediately rather than allowing such crucial intelligence gathering to be delayed by other considerations.
"Aether," Arthur muttered with coldness as he recalled the location of the hospital burned into his memory. "Take me to this location."
Through their mental connection, Arthur relayed the coordinates and geographical details of the Detroit hospital where Charlotte had received treatment during those final days before their capture—the medical facility that had become the possible epicentre of their family's destruction.
Aether, concealed in his compact form within Arthur's robe, responded immediately to his master's request with the same excited behaviour as always.
"Alright, Master. Hang tight!" Aether spoke, his nature making him naturally enthusiastic about any activities that might lead to entertaining confrontations or travelling.
Reality began folding around them as Aether's spatial manipulation activated, preparing to carry them across dimensional barriers to reach the location where Arthur's investigation would begin.
Arthur materialised outside the once magnificent medical facility where Charlotte had received treatment during those final, desperate days before their capture by military forces. The spatial transition deposited him on cracked pavement that bore witness to the destruction that had swept through Detroit during the demonic invasion.
A deep frown creased Arthur's face as he looked at the devastation before him, immediately recognising that the chance of finding what he was looking for was very slim. The hospital that held the answers to his questions no longer existed in any meaningful form.
The building before him was no longer the pristine medical center where concerned families had sought healing for their loved ones. Instead, it had been transformed into something resembling ancient ruins—broken walls, collapsed sections, and debris scattered across what had once been well-maintained grounds.
An ancient ruin would have been more accurate terminology for describing the demolished husk that remained where the hospital had once stood.
The reason for such comprehensive destruction was clearly the demon invasion that had swept through major population centres with devastating effect. The demonic forces unleashed during the dimensional crisis had torn through civilian infrastructure without discrimination, treating hospitals, schools, and residential areas as equally acceptable targets for their corruptive nature.
Many bodies lay scattered across the grounds and visible through broken windows, their blood having seeped into the earth below them in ways that spoke of their violent, chaotic deaths. The corpses bore the distinctive wounds that came from demonic assault. Whether it was claw marks, bitten heads, or the kind of traumatic injuries that supernatural predators inflicted during feeding frenzies.
Arthur walked carefully through the debris field, his senses automatically registering the extent of destruction while his mind processed the implications for his intended investigation. Broken medical equipment, scattered patient records, and the remnants of what had once been sophisticated life-support systems created a maze of obstacles.
Arthur expanded his perception to cover the entire hospital complex, carefully searching for any signs of life that might have survived within the ruins. His awareness penetrated through collapsed walls, buried sections, and areas that normal search methods couldn't access effectively.
The comprehensive scan revealed exactly what Arthur had expected but hoped to avoid. Not a single human remained alive within the destroyed medical facility. The sweep of his enhanced senses detected no heartbeats, no breathing, no biological indicator of life inside that ruin.
Of course, the absence of survivors didn't necessarily mean that everyone associated with the hospital had died during the demonic assault. Some staff members, patients, and administrators might have successfully evacuated when the attacks began, escaping to safer locations that were either made by other survivors or the military.
But with the hospital completely destroyed and its staff presumably dead in the demolition, or lost in the vast land, Arthur knew that his investigation into the betrayal had been cut short before it could properly begin.
The physical evidence he needed to check whether staff members had reported his family's presence to military authorities had been obliterated along with everything else that might have provided answers about the surveillance that had led to their capture.
Arthur stood among the ruins, his expression carrying the coldness of winter at being denied the opportunity to pursue justice against those who had violated his trust during Charlotte's most vulnerable moment.
Not wanting to abandon his investigation despite the destroyed evidence, Arthur decided to utilise the comprehensive network that his summons had unknowingly created during their rescue operations throughout Detroit's initial crisis period.
His intelligence, memory, and every other mental faculty had been dramatically improved through his supernatural development, allowing him to recall faces and details with photographic precision that exceeded normal human cognitive limitations.
Arthur closed his eyes and accessed his perfect recollections of every hospital staff member he had encountered during Charlotte's treatment—doctors, nurses, and cleaning staff.
Each face materialised in his consciousness with clarity: the nurse who had done Charlotte's IV placement, Dr. Michaels, who was in charge of his sister.
Through his mystical connections with his scattered summons across Detroit, Arthur began transmitting these detailed mental images to every creature under his command. The superior-rank demons, epic-level beasts, and various other entities that had been conducting rescue operations received comprehensive visual data about the individuals he sought.
After completing the mental transmission, Arthur commanded them with a serious tone.
"I want you to remember these faces completely. Memorise every detail I've shown you and maintain constant awareness for potential encounters."
His tone grew more focused as he addressed the specific information he required from their operations.
"Secondly, have any of you seen any of the people I've just shown you during your activities in Detroit?"
The question carried importance because his summons had roamed extensively throughout Detroit during the initial phase of the demonic invasion, when casualties had been highest and civilian populations had faced their greatest survival challenges.
During their rescue operations, they had encountered thousands of individuals—survivors, evacuees, injured civilians, and emergency personnel who had been caught in the supernatural chaos.