Dusk approached as the sun set in the west.
Saroyan, dressed as a fisherman, slowly walked out from the neighboring shack, a burden of salted fish resting on his shoulders.
After cautiously surveying his surroundings, Saroyan stepped left and merged into the flow of people.
Just as he entered the crowd, a flicker in his peripheral vision caught sight of a man and a woman, both Wizards, advancing under the escort of several Steel-armored Guards at the distant corner of the street.
Saroyan continued forward, his expression calm, showing not a hint of fear.
He recognized these two Wizards; he had seen them before at 79 Tulip Street.
"Merely two Intermediate Wizard Apprentices that I could dispose of with ease…" he thought to himself.
He glanced at the silver-white badges on their chests, maintaining his dull expression, and made his way to the side of the street.
Finding a suitable angle, Saroyan set down his burden of salted fish, organized the bamboo baskets filled with salted fish, and sat on the ground.
Having done this, he blended in with the vendors around him, all stealing awe-filled glances towards the two Wizards as they entered the decrepit shack.
But unlike the other vendors, behind the template of fear in Saroyan's eyes was a nearly imperceptible hint of anticipation.
Bang!
The wooden door was violently kicked open by the Guards.
Two shield-bearing Guards, clenching shields engraved with the emblem of the Lap School, took a deep breath and led the way into the house.
Colin and Regina stood outside, magic power blooming in their hands.
Regina was on alert, her body tensed, with a black cat that had transformed into a large beast guarding her.
Colin was also vigilant, but a closer look revealed his gaze becoming gradually serene deep within.
After the Guards broke through the door, he concentrated his spirit to observe carefully. Although he could not make out the specifics, the scarlet aura inside was faint. Either the fisherman Phil had left or there was some other situation.
"My lord, there is only one body inside!"
Very soon, the Guards who entered had ascertained the specifics and turned to report back to Colin and Regina.
Their findings confirmed Colin's speculation.
Regina frowned, pushed past the Guards, and strode inside.
Colin followed closely behind.
Though the shack was broken down and small, it still had several rooms sectioned off.
Crossing the threshold, in the inner room on the right, they found Phil's body.
This fisherman, like the previous bodies, had his heart carved out. The body was now leaning against the wall under the window, head drooping.
Regina silently waved her hand.
The enormous black cat squeezed into this somewhat cramped room and sniffed Phil's body.
After a moment, it returned to Regina's side and growled softly.
"Damn!" Regina sighed and dispelled her Detection Magic.
Turning to Colin she said, "Inform the Captain they can come. The place is secure, and there is only one body."
Previously, after their report to Captain Flower,
for the sake of caution, Flower decided to come with them.
But as they reached the staircase, he turned back to the office.
Later, Colin and Regina found out that Flower had gone back to report the matter to Berkeley and City Lord Price.
Not long after, Berkeley and Price arrived at the Patrol Department in succession.
After discussing, the three of them decided that Colin and Regina would check the situation in the open.
To avoid startling the snake, they stayed hidden in a nearby alley.
Thus, they hoped to lure out more behind-the-scenes villains.
Colin furrowed his brow but did not answer.
He concentrated his spirit, closely examining the body.
To notice the scarlet mist, he had to focus intently; otherwise, he would experience only an extremely faint sensation of abnormality, which could easily be overlooked.
In fact, if he had not spent enough time at the scene at 79 Tulip Street, he would not have noticed anything unusual at all.
As he focused his attention, the familiar feeling of cleansing grime off a bluestone resurfaced, accompanied by the same chilling sensation.
A thin reddish mist appeared on Phil's body, thinnest at the gaping wound in his chest.
Whirr—
Magic power condensed. Regina, beside him, was performing Fireworks Skill, preparing to release a signal of safety.
Colin unconsciously turned his gaze elsewhere.
But as he swept his eyes over the window above Phil's body, his pupils shrank slightly.
He continued to turn his head, appearing to examine the bloodstains on the wall, but his focus was entirely on the corner of his vision.
Through the window with wooden stick grating, far down the road, he saw rising scarlet mist.
It was an ordinary middle-aged man, much like Phil, blatantly observing the shack.
A realization hit Colin.
Because of the noise they made approaching, no pedestrians remained around the shack; the nearest was the small vendor where that middle-aged man was.
By all logic, Red Flame and City Lord Price should have already noticed the man.
Could they not perceive his anomaly as well?
Colin was struck once more by how unusual his ability to sense the scarlet mist was.
The next moment, he suddenly furrowed his brow.
In the corner of his eye, the middle-aged man enveloped in scarlet mist began packing his stall, seemingly preparing to leave.
And Regina, with magic power gradually accumulating, was about to release the Fireworks Skill that represented a safety signal!
A stream of thoughts flashed rapidly through Colin's mind.
Looking at Regina, he suddenly had an idea and scoffed loudly.
"If you had listened to me earlier, we wouldn't have come up empty-handed!"
"?" By his side, Regina froze, her nearly formed Fireworks Skill suddenly dissipated.
"Colin… what do you mean?!" Regina's brows shot up in anger,
"Roar!"
The black cat at her side took a few steps forward, lowered its body, baring its teeth and roaring angrily at Colin.
Colin paused, as if realizing his blunder, and turned away with a cold face.
He looked at Phil's body, still seemingly irritated, and scoffed again.
"Cunning heart-devouring devil!"
Still not satisfied, he pulled a solid cone bullet from his bosom and, seething with rage, fired it toward Phil's body leaning against the wall!
Hiss!
Bolstered by the powerful kinetic energy bestowed by the Arrow Shooting Skill, the metal cone bullet instantly passed through Phil's body as though it were piercing paper.
And the thin wooden panel behind offered even less resistance.
After penetrating them, the metal cone bullet did not pause for even a moment and sped toward an ordinary-looking middle-aged man by the roadside in the distance.
Time rewound several seconds earlier.
Saroyan, with a sidelong glance, watched the nearby shed through the window, his extraordinary hearing allowing him to clearly catch Colin's frantic words.
The corners of his mouth turned up in a hint of a smile.
"The might of my lord is not something a mere common Intermediate Apprentice could uncover."
He loved watching scenes like this, relishing the sight of self-important wizards helpless before the scarlet fog.
But the show was over... Now it was time to leave.
He stood up and re-shouldered his basket filled with salted fish.
Bang!
But just then, a needle-like sense of crisis assaulted him.
No escape!
Without time to think, he instinctively executed the Defensive Divine Skill.
His dark skin quickly faded, revealing its original pale color, and dark red patterns spread across his body in an instant.
Ding!
The cone bullet collided with his skin, barely penetrating before its kinetic energy was lost, and it halted.
"Ah!" The vendor nearby finally realized what was happening and hastily scattered, fleeing in all directions.
The flesh at his waist squirmed, expelling the twisted and deformed cone bullet.
Saroyan, somewhat shaken, looked up angrily at Colin and Regina by the window of the shed, stunned.
Then he frowned and raised his arm...
Quick battle, quick decision.
Swoosh!
But at that moment, a rush of wind from behind him caused his expression to turn grave, and he swiftly turned around.
What he saw were three figures emanating a formidable presence.
*
*
*
"Gather everything meticulously! Leave nothing behind!"
Still inside that ramshackle shed, but now under the cloak of night.
Colin and Regina stood aside, watching the Guard Captain directing his men, painstakingly collecting items from inside the building.
With Berkeley and his companions at hand, Saroyan's fate was not up for discussion.
Unfortunately, Saroyan had carried out a brazen suicide, leaving no survivors.
By now, his body had been taken away by Berkeley and others to the Lap wizards.
Colin and Regina, meanwhile, were charged with commanding the guards to collect and seal all items within the shed.
Colin leaned against the wall, his expression calm; Regina continuously observed him, puzzled.
Ever since he fired that cone bullet, Regina had been watching him with a bewildered gaze, seemingly forgetting her earlier fury over his words.
With a slight sigh in his heart, he stepped past Regina and moved forward.
"What is this?"
He pointed to the still-unshaped skull on the bedside table and the silver bracelet lying beside it.
Regina, her gaze fixed on Colin's retreating back, imperceptibly shook her head, dismissing the odd conjectures in her mind.
"It must be just a coincidence."
She too moved forward and approached the bed.
"... This should be Phil's son's skull," she said, looking at the small skull, "the guards found out Phil once had a son."
Regina then shifted her gaze to the bracelet, hesitatingly adding,
"This seems to be... the signature bracelet of the prostitutes from the Giant Axe Tavern..."
"Hm," Colin responded with some confusion.
What would the bracelet of a prostitute from the Giant Axe Tavern be doing here?
But he didn't dwell on it, merely nodding slightly as he watched the guards carefully pack the skull and bracelet into a wooden box.
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A few words off-topic.
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