Cameraman Never Dies

Judge, though annoyed by his master, sighed and took a deep breath. " Okay, so let me get this straight. Are they missing, or are they not?"

"..." Seraphis began to speak, but before she could, Judge interrupted.

"Or is your child missing and your husband and you split up to search for her?" Judge made the ending purposefully longer to let her know that this was a question and not a statement. Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

Seraphis thought for a second and nodded, What does she have to think about? Judge thought as the silence prevailed.

"My child, Selena, went missing after a series of events. Those felt like a bad dream I don't even remember what exactly happened." She sat down on the wooden stool near the table in the middle of the kitchen. "And me and Corwin decided to set off on our own paths to find her."

Judge thought about what she just said, he could not guess what had happened with just what his master had told him, and he needed more info. "Tell me what you remember, maybe I can piece something together with all the information I have."

"Hmm..." Seraphis went silent, Again... what is there for her to think so much? She then tapped her fingers on the table. "I think I saw a, no... two purple flashes just before she was taken away, she just disappeared right in front of us... in her crib."

Purple flash! Judge sat up, alarmed at hearing something he was familiar with himself. Seraphis noted this shift in his stance and looked at him seriously, waiting for him to spill the beans. Normally, any mother would have been in distress after her child vanished. Judge could not help but commend her mental fortitude.

"The two purple flashes that you saw, did they look like two eyes?"

Seraphis nodded, "They were cold and sinister, giving me a warning not to move a muscle. I never felt so powerless."

"Eyes huh?" Judge thought silently for a second.

What is there for him to think? Seraphis thought.

"I know three people who could produce such eyes. One is an assassin," He sat down, not knowing why he was standing there like that in the first place.

"One is an assassin, a person who tried to kill my sister Amber. I could watch him with an ability of mine, it let me see things that my servants saw and wished to show me."@@novelbin@@

"Your servants? Oh, I forgot... you are a god incarnate."

Judge shot her a look of 'don't ask questions in the middle of a story', she was starting to remind him of a particular deity. "Anyway, the name of the assassin is Noel, he is a wealthy merchant from Losserado. The second person is more mysterious, she wears a long white jacket like an ethercraft researcher, at least when I saw her. Her face was covered in bandages, and she also had that purple eyes that could send chills down one's spine.

"I have no way to confirm her name, but I think it was... Mina" He added a pause for effect, "I could not tail her because I saw her too late and my servants could not go after her since she just vanished. But if she was Mina, I might know a way to find her residence."

Seraphis listened in attentively, but seeing that Judge did not continue on the topic, she asked confusingly, "Who is the third person, do you not know the person's name or place?"

Judge looked his master dead in the eye, he looked like a marksman who was trying too seriously in a friendly match with his dog. "... It's me"

This! Seraphis was left flabbergasted, her own disciple had the mysterious eyes that left her powerless and took her child. She knew that he was not lying, "Do you know how or why you have those eyes?"

To Seraphis, he was not a culprit but a clue— a clue that would lead her to her beloved child. So she had to make full use of his knowledge to get close to her target.

"Before we continue," Judge crossed his fingers, put his elbows on the table, and rested his chin on the crossed fingers. "I would like to make clear a few things."

"I am all ears."

"One thing, please do not tell my mother about this. It would be troublesome for both of us."

Seraphis thought for a moment before answering, "Alright, even though Eleyn is my best friend, I can't just tell her that her child is a god incarnate."

"Thank you," He thanked her sincerely (Yes he has some sincerity), "Next thing is that I would help you look for your daughter, but only if you help me look for the people who tried to kill my sister."

Seraphis smiled, she could sense his lie, he does not even know that he was lying, he would have helped me regardless. She nodded, "Reasonable, yes. Do you love your sister that much?"

"No, it is not my love for her," Judge refuted, "But it just pisses me off that someone could mess with my family and not be punished."

The smile on Seraphis's face widened, much to Judge's discomfort, He's lying again! Deep down, he loves her but he does not know? Man, I almost envy his sister for having such a reliable brother.

"Okay then," She stopped smiling widely, but a small smirk remained on her lips. "Any other demands?"

"None at the time."

"Very well, let's work that little bone of yours alright?"

"What?!"

Seraphis suddenly turned serious, "Let's go somewhere secluded and have a duel first, I want to know your level."

Judge stood up, alarmed. He hated visiting the sky every hit, but he hated going out of the house even more. Suddenly, an incandescent bulb shined in his mind, he could use his 'Divine Domain' called Studio.

"If you are looking for a secluded spot..." He raised his arms, "would this count?"

Both of them suddenly got transported to an ethereal plane. There was darkness everywhere, but both of them could see each other clearly. Judge had no idea how this worked, but as the first rule of programming states "If it works, DO NOT touch it."

"Yeah, it works," Seraphis took her sword by the scabbard.

Ashen! He remembered its name from their very first encounter. "Aren't you gonna ask what this place is?" He did not find it odd she didn't ask him about it, after all, she was a battle maniac.

"I don't care, it's probably some god domain or something."

"Wow, you guessed it right from the first try, I almost took you for a cryptic woman I knew who did not know when to stop talking."

After a slight deliberation, he continued, "You can unsheath Ashen if you want. Nobody can die here." He said it with a protesting heart, half of him did not want to say that because it would mean torture even if he could make himself not feel pain. But he still said it because he genuinely wanted to grow better.

"Alright, I thought you might not say something like that because it would be torture. Looks as if you genuinely want to grow better." Without standing on ceremony, she unsheathed the blood-red blade, "Chi no Kiri" Immediately, thick red mist was shrouded around her.

How does she manage to get it so correctly? Judge summoned his sword that he had put inside the studio because he did not want to go outside with a sword on his waist.

"Meet lament, though I just named it," he said with a light chuckle, hoping to lighten the tension.

Seraphis cocked an eyebrow, tightening her grip on Ashen. "Do you name everything, or is it just your weapons?"

"Only the ones I care about," Judge shot back.

Seraphis chuckled. "Oh, so I should feel honored you remembered Ashen's name."

"Trust me, Master, your sword is unforgettable. You, however—"

Before Judge could finish his quip, Seraphis dashed forward. He immediately activated his enhanced cognition, parrying the blow to the side. He expected it to be heavy, but it was extremely light, as if she never put any strength to it.

Judge frowned as he realized what was happening, this blow was just a farce, the real blow was from her left leg. He immediately raised and held his ankles in a last-second attempt to block the incoming blow, but it was not very effective since he felt the nostalgic sensation of flying again.

"Interrupting me mid-sentence?" Judge quipped, steadying himself. "You really are a cryptic woman."

"You're too slow, Judge," Seraphis taunted. "If I'd wanted to, that strike would've shaved your hat clean off."

"I don't wear a hat, it's a hood okay?"

"That's not the point I was getting at, but anyway let's get to learning. Firstly..." She dashed forward at an incredible speed, Judge was too slow to block, but she stopped right neck. His fingers that held the hilt were bleeding, he tried to raise his sword to block the blow, but he could only lift until the hilt reached his neck.

"Judge, take this as a preliminary judgment. Can you think extremely fast?"