"Strange... You SURE this was the last trace they had?" Harvard asked, his body crouching down and looking over the tracks, seeing it disappear half-way, as if he flew out from the path he made for himself.
"Positive. Whatever was left is mainly from Koina's. She's all over the place, too. She's usually kind of composed, isn't she? Why was she scrambling so much?" Zazel replied, noticing the many other markings left behind, stumping out the other children as they try to gather more evidence. Applin would bring over some of the ice remained in both sides, while Solomon was able to take some magnifying glasses to examine into the markings and the water left behind. Stolas would try to look out for witnesses, but was left with nothing, forced to trudge back and let the others know.
"Everyone must've been asleep at the time, too. Nobody has heard of anything when she got attacked and left unconscious. You don't think there was another Assassin like her, is there?" The avian asked. Despite such ponderings, Solomon was able to notice something, a small difference impossible to notice without having closer eyes on it. He'd snap his fingers and signal the kids to come over, letting two investigate the first set of prints while the rest did the second. By comparison, both looked identical on the surface. The second's, however, seemed to be more smoother in comparison to the rough, rugged edges of the first. Furthermore, while the soles were the exact same, the ground went a bit deeper for the second's steps than the first, implying a heavier weight between such targets. Whoever this person was, even if they took Koina's look, wasn't the same person.
"It's like dropping a weight on their legs. The imprints by the second feel way too clean than the first. Least with that one, there's some level of age you can remember if you had the same clothes for a while. This one's fresh..." Solomon was quick on setting up Shady to try and mimic the shape of Koina, letting it fit into both pockets, as Harvard would cast out a singular knife to measure the width between the two prints. Sure enough, one was slightly deeper. "...Someone must've copied her whole look. Like a mimic sort of person." Solomon's words brought some heavy theories as to what it could be, but Harvard had an idea. He'd allow Applin to use her hammers to strike down and share his energy into the prints, letting it act like plaster to catch both of them. Once caught, he'd get a better look at what the design was, using the same knife to measure around the edges and see who the second one was. While both did share the same shape and size, one was a lot more smooth, at least until the end around the sole and toes, where they take on a sharper look, as if they were weaponized and honed. "...What the....?" Solomon was a bit stumped at seeing this new shape, letting them back up and retrace their steps.
Stolas was quick to pull out the page, the only thing there being of its shadowy face and its amount for said reward to the quest. "I... I don't get it. If this is clearly a sign of the monster, why did it took up Koina's appearance? Did it shapeshift? Why would it go so far to take a disguise if nobody else was gonna notice her?"
"Yeah no, this is way more than I thought it was gonna be."
"It even stumped you??" Harvard couldn't believe what he was hearing, seeing two of the more smarter folks be confused. He'd look towards his other friends, but they were even more lost than the Avian and the Biblical Sorcerer. The boy closed his eyes and tried to find such a connection. Between the blinding light, the tracks, and the figure in question, it seemed to be some sort of defense mechanism against the light. He'd assume such was the reason why the dome exists: To trap and keep the beast out by making an artificial sky, able to change the time of day whenever to prevent it from having full control of moving around. It would mainly explain both sides, as it could've been a consequence for trying to face the sun head-on, a potential weakness he can exploit should they finally come face-to-face. That still didn't explain Koina's form directly, as if it was disguising, the remains from what looked like smoke would still be present. He's seen it before with Enenra's body that such excess will eventually leak out, so why take the hide for itself.
Unless...
"...What if that's its magic?" The children stopped and looked towards the Card Magician as if he was mad, yet he continued. "What if we're looking at this all wrong? What if he wasn't hiding as Koina, but simply... made another one? He would just need to camp in dark spots the entire time at that point, letting the clone act as 'him' while he's waiting?"
"...That... actually does make kinda sense." Solomon would praise as he'd check the energy-like plaster left behind. "The shape is too smooth, almost as if it was forged to be a statue than a person. If what he said is true that he's able to create such copies, how exactly was he able to do it?"
"Ooh! Ooh! I can answer this one~! Something must be on him to let him do his magic! Like how my Darling has his cards! Maybe its an Artifact that can make a replica of a person!" Applin's theory immediately spiked further intrigue as they examined the prints and see the markings left behind. The jagged cuts, the holes left behind. They all point to a bladed weapon. "A Dagger! No, wait, Koina USES a Dagger to attack people. Maybe it's a Sword!"
"Hang on a second." Solomon was quick to snap his fingers and set up his summons, the Harbinger of Famine's blade quickly pouring out from his book, letting it shorten down and insert it directly to the hole to test the Vampiress' theory. Sure enough... it was a match. "Alright, noted. Any of us see a guy with a sword, scream like your life depends on it. We'll snag the bastard knight before he'd even notice it!"