When Liam got home, he followed Lia's instructions. He had a hefty meal first before taking a hot bath. From there, he went straight to bed, sleeping all through the afternoon till…
___ Liam Wilfred Residence, 6 p.m. ___
Liam felt warm lips pressed against his forehead, and a breathtaking fragrance invaded his nostrils. His eyes fluttered open and for a moment everywhere was dark, then he felt a weight leave his body, backing away and allowing light to pour in.
It was Lia.
Her crazy long hair had been braided into a neat set of cornrows. As usual, her makeup was light, but Liam noticed she wore a small crop top dangling loosely over her medium-sized but firm breasts, and a bum short strapped to her waist by what he could only call a utility belt, revealing the hourglass curve of her hips.
Clearly the belt was meant to carry materials, not for aesthetics. This, coupled with her gloves, made Liam confused at first, but then he remembered he was supposed to accompany her on an investigation duty.
However, that realization was less important than the sexy lady in front of him. Lia in her usual goth attire was already a beauty with a dangerous allure that made her difficult to resist. But in her current outfit, her curves and bumps were revealed in detail.
The scenery was so arousing he wanted nothing more than to rip her clothes off and taste every nook and cranny of her body.
She may be your girlfriend but you still need consent. Control yourself! he scolded himself inwardly while maintaining a calm exterior.
"Wake up, sleepyhead. It's 6 p.m. already. You have been sleeping for six hours now!" she laughed at his sluggish response to her forehead kiss.
Liam didn't respond. It took him a while to process everything happening. He calmly shifted his attention to Renginald and shot him a questioning gaze.
"Miss Lia came ahead of the appointed meet-up time to prepare you for the task ahead," Renginald responded with a small bow.
He pointed toward the bedside stool, and on it was a huge book with a thick cover book like the grimoires he had seen in movies. Beside it was a backpack filled to the brim with items, stuffed to the point that the edges protruded outward, spiking his curiosity.
Liam blinked twice and energetically sat up. The grogginess in his eyes was gone, replaced with childlike enthusiasm as he grabbed the book.
"Heavy!" he commented the moment he lifted it off the table.
In the brief struggle to get a stronger grip, he noticed the title: "Spirituality."
For a moment, Liam's world went silent. He rubbed his eyes again before giving the book another look.
Since it concerned the survival of humanity, information on spirituality was not commercialized. It was compiled into one massive book and frequently updated with every new discovery.
Everyone knew about this book, but no one had access to it. Only the elite, ascendants, and a chosen few were allowed to read it.
With it, he might not even need Lia's help.
Bam!
The room door snapping shut shattered his train of thought, pulling him back to reality. Lia locked the door behind her and walked up to the bed, sitting beside him.
"We're really doing this now?" Liam couldn't help but ask again.
When he asked Lia to teach him mysticism, even though she agreed, he thought it was something that would be done in secrecy—meaning very few meeting opportunities and definitely not a day after he made the request.
Everything seemed to be going so smoothly and openly, almost as if everyone had already agreed to this decision.
"Yeah. Actually, we're short-handed in the western province," Lia nodded.
"Short-handed? I thought we've been at peace for the past decade, so what exactly do you need numbers for?" Liam couldn't understand what she meant.
Huff.
Lia sighed loudly and adjusted her sitting position before speaking.
"Even in times of peace, spiritual and supernatural occurrences still happen. Desperate people still dabble in mysticism, unleashing chaos on the mortal realm and many more problems," Lia explained calmly. "Our job isn't just winning the grand war against angels and winning as many Armageddon Games as possible. There are still minor problems only people like us can resolve."
"Okay…" Liam's response was weak, indicating he was still confused, but Lia wasn't surprised because he wasn't supposed to know.
There was an agency that had existed since the formation of the nation of Lanista over a century ago, and only a handful of people knew about them.
"Have you heard of the Spirit Police?" Lia asked as she pulled out her phone and opened a PDF file.
Liam snatched the phone from her impatiently and began devouring the information greedily.
Apparently, the Spirit Police was a secret agency that discreetly handled supernatural and spiritual issues within the country. Their existence had been kept a secret to prevent nationwide panic from civilians who believed the walls of the country were high enough to protect them from the physical and spiritual catastrophes that had plagued the planet for over a century.
"The more you understand spirituality, the more you'll understand why the existence of the Spirit Police Agency (SPA) has been kept a secret," Lia said softly, but Liam ignored her and kept reading.
According to the information, the Spirit Police was mostly made up of humans secretly trained in spirituality and mysticism by the country. People like him and Lia were referred to as Curse Police (CP). They were basically ascendants forced to risk their lives on the front lines and within the city walls.
This unit was recognized as an elite group only called in for serious spiritual activities that could threaten the stability of the nation.
Liam's thoughts instantly backtracked to Lia's words about an investigation that required her presence. His head instinctively snapped up and his gaze met hers, his pupils dilated.
Suddenly the excitement of learning about spirituality and the Spirit Police vanished, replaced with an unnerving silence in his mind that gave space for rapid conspiracy theories until he could no longer hold back his curiosity.
"What's going on?" Liam asked in a low but stern tone.
His voice was cold and sharp, lacking the usual jovial air. Curse Police were only called in when something capable of threatening the entire country was happening.
If Lia was being called in, then something very dangerous was happening under his nose, and he knew nothing about it.
"Ji Wei's death came with the realization that the peaceful life we're living is about to come to an end. So people are scared and desperate. What do you think desperate and scared people do when they know they probably have only three months to live before being sent to the trenches to battle spirits, monsters, and angels with guns?" Lia asked.
Buzz.
Liam felt a chill run down his spine as his heart skipped a beat. His mind raced, and even though he couldn't come up with an answer, he knew it wasn't something good.
"They dabble in the spiritual with no knowledge, hoping to find a way to survive," Lia explained when she noticed he was struggling.
"The dark cult Lucifer's Crown is believed to have resurfaced after Ji Wei's death and is rapidly gaining popularity across all five provinces."
Buzz.
For Liam, it felt like a bombshell had been dropped from the heavens. Slowly he shut his eyes and exhaled loudly before opening them again.
"Lucifer's Crown…" he mumbled, his eyes twitching.
The name was ancient, formed over a century ago during the early years of the nation, and had remained active up until five years ago.
At the mention of that name, the natural instinct of any citizen of Lanista was to hide in their homes with their doors locked. Back then, he would hide under the bed when members of Lucifer's Crown clashed with the military and ascendants openly in the streets.
The core belief of this group was that the devil was right about God all along, and that his rebellion—though it got him kicked out of heaven—would have prevented Armageddon if it had succeeded. They believed the world would have been more peaceful.
With such concerning beliefs, it's not surprising members of Lucifer's Crown leaned toward dark powers in the spirit realm.
It was said they believed that through a united display of sincerity, humanity could provoke Lucifer to act again and wage another war against the heavens, saving them from the Armageddon fate they were forced to endure.