A Backup Plan

Ordinary people couldn't resist a wizard's might.

No matter how fiercely Quill fought rather than surrender, it couldn't change the outcome.

He didn't even manage to get close to Kate before a spear of light pierced his chest. Sean and Charles clearly heard his heart burst. Thick blood mixed with bits of his organs spilled from Quill's mouth. He looked down at the spear piercing his body, then strained to look up at Sean. That same sick smile appeared on his face once more.

The scalpel in his hand fell to the floor. Even in death, his eyes remained open, as though he couldn't rest in peace.

It was a pretty gruesome sight.

But no one felt sorry for him.

"Getting killed by Mr. Light Servant means this guy named Quill got to live a worthwhile life," Charles remarked. Not every Witch Hunter was worthy of having a high-ranking wizard like Kate take action against him.

It was a very clever thing to say, a discreet compliment to Kate from a seemingly objective perspective.

Kate glanced at him but didn't respond, his manner cold and aloof. He kicked Quill's corpse aside, dispelled the spear of light, and said to Sean, "All done. If there's nothing else, I'll head back?"

As he spoke, he raised his wrist to check his watch. "I've got a seven o'clock flight."

Kate sounded casual, as though killing more than a hundred police officers and a man like Quill had been an insignificant matter. Now that it was over, he could get back to whatever he had to do.

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

"Some other time," Kate said. "I've been here too long already. If I don't get back, the company will fall apart. Those old bastards have been eyeing my position as boss."

He meant the company's board of directors.

It was the kind of everyday topic people chatted about at home. One moment Kate had been on a killing spree; the next, he was making small talk with Sean. It showed that he hadn't taken Quill and the others seriously at all. To Charles, though, it had an entirely different implication—

What the hell was this author's real identity? The Light Servant himself was actually chatting with him?

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

From Kate and Quill's earlier conversation, he'd been able to glean a few things. Even at Tier Five, even someone as powerful as Kate could have troublesome problems to deal with.

Kate simply said, "It's already taken care of."

He'd specifically disguised himself as a police officer to blend in, all to deal with this problem. The cameras on every floor looked intact, but they'd stopped working first thing that morning.

In those days, surveillance cameras, like the internet, hadn't yet become widespread. Without footage of the scene, even the city police department would have a hard time tracking him down.

"Okay. Then take this." Sean tossed Kate a signed book.

Kate caught it, and for once his usually composed face broke into a smile. "The Moon and the Knight... That's a good title."

It was romantic and fitting. The Lord Black he admired was himself a representative of romanticism.

That didn't simply mean love and romance. Anything pursued to its utmost could be called "romantic," and that included scholarship, of course.

Most people simply couldn't reach Lord Black's level, and so they couldn't understand what "academic romanticism" meant.

Sean hadn't given Kate the book to thank him, either. How much could a book be worth?

He wanted to tell Kate... Everything was for Lord Black!

It was a silent understanding and form of communication unique to the two of them as devoted underlings of Lord Black, like old friends bumping fists when they met or parted. Everything was understood without a word.

Charles naturally didn't get it. Seeing Kate smile, he assumed Kate was interested in Sean's book too and cautiously asked, "Is the Light Servant also a fan of Sean's?"

Kate immediately went stern again. "What's it to you?"

He was only kind to Sean.

Charles was speechless.

Kate snorted. "Don't ask questions that aren't your business."

Charles hurriedly said, "Yes, sir."

In his mind, he was ranting furiously: What are you so smug about? You're just Tier Five, with a title of your own!

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Sooner or later, he'd make Kate understand what it meant to respect the dead!

Sean smiled and tried to smooth things over. "All right, let's get out of here first. We can talk once we're outside."

There were still plenty of police officers outside. Quill hadn't called for backup, but the gunshots would have carried. If nothing happened for too long, they'd come in to investigate, and then a fight would be unavoidable.

Kate nodded. "Follow me."

He led Sean and Charles downstairs through the emergency exit and into the parking garage on level B2.

"I've paid off the officers at the exit. We can just walk out," Kate said.

Charles instinctively wanted to ask if the police could really be bought off, but then he remembered how differently Kate had treated him and Sean. He closed his mouth with a wounded air and followed behind Sean like a lackey.

Sean was curious too, and asked, "Aren't they afraid of being punished if they get caught?"

"Of course they're afraid. Colluding with the enemy is a capital offense in any organization, let alone among the Witch Hunters, whose internal rules could be called brutal," Kate said. "They just don't have a choice."

If they took his money and did the job, they'd die if they were caught.

If they refused his money, they'd die right away.

Even an idiot knew what to do.

Besides, these officers were different from Witch Hunters like Winster. Most of the time, they were only responsible for watching people, tailing them, and gathering information. Unless they received orders, they usually didn't get involved in a fight. And not all the officers were willing to fight. How much were they even being paid? Was it worth risking their lives?

A powerful family like the Floris Family certainly held a great deal of influence. Even the government had to listen to them. But the greater their power, the less likely it was that they could operate as one solid block. Some people who worked for the Floris Family didn't even know wizards existed. They simply carried out the orders of their superiors. Enemies like that were the easiest to deal with.

They had no so-called faith or loyalties. Or rather, their personal interests were their loyalties. There was no need to threaten them or turn up the pressure. As long as they were offered enough, anything could be negotiated.

The businesses of several companies he ran often needed a little help getting things done.

As the two spoke, they reached the parking garage exit.

When the officers outside saw Kate, they immediately turned their heads, gazing up at the sky. One of them even nudged his colleague to remind him not to look at what he shouldn't.

"Hey, buddy, doesn't the weather seem pretty nice today?"

"Yeah, yeah. You don't often get autumn sunshine. It's already four or five o'clock, and the sun still hasn't set..."

The officers chatted idly, as if they hadn't noticed anyone leaving the parking garage.

Sean and the others blended into the crowd, left the commercial district, and reached a busy street corner.

"All right, this is far enough. I'm heading to the airport. Be careful over the next few days, and try not to show your face outside too much," Kate said.

"Mm." Sean showed that he understood.

After the look Quill gave him before dying, it was hard not to suspect that he might have arranged some kind of contingency.

"Better safe than sorry. I'm off." Kate hailed a taxi and headed for the airport.

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

Charles thought Sean was asking him and replied, "I'm heading back too. I still haven't finished my job. If I hadn't come to show my support, I wouldn't have gone out at all these past few days... As for you lying to me, we'll have a proper talk about it when we're both free. Hmph."

Clearly, he still hadn't gotten over Sean hiding his identity as the dog author.

So much for the most basic trust between people!

Truthfully, Sean was a little moved that Charles had knowingly risked his life to save him. But one thing was one thing, and another was another. Regarding the question he'd just been asked, he still had to say, "I wasn't asking you."

Charles was confused.

Kate had left. They were the only two people here. Who else could Sean have been asking?

"I'm going to Holkodo."

A girl's voice rang out behind Charles, clear and crisp as a wind chime.

Charles was startled.

He jumped back, putting himself in front of Sean to shield him.

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

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

His teacher had once told him that the prettier a woman was, the more dangerous she tended to be.

Isha rolled her eyes and couldn't even be bothered to answer him.

Sean smiled and said, "I'm planning to head back to Holkodo too."

Today wasn't just the day of his book signing. It was also the day Elvily and the others were going to attack Floris Hospital. They'd make their move as soon as night fell.

Isha had finished her mission here and probably wanted to hurry over and help. Sean also wanted to use the opportunity to reclaim Chris's body and lay his old friend to rest.

"Then take a taxi yourself. I'm not going with you," Isha said. Otherwise, he'd find out that she hadn't completed her mission.

Charles let out a sigh of relief. It sounded like she was on their side, but then he thought about it again and realized something was wrong...

Not even the Light Servant, Kate, had noticed anyone following them from the pedestrian street to the edge of the commercial district. That meant this little girl was far from ordinary. She couldn't possibly be as harmless as she looked. Chances were, she was another high-ranking wizard.

But wasn't Sean a total newbie who'd even needed Charles to explain how to trade in the Void Arts Space? How had he made so many connections?

Was it just because he was handsome?

Sean ignored his sour look and said, "All right. I'll go back to the motel and pack first anyway. See you tonight."

"As for you... I'll see you in the Void Arts Space whenever we're both free," he said to Charles.

"Oh," Charles replied.

Would Sean have another big shot beside him the next time they met?

The three of them split up at the street corner. Sean saw Isha and Charles off first, then hailed a taxi back to the motel.

He'd arranged for the driver to wait outside the motel for half an hour. It was hard to find a taxi in the suburbs.

At first, the driver refused.

Wouldn't that be a complete waste of his precious time picking up fares?

But Sean offered more money.

"No problem. I've been driving all day and could use a break. Go take care of whatever you need to do. I'll wait downstairs," the driver readily agreed.

The motel was nearly twenty kilometers from the city center. With the weekend traffic, it was already getting dark by the time Sean returned.

On the way, he kept thinking about the look Quill had given him. Had he arranged a contingency or not?

If he had, what was it?

Sean tried to think from Quill's perspective, but he knew far too little about Quill, the Witch Hunters, and the Floris Family to guess what the supposed backup plan was.

Quill was already dead, so there was no one left in charge of his "case." The only possibility Sean could think of was that Quill had handed his "criminal file" to someone else before coming to Old Sigel City. That way, even if Quill failed and didn't catch him, other Witch Hunters would continue hunting him.

That possibility wasn't unlikely, but Sean didn't think it was surprising enough.

If a district police station couldn't handle a case, it would pass it to the city police. If the city police couldn't handle it, they'd hand it over to the state police and set up a special task force... A pursuit that escalated step by step, with ever-increasing pressure, was standard procedure. It wasn't enough to make Quill smile and look at him as if he'd already won.

In Sean's mind, Quill was a very arrogant man. He hadn't caught the person he was supposed to, and now he'd have to rely on someone else. It was like a movie where a police officer failed to solve a case in time and a higher-ranking detective forcibly took it over. Quill wouldn't smile. He'd be frustrated and unwilling to accept it, because it would essentially be a denial of his abilities.

That look meant that even after dying, he was still confident he could catch Sean. The plan had been made in advance, and it didn't require other Witch Hunters to get involved.

But Sean still couldn't guess what the plan was.

Had Quill figured out how much Sean tended to overthink things and deliberately made that expression to mess with him?

Sean couldn't figure it out.

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

The book signing had been a trap.

Not a trap to kill him, but a trap where Quill had died for him to see.

In the motel's lobby, an old lightbulb hung from the ceiling, casting a yellow glow.

The air was thick with the smell of blood.

Sean's heart sank.

The dim lobby was utterly silent.

Even though he walked as quietly as he could, with every step he took, he could still hear the soles of his shoes rubbing against the floor.

The girl who'd kept recommending herself to him, and who'd asked that morning where he was going and whether he needed a companion, was now lying motionless across the counter. All her earlier warmth was gone.

A thin line of blood crossed her neck, as if a sharp blade had sliced it open. The cut was stark and clean, and blood dripped steadily down, staining her clothes and short skirt.

The small blackboard on the counter, where the room rates had been written, had been wiped clean. In their place was a crimson arrow pointing toward the stairs.

His opponent was inviting him upstairs.

Sean took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

Anger began to brew inside him.

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

What was her crime?

Harboring a fugitive?

Sean looked up at the floor above, a vicious glint gathering in his eyes.

He climbed the stairs one step at a time. The dilapidated wooden boards groaned under his weight.

His room was on the third floor.

Half-dried blood marked the way, as if guiding him.

He had just reached the door when he heard a voice from inside.

"Are you surprised, Mr. Sean?"

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

"Or did you think I was really dead?"

The voice was familiar and absurd. Sean yanked the door open.

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

The lenses perched on his nose reflected a white gleam, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smile.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Sean."