Chapter 1 - The Starting Point of Detective Rilles

I was born like any other child. But of course, my life is nothing like the other children. You could say I graduated as a top student in my school. But those achievements meant nothing to me. I lost my parents after a rocket went rogue,and I was pretty much in my 20s. I was devastated, and I could not do anything about it. Just a few years ago, a mysterious man appeared before me. He gave me a watch which I called it the Light Transformer. The man gave me an objective. To retrieve the Elita and the Ativa which have been stolen and are currently on Earth. The man saw through me as the most suitable candidate for such a job. Without realising the risk, I go for it and become a LIGHT member. But where should I even begin?

I have been trying to preserve my identity for quite some time. I have a power which is called a Metavoid that has been proven effective for me throughout all the troubles I have made. Because of my no ordinary deduction skills and performance, I am recruited into an organisation which I have no idea of its existence. Somehow they were monitoring me for quite some time and I kind of stood out a little. On the day of the interview, the atmosphere of the interview room is just straight up tense. I could hear my heart beating and my stomach felt uneasy. It is even worse than my previous job where my interview session was just nice and calm. Imagine having eyes from the government and board of directors staring at you in absolute curiosity and doubt. Of course they looked that way. Moments later, the silence was broken when the general spoke up. Perhaps a decision is made.

"Based on your report from the Azalea Police Department, you really did have an outstanding performance. But compared to our agents, you did not reach our desired level.. Our missions shall hone your skills to the absolute best. For now, we at Base Zero had to reconsider your resume. For the time being, you shall be escorted to the lounge while we have a discussion."

Hearing those words kinda made me relieved, but in the wrong way. If it was that easy to enter this organisation, almost everyone in the police department shall be part of it. I was ordered to leave the room while being escorted by a representative. In case some might wonder, what is Base Zero and how did I find out?

Base Zero is an organisation supported and backed by the current government which operates in a secretive manner to the extent that not even the Azalea Police Department or anyone knew about it, except the government. In a nutshell, it is an organisation that partakes in secret wars in Azalea. I found out about it after I received a mail that is not made out of paper, but steel. It is in binary full of 1s and 0s. I did my research and managed to decode it somehow and now I am here.

I am accompanied by a representative in a red trench coat. He had a scar on his right eye and grey hair that even a gush of wind can sway the hair and he shall look cool with an explosion behind. From the looks of it, he seems serious about his job and doesn't take things lightly. At least, that is based on my deduction. He then proceeds to ask me a question.

"I had to respect you for not evading this interview. Most candidates we scouted never turn up for the interview. Some left after a gruesome encounter."

I must be one in a million. But in the wrong way. Anyhow it is an exciting opportunity to be here. I have hopes that I might work here.

"I did not expect this tense of an interview. My previous job wasn't so tense. So, what is your name?"

He looked at me for a second and started smirking.

"Only those who are accepted shall know my name. Since your application is still considered, I shall not disclose my name."

First impression is him being cocky and arrogant as if he has the most power here. I proceed to tell my name, but judging from his expression after hearing my name, it's like he doesn't even care. I turned away while looking forward shortly after that. But then he began speaking.

"Rilles, the great detective. I heard about you. But it's a shame you ended up here. There is one thing you shouldn't do, which is disclosing your name to an individual that you don't trust. It seems that you trusted me."

"An organisation under the government is always trusted. Be it the police department, military or any other law enforcement agencies, they are all trusted. So maybe trusting Base Zero won't do any harm."

"You said everything in confidence, except the word 'maybe', implying that you still doubt us."

Didn't expect this person to be this attentive and took everything personally. I just ignored his remark unless he imposed any threat. But from the way he acts, he is already threatening enough to break someone's mind. At least I am mentally strong to hear his words from the damned.

"By the way, I am not expecting a partner at work. If you succeed in the interview, go and find someone else to partner with. I have no interest in your character.

He then looks away from me as if my presence is uncomfortable to others. I need answers so I began to pressed him

"Was it a trauma or a guilt that made you this way?Usually when people decide to be solitude, they are either hurt or harmed by something that they totally regretted. Perhaps your previous partner-"

"Shut it."

He went silent for a moment. I think I have gone too far. All I could say is that he had a regret. But I'm not sure what it is or how long it has been.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to press this far. I just can't stand seeing someone carrying some sort of a guilt"

"Enough. You are here for a job interview. So let's focus on that. Enough with that. I got that a lot back then. And now I am trying to forget it."

We finally arrived at the elevator. The guy pressed the button and the elevator immediately went 'ding'. Then, the elevator arrived and we took a step in. He then pressed the lobby button to send us to the lounge. Moments after the door closes, the elevator goes with the sound "Bang" and the whole elevator shakes. What kept me curious is that the organisation is backed by the government in many ways including financially. Yet we have a jammed elevator. He then tried prying the door open and what we saw is not what it appeared to be.

Fluorescent lights are hanging on the ceiling. Sparks of electricity are coming out from outlets. The defence robots are all down. Blood is smeared on every part of the floor. But one blood pattern caught my attention to which I immediately rushed over. The blood pattern writes out a message directed to those who trespassed.

"Die, those who trespass"

The place is filled with robots. But where does the blood come from? This is not about one litre of blood, but a bunch of litres. Almost a few gallons. Now I am even more curious. What is going on?

"Any idea about this, Rilles?"

Really, I just got here and you are asking me this. If I say this out loud, I am going to get my ass kicked

"Whoever had a grudge against this organisation shall be the answer."

He seems annoyed by my answer, but somehow his expression shows that he had expected this earlier. It is like he knows what is going on and is forced to keep it to himself. I am suspicious about this guy. Whatever the case is, I just had to play along. I then walked away from the message and inspected one of the robots.

"Elita??? What would such a powerful sword be here? "

"You inspected that for quite some time. It seems to me you have the answer to whatever that is?"

"Back at the police department, I saw this type of slash. The case remains a mystery till this day. The sword that leaves a blue light after a slash. The worst part is, it went missing for years but it always appears in my cases"

He kept analysing, but something seemed off. It is as if this scene is so well planned that I doubt the authenticity of this crime scene. Why does no one in the interview room know about this situation? Why is there no alarm blaring? Even if this place is hijacked, there is no way someone outside knew about this place. The real question is, did I miss a page? Not sure what the Terms and Condition ever mentioned anything about this.

All of the sudden, there is a rattling sound coming from somewhere in the dark area.

"I'll go and check what is going on. Stay put, Rilles and don't try anything stupid or anything that should belong to a circus."

Beats me. Rattling sound should be something small, perhaps a rodent or any equivalent insect. If based on protocol back in Azalea Police Department, one should not inspect without the consent of a higher rank. Why doesn't he communicate to get an order from the general?

"ARGHHHHH"

Gunshots can be heard, moments later I heard a gush of liquid flowing to the ground. Impossible, he is injured. I immediately headed over and saw a mass murder going on. He really is injured, worst case, he might die. I began checking his pulse to analyse his life status and all I could retrieve is a faint pulse indicating that he is still alive. Unknown of what needs to be done, I left him there while screaming for help. The good thing is that I am somehow close to my answer in this damn mystery. My main answer is that this is not a crime scene. But what physical evidence do I have to prove this? Plus, who should I prove it to?