What Happened

"Well..."

Upon hearing this, Lantern hesitated slightly at first, then laughed somewhat awkwardly, "It's actually a little embarrassing to say, could you please stop laughing?"

"What's wrong?"

"So, I actually found the person, but I didn't win the fight."

Pointing to his forehead, Lantern laughed and said, "I originally followed the enemy to this Nest, thinking I might have a chance to challenge Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast, but the result was..."

"And the result was?" Larkspur raised an eyebrow.

"The result was that I almost got caught, and I barely managed to escape after almost exhausting all my magic power."

When this topic came up, Lantern subconsciously scratched the back of his head. "I didn't expect that man to be so strong."

"That man? You mean you've found the culprit?"

The Larkspur pressed, "Could you explain more clearly? What exactly happened?"

"It's a long story. Actually, it all started a week ago when the Investigation Institute team went missing."

The Lantern shifted back to make himself more comfortable, and pondered before speaking, "But where should we begin? Inspector, have you heard about what happened before from White Thistle and the others?"

"If you're referring to what happened after the investigation team arrived in Bai'an City, then I have a general understanding."

Larkspur nodded. "Based on White Thistle's description, you seem to have provided the investigation team with quite a bit of information."

"Yes, but it's not just that."

Lantern added, "Actually, Cat Tail, the senior member of the investigation team, warned me when we first met not to let my guard down. The matter they're investigating now is actually much more complex than I imagined; Black Ash Dawn seems to be preparing something extremely dangerous."

"Black Ash Dawn?"

Larkspur couldn't help but feel puzzled. "The records from the Investigation Institute show that they are investigating the movement trajectory of the Claw Mark."

"According to Senior Cat Tail, that was their initial goal when they came to Eastern Hua Prefecture."

The Lantern corrected, "However, the priority of this target has changed after a large-scale investigation of the Eastern Hua Prefecture. This is because they discovered a considerable number of clues, all pointing to the same thing— Black Ash Dawn is plotting something in the southern Eastern Hua Prefecture."

"So, what they were investigating later was actually related to the Black Ash Dawn?"

Larkspur frowned. "What are those guys plotting?"

Whether it was Claw Mark or Black Ash Dawn, Larkspur actually knew very little about these organizations. This was because their emergence and rise to power occurred entirely after her retirement.

If it weren't for the previous attack on Fangting City, she probably still wouldn't understand the differences between these organizations.

"We don't know."

To Larkspur's question, Lantern simply shook his head. "However, before Cat Tail- senpai disappeared, she told me something."

"What?"

"Regarding the disappearances of magical girls over the past two years."

With his hands folded on his knees, Lantern stared into Larkspur's eyes. "Inspector, do you know that Black Ash Dawn has actually done a lot of bad things in the Eastern Hua Prefecture? They even have people specifically tasked with attacking newly appointed magical girls."

"No need for such formality, just call me Larkspur." Larkspur nodded gently. "As for what you mentioned, I've heard about it."

She already knew from Lin Xiaolu that some members of the Black Ash Dawn could wield the power of the remnants of Aberrant Beast and even hunt magical girls.

Rather, the fact that I am standing here as a magical girl is actually quite related to Black Ash Dawn.

If it weren't for that night in Fangting City Wetland Park, when one of them tried to harm Lin Xiaolu, she wouldn't have so resolutely transformed into a magical girl once again.

In a sense, Larkspur himself is deeply affected by this event.

"Larkspur? Is that your code name Inspector?" Lantern asked instinctively.

"That's right." Larkspur continued to nod.

Seeing that Larkspur had confirmed his suspicions, Lantern continued, "Then, Senior Larkspur, do you know how many magical girls have gone missing in the Eastern Hua Prefecture in the last two years?"

"... How many people?" Hearing her ask this, Larkspur had a vague sense of foreboding.

"There are 11 magical girls who have Certification Card and are on record."

Lantern looked intently at Larkspur, saying each word slowly and deliberately, "This number doesn't include the magical girls who disappeared without a trace. In fact, quite a few children were still in the novice stage, hadn't even obtained their Certification Card, and some even disappeared without ever contacting the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. Although it's not recorded in the files, according to feedback from Seeder in various regions, if these children are included, the number would probably double. The final result is that there are probably more than 20 magical girls who have disappeared in the last two years."

"Two years? 22 people?" Larkspur asked in astonishment. "That many? How many magical girls are there in the entire southern Eastern Hua Prefecture? 22 people went missing in two years, and they were only recently discovered?"

"This is also a major point of contention in the incident, but unfortunately we have no clue about it."

Hugging his knees, the Lantern lowered its eyes. "I heard that even the Seeder have disappeared in some cities. I wonder where they're so unlucky."

Upon hearing this, Larkspur looked away and did not express any opinion on the topic.

"In short, we have many questions about this. Black Ash Dawn seems to be very enthusiastic and obsessed with killing magical girls, and has repeatedly emphasized words like 'ritual,' as if they are carrying out some strange activity."

Seeing that Larkspur remained silent, Lantern spoke up on his own, "When Senior Cat Tail came, he asked me if I had encountered anything unusual in Bai'an City. Those could very well be signs of Black Ash Dawn's activities in the shadows."

"In fact, I have indeed sensed some strange things in my daily operations..."

The Lantern began to describe, listing several places that he found strange, and the reasons why.

The reason it's considered strange is that even the Lantern itself couldn't clearly explain what its feelings were. The locations she listed were all places she had patrolled or fought in, places where she always felt something was still lurking afterward.

The list she provided was eventually handed over to Cat Tail, and the next day, the investigation team began investigating the locations listed on the Lantern's list.

In the first few days, Cat Tail would occasionally contact Lantern to discuss the progress of the investigation. But then, one day, Cat Tail suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Lantern contacted the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau and spent a lot of manpower searching in Bai'an City, but ultimately failed to find any trace of Cat Tail and the others. Helpless, they chose to report the matter to the Investigation Institute.

While waiting for the Investigation Institute to arrive, Lantern, who couldn't sit still, felt that this matter was closely related to him and wanted to search for more clues. So he joined forces with the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to conduct a detailed investigation around the locations that Lantern had previously provided, trying to find all sorts of clues.

Whether it was suspicious things or suspicious people, they were all summarized and finally placed on the desk of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

After studying the information, Lantern identified several particularly suspicious individuals, and after a day of surveillance, he focused his attention on a particular man.

According to the records, this man was once a magician who was arrested and sentenced by the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau for engaging in shady business. After serving his sentence, he was stripped of his ability to use Spell Formula and became unemployed.

During the period before and after the Cat-Tail Squad's incident, this person appeared several times near the locations that Lantern had specified, and his behavior was highly suspicious.

After identifying the person, Lantern decisively took the initiative to try to track her down. However, to her surprise, she inexplicably got lost during the tracking process.

After following the man into an underground passage, she became lost and, after several twists and turns, found herself in a space that resembled Nest.

At first, she also thought she had come to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, but soon she met several employees who were also trapped in the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. Through them, she learned that this was not the real Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau at all.

Knowing that this was the Nest of Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast, she redefined her goal and began to focus on defeating the Aberrant Beast as she searched for the center of the Nest.

The Lantern's Magic Armament possessed tracking and investigation abilities, so she did it quickly. She found the center of the Nest, and more importantly, she also found the man she had been following all along.

The man was feeding the Aberrant Beast.