Paris.
It was a sunny and warm Thursday, like any other day of the week. The streets were lively, and people were filled up in cafe's and restaurants to get lunch and get their energy back.
Eric was naturally one of them.
He was currently sitting in a random cafe on the north side of Paris.
The smell was sweet as he sipped his coffee, time to time, as his chin rested on his right arm.
He had a serene expression and looked outside from time to time.
He was currently at work and was wearing his blue police uniform.
Even though he was not in the place he was supposed to be, can those police officers use any device to track him?
No, they can't. Eric had already asked Mr. Clown to use his aura techniques to fool the tracking device and cameras on him.
He was actually currently reading the current trending news of the Aura region through the charms that had been sent to him by Voyage and Edward.
Mr. Clown was from Lumenia too, but unlike the Divine Karma, He was in contact with the Hypernova directly; this definitely showed their sincerity and how much importance they placed on him.
Eric deeply wishes to know what was so important about him
The current trending topic was naturally the wedding of Sasaki Blackbell Alberich.
It was already very popular, known, and talked about by every Aura user in the Aura region, but after all the guests arrived was the twist that made everyone shocked.
It was because after every Family head appeared. Draco, the legendary immortal beast of The Apocalypse Pathway, appeared!
And not just that, it turned out that Sasaki and Draco were great friends and seemed to have known each other for a long time.
After reading it all, Eric chuckled a little.
"Sasaki Alberich is indeed a legendary figure."
Sasaki was the rising star of this era. Compared to him, Eric was not worthy enough to be even considered an ant.
While Sasaki seemed to be preparing to advance to True Supernova, Eric was still struggling to complete the steps of the methods of control of the Lysi Nova rank.
How pathetic he was when compared to him. But Eric knew the difference between their situation, so he did not feel anything.
"I wonder what it means to be an 'one.'?"
Eric had always been confused about this. He was the third one, while Sasaki was the fourth one.
Even though they were connected by this unexplainable factor, they didn't seem to have much in common.
"Be it opportunities, talent, aptitude, luck, or strength. I have nothing similar to him."
"Now that the Blackbell Family technically has another True Supernova rank existence, even if indirectly. There is no chance for the other families to throw them off the number one spot without any huge event happening."
The political situation of Lumenia was known to anyone who follows all the news religiously. Eric liked reading newspapers and getting information about the latest events, so he was clear on the entire situation.
Normally, only eight out of the thirty royal families can have their members be advanced to True Supernovas, while the other families can only have supernovas as their heads; this is because one of the arrangements that was left behind by the second meditation master as a punishment.
The Blackbell family had always been strong, even if they did not have a True Supernova within a certain generation.
Now that they have an alive True Supernova, A young talent who can advance to True Supernova and be the leader who will guide them through the Cataclysm Era, and now even one of the thirty legendary beasts. Three True Supernova rank powerhouses!
They could be said to be in their prime at this moment.
Even if the meditation master dies from his low lifespan soon, there won't be much effect on their position now.
This was a brilliant move made by Sasaki, which he only revealed after so much time, and executed flawlessly.
Eric soon shook his head after thinking about it for some time.
His goal today was different. He was here to investigate the family that the voice inside his head had told him to kill when he had just arrived in Paris.
He hadn't gotten much time among all the complicating matters and overwhelming pressure.
But now that his situation has stabilized a little, he has decided to put some attention on this matter as well.
He had already sent some beggars to stalk them and figure out their daily routine, but it turned out that both the husband and wife were Aura Users.
From what Eric had deduced, the husband is a Lysi Nova while the wife is an Auri Nova.
No matter how low the rank, the difference between a normal person and an Aura user was like heaven and hell.
Some beggars were killed while others were found out and turned to the police, and coincidentally, this case fell on Eric's head.
Eric could send some angels, but since he had time, he felt that it was better for him to come and investigate personally.
"Since the bad luck that I faced wasn't so bad, I can deduce that the wife is most likely an Aura user belonging to the luck sub-pathway of the Apocalypse pathway. If I can kill her and turn her into a dreadful relic or preserve her aura and give it to Adrian, it would be a huge help to him in all aspects."
In the journey of an Aura user, the biggest and simplest increase in strength is when they obtain an aura of their pathway.
They can make a relic of that Aura or just add it to their primary Aura if the level of the Aura allows it.
"I have no idea about the pathway or Aura abilities of the husband, though. This is going to be quite troublesome."
Eric always makes sure to get all the info on a target before going to kill them; having half-information or lacking information would cause his state to be like that of the assassin girl.
He may have a rank 0 relic with him, but if he is careless and the enemy has some trump card that is able to kill him without him being able to use the relic, then that would be a real pity.
After finishing his drink, Eric paid the bill and looked at the watch.
"It is about time."
Eric looked outside the window and saw the couple get up after having their lunch and leave with their daughter.
The Husband was very careful with his wife, helping her get up and even walk.
Eric left five minutes after they left. He had already set up a small size Nova level angel spirit that was hidden by the concealment power of the hypernova-level angel spirit in the Imperator's cross.
Eric had to admit, this concealment power was truly useful in any situation and a top-tier support ability.
Eric could know where the couple was going now. He didn't even have to do anything; he could just sit down and enjoy himself, but he couldn't slack off even if he wanted to.
This is a trait that had been ingrained in him by the events he went through in his teenage years.
As the saying goes. "The Past shapes the Future."
Leaving the cafe, Eric turned right and blended with the crowd.
He had already changed his face and physique and was now an average-looking, plain-faced rookie police officer with messy black hair and dark brown eyes.
Eric didn't use the concealment power on him because he didn't want to use the relic nonstop, and also because he wanted to test how good the premonition abilities of the couple were; he might be able to deduce the pathway the Husband belongs to, who knows?
The small angel spirit named Zero kept giving him their location and the actions taken by them.
Eric and Zero didn't find anything odd about these two even after a long time.
Soon, the couple reached in front of a building as the Husband kissed his Wife and went inside the building.
After the wife left with her daughter, all happy and smiling. Eric walked in front of the building and saw the name was written in huge and bold channel letters on the rooftop.
"Carrasa's Insurance."
"The people I sent back to track him were all killed or arrested before even able to reach here. It shows that the Husband may be focused on the investigation aspect or has strong investigative methods."
Eric went inside and talked with the receptionist. The receptionist was a young, good-looking woman and had plastered makeup on her face. She didn't even glance at him twice and had quite the attitude.
Eric didn't mind it and talked calmly. It didn't take long for the passive ability of Truth to kick in, making her more trusting of him and giving him almost all the info on the Husband.
He didn't want to be suspicious, so he took the information on many other employees too, with the Husband's
Almost, because some information is personal and confidential and can't be shared according to the company's contracts.
Eric was happy nonetheless and thanked the recipient.
"Are you here to get insurance, Sir? We have a lot of good insurance here. I am sure you would like to sleep even better knowing that your parents, wives, and kids would have a backup even if you die. Being a cop is not easy nowadays since the crime rates have gone up so high."
Eric nodded his head in agreement but still politely refused.
"And get told that only my lower body was insured and lose all the money? No thanks, you." Eric thought inwardly.
Meanwhile, Zero had been tracking the Wife. In his way, he often found himself in front of small problems and accidents, like a dog suddenly pouncing on him, a kid blocking his vision.
They were all of minute significance and barely affected him, but they made him realize a weakness in the concealment power of his brother.
"It seems that Brother Aziu's concealment ability is not that effective against luck pathway methods."
There was no invincible technique; everything had its weakness and could be deduced and countered.
Just like here, even though the concealment effect was on the Hypernova level, it still affected zero even after the person he was chasing was just an Auri Nova.
Obviously, Zero being only on the Nova level also played a huge role in this. If his rank were higher, the bad luck on him wouldn't have increased so much and would have even been negligible.
The wife suddenly turned around and started to look around.
Zero's heart palpitated at this moment as he entered the ground.
It turned out that the wife had just found a friend of hers and had turned around to greet her.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Zero sent back all the information to Eric.
...
Eric was done reading the files on the Husband as he started to summarize the things that he had just gained.
"The Husband's name is Robbie Smith. He is a middle-aged man in his forties and a senior sales manager at Carrasa's Insurance. He lives in the Montmartre neighbourhood in the 18th Arrondissement. He comes to work at nine in the morning every day except Sundays. He goes out to lunch with his wife and daughter on lunch everyday for an hour. His wife is a housewife and manages the house and takes care of their daughter."
"He has a very warm and amiable personality, being well-liked by many of his colleagues, and is a very helpful and funny person. I have his multiple phone numbers here. He has quite a lot of them."
Eric read the files again and again, but could only see the perfect scores, record, and track of Robbie.
"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong going on in his life. He is just an Aura user who is simply leading a good life... but under all this perfectness. I wonder who you really are. Robbie Smith."
Eric was sure that everyone had their own secrets and that if the voice had told him to kill him, then there was definitely something going on.
"But I can only let Zero investigate them more for now. I have to go to the Church of Serenity now."
A week ago, Eric had coincidentally entered the Church of Serenity and met Father Irenaeus.
He had lent to Eric the rank 0 relic, The Imperator's Cross, telling Eric that he could come and visit the Church of Serenity every Thursday. It had been a week now. It was time for him to visit again.
Eric was quite excited about this visit. He could feel that it was going to be a beneficial one.
He quickly contacted Zero through the Imperator's cross and told him to continue tracking the wife.
He then stood up and walked away.
...
In Carrasa's insurance.
Robbie suddenly grabbed his chest tightly as he felt a premonition of great danger. This premonition was deep and warned him that a fatal danger was near him and his family.
He had almost fallen as other people came to help him stand up, whom he thanked warmly.
He had a grim and dark expression on his face and extreme worry and fear in his eyes.
"This again? Shit, what should I do... I am not strong enough to kill Sasaki if he comes to kill his old man. I do not want to lose everything again."