You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

They rushed to the scene and saw a sorcerer in a black robe standing in the center of a magic circle. Several royal knights were lying on the ground around him, and a dark rune was still flashing between their brows.

“【The Curse of Sealing Souls】!” Rein’s face darkened.

The black-robed sorcerer sensed their approach and turned around, revealing a strange, mask-like face beneath his hood.

"Fufu, be careful."

"Needless to say!"

Magical runes shimmered beneath Fufu's feet, and a silver staff materialized in her hand. She murmured:
"—White Moon of the Night, grant me your pure light. [Holy Moon Flash]!"

A beam of silvery light poured down like a celestial river, striking directly at the black-robed sorcerer's head. But the latter merely raised his hand to block, using a wall of shadow to dissipate the light.

"...The purification spell is ineffective?" Fufu was taken aback.

“That’s not a person, it’s a ‘Speech Shadow’,” Rein whispered. “It’s just a shell of the sorcerer’s mind; his real body is manipulating these things to play with the capital.”

The shadowy figure chuckled and pointed at the two: "Those who intrude into the forbidden realm... perish."

The next moment, five dark figures emerged from the wall and pounced on Rein and Fou like venomous snakes.

"Well done!" Rein drew his sword, the magical runes on its blade burning, and wave after wave of flames instantly incinerated the two figures.

But the remaining three figures did not stop; instead, they bypassed the front and headed towards Fufu.

"【Moonlight Barrier】!" Fufu chanted the incantation, and a crescent-shaped light shield unfolded around her, blocking the first impact. But the second and third shadows emerged from the ground, breaking through the barrier, and were about to strike her—

Ray roared as he arrived, piercing the shadowy figure's chest with his sword, flames searing his body!

"Fufu!" He picked her up and leaped into the alleyway.

"I'm fine," Fufu said, slightly out of breath.

The shadowy figure seemed to realize that it could not succeed. After whispering a few words, its body quickly dissipated and turned into black mist, fleeing towards the distant tower.

"Should we go after them?" Fufu asked.

Rein shook his head: "No. He led us there, probably to get us into some kind of territory. We need to calm down first."

Just then, a loud female voice rang out: "You two! Don't cause any trouble! The Royal Capital Guards take over!"

A female magic knight clad in gold and silver armor flew in, her landing creating a dust cloud and an imposing aura.

She has short blonde hair and sharp blue eyes, wields a magic blade, and her cloak flutters in the wind behind her.

“I am Serena Grandi, a knight directly under the Third Guard Tower of Solunion. You were just fighting that shadowy figure?”

“Yes.” Rein nodded.

Serena glanced at the two of them and nodded: "You came quickly and handled it well. Come with me, the Royal City Magic Investigation Bureau wants to see you."

Fufu raised an eyebrow: "You guys rarely show this much enthusiasm for adventurers, do you?"

"Because you encountered a 'Fragment of the Domain'," Serena said, dropping a bombshell. "That was one of the key elements that caused our seal to fail recently. And you may have just averted a disaster for the capital."

Rein and Fufu exchanged a serious glance.

They had hoped that they could catch their breath after visiting the ruins.

Unexpectedly, the shadow of the capital was deeper than they had imagined.

The sky above the royal capital, Elyon, was tinged with a rosy glow under the setting sun. The tower of the Magic Investigation Bureau stood silently in the central city, its body forged from obsidian and runic crystal, emitting a faint blue light, like a giant eye peering into people's hearts.

The moment Rein stepped into the tower, his heart skipped a beat.

"The atmosphere here is really unsettling..." Fufu whispered, pulling her cloak's brim tighter, her silvery-white hair gleaming softly in the lamplight.

“The Bureau of Investigation isn’t a place for vacations.” Rein chuckled, but subconsciously took a step closer to her.

The two followed the guide into the tower, passing through spiral staircases, corridors riddled with mechanisms, and interrogation rooms filled with magical arrays, finally stopping before a silver door inlaid with a magical seal. The engravings on the door intertwined like a spider web, radiating a chilling aura.

"Investigator Viola is waiting."

The moment the door opened, a powerful magical force rushed out, as if the entire room was breathing.

Behind the enormous, enchanted desk sat a woman dressed in a dark blue gown, with cascading silver hair and eyes as clear as icy lakes. She was perusing a silver-inlaid scroll, her fingertips flashing with a pale blue light.

“Rein Elnor, Fufu Tiru, ​​‘Unmarked Adventurers’ from the southern border, assisted in the investigation of the ancient ruins in the north and survived the ruins’ collapse.” Viola raised her head, her voice calm yet sharp, “You have more than one problem.”

Rein opened his mouth, but did not rush to explain.

"Don't be nervous, we're not here to judge you." A blond man who looked much more casual leaned against the window and said with a smile, "I am Sloan, deputy investigator, and also the branch manager of 'Obsidian Raven'."

“Obsidian Raven?” Fou tilted her head.

Sloan took a few steps closer and placed a badge with a feather symbol in front of them.

“This is a magic enforcement organization directly under the kingdom, specializing in dealing with ‘out-of-control magic, eerie echoes, and…mysterious legacies.’” As he said the last few words, his gaze fell on the “nameless sword” at Rein’s waist.

Rein instinctively clutched the hilt of his sword, but said nothing.

Viola sighed softly: "I know you've had a tough time. The collapse of the ruins in the North was no accident, and what you brought back from there is far more complex than you imagined."

"Do you know what that sword is?" Fufu asked.

“We don’t know its full extent yet, but this sword appeared in a ‘Cataclysmic Echo’ in the capital thirty years ago.” Viola stood up and walked to them, her tall figure like a frozen shadow. “And that incident resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.”

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"So what do you plan to do?" Rein finally spoke, his tone calm.

Sloan raised an eyebrow: "Let you join us."

"what?"

"As temporary investigators for 'Obsidian Raven,' assist us in investigating the recent series of 'unmarked rune anomalies' in the capital, especially the recent 'Zero Whisper Outbreak' in the Old Town." Sloan gave a meaningful smile. "Of course, you can refuse. But in that case, I'm afraid your swords... will have to remain."

Fufu frowned, about to speak, but Rein raised his hand to stop her.

“...I accept,” he said softly.

Fufu turned to look at him, her eyes filled with doubt and worry.

“I don’t want to get involved in this again… but I know that running away won’t stop it,” Rein said in a low voice. “If this sword is really related to the calamity, I have to find out.”

Viola nodded: "You made a rational choice."

And so, Rein and Fou officially became temporary members of the "Obsidian Ravens".

Chapter Two: The Street of Zero Words
Three days later, night fell in the old city of the capital. A strange stillness and faint silver-gray particles filled the air. The magic lamps on both sides of the street had long been extinguished, leaving only dilapidated eaves and collapsed bricks to tell the story of the turmoil that had just occurred.

"Did a 'zero-word outbreak' really happen here?" Fufu looked around warily.

“Yes.” Sloan walked ahead, holding a magic wand inlaid with amber. “Three days ago, this entire street suddenly fell silent. All sounds disappeared, people were deprived of their language, their consciousness became confused, and they eventually fell into a coma.”

Rein frowned: "This phenomenon... is very similar to the 'textuality devouring' in that ruin."

“This is also a question we must figure out,” Sloan said in a low voice. “If this is an extension of the echo, then the capital will soon become a city of calamity.”

They walked through the dilapidated streets and came to a clock tower. The top of the clock tower had collapsed, and the ground was covered with broken inscribed stone slabs.

Viola was already waiting, surrounded by several blue magic spheres, each recording the flow of magic in this area in the past.

“Let’s begin,” she said softly.

Rein gripped his sword hilt and slowly stepped into the ruins of the clock tower. The next instant, a sharp pain shot through his eardrums—

It didn't come from the outside world, but from the depths of my mind—a sonic boom.

It was as if a voice was shrieking, piercing through consciousness and tearing apart the structure of language.

"Fufu, step back!" he shouted, but his voice was as if it had sunk into the water and no one could hear it.

The entire neighborhood fell silent at that moment.

But Fufu didn't back down; a glint of silver flashed in her eyes—

"The Sound Barrier Realm, 'The Web of Sound'!"

She formed hand seals like the wind, and a silver magic circle unfolded beneath her feet, spreading out a layer of sonic protection that isolated her and Rein from the contamination of "Zero Words".

Rein felt his breath catch in his throat, then a flash of magic appeared beneath his feet, and a roaring sound wave erupted from the ground.

"There's something down there!" He drew his sword and slashed down, a blue light slicing through the bricks and revealing a spiraling underground passage.

Sloan cursed, "It really is a mysterious legacy!"

“Let’s go.” Rein took a deep breath and led the way, jumping down.

Fufu followed closely behind.

Viola whispered to the investigators behind her, "Seal off the block, protect it with a 'Level 7 Silence Zone,' prepare backup. Obsidian Raven, move out."

They fell into darkness and entered the forbidden secret land beneath the capital, sealed for thousands of years.

Deep underground, a voice awaits a restart, and secrets whisper among themselves.

Royal Capital - Central Magic Tower - Obsidian Raven Branch

Rather than an investigation bureau, this was more like a secret workshop hidden deep within the Magic Tower, unknown to anyone. The floor was paved with jet-black lapis lazuli, and magical light stones floated in the air, emitting a faint purple glow; the walls were engraved with ancient runes, as if they could swallow sound and light at any moment.

Rein walked ahead, his gaze sweeping over the interior furnishings. He noticed that every inch of this space was imbued with magic, yet it was not ostentatious, but rather as restrained as an abyss.

"Is this the place?" He stopped and looked at Fufu.

The girl tilted her head and sniffed the air, her red eyes narrowing slightly. "There's a smell of corrosive language... there are remnants of Zero Language present."

"You can sense it?"

“In some ways,” Fufu pinched her earlobe, “I’m more sensitive to ‘unnamed morphemes,’ where many unfinished sentences are hidden.”

Before Rein could respond, the iron gate opened silently.

A voice came from behind the door—steady and low, like the whisper of a night raven:
"Welcome to Obsidian Raven, Rein Rodwell, Miss Fou. You've been accepted."

Emerging was a middle-aged man draped in a black cloak, with graying temples, holding a scepter inlaid with silver runes. His name was Karp, the current Investigator of the Obsidian Ravens.

He led the two into a deeper area, where dozens of sealed boxes and information crystals were placed, and maps of the locations where "speech explosions" occurred throughout the capital were hung on the walls, with red dots densely packed like a burning plague.

“We don’t have time to slowly teach you the rules and procedures.” Karp cast a meaningful glance at him. “The recent ‘language explosion’ in the capital has entered an exponential phase. A forbidden magical language from ancient times is resurfacing. We suspect that someone is deliberately guiding it.”

Rein frowned. "Demon language? Wasn't it sealed away by the Church long ago?"

“The seal will always loosen.” Karp sneered. “And this time… there is some ancient will driving it from behind. You will be assigned to the Seventh Squad, and your mission is to trace the path of the ‘Primitive Speaker’s’ relics and determine the source of the language contamination.”

"Understood." Rein nodded, while Fou lazily yawned.

Garp watched the two figures disappear into the distance and muttered to himself:

"What a strange combination... but perhaps it's exactly the 'variable' we need."

……

[First Mission Location: Crow Market]

Two days later, Rein and Fufu, dressed in their best clothes, set off for the market on the outskirts of the capital.

This place is a breeding ground for heresy and rumors, attracting countless merchants, alchemists, and magic exiles from the borderlands. The air is thick with the scents of spices and incantations.

“Speechless outbursts are usually accompanied by semantic interference, auditory misinterpretation, and personality splits,” Rein read aloud from his notes. “In other words—”

“We need to find a madman,” Fufu added with a grin.

Rein coughed lightly. "No, perhaps it's a lot of madmen."

They arrived at the entrance of a pharmacy surrounded by wisteria vines. An old pharmacist wearing a silver mask stood at the door. He stared at Rein for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"You come from outside the realm of words."

Rein was startled, but Fufu had already leaped up and kicked over the shelf in front of her. "It really is a pseudo-awakened entity produced from the remains of the 'Word Awakener'!"

The next moment, the entire pharmacy collapsed instantly—a “vortex of words” composed of hundreds of syllables appeared in the void, as if reciting an endless curse poem.

"Back off!" Rein swung his sword and unleashed a "Silent Slash," a blue-white sword light blooming in the air, splitting the vortex in two.

Fufu bit her fingertip, wrote a "sealing" character in the air, and pressed it heavily onto the old pharmacist's forehead.

Everything fell silent.

The vortex collapsed, shattering into stardust.

The old pharmacist collapsed to the ground, repeatedly muttering:
"The Primitives...they heard the wind whispering...they hid...beneath the tower..."

Fufu crouched down, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Who is hiding under the tower? Explain yourself."

"...He has no name...He only..." (End of Chapter)