| Prelude of The Strongest

Arc 1 | A Detectives End

Phase 1 | The 13th Star Etched In History

"Daphne..."

Daphne is the name of a flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae that has a pale pink color. Just like the Daphne in front of me...

Tsubasa had thoughts when hearing the name 'Daphne'. They resembled each other in similar colors and had a rather toxic personality. Upon closer inspection, the girl who names herself 'Daphne has pale pink hair and violet eyes that poison the glare with fairly dark skin.

"So what brings you here anyway if you're so broke?" Daphne spoke with a curious posture, with both arms holding her waist and a single eyebrow raised.

"Well, you see, I'm actually looking for answers, as you might say." Tsubasa admitted truthfully that she hadn't the faintest idea where her answers would be found, even when she got to the city.

"So you ain't here for the upcoming festival in the Inner city?"

"Festival...the old man did mention something like that," she murmured to herself. Tsubasa thought through that vague topic, recollecting her memories from before she encountered many bizarre decorations when she entered the city.

"This festival...could you tell me more about it, please?"

"EHHHHHH, You don't know what the festival even is?" Daphne spoke in outrage as if it were really something everyone would know. Tsubasa spoke with her face and gave her a serious yet calm expression.

"You can't be serious. Even someone with really weird clothes would know".

"Are my clothes that weird?" Tsubasa replied, shocked and a bit disappointed. At the moment, Tsubasa was wearing black trousers, a dark green shirt, a black zip-up jacket, and a maroon detective hat. Objectively speaking, her clothing choice is no doubt very strange; Tsubasa had no need to be conscious of fashion, but for some reason, she felt offended by that comment.

"The festival is a commemoration season of the Great Battle between two legendary arch dragons, Ryuken and Kyurem". "Where Ryuken triumphed and defeated the evil Kyurem!"

Ryuken to Tsubasa sounded really familiar; however, Kyurem didn't ring a bell to her.

While she was still in her train of thought, a large soundwave echoed through the plaza, which caught Daphne and Tsubasa's attention.

"What was that sound?"

"Dunno, not my problem!" With that said Daphne immediately dashed off the scene to who knows where, leaving Tsubasa with even bigger problems.

"Divine Aptitude of Swiftness"

"HEY, GET BACK HERE!" No matter how loud Tsubasa raised her voice, it was no use in calling out to the speedy thief. Once again, Tsubasa found herself alone to figure out the current situation. The sound was nearby with absolute certainty, yet Tsubasa still needed to find a good approach. Tsubasa is very fearless and curious. Which compels her to investigate what intrigues her. This is a valid reason why she idolizes detectives at such a young age.

"Damn, that little runt." Tsubasa was cut off by yet another sound coming from the same direction. She halted herself at the edge of the alley, where Daphne ditched her to save her own skin. All she could see was a dust-filled street; the dust cloud had obscured Tsubasa's vision of anything that could have created such an unpleasant sound. The best thing to do in such a situation is to simply wait for the dust to disperse on its own.

"The sound definitely sounded like something that was broken." But even if I could figure out the culprit, there's nothing much I can do about it. Tsubasa sighed in frustration, realizing that her options were limited. She couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment at Daphne's betrayal, but dwelling on it wouldn't solve anything. Instead, she decided to focus on finding a way out of the alley and continuing her pursuit of the truth.

Tsubasa thought this through rationally, as throwing her life in danger wouldn't do her any good, so she decided to turn to the authorities, who can do something about this current situation. "There must be some sort of police here, right?" She escaped the alley to follow the crowd.

"Hup". The crowd had dispersed quite quickly, and Tsubasa hadn't even encountered anyone yet. She began to sprint as she caught a glimpse of a shadow of someone.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Tsubasa shouted exasperatedly at the silhouette. The person emerged from the shadows and replied with a "Hm?" Both of them stood in front of each other, with Tsubasa panting with her gaze lowered to the ground and both her hands on her kneecaps.

"Are you alright, young girl?"

Tsubasa finally looked at the person in front of her and looked in awe. The person appeared to be a woman in knight-like armor, and her angelic voice soothed Tsubasa's frustration instantly. Her hair was scarlet red, which was tied in a ponytail style; her eyes were sky blue; and she was also rather tall in comparison to Tsubasa.

"Um, wherever you're trying to go, I suggest you call in reinforcements," Tsubasa said in an exasperated tone.

"I'm here to investigate the noise just now, so I'll be on my way; please follow that direction to the Inner City". The women pointed to the district leading to the Inner City.

"With all due respect, ma'am, you don't know what you're up against; even though you look like you can fight, I'm positive that you should consider bringing reinforcements to up your chances". As arrogant as Tsubasa may sound, she said this to warn the armed women, who appeared to be knights of some sort (she has a sword).

"Oh? You are doubting me?" The woman said it cheerfully and tousled Tsubasa's head like a cat begging for food. "You shouldn't worry about me, young lady! I am well endowed with the title of GrandMaster after all if you haven't heard of me, which I find surprising".

"GrandMaster?" Tsubasa cocked her head to the left in confusion.

"Well, that does sound a bit reassuring." "Could you perhaps lead me to a police building so I can report on this sudden matter?" The women just stared at Tsubasa blankly.

"Police?" Ah, right, these people wouldn't know what that is, huh? "I mean people who help others in danger."

"That's very vague; we have many people, myself included, who do that. Could you be referring to the guard regiment instead?" Now that does sound like the police equivalent of this world... "Yeah, that".

"Hm, the closest one is in the Inner city, so I suggest just leaving the case to me."

"Alright, if you insist..." Tsubasa felt utterly defeated, as she felt she hadn't contributed as much as she could have. The women then leaped into the air faster than Daphne left the scene. Which sure was surprising for Tsu, as she already considered Daphne extremely fast.

"What is with these people?" Every person I meet won't stay long enough for me to get any good information! Tsubasa is still lucky that she hasn't succumbed to the brink of madness that unfolds before her...

"Damn that woman, who does she think she is?" Tsubasa was genuinely upset. It's like everyone was supposed to know who she is. GrandMaster, my ass."

"I'll see to it myself."

The little 'detective strutted off towards the districts that lead to the Inner City.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I knew hanging around that weirdo was a bad idea after all". Daphne contemplates herself in her thoughts, as she doesn't actually regret encountering Tsubasa. However, that's only on the subconscious side; in reality, Daphne is dumbfounded by her actual feelings and thoughts, which lead her into all kinds of trouble. No wonder she gets called awful names a lot. Daphne was still leaping from the roofs of small buildings to other buildings. She enjoyed the thrill of parkour and the sense of freedom it brought her. However, deep down, Daphne couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that her risky behavior was only fueling her reputation as a troublemaker.

"Argh"

A burst of rubble had appeared just like before when meeting with Tsubasa. Fortunately for Daphne, she had an ability called Divine Aptitude. That allows her to have precognition for an unspecified amount of time so that she can react before danger is within her scope of clarity.

"HAHA, how about those stupid rocks?" The moment Daphne leaped to the ground as a reaction to being suddenly attacked Another burst attack came from below and actually landed a hit on her. Daphne's body jolted in pain as she crashed onto the ground, her divine aptitude failing her for the first time. It had hit her back especially hard, causing her to spit out a handful of blood that gushed out of her stomach. How am I being targeted? The attack was too abnormal to coincidentally attack her three times.

"Divine Aptitude of Artemis"

Daphne couldn't react yet again to another bombardment of attacks; this time it was more clear to her what actually caused it. She quickly noticed remnants of broken arrows where the attack happened; a single glance could immediately tell who the oppressor was.

"I see. Fast projectiles. Only one person alive uses elemental arrows. SHOW YOURSELF, MS. SHARPSHOOTER!" A lady cloaked in maroon appeared before Daphne's call in anger. The lady's eyes blazed with fury as she unsheathed her bow, ready for another round of attacks. Daphne braced herself, determined to defend against the relentless assault.

"Please refer to me by my proper name, little runt. The moment she was within Daphne's punching scope, she immediately used her divine aptitude to get close and land a clean hit. Artemis, you're going to pay for this." Artemis managed to dodge Daphne's super speed by pivoting a second before she was a hair away from her, and then Artemis hit Daphne's neck to knock her out. As Daphne crumpled to the ground, her vision blurred and her body weakened. Artemis then carried the ragdoll Daphne and sensed something quaint in the eerie, now desolate street where she had wreaked havoc.

"Show yourself; you aren't concealing enough to get unnoticed."

"Yeah, that wasn't my intention, Demon worshipper ". Artemis taunted, her voice dripping with disdain. She surveyed the empty street, searching for any signs of movement or a potential threat. The air grew heavy with an ominous silence as she waited for a response, her grip on Daphne tightening.

Artemis felt a chill up her spine upon hearing that voice.

"Scarlet hair, sky blue eyes, and the famed Dragon Sword Ryuken by your hilt..."

"If it isn't Theresia Van Astrea, the current Sword Saint of this generation, I do not dream of battling you in any life yet, let alone in this one. You will meet your demise with someone who can satiate your bloodlust!"

"Until that day...I will be waiting for that when the time comes. However, I have only needed to unsheathe my sword on one person thus far, and I simply won't let you get away with that young girl you are carrying on your back"

Artemis grabbed her bow and shot an arrow towards the ground. Smoke and ash were the results of those arrows. She then made a break for it, as she knew fighting Theresia was a death wish.

"Divine Aptitude of Sharpness"