A Follow-Up Move

Mortals cannot resist the power of Wizards.

No matter how fierce Quill's desperate resistance was, it couldn't change the final outcome.

He didn't even get close to Kate before a spear of light pierced his chest. Sean and Charles clearly heard the sound of his heart exploding. Thick blood mixed with organ fragments spilled from Quill's mouth. He looked down at the spear of light that had pierced his body, then strained to look up at Sean, a morbid smile appearing on his face once more.

The scalpel in his hand fell to the ground. He didn't close his eyes even in death, as if he had died with unfinished business.

It looked pretty grim.

But no one sympathized with him.

"To die at the hands of Mr. Light Servant, this fellow Quill can consider his life well spent," Charles commented. Not every Witch Hunter was qualified to have a high-level Wizard like Kate make a move.

His words were clever, subtly flattering Kate from a purely objective standpoint.

Kate glanced at him, coolly ignoring him. He kicked Quill's corpse aside, dispelled the spear of light, and said to Sean, "It's done. If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back?"

He said this while glancing at his watch, "I have a flight at seven."

Kate's tone was casual, as if killing over a hundred Police Officers and Quill was a trivial matter. After finishing, he had other things to attend to.

"Leaving so soon?" Sean asked. "I was hoping to treat you to a meal."

"Next time," Kate replied. "I've been here too long. If I don't go back, the company will be in chaos. Those old guys are always eyeing my position as boss."

He was referring to the company directors.

This was a topic of everyday life. One moment he was slaughtering people, and the next he was chatting with Sean. It proved that Kate truly didn't take Quill and the others seriously. To Charles, however, it carried a different weight—

What was the author's identity for Lord Light Servant to be casually chatting with him?

"Do you need me to destroy the surveillance footage?" Sean asked Kate.

From their previous conversation, he could infer that even someone as powerful as Kate, at Rank Five, would encounter troublesome matters.

Kate replied, "It's already been destroyed."

He had deliberately impersonated a Police Officer to infiltrate the building and resolve this issue. The cameras on each floor appeared intact, but in reality, they had been rendered useless since early this morning.

In this era, surveillance and the internet were not yet widely popularized. Without on-site recordings, even the City Police Department would have difficulty tracking his movements.

"Alright. Then this is for you." Sean tossed a signed book to Kate.

Kate caught it, and a rare smile appeared on his usually calm face. "The Moon and the Knight... that's a good name."

It was romantic and fitting. In his heart, Lord Black was a representative of romanticism himself.

This wasn't merely about romantic love or sentimental affairs. Anything pursued to its extreme could be called "romantic," including academics.

It was just that most people couldn't reach Lord Black's level and understand what "academic romanticism" meant.

Sean giving Kate this book wasn't simply an expression of gratitude. How much could a book be worth?

He wanted to tell Kate... everything for Lord Black!

This could be considered a unique understanding and communication between two loyal subordinates of Lord Black, like old friends bumping fists when they meet or before parting, conveying everything without words.

Charles, of course, couldn't understand. Seeing Kate smile, he thought he was also interested in Sean's book and tentatively asked, "Is Lord Light Servant also a fan of Sean?"

Kate immediately put on a stern face. "Does it concern you?"

He was only amiable towards Sean.

Charles: "..."

Kate snorted and said, "Don't ask what you shouldn't."

Charles quickly replied, "Yes, yes."

He grumbled inwardly: What's with the arrogance? He's just Rank Five and has a special title.

Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. One day, he would let Kate know what it means to respect the dead!

Sean smiled and smoothed things over. "Alright, let's leave here first. We can talk about anything outside."

There were still many Police Officers outside. Although Quill hadn't called for backup, the gunshots would have carried. If there was no movement for a long time, they would definitely come to investigate, which would inevitably lead to a fierce battle.

Kate nodded. "Follow me."

He led Sean and Charles down the emergency stairs into the basement parking lot on the second floor.

"I've bribed the Police Officers at the exit. You can just walk through," Kate said.

Charles instinctively wanted to ask if these Police Officers could be bribed, but thinking of Kate's starkly different attitude towards him and Sean, he silently closed his mouth, following behind Sean like a subordinate.

Sean was also curious about this. "Aren't they afraid of being punished if they're discovered?"

"Afraid, of course, they're afraid. Colluding with the enemy is a capital offense in any organization, let alone among Witch Hunters, whose internal system can be described as brutal," Kate said. "But they have no choice."

If they took his money and were discovered, they would die.

If they didn't take his money, they would die immediately.

Even a fool would know what to do.

Moreover, these Police Officers were different from Witch Hunters like Wenster. They were mostly responsible for surveillance, tracking, and gathering intelligence. Unless they received orders, they generally wouldn't take action, and not all Police Officers were willing to fight—how much money was it worth risking their lives for?

Great families like the Floris Family are indeed powerful; even the government has to listen to them. However, the greater their influence, the less unified they become. Some people working for the Floris Family don't even know about the existence of Wizards, only following orders from above. These kinds of enemies are the easiest to deal with.

They have no so-called faith or stance; or rather, personal gain is their stance. There's no need for intense threats; as long as enough benefits are offered, anything can be negotiated.

The businesses of the several companies he managed often required such leniency.

As the two spoke, they had already reached the parking lot exit.

As soon as the Police Officer outside saw Kate, he immediately turned his head away, looked up at the sky, and nudged his companion, reminding him not to look at what he shouldn't.

"Hey buddy, the weather seems pretty good today?"

"Yeah, yeah, the autumn sun isn't common. It's already four or five, and it hasn't set yet..."

The Police Officers chatted aimlessly, as if they hadn't noticed anyone leaving the parking lot.

Sean and the others blended into the crowd, walked out of the commercial district, and arrived at a bustling intersection.

Kate said, "Alright, that's as far as I go. I'm heading to the airport. Be careful on your own these few days; try to keep a low profile."

"Mhm," Sean replied, understanding.

That look in Quill's eyes before he died made it hard for Sean to doubt that the guy might have had a backup plan.

"It never hurts to be careful. I'm off," Kate said, hailing a Taxi to the airport.

Sean watched Kate leave and then asked, "What about you?"

Charles thought Sean was asking him and replied, "I'm going back too. I still have orders to finish. If it weren't to come and support you, I wouldn't have left the house these past few days... As for you lying to me, we'll have a good chat about it when we both have some free time, hmph."

It was clear he was still bothered by Sean hiding his identity as the dog author.

No basic trust between people at all!

Actually, in Sean's heart, he was a little touched by Charles's willingness to risk danger to save him. But one thing at a time. Regarding the question just asked, he still had to say: "I wasn't asking you."

Charles: "?"

Kate was gone, and it was just the two of them left. Who else could he be asking?

"I'm going to Holkodo."

A crisp, bell-like girlish voice suddenly sounded behind Charles.

Charles: "!!!"

He was so startled that he jumped back, shielding Sean in front of him.

Only then did he clearly see that the speaker was a little loli.

"Who are you? Why were you following us?" Charles didn't let his guard down just because the girl looked cute.

His teacher had told him that the more attractive a woman was, the more dangerous she often was.

Isha rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with him.

Sean said with a smile, "I was planning to go back to Holkodo too."

Today was not only the day of his book signing event, but also the day Elvily and the others would attack Floris Hospital. They would make their move after dark.

Isha's mission here was complete, and she probably wanted to rush over to help. He also wanted to take this opportunity to retrieve Chris's body and give his old friend a proper burial.

"Then take a Taxi yourself. I'm not going with you," Isha said, otherwise her mission failure would be exposed.

Charles breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded like an ally, but then he thought, something's not right...

From the pedestrian street to outside the commercial district, all the way here, even the Light Servant Kate hadn't noticed anyone following them. This meant this loli girl was not simple at all and certainly not as harmless as she appeared on the surface. She was likely another high-level Wizard.

But wasn't Sean a complete novice who didn't even know how to conduct transactions in the Void Arts Space? Where did he get so many connections?

Was it just because he was handsome??

Sean ignored his sour gaze and said, "Okay, I need to go back to the motel to pack my things anyway. See you tonight."

"You... we'll meet again in the Void Arts Space when you have time," he said to Charles.

Charles: "Oh."

Would Sean have another big shot by his side the next time they met?

The three parted ways at the intersection. Sean first sent Isha and Charles off before hailing a Taxi himself back to the motel.

He had arranged with the driver to wait for him outside the motel for half an hour, as it was difficult to get a Taxi in the suburbs.

The driver had initially refused.

Wasn't this purely wasting his precious customer-picking time?

But Sean paid extra.

"No problem. I'm tired after driving all day, so it's a good time to rest. You go ahead and take care of your business; I'll wait for you downstairs," he readily agreed.

It was about twenty kilometers from the city center to the motel, and with weekend traffic, it was already getting dark by the time Sean returned.

On the way, he kept recalling that look from Quill. Did he really have a backup plan?

If so, what was it?

Sean tried to think from Quill's perspective, but so far, his understanding of Quill, the Witch Hunters, and the Floris Family was too limited to guess the supposed contingency.

Quill was dead, meaning his "case" had no responsible party. The only thing Sean could think of was that Quill had handed over his "criminal file" to someone else before coming to Old Sigel City. This way, even if Quill failed his mission and couldn't catch him, other Witch Hunters would continue to hunt him down.

This possibility wasn't small, but Sean didn't think it was "unexpected" enough.

If a district police station couldn't handle a case, they'd hand it over to the city police. If the city police couldn't handle it, they'd hand it over to the state police and form a task force… This kind of escalating pursuit, with increasing intensity, was a very conventional method. It wouldn't elicit that smile and look from Quill, as if he had won.

In Sean's impression, Quill was a very arrogant person. If he couldn't catch the person he was supposed to, and had to rely on others for help, it would be like in the movies, where a detective couldn't solve a case in time and a higher-ranking agent forcibly took over. Quill wouldn't smile; he'd only be resentful and unconvinced, because it was essentially a negation of his personal abilities.

Quill's demeanor suggested that even though he was dead, he was still confident he could catch Sean, and that this plan had been made in advance, without the need for other Witch Hunters to interfere.

But Sean couldn't guess what this plan was.

Could it be that Quill had figured out Sean's tendency to overthink and deliberately put on that expression to mess with his head?

Sean couldn't figure it out.

It wasn't until he got out of the car and entered the hotel that he finally realized things weren't that simple.

The book signing was a trap.

Not a trap to kill him, but a trap for him to see death.

On the first floor of the hotel, old light bulbs hung from the ceiling, emitting a yellowish glow.

A thick smell of blood hung in the air.

Sean's heart sank.

The dim front hall was deathly quiet.

Even though he walked lightly, he could hear the friction of his leather shoes against the floor with every step.

The girl who had been enthusiastically recommending herself to him, and who had asked him where he was going and if he needed a female companion when he left that morning, was now lying quietly on the bar counter, her previous enthusiasm gone.

A thin red line ran across her neck, as if cut by a sharp blade. It was stark, neat, and blood dripped down, staining her clothes and skirt.

The small blackboard on the counter, which had listed room prices, had its writing erased. It had been replaced by a scarlet arrow pointing upstairs.

The other party was inviting him up.

Sean took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

A surge of anger brewed in his heart.

The girl wasn't a Wizard, yet they had still killed her.

What was the charge?

Harboring a criminal?

Sean looked up at the floor above, a fierce glint accumulating in his eyes.

He stepped onto the stairs one by one. The old, dilapidated wooden planks groaned under the weight.

His room was on the third floor.

There were semi-dry bloodstains all the way, as if guiding him.

As soon as he reached the door, he heard a voice from inside the room.

"Are you surprised, Mr. Sean?"

"Did you think I couldn't find you?"

"Or perhaps, did you think I was really dead?"

The voice was familiar yet absurd, causing Sean to yank open the door.

The next second, he saw Quill sitting on the old sofa.

The lenses on his nose reflected white light, and a faint smile curved his lips.

"We meet again, Mr. Sean."