SINDOORAH PROPHECY
SECRET MISSION

It was late at night when Commander Gerald parked his motorbike in a narrow courtyard. It is located on a small road junction and surrounded by flowerless shrubs. The appearance of the house in it was more like a hut and did not attract attention at all. However, no one would have guessed that such a simple place was the headquarters of the usual gathering if there were some strange incidents happening on Halimun Hill.

That evening, Commander Gerald turned down Sergeant Andi's offer to eat outside. There was other business taking the man's time. He could not have reached his current position at such a young age without hard work. In fact, it sometimes handles an unsuspecting job.

However, Gerald seems so desperate that his need to come to this place can not be postponed anymore. The forensic examination of the bones collected from the old well deeply disturbed his mind, and the unrest multiplied after attending a garden party at Ricci's villa. Unfortunately, he only received an obscure report from Sergeant Andi afterwards.

Gerald knocked on the wooden door slowly, as slowly as his steps in a creaking lars shoe.

"Come in" said a voice from within, as if waiting for his arrival.

An old man in ragged shabby clothes sat on the floor draped against the wall. The old man was holding onto a stick from a rough-shrinked wooden branch. At first glance, his appearance resembled a sickly old tramp. However, Gerald knew that the outward form was only deceptive because these tramps freely roamed the streets to watch secretly.

"Greetings, Supervisor." Gerald greeted respectfully, but the old man only stared at Gerald sharply with his eyes. Gerald was still standing straight in front of the man because he was not ordered to sit down and rightfully so. He was never told to sit.

"What news do you bring, young man?" ask the Old Man without further ado.

"Not long ago, we found a bone grave in a well in the woods." Gerald deliberately did not mention the villa Ricci and Nina, he intended to hide it, and hoped Old Man did not realize it.

"Then, what did you find?"

"These bones are stacked against each other, some parts of the body are not even complete, so it takes time and more examination to match and collect them. Strangely, though the average age of the victim was no more than twenty-five, the age of these bones varied. The oldest one was a hundred and fifty years old, while the most recent one, died ten years ago. There's the same pattern as serial killings, but ... obviously it doesn't make sense and I can't put in the report that the culprit is likely the same person."

"You know that the possibility is there if you talk to me about it. Did you find the culprit?"

Gerald tried to control himself so as not to act suspicious, especially when he realized that the man's gaze was as if trying to peel the contents of his head. If he was not careful, Old Man could have dug up the facts he was keeping secret desperately.

"The case this time was different. I found no evidence of the perpetrator."

Old man also quickly. "An ancient mass grave, which still frequently calls for victims, must have left a clear trail of the perpetrator. What exactly are you covering up, young man?"

"Could it be that they were deliberately dumped in that place?"

"Do you doubt the 'supervisors' who guard Halimun Hill?"

Old Man's gaze and accusation stunned Gerald for a moment. Without those two treatments, he had felt judged every time he faced a Supervisor from the Upper World. However, Gerald must succeed in tracing the identity of Mr. Sin who suddenly appears at Ricci's villa with Nina. He needs information support from the Supervisors.

"I've never doubted the Supervisors. You have helped us a lot to overcome the dark forces in the middle world. That's why, I'm asking for clues about the perpetrator who may have been behind the case before it became widespread."

"Show me the well."

"No need!" sergeant Gerald's fast. The well where Nina fell as well as the grave bones are near the property owned by Ricci villa. The Supervisors can't know this now. The man tried to convince the old man. "There's no trace of anything left there other than bones."

The Superintendent suddenly rose up at lightning speed, he did not even need a cane. The old man stared into Gerald's eyes from a short distance away. "If so, the culprit wanders the middle world without any of us knowing!" kecamnya, until Gerald fattened his teeth when he felt the energy so great had hit him. However, Gerald did not take a step back. He defied the watchman's gaze boldly.

After a gripping silence, Old Man finally spoke softly. "No creature from the underworld had escaped before this, unless one deliberately freed and nurtured it. All this time, he may have been in the well for generations, and then the victims came to him. Or ...."

"He trapped someone into a hole." Old Man's murky-rimmed pupils shrink. This moment reminds Gerald that the supervisor is looking for clues about the creature among the images that match Gerald's story."

"Gerald," said the supervisor with a still-awning gaze. "Your father never failed to uncover a crime before, until the death of a friend ended his career as a police officer. However, you do not need to be ambitious to pursue the same wishes as your father. It would be easier if you chose one of your jobs now: to be a cop or one of us."

Gerald was stung. "Why are you talking about this now?"

The supervisor's pupils twitched through Gerald's face. "This case might put one of your jobs at risk. One hundred and fifty years ago, there was a young warrior like you once buried alive in a pit. He never returned and his body was never found."

"Why was he buried?' gerald was surprised.

"Because he had the magic feared by the invaders. A hired shaman must have told them to fool him, then hoard him in a hole to lock the young man's magic."

"He's dead?"

"Nobody knows after that. However, your report this time leads to a forgotten clue. It was no surprise that within a hundred and fifty years he had turned into a demon. Especially if he had a special grudge against one's descendants."

Gerald was barely able to withstand his suddenly inflated heart thump. Imagining the people living inside Ricci's villa as well as the threat that might have entered their residence felt crazy for the commander. Especially when thinking about the mysterious Nina and Mr. Sin.

"Are you able to handle this case or are you going to hand it over to another hunter?" The question of the Old Man resuscitated Gerald.

The commander immediately replied firmly. "I find him, I will handle him too. I won't let the creature start an old cycle of revenge. No, it's on Halimun Hill that's supposed to be this peaceful."

"If you may know, what makes a young man so fooled into being trapped in a hole?" search Gerald curious.

"Women."

The supervisor's short answer was able to make Gerald's heart slide from the chest cavity. The answer was not at all he liked because it sounded intimidating.

"Since the past, your people have been weak against women."

Shit, Nina is really in danger, ' said Gerald in his heart. Supposedly, he directly handled the Ricci villa case from the beginning with a special category. Gerald realized that the ambiguity of this work had caught him off guard for a moment. And now, he also had to deal with his own feelings.

A barrage of lightning then struck, as it sounded from a higher place on the hill.

"The supervisors are down?" gerald asked, imagining the mission had not yet begun, but the overseers would join in hunting the creature.

"No. Sounds like there's a big energy just used."

The old man rushed out of the house, accompanied by Gerald who was secretly harboring anxiety, especially when the supervisor's gaze was directed at the night sky, then towards the hill where Ricci's villa was located.

Gerald hoped that Nina was not doing anything stupid.

***