The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 171

The news of Zavi Actitus's death spread throughout Schoutzin just a few hours after his demise.

The local Nagreitta Church and the Tenano Security Department, along with several investigators, arrived at the scene, although Zavi Actitus's body had already been taken away by the authorities for further investigation.

"I saw what happened, but what could I do? I'm just a laborer who doesn't want to die for one reason: to support my family," a man replied hesitantly.

Another man, whose sense of justice had been stirred, was interviewed by a reporter.

"I have the same reason. I'm an ordinary person with a fixed salary. It doesn't go down, but it doesn't go up either, even when I work overtime."

He complained while talking about the problems at the company where he worked.

Another woman, an eyewitness to the incident, was also interviewed by journalists and newspaper reporters.

"I couldn't see the killer's face clearly. The killer also seemed to hold a grudge against the person he killed."

Another woman, standing in front of the male reporter who had witnessed the incident, also voiced her opinion.

"Hmm, that's right. The pedestrians here are complete cowards, especially one man who didn't dare interfere, let alone mediate their conflict."

The reporter, who was also a woman, nodded in surprise as her male colleague looked at her.

The two men who shared the same reasoning heard that statement and immediately commented on the woman's remark.

"Hey, you damn bitch. I'll admit I'm a coward, but I did it so my wife and child could have a decent life!"

Another man who happened to be standing on the sidewalk where the reporters and journalists had gathered muttered loudly.

Meanwhile, the traffic on the street was becoming increasingly crowded, completely indifferent to the commotion.

"Get lost," said a man wearing a flap cap.

"What a strange woman."

"Hah, I don't want to get involved in other people's problems."

"Yeah, it can make life difficult, especially if it involves the authorities, particularly those departments."

Feeling cornered, the woman clicked her tongue and quickly left the scene.

Across the street, where the investigators, church officials, and members of the Tenano Security Department had gathered.

A member of the Tenano Department ran toward the crowd surrounding the sidewalk, a few meters away from a streetlamp.

"Senior, this is serious," an officer said in panic.

The senior member of the Tenano Security Department leading the death investigation immediately looked at him.

"This isn't an ordinary murder, is it?"

After muttering while observing the surroundings, he looked at the man.

The man, named Afas, nodded, steadied his breathing, and replied, "Yes, that man's body was buried a few minutes ago, but there's something else."

"What is it?" the senior investigator asked in confusion.

"I can't tell you here, but I need you and the others to come to that place," Afas said quickly.

Still uncertain about what had happened, the senior department member named Faurwin said goodbye to the investigators and several church officials before hurrying to the location Afas had mentioned, accompanied by six others.

The location Afas mentioned was still within Schoutzin, on Wolon Street 37.

In an alley where even the fog and steam could not penetrate, he was shocked to discover another corpse besides Zavi Actitus.

"Is this what you meant?" he asked.

The woman's body sat leaning against the wall, her head lowered, her chin touching her chest. Meanwhile, her right hand and left ear were missing, and a foul odor emanated from her despite the body having been discovered only minutes earlier.

"Has this happened again?" The senior investigator leading the team felt disgusted by the growing number of casualties.

Afas nodded hesitantly.

"Yes, this is from the many bodies discovered this Saturday," Afas answered while wiping sweat from his forehead.

A calm voice emerged from behind them, making the tension in the narrow alley even more intense.

"It would be easy if we could just find that black magic user."

Faurwin stared at him for several seconds, his lips trembling as he stammered, "Hagen? Why are you here?"

The fact that Hagen was supposed to be stationed in western Schoutzin yet appeared in eastern Schoutzin caused Faurwin to lose his composure.

"..."

Hagen casually pulled out a matchbox, struck a match, and held the flickering flame toward the corpse as though he intended to burn it.

'I knew "she" wasn't a human corpse.'

"Carry her away!" he ordered firmly after careful consideration.

Of the eight men surrounding the body, two quickly rushed out of the alley and retrieved something from a nearby station: a wooden crate, or something they could use as a carrier.

While those two carried out the task, Hagen reached into his jacket pocket, took out a soft cloth, and placed it over the female corpse's tangled black hair and bloodstained head.

The six men still under Tenano's command wanted to ask what Hagen was doing, but they held their tongues when they saw his increasingly sharp gaze.

While Hagen remained silent, one of them, curious about the corpse, repeatedly touched it.

Hagen, noticing the action, widened his pupils.

"...Continue," Hagen said, as though he had discovered something.

At first, the blond-haired man panicked when Hagen spoke, causing him to stop. But after Faurwin himself instructed him to continue, the blond-haired man nodded.

Several seconds passed. Then a full minute. The man stopped touching the corpse after feeling the woman's skin twitch.

"Why did you stop?" Hagen asked sternly.

The blond-haired man swallowed hard and answered,

"There's something strange about her body. Even though 'she' is dead, she..."

Hagen stepped forward, picked up the cloth, and threw it aside.

'That man was right. Just as I suspected, this isn't a corpse at all!'

He glanced around as unease and a chilling sensation pierced his mind.

"...Faurwin," he said quietly, making a hand signal.

A signal commonly used by a senior officer of higher rank within the Tenano Department was immediately understood by Faurwin.

'Something strange is going on?'

Faurwin cleared his throat, looked at his five subordinates, then watched Hagen turn around and walk away without saying another word.

"All of you, follow me," he said, making a complicated signal with his index finger pointing upward, followed by an eye gesture and a final motion of drawing his finger across the front of his neck to the right.

The five of them nodded and followed their senior without asking for further explanation.

As for the woman's corpse, they left it in the alley and abandoned any intention of investigating or transporting it.

...

In the city of Yorkshire, north of Semilir and east of Makoli.

Inside a basement, a woman in simple clothing was contemplating her fate, even though her companions were nearby chatting among themselves.

The basement was filled with murmurs from both men and women. Not a single one of them remained silent except for the blue-eyed woman with tied black hair and a pale face resembling that of a dark corpse.

"Even after all these months, you're still thinking about that?" a man asked sympathetically, pausing his conversation.

"..."

The woman sat in silence like a statue that had remained there for hundreds of years.

The man who had spoken earlier swept his gaze around as if searching for someone.

Tap...

"Hey, come here," he said firmly.

A black-haired woman with a few white strands pointed at herself and asked in confusion, "Are you calling me?"

The man nodded.

"Of course," he replied as he walked toward her.

He looked at her for two seconds.

"Comfort Celina. She's still a bit shocked by her companion's tragic death," the man whispered.

"You mean Rose and Asivise?" the woman asked to confirm.

The man nodded before walking away. Meanwhile, the woman shook her head before deciding to walk toward the corner of the basement where candles lined the walls, intending to comfort her.

The woman named Nitta sat beside Celina on a stack of low wooden crates. She observed her pitiful condition after that dreadful mission and the loss of her spirit.

"The Devil is Here..."

"..."

Nitta's mouth shut tightly after Celina spoke in a flat tone while the veins in her neck tightened.

"The Devil is Here," Celina repeated weakly.

Confused, Nitta quickly asked, "Are you trying to say something?"

Celina hesitated for a moment. A few seconds later, she suddenly raised her hand, causing Nitta's brow to furrow.

'Has she gone crazy?' she wondered in confusion.

"Even though my left arm was amputated before, the effects are still lingering to this day," Celina explained, describing her worsening condition.

The Empyrean Crimson ability was extremely dangerous!

That was what Celina still thought even now. Although the incident had happened months ago, she still had no idea how it worked.

"Hmm, Nitta," Celina said weakly.

Nitta turned toward her, hoping she wouldn't say anything strange again.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"I'm not sure, but is it true that the 'Intersection Society' has ordered this broken group to move out again, while the current conditions of Canel Hewwich, Rose, Asivise, Mine Rasuha, and the others remain unknown?"

Nitta contemplated those words, and two seconds later, with eyes as sharp as a freshly sharpened blade, she said, "We're going to Kuranda, to the Ountakana Auction, to steal a rare artifact that will be sold there."

The duty of the Movement Squad was to gather information, strengthen their forces, and above all else, carry out the orders of a leader whose face remained unknown even to them.

Without waiting for Celina to speak, Nitta immediately added:

"Your artifact, or rather, that stolen artifact, is it still in your possession?"

Her previously dull eyes opened wide as Celina reached into a hidden pocket inside her clothes, pulled out a shell-shaped artifact, and showed it to her.

"Why are you asking that?" Celina asked, regaining some of her spirit.

The anger that had previously faded from her mind resurfaced after Nitta brought up the artifact.

'Ck, I'll hunt you down, Aaron Kwok. Just wait for my arrival!'

Having regained her motivation and purpose in life, Celina jumped down from the wooden crate where she had been sitting.

Tap... Tap...

She turned around and dusted off her clothes.

"When are we going?" she asked seriously.

Nitta rose from her seat, jumped down, and answered calmly, "Right now, of course."

The grand underground Ountakana Auction was one of the largest in both Kuranda and Havanuheta. It was highly sought after by individuals and groups who knew of its existence, and it was an auction where life and death were risked for rare items and treasures of that sort.

As for how the 'Intersection Society' knew the auction would be held at the end of March, the Movement Squad had no idea and had only been instructed to steal something there.

Not knowing what item they were supposed to steal, the order thread from the 'Intersection Society' conveyed two important messages to the squad.

The contents of the message were:

Seize whatever you can and kill anyone who stands in your way.

Be careful. Individuals and groups belonging to the Receivers and Hollow are roaming there.

End of message.

Knowing this, the Movement Squad operating under the orders of the 'Intersection Society' was far from ordinary. Among the remaining thirteen members, one of them was both a Receiver and a Hollow participating in the theft.

Once everyone was ready, each carrying weapons or whatever else they needed, the thirteen people, five of them women, hurried out of the basement and headed toward the nearest station, boarding a train bound for Kuranda.

....

Saturday passed quickly as Zavi and the man he had met at Velise Station arrived in the great city of Havanuheta, Kuranda.

At the station, they appeared quite familiar with one another after a journey lasting approximately two days and two nights, arriving at Aramah Station on Monday morning at 9:45.

"So, Mr. Steve is quite good at telling jokes, huh?" Zavi said as he led him out of the train while chatting casually.

"So... sorry for bothering you during the journey," Steve said awkwardly.

Zavi blinked.

"It's already been two days and two nights, and you're still this stiff, huh?" Zavi said while picking up his suitcase.

After chatting with him for a short while, Zavi quickly left the man and headed toward the location Evelina had given him in this great city.

In Vleco, on Jikusuma Street, a multi-story house stood in an alley rarely used by passersby.

Although it was part of the great city of Havanuheta and home to middle-ranking nobles, conglomerates, and businessmen, there were areas of Kuranda that they found disgusting even to pass through or hear about.

Areas where the lower class struggled to survive amid the class discrimination that still persisted.

Inside a fairly large living room, thirteen people sat in silence, one of them a woman seated alone, after the arrival of the very person responsible for why they were gathered here.

Zavi, sitting on the sofa opposite Evelina, cleared his throat, signaling that he was assuming the role of James Moriarty.

"How are the preparations?" he asked coldly.

He wanted to ask more, but he knew it would ruin James Moriarty's image.

Evelina looked at him hesitantly.

"All preparations have been completed," she said while glancing at Nuken, the fallen noble.

Nuken averted his gaze after noticing it.

The increasingly oppressive atmosphere in the room made it feel suffocating, prompting Luis to ask, "Mr. James Moriarty, have you heard the news?"

James Moriarty fell silent for a moment, considering the question.

"What news?" he asked coldly.

Luis stretched his legs, leaning slightly forward as he spoke in a low voice, "Regarding the Ountakana Auction. It has been moved forward from eight in the evening to seven."

'I've only just learned about this. This requires a change of plans.'

After thinking for a moment, James Moriarty adjusted his bowler hat and spoke in his usual calm tone:

"The original plan remains unchanged, but I'll explain it again so all of you remember it."

Now that everyone knew their respective roles, all they could do was wait for the day the operation would be carried out.

Since there was still plenty of daylight left, James Moriarty sent three people to investigate the area several hundred meters from where the auction would be held.

From that moment on, after those three people left, the crazy plan they had been waiting for all this time would begin in just a few more hours.

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