Detective Zadi! Episode 2 [Job/Solo]

Zadi had been in Heliohapt for about a month without any clue as to the location of the events that he'd been trying to unravel; he could not find the location where the man turned into a demon. That was the next step in Zadi's grand scheme to uncover the truth behind the black rukh. Yakuroro's fear of Lagi and Lagi's black rukh gave Zadi courage to push forward and continue his struggle. It was and indeed will continue to be difficult, but Zadi knew he wold solve this case eventually.

Today, Zadi decided to visit the bazaar in hopes of being able to eavesdrop on a few conversation. Up until now, Zadi had been visiting taverns and fight clubs in hopes of sneaking some information, sometimes even going so far as to gamble information much like he did when he was trying to find the country in which the vents of the demon-man occurred. However, any loss would be worth Zadi's trouble for it would only fuel his resolve. Unfortunately for the unlucky gamblers that Zadi has faced, he'd only ever win. The gambles weren't based on luck like most might see on the surface. The gambles that Zadi suggested always involved some detective skills that Zadi utilized perfectly.

"Alright, time to go into the heart of the city and eavesdrop a little. Just hope I don't look too suspicious while doing so. Would be counterproductive if I were asked what I was doing and why I am in Heliphapt."

Zadi went to the bazaar and snooped around using his hears. He picked up on a few conversations that seemed to be about the man that turned into a demon. He made sure to switch his focus rapidly in order to get as many snippets of information as possible for later processing. If everything went smoothly, he's be able to piece together the location within the city where the demon-man events occurred.

The first conversation included the words "fighters", "tournament", and "fun" which could allude to a coliseum within Heliohapt. However, Zadi didn't feel that the information was enough to find the proper location. There could be dozens of arenas of coliseums near this city.

The second conversation included the words "strongest", "under", and "sun" which most likely was the theme of the fighting tournament. Zadi thought that this would be enough if he could find a leftover poster or flyer that indicated the location, but there was one conversation that ended up connecting all the dots, so to speak.

The third and final conversation included the words "priest", "temple", and "southern" which together with the other six words helped connect all the clues and specify the location of the events of the demon-man.

The location that Zadi deduced ended up being the arena nearest the southern temple overseen by the priest that worshiped the Heliohaptan god known as "Ra" who represented the sun. Zadi knew his fair share about Heliohapt due to his prolonged stay. One month in a foreign country can really help a person know the basics of that place's culture and religion. Not specifics, but enough to get around without offending anyone more than once about the same subject. Anyway, Zadi knew the location and headed over to the Southern Temple of the God Ra.

Upon arrival, Zadi could see the nearby arena. It looked ruined, much like Zadi expected it to be. However, it could be worse if the important repairs were never made. It looked ruined, but it was a place that could still be fought within like any other arena. The seats for the audience were new, the surrounding wall was stabilized, and the fighting grounds were relatively smooth and empty as far as Zadi could see. Even after all the repairs, Zadi would probably find was he was looking for.

However, when he found the entrance to the arena and looked within to the fighting grounds, were was already a stranger seemingly inspecting the scene. Zadi didn't want to be caught and asked questions, so he waited and watched until the stranger made his way back to the entrance. Zadi hid himself against a shadowed corner and as soon as the stranger was out of immediate sight, Zadi followed. He made sure to only go as far as one building corner to another in order to assure his stealth. Once the stranger went into a dark alleyway, Zadi made his move!

Zadi rushed through the shadows of the alleyway and tackled the stranger at 2, then 3, 4, 5, and finally 6 m/s. Zadi then used his newly trained strength to lift the cloaked stranger onto and against the wall of the alleyway, keeping himself and the stranger out of sight within the darkness of the alleyway. Zadi kept his left forearm against the stranger's throat and got out his sword using his right hand, pointing said sword's tip at the stranger's gullet.

"Not a sound, or I will end you," whispered Zadi. Obviously this was a bluff. Zadi would end someone because they made a sound. However, his new state of mind might allow for a slit or two, "Alright, you will now tell me what you know about the man that transformed into a demon, including what you found at the Southern Temple's arena. Quickly now, I've got little patients. Talk quietly and softly."

"I-I'd tell you if I knew an-anything," whispered the stranger.

Zadi proceeded further with his bluff by slowly twisting his sword which caused the stranger to bleed a little. It most certainly seemed to hurt as the stranger got scared and told Zadi something rather important.

"I-I-I know one thing about the man that turned into a demon. His residence. The s-southern most t-tavern. Second fl-fl-floor. F-fi-fifth room to the l-left. P-please!"

"Ssssh," whispered Zadi in a rather sadistic manner, "Good enough. Thank you."

Zadi sheathed his sword and dropped the stranger to the floor. Huang flew out of the stranger's cloak which Zadi caught mid-air. The Huang would help Zadi increase his gambling bargains, if such a thing would be necessary in the future. If what the stranger said was true about the residence, then Zadi needed to look into the demon-man's past. It was only a slightly hint that not even the stranger knew he gave out, but Zadi deduced that looking only at the scene of the events wouldn't be enough if he didn't know anything about the man that turned into a demon. Zadi let the stranger run away. It didn't matter to Zadi why he was investigating, too. All that Zadi needed to know what what caused the black rukh to be so dark and ominous.

1000+/1000 words

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