Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Erased Name (3)
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After tracing the perpetrator's path through the bloodstains, Diana's first call was to the Holy Knight Order.
Investigations and pursuits could be handled through coordination with churches across the region and the Kalia Merchant Guild, but the most crucial element was the raw force needed to capture the culprit.
Ever since reports came in of a plague circulating with symptoms eerily similar to the one from the great epidemic seven years prior, the Holy Knights had been assembling at the southwestern border.
They were deployed immediately upon receiving word from Diana.
Only three squads had arrived in this village, but the others were tracking suspicious individuals elsewhere.
Yet, despite all that, the most vital location—Cairoan—had been left vacant, thanks to Galen's presence.
Leaving Galen alone there was far more efficient than stationing several squads of Holy Knights.
So even after hearing from the squinting man that this place had essentially been bait, they were startled but not panicked.
But what happened right after left even them reeling in shock.
"Wh-what?"
Thanks to Lilia quickly grabbing him before he hit the ground, the squinting man dangled limply in midair.
Then, without anyone touching him, his face suddenly twisted grotesquely and transformed in an instant into the features of a complete stranger.
He was already unconscious, so it was impossible to gauge his eye size, but even from a distance, he looked like an entirely different person.
"Wh-what is this?!"
"I-I don't know."
Lilia stammered, and even the squad leaders—veterans who had seen it all—were at a loss for words.
A heavy silence fell for a moment before Diana forcibly pulled herself together and spoke.
"F-first, let's secure him."
"Y-yes."
Whatever was going on, they had to keep him alive if they wanted answers.
After taking the man—now better described as bald—from Lilia and performing basic first aid to staunch the bleeding from his severed arm, Diana brought it up again.
"The perpetrator... To avoid confusion, let's call him Squint. We don't have to take his word as gospel, but he spoke as if 'this body' knew nothing."
"I heard that too."
"It felt like he was saying Squint himself and this bald guy were separate entities."
"We just saw the face change right in front of us. What if Squint is the main body and the bald guy's just a host?"
"He didn't seem to care about his arm—or even his life. It's more reasonable to think it wasn't real death, rather than him being detached from it."
"If that's true, we're in trouble. It means he can lop off tails without a second thought."
The other squad leaders exchanged grave expressions as they discussed it.
Without Galen's and Lilia's unique abilities to track bloodstains, even pursuing them would have been nearly impossible. These were wicked bastards, but their skills were top-notch.
It was far from welcome news that the squinting man—who seemed like a mid-to-high-ranking officer directing operations—had demonstrated such elusive powers.
He probably wasn't completely unconstrained, but in the worst case, the real body could hide forever, sending out clones endlessly. That would be a nightmare.
"...I need to go."
Lilia, who had been lost in thought until then, spoke up abruptly.
"Pardon?"
"The culprits might not know about Brother Galen. But there's no way they don't know Bishop Hamel."
Hamel was responsible for the Cairoan diocese and also served as acting archbishop overseeing the southwestern grand diocese in place of Barg.
Would they entrust the acting archbishop position to just anyone? It required administrative skill, moral character, and combat prowess. Though advanced in age, Hamel was still a high-ranking bishop fit for active duty.
"Their confidence suggests they have some means to disregard a high bishop."
"Would that work on Galen, though?"
"They're not the type to fight fair from the start. Can we count on them engaging properly?"
"...You've got a point."
Diana nodded heavily. It made sense upon reflection.
But they couldn't abandon the villagers, still dazed from the plague magic, and leave.
"You go ahead. We'll follow as soon as we've handled things here."
"Please!"
And so, leaving the Holy Knights behind, Lilia mounted her horse first.
A trail of pure white light soon sliced through the darkness, racing northward.
It had been about an hour since the sun had fully set.
Cairoan was the largest city in the southwest, but by absolute standards, it wasn't exactly thriving, lacking the vibrant nightlife of other major cities. Overall, it felt quiet.
The mansion under Galen's watch was even more so. Aside from faint light leaking through the windows, there was still no movement.
'Patient bunch.'
Galen grumbled inwardly. He'd scarfed down a makeshift sandwich on the street for dinner.
A quick investigation hadn't revealed the mansion's owner, and there were no known Gold-rank mages operating nearby. Definitely suspicious.
At Galen's level, he could just charge in on suspicion alone and deal with it. If it was a mistake, a simple apology would suffice. Gems could suck it up.
He would have if it were an ordinary Gold mage.
'If not for that damn plague.'
He had no idea how a shady mage was spreading the plague, so Galen couldn't act rashly.
It felt like a bomb that could detonate if jostled—the biological kind, not ordinary explosives.
As long as the guy holed up in the mansion, it was like the timer was paused. No need for Galen to poke the hornet's nest first.
'Lilia's side should be wrapping up by now.'
Whether the prime suspects the Holy Knights were tracking had done anything or not, it was about time for a resolution.
Either they'd wiped them out, let them slip due to unexpectedly strong opposition and fallen back temporarily, or it was a false lead.
Either way, in another hour or two, some of the Holy Knights would return to Cairoan after their missions.
With them as backup, he could comfortably take down the mage.
That was Galen's plan.
"Lord Galen."
Until the informant youth hurried over and whispered.
"The mansion door's open!"
"What?"
Galen, who had been resting out of sight, shot to his feet.
He quickly peeked around the corner of the wall.
Sure enough, a carriage was slowly pulling away. No other movement.
"Looks like the same one from before."
"They should've moved sooner. Or not at all."
Clicking his tongue, Galen focused intently.
The sensing range of Water Flow Manipulation overlapped with that of his spiral currents.
He detected the coachman and the person beside him, plus four inside the carriage. Six breaths in total.
Water droplets, stationed at intervals and awaiting orders over the distance, twitched faintly. He felt resistance, a faint grinding.
Unless there was another Gold mage in the mansion, this was the illusion field from the mage who'd snuck in earlier.
"Keep watching the mansion for now. Just in case."
"Yes."
"Contact Bishop Hamel. Be ready to move if needed."
"Understood."
"I'll track the carriage. I may call for support."
With that, Galen headed in the direction the carriage had vanished.
The youth, who had briefly stepped away to relay orders, soon reappeared to guide him.
No need to tail it closely; informants placed at intervals kept reporting the carriage's direction.
It zigzagged erratically—likely to shake off pursuit.
Ultimately, it stayed within the western district, heading to the city's outermost edge, the worst area for public safety in Cairoan.
"Planning to leave the city? No, they'd have gone straight to the gates from the start."
Galen muttered to himself, then stopped.
The youth leading through the alley had halted first.
"What's wrong?"
"The mark cuts off midway."
The youth groaned, pointing at the wall. To Galen, it just looked like graffiti.
"They didn't finish drawing it?"
"Yes. Meaning, en route—"
The youth's words cut off. Six men suddenly blocked the alley exit ahead.
Thud!
They flung two men to the ground. The youth gritted his teeth, recognizing them as fellow informants tracking the carriage.
"They're alive. Bleeding, but breathing."
Galen confirmed quietly after checking the fallen men.
Meanwhile, presences stirred behind. Five more blocked the rear.
"Like damn rats."
A middle-aged man in the center of the front six—obviously the leader by his attire—growled.
"Did you think we wouldn't notice you tailing the carriage?"
"Yeah, how'd you spot us?"
Galen asked flatly. The man sneered.
"You thought your eyes were the only ones in this city?"
"Usually, yeah. Planting eyes everywhere is a hassle. Knowing you have an organization watching your back rules out the 'innocent passing mage' theory."
"What? What are you on about?"
"Means no point playing it cautious anymore."
Galen replied nonchalantly to the frowning man, then casually flicked his sleeve.
The result was anything but casual.
Boom!
Spiral current mana enveloped the alley, spinning once.
That was it.
The sudden gale swept the eleven men ahead and behind, smashing them through the walls without resistance.
The youth beside Galen and the two on the ground weren't touched by even a speck of wind, of course.
"Ah...?"
The youth's mind blanked momentarily.
Hard to believe, but the higher-ups had called this young mage the Gem of water magic... Was this water magic?
Regardless, Galen patted his shoulder.
"Snap out of it."
"Ah, yes!"
"Look after those two, and have everyone else pull back. No point in surveillance now that they've spotted us."
"Understood."
The youth bowed deeply.
"Sorry we got made. It's embarrassing."
"Don't sweat it. Better to know they're no ordinary foes."
Galen waved it off lightly.
Passing the fallen pair, he exited the alley.
He hadn't been clinging too close, so the carriage wasn't far.
Invisible amid the jumbled night buildings and roads, but well within Galen's sensing range.
Whoosh!
A spirit trickled down from his left wrist.
Upon hitting the ground, it formed a cat shape and glided across the street like ice skates.
Moments later, far ahead—
Splash!
A giant of water rose towering between squat buildings, asserting its presence.
Galen strolled leisurely toward it.
Soon, the carriage came into view, forced to a halt by the giant blocking the road.
Sensing something amiss—no way they couldn't—the occupants had all dismounted.
No more subtlety. Galen blatantly manipulated the moisture around them.
The mage naturally detected the anomaly piercing his illusion field.
He turned slowly.
A grotesque figure, armored head to toe and a full head taller than an average man, stared at Galen.
"You're big."
Galen chuckled.
"But my friend's even bigger, right?"
The towering giant's fist plunged down.