Extra's Descent

73  Everglade [3]

Sarah stood in front of her family home with the doll clutched tightly in her arms.

It was a small and humble house.

Her family didn't have much. But despite that, they were happy.

It was a small family of three consisting of her mother, Sienna Aurae and a six-year-old sister, Emma Aurae.

When Emma was born, their Father had gone missing.

As she remembered the memory, Sarah clenched her fist.

But she instantly dismissed her thoughts and fixed her expressions.

'I shouldn't have those kinds of thoughts.'

After all, she was about to reunite with her family after two months.

Sarah approached the door and inserted her key into the keyhole.

Creak—!

Opening the door with a wide grin, Sarah enthusiastically opened her mouth.

"Surprise! Mom, I'm ho–"

She paused.

What met her sight was her mother who sat in front of their dining table.

Her mother stared at the table with a blank expression.

Her complexions were pale, and her body was frail.

She appeared to not have eaten for days, maybe weeks, as she looked severely malnourished.

Her arms were thin and her cheekbones were visible.

Sarah could see dark circles beneath her eyes as well.

Thud!

She dropped the doll and immediately rushed towards her mother.

"Mom!"

It seemed like her mother hadn't noticed her arrival as she turned her head towards Sarah.

Clasping her mother's hand with a worried expression, Sarah pursed her lips.

"Mom, what happened to you!? Where's Emma?!"

Her mother met Sarah's gaze, and as soon as she did, tears started flowing down her cheek.

Sob. Sob.

Seeing her mother's current predicament had made Sarah's heart sink.

Her mother then embraced Sarah as she continued sobbing. The tears had started to stain Sarah's clothes.

Sarah returned her embrace and her eyes started to moisten as well.

"....Mom, what happened?"

Sob. Sob.

"Y-your Sister…."

Sarah had a rough idea.

Emma wasn't around the house.

Usually she would run towards her and give her a wide smile, hugging her.

But…

She wasn't here.

Sarah didn't want to admit it.

She wanted to deny reality.

The next words that her mother spoke made Sarah's heart crumble into pieces.

"Your Sister… She's… Haaa… She's been… missing for the past month…"

Just like her father who had gone missing a few years ago.

Sarah's eyes widened in shock.

Her mother—who was crying—continued with a sorrowful tone.

"...I've sent a request…. A request to find her at the Guild Hub."

Sob. Sob.

Tears continued to flow down her mother's cheek.

"...I've used up most of our money… For the reward."

Sob. Sob.

"But…"

Ba... Thump!

Sarah's heart became heavier and heavier with each passing word.

But she continued to listen to her mother.

"No one… No one… No one took the request…"

Sarah clenched her fist as she listened to every word her mother spoke.

Drip. Drip.

Her expressions then froze as her eyes widened.

She clenched her fist tightly.

"T-this…. This can't be real…."

But it was.

"....Y-you're joking, right, Mom?"

But her mother didn't reply and continued to break down.

Sarah…

She couldn't accept it.

There was no way it was real.

For a six-year-old to have gone missing for a month.

That long...

She would most likely be—

"No!"

Lifting her head up, Sarah raised her voice.

"...Emma! Come out… T-this isn't funny… Huaa…"

She was about to break.

Her heart,

It was about to break.

"Please…. Huaaa…. Please….. Huaa…."

She started to hyperventilate.

"Haa… Haaaa…. Emma!... Please!"

Deny,

The reality.

"Please…. Haaaaa…. Huaaaa…"

Sarah eventually broke down.

"Please… Emma…. Please…."

This...

It isn't real.

There was no way that…

Emma was…

Missing.

"Huaaa… Emma…"

Sarah slumped down as her legs eventually gave out.

"Emma… Please…"

The image of Emma instantly etched in her memory.

The day Emma was born.

It was one of the happiest moments of their lives.

"Huaaa…"

The first time Emma learned how to walk.

Her first words.

The first time she had spoken Sarah's name.

"Huaaa…"

The first time she had learned how to write.

All her birthdays.

Everything.

The memory of Emma crying when Sarah was about to leave for the Academy.

That was her last memory of Emma.

"Huaa…. Please…"

From beside her, her mother kneeled down and embraced her.

The two cried together as they embraced each other tightly.

"Emma… Please…"

Despite everything, Sarah still couldn't accept the reality.

Heartbroken.

That was the only thing that could describe what the two were feeling.

'Someone... Help... Me... Please...'

***

[Date Posted: June 27, 2148]

[Missing Person]

[Emma Aurae]

[Reward: 27 Copper Coins]

Brandon's eyes widened as he stared at the quest poster.

"Emma Aurae…"

There was an image attached to the quest.

It displayed a little girl who had strikingly similar features as Sarah, only that the girl was younger.

There was no doubt about it.

It was in fact Sarah's little sister.

Realizing, Brandon gripped the poster tightly, to the point where it started to crease.

He then turned around and looked at the Rankers present.

They sat around and continued to converse and laugh with one another.

Clenching his teeth, Brandon screamed out loud.

"Hey!"

He immediately grabbed the Rankers' attention as they turned to look at him.

He had caught the other students' attention as well.

But that didn't matter.

Brandon raised the poster for everyone present in the room to see.

"You useless fucks! Why is this quest still here?!"

From behind him, Reinhard and Liam were taken aback.

Liam stood silent throughout the whole ordeal.

For Reinhard, it was the first time he had seen Brandon act like this, much less curse.

"Oy, calm down."

Brandon then turned his head and glared at Reinhard.

But he quickly composed himself.

Reinhard wasn't to blame.

He then forcefully shoved the poster at Reinhard's chest without saying anything.

Thump!

As Reinhard scanned the poster, Brandon approached one of the Rankers.

Clenching his teeth, he scruffed the collar of the Ranker closest to him.

It was a man with green hair and green eyes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The man's eyes widened.

He then frowned as he glared at Brandon.

"Fucking kid. Let go of me."

The man grabbed Brandon's wrist, trying to let go of his hold.

But Brandon had gripped it too tightly for his hold to budge.

Glaring, Brandon spat out.

"That quest. Why didn't any of you take it? It's been sitting there for more than a fucking month!"

23:02

"Fuck are you talking about?"

"This."

Reinhard spoke for Brandon as he stood beside him.

He raised the poster for the man to see.

The man scanned the poster and alternated his gaze between Reinhard and Brandon.

His gaze then eventually landed on Brandon.

Glaring, the man opened his mouth.

"Do you see the reward? It's too fucking low. I need to make a living. 27 Coppers is as good as one meal."

Snap

Something snapped within Brandon.

If it was all on impulse, he didn't know.

'This world...'

It was filled with garbage.

And to the author of this world?

'Fuck you.'

Thud!

Brandon then forcefully pushed the man down on the table, gripping his collar tightly.

"Reward? There's a little girl missing out there. And all you care about is the fucking reward?!"

"You kids don't know shit!"

The man spat at Brandon's face and continued.

"Astrea Academy? A school for stuck-up brats. That's what you are."

As soon as the man spoke those words, blue flames materialized from Brandon's hand.

Voooosh—!

The flames gradually started burning the man's collar.

But the man only glared at him.

"Choose your fights, kid."

"Fight? I'll kill you instead."

All of a sudden, mana started to emit from the man.

It seemed like he tried to conjure up a magic skill.

But…

It didn't work.

It was way too subtle for anyone to notice.

Not the man, not the rankers, not the other students, not even Reinhard.

The man's eyes widened in shock.

"Huh...?"

He tried to conjure up another magic skill again.

But once again, it didn't work.

"Fuck, what's going—"

All of a sudden, ice started to materialize from Brandon's hand.

Cr… Crack.

The ice gradually crawled on the man's neck.

And before he knew it, the ice had already encircled around his entire neck.

Because the climate was cold in Everglade, the ice left the man with an agonizing frostbite.

"Akhhhhh!"

The man screamed.

"D-deviant… Khhh…"

Brandon knew this was all he could do at the moment.

If he killed him then and there, another Felix incident would happen again.

He had already managed to clear any connections between him and Moriarty.

The man wasn't worth all the trouble.

But…

Foooo—!

With wind in his hand, Brandon thrusted his palms forward sending the man hurling away.

Crash—!

Crashing on the wall, the man slumped down with his eyes wide open.

The other Rankers stood there in shock, but no words escaped their mouths.

The last thing they wanted was to mess with an Astrea student.

No, to mess with Brandon Locke.

The other students stood in shock as well.

But they were utterly speechless at what had just happened.

This time, Reinhard understood the situation and did not try to stop Brandon.

At that, Brandon strode forward towards the exit with the quest poster in his hand.

No words needed to be said as Reinhard and Liam followed him shortly after.

There were no guarantees if he could accomplish the quest within a day, let alone accomplish it at all.

In the first place, he had no leads.

But there was one person he could ask to assist him in solving the missing person case.

Who else but Sherlock...?