The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 247

"Seriously, they didn't see that? Huh, why is the captain moving away?"

Although confused, Velnard did not move an inch as his eyes became increasingly focused on the woman lying to his left.

"...Captain? Vice Captain? Aswin?"

Only after those words left his mouth did Velnard spontaneously feel his own body, sensing a cold sensation flowing throughout him. Not only that, his mouth closed, followed by his eyes, and moments after opening his eyes, Velnard realized something was strange.

'An illusion mixed with reality, huh? Is it because of that woman? Is she a Receivers? But if she's the person I think she is, why wasn't she affected by the Captain's ability restraint?'

Despite being in a desperate situation, Velnard showed no signs of panic as he decided to move, approaching them to confirm his suspicion.

He had absolutely no idea that the woman was a Receivers of the Sorcerer, at its second level, Magician. Vaetan still considered her an ordinary human based on the analysis of his captain, Queen Seon Arzen's Scatter ability.

"...Captain, why are you just standing there?"

When the hand covered by a black glove touched her shoulder, Queen Seon Arzen's body jolted as if startled after seeing something terrible.

Meanwhile, Vaetan Gevano and Aswin were in a condition not much different from that of Captain Queen, although the illusion did not affect them as severely.

A few seconds later, Velnard looked at the three of them after bringing each of them back to their senses. His wary gaze locked onto the person standing motionless while keeping her mouth tightly shut.

'Seriously, I can't say that?'

After thinking for a moment, realizing that if he lingered any longer his perception would become increasingly distorted, Velnard decided to tell them about the woman's presence.

"She was affected by the vice captain's ability," he said confidently.

"Seriously? How did you know?" Aswin muttered, seeking an explanation for the statement.

Velnard shrugged his shoulders.

"Of course, from the captain," he replied, glancing toward the captain, whose face looked different from before.

Vaetan fell silent as he pondered those words, feeling that his ability had never harmed the woman and had not reached this alley at all.

"The mist only passed through the main road, nothing more."

Vaetan finally revealed how his ability worked.

A few seconds after the silence created deep uncertainty among them, Vaetan moved from his position and crouched in front of the woman.

"If this is an illusion, whether it belongs to her or not, I can find the answer by doing this."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Queen muttered, her steps bringing her closer to the tree.

"Of course," Vaetan replied calmly. "The captain also sensed something strange, especially your perception suddenly becoming chaotic, didn't you?"

After those words echoed in his mind, Vaetan glanced to the left, his deep brown eyes fixed on Velnard, who had been staring at the woman strangely all this time.

Seeing that, Vaetan did not hesitate to use the first level of the Black Death ability, Invomer, to try to awaken the consciousness of someone who had died or fallen unconscious, even if only for a brief moment.

'If she can wake up and respond, then she is a Receiver.'

He had already decided to awaken the woman, but for no clear reason, a wave of doubt passed through his mind, causing the surge of dark grayish black aura swirling around his hand to nearly collapse.

Vaetan realized that he could not do it, especially to a woman, even though the woman's true identity was still unknown. Moreover, after seeing her face, a sense of pity made the doubt tighten its grip on his chest even further.

Was she an enemy or a civilian caught up in this situation?

'Come on... this is the only way to dig out that information.'

Then, the aura that had previously disappeared emerged once again. Vaetan signaled for the other three to step back without further explanation.

After seeing that, Vaetan could calmly touch the woman's body through the touch of supernatural power.

As a shrill sound resembling steam hissing broke the silence of the alley, followed by the sound of a burst of wind, the woman rose on her own.

Vaetan immediately stood up, staring sharply at the woman as she began to raise her head, looking at the person who had moved her body.

From behind, Captain Queen Seon Arzen, Aswin, and Velnard carefully observed their vice captain's actions, witnessing for the first time how the Black Death ability, which violated the applicable legal and moral norms, worked.

"Who are you?"

'Now, answer! From your answer, I can determine whether you're a human, a Receivers, or a Hollow!'

"I don't know my name," the woman answered flatly.

...

At the hospital, following the incident in which hot water had fallen onto a girl's face, leaving her mentally shaken for several days after being hospitalized.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, as if I don't know what my purpose is after this, or what I'm supposed to live for," Maeressa said with deep despair.

"Don't be like that. I'll stay with you until you recover."

"But what about your family?" Maeressa exclaimed in confusion.

The girl smiled before answering, "You're my family too. Don't think about anything else, and just focus on yourself."

"Why, why are you so kind to me?" Her voice was a mixture of emotion and restrained tears.

"Because I am with the goddess who protects lost souls like yours," the girl said with a wide smile while stroking her friend's long black hair.

....

In front of the tree, Vaetan's pupils widened, the corners of his lips lifting upward at the same time.

'Damn, this is complicated. Is she a human or a Hollow?'

After deciding to continue with this, Vaetan finally asked his second question.

"What are you doing here?" His expression grew sharper, his tone firmer and louder than before.

"I just had a fight with my friend," the woman answered without emotion.

Once again, Vaetan's pupils widened after realizing through her spiritual fluctuations that there was nothing wrong with the woman.

"Where do you live?"

The woman fell silent for a few seconds before answering, this time with emotion filling her voice as the turmoil within her over the terrible situation that had befallen her surfaced.

"I don't have a place to live."

...

"Hey, Maeressa. Do you remember how the two of us met and ended up staying together until now?"

Maeressa carefully shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't remember, but I'm sure you met me when I was coming home from a funeral, right?"

The girl snapped her fingers while smiling.

"Exactly. Hmm, now that I think about it, I remember how you invited me to play at your house and walk along the river with your grandfather."

"Yes." Maeressa answered weakly. "Grandfather was a good person, but the goddess loved good people like him more and took him to a place far more beautiful than this world, somewhere humans could never reach. That is heaven."

Remembering her childhood, when she had lived in modest conditions far from her parents, even though Maeressa actually came from a family that was financially well-off enough to meet her daily needs.

Even now, her parents had no idea what had happened to their only daughter.

Even so, Maeressa did not care about that matter at all, although her main concern had now shifted to her own appearance.

"Hey, Cerry. How am I going to live after this? What if people make fun of how terrible my face looks?"

"Then let them. Everyone has their own flaws and strengths." Cerry tried to think positively so that her friend would not dwell on unnecessary things that could slow down the healing process of her wounds.

"So... What is my strength?" Maeressa muttered, her body suddenly straightening as she dared to look at Cerry for the first time.

Cerry sat facing the bed with one hand supporting her cheek, but her gaze was directed elsewhere. Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide, a faint smile appearing on her radiant face.

"Your strength is the way you can accept this situation without ever giving up, even though sometimes you complain because you lack confidence in your appearance."

"How can you think so positively?"

The smile faded. Cerry let out a long sigh before answering, "Because humans were created to understand one another and were given reason to think about how to respond to both bad and positive things, like I just said."

"You rarely say things like that, do you?" Maeressa, who had always been frowning before, began to smile at her friend's attitude.

"What can I do..." Cerry puffed out her cheeks, her hand returning to support her cheek as her gaze shifted elsewhere.

Maeressa raised her head higher, staring at her friend through the gaps between her hair for quite some time, then smiled briefly as her gaze fell upon her whitening fingernails.

...

Vaetan stood silently, contemplating those words.

His open palm, which was radiating a dark grayish black aura, suddenly closed.

The flow was cut off, causing the woman's body to lose its balance as she stood. However, before the woman could fall, Velnard quickly became her support.

Plop!

"She's beautiful, you know!"

Velnard cleared his throat to drive the thought away before deciding to return the woman to the place where she had been found.

"So, Vice Captain Vaetan? Did you find anything from that woman?" Queen Seon Arzen asked, stepping closer to him.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't sense even the slightest spiritual fluctuation affecting or manipulating that conversation," Vaetan answered quietly.

Aswin stared at the two of them for a few seconds before asking:

"Actually, how does that 'awakening' ability work?"

Vaetan immediately looked at him. His gaze was filled with confusion, unsure whether explaining how the ability worked was a good idea or not, especially in an open place like this.

A long sigh escaped his lips as Vaetan willingly decided to explain it.

"Therefore... that ability can be said to have taken control of the target's mind. In short, there are two things that must be watched out for in the answers given by the person being awakened. First, that person will answer according to what I think... Second, through the spiritual fluctuations that occur when the target answers. I rarely use this myself because, well, you all surely know that this ability should not exist within the Cevenose Security Department, whose duty is to protect civilians, not to carry out actions that violate legal norms and human rights."

"So in short," Velnard, who was busy with the woman, interrupted, "the ability will follow the user's instructions, meaning the target cannot lie unless the target manipulates the conversation with their own ability. Well, you could say that to turn on a light, we need electricity. The same principle applies; if the target performs some kind of manipulation or something similar, then..."

"The vice captain's ability will immediately know," Aswin replied, his jaw tightening.

Queen Seon Arzen chuckled, realizing that her chosen subordinate was not as stupid as the rumors made him out to be.

"For now, what are we going to do with that woman?" Aswin asked as he approached Velnard, who had been staring at the woman the entire time.

As the Queen and Vaetan appeared to be thinking hard, Aswin, seeing an opportunity, began to reveal something that had been bothering him for some time.

"Hey, Velnard," Aswin said, his voice almost a whisper. "I'll keep this a secret, but you have to answer honestly."

"Why are you suddenly saying that?" Velnard asked, furrowing his brow.

While thinking, Vaetan briefly glanced at his two subordinates, who were discussing something that appeared serious judging from the expressions on their faces.

"Do you... like that woman?"

Without giving his friend a chance to speak, Aswin intended to corner him.

"Just be honest, you, you definitely like that woman. You have good taste too. Can I make her my girlfriend or..."

The sentence was cut short when Velnard, his face flushed red, answered, "Yes, honestly, she's very beautiful. Even from the first time I saw her face."

Aswin smiled, feeling that his task was complete. He did not mind the burn scars on the woman's face at all, because he knew very well what it felt like to love someone not because of their appearance, but because of their feelings and determination.

"Good luck, Mr. Velnard Stell," Aswin said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah..." Velnard responded to the statement with an indifferent expression.

After considering the matter, they agreed to take Maeressa somewhere safe, because they did not want civilians to be affected by this search, even though the person they were looking for was already with them.

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